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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

On The Donetsk Frontline, Where Kamikaze Drones Are Everyone's Weapon-Of-Choice

In Ukraine, kamikaze drones have gradually overtaken artillery as the main threat to soldiers — on both sides of the frontline. Meanwhile, a bitter winter is taking over life in the trenches.

DONETSK — In the chilly pre-dawn hours, a mud-stained pickup truck drives along a potholed road in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk. Despite the darkness and the ice, the vehicle travels with its lights off, its interior illuminated only by the reddish glow of a lit cigarette.

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Throughout the early morning last Monday, the cracking sound of artillery can be heard echoing intermittently in the distance, followed by the bright trail of a projectile soaring into the cloudy sky.

Inside the truck, four soldiers from the 28th brigade of the Ukrainian army have just left the relative comfort of a small country house to go to the frontline, towards Bakhmut. After a short journey through overgrown fields and devastated villages, the car stops at the edge of a forest.

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Next Target, Crimea? Why Crossing The Dnipro Could Be The Boost Ukraine Needed

International support for Kyiv is waning and calls for negotiations are growing louder. But Ukraine has now managed to establish a bridgehead on the other side of the Dnipro River. From there, its troops could advance to Crimea — and turn the tide of the war.

Updated Nov. 27, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.

-Analysis-

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War, Corruption And The Overdue Demise Of Ukrainian Oligarchs

The invasion of Russia has forced Ukraine to confront a domestic enemy: corruption and economic control by an insular and unethical elite.

-Analysis-

KYIV — Since Russia’s invasion, Ukraine's all-powerful oligarchs have lost a significant chunk of their wealth and political influence. However, the fight against the corruption that plagues the country is only just beginning.

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On the morning of September 2, several men wearing balaclavas and bullet-proof waistcoats bearing the initials "SBU" arrived at the door of an opulent mansion in Dnipro, Ukraine's fourth largest city. Facing them, his countenance frowning behind thin-rimmed glasses, was the owner of the house, the oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky.

Officers from the Ukrainian security services had come to hand him a "suspicion notice" as part of an investigation into "fraud" and "money laundering". His home was searched, and shortly afterwards he was remanded in custody, with bail set at 509 million hryvnias, or more than €1.3 million. A photo of the operation published that very morning by the security services was widely shared on social networks and then picked up by various media outlets.

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A Reminder For Israel And Ukraine: Negotiating With Terrorists Never Works

As long as there are criminal regimes with technological, military, and financial capabilities, defeating them militarily is the only route to lasting peace.

-Analysis-

KYIV — The conflict in Israel that began after Hamas launched a major terrorist attack on Israeli soil on October 7 offers striking parallels with the situation in Ukraine. It is not directly comparable to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, but both conflicts were preceded by similar developments.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Lizaveta Tsybulina

How Pro-Ukrainian Hackers Have Undermined Russia's War Every Step Of The Way

Authorities in Moscow continue to struggle to stem the tide of data breaches from hackers inside and outside Ukraine, who have been one of the unsung heroes in the resistance to the Russian invasion.

Updated Nov. 20, 2023 at 5:45 p.m.

It was a concerted effort that began with Russia's Feb. 24, 2022 full-scale invasion, and has not relented since: pro-Ukrainian hackers have been targeting Russian government agencies and businesses, gathering secret information and passing it on to the Ukrainian security and intelligence forces.

Discrepancies exist in total reported breakthroughs and leaks obtained over the past 20 months. This year so far, Roskomnadzor, Russia’s digital watchdog, identified 150 major leaks, while Kaspersky Lab, a Russian cybersecurity firm, reported 168 leaks, totaling about 2 billion lines of data, including 48 million with top secret passwords.

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Following the Russian invasion, a substantial number of hackers worldwide expressed solidarity with Ukraine, and took action. "My colleagues and I operate under the principle that 'if it can be hacked, then it needs to be hacked,'” said a representative of the Cyber.Anarchy.Squad group. “We believe in targeting anything accessible, especially if it's significant to defeating the enemy."

“BlackBird,” one of the founders of the DC8044 community, explained that the primary objective of hacking Russian entities is to acquire data useful to Ukrainian security forces.

"The personal data obtained by our groups is typically shared with security forces,” he said. “They aggregate and analyze this information to support their operations effectively.”

Hackers closely cooperate with Ukrainian intelligence services as well: they are engaged in reconnaissance, sabotage and information operations. Andrey Baranovich, co-founder of the Ukrainian CyberAlliance group said that “If we spend 24 hours hacking something, our victims should spend at least a week recovering, and in the optimal case, the victim should not recover at all.”

