🧵1/6 Putin’s Winter Obsession:

Every year like clockwork, Putin launches missiles at Ukraine’s energy grid. The shift from striking training grounds and infrastructure to energy facilities has become the norm.

Every year, it fails, after he spends billions and billions trying to freeze Ukrainians through the winter.

He’s fighting a 21st-century nation with 20th-century tactics, and proving only one thing: he’s run out of ideas. 2/6 The Generator Economy:

In 2022, he tried to freeze Ukraine into submission. Instead, Ukrainians powered up.
Generators, EcoFlows, solar panels, power banks, a new black-market of resilience was born. Putin’s campaign created what it tried to kill, ‘independence.’

1️⃣ The Harsh Truth:

Ukraine will save Ukraine.
Not America. Not Europe.
Every trench dug, every drone launched, every act of defiance is Ukrainians refusing extinction while the world debates “fatigue.” 2️⃣ The U.S. Vacuum:

Under Trump, Ukraine faces abandonment.
He’s halted direct aid, failed in his peace negotiations and not placed any additional pressure on Putin, insisting weapons be sold to NATO, not given to Kyiv. 🇺🇸➡️🇪🇺➡️🇺🇦

Polls show only 34% approve of his Ukraine stance, while 57% disapprove.
Isolationism doesn’t make America safer, it strengthens dictators.
Putin fears Ukrainian resistance, not NATO speeches.

1/4 Hegseth’s Ineptitude Continues….

Hegseth is wrong on every level. The Geneva Conventions aren’t “stupid rules”, they’re the line that separates soldiers from the terrorists like who tortured me and many others in Mariupol.

Because they exist, I can chase Russia & Putin through the courts for war crimes. Without them, there’s no justice, just barbarism. 2/4 Why we need rules

I’ve lived this. I fought in Mariupol, was captured, tortured, and sentenced to death in a sham trial. Russia denied me POW status. That’s what happens when you abandon the rules, human beings reduced to pawns, stripped of dignity & rights.

🚨 THREAD: Zapad 2025, Russian drones & NATO’s red line 🚨
Russia’s war games + drone incursions aren’t “accidents.” They’re stress tests on NATO. Trump downplays, Poland warns, and Article 5 looms closer. 🧵👇 #Ukraine #NATO #Zapad2025

1/6 WAR GAMES WITH TEETH

Russia’s Zapad 2025 drills aren’t routine.
They simulate nuclear use, “crushing the enemy,” & securing the Union State (Russia+Belarus).
All staged right on NATO’s borders.
2/ DRONES OVER POLAND
⚠️ 19–23 Russian drones crossed into Polish airspace from Belarus.
✈️ Airports in Warsaw, Lublin & Rzeszów shut down within 300 km of the border.
🇵🇱 Jets scrambled. Warsaw invoked Article 4.
This wasn’t an accident. It was a probe.

🚨 Why Igor Girkin’s prison letters matter
One of Putin’s own warlords is openly declaring Russia’s war in Ukraine a failure. Who is Girkin, what does he say, and why will he probably die in prison? Let’s break it down 🧵

1/6 Who is Igor Girkin?

🇷🇺 Girkin (aka Strelkov) isn’t just another prisoner. He’s a former FSB officer, one of the architects of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, commander of Donbas “separatists” (word used loosely), and tied to the MH17 shoot-down that killed 298 civilians.
2/6 Why his words matter

From prison, Girkin writes that Russia’s “SMO” has failed. Moscow can’t defeat Ukraine, can’t hold Kherson or Zaporizhzhia, and faces either capitulation or total war. That’s open defiance of Kremlin propaganda.

1/6 – 🎯 Ukraine’s Precision Strikes

Ukraine’s drones have knocked out 17 % of Russia’s oil refining capacity, over 1.1M barrels/day gone. A devastating blow to Putin’s “untouchable” energy lifeline. 2/6 – ⛽ Shortages in the Empire of Oil

Across Russia’s Far East, Crimea & southern regions: gas stations ration fuel and queues stretch for hours. A petro-giant suddenly “running on empty.”

