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Starting in October 2023, I wrote a total of 15 articles or posts, trying to provide a play by play of the siege, combat and conquest of the heavily fortified key bastion of Avdiivka – or, as I will now call it in its alternative Russian Latinization, ‘Avdeevka’. Find here a complete list of my TGP articles about Avdiivka in my ‘Signal to Noise’ Telegram channel. Taking the experiences of covering the sieges of Mariupol and Bakhmut, I predicted that 1) the siege would be long and bloody (check); 2) all the time MSM would comment how Russians were badly...

The Kiev regime has been given free rein to do whatever it wants by the West and “is even allowed to torture and kill Americans,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov charged, referring to the death of US YouTuber Gonzalo Lira in Ukrainian Prison. Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova charged the United States with “consigning an inconvenient journalist to execution.”“Kiev has unbridled freedom, and this permissiveness is manifested in everything it does. This free rein only leads to disaster. And this disaster has already reached the minds of the current Ukrainian regime, and they are leading their entire country there,” the...

A senior ally of President Vladimir Putin warned on Friday that Moscow would regard any move by Britain to deploy a military contingent to Ukraine as a declaration of war against Russia. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, made the comments in response to a visit by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Kyiv to announce an increase in military funding to help Ukraine purchase new military drones. "I hope that our eternal enemies - the arrogant British - understand that deploying an official military contingent to Ukraine would be a declaration of war...

For people who don’t know, Christmas in Russia/Ukraine is a more traditional advent thing, and it’s not commercialized like in the West. It’s also on the 7th of January, because the Eastern Church uses the Julian (solar) calendar. So, New Year’s is the bigger celebration day of the period. They’ve even started with the Western-style gifts, but they do it on New Year’s, not on Christmas.

A former advisor to a former Ukrainian president warns that the expansion of forced conscription, the devaluation of hryvnia, and the Ukrainian elite’s lack of understanding of the current situation are putting the country in a very bad scenario. The Ukrainian elite’s lack of understanding is because they continue to hold delusional beliefs despite Western support exhausting and emerging divisions.President Volodymir Zelensky’s decision to continue hostilities against Russia and increase military strength with forced drafts threatens to provoke a civil war in Ukraine, said Oleg Soskin, former advisor to former Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma (1994 to 2005), on his YouTube...

The Obamunists are in a hole, they really don’t know what to do next. So they will continue to double down on failure. The Ukrainian Army is fading, losing ground in the field, and there are obvious internal squabbles going on, amid rampant corruption. So Lyndon Johnson, err… I mean… Biden, is sending an Offial U.S. Mission including staff to take over… err… I mean… “Directly Advise” the Vietnamese Army. Err… I mean… Ukrainian Army.

Donetsk city center came under “a massive chaotic attack” on Tuesday with plumes of smoke seen for miles as Ukrainian shelling hit densely populated areas during peak hours.Acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin said that 169 munitions had been launched including rocket and canon artillery fire with NATO-supplied munitions.The city was pounded for most of the day, with explosions heard from 11 am. Four people were wounded over the course of the day, although the state of their injuries is unknown at this stage.Once again it was civilian areas that bore the brunt of the Ukrainian barrage...

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has suggested that the troops may have to march onto cities as far as Kyiv or Lviv in Ukraine amid reports that Moscow was facing significant setbacks in the battle in the east. Considered a strong ally of President Vladimir Putin, Medvedev's statement may have unwittingly given away the position Kremlin finds itself in currently. “Nothing can be ruled out here. If you need to get to Kyiv, then you need to go to Kyiv, if to Lviv, then you need to go to Lviv in order to destroy this infection,” Medvedev was quoted as...

KYIV, Ukraine ― The crowd at G-Versace Club ― mainly queer men, but also a sizable proportion of young women ― went as wild for every performer as the audience might at a Beyoncé or BTS concert. The Feb. 11 show opened with “the Go-Go GIANNI Boys,” a troupe of scantily clad, svelte men who danced choreographed numbers. Then, six drag queens with names like Gina Smile or Alcodiva took to the small stage, lip-syncing to both Ukrainian and international hits. While all were eager to forget the war for a few hours, it wasn’t ignored, either. Toward the end...

KYIV, Ukraine — Russia launched predawn drone and missile attacks against Ukraine on Thursday that blended several types of weapons, including the most sophisticated in its arsenal, in a complex barrage designed to penetrate Ukrainian air defenses and hit targets throughout the country.