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Rustem Khalilov, Mykhailo Krygel & Olga Kyrylenko

Ukraine Has A Recruitment Problem — And Zelensky Doesn't Want To Talk About It

Some of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units are at only 70% of their intended strength. But President Zelensky is unwilling to raise the question of mass mobilization. The result is a parallel reality, with more recruitment coming from rural areas and lower classes, and some urbanites feeling victory is not too far, and their sacrifice is not needed.

Updated Nov. 16, 2023 at 6:25 p.m.

KYIV — Walking through the center of Kyiv in the fall of 2023 can make you feel like you’ve gone back in time. The atmosphere in the city seems to transport you to either a carefree past or a promising future.

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You'll find bustling cafes filled with people enjoying oat milk lattes, business lunches, and people zipping around on scooters.

Amongst these images of ‘normal life’, the "Field of Memory" on Maidan Square, adorned with thousands of flags bearing the names or call signs of fallen soldiers, serves as a poignant reminder of the ongoing war. Lights and billboards of the Armed Forces of Ukraine beckon citizens to "join their ranks." But these often go ignored.

Military chaplain Andriy Zelinskyi has diagnosed this situation as "discursive incompatibility."

“An entirely self-contained and substantial illusion of an alternative reality has emerged,” he says. “A reality that acts as an escape from the pain, wounds, and losses of war. This alternative reality poses a significant threat to the unity needed to effectively resist Russia.”

One segment of society has been in the trenches for a year and a half, witnessing the daily horrors of destruction, injury, and the loss of comrades. Meanwhile, another segment lives on in cities like Kyiv, Lviv, or Odesa, offering donations, or just thinking about contributing, while attempting to distance themselves from the war as much as possible.

The government has also played a role in creating and maintaining this alternative reality. In its public communication, full-scale mobilization is a taboo. An honest conversation about mobilization as a guarantee for survival and eventual victory seems "out of place" when elections are looming.

Periodically, cracks in this alternative reality emerge. For instance, a publication in TIME magazine highlighted that in some military branches, personnel shortages were more critical than those of weapons and ammunition. The article was dismissed by Ukrainian authorities as nonsense.

In the meantime, without waiting for the transition to full-scale mobilization, some military units are taking matters into their own hands, actively seeking and motivating individuals who are willing to don a military uniform and bear arms.

Following the challenging defense of Bakhmut and Zaporizhzhia, it became clear that the Ukrainian military was in dire need of reinforcements.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Pavlo Kazarin

Ukraine's Biggest Challenge This Winter: Staying United

Last winter, many Ukrainians believed the only factor delaying the war's end was the weather. A year later, the country faces a very different situation, with a stalled counteroffensive ahead of the coming cold days creating fertile ground to lose precious national unity.

-Analysis-

KYIV — The winter ahead is likely to be extremely difficult for Ukrainians.

And this year, the challenges extend beyond energy network resources, which have already been adequately covered, and reserves of anti-missile systems. The real issue is that Ukraine is heading into this winter with far lower reserves of psychological resilience and greater collective fatigue than ever before.

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Last winter was preceded by a series of military triumphs, with the Ukrainian army successfully pushing the enemy out of Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions. They reclaimed Snake Island, initiated the Kharkiv counteroffensive, and liberated Kherson by the end of February. During that time, the country held onto the belief that the only factor delaying the war's end was the weather.

The prevailing sentiment was that with the arrival of warmer weather in the spring, the enemy would be pushed back and eventually defeated.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Serhii Sydorenko

Zelensky Should Cancel His Visit To Israel Right Now

After the postponement of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's planned trip to Israel, there are voices now saying it should be cancelled outright. What's the price of Ukraine publicly declaring its support for the current actions of the Israeli government and military?

-OpEd-

KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's planned visit to Israel on Tuesday was postponed after a weekend leak that revealed details of his arrival. Reports suggest that Zelensky remains eager to travel to Tel Aviv to express support for the Jewish state amidst the ongoing conflict.

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This risks becoming the President's most significant foreign policy blunder since the start of the Russian invasion.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Mykola Topalov

Ukraine's Battered Energy Sector Hopes For A Miracle In Time For Winter

The country is scrambling to shore up production and distribution amid the inevitability of continued Russian attacks, questions around the pace of restoration of damaged facilities, and the possibility of a harsher winter than last year's.

KYIV — Before Russia's invasion, the Ukrainian energy sector typically conducted annual maintenance and repairs between May and September. However, it is struggling to keep up in the aftermath of the significant damage inflicted on power generation and distribution facilities.

