Who doesn't stand to benefit from the war in Ukraine?
On the night of 26 May, Kyiv came under another large-scale Russian drone and missile attack, with explosions and machine gun fire rattling the city. I lay on the floor of my narrow hallway, listening to the furious cacophony outside the window. Two thin walls stood between me and the war, hardly an invitation to philosophical reflection. Nevertheless, I tried, because it helped me banish the more disturbing thoughts.
We Ukrainians now rely on smartphone apps to warn us of incoming Russian drones and missile launches. They don't tell you which building will be hit or where the wreckage of a downed Shahed might fall. This deprives you of sleep. Your mind churns with scrambled thoughts instead of dreams. If you can catch the truly important ones, they can be useful.
So I thought. Between explosions, Seneca's old question 'Cui bono?' – 'who benefits?' – echoed in my head.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Western Telegraph
22 minutes ago
- Western Telegraph
Zelensky condemns ‘brutal' rocket attack after four killed in Ukrainian city
According to authorities, a barrage of multiple rockets struck apartment buildings and a medical facility in the centre of the north-eastern city a day after direct peace talks made no progress on ending the three-year war. Mr Zelensky said one of the rockets fired at Sumy pierced the wall of an apartment building but failed to detonate. 'That's all you need to know about Russia's 'desire' to end this war,' Mr Zelensky wrote in a post on Telegram. 'It is clear that without global pressure, without decisive action from the United States, Europe, and everyone in the world who holds power, (Russian president Vladimir) Putin will not agree even to a ceasefire.' At talks in Istanbul on Monday, delegations from the warring countries agreed to swap dead and wounded troops. But their terms for ending the war remained far apart. Russian President Vladimir Putin (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP) The war has killed more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations, as well as tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides along the roughly 620-mile front line where the war of attrition is grinding on despite US-led efforts to broker a peace deal. Though Russia has a bigger army and more economic resources than Ukraine, a spectacular Ukrainian drone attack that Ukrainian officials said damaged or destroyed more than 40 warplanes at air bases deep inside Russia was a serious blow to the Kremlin's strategic arsenal and its military prestige. Both Mr Zelensky and Mr Putin have been eager to show US president Donald Trump that they share his ambition to end the fighting, thereby aiming to avoid possible punitive measures from Washington. Ukraine has accepted a US-proposed ceasefire, but the Kremlin effectively rejected it. Mr Putin has made it clear that any peace settlement has to be on his terms. A senior Ukrainian delegation led by first deputy prime minister and economy minister Yuliia Svyrydenko has travelled to Washington for talks about defence, sanctions and post-war recovery, Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said. The delegation will meet with representatives from both major US political parties, as well as with advisers to Mr Trump, Mr Yermak added. Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president who now serves as deputy head of the country's Security Council chaired by Mr Putin, indicated there would be no let-up in Russia's invasion of its neighbour. 'The Istanbul talks are not for striking a compromise peace on someone else's delusional terms but for ensuring our swift victory and the complete destruction of (Ukraine's government),' he said. In an apparent comment on the latest Ukrainian strikes, he declared that 'retribution is inevitable'. 'Our army is pushing forward and will continue to advance,' Mr Medvedev said, adding that 'everything that needs to be blown up will be blown up, and those who must be eliminated will be'. Ukrainians on the streets of Kyiv welcomed their country's stunning drone strike on Russian air bases but were gloomy about the chances for a peace agreement. The Russians 'won't negotiate peace with anyone,' said 43-year-old Ukrainian serviceman Oleh Nikolenko. 'Russia has invested too many resources in this war to just … stop for nothing.' Anastasia Nikolenko, a 38-year-old designer, said diplomacy cannot stop the fighting. 'We need to show by force, by physical force, that we cannot be defeated,' she said. Russia has recently expanded its attacks on Sumy and in the Kharkiv region following Mr Putin's promise to create a buffer zone along the border that might prevent long-range Ukrainian attacks hitting Russian soil. Sumy is about 15 miles from the Russian border. It had a prewar population of around 250,000.
