Latest news with #DmytroKuleba
Washington Post
28-05-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Rescuing Ukraine's lost war dogs
Adopting dogs abandoned on the battlefields has become a national duty in Ukraine KYIV — Soon after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv's top diplomat made a very personal and little-known policy decision: He encouraged Ukraine's Foreign Ministry staff to bring their dogs to work. Dmytro Kuleba's rule meant employees didn't have to leave their terrified dogs at home during missile and drone attacks. And it meant Kuleba's new rescue, a gray French bulldog named Marik, scooped from the wreckage of the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, would spend the next couple of years overhearing foreign policy discussions as he waddled around the office. Such an arrangement might seem unusual for a foreign minister — but not in wartime Ukraine. Former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba plays with his rescue dogs, Marik, 3, and Puzan, 3, at his home in Kyiv. Russia's invasion has made the security of pets a national priority. Families in front-line towns often flee Russian shelling with multiple pets in tow, and soldiers feed and care for those left behind. Volunteers then risk their lives to evacuate them to safer cities, where they are often adopted into Ukrainian families or sent abroad. The lengths Ukrainian troops and volunteers have gone to rescue vulnerable dogs has spurred a massive cultural shift, transforming Ukraine — once criticized for its treatment of animals — into an extraordinarily dog-friendly country. Gone are stuffy old rules banning pets from many places. Kuleba resigned in 2024, but the Foreign Ministry confirmed that his dog policy remains in place. Dogs are also now welcome inside most restaurants, cafes, beauty salons, grocery stores and hotels in major Ukrainian cities. They're often greeted with water bowls and treats or, in some cases, their own menus. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement And, like Marik the French bulldog, and Kuleba's later rescue, Puzan, who is from the eastern town of Lyman, many of these dogs were rescued from the front lines. In Kyiv's sprawling parks, families now trade notes about their four-legged mutts' hometowns, describing dramatic escapes from war. Ukrainians' commitment to saving front-line animals 'literally changed how we as a nation are perceived abroad,' Kuleba said. Here are some stories of the dogs of war. 'A basic need' Zhuzha Zhuzha, who is around 6 years old, was adopted by Mykola Kulivets while he served in the Ukrainian military. After surviving several front-line postings together, the pair demobilized and moved to Kyiv. Kulivets brought Zhuzha on a first date with Maria Smirnova, who fell in love with both of them. The couple now live together with Zhuzha. A pack of abandoned dogs roamed the nearly empty village close to the eastern front where Ukrainian soldier Mykola Kulivets was stationed in 2022 — but the smallest, with her long black fur and pointy ears, stood out from the rest. One April morning, she appeared all alone at the door of Kulivets's makeshift base. He fed her a sausage and she never left. He cleaned her dirty, matted fur, named her Zhuzha, let her move inside — and two months later woke up to her giving birth under his cot. The timing could not have been worse: Kulivets's battalion was about to relocate to a village near the front-line city of Avdiivka, and he now had six dogs — including five puppies — in his care. His commander, a dog lover himself, told Kulivets to bring them along. Zhuzha Kulivets with Zhuzha in his apartment in Kyiv. Archie Nadiia Tkachenko with Archie, 2, in a village outside Kyiv. Archie Archie is the son of Zhuzha, who gave birth to five puppies at a Ukrainian base near the front line. For the rest of the summer, as fierce battles took place mere miles away, the dogs distracted Kulivets and his fellow troops from the horrors of war. 'To have some little one to take care of — I think it's a basic need for every human being,' he said. From afar, Kulivets's mother helped find homes around Ukraine for the four male puppies. His grandparents agreed to adopt the only girl, whom they named Asya. In late August, when the puppies were 2 months old, Kulivets drove to Dnipro to pass them off to his mom — his first time seeing her since he had deployed. He returned to war the same day with only Zhuzha left. Back east, Kulivets moved with Zhuzha to the city of Bakhmut, which Russia later destroyed and seized. Under intense shelling, he would hurry her outside for bathroom breaks. His team grew so attached that it named the command center Zhuzha, and her name appeared in official military orders. Avdyusha Elina Sutyagina with Avdyusha, 2, at her home in a village outside Kyiv. Avdyusha is another son of Zhuzha. Avdyusha Sutyagina said Avdyusha acts as the 'eyes and ears' of her husband, who had a stroke and is disabled. Like the soldier who rescued Avdyusha's mother, their son is serving in the military. 