1/7 The reality is simple, Russia has failed:

Russia will not stop this war until it accepts it’s losing. I’d argue Putin already is, and for some time, but he won’t admit it. Until pressure is applied, Ukraine will need to keep pushing drones deep into Russia, hitting strategic targets and crippling the war machine:

Russia’s major losses (2022–2025)
•❌ Over 1 million casualties (killed & wounded combined).
•❌ 55% of territory lost from what was initially captured in 2022.
•❌ 1/3 of Russia’s tactical bomber fleet destroyed.
•❌ Black Sea dominance broken, fleet ships sunk, Sevastopol and Crimea unsafe.
•❌ 13.5% of oil refining capacity knocked out by Ukrainian drones (≈44M tons/year offline).
•❌ Economy strained — sanctions, export revenue collapse, ruble instability.
•❌ Elite units attrited — VDV, Marines, Wagner remnants all heavily degraded.
•❌ International isolation — reliant on Iran, North Korea, and China’s limited support. 2/7 Failed, Failed & Failed:

In more than over 3 years fighting, Putin has FAILED to achieve a single principle objective of its invasion and is in a considerably worse situation now, than prior to February 2022:

•❌ Topple Kyiv & Zelensky
•❌ Seize all of Donetsk & Luhansk
•❌ Cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea
•❌ Stop NATO expansion
•❌ Weaken the West’s resolve

1/6 Everything’s Flipped:

Since the Alaska talks, everything has flipped in Russia’s favour. What was once firm red lines are now being erased by Trump’s desperation for a “deal.” It’s not diplomacy, it’s capitulation dressed up for a Nobel prize photo-op. 2/6 The ceasefire line went first:

Ukraine pushed for it, Russia flatly rejected it, yet Trump quietly dropped it from discussions. Without a ceasefire, Russia keeps bombing Kharkiv, killing civilians, and advancing at will.

1/6 Reuters has published what they say is Putin’s ‘peace’ terms for Ukraine:

– No ceasefire until full agreement
– Ukraine must withdraw from Donetsk & Luhansk
– Russia freezes front lines in Kherson & Zaporizhzhia
– Crimea ‘recognized’ as Russian
– NATO ban for Ukraine
– Partial sanctions relief
– Russian language & church rights imposed

Putin’s so-called peace proposal isn’t peace, it’s surrender dressed up in bullet points. It’s no change from 2014 or 2022. Russia still demands Ukraine hand over land it couldn’t win militarily.
reuters.com/world/china/ou… 2/6 Accepting these terms means legitimizing Russia’s invasion.

It rewards genocide, torture, and war crimes by letting Moscow keep stolen territory. No country on Earth should accept that precedent and what’s worse, is the American President is pushing to “make a deal” and providing legitimacy to these acts.

1/4 The Ukrainian General Staff has said that the situation on the Pokrovsk front, where a group of Russian troops recently broke through near the town of Dobropillia, is stabilising. 2/4 As I’ve said previously, the ground around Pokrovsk is extremely difficult terrain, especially if you are an aggressor army. Rather like East Anglia, it’s flat with heavy agricultural, ploughed fields and crops with thin tree lines and little cover.

1/6 Russia’s Maximalist Dream vs. Reality

Putin can’t win militarily. Russia’s economy is flatlining. Yet Trump’s Alaska meeting may hand the Kremlin a political victory it couldn’t earn on the battlefield. Here’s how Russia’s “maximum ambition” is shrinking and why that’s dangerous. 2/6 Military Stalemate

Putin’s maximum ambition in Ukraine was never just about Donbas. It was the destruction of Ukrainian sovereignty and locking in a puppet state. But 2½ years later, he’s stuck. No decisive breakthrough. No path to Kyiv. The Kremlin’s dream is collapsing under its own weight.

Even with mass mobilisation, Russia can’t take Ukraine militarily. Attritional advances cost thousands of lives for metres gained. Equipment losses are unsustainable. The idea of conquering all of Ukraine is dead, they can barely hold what they’ve stolen.

1/7 Inviting Vladimir Putin to Alaska

Accused of multiple crimes against humanity, being invited to the US doesn’t just insult Ukraine. It undermines the rules-based international order, gives an indicted war criminal legitimacy, and tells other aggressors that might makes right.

Here are six of the worst charges against him, with the legal basis for each. 2/7 Forced Deportation of Ukrainian Children

The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin under Articles 8(2)(a)(vii) & 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute for “unlawful deportation and transfer of children” from occupied Ukraine to Russia.

zmina.info/en/news-en/the…

1⃣/6 What we actually know.