Belfast Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Captain of MV Matthew carrying 2.2 tonnes of cocaine ‘feared for his life'
A retired marine engineer who was captain of the MV Matthew while it was carrying more than 2.2 tonnes of cocaine claimed that he feared for his life and his family if he did not follow instructions, a court has heard. Iranian Soheil Jelveh, 51, said there was an element of fear on board the vessel, and admitted he was aware that the consignment on the ship was not 'spare parts'. He said that he was captain in name but he had to follow orders like everyone else. The non-jury Special Criminal Court in Dublin was told on Tuesday that he was in fear of being killed and that his family, who were in Dubai, would also be killed. The court was also told that a number of the crew were hired by a transnational organised crime group for the operation. Jelveh is one of seven men charged with offences arising from the seizure of 2.25 tonnes of cocaine with an estimated value of more than 157 million euros (£132 million), which was on board the ship the MV Matthew, a Panamanian-registered bulk carrier. Ukrainians Mykhailo Gavryk, and Vitaliy Vlasoi, both 32; Iranians Jelveh and Saeid Hassani, 39; Filipino Harold Estoesta, 31, and Dutch national Cumali Ozgen, 49, all pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine for sale or supply on board the MV Mathew between 24 and 26 September 2023. Ukrainian national Vitaliy Lapa, aged 62, with an address at Rudenka, Repina Str in Berdyansk, pleaded guilty to attempting to possess cocaine for sale or supply between 21 and 25 September 2023. Jamie Harbron, aged 31, of South Avenue, Billingham in the UK, also pleaded guilty that on a date between September 21 and September 25, 2023, both dates inclusive, he attempted to have cocaine in his possession for the purpose of sale or supply, an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Detective Superintendent Keith Halley told the court in Dublin that messages sent to crew members of the MV Matthew told them to consider moving the bags containing drugs on to a lifeboat and then release it into the sea as Irish authorities got closer to the vessel. The court heard that Ozgen, who was described in court by his barrister Brendan Grehan as having a lack of sea experience, was to go into the lifeboat with 22 tonnes of drugs in 'one of the worst storms'. Six men who were arrested on board ignored instructions from the LE William Butler Yeats naval vessel a number of times. Detective Halley, who was a Revenue Customs liaison for Irish police, gave evidence that the authorities received information about a fishing trawler being used to import drugs, which led to the formation of a joint task force between gardai, the Revenue Customs Service and the Irish Naval Service. Jelveh, a father of two, claimed he felt violated by people in the 'head office' who were not present on the vessel, and that there was a threat over him that was not there in relation to his co-accused. Jelveh qualified as a maritime engineer in 1997 and worked as a marine engineer until 2008 and moved through the ranks to became first deck officer. He became captain in 2019. He had since retired and was working as a football coach. Prosecution barrister John Berry SC told the court that the crew had attempted to set the drugs on fire as they attempted to flee Irish authorities and head into the high seas. Messages discovered in a WhatsApp group, called The Deck Officers, revealed how the crew was instructed to be ready to burn the cargo and head towards Sierra Leone if a helicopter tried to intercept the ship. The crew were told to 'make sure everything is burnt' and to use paint thinner to set the cargo alight. They were also ordered by people not on board the vessel not to communicate with Irish authorities. The crew had been ordered by authorities to steer the vessel towards the Irish coast and dock at Cork. The court heard that they were willing to comply with the instructions, however, they were going full steam ahead to the high seas and were planning on travelling to Sierra Leone. The court was told that the crew had been making efforts to deter the arrival of the Army Ranger Wing to allow for the removal of the drugs. Footage and photographs shown to the court revealed there was smoke coming from the lifeboat after an attempt was made to set the drugs alight. Cans of paint, used to set it on fire, were also found on the life raft. Detective Halley also told the court today that the people instructing the crew had 'immense capabilities, unlimited resources and a global reach'. He said it became apparent through the message groups that those who were controlling the vessel and sending instructions on what to do were based in Dubai. They had sent messages instructing the crew to keep going, including reassuring messages like 'just relax and this will all be over soon'. They also gave the wrong information that Irish authorities could not board the vessel. The sentence hearing is taking place before Ms Justice Melanie Grealy Judge Sarah Berkeley and Judge Grainne Malone. The sentencing hearing continues on Wednesday.
