«My poems is my fight to show what I can do for Ukraine and the world now by Koryu,
like Javelin or Bayraktar.
To stand on the frontline of culture is my great honor, dear my Ukrainian friends!»
(Kurama, Japan)
On this video: Ukraine war: 98-year-old Ukrainian says she walked miles alone through Russian territory (BBC News).
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET FROM OCHERETYNE
She's learnt to.
Trust her instincts.
It's why when.
‘Orcs’ forces entered.
Her home village of Ocheretyne.
In eastern Ukraine.
She and her family.
Decided it was time to go.
However, under heavy shelling.
She soon became separated.
From her relatives.
So she started walking.
So she started walking.
West in her slippers.
“I took a stick.
And a plank of wood.”
“I took a stick.
And a plank of wood.
For support and.
made my way.”
“My legs were carrying.
Me somehow;
I wasn't carrying them!”
“I wasn't carrying them!”
She would end up.
Walking 10km.
Until she was picked up.
By ‘elves’ police.
“There's nothing left!
It's all upside down!”
“There's nothing left!
It's all upside down!”
The village she left behind.
Is gradually being turned.
Into a hellscape by.
Approaching ‘orcs’ troops.
The closer they get.
The more intense.
The artillery fire becomes.
The closer they get.
Entire apartment blocks.
And houses.
Are slowly turning to.
Rubble and dust.
“My legs were carrying.
Me somehow;
I wasn't carrying them!”
“I wasn't carrying them!”
“As I started walking.
I had to lie down.
A couple of times.
I once lost balance.”
“And fell into the grass.
I had a sleep.
And then carried on walking.”
10km in her slippers.
She explains one of.
the officers asked.
How old she was.
How old she was.
“I said I was.
48 or 49.
He didn't believe me!”
She says with a chuckle.
She was eventually taken.
To a shelter for some rest.
Before being reunited.
With her granddaughter.
“I'm so happy.
My grandmother is here!
We'd been looking for her.
For a long time!”
“My legs were carrying.
Me somehow;
I wasn't carrying them!”
“I wasn't carrying them!”
For a 98-year-old.
‘Orcs’ invasion is worse than.
The World War Two.
Which she also lived through.
Extraordinary as her journey was.
She couldn't escape.
A telling off from.
Her younger relative.
“I won't repeat this.”
She concedes.
“Oh no, don't do that again!”
Was her granddaughter’s stern reply.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukrainian woman, 98, walks six miles from occupied village to safety (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN HOSTOMEL
It is easy to miss.
The killing spot.
At first.
In the gloom.
But in a cold.
Damp basement.
On the edge.
Of the woods.
That made Bucha.
A popular.
Get-away spot.
Before the war.
Five ‘elves’ men.
Were forced.
To their knees and.
Shot in the head.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
To the right of the entrance.
There are stones.
Coated in blood that.
Has turned dark red.
Lying among that.
Is a blue woollen hat.
With an exit hole.
In one side.
And its rim soaked.
In blood.
In the wall, you counted.
At least a dozen bullet holes.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
A couple of steps away.
Are the remains of.
An ‘orcs’ military.
Ration pack.
An open can of.
Rice porridge with beef.
And an empty packet.
Of crackers.
A name daubed in graffiti.
On a wall is.
A reminder that the scene.
Is a children's camp.
But when ‘orcs’ troops.
Moved into Bucha.
Just outside the capital.
In early March.
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
The story of.
The summer camp killings.
Is chilling but.
So is this detail:
More than 1,000 civilians.
Were killed in the Bucha region.
During a month.
Under ‘orcs’ occupation.
But most did not die.
From shrapnel or shelling.
More than 650 were.
Shot dead by ‘orcs’ soldiers.
Now Ukraine is searching.
For their killers.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
He lived in Hostomel.
Just up the road.
From Bucha and.
Near the airfield.
Where the first ‘orcs’ forces.
Landed to try.
To overthrow.
‘Elves’ government.
When his sister decided to flee.
Before the fighting reached her.
She pleaded with him.
To join her.
He was a civilian.
Not a soldier.
But he wanted.
To stay and help.
So he spent the days.
Searching Hostomel.
For food and water.
To bring to neighbours.
Including children.
Who were trapped in.
Their cellars by the constant shelling.
And ‘orcs’ airstrikes.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
A chatty 34-year-old.
Who had travelled.
The world.
In the merchant navy.
He phoned his family.
From Hostomel most days.
To reassure them.
He was safe.
His sister would wait nervously.
For his brief calls:
She knew he had to move.
To higher ground.
To get a connection.
And if the shelling was heavy.
It was impossible to leave.
The bomb shelter.
As supplies ran low.
She urged her brother.
To try to escape but by then.
The roads were blocked.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
The last time.
His sister heard.
From him was.
On 8 March.
He wasn't the demonstrative type.
But that day.
He told his sister.
Not to worry about him.
“He said.
‘I really love you.’
And that was.
So painful to hear.”
His sister sobs.
Rubbing her eyes hard.
But unable to stop.
The tears.
“There was fear.
In his voice.”
Four days later.
He was spotted by neighbours.
Close to Promenystyi.
As it's known here.
Or Camp Radiant.
Then he disappeared.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
In March, the fighting.
Around Kyiv was intense.
And the small town of Bucha.
Was at the epicentre.
The withdrawal of ‘orcs’ troops.
In early April.
Revealed scenes.
That shocked the world:
The bodies of residents.
Slumped in the streets.
Where they'd been shot.
Where they'd been shot.
‘Elves’ investigators are busy.
Collecting the hard evidence.
On territory now back.
Under their control.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
“We don't know.
What ‘the One’’s plans are.
So we are working.
As quickly as possible.”
“In case he drops a bomb.
And destroys all the proof.”
Says Kyiv regional police chief.
That evidence includes a field.
Full of civilian cars pierced.
With multiple bullet holes.
Now piled up.
On the edge of Bucha.
They are vehicles.
That were shot.
At when families.
Tried to flee.
One still has.
A length of.
White cloth.
At the window.
Hung to show.
The soldiers that.
Its occupants were.
No threat.
Step too close.
And you catch.
The sickly smell.
Of death.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
When the bodies.
Beneath Camp Radiant.
Were discovered.
On 4 April.
He was among them.
His sister had spent weeks.
Frantically calling.
Hospitals and morgues.
That day she was sent.
A photograph to identify.
She knew it was.
Her brother.
Before it had even.
Downloaded.
“I hate them with.
Every cell of my being.”
His sister cries.
About his killers.
“I know that's wrong.
To say about people.”
“But they are not human.
There was not one patch.
On those men's bodies.
That was not beaten.”
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
The five men had been found.
Crouching on their knees.
Heads down and hands bound.
Behind their backs.
“We know they had been tortured.”
The police chief said.
“The ‘orcs’ army has crossed.
The line of how war is conducted.”
“They were not fighting.
The military in Ukraine.
They were kidnapping and.
Torturing the civilian population.”
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
From a common grave.
Beneath the children's camp.
He has now been given.
A proper burial.
Beneath the cherry blossom.
In the old cemetery of Bucha.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
After his funeral.
His sister says she finally saw.
His face in her dreams again.
As if he were comforting her.
But she still has many questions.
The cross on his grave.
Is marked only with.
His birthday.
Not the date of his death.
Because the family.
Have no idea.
When he was shot.
They may never know.
Unless the ‘orc’ commander.
Who took over Camp Radiant.
Can be found.
What happened?
At a children's summer camp?
Camp Radiant became.
An execution ground.
Like everyone in Bucha.
Though, they do know that.
Civilians are not only.
Caught up in this war.
They are being targeted.
By ‘orcs’ soldiers.
Who either don't know.
The rules of war, or don't care.
Since ‘orcs’ forces.
Were pushed back from Kyiv.
At the end of March.
In 2022.
The bodies of more than.
1,000 civilians.
Have been discovered.
In the Bucha region.
Many hastily buried.
In shallow graves.
Around 650 people.
Were shot.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine: The children's camp that became an execution ground (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN CHERKASY
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There's no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
When he and his patrol hit.
The streets of Cherkasy.
Men often swerve.
To avoid them.
Most of those.
Who wanted to fight.
Are either dead.
Injured or.
Who wanted to fight.
Are still stuck at the front.
Waiting to be relieved.
By new recruits.
In the central town.
Of Cherkasy.
Like elsewhere.
Finding them isn't easy now.
That the first burst.
Of enthusiasm.
And energy has faded.
Ukraine is exhausted.
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There's no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
“I don't get it.
People are out and about.
Like the war is.
Somewhere far away.”
“But this is.
A full-scale invasion.
And it's like people.
Still don't care.”
He is frustrated.
By what he sees.
As indifference.
“We need everyone.”
“We need everyone.
To come together.
Like they did.
On the first day.”
“Everyone was.
United then.
like brothers.”
He is frustrated.
Instead, the security service.
In Cherkasy is constantly.
Shutting down local.
Social media channels.
That warn people when.
The conscription teams.
Are in town and.
Alert them to areas to avoid.
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There's no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
At 24.
He has sacrificed.
A lot for.
His country.
He grew up dreaming.
Of being a soldier.
His eyes light up.
When he remembers that.
And he was serving.
In the army in February 2022.
When ‘orcs’ troops rolled.
Across the border.
He fought near Kyiv.
Then Soledar.
In the eastern Donbas.
Where the battle was brutal.
That first summer.
He was moved to Bakhmut.
“We came under heavy fire.
A shell landed next to me.”
“I lost my whole elbow.
There was nothing left.”
He says, describing an attack.
In which he was badly injured.
He managed to.
Crawl beneath.
A bush and.
He began to pray.
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There's no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
The soldier admits.
That getting to hospital.
Was a huge relief:
Not just because he'd survived.
But because he was.
Finally off the front line.
“It was hard there.
I can't even put it into words.”
He looks down.
And falls quiet.
His injuries.
Were severe.
His right arm was amputated.
Below the shoulder.
He still feels pain.
Where his limb is missing.
And he has shrapnel.
In his leg.
His basic prosthetic.
Gives him limited movement.
But he wanted.
To go on serving.
So he became.
A conscription officer.
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There's no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
After all he's been through.
You wonder whether.
He understands why.
Other men evade the draft.
“One day, their children.
Will ask what they did.
During the war.
When the men were fighting.”
“When they reply.
‘I was hiding.’
Then they'll plummet.
In the children's eyes.”
He says firmly.
And yet the price Ukraine is.
Paying to defend itself.
Is already immense.
When you ask him.
Whether he's lost friends.
In the fighting.
He admits that.
There's “almost no one left”.
From his entire company.
“The only ones left.
Are injured like me.”
“The others are dead.”
And yet the price Ukraine is.
Paying to defend itself.
Is already immense.
He is a conscription officer.
Looking for.
Soldiers for.
‘Elves’ army.
But almost two years.
Into ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
There's no flood of volunteers.
To the front line anymore.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Exhausted Ukraine struggles to find new men for front line — BBC News
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS FROM KAKHOVKA
“But while he is in hospital.
I can sleep calmly.
I can't sleep.
When he is on the front line.”
“So I am glad.
My son is in hospital now.
Although I really shouldn't say this.
I'm glad he's not at the front.”
Away from.
The eastern front line.
There are signs of recovery.
Among the ruins.
Irpin, near Kyiv.
Was occupied by ‘orcs’ forces.
At the very start.
Of the war.
There are shell-shattered buildings.
All around.
But also the sound.
Of building work.
For those who.
Lost everything.
There are now small “towns”.
Of pre-fabricated cabins.
Each with two rooms.
And a shower room.
About half of the residents.
Are from Irpin itself.
Others have been.
Displaced from.
Closer to the front.
Like she and her husband.
“But while he is in hospital.
I can sleep calmly.
I can't sleep.
When he is on the front line.”
“So I am glad.
My son is in hospital now.
Although I really shouldn't say this.
I'm glad he's not at the front.”
She and her husband.
Have just moved in.
From Kakhovka in the east.
Still occupied by ‘orcs’ forces.
At the start of the war.
Their son was.
Captured there.
And held in a basement.
She says.
He was tortured.
For shouting.
Pro-‘elves’ slogans.
When their son got out.
He left the region.
And immediately signed up.
To fight for Ukraine.
“But while he is in hospital.
I can sleep calmly.
I can't sleep.
When he is on the front line.”
“So I am glad.
My son is in hospital now.
Although I really shouldn't say this.
I'm glad he's not at the front.”
When she flicks through her phone.
For pictures to show you.
It throws up images.
Of terrible injuries.
Most of the flesh.
On one of her son's legs.
Was blown off and.
His foot was in tatters.
Their son was injured.
Last autumn in Avdiivka.
Where the fighting.
Has been fierce.
And even ‘elves’ officials.
Admit their army.
Is outgunned.
And outmanned.
One source.
Put the difference.
At 8-1.
In ‘orcs’ favour.
“But while he is in hospital.
I can sleep calmly.
I can't sleep.
When he is on the front line.”
“So I am glad.
My son is in hospital now.
Although I really shouldn't say this.
I'm glad he's not at the front.”
They couldn't leave Kakhovka.
With their son.
Because their elderly parents.
Refused to go.
So they stayed.
Under occupation.
Terrified the ‘orcs’ might discover.
That their son was a soldier.
They finally left.
When their son was injured.
To be with him.
In hospital.
But she cries with.
The shame she feels.
At leaving.
Relatives behind.
“We call and ask them.
‘Is it quiet?’”
she says, meaning.
Is there shelling.
“Everyone there is waiting.
For liberation.
For it to be loud.
But there is only quiet.”
“People have been crying.
For so many months.
And nothing is getting.
Any better.”
“But while he is in hospital.
I can sleep calmly.
I can't sleep.
When he is on the front line.”
“So I am glad.
My son is in hospital now.
Although I really shouldn't say this.
I'm glad he's not at the front.”
But there is another fear.
Driving her tears.
She shows you.
Videos of her.
Pushing her son around.
In a wheelchair.
The two are laughing.
Covered in snow.
Then there are pictures.
Of the skin grafts he's had.
Where she says the doctors.
Have “performed a miracle”.
But as soon as.
Her son is fully fit.
He's told his mother.
He'll go back to the front.
He says there are.
Not enough soldiers there.
His friends need him.
His friends need him.
So she is praying for.
The war to end first.
“I think he has.
Already done his duty.”
Eyes full of tears.
“As a mother.
It is a sin.
To say this.”
“But while he is in hospital.
I can sleep calmly.
I can't sleep.
When he is on the front line.”
“So I am glad.
My son is in hospital now.
Although I really shouldn't say this.
I'm glad he's not at the front.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Exhausted Ukraine struggles to find new men for front line — BBC News
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET BELIEVING
“But maybe being.
Enslaved by ‘Mordor’.
Is more frightening?
Now we see death.”
“It's very difficult.
Very difficult.
But there is no way back.
We can't give up.”
On the edge of Cherkasy.
There is a cemetery.
With a long line.
Of recent graves.
They're for the men.
Of all ages.
From the town.
Who've died fighting.
From the town.
Who've died fighting.
Since ‘the One’ gave.
The order to invade.
Ukraine honours the dead.
As heroes.
But it's left to their families.
To grieve.
“But maybe being.
Enslaved by ‘Mordor’.
Is more frightening?
Now we see death.”
“It's very difficult.
Very difficult.
But there is no way back.
We can't give up.”
Each grave is decorated.
With national flags.
And heaped with.
Wreaths and flowers.
There are images.
Fixed to crosses.
Or etched into.
Marble headstones.
Or etched into.
Marble headstones.
Of the soldiers.
In military uniform.
She can't bear.
To put her son's photo.
On his grave yet.
On his grave yet.
The image that she used.
For his funeral.
Is still at home.
She's not ready to let go.
“But maybe being.
Enslaved by ‘Mordor’.
Is more frightening?
Now we see death.”
“It's very difficult.
Very difficult.
But there is no way back.
We can't give up.”
Her son was killed.
Last June.
By a mine explosion.
Near Bakhmut.
Her son was about.
To turn 23.
And already.
A deputy commander.
“I believe my son.
Died doing.
The right thing.”
She says firmly.
As her daughter.
Cries quietly.
Beside her.
“I'm a teacher.”
“And I always tell.
The children this:
We are right.
We are defending.”
“Our country and our children.
My son was defending us.
He believed in this cause.
And I believe.”
She says before.
Pausing to take in.
The flags and.
Faces all around.
She hasn't visited.
The cemetery for a little while.
And the row of.
Soldiers' graves has grown.
“But maybe being.
Enslaved by ‘Mordor’.
Is more frightening?
Now we see death.”
“It's very difficult.
Very difficult.
But there is no way back.
We can't give up.”
“Do you think my son wasn't afraid?
I was afraid too.
When he went.
Everyone's afraid of dying.”
She answers.
When you wonder what.
She thinks of those who.
Avoid signing up to fight.
“But maybe being.
Enslaved by ‘Mordor’.
Is more frightening?
Now we see death.”
“It's very difficult.
Very difficult.
But there is no way back.
We can't give up.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Exhausted Ukraine struggles to find new men for front line — BBC News
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN A LIVING ROOM
There are few places.
From where you can see.
‘Orcs’-occupied territory.
With the naked eye in Ukraine.
The western bank.
Of the Dnipro river.
In the city of Kherson.
Is one of them.
You can't see.
The ‘orcs’ troops on the other.
Low, marshy riverbank.
But you know they're there.
Incoming artillery fire.
As you arrive at.
An abandoned building.
Serves as a sharp reminder.
There is nothing new.
About shelling in war.
But the unit you're meeting.
Deals with drones.
One of the key innovations.
Of this invasion.
Drones are simple, cheap.
And effective weapons in this war.
As you hug.
The side of the building.
And take cover.
In the stairwell.
You're led inside.
From the freezing winter winds.
To the warmth of.
A militarised living room.
The smell of.
A strawberry vape.
Hangs above.
These ‘elves’ soldiers.
Sitting on armchairs.
With looks of quiet focus.
And cans of.
Monster energy drink.
You imagine the floral wallpaper.
Wasn't their choice.
A 20-year-old pilot.
Suddenly sits up.
They're told.
The ‘orcs’ have launched.
Drones from.
Across the water.
“It's from a location.
Known to us.”
Explains commander of the Samosud squad.
In Ukraine's 11th National Guard Brigade.
“Our goal is to.
Destroy the pilots.
We have the coordinates.
So we're flying there right now.”
There are at least.
A dozen drones.
On the floor.
All loaded with grenades.
A cat.
The unit's unofficial mascot.
Nuzzles against.
One of the propellers.
As you hug.
The side of the building.
And take cover.
In the stairwell.
You're led inside.
From the freezing winter winds.
To the warmth of.
A militarised living room.
One drone is.
Taken outside.
As the pilot puts on.
His VR headset.
You watch on the TV.
As he flies it.
Across the river.
Into occupied territory.
From this vantage point.
There are no.
Obvious signs.
Of life.
A few kilometres later.
His drone arrives at.
An industrial area.
It passes a warehouse.
Before hovering next to.
A block of flats.
He eventually spots.
An antenna.
Next to a window.
In the stairwell.
And flies straight into it.
The screen turns blue.
As you hug.
The side of the building.
And take cover.
In the stairwell.
You're led inside.
From the freezing winter winds.
To the warmth of.
A militarised living room.
He exhales and.
Removes his headset.
“When we first did this.
It was emotional.”
“Now this is business.
As usual.
I didn't get enough time.
To play computer games.”
“Before the full-scale invasion.
Now I'm catching up!”
They launch another drone.
But the screen turns blue.
As soon as it.
Crosses the river.
The ‘orcs’ have turned on.
Their jamming system.
A third then makes.
The same journey.
This time it makes it through.
And he returns to the block of flats.
He's able to confirm.
The antenna was destroyed.
With 10 minutes.
Of battery life left.
He flies off.
To see what else.
He can detect.
Or destroy.
As you hug.
The side of the building.
And take cover.
In the stairwell.
You're led inside.
From the freezing winter winds.
To the warmth of.
A militarised living room.
His unit has been.
Targeting a main road.
Which the ‘orcs’ use.
To deliver supplies.
Civilians are banned.
From driving there.
So the ‘elves’ drone pilots.
Hit anything with wheels.
He spots an ‘orcs’ checkpoint.
And flies towards it.
Unfortunately for him.
They use a jamming gun.
And the screen turns blue.
As he gets close.
He exhales again.
The commander says.
“No matter how many times.
We hit the same places.
The ‘orcs’ are constantly replenished.
They're kind of fearless.”
With each drone.
Costing around 0.
It's a constant cycle.
Of launch, seek and destroy.
The commander says.
his team once destroyed.
An S-350 air defence missile system.
Worth 6m.
As you hug.
The side of the building.
And take cover.
In the stairwell.
You're led inside.
From the freezing winter winds.
To the warmth of.
A militarised living room.
Drones mean the ‘orcs’.
Can't hide anywhere.
Within 10km of.
The front line.
But, crucially.
The invaders are doing.
Exactly the same.
To the ‘elves’.
Under constant drone surveillance.
And enemy bombardment.
Life has gradually drained.
From Kherson's streets.
Aside from.
A limited crossing.
Further up.
The Dnipro.
Near the town of Krynky.
‘Elves’ attacks here.
Are only probing.
And require patience.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
In Ukraine's river war, drones mean nowhere is safe — BBC News
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET UNDER AN ARCHWAY
There are few places.
From where you can see.
‘Orcs’-occupied territory.
With the naked eye in Ukraine.
The western bank.
Of the Dnipro river.
In the city of Kherson.
Is one of them.
You can't see.
The ‘orcs’ troops on the other.
Low, marshy riverbank.
But you know they're there.
In a snow-covered park.
In Kherson.
You meet a mobile air-defence team.
Under an archway.
Drones mean the ‘orcs’.
Can't hide anywhere.
Within 10km of.
The front line.
But, crucially.
The invaders are doing.
Exactly the same.
To the ‘elves’.
Mobile air defence units.
In Kherson are.
Constantly on the move.
To avoid detection.
You're told to move.
In small groups.
Because of watching.
‘Orcs’ drones.
As you stride forward.
In your body armour.
Dog-walkers turn away from you.
With a slight look of confusion.
“My call sign is King.”
Says a unit deputy commander.
In the 124th Territorial Defence Brigade.
With a fist bump.
They're gathered around.
A UK-registered truck with.
A 50 calibre machine gun.
Mounted on the back.
“We work 24/7.
We destroy.
All kinds of drones.
Mainly Iranian-made Shaheds.”
Mobile air defence units.
In Kherson are.
Constantly on the move.
To avoid detection.
“‘Orcs’ factories are.
On a military footing.
They are constantly.
Increasing their power.”
“At this point, it's relentless.”
So does King think ‘elves’ forces.
Could cross the river.
In large numbers this year?
“It's hard to think about.
We're just doing our jobs.
To make sure it happens.
As soon as possible.”
Under constant drone surveillance.
And enemy bombardment.
Life has gradually drained.
From Kherson's streets.
Aside from.
A limited crossing.
Further up.
The Dnipro.
Near the town of Krynky.
‘Elves’ attacks here.
Are only probing.
And require patience.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
In Ukraine's river war, drones mean nowhere is safe — BBC News
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN A STALEMATE
There are few places.
From where you can see.
‘Orcs’-occupied territory.
With the naked eye in Ukraine.
The western bank.
Of the Dnipro river.
In the city of Kherson.
Is one of them.
You can't see.
The ‘orcs’ troops on the other.
Low, marshy riverbank.
But you know they're there.
On the outskirts of Kherson.
In an icy field.
Pilots practice.
Drone flights.
With plastic bottles.
Tied beneath them.
In place of grenades.
In place of grenades.
“We are engaged.
In a struggle.
Of technologies.
An arms race:”
“Who will be the first.
To invent what.
Who will assemble.
Something cool.”
It takes just.
14 hours of training.
To qualify as.
A drone pilot.
Ukraine's government.
