20 Days in Mariupol documentary and its creators featured in Helsingin Sanomat, unfortunately behind a paywall. The same film crew also took the famous photos of the destruction caused by Russia at the Mariupol children’s hospital.
The documentary is also Ukraine’s entry for next spring’s Oscars. The full documentary can be viewed via PBS in the US, so it is also accessible from Finland with a little bit of maneuvering.
The film is intense. It shows how children die in bombings, and how mothers and fathers break from their pain.
Last Sunday, the film was screened in Helsinki to a full theater. The special screening was organized by the Association of Ukrainians in Finland.
When the screening ended, the audience stood up and held a moment of silence.
The film’s field producer Vasilisa Stepanenko was present as an invited guest.
”Now that people see the film, it feels a little better. Maybe the world hasn’t forgotten us.”
As a tip for a Christmas gift or otherwise. Your Finnish Friends also sells support products, such as these damn fine-looking hoodies, where a portion of the proceeds goes to Finnish volunteers.
High-quality material. The embroidery and fabric haven’t taken a hit in the wash. T-shirts and beanies are also available.
A direct donation is likely a more cost-effective way, but a piece of clothing isn’t a bad investment either. You certainly wear it with great pride! I wear mine almost every day. From personal experience, I can say that the shirt hasn’t caused any disapproval or anything else. The sample size is small, though: just me and my wife.
Viktor Orbán plans to blow up the EU’s Ukraine policy unless he is paid. A mobster.
In the letter, addressed to European Council chief Charles Michel, the Hungarian leader says that no decision on funding for Ukraine, the opening of accession talks to the EU, or further sanctions against Russia can be taken until this “strategic discussion” happens when leaders gather in Brussels in mid-December.
Orbán’s letter raises the stakes in a long-running standoff between Budapest and Brussels, which is holding back €13 billion in EU funds for Hungary over concerns that the country is falling afoul of the EU’s standards on rule-of-law.
Without saying so directly, the letter suggests that Budapest could use its veto power to block the disbursement of a planned €50 billion in aid for Ukraine — money that’s needed to fund the Ukrainian government while its armed forces fight back against a full-scale Russian invasion.
At first glance, I briefly got some Soldiers of Odin vibes with the Russian text, but upon closer inspection, I fortunately spotted that Ukrainian flag, and after further research, the company turned out to be very professional. You can’t judge a book by its cover.
In Finland, there has been surprise at the claims by Estonian authorities that none of the arrivals applied for asylum. Those who have cycled to Finnish border crossing points have applied for asylum in large numbers.
According to Estonian Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets, the explanation lies in the different practices of the Finnish and Estonian border authorities.
– In Finland, they reach the border crossing point, but in Estonia, they are stopped at the state border. They do not, therefore, reach Estonian soil, Läänemets told Yle by phone.
If the arrivals appear to be part of an operation orchestrated by the Russian authorities, they are stopped at the state border so that they do not even reach Estonian soil to file an asylum application. Asylum can only be applied for once within the state’s territory.
– For humanitarian reasons alone, we would not leave women, children, or the elderly to freeze at the border, Kommusaar stated.
If you have 30-minutes, watch this video of a Russian assault on an AFU position in Avdiivka in October. All of the Ukrainians survived. It was filmed by a female medic.
"This footage is of Russian troops storming our positions at dawn one of the days of this fall near Avdiivka. It is worth reviewing for anyone who wants to understand what it means to be a Ukrainian military man (or woman) who is defending our country at zero (main line of contact)today on one of the hottest sections of the front. This is only one episode of this terrible war that the enemy is waging against us, but for our defenders this is a daily job, for which, unfortunately, many people have to give their lives.
Fortunately, in this particular battle, all our heroes survived. But I want to draw your attention to how our defenders treat the wounded and, in turn, the wounded to their fellow soldiers in difficult combat situations. Some are ready to carry out the wounded on themselves, while others ask for a machine gun and leave them in the trench - one on one with the enemy."
The Government and the police have also now participated in this hyperventilating, and notice in what context the police even use the qualifier “probably.”
Norway’s solution is downright incomprehensible considering human rights and international agreements.
