Tim MakJul 2, 2023
Good morning, readers: Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands. But, last night the city endured its first air raid in 12 days. As Ukrainians deal with the 493rd day of war, some turn to escapism in the form of tabletop role-playing games. http://counteroffensive.news
The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak | Substack

A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
Tasha Dashkyevich could be forgiven for engaging in a little daydreaming and escapism. Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games are often considered the pastime of nerdy basement-dwellers in suburban homes, not by displaced people seeking a respite from war.
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
But Dashkyevich says that her community has thrived since the Russian invasion began — a small interlude from the trauma and realities of the war.
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
Ukrainian gamers are harnessing the power of these games to heal scars of trauma, build fortitude, foster communities, and preserve their unique cultural identity.
http://counteroffensive.news
The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak | Substack

A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
Dashkyevich is 37, and from Simferopol in Russian-occupied Crimea. She started playing sometime in 2008 after moving to Kyiv, she said, with a “crazy homebrew” hodgepodge of paper and imagination.
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
Official Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks and figurines are expensive in Ukraine, thanks to regional licenses that tend to lump all post-Soviet countries into a single, Russian-dominated region.
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
“​​We were not aware that there are [formal] books, there was one guy who traveled to Kyiv and bought the original dice set, but we were only allowed to look at it, not actually roll it because it was super expensive,” Tasha said.
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
Today, she is an accomplished Game Master with her own YouTube channel, Idearoll, started in 2019. Her favorite game is Call of Cthulhu, based on H.P. Lovecraft’s dark tales of cosmic horror. https://youtube.com/@idearoll
idearoll

Заходять якось Вічний Майстер, Вічний Кіпер та Вічний Гравець до YouTube і…понеслося! Вітаємо! Ми – авторський колектив idearoll – фанати НРІ, творці історій, шукачі пригод, розслідувачі – це все про нас. І про наш канал, що веде підписників через Узбережжя Мечів та Хребти Безумства назустріч пригодам! Часом ми відхиляємося від намічених маршрутів, щоб, наприклад, задмухати 10 свічок, сьорбнути крові на Маскараді, зруйнувати Башту Жаху, приміряти на себе маску Джона, потерпіти Фіаско або втілити в життя ще якесь словесно-рольове шаленство. Тут ми ділимося думками про свої улюблені ігрові системи, а ще багато жартуємо (іноді смішно!). Контент готуємо - як для себе (бо для себе!), адже годноти про улюблене хобі має бути БІЛЬШЕ!!!!!111!1 Ласкаво просимо!

YouTube
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
Read more about Tasha and how TTRPG's are helping out on the homefront at: http://counteroffensive.news
The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak | Substack

A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
Around 2:30 am, Shahed drones and Kalibr missiles attacked the capital while air defense responded. The Counteroffensive’s writers were also awakened by another air raid siren around 7:20 am. It was an eventful night and morning.
https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-reports-taking-down-all-8-drones-3-missiles-fired-overnight/
Ukraine reports taking down all 8 drones, 3 missiles fired overnight

Russia attacked Ukraine with eight Shahed kamikaze drones and three Kalibr cruise missiles on the night of July 2, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
It’s been one week since the attempted Wagner coup, and their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has not been heard from in several days. A camp is being built in Belarus and Russian state media is rewriting the history of the Wagner group in front of Russia's eyes. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war.html
Ukraine Says It Is Ready for Arrival of Wagner Troops in Belarus

Ukrainian officials have tried to tamp down concerns while heralding their preparations, with President Volodymyr Zelensky nodding to plans for reinforcing the border.

The New York Times
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
President Zelenskyy said the Russians had mined the plant, and Ukrainian intel officials say that Russian troops are leaving the area and telling Ukrainian civilian workers to clear out by July 5.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/01/zelenskiy-warns-russia-could-be-ready-to-provoke-nuclear-plant-explosion
Zelenskiy: Russia may be preparing to trigger nuclear plant explosion

President cites Ukraine intelligence that Moscow has mined Zaporizhzhia nuclear station and sent away staff

The Guardian
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
"There is a serious threat because Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the station, which could lead to a (radiation) release," Zelenskyy said on Saturday at a news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-zelenskiy-says-serious-threat-remains-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-2023-07-01/
Ukraine's Zelenskiy says 'serious threat' remains at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned on Saturday that a "serious threat" remained at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and said that Russia was "technically ready" to provoke a localized explosion at the facility.

