Ukraine updates in English

[US7IGN]

This morning began with russia massively shelling Ukraine with missiles. For the first time in a long time, such shelling took place during the day. russia launched more than 40 missiles of various types.

I almost didn't pay attention to the work of the air defense, but the police began to report falling debris in the immediate vicinity of me, and I could see smoke from the fires in the center through the window. Then I was surprised to hear the sound of jet engines in the sky and at first I thought that these were the long-promised F-16s, but it turned out that they were missiles that hit the center of Kyiv without hindrance.

Missiles also caused destruction in the east and south of Ukraine. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cley16111v2o

In Kyiv, as a result of the missile strike, falling debris and fires were recorded in several districts. The largest damage was caused to a large children's hospital, which is located near a large military factory. Judging by the available videos and photos, it is also damaged and must have been the main target. https://www.dw.com/uk/rosia-udarila-po-ukraini-40-raketami-poskodzena-ditaca-likarna-v-kievi/a-69592793?maca=ukr-rss-ukrnet-ukr-all-3816-xml

https://hromadske.ua/viyna/227409-usi-dity-z-okhmatdytu-perebuvaly-v-pidvali-pid-chas-obstrilu-odnak-pid-zavalamy-shche-shukaiut-liudey?traffic_source=ukr.net

I used to live in this area many years ago and now I understand how unreasonable it is to locate high-rise residential buildings, large hospitals, ministry buildings, army headquarters, a railway station and a military factory in the immediate vicinity. After 2014, I always avoided living near train stations, airports, military installations, hospitals and factories, which are prime targets during war.

[N0TZU]

Appallingly typical for Russia under dictator Putin. I sometimes wonder what happened to him and others like him in utero or childhood to have nothing but a black hole where his heart and conscience should be.

Alas it appears that a small percentage of people are born sociopaths and psychopaths for reasons as yet unknown. A recurring tragedy of history is that the rest of us often allow such people to ascend to the highest positions of economic or political power.

[N0TZU]

Wlad, I just now realized that your second book is available. I bought a copy to read.

[US7IGN]

Appallingly typical for Russia under dictator Putin. I sometimes wonder what happened to him and others like him in utero or childhood to have nothing but a black hole where his heart and conscience should be.

Alas it appears that a small percentage of people are born sociopaths and psychopaths for reasons as yet unknown. A recurring tragedy of history is that the rest of us often allow such people to ascend to the highest positions of economic or political power.

I don't think pootin is a psychopath. He is very rational, he and other russians just have a different value system. I wrote about this in the book, I hope you like it. Of course, pootin also makes mistakes, but the very fact that despite all the risks and losses he continues to impose his will on the whole world speaks of his effectiveness. Perhaps it is not he who is big, but everyone else who is even smaller. The West has a big problem with those to whom people give power. And it's sad.

A radio amateur friend of mine who lives next to a children's hospital has lost all the windows in his house, but he and his family are alive and well. Another was lucky that his house was closed by another house.

After the first missile attack, a second one followed, one of the missiles in which was shot down almost over my head but, by inertia, ended up in a hospital not far from me. https://ua.news/ua/war-vs-rf/rashysty-udaryly-po-pologovomu-budynku-v-dniprovskomu-rajoni-tam-7-zagyblyh

The NATO Secretary General Secretary General Stoltenberg revealed his vision of the situation and NATO’s role in his interview. On the one hand, he claims that the only way to get there is to convince President pootin that he will not win on the battlefield, he has to sit down and accept a solution where Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation in Europe, and the only way to convince Putin that he will not win on the battlefield is abroad military support to Ukraine. But on the other hand, he admits that this is a war much larger than the war between russia and Ukraine because the war in Ukraine demonstrates how closely aligned russia and China and North Korea and Iran are. China is the main enabler of russia's war aggression against Ukraine. President Xi and President pootin, they all want NATO, the United States to fail in Ukraine, and if pootin wins in Ukraine, it will not only embolden President pootin it also would  emboldened President Xi, as the Japanese Prime Minister said what happens in Ukraine today can happen in Asia tomorrow. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jens-stoltenberg-nato-secretary-general-face-the-nation-transcript-07-07-2024/
He manipulates figures that show the superiority of NATO countries in GNP, but forgets how rich Rome was destroyed by poor barbarians. Unfortunately, I see a manager, but not a warrior.

In the world, politicians are changing as a result of the elections. If Le Pen wins the elections in France, she has promised to limit military aid to Ukraine. And although the far-right did not get an overwhelming majority in France, support for Ukraine remains in question.

