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CNN
29-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Ukraine scrambles to set up ‘drone wall' as it braces for Russian summer offensive
Russia dramatically intensified missile and drone attacks across Ukraine this month in an effort to sap Ukrainians' morale – but it is also stepping up ground attacks in many areas along the long frontline, according to Ukrainian officials and analysts. Some of those attacks have succeeded, with Ukrainian units in Donetsk and the north falling back from some positions, while some rural areas in the south have also been lost. But Ukraine's own enhanced use of drones, deployed in several layers on the battlefield, has helped Kyiv inflict heavy losses on the opposing forces with minimal casualties among its own troops. They may become even more critical in the months to come. The Ukrainians are trying to expand their own drone industry to create defensive corridors along key sections of the front line, often dubbed the 'drone wall.' Meanwhile, ignoring US President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a ceasefire, the Kremlin is pursuing a two-pronged strategy aimed at forcing Ukraine to admit defeat – destroying its cities from the sky and whittling away its defensive lines on the ground. Russia has sharply expanded its own drone and missile production in the past year, allowing for mass attacks using several hundred projectiles at once. The Russian strategy seeks to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses with scores of low-cost drones so that simultaneous missile strikes can succeed. On the ground, Russian forces are probing Ukrainian defenses along many parts of the frontline simultaneously, from Zaporizhzhia in the south to Sumy in the north, advancing into abandoned villages and across open countryside in small numbers. The Russians are not rolling through Ukrainian defenses but gnawing away at them, using cars and motorbikes and scattered infantry platoons. Russian forces have advanced an average of roughly 14 square kilometers (5.4 square miles) per day so far this year, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington. This rate implies they'd need nearly four more years to complete the occupation of the four regions illegally annexed by Moscow: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Those are the Kremlin's oft-stated goals, but it is also trying to instil a sense among Kyiv's allies of Russian superiority over Ukrainian forces. Much of the fighting is in Donetsk, with the Russians still determined to seize the entire region – unless it is handed over in peace negotiations, which is a non-starter for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Tuesday that a village south of the key town of Kostiantynivka had been taken. ISW assesses that Russian forces seized roughly 65 square kms of territory - but remain incapable of intensifying offensive operations in several different directions simultaneously. 'The main Russian effort into the summer will once again be against the key towns of Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk' in Donetsk, according to Jack Watling, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. Hundreds of miles to the north, Russian units have edged a few kilometers into the Sumy region. Zelensky told journalists Tuesday that the Russians are 'now amassing troops in the Sumy direction. More than 50,000. We understand that. But we are making progress there.' Zelensky said the Russians wanted 'to build this buffer zone, as they call it, 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep into Ukraine,' but lacked the capability. The Russians are supporting these operations with missile and air-launched guided-bomb attacks. The attacks into Sumy follow a Kremlin directive on May 21 that the military create buffer zones inside northern Ukraine – in Sumy and Kharkiv regions. That came when President Vladimir Putin visited Russia's Kursk region across the border, part of which had been seized by a Ukrainian incursion launched from Sumy last summer. Capturing Sumy's regional capital is probably beyond the Russians – the terrain is thickly forested. But through their attacks, the Russian military can prevent the Ukrainians from redeploying units to Donetsk. Further east there's also been an uptick in fighting around Vovchansk in Kharkiv region in recent days. Across the 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) frontline, according to analysts, the Ukrainian military has to decide which areas are under greatest threat, where to withdraw, how to redeploy – even as many brigades are seriously under-strength more than three years after the Russian invasion. The manpower balance is still very much in Russia's favor, despite its heavy losses. Putin recently claimed that 60,000 volunteers are being recruited every month. Observers believe this is likely exaggerated but signing-up bonuses that dwarf civilian wages in Russia make military service an attractive option. Ukraine's military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said earlier this month that Kyiv faced 'a combined enemy grouping of up to 640,000 personnel,' higher than at the outset of the invasion. Zelensky said in January that Ukraine had 880,000 soldiers, 'but 880,000 are defending the entire territory. Russian forces are concentrated in certain directions.' Russian recruitment 'has exceeded Kremlin targets for every month of 2025,' according to the RUSI analyst Watling. 