Ukraine updates in English

[US7IGN]

Another air alert this morning ended with ballistic missiles hitting Sumy. At least 34 people have been killed and 117 people are injured, including 15 children. Unless the missile was successfully "spoofed", or there was a failure in the guidance system, what the weapon struck is highly likely to have been its intended target. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cd02zgrd3nnt

Among the millions of photos and videos of civilian victims of the strike in Sumy shared in the media and social networks, the post of People's Deputy Mariana Bezuglaya, who stated that the russians carried out the ballistic strike on April 13 due to a line-up for awarding the military, went almost unnoticed. She also reminded that no one has been punished for previous cases. For example, after the tragedy with the awarding in the 128th brigade, no one has yet been charged with suspicion. https://censor.net/ua/n3546547

Unfortunately, she has always been right about such things in the past. I think we'll find out the truth pretty quickly in this case.

European leaders strongly condemned the strike, but it is unlikely to change anything.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cd02zgrd3nnt?post=asset%3A9eb7cf0e-12ee-4152-84cc-221630125304#post

[US7IGN]

Today is a beautiful and sad day at the same time. Today my son celebrates his 20th birthday, but for the third year in a row we can’t do it together.

But we continue our fight against everyone and everything. When I talk to my family, friends, and colleagues, I deal with strong people, but from time to time I see ordinary people who are defenseless against the emotional swings that reality throws at them.

Yesterday when I was getting my hair cut, a hairdresser with tears in her eyes told me what impression she had on the footage of the aftermath of the missile attack on Sumy. Sometimes it seems to me that I am no longer capable of such emotions and I can’t imagine how I can live with such sensitivity to everything.

Maybe because over the years of working as a lawyer, I have become accustomed to not taking other people’s problems to heart. This prevents me from analyzing the situation dispassionately and drawing the right conclusions.

And I have doubts that the russians spent two ballistic missiles on a strike on civilians. They are scoundrels, but rational. Perhaps civilians became collateral victims.

On April 13, after the russian strike on Sumy, Konotop Mayor Artem Semenikhin accused the head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, Volodymyr Artyukh, of organizing a military gathering for an award ceremony in the city center. The head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, Volodymyr Artyukh, responded that he was not the initiator of the military award ceremony that took place in Sumy on April 13 during the russian ballistic missile attack, and that he was only invited there.
https://suspilne.media/sumy/994659-moei-iniciativi-ne-bulo-golova-sumskoi-ova-pro-zvinuvacenna-sodo-organizacii-nagorodzenna-vijskovih/?utm_source=copylink&utm_medium=ps&fbclid=IwY2xjawJqFCJleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHlu0cNE56EbTQC9EltZHsDSaiECWJJ0FvRKhekr9qpFx9AGRSD3DmcZuqIKz_aem_3zR6bX8KOeiYMbgzD-xE1w

The Berdychiv District Military Administration also reported that the former deputy brigade commander of the 26th artillery brigade, the commander of the military unit, Yuriy Yula, was killed in yesterday's strike on Sumy, but later deleted this information.
https://www.unian.ua/society/u-sumah-pri-udari-rosiyan-zaginuv-polkovnik-zsu-yuriy-yula-12976434.html

The russian Ministry of Defense has released its version of the strike on Sumy. They allegedly struck a meeting of the command staff of the Ukrainian operational-tactical group "North", as a result of which 60 soldiers died, but this information cannot be verified.
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/ckgxd8kl6vvo

Unfortunately, missile strikes on Sumy continue every day.

Everyone hates the russians so much for ballistic missile strikes on peaceful cities, but the fact that the authorities passed a law and Ukrainians personally will pay a billion dollars for russian reactors, in fact financing strikes on peaceful cities with their own money, does not bother anyone. On March 13, Zelensky signed a law on the purchase of russian reactors in Bulgaria for the Khmelnytsky NPP. https://minfin.com.ua/ua/2025/03/14/147051698/

Some say that the start-up of these reactors is impossible without russians and their additional equipment. So think about why this is being done ...

