Ukraine War, 19 February 2025

Hello everybody!

As written in the intro to the Don’s Weekly of two days ago, the last week was an ‘exciting’ one.

Turned out that the US President Dumpf, apparently in attempt to distract from his screwing up of the USA - because things really got ‘hot’ over there - became involved in a major effort to screw up Ukraine: either threatened to bill Ukraine for ‘US military aid worth trillions’, or offered US military aid in exchange for Ukrainian mineral wealth… or both, before announcing his grandiose plans for ‘ending this war in a matter of 24 hours’ through personal negotiations with Pudding. In complete ignorance of both Ukraine and Europe, of course. Tellingly, since yesterday, this is discussed between the USA and Russia - in Saudi Arabia…

For once, at least the Ukrainian President Zelensky reacted in the only way one should react to such zombie idiotism, and explained that, essentially, any kind of agreements between the USA and Russia reached without Ukrainian involvement, are worth nothing.

I would go a step further and add that this zombie idiotism by Dumpf is not even worth attention and should be as ignored as Pudding’s threats with nukes.

The same is valid for the remaining zombie idiots in the EU starting to babble about ‘sending peacekeepers’ to Ukraine. By side that ‘sending peacekeepers’ to far smaller Kosovo, back in 1999, required 50,000 troops - which the EU (even the European part of NATO, nowadays) is (still) likely to experience massive problems just with finding, but: fact is that the word ‘peacekeeping’ contains two words.

Peace and keeping.

Means: ‘peacekeepers’ are meant to go somewhere and ‘keep’ - read: maintain - peace.

However, unless I’ve overslept a major development the last night, in Ukraine there’s no peace to keep. And, hand on heart: lets say, Dump and Pudding find an agreement and announce a ‘cease-fire, starting at 09.00 hrs today’ - how many around are still as naive as to ‘believe’ Pudding would stop shooting at 09.00 hrs today, and then not only today, but tomorrow as well - and just because he’s ‘promised’ that to Dumpf - and how many are still as naive as to take any kind of Dumpf’s statements seriously?

What a surprise then, that initiative collapsed like so many other similarly brilliant ideas by the same zombie idiots from earlier times…

Bottom line: this is all worth just doing one thing with it, which is ignoring it. Indeed: not even listening to the related news (as ‘hard’ as this might appear at first).

***

Much more important are developments in the Andriivka sector: in and around the ZSU-held ‘cauldron’ between Kostyantynopil and Dachne. Over the last five days, the situation there deteriorated to the point of prompting me into this ‘update’.

To start with: the cauldron in question used to be held by the likes of the 33rd Mechanised, the 46th and 79th Airborne Brigades: two months ago, these were defending positions east of Kurakhove, then the place itself…

Starting with 14 February, the Russians began assaulting north and west of Kostyantynopil, and from Zelenivka (which is south-east of Kostyantynopil) towards north and north-west. Obviously with intention of sacking the Ukrainian troops still inside the cauldron. By 15 February, ‘somebody’ up there ein Kyiv seems to have, finally (though belatedly) figured out the game is over… or the commanders in situ began acting on their own, because those above them are too incompetent to do so. Point is: the ZSU began withdrawing troops out of the cauldron. Indeed, the 33rd Mech went out as first, followed by the 46th. As this was going on, the (inexperienced and poorly-established and -trained) 157th Mech was sent in, which the Russians promptly exploited: except for already securing Andriivka, on 16 February, they assaulted Kostyantynopil and Ulakly at the same time. De-facto cut off the road out of the cauldron: ZSU troops still east and north of Ulakly had to escape to Kostyantynopil via the fields and hedgerows north of Ulakly.

I find no other words to describe the resulting situation but ‘tragic’, because as of yesterday in the morning, this evacuation was still not over. The Russians not only advanced further west and north from Andriivka (fortunately, they did not advance from Andriivka towards south), but also secured a foothold in Kostyantynopil, and nearly all of Ulakly. Which means: getting the remaining troops out of what’s left of the collapsing cauldron is getting harder by a minute.

Is a logical result of letting people who consider evacuations from similar cauldrons back in 2014 for some of their biggest professional achievements - indeed: ‘tactical successes’ - continue commanding the ZSU.

Ah yes, and, ‘BTW’: as usually, in the middle of this brawl, the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 33rd Mech has been dismissed and replaced. Because, you know, in a crisis of this kind there’s nothing better to do, and definitely no more urgent issue, but to fire yet another brigade-commander.

…at least not for the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, certain General of Fantastic News, responding to the name Syrsky.

But, no reason to worry, you know.

Firstly, the new CO of the 33rd is said to be a very good man. And secondly, Budyanov is going to distract your attention by another UAV strike on some Russian refinery. This time the one in Syzran, in the Samara Region…

***

What shell I say for the end of this update?

Dear and esteemed reader: if you ever get a feeling you’re ‘surrounded by idiots’… well, these days and the situations described above are a clear confirmation that such impressions are correct.

…and that’s just ‘for the start of the day’…