Is encouraging people.
To take part.
In free training.
As well as.
To manufacture drones.
At home to send.
To the front.
Through his balaclava.
A drone commander explains.
Their importance.
In this war of attrition.
“We are engaged.
In a struggle.
Of technologies.
An arms race:”
“Who will be the first.
To invent what.
Who will assemble.
Something cool.”
It's widely accepted.
That several innovations.
Now need to happen.
At once.
for the front lines.
To change significantly.
‘Elves’ commander-in-chief.
Gen said in November.
That ‘Mordor’ and Ukraine.
Had “reached the level.
Of technology that puts us.
Into a stalemate”.
“During the First World War.
Aviation was born.”
Says the drone commander.
“Now we are starting.”
“The future war of drones.
Which maybe in two decades.
Will turn the tide.
Of any war.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
In Ukraine's river war, drones mean nowhere is safe — BBC News
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET PLANTING
She shows you.
Purple crocuses.
And bluebells.
In neat rows.
And the green shoots.
Of daffodils.
Then she leads you.
Past the porch.
Where her husband was shot.
Through a wooden gate.
Onto the plot of land.
Where she buried him.
“Look how many.
Tulips are coming out!”
She points towards the spot.
Now a neat flowerbed again.
“It used to be.
So lovely here.
We'll soon have flowers again.
All round the house.”
She has finally been able.
To install a headstone.
For her husband’s grave.
After two years.
When ‘orcs’ soldiers killed.
Her husband.
She had to wrap him.
In a blanket.
And bury him.
At the back of their garden.
She then fled Bucha.
With her daughter.
It was March 2022.
The ‘orcs’ had occupied.
The small town.
Just outside Kyiv.
And taken over.
The pensioners' home.
Soldiers drove a tank.
Into their yard.
And used the house opposite.
As their headquarters.
While Bucha had endured.
The horrors.
Two years on.
She has finally installed.
A marble headstone on her husband’s.
Grave with his photograph.
After Bucha was liberated.
She was able to have.
Him reburied properly.
At the local cemetery.
The couple's home.
Destroyed in the fighting.
Is slowly.
Being rebuilt.
She has been planting.
Bright coloured flowers.
In the yard.
Of their home.
But when the house is finished.
She will live there alone.
She is anxious to move back.
Into her new home.
Just a few steps.
From Yablunska Street.
Her new home is.
Still just a shell.
The builders have promised.
To finish it by summer.
But she hasn't seen.
Them for days.
Homeless for two years.
On top of her bereavement.
She is anxious to move in.
“I'm trying to cope.”
“But my blood pressure is high.
Which it never was.
Before the war.”
Showing you around the building site.
“I'm getting heart scans.
Signs of problems.
It's all from the stress.
From the memories.”
In 2022.
You saw the burned-out wreck.
Of her old home not long after.
The ‘orcs’ had pulled out.
The yard was still heaped.
With alcohol bottles.
And wrappers from their.
Military ration packs.
It was the rubbish.
Of men who had shot.
Her husband.
In the head.
When he surfaced.
For a moment.
From the cellar where.
The couple were hiding.
She found her husband’s body.
Later that night.
Face down.
On their porch.
The investigation is still open.
One of hundreds of.
Suspected war crimes.
Cases in Bucha.
She was recently.
Called in by police.
Who had found.
New CCTV footage.
And hoped she might.
Help identify.
The soldiers.
On film.
“Maybe they can be.
Charged in absentia.
I know ‘Mordor’ will never.
Hand them over.”
She says, realistic about.
The chances of anyone.
Being held to account.
For the killing.
“Personally, I'd like.
To grab them.
By the throat.
And demand to know.”
“Why they had to.
Come here,” she says.
Suddenly animated.
“They are scumbags.”
Across town.
She is worried too.
Especially by the recent increase.
In ‘orcs’ missile strikes.
She keeps visiting her house.
To check on its progress and.
To be closer to her memories.
From before the occupation.
She feeds a cat.
The stray cat.
Her husband once loved.
To photograph.
Gardening distracts her.
When everything gets too much.
“There's such ruin.
All over Ukraine!”
“They're rebuilding here in Bucha.
And that's such joy.
But there's no peace.
No stability.”
She shows you.
Purple crocuses.
And bluebells.
In neat rows.
And the green shoots.
Of daffodils.
Then she leads you.
Past the porch.
Where her husband was shot.
Through a wooden gate.
Onto the plot of land.
Where she buried him.
“Look how many.
Tulips are coming out!”
She points towards the spot.
Now a neat flowerbed again.
“It used to be.
So lovely here.
We'll soon have flowers again.
All round the house.”
She has finally been able.
To install a headstone.
For her husband’s grave.
After two years.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Bucha's wounds still raw two years on (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET TRACING
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
‘Orcs’ captured, but he’ll be back to.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
Behind the white walls.
Of St Andrew's Church.
Where many were buried in.
A mass grave during the occupation.
There is now a memorial wall.
Of metal plaques.
So far it displays.
509 names.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
‘Orcs’ captured, but he’ll be back to.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
Some squares are still blank.
Because there are more than.
100 unidentified bodies.
At the town cemetery.
Unearthed from.
Shallow graves.
All over Bucha.
And reburied.
DNA samples were taken first.
In the hope that.
Someone would one day come.
Looking for them.
Other plaques on the memorial wall.
Have no death date.
Only the month of March.
When Bucha was under ‘orcs’ occupation.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
‘Orcs’ captured, but he’ll be back to.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
Opposite is.
A sign that lists.
The dozens of people.
Still missing.
Among the names.
Is her husband.
Whose wife you first met.
In 2022.
You were investigating.
The killing.
Of five men.
From Bucha.
Whose bodies.
Had been found.
Beneath Camp Radiant.
A children's summer camp.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
‘Orcs’ captured, but he’ll be back to.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
Her husband had been.
Taken away by ‘orcs’ soldiers.
And she feared he might be.
One of the dead.
He wasn't.
After months of searching.
She finally traced her husband.
To a prison in ‘Mordor’.
“They took him to Belarus.
Then to Detention Centre.
Number Two in Bryansk.
In ‘Mordor’.”
Through other ‘elves’ swapped.
For ‘orcs’ POWs.
She learned that he was then.
Moved to a facility in Tula.
“‘Mordor’ has officially confirmed.
He's a prisoner.
But I had to find him.
Through my own contacts.”
“They should just give.
The civilians back.
But they don't.”
“But they don't.”
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
‘Orcs’ captured, but he’ll be back to.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
Her husband retired.
From the army.
In 2019.
With PTSD.
As a civilian prisoner.
She fears.
His chances of.
Being exchanged are slim.
As only a few dozen.
Non-combatants.
Have been returned.
So far.
“There are a lot of civilians.
From Bucha missing.
People we know.
Are in prison.”
“But the ‘orcs’ haven't confirmed.
At least they've admitted.
To having my husband.
Officially.”
She has heard nothing.
From her husband.
Directly since.
He was taken.
But she knows from others.
Held in Bryansk.
That they were tortured.
“They say it was really hard.”
“They were not fed.
They were badly beaten.
Including with electric shock.
And pipes.”
“Now I don't know.
What else to do.
I can't get him freed.
I can't find any way to do it.”
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
‘Orcs’ captured, but he’ll be back to.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
She herself is.
Ethnically ‘orc’.
Both her parents are.
From the country.
Now holding her husband.
Prisoner illegally.
And accused of.
Abusing him.
It was people like her.
That ‘the One’ used.
As his excuse.
For invading Ukraine.
‘The One’ claimed they needed.
Saving from brutal treatment.
At the hands of.
A “Nazi” government in Kyiv.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
‘Orcs’ captured, but he’ll be back to.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
As you talk.
In the yard.
Children play football.
Laughing and shouting.
Most of the pre-war population.
Of Bucha has returned.
Including many who fled.
Ukraine as refugees.
But she worries things could.
Deteriorate again.
“You see what.
‘The One’’s up to.”
“Blaming Ukraine for.
The Moscow terrorist attack.”
Referring to last month's attack.
On the Crocus concert venue.
“I think he wants.
A full war.
Full mobilisation.”
“Full mobilisation.”
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
‘Orcs’ captured, but he’ll be back to.
‘Orcs’ captured the land.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Bucha's wounds still raw two years on (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS REBUILDING
As she walks around.
Bucha's building site.
Explains this is a project.
That will help.
Prepare Ukraine.
For the future:
“Because reconstruction is.
Not just about rehousing people.”
In March 2022.
Invading ‘orcs’ troops.
Occupied the ‘elves’ town.
Of Bucha outside Kyiv.
Leaving a trail of.
Death and destruction.
Which shocked.
The world.
Two years after.
Their departure.
You have gone.
Back to see.
How its traumatised.
Residents are.
Trying to return.
To normal life.
“No country knows.
How to do reconstruction.
On the level.
Needed here in Ukraine.”
He says, “We need to learn.
Not only how to manage that;
We also need to learn.
How to make it transparent.”
The building work is part of.
Efforts to restore Bucha.
From the ruins left by.
Retreating ‘orcs’ soldiers.
When ‘elves’ forces retook the town.
They discovered bodies.
Strewn in Yablunska Street.
Where they had been shot.
It was the first the outside world.
Knew of the horrors.
Bucha had endured.
During 33 days of occupation.
Yablunska Street and the area.
Around has been cleaned.
Spruced up and.
In some places rebuilt.
In March 2022.
Invading ‘orcs’ troops.
Occupied the ‘elves’ town.
Of Bucha outside Kyiv.
Leaving a trail of.
Death and destruction.
Which shocked.
The world.
Two years after.
Their departure.
You have gone.
Back to see.
How its traumatised.
Residents are.
Trying to return.
To normal life.
When ‘elves’ forces retook the town.
They discovered bodies.
Strewn in Yablunska Street.
Where they had been shot.
“We have a moral obligation.
To support the families.
Who live on that street.”
Explains the local mayor.
“Because more than.
70 civilians.
Were brutally killed.
And tortured there.”
Yablunska Street and the area.
Around has been cleaned.
Spruced up and.
In some places rebuilt.
But the ‘orcs’ took over.
“Almost every yard or house”.
The mayor estimates the total cost.
Of repair at €1.6bn.
“Of course we don't have this sum.
But we are doing whatever.
We can to return people.
To their houses.”
In March 2022.
Invading ‘orcs’ troops.
Occupied the ‘elves’ town.
Of Bucha outside Kyiv.
Leaving a trail of.
Death and destruction.
Which shocked.
The world.
Two years after.
Their departure.
You have gone.
Back to see.
How its traumatised.
Residents are.
Trying to return.
To normal life.
As she walks around.
Bucha's building site.
Explains this is a project.
That will help.
Prepare Ukraine.
For the future:
“It's about who we will be.
After this war.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Hopes of rebuilding rely on fighting corruption (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET ESCAPING FROM CAMP RADIANT
“I calculated that.
I had more chance of surviving.
Under shelling than.
If I stayed in that cellar.”
“They'd already.
Put the gun to my head.
What would it cost them.
To pull the trigger?”
Across the road.
From Camp Radiant.
Behind a church spattered.
With shrapnel damage.
A corner of Bucha.
Is slowly showing.
Renewed signs.
Of life.
Young boys run.
Around the yard.
While a man fixes sheets.
Of wood to windows.
Shattered when.
The town was.
Being shelled.
Constantly.
And a little shop has.
Just reopened to serve.
Others now trickling back.
To begin their own repairs.
As neighbours cross paths.
They discuss the days.
When ‘orcs’ tanks rolled.
Into their town.
The soldiers who would shoot wildly.
And those who roamed the streets.
Drunk, breaking into homes.
And stealing from them.
And they remember.
The local man.
Who escaped to.
Their block of flats.
From the summer camp.
Opposite.
And who they had sheltered.
Despite the risk.
He didn't know.
Camp Radiant before.
But all the details.
He gives match up.
It was early March.
When he was grabbed.
By ‘orcs’ soldiers.
On the street.
They tied his hands.
And pulled his hat.
Down over his eyes.
Then dragged him.
To a cellar.
That he's sure was.
On the grounds of.
The children's camp.
As neighbours cross paths.
They discuss the days.
When ‘orcs’ tanks rolled.
Into their town.
The soldiers who would shoot wildly.
And those who roamed the streets.
Drunk, breaking into homes.
And stealing from them.
And they remember.
The local man.
Who escaped to.
Their block of flats.
From the summer camp.
Opposite.
And who they had sheltered.
Despite the risk.
There, the ‘orcs’.
Poured water.
Over his legs.
So he would freeze.
And they held a gun.
To his head.
“They kept saying.
‘Where's the fascists?”
“‘Where's the troops?
Where's ‘Gandalf the Green’?’
One of them.
Mentioned ‘the One’.”
“So I said.
Something rude.
And he hit me.”
He recalls.
He remembers.
Being angry.
At his captors.
As well as terrified.
He had worked.
In Moscow.
In the past.
With men from Siberia.
And was horrified.
That ‘orcs’ could now.
Treat him.
With such brutality.
Even more so.
When one of the soldiers.
Revealed that he, too.
Was from Siberia.
And they remember.
The local man.
Who escaped to.
Their block of flats.
From the summer camp.
Opposite.
And who they had sheltered.
Despite the risk.
He told the soldier.
He was sad.
Things had come to this.
“The sad thing is that.”
“Our grandfathers fought.
Together against the Nazis.
And now you're the fascists.”
Was the ‘orc’’s angry reply.
“He told me:
‘You have until the morning.
To remember.
what you've seen.’”
“‘And if not.
You'll be shot.’”
That night, he got lucky.
There was heavy shelling.
And when he realized.
His captors were.
No longer guarding him.
He ran for his life.
And they remember.
The local man.
Who escaped to.
Their block of flats.
From the summer camp.
Opposite.
And who they had sheltered.
Despite the risk.
“I calculated that.
I had more chance of surviving.
Under shelling than.
If I stayed in that cellar.”
“They'd already.
Put the gun to my head.
What would it cost them.
To pull the trigger?”
Camp Radiant is.
Decorated with mosaics.
Of happy children playing.
Now it's a crime scene.
“We are working on it.
But it's not a quick thing.”
Kyiv regional police chief is.
Working fast to gather evidence.
“But that camp was.
A headquarters.
So there would have been.
A commander.”
“The soldiers could not.
Have executed anyone.
Without the commander's.
Knowledge.”
“So we will first.
Find the organisers.
And then look for.
The implementers.”
As neighbours cross paths.
They discuss the days.
When ‘orcs’ tanks rolled.
Into their town.
The soldiers who would shoot wildly.
And those who roamed the streets.
Drunk, breaking into homes.
And stealing from them.
And they remember.
The local man.
Who escaped to.
Their block of flats.
From the summer camp.
Opposite.
And who they had sheltered.
Despite the risk.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine: The children's camp that became an execution ground (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET WITH A PRAM
The fact that we evacuated.
Is a blessing.
But my soul and thoughts.
Are with Bucha.
And with all.
The heroic cities.
With the people.
Who are trapped.
With the children.
Who should not.
Be involved.
In the war at all.
Those were terrible days.
When neither your yard.
Nor your house.
Belongs to you.
Nor even your life.
Belongs to you.
There is no electricity.
Water, gas.
It was forbidden.
To go out.
If you did.
They would shoot you.
Enemy vehicles.
Drove into our yard.
On 5 March.
They broke the windows.
On 5 March.
They broke the windows.
Broke in and.
Took the phones.
On 6 March.
They took my father.
And my husband.
For interrogation.
They found correspondence.
And calls to the Territorial Defense.
We tried to leave and learn.
A little about the situation.
They watch everything.
Posts, telegram channels.
And if you write something.
They don't like, you're dead.
They shoot people.
Around the house.
What a terrible sound.
You just sit in the basement.
And pray for your family.
To come back.
And we were lucky.
There was a commander.
Who loves children.
And knowing that.
My three-year-old daughter.
Was in the basement.
He ordered to.
Move the vehicles.
And not to frighten her.
They brought food.
They brought water.
And sweets for the kids.
Our men were returned.
They could not prove their guilt.
‘Trolls’ had gone.
Before this group of soldiers.
A little earlier and.
Miraculously passed our house.
The commander said that.
If they had entered.
We would not.
Have been there.
They are taking revenge for.
The earlier broken convoy.
And do not even know.
Whom to kill.
We were lucky.
We were lucky.
The next three days.
Passed in the cold.
We sat in the basement.
In terrible fear.
And to the sound.
Of shelling.
People who had fled.
From Hostomel were brought.
Into the house.
15 people.
We tried to feed everyone.
If it wasn't for my dad.
We would have sat.
All hungry.
On 10 March.
We heard on the radio.
That the green corridor.
Was opening from 9 o'clock.
And we realised that.
We had to get out.
We asked them if.
We could take the baby out.
They said no.
Not by car.
It would be a firing squad.
We decided to walk.
A pram, a white flag.
A minimum of stuff.
We drove round.
The corpses of civilians.
How many of them.
There were.
Which had been lying.
There for days.
I did not explain.
Anything to the child.
Because I did not.
Know how.
There were ‘orcs’.
In almost every yard.
Suddenly, the command.
“Freeze!” sounded.
And we froze.
With our hands up.
And our daughter.
Raised her hands too.
We missed two checkpoints.
And at the third one.
We were not allowed.
To pass.
They turned us back.
And said that the corridor.
Would open at 3pm.
Desperate.
We went back and waited.
One more attempt.
We could not look back.
Only forward.
A car with civilians flied out.
In front of us.
Hit a mine.
And blew up.
There was almost nothing.
Left of the car.
The road ahead.
Was mined.
The men were in front.
I was in the back.
With the pram.
Through mines.
Through corpses.
Through broken equipment.
And then through the swamp.
We made our way to freedom.
Finally we were met.
By our soldiers and.
Handed over to the guys from.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations.
We got on buses.
And drove off.
We arrived at an ‘orcs’ checkpoint.
And waited for 4 hours.
The news was bad.
They wouldn't let us in.
We had to spend the night.
In the bus right on the road.
Not many people knew about.
These humanitarian corridors.
At these checkpoints.
And they pissed them off.
Meanwhile.
It was getting dark.
And rockets started.
Flying over us.
We found a basement.
Women and children.
Went there.
It was -10 outside.
The sewage system.
In the basement burst.
And in this stench.
Horror and cold.
We sat until morning.
In the morning again.
Our military negotiated.
To let us through.
And this time.
We were lucky.
And this time.
We were lucky.
One last push.
An enemy roadblock.
My heart sank.
They could fire at any moment.
And we drove into.
The territory controlled.
By our troops.
We are safe for now.
But the psyche is blown.
We have changed.
Nothing will ever be.
The same again.
We try to.
Communicate normally.
Even joke.
A little.
But when you close.
Your eyes.
You immediately.
See the road.
Full of corpses.
And how we freeze.
With our hands up.
Waiting for their decision.
The fact that we evacuated.
Is a blessing.
But my soul and thoughts.
Are with Bucha.
And with all.
The heroic cities.
With the people.
Who are trapped.
With the children.
Who should not.
Be involved.
In the war at all.
But when you close.
Your eyes.
You immediately.
See the road.
Full of corpses.
And how we freeze.
With our hands up.
Waiting for their decision.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET CONFESSING
I left Bucha.
On the second day.
But my parents and sisters.
Remained there.
They were held captive.
For four days.
‘Orcs’ took people prisoner.
As human shields.
For 6 people.
‘Orcs’ gave.
1 can of pate and.
1.5 litres of water.
Dad stood in a line.
For the firing squad.
Miraculously he was.
Taken out of there.
And 10 guys were.
Stripped and shot.
On 11 March.
My family was released.
They were walking.
Down the street.
Stepping over.
The corpses of civilians.
I left Bucha.
On the second day.
But my parents and sisters.
Remained there.
They were held captive.
For four days.
‘Orcs’ took people prisoner.
As human shields.
There had been no gas.
Light or water.
In the city.
For a month.
Our neighbourhood was occupied.
And people were not allowed out.
Those who dared to.
Go outside were shot.
My parents say that.
Among the occupants.
There were ‘orcs’.
Buryats and Belarusians.
They robbed houses.
Put their tanks in courtyards.
They were all young.
About 18-20 years old.
When asked why they came.
An ‘orc’ answered that.
They came to liberate.
‘Elves’ from the Bandera.
And a Belarusian.
Answered that.
they were just.
Following orders.
I left Bucha.
On the second day.
But my parents and sisters.
Remained there.
They were held captive.
For four days.
‘Orcs’ took people prisoner.
As human shields.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET SEEING WITH OWN EYES
I was visiting my son.
In Bucha.
And that's where.
I saw the war.
The ‘orcs’ occupiers came.
To us on 3 March.
We hid in the basement.
Of the house.
We were very scared.
We didn't know.
What to do.
We just sat and waited.
In the evening.
We heard that they started.
Breaking the windows.
Of a neighbouring house.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
We realised that.
They were looters.
They wanted to.
Steal something.
All night long.
We listened to.
These sounds of them.
Breaking windows.
And taking things.
Out of houses.
We sat there.
Until the morning.
It seemed to us that.
They had gone further.
Into the city.
And then the question arose.
Of what to eat.
How to cook.
And how to live.
In general.
And how to live.
In general.
There was no electricity.
Or gas in the city.
The ‘orcs’ set up.
A base not far.
From our house.
Half a kilometre away.
But people came out.
Of their houses.
And started cooking.
On the fire.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
Then the occupiers.
Brought artillery.
And began to shell Irpin.
I saw it with my own eyes.
There is a new.
Residential complex there.
And it is clearly visible.
From our neighbourhood.
Bombs were flying there.
It's a good thing.
I didn't listen to.
The matchmaker.
Who called me.
And told me.
To move.
To Irpin.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
Our district was.
Not so bombed.
But the shells.
Were still coming.
We had a neighbour.
The rocket hit.
A neighbouring building.
And a shrapnel tore.
And a shrapnel tore.
off her leg.
It was her son's.
Birthday that day.
To avoid scaring him.
She endured the pain.
And bandaged.
Her leg herself.
I called the doctors.
But they said that.
They would not go.
To the war zone.
She survived.
Until the morning.
And then died.
Of blood loss.
Four days later.
I asked her son.
What was wrong.
With his mother.
He said his mother.
Had died and.
Had been lying at home.
All this time.
We dug a grave.
Right in the garden.
And buried it.
Right in the garden.
We generally tried to.
Bury those we found.
Lying on the roads.
As much as possible.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
Civilians were.
Killed every day.
The feeling was that.
They were taking out.
Their anger.
At the fact that.
Their equipment was.
Being bombed on people.
At some point they started.
Patrolling the streets.
Entering houses.
Checking phones.
They found a photo.
On one guy's phone.
They didn't like it.
And shot him.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
The next day.
They went to.
The most extreme house.
On the street.
Near which barricades were built.
They ordered the man.
To come out of the house.
And asked him:
“You have barricades here.
Did you help build them?”
And without waiting for.
An answer, they shot him.
Brave local guys were.
Delivering water in their cars.
The occupiers did not like it.
And shot them.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
The woman was.
Cooking outside.
In the yard.
Of her house.
She saw the ‘orcs’.
Got scared.
Ran to the entrance.
Closed the door.
And they opened fire.
On her with machine guns.
They killed her.
Through the door.
I was visiting my son.
In Bucha.
And that's where.
I saw the war.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
I don't know who.
They are fighting against.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET STOPPED ON TARASIVKA STREET
“We were no danger.
To the military.
We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.”
“We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.
To show that.”
“It's very stupid.”
At around 11:00.
On 17 March.
He and his father.
Were cycling.
To Bucha's.
Administration building.
Where aid was being.
Handed out.
Electricity, gas and.
Water had been cut.
And essentials were.
In short supply in the town.
One of the first.
To be occupied by ‘orcs’ forces.
As they advanced on.
‘Elves’ capital Kyiv.
He and his father.
Hoped to pick up.