'I believe in God and I believe it was destiny,' she added. 'What God gives, you should accept.' Kulivets and Zhuzha eventually demobilized, and both have settled into civilian life in Kyiv. 'When my commander calls me, his first question is not about me — it's about Zhuzha,' Kulivets said. In villages outside Kyiv, Elina Sutyagina, 63, and Nadiia Tkachenko, 64, friends who ran small kiosks in the same market, heard through volunteers about Zhuzha's front-line puppies who needed homes. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement Sutyagina adopted one and named him Avdyusha, after Avdiivka, the city Kulivets's battalion defended. The dog now assists Sutyagina's husband, who had a stroke, acting 'as his eyes and ears,' she said. Tkachenko took another and named him Archie. 'To me it was important to help an animal from the front line,' she said. 'If you see these videos of soldiers with animals, you can't help but just cry.' 'It's not normal anymore to buy dogs' Latka Latka, 1, at the Khanenko Museum, where her owner works. Hanna Rudyk and her daughter moved to Germany after Russia's full-scale invasion. When they decided to return home to Kyiv last year, they adopted Latka, who was born in the eastern city of Toretsk and rescued by soldiers. Early in the war, Hanna Rudyk, deputy director of Kyiv's Khanenko Museum, left home with her young daughter, Silviia. They moved to Germany, and her husband, Artem, unable to travel due to martial law banning men from leaving the country, stayed behind. Rudyk knew they would eventually return to Kyiv but feared air raid sirens and explosions would traumatize Silviia, who is now 10. Maybe, she thought, a dog would help. But it had to be a rescue — during wartime, she said, 'it's not normal anymore to buy dogs.' Story continues below advertisement Advertisement Then she saw a Facebook post from a volunteer. Troops fighting in the eastern city of Toretsk, since destroyed by Russian artillery, had been caring for a dog who gave birth at their position. The surviving puppies had been evacuated — and one still needed a home. The remaining dog was a white female with brown spots and big pointy ears like a cartoon character. They named her Latka, Ukrainian for 'patch.' Her goofy personality has helped Silviia adjust to life in wartime. When Russian attacks on the capital send them running for cover at night, Silviia and Latka curl up in the hallway and go back to sleep together. Across town, a puppy from a different Toretsk litter was also settling into his new life. Latka Rudyk and her daughter, Silviia, 10, with Latka. The family adopted Latka in part to comfort Silviia during air raid alerts. Donatello and Leonardo Serhii Piatkov with Donatello and Leonardo at his home in Kyiv. Donatello Donatello was born in the front-line city of Toretsk and evacuated by volunteers when he was several months old. Serhii Piatkov, 35, already had one dog — Leonardo, a Russian toy terrier named for the Ninja Turtle — when he started donating about $25 a month to an animal shelter in Kyiv. In July 2024, the shelter held an adoption drive. Piatkov, who runs an advertising firm, stopped by and locked eyes with a black and white border collie mix with freckled legs. Rescued at just a few months old from Toretsk, he was now surrounded by dogs with severe disabilities. The dog looked like he didn't belong, Piatkov thought. A few days later, he took him home. Keeping with the Ninja Turtles theme, he named him Donatello — Doni for short. 'He's my small bear,' he said. 'Dogs are friends and partners' Lisa Lisa, 3, at her owner's studio in Kyiv. Born in the eastern city of Lysychansk, she was rescued as a puppy and relocated to a shelter in Kyiv, where artist Olesya Drashkaba adopted her. Three-year-old Lisa doesn't mind when air raid sirens blare in Kyiv, because that means her owner, Olesya Drashkaba, comes to hide by Lisa's bed in the hallway. Lisa is named for the eastern Ukrainian city where she was born, Lysychansk — which Russian forces seized in 2022. Drashkaba, an artist, was abroad early in the war, but when she moved back to Kyiv and opened her empty apartment, she immediately knew she was going to need a dog. Friends shared photos of Lisa, who had recently been rescued from the east, and Drashkaba fell in love with the funny strawberry-blond mutt. Lisa adapted quickly to her life bouncing between Drashkaba's studio, exhibitions and trendy cafes in central Kyiv. She catches the attention of so many passersby that Drashkaba met her now-partner when he stopped to say hello to Lisa. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement 'I think it's very good that people finally understand that dogs are friends and partners and even maybe more,' she said. Olha Kotlyarska, 29, likes to point out that because of the war, she and her dog, Khvoya, are both on antidepressants. Kotlyarska is a lawyer assisting investigations into alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine. Khvoya is a shepherd mix who was born in Avdiivka and cared for by Ukrainian troops until volunteers moved her and her siblings to safety in January 2024. Russia seized control of Avdiivka shortly after. Lisa Drashkaba in her studio with Lisa. 'She was very, very, very fragile, and very polite, and good from the beginning,' Drashkaba said. 'Lisa fixed a lot of my troubles, to be honest, and a lot of my problems. If you need a really good friend, a really good life and something new — like a new beginning — save some dogs, and you will be happy.' Khvoya Olha Kotlyarska, a lawyer at an international organization investigating crimes committed by the Russian army in Ukraine, lives on the 17th floor of an apartment building in Kyiv with Khvoya. Khvoya Khvoya, 1, takes antidepressants to cope with trauma from the war. Khvoya's adjustment to a more peaceful life in Kyiv has not always been easy. 'In the beginning she was scared of everything and everyone on the street,' Kotlyarska said. With training, medication and love, she's making slow progress. 'It still takes a lot for her to not be in panic mode, and it's still something that we are working on,' Kotlyarska said. 'The saddest dog ever' Marko Marko, 8, at home in Kyiv. Russian forces had advanced in the Zaporizhzhia region and were heavily shelling the town of Orikhiv in late 2023 when Ukrainian volunteers drove in, searching for a dog they had been asked to find and rescue. Then a different scruffy black dog ran in front of their car. The volunteers could see he was unwell, with overgrown hair, wounds and a collar digging into his neck. He went running. They chased him into a basement, where they found Ukrainian troops sheltering from Russian attacks. The soldiers helped usher the dog into a crate, and between artillery rounds the volunteers fled with him. Back in Kyiv, Kateryna Lytvynenko, 37, saw a shelter post photos of 'the saddest dog ever.' The human rights adviser at Save the Children had fostered several dogs already, including one her dad adopted. She wanted her own and hoped to find one from her home region of Zaporizhzhia. Marko Kateryna Lytvynenko with Marko. Lytvynenko, who is originally from the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, spends much of her time raising money for animals abandoned during the war. Marko, who is from Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region, is one of them. Kari Dmytro Kustov with Kari. Kustov is a stretching instructor who brings Kari with him to classes, where she mingles with his students. When she met him, she wept. Here was this abandoned dog, from the front line near where she grew up, hair shaved and with sad brown eyes begging her for a home. She took him home the next day and named him Marko. One week after Marko's adoption, a tiny brown dog was born in the same town on Christmas. Volunteers evacuated the puppy to Kyiv, where so many applications flooded in to take her that 'it was like trying to rent an apartment in a prime location in the center of Kyiv,' recalled Dmytro Kustov, 29, a stretching coach who eventually won out. Born in a desolate place, Kari, whom Kustov calls his 'clever, sneaky little fox,' now attends all his stretching classes and has a wardrobe of miniature winter clothes and boots. 'It's our dog' Golda Golda, 4, was adopted by Dmytro Slivnyi and his wife, Oleksandra Berezovska, after she was abandoned in a suburb of Kyiv during the first weeks of the full-scale invasion in 2022. Days after Russian troops retreated from their bloody assault on the Kyiv region in 2022, Dmytro Slivnyi, 41, was rushing supplies to the besieged areas when he came across a big, lonely dog by the road. When it was time to return home, he called his wife, Oleksandra Berezovska, and told her, 'I'm coming back — but not alone.' The couple, who already had two dogs, washed her, named her Golda and fostered her until a friend adopted her. 