Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and hoping you had a nice Christmas Eve! I’m still full from all the Christmas food! Today, Christmas is celebrated in Ukraine and even though it’s unlikely, let’s keep our fingers crossed that Russia holds back on its terrorist attacks.
Fuel depots in the port of Temryuk are on fire
The local authorities in Krasnodar krai, Russia, report that Ukraine has carried out another attack on the port in Temryuk. Two fuel tanks (unclear what type, oil, gasoline, diesel, or something else) are on fire and firefighting efforts have begun. According to reports, the fire covers approximately 2000 square meters. The fire has also been located via FIRM.
Explosions at Khanskaya airport
There are also reports of explosions heard from the airport at Khanskaya in Russia, but so far, there is very little information. Whether it’s a successful Ukrainian attack, someone being careless while smoking, or just rumors will probably become clear during the day.
Russian losses
Slightly lower losses when it comes to KWIA than we have become accustomed to lately, otherwise normal levels except for UAVs, which are among the higher ones. Let’s hope the ratio was good so most of those 600 were taken down.
- 860 KWIA
- 7 Tanks
- 5 AFVs
- 59 Artillery systems
- 600 UAVs
- 149 Vehicles & fuel tanks
Russian activities in the war in Ukraine
Russia carried out and used the following during the past day:
- 151 Clashes/engagements
- 80 Airstrikes
- 193 KAB
- 4,015 Grenades (including 88 from MLRS)
- 6,393 Suicide drones
The number of suicide drones is among the higher ones, but otherwise fairly normal figures.
SLAVA UKRAINI
Don't forget to donate, Ukraine's cause is ours! Support Ukraine!
“❗️During the night, 🇺🇦Ukrainian military shot down 106 out of 131 🇷🇺Russian UAVs”
https://bsky.app/profile/militarynewsua.bsky.social/post/3mas6wctnc22e
The Russians are trying to intimidate a bit. Perhaps the best thing would actually be not to even report on such events.
“Russian long-range strategic bombers of the Tu-95ms model have carried out a planned flight over the ice cap north of Norway. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement, Reuters writes.
The aircraft were over neutral waters and crossed the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea, according to Russia.
“At certain stages of the flight, the bombers were accompanied by fighter jets from other countries,” the statement continues.”
https://omni.se/ryska-bombflygplan-flog-over-norska-havet/a/OkpWb3
Happy New Year MXT. You put a lot of effort into your blog and you do it very well. Thank you!
It’s chaotic now with the war. It seems like Europe is starting to split – a northern part and a southern one. Hopefully the northern one is the strongest for Ukraine’s sake. The USA is, if possible, even more chaotic and it’s probably just as well to count them out. They dare to threaten Denmark but not Russia!
I don’t understand why the Greenlanders don’t put their foot down here. For example, by asking the USA if they intend to treat the Greenlanders in the same brutal way as their relatives in North America. It would be interesting to hear the answer to that question.
Otherwise, I have the answer here: In 2015, Obama decided to rename Mount McKinley to Denali to honor the indigenous people of Alaska. Denali means “the high one” in Athabascan. On Trump’s first day as president, he issued an executive order to restore the mountain’s name to Mount McKinley. This says it all about the White House’s attitude towards indigenous peoples. Greenland, be afraid.
The division is probably good, those who want to support, do they support?
But wouldn’t it be best if as many as possible continued with the support?
Free ice cream for everyone would also be good, if those who do not want to support fall out, they can no longer brake was my thought?
We are forming ourselves in a violent alliance that initiates the war to take over the world and enslave everyone 💥💥💥💥
Ah, of course, that’s a point, we avoid the stumbling blocks.
Thank you!
I wish that Europe could stand united, we would be stronger together and without the USA there is a risk that we won’t be able to manage. Unfortunately, it seems that the cracks are increasing instead of decreasing. This not only risks negatively affecting the support for Ukraine but also makes it much harder for us to assert ourselves globally against both the USA and Asia.
