Ukraine updates in English

[US7IGN]

russian terrorists Satanists confirmed my expectations and attacked Ukraine on Christmas with many drones and missiles. Despite the fact that the air raid alarm lasted almost all night, I surprisingly slept peacefully and did not hear anything. This time the attack was aimed at the energy sector and when I woke up in the morning, there was no electricity. Then it was turned on, but according to the new schedules, it will soon be turned off again and turned on only at night. However, even the garlands on the New Year's tree are now on batteries.

Kharkiv was also badly damaged. There is a lot of destruction and casualties. Oleg Sinegubov, head of Kharkiv's regional administration, reports that 500,000 people in the Kharkiv area are without electricity. Also, 520,000 people are without heating and water.

US President-elect Donald Trump wants to ensure a lasting and just peace in Ukraine. He will not agree to a Minsk-like agreement. US Special Representative for Ukraine and russia Keith Kellogg said this on Fox Business.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/video/6366369761112

Ukraine is demanding that the EU stop providing aid to refugees and consular services to men of military age. The authorities expect this to force citizens to return home. This is reported by El Pais. https://elpais.com/internacional/2024-12-24/ucrania-busca-el-retorno-de-hasta-10-millones-de-refugiados-y-emigrantes-huidos-por-la-guerra-de-rusia.html?event=go&event_log=go&prod=SUSDIGCRART&o=cerrsus

"Kyiv is calling for EU member states to stop providing aid to refugees as a means of pressure, and for men of military age to not have access to consular services. At the same time, it seeks not to lose touch with those who have left, through assistance through legislative reforms," ​​the publication indicates. According to the UN, about 6.7 million Ukrainians are abroad, and taking into account economic migrants - up to 10 million.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy has denied certain allegations published in an El Pais article regarding the return of Ukrainian citizens from the European Union.

“Some of the allegations in this article are untrue,” Tykhy said. According to him, the Ukrainian government has not requested a reduction in aid for refugees and guarantees access to consular services for men of military age. https://sud.ua/uk/news/ukraine/319026-ukraina-ne-trebovala-ot-es-sokrascheniya-pomoschi-bezhentsam-zayavlenie-mid

Meanwhile, according to the survey results, 27% of individual entrepreneurs plan to close their business in the near future. More than half of them, namely 62%, decided to close their business due to a sharp increase in the tax burden. The remaining 19% of respondents explain their decision by problems in running a business. Since the signing of the law on the introduction of a military levy for small and medium-sized businesses, there are two closed for every new entrepreneur. https://sud.ua/uk/news/ukraine/319005-bolee-chetverti-fopov-prekraschayut-biznes-iz-za-povysheniya-nalogov-rezultaty-oprosa

Due to the increase in taxes, salaries have also actually decreased. It seems to me that the next consequence of such state policy will be even greater impoverishment of the population and a shortage of goods.

The Cabinet of Ministers has submitted to the parliament a bill proposing to strengthen responsibility for violating the requirements of a special legal regime - martial law, namely - citizens' violation of the curfew. https://sprotyv.info/obshchestvo/uryad-proponu%d1%94-posiliti-vidpovidalnist-za-porushennya-komendantsko%d1%97-godini-pro-shho-jdetsya/

No one can answer the question of what purpose is served by restricting the movement of citizens in areas remote from the front line. Apparently, only the lack of money prevents the state from putting an electronic bracelet on every slave, excuse me - citizen, to track their movements. But the shepherds invented a more economical option a long time ago - a bell that can be hung around the neck or inserted into the nose so that citizens during the curfew could not leave their stables, I apologize again - homes unnoticed.

OSINT resource DeepState https://deepstatemap.live/en#6/49.4383200/32.0526800 reacted to rumors about its closure and mobilization of its analysts into the infantry as a "punishment" for disclosing information about the situation on the front that was unpleasant for Commander-in-Chief Syrsky. The DeepState team thanked the Ukrainians for their support and assured that they would continue working "for victory" and "are not going to give up."