'Having shuffled commanders and built-up reserves of equipment, Russia is now set to increase the tempo and scale of attacks.' But for every square kilometer of Ukrainian land that Russia captures, Moscow is probably losing about 100 men, according to Western assessments. Above and behind the frontlines as well as in the air campaign being waged by Moscow, the development and deployment of drones will continue to be critical. The recent Russian advances in Donetsk, while incremental, were enabled by the tactic of isolating the battlefield – cutting Ukrainian units from supplies through drone strikes on supply vehicles up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the front lines. Ukrainian defenses are heavily reliant on layers of drones. The Ukrainians are developing a concept sometimes dubbed the 'drone wall,' designed to 'provide a continuous defensive corridor of drones along Ukraine's most vulnerable frontiers to inflict significant casualties on Russian forces,' according to Mick Ryan, author of the blog Futura Doctrina. Konrad Muzyka, a defense analyst at Rochan Consulting, says that 'Ukrainian forces are increasingly lethal with drone-artillery coordination. Russian assaults — motorcycle-based and armored — were defeated across several fronts with minimal Ukrainian losses' in April. But Ryan points out that an effective drone wall will require integration 'and probably AI-assisted decision-making and analysis,' as well as integration with electronic warfare. And it's a two-way street. Ukrainian drones are 'guided by small radar, and Russia is now systematically working to locate and target these radar stations,' Watling writes. Zelensky said Tuesday that Russia plans to ramp up production of Shahed attack drones to between 300 and 350 per day. Asked whether there may come a time when Russia fires 1,000 drones in one day, he replied: 'I cannot say that this will not happen.' Sending drones in their hundreds saturates air defenses, as they accumulate over a target area. Russia has also developed drones that can evade Ukrainian jamming and can fly higher and faster than earlier models. Ukrainian analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko said last week that one Shahed had been observed at a record altitude of 4,900 meters. According to Zelensky, Ukraine is now deploying F-16 and Mirage fighter jets to supplement air defenses. 'We are also moving towards drone-to-drone interceptors,' he said Tuesday. Ukraine's former military chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, says Ukraine must wage a 'high-tech war of survival' in which drones play a critical role, to 'make the economic burden of the war unbearable for Russia.' Speaking to a Kyiv forum last week, Zaluzhnyi – now Ukraine's ambassador to London - said that his country had failed to exploit innovations 'where yesterday we were ahead of the enemy. The enemy has already outpaced us.' Analysts cite Russia's growing use of short-range fiber-optic drones that can't be jammed as one example of the technological race. Ukraine is yet to scale up the use of such drones, which rely on millimeters-thick, but miles-long, optical fibers. Zelensky denied Ukraine was losing the drone war. 'We will have the same number of drones as the Russians, 300-500 per day - we are very close to it,' he said. The issue was not production, Zelensky said – it was financial. As Ukraine seeks to produce more of its own weapons – often in association with Western manufacturers, Zelensky added: 'I would like to see us receive $30 billion to launch Ukrainian production at full capacity.' But that is a long-term goal. Watling, from RUSI, envisages a tough few months for Ukraine that 'will place a premium on the efficiency of Ukrainian drone and artillery operations, the ability of Ukrainian commanders to preserve their troops, and the continuity of supplies flowing from Ukraine's international partners.' The continuation of US supplies is unsure as Trump blows hot and cold about whether Washington should continue helping Ukraine defend itself. Putin is 'desperately seeking to prevent the future supply of Western military aid to Ukraine,' according to ISW, 'as well-resourced Ukrainian forces have consistently demonstrated their ability to inflict unsustainable losses on Russian forces.' Innovation and tactical agility will be as influential as brute force as the war enters its fourth summer. CNN's Kosta Gak and Victoria Butenko contributed reporting.