As I have written before, I hoped that Trump’s rhetoric was mostly about appeasing MAGA and the even more extreme, but it is becoming increasingly clear that unfortunately it was not just campaign rhetoric.
We really hope that he does not go all the way when it comes to Greenland but keeps it at a political level.
Do not despair, at the Christmas morning service they said that we will win 🙏
Went through yesterday and many kind words to MXT and me – fun to read and thank you.
Agreed!
“Ukraine election poll shows tight first round, decisive Zaluzhnyi runoff win over Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.K., former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, would advance to a second round if presidential elections were held in the near future, according to a SOCIS poll published on Dec. 24.
The poll comes as Ukrainian lawmakers begin preparing legislation for the possibility of holding elections under martial law, following Zelensky’s instruction to draft the necessary legal framework.
According to the survey, Zelensky would receive 22% of the vote in the first round, narrowly ahead of Zaluzhnyi’s 21%. A significant share of respondents — 24.1% — said they were undecided, an increase from 21.1% recorded in October. …”
When I sit and weigh everything together, we hit most of it in the second half of the year and the outcome was the best possible.
Europe can always strike back, but I don’t think the countries that matter in Europe do it anymore.
Trump has burned his bridges and now the Epstein scandal will haunt him until he is impeached. You know just like I do that there are incriminating pictures that will be released at some point, the kind of pictures he can’t talk his way out of.
Ukraine has completely liberated Kupiansk and they are in CONTROL – this is VERY IMPORTANT.
Then a final puzzle piece that came today – RU numbers in Ukraine have started to DECREASE for the first time, they are not replenishing enough.
As mentioned, the most crucial months of the war and the war is won but now it must also be secured, and Europe must balance on a very fine line so we don’t do too little and not too much.
For the first time in the war, it feels right 👍👍💥
Oops, such a positive Johan can only mean… something… 😳
Could it be the beginning of Russia’s collapse?
“💪🏻 As part of work in the Zaporizhzhia Front sector, Budanov arrived at the front lines to the soldiers of “Timura Special Unit”. He talked with the soldiers and officers of the GUR, who directly detect and destroy Russian occupiers and enemy equipment.”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3masgo2ljyc2
“Neo-Nazi sadist wanted for war crimes in Ukraine invited to give ‘lesson on courage’ to Russian children”
We have two minutes to the church located in the center of the community so we went there both on the 24th, which is a service for those who are alone, and then the early morning Christmas service – it always strikes me how valuable it is not only to carry on the tradition but how many value it enough to get up early on the 25th and make their way there.
This doesn’t happen by magic (even though God knows everything and Jesus turned water into wine for a great party 🙏) but through voluntary efforts – with the choir, there are probably 15 people involved and then maintenance for the church, budget, etc.
I think it’s very important and something that needs to be safeguarded, it’s starting to become a bit “every other week” with the services and quite empty when it’s not holidays, but it’s a vital part of our traditions and heritage.
The community also has a lot of activities throughout the year and the local area usually comes together reasonably well – there is an understanding that a lively community comes from enough people keeping it alive.
Surely wise in that.
The church provides absolutely great benefit primarily for those who are less fortunate in society, so I really hope that they can continue with that. 👍
When it comes to preserving traditions in themselves, it’s not so important for me personally. The most important thing is that the good values that exist continue to thrive (and the negative ones die out).
If a sufficient number of people are interested in the traditions and feel a need for them, they will continue to exist. Everyone who thinks the church is important should make sure to go there more often!
Compelling traditions
🔥 The area of the fire in the port of Temryuk has increased to 4 thousand sq. m after the UAV attack, according to Russians. Temryuk is the main export port of southern Russia for liquefied hydrocarbon gas, and is also used to send oil cargoes.
“At least four people have been killed and 35 others injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities reported on Dec. 25.