Last week, following two days of heavy fighting along the southern front in Ukraine, I concluded that the expected push from the south into the back of the Ukrainian forces at the Donetzk frontline, was finally happening. Ukraine - Russian Army Activates Southern Front I was wrong. I, and other analysts following the war, had been deceived by the sudden rush of news from that frontline. It said that Russian forces made progress in a large number of towns. But nearly as soon as I had published my peace that news died down. In the following days nothing happened but...

Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to criticise the mayor of Kyiv for failing to provide enough emergency shelters for residents during his regular speech to the nation. Following Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, Ukraine has established thousands of so-called “invincibility centres” where people can access heat, water, internet and mobile phone links. More than 4,000 centres have been set up so far in Ukraine. In an evening address, Mr Zelensky indicated that “more work needed to be done” in some areas such as Kyiv, where Vitali Klitschko is the mayor. "Unfortunately, local authorities have not performed well in all cities. In particular,...

A conservationist in Ukraine discovered an ancient cave complex with Viking carvings behind an abandoned house. Dmytro Perov, a conservationist at the Center for Urban Development in Kyiv, grew up hearing stories about an ancient cave somewhere on the estate of his great-great-grandmother and her family, he told Life Pravda in a Nov. 7 interview. Perov knew the location of the three-story manor — now a dilapidated, abandoned house — in central Kyiv. Perov decided to investigate, he told Live Pravda. He went with a few friends to try and find the cave. After searching for half a day, the...

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov argued on Thursday that Russia's latest attacks against Ukraine's power grid weren't aimed at the civilian population, urging Kiev to "end the suffering" of its people by accepting Moscow's terms to end the war. Russia's requests for ending the attacks include Ukraine proclaiming political and military neutrality, recognizing Crimea as Russian territory and granting independence to Donetsk and Lugansk.Despite millions of Ukrainians currently without power across the country, Peskov told reporters that Russia's military pays "special attention to avoid striking social targets... As for targets that are directly or indirectly related to military potential, they are...

Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Russian airstrikes on Kyiv Tuesday have left Ukraine's capital city without water for about 40% of its residents as Moscow continues to batter the country's infrastructure.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that the up to $20 billion lending program agreement between the country and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has to be "finally" approved.In a speech at an event organized by the World Bank and the IMF, the Ukrainian leader specified that the nation needs $38 billion to make up for the budget deficit in 2023 and another $17 billion to cover the costs of rebuilding the critical infrastructure.Ukraine needs another $2 billion in "targeted credit" to reconstruct energy infrastructure so it could continue energy exports to Europe, as well as at least $5...

Pro-Kremlin separatist officials in Ukraine’s Kherson region announced on Tuesday they will hold a referendum this week to become part of Russia. The leaders called on Moscow to endorse the referendum results immediately, according to Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed leader of Kherson. Saldo said in a Telegram post that he was hopeful Kherson would vote to be "a part of Russia, a fully-fledged subject of a united country.” Russian news agencies stated that the referendum would occur between September 23 and 27, and would be similar to other votes in regions of Ukraine occupied by Russian troops, Reuters reported. .....

“Last month, Ukraine’s parliamentarians voted to give themselves a 70% salary increase. Filings indicate the raise was enabled and encouraged by the billions of dollars and euros of aid that have poured in from the US and Europe.”“The weapons are stolen, the humanitarian aid is stolen, and we have no idea where the billions sent to this country have gone,” a Ukrainian complained to The Grayzone.“Everyone is lying”: US doctor describes shocking corruption Samantha Morris, a doctor from Maine, went to Ukraine in May to try to help provide medical training for soldiers. “The first time I crossed the border...

Detailed accounting of the first four days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine showing the Russian strategy and how it was derailed. Starts at 24:20. Video here.FYI, this is a very good channel for daily updates showing the location of the front lines. It has been interesting to watch the large Uke salient in Donbas shrink over the past few weeks.

100 days. When Russia started its invasion in February, it was impossible to imagine this catastrophe would be on for 100 days with still no end in sight. 100 days may sound vague, but each day represents thousands of tragedies: lives lost, people tortured and raped, homes destroyed. But it’s not all a pure nightmare, it’s also a time of revelations. People show their true colors, ideas get shaped, and societal trends manifest themselves. I used to be reasonably skeptical when I heard that we, Ukrainians, were of an entirely different nature compared to our Russian neighbors. Yes, I thought,...