'When they left, I said to my husband, 'It's a mistake — it's our dog,'' Oleksandra recalled. Golda Berezovska gives a treat to Golda. The dog, who survived weeks of fighting and Russian occupation, now lives in a high-rise apartment in Kyiv. Javelina Photojournalist Anastasia Vlasova with Javelina at a cafe in Kyiv. Vlasova found the dog near a burned-out tank in a suburb after Russian forces retreated from the region in 2022. Javelina Vlasova adopted Javelina and named her for the Javelin, the U.S.-made shoulder-mounted anti-tank system that helped Ukrainian forces repel Russian attempts to take control of Kyiv in 2022. When their friend deployed to the front line, Golda ended up back with Dmytro and Oleksandra, and eventually they decided she would stay for good. Around the same time, Ukrainian photojournalist Anastasia Vlasova was documenting the aftermath of Russia's atrocities near Kyiv when her colleague saw a little face poke out from behind a burned-out tank. 'It was definitely the worst time imaginable to get an animal,' admitted Vlasova, 32. Her schedule was packed with assignments. She brought her home that day and named her Javelina, after the U.S. shoulder-mounted anti-tank weapons that helped Ukraine defend Kyiv in 2022. Sometimes, Javelina's traumatic past comes out when she panics from loud noises, like explosions or thunder, that send her into hiding. Vlasova said her strategy is: 'Okay, I'm going to cuddle her.' 'Our moral values' Leo Leo, 2, was abandoned and left chained by his owners during the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region of Russia. He was rescued by Roman, a Ukrainian combat medic. For three years, combat medic Roman, 33, had seen all kinds of pets — dogs, cats, horses, cows, even ostriches and a turtle — abandoned across the front line. One dog his unit took care of for six months died when she stepped on a grenade. So when he was deployed to Russia's Kursk region last August and found a fluffy tricolor dog cowering in an abandoned garden, Roman, who can only be identified by his first name because he remains on active duty, feared going through the pain of losing a war dog again. But when he sent photos to his partner, Nadiia, she said his only home would be with them. Roman with his partner, Nadiia, and Leo at their apartment in Rivne, in northwestern Ukraine. Roman's deputy company commander, who had already adopted two cats, approved the dog's staying with Roman's unit until he could evacuate him to Nadiia. The troops initially named the dog Sudzhyk, for Sudzha, the Russian town Ukraine had seized during the operation. But when the dog moved in with Nadiia farther from the front, she renamed him Leo. Roman is proud to see how Ukrainian soldiers treat the animals they come across, unchaining them, giving them food and shelter. 'The way we treat animals is a marker of societal development, a reflection of our moral values,' he said.
CNN
18-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Takeaways From Trump's Middle East Trip - Amanpour - Podcast on CNN Audio
Takeaways From Trump's Middle East Trip Amanpour 42 mins With Israel conspicuously absent from Trump's first major Middle East trip, Christiane speaks with Biden's former Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman about the ethical concerns surrounding his overseas deals and meetings, the U.S. role in the war in Gaza, and new revelations about efforts by Biden's inner circle to conceal his decline ahead of the election. Then, Ukraine's former Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, speaks to Christiane about what the country should reasonably expect and where the crisis stands now after Putin was a no-show for ceasefire talks in Turkey. Clare Sebastian reports on Russia's propaganda campaign to maintain its grip on the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. And, as the war in Gaza continues with no ceasefire in sight, Israeli Alon Lee-Green and Palestinian citizen of Israel, Rula Daood, co-directors of "Standing Together", a Jewish-Arab movement for peace, discuss their hopes for ending the conflict, and shared activism. Also, as the first group of white South Africans landed as welcome refugees in the U.S. this week, from Christiane's archive, her 1997 report on the long post-apartheid path to reconciliation in the country.