Russia launched 131 drones at Ukraine overnight, the Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 106 drones. At least 22 drones made it through, striking 15 locations.
Overnight Russian attacks left several residents in Chernihiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, and Odesa oblasts without power. In Odesa Oblast, the outages were compounded by damage from previous Russian strikes, the Energy Ministry said.
In Kharkiv Oblast, a Russian strike on the regional center of Kharkiv killed a 51-year-old man and wounded 15 others — 14 men and one woman. Separate attacks injured a 64-year-old man in the village of Mytrofanivka and a 56-year-old man in Podoly, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.”
Off-Topic, Trump..
“US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump are celebrating Christmas in Florida, where they received calls from children at the American command center Norad on Wednesday. The command center tracks Santa’s journey every year and allows children to call in for updates.
One child asked Trump why Norad tracks Santa.
– We want to make sure he is not infiltrated, so that we do not let in an evil Santa into our country, Trump replied, according to Sky News.
Another child pleaded with Trump to not receive coal in their Christmas stocking, The Hill writes.
– Not coal, no you don’t want coal – you mean clean, beautiful coal.
The response is a reference to Trump’s many statements about wanting to increase the use of coal, which he often describes as “clean” and “beautiful.””
https://omni.se/trump-till-barnen-vill-inte-slappa-in-en-ond-tomte/a/GxGwaq
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G9AcyzKWEAAhOyD?format=jpg&name=large
Do not paste link to image (Safari iPhone) the box jumps around every time I move the cursor to the fields for the link to the image and “right-click” to paste.. Has worked fine up until early December.
N Slobozhansky-Kursk 2
S Slobozhansky 10💥↗️
Kupyansk 5
Lyman 7
Slovyansk 6↗️
Kramatorsk 0
Kostjantynivka 16💥
Pokrovsk 36💥💥
Oleksandrivskij 13💥↗️
Huliaypillia 21💥↗️
Orikhivsk 1
Prydniprovskij/Dnipro 3
Sum sectors 120↗️🇷🇺
Unlocalized 31🇺🇦
Total 151↗️
Issues with Safari on mobile, desktop, or both?
If you have the possibility to test another web browser, it would be interesting to know if it works better so we can determine if it’s a Safari issue or perhaps something else.
Test from Chrome on the same device (iPhone).
Yes, then maybe it was the iOS update in early December.
Good, then I have a clue to start from!
On the positive side, we can also add that we are seeing more and more reports showing that the Russian economy is seriously starting to fare really badly.
Additionally, although on a small scale, there have been some minor protests in Russia. Of course, these protests are not against the war itself, but rather the direct effects of it, primarily related to the internet where Russians are becoming increasingly restricted, as well as the shutdown of mobile networks, etc. Then we also had the youths who dared to sing songs against Putin and were imprisoned. If discontent begins to grow, these small drops could eventually grow into a river.
Another small positive sign is that we see more pro-Russians complaining about various issues, but perhaps mainly about how badly the war is going and how easily Ukraine can carry out its attacks.
Dissatisfied Russian soldiers have also started posting individual videos again. It almost disappeared for a while, mobile phones were banned, and I guess the punishments for those who complained/criticized or released videos showing how badly things were going have probably become much more brutal. Yet it continues.
It is clearly starting to look brighter in many ways.
Oh, would be a response to Johan No.1’s post above but can stand on its own as well.
Otherwise you can find his here:
https://johanno1.se/sv/ukraina-har-aterigen-genomfort-lyckade-attacker-i-ryssland/#comment-62800
▪️”Years of elaborate Russian government programs to hide massive troop losses were aimed at avoiding public outrage, as well as paying death benefits.
Now, Russian military bloggers are realizing that they were lied to, with real losses around 1.5 million.”
▪️”As Russia’s economy continues to spiral, war spending only increases, with the amount spent on just one week of military expenses now equivalent to an entire year of budget spending on 75% of Russia’s regions.”