For the fourth year in a row, the state budget of Ukraine has been running a huge deficit due to the war, which will reach about 20% of GDP in 2025. Almost all of this deficit will be compensated by international partners, who annually allocate tens of billions of dollars in grants and loans to Ukraine.

But in 2026, the situation will most likely change for the worse. According to IMF estimates, with budget needs at the level of $24 billion, Ukraine will be able to attract about $11 billion from partners in 2026. The Ukrainian authorities will seek the remaining funds to fill the state budget in the national economy, mobilizing all possible resources.

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, People's Deputy Danylo Hetmantsev said that the main source of income is planned to be an increase in tax pressure on small businesses and entrepreneurs. https://mind.ua/publications/20287681-golova-finansovo-podatkovogo-komitetu-vr-nam-potribno-vichaviti-vse-z-detinizaciyi-yaka-zdatna-prine

But as history shows, increasing taxes and impoverishing the population usually leads to revolutions and changes in power. Meanwhile, Trump once again reminded us of his attitude towards it.

US President Donald Trump criticized the CBS program "60 Minutes", which Volodymyr Zelensky gave an interview to. He stated this on his social network Truth Social. Trump threatened CBS News and Paramount with responsibility for the spread of "fake news". The US President said that the channel "got out of control" and must "pay a big price" for his persecution. https://sud.ua/uk/news/abroad/328306-donald-tramp-podverg-kritike-programmu-60-minutes-na-kanale-cbs-posle-vykhoda-intervyu-vladimira-zelenskogo

[US7IGN]

The US has told Group of Seven allies it won’t endorse a statement condemning russia’s deadliest attack on Ukraine this year because it wants to keep negotiations with Moscow on track. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-15/us-derails-g-7-condemnation-of-russian-missile-strike-on-ukraine?srnd=homepage-europe

Trump calls Sumy missile strike a ‘mistake.’ But russia’s war seems to be raging on exactly to putin’s plan. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/14/europe/ukraine-sumy-trump-russia-intl/index.html

Vladimir putin, Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky are responsible for the start of the russian-Ukrainian war, Donald Trump said during a meeting at the White House with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.

At the same time, Trump, responding to Zelensky's offer to sell Ukraine ten Patriot air defense systems, hinted that this is what Ukraine should have thought when it "started a war" against russia. These statements by Trump shocked many Ukrainians and sparked a wave of posts on social networks from experts and journalists criticizing the US president.

Trump's statements were made in the presence of journalists. One of them asked the US president to clarify what he meant when he called the russian missile strike on the city of Sumy a "mistake". Donald Trump explained that "it was a mistake to allow the war to start."

At the same time, Trump admitted that putin was primarily to blame.

"Let's say putin is number one. Biden, who had no idea what he's doing, number two. And Zelensky. And all I can do is try to stop it. I want to stop the murders. And I think we're doing a good job of that. I think you're going to have good proposals soon," Trump concluded.

Answering questions from the press, the US leader confirmed that he had set a "deadline" for russia to cease fire. Again, he did not give an exact date. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c1k4zgjwxpko

US special envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News that the Ukraine deal would cover "five territories," without specifying what exactly. "This peace deal covers the so-called five territories, but it's much broader. It includes security protocols, questions about NATO - will it be there or not, whether Article 5 of NATO is in effect. So there's a lot of detail." He gave no further details, but russia has consistently insisted that its seizure of parts of Ukraine since 2014, including Crimea, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Luhansk and Donetsk regions, must be recognized in the deal. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/ce843l3vp1no

It's very nice when Ukrainian territories are called so-called territories, as if they are nobody's territory.