"Lies will destroy us all," DeepState concluded. https://tsn.ua/ukrayina/ymovirne-zakrittya-deepstate-scho-kazhut-u-samomu-kanali-2729715.html

Let me remind you that this online map allows you to see almost all the actual changes in the front line online. This has always greatly irritated the authorities, who tend to hide such information. Perhaps this is why stories like the replacement of green traffic lights with emerald ones appear from time to time. It is better for the population to look at the traffic lights, and not at the situation on the front.

The latest reshuffle of diplomats deserves a separate discussion, but judging by everything, the main criterion for appointing diplomats is not professionalism but loyalty. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cd9xkv1l91wo

[KD8ZM-Brady]

I had seen the report about the Christmas Day attacks by the Satanically-inspired Ruskies. Not a shred of humanity there.
I don't know what Trump will do with regard to Ukraine, but I am pretty certain he isn't just going to keep Ukraine in a permanent state of genocide while waiting for a miracle to occur, which was clearly Biden's approach (or the approach of whoever is actually making decisions for him). I'm very interested to see what he does. It likely won't be anything that anyone is speculating about, at present.
I'm sorry that Christmas was ruined once again by the Satanists.

[US7IGN]

Today is Saturday and the alarm is off, but out of habit I wake up at the same time. From the point of view of the regime this is good and I think that I owe my relatively good health to this among other things. I also do not miss online meetings with Colin and the others, not only on Saturdays, but also on some other days. This not only allows me to maintain and gradually improve my English, but is also a great way to spend time in an interesting company.

Today is a quiet day, and I worked a little this morning. I still need to write a report and send it to the boss. I'll do it tomorrow. Yesterday the electricity was turned off for a short time, and today it is not, but you never know when it will be turned off again and for how long.

We have a week of vacation since Monday, but many are planning to do things they never got around to before. Yesterday we had a corporate party, but I don't like such things and left quickly. I hope the others felt freer and had a good rest then. Overall, 5 months have passed unnoticed, but I'm not satisfied with the fact that I'm just doing my current job well. I wanted to show a good result, but due to circumstances beyond our control, we couldn't achieve anything outstanding this year. However, given the circumstances, not only did we not worsen our indicators, but we started working in a new direction and are expanding. Last week we got two new employees. They are also very young and inexperienced, but so far they are eager to learn and work. I will draw conclusions later, but for now I'm making plans for next year. This is very optimistic, given the situation in the country and the world, but I believe in what Castaneda called "The Power of Intention."

More than a week ago, Ukraine experienced an unprecedented cyberattack, the consequences of which will be felt for a very long time.

Dozens of state registers of Ukraine have been blocked. It is impossible to conclude a single agreement on the purchase/sale of real estate, register a business, change the owners of companies and perform many other notarial actions.

No one knows the timing of the restoration, but many point to the extreme vulnerability of electronic registers and the authorities' attempts to transfer everything to an electronic format. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/clyvj2dkv3lo

During russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, at least 3.5 million Ukrainians lost their homes, said Dmytro Lubinets, a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. https://hromadske.radio/news/2024/12/28/za-chas-povnomasshtabnoi-viyny-3-5-milyona-ukraintsiv-vtratyly-zhytlo-ofis-ombudsmena

The National Bank sold $1.6 billion in a week to support the hryvnia. This is a record since the start of the full-scale war. https://finance.liga.net/ua/ekonomika/novosti/nbu-vstanovyv-novyy-rekord-iz-prodazhu-valiuty-dlia-pidtrymky-hryvni

Ukraine's state and state-guaranteed debt as of November 30, 2024 increased and amounted to UAH 6,644.68 billion, or USD 159.74 billion. During November, state debt increased by UAH 231.12 billion, or USD 4.37 billion, according to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine. https://flot2017.com/derzhavnyj-borh-ukrainy-za-lystopad-zris-u-minfini-nazvaly-sumu/

Ukraine is under mounting pressure from Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico and a group of central European companies to keep gas moving from its eastern border with russia into the European Union following the expiration of a transit agreement on Dec. 31.

Almost three years after the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, Budapest and Bratislava still rely on cheap gas from Gazprom PJSC, undermining the EU push to cut reliance on russian energy.

