Tearing down the "divine right of kings" - a team effort!

While French thinkers were 🤯 over free 🌎 indigenous societies, they also talked with Cossacks who had elected leaders - in 1648. Ukraine's Orlyk devised a constitution with separation of powers in 1710. Fascinating 🧵👇

https://twitter.com/JPLindsley/status/1939804608823517477

This means that the US Constitution came from a rebellion against "divine right" and monarchic power, and Ukraine's Orlyk was absolutely part of this conversation.

Through Montesquieu, Ukraine was no further than one degree of separation from the US's founding inspirations.

I've seen some stupid lies before, but damn.

You can never keep too many receipts with GL. They change their stories completely, and their cult doesn't notice or doesn't care.

Reality on the ground for the locals?
(video link below)

https://twitter.com/not_kavun/status/1936857518174503107

The video in question. You can clearly see there's a huge logo visible from the street. See, I found this video memorable because GL was falsely claiming authority to arrest its critics in Ukraine.

https://x.com/potuzhnishyy/status/1859631859858116822

Again? Again.

Same cluster, same behavior. They attack legit orgs and volunteers to keep their LARP $ going.

They threaten critics with death/SA, then impersonate them (the three yyy account was fake) to sow chaos.

There's no bottom.
x.com/NormandeBrigad… x.com/LvivNightingal…


I've seen their behavior since 2022, when they attacked @UK4UA's efforts which saved a defender's leg. "NurseAnna" lied about her involvement, patient consent, deleted/rebooted her threads with moved goalposts.

BBC/Suspilne sank that ship. Grudges much?

https://x.com/alastgleaming/status/1606051643161825280

New initiative from @BackAndAlive just dropped!

"If you still don't know how 'Let's ground the enemy' works - it's okay! The dog's down to explain it to you.

This project is a shield for those who hold the sky. It's air defense, for air defense. The dog can confirm."

https://twitter.com/BackAndAlive/status/1924117790333489159

@BackAndAlive @BackAndAlive is cool like this. Their thinking is big-picture and end to end, because they were founded by Ukraine's veterans and have been at this for 11 years.

Just look at the success they've had with "Dronefall"...

Though I suggest we be wary that Grok will be increasingly poisoned as a source, just this moment, I tip my hat.

It's done a great job of putting words to how the principles of how to support Ukraine connect to what I learned from standing with other marginalized people. I endorse this message.

I prompted Grok to look at three threads: Jim Crow-style voter suppression, black rights to armed self-defense, and Edmund Ruffin, and asked Grok how this would influence my support of Ukraine.

The interconnects were too good not to share.

This explainer has some solid points, @Greg_Palast, and helps to explain many of russia's excuses for war. I deeply value your work on US progressive issues. There are really solid points on how russia is aggressively attacking Ukraine's historic identity and autonomy.

Most simply and urgently: "Kyiv" not "Kiev", for the same reason we take down Confederate flags and monuments. Those spellings are a russian way of asserting imperialist ownership and historic revisionism.

I heartily recommend this thread by a respected Ukrainian author in Britain: x.com/komarnyckyj/st…

I can condense other things I've learned among Ukrainians thus:

Values are the biggest reason for russia's determination to destroy Ukraine, but Putin lied a bit there. It's not russian values versus western so much as russian versus Ukraine's. He lied because the war is founded on a genocidal premise that Ukraine doesn't exist.

It's russia's traditional values vs Ukraine's are, not so much the west's. It is the vertical power of russia's tsars and their nihilistic servile death cult, versus Ukraine's horizontal hromada, a democratic and even somewhat anarchistic co-operative view which values individuals and their choices. @Greg_Palast In Ukraine, they elected their hetmans beginning in 1648. russia is still cast in the mold of Ivan the Terrible.

This is not a worshipful, subjugated russian eye on this tsar Ivan. This painter, Ilya Repin, was Ukrainian. russia erased that to cook the books for its tsars.

Elections don't have consequences unless crimes do.