The Director of the russian Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, stated that "provocateur countries" represented by Poland and the Baltic states must understand that they will be the first to suffer as a result of possible NATO aggression against the Union State of russia and Belarus. https://tass.ru/politika/23686375

russia’s use of one-way attack uninhabited aerial vehicles (OWA-UAVs) in Ukraine intensified during the latter months of 2024 and has shown little sign of slowing in 2025. Ukrainian Air Force figures show that since June 2024, there has been a month-on-month increase in OWA-UAV attacks, with 2,300 launched in November 2024 and 2,696 in January 2025. This growth has been enabled by russia’s ability to increase local production of a version of the Iranian Shahed 136 OWA-UAV. https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/military-balance/2025/04/russia-doubles-down-on-the-shahed/

Someone is making more shaheeds, and someone is mobilizing more. I see the number of sentences for evasion is growing, new prisons need to be built. Will Europe help with money for this?

It seems that the EU's plan is to support the war and Zelensky, promising a lot of money and weapons (but actually giving less than the necessary minimum for defense) on the condition that Ukrainians will die in the war, maybe they will even bring it to the "Paraguayan version" (but they will take the smart ones to themselves, this is capital) if the Ukrainians allow it. After that, with rthe wounded and desecrated territory, with millions of disabled people with PTSD and simply people with mental disorders and war trauma, they can "give in" to putin (russia) - let them fuck with it as much as they can, it won't strengthen russia either.

During this time, improve their defenses and renegotiate, on a new one, with the same putin about good neighborliness and trade. And since the American missile defense system will be out of Europe, the russian Federation will have fewer reasons not to agree.

And since the American missile defense system will be out of Europe, the russian Federation will have fewer reasons not to agree.

And yes ... Europe doesn't care whether Ukraine will be on the new map.

Trump Republicans want (they voice the plan out loud) to end the war and have an official colony, with a population that will work for the benefit of the US (and a little of their own, if they steal less).

Everyone knows what putin wants. The question of what the Ukrainians want is open ... they have different opinions and plans.

Bulgaria has refused to sell two russian reactors from the Belene nuclear power plant to the Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant. The country's Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov explained this decision by saying that Bulgaria needs to develop nuclear energy, especially given the rise in electricity prices in the world. https://btvnovinite.bg/bulgaria/liderat-na-bsp-reaktorite-za-aec-belne-njama-da-badat-prodavani.html

[KD8ZM-Brady]

"But we continue our fight against everyone and everything."
I'm afraid that statement seems very understandable and objectively true. Who wouldn't feel that way in the situation you're in, along with your countrymen?
I increasingly get the impression that no one knows how to end this war. Trump found out that dangling an economic carrot in front of Putin, wasn't going to work, because he wants Ukraine and won't settle for anything less. Yet the US can't give Ukraine the tools to escalate it without risking nuclear war, something that both Trump and Biden seemed to agree on - and being outside of the daily security briefings, I'm in no position to second-guess their assessment.
It seems like something big is going to need to happen to break the stalemate, although I don't know what that would be. Continuing to pray for a miracle of peace.

[US7IGN]

I appreciate what Ray Dalio did and wrote and am currently reading one of his books - Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail. In fact, Ukraine is only a small part of a large process of establishing a new world order that will change the entire world. Billionaire Ray Dalio says President Donald Trump’s tariff war has helped push America close to a recession — or perhaps even “something worse.” “Right now, we are at a decision-making point and very close to a recession,” the founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “And I’m worried about something worse than a recession if this isn’t handled well.” https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/14/business/ray-dalio-recession-trump-tariffs-intl/index.html

[KD8ZM-Brady]

Ray Dalio has been saying these things for years and of course he's right. The US has a huge spending and debt problem. No politician has a plan to address it, because in a democracy you can't address spending and get re-elected. I am less optimistic than Dalio because I am worried about something worse than a recession, whether current short-term policy decisions are handled correctly or not.

[N0TZU]

There’s certainly no way to end the war on terms even partly acceptable to Ukraine without full and unwavering American support of Ukraine and of NATO against Russia. This is extremely unlikely to happen under Trump.

[N0TZU]

Ray Dalio has been saying these things for years and of course he's right. The US has a huge spending and debt problem. No politician has a plan to address it, because in a democracy you can't address spending and get re-elected. I am less optimistic than Dalio because I am worried about something worse than a recession, whether current short-term policy decisions are handled correctly or not.