With three days to go before the russia-Ukraine agreement runs out, rhetoric on all sides has sharpened. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this week accused Fico of striking “shadow agreements” with russian President vladimir pooteen. The Slovak leader on Friday threatened to halt power supplies to his eastern neighbor, a step Ukraine criticized. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-28/ukraine-russia-gas-transit-deal-faces-critical-moment-of-truth?srnd=homepage-europe

This not only weakens the unity of Europe, but also creates a threat of physical destruction of the gas pipeline on the territory of Ukraine by russia. Then millions of Ukrainians could be left without heating.

The increase in electricity tariffs did not affect the financial results of Energoatom, said Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak. https://biz.nv.ua/ukr/markets/deputat-rozpoviv-yak-groshi-vid-pidvishchennya-tarifiv-na-elektroenergiyu-z-jili-mishi-50477334.html

The Cabinet of Ministers allowed all clergy to be booked, and classified religious organizations as critically important.

Thus, clergymen were equated with the ultimate beneficial owners of critical enterprises, members of supervisory boards and employees of foreign diplomatic institutions, etc.

The Cabinet of Ministers also made changes, according to which legal entities that are critical for the functioning of the economy and ensuring the livelihood of the population will now include religious organizations.

Thus, they were equated with representative offices of donor institutions and implementers of international technical assistance projects.
https://sud.ua/uk/news/publication/319287-kabmin-razreshil-bronirovat-vsekh-svyaschennosluzhiteley-a-religioznye-organizatsii-otnes-k-kriticheski-vazhnym

As of now, according to sources of "Ukrainian Truth" in law enforcement agencies, 13 Rolls-Royce Spectres have already been registered in Ukraine. Some of these cars are already compromising our state on the streets of Monaco. Spectre is the first electric car from Rolls-Royce worth over half a million euros, which began production in 2023. https://www.pravda.com.ua/articles/2024/12/27/7490882/

After a surprise offensive earlier this year, Ukraine’s forces have lost about half the territory seized in russia’s Kursk region and may lose the rest in a matter of months, according to US officials, potentially depriving Kyiv of important leverage for ceasefire talks with russia.

Ukraine’s military is already grappling with a lack of manpower and uncertainty about the future flow of supplies from the US and other allies, even as it struggles to fend off russian advances in its east. In Kursk, the region in western russia where Ukrainian forces seized a swath of land, Ukrainian troops are also facing off against about 12,000 North Korean troops reinforcing the russians. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-27/russia-ukraine-war-moscow-could-soon-retake-all-of-kursk-region

Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicate that russian leader vladimir pooteen has rejected a proposal being developed by the team of newly elected US President Donald Trump regarding a possible peace plan. https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-26-2024

russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that russia will not be satisfied with a ceasefire in Ukraine, it needs "legally binding agreements and the elimination of the causes of the conflict," russian media wrote on December 25. https://www.ostro.org/news/rosiyu-ne-vlashtuye-peremyr-ya-z-ukrayinoyu-lavrov-i504994

[US7IGN]

Today was another quiet night with no air raid sirens or power outages, and this morning I spent my morning writing reports and analyzing cases.

I haven't had much time for radio lately, but today I turned it on 28MHz and I didn't regret it! Besides the wonderful QSO with my English friends Colin G3ZAF, Ian G3WXG and Steve M0USC, I had a QSO with Andy M0WTU, who only had a vertical on his car. Interestingly, Andy used to live in Ukraine before he moved to London. I also got through to DX - N1TYH and N5G.

Apparently the Christmas lights add RF noise, so I can only imagine how many other interesting stations I couldn't hear because of it.

Ukraine's accession to NATO is still on the agenda, but it is not a priority aspiration, said Ukraine's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Andriy Melnyk in an interview with Berliner Morgenpost. https://www.morgenpost.de/politik/article407973143/melnyk-diese-kriegsgefahr-muss-man-in-berlin-ernst-nehmen.html

I got the impression that the previous representative of Ukraine to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, irritated not only the russians there, which is why he was returned to Kyiv. I understand that this is part of big politics, but fewer and fewer people who defended the interests of Ukraine retain their positions.