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With a substantial number of these facilities either destroyed or damaged, a full recovery within six months is implausible. Predicting potential power outages is also challenging, as it depends on the scale of future Russian attacks. The only thing that can be predicted with a high degree of certainty is that these attacks will persist.

Furthermore, the Russian tactics have evolved, now involving the use of drones to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses and target infrastructure. Ukraine is adapting to this threat and developing countermeasures, but citizens should nonetheless brace for the possible power disruptions.

Towards the end of summer, varying assessments emerged regarding the readiness of Ukraine's energy system for the winter. Some of them caused concern. For instance, Lana Zerkal, a former advisor to the Minister of Energy, revealed that only one third of the planned restoration of thermal power plants had been completed.

Kostiantyn Uschapovskyi, head of the National Commission for State Regulation of Energy and Utilities (NCRECP), added that restoration work on combined heat and power plants and thermal power plants had covered a mere 1.6% of the damage inflicted by the Russians.

"Unfortunately, the figures we have for emergency and recovery work completed by July 1 do not provide a positive outlook for the successful completion of the Winterization Plan," he said.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Wacław Radziwinowicz

Putin's 2024 Reelection Will Be A Weapon In The War In Ukraine — It Could Also Backfire

A report Monday from Reuters tells us what all knew: Vladimir Putin will seek a fifth term in Russia's March 2024 presidential elections. But he needs a high turnout and overwhelming support to seal the legitimacy of his war in Ukraine.

-Analysis-

Vladimir Putin will be "elected" next March for the fifth time and continue his ongoing reign as master of the Kremlin. In spite of certain victory, the Russian president urgently needs a triumph in the war, however large or small, and he will look to ramp up his war machine at full speed after the elections.

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According to Putin and the Russian media, the Russian army is constantly achieving "successes". General Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, briefs his compatriots every day about dozens of destroyed enemy tanks (including Leopards), and hundreds of "liquidated neo-Nazis". At one point last month, he reported shooting down seven tanks at once, and a day later he claimed that Russia had destroyed "all four" Ukrainian fighter jets. He did not support these grand claims with any evidence.

Personally, I’ve noticed that the worse Russia's troops fare, the greater it claims the enemy is suffering. When Ukrainian ATACMS missiles hit the airports in Berdyansk and near Luhansk, neither Konashenkov nor the Kremlin TV spoke of this attack.

In spite of the resonance of Putin’s propaganda machine, embellished and largely fictitious battle advantages are not enough for boosting morale ahead of the elections. What Putin now needs is tangible success, preferably in a specific city.

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Roman Romaniuk & Roman Kravets

Ukraine And The West: Here's How Zelensky Must Tweak The Script

With the Middle East burning and domestic politics splintering, Ukraine is now just one of multiple priorities for the West. For President Zelensky, it's time to move past the narrative of the past two years.

-Analysis-

KYIV — Ukraine is entering a new phase of the war and a new stage of relations with its partners. Even Time magazine's "symbol of 2022," Volodymyr Zelensky, is finding it increasingly challenging to stay in the global news spotlight.

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Nevertheless, diplomats in Zelensky's team believe that interest in him remains high. One of them told Ukrainian news site Pravda that, "We have Zelensky, and there will be no other president until the end of the war. As a country, we must place our trust in him. Fortunately, Zelensky continues to be a superstar for most Americans. Even now, when other topics like the Israel conflict have emerged, and we are getting less screen time, he is still a celebrity."

While the Ukrainian war is still one of the most important topics for the West, it is now one of many. The sudden shift in focus to the Middle East following aggravated fighting in Israel is a clear example of this.

"The honeymoon phase in our relationship is over,” conceded an influential member of the Ukrainian president's team involved in international affairs. “Now, we need to pay more attention to our partners' recommendations and consider them carefully in order to secure further aid and assistance."

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War
Veronika Gredinskaya

How Russia's Future History Teachers Are Battling Kremlin Propaganda

Russia has introduced new history textbooks criticized for replacing facts with propaganda. Students preparing to teach history are torn between "patriotic" and "liberal" narratives, even as they refuse to accept the state's version without debate.

Since the start of the new academic year in Russia, high-school students have been learning history from new textbooks that include a chapter on the invasion of Ukraine. The revised text has been criticized for its substitution of historical facts with propaganda – a live example of how the authorities are rewriting the country's history.

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Russian independent news site Vazhnye Istorii spoke with a few students of history at Russian universities who intend to become history teachers when they graduate (their names have been changed for security reasons).

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