New Statesman
4 hours ago
- New Statesman
How Putin will respond to 'Russia's Pearl Harbour'
Back in February, with Ukraine's overstretched military struggling to hold the line and the Russian onslaught grinding into its fourth year, Donald Trump berated Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office, telling him that he didn't 'have any cards'. The clear implication was that the Ukrainian president should accept he could not win the war and push for a peace deal on any available terms. But in the three months since it has become clear — perhaps even to Trump — that Vladimir Putin is not seriously interested in peace on terms other than Ukraine's capitulation, and that Zelensky had a stronger hand than his US counterpart understood, with an audacious plan to strike deep inside Russia that was more than 18 months in the making. Shortly after midday on 1 June, secret panels concealed in the roofs of lorries parked near four Russian airfields slid back and a fleet of small quadcopter drones took off towards their targets, flying too low and too close to be intercepted by Russian air defences. Ukraine's SBU security service claims that 117 drones took part in the attack, damaging or destroying 41 Russian aircraft, including several of the country's nuclear capable strategic bombers, at bases ranging from Murmansk in the Russian Arctic to Irkutsk in Siberia, around 4,500 kilometres east of the Ukrainian border. (Those figures have yet to be independently verified but satellite imagery shows clear indications of damage.) Codenamed 'Operation Spider's Web,' the attack is said to have been directed by Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the SBU, and personally supervised by Zelensky. Afterwards, the president congratulated Malyuk in a social media post, calling the operation an 'absolutely brilliant result' which would 'undoubtedly be in history books'. Alongside photos of the two men shaking hands and embracing, Zelensky stressed that the operation was conducted 'solely by Ukraine' and that everyone involved had made it safely out of Russia. (The latter claim has been disputed by Moscow, which claims to have detained multiple suspects.) Zelensky said the operation had taken one year, six months, and nine days to bring to fruition and that it was intended 'to make Russia feel the need to end this war'. Later that day two trains also derailed in western Russia, in separate regions bordering Ukraine, killing at least seven people in suspected acts of sabotage. Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine in recent days, launching multiple large-scale drone and missile barrages of Ukrainian cities, including some of the biggest aerial bombardments since the start of the war in 2022, with swarms of drones intended to overwhelm Ukraine's defences. Russian ground forces have also opened up a new front in northern Ukraine and launched a renewed assault in the eastern Donetsk region towards the strategically important city of Pokrovsk as part of what appears to be a summer offensive. 'I don't know what the hell happened to Putin,' Trump, who has long insisted the Russian president wants to end the war, posted online on 26 May. 'He has gone absolutely CRAZY.' Against this backdrop it is no surprise that the latest round of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on 2 June broke up after just over an hour with little discernible progress. The two sides agreed to exchange around 1,000 wounded prisoners of war, along with those aged 18 to 25, and to return the remains of 6,000 soldiers respectively. But reports in Russian state media indicated that the Kremlin has not backed down from the maximalist demands it has held out since the start of the war, insisting that in order to halt the fighting, Ukraine must agree to reduce the size of its military, forswear membership of Nato, and withdraw its troops from the four Ukrainian regions Russia claims to have annexed but does not fully control. In other words, the only terms Moscow is prepared to accept amount to Kyiv's de facto surrender. The ongoing talks, such as they are, seem designed more to mollify Trump, with both sides seeking to demonstrate that they are not the obstacle to peace, rather than bringing the war meaningfully closer to an end. In truth, the conflict is escalating — and the latest round of attacks signals a new, more dangerous phase of mutual brinkmanship. It is unlikely that Ukraine's mass drone strikes will persuade Putin that he must now abandon his war aims and seek an expedited peace. On the contrary, in response to what some commentators are calling 'Russia's Pearl Harbour' – a reference to the Japanese attack on the US Pacific Fleet in December 1941 during the Second World War – Putin will surely be even more determined to punish Ukraine's recalcitrance. Russia's day of infamy must be seen to be met with resolve and strength, not defeat. It is ironic that Putin has succeeded in creating a genuine threat to Russian territory where none existed at the start of this war. Through his aggression he has transformed the phantom enemy that he conjured to justify his invasion of Ukraine in 2022 into reality. (Although, of course, that threat would disappear, and the attacks on Russia would stop if he ceased his assault.) He may well now seek to exploit the Ukrainian drone strikes to drum up more domestic support for his war, shoring up his claim that Russia is fighting a new 'great patriotic war' — just as their ancestors did during the Second World War — to defend the motherland. He is unlikely to believe Zelensky's claims that this attack was authored solely by Kyiv, and will present it instead as further evidence of the wider war he insists Russia is fighting against a hostile West. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe This is not the first time Russia has suffered serious military setbacks since the start of the war – the sinking of the Moskva, the failure of the assault on Kyiv, the attack on the Kerch bridge to Crimea, and the forced withdrawal from Kherson and Kharkiv, to name just a few. But Putin's consistent response has been to regroup and double down, often accompanied by nuclear sabre-rattling intended to unsettle Ukraine's Western allies. The Russian president will likely lean on the same strategy now, playing on Trump's oft-repeated fears that the conflict risks spiralling into 'World War III' in the hope that the US will pressure Kyiv to back down, or Trump will come to view the war as hopelessly intractable and follow through on his threats to walk away. Yet the other consistent feature of this conflict has been Ukraine's repeated capacity to defy expectations. From the very first hours of the Russian invasion, when Western intelligence reports assessed that Kyiv would be overrun within a matter of days, Ukraine has fought back instead, defending itself, as this latest operation exemplifies, with ingenuity against its much bigger, better armed adversary. The resulting tactics — such as the crucial role played by indigenously produced drones — are transforming the nature of modern warfare. Just as Putin is unlikely to be cowed into offering major concessions and suing for peace, so too is Zelensky likely to be further convinced that Ukraine can still win this war, or at least secure a peace deal on acceptable terms, with or without US support. The end of this war appears further away than ever, but it turns out that Ukraine still has cards to play after all. [See also: Putin's endgame] Related
