FelicitySpector

Author: ‘Bread and War - a Ukrainian story of Food, Bravery and Hope’. Personal views here. On Instagram @felicityspector - and more on my book here ⬇️

[FelicitySpector @FelicitySpector]

Very honoured to have spent time with the courageous volunteers from @antytila_offic charity fund as they delivered supplies around Ukraine’s Donetsk region. So much tireless work and meticulous planning goes into these trips - amazing to get such an insight into their work.

[UNITED24 Media @United24media]

❗️Today, the UNITED24 Media is pausing all publications to join protests over the dismissal of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. See you there.
https://t.co/SnZG6I2i9e

[Channel 4 News @Channel4News]

Inside Kramatorsk: Ukraine’s dystopian frontline preparing for brutal showdown
https://t.co/ki09UZ8jpW

[Serhii Sternenko @sternenko]

Відтепер я не радник міністра оборони, що, поза сумнівом, зменшує можливості допомоги якісно змінити ситуацію у війську із дронами. У нас на виході якраз були нові тендерні вимоги для закупівель FPV-дронів, які б дозволили армії отримувати найкращі засоби та розвивати інфраструктуру для глибших ударів. Сподіваюсь, вони зрештою будуть затверджені.

Зі свого боку — продовжимо забезпечувати військо топовими виробами у фонді, але, звісно, у меншому масштабі. Разом із вами.

Вдалося уніфікувати наземні станції керування під дрони на оптоволокні. Трошки зміг вплинути і на розвиток окремих бригад, вивівши їх на значно вищі позиції у загальному рейтингу.

Не вдалося… Багато чого. В тому числі через бюрократичні перепони та штучне затягування з боку тих, кому заважає армійська реформа.

Не вдалося встигнути допомогти своїй країні більше в умовах повномасштабної війни.

Та все одно це важливий досвід. Досвід у команді, до якої я мав честь належати.
Михайло Федоров — найкращий міністр оборони за усю нашу історію. Дякую за приклад лідерства та служіння.

Прикро, що сьогодні наша держава стала значно далі від перемоги.
Прикро, що реальні реформи навіть не дали розпочати, хоча все одно вдалося багато що змінити.
Не прикро за вас, за людей, які усе бачать та розуміють. І підтримують.

Це точно не кінець.
Безмежна повага Михайлу.
Подяка всім, хто не мовчить.

Далі буде.

[Mykhailo Fedorov @FedorovMykhailo]

It has been a great honor to serve the Ukrainian people as the Minister of Defense.

Here is what our team managed to achieve:

1. Disabled Starlink access for Russian forces.

2. Took over a Ministry of Defense with zero budget, took a risk, reallocated funds from payroll from the end of the year, and effectively invested them in mid-strike capabilities, fiber-optic FPVs, low-cost reconnaissance, ground robotic platforms, interceptor drones, and deep-strike drones.

3. Launched "Logistical Lockdown", this cut off enemy logistics and initiated the isolation of Crimea.

4. Continued the funding program for the Drone Line.

5. Launched a support program for modern drone-assault units that rely primarily on advanced technologies in combat.

6. Introduced a 70% advance payment policy for procurements made via e-Points on the Brave1 Market portal.

7. Fundamentally overhauled the procurement system.

8. Procured thousands of pickup trucks, buggies, and ATVs for the military for the first time—and did so through open tenders.

9. The drone interception rate rose from 83% to 91%, and the cruise missile interception rate soared from 47% to 87%.

10. Contracted Patriot PAC-2 GEM-T missiles for the first time, and submitted an application through an EU loan to purchase PAC-3 missiles.

11. Launched a baseline drone supply system for brigades and corps.

12. Launched a massive grant program for manufacturers of explosives and missiles.

13. Initiated an unpopular but vital transformation of the military.

14. Conducted three UDCG meetings, where we successfully broke through the Russian information trap claiming our defeat, restoring partners' faith in Ukraine. This secured $40 billion in support announced for this year (excluding the EU loan).

15. Launched the mechanism to utilize the EU loan for our military priorities.

16. Found a way to scale cheap missiles against jet-powered Shaheds and signed a record-breaking contract.

17. Our domestic ballistics. We radically revised the technical specifications, maximized accuracy, and reduced the cost by 30%.

18. Signed a contract to procure Gripen fighter jets.

19. Collaborated with the military to plan and execute Operation Auchan, which halted the enemy's mechanized offensive for six months.

20. Opened up exports under the Drone Deal program to attract investment and scale up domestic defense-industrial complex (OPK) production.

21. Launched the Trophy Lab, providing partners with the opportunity to study captured Russian military technologies.

22. Launched the Defense AI Center A1 to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence on the battlefield.

Thank you to my entire team for their relentless 24/7 service. A special thank you to my family for their patience.

Thank you all for your support!