Massoud Pezeshkian, whom some observers call a reformist, won the second round of Iran's presidential election. They were appointed after Iran's previous president, Ibrahim Raisi, was killed in a helicopter crash in May. All candidates are pre-approved by a special pro-government commission, and although Pezeshkian is considered a reformist, he is deeply loyal to the religious leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. So, most likely, this will not change the policy and the current regime in Iran. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cz47vp9n4rwo

After a long silence, Zaluzhny published a photo on Facebook, in which he poses against the background of mountains. Let me remind you that he has been the ambassador of Ukraine to Great Britain for two months, in which he never appeared. Is this not such an important matter, or he was forced to undergo a difficult rehabilitation, because he was released from the army according to the conclusion of the medical committee on his unfitness for service. But he doesn't look so bad in the photo, and the English probably already know how best to help Ukraine. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=7711859322225534&set=a.511529455591926

Latvia has prepared the next batch of aid worth 4 million euros for Ukraine with 2,500 drones, which will be provided gradually during July as part of the "drone coalition" led by Latvia. https://www.mod.gov.lv/lv/zinas/aizsardzibas-ministrija-ukrainai-piegadas-nakamo-dronu-pakotni-vairak-neka-2500-dronus-4

[N0TZU]

I agree that Putin doesn’t show the chaotic traits of both psychopaths and sociopaths. And, by the way, I just learned that sociopathy is a term no longer used in psychology, so I will stop using it.

So I’ll say that Putin has some sort of antisocial personality disorder or disorders, with paranoid and narcissistic features.  Even though he is rational, given his twisted goals, normal people do not do what he does.

 Yes It appears that France has avoided the extremists for the moment, and the UK has swung dramatically to Labour, which will no doubt work to fix the underfunding of the National Health Service among other things, but their ability to maintain military spending including for Ukraine remains to be seen. Their economy is weaker after Brexit than it would have been in the EU.

Here in the US we have a terrible choice for President between - well, it’s pretty obvious what their faults and dangers are. So I’ll only say that the candidates are clearly unfit for office for mostly very different reasons.

Our bizarre Electoral College system means that only a handful of “swing states” will determine the outcome, not the national vote. Swings of only relatively few votes therefore matter greatly and give a juicy opportunity for passions, and for Russian and other propaganda and disinformation.

The Electoral College was devised in part to prevent temporary public passions from electing a demagogue. Ironically today it may make that outcome more likely.

[KD8ZM-Brady]

Both candidates are demagogues. But both will likely continue military aid to Ukraine.

[US7IGN]

I agree that Putin doesn’t show the chaotic traits of both psychopaths and sociopaths. And, by the way, I just learned that sociopathy is a term no longer used in psychology, so I will stop using it.

So I’ll say that Putin has some sort of antisocial personality disorder or disorders, with paranoid and narcissistic features.  Even though he is rational, given his twisted goals, normal people do not do what he does.

pootin's main weapon is fear. And more and more people in the West are becoming its victims.

The Guardian published an open letter which calls the Nato alliance should not invite Ukraine to become a member in fear of causing World War 3.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/08/nato-alliance-ukraine-member

I am sure that no specific decisions will be made regarding Ukraine at the NATO summit, and there are many obvious and hidden reasons for this.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being keenly watched by his Western allies as he meets russian President Vladimir pootin in Moscow on his first foreign trip since he returned to office for a third term in June. Mr Modi's two-day visit - his first to the Kremlin since 2019 - coincides with a Nato summit in Washington, where the 2022 invasion will be a major theme. India, a key global economy, has close ties with both russia and the US and its partners and officials in Delhi are playing down questions over the timing of Mr Modi's trip. They say the annual summit is part of a long-standing strategic partnership and its scheduling has nothing to do with the Nato summit. But a sour note has been struck with the US expressing concern. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller urged Mr Modi to emphasise Ukraine's territorial integrity during his talks in Moscow. Mr Modi told President pootin that India was ready to offer any assistance in establishing peace in Ukraine. russian state TV quoted him saying that war was "not a solution". He also said the death of children was painful and terrifying, a day after the deadly attack on the Kyiv children's hospital.
The Nato summit in Washington, which begins on Tuesday, is being held to mark the 75th anniversary of the Western defence grouping which was mainly formed as a bulwark against the then Soviet Union after World War Two.
Nato countries have been vehemently opposed to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, while India and Mr Modi have refrained from any explicit criticism of President pootin except calling for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict. As Western nations try to isolate Moscow by imposing sanctions, President pootin has been having summit-level meetings with leaders of key nations like China, India, Turkey and others.
India and russia share close defence and strategic relations from Cold War days and Moscow remains a key supplier of weapons. India, which maintains one of the largest militaries in the world, has long-standing border disputes with its neighbours Pakistan and China.
Over the years, russia has provided technical assistance to build several nuclear power plants in India.
Since the Ukraine war began, Delhi has also been buying billions of dollars of discounted oil from Moscow after Western nations imposed sanctions on russia to limit what it could sell or charge for the product.
Driven by a surge in the purchase of oil, bilateral trade between India and russia in the last few years has soared to $65bn (£50.76bn). India’s exports to russia stand at just $4bn.
Indian officials say a key priority for Mr Modi will be to address this trade imbalance and encourage russian investment in India as well as moving some defence production to India.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd91pe5r9go

