Russia strikes Cherkasy Oblast overnight on April 28, injuring 5: @KyivIndependent , regional governor Taburets.
Uman is a beautiful 200km south of Kyiv, far from the frontlines. It is smallish with 80K people. It has been safe throughout the war. But I guess Russia want to… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Uman is beautiful. It is often know for its park Sofyivka. It is one of world-famous garden park art creations. It was founded in in 1976 by Polish count Potocki, when he was rebuilding Uman after a peasant uprising. Uman was a part of the Russian empire then. 2/
But it is an important place for Hasidic Jews too. Every fall, thousands of Hasidic Jews from around the world transform a central neighborhood in Uman to celebrate Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.3/
There are several good schools in Uman. We admit students from them every year. Many students come from a private school founded and supported by local farmers. 4/
We regularly visit the school to talk to pupils about education and possible career paths. 5/
If you remember our Christmas campaign for refugees and orphanages organized by our students, some of them were from Uman, from this private school. 6/
The driving force and finder behind the school is Andriy Dykun. We first met when I was in the office as the minister. My job was to pass the land market reform. He strongly opposed it and lobbied against it and against me. 7/
They had tractor protests and we fought on prime TV shows. By the time the reform was passed we hated each other. But since then we have become friends. 8/
Andriy and his team are patriots. The name of their wifi is Krym Nash, translated as Crimea is Ukraine (ours). Andriy also works to preorder and develop public schools. 9/
There is a beautiful hotel and private park next to Uman where my wife and I stayed many times. The woods makes us relaxed and playful.
I hate that Russians bomb out cities. 10/10
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It is the most heavily fortified region in Europe and the core of Ukraine’s new kill-zone defense system.
Handing it over would mean giving Russia operational depth it failed to seize by force — Untited24. 1/
Russia’s strategy: trade diplomacy for what it could not conquer militarily.
In three years, Moscow lost close to 1 million soldiers killed and wounded to capture just 1.45% of Ukrainian territory. During this time, Donetsk turned into a fortress belt 2/
FPV drones changed the battlefield.
Since mid-2023, drones achieve 80%+ hit rates in open terrain and cost less than artillery shells. Classic Soviet-style trenches collapsed under constant aerial surveillance and precision strikes. 3/
Ukrainian ambassador to the US, Olga Stefanishyna for Fox News: No. Talks mention freezing front lines, but Russia keeps attacking civilians.
Odesa, has no water or electricity for five days. There’s no peace here. That’s a war. 1/
Q: How likely is a peace agreement from these talks?
Stefanishyna: The talks are about ending war in Ukraine, not signing a document
Ukraine, Europe, and the US are pushing for a real peace deal that stops the fighting and prevents new attacks. The only one stalling is Putin 2/
Q: How would security guarantees work if Ukraine gives up NATO aspirations?
Stefanishyna: The guarantees must be legally binding and irreversible. The form is still open. One option is approval by the US Congress and signing it into law. 3X
A Russian soldier smashed 75 y.o. Ludmyla’s face with a rifle, slashed her stomach, and raped her.
Diplomats discuss “blanket amnesty” in the new peace plan.
To them it's a compromise. To Ukraine, it means pardoning the man who sliced open a grandmother — The Times. 1/
Filmmaker Alisa Kovalenko sees Ludmyla’s broken face reading the new “peace plan.” Alisa knows this hell. In 2014, a Russian officer forced her to strip and bathe.
He cleaned his gun, watched her naked fear, then raped her. “They didn’t kill me, but they broke me.” 2/
Iryna Dovhan, 63, was tied to a post in a town square, wrapped in a Ukrainian flag. Passers-by beat her and spat on her.
But the second blow came from the justice system.
A prosecutor refused to record her rape. He told her: "Your dignity has been compromised." 3/
Putin has lost over 1 million soldiers killed or wounded in Ukraine, but is winning something bigger.
FP columnist Michael Hirsh argues that after nearly four years of war, Putin has succeeded in his core goal: exposing deep fractures inside what used to be called “the West.” 1/
Militarily, Russia failed.
After nearly four years of war, Putin controls only 20% of Ukrainian territory, failed to erase Ukrainian statehood and triggered NATO’s expansion with Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.
This is not a battlefield victory. 2/
But Putin’s strategic objective was broader.
From the start, he bet that NATO unity would fracture under pressure.
Today, the U.S. and Europe openly clash over Ukraine, peace terms, Russia’s role, and even the meaning of “the West.” 3/
Zelenskyy: Russia says either Ukraine leaves Donbas, or Russia will occupy it anyway.
The US proposed a compromise: our troops withdraw and Russian ones don’t enter, but we won’t accept this without mutual withdrawal - Babel. 1/
Zelenskyy: If Ukrainian troops withdraw 5-10 km, why shouldn’t Russian troops withdraw the same distance? There’s no answer yet, and it’s very sensitive. 2/
Zelenskyy: I’ve told American partners many times: don’t believe everything Russia says. Russia is trying to occupy our land not by force, but politically and diplomatically. 3/