I will continue to work toward the mission I originally brought to the Ministry of Defense: defeating the enemy through asymmetry, the speed of innovation, and the power of organization.

To be continued.

[Channel 4 News @Channel4News]

Channel 4 News’ foreign correspondent Paraic O'Brien reports from the frontline of Russia's war in Ukraine in the key 'fortress city' of Kramatorsk - under relentless bombardment, where the skies are covered by deadly drones.

[Oleh Hryhorov / Олег Григоров @OlehHryhorov]

This morning, russians killed a 75-year-old woman in Sumy. She sold homemade pies daily in a busy neighborhood near local hospitals. Nearly everyone who rushed to work or a doctor’s appointment here each morning knew her.

​She died on the spot. Along with her, russian aerial bombs claimed the lives of two more men. Twenty people were injured, including two children. Surgeons are currently fighting to save the lives of four of them.

​This summer, the enemy has significantly intensified its use of guided aerial bombs against the city. While such strikes were once isolated, they now systematically target crowded areas where daily life thrives, as well as the infrastructure that sustains it. These are not random hits. They are deliberate strikes on a civilian city and peaceful residents.

[Nate Mook @natemook]

Scenes from the last few days in Venezuela 🥹 It’s so important to work with and uplift local organizations, as too often help is parachuted in from outside. Grateful to our partners at Alimenta La Solidaridad who have been working in these communities. 🙏

[Oleksandr Prokudin @Prokudin__]

🕯 An 18-year-old girl was killed in front of her mother when Russian occupiers attacked a shuttle bus with a drone in Kherson today. She was on her way to submit documents for university admission.

[FelicitySpector @FelicitySpector]

@BohuslavskaKate Wishing you a good recovery 💙

[Vasyl Myroshnychenko @AmbVasyl]

A powerful report by Australian journalist @francisjfarrell from the frontlines of Ukraine. As Russia's war enters its fifth year, millions of Ukrainians continue to live under the constant threat of missiles, drones and bombardment. Francis helps Australian audiences understand the human reality behind the headlines and what Ukrainians endure every day in defence of their freedom. Well worth watching.

https://t.co/0u1sAF8MpF

[FelicitySpector @FelicitySpector]

@lizziejohnsonnn @Reuters Many congratulations!

[FelicitySpector @FelicitySpector]

@BohuslavskaKate Wishing you a quick recovery - love to you and Kharkiv’s amazing medics!

[Iryna Voichuk @IrynaVoichuk]

In recent days, russian FPV drones have begun reaching Kharkiv.

Think about what that actually means.

It means that somewhere, a person is sitting behind a screen, watching a live video feed over a city of more than a million people. They are not firing blindly. They are looking. Searching. Choosing.

And then they strike.

For years, russia has been doing this in Kherson. People became targets simply because they happened to appear on a drone operator’s screen.

Now the same reality is creeping into Kharkiv.

And what I cannot understand is why this no longer causes outrage.

Where is the reaction? Where is the urgency? Where is the outrage over a military deliberately hunting civilians with drones?

When russia launches a massive missile attack, the world notices. Headlines appear. Statements are made.

But FPV drones rarely attract the same attention.

Perhaps because they are small.

Yet there are hundreds of them. Thousands of them. And each one carries the ability to maim, to kill, and to terrorize.

The drone may be small.

The horror is not.

[FelicitySpector @FelicitySpector]

@BohuslavskaKate I had fantastic treatment in Odesa when I came down with pneumonia - excellent doctors who were really thorough.

[chytomo_eng @ChytomoE]

Writer Andrey Kurkov (@AKurkov) recommends a book that helps readers better understand Ukraine 🇺🇦

Watch the video and save this book recommendation 📕

[FelicitySpector @FelicitySpector]

@United24media Very true! I have visited many fantastic coffee places in cities like Kherson which provide jobs and a space for the community.

[chytomo_eng @ChytomoE]

Ukrainian books need ambassadors — and anyone can become one.

Chapter Ukraine is an interactive digital platform that brings together Ukrainian books available in foreign-language translations and helps users create selections to share with libraries and bookstores.

[Alina Sarnatska @ASarnatska]

Героями можуть бути не лише українці.
Прошу поширити петицію за присвоєння звання «Герой України» іноземцям.

https://t.co/cMc1W3e0ER

[Zarina Zabrisky 🇺🇸🇺🇦 @ZarinaZabrisky]

“Genocide.”

A firsthand account of the catastrophic conditions in Oleshky: no power, water, food, gas or internet.

A woman who managed to escape talks about corpses left unburied in the streets, the deaths of family and neighbors, drone surveillance, forced Russian passports.

[U.S. Helsinki Commission @HelsinkiComm]

🇺🇦 Nate Mook has been leading humanitarian organizations supporting Ukrainians since 2022.

On this week’s episode of the Transatlantic, he discusses his experiences on the ground in Ukraine and how his work has evolved since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. (1/2)