CNN
29-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Ukraine scrambles to set up ‘drone wall' as it braces for Russian summer offensive
Russia dramatically intensified missile and drone attacks across Ukraine this month in an effort to sap Ukrainians' morale – but it is also stepping up ground attacks in many areas along the long frontline, according to Ukrainian officials and analysts. Some of those attacks have succeeded, with Ukrainian units in Donetsk and the north falling back from some positions, while some rural areas in the south have also been lost. But Ukraine's own enhanced use of drones, deployed in several layers on the battlefield, has helped Kyiv inflict heavy losses on the opposing forces with minimal casualties among its own troops. They may become even more critical in the months to come. The Ukrainians are trying to expand their own drone industry to create defensive corridors along key sections of the front line, often dubbed the 'drone wall.' Meanwhile, ignoring US President Donald Trump's efforts to secure a ceasefire, the Kremlin is pursuing a two-pronged strategy aimed at forcing Ukraine to admit defeat – destroying its cities from the sky and whittling away its defensive lines on the ground. Russia has sharply expanded its own drone and missile production in the past year, allowing for mass attacks using several hundred projectiles at once. The Russian strategy seeks to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses with scores of low-cost drones so that simultaneous missile strikes can succeed. On the ground, Russian forces are probing Ukrainian defenses along many parts of the frontline simultaneously, from Zaporizhzhia in the south to Sumy in the north, advancing into abandoned villages and across open countryside in small numbers. The Russians are not rolling through Ukrainian defenses but gnawing away at them, using cars and motorbikes and scattered infantry platoons. Russian forces have advanced an average of roughly 14 square kilometers (5.4 square miles) per day so far this year, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in Washington. This rate implies they'd need nearly four more years to complete the occupation of the four regions illegally annexed by Moscow: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Those are the Kremlin's oft-stated goals, but it is also trying to instil a sense among Kyiv's allies of Russian superiority over Ukrainian forces. Much of the fighting is in Donetsk, with the Russians still determined to seize the entire region – unless it is handed over in peace negotiations, which is a non-starter for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Tuesday that a village south of the key town of Kostiantynivka had been taken. ISW assesses that Russian forces seized roughly 65 square kms of territory - but remain incapable of intensifying offensive operations in several different directions simultaneously. 'The main Russian effort into the summer will once again be against the key towns of Kostyantynivka and Pokrovsk' in Donetsk, according to Jack Watling, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London. Hundreds of miles to the north, Russian units have edged a few kilometers into the Sumy region. Zelensky told journalists Tuesday that the Russians are 'now amassing troops in the Sumy direction. More than 50,000. We understand that. But we are making progress there.' Zelensky said the Russians wanted 'to build this buffer zone, as they call it, 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep into Ukraine,' but lacked the capability. The Russians are supporting these operations with missile and air-launched guided-bomb attacks. The attacks into Sumy follow a Kremlin directive on May 21 that the military create buffer zones inside northern Ukraine – in Sumy and Kharkiv regions. That came when President Vladimir Putin visited Russia's Kursk region across the border, part of which had been seized by a Ukrainian incursion launched from Sumy last summer. Capturing Sumy's regional capital is probably beyond the Russians – the terrain is thickly forested. But through their attacks, the Russian military can prevent the Ukrainians from redeploying units to Donetsk. Further east there's also been an uptick in fighting around Vovchansk in Kharkiv region in recent days. Across the 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) frontline, according to analysts, the Ukrainian military has to decide which areas are under greatest threat, where to withdraw, how to redeploy – even as many brigades are seriously under-strength more than three years after the Russian invasion. The manpower balance is still very much in Russia's favor, despite its heavy losses. Putin recently claimed that 60,000 volunteers are being recruited every month. Observers believe this is likely exaggerated but signing-up bonuses that dwarf civilian wages in Russia make military service an attractive option. Ukraine's military chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said earlier this month that Kyiv faced 'a combined enemy grouping of up to 640,000 personnel,' higher than at the outset of the invasion. Zelensky said in January that Ukraine had 880,000 soldiers, 'but 880,000 are defending the entire territory. Russian forces are concentrated in certain directions.' Russian recruitment 'has exceeded Kremlin targets for every month of 2025,' according to the RUSI analyst Watling. 'Having shuffled commanders and built-up reserves of equipment, Russia is now set to increase the tempo and scale of attacks.' But for every square kilometer of Ukrainian land that Russia captures, Moscow is probably losing about 100 men, according to Western assessments. Above and behind the frontlines as well as in the air campaign being waged by Moscow, the development and deployment of drones will continue to be critical. The recent Russian advances in Donetsk, while incremental, were enabled by the tactic of isolating the battlefield – cutting Ukrainian units from supplies through drone strikes on supply vehicles up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the front lines. Ukrainian defenses are heavily reliant on layers of drones. The Ukrainians are developing a concept sometimes dubbed the 'drone wall,' designed to 'provide a continuous defensive corridor of drones along Ukraine's most vulnerable frontiers to inflict significant casualties on Russian forces,' according to Mick Ryan, author of the blog Futura Doctrina. Konrad Muzyka, a defense analyst at Rochan Consulting, says that 'Ukrainian forces are increasingly lethal with drone-artillery coordination. Russian assaults — motorcycle-based and armored — were defeated across