[US7IGN]

I can't believe that another year has passed. A year of hard life, but which for the first time in a long time became a little better for me than the previous one. A year that gave me hope. Probably because I no longer connect my fate with the fate of this country. However, this is not the country it was just a few years ago. While some people think that the war will last for a long time, I feel that everything will change much sooner. The long-standing wars in Azerbaijan and Syria were over in almost a week. But that will be later, and now I don't think even about my job.

Yesterday Maryna arrived safely in Kyiv and I consider it a great success that we can celebrate the New Year together. This is not available to all separated families, and it is completely impossible for those who did not live to see that day. We have a lot of food and the only thing I want is to celebrate the next year together with the whole family.

We were woken up by explosions from another drone attack. This time, the drones even reached the government quarter, where they damaged a residential building and the building of the National Bank of Ukraine. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c4glyng954wo

The electricity was not turned off today, but the energy situation is not getting any better. On the contrary, data on trading in the electricity market was closed. https://mind.ua/news/20283343-operator-rinku-zasekretiv-dani-pro-torgi-elektroenergieyu

There is less and less information, and more and more lies, and it is becoming more and more difficult to understand what is happening in the country.

One of the main events of the past year was the end of the transit of russian gas through the gas pipeline on the territory of Ukraine. russian gas has stopped flowing to EU states via Ukraine after a five-year deal expired, marking the end of a decades-long arrangement. The European Commission said the EU had prepared for the change and most states could cope. Moldova, which is not in the EU, is already suffering shortages. russia can still send gas to Hungary, Turkey and Serbia through the TurkStream pipeline across the Black Sea. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4glyjx9m71o

In unrecognized Transnistria, gas is being turned off en masse: homes and boiler rooms are left without heat. https://mind.ua/news/20283378-u-neviznanomu-pridnistrov-yi-masovo-vidklyuchayut-gaz-bez-tepla-zalishayutsya-budinki-j-kotelni

Ukraine also announced a fourfold increase in the cost of transporting gas within the country, due to the fact that most of these costs were covered by gas transit. https://ua.news/ua/ukraine/z-1-sichnya-v-ukrayini-v-4-razy-zdorozhchaye-transportuvannya-gazu

Ukraine is in the top 10 in terms of deposits of important minerals, mostly for export. Among them: titanium ores, kaolin, iron ore and graphite, but the main deposits are in the occupied territories. “In my opinion and that of geological experts, the war in Ukraine is being waged precisely because of these resources,” said Ksenia Orynchak, executive director of the National Association of Mining Industries of Ukraine (NAMUI), during a speech at the Mind Invest Summit 2024. In the occupied territories of Ukraine, among the minerals there is coal worth approximately $7 trillion and other minerals, estimated at approximately $12–13 trillion.
https://mind.ua/video/20278765-vijna-v-ukrayini-vedetsya-cherez-pokladi-vazhlivih-mineraliv-ochilnicya-nadpu

[KD8ZM-Brady]

I think it is highly credible that Ukraine is being sought for its minerals. Russia, having permanently failed at building anything requiring human incentive, creativity, or intelligence, is forced to make its role in the world, "the world's provider of raw materials." In particular they may be forced eventually into an even narrower role, "the provider of raw materials to the world's tyrant regimes," by their uncivilized behavior.
Glad the two of you are together again. I understand why you are slowly dissociating yourself from the Ukrainian identity, as the identity of Ukraine is degraded by its leaders. No person of ideals would blame anyone for leaving such leadership.
I pray that 2025 will bring you only good things! 

[US7IGN]

I think it is highly credible that Ukraine is being sought for its minerals. Russia, having permanently failed at building anything requiring human incentive, creativity, or intelligence, is forced to make its role in the world, "the world's provider of raw materials." In particular they may be forced eventually into an even narrower role, "the provider of raw materials to the world's tyrant regimes," by their uncivilized behavior.

Thank you Braden!