Reuters
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
Five of the ZNPP’s six reactors were put into so-called “cold shutdown” in September last year, while the sixth was left in “hot shutdown” to supply power to the plant itself. Cold shutdown is normally used for maintenance purposes. http://counteroffensive.news
The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak | Substack

A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
However, Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said the Russians had prevented the No. 5 reactor from being put in cold shutdown mode.
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
There’s no doubt that an explosion, one powerful enough to breach the almost 4-foot (1.2 meters) thick containment walls, would be damaging to the immediate environment around the plant. But how bad would it actually be?
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023

The Counteroffensive spoke with our friend Oleksandr Selyverstov, a former nuclear engineer at the nuclear power plant in question.

His analysis is heart-stopping.

Read it at: http://counteroffensive.news

The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak | Substack

A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
"If an explosion caused the cooling pools to vaporize, the fuel rods in the plant could melt down in seven to eight days for reactors on cold shutdown, a hydrogen explosion could cause further structural damage."
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023
So what’s going on? The Russians could be planning either an area-denial attack with a limited contamination zone that will then tie up personnel, resources, and money—and take the ZNPP offline, perhaps indefinitely—in a scorched earth retreat.
Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023

The Counteroffensive staff are based in Kyiv and if the plant suffers a catastrophic explosion, we have a plan:

Shelter in place and make use of our subscriber funded (THANK YOU SO MUCH) equipment!

Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023

Today's Dog of War is this skeptical beagle Tim saw in Warsaw.

Read the rest of our Sunday newsletter at: http://counteroffensive.news

The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak | Substack

A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Compelling human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023

Editor’s note: This week we posted a story highlighting a trans activist in Ukraine; after all, Russia cited LGBTQ+ rights as a reason for the war.

We didn’t anticipate the negative reaction: more than 1,000 readers unsubscribed, and we lost paid subscribers as well.

Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023

For a publication that is just two months old, it was devastating. We work seven days a week to grow our audience.

However, we believe that subscriber numbers don’t mean anything if we don’t hold true to our values.

Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023

We will continue to highlight marginalized communities and the people you don’t hear about in other outlets. 

Send a message if you agree with us: sign up as a free or paid subscriber today.

Counteroffensive.news

Show threadTim MakJul 2, 2023

Our team had been so excited to hit 25k readers subscribed earlier this week.

Now it looks like we will have to make the climb back up again. It’s a set back but we will make it up.

Help us get there?

Counteroffensive.news

Dave The Tall GuyJul 3, 2023
Show threadTim Mak

Love our readers!

After I announced that we lost 1k subscribers, merely for posting a story about a trans activist in Ukraine, you rushed in to close the gap.

We're now halfway to our previous peak.

If you haven't signed up, free or paid, please do!

Counteroffensive.news

Jul 2, 2023 at 5:47pmWeb
Show threadTim MakJul 5, 2023

Message received!

After we lost 1k subscribers from posting a story about a trans activist in Ukraine, our readers rallied to fill in the gap.

We are now exceeding our subscriber count from before.

Thank you for supporting us as we stood by our values!

Counteroffensive.news

Show thread🇨🇦 TRH 🇨🇦Jul 5, 2023
@timkmak That's one way to get rid of the riffraff.
Show threadMichał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦Jul 5, 2023
@timkmak image description: a chart of number of subscribers, showing numbers reaching 25k, falling sharply after that down to about 24k, and then growing fast to around 26k.
Show threadLuke ChadwickJul 5, 2023
@timkmak sometimes you have to fire the customer (subscriber).
Show threadConductorJul 2, 2023

@timkmak It's not even noon on the west coast yet. This newly minted annual subscriber predicts the push-back is just beginning.

🇺🇦  🇺🇦   🇺🇦  

Show thread@energiepiratJul 2, 2023
@timkmak Long live Sarah Ashton-Cirillo