Yes, this is Thursday’s not Friday’s
🇺🇦 Pictured: What Severodonetsk looks like
🇺🇦 Ukraine will survive and the US is preparing to arm it for years, says the Deputy DEFSEC
🇺🇦 At the same time, the United State’s goal is to prepare Ukraine to be self sufficient in protect itself, rather than fight the war for it
🇺🇦 NATO plans to help Ukraine switch from using Soviet-era equipment to modern weapons.
🇺🇦 Wrap your head around this: Russian citizens from the Free Russia Legion fighting for Ukraine captured Ukrainian citizens from the Luhansk/Donetsk ‘people’s republics’ forces fighting for Russia.
🇺🇦 The UK has purchased and is refurbishing more than 20 long range guns – M109s – from a Belgian arms company which it is sending to Ukraine, Defence Secretary BWallaceMP has said. These heavy weapons fire 155mm rounds.
🙄Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill delivered a sermon Tuesday claiming Russia “has never attacked anyone” and “doesn’t want to fight”
🙄For those just joining us, the Russian Orthodox Church is an extension of Russia’s spy network
🇺🇦 “If the war ends with Putin comfortably in power and Russia in possession of a fifth of Ukraine, then Beijing will draw the lesson that aggression works” - Radek Sikorski (Member of EU Parliament)
🇺🇦 The Kremlin and proxy republics continue to pursue ad hoc annexation policies in occupied territories. For example…
🇺🇦 Russian occupants in Mariupol prohibit children from speaking Ukrainian in schools, threatening that “there will be consequences” for them and their parents if they hear someone speak Ukrainian. That’s on top of removing all Ukrainian books, and introducing a Russian curriculum.
🇺🇦 Russia is forcing newborns in occupied Kherson to get Russian citizenship
Operations:
🇺🇦 Russian forces are trying to attack nine directions simultaneously
🇺🇦 Russian forces launched ground assaults in Severodonetsk and settlements in its vicinity but have not taken full control over the city.
🇺🇦 Russian forces launched largely unsuccessful offensive operations around the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway in an effort to cut Ukrainian ground lines of communication to Lysychansk.
🇺🇦 Russian forces continued efforts to advance along the E40 highway to Slovyansk and southeast of Izyum.
🇺🇦 Russian and Ukrainian forces continued to fight in northeastern settlements around Kharkiv City.
🇺🇦 Russian forces continued to fortify fallback positions in Zaporizhia and Kherson Oblasts, while undertaking defensive measures to strengthen Russian presence in the Black Sea.
🇺🇦 With escalation in heavy fighting, up to 500 Ukrainian fighters are being killed per day. Opinion: This number may be inflated because the source is Ukraine’s chief negotiator.
🚌 My readership seems to have reached a critical mass where I am now getting flagged or reported for spam. If you don’t see an update, it is likely because a Russian bot mass reported me. If I ever stop these updates, I will make a big deal of it (or I got hit by a bus or something). Consider subscribing to Substack just in case! walterhimself2.substack.com
📢 Countries apply to be in NATO. Saying NATO is encroaching on Russia is Kremlin messaging. Russia has three primary propaganda efforts directed at the West, and that’s the first.
📢 Yes, Ukraine has a nazi problem, but it’s a very small percentage of the country, and not representative of the whole. Using a small group to smear the entire group is called “guilt by association.” Russia has three primary propaganda efforts directed at the West, and that’s the second.
📢 If you ever hear anyone say “What about this thing America did…” or “what about Palestine?” in an effort to redirect attention away from Ukraine and onto the west, that is called “Competitive victimhood” and the associated meme is *always* created by Russian-backed media. Russia has three primary propaganda efforts directed at the West, and that’s the third.
⚠️ Sorry about the typos or awkward sentences!!!! This is the inevitable result of putting out a finalized research product once every 24 hours, with no staff. If anyone feels like giving me staff, we can polish this b right up!
⚠️ I got lazy with my citations and I apologize. My top sources are: Current and former military planners, singularly-focused pundits, and all manner of vetted open-source intelligence. Top cited open source pundits and sources include: CP Scott, Institute for the Study of War, Kyiv Independent, Aaron Parnas, John Aravosis, Malcontent News, and mainstream news with high levels of journalistic integrity and track records. Sadly I can’t source private individuals, of course.
⚠️ Speaking of sources, thanks to all of you who have forwarded me tips or given me data from the front line. You’re the private individuals I wish I could source publicly
⚠️ Though my awesome employer taught me everything I know about OSINT, these posts are not affiliated with my employer, nor done during my employer’s time. Every item I report is from my own research, my own opinion, and written during my own time.
⚠️ Note: War happens fast and even high fidelity news needs a ton of corrections after the dust settles.