Praying for peace and prosperity! I hope next year will be better than the previous one.

russia does not need those minerals, they destroy even those mines and metallurgical plants that used to work. They do not need competitors for those mines and plants that already exist in russia, and it is important for them that Ukraine and Europe cannot use these mineral resources, but are forced to buy them somewhere else.

As for identity, I should probably clarify. I remain Ukrainian, but I am moving away from those who are becoming like russians. As for the regime - the state is associated with it. The rest of the world perceives your country in the person of the regime that seized and holds power in it. Therefore, we must always clarify this when, for example, talking about Nazi Germany, fascist Italy, Soviet russia or Ukraine during the presidency of Zelensky. Particularly sarcastic is the indignation of those who voted for Jews in the last elections about the fact that a large menorah has been installed on the main square of Christian Ukraine. This is as absurd as the indignation of Jews who first supported and voted for the Nazis in Germany, and then were surprised when they were burned in the ovens of concentration camps. However, I am glad that there are still no religious strife in Ukraine.

[N0TZU]

Wlad and Gene, best wishes that 2025 will be much better for and your families, and above all, bring peace for you and your country!

Braden, best wishes to and yours as well! 

I liked your description of Russia and its future. And even in extracting resources they will continue to rely on Western technology, either purchased or stolen, just as they have for centuries in one way or another. Nobody will ever mistake Russia for a vibrant, innovative country.

[US7IGN]

Wlad and Gene, best wishes that 2025 will be much better for and your families, and above all, bring peace for you and your country!

Thank you Bob!

It snowed during the night and immediately melted. At 6 and 7 a.m., loud explosions were heard in the distance, but there was suspiciously no information about the consequences. The official version about only drones and their successful shooting down is hard to believe...

[bluesky]

Stop your harrassment of Yews

[bluesky]

Hi,
Have you also experienced that there are much fewer Russian radio amateurs on CW now?

[ke6sls]

Greetings and happy new year all,

It was a very wet, windy, and cool new year, but I was too busy to notice much as I was enjoying the ISS SSTV event that ended just today.  Many of the images were much better than the last ISS event.  My best images come when the ISS was far off onto the horizon with my high gain vertical.  I also used a lower gain vertical with my second radio and RPI3 which did a surprisingly good job of receiving good images when the ISS was directly over head.  It's fun to have more than one radio.

The last of the storms finished yesterday and the rain FINALLY stopped.  Cats played and all was good.  But stepping into the grass, you can hear the SQUISH SQUISH since the ground is so saturated.  We've now received 66cm of rain so far.  At least the temps are warm and no frost.

The last big wind storm caused my hex beam to park looking due south (180) .. shrug .. Yet I was able to work my friend Ken in Japan with 35w on 15m, and he was using 200w on 9el beam   I hope I can get my friend over soon and see if we can lower the hex and un-wrap all the coax off the mast and reset it again.  I bought new hardened stainless steal bolts which wait atop my table for this day to arrive. . .

I have retreated from our national news, especially politics.  I just don't have the stomach for it now.  I use the AP news feed and read what I feel is important, skipping the rest of the muck.

I keep an ear out about happenings in Ukraine, but wonder how worthy the information is.  So I especially appreciate your on going reports Wlad.

Glad your YL is back.  Hope you guys get all the medical stuff done.  Also hope you have some quiet evenings together to just enjoy each others company and love.

Cats are well.  Friday, the storms had stopped for a while and the sun had started peeking through.  Obi and Fritz were outside somewhere.  I used the bathroom and while I was in there, I heard my tower start clanking.  When I looked out the window, I could see the wind had quickly come up and all the trees were whipping about, then the rain just poured like fire hoses!  I came to the front room to look out the big window just in time for Obi to run under the covered front porch.  He looked up at me with big eyes and I think he wanted to know WHY? WHY!?  WHEN WILL THIS STOP???  He was soaked to the bone   Bless his little spirit.  He ran in and I toweled him off and gave him a big hug and made it all better again.

My little cousin from Idaho (very near Canada boarder) made her yearly voyage to my brother's home in Arizona.  There is no snow and ice covered roads in Arizona (just north of Mexico boarder) but lots of sunshine.  She loves it.  My brother and his wife love hosting her.  She is lucky she can work from anywhere with her job.

