Kenneth Lees

A father and a husband, IT professional at day, computer geek and dad in the evening. Our family uses Linux in our two-bedroom apartment near Tallinn, Estonia.

[Kenneth Lees @kenneth_lees]

@KyivIndependent Wham, bamm! 👍😀👍

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

⚡️Russia's largest oil refinery slammed by drones in 8-hour attack 2,500 km from Ukraine.

The Omsk oil refinery, a Gazprom facility in Siberia, has a processing capacity of over 21 million metric tons of crude per year.
https://t.co/OoCAyt39TK

[Kenneth Lees @kenneth_lees]

@ZelenskyyUa Putin is a delirious, obsessed dreamer and downright crazy - add stupid to that.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

When I received the second report from our negotiating team after their meetings in Abu Dhabi, they told me that the Russians think and say they have already occupied half of Donbas, which remains under our control. These were military officers, Russian intelligence, and they were serious about it. Our team told them, “We don’t know how you can even say such things. We have video footage, images, other things proving that these areas are under our control.”

This is the problem. Putin lives in a different reality. Of course, he will be sharing with the Americans that he needs one or two months to fully occupy the east of Ukraine. I can draw a picture for him too where I fully occupy Russia. But it’s not true. What was good is that the American side confirmed the Ukrainian assessment of what is happening on the battlefield.

This is why we need to sit and speak at the level of leaders. There are a lot of questions. Like we spoke about the city of Kherson that is divided by the river today. The Russians control one bank, we control the other. But people want to live united on both banks. This is a Ukrainian city. Such issues are sensitive, but we have to speak about them. I think that tomorrow the teams will discuss the possibility of meeting at the level of leaders. I'm not sure that Russia is ready, but we will raise this topic.

From a conversation with journalists.

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

⚡️Ukraine reportedly strikes Ust-Luga Baltic Sea port as drones attack regions across Russia.

Ukrainian drones struck the Ust-Luga Baltic Sea port in western Russia's Leningrad Oblast overnight on Nov. 11, monitoring channels reported.

https://t.co/PMY2BNyR1E

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

⚡️Ukraine strikes drone port at occupied Donetsk Airport.

Ukrainian forces struck a Russian drone port at the occupied Donetsk airport, the 412th Brigade of the Unmanned Systems Forces said on Nov. 10.

https://t.co/QnOkPfvQBv

[Kenneth Lees @kenneth_lees]

@KyivIndependent Keep it up, keep it up, Ukraine!

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

⚡️️ Ukrainian strikes cut Russia's oil refining capacity by 30%, Reuters reports.

Over the past week, Ukrainian attacks disrupted operations or caused emergency situations at nine of Russia's 35 major refineries, according to Reuters.
https://t.co/5U6sckwMv9

[Kenneth Lees @kenneth_lees]

@KyivIndependent Fucking schemers!!!

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

Russian forces, meanwhile, took advantage of the pause to prepare for future military operations in violation of an agreement banning large-scale troop and equipment movements, Ukraine's military said.

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

For five days, from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1, the ceasefire in Kherson Oblast, intended to evacuate civilians from the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, gave Kherson residents a short reprieve from constant Russian strikes.

Separated from Russian-occupied territory by the Dnipro River, the regional capital had not seen such freedom of movement since 2022.
https://t.co/XbE1bDo2NE

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

⚡️ Poland to transfer 2 MiG-29 jets to Ukraine in exchange for drone technology, Polish official says.

The proposed exchange comes after several months of negotiations between Kyiv and Warsaw.

https://t.co/zimdv5p5Mj

[Alexport @AlexAlexx974431]

Russian General Ivashov to Putin: “You lost, after all; you didn’t foresee a thing. You didn’t have the wits to realize that the war wouldn’t be some light-hearted operation—just pop in there, strike somewhere, and that’s it, victory.” The easy military operation promised by the Kremlin has completely failed. According to the military officer, the continuation of the war is leading Russia toward total militarization and deep stagnation in all civilian spheres—from the economy and education to culture.

Ivashov emphasized that dragging out the war is destroying the country’s future for the sake of one man’s political survival.

Retired Russian Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, during a live broadcast with Russian blogger Pavel Ivanov, harshly criticized Putin for unleashing a full-scale war against Ukraine, calling for an immediate end to hostilities and a return to the negotiating table. Back in February 2022, several weeks before the full-scale invasion, he openly warned the Kremlin against attacking Ukraine, stating that it would jeopardize Russia’s very existence.

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

⚡️Ukrainian forces strike elite Russian 'Rubicon' drone unit in occupied territory.

