“No Encirclement Risk for Chasiv Yar”, – Ukrainian military respond to alarmist reports
Source: Telemarathon
Ukrainian military sources have downplayed fears of a looming encirclement of the strategic town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk. Despite Russian forces intensifying their efforts to advance on the city’s flanks, officials say there’s no immediate danger.
Oleg Kalashnikov, a senior officer with the 26th Artillery Brigade, is confident, “There is no threat of encirclement at this time. The enemy’s attempts to achieve their initial goals have faltered, and they are still struggling.”
Russian troops have been trying to make slow progress on the edges of the city, opting for smaller, more cautious attacks rather than direct assaults, likely to avoid heavy casualties. They’re using drones to drop supplies but have yet to bring in their armored units.
Kalashnikov stressed that Ukrainian troops keep the situation in the area under control, continuing to frustrate the enemy’s advances.
In my previous column, I wrote about social innovations in Ukraine. Those innovations are part of civic resilience and the democratization of security, which Europe is paying close attention to right now. The EU is trying to work out how to spread responsibility for its own security across society as a whole, rather than leaving it to institutions alone. It is looking for concrete ways to bring ordinary people into the work of defense and resistance.
Petro Poroshenko’s lawyers have appealed to the High Anti-Corruption Court demanding that NABU be obligated to register proceedings regarding the fact of exerting influence on the court and to recognize Petro Poroshenko as a victim in the case of the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Iryna Mudra, due to her pressure on Supreme Court judges who were considering a lawsuit to overturn sanctions.
Internationally recognized brands and financial institutions should direct capital to Ukraine now, not waiting for the hostilities to end. This was emphasized by Rinat Akhmetov, president of FC Shakhtar, during a working visit to UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, where he met with UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin.
In recent days, Moscow’s official rhetoric has been dominated by hysteria over the decision of…
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.