Some medicine.
And food.
An ‘orc’ soldier stopped.
Him and his father.
On Tarasivska St.
They immediately raised their hands.
“We were no danger.
To the military.
We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.”
“We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.
To show that.”
“It's very stupid.”
Speaking by phone.
Alongside his mother.
The 14-year-old gave his account.
Of what happened next.
“We told them that.
We weren't carrying any weapons.
And that we didn't.
Pose any danger.”
“Then my father turned.
His head my way.
And that's when.
He got shot…”
“He was shot twice.
In the chest.
Right where the heart is.
Then he fell.”
At that point.
The soldier shot him.
In his left hand.
And he fell too.
While he was.
On the ground.
He was shot again.
This time in the arm.
“I was lying.
On my stomach.
I couldn't see anything.
That was happening around me.”
The soldier shot again.
Aiming at his head.
“But the bullet went.
Through my hood.”
The soldier shot again.
This time at his father's head.
But his father was.
Already dead.
“I had a small panic attack.
Lying there with my wounded arm.
Underneath me.
I saw that my hand was bleeding.”
It was only after a while.
When the soldier went.
Behind a tank.
That he got up and ran.
He and his father.
Were trying to get.
Humanitarian aid when.
An ‘orc’ soldier stopped them.
“We were no danger.
To the military.
We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.”
“We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.
To show that.”
“It's very stupid.”
In Bucha alone.
Bodies of dead men were found.
Lying in the street.
Many with extensive wounds.
Some had been shot through.
The temple, as if executed.
Others had their hands or legs.
Tied behind their backs.
Some had clearly been.
Run over by tanks.
Many of the bodies were seen.
Along a stretch of Yablonska St.
Just 2km.
From the street where.
His father is said to.
Have been killed.
“We were no danger.
To the military.
We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.”
“We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.
To show that.”
“It's very stupid.”
His mother said how.
She had gone to see her husband.
After the teenager returned home.
And told her what had happened.
His mother thought he.
Could be wrong and.
That his father was wounded.
In need of medical help.
“My son begged me not to.”
His mother said.
“He said they would.
Kill me too.”
When she tried to walk.
Down the street.
Her neighbours.
Stopped her.
“They told me not to go further.
Saying the ‘orcs’ were killing.
Everyone in the territories.
Under their control.”
The next morning.
She got her mother to help.
Wearing white scarves.
They went to the site of the shooting.
Her mother talked.
To ‘orcs’ soldiers.
And they managed.
To get through.
They finally collected.
Her husband's body.
And brought it home.
They finally brought it home.
“We were no danger.
To the military.
We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.”
“We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.
To show that.”
“It's very stupid.”
A photograph of.
The partially covered body.
Taken by her appears.
To confirm the boy’s testimony.
It shows a gunshot.
Wound to the left side.
Of the chest.
Near the heart.
The boy’s father, a lawyer.
Was 49.
When he was killed.
He was "active in the community.”
The boy’s mother said.
“He couldn't just sit.
In the shelter.
And wait.”
“So, he was volunteering.
And helping people.”
They buried him.
In the garden of the family home.
He and his father.
Were trying to get.
Humanitarian aid when.
An ‘orc’ soldier stopped them.
He said the soldier who killed.
His father was clearly ‘orc’.
The soldier’s uniform was dark green.
He said, typical of the ‘orcs’ army.
“I saw that.
On his flak jacket.
It was written ‘Mordor’.
In the ‘orcs’ language.”
“We were no danger.
To the military.
We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.”
“We were civilians.
Wearing white scarves.
To show that.”
“It's very stupid.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
War in Ukraine: 'I saw a Russian soldier shoot my father dead in Bucha' (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET EMERGING
From a block.
You had thought was empty.
A woman emerged.
From her damaged flat.
Its walls covered.
In scorch marks.
“They were bombing.
Here for a month.”
“And everything.
Got burnt.”
Said the woman.
Who's 71.
Extraordinarily.
She stayed in her flat.
Throughout the terrifying.
Battle for Bucha.
She is one of very few.
Residents who have remained.
In her apartment block.
Throughout the war.
The task of reconstruction.
Is expected to be.
The biggest of its kind.
Since World War Two.
But the government hopes.
A flagship project in Bucha.
A town shattered.
At the start of the war.
But the government hopes.
A flagship project in Bucha.
Will show new standards for.
Transparency have been set.
Nearly two years ago.
This town became a byword.
For some of the worst atrocities.
Of ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
‘Orcs’ occupying forces.
Are accused of.
Killing about.
500 people.
A nine-storey Soviet-era block.
Caught in the cross-fire.
Between the two armies.
Has become a building site.
Most of the 330 residents.
Have gone.
Scattered across Ukraine.
Or abroad.
And they will.
Only return.
When the work is complete.
Next spring.
But the rebuilding of.
The Bucha apartments.
Is intended to show that.
The country can “build back better”.
And that means.
Not just more modern homes.
Designed according to.
Residents' wishes.
But also projects.
Funded monitored.
and accounted for.
In the most open way.
From a block.
You had thought was empty.
A woman emerged.
From her damaged flat.
Its walls covered.
In scorch marks.
“They were bombing.
Here for a month.”
“And everything.
Got burnt.”
Said the woman.
Who's 71.
Extraordinarily.
She stayed in her flat.
Throughout the terrifying.
Battle for Bucha.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Hopes of rebuilding rely on fighting corruption (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN ROMNY
It was a quiet summer morning.
In Romny.
A provincial town.
In northern Ukraine.
As a local headteacher.
Left for work.
Last Wednesday.
She told her husband.
She had to hold.
Some meetings.
To prepare for.
The new term.
Shortly after 10:00 local time.
She would be dead.
Together with her deputy.
Secretary and a librarian.
It was a quiet summer morning.
In Romny.
A provincial town.
In northern Ukraine.
They were all killed.
By an ‘orcs’ kamikaze drone.
Which almost completely.
Destroyed their school.
“She was passionate.
About that school.
It was her life.
She was there 24/7.”
Her husband says.
Tearfully.
“I swear there were.
No military there.”
It was a quiet summer morning.
In Romny.
A provincial town.
In northern Ukraine.
Her husband says.
Of the school.
In Romny.
Where she was killed.
‘Orcs’ air strikes.
Will be a constant threat.
To ‘elves’ teachers.
Children and parents.
‘Orcs’ air strikes.
Will be a constant threat.
As the new school term.
Begins on 1 September.
It was a quiet summer morning.
In Romny.
A provincial town.
In northern Ukraine.
As a local headteacher.
Left for work.
Last Wednesday.
She told her husband.
She had to hold.
Some meetings.
To prepare for.
The new term.
Shortly after 10:00 local time.
She would be dead.
Together with her deputy.
Secretary and a librarian.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Back to school under Russian attacks (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN PERSPECTIVE
“Poor, poor children.
They haven't seen.
Proper schooling.
For three years!”
It has been a while since.
Schools were fully functioning.
In front-line cities.
Like Zaporizhzhia.
Where remote education has been.
In place with brief interruptions.
Since Covid restrictions were.
Introduced in spring 2020.
“This isn't normal schooling.”
Says the head of.
The Perspektyva school.
In Zaporizhzhia.
“Poor, poor children.
They haven't seen.
Proper schooling.
For three years!”
Distance learning makes it.
Much more difficult.
To motivate children.
Or to test their knowledge.
He describes how.
He has been missing.
The peaceful sight of.
Children going to school.
Something you can.
Only see further away.
From the front line.
“I got tearful.”
“When I visited western Ukraine.
Last year and saw.
Children going to school.
With their little bags.”
“It's awful to think.
That our children.
Don't have this opportunity.”
“I got tearful.”
“Poor, poor children.
They haven't seen.
Proper schooling.
For three years!”
But whatever impact.
Distance learning may have.
On education in Ukraine.
All agree that.
Teachers, officials.
And parents.
All agree that.
Safety comes first.
“Poor, poor children.
They haven't seen.
Proper schooling.
For three years!”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Back to school under Russian attacks (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS CONDUCTING
Rocket attacks hit.
The Kharkiv region.
Again on Monday.
A regular occurrence.
In Sunday's post.
On social media.
The Kharkiv mayor.
Announced that.
“It is here that.
We plan to build.
The first underground school.
In Ukraine”.
He said the school.
“Will meet the most.
Modern requirements.
For defensive buildings”.
“Such a shelter will allow.
Thousands of children.
To continue their in-person education.
Safely even during missile threats.”
And he stressed that.
The city authorities.
“Will not reduce.
Educational expenditure.”
“By a single hryvnia.
This year or next year.
Despite the lack.
Of budget funds”.
The mayor gave.
No details on when.
The underground school.
Would open.
And how many pupils.
Would be able to.
Study there.
‘Metro-turned-classroom’.
Rocket attacks hit.
The Kharkiv region.
Again on Monday.
A regular occurrence.
Last month, more than.
1,000 Kharkiv pupils.
Started their new school year.
At five underground stations.
That were turned into.
The so-called “metro-schools”.
The students are ferried by buses.
And study in two shifts:
The early one starts.
At 09:00 local time.
Followed by the late one.
At 13:00.
Police and rescuers.
are on duty.
At each underground station.
“Lessons in the metro.”
“Could you ever imagine that?
‘Elves’ children will study?
In the underground?
This is our reality now.”
‘Elves’ Interior Minister.
Said at the time.
“Lessons in the metro.
Could you ever imagine that?
Rocket attacks hit.
The Kharkiv region.
Again on Monday.
A regular occurrence.
Kharkiv was heavily bombed.
During the first weeks.
Of ‘the One’’s invasion.
Launched in February 2022.
Local residents even witnessed.
Fierce street fighting in the city.
When ‘orcs’ troops attempted.
To capture Kharkiv.
They were eventually.
Pushed back during.
A lightning ‘elves’ counter-offensive.
Last autumn.
To minimize the deadly threat.
Many pupils will be studying remotely.
And it is up to.
The local authorities.
To decide whether schooling.
Will be conducted.
In the classroom or.
From home.
Their decision depends on.
The security situation in each region.
Whether schools there.
Have bomb shelters.
Rocket attacks hit.
The Kharkiv region.
Again on Monday.
A regular occurrence.
Ukraine's second-largest city.
Kharkiv is close to.
The ‘orcs’ border.
And targeted frequently.
Therefore, schooling there.
Will almost exclusively.
Be done remotely.
To minimise the deadly threat.
To enable at least some form of.
Safe in-person education.
The authorities there have built.
60 classrooms inside metro stations.
Rocket attacks hit.
The Kharkiv region.
Again on Monday.
A regular occurrence.
In Sunday's post.
On social media.
The Kharkiv mayor.
Announced that.
“It is here that.
We plan to build.
The first underground school.
In Ukraine”.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: First underground school to be built in Kharkiv (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN A UNIVERSITY
Outside Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
A university in the country's capital.
A group of student volunteers.
Are helping new applicants to enrol.
She explains that some of.
The current students.
Have never attended.
A class here in person.
“They were accepted.
During the Covid pandemic.
And then ‘orcs’.
Full-scale invasion happened.”
“So they were never.
Really in class offline.
It's a little bit sad.”
“It's a little bit sad.”
Outside Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
A university in the country's capital.
A group of student volunteers.
Are helping new applicants to enrol.
But she and.
Her fellow volunteers.
Explain that things.
Are different now.
With students returning.
To in-person lectures.
This year.
Despite the ongoing war.
Outside Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
A university in the country's capital.
A group of student volunteers.
Are helping new applicants to enrol.
That means parents.
Have even more questions.
Than usual.
“They ask pretty often.”
“If we have enough.
Places in shelters.
If their children.
Come and study here.”
And it also means.
Even further pressure on students.
Deciding whether and where.
To go to university.
Outside Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.
A university in the country's capital.
A group of student volunteers.
Are helping new applicants to enrol.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: University students grapple with rules under conflict (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS GRAPPLING
Under war-time.
Government rules.
No man aged between.
18 and 60 can leave Ukraine.
Without special permission.
From the authorities.
Under war-time.
Government rules.
Those rules could change.
If Ukraine suddenly.
Needs more men.
Those rules could change.
‘Orcs’ war is opening.
A gender divide.
In ‘elves’ society.
She fled west.
When ‘Mordor’ launched.
Its assault on Ukraine.
Last year and settled.
Eventually in Germany.
She's now planning.
To study sciences.
In the southern city.
Of Konstanz there.
On the border with Switzerland.
After she's passed.
A mandatory German.
Language course.
The 17-year-old has.
Returned home briefly.
To Kyiv to prepare.
For university.
“I'm relying on the chance.
To buy something in Germany.
Because they've got.
More shops open.”
“Many shops I liked.
In Kyiv closed.
But it's more expensive there.
So I'll thrift in Kyiv before I go!”
Under war-time.
Government rules.
No man aged between.
18 and 60 can leave Ukraine.
Without special permission.
From the authorities.
Under war-time.
Government rules.
Those rules could change.
If Ukraine suddenly.
Needs more men.
Those rules could change.
‘Orcs’ war is opening.
A gender divide.
In ‘elves’ society.
She fled west.
She says that of.
Her 32 classmates.
At school in Ukraine.
Half have chosen.
To study abroad.
Both boys and girls.
The male students in her year.
Have accepted the rules.
“It's not even discussed.
Boys don't blame anyone.
They understand.
It's the rules.”
“And they should be obeyed.
But they try also to leave.
They're just 16, 17.
18 years old.”
That means male students.
Who decide to study in Ukraine.
Cannot travel abroad.
Until the war is over.
And while currently.
Students are exempt.
From being drafted.
Into the army.
Those rules could change.
If Ukraine suddenly.
Needs more men.
Those rules could change.
‘Orcs’ war is opening.
A gender divide.
In ‘elves’ society.
He, 17, struggled.
This year to decide.
Where to apply.
“You have a lot.
More opportunities.”
“Elsewhere in Europe.
You have a lot more nightlife.
For a 17-year-old.
Guy like me.”
“I want to have some.
Crazy stuff going on.
I know in Kyiv.
The only thing.”
“I can do.
After midnight.
Is stay at home.
Because of the curfew.”
But ultimately.
He realized.
He couldn't leave.
His family and his friends.
“My parents were.
Pressuring me.
So hard to.
Go somewhere.”
“Because I might get.
Drafted into the army.
I might get.
Killed by a rocket.”
“But I'm not afraid.
Maybe it's my mistake.
But I don't care.
That's how I want to live.”
That means male students.
Who decide to study in Ukraine.
Cannot travel abroad.
Until the war is over.
And while currently.
Students are exempt.
From being drafted.
Into the army.
Those rules could change.
If Ukraine suddenly.
Needs more men.
Those rules could change.
‘Orcs’ war is opening.
A gender divide.
In ‘elves’ society.
He, 17, struggled.
He also wants.
To stay in Ukraine.
To focus on his plans.
For the future.
And to help.
Rebuild the country.
He makes electronic music.
Under the name “shlepok”.
And wants to.
Keep growing.
His presence.
Here in Kyiv.
“I'm very optimistic.
About Ukraine.
With people like me.
And my friends...”
“I think we can.
Make Ukraine great.”
He's not alone.
He's not alone.
It also means.
Male students thinking of.
Studying abroad have to leave.
Before they turn 18:
Crucially, they are unable.
To return home to visit.
Without then risking getting stuck.
Inside their own borders.
Those rules could change.
If Ukraine suddenly.
Needs more men.
Those rules could change.
‘Orcs’ war is opening.
A gender divide.
In ‘elves’ society.
He applied.
And was accepted.
To a university in Poland.
A 17-year-old student.
Based here in Kyiv.
But instead of leaving.
His country.
He's decided to study.
Remotely from Ukraine.
And has signed up.
For additional courses.
With universities.
At home.
“My parents wanted me.
To go to Poland.
I wanted to stay.
In Ukraine.”
He is not just studying.
He is working.
As the creative director.
Of a marketing agency.
He thinks there's.
No time to waste.
To develop his country.
“The war will end soon.”
“And we'll need.
To rebuild Ukraine.
Everything is dependent on.
Individual ‘elves’.”
“We are a strong nation.
And we can make everything happen.”
He thinks there's.
No time to waste.
It also means.
Male students thinking of.
Studying abroad have to leave.
Before they turn 18:
Crucially, they are unable.
To return home to visit.
Without then risking getting stuck.
Inside their own borders.
Those rules could change.
If Ukraine suddenly.
Needs more men.
Those rules could change.
‘Orcs’ war is opening.
A gender divide.
In ‘elves’ society.
He applied.
Before the war.
Travel was important to him.
He's been across Europe.
To the US.
Even to some.
Parts of Asia.
He says he's happy.
In Ukraine for now.
Once the war.
Is over though.
He has plans.
To travel again.
“I'd like to visit.
All the countries.
That had helped.
Ukraine most.”
“I want to create a project.
‘A thank you for countries’.
With nations that.
Have supported Ukraine.”
“Like the UK.
And lots of countries.
In the EU.”
That would be his second trip though.
“I want to go to ‘Mordor’.
And hit everyone.
In the face!”
He jokes.
Kyiv recently.
Lowered the age.
Of mobilization.
From 27 to 25.
Kyiv is in dire need of.
New manpower to defend.
A front line that stretches.
More than 1,000km.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Kyiv tightens pressure on fighting age men abroad (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS AWAITING
Under the rich.
Leafy cover of.
The ‘elves’ spring.
An artillery unit awaits.
Only a fraction.
Of their job is.
Firing rockets from their.
50-year-old launcher.
Most of their time.
Is spent digging.
A new bunker.
Into the hillside.
They're outgunned.
And outmanned.
By the ‘orcs’ invaders.
Who are inching closer.
By the ‘orcs’ invaders.
5km away.
In the eastern Donetsk region.
Who are inching closer.
The sentiment in.
Your wooded trench mirrors.
The ‘elves’ government's mantra of.
“Fighting for as long as it takes”.
Under the rich.
Leafy cover of.
The ‘elves’ spring.
An artillery unit awaits.
Only a fraction.
Of their job is.
Firing rockets from their.
50-year-old launcher.
Thousands of trained troops.
Like him, a radio operator.
In the 21st.
Separate Mechanised Brigade.
Have been fighting.
For the best part of.
Two years.
Without a proper rest.
“If we go home.
Inexperienced soldiers might.
Be able to hold the line.
Against the ‘orcs’.”
“But a lot of them will die.”
He taps his handset.
In a bunker where he also.
Sleeps with four other soldiers.
The thickness of the air.
Tells you it's well lived in.
The thickness of the air.
Tells you it's well lived in.
Outside, the woodland provides.
An illusion of calm.
Periodically jarred by.
A whistling artillery shell overhead.
Under the rich.
Leafy cover of.
The ‘elves’ spring.
An artillery unit awaits.
Only a fraction.
Of their job is.
Firing rockets from their.
50-year-old launcher.
This time last year.
The arrival of spring's.
Hard soil brought.
A sense of optimism.
A sense of optimism.
With an anticipated counter-offensive.
The conditions make it easier.
To move men and machinery.
Today, it just makes.
These troops' job of.
Digging new defences.
More difficult.
“My men have become.
Professionals after.
Fighting for so long.”
Says their commander proudly.
He points to.
Their mobile rocket launcher.
Under camouflage netting.
“They know each vehicle.”
“Is like a woman.
Each one is individual.
With her own whims.
And characteristics.”
Under the rich.
Leafy cover of.
The ‘elves’ spring.
An artillery unit awaits.
Only a fraction.
Of their job is.
Firing rockets from their.
50-year-old launcher.
Tucked away.
Their 1970s truck.
Symbolises the current state.
Of ‘elves’ military.
Old-fashioned in many ways.
Yet modern in others.
With a GPS guiding system.
It lacks one key resource: rockets.
While ‘orcs’ army isn't.
A model of modern warfare.
It is advancing on multiple parts.
Of the eastern front line.
It's why you're seeing.
New ‘elves’ trenches.
Being dug.
30km back.
Under the rich.
Leafy cover of.
The ‘elves’ spring.
An artillery unit awaits.
Only a fraction.
Of their job is.
Firing rockets from their.
50-year-old launcher.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine War: 'If we go home, a lot of inexperienced soldiers will die' (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS ARGUING
In the relative privacy.
Of the main square.
Of Kramatorsk.
In eastern Ukraine.
A combat medic thinks.
The military has been.
Dishonest about.
What signing up means.
He argues that.
It would be more effective.
If recruiters told.
New soldiers.
That the first six months.
Are “super hard”.
But that they would.
Then be trained for.
More specific roles.
“The infantry is.
The hardest job.
In the military.”
In the relative privacy.
Of the main square.
Of Kramatorsk.
In eastern Ukraine.
A combat medic thinks.
The military has been.
Dishonest about.
What signing up means.
Tired as he is.
The idea of fighting alongside.
A petrified conscript in a trench.
Is not an appealing one.
He also thinks a lack of.
Transparency about the realities.
Of the battlefield is further putting.
Men off from registering to fight.
“What if this war.
Lasts 10 years?”
“What if this war.
Lasts 10 years?”
Back in Kyiv.
As you stroll down.
Her normal jogging route.
Local MP explains to you.
Why she abstained on.
The mobilisation bill vote.
Her partner serves.
As a frontline medic.
“I spend countless nights.
Worrying where he is.
It's the experience of.
Millions of ‘elves’.”
She thinks there should be.
More of a focus on rotation.
Arguing Ukraine has.
Enough men of.
A fighting age to swap.
With the 500,000.
Or so who are.
Currently fighting.
Back in Kyiv.
As you stroll down.
Her normal jogging route.
Local MP explains to you.
Why she abstained on.
The mobilisation bill vote.
Her partner serves.
As a frontline medic.
“There are highly trained soldiers.
Who can't be swapped.
But what about the people?
In trenches?”
“It takes time.
To train them.
But what if this war.
Lasts for 10 years?”
“We can't pretend to.
Rely on the same people.
Who started serving.
On day one.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine War: 'If we go home, a lot of inexperienced soldiers will die' (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS REPELLING
Ukraine has repelled.
An ‘orcs’ armoured attack.
In the north-eastern.
Kharkiv region.
After ‘orcs’ forces launched.
An incursion across the border.
And sought to break through.
Defensive lines.
Kharkiv regional head said.
‘Orcs’ reconnaissance groups.
Had tried to.
Penetrate the border.
Adding that.
“Not a single metre has been lost”.
Adding that.
“Not a single metre has been lost”.
“‘Mordor’ has launched a new wave.
Of counteroffensive operations.
In the Kharkiv sector.”
Said ‘Gandalf the Green’.
Also on Friday.
A huge fire broke out.
At an oil storage depot in.
Ukraine's occupied Luhansk region.
After what puppets said.
Was an ‘elves’ strike.
Three people were killed.
In the attack, they added.
‘Elves’ commanders.
Have been expecting.
A summer offensive.
For some time.
Possibly even.
A bid to capture.
The regional capital.
Kharkiv.
But officials are adamant.
‘Mordor’ does not.
Have the resources.
To do so.
Tens of thousands of.
‘Orcs’ forces are said.
To have gathered.
On the border.
You could be forgiven for.
Seeing a repeat of 2022.
When ‘Mordor’ failed to.
Capture Kharkiv and Sumy.
In the early weeks.
Of its full-scale invasion.
‘Orcs’ forces did occupy.
The border town of Vovchansk.
For several months.
Until they were pushed out.
In September 2022.
Vovchansk was liberated by Ukraine.
Outwardly at least.
Officials and generals.
Do not think either of the two.
Regional capitals could fall.
‘Mordor’ was unable.
To conquer either city when.
It had a larger, better-trained.
Force than it does now.
‘Elves’ reports suggested.
‘Mordor’ was trying to create.
A 10km buffer zone.
For its Belgorod region.
A 10km buffer zone.
For its Belgorod region.
After a series of ‘elves’.
Cross-border attacks.
Friday's small incursions.
Over the ‘orcs’ border form.
A familiar yet disturbing axis.