🇺🇦SPRAVDI Stratcom Centre
https://x.com/stratcomcentre?s=21
👍
Both MXT and Johan are positive, fantastic Christmas 🥂
Also visited by DenGamle, an even more positive Christmas! 🍻
To warn about Twitter when it is a service that is superior to many other publishing tools is as ridiculous as warning about Starlink, which is superior in its kind. Why switch to something that provides poorer communication opportunities?
For example, on Cornucopia, it’s not even possible to upload an image, but Twitter is banned there. 🤡
Has it been banned now? There has been discussion about it, but I didn’t think LW had implemented any restrictions.
If so, it’s a bit hypocritical. He doesn’t hang out on Twitter himself, but he (or at least until recently) automatically posted all his entries there.
It’s not about the quality of the tool or its reach or the huge number of users it has, and only indirectly about the content.
It’s about values. By using the tool, you are to some extent benefiting Elon Musk (and thereby also his values and his support for Trump and MAGA).
Imagine if ISIS were to create a superior social media tool through massive sponsorships, would you use it then?
Twitter has almost completely stopped its moderation, so there is a lot of crap to be found there. Of course, we should have freedom, but it should follow our normal laws, which it doesn’t.
On Cornucopia, as I’ve said, it’s almost taboo, so it’s ingrained in me to warn so that those who don’t want to support Musk don’t do it accidentally by clicking on the links.
Now you can see where the links lead, but it’s easy to miss.
I never, ever click on ad links, so I hardly contribute to any direct income (unless the advertiser also pays for exposures, not entirely impossible), but just being there still contributes a little, little bit.
At the same time, it’s on Twitter that most things come out first, where Zelenskyy and many others post their updates. It’s where Ukrainians are and they need our support.
It’s also on Twitter where the fight against Russian propaganda is the toughest. That’s why I find it hard to stay away from being present there (even though I no longer hunt “Vatniks” to the same extent).
I’m very torn myself. I wish more had switched to Bluesky. It’s good enough with equivalent basic features.
For now, I’m still on Twitter and I (and probably not Johan No.1) have no intention of censoring. Well, except when it’s linked to something that breaks the law.
That Twitter as a tool is better than many others (Facebook, Substack, WordPress, many comment fields I’ve experienced) is what I stick to. The spread is the biggest problem. I got 90% of my Twitter followers before Musk took over. Whether this is due to X changing algorithms or that many then abandoned Twitter in protest, I cannot say for sure. But as a tool, spread cannot be ignored – if it is actively suppressed, it should be taken into consideration when evaluating the tool. Rumors are that X recently changed and that it is now AI that has taken over the algorithms. Then there is someone who trains / controls the AI… But if Twitter as a tool still stands as above, the next question is whether one undermines their own interests by using it. As you write, many news stories are first out on Twitter, not least because many public figures use it as a social media platform. And there are many Ukrainian accounts that fully exploit Twitter’s many innovative solutions such as Spaces, live broadcasts, and enhanced features. It is also not certain that on a platform like Bluesky, one can influence as much as via X, as you only reach an audience that has largely already bought into a message that can make a difference on X among those who are not yet fully anti-West/Ukraine…
if it is true that the algorithm has recently been replaced by an AI that does not discriminate against those who are not anti-Western or anti-Ukrainian, this should be noticeable even if many of these have already left the platform – in the form of increased views and more followers. So far, nothing like that from what I have seen. Still about 10-30 new followers since autumn 2023, while there were about 300 new followers in less than a year before the algorithms changed. (Or if it was users who abandoned X and chose bs/threads)
Well, Twitter wins most comparisons as a tool.
In terms of content, one can of course be a bit torn, should one be allowed to write and post anything or should they be obligated to remove the most offensive? The USA has different rules than the EU and individual countries, so should they be forced to follow those rules? Musk does everything to avoid it, personally I think they should do it. Then, if one thinks that their own country has too strict rules, they can criticize it, I think Twitter darn well should follow them.
