Irish politicians are avoiding questions about Aughinish. Patrick O’Donovan refuses to answer my calls. The refinery is in his constituency
He says the Russian owned plant is not connected to Russia’s war machine, without showing evidence. They want this to blow over. It won’t
Fucking Russian scums. Shelled playground with MLRS in Kherson. There were father, mother and two daughters: 3 and 6-years-old. Father didn't survive. Mother and daughters severely wounded. 3-years-old girl is taken to a hospital. She doesn't have an eye. Cries: "I don't want".
Killed father had 4 children.
Source: https://t.co/rjHun1xla7
SNYDER: Politicians like Trump and Putin obsessed with the past. But with version of the past that never happened.
Trump and Putin like to say that in the past everything was good. But then somebody came, immigrants or Ukrainians, and took it all away.
It's always same story, and that's not history. Putin is always sure what happened. It's not about evidence, it's about feeling good, it's about defining an enemy.
That's why Trump and Putin hate history, in my sense of the word. They don't want historians around. They don't want history taught in schools.
What they do is, and Trump does this too, they turn history instruction into moral play about how we're good and other people are bad.
SIKORSKI: I'm skeptical about negotiating with Putin. First, Vladimir Putin is a man whose word and whose signature cannot be trusted.
He has lied to us repeatedly: “These are not my men in Crimea,” remember? “I have absolutely no intention of invading Ukraine.”
This is a man whose signature is on Russo-Ukrainian border treaty. How can we expect Putin to respect next treaty when he is already in breach of current ones?
Second, when you've been dictator for over 20 years, everybody lies to you, and you always drop your maximalist demands too late, because you don't know true situation you are in.
I also think dictators like Putin correctly understand that they cannot admit a mistake or withdraw from one without losing power. Therefore, I believe this war will be ended by someone else.
Once in one of his addresses Volodymyr Zelenskyy quoted Georgia Meloni, who said the following:
"I don't want disappointed people in Ukraine to burn portraits of European and American leaders."
Well, I think that no one in Ukraine is going to burn portraits. People in Ukraine, though being disillusioned and disfigured by war, have the dignity and clarity to understand who is their true enemy and who wants to wipe them off from the earth.
Disillusioned people in Ukraine won't burn their portraits. Instead they'll simply chew them, swallow them and digest them. Or spit them out.
And their portraits, instead of being place in the pantheon of Ukraine's allies in a worthy place alongside Ukrainian heroes, will be buried in the ground as compost or simply lost in history.
As those who talked too much and did too little.
As those who turned a blind eye and pretended this was not their war.
As those who sought justification in the mere fact that Ukraine is not ideal and everything is not that obvious.
As those who invented that there exists any possibility to stop Putin with appeasement.
There's none. It's a fiction. A whim.
It's simply a non-existant reality which weak people, unable to face the truth, invent for themselves to chicken out and avoid responsibility.
***
Putin doesn't need a pretext. Ukraine didn't attack the parade or launch any strikes during the truce, and Putin himself admitted it.
Did it in any way change his decision to launch 1428 drones and 56 missiles?
He's not doing this in response to anything. He's doing it out of a sick obsession to wipe out an entire people, even though he doesn't even consider them a people.
And then he will either obliterate Ukraine with bombs and missiles. Or, if Ukraine capitulates, he will subject the people to filtration and assimilation, and there will be no Ukrainians – everything will be like in the occupied territories – no language, no passport, no identity. If he is not stopped.
Ukraine is strong. Ukraine is stronger than Putin believed and believes. Ukraine is stronger than the West believed before the invasion in February 2022. Ukraine is stronger than Trump believed in the Oval Office in February 2025. Ukraine is stronger than perhaps even Ukrainians themselves believe.
But it's not just about strength - it's also about the individual tragedy of everyone killed in their sleep by a Russian missile. About the endless grief over the murder of a 12-years-old girl, pulled from under the rubble.
Too much pain to bear alone. And Ukraine bears it all alone, no matter what anyone says. For more then four years now.
This just should not happen - not because of the world order, not because of international law and not because of all those rules humanity invented after World War II to maintain this fragile peace. All of these are good, but in fact secondary constructs, too complex for many. This is not the main thing Ukraine is fighting for.
It's because of a simple principle that no scum should be allowed to kill others on a whim.
This is what Ukraine is really fighting for. This is why it can't just give up Donbas and hope for Putin's mercy. And this is why all these children are dying. Not fucking because of Donbas.
And if Ukraine lays down its arms, it will mean only one thing: killing is allowed. And the next victim could then be anyone.
__
As of now, it is known about 7 people killed, but these are only those who were pulled from the rubble. There may be up to 20 more people still buried there.
Russian propagandist Karnaukhov is gloating over the killing of Ukrainian civilians in Kramatorsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Merefa, describing these strikes as a «successful targeting of objectives.»
At the same time, he is fully aware that the attacks were deliberately directed at civilians and openly admits this in his own comments.
I resigned as U.S. Ambassador Ukraine when Trump kept siding with Putin over our democratic partner. Now, my successor is doing the same.
I knew I had to speak out and run for office because siding with dictators is just not who we are.
🇫🇷🫂🇺🇦 Відомий французький актор та письменник Жан Рено написав роман про викрадених окупантами українських дітей
Головною героїнею книги «Втеча» (L’Évasion) стала Емма — колишня масажистка, яка працює на французьку розвідку DGSE. За сюжетом вона відправляється під прикриттям до Сибіру і намагається проникнути до так званого «реабілітаційного табору» для українських підлітків, щоб зафіксувати докази злочинів росіян.
В інтерв’ю французькому виданню Télé 7 Жан Рено зазначив, що мотивацією для створення книги стали реальні історії викрадених росіянами українських дітей і бажання привернути увагу світу до них ❤️🩹
In any normal country, purchasing stolen goods is an act that entails legal liability. This applies, in particular, to grain stolen by Russia. Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at a port in Israel and is preparing to unload. This is not – and cannot be – legitimate business. The Israeli authorities cannot be unaware of which ships are arriving at the country’s ports and what cargo they are carrying.
Russia is systematically seizing grain on temporarily occupied Ukrainian land and organizing its export through individuals linked to the occupiers. Such schemes violate the laws of the State of Israel itself. Ukraine has taken all necessary steps through diplomatic channels to prevent such incidents. However, we see that yet another such vessel has not been stopped. I have instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine to inform all partners of our state about the situation.
Based on information from our intelligence services, Ukraine is preparing a relevant sanctions package that will cover both those directly transporting this grain and the individuals and legal entities attempting to profit from this criminal scheme. We will also coordinate with European partners to ensure that the relevant individuals are included in European sanctions regimes.
Ukraine counts on partnership and mutual respect with every state. We are genuinely working to enhance security, particularly in the Middle East region. We expect that the Israeli authorities will respect Ukraine and refrain from actions that undermine our bilateral relations.