Elections have consequences. We didn't really have one if 4.7 million votes got wrongly purged.

The consequences we're actually facing are for cowardice and apathy in the face of a fascist KKKoup.

https://x.com/Greg_Palast/status/1860300474781454425

This is handing russia the reins of our country. Ukraine and Civil Rights are far more intersectional than is obvious. It's not just that they are matters of decency.

It's that the way people are poisoned against them are through grievance and collective narcissism overthrowing the moral compass.

This gets tricky because we are dealing with ways Americans are manipulated towards groups that seem removed from each other.

russia gets a hold of Americans through hatred, conspiracism, and disaffection. Trump got his political start in birtherism.

The Kremlin's trolls saw and took their chance.

When people become absorbed by their sense hate and grievance, and would rather tear down a democracy at home than let Those People be part of it, they're not going to champion democracy for other countries either, are they?

They'll be that way abroad: "Muh taxpayer duhlers" ahead of conscience.

If they hate others so much they don't want to share democracy, the strongman demagogues will play them.

Might makes right is the core of authoritarianism.
Once they adopt that value system, pro-democracy arguments don't work, because having no shared values makes a better argument meaningless.

With an authoritarian cult to tell them what America is, that they're the only real Americans, they're detached from the Enlightenment, from the historic value of Civil Rights, and ultimately choose power-over instead of principle.

Minorities, women, foreign allies don't matter, only submission.

Ukrainians have had a nasty shock finding out how much of America has lost its way. Many of us saw it happening when our family members ceased to be like the people we once knew, listening to FOX News and Alex Jones for decades.

Supporting actual nazis is a death threat, period.

It is looking at a death machine that systematically killed 12 million civilians, including 6 million Jews (hence 6MWE) just for their identity or beliefs, and millions more in wars of choice, and say, "Let's try that again." At least 1 out of every 33 people then on Earth died in WW2.

That's on the nazis and Stalinists who began it jointly in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, when they attacked Poland.

That's on the aggressors and those who could have stopped them but didn't.
worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankin…

OH WAIT - GL deleted their video of their "arresting" a critic at gunpoint under martial law in Ukraine?? What happened, guys??

https://twitter.com/abstractedaway/status/1856040933613027478

Screenshot of the deleted post. Did something happen??

@DI_Ukraine's statement: the "Georgian Legion" does not exist as a unit, is not in Ukraine's command struction, and is not to be confused with Georgian volunteers serving with various real units of ZSU, GUR, and TDF or the International Legion.

Mamuka's not fought since April 2023, and his "second in command" Reshytlo hasn't fought and has been stealing valor. This emphatically means that they cannot be what they represent themselves as for fundraising purposes. GL's refusal to account for the millions of dollars fundraised, its actual instigation of threats and harassment against whistleblowers inside and outside of Ukraine, has done evil to people who tirelessly sought to help real Ukrainian units and orgs, not this siphoning GL scam.

Many over at @Official_NAFO only thought they knew because they were told. Others were in a position to know and speak up about the aggressive harassment of volunteers, up to and including threats of rape and death. One cannot be a mute bystander to mass-incited harassment or defamation of dedicated Ukrainians and supporters who wanted funds and support for Ukraine to be properly directed, and then be "Official" to a decentralized movement.

Meanwhile, real Ukrainian units exist, top-notch and highly accoutable organizations like @BackAndAlive and @dzygaspaw show reports, @TPSpindel ad @potuzhnishyy and @LvivNightingale and @TheWarSanta and @RachelPAV have spoken truth about GL each in their way, and endured horrific slander for their bold stance. And I, I've seen my share for my advocacy to support Ukraine through its best orgs, which Georgian Legion's hardcore chose to see as vicious rivals and even russian fronts, while they themselves disappeared millions of dollars in donations. We're here for Ukraine, not fake Twitter celebrities.

Those who were in good faith and deceived by others, I for one do not begrudge you trying to help Ukraine as you understood how, but we have a responsibility to hear Ukrainians, to verify supporters, to make sure we are actually helping Ukraine as intended.