Then we also have what you are getting at. How much do the algorithms control and is there a strong bias towards one side or the other.
One would need access to the API and run various tests for a longer period of time to know for sure how it works. What I know is that I previously had ~5,000 views on my loss reports. It varied between 3-4,000 at the lowest and was up to 6-7,000 at the highest.
For a short period of a few weeks, I was fed up with both Trump and Musk and wrote a lot of sarcastic and provocative posts aimed at both of them. No overstepping, no posts reported, for example. This was after Trump had already won but just before he was sworn in as president.
Suddenly, from one day to the next, the number of views dropped to around 2,000/day. My posts in the reports look exactly the same every day. Now I range between 1-2000 views, but on rare occasions I can reach higher (like yesterday when I also wished Merry Christmas and got a lot of response).
Whether it’s a coincidence and they tweaked the algorithms at that time, or if my account has simply been throttled, I don’t know. But it’s not because people have dropped off.
I’ve increased the number of followers by about 1,000 since then, but it’s usually not more than 1,000 views anyway.
If I make a somewhat neutral post without links, etc., I usually get under 200 views, but sometimes I can reach double that. If no one comments or retweets, it’s never over 200.
Sure, one might think it’s an uninteresting post, but with 11,400 followers, more than 1-2% should still get the chance to at least see it. So when it comes to spreading for my part, I have to say that Twitter sucks.
On the other hand, I don’t pay anything for it either, but it’s still ridiculously low.
Now it sometimes looks even worse on Bluesky, there you can’t see the number of views, but based on likes and reposts, it’s also low there.
I’ve looked around a bit and I think it may be because many people jumped on Bluesky and then went back to Twitter because there are a lot of accounts that seem abandoned.
Regarding the fact that it’s not about the quality of the tool, my original argument was that that’s exactly what it’s about – having an effective tool. And the comparison with Starlink is not unreasonable. Here, there is no alternative if one is to consider qualities such as quality and efficiency. And surely no one claims otherwise than that each Starlink terminal benefits its owner Elon Musk. Yet no one blames Ukrainians for using Starlink. It’s double standards at its finest.
Well, I understood you when it comes to how you think about the evaluation and quality.
My response was more focused on trying to explain why LW and many on Cornucopia are so negative towards Twitter. If one sees Musk as the embodiment of evil, one might not care if it’s the best, one boycotts it because it goes against one’s moral values.
I myself struggle with that dilemma. Musk seems, for example, to share AfD’s values as he participates in their meetings by link, he uses similar rhetoric in various contexts, and he prefers to see the EU shut down. It doesn’t feel entirely right to indirectly support him by using his platform.
But as I said, we have also presented the arguments for why one should also remain.
I made the mistake with the blue sky – if not dead up it has become really empty
Personally, I threw Twitter overboard a long time ago, hoping that it will fade away with a big loss for Musk, and preferably seeing if there is redundant information elsewhere to point the links there, but warning is a bit excessive. After all, you can see where the link is pointing.
“Oil shipments from Kazakhstan via Novorossiysk will drop by around 30% in December, according to Reuters. Exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium are set to hit their lowest level since October 2024 after damage at the main export terminal caused by a Ukrainian drone strike in November.”
More provocations. I interpret it as desperation. Soon, there will probably be some new test of nuclear-capable robots or something similar.
If they were to engage in a test explosion, we know they are in real trouble.
“A Russian reconnaissance plane was discovered over the Baltic Sea near the border with Polish airspace on Christmas Day, Reuters reports.
The Polish defense forces wrote on X that the Russian plane was identified, intercepted, and escorted away by Polish fighter planes.
During the night, objects were also observed entering the airspace from Belarus, and Poland temporarily closed the airspace locally over the Podlaskie region.