I agree entirely that the budget situation is unsustainable in the future - given current and projected revenue and spending. It’s also politically risky to address revenue, even if it’s nothing more than enforcement to collect legally owed taxes from cheaters.

I anticipate a recession because of the tariffs and their uncertainty, and because of other indicators.

Nobody ever escapes the laws of physics or economics.

[US7IGN]

Nobody ever escapes the laws of physics or economics.

The world has gone crazy because it already takes a Supreme Court decision to prove that a woman is a woman by virtue of biology. The UK Supreme Court has unanimously and unambiguously backed the argument that the definition of a woman in the Equality Act should be based on biological sex. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx4z2ln2j3o

A small victory for common sense, which you can't say about Ukraine.

The Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday, April 16, extended martial law and mobilization in Ukraine until August 9. Only one deputy from the "European Solidarity" Oleksiy Honcharenko voted against this. He is a very controversial figure, but he tried to draw attention to very important things. He explained that he considers it necessary to first praise the law on establishing clear terms of military service. The deputy believes that such a norm would allow the release from the front of fighters who have been fighting for four years, and in return would help mobilize new recruits who would join the Armed Forces of Ukraine, knowing the term of service.

"Don't tell me about patriotism. Patriotism is the preservation of the state. And clear terms of service are precisely the preservation of the state," Honcharenko noted.

Co-chair of the "EU" faction Iryna Gerashchenko added that "the authorities are beginning to abuse martial law."

"The authorities are starting to abuse martial law to strengthen the dictatorship, this is also true. And we are talking about it publicly," she emphasized.
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cpvrlrmzjmjo

Some soldiers say that as soon as the war is over, they will come and overthrow the government, which brought all this to pass. But they said the same thing 10 years ago during the Anti-Terrorist Operation, as the war was called then. That they would return and hang the corrupt. The reality turned out to be a little different. This time it will be the same. Especially since there is already a whole army of police and others who are trained to protect the regime. If those people with weapons in their hands allowed themselves and their people to be turned into slaves, then even more so they will not do anything without weapons. Plus, we must admit that the system works quite intelligently. It directs the indignation of the military against civilians. That is, it is not the corrupt authorities, not the incompetent military leadership, who are to blame, but the civilians, the same evaders, refugees. The idea with the evaders was brilliant. It allowed to conduct business on blood without the risks of resistance.

During the strike on the night of April 17 on the city of Dnipro, a child was killed, several parts of the city were on fire, educational buildings were damaged, and cars were burned. https://focus.ua/uk/voennye-novosti/702507-ataka-shahediv-na-dnipro-zrosla-kilkist-zagiblih-palali-gurtozhitki-ta-avto-dsns-foto?utm_source=ukrnet_news

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that new Russian strikes on the country’s territory are possible on Easter and beyond. https://www.unian.ua/society/zelenskiy-poperediv-pro-zagrozu-na-velikden-12980700.html

People with a good memory ask why in 2022 he did the opposite, calling people to celebrate and have barbecues, instead of evacuating from the border areas, knowing in detail about the russian plans to attack Ukraine.

Nevertheless, although not for everyone, life goes on, and Ukraine still continues to exist and resist.

The Ukrainian economy is showing signs of financial growth. Total corporate income has increased by a third, and profits have almost doubled, according to state statistics. Thus, the total profit before tax increased to 1.22 trillion hryvnias, which is almost 60% more than in 2023, when the profit was 776.4 billion hryvnias.

The net profit of the business amounted to 947.3 billion hryvnias. At the same time, the losses of enterprises reached 273.3 billion hryvnias - this is slightly more than a year earlier.

The share of loss-making companies in the structure remained noticeable - 22.1%, which is 0.9% more than in 2023.
https://24tv.ua/business/pributki-ukrayinskogo-biznesu-zrostayut-dohid-agrosektoru-promislovosti_n2799940

I have no way to verify these numbers and compare them in a comprehensive analysis, so I will simply congratulate the state and its statistics.