several fronts with minimal Ukrainian losses' in April. But Ryan points out that an effective drone wall will require integration 'and probably AI-assisted decision-making and analysis,' as well as integration with electronic warfare. And it's a two-way street. Ukrainian drones are 'guided by small radar, and Russia is now systematically working to locate and target these radar stations,' Watling writes. Zelensky said Tuesday that Russia plans to ramp up production of Shahed attack drones to between 300 and 350 per day. Asked whether there may come a time when Russia fires 1,000 drones in one day, he replied: 'I cannot say that this will not happen.' Sending drones in their hundreds saturates air defenses, as they accumulate over a target area. Russia has also developed drones that can evade Ukrainian jamming and can fly higher and faster than earlier models. Ukrainian analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko said last week that one Shahed had been observed at a record altitude of 4,900 meters. According to Zelensky, Ukraine is now deploying F-16 and Mirage fighter jets to supplement air defenses. 'We are also moving towards drone-to-drone interceptors,' he said Tuesday. Ukraine's former military chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, says Ukraine must wage a 'high-tech war of survival' in which drones play a critical role, to 'make the economic burden of the war unbearable for Russia.' Speaking to a Kyiv forum last week, Zaluzhnyi – now Ukraine's ambassador to London - said that his country had failed to exploit innovations 'where yesterday we were ahead of the enemy. The enemy has already outpaced us.' Analysts cite Russia's growing use of short-range fiber-optic drones that can't be jammed as one example of the technological race. Ukraine is yet to scale up the use of such drones, which rely on millimeters-thick, but miles-long, optical fibers. Zelensky denied Ukraine was losing the drone war. 'We will have the same number of drones as the Russians, 300-500 per day - we are very close to it,' he said. The issue was not production, Zelensky said – it was financial. As Ukraine seeks to produce more of its own weapons – often in association with Western manufacturers, Zelensky added: 'I would like to see us receive $30 billion to launch Ukrainian production at full capacity.' But that is a long-term goal. Watling, from RUSI, envisages a tough few months for Ukraine that 'will place a premium on the efficiency of Ukrainian drone and artillery operations, the ability of Ukrainian commanders to preserve their troops, and the continuity of supplies flowing from Ukraine's international partners.' The continuation of US supplies is unsure as Trump blows hot and cold about whether Washington should continue helping Ukraine defend itself. Putin is 'desperately seeking to prevent the future supply of Western military aid to Ukraine,' according to ISW, 'as well-resourced Ukrainian forces have consistently demonstrated their ability to inflict unsustainable losses on Russian forces.' Innovation and tactical agility will be as influential as brute force as the war enters its fourth summer. CNN's Kosta Gak and Victoria Butenko contributed reporting.
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.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia conducts over 50 strikes on community in Zaporizhzhia Oblast
The Russians have conducted over 50 strikes on the territory of one of the frontline hromadas in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories – ed.] Source: Ivan Fedorov, Head of Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram Details: According to early reports from Fedorov, the Russians conducted over 50 strikes using various types of weapons on the territory of one of the frontline hromadas. He added that houses and infrastructure had been damaged. Information on casualties is being confirmed. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
National Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Trump says Putin has 'gone crazy' as Russia launched biggest drone attack on Ukraine
Russia overnight launched the biggest drone attack on Ukraine in the more than three-year war, a Ukrainian official said Monday. President Donald Trump said Russian leader Vladimir Putin has gone 'crazy' by stepping up the bombing of Ukraine just as the U.S. tries to broker peace. Article content The Russian bombardment on Sunday night included 355 drones, Yuriy Ihnat, head of the Ukrainian air force's communications department, told The Associated Press. Article content Article content The previous night, Russia fired 298 drones and 69 missiles of various types at Ukraine in what Ukrainians said was the largest combined aerial assault during the conflict. From Friday to Sunday, Russia launched around 900 drones at Ukraine, officials said. Article content Article content Article content The escalation appeared to thwart hopes that Trump's peace efforts might lead to a breakthrough in the near term, as Putin looks determined to capture more Ukrainian territory and inflict more damage. Article content Russia has this month broken its record for aerial bombardments of Ukraine three times. The expansion of its air campaign came after Kyiv in March accepted an unconditional 30-day ceasefire proposed by the U.S. but Moscow effectively rejected it. Article content Russia is also still pushing along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where it has made slow and costly progress, and is assembling its forces for a summer offensive, Ukraine and military analysts say. Article content 'Only a sense of complete impunity can allow Russia to carry out such attacks and continually escalate their scale,' Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Monday. 'There is no significant military logic to this, but there is considerable political meaning.' Article content Article content He repeated his call for tighter international economic sanctions on Russia as a way of ending the war, because Russia's 'desire to fight must be deprived of resources.' Article content The European Union's top diplomat, foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, on Monday described the latest attacks on Kyiv as 'totally appalling' and said the bloc intended to impose more sanctions on Russia. Article content Article content Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin makes decisions that are necessary to ensure Russia's security and that the attacks were Moscow's response to deep strikes by Ukraine. Article content Russia is grateful for American efforts to bring peace, which have included the countries' first direct peace talks in three years, Peskov said.