Those who chose grift and LARPing and defamation of all outside the club, coordinated attacks on Ukrainians and volunteers of all sorts: your malicious projection of your own sins onto others will not hide what you did. Ukraine doesn't need this, and we are not here to be your scapegoats.

A translation of the announcement follows, boldface emphasis added:

"‼️ Statement on false accusations of the Slovak Republic authorities against the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine

On January 31, 2025, during a press conference, officials of the Slovak Republic made accusations against the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine - allegedly, servicemen of the Georgian National Legion, “subordinate” to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, were involved in organizing protests in Slovakia in preparation for a coup d'état.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine carefully studied the accusations, because hybrid and information operations aimed at undermining the situation in European countries, sowing discord both within states and between European partners are an extremely serious threat to Ukraine, which, with the support of the civilized world, is heroically resisting russian armed aggression.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine officially reports that there is no unit called the Georgian National Legion in its structure.

As for the International Legion of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, it is a multinational active duty unit that is directly involved in battles with russian occupation forces in the hottest spots of the frontline and, of course, does not conduct any hybrid actions on the territory of the European Union.

As for the person mentioned at the press conference [Ed.: that would be the reported commander of the "Georgian Legion"], he is not a Ukrainian serviceman, has no relation to Ukrainian intelligence, and does not receive any tasks or instructions from the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine. This person terminated his contract with the International Legion of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine in April 2023 and did not renew it.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine strongly rejects false accusations of organizing illegal actions in the Slovak Republic.

We emphasize that the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine is in constant contact and cooperation with colleagues from NATO countries, adheres to the principles of good faith cooperation and partnership, always works for the benefit of common security and overcoming the challenges posed to European countries by the full-scale war unleashed by russia, in particular the information component of russian aggression.

European politicians should be as responsible as possible for their words, especially for accusations against friendly countries, in order to avoid giving any grounds for hostile propaganda.

❗️ We note that it is russia that is constantly trying to sow discord between the countries of the Free World, discrediting European politicians, interfering in democratic elections, organizing street riots, and even committing political assassinations in Europe."

"I would like to see Maidan commemorated not in the annual cycle of fasting on the anniversaries of the beginning, storming, dispersal, and shooting, but rather in the efforts to punish those who organized and committed bloody crimes against peaceful protesters..."
🇺🇦🧵👇

https://twitter.com/OKhudetska/status/1859608881598435563

"You can go to the courts in Maidan cases so that judges do not see empty indifferent halls and a bunch of urban crazies, but rather the public's demand for justice.

The schedule of courts is published weekly by the Advocates' Advisory Group on Facebook"

https://x.com/OKhudetska/status/1859610664601276432

Check this out! Here's one of the finest efforts to take down russian drones over Ukraine out there:

"'DroneFall' by the numbers 🤓🔢

Our project is already 2.5 months old, or 79 days. Today we share with you our numbers and remind you what it's all about 🫶"
🇺🇦🧵👇

https://twitter.com/BackAndAlive/status/1849765809708536252

"During this period, we have provided 16 units with everything they need to effectively hunt down enemy UAVs: pickup trucks, interceptor drones and related equipment.

The total value of the aid we have provided so far is UAH 39,581,680 ($958,960 USD) ✅"

https://x.com/BackAndAlive/status/1849765820215214290

Treating Ukrainians lives as expendable is everything wrong with the world's response, and crap tourniquets are an insidious manifestation of that evil.

@sector_m14 did, in fact, point out russian connections to Dnipro TQs. Back to that after I translate Olga's thread: 🇺🇦🧵👇

https://twitter.com/OKhudetska/status/1848014898975924225

"In comments on Instagram, Dmytro Kozyatynskyi, a military medical servicemember, shared his experience from the ground of the Dnipro TQs: his wounds were bleeding under them.