Time of India
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Of Betrayals, Victories And Blockchains
Comms wars are shaping our reality, but we can fight back We are in the midst of a communication war. From what we consume on TV and internet to our visits to shopping malls and our news consumption patterns, there is a constant battle for our attention. Surprisingly, the same mechanisms that influence our choices offline also nudge our decisions online, providing a powerful tool to communicators. So what is the truth? Do we really have a grip on reality? In The War For Reality: How to Win in the World of Fakes, Truths, And Communities, Dmytro Kuleba, the former foreign minister of Ukraine, approaches the subject from the unique perspective of his country's war against Russian aggression. While the book provides deep insights into the communication war being waged in Ukraine alongside the physical war, the lessons learnt can be applied universally. The book says that the truth lies somewhere between fakes and real truths because everyone can have a different version of the truth. The internet is the natural battleground for communicators. Particularly because of the innate power of images and videos to evoke responses from our brain. This is also the reason behind the rise of GAFA – Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple – who have figured out how to hack into our brains. Note that these organisations have no qualms about working with local govts of any kind. And authoritarian countries like Russia have taken advantage of this, says the book. But can blockchain tech rid us of our sin? It certainly narrows the scope for manipulation. But the 51% rule and blockchain oracles present a dilemma. The requirement of approval by 51% participants to change a fixed blockchain fact is a high bar, but not impossible to overcome by corporations, billionaires and govts. Similarly, blockchain oracles have to rely on users and available data to adjudicate a contestation over a fact. For example, Ukraine claims that Russia occupied Donbas, whereas Russia insists on a civil war happening there. Both sides would want to introduce their facts in blockchain. But for blockchain oracles to make a decision it would have to rely on data that itself might be manipulated or incomplete. What about persuasion? Can critical thinking be incentivised? As Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman postulated, human thinking can be of two kinds – instinctive and rational. The former is immediate and emotional. The latter needs to be constantly switched on by human effort. Therefore, people often make the easiest, and not the most rational, choices. Yet, it's possible to nudge people towards making desired decisions. Supermarkets in Ukraine started to mark Russian goods with the Russian flag after the beginning of the war in 2014. This immediately saw Ukrainians refuse to buy these goods. So, apart from internal effort, rational choices can be facilitated through external nudges, the book says. Of course, manipulators also have the same tools at their disposal. This is why it's important to control our emotions. The book says communicators of aggression and temptation are aware that sex, internet and drugs have just the same impact. The goal is to produce dopamine. In this context, betrayal is also a very powerful emotion, while peace is meaningless to those who have not known war. Therefore, 'betrayals' and 'victories' are easily controlled by the toggle switch of communications. Politicians know this very well, and now have sophisticated tools to manipulate people more efficiently. So, what should we do? Filter emotionally charged news and conspiracy theories, actively search for positive information, don't look at the world through the lens of 'betrayals' and 'victories', and don't get tired of fighting for real values: tough but doable. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Miami Herald
19-03-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Trump's tariffs, foreign aid cuts are weakening America, boosting China's influence
Before I arrived here recently, I anticipated widespread panic over President Trump's tariffs targeting major U.S. trading partners. Instead, I found that China may be seeing Trump's quarrels with America's historic allies as a great chance to increase its own global influence. While nobody here is happy about Trump's tariffs against China, the U.S. president's punitive trade actions against Europe, Mexico, Canada and other historic American trade partners — along with massive cuts in U.S. foreign aid — have shattered America's international standing as the most desirable global partner. That's allowing China to portray itself as the most reliable superpower, diplomats here say. One of the reasons China is not panicking over Trump's tariffs is that, unlike Mexico, which relies on the U.S. market for 83% of its total exports, China sells only 16% of its total exports to the United States. Despite its current economic problems, China's diversified export base allows it to be less fearful of a major economic backlash as a result of Trump's trade war, Western diplomats here told me. 