“Oh but yes but it’s a missile storage facility.” The ghouls on this platform are astonishing. A good number of them are paid for trolls. The rest are morons.

Heartbreaking. I’ve been in this hypermarket a few times. It goes without saying this is not a military target. It would be miraculous if the death toll does not climb significantly. Poor, poor Kharkiv. Properly equipped F16s can not come soon enough.

Interestingly enough, NATO sec-gen Stoltenberg spoke to The Economist today & sent a message to the US: 'The time has come for allies to consider whether they should lift some of the restrictions they have put on the use of weapons they have donated...' economist.com/europe/2024/05…

For more, see my article on Zelensky’s May 21st problem. Aka how you renew legitimacy when you can’t hold elections. No easy answers here, and it was obvious Putin would use it. economist.com/europe/2024/05…

“Ukraine’s legitimate elected president”. A warning, I’d suggest, to those getting excited by the latest ceasefire “offer.” Putin has not given up on capitulation, destruction of Ukraine’s military and body politic.

This is the diary of 🇺🇦writer Vakulenko. His body was found in a massive grave in Izym in 2022. This dairy was found by 🇺🇦writer Victoria Amelina. She died after the shelling of Kramatorsk in 2023.The Kharkiv factory that printed this book was destroyed by Russian shelling today

“They are plugging the gap any way they can.”

Russia is still recruiting enough men willing to fight for money, but it looks increasingly stretched. Some regions have doubled sign-up bonuses. Analysts say a new mobilisation is “just a question of when.”

on.ft.com/3WVea9I

Proud to work for such a puerile rag as The Economist.

One of the best in the business. Looking forward to the continuation!

With an estimated 48,000 troops ready, Russia does not have the forces for a major attack on Kharkiv city, Ukraine’s second biggest.

But local military leaders insist that the situation remains precarious, and could change quickly econ.st/3yAgqJi

Photo: Getty Images

In an about face, German officials are ready to support a US plan to leverage the future revenue generated from frozen Russian assets to back $50 billion in aid to Ukraine, sources say bloomberg.com/news/articles/… via Bloomberg Politics

There’s an urge in some parts of Russia’s opposition to view war in Ukraine as attack on themselves. There is still talk about “one people” and parallel developments in Russia & Ukraine. I know this will upset some, but from Ukraine’s perspective, it really isn’t about them

All countries spy, Shashank Joshi tells “The Intelligence”—but what makes Chinese spying so egregious in officials’ eyes is the damage it is doing to the British economy econ.st/4dKYI6a