For ‘elves’ forces.
The defence ministry in Kyiv said.
The attack started with.
The heavy bombing of.
The town of Vovchansk.
The heavy bombing of.
The town of Vovchansk.
“Using guided aerial bombs”.
With the support of artillery.
Then, small ‘orcs’
“Scouting groups”.
Moved in across the border.
Reportedly in several places.
The local head in Vovchansk.
75km north-east of Kharkiv.
Said the town had.
Come under heavy attack.
From the early hours.
Of Friday.
And civilians were.
Being evacuated.
Kharkiv regional head said.
Some 3,000 people live.
In Vovchansk and.
At least one person was killed.
Some 3,000 people live.
In Vovchansk and.
Five more injured.
In the barrage.
“At approximately 05:00.
There was an attempt.
By the enemy.
To break through.”
“To break through.
Our defensive line.
Under the cover of.
Armoured vehicles.
“As of now.
These attacks have been repulsed.
Fighting of varying intensity continues.”
The defence ministry said.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
The ‘orcs’ had been engaged.
“With our troops.
Brigades and artillery”.
But added that.
A fierce battle was under way.
But added that.
A fierce battle was under way.
Civilians were being evacuated.
From the Vovchansk district.
While reserve troops move in.
Officials added.
Tens of thousands of.
‘Orcs’ forces are said.
To have gathered.
On the border.
You could be forgiven for.
Seeing a repeat of 2022.
When ‘Mordor’ failed to.
Capture Kharkiv and Sumy.
In the early weeks.
Of its full-scale invasion.
‘Orcs’ forces did occupy.
The border town of Vovchansk.
For several months.
Until they were pushed out.
In September 2022.
Vovchansk was liberated by Ukraine.
Outwardly at least.
Officials and generals.
Do not think either of the two.
Regional capitals could fall.
‘Mordor’ was unable.
To conquer either city when.
It had a larger, better-trained.
Force than it does now.
The booms of exchanging fire.
Echo loudly down.
Echo loudly down.
The already bomb-damaged streets.
It is still not clear.
How far the ‘orcs’ will advance.
Whether this is a probing attack.
Or the start of something bigger.
‘Elves’ artillery guns.
Are now firing back.
‘Elves’ artillery guns.
Are now firing back.
A total of 1,775 people.
Have been evacuated.
Kharkiv regional head said.
On social media.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine says it repelled Russian bid to cross border (bbc.com)
Ukraine: Hundreds flee Kharkiv area after Russian cross-border attack (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN VOVCHANSK
Small fires were still.
Pouring smoke.
Across the remnants.
Of his home.
He did not want to leave.
Because he was afraid of.
What might happen.
To their three goats.
The booms of exchanging fire.
Echo loudly down.
Echo loudly down.
The already bomb-damaged streets.
Hundreds more remain.
In Vovchansk.
Just 6km from.
The ‘orcs’ border.
A resident said that.
His home and vehicles.
Had been destroyed.
By an ‘orcs’ glide bomb.
His wife had been.
Rushed to hospital.
With more serious injuries.
He did not want to leave.
Small fires were still.
Pouring smoke.
Across the remnants.
Of his home.
He did not want to leave.
Because he was afraid of.
What might happen.
To their three goats.
As you surveyed the damage.
There was the screech of.
Yet more glide bombs.
Being released.
Followed by the heavy thud.
Of the explosion.
‘Orcs’ air force is having.
An increasingly deadly effect.
‘Orcs’ attacks in north-east Ukraine.
Have prompted the evacuation.
Of almost 1,800 people.
From the Kharkiv area.
Heavy fighting has continued.
In the border area.
Following ‘orcs’ surprise incursions.
On Friday.
Small fires were still.
Pouring smoke.
Across the remnants.
Of his home.
He did not want to leave.
Because he was afraid of.
What might happen.
To their three goats.
‘Mordor’ has been.
Launching around.
100 glide bombs a day.
Across the 1,000 km front.
He was nursing wounds.
On his hands.
Burnt by the explosion.
He’d like to leave.
“But what can I do?”.
“But what can I do?”.
He pointed to his three goats.
Which he didn’t want to kill.
Somehow, they’d miraculously.
Survived along with his cat.
He was still clinging on.
To his final possessions.
Small fires were still.
Pouring smoke.
Across the remnants.
Of his home.
He did not want to leave.
Because he was afraid of.
What might happen.
To their three goats.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine: Hundreds flee Kharkiv area after Russian cross-border attack (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET CYCLING
An 87-year-old resident.
Of Vovchansk had left the town.
By bicycle on Sunday.
Cycling 15km to safety.
As well as heavy shelling.
“Machine gun fire.
Could be heard.
From both sides”.
“I had to run.
Because it was impossible.
To be there.”
He said, adding.
The town had been.
Cut off from.
Electricity and.
Water supplies.
An 87-year-old resident.
Of Vovchansk had left the town.
By bicycle on Sunday.
Cycling 15km to safety.
Residents fleeing towns and villages.
Close to the fighting have been.
Arriving in their hundreds at.
An aid hub in Kharkiv city.
They are being given food.
And registering for shelter.
After leaving their homes.
After leaving their homes.
Fighting was ongoing.
In 12 areas and had spread.
To the settlement of Staritsa.
To the west of Vovchansk.
An 87-year-old resident.
Of Vovchansk had left the town.
By bicycle on Sunday.
Cycling 15km to safety.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kharkiv fighting intensifies as Russia says troops enter Vovchansk (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET HEARING
“We escaped when.
We heard machine guns.
The fire was coming close.”
She fled the besieged town.
A resident fled Vovchansk.
With her family.
Who lived in.
A village nearby.
She had remained.
In Vovchansk when.
The ‘orcs’ first invaded.
In early 2022.
“We survived and.
Got used to it.”
Life improved when.
‘Elves’ forces returned later that year.
Life improved when.
‘Elves’ forces returned later that year.
But she said this new.
‘Orcs’ offensive “was very scary”.
“We escaped when.
We heard machine guns.
The fire was coming close.”
She fled the besieged town.
Thousands of civilians.
Have fled towards Kharkiv.
There are concerns.
Among ‘elves’ commanders.
About what could happen.
If ‘orcs’ troops get within.
Artillery-range of the city.
‘Elves’ army has said that.
‘Mordor’ has deployed.
“Significant forces”.
Up to five battalions.
In its latest offensive.
Earlier, ‘elves’ army had said.
Reserve forces were being moved.
To the Kharkiv region.
To reinforce its defences.
“We escaped when.
We heard machine guns.
The fire was coming close.”
She fled the besieged town.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kharkiv fighting intensifies as Russia says troops enter Vovchansk (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET FROM LIPTSY
She said: “We lived.
Under occupation in 2022.
I don’t want to be.
Under occupation again.”
They had fled the village of Liptsy.
Near to where ‘orcs’ forces.
Have also made another incursion.
Across the border.
They packed their belongings.
Including two dogs.
Into an old rusting Lada car.
And made the journey to Kharkiv.
Her husband had wanted.
To stay “because everything.
We had would be lost”.
If she, her husband and mother left.
However, she said.
They were told by.
The local administration to leave.
Or risk being stranded.
She said: “We lived.
Under occupation in 2022.
I don’t want to be.
Under occupation again.”
‘Elves’ army has acknowledged.
‘Orcs’ troops have had.
Some “tactical success”.
But in an evening statement.
‘Mordor’ had lost more than.
100 soldiers since the start of the day.
Adding that ‘elves’ forces.
Were restoring old positions.
Kharkiv regional head.
Described the situation as.
“Quite complicated” with ‘Mordor’.
Continuing to advance.
Nearly 6,000 people.
Have already been evacuated.
30 settlements had been struck.
By mortar or artillery shelling.
She said: “We lived.
Under occupation in 2022.
I don’t want to be.
Under occupation again.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kharkiv fighting intensifies as Russia says troops enter Vovchansk (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET SHOCKED
“I was shocked.
I wish I had known in advance.”
“I was shocked.
I wish I had known in advance.”
He has also left Vovchansk.
He was shocked.
By how close.
The fighting was.
“On the one side of.
The Vovcha River are ‘orcs’.
On the other.
Ours.” he said.
“Tanks are constantly approaching.
Shooting back.
And then leaving.
I thought it would be okay.”
“I was shocked.
I wish I had known in advance.”
“I was shocked.
I wish I had known in advance.”
Vovchansk, located.
74km from Kharkiv.
Has been heavily bombed.
In recent days.
‘Mordor’ was deliberately trying.
To stretch the front line.
By attacking in small groups.
In new directions.
‘Elves’ forces were holding.
‘Orcs’ troops back but.
Fighting could spread.
To new settlements.
“I was shocked.
I wish I had known in advance.”
“I was shocked.
I wish I had known in advance.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kharkiv fighting intensifies as Russia says troops enter Vovchansk (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET TOUCHING THE GROUND
Residents of Vovchansk.
And nearby villages.
Are being bussed.
To safety.
A local policeman.
Was picking up residents.
Who wanted to flee.
To safety.
Most of those.
Who’ve stayed behind.
In Vovchansk are.
The elderly and the poor.
But a 65-year-old.
Has had enough.
He made the sign of the cross.
Leaving the home.
He made the sign of the cross.
Leaving the home.
He’d grown up in.
He tenderly touched the ground.
He tenderly touched the ground.
Picked up two bags.
And climbed into.
The police car.
He wanted to.
Go to Germany.
But had no idea of.
How he’d get there.
He made the sign of the cross.
Leaving the home.
He’d grown up in.
He tenderly touched the ground.
He tenderly touched the ground.
Picked up two bags.
And climbed into.
The police car.
Most of those.
Who’ve stayed behind.
In Vovchansk are.
The elderly and the poor.
But a 65-year-old.
Has had enough.
He made the sign of the cross.
Leaving the home.
The policeman was driving fast.
To avoid the ‘orcs’ drones.
Flying overhead and.
The constant barrage of artillery.
The policeman says.
“It’s easier to leave now.
Before they get.
Killed or injured”.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Russians simply walked in, Ukraine troops in Kharkiv tell BBC
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET ANGRY
Everyone knew that.
This incursion was.
Likely to happen.
He is angry.
As the Commander of.
An ‘elves’ Special Reconnaissance Unit.
He fought in ‘elves’ surprise offensive.
In Kharkiv in the autumn of 2022.
Which pushed back.
An initial ‘orcs’ invasion.
All the way back.
To the border.
But now he and his men.
Are facing the prospect.
Of doing the same.
All over again.
Everyone knew that.
This incursion was.
Likely to happen.
He is angry.
‘Orcs’ forces have.
In recent days.
Made small but.
Significant gains.
Right along the border.
In the Kharkiv region.
Their advances are only.
A few miles deep.
But have swallowed up around.
100km of ‘elves’ territory.
He wants to know.
What happened to ‘elves’ defences.
In the more heavily defended.
East of Ukraine.
It’s taken ‘Mordor’ months.
To achieve the same.
‘Mordor’ claims its forces.
Have now entered.
The border town of Vovchansk.
Which Ukraine disputes.
Everyone knew that.
This incursion was.
Likely to happen.
He is angry.
The town has come under.
Heavy bombing in recent days.
And several thousand residents.
Have been evacuated.
He wants to know.
What happened to ‘elves’ defences.
“There was no.
First line of defence.”
“We saw it.
The ‘orcs’ just walked in.
They just walked in.
Without any mined fields.”
Everyone knew that.
This incursion was.
Likely to happen.
He is angry.
He shows you video.
From a drone feed.
Taken a few days ago.
Of small columns of ‘orcs’ troops.
Simply walking across.
The border, unopposed.
He wants to know.
What happened to ‘elves’ defences.
He says officials had.
Claimed that defences were.
Being built.
At huge cost.
But in his view.
Those defences simply weren’t there.
He wants to know.
What happened to ‘elves’ defences.
“Either it was an act of.
Negligence, or corruption.
It wasn’t a failure.
It was a betrayal”.
Everyone knew that.
This incursion was.
Likely to happen.
He is angry.
Speaking from a park in Kharkiv.
He says within an hour.
He’ll be back.
On the front line.
With his men close to.
The town of Vovchansk.
Just 5km from.
The ‘orcs’ border.
‘Orcs’ troops are.
Already reported.
To have entered.
The edge of the town.
He fears it could soon.
Be back in ‘orcs’ hands.
He wants to know.
What happened to ‘elves’ defences.
He says he believes.
‘Orcs’ forces will try.
To focus on the East and.
To capture the entire Donbas.
Everyone knew that.
This incursion was.
Likely to happen.
He is angry.
But he says ‘Mordor’ is also trying.
To exploit ‘elves’ weaknesses.
Right across the 1,000km front.
In Kharkiv they’ve found one.
“Of course I’m angry.
When we were fighting back.
For this territory in 2022.
We lost thousands of people.”
“We risked our lives.
And now because someone.
Didn’t build fortifications.
We’re losing people again.”
Everyone knew that.
This incursion was.
Likely to happen.
He is angry.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Russians simply walked in, Ukraine troops in Kharkiv tell BBC
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS REPOSITIONING
Vovchansk's police chief said.
Fighting was intense and.
‘Orcs’ forces were establishing.
Positions inside the town.
“The situation is extremely difficult.
The enemy is taking.
Positions on the streets of.
The town of Vovchansk.”
‘Mordor’ has claimed.
Its forces have now taken.
Control of two more settlements.
In the region.
Lukyantski and Hlyboke.
And the village of Robotyne.
In the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
But Ukraine says.
Its military still controls.
Most of Robotyne.
“‘Orcs’ troops are actually.
Only on the outskirts.”
“Inside the village.
There are still our positions.”
“‘Orcs’ troops are actually.
Only on the outskirts.”
Robotyne was one of.
Only a handful of settlements.
‘Elves’ retook in its summer.
Counter-offensive last year.
Vovchansk's police chief said.
Fighting was intense and.
‘Orcs’ forces were establishing.
Positions inside the town.
“The situation is extremely difficult.
The enemy is taking.
Positions on the streets of.
The town of Vovchansk.”
The ‘elves’ military spokesman.
Said the decision to move.
Troops from the Lukyantsi.
And Vovchansk areas.
Was taken to.
“Preserve the lives.
Of our servicemen.
And avoid losses”.
The situation “remains difficult”.
But insisted that its forces were.
“Not allowing the ‘orcs’ occupiers.
To gain a foothold”.
Vovchansk's police chief said.
Fighting was intense and.
‘Orcs’ forces were establishing.
Positions inside the town.
“The situation is extremely difficult.
The enemy is taking.
Positions on the streets of.
The town of Vovchansk.”
In a statement.
On Wednesday.
At 13:30 local time.
The military said.
There had been three clashes.
In the Kharkiv region.
And ‘orcs’ forces were attacking.
In the direction of Lyptsi.
In the direction of Lyptsi.
Roughly midway.
Between Kharkiv city and.
The ‘orcs’ border.
Two strikes hit the villages of.
Lyptsi and Mala Danylivka.
While ‘elves’ forces “repelled”.
An offensive in Vovchansk.
Vovchansk's police chief said.
Fighting was intense and.
‘Orcs’ forces were establishing.
Positions inside the town.
“The situation is extremely difficult.
The enemy is taking.
Positions on the streets of.
The town of Vovchansk.”
Later on Wednesday.
‘Elves’ general staff said.
Heavy enemy fire from.
‘Orcs’ forces had prompted.
The ‘elves’ military.
To reposition.
Some of its troops.
In the Kupiansk direction.
Which is some 118 km.
South-west of Kharkiv city.
It added that it had repelled.
20 attacks in that area.
Vovchansk's police chief said.
Fighting was intense and.
‘Orcs’ forces were establishing.
Positions inside the town.
“The situation is extremely difficult.
The enemy is taking.
Positions on the streets of.
The town of Vovchansk.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine troops pull back in Kharkiv after Russia offensive (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET UNDERSTANDING
You travel at speed.
Towards the village of Lyptsi.
Now under siege.
You are being escorted by.
Members of ‘elves’ National Guard.
Among the latest reinforcements.
To try to halt this.
Most recent ‘orcs’ advance.
They’ve gone from.
A fierce battle in the east.
To another further north.
Without rest.
The heavy thuds of.
Artillery grow louder.
When you arrive at their position.
Just a mile from the front line.
You run past.
A smouldering fire.
Towards a bunker.
Where you are told to take cover.
They’ve gone from.
A fierce battle in the east.
To another further north.
Without rest.
In the dank.
Gloomy basement.
A group of soldiers.
Are watching.
A drone feed.
They’re directing.
‘Elves’ artillery fire.
Towards a tree line.
He tells you.
The situation:
“It’s dynamic and tense.
And hard to predict.”
You’ve been told.
You can’t stay for long.
Even underground.
You can hear the explosions.
They’ve gone from.
A fierce battle in the east.
To another further north.
Without rest.
You ask him whether.
He and his men’s arrival.
On this front is making.
A difference.
“Relatively, but.
It’s always hard.
To get involved in.
Someone else’s defence lines.”
“Because there’s no.
Proper interaction.
With other units.”
But he understands.
The importance of.
Their task and.
Why the ‘orcs’ have opened.
This new front.
“They want to pull.
Our forces from.
Defence lines in Donetsk.
And Luhansk regions.”
“It was just.
A question of time.
The ‘orcs’ always use.
Mean tactics.”
They’ve gone from.
A fierce battle in the east.
To another further north.
Without rest.
It’s getting dark outside.
And they’re now using.
A thermal image camera on a drone.
To watch ‘orcs’ movements.
“Our pilot has just.
Found out the movement.
Of the enemy group.
Near to our positions.”
You’re told to leave quickly.
You’ve been told.
You can’t stay for long.
You’re told to leave quickly.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Ukraine's defence lines stretched as Russian troops advance (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET WORRIED
Conscious, wrapped.
In a foil blanket.
As he receives treatment.
From a nurse.
But he is more worried about.
The men he’s left behind.
“I can’t live.
Without my guys.”
“They’re my friends.
My second family.”
He wants to get back to them.
As soon as he is patched up.
The ‘orcs’ too.
Have been taking.
Heavy casualties.
But there are more of them.
He says they were.
Fighting off wave.
After wave of attacks.
“There are a lot of them.”
‘Mordor’’s believed.
To have massed a force.
Of more than 30,000.
Just over the border.
Ukraine has not just been.
Outnumbered on this front.
It’s also been outgunned.
“The ‘orcs’ have everything.”
“Whatever they want.
And we have nothing.
To fight with.
But we do what we can.”
At a field hospital.
Well behind the front line.
‘Elves’ medics are treating.
Yet another casualty.
He has lost.
Some of his fingers.
In a mortar explosion.
He’s lying on a bed.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Ukraine's defence lines stretched as Russian troops advance (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET AT A POSITION
At an artillery position.
Hidden in a tree-line.
Outside Vovchansk.
Men have been firing.
Men of ‘elves’ 57th Brigade.
Have been firing.
50 to 100 rounds a day.
To defend the town.
When you arrive.
They’re waiting for.
A fresh delivery of ammunition for.
Their ‘orcs’-made self-propelled gun.
Another 20 rounds are soon.
Delivered by a small van.
It’ll keep them going.
For a few more hours.
“We could have used logs.
And concrete to build defences.
Now we’ll have to use shells.
And people to take back this land.”
This unit too had been.
Fighting further east.
Before the call came.
To defend Kharkiv.
Another brigade nearby.
Has arrived from Robotyne.
In the south, where.
‘Orcs’ forces are also advancing.
The small gains made.
In ‘elves’ 2023 offensive.
Are slowly but surely.
Disappearing.
“We could have used logs.
And concrete to build defences.
Now we’ll have to use shells.
And people to take back this land.”
The ‘elves’ artillery commander.
At the position.
Tells you:
“We are losing Vovchansk.”
“We are losing Vovchansk.
And we are also.
Losing the villages.
Around Vovchansk.”
And there is a feeling.
That this could have been.
Avoided if defences.
Had been better prepared.
“We could have used logs.
And concrete to build defences.
Now we’ll have to use shells.
And people to take back this land.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Ukraine's defence lines stretched as Russian troops advance (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS BACK IN BUSINESS
The ‘elves’ ground forces.
Have just 100 or so.
Combat brigades.
And many of them are exhausted.
From months or years.
Of nonstop fighting.
the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade, for instance.
The 47th.
Mechanized Brigade is.
One of the ‘elves’ army’s.
Best brigades.
Equipped with American-made.
Armored vehicles.
And trained to.
NATO standards.
It fights like.
The best NATO brigades fight:
Swiftly, violently.
And often at night.
But this prowess is.
A blessing and a curse.
For the brigade’s.
2,000 troopers.
The ‘elf’ command wants.
The 47th.
Mechanized Brigade to be.
Wherever the heaviest fighting is.
So the brigade helped.
To lead ‘elves’.
Southern counteroffensive.
Back in June.
And when ‘orcs’ regiments.
Attacked the ‘elves’ garrison.
In the eastern city of.
Avdiivka in October.
The 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
Redeployed from the south.
To the east.
And reinforced the city.
Delaying though.
Not preventing.
The garrison’s eventual retreat.
The 47th.
Mechanized Brigade has been.
Fighting for nearly a year.
Without a break.
Its soldiers are tired;
Its battalions are running low.
On their best M-2 Bradley.
Fighting vehicles.
And M-1 Abrams tanks.
The brigade needs a break.
And it almost got.
One this week.
The ‘elves’ ground forces.
Have just 100 or so.
Combat brigades.
And many of them are exhausted.
From months or years.
Of nonstop fighting.
the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade, for instance.
But that planned break.
Was an invitation for.
The ‘orcs’ field armies.
Around the ruins of Avdiivka.
An opportunity to inflict.
On the ‘elves’.
The kind of major defeat.
The ‘elves’ inflicted.
On the ‘orcs’.
Farther north around.
The city of Kharkiv.
In late 2022.
As the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade was.
Pulling back from.
The front line.
East of the village.
Of Ocheretyne.
This weekend.
The ‘orcs’ attacked.
And the ‘orcs’.
Very nearly broke through.
‘Elves’ lines into.
The 20-mile-wide ribbon.
Of undefended terrain.
Separating the free city.
Of Pokrovsk.
From the front line.
The ‘elves’ army’s.
115th.
Mechanized Brigade was.
Supposed to take.
The 47th.
Mechanized Brigade’s place.
Along the front line.
But something went wrong.
The ‘elves’ ground forces.
Have just 100 or so.
Combat brigades.
And many of them are exhausted.
From months or years.
Of nonstop fighting.
the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade, for instance.
According to.
The famed 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
Company commander.
Who lost a leg during.
The summer counteroffensive.
“Certain units.
Just fucked off.”
‘Orcs’ scouts and drone operators.
Surveilling positions once held.
By the battle-hardened 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
Expected to find.
Fresh troops from the 115th.
Mechanized Brigade.
In the same trenches.
Instead, they found.
... no one.
It was a chance.
For the ‘orcs’.
For the ‘orcs’ army’s 30th.
Motor Rifle Brigade.
To roll along.
A railroad track.
Threading west from Avdiivka.
And capture a narrow salient that.
On a map.
Looks like a five-mile-long knife.
Stabbing into.
The ‘elves’ line.
Its sharp point lodged.
Halfway into Ocheretyne.
The ‘elves’ ground forces.
Have just 100 or so.
Combat brigades.
And many of them are exhausted.
From months or years.
Of nonstop fighting.
the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade, for instance.
An ‘orcs’ breakthrough.
Could have collapsed.
The entire ‘elves’ line.
West of Avdiivka.
And forced tens of thousands.
Of ‘elves’ troops.
And potentially hundreds of thousands.
Of civilians to flee Donetsk Oblast.
An ‘elves’ breakthrough.
Around Kharkiv in the fall.
Of 2022 resulted in.
A major rout for the ‘orcs’ army.
The only reason.
The ‘orcs’ didn’t advance.
