Putin Needs To Have The Ruins Of Another Ukrainian City - December 19th 2023

December 19th 2023

In the midst of the third winter of war, Yuriy reflects on the initial optimism and the lack of expected victory as the conflict in Ukraine continues. He discusses the challenges faced by the Ukrainian military and the determination of the Russian occupiers.

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TRANSCRIPT: (Podbean app users can enjoy closed captions)

It's December 19. 

Suddenly, I remembered how in the early days of the full scale war each morning, we all used to check the news on the internet. Everyone thought that something very important was about to happen, that would stop the war. Maybe the Russians would suddenly come to where census and realize that killing and raping are crimes, not heroism. Or maybe where Army would be forced to retreat from Ukraine due to the resistance of Ukrainians and where out in troubles. Now in the midst of our third winter of war, all of this seems strange and even foolish, but initially we truly believed it would not last long. 

This belief was fueled, in part, by the presence of weapons that the Russians did not have where counts of military vehicles were being destroyed by Byraktar combat. Drones bought from Turkey. Many when believed that this was our weapon of victory, that Byraktar would simply annihilate the invading army quickly, but it didn't happen. Turkish drones did not save us from a prolonged war, they became just another type of weaponry. 

The Himars rocket artillery systems provided to us by the United States last year did not perform miracles either. They excel at destroying Russians, utterly demolishing their bases and depots. However, they weren't enough not to only stop the occupiers on the front, but to drive them out of Ukrainian land. We really lack equipment and weapons a lot. You know, there is a proverb "It's not equipment that fights, it's people" and it's true without skilled, motivated, and trained individuals, even the most advanced tank or aircraft is just a pile of metal. But people without equipment in war are just targets, and this equipment is just expendable material. 

Since the beginning of the war, my team and I have already gone through three vehicles. Poor roads, sometimes outright off road terrain, dirt, shelling all of this quickly turns even stardy vehicle into junk. A tank on the battlefield on average lasts five to six minutes and an armored personal carrier even less. With the intensity of the current battles, all military supplies simply disappear, everything produced goes straight to the front. And despite the cold and snow, the intensity of the battles only increases. I understand that Putin needs to have the ruins of another Ukrainian city by the New Year to present it as a great victory in his New Year's address. 

So he keeps sending new and new groups of occupiers with more and more mercenaries from central Asian countries, Nepal and Cuba. The crazy fat man came from North Korea, sent a bunch of shells to his Russian friends. It's tough on the front now, but it'll get even harder because these Russian maniacs won't just back off easily.