Day 817
Just consider the many ways in which mopey preening can be given timeliness and vitality through subtly invasive placement.
Three articles appearing in The Guardian1, The New York Times2 and The Washington Post3, tell us Team Ukraine was unprepared for Russia’s attacks in northern areas of Kharkiv region last week.
Serhiy Leshchenko of the President’s Office, disputes this claim, saying that Russia has mounted a psychological operation to blame the country’s leaders, including his boss, for screw-ups, if there were any, and there were none.
Last time I checked, no one has admitted making any mistakes.
The pink blobs illustrating Russia’s largest military incursion into Ukraine over the last 18 months indicates the situation hasn’t improved much over the last 10 days.
Vovchansk, a town of about 18,000 people, has been evacuated and the Russians are busy making it uninhabitable if they ever decide to return.
They are still fighting in the streets as of this writing.
In other news, today is the last day of Z’s 5-year term as president. He will continue to act in the capacity of Supreme Commander-in-Chief until the next election, whenever that will be, and if he decides to run for office again. During the last presidential election campaign, he promised that he would not seek reelection.
And, finally, Belarus, where Lukashenko has instructed the new KGB chief to thwart infiltration groups from neighboring Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.
How Russia has advanced in Kharkiv despite warnings attack was coming. Shortage of munitions, fighters and air defences leaves Ukraine unprepared to repel attack (The Guardian, May 16, 2024)
Russians Poured Over Ukraine’s Border. There Was Little to Stop Them. The stunning incursion into the Kharkiv Region lays bare the challenges facing Ukraine’s weary and thinly stretched forces as Russia ramps up its summer offensive (The New York Times, May 18, 2024)
Second Russian invasion of Kharkiv caught Ukraine unprepared. Despite months of complaints from troops over shortages and fatigue, Kyiv has been slow to ramp up mobilization, leaving some areas of the front critically understaffed (The Washington Post, May 17, 2024)