The joint operation targeted a drone base in the occupied city of Berdyansk, in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The base was located 107 kilometers (66 miles) behind the front lines.

https://t.co/ZtQBDJzBz6

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

"Nobody wants to live under occupation. It's death. You can't do anything. You're afraid that you could take a single step and a (Russian soldier) might come and do whatever he wants to you," said Olha Liutikova, an Oleshky resident who was recently evacuated in a humanitarian mission mediated by U.S. First Lady Melania Trump.

[Kenneth Lees @kenneth_lees]

@AnnaDeMilanese 👍😁👍

[Anna @AnnaDeMilanese]

🇺🇦 Die Ukraine hat bei Sankt Petersburg das Werk getroffen, das den Treibstoff für Russlands Iskander-Raketen herstellt. Ein harter Schlag am Anfang der Kette, die in ukrainischen Städten endet.

Der ukrainische Generalstab meldet drei beschädigte Produktionshallen im Morozov-Werk. Es gehört zum Staatskonzern Rostec und liefert Treibsätze für die Iskander-M sowie Festtreibstoff für die Topol-M.

Das Ausmaß wird noch geprüft. Eine russische Bestätigung steht aus.

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

⚡️️ Canada unveils new Russia sanctions targeting defense industry, cyber activities.

The new sanctions target 38 entities and 24 individuals, ranging from players in Russia's ballistic missile production to crypto exchanges.
https://t.co/vAQuR6O0Kc

[WW3finalboss @WW3finalboss]

🇺🇦🇷🇺 ZELENSKYY REFUSES TO SURRENDER DONBAS AND SAYS HE WILL NOT MOURN RUSSIAN SOLDIERS KILLED WHILE INVADING UKRAINE.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has delivered an uncompromising message about the war, Russia's occupation of Ukrainian territory and the conditions under which Kyiv would consider peace negotiations.

His remarks address two questions that have shaped the conflict from the beginning: who bears responsibility for the destruction, and whether Ukraine should be expected to surrender territory to end the fighting.

On the first question, Zelenskyy places responsibility squarely on Vladimir Putin.

He argues that Russian soldiers are fighting and dying on Ukrainian territory because Putin chose to send them there.

And he makes no attempt to conceal his feelings about Russian military losses.

Zelenskyy says he does not mourn the deaths of invading soldiers who are participating in attacks against his country and killing Ukrainian citizens.

He acknowledges that some people may find that position uncomfortable, but insists that the reality of Russia's invasion cannot be ignored.

His explanation is rooted in what has happened to Ukrainian communities under Russian occupation.

Entire neighborhoods have been devastated. Apartment buildings, schools and churches have been destroyed or burned, leaving communities without the places where people once lived, studied and worshipped.

For Zelenskyy, that destruction is inseparable from the conduct of Russian forces operating inside Ukraine.

He also rejects the suggestion that Ukraine should formally surrender Donbas as the price of ending the war.

Sovereignty and territorial integrity, he argues, are essential foundations of any independent democratic state.

That principle applies even to Ukrainian territory currently under Russian occupation.

Kyiv may not control every part of Donbas today, but Zelenskyy insists that military occupation does not transform Ukrainian land into Russian sovereign territory.

He says Ukraine will not recognize those territorial claims.

The distinction is especially important as international efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting continue.

Zelenskyy is not ruling out diplomacy.

He says Ukraine is prepared to participate in negotiations in the United States, Europe or the Middle East.

Moscow, however, is not an acceptable venue.

He also believes President Donald Trump has the ability to pressure Putin into meaningful negotiations, pointing to Trump's repeated statements about his strong relationship with the Russian leader.

But Zelenskyy stresses that Ukraine needs more air defense missiles to survive while those diplomatic efforts continue.

Russian missile and drone attacks do not stop simply because negotiations are being discussed.

Ukrainian cities, infrastructure and civilians still require protection, regardless of what happens at the negotiating table.

His position brings together the military and diplomatic realities facing Kyiv.

Ukraine wants an end to the war, but it is unwilling to accept that Russia's invasion gives Moscow a legitimate claim to Ukrainian territory.

It needs international diplomatic support, but also the weapons necessary to protect its population while negotiations remain uncertain.

And Zelenskyy's remarks about Russian casualties reflect the perspective of a president whose country has spent years defending itself against an invasion.

For him, the fundamental issue is not whether Russia's soldiers are dying far from home.

It is why Putin sent them into Ukraine in the first place, and why Ukrainian civilians continue to suffer the consequences of that decision.

[The Kyiv Independent @KyivIndependent]

⚡️Ukrainian forces reportedly strike Russia's second-largest oil refinery in overnight drone attack.

The attack caused large explosions at the Kirishi Petroleum Organic Synthesis plant, also known as the Kinef plant, around 800 kilometers (roughly 500 miles) north of Ukraine.

https://t.co/iYxWVO0YQZ