Will write about Slovyansk and Kramatorsk later in a separate thread. Gotta run now. (8)

When the war ends, the cafés will have to shut down. Few locals can afford going there, and for those who can, a handful will suffice. (7)

The army presence has dramatically transformed the character of the city centre. Upon each new visit I see new cafés, and they look surprisingly like the ones in Kyiv. In practice, local businesses (and newly arrived ones) offer "a piece of Kyiv normality" in an abnormal environment" (6).

Izium's population has risen back from its low under occupation (then about 10k). Today it is estimated there are 26k or so in town, many of whom refugees from settlements closer to the frontline. On top of that, the army presence is understandably huge. (5)

I saw several similar messages by the same author in the vicinity of Slovyansk too. And removing them is too politically sensitive (you don't want to be seen doing that because... would it mean that you support the zhduny?) (4)

For example this: "war against the 'waiters' (zhduny = those who are waiting for the russians to come back) and against those who avoid the army." (3)

Izium: the city is slowly but surely being rebuilt, but the atmosphere remains full of mutual distrust. For good reasons. Moreover, someone's been writing pretty aggressive messages on walls across the city. They are not wrong, just not the right time for them in a city that is so polarized. (2)

I spent the past few days travelling back and forth from Kharkiv first to Izium and then to Slovyansk and Kramatorsk. Here come some quick observations: (1)

Förvisso, du förstår vad jag menar. Men jag tolkar det som att du håller med om att förbudet bör även gälla nära anhöriga?

Inreseförbudet borde även sträckas till deras närmaste, även efter att de stupat. Naturligtvis är det dåligt med kollektiv bestraffning, men vi vill inte att soldatfruar ska få resa fritt med pengar som tjänats vid fronten (eller som kommit in som engångsersättning i samband med KIA).

There is a Russian (very vulgar) term that describes "stabilitocracy" perfectly: "stabilizdets."

This, ladies and gents, is the best cheesecake in the world. And you can only get it in Kramatorsk. Despite the war.

Kramatorsk. Strong and resilient.

Put my alarm clock at 10 PM Peruvian time to be able to wake up at 6 AM. EW in Kharkiv makes my phone think I'm in Lima, adjusting the clock accordingly (just in case, I also added an alarm for 6 AM).

Izium didn't end well for some muscovites.

OK, so today I too experienced the dubious delight of a train evacuation in Ukraine: train stops, everyone out into the fields, rain, an explosion some 5-10 km away. And some needed fresh air. My impression is that there is a non-zero chance that someone could be left behind when the train leaves.

Sanctions and Russian Science: How World’s Major Scientific Publisher Helps Circumvent Them Despite its statements of support for Ukraine, Springer Nature publishes approximately 200 Russian journals. The publisher uses intermediaries and Cypriot offshore companies to circumvent sanctions an...

Important insights about how Russian propaganda has infiltrated the world of scientific publications in collusion with Springer (mainly via "Pleiades"). This has to stop! zn.ua/eng/sanction...

Who is this yakshcho ne sekret?

The kind of stuff you do when you are convinced that your contacts with Moscow were standard diplomatic practice.

Please visit Putin, JD.

Days like today have me wondering if Viktor Orban said “thank you.”

Please, please, please!

That's when the carousel of exceptions starts.

Let's hope the Pig in Budapest gets ostracized to Moscow.

The day after Orban is going to be rough. We're going to find out just how bad the damage is. Just how much was stolen. Just how much is owed. Hungarians will have to deal with a state apparatus occupied by FISEZ apparatchiks from top to bottom. It will be almost like 1989.

Well done, Shakhtar Donetsk!

Fascinating, Zelensky coming out publicly more and more and saying that Trump is working with/for Putin. The Ukrainians seem to have determined that telling the truth is preferable to lying to please Trump.

Not aware. But should be. As to the share of children dead, to get things straight: (a) among civilians it is far more than 1% in UA; (b) Gaza's demography is very different (children are the majority there, unlike in Ukraine where fertility is very low); (c) most UA kids have been evacuated.

1, 1 and 1 for me!

Um, Russia? Eritrea? Belarus? And so on... but yes, also the US.