In response, the host of the Dnipro TQ manufacturer's YouTube attacked:"

https://x.com/OKhudetska/status/1848014898975924225

Report! This is one of the same accounts who, in confirmed screenshots chats with NurseAnna's crew, was calling for sexual assault on official volunteers for Ukrainian units. They are convicted of that kind of offense, and fomenting violence at anyone outside of their clique.

https://twitter.com/RachelPAV/status/1838997702471741690

Yet again, this crew brings vile, thuggish behavior into Ukraine support spaces. I think many of you remember their violent threats against @trinzu, @amerikanska5050, and @AnnaFil_Ukraine, and their debunked legal claims about @RachelPAV.

https://x.com/NormandeBrigade/status/1784345723351306507

Impressive report! Come Back Alive's got a cost-effective counter to russian reconnaissance drones that saves costly air defense missiles for other needs.
🇺🇦🧵👇

"We continue to implement the 'Drone Attack” project, providing the units that effectively hunt down russian reconnaissance UAVs with everything they need.

During the second week, we provided four units with transport, communications, power, tablets and laptops, and, of course, FPV and components worth UAH 9 million 358 thousand 24.32

Thus, the 38th Marine Brigade, 126th Air Assault Brigade, 1129th Air Assault Brigade and one of the Special Forces units received a total of:

✅ 4 Peugeot Landtrek pickups and 2 Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps
✅ 50 FPV and 300 antennas and transmitters
✅ laptops, tablets, Starlinks, monitors, cables, radios, etc.

Our task is to provide the units with everything they need to shoot down enemy reconnaissance UAVs in a short period of time: 'Zal”, 'Supekam', 'Orlan' and others, in the most effective way - thanks to customized FPV interceptors!

Currently, 9 military units from Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Kharkiv regions are working on the project, and several more will join this week.

Thanks to this project, we can 'cut the wings” of russian intelligence, which in turn will prevent them from quickly directing aircraft and Iskanders at priority targets: our air defense systems, equipment clusters, warehouses, aircraft at airfields, etc." "...we save anti-aircraft guided missiles costing $50-200K and shoot down the enemy at a cost around $700-1000. This saves tremendous resources and significantly depletes russian resources due to the constant need to replace expensive reconnaissance UAVs."

"Recently in 🇲🇱, Tuareg rebels KO'd Wagner and sent regards to 🇺🇦.

Would you like to hear Tuareg music on this occasion?

A 🧵 about desert blues — a distinct genre from freedom-loving nomadic people — who plays it, what DakhaBrakha and Jack White have to do with it."
🇺🇦🧵👇

[Ed. — In sane and peaceful times, translating and researching cool stuff about musical traditions from around the world would be my jam. How I miss news full of this, and what a treat to see people from amazing cultures appreciating and helping each other! -D] "Tishoumaren or ⵜⵉⵛⵓⵎⴰⵔⴻⵏ, known as Desert Blues, was born in the 1980s in the Sahara as a fusion of rock with traditional music of the Berbers and nearby peoples.

It was the Tuareg who pioneered the genre, spreading it to 🇲🇱🇳🇪🇱🇾🇩🇿🇧🇫."

https://x.com/sergii_cane/status/1818655916188700738

No, just no. Not only do you not need Bellingcat to tell you it was a ru Kh-101 missile that hit the hospital: parts of that org demonstrate russophilia and bad faith towards respected Ukrainian orgs like @InformNapalm whom they stole from.


Here's what impeccable Ukrainian OSINT looks like:
x.com/InformNapalm/s…

"A russian X-101 cruise missile was targeted from a Tu-95MS at the Okhmatdyt children's hospital.

It is worth reminding that the crews of at least 8 russian Tu-95MS are known(informnapalm.org/ua/hto-bombyt-…) to have committed war crimes in the shelling of civilian targets in both Ukraine and Syria. However, they have not yet been punished for these actions, and impunity gives war criminals a sense of untouchability.

If at least 3-4 pilots of these crews were physically targeted on the territory of russia, it would not lead to escalation, but rather would force the perpetrators of war crimes to refuse to carry out criminal orders.