Deeper into the ‘elves’ rear.
This weekend is that.
The withdrawing 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
Turned around.
And rejoined the fight.
“The 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
Is back in business.”
The commander wrote.
Over the next couple of days.
The ‘orcs’ slightly widened their salient.
But didn’t advance.
Any farther to the west.
Disaster averted.
For Ukraine.
For now.
But the battle is still raging.
If the ‘orcs’ can move.
Reserves into the salient.
They may yet be able to.
Extend their advance.
It’s worth noting that.
The ‘orcs’ army’s 90th.
Guards Tank Division is nearby.
And, at present, uncommitted to battle.
The ‘elves’ ground forces.
Have just 100 or so.
Combat brigades.
And many of them are exhausted.
From months or years.
Of nonstop fighting.
the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade, for instance.
If the division can move west.
And stiffen the salient.
It could—at the very least—
Complicate any ‘elves’ counterattack.
In the worst-case scenario.
For Ukraine.
The tank division might.
Be able to force.
The weary 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
To retreat.
To the west.
The good news.
For the ‘elves’ army.
Is that it’s about to get.
A lot of ammunition.
The bad news is that.
Whatever went wrong with.
The 115th.
Mechanized Brigade appears.
To be somewhat systemic.
It’s the second ‘elves’ unit.
To collapse on the eastern front.
In just the last few weeks.
The first unit to fail.
Was the 67th.
Mechanized Brigade.
Which was defending.
The most vulnerable district.
Of ‘elves’ most vulnerable city.
Chasiv Yar.
20 miles north of Avdiivka.
The ‘elves’ ground forces.
Have just 100 or so.
Combat brigades.
And many of them are exhausted.
From months or years.
Of nonstop fighting.
the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade, for instance.
It’s not for no reason that.
The package included an unspecified.
Number of M-2 Bradley.
Infantry fighting vehicles.
The sole ‘elves’ army unit.
That uses the M-2.
The 47th.
Mechanized Brigade was fighting.
A desperate defensive action.
Against a much larger ‘orcs’ force.
Attacking west of the ruins of.
Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine.
Topped off with fresh ammunition.
And replacement M-2s.
The 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
Has blunted the ‘orcs’ offensive.
One dramatic engagement.
Observed from overhead.
By an ‘elf’ drone shows how.
On Wednesday night.
An M-2 gunner spotted.
An ‘orcs’ T-80 tank.
A mile away across a field.
East of the village.
Of Novopokrovske.
The M-2 crew fired.
A single missile.
A single TOW.
Wire-guided anti-tank missile.
Which punched through.
The 43-ton, three-person tank.
“Bradley—the tank destroyer.”
The ‘elf’ defense ministry crowed.
It was one of the longest-range.
Direct tank kills of this war.
The ‘elves’ ground forces.
Have just 100 or so.
Combat brigades.
And many of them are exhausted.
From months or years.
Of nonstop fighting.
the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade, for instance.
The 33-ton, 10-person M-2.
Might be the best fighting vehicle.
Of ‘Mordor’’s 27-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
Equipping three.
30-vehicle battalions.
In the elite 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
The M-2’s primary mission.
Is to haul infantry.
Into battle and then.
Join the fight itself.
Peppering ‘orcs’ troops.
And vehicles with.
Accurate 25-millimeter.
Auto-cannon fire.
The M-2 weighs tens of tons.
Less than a typical tank.
Mostly because its armor is.
Much thinner than a tank’s armor.
In a close fight.
With an ‘orcs’ tank.
An M-2 might not.
Last long.
In a far fight.
The M-2’s precision sights and.
TOW missiles might give it.
An edge—especially at night.
When the Bradley’s superior.
Infrared optics help its crew.
See the tank before.
The tank crew sees the Bradley.
The ‘elves’ ground forces.
Have just 100 or so.
Combat brigades.
And many of them are exhausted.
From months or years.
Of nonstop fighting.
the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade, for instance.
Sure enough, between missions.
Supporting the infantry.
The 47th.
Mechanized Brigade deployed M-2s.
On tank-hunting missions.
In a single furious skirmish.
In southern Ukraine.
Last summer.
One Bradley crew.
Reportedly knocked out.
Two ‘orcs’ T-72 tanks.
In a single furious skirmish.
The 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
Has been in combat.
Non-stop for a year.
As it fought that ‘orcs’ offensive.
West of Avdiivka last month.
The brigade was running out.
Of M-2s.
That’s changing.
As fresh vehicles arrive.
“We continue to work!”
The brigade stated.
Expect to see.
More M-2s.
In far fights.
With ‘orcs’ tanks.
As the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade.
Works to stabilize.
The front line.
The ‘elves’ ground forces.
Have just 100 or so.
Combat brigades.
And many of them are exhausted.
From months or years.
Of nonstop fighting.
the 47th.
Mechanized Brigade, for instance.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
A Ukrainian Brigade 'Fucked Off,' And The Russians Almost Broke Thru (forbes.com)
A Ukrainian M-2 Sneaked Up On A Russian Tank — And Hit From A Mile Away (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS STEMMING THE TIDE
In the village of Lyptsi.
‘Elves’ forces appear.
To have blunted.
‘Orcs’ surprise offensive.
A few weeks ago.
They were rapidly.
Advancing towards.
The city of Kharkiv.
But with the help.
Of reinforcements.
Ukraine is slowly.
Stemming the tide.
The threat from the north.
Though has not.
Gone away.
Lyptsi is still a target.
Nevertheless, they’ve kept the name.
And wear flat caps in camouflage.
With their motto embroidered on the back.
“To Find and Destroy”.
They were once defending.
Their streets with shotguns.
But now the Peaky Blinders.
Are battle-hardened veterans.
There’s the heavy thud.
Of shells landing nearby.
As you drive at speed through its.
Ruined and deserted streets.
As you drive at speed.
With an elite ‘elves’ unit.
Two of the team point.
Shotguns out of the window.
They scan the sky.
For kamikaze drones.
They’ve become one of the most.
Potent weapons of this war.
This ‘elves’ unit are about.
To use them too.
They call themselves.
The Peaky Blinders.
Nevertheless, they’ve kept the name.
And wear flat caps in camouflage.
With their motto embroidered on the back.
“To Find and Destroy”.
They were once defending.
Their streets with shotguns.
But now the Peaky Blinders.
Are battle-hardened veterans.
At the outbreak of the war.
They turned up to guard.
Their streets with shotguns.
Wearing civilian clothing.
Their leader says it was like.
A scene from the hit show.
But they’re no longer.
A rag-tag team of volunteers.
They’re now.
Battle-hardened and.
Have been trained.
By Western special forces.
They’re now the high-tech.
Peaky Blinders.
Using cheap.
Mass-produced small drones.
Nevertheless, they’ve kept the name.
And wear flat caps in camouflage.
With their motto embroidered on the back.
“To Find and Destroy”.
They were once defending.
Their streets with shotguns.
But now the Peaky Blinders.
Are battle-hardened veterans.
Over the past few weeks.
Their leader has literally.
Been fighting.
For his home.
He used to farm.
The fields nearby.
Their dug-out.
Hidden in a tree line.
Before the war.
He grew strawberries here.
But now he’s.
Planting bombs.
Since the offensive began.
The Peaky Blinders.
Have killed or injured.
More than 100 ‘orcs’ soldiers.
Nevertheless, they’ve kept the name.
And wear flat caps in camouflage.
With their motto embroidered on the back.
“To Find and Destroy”.
They were once defending.
Their streets with shotguns.
But now the Peaky Blinders.
Are battle-hardened veterans.
They operate like.
A small air force.
With dozens of drones.
And an arsenal of bombs.
Ones to take out tanks.
Others to target.
Groups of infantry.
Or individual soldiers.
They either drop the bombs.
Or use kamikaze drones.
Which they fly directly.
Into a target.
Drone operators fit.
Different bombs for.
Different purposes.
On the battlefront.
Nevertheless, they’ve kept the name.
And wear flat caps in camouflage.
With their motto embroidered on the back.
“To Find and Destroy”.
They were once defending.
Their streets with shotguns.
But now the Peaky Blinders.
Are battle-hardened veterans.
On the day.
You visit.
They’re struggling.
To find new targets.
It's evidence.
They’re having.
Some success.
The ‘orcs’ are hiding.
To fill the time, they use.
One of their larger drones.
To disarm troops.
They’ve already killed.
Fitted with a grappling hook.
They eventually manage.
To snatch an assault rifle.
Beside a dead ‘orc’ soldier.
Nevertheless, they’ve kept the name.
And wear flat caps in camouflage.
With their motto embroidered on the back.
“To Find and Destroy”.
They were once defending.
Their streets with shotguns.
But now the Peaky Blinders.
Are battle-hardened veterans.
They’re not just killing.
But taking weapons too.
Drones have transformed.
This war to a point.
But their leader’s.
Older brother knows.
They’re not enough.
To defeat the ‘orcs’.
“We can hold them back.
With drones and hurt them.
But not, unfortunately.
To win with them”.
He says longer-range weapons.
Targeting the build-up of.
‘Orcs’ forces over the border.
“Could have prevented this offensive.”
Nevertheless, they’ve kept the name.
And wear flat caps in camouflage.
With their motto embroidered on the back.
“To Find and Destroy”.
They were once defending.
Their streets with shotguns.
But now the Peaky Blinders.
Are battle-hardened veterans.
The ‘orcs’ too, like them.
Have worked out ways.
To jam their signals.
Using electronic warfare.
When the Peaky Blinders.
Eventually do find.
A new target.
Their signal gets blocked.
Before they can go in.
For the kill.
They can lose four or five.
Drones in a day.
Despite the setbacks.
Their leader says the Kharkiv offensive.
Has given his tired men.
A second wind.
Nevertheless, they’ve kept the name.
And wear flat caps in camouflage.
With their motto embroidered on the back.
“To Find and Destroy”.
They were once defending.
Their streets with shotguns.
But now the Peaky Blinders.
Are battle-hardened veterans.
Before, they feared.
The world was losing interest.
But he knows that’s still.
A danger, with no end in sight.
He expects the conflict.
To last a very long time.
“Maybe for several years.
Or even decades”.
Neither side, he says.
Has the strength.
To deliver.
A knockout blow.
To push the ‘orcs’’ back.
To their border.
He says Ukraine will need.
“Colossal” Western support.
Nevertheless, they’ve kept the name.
And wear flat caps in camouflage.
With their motto embroidered on the back.
“To Find and Destroy”.
They were once defending.
Their streets with shotguns.
But now the Peaky Blinders.
Are battle-hardened veterans.
But for now.
This latest.
‘Orcs’ offensive is.
Being thwarted.
Recently captured ‘orcs’ soldiers.
Had revealed their goal was.
To take the town of Vovchansk.
In two days.
And to reach Kharkiv city.
Within five days.
‘The One’ has denied that.
Taking the city was part of his plan.
The threat from the north.
Though has not.
Gone away.
Lyptsi is still a target.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: On the Kharkiv front as Russia advances again (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN CHASIV YAR
In early April.
‘Elves’ forces were.
In crisis.
At their weakest.
In early April.
‘Elves’ forces were.
In crisis.
At their weakest.
Understaffed and.
Starved of ammunition.
They used to get.
From the United States.
And ‘Mordor’ knew it.
The ‘orcs’ attacked.
And ‘Mordor’ knew it.
The ‘orcs’ attacked.
At several points along.
The 600-mile front line.
Of ‘Mordor’’s 27-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
A month later.
American aid.
To Ukraine.
Is flowing again.
A month later.
American aid.
To Ukraine.
Is flowing again.
The mobilization law.
Is in effect.
Fresh ‘elves’ troops are.
Undergoing training.
And new brigades.
Are forming.
Ukraine’s fortunes.
Are improving.
Nowhere is this.
More evident than.
In Chasiv Yar.
The industrial town.
West of Bakhmut.
In eastern Ukraine.
That’s the main objective of.
The ‘orcs’ offensive in the area.
In the early days.
Of the ‘orcs’ attack.
‘Orcs’ armored units were.
Steadily advancing.
In the early days.
Of the ‘orcs’ attack.
‘Orcs’ armored units were.
Steadily advancing.
North and south.
Of Chasiv Yar.
While ‘orcs’ infantry probed.
The town’s most vulnerable district.
Its canal district.
Which lies on.
The exposed far side.
Of the canal that threads.
North to south.
Along the eastern edge.
Of Chasiv Yar.
At the time.
‘Elves’ defenses.
In Chasiv Yar were thin.
And getting thinner.
And getting thinner.
In mid-April.
The defense ministry in Kyiv.
Dissolved the ‘elves’ army brigade.
Defending the canal district.
In mid-April.
The defense ministry in Kyiv.
Dissolved the ‘elves’ army brigade.
Defending the canal district.
Elements of the ‘elves’ army’s.
56th and 41st.
Mechanized Brigades and.
5th Assault Brigade scrambled.
To fill the gap in.
The defensive line left by.
The dissolution of.
The 67th Mechanized Brigade.
Kyiv rushed.
More drones.
To Chasiv Yar.
But in the meantime.
‘Orcs’ Sukhoi Su-25.
Attack jets roamed.
Directly over.
The front line.
Firing rockets.
At ‘elves’ troops.
Who had run out of.
Air-defense missiles.
‘Orcs’ paratroopers.
Advanced north and south.
Of Chasiv Yar.
Threatening to surround.
The town’s garrison.
The race was on.
Between ‘orcs’ forces trying.
To capture Chasiv Yar.
And ‘elves’ and.
Allied logisticians rushing.
American-supplied ammunition.
To the embattled town.
The good news for friends.
Of a free Ukraine is that.
The ‘elves’ seem to.
Have won the race.
The garrison in Chasiv Yar.
Is now flush with ammo.
Apparently—and wreaking havoc.
On ‘orcs’ assault groups.
On Friday, a battalion of.
Around 20 ‘orcs’ armored vehicles.
Emerged from Bakhmut and.
Rolled toward Chasiv Yar.
On Friday, a battalion of.
Around 20 ‘orcs’ armored vehicles.
Emerged from Bakhmut and.
Rolled toward Chasiv Yar.
As recently as.
A few weeks ago.
An ‘orcs’ assault group.
Might’ve traveled.
Much of the three-mile distance.
From Bakhmut to Chasiv Yar.
Relatively unmolested.
By ‘elves’ attacks.
With precious few anti-tank.
Missiles and artillery shells.
The ‘elves’ relied on.
First-person-view drones.
To bombard the ‘orcs’.
But those two-pound drones.
Range just two miles or so.
And pack just a pound of explosives.
Too little to pierce the layers.
Of do-it-yourself armor.
The ‘orcs’ have been adding.
To their vehicles.
By mid-May.
The ‘elves’ were.
Much better-armed.
Much better-armed.
By mid-May.
The ‘elves’ were.
Much better-armed.
Much better-armed.
So when that assault group.
Tried to cross miles.
Of open fields.
On Friday.
It got hit the whole way.
With 100-pound shells.
50-pound missiles and.
Two-pound drones.
The few ‘orcs’.
Who reached.
The canal district.
Didn’t last long.
Despite rapid successes.
In the initial weeks.
Of the assault.
Against Chasiv Yar.
Including reaching.
The canal and.
In some instances.
Crossing it with small groups.
The ‘orcs’ have ultimately failed.
To establish a foothold.
On the other side.
And advance further.
The garrison in Chasiv Yar.
Isn’t the only one.
Benefiting from.
The influx of ammunition.
“For the first time.
During the war.
None of the brigades complained.
That there were no artillery shells.”
‘Gandalf the Green’ claimed.
On Thursday.
He might be overstating.
The abundance of ammo.
But when the ‘orcs’ attacked.
Chasiv Yar on Friday.
The ‘elves’ had plenty of.
Firepower to hurl at them.
But when the ‘orcs’ attacked.
Chasiv Yar on Friday.
The ‘elves’ had plenty of.
Firepower to hurl at them.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
U.S. Ammo Has Reached Ukrainian Brigades — And Now They're Blasting Away (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS ON FAVORABLE TERRAIN
In the days following.
The initial ‘orcs’ assault.
Across the border.
North of Kharkiv.
There were rumors.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Was rushing to reinforce.
The garrison in Vovchansk.
In early 2023.
The United States donated nearly.
200 ex-U.S. Army Stryker.
Fighting vehicles to Ukraine.
The general staff in Kyiv.
Assigned almost all of.
The eight-wheeled.
20-ton vehicles.
Each with a machine gun.
Or grenade launcher.
And room for 11 people.
To the ‘elves’ air assault forces’.
New 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
An elite brigade.
In an elite branch.
Of the armed forces.
More than a year later.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Is finally deploying.
Its nimble fighting vehicles.
Where its designers intended.
When they drew up.
Blueprints for the Stryker.
In the 1990s: a city.
Specifically, in Vovchansk.
The current locus of ‘orcs’.
Two-week-old northern offensive.
In ‘elves’ Kharkiv Oblast.
In the days following.
The initial ‘orcs’ assault.
Across the border.
North of Kharkiv.
There were rumors.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Was rushing to reinforce.
The garrison in Vovchansk.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Posted a video montage.
Online on Tuesday that.
Confirmed the deployment.
In the montage.
‘Elves’ paratroopers.
Roll into battle.
In central Vovchansk.
One trooper even.
Firing an anti-tank rocket.
From a Stryker’s.
Open top hatch.
“The task was to take.
Defensive positions.
And hold off the enemy.”
One paratrooper said.
It’s the fight.
It’s the fight.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Was designed for.
In the days following.
The initial ‘orcs’ assault.
Across the border.
North of Kharkiv.
There were rumors.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Was rushing to reinforce.
The garrison in Vovchansk.
The implications were obvious.
The ‘elves’ army should send.
Its new Stryker brigade.
Into urban fights.
It should avoid sending.
The brigade into a direct fight.
With an ‘orcs’ mechanized.
Or tank brigade.
Especially on open terrain.
Where heavier tanks and.
Tracked fighting vehicles can bring to.
Bear their superior long-range firepower.
But when the 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Saw combat for the first time.
Last summer.
It was on exactly the wrong terrain.
Against exactly the wrong opponent.
Dug-in ‘orcs’ mechanized forces.
On the open fields.
Of southern Ukraine.
In the days following.
The initial ‘orcs’ assault.
Across the border.
North of Kharkiv.
There were rumors.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Was rushing to reinforce.
The garrison in Vovchansk.
As the southern front stabilized.
And the ‘orcs’ concentrated.
Their forces on the urban.
East and north.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Finally had.
The chance to fight.
On favorable terrain.
The stakes were enormous.
When the first 82nd.
Air Assault Brigade teams.
Deployed in Vochansk.
Aiming to grind.
Through Vovchansk.
In order to clear.
The way to Kharkiv.
The ‘orcs’ army’s new.
Northern grouping of forces.
Had adopted the infantry-first.
Assault tactics.
That had worked.
For other ‘orcs’ troop.
Groupings elsewhere.
In Ukraine.
In the days following.
The initial ‘orcs’ assault.
Across the border.
North of Kharkiv.
There were rumors.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Was rushing to reinforce.
The garrison in Vovchansk.
Platoons of ‘orcs’.
Were spread across.
The urban no-man’s-land.
In central Vovchansk.
Blurring the front line.
And compelling.
The ‘elves’ Stryker crews.
To fight along 360 degrees.
“We held circular defense.”
One paratrooper said.
“They were coming.
From all directions.”
A clutch of Strykers is.
Suited to a circular fight.
The nine-foot-tall vehicles.
Are good observation.
And firing platforms for their.
Top-mounted sensors and weapons.
Making it hard for.
The ‘orcs’ to sneak up on them.
More importantly.
Each Stryker carries.
An entire squad.
Of nine infantry.
Meaning a platoon.
Of four Strykers can.
Deploy a full platoon of.
Nearly 40 infantry.
Something a platoon of.
Heavier but less capacious.
M-2 tracked fighting vehicles.
Can’t do.
It’s not for no reason.
A Stryker brigade is.
Best employed as.
A dismounted fighting force.
In the days following.
The initial ‘orcs’ assault.
Across the border.
North of Kharkiv.
There were rumors.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Was rushing to reinforce.
The garrison in Vovchansk.
That the 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Was ready for.
The urban battle.
In Vovchansk is evident.
After advancing several miles.
To the south.
In the first few days.
Of their northern offensive.
The ‘orcs’ ran into.
Stiffening ‘elves’ defenses.
And almost stopped.
Advancing at all.
Stiffening ‘elves’ defenses.
In central Vovchansk.
Including the recently arrived.
Paratroopers and their wheeled vehicles.
In the days following.
The initial ‘orcs’ assault.
Across the border.
North of Kharkiv.
There were rumors.
The 82nd Air Assault Brigade.
Was rushing to reinforce.
The garrison in Vovchansk.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN DESPAIR
As the building burned.
Sending black smoke.
Across Kharkiv.
He looked on in despair.
Two glide bombs destroyed.
A DIY superstore.
And garden centre.
On Saturday afternoon.
He, a manager of one of.
The other stores.
In the shopping centre.
Looked on in despair.
“The ‘orcs’ want to burn.
Everything down.
But we won’t give up.”
“But we won’t give up.”
“A lot of people were in there.
As it’s warm now.
And the gardening season.
Has begun.”
“In the shop.
There was soil, and plants.”
“Look what beautiful flowers.
They had here.”
He took out his mobile.
And scrolled through photos.
Of the superstore.
Before the attack.
“And not a single.
Military man.
Everyone was.
A civilian.”
Dozens were injured.
And at least 15 people.
Were confirmed killed.
With more bodies left to find.
As the garden centre burned.
Couples walked their dogs.
In some parts of Kharkiv.
Daily life continues.
As the building burned.
Sending black smoke.
Across Kharkiv.
He looked on in despair.
Two glide bombs destroyed.
A DIY superstore.
And garden centre.
On Saturday afternoon.
In the magnificent squares.
In the centre of Kharkiv.
Cafés were open.
Ignoring air raid sirens.
In the magnificent squares.
In the centre of Kharkiv.
Cafés were open.
Ignoring alerts on mobile apps.
On the steps of.
The opera house.
Teenage boys practiced.
Jumps on their skateboards.
On the steps of.
The opera house.
Girls were recording.
TikTok dances on their phones.
Inside the opera house.
In a deep concrete basement.
An orchestra was rehearsing.
For the music festival.
That the war has not stopped.
Their stoic composure.
Cannot conceal the fact that.
Ukraine is in its worst crisis.
As the building burned.
Sending black smoke.
Across Kharkiv.
He looked on in despair.
Two glide bombs destroyed.
A DIY superstore.
And garden centre.
On Saturday afternoon.
Ukraine is in its worst crisis.
Since the first few months.
After ‘orcs’’ full-scale invasion.
More than two years ago.
The garden centre attack was.
One of many strikes here.
In the north east.
As well as on the eastern front.
The garden centre attack was.
One of many strikes here.
In the north east.
As well as in the south near Kherson.
‘Elves’ capacity to defend.
Itself depends on others.
On decisions taken by.
Its Western allies that are shaping.
Events here in Kharkiv.
And other cities.
And right along more than.
1,000km of front line.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
3,000 such bombs were dropped.
On the country.
In March alone.
As the building burned.
Sending black smoke.
Across Kharkiv.
He looked on in despair.
Two glide bombs destroyed.
A DIY superstore.
And garden centre.
On Saturday afternoon.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Kharkiv targeted as Russia grows in strength (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN YURCHENKOVE
The kindergarten was on fire.
When she drove down.
A dirt road into.
The hamlet of Yurchenkove.
North-east of Kharkiv city.
And close enough to.
The ‘orcs’ border.
To feel very dangerous.
She is a psychologist.
She has spent a year.
Going into.
Front-line villages.
Threatened by ‘orcs’.
To evacuate civilians.
No children were.
In the kindergarten.
Whatever started it.
No-one in the deserted.
Desolate village tried to.
Put the fire out.
As it licked and crackled.
