Russia’s gradual advance in the Donbass region appears to be forming an operational encirclement of Ukraine’s last major defensive line—its “fortress belt”—a development that could decide not only the fate of the war but also the shape of the emerging global order.
Related:
Russia’s Swift March Forward in Donbass [Pokrovsk is the prize]
Ukraine War Map Looks ‘Grim’ for Zelensky as Russian Offensive Accelerates
Russia’s offensive has concentrated around the Donetsk logistics hub of Pokrovsk as well as Kurakhove. Moscow captured Vuhledar in October and advanced quickly to Velyka Novosilka.
“The Ukrainians have had issues in stabilizing the front here for a long time, and in November, the pace of Russian advance there only quickened even from September and October,” Kastehelmi told Newsweek.
Previously:
Russia’s Swift March Forward in Donbass [Pokrovsk is the prize]
El País: Ukraine does not have enough soldiers to stop Russia (summary)
The situation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kurakhove [Pokrovsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast] is critical, as they face an alarming shortage of soldiers, which complicates their defensive efforts against Russian advances.
Read More »Ukraine Faces a Double Threat if Russia Takes Pokrovsk
Pokrovsk, a once-vibrant city of 80,000 people, is the object of a Russian encircling move that began in July and is creeping within miles of the city as every day passes. The city has served as a key logistics and transportation hub for Ukrainian military operations in eastern Ukraine and is the gateway to conquering the rest of Donetsk Oblast-and potentially on to even bigger prizes such as Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city before the war.
But Pokrovsk’s fall could have an even more insidious impact on Ukraine’s ability to keep fighting: The city is the source of most of the coal used for the country’s steel and iron industry, once the backbone of the Ukrainian economy and still its second-largest sector, though production has fallen to less than one-third of its pre-war levels. That metallurgical coal is needed to produce pig iron, which is what feeds the majority of Ukraine’s old steel furnaces and a significant chunk of its industrial exports. A healthy steel industry also pays a big share of Ukraine’s tax take, helping fund an economy that operates hand-to-mouth these days.
“Without steel plants, the Ukrainian economy will die. It is a very, very important part of the economy,” said Stanislav Zinchenko, chief executive of GMK Center, an Ukraine-based industrial consultancy.
Jailed as collaborators: the stories of Ukrainians who ended up in prison
Most of the high-level turncoats managed to flee to Russia, meaning it is mostly lower-level collaborators who are in jail. As Russia continues to strike Ukraine, causing death and misery, there is scant sympathy for these people, as evidenced by one male prisoner with a 12-year sentence who agreed to be photographed but declined to share his name. He had been assaulted by his cellmates while in pre-trial detention. They tattooed the word “Orc” – a pejorative term for Russian soldiers widely used in Ukraine – on his forehead.
…
Holomb admitted her guilt, she said, because she felt she had no choice. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison. She is currently with her two-year-old daughter in prison, but after her third birthday the child will be taken away. “Everyone was in shock at the sentence. My mum hired a lawyer, we filed an appeal but it was too late,” she said.
Holomb has now signed a request asking to be swapped in a prisoner exchange and sent to Russia, as she thinks it is her best chance of being freed. She has never set foot in the country before.
Many of those the Guardian interviewed insisted their innocent activity had been misinterpreted and they had then been pressured into signing confessions. Valentyn Moroi, a 52-year-old from Sloviansk, said he had merely taken photographs of the warehouse where he worked, to prove everything was secure, and sent them to his boss, who was in Russia. The SBU had taken this as evidence he was sending classified information to Russian intelligence, he claimed.
This is the “democracy” and “freedom” that our tax dollars are supporting! 🤬
On Aug. 16, Ukraine’s secret police force—the SBU, or Security Service of Ukraine—announced it had arrested Georgi Buiko, a veteran Communist Party member and leader of the Ukrainian Anti-Fascist Committee. Officials accused him of participating in “anti-Ukrainian activities” and of possessing communist and “pro-Kremlin” publications in his home.
Another Communist leader, Georgi Buiko, arrested in Ukraine
Related:
*That story will be depends on us – Mikhail Kononovich:
Read More »An investigation contradicts the Ukrainian president’s claim that a Russian attack killed civilians the same day as a visit by the US secretary of state
NYT exposes Zelensky lie about Donbass missile strike
Related:
Evidence Suggests Ukrainian Missile Caused Market Tragedy
Ukrainian army strike on Konstantinovka kills 16 civilians (videos/photos)
Flash : an Atlanticist missile slaughter civilians in Konstantinovka, Donetsk People’s Republic
Ukraine falsely accuses Russia, while Antony Blinken is visiting Kiev
Flash : an Atlanticist missile slaughter civilians in Konstantinovka, Donetsk People’s Republic
When I began investigating the kidnapping of children in Artyomovsk [Bakhmut] by Ukraine, I had no idea of the extent to which I would uncover trafficking on an international scale and the sordid methods used to supply children to paedophile networks and organ traffickers.
Organ trafficking, paedophile networks – The hell of children abducted by Ukraine
Related:
Bakhmut symphony, January 2023. How the city continues to survive the war
A special unit – called Bilyi Yanhol (White Angel) – has been created in the Bakhmut Police Department. Officers from the White Angel unit search for people who want to evacuate and try to convince those who do not; they are also in charge of organising evacuation transport to help people get to safe settlements several dozen kilometres away from Bakhmut or to other parts of Ukraine.
It is for this reason why the Charitable Fund Samaritan Ministry was founded. We came as God’s ministers in order to intervene and make a lasting impact on the lives of the lost children in Ukraine. The Fund established the Perlinka orphanage in 1999. Over 30 children were found and sheltered. Aside of that, the Fund initiated the ‘soup kitchen’ which serves meals for street children, in addition to the daily needs they give them. Likewise, precautionary campaigns are being conducted by the Fund team in schools, state orphanages and other educational institutions so as to teach moral and Christian principles and to show decent lifestyle for the welfare of the society. Moreover, the Fund conducts summer Kids and Youth camps annually.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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