[US7IGN]

All social networks are filled with photos and videos of the children's hospital, although fortunately all the children are alive and even most of the unique equipment was not damaged. Germany has already announced its readiness to accept patients for treatment in its hospitals, but no one has offered the same to children from Gaza.

Two children died in a nearby house destroyed by another missile, but almost no one mentions this. It didn't look as bright as a hospital and they were dug up much later. In total, 33 people died in Kyiv the day before yesterday, of which five were children.

Hundreds of millions have already been collected for the hospital, although the authorities have stated that it will be restored at the expense of the state, but no one is collecting millions for all the others.

The fact that all the missiles that flew into that area (at least 6) hit the military plant and the courtyard of the hospital complex speaks about the state of the air defense.

Ukrainians file and win thousands of lawsuits to compensate by russia for the damage caused by the armed attack, but it will be almost impossible to fulfill them. Assets located on the territory of Ukraine are seized by the state, and it is also very difficult to foreclose on its foreign assets. You should not rely on voluntary repayment at all. https://kp.ua/ua/politics/a693037-ukrajintsi-vihrajut-u-rosiji-miljoni-a-chi-zmozhut-voni-jikh-otrimati

On the other hand, if you are close to the government, you can count on participation in state programs.

First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy Yuliya Svyridenko signed the Financial Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, which regulates the receipt of grant aid under the Ukraine Facility in the amount of €5.27 billion over the next four years. In total, in 2024, Ukraine expects to receive 16 billion euros of support, of which 3 billion euros will be grant aid. https://recovery.win/2024/07/09/uryad-finalizuvav-domovlenist-mizh-ukrayinoyu-ta-yes-v-mezhah-ukraine-facility-finansovu-ugodu-shhodo-e527-mlrd-grantovoyi-dopomogy-pidpysano

Also this year, 25 million dollars have been earmarked for the development of industrial parks in the state budget, said Vitaly Kindrativ, Deputy Minister of Economy. https://24tv.ua/business/ukrayini-zyavilisya-novi-industrialni-parki_n2592893

[KD8ZM-Brady]

Driven by a surge in the purchase of oil, bilateral trade between India and russia in the last few years has soared to $65bn (£50.76bn). India’s exports to russia stand at just $4bn.
Indian officials say a key priority for Mr Modi will be to address this trade imbalance and encourage russian investment in India as well as moving some defence production to India.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpd91pe5r9go

If the West were truly interested in isolating Putin, we would be making India and China choose between doing business with Putin, or doing business with the West (NATO countries). But because putting India and China in this position would be bad for business, we don't do it.
I consider both political parties in the US to be only grudgingly supportive of Ukraine, up until the point where it actually costs us some economic pain.
Actions speak louder than words.

[US7IGN]

I consider both political parties in the US to be only grudgingly supportive of Ukraine, up until the point where it actually costs us some economic pain.
Actions speak louder than words.

“It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal.”
― Henry Kissinger

[KD8ZM-Brady]

“It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal.”
― Henry Kissinger
[/quote]

Indeed fatal, but only if a country imagines America to be such a friend, that they can become dependent on them.  Unfortunately, Europe has neglected its own defense for so long and depended on the Americans, that they have become vulnerable. And no one seems to have noticed that America is $35 trillion in debt and out of money (Washington DC has yet to realize this, as well, but it will become obvious to them at some point soon). Big changes will need to be made, in the near future.

[US7IGN]

It is probably true that after receiving help, many do not make sufficient efforts after the crisis has passed to develop and strengthen themselves independently. Any union will be strong if all its participants are equal. But...