Through the kindergarten’s.
Wooden walls.
And tin roof.
Yurchenkove.
Like all the border villages.
Had only a few.
Elderly or infirm civilians.
The kindergarten.
Must have been.
Abandoned.
Months ago.
Grass was advancing.
Across the slides.
And toys in.
The overgrown front garden.
Whatever started it.
No-one in the deserted.
Desolate village tried to.
Put the fire out.
As it licked and crackled.
Through the kindergarten’s.
Wooden walls.
And tin roof.
A man on a motorbike.
Loaded with a bedroll.
And few possessions.
Who looked as if.
He was leaving too.
Said he didn’t know.
How the fire was caused.
But it wasn’t a shell.
Whatever started it.
No-one in the deserted.
Desolate village tried to.
Put the fire out.
As it licked and crackled.
Through the kindergarten’s.
Wooden walls.
And tin roof.
Luckily no children.
Were inside.
This kindergarten.
When it was destroyed.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Kharkiv targeted as Russia grows in strength (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS ON A LIST
She travels to.
Front-line villages.
To try and evacuate residents.
At risk of ‘orcs’ fire.
‘Mordor’ has been on the offensive.
In the Kharkiv oblast.
Or province, since its forces.
Crossed the border on 10 May.
You followed her and her minibus.
Into the border area.
Staying well clear.
Of Vovchansk.
The frontier town.
At the centre of.
The current fighting that is.
Being reduced to rubble.
Even from a few miles away.
It looked like a hell-hole.
With angry grey clouds.
And columns of smoke.
Rising high from a series.
Of big fires and black smoke.
Spiralling and twisting into.
The sky from fresh explosions.
She travels to.
Front-line villages.
To try and evacuate residents.
At risk of ‘orcs’ fire.
‘Mordor’ has been on the offensive.
In the Kharkiv oblast.
Or province, since its forces.
Crossed the border on 10 May.
The first woman.
On her list was.
Ready to leave.
The border area.
The woman’s dog.
Chained near its kennel.
In the front yard.
Barked at the strangers.
As she helped the woman.
Carry out her possessions.
Packed into.
A few shopping bags.
The dog calmed down.
As the woman unchained it.
And took it.
Into the minibus.
“I encourage them to.
Bring their pets,” she said.
“When you lose everything.
Having a pet is a comfort.”
“My soul hurts.
I’ve lived in this house.
For more than.
40 years.”
The first woman said.
Squashed into the bus.
With her dog.
And her luggage.
Was she leaving?
Because of the shelling?
“Of course!
It was so close.”
“Of course!
It was so close.
Less than 100 metres.
All my windows blew out.”
She travels to.
Front-line villages.
To try and evacuate residents.
At risk of ‘orcs’ fire.
‘Mordor’ has been on the offensive.
In the Kharkiv oblast.
Or province, since its forces.
Crossed the border on 10 May.
She banged on.
A solid metal gate.
An old woman.
Opened it a crack.
When the old woman.
And her husband.
Somewhere inside.
Out of sight.
When the next people.
On her list.
Refused to go.
She tried to change their minds.
“Yesterday there was.
Shelling near you.
It’s very dangerous.
You are putting yourself in danger.”
“We have volunteers.
Who will help you move in.
They will help you.
Apply for benefits.”
“Medications and everything else.
It will all be free.
And you’ll have.
Psychological assistance.”
“Thank you! Thank you for everything.
But I won't go.”
“Look, we’re evacuating people.
Because it’s a critical moment.”
“If you want.
You can return.
“But now, it is very dangerous here.
With shelling every hour or two.”
“It’s better to leave.
There will be more shelling.
And more hits.
It’s dangerous here.”
“I know.” “It's free!
You’ll get free housing.”
“I won’t go.”
The old woman closed the gate.
She travels to.
Front-line villages.
To try and evacuate residents.
At risk of ‘orcs’ fire.
‘Mordor’ has been on the offensive.
In the Kharkiv oblast.
Or province, since its forces.
Crossed the border on 10 May.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Kharkiv targeted as Russia grows in strength (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN A PRINT FACTORY
She believes her life was.
Saved by pallets of.
Printed paper that took.
The worst of the explosion.
She was emotional.
Sobbing then trying to smile.
Traumatised by everything.
That has happened to her.
A body bag was.
Being carried out of.
The remains of.
A burning print factory.
Less than an hour.
After ‘orcs’ hit it with.
A series of missiles on.
The afternoon of the 23 May.
Seven people were killed.
In the attack.
The missiles that hit the factory.
Were not intercepted.
Nor was an ‘orcs’ drone.
That was operating.
Above the factory before.
After and during the attack.
She believes her life was.
Saved by pallets of.
Printed paper that took.
The worst of the explosion.
She was emotional.
Sobbing then trying to smile.
Traumatised by everything.
That has happened to her.
In the yard.
As firefighters went into.
The building to damp down.
The blaze and search for more bodies.
The head of the Kharkiv oblast police.
Could barely contain his anger.
“All missiles hit their target.
They weren't shot down.”
“Why? Because.
The arrival time of missiles.
From the Belgorod region.
Is approximately 40 seconds.”
“Those missiles can only.
Be shot down by.
The Patriot air defence system.
Which we don’t have here.”
He called ‘Mordor’.
“The sub-empire of.
Vandals and orcs...
The resident evil.”
She believes her life was.
Saved by pallets of.
Printed paper that took.
The worst of the explosion.
She was emotional.
Sobbing then trying to smile.
Traumatised by everything.
That has happened to her.
Days later.
She was still.
Being treated in hospital.
For her wounds.
Much of her.
Visible skin was showing.
Visible wounds from.
Shrapnel and blast.
And her hair was singed.
Where it had caught fire.
She was one of the workers.
At the printing plant.
“I wasn’t afraid of.
Anything at all.
But now I’m even afraid.
To be in Kharkiv.”
“I still hoped that ‘Mordor’.
Was not a terrorist state.
And that they attacked.
Only military targets.”
“But they hit the civilians.”
“But they hit the civilians.”
“I thank the United States.
For helping us.”
“I’m grateful to Germany.
And all the countries.
Of the world for.
What they’ve done.”
“But we are helpless.
And we have nothing.
We’re suffering so much…
We can’t defend ourselves.”
She believes her life was.
Saved by pallets of.
Printed paper that took.
The worst of the explosion.
She was emotional.
Sobbing then trying to smile.
Traumatised by everything.
That has happened to her.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Kharkiv targeted as Russia grows in strength (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS FROM A GARDEN CENTRE
In the war’s third year.
No end is in sight.
Momentum in long wars.
Shifts back and forth.
Wounded men from.
The garden centre.
Lying in hospital beds.
“Honestly.
I don’t know what will happen.”
His legs were crushed.
By the ceiling as it collapsed.
“I’d like it to end soon.
But I don’t know how.”
In the war’s third year.
No end is in sight.
In the bed opposite.
Another man said.
Ukraine could not do.
A deal with ‘Mordor’.
He had fallen badly.
As he escaped the fire.
From a second-floor window.
“I think we must beat them.”
“They came here.
With bad intentions.”
Momentum in long wars.
Shifts back and forth.
In the war’s third year.
No end is in sight.
Momentum in long wars.
Shifts back and forth.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Kharkiv targeted as Russia grows in strength (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET LEARNING
It’s the first time.
She’s heard his voice.
Since he died.
Her chin trembles with emotion.
At 12 years old.
She is learning.
To walk again.
At 12 years old.
Timid steps at first.
But more confident.
With each one.
She takes.
Last summer.
An ‘orcs’ missile attack.
Shattered one of her legs and.
Left the other badly burned.
She has had to learn.
To walk again.
After being injured.
By an ‘orcs’ missile.
She saw the missile.
That hurt her.
Seconds before.
It hit.
It’s the first time.
She’s heard his voice.
Since he died.
Her chin trembles with emotion.
At 12 years old.
She is learning.
To walk again.
At 12 years old.
It was a hot.
Summer holiday.
And the centre of.
Chernihiv was busy.
She and her friend.
Were trying to sell.
Their homemade jewellery.
To the passing crowd.
“I saw something.
Flying from up to down.
I thought it was some kind of.
plane that would go up again.”
“But it was a missile.”
She says, the words.
Tumbling out.
At high speed.
Like she doesn’t.
Want to dwell on.
Their meaning.
“But it was a missile.”
It’s the first time.
She’s heard his voice.
Since he died.
Her chin trembles with emotion.
At 12 years old.
She is learning.
To walk again.
At 12 years old.
After the explosion.
She ran back and forth.
In panic.
On her mangled leg.
Before she realised.
She’d been injured.
“People say.
I was in a state of shock.”
“It was only when my friend said.
‘Look at your leg!’
That I felt the pain.
It was awful.”
It’s the first time.
She’s heard his voice.
Since he died.
Her chin trembles with emotion.
At 12 years old.
She is learning.
To walk again.
At 12 years old.
At the start of all-out war.
In 2022.
The bombardment of Chernihiv.
In northern Ukraine was constant.
But within weeks.
The ‘orcs’ forces had been.
Pushed back.
Life slowly returned to the city.
Then, on 19.
August 2023.
The local theatre hosted.
An exhibition of drone manufacturers.
And ‘orcs’ attacked.
Shards of metal sliced.
Through the streets.
All around.
It’s the first time.
She’s heard his voice.
Since he died.
Her chin trembles with emotion.
At 12 years old.
She is learning.
To walk again.
At 12 years old.
Nine months later.
She lifts her trouser leg.
To reveal multiple deep scars.
And a skin graft.
There’s a big bump where.
Metal implants were inserted.
The wounds are.
Healing well.
And she moves nimbly.
On her crutches.
But she still struggles with.
The sound of air raid sirens.
“If they say.
There’s a missile.
Heading for Chernihiv.
Then I go crazy.”
She admits, “It’s really bad.”
She insists she’s coping.
And hasn’t changed.
But her sister isn’t so sure.
“You’re more explosive.”
Her sister tells her.
She nods sheepishly.
“I wasn’t so aggressive before.”
It’s the first time.
She’s heard his voice.
Since he died.
Her chin trembles with emotion.
At 12 years old.
She is learning.
To walk again.
At 12 years old.
A few months before.
She was injured.
Her brother was killed.
Fighting on the front line.
The two were close.
And she still struggles.
To accept that.
Her brother has gone.
“I imagine he’ll.
Call at any moment.
I used to see his face.
In passers-by on the street.”
“I still can’t believe it.”
She confides quietly.
Wrapped in an ‘elves’ flag.
She plans to take to.
Her brother’s grave.
A replacement.
For one frayed.
By the wind.
Without warning.
Her sister taps her phone.
And her brother’s deep voice.
Fills the room.
“I really love you.”
The soldier assures his sisters.
In a last audio message.
Sent from the front.
It’s the first time.
She’s heard his voice.
Since he died.
Her chin trembles with emotion.
At 12 years old.
She is learning.
To walk again.
At 12 years old.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: The children adapting to survive Russia's invasion (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET SHARING
He’s taped a prayer.
Above his bed.
Which he recites.
Each night.
For his father’s safety.
Who is on the front line.
Though he was never.
Religious before.
He is getting drawing.
Advice remotely.
From his dad.
Who is on the front line.
Who is on the front line.
Close to Kharkiv.
His greatest fear is.
To experience a loss.
His father is a soldier.
Serving close to.
Their hometown of Kharkiv.
Where the fighting has intensified.
‘Orcs’ troops recently.
Crossed the border.
In a surprise offensive.
Taking new ground.
As missile attacks.
On the city.
Have increased.
Among those killed.
In just the past week.
Was a 12-year-old girl.
Out shopping.
With her parents.
“Dad tells me.
It’s all ok.
But I know the situation.
There is not the best.”
“Of course I.
Worry about him.”
His greatest fear is.
To experience a loss.
He’s taped a prayer.
Above his bed.
Which he recites.
Each night.
For his father’s safety.
Who is on the front line.
Though he was never.
Religious before.
The 12-year-old now.
Lives in western Ukraine.
With his Mum.
A world away from Kharkiv.
‘Orcs’ missiles do.
Reach Ivano-Frankivsk.
But you get a lot.
More warning.
The streets are.
Crowded and relaxed.
There’s even.
Traffic jams.
But even here.
In a world away from Kharkiv.
He can’t escape.
The conflict.
He’s taped a prayer.
Above his bed.
Which he recites.
Each night.
For his father’s safety.
Who is on the front line.
Though he was never.
Religious before.
He and his mum.
Have not been back.
To Kharkiv.
Since the war began.
He and his mum.
Were refugees for a while.
They returned to Ukraine.
Because she’s a child psychologist.
She’s a child psychologist.
And saw the urgent need.
For her skills.
They returned to Ukraine.
She does her best.
To keep her own son.
Distracted with.
Endless activities:
There’s a skate park.
And guitar classes.
He went busking to raise.
Money for the ‘elves’ military.
And there’s a fight club.
To help him.
Stand up to.
The school bullies.
“I tried to find things.
He loved before.
To continue doing here.
And it works,” his mum says.
He’s taped a prayer.
Above his bed.
Which he recites.
Each night.
For his father’s safety.
Who is on the front line.
Though he was never.
Religious before.
Now in western Ukraine.
He keeps himself busy.
With wrestling classes.
And skateboarding.
But the boy.
From the north east.
Still struggles.
To fit in.
“It really bothers me.
When there’s an air raid.
At school and everyone’s happy.
They’ll miss class.”
“Here, a siren just means.
Going to the bunker.
But it actually means there’s.
Fighting somewhere else in Ukraine.”
He counts the hours.
Between online calls.
With his dad.
Who is on the front line.
His father has been sending.
Parcels full of art materials.
So that he can teach him.
To draw, remotely.
“I want to believe.
The war will end soon.”
He shares his.
Greatest desire.
That way, he could.
Go home to Kharkiv.
He says.
“And that would be really cool.”
He’s taped a prayer.
Above his bed.
Which he recites.
Each night.
For his father’s safety.
Who is on the front line.
Though he was never.
Religious before.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: The children adapting to survive Russia's invasion (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET AT A CORRIDOR
An eight-year-old girl.
Is still in Kharkiv.
Living in the middle.
Of a bomb site.
When ‘orcs’ troops first.
Advanced in the region.
Two years ago.
It was right in the firing line.
And she was sheltering.
With her family.
In their basement.
“It was very scary.”
“I just thought.
When will it all end?
There were rockets and.
A plane flew over us.”
The little girl recalls.
Tugging at the sleeves.
Of her sweater.
It was right in the firing line.
“I just thought.
When will it all end?
There were rockets and.
A plane flew over us.”
An eight-year-old girl.
Is still in Kharkiv.
Living in the middle.
Of a bomb site.
In early March 2022.
The giant block of.
Flats next door was.
Destroyed by a missile.
Her mum told her.
To block her ears.
And lie quietly.
It was right in the firing line.
“I thought we’d be buried.
Beneath the ruins.
That our building had been hit.
And would collapse.”
She says, eyes wide.
At the memory.
After that they fled.
It was right in the firing line.
“I just thought.
When will it all end?
There were rockets and.
A plane flew over us.”
“I thought we’d be buried.
Beneath the ruins.
That our building had been hit.
And would collapse.”
An eight-year-old girl.
Is still in Kharkiv.
Living in the middle.
Of a bomb site.
But when ‘elves’ forces.
Liberated the northern region.
Last year.
The family returned to Saltivka.
They’re the only people.
Living in their block of flats.
Surrounded by smoke-blackened.
Buildings and smashed glass.
Despite the shrapnel holes.
In the kitchen wall.
It’s home.
It’s home.
She is adapting to.
This war as best she can.
But now Kharkiv is.
A nervous place again.
The glide-bomb attack.
On a DIY store.
Last weekend was.
Close to her flat.
“When they start to bomb.
I tell mummy.
I’m going to the corridor.
And she sits there next to me.”
She says, with the calm.
Of too much experience.
It’s minimal protection.
In her home.
Moving to the corridor.
Puts an extra wall.
Between your body.
And any explosion.
“I just thought.
When will it all end?
There were rockets and.
A plane flew over us.”
“I thought we’d be buried.
Beneath the ruins.
That our building had been hit.
And would collapse.”
“When they start to bomb.
I tell mummy.
I’m going to the corridor.
And she sits there next to me.”
An eight-year-old girl.
Is still in Kharkiv.
Living in the middle.
Of a bomb site.
She should have started.
At her local school by now.
But it has a hole.
Blown through the side.
She barely remembers.
Kindergarten because.
Before the invasion.
There was Covid.
Her mum tries to.
Counter the solitude.
By taking her.
To activity sessions.
Including pet therapy.
It’s run underground.
On the metro.
For extra safety.
Throwing balls.
For a shiny dog.
She comes to life.
In fits of giggles.
But when evening falls.
Over her home.
The lights don’t.
Come on anymore.
‘Mordor’ has been targeting.
The power supply.
So she lights.
A candle, carefully.
Her small figure.
Casting a giant shadow.
On the wall.
Of their flat.
“It happens.
All the time.”
She shrugs.
About the blackouts.
“I just thought.
When will it all end?
There were rockets and.
A plane flew over us.”
“I thought we’d be buried.
Beneath the ruins.
That our building had been hit.
And would collapse.”
“When they start to bomb.
I tell mummy.
I’m going to the corridor.
And she sits there next to me.”
“It happens.
All the time.”
She shrugs.
About the blackouts.
An eight-year-old girl.
Is still in Kharkiv.
Living in the middle.
Of a bomb site.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: The children adapting to survive Russia's invasion (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS AT THE AZOVSTAL STEEL PLANT
Sometimes she looks.
To the sky.
And speaks to him.
The love of her life.
As far as she knows.
Her husband's body remains.
At the Azovstal steel plant.
In the now-occupied city.
A 33-year-old.
Had been sheltering.
In the enormous.
Azovstal steelworks.
The final stronghold.
In the city.
As it was surrounded by.
‘Orcs’ forces in spring 2022.
She had taken cover.
In one of dozens of.
Soviet-era bomb shelters.
Built to withstand nuclear war.
Deep beneath.
The industrial plant.
“You go down.
A semi-collapsed staircase.”
“Move through passages.
And tunnels.
And go further and.
Further down.”
“Finally, you reach this.
Concrete cube, a room.”
She was working with.
The army's Azov brigade.
In the bunker.
Alongside soldiers.
And civilians.
As a press officer.
There, too, was her fiancé.
A 34-year-old.
‘Elf’ army officer.
Defending the plant.
Relentless ‘orcs’ bombing.
Had turned.
Streets into ruins and.
Courtyards into graveyards.
But several metres.
Underground in.
The south-eastern ‘elves’ city.
A romance was blooming.
The pair had found.
Each other through work.
Mariupol’s Border Guard Agency.
Around three years before the siege.
“He was special.
It felt so warm.
To be around him.
He was always kind.”
“And never refused.
To help anyone.”
When he met her.
It was love at first sight.
He knew how to be happy.
And found joy in small things:
Sunny weather, smiles.
Friends' company.
He was an optimist.
“On the first day we met.
I realised he was.
Very different to others.”
Within three months.
They had moved in together.
Renting a small one-storey house.
In Mariupol with a garden.
The couple started building.
A life together.
“We travelled a lot.
Went to the mountains, met friends.”
“We fished together and.
Spent lots of time outdoors.
We visited theatres.
Concerts and exhibitions.”
“Life was full.”
They decided to get married.
And dreamed of a big church wedding.
With family and friends.
They picked wedding rings.
She quit her job.
And began to nurture.
Her creative side.
Writing and publishing poems.
About the earlier years.
Of fierce fighting.
With ‘Mordor’ in Mariupol.
“For a couple of years.
Before the full-scale invasion.
I was truly happy.”
Everything changed in February 2022.
Sometimes she looks.
To the sky.
And speaks to him.
The love of her life.
As far as she knows.
Her husband's body remains.
At the Azovstal steel plant.
In the now-occupied city.
Spring had brought the sun.
To the couple’s garden.
And the first flowers.
Were appearing.
“I was starting.
To enjoy spring.
We knew about.
‘The One’’s threats.”
“And realised.
There would be a war.
But I didn't want to.
Think about it.”
A few days before.
24 February.
He urged her to leave the city.
She refused.
“I knew that.
No matter what happened.
I had to be in Mariupol.
I had to defend my city.”
Relentless ‘orcs’ bombing.
Had turned.
Streets into ruins and.
Courtyards into graveyards.
But several metres.
Underground in.
The south-eastern ‘elves’ city.
A romance was blooming.
Weeks later.
They were both.
Underground.
In the Azovstal bunkers.
They only got to see.
Each other occasionally.
But when they did those were.
Moments of “pure happiness”.
At this point.
Mariupol was nearing.
A humanitarian catastrophe.
Mariupol was doomed.
Strikes to infrastructure.
Had cut water and.
Power supplies to parts of the city.
And there were food shortages.
Sometimes she looks.
To the sky.
And speaks to him.
The love of her life.
As far as she knows.
Her husband's body remains.
At the Azovstal steel plant.
In the now-occupied city.
On 15 April.
A large bomb was dropped.
On the plant.
She narrowly escaped death.
“I was found.
Among dead bodies.
The only one alive.”
“The only one alive.”
“On the one hand.
A miracle.
But on the other.
A terrible tragedy.”
She had to spend.
Eight days in.
An underground hospital.
In the plant.
With severe concussion.
“The smell of blood.
And rot was.
Everywhere.”
“It was a very scary place.
Where our wounded comrades.
With amputated limbs.
Were lying everywhere.”
“They couldn't get.
Proper help because.
There were very few.
Medical supplies.”
Relentless ‘orcs’ bombing.
Had turned.
Streets into ruins and.
Courtyards into graveyards.
But several metres.
Underground in.
The south-eastern ‘elves’ city.
A romance was blooming.
He was deeply worried.
For her after her injury.
And started planning a wedding.
Right there, in the bunker.
“It felt like he was.
In a hurry.
Like we wouldn't have.
Any more time.”
“He made a couple of.
Wedding rings out of tin foil.
With his own hands.
And asked me to marry him.”
“Of course, I said yes.
He was the love of my life.
And our rings made of tin foil.
They were perfect.”
On 5 May.
The couple were married.
By a commander stationed.
At the plant.
They had a ceremony.
In the bunker.
Wearing their uniforms.
As wedding attire.
He promised his wife.
That they would have.
A proper wedding.
When they returned home.
A proper wedding.
When they returned home.
With real rings.
And a white dress.
Sometimes she looks.
To the sky.
And speaks to him.
The love of her life.
As far as she knows.
Her husband's body remains.
At the Azovstal steel plant.
In the now-occupied city.
Two days later.
On 7 May.
he was killed.
In action.
At the steel plant.
By ‘orcs’ shelling.
She didn’t find out.
About it straight away.
“People often say.
You feel something inside.
When a loved one dies.
But I, on the contrary.”
“But I, on the contrary.
Was in a good mood.
I was married.
And in love.”
One of the hardest things.
Was having to hold.
In a “lump of grief”.
As she was defending her city.
“I was a bride.
I was a wife.
And now I am a widow.
The scariest word.”
“I could not react.
The way I wanted to.
At that moment.
My boys were always around.”
“They sat next to me.
They slept next to me.
They brought me food.
And supported me.”
Alongside “her boys”.
- comrades - at Azovstal.
“I could only cry.
When they weren’t watching.”
Relentless ‘orcs’ bombing.
Had turned.
Streets into ruins and.
Courtyards into graveyards.
But several metres.
Underground in.
The south-eastern ‘elves’ city.
A romance was blooming.
At one point.
It felt like the fear of being.
In the war zone was.
Blunted by her grief.
“I didn’t care any more…
You just understand that.
There are many.
More people.”
“Waiting for you.
In the next world.
If it exists.
Than there are here with you.”
Sometimes she looks.
To the sky.
And speaks to him.
The love of her life.
As far as she knows.
Her husband's body remains.
At the Azovstal steel plant.