"Trump’s Ukraine ceasefire is slipping away. The American president increasingly looks like russia’s willing dupe" under such an eloquent title, the Economist article was published. https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/04/15/trumps-ukraine-ceasefire-is-slipping-away

Perhaps Trump's diplomacy consists precisely in negotiating with everyone at the same time.

Minister of Economy and First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko stated that Ukraine and the United States will soon formalize an agreement on economic partnership and the creation of an investment fund for the recovery of Ukraine. https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cy5r0wv4g95o

russia has asked the US to let it buy Boeing Co. aircraft using money from billions of dollars in frozen state assets once there’s a ceasefire in Ukraine, according to a person in Moscow familiar with the matter.

While the request isn’t a condition of agreeing to a truce, russia understands that frozen funds can’t be used to buy the jets without a ceasefire being in place, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing internal matters. A deal allowing the purchase of jets could form part of an easing of sanctions in the event there’s a halt to the fighting. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-16/russia-seeks-to-buy-boeing-jets-with-frozen-assets-after-ukraine-ceasefire

[N0TZU]

At least the UK Supreme Court put an end to one type of insanity.

Other forms of insanity are still around. Such as your point that only one member of the Verkovna Rada has the sense and courage to object to the military service time and conscription situation. Then there is the insanity of what is claimed to be peace negotiations.

Finally the insanity of the world-wide tariff disruptions to trade and commerce pursued by the administration of my own country, which added 10% to the cost of goods imported from Ukraine to the US, though most in Europe were hit with 20%, some more. Then there are the astronomical tariffs on China and similar retaliatory measures toward the US that will greatly raise the cost of many things, especially rare earth minerals which may be in extremely short supply.

Well. That is now. Nobody knows what they might be tomorrow.

I note that the substantial US tariffs on the automobile industry and imports of materials important to them, armaments and aircraft producers such as aluminum, steel, and semiconductors will increase the cost to provide US weapons to Ukraine, and other countries (far higher costs and short supply of rare earths is also a very worrisome factor).

[N0TZU]

According to the BBC, US Secretary of State Rubio said yesterday in regard to peace talks:

"We're not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end," Rubio said, adding that the US had "other priorities to focus on".

Also  "We need to determine very quickly now - and I'm talking about a matter of days - whether or not this is doable" in the short-term. "If it's not going to happen, then we're just going to move on," he said about truce talks.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c20x5xn1g92o

Apparently a major war in Europe that threatens stability on the continent, and for which the US has already spent around 180 billion dollars, is actually an unimportant issue. /s

Which party does this pressure? Obviously it’s Ukraine.  Russia is currently in the superior position and has been delaying progress, and Putin will not stop pursuing his dream of imperial expansion. Ukraine also has delayed but because of the outrageous and punitive price that Trump demands in minerals and pipeline revenues to negotiate peace, and in hopes of securing more assistance from Europe.

To me it’s clear that Trump sees this situation not in terms of security for Europe and the US, or in human terms of peace vs. war, or in terms of even a little justice, but rather as a three party business transaction where the US (he) must soon walk away with a chunk of money for the US’s (his) trouble.

I believe that if he can’t, he will stop the negotiations, withdraw US support for Ukraine, and loudly blame Zelensky and Ukraine. Someone else is always to blame, of course.

[US7IGN]

The United States is optimistic it can put an end to the war between russia and Ukraine, Vice President JD Vance said on Friday as he met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for the second time in 24 hours.

"Since there are the negotiations I won't prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close," he added.
Hours earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said U.S. President Donald Trump would walk away from trying to broker a russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless there were clear signs that a deal could be done. https://www.reuters.com/world/us-vice-president-says-he-is-optimistic-russia-ukraine-war-can-be-ended-2025-04-18/

The US presented allies with proposals to enable a peace deal between russia and Ukraine, including an outline of terms to end the fighting and ease sanctions on Moscow in the event of a lasting ceasefire. The contours of the US plan was shared during meetings in Paris on Thursday, according to European officials familiar with the matter.

