Oleksiy Brekht was the man who rebuilt destroyed transformers, connected Ukraine to the European power grid, and resisted attempts by Energy Minister Halushchenko to take control of Ukrenergo.
He was posthumously awarded Hero of Ukraine, Suspilne reports. 1/
On January 21, 2026, Brekht was killed at a substation in Kyiv region while restoring equipment damaged by a Russian strike. The cause was electrocution. He died on site, doing field work, not managing from an office. 2/
Brekht started in 1999 at the Kyiv Pumped Storage Power Plant. In 2001, he joined Ukrenergo as a dispatcher.
Over 25 years, he rose through the ranks, focusing on system-level grid stability and high-voltage infrastructure. 3/
Kyiv Independent: Torturing prisoners is not merely a war crime, it's part of Russian culture.
From Western Ukraine in 1939-1941 to Gulag, from Chechnya to today's occupied territories, torture resurfaces again and again. 1/
Russian torturers liked to record beatings, electrocutions, waterboardings on their smartphones.
Susan Sontag in 2004 essay on Abu Ghraib: "The meaning of these pictures is not just that these acts were performed, but that perpetrators had no sense there was anything wrong." 2/
Sontag: "Even more appalling, since pictures were meant to be circulated and seen by many people: it was all fun."
Same analysis applies to russian practice of recording torture of Ukrainians 20 years later. 3/
Zelenskyy appoints former UK prime minister Rishi Sunak to his International Advisory Council for the Economic Renewal of Ukraine — in an unpaid role. — Telegraph 1/
The council will advise Zelenskyy and his economic adviser Chrystia Freeland. Kyiv is accelerating efforts to rebuild its energy sector before next winter. 2/
Sunak served as UK Prime Minister (2022–2024). As PM, he backed military aid to Ukraine and expanded UK training for Ukrainian troops. 3/