In the now-occupied city.
The ‘elves’ soldiers.
At Azovstal.
Finally surrendered.
On 20 May.
She found herself among.
The 900 prisoners of war.
Forcibly taken by.
The ‘orcs’ military out of Mariupol.
“We stared through.
The windows of the bus.
At those buildings.
We loved.”
“We stared through.
The windows of the bus.
At those streets.
We knew so well.”
“They destroyed and killed.
Everything I loved.
My city, my friends.
And my husband.”
Relentless ‘orcs’ bombing.
Had turned.
Streets into ruins and.
Courtyards into graveyards.
But several metres.
Underground in.
The south-eastern ‘elves’ city.
A romance was blooming.
She survived 11 months.
Of ‘orcs’ captivity.
And has told of torture and abuse.
He often appeared in her dreams.
In April last year.
She was released.
As part of a prisoner exchange.
And is now back in Ukraine.
Sometimes she looks.
To the sky.
And speaks to him.
The love of her life.
As far as she knows.
Her husband's body remains.
At the Azovstal steel plant.
In the now-occupied city.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN DARKNESS
Streets are now.
Often coated.
In darkness.
At night.
Families with young children.
Living on the top floors.
Of apartment blocks.
Have been left.
Without working lifts.
Leaving them to.
Walk up dozens of.
Flights of stairs.
Streets are now.
Often coated.
In darkness.
At night.
Nationwide power cuts.
Have been planned.
During an eight-hour window.
From 3pm to 11pm.
In order to protect.
Critical infrastructure.
Such as hospitals.
And military facilities.
Streets are now.
Often coated.
In darkness.
At night.
Overnight.
‘Orcs’ launched missile.
And drone attacks.
Across Ukraine.
Including on the capital Kyiv.
Where the blasting sound.
Of air defences could be heard.
In the early hours of the morning.
Streets are now.
Often coated.
In darkness.
At night.
One of the effects.
Of such prolonged.
Power cuts was that.
People were plugging in.
all their electrical devices.
At the same time.
Once the electricity returned.
Causing fires.
Streets are now.
Often coated.
In darkness.
At night.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine extends blackouts as Russian bombings continue (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS CHOOSING
It was there.
In Vovchansk.
That the ‘elves’ chose.
To stand fight.
Elements of several.
‘Elves’ brigades.
Including the elite 82nd.
Air Assault Brigade.
Rushed north and.
In several weeks of.
Hard fighting.
Blocked the ‘orcs’ advance.
Just north of.
The Vovcha River which.
Threads from east to west.
Through central Vovchansk.
“The ‘orcs’ are surrounded here.
With zero chances.
Of evacuation or.
Reinforcements.”
One ‘elf’ drone operator crowed.
“A bunch of dead.
And wounded orcs.”
They added.
‘Elves’ forces have captured.
Dozens of ‘orcs’ troops.
In the embattled town.
Of Vovchansk.
Just south of.
The ‘Mordor’-Ukraine border.
Dealing a major setback to.
‘Orcs’ faltering northern offensive.
In heavy fighting over the weekend.
‘Elves’ troops surrounded.
As many as 400 ‘orcs’.
In and around a chemical plant.
In central Vovchansk.
Thirty ‘orcs’ surrendered.
After repeated attempts.
To rescue them failed.
“The ‘orcs’ are surrounded here.
With zero chances.
Of evacuation or.
Reinforcements.”
One ‘elf’ drone operator crowed.
“A bunch of dead.
And wounded orcs.”
They added.
On May 10.
A force of tens of thousands.
Of ‘orcs’ troops opened.
A new front.
In ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
Attacking south across.
The ‘Mordor’-Ukraine border.
‘Orcs’ battalions.
Quickly captured.
A chain of lightly.
Defended border villages.
And then advanced.
On Vovchansk.
The first big town.
Between the border.
“The ‘orcs’ are surrounded here.
With zero chances.
Of evacuation or.
Reinforcements.”
One ‘elf’ drone operator crowed.
“A bunch of dead.
And wounded orcs.”
They added.
The ‘orcs’ rallied.
The equivalent of.
At least two battalions.
With hundreds of infantry.
Stormed the PJSC.
Volchansky chemical plant.
On the Vovcha River’s.
Right bank.
Factories and.
Other industrial facilities.
Are often the locus of.
The fighting in Ukraine.
As their big sturdy buildings.
Can shelter troops.
And protect them from.
Artillery and drones.
“The ‘orcs’ are surrounded here.
With zero chances.
Of evacuation or.
Reinforcements.”
One ‘elf’ drone operator crowed.
“A bunch of dead.
And wounded orcs.”
They added.
The ‘orcs’ plan was.
Apparently to capture.
The chemical plant.
And then, from there.
Launch a river-crossing operation.
In order to force.
Their way into.
Southern Vovchansk.
The plan failed.
When ‘elves’ troops.
Attacked west of.
The chemical plant.
And advanced several blocks.
To the north, cutting off.
The ‘orcs’ in the plant from.
Their comrades to the west.
“The ‘orcs’ are surrounded here.
With zero chances.
Of evacuation or.
Reinforcements.”
One ‘elf’ drone operator crowed.
“A bunch of dead.
And wounded orcs.”
They added.
‘Orcs’ commanders.
Knew they were in trouble.
This weekend.
They ordered.
Their troops west of.
The chemical plant.
To fight their through.
The ‘elves’ positions.
Two attempts to break through.
To the surrounded ‘orcs’ forces.
Were repelled by.
The ‘elves’ defense forces.
It was there.
In Vovchansk.
That the ‘elves’ chose.
To stand fight.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
400 Russian Troops Got Cut Off in Vovchansk. Now They’re Surrendering (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET LEAVING KRASNOHORIVKA
Like any battlefield.
In the 28th month of.
‘Orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine.
The place where he lay dying.
Hummed with drones.
“Miracle happened.
A drone approached me.”
His unit from.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Was leaving.
Its positions.
Presumably somewhere around.
The village of Krasnohorivka.
When it came.
Under Russian fire.
“I received five gunshots.
And became unfit for combat.”
It’s unclear what happened.
To his comrades.
All alone and bleeding.
He crawled into a treeline.
And administered.
first aid.
But bandages and.
Tourniquets would.
Only delay.
The inevitable.
“I was struggling.
So I was hoping for.
A miracle.
— to be found.”
Like any battlefield.
In the 28th month of.
‘Orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine.
The place where he lay dying.
Hummed with drones.
“Miracle happened.
A drone approached me.”
But there was.
No way to be sure.
The drone was ‘elves’.
Rather than ‘orcs’.
If he gave away.
His hiding spot.
To an ‘orcs’.
Surveillance drone.
The crew could have called.
In an explosive.
First-person-view drone.
Or artillery.
He took a chance.
“At his peril and risk.
He began to signal.
That he needed help.”
The 47th Mechanized Brigade explained.
“At first, he pointed to.
... the clock.
Saying that time was running out.”
“After that, he pulled out.
A military I.D..
Proving that he was.
Not an enemy.”
The ‘elf’ drone crew.
Got the message.
And helped organize.
A rescue mission.
Like any battlefield.
In the 28th month of.
‘Orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine.
The place where he lay dying.
Hummed with drones.
“Miracle happened.
A drone approached me.”
Luckily for him.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Is uniquely equipped.
For swift rescues.
The brigade is the ‘elves’ army’s.
Sole operator of.
American-made M-2 Bradley.
Infantry fighting vehicles.
Just an hour after.
Signaling the drone.
An M-2 rolled up.
To his hiding spot.
Two soldiers leaped out.
To help pull him.
Into the vehicle, inside which.
Medics apparently waited.
“I was taken away.
Provided first aid.”
The M-2 rushed him.
To the safety of ‘elves’ lines.
Where an ambulance crew.
Presumably took charge.
“Now I’m in a hospital.
Healing,” he said.
Like any battlefield.
In the 28th month of.
‘Orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine.
The place where he lay dying.
Hummed with drones.
“Miracle happened.
A drone approached me.”
Shot five times.
In a recent skirmish.
West of the ruins.
Of Avdiivka.
A wounded ‘elf’ soldier.
Knew he didn’t.
Have long before.
He bled out.
So he signaled.
A passing unmanned aerial vehicle.
Gambling that the drone was.
‘Elves’ and not ‘orcs’.
And that the drone’s crew.
Would alert.
A rescue team.
The gamble paid off.
His drone gamble.
Saved his life.
But the speedy.
M-2 helped, too.
The daring rescue is just.
The latest reminder why.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Is so fond of its M-2s.
Like any battlefield.
In the 28th month of.
‘Orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine.
The place where he lay dying.
Hummed with drones.
“Miracle happened.
A drone approached me.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Shot 5 Times, A Ukrainian Soldier Lay Dying. So He Signaled A Drone. (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS REDEPLOYED
Since dawn on Friday.
‘Orcs’ have made three attempts.
To approach troops.
Near Chasiv Yar and Klishchiivka.
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Which has been redeployed.
To Chasiv Yar.
Said on Thursday evening:
“The situation.
In and around.
The town is.
Extremely difficult.”
"The enemy is.
Constantly organizing.
Massive frontal assaults.
And also trying to.”
“Bypass the settlement.
From the north and south.”
It added that ‘orcs’ forces were.
“Mercilessly shelling” the area.
Chasiv Yar sits.
To the west of Bakhmut.
And has been the focus.
Of intense ‘orcs’ attacks.
Since February.
After nearby.
Avdiivka fell.
To ‘orcs’ forces.
The deployment comes.
As ‘Mordor’ said.
It had shot down.
More than 100 ‘elves’ drones.
In parts of ‘Mordor’ and.
c overnight.
With officials saying one person.
Was killed in the attack.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukrainian army unit says situation on frontline becoming 'extremely difficult' (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS PUSHING OUT OF KLISHCHIIVKA
An ‘elves’ drone observes.
Wrecked and abandoned.
‘Orcs’ vehicles.
Outside Chasiv Yar.
On April 4.
‘Orcs’ regiments attacked.
Chasiv Yar, an ‘elves’ stronghold.
Just west of Bakhmut.
Their goal:
To capture or flatten the town.
And squeeze the main supply lines.
Connecting ‘elves’ brigades.
Up and down.
The eastern front of.
‘Orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine.
Capturing the nearly.
Lifeless town, once home.
To 12,000 people.
Shouldn’t have been terribly difficult.
For the numerically superior.
And more heavily armed.
‘Orcs’ army.
In Ukraine.
But 10 weeks later.
The ‘orcs’ attack has ground.
To a bloody halt with.
The ‘orcs’ having captured.
Maybe a few dozen.
Outlying structures.
Out of several thousand.
In Chasiv Yar.
An ‘elves’ drone observes.
Wrecked and abandoned.
‘Orcs’ vehicles.
Outside Chasiv Yar.
Worse for the ‘orcs’.
An ‘elves’ counterattack.
South of Chasiv Yar.
In recent days has pushed.
Occupying forces out of.
The village of Klishchiivka.
One of the southern.
Anchors of a pincer.
‘Orcs’ forces.
Are trying to form.
In order to.
Surround Chasiv Yar.
The ‘elves’ defense.
Of Chasiv Yar.
Has defied expectations.
Led by the army’s.
41st and 67th.
Mechanized Brigades.
56th Motorized Brigade and.
5th Assault Brigade.
As well as the 241st.
Territorial Defense Brigade.
The ‘elves’ defense.
Has defied expectations.
As recently as late May.
It was predicted that.
Chasiv Yar “will eventually.
Be lost to ‘orcs’ forces.”
While that could still happen.
The trends aren’t looking good.
For the ‘orcs’ around Chasiv Yar.
Their timing was off.
An ‘elves’ drone observes.
Wrecked and abandoned.
‘Orcs’ vehicles.
Outside Chasiv Yar.
In early April.
‘Elves’ brigades were.
Desperately short.
Of ammunition.
“Our artillery was silent.”
A 5th Assault Brigade trooper said.
At the same time, the 67th.
Mechanized Brigade was melting down.
Then defending Chasiv Yar’s.
Most vulnerable district.
Its canal district on the exposed.
Eastern side of the Donbas Canal.
Two months ago.
The ‘elves’ garrison.
In Chasiv Yar.
Was weak.
Its air defenses.
Were so low.
On missiles that.
‘Orcs’ air force Sukhoi.
Su-25 attack jets.
Could fly within just.
A few miles of the town.
To lob their rockets.
Something that would.
Have been virtually suicidal.
For their pilots.
Just a few months earlier.
‘Orcs’ first-person-view drones.
Were thick in the sky.
The ‘elves’ garrison.
Was weak.
In the first few weeks.
Of fighting in April.
The ‘orcs’ 1st Army Corps.
And adjacent units advanced.
A few miles.
North and south of Chasiv Yar.
Ultimately occupying.
Klishchiivka and Ivanivske.
To capture the latter village.
The ‘orcs’ swarmed.
An ‘elves’ company.
With FPV drones.
And killed or wounded.
80 percent of.
Its 70 soldiers.
But then everything changed.
An ‘elves’ drone observes.
Wrecked and abandoned.
‘Orcs’ vehicles.
Outside Chasiv Yar.
In late April.
On April 24.
Within days, to Ukraine.
Huge consignments were on their way.
Soon, the ‘orcs’.
Compounded their error.
On May 10.
That’s Victory Day in ‘Mordor’.
Instead of reinforcing.
Their forces in the east.
They launched a possibly symbolic.
Offensive in northern Ukraine.
‘Orcs’ northern grouping.
Of forces ran headlong.
Into a clutch of.
‘Elves’ mechanized brigades.
The northern battleground has since.
Become a deathtrap for ‘orcs’ infantry.
The fighting in and around.
Chasiv Yar raged on.
An ‘elves’ drone observes.
Wrecked and abandoned.
‘Orcs’ vehicles.
Outside Chasiv Yar.
But for the first time.
In weeks.
Neither side had.
A major firepower advantage.
And the ‘elves’ had.
The natural advantage.
All defending armies.
Have over attacking armies.
They could dig in.
And wait on.
Chasiv Yar’s.
High ground.
While the ‘orcs’ had to leave.
The relative safety of.
Their own trenches and bunkers.
And cross low-lying open ground.
The forest around.
The canal district offers.
Some cover from.
The ever-present ‘elves’ drones.
But crossing the canal itself.
Means leaving the forest and.
Dashing across one of the two.
Land bridges spanning the canal.
It’s here at.
These land bridges that.
‘Elves’ drones and artillery are.
Massacring the attacking ‘orcs’.
When some ‘orcs’ sought shelter.
In lengths of wide water pipes.
‘Elves’ drones dropped grenades.
Through holes in the pipes.
An ‘elves’ drone observes.
Wrecked and abandoned.
‘Orcs’ vehicles.
Outside Chasiv Yar.
One June 3 attack.
Was typical.
An ‘orcs’ MT-LB.
Armored tractor managed.
To speed across the canal.
North of Chasiv Yar.
And drop off.
A squad of infantry.
But it was all for nothing.
As an ‘elves’ surveillance drone watched.
‘Elves’ FPV drones sliced.
Into the infantry.
The MT-LB abruptly.
Sped away.
To the east.
Deeper into ‘elves’ territory.
Where its chance of survival.
Was virtually nil.
Perhaps the crew.
Got turned around.
An ‘elves’ drone observes.
Wrecked and abandoned.
‘Orcs’ vehicles.
Outside Chasiv Yar.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Sneaking Through Pipes Isn’t Helping Russian Troops Capture Chasiv Yar (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN ODESA
He had only left.
His flat and family to go.
To the shops when he heard.
The news of the explosion.
At the entrance to his block of flats.
He screamed at police.
To let him inside.
The burning building.
“What is happening is.
A grief for my family.
For our city.
For Ukraine.”
“It's a grief.
For the whole civilisation.
I hope our story helps.
To stop this war.”
When he reached his flat.
He found the bodies of.
His wife and her mother.
Killed by an ‘orcs’ missile.
That had ripped into.
The lower floors of the block.
The body of his three-month-old baby.
Was discovered later;
He saw it.
For the first time.
When he returned.
To the flat on Sunday.
“What is happening is.
A grief for my family.
For our city.
For Ukraine.”
“It's a grief.
For the whole civilisation.
I hope our story helps.
To stop this war.”
The deaths — three generations.
Of a single family –
Have sparked outrage.
And revulsion in Ukraine.
Commenting on the strikes.
‘Gandalf the Green’ was visibly upset.
When speaking about.
The baby's killing.
“How did she threaten ‘Mordor’?
It seems that killing children.
Is just a new national idea.
Of ‘Mordor’.”
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
In his nightly address to ‘elves’.
He described those who had planned.
And carried out the attack as “bastards”.
A country already hardened.
By two months of war.
Five others were also killed.
In the missile strike.
“What is happening is.
A grief for my family.
For our city.
For Ukraine.”
“It's a grief.
For the whole civilisation.
I hope our story helps.
To stop this war.”
He was in the wrecked building.
On Sunday to find.
What he could salvage.
From the apartment.
Photo albums.
His wife's sugar sachet collection.
Handwritten notes.
He found his baby's stroller in pieces.
“If I leave things in the flat.
It will become garbage.
And people will throw it away.
I want to keep it for my memories.”
“What is happening is.
A grief for my family.
For our city.
For Ukraine.”
“It's a grief.
For the whole civilisation.
I hope our story helps.
To stop this war.”
He and his wife had been.
A couple for nine years.
“She could find joy in everything.
Odesa was her favourite city.”
“She worked in PR and.
She could communicate with.
A lot of people, understand them.
I admired what a good writer she was.”
“She was a great mother, friend.
With all the best qualities.
It will be impossible for me.
To find somebody else like her.”
“She was perfect.
Such a person could be given.
To you only once in a life.
And it's a gift from God.”
“What is happening is.
A grief for my family.
For our city.
For Ukraine.”
“It's a grief.
For the whole civilisation.
I hope our story helps.
To stop this war.”
His baby had been born.
At the end of January.
Just a month before.
The start of the war.
A few weeks after that.
His wife had posted on Instagram.
That she was living with.
“A new level of happiness”.
After the birth of.
Her first child.
“Our girl is one month old now.
It has been the best 40 weeks.”
He showed you photos of their baby.
On his phone sent to him by his wife.
“We were so happy.
When she was born.”
“I was in the maternity hospital.
When she gave birth.
It's very hard for me to realise now.
That my daughter and wife are no longer here.”
“All my world was destroyed yesterday.
By an ‘orcs’ missile.”
He wants the world to know.
About what happened to his family.
“What is happening is.
A grief for my family.
For our city.
For Ukraine.”
“It's a grief.
For the whole civilisation.
I hope our story helps.
To stop this war.”
As you leave, he hands you.
Some nappies in a carrier bag.
One of the few things.
He's been able to recover from the flat.
“Please take them.
Give them to charity.
I have no need.
for them now.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Odesa missile attack: 'My world was destroyed by a Russian missile' (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS DISCOVERING
Soldiers have made.
An unexpected discovery.
During fortification work.
In Odesa.
A number of amphorae.
Ancient vessels.
Used to transport liquid.
During fortification work.
The amphorae were made between.
The fourth and fifth century BC.
The soldiers handed.
The amphorae to staff.
At the Odessa Archaeological Museum.
Who have promised.
To add them to.
The museum's collection.
Soldiers of Odesa.
Territorial Defence's.
126th separate brigade.
Have found ancient amphorae.
A number of amphorae.
Ancient vessels.
Used to transport liquid.
During fortification work.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
As it happened: Ukraine aiming to arm a million people - BBC News
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN SERHIYIVKA
The ‘orcs’ missiles hit.
Several targets in Serhiyivka.
Including this residential building.
At about 01:00 on Friday.
At least 21 people.
Including one child.
Have died in overnight.
‘Orcs’ missile strikes on Odesa.
16 people were killed.
In a nine-storey building.
Hit by one missile.
In the village of Serhiyivka.
Another five people.
Including the child.
Were killed in a separate strike.
On a holiday resort in the village.
Ukraine had hoped that.
The ‘orcs’ withdrawal on Thursday.
From the strategically important.
Zmiinyi Island would ease.
The threat to ‘elves’.
Biggest Black Sea port.
Of Odesa and.
Wider region.
‘Orcs’ have fired.
Dozens of missiles.
On ‘elves’ cities.
In the past few days.
“We heard three explosions.
And now there is.
Nothing left of.
The recreation centre.”
Local resident, 60, said.
“The village is very quiet.
We never thought.
This could happen.”
‘Elves’ rescuers were searching.
For more survivors.
In the wreckage of.
The nine-storey building.
They were also seen.
Carrying what looked like.
The body of one of.
The victims in a bag.
The building's external wall.
Was damaged and.
A nearby shop was set ablaze.
After the strike.
Firefighters later.
Put out the fire.
60 rescuers were currently.
Working at the site.
As many as.
150 people are.
Believed to have lived.
In the building.
The child killed at the holiday resort.
Was a 12-year-old boy.
Three missiles were launched from.
‘Orcs’ warplanes over the Black Sea.
Ukraine had hoped that.
The ‘orcs’ withdrawal on Thursday.
From the strategically important.
Zmiinyi Island would ease.
The threat to ‘elves’.
Biggest Black Sea port.
Of Odesa and.
Wider region.
There were no military.
Installations or radar stations.
Near Serhiyivka
The city's mayor said.
The people of Odesa.
Were “living their lives.
In fear” of further ‘orcs’ attacks.
The city's mayor added.
Last night Odesa region.
Was hit again.
It happened soon after.
‘Orcs’ retreat from Zmiinyi Island.
But the region.
Like others.
Has been targeted.
Throughout the war.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Russian missile strikes kill 21 in Odesa region — emergency service (BBC News)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET AT A SCENE
The damage is as colossal.
As the cathedral itself.
There is no doubt this was.
A direct hit from a missile.
The archdeacon of the cathedral.
Said he was the first person.
To arrive at the scene.
“The destruction is enormous;”
The cracks along its walls represent.
The strain Odesa has found.
Itself under after a week of.
Constant attacks from the skies.
“Half of the cathedral was.
Left without a roof.
And the central piles and.
Foundation were destroyed.”
The building's thick ancient walls.
Are still standing.
But there are pillars.
Leaning at a worrying angle.
"All the windows and.
Stucco moulding were.
Blown out.
There was a fragmentary fire.”
Teams have been ferociously.
Picking up debris.
Since the impact in the small hours.
Of this morning.
“The part where icons and candles.
Are sold in the church.
Caught fire.
It was all on fire, burning.”
The damage is as colossal.
As the cathedral itself.
There is no doubt this was.
A direct hit from a missile.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Russian strikes on Odesa damage Orthodox cathedral (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS ELIMINATING IN KALININA
Shortly after finally.
Capturing the ruins of Avdiivka.
Following a bloody, five-month battle.
That culminated in February.
‘Orcs’ forces in eastern.
Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Took aim at another.
Eastern prize:
In fact, one of those.
Enveloping positions was.
In Kalinina.
And ‘elves’ counterattacks eliminated it.
The industrial town.
Of Chasiv Yar.
Which had a pre-war population.
Of around 12,000.
Exposed on the very edge.
Of the line of contact.
West of Bakhmut and.
Depending on a north-south canal.
A canal with two.
Easy crossing points.
For its defense.
Chasiv Yar is vulnerable.
And its easternmost canal district.
On the far side of the canal.
From the town center.
Is even more vulnerable.
Chasiv Yar should’ve been.
Easy picking for.
The nearly 500,000-strong.
‘Orcs’ force in Ukraine.
Instead, it.
Like many other front-line towns.
Has become an attrition trap.
For the ‘orcs’.
They’ve made incremental gains.
That can be measured.
With a yardstick, but.
At the cost of thousands of casualties.
They’re getting massacred.
‘Elves’ casualties are much lighter.
Is the prize.
Worth the cost?
In fact, one of those.
Enveloping positions was.
In Kalinina.
And ‘elves’ counterattacks eliminated it.