The proposal would effectively freeze the war, with Ukrainian territories now occupied by russia remaining under Moscow’s control, said the people. Kyiv’s aspirations of joining NATO would also be off the table. The people declined to provide further specifics, citing the confidential nature of the discussions.

The Paris talks included a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and US envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as discussions among Rubio and national security advisers and negotiators from France, Germany, the UK and Ukraine. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-18/war-in-ukraine-us-offers-to-ease-sanctions-on-russia-as-part-of-peace-plan

The US President's Special Representative for the Middle East Steve Witkoff discussed issues related to Ukrainian territories with russian President Vladimir putin during his recent visit to russia. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal. In a conversation with WSJ, Witkoff confirmed that the russian dictator was "obsessed" with the topic of Ukrainian territories. The American special representative suggested that russia "may get some of the regions", but not all. According to him, Ukraine "may worry less about some regions" if they are russian-speaking. Commenting on this, the WSJ notes that Witkoff's position may contradict Washington's official line, which involves supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine.  https://www.wsj.com/world/a-guide-to-the-five-regions-of-ukraine-at-the-center-of-u-s-russia-talks-429e0d54

Ukrainians living under occupation fear Trump’s peace talks because they still hope for liberation from the occupation. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/04/13/world/ukraine-life-under-russian-occupation-trumps-peace-talks/index.html

russia and Ukraine will carry out a new prisoner swap tomorrow, mediated by the United Arab Emirates, a source has said. The source told Reuters that nearly 500 russian and Ukrainian prisoners and 46 injured soldiers will be exchanged in the latest swap. The exchange will involve 246 prisoners from each side, the source said. https://news.sky.com/story/ukraine-war-trump-putin-zelenskyy-rubio-russia-moscow-kyiv-latest-12541713?postid=9456017#liveblog-body

Anton Serbin, an officer of the 104th brigade of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, spoke about the consequences of the russian Federation's missile attacks on military enterprises in Shostka, Sumy region. According to him, local factories that produced Ukrainian ammunition were destroyed due to russian strikes. One of the strikes on Shostka took place on December 31, 2024, when two factories were attacked by 13 russian ballistic missiles, Le Monde reported. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2025/04/09/a-chostka-dans-le-nord-de-l-ukraine-les-innovations-des-dronistes-aident-l-armee-a-tenir_6593200_3210.html

The russian missile strike on Sumy on April 13 was indeed aimed at a ceremonial award ceremony for soldiers from the 117th Brigade, but instead the victims were almost exclusively civilians. This was told in an interview with The Washington Post by a Ukrainian soldier named Oleksandr. According to him, the ceremony for awarding medals to soldiers was held in the basement of a university building. However, the russian missiles did not reach the Ukrainian soldiers stationed in the underground building. Instead, the victims were civilians who were on the surface. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/04/16/ukraine-russia-sumy-missiles-strike/

The worst prophecies of cyberpunk and dystopia seem to have begun to come true. From now on, the police in Ukraine will use drones to monitor and cgase after citizens. Police say drones equipped with powerful cameras will monitor the situation in the city from a bird's eye view. https://zp.npu.gov.ua/news/pravoporiadok-z-neba-u-zaporizhzhi-rozpochynaie-robotu-politseeskyi-aeropatrul-video

[N0TZU]

I hope that Vance is correct and there will be a peace agreement very soon, even if flawed and temporary, as it may be. I don’t see how Ukraine can continue in the present circumstances, both external and internal, for much longer.

[KD8ZM-Brady]

I echo Bob's last sentiment. A shaky peace is better than no peace, because things can change over the course of a few years.

[KD8ZM-Brady]

I have watched Benjamin the famous YouTube guy "Bald and Bankrupt" for many years. He recently returned to eastern Ukraine (non combat areas) to film one of his reports. It's very interesting and one of the few on the ground reports available that can be understood by English speakers. https://youtu.be/O3HRnwC6pso?si=Qi0skTsPVR6dcB8I