'Beijing 'will be the main beneficiary' of Trump policy,' read the lead headline on the front page of the South China Morning Post on March 5. The article cited Ukraine's former minister of foreign affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, as saying in an interview that Trump's political embrace of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, the U.S. president's near abandonment of Ukraine, his tariffs on European products and his cuts in foreign aid programs mean that Trump 'will definitely lose Europe.' Chinese officials are careful not to come across as celebrating Trump's fights with America's historic allies. But the Communist Party's newspaper, The China Daily, and other official media publish almost daily articles quoting European, Latin American and African officials as saying that China will emerge as the big winner of Trump's retrenchment in the global arena. A March 18 column in the China Daily by China expert William Hurst notes that the era of Europe's unquestioning reliance on U.S. security is rapidly coming to an end, which 'creates opportunities for China to engage with European powers on terms more favorable to its interests.' Trump's cuts in foreign aid to Latin America and Africa are also seen here as a great opportunity for China. Chinese officials emphasize, in an apparent reference to Trump's foreign aid cuts, that China will continue and possibly increase its development assistance to about 150 countries under its Belt and Road initiative. In Latin America, the biggest recipients of U.S. aid that are likely to be impacted by Trump's foreign aid cuts are Central American countries, Colombia and Haiti. Much of that aid goes to fight the root causes of migration and drug trafficking. But, in addition to his tariffs and foreign aid cuts, one of Trump's most potentially damaging foreign policy actions has been his decision — challenged by a judge — to dismantle the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and Radio Marti broadcasts to Cuba. Earlier, he had slashed U.S. funds for groups that promote democracy and freedom of expression in dictatorships such as Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. 'This is absolutely crazy. It is unilateral disarmament,' wrote Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, in his X social media account. 'China won't be closing CGTN. Russia won't be closing RT, the theocrats in Iran and their proxies in the Middle East won't be closing down their media operations.' McFaul added that as Trump shuts down America's most powerful tools to spread Western values, 'China advances to win hearts and minds around the world.' The U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees the Voice of America and its sister organizations, has a combined audience of 427 million people in over 100 countries, according to its most recent report. The ultimate irony of Trump's presidency may be that the U.S. leader who likes to surround himself with American flags and claims to be making 'America great again' is presiding over the biggest retrenchment of America's global influence in history. Here in China, they're taking notice. Don't miss the 'Oppenheimer Presenta' TV show on Sundays at 9 pm E.T. on CNN en Español. Blog:
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia's glide bombs were unstoppable – but Ukraine has made them useless
In a single week in September 2024, Russia dropped more than 900 glide bombs along its 800-mile front line with Ukraine, according to Ukrainian estimates. Ukraine was almost powerless to stop the long-range weapons – and the consequences were devastating. Known as Russia's 'miracle weapon', glide bombs would routinely be used to wipe out key Ukrainian targets, from logistics bases to army headquarters. Fitted with wings and satellite-aided navigation, each weighed as much as three tons. However, 12 months later, Russia's glide bombs are effectively useless, owing to the sudden success of Ukrainian radio jammers. Fighterbomber, a Telegram channel run by an anonymous Russian pilot, said Ukrainian jammers had 'saturated the front line', blocking the glide bombs' internal navigation systems. 'All satellite-guided correction systems have left the chat,' the pilot said. Credit: Russian Ministry of Defence That does not mean Russia has stopped dropping glide bombs. But they are often turned into duds, landing in fields far from their intended targets, rather than smashing into Ukrainian reserve forces or an army division's headquarters. Jammers – which can take the form of individual decoys or form part of a jet's wider defence system, as with western-made F16s – block enemy systems by emitting interfering signals. According to Fighterbomber, it now often takes as many as 16 glide bombs to hit a single target. Just months ago, Kyiv appeared helpless to stop the bombs. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's former foreign minister, told the Financial Times at the end of 2024 that 'you cannot jam [glide bombs], you cannot hide from them'. Mr Withington told The Telegraph the Russian glide bombs 'should have been designed and outfitted with a robust global navigation system, which receives an encrypted signal and should be resistant to jamming'. 'To put it bluntly, Russian glide bombs should not be getting jammed,' Tom Withington, a weapons expert at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, explained. This means that either the Russian glide bombs were so poorly designed that they are susceptible to jamming, or Ukraine has found ways to overcome protections built into the weapons. Given that Russia had been successfully using glide bombs for several months, it is more likely to be the latter. It is a significant development, given the devastation the bombs were causing as recently as November, helping Russian troops make their fastest advance since the war began. Their new ineffectiveness may have contributed towards the fact that Russian advances slowed for the third month in a row in February. The news will challenge Donald Trump and JD Vance's belief that Kyiv has no chance of pushing Russia back or maintaining its current positions. And the impact on the front line could be significant, degrading Russia's ability to attack Ukraine at its rear, which has been a key part of the Kremlin's strategy of attrition. Before sending in hordes of soldiers, Russian forces are known for launching intense bombardments to weaken Ukrainian positions, creating confusion and inflicting initial casualties along the front line. 'Now, Ukraine is preventing Russia from being able to hit targets reliably behind the front line. [Moscow] can't affect Ukrainian command and control, or disrupt logistics, meaning their forces can't move at pace and manoeuvre in a way they desire along the battlefield,' Mr Withington explained. There is concern that Ukraine's progress with jamming, and across the battlefield, may be undermined by Mr Trump's recent decision to pause all military aid and intelligence for Kyiv. Europe has vowed to fill the void where necessary but experts have said it will be difficult for Ukraine to carry on fighting effectively beyond this summer, without US support. But a source told The Telegraph that Ukraine's European allies have already engaged with electronic warfare companies about whether they might ensure Kyiv's jamming capabilities are maintained. The pause in US aid and intelligence came amid reports that Ukraine has recently found success along the eastern front, reclaiming key positions and inflicting 'unsustainable losses' on Russia. On March 1 alone, Russia is thought to have lost 1,340 soldiers to death or injury, according to Ukrainian military estimates. Ukrainian forces have advanced against Russian troops close to the major eastern cities of Pokrovsk and Toretsk, reclaiming some crucial positions, according to war bloggers. However, the jamming of glide bombs is not a silver bullet, nor is it necessarily the primary reason for Russia's slowing advances or Ukraine's increasing success. 'Any tactical advantage is a culmination of a number of factors… All technological advances like these are usually temporary,' Mr Withington said. And it is not only Ukraine that has had success with weapons-jamming. Ruslan Leviev, a military analyst at Conflict Intelligence Team, told The Telegraph that Russian jamming had forced Ukraine to stop using a number of weapons. Mr Leviev said: 'The impact of Russian jamming systems has been noted multiple times in this war. Because of them, the supply of high-precision Excalibur artillery shells was halted.' The Excalibur is a US-supplied GPS-guided artillery shell. Ukraine's increasing success in jamming, a form of electronic warfare (EW), is not limited to glide bombs but also applies to drones. Ukraine is increasingly able to intercept Shahed drones and turn them back into Russian or Belarusian airspace. Innovations in Ukraine's EW interference mean that the majority of Russian drones are intercepted, lost, or turned astray, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank. Some 38 Russian Shahed drones entered Belarusian airspace on Nov 25, forcing Minsk to scramble several fighter jets in response. Of the 110 Shahed drones and decoys launched at Ukraine on Dec 1 and Dec 2, 50 were lost due to EW interference and 52 more were shot down, according to Petro Chernyk, a Ukrainian military expert. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