This should be a matter of honor not only for the Ukrainian intelligence services, but also for the intelligence services of all countries threatened by russia. When russia was bombing schools and hospitals in Syria, we warned that russians were training to kill civilians and that Ukrainians could be the next victims of attacks. Now that russian pilots are killing Ukrainian children, it's time for NATO countries to think about what they should do: destroy the planes and pilots on russian territory."

Platforming Bellingcat with its spotty track record on subjects related to russia and Ukraine not only positions them to do more harm, but also bypasses reliable, high-quality Ukrainian sources.

Follow @InformNapalm instead.

A notable article on @TextyOrgUa's site:

"🤔What is the strategy for victory? @MBielieskov, senior analyst at Come Back Alive, expressed his opinion on key points upon which Ukraine's optimal strategy in the war with russia should be based."
🇺🇦🧵👇

https://twitter.com/BackAndAlive/status/1807103917559529785

@TextyOrgUa @MBielieskov Important to note, of couse: "All opinions expressed in the text are personal and in no way should be interpreted as the official position of NISS or Come Back Alive." However, @MBielieskov is highly credible.

With that out of the way, I'll translate a few key excerpts:

Please share widely, and see the quoted thread for details. Call and write TODAY. The House Rules Committee votes on amendments to HR 8070 tomorrow. The Kean Amendments - 119, 678, 826, and 859 - are important! See QT for details. 🧵👇

x.com/abstractedaway…

For those who need to use the officials' emails for US citizens' comments:

Michael C. Burgess (R) (TX-26): burgess.house.gov/contact/356345…
James P. McGovern (D) (MA-02): mcgovern.house.gov/contact/zip-au…
Joe Neguse (D) (CO-02): neguse.house.gov/contact
Austin Scott (R) (GA-08): austinscott.house.gov/contact-austin
Erin Houchin (R) (IN-09): houchin.house.gov/contact
Teresa Leger Fernandez (D) (NM-03): fernandez.house.gov/contact
Nicholas A. Langworthy (R) (NY-23): langworthy.house.gov/contact
Guy Reschenthaler (R) (PA-14): reschenthaler.house.gov/contact/email-…
Mary Gay Scanlon (D) (PA-05): scanlon.house.gov/contact

*** Remember to thank @RepMcGovern for driving #DischargePetition9 - thank or scold all your representatives, showing them you paid attention boosts impact!

Massie, Roy, Norman, and Fischbach are on this committee but voted against aid to Ukraine. Hopeless cases, boo! Make more effective calls, but tell them how they impacted your vote if you have time!

Resource on that record: govtrack.us/congress/votes… Take all you want from this! Especially you @aprilsparkles1 @chachango @SDowbusz @TonyaLevchuk - groups and orgs and people pull together for 🇺🇦 in 🇺🇸!

Let's go! ☎️🔥🫶🇺🇦😁

(Pardon, had to take some hopeless russophiles off the info-meme!)

More of Come Back Alive's comprehensive action for ZSU:

"...In February, together with @TwiyKyivstar, we completed a fundraiser for the country's demining project. In total, we raised over 180 million UAH (❗️), exceeding the goal of 175 million."
🇺🇦🧵👇
x.com/BackAndAlive/s… x.com/BackAndAlive/s… @TwiyKyivstar "The additional funds allowed us to help the newly formed brigade of the Support Forces Command with equipment for control centers, communications, power, and demining equipment..."

https://x.com/BackAndAlive/status/1796074119852634515

"Again? Again!"

"The devils who push killer tourniquets must be stopped!
Therefore, I ask respected thinkers and the community to support us with 👍, 🔄 and votes for 📝
All links will be at the bottom of the following tweet ⬇️⬇️"
🇺🇦🧵👇

https://twitter.com/vsenenimes/status/1792579196243370219

"Sorry for the delay, please follow the links"
x.com/vsenenimes/sta…

1️⃣ x.com/i/birdwatch/t/…
2⃣ x.com/i/birdwatch/t/…
3️⃣ x.com/i/birdwatch/t/…