Cephalotrocity

Ukraine spent $62,500 on lobbying efforts in the U.S. in 2024, seven times less than Russia's $461,200, according to data published by the Ukrainian analytics platform Opendatabot on April 9.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27972538

A high-profile former Ukrainian commander has called for the head of the country’s military to step aside, accusing him of a lack of strategic imagination and putting Ukrainian soldiers’ lives at risk with “borderline criminal” orders.

Bohdan Krotevych, who quit as the chief of staff of the Azov brigade in February partly so he could speak out, said he believed that armed forces commander, Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, “must go” and Ukraine’s military leadership must be shaken up.

“The general staff ordered that when a soldier’s shift [on he frontline] is over, they can’t rest in the rear, they have to rest 50 metres from the front,” Krotevych said, which he added was typically at a platoon forward observation base.

Forcing soldiers to recover so close to the front put “all these people in grave danger”, he argued. He accused the army command of being “criminally guilty of not understanding the principles of war right now” and in particular “how FPV drones work, how glide bombs work”.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/32330527

At a time when reducing imports and building national capacity is become ever more important, Ukraine has achieved what seemed impossible: producing drones using entirely locally made components. This gives them an unrivalled ability to develop and mass produce drones to their exact requirements. More surprising is the cost. Rather than adding a premium, by building locally the Ukrainians are actually undercutting Chinese makers.

[...]

In his nightly video address, Zelensky said Ukraine’s top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, had presented a report “on the front line, our presence in the Kursk region and our presence in the Belgorod region.”

“We continue active operations in the enemy’s border areas and this is absolutely justified. The war must return to where it came from.

Equipped with a large-caliber machine gun, the robot is capable of conducting surveillance, patrolling, providing fire support to the Ukrainian military, and targeting Russian lightly armored vehicles, the statement read.

"If we were to take over the entire connectivity capacity for Ukraine and all the citizens, — we wouldn't be able to do that. Let's just be very honest," [CEO Eva Berneke] said.

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/35637822

About 240,000 Ukrainians have been settled in the US as part of the Uniting for Ukraine – or U4U – program launched during Joe Biden’s presidency. But according to CBS News, some resettled Ukrainians received emails this week telling them that the US Department of Homeland Security would be terminating their legal protections.

More than 20,000 Ukrainians who flew to Mexico at the start of the war were also allowed into the US, which allows DHS officials to offer temporary work permits and deportation protections to migrants on humanitarian grounds.

"The missile struck an area right next to residential buildings — hitting a playground and ordinary streets," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

"Such a strong country, such a strong people — and such a weak reaction. They are even afraid to say the word 'Russian' when talking about the missile that killed children," he said in a post that also praised countries including Japan, Britain, Switzerland and Germany for their "principled statements."

"Yes, the war must end. But in order to end it, we must not be afraid to call a spade a spade," he said.

Guess he has some cards after all.

cross-posted from: https://biglemmowski.win/post/5842702

Germany is financing Ukraine's access to a satellite internet network operated by French company Eutelsat, Reuters reported on April 4, citing Eutelsat CEO Eva Berneke.

Germany is financing Ukraine's access to a satellite internet network operated by French company Eutelsat, Reuters reported on April 4, citing Eutelsat CEO Eva Berneke.

The Ukrainian government approved a draft law on April 4 that narrows eligibility for military service deferments for students and educators, according to Taras Melnychuk, the government's representative in parliament.