Good morning to readers; Kyiv remains in #Ukraine 's hands.
In December 2022, #Russia shared a footage of a terrible battle scene, featuring blurred-out bodies of Ukrainian saboteurs.
A haunting detail lingered - one I couldn’t get out of my head since: on one of the weapons, a sticker simply read “bravery” in Ukrainian.
They belonged to Dmytro Korchynsky's Brotherhood, a Christian commune of devoted patriots.
Their strong ideology makes them perfect for conducting some of the most daring operations behind enemy frontlines.
Hovewer, this work often comes at a high price.
This sabotage group named ‘Svyatosha,’ or ‘Saint’ was a group of close friends who became a family bound together by shared values as much as the war.
They were led by Yurii Horovets, called “Svyatosha” – a #Ukrainian patriot who earned his callsign for his strong faith.
The youngest of the saboteur group was a man named Apollo, aged 19.
A couple of days later I saw a video showing all of the group smiling and joking that this may be their last video together.
It was.
At least, it was the last footage of them alive.
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A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the war in Ukraine, and elsewhere on the frontlines for democracy. Issues 3x a week! Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
NEWS OF THE DAY
#UKRAINE UNCOVERS $40 MIL FRAUD:
The country's SBU announced that it have discovered corruption in Ukraine's weapons acquisitions process.
The plan involved 100,000 mortar shells that were paid for but never delievered.
#RUSSIA COUNTS ON NEW ALLIES:
Putin is strategically building ties with #China and the Global South in order to challenge the West.
Russia’s goal is to undermine the #US dollar and undercut the American-led world order.
CHINA CAMERA RISKS:
#China -made surveillance cameras, widespread in #Ukraine have been used by #Russia to guide strikes against Ukrainian targets.
The cameras are banned in the U.S. due to security concerns.
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A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the war in Ukraine, and elsewhere on the frontlines for democracy. Issues 3x a week! Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
Hi there, it’s Ross here.
Throughout my travels in #Ukraine I have noticed people who were unable to accept the new reality of the war, people who still live with the idea that the good days will come back and they just need to hold out for them.
In contrast, there are those who immediately accepted the new reality around them, and jumped into battle despite all the injustice in this war.
When it comes to unexpected troubles or challenges, we always want to believe that it is us who is going to save the day.
Everyone wants to see himself as a hero, not a coward.
It is really easy to speak about bravery and self-sacrifice when you are in a safe environment.
And it is another thing to be able to stand for your words when a country is literally falling apart in front of your eyes.
This is a war for the hearts of people, with bad people gathering evil hearts, and good people trying to do the same with what remains of the good ones.
This is how it has been since the beginning of the invasion.
And this was the main reason we were able to save the country.
Go to the link in our bio to read keep reading Ross's reflexions on motives that fuel #Ukraine 's resilience.
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A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the war in Ukraine, and elsewhere on the frontlines for democracy. Issues 3x a week! Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
Dive into the heart of #Ukraine !
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A war correspondent's open notebook, reporting live from Kyiv. Human stories that illustrate what’s happening during the war in Ukraine, and elsewhere on the frontlines for democracy. Issues 3x a week! Click to read The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak, a Substack publication with hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
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