Yes, it’s happening. U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that he will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, August 15, 2025.

bbc.com/news/articles/… 2/6 Confusion & Scrutiny

The intent is to discuss a ceasefire and potential peace deal in the Russia–Ukraine war. It would be the first face‑to‑face Trump–Putin summit in the U.S. since 1988. As it unfolded, it’s coming under much scrutiny, why?
theguardian.com/world/2025/aug…

1/6 Putin in Alaska

Putin flying to Alaska to meet Trump isn’t diplomacy, it’s a sell-out for Ukraine. For the invaded nation, the symbolism is brutal, not neutral ground, but U.S. soil, with a U.S. president who’s already been dangling “concessions” Ukraine never agreed to.
bbc.com/news/articles/… 2/6 The “Concessions” Lie

Zelensky had to publicly repeat what’s always been clear, the expected concessions are not on the table, they never have been. Giving Putin territory for a handshake is not a peace deal, it’s a reward for genocide and a blueprint for the next invasion.
kyivindependent.com/ukrainians-wil…

1/6 Trump has officially sold out Ukraine.

He came in with talk of “killer sanctions” on Russia, sanctions he had no intention of ever implementing. It was always theatre, designed to sound tough while keeping Putin comfortable. 2/6 Trump Demands Concessions of Ukraine

Now, he’s demanding Ukraine make concessions before he’ll sit down with Putin. Imagine that, the invaded country forced to give up ground just to get a meeting. That’s not diplomacy. That’s surrender dressed up as negotiation and rewarding a genocidal indicted war criminal.
meduza.io/amp/en/feature…

🧵1/6 Why Putin Won’t Meet Zelensky

Putin fears a direct confrontation with Zelensky, not because of personal danger, but because a face-to-face would expose the false narrative he’s spent years building, that Ukraine is just a pawn, and Zelensky is irrelevant. A meeting would legitimise both. 2/6 No Strategic Benefit for Putin

Putin gains nothing from such a meeting. He’s not interested in negotiation, only in submission. A photo op with Zelensky would show parity, not dominance. And if Zelensky stood firm (as he would), Putin risks looking weak. He’d rather bomb cities than face that. It would be a PR disaster for the bunker midget.

🧵1/ Ukrainian Sovereignty is not up for debate. It’s been internationally recognised multiple times - including by Russia. Here’s a breakdown of the treaties that matter: 2/ 🇺🇳 UN Charter (1945)
Article 2 of the UN Charter prohibits the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Ukraine, as a UN member, has its borders protected under international law.

Russia’s invasion blatantly violates these core principles—despite being a permanent member of the UN Security Council. That’s the heart of the debate.

The very place meant to save lives is now picking up the pieces—
Russia struck a hospital in Kamianske.
This is the aftermath.


Dnipro TV journalist shows the destruction of the Maternity Ward
t.me/dniprotv/99707

I didn’t fully understand the Olenivka massacre until after I was exchanged in late September 2022. Some of the survivors were brought to our prison, Makivka 97, after the explosion. One was my friend from Kyiv, who’d translated for me back in those early days of 2018.

https://twitter.com/nafovoyager/status/1949719563005817126

2/ On July 29, 2022, a barracks holding Ukrainian POWs, many from Azovstal were blown up inside a Russian-run prison in occupied Donetsk. At least 50 were killed. Russia blamed Ukraine. But nothing about it added up.
hrw.org/news/2023/07/2…

Ukraine’s top general, Valeriy Zaluzhny, just gave a hard-hitting interview, and it’s a wake-up call for the West. The war has changed. If NATO doesn’t adapt, Russia could grind on until 2034. Here’s what you need to know: 2/ The full-scale war as we knew it, tanks, trenches, massive offensives, ended in 2023.
Since 2024, it’s a war of attrition. Drones, precision strikes, long-range warfare. This is a new phase, and it’s deadly.

Russian & foreign combatants held in Ukrainian are being taught new skills, including baking, thanks to an onsite bakery. It’s difficult not to draw comparisons to my own time in Russian captivity, where there was no opportunity for such structured activities while also not receiving a single visit from an independent humanitarian aid organization.

One of the aims of this trip was to better understand who is responsible for the welfare of prisoners of war in Ukraine, and which independent bodies are monitoring their conditions.

In the documentary, I speak with legal and military experts about the obligations outlined in humanitarian law, including the Third Geneva Convention. We also ask the tough question, does the current legal framework still reflect the modern realities of war, or is it in urgent need of revision?

Today’s prison lunch: vegetable soup, kasha with meat, cucumber, and bread fresh from the bakery. I try to avoid using the word “captivity” when talking about Russians, they invaded, they had a choice. It’s something I occasionally slip up on, but words matter.