“After a careful analysis, it was determined that it was likely smuggling balloons moving in the direction and speed of the wind,” the statement from the defense forces reads.”
https://omni.se/ryskt-spaningsflyg-upptackt-over-ostersjon-pa-juldagen/a/6qjlB3
Off-Topic, Trump’s Approval Ratings.
It goes up and it goes down in The Economist’s surveys.
However, in The New York Times’ combined ones, things look a bit brighter for Trump.
He is buying popularity with tax money, so not entirely surprising
💥🔥✊👍 There you go, Christmas is saved, another refinery is on fire!
“💥 The Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region is on fire after another attack. The General Staff of the AFU confirmed that Ukrainian forces conducted an attack using Storm Shadow missiles.”
https://bsky.app/profile/united24media.com/post/3masrdllhl22t
Not one of the very largest, but not among the smallest either.
“This oil refinery produces more than 7.5 million barrels of oil a year, a massive blow to the Russian oil economy if it has been severely damaged.”
Praised be the tax refund 🙏
Russia is in the process of analyzing the peace proposal brought by special envoy Kirill Dmitriev from the USA, reports Reuters.
“On Christmas Eve, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia will formulate its position on the new peace agreement ‘in the very near future.’ However, he declined to comment on details and said that the issue will not be discussed through the media.
How ‘very near future’ is still unclear. The news agency reports that Putin sent a Christmas greeting to Donald Trump, but no talks are scheduled for Thursday.
A source close to the Kremlin told Bloomberg yesterday that Putin is likely to reject several parts of the proposal.”
Then we have received an official confirmation of the points in today’s post + a little more.
“❗️The General Staff of the Armed Forces of 🇺🇦Ukraine confirmed strikes on enemy targets:
▪️Infrastructure of the seaport “Temryuk” (Krasnodar Krai, rf) was hit; oil product tanks were burning.
▪️A strike was carried out on a military airfield in the area of Maikop (Republic of Adygea, rf): the target was hit, a fire broke out.
▪️Strike drones destroyed a repair unit of the 143rd Motorized Rifle Regiment in the area of Truzhenka (TOT Donetsk Oblast).
▪️According to updated data from previous Ukrainian drone strikes on the “Belbek” airfield (TOT Crimea): the 96K6 radar station was destroyed, the R-419 communication station was destroyed, and the 55Zh6T radar was damaged.”
https://bsky.app/profile/militarynewsua.bsky.social/post/3masskfulk22n
Kupiansk is well completely liberated?
Yes, I saw something about it being now.
Another provocation.
“Russian nuclear-capable bombers flew near Britain. The Alliance was forced to scramble fighter jets to monitor the massive Russian aircraft.
The Russian MoD claimed their strategic aviation was just “carrying out a planned flight.””
“Russia is using the peace negotiations to undermine the United States’ global leading role and credibility as a peace broker. This is claimed by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s advisor Mychajlo Podoljak in a post on X.
“Russia once again shows a total lack of respect for all agreements and continues to play an obvious game to undermine the United States’ global leadership,” he writes.
The statement comes after a Russian statement about progress following a negotiating round with the USA based on the 20-point plan proposed by Donald Trump, according to Reuters.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has not commented on the negotiations on Thursday.
“Not even on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day has Russia ceased its brutal attacks on Ukraine,” he writes on X.”
https://omni.se/zelenskyjs-radgivare-ryssland-vill-spela-ut-usa/a/0pn3X0
🔴 Russia’s strike on Odesa triggered a major oil spill in the Black Sea. Sunflower oil leaked from damaged port tanks, coating birds and leaving them vulnerable to the cold as locals and zookeepers rush to rescue the animals.
Realized that I forgot to share Zelenskyy’s Christmas speech, sharing it now in case anyone missed it:
https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/2003863032968188302
Read MXT above – I think it’s because Putin always humiliates the USA towards the end of the round.
crazy 😳
What has RU pronounced? Not clear from MXT’s post.
As stated above:
“Europe must balance on a very fine line so that we do not do too little and not too much.”