"We do not want escalation" - this is the White House's comment on the proposal to shoot down russian missiles from Polish territory. "It would not be good for either Ukrainians or Poles," White House spokesman for national security John Kirby told Polish Radio.
https://x.com/Marekwalkuski/status/1810802581695775128

There is the "Chicken Kiev" in the menu of a Useless Nations luncheon hosted by russia the day after russian forces bombed a children's hospital in Kyiv.

These are really sick people. Yesterday, during another long power outage, I was listening to the radio and tuned in to some russian radio station where they accused the Ukrainian authorities of using the tragedy after the July 8 rocket attack to ask the West for more weapons. At the same time, they consider war in general and a missile attack in particular to be completely normal.

However, why am I still surprised by this, if all this happened in Syria, where they bombed cities and hospitals in the same way and carried out repeated strikes while clearing the rubble of hospitals, which greatly increased the number of civilian victims.

My wife is having a hard time reading the news that two children died in a destroyed residential building, and their mother is in serious condition in the hospital. She, like any mother, cannot imagine how it is possible to survive the death of her own children.

I read a big analysis about bilateral agreements concluded between Ukraine and other countries in the field of security and support. Unfortunately, most agreements contain mainly declarations and statements, but are not binding. In the event of political changes, they will not oblige the new leaders of the signatory countries to anything. Therefore, NATO remains the only real opportunity to ensure security, but still inaccessible.

However, the security of our country depends not only on allies. The implementation of the agreements requires serious diplomatic, managerial and personnel efforts on the part of Ukraine itself. Therefore, how effective they will be depends on our leadership.
https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-world/3881763-naviso-ukraini-bezpekovi-ugodi-ta-ci-zmozut-voni-perelamati-hid-vijni.html

Since the end of March, the russian federation has carried out many large-scale missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities - on almost all generating maneuvering capacities of TPPs and HPPs, as well as on many substations. These attacks resulted in the loss of approximately 9 GW of generation and, as a result, power shortages, which were dealt with through blackouts and imports from neighboring countries.
Last autumn, the government approved the "Regulations on the peculiarities of the import of electricity in the conditions of martial law in Ukraine", according to which enterprises are guaranteed the stability of energy supplies, if the volume of electricity imports in the structure of consumption is at least 30% from May to September and 50% from October to April. However, at the end of May of this year, the Cabinet of Ministers overruled the conditions and set the minimum import quota at the level of at least 80%.
Ukrainian industry will lose the last factors of competitiveness against the background of the rules of the need to import 80% of electricity to guarantee uninterrupted work.
https://gmk.center/ua/posts/import-dorohoi-elektroenerhii-pryzvede-do-zupynky-ukrainskoi-promyslovosti/

[US7IGN]

But there is also good news. The heat and temperature changes do not affect me as much as I feared, and perhaps I have already gotten used to the fact that I will never be as energetic and strong as before.

The old car battery that Sergiy UT3UFD gave me provides at least 2 hours of operation for a "large" Icom IC-756pro3 radio at a power of 70W.

Kate officially entered the lyceum today and her score is more than 20 points higher than required for admission. Unfortunately, her best friend, who applied to the same lyceum, lacked only 1.5 points for this. There is hope that one of the applicants will refuse and there will be a place for her there.

Eric SM1TDE posted information about my book on the Sweden's radio amateurs website https://www.ssa.se/hf/war-diaries-av-us7ign/ and suggested a Zoom meeting with their local club SK1BL. This is a great honor for me and gives me a lot of encouragement.

Today there were two more air raids, which were without consequences in Kyiv, and power outages, which have become common. With God's help we will live another day.

[US7IGN]

The air temperature today is +37C and there are few people on the street. I have to rack my brains about what food to buy so that it doesn’t spoil without a refrigerator. Cookies with tea work well. I went to the post office where a lonely red-haired girl was sitting. There was a generator rattling outside, which even ran the air conditioner. I joked that you can come to them to cool off. Power outages are growing and today reached continuous six hours. Energy experts say that soon electricity will be available for only four hours a day.


Today, Valerii Zaluzhny has started his role as the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom. If the ambassador’s journey from Ukraine to the UK took two months, is it any wonder that the F-16s take so long to fly to Ukraine? I hope this mission in 2024 will not end in the same failure as the counter-offensive in 2023.

[KD8ZM-Brady]

perhaps I have already gotten used to the fact that I will never be as energetic and strong as before.

It happens to everyone if they live long enough, although the age it happens can vary quite a bit from person to person. As you say, we depend on God to get us through each day, and indeed, through life in its totality. My awareness of this fact increases with age.

Congratulations on Kate's achievement. Perhaps her friend will catch a break and get in, too. I have prayed that she does.