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New Statesman
6 days ago
- General
- New Statesman
I am once again woken up by the unpleasant buzzing of Russian drones
Photo by Sergey Bobok / AFP via Getty Images W hen I am staying at our house in the country, the feel of each day depends on the first sound I hear – the sound that wakes me up. Two turtle doves are nesting in our garden and the most beautiful thing is to wake up to their gentle call. Sometimes other birds beat the doves and it is their songs which greet my ears as I open my eyes. They also reassure me that the new day will be calm, not dangerous. Too often, however, the morning begins with other sounds. Two days ago I woke up at 3am and listened. I always follow the same procedure when I find myself awake in the middle of the night. First, I check the time, then look on the internet to see what is happening in the sky above Ukraine. Each night sees an invasion of Russian drones and I was not surprised to learn that five minutes prior one had flown over our house, moving in the direction of Korostyshiv, a town located 30km from our village. That night, Russia launched more than 400 drones at Ukraine. They all fell somewhere – either hitting their target or tumbling out of the sky having been shot down by air-defence systems. But as the one that woke me up flew on towards Korostyshiv, I fell asleep again. After all, it was still dark outside and the birds in my garden were silent. I was woken up again by another drone at around 7am. I heard the familiar, unpleasant buzzing of an engine in the sky and I went out into the yard. The drone had already flown on. I could not see it, but the noise of its engine was still audible. Twenty minutes later I took a cup of coffee out into the yard and heard and saw the next one flying over our village school towards the nearest town. Strangely, visual contact with it calmed me. I saw it, but it did not see me. At that moment it was not moving towards me but flying away. The anti-tyranny playbook On Friday I went to Kyiv's largest literary festival, Book Arsenal. Security guards carefully checked the contents of bags and made everyone walk through metal detectors. No one was indignant. It's wartime. Every now and then, in cities far from the front line, grenades explode – often thoughtlessly brought home by soldiers on leave. Later it became clear that the thorough security check at the festival entrance was prompted by the visit of President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife. Surrounded by numerous security guards, they walked around the publishers' stands and picked up the book To Kill a Tyrant by the Italian writer and lawyer Aldo Andrea Cassi, which had just been released in Ukrainian. Publisher Anetta Antonenko, an old friend of mine, experienced one of the best moments of her professional life. No, I'm not talking about meeting Zelensky – his purchasing the book instantly turned it into a festival bestseller, and Antonenko twice had to order urgent deliveries of additional copies from the warehouse. The next day, the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, attended Book Arsenal. In his comments to journalists he said he bought 50 books, but did not mention any titles so that his visit did not affect the commercial success of the Ukrainian publishers present. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe The hive mind On Sunday, I read the news about the operation against Russian strategic aviation in which Ukraine secretly planted a swarm of drones in Russia before unleashing them in a surprise attack on airfields across the country. I could not help thinking that beekeepers must have had something to do with the development of this plan! The comings and goings involved reminded me of how beekeepers move their hives, seeking territories for them to collect pollen that are remote from civilisation. Darkest before dawn This year, Ukrainian school graduates were again unable to experience the most romantic part of the traditional graduation celebration: greeting the dawn. Before the war, having received their school leaving certificates, graduates would dance a farewell waltz with their classmates and enjoy raucous parties until the small hours. They would then walk around their cities and towns waiting for daybreak, which they would greet at a location chosen for its beauty. This 'graduation dawn' witnessed in the company of classmates was the starting point of a new, already adult and independent life. Dawn at the end of May begins around 4am, but curfew is lifted only at five. So, for the fourth year running, there is no dawn for Ukrainian graduates. Alas. 'The Stolen Heart' by Andrey Kurkov is out now (Quercus) [See also: It's the nuance, stupid] Related This article appears in the 04 Jun 2025 issue of the New Statesman, The Housing Trap
Miami Herald
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Russia strikes Odessa, Kharkiv ahead of Kremlin's ceasefire plan
World Russia strikes Odessa, Kharkiv ahead of Kremlin's ceasefire plan A man stands as a Ukrainian fireman finishes to put out a fire at the 'Barabashovo' market following a drone strike in Kharkiv on May 6, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Sergey Bobok/AFP/Getty Images/TNS) TNS KYIV, Ukraine - One man was killed and another injured in a Russian airstrike on civilian infrastructure in the southern region of Odessa, the regional prosecutor's office said on Tuesday, shortly before the start of a 72-hour ceasefire ordered by the Kremlin. Two people were also injured in a massive drone attack on the city of Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Some 200 battles were recorded in Ukraine over the last day, the Kyiv General Staff wrote on Facebook early on Tuesday. It said particularly heavy fighting occurred in the area around the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region, where defenders had repelled 78 attacks by the Russian army. The information provided by the warring parties cannot be independently verified, but gives an idea about the extent of the fighting. The Russian Ministry of Defence said 105 Ukrainian drones were shot down over 11 Russian regions during the night - 19 of them over the Moscow region. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a unilateral ceasefire to coincide with Russia's anniversary commemorations of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, which are to be attended by several foreign dignitaries. The ceasefire is scheduled to run from midnight Wednesday-Thursday in Moscow to midnight Saturday-Sunday (2100 GMT Wednesday-2100 GMT Saturday). --------- Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers. This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 9:50 AM.
The Guardian
28-01-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Shetland Vikings and a mega-prison: photos of the day
Displaced Palestinians return to their homes from southern regions via Salah al-Din road after the ceasefire agreement Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Ultra-Orthodox Jews protest against conscription Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images Rescuers of the State Emergency Service work to extinguish a fire in a building after a drone strike Photograph: Sergey Bobok/AFP/Getty Images Protesters clash with local police during a protest against the eviction of a building known as L'Antiga Escola Massana (Old Massana School). The building has been occupied by squatters since 2020 Photograph: Quique García/EPA Volunteers from the humanitarian aid organisation Samaritan's Purse sift through debris from homes razed by the Eaton Fire to help salvage and recover property in California Photograph: Frederic J Brown/AFP/Getty Images Muslims raise their arms as a cleric displays a holy relic, believed to be a hair from the Prophet Muhammad's beard, during Miraj-ul-Alam celebrations at the Hazratbal shrine Photograph: Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images Hindus arrive for a holy dip at Triveni Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, on the eve of the Mauni Amavasya , or new moon day, during the Kumbh Mela festival Photograph: Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP Soldiers march with torches to mark the 172nd anniversary of the birth of the national independence hero José Martí Photograph: Ramón Espinosa/AP Inmates in a cell at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT) mega-prison, where hundreds of members of the MS-13 and 18 street gangs are being held. The CECOT, the largest prison in Latin America and emblem of the war against gangs of the government of President Nayib Bukele, was inaugurated two years ago on Saturday Photograph: Marvin Recinos/AFP/Getty Images President Trump pumps his fist as he walks on the South Lawn of the White House Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images Indigenous people from the Amazonian state of Para gather in an event at the headquarters of the Para state education secretariat. Hundreds have continued the protests that began two weeks ago, seeking to guarantee the right to education for Indigenous peoples Photograph: Marx Vasconcelos/EPA A model presents a creation by Matthieu Blazy for Chanel's spring/summer 2025 haute couture collection during Paris fashion week Photograph: Teresa Suárez/EPA Visitors take photographs on their phones of Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Mona Lisa, at the Louvre museum Photograph: Thibault Camus/AP Members of the Up Helly Aa festival's 'Jarl Squad' pose with a replica Viking longship after the morning parade in Lerwick. Up Helly Aa dates back to the 1880s and celebrates Viking culture and the heritage of the Shetland Islands Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPA
