Don's Weekly, 15 September 2025: Part 1

by Donald Hill (intro by Tom Cooper)

Good morning everybody!

…sorry, can’t hear you!!!

All of NATO is loudly protesting the Russian UAV-strike on Poland!!!

…so loudly, should they continue like that, I’ll have to apply for my health-insurance to officially recognise a disability…

Almost as loudly as when Dumpf cries about 300 million deaths from drugs the last year - while the entire US population is at around 340 million: perhaps he wanted to declare the majority of the US population for brain-dead or something?

In other ‘news’…. it turned out that since October 2023, Israel mass-murdered at least 680,000 people in the Gaza Strip: 478,000 of them children. 380,000 under 5-years-old…

Ah yes: that’s no news. Just blanc anti-Semitism.

The fact Zionism has converted the Gaza Strip into the largest graveyard of children in the history of humanity - is not worth anybody’s attention: just another nonsensical calculation. Pure terror. And Israel is the victim. And Hamas is outrageous. And they all deserved that - if they haven’t been burned and buried yet…

The real, real news is - that Germany is going to hand over another two Patriot SAM-systems to Ukraine. Because, you know, when they announce this, then that’s already a matter of fact, even if actually going to happen in months from now. And that’s going to so much improve the stocks of Ukrainian Patriot missiles, too… Sure, doomers and weirdos like me then might also recall that - at most - the USA are currently manufacturing some 50-60 Patriot missiles a month, and each costs more than US$ 1 million, or that Germany is certainly far from buying up all of these, while the Russians are striking Ukraine by 500-800 UAVs a night. Even go on with such blasphemies like conclusion that ‘Europe’ still has no meaningful answer to that threat, and that it’s even less of a solution to go on buying US-made missiles ill-suited to intercept Russian UAVs, while ignoring the research, development, and production of an European solution…

…usually because one group of European chauvinists can’t stand the fact the solution is manufactured by another group of European chauvinists…

But, that’s like explaining that the Earth is turning around the Sun, or that Earth is a giant ball - some 500 years ago… I should burn on stake alone for this.

Nah. Lets get realistic and stop offending all the fine people involved: fact is that the last week was yet another full of great news. Brilliant news. Fantastic news. That non-elected crook in charge of the European Union, Ursula von der Leyen, has given a fantastic speech. About freedom, and liberty, and peace, and prosperity, and independence. About the European Defence Semester, and a clear roadmap, about how the EU is not going to suspend its support for the Zionist genocide on Palestinians, about how the EU is going to expand through adding Ukraine, Moldova and ‘Western Balkans’… sometimes in the future… then promised scaling up funding of start-ups, support of new industries, then promised a decrease in dependency on Russian fossil fuels, indeed, independence from energy imports, and she also announced that the future of cars, the cars of the future, are going to be made in Europe…

…at which point I rolled off from laughing, thus missing the concluding parts of that brilliant-, wise-, historic speech that so skillfully listed all the European failures: the one about European Anti-Poverty Strategy and the one about new tools for combating information manipulation…

After wiping away tears of pure, distilled happiness, I re-focused on yet more fantastic news. You see: not only Germany, but Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Sweden, Lithuania, Czechia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland… everybody is announcing investments of hundreds of millions of Euro into arms for Ukraine.

…like acquisition of spares for US-made F-16s, training of Ukrainian pilots and ground crews on US-made F-16s, spending more money on other US-made weapons, or manufacturing ammo by factories in Ukraine which the latter neither can effectively protect from Russian attack UAVs, nor supply with electricity… because 3,5 years into this war …actually: 11,5 years into this war - nobody here has a solution for the hundreds of Russian UAVs striking the country every night, nor wants to be bothered with such issues.

How… I’ve already mentioned that? Oh, sorry. Over to Don…

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Up front: if anything of the following is ‘not supported by a map’ - then the frontlines in the sector in question did not move the last week.

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Kursk/Sumy

Artillery is hit by HIMARS 10 km behind the front lines.

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Kharkiv

The Khartiya Brigade attacked Russians near the reservoir.

Fighting continues in the wasteland of Vovchansk. Ukrainians use anti-tank mines on Russians hiding in holes. A TOS-1A is destroyed, along with other targets.

Southern Vovchansk is hit by seven bombs.

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Kupiansk

Deep State says Russian troops entered a gas pipeline in Lyman Pershyi and exited in Radkivka 8 km away. Rest and supply stops were set up in the pipeline because it took four days to travel the distance. They infiltrated Kupiansk from there.

The General Staff says that three of the four pipelines were damaged and flooded and that they control the outlet for the fourth, which doesn’t directly lead to the city. They’ve taken counter-sabotage measures and conducted search-and-destroy missions throughout the Kupiansk. They claim in the last two weeks Russia lost 395 in Kupiansk, 288 of which were killed, plus 265 by Radkivka and Holubivka, and 128 nearby Kupiansk.

Ukraine places concertina wire inside a pipeline.

A T-72 tank from the 77th Airmobile brigade south of Kupiansk acts as artillery and fires on a target spotted by a drone that’s 9100 meters away. The 77th used drones for other targets.

For a decade now, both sides know that cell phone signals can give away positions. Unit discipline determines cell phone discipline. In some Ukrainian units, the phones of soldiers are held until they are safely behind the front lines, which could be 10-20 km. In some Russian units, soldiers caught with phones find them nailed to a post. But different units have different command environments. This map shows mobile connections to Russian networks and the phone discipline in Kupiansk is quite minimal. Kreminna and Kherson also display strong signals.

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Terny

Russia raised their flag on the western edge of Zarichne. Then part of the 425th Regiment supported by the 63rd brigade raised the Ukrainian flag in the center of Zarichne. Russia took that flag down and put their own up in its place, and one at the northern edge of the village. All this means is that no one has total control of the village.

In Yarova, 9 km from the front, pensioners lined up to receive their checks near a postal van. An airstrike killed 25 people and wounded 19.

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Siversk

Small Russian groups infiltrate Ukrainian defenses and “wait to get killed”, according to a Ukrainian soldier. Five armored vehicles, 11 motorcycles and some number of Russians are eliminated.

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Kostiantynivka

The Azov brigade clears out a village that has been heavily bombed. Civilians living in basements don’t want to leave, even though there is fighting all around them. Russians buried in a basement are still alive but can’t get out. The Azov soldiers pretend to be Russian and tell them they’ll come back for them later. They come back with explosives to clear the rubble and four Russians come out to surrender.

Ukrainian ground drones and infantry are attacked by drones near Oleksandro-Schultyne. A gun from the 28th Brigade, which has been featured before, attacks various targets. The 36th Brigade attacked Russian infantry pushing forward.

More Russian airstrikes on Kostiantynivka.

The Pomsta Brigade uses a 57 mm anti-aircraft gun to shoot down drones within 6,000 meters.

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(…to be continued…)