“These people are not in distress; they are safe in Russia”
A very good interpretation from Norway that we should follow. It is downright absurd that people come from Russia to Finland to seek asylum based on unrest in a home country over 5,000 kilometers away.
Edit: In intra-European migrant movement, seeking asylum in Finland (and the non-compliance with the Dublin Regulation) is still somehow understandable for reasons of solidarity and burden-sharing, but surely we have no need to appease Russia?
I wonder if the Z-pigs are testing Finland because they believe it will have an effect. The issue causes some discord and even very heated opinions among us, so our neighbor is feeding us this crap (and I’m not referring to people here, but to this whole Russian operation). Norway has already been tested, and their geography is a bit different. I don’t know if Norway broke international agreements back in 2015. I’ve gotten the impression that there is room for interpretation in international agreements.
I came across this Twitter discussion that might shed some light on the matter (there are probably many fans of Veronika Honka here, so I’ll post her Xeet and a response from a less well-known guy ) https://twitter.com/veronikahonka/status/1727409646279733636 https://twitter.com/ArttuRintanen/status/1727411546241089703
Ukraine’s defense budget will be about 43 billion dollars. This story is not behind a paywall.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that at least UAH 1.6 trillion [equiv. to US$43.3 billion] should be budgeted to finance defence and security next year.
The Biden administration will increase sanctions on Russia and North Korea if necessary. No paywall.
“We have already taken a number of actions to sanction entities that have brokered arms deals between North Korea and Russia, and we won’t hesitate to impose additional measures if necessary,” Miller said.
Russia is attacking aggressively in Maryinka and Avdiivka.
Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister, has announced that there is an escalation of the situation in Marinka and Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, where the Russians have increased the number of their attacks and assaults.
Russia is strengthening its third line of defense. No paywall.
Russian forces have started to strengthen the “third line” of defense in Russian-occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, said on Telegram on Sept. 13.
Ukraine is on the offensive on the southern front towards Melitopol, which was captured by Russian forces shortly after the start of the war.
Russian forces have begun to reinforce the ‘deep rear’ of their defenses on the southern front line, even as they claim Ukraine’s counteroffensive has already failed, Fedorov said.
Currently, Ukrainian grain is traveling through Ukraine. No paywall.
About 100,000 tons of Ukrainian corn and wheat have been exported from the port of Rijeka in northern Croatia since May 2022, says Marino Klaric, the head of the grain terminal. However, the amount is only a fraction of the millions of tons of grain Ukraine produces annually.
Heh, the headline says it all.
Ukraine is also preparing for winter in terms of energy. No paywall.
The prime minister said that Ukraine is focused on “energy independence,” citing the fact that the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant is now using fuel from the U.S. company Westinghouse to end the “Russian monopoly” on supplying such fuel, he said.
Russian civil aviation… is experiencing some real thrillers. It’s not fun being a pilot and literally risking your life. At least passengers have the option to take the train. Only a matter of time…
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands… Addition: The photo is from 2018, but Geert Wilders is a far-right party leader who just won the elections. The party doesn’t have a majority in parliament on its own and will have to form a coalition government with others, but it’s a bad thing nonetheless.
Tanks are being lost at a staggering rate, 100–200 a week. When you put that in perspective against Finland’s entire tank arsenal, our stockpile isn’t all that impressive; although usage in a real-world scenario would of course be less intensive. Should this be understood to mean that they have learned how to use Western tanks, or has most of the destruction been carried out with Javelin/drone/artillery solutions?
I bet the reason is the quality of the tanks (mostly 60s gear nowadays), the quality of Ukraine’s anti-tank equipment (modern stuff), and the “quality” of the orcs’ attack tactics (WWI stuff).
More tanks would certainly be lost, but according to comments, tanks are now rarely seen on the front lines. They are either running out or they’ve realized themselves that it’s useless to bring 60s junk there.
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Addition: The photo is from 2018, but Geert Wilders is a far-right party leader who just won the elections. The party doesn’t have a majority in parliament on its own and will have to form a coalition government with others, but it’s a bad thing nonetheless.