I have all the stuff ready for my radio shack computer replacement except the ambition to untangle the web of wires, cables, and coax to finish the project.  It's like watching an elderly person trying to push themselves up out of a chair -- takes a few tries before the ass finally departs the cushion!

Wishing you all the very best in 25

73
Jaye

[US7IGN]

The first week of the new year was no different from the last week of the previous one. The same missile and drone attacks and the same weather. At least in Kyiv the electricity was not turned off all this time. The long weekend gave the opportunity to spend more time with Maryna and even meet some old friends. You pay more and more attention to age, especially when everyone simultaneously takes out and puts on glasses or someone grows a beard, showing off gray hair. Most of the conversations are about children.

The National Bank of Ukraine sold $5.284 billion on the interbank foreign exchange market in December 2024. This is the maximum monthly volume in history. In total, in 2024, the NBU sold $34.822 billion on the interbank market, which is $6.212 billion more than in 2023. Read more here: https://kontrakty.ua/article/255133

Zelensky started the year with a long interview in which he used profanity liberally and accused the United States of failing to provide aid to Ukraine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XEpoCMIADI

The United States was concerned about the possibility of russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told the Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/25798b9f-1ad9-4f7f-ab9e-d6f36bbe3edf

As the publication recalls, US President Joe Biden has repeatedly cited the risk of escalation as a reason not to provide certain types of weapons that Ukraine requested. At the same time, Blinken said, nuclear weapons were one of the issues on which China probably helped the US, despite Beijing's support for russia.

Blinken also rejects the suggestion that the Biden administration was slow to provide the weapons. He argues that the White House had to take into account a number of factors, such as whether Ukraine could operate and maintain the systems.

The commander of the 3rd separate assault brigade, Andriy Biletsky, commented on the actions of the mobilization center employees in an interview. https://enovosty.com/uk/news-ukr/news_society-ukr/full/vijskovi-proti-tck-do-yakix-kardinalnix-zmin-privela-silova-mobilizaciya. He noted that it is better for military personnel in rear cities to use civilian clothes, because civilians react unfavorably to the military.

The State Bureau of Investigation has opened a criminal case into the circumstances of the formation of the 155th Anna Kyivska Mechanized Brigade, which is currently stationed near Pokrovsk, and previously trained in France.

This was reported by journalist Yuriy Butusov. He noted that he conducted a long investigation to find out the reasons why the brigade had a catastrophic situation, which led to significant losses among personnel and equipment and mass desertion (unauthorized abandonment of the unit).

Before the brigade fired the first shot, 1,700 soldiers left it voluntarily. Investigators of the State Bureau of Investigation were tasked with finding the culprits, and the journalist conducted an investigation, obtained a significant amount of testimony and materials to show the public what the formation of new brigades of the 140s, 150s, and even 160s from scratch without command personnel, technical specialists, weapons, and drones leads to. This is indeed a crime, but a crime not of soldiers and officers - but of the leaders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Headquarters, the Ministry of Defense, and the General Staff, who continue to waste lives and state funds on new projects, instead of strengthening experienced and combat-ready brigades. The journalist believes that they are trying to shirk responsibility by shifting it from the hands of the State Bureau of Investigation to the officers in a hopeless situation who have to be responsible for a political project poorly organized by the top leadership. Source: https://censor.net/ua/r3528007

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2025/01/03/as-ukraines-new-leopard-2-brigade-disintegrates-the-russians-advance-on-pokrovsk/

[US7IGN]

Stop your harrassment of Yews

What do you mean?

[US7IGN]

Hi,
Have you also experienced that there are much fewer Russian radio amateurs on CW now?

Since 2022, when I was deprived of freedom of movement and never left Kyiv, I used the radio only at home, where I have an antenna for only 20-15-10 meters. Since it is difficult to describe my feeling of disgust for russian terrorists, I turned on the radio only after lunch so as not to hear them. Recently, when I started working, I have no time for the radio at all.