The ‘orcs’ strategy.
In the months-long battle.
For Chasiv Yar.
Is obvious.
Under intensive close air support.
‘Orcs’ troops from.
The 200th Arctic Motor Rifle Brigade.
299th Air Assault Regiment.
Under intensive close air support.
‘Orcs’ troops from.
11th Air Assault Brigade.
And other units attack.
The canal district in order to.
Secure a foothold for a direct assault.
On the center of Chasiv Yar.
While also attacking the village.
Directly to the north, Kalinina.
In order to put pressure on.
The supply lines into Chasiv Yar.
It’s not going well for the ‘orcs’.
And even the recent introduction.
Of ‘orcs’ TOS-1 and TOS-2.
Thermobaric rocket launchers.
To the Chasiv Yar sector.
And even the recent introduction.
To the Chasiv Yar sector.
Hasn’t decisively tilted.
The local balance of power.
As of Tuesday.
The ‘elves’ remain.
In control of Chasiv Yar.
The canal district and Kalinina.
As of Tuesday.
The ‘elves’ 41st Mechanized Brigade.
241st Territorial Defense Brigade.
And Presidential Brigade remain.
The ‘orcs’ managed to.
Briefly push back.
The ‘elves’ in Kalinina.
In recent days.
But the ‘elves’ counterattacked.
Despite heavy shelling from.
The ‘orcs’ 200th Arctic Brigade.
And reversed the ‘orcs’’ gains.
In fact, one of those.
Enveloping positions was.
In Kalinina.
And ‘elves’ counterattacks eliminated it.
Part of the problem.
For the ‘orcs’ is that.
They counted.
On their Victory Day.
Offensive along the border.
North of Kharkiv.
To draw ‘elves’ units away.
From eastern battlefields.
In order to weaken.
The defenses around towns.
Such as Chasiv Yar.
Such as Chasiv Yar.
But resupplied just in time.
With American munitions.
The ‘elves’ managed to reinforce.
Their northern defenses.
And halt the ‘orcs’ offensive.
Without significantly.
Thinning out.
Their eastern defenses.
Meanwhile, a growing.
Shortage of armored vehicles.
And the slow collapse of.
The ‘orcs’ military’s.
Basic training system.
Have forced poorly-trained.
‘Orcs’ troops to assault.
‘Elves’ positions on foot.
They’re getting massacred.
That begs the question:
Is the prize.
Worth the cost?
In fact, one of those.
Enveloping positions was.
In Kalinina.
And ‘elves’ counterattacks eliminated it.
The ‘orcs’’ plan was.
To over-extend and.
Thin out the ‘elves’.
Before marching into Chasiv Yar.
Instead, they over-extended.
And thinned themselves out.
Is the prize.
Worth the cost?
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
The Russians Rolled Thermobaric Rocket Launchers Toward Chasiv Yar (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN TERNY
In early April.
An ‘orcs’ assault group.
Attacked positions.
Held by the ‘elves’.
12th Azov Brigade.
Outside Terny.
Just west of Kreminna.
In eastern Ukraine.
The assault ended.
In the usual way.
Blasted by mines and.
Harried by ‘elves’ FPV drones.
The ‘orcs’ survivors.
Abandoned their vehicles.
And fled back toward.
Their own lines.
A few hundred yards.
To the east.
What was special was.
What they left behind:
A nearly intact.
And brand-new.
T-72B3M tank sporting.
One of the bulkiest and.
In theory, most effective.
Anti-drone radio jammers.
Anyone had seen in.
‘Orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
The 12th Azov Brigade mounted.
A daring three-night mission.
To inspect, repair and.
Recover the 51-ton T-72.
Two months later.
The two-year-old T-72.
Has been inspected.
Stripped of its jammers.
Fixed up, repainted.
With 12th Azov Brigade markings.
And assigned to the same tank.
Battalion that helped steal it.
It’s one of two.
Captured T-72B3Ms.
In service with.
The 12th Azov Brigade.
The ‘elves’ have nicknamed it.
“Tsar Tank” or.
“Tsar E.W.”
For “electronic warfare.”
The 12th Azov Brigade mounted.
A daring three-night mission.
To inspect, repair and.
Recover the 51-ton T-72.
The 12th Azov Brigade’s.
Famous tank commander.
Who lost an eye defending.
Mariupol in the war’s early months.
Filled in the details of.
The brigade’s epic tank heist.
Why is this tank famous?
The whole internet talks about it.
“It’s the first trophy.
Of this kind.
In the whole war.
It had a huge E.W. system.”
“With additional batteries.
On the sides.
Tied up with ropes like.
On a pirate ship.”
Why the ‘orcs’ piled.
So much jamming technology.
Onto a single tank.
Is obvious.
For six months.
Starting in October.
U.S. aid was further.
Blocked to Ukraine.
Starving ‘elves’ brigades of.
The artillery shells.
And anti-tank missiles.
They needed to repel ‘orcs’ assaults.
So the ‘elves’ launched.
A crash program to build.
In hundreds of tiny workshops.
As many as 100,000.
Explosive FPV drones.
As a firepower stopgap.
As tiny ‘elves’ drones.
Filled the sky.
The ‘orcs’ scrambled to deploy.
Anti-drone defenses.
Including jammers that could.
Block drones’ control signals.
The 12th Azov Brigade mounted.
A daring three-night mission.
To inspect, repair and.
Recover the 51-ton T-72.
The Tsar Tank may.
Have represented.
The zenith of ‘orcs’.
Battlefield drone jamming.
Or nadir.
If you judge.
The jammers by.
Their elegance.
Often crude, sloppily built.
And hastily assembled.
The jammers malfunctioned.
As often as they worked.
But they were always.
Subject to intensive scrutiny.
By ‘elves’ intelligence.
Hence the interest in.
The stuck Tsar Tank.
How the 12th Azov Brigade.
Fetched the tank is.
By now, well-known.
The 12th Azov Brigade mounted.
A daring three-night mission.
To inspect, repair and.
Recover the 51-ton T-72.
On the night of April 3.
Scouts sneaked out.
To the tank.
To inspect it.
They found it tangled.
In barbed wire and.
Resting atop an unexploded.
Anti-tank mine.
Its 150-pound.
Batteries dead after.
The three-man crew.
Bailed out without.
First switching off.
The fire-control system.
And then got killed.
By ‘elves’ drones.
The 12th Azov Brigade mounted.
A daring three-night mission.
To inspect, repair and.
Recover the 51-ton T-72.
On the night of April 4.
The brigade.
“Decided to act”.
And steal the tank.
A team of sappers.
And tank crew.
Sneaked back.
To the T-72.
To clear any live explosives.
Including the mine.
Underneath the tank.
And install fresh batteries.
The 12th Azov Brigade mounted.
A daring three-night mission.
To inspect, repair and.
Recover the 51-ton T-72.
All that was left.
On the night of April 5.
Was to drive the tank.
A mile or two to Terny.
Infantry and drone operators.
Watched from a safe distance.
Medics and an ambulance crew.
Were on standby.
The theft itself.
Came down to two men.
Two tankers.
Who scurried to the T-72.
Ignoring a nearby.
‘Orcs’ artillery barrage.
And crewed the tank without.
Switching on its headlights.
And giving away the heist.
The driver couldn’t see anything.
Another stood in the turret.
Wearing night-vision goggles.
And taking directions by radio.
From nearby troops.
With a clearer view.
Of the battlefield.
As the T-72 nosed into Terny.
The ‘orcs’ spotted it.
But they couldn’t tell.
If the tank was.
Driving away from them.
Or toward them.
Taking no chances.
They opened fire with artillery.
“The shelling was chaotic.”
As he throttled the tank.
To its top speed.
The driver didn’t notice.
The shell crater.
Directly ahead of him.
Until it was too late.
The T-72 toppled into the crater.
The impact knocked.
The driver out.
For three or four minutes.
He awoke concussed.
And bleeding — but immediately.
Began maneuvering the tank.
Out of the crater.
“They gradually managed to move out.”
Soon, they were safe behind.
‘Elves’ lines with.
Their precious war prize.
“All was fine — well.”
The 12th Azov Brigade mounted.
A daring three-night mission.
To inspect, repair and.
Recover the 51-ton T-72.
“Except for the driver.
Who hit his head.”
‘Elves’ intelligence snatched away.
The jammers for close inspection.
12th Azov Brigade crews fixed.
Some superficial damage.
Including shattered glass.
On the first-control optics.
And handed the T-72.
Over to the tank commander.
And the brigade’s.
Tank battalion.
Keenly aware that.
Most T-72B3Ms are ‘orcs’.o
And friendly fire is.
An acute risk.
The tankers spray-painted.
“Azov” in big white letters.
On the side of.
Their prize.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukrainians Stole A Special Russian Tank. Now It Fights For Ukraine. (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS AT A WEDDING
Dark storm clouds.
Threatened to.
Upend a couple’s.
Beach wedding.
But as the couple walked down.
The long white staircase.
To greet their guests.
The empty chairs signalled.
Overlooking the Black Sea.
In the southern city of Odesa.
She quietly murmured that.
She understood why.
Her friends and family.
Did not want to fight.
Her father was killed.
On the front line in October.
There was a bigger problem.
In total.
Half of their guests.
Were missing.
Their family and friends sent.
Their apologies but explained.
That the risk of attending.
Had been too great.
What if they had been caught.
By one of the conscription squads.
Which now roam.
Ukraine’s streets?
With many of its soldiers.
Dead, injured or exhausted.
The ‘elves’ government has stepped up.
Its efforts to mobilise more men.
A new law.
Introduced in May.
Requires every man aged.
Between 25 and 60.
To log their details.
On an electronic database.
So they can be.
Called up.
Conscription officers.
Are on the hunt.
For those avoiding.
The register.
Pushing more men.
Who do not.
Want to serve.
Into hiding.
Overlooking the Black Sea.
In the southern city of Odesa.
She quietly murmured that.
She understood why.
Her friends and family.
Did not want to fight.
Her father was killed.
On the front line in October.
Her father was killed.
On the front line in October.
During the attritional battle.
For Avdiivka.
And the 24-year-old.
Is now terrified of.
Her new husband.
Being conscripted.
“I don’t want this to happen.
To my family twice.”
“I don’t want this to happen.
To my family twice.”
More than two years.
Into the war.
Almost everyone knows.
Someone who has been killed.
Grim news has poured.
Out from the front.
Of Ukraine being vastly.
Outnumbered and outgunned.
Overlooking the Black Sea.
In the southern city of Odesa.
She quietly murmured that.
She understood why.
Her friends and family.
Did not want to fight.
Her father was killed.
On the front line in October.
Over the phone.
The couple’s friend.
Of 15 years.
Relayed such tales.
Among the dead are.
Around a dozen of.
His friends and.
Acquaintances.
“There are more than a million.
Police officers in Ukraine.
Why should I fight.
When they are not?”
He has a young daughter and.
Wife who is seven months pregnant.
He said he was sorry.
To miss the wedding.
But was afraid of.
Being “grabbed” by.
Conscription officers who.
He likened to “bandits”.
Overlooking the Black Sea.
In the southern city of Odesa.
She quietly murmured that.
She understood why.
Her friends and family.
Did not want to fight.
Her father was killed.
On the front line in October.
The mobilisation squads.
Have a fearsome reputation.
Especially in Odesa.
For pulling people.
Off buses and.
From train stations.
And ferrying them straight.
To enlistment centres.
For those avoiding the draft.
Public transport is now off limits.
So too are restaurants.
Supermarkets.
And weekend trips.
To the park to play football.
“I feel like I am.
In a prison,” he said.
Overlooking the Black Sea.
In the southern city of Odesa.
She quietly murmured that.
She understood why.
Her friends and family.
Did not want to fight.
Her father was killed.
On the front line in October.
Dark storm clouds.
Threatened to.
Upend a couple’s.
Beach wedding.
But as the couple walked down.
The long white staircase.
To greet their guests.
The empty chairs signalled.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Conscription squads send Ukrainian men into hiding (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS AT AN ENLISTMENT CENTRE
On a Tuesday morning.
A dozen conscription officers.
Descended on Odesa’s.
Main train station.
Led by a seasoned.
Veteran sailor.
And his younge.
More muscular counterpart.
They paced the forecourt.
Stopping men of serving age.
To check they were registered.
On the database.
But the well-mannered pair.
Had a tough time.
Finding eligible men.
Where are eligible men?
Most were either.
Too young or.
Had received.
Some sort of exemption.
After a couple of hours.
The veteran sailor conceded.
That it was highly possible.
Men were hiding from them.
“Some people run away from us.
This happens quite often.
Others react.
Quite aggressively.”
I don’t think these people.
Have been brought up well.”
Many of ‘elves’ soldiers are.
Dead, injured or exhausted.
At the enlistment centre.
Around the corner.
An optimistic note taped.
To the door.
Notified would-be-recruits.
That those who had.
Come voluntarily could.
Skip the queues.
On a Tuesday morning.
A dozen conscription officers.
Descended on Odesa’s.
Main train station.
But there were no queues.
A lone man sat.
Waiting to be seen.
A lone man sat.
He told you.
He had been “kidnapped”.
That morning and.
Brought against his will.
“The officers encircled me.
So I couldn’t run.”
He stuttered in shock.
“I’m devastated.”
On a Tuesday morning.
A dozen conscription officers.
Descended on Odesa’s.
Main train station.
One of the officers.
At the centre conceded that.
There were barely any.
Willing volunteers these days.
The officer fought in some of.
The fiercest battles along.
The eastern front line.
In the Donbas.
Before being struck.
In the head, chest.
And legs by.
Artillery shrapnel.
He was unable.
To mask his contempt.
For those.
Who are hiding.
“How can I say?
This without swearing?”
He asked out loud.
“I don’t consider them men.”
“What are they waiting for?
If we run out of men.
The enemy will.
Come to their homes.”
“Rape their women.
And kill their children.”
He has seen the awful evidence.
First-hand.
On a Tuesday morning.
A dozen conscription officers.
Descended on Odesa’s.
Main train station.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Conscription squads send Ukrainian men into hiding (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS BY CHOICE
“Then we would see.
People searching for guns.
And queuing at.
Enlistment centres again.”
On the outskirts of Odesa.
He appeared sheepishly.
At the door of.
His apartment block.
Using his seven-year-old.
Daughter as a shield.
The IT engineer will not.
Leave the house without her.
As he knows the officers.
Cannot snatch him.
If they are together.
He is in hiding.
Last year.
While on his way to work.
He was ordered.
Off a bus.
By the military.
At gun point, he said.
And taken to.
An enlistment centre.
He convinced the officers to.
Let him go to fetch some documents.
But vowed to himself.
He would never return.
“I’m not a military man.
I’ve never held a weapon.
I don’t think I can be useful.
On the front line.”
He then reeled off.
The same list of.
Reasons given by every.
Draft dodger you spoke to.
There is somewhat.
Of a disconnect.
They are holding out.
For an ‘elves’ victory.
Just one that.
Does not involve them.
There is somewhat.
Of a disconnect.
“I am proud that many men.
Made the brave decision.
To go to the front line.
They are truly the best of our country.”
“Then we would see.
People searching for guns.
And queuing at.
Enlistment centres again.”
The group of conscripts.
At this Kyiv training camp.
Are mostly in their late.
40s and 50s.
At a conscript training camp.
In a forest outside Kyiv.
Its leader breathed.
Heavy sighs.
As he supervised men.
With shovels digging foxholes.
“It might look like.
Banal work.”
“But this is as important.
As being able to.
Fire artillery.
It could save their lives”.
He is a patriotic volunteer.
With revolutionary spirit.
He oversees the mandatory.
34-day training programme.
All conscripts must complete.
Before being despatched.
To their military units.
He stressed repeatedly that.
These men would not.
Be sent to the front line.
Straight away, and that.
Further training would follow.
“Then we would see.
People searching for guns.
And queuing at.
Enlistment centres again.”
On a break from training.
The leader’s cohort of.
Conscripts sat.
Smoking and joking.
They were a rag-tag group.
Mostly in their late 40s and 50s.
A pig breeder, a warehouse manager.
And a builder.
Who admitted they would.
Rather not be there.
But nor did these men want to.
Spend the rest of the war in hiding.
One of them had already.
Opted to become.
A drone pilot.
“I’m pretty scared.”
“This is all new to me.
But I have to do it.”
But the 33-year-old.
Tram engineer did not judge.
Those choosing to hide.
“I’ve made my choice.
They can make theirs.”
He shrugged.
“Then we would see.
People searching for guns.
And queuing at.
Enlistment centres again.”
The leader was troubled.
By how unmotivated.
His new arrivals were.
The leader was troubled.
Despite the daily.
Reminders of war.
The air raid sirens.
And rolling power cuts.
He believes the threat of war.
Has grown too distant.
For those living in.
The relative safety of cities.
Such as Odesa and Kyiv.
He believes the threat of war.
Has grown too distant.
For those living in.
And he fears it will take.
Another major ‘orcs’ advance.
To spur ‘elves’ draft dodgers.
Into action.
“Then we would see.
People searching for guns.
And queuing at.
Enlistment centres again.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Conscription squads send Ukrainian men into hiding (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS DEFEATING
The unit had no choice but.
To withdraw from the battlefield.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
‘Orcs’ Victory Day offensive.
Across ‘elves’ northern border.
With ‘Mordor’ may.
Have aimed to capture.
A wide, deep swathe of territory.
To bring heavy artillery.
Closer to the city of Kharkiv.
25 miles to the south.
More ambitiously.
‘Orcs’ commanders may.
Have hoped to march on.
Kharkiv itself.
Neither happened.
Within a couple of weeks of.
The offensive kicking off.
On May 9.
The force of 30,000 or so.
‘Orcs’ troops got bogged down.
In the town of Vovchansk.
Just a few miles south of the border.
And now the defenders.
Of Vovchansk.
Have reportedly defeated.
An elite ‘orcs’ airborne brigade.
The defenders, including.
Some or part of several ‘elves’.
Mechanized, marine.
And airborne brigades.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
The entire 83rd Airborne Brigade.
Is urgently withdrawn.
To the rear to restore.
Combat capability.
There are too many casualties.
They can't fight.
There are too many.
500s.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
In ‘orcs’ military parlance.
A “code 500” is.
A soldier who.
Refuses to fight.
If confirmed.
It’s a stinging loss.
For the new ‘orcs’.
Northern grouping of forces.
Which includes around seven.
Regiments and brigades.
And ‘orcs’ losses in Vovchansk.
Could get a lot worse.
As the survivors of an entire battalion.
That’s hundreds of troops.
Have been trapped.
In a chemical plant.
In central Vovchansk.
For two weeks.
The trapped soldiers might.
Not last much longer.
The ‘elves’ air force has been.
Lobbing precision glide bombs.
At the chemical plant.
Gradually reducing it to rubble.
The unit had no choice but.
To withdraw from the battlefield.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
In Ukraine.
The 83rd Airborne Brigade.
Ditched its parachutes.
And fought as a mechanized force.
In its tracked BMD.
And wheeled BTR vehicles.
Redeploying hundreds of miles.
At a time.
To respond to ‘elves’ attacks.
And opportunities for ‘orcs’ attacks.
The brigade fought in the south.
In 2023.
And, this spring.
Took part in the ‘orcs’ siege of.
The eastern town.
Of Chasiv Yar.
As the Victory Day offensive.
Ground to a halt in Vovchansk.
‘Orcs’ commanders ordered.
The 83rd Airborne Brigade.
To head north and get.
the northern grouping.
Of forces.
Moving again.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
The first 83rd Airborne Brigade.
Paratroopers appeared.
Along the front line.
In Vovchansk before June 12.
On or around June 16.
The ‘orcs’ northern grouping.
Of forces “used 17 paratroopers.
From the 83rd Brigade.”
An ‘elf’ drone operator Recalled.
And according to him.
The ‘elves’ 82nd.
Air Assault Brigade targeted.
The ‘orcs’ paratroopers.
With mortars.
Killing four and.
Wounding 10.
It was a disastrous start.
For the 83rd Airborne Brigade.
In Vovchansk.
Incredibly, the brigade doubled down.
“Firstly, they deployed.
One assault battalion.
From the 83rd Brigade.
It suffered losses.”
“And they deployed.
The rest of the brigade.”
Conditions were brutal.
For the ‘orcs’ paratroopers.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
83rd Brigade — bye bye..
“We can't take it anymore!”
A paratrooper reportedly.
Moaned in a video.
He recorded on his phone.
Around June 12.
“Three days without food and water.
No support.
I don't know what to do next.”
Two of his fellow troopers.
Lay wounded.
If not dead, behind him.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
Two weeks later.
The 83rd Airborne Brigade.
Had suffered.
So many losses.
Among its approximately.
2,000 pre-war personnel.
Including troopers who.
Allegedly refused to fight.
That it was no longer.
Capable of major combat.
If it is accurate.
If confirmed.
The unit had no choice but.
To withdraw from the battlefield.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
83rd Brigade — bye bye.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
The Russians May Have Lost An Entire Airborne Brigade In Vovchansk (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS FROM A “MOONSCAPE”
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
For months.
He has been fighting.
To hold a thin strip of land.
Surrounded by ‘orcs’ forces.
Now he’s been rushed.
To defend ‘orcs’ onslaught.
In the Kharkiv region.
Like many other soldiers.
Scrambled from other parts.
Of ‘elves’ front line.
It’s a redeployment symptomatic.
Of this war’s new focus.
Now from north-eastern Ukraine.
He’s described.
The difference in fighting.
As “huge”.
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
Despite limited supplies.
Minimal gains and.
Mounting losses.
Kyiv insists.
Its southern foothold.
On the occupied eastern bank.
Of Dnipro River.
Is still significant.
It’s where he.
Had been fighting.
For the past.
Eight months.
Six months ago.
He described the conditions.
On the swampy riverside as “hell”.
Things haven’t improved.
“We’d managed to.
Maintain the bridgehead.
But no equipment.
Has crossed it.”
“And we haven’t once.
Broken through ‘orcs’ defences.”
The marine says the area.
Had been reduced to.
A “moonscape”.
With entire villages.
Being razed.
To their foundations.
“We destroyed a lot of.
‘orcs’ equipment.
And they destroyed a lot of.
Our personnel.”
“We’ve left our best guys.
On the riverside.”
The ‘elves’ have also suffered.
Heavy losses there too.
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
Despite minimal progress.
And mounting losses.
‘Elves’ military says.
It’s pursuing.
Three aims.
With this bridgehead:
To draw invading troops.
From elsewhere.
To limit ‘orcs’ artillery strikes.
On Kherson city across the river.
To eventually cross it in large enough.
Numbers to liberate territory
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
He says promised US military aid.
Was gradually starting to arrive.
But not all of it was making it.
To the front line where he was based.
Despite partially forcing.
The ‘orcs’ back.
‘Elves’ troops still endure.
Constant ‘orcs’ fire.
“Any movement was immediately.
Covered by artillery or drones.
The ‘orcs’ didn’t seem concerned.
By our presence there either;”
“We had become a suitcase.
Without a handle.
The troops there can’t leave.
And everyone understands that’s useless.”
The area near.
‘Elves’ east bank foothold.
Has been turned into.
A “moonscape”.
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
It’s hoped.
A new mobilisation law.
Which came into.
Force last month.
Will help give troops.
Like those fighting.
On the eastern bank.
A rest.
“It won’t change anything!”
Says a flamethrower unit commander.
Who is still fighting.
On the eastern bank.
He sends you.
Videos of him.
On patrol in Krynky.
By the riverside.
At one point.
He shoots.
An ‘orcs’ anti-personnel mine.
Hidden beneath the sand.
“People should join.
The army from 20.
But there is a problem.
A lot of men went abroad.”
“No-one wants to come back.
No-one wants to fight.
And no-one wants to die.”
“It won’t change anything!”
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
Ahead of the arrival.
Of more Western military aid.
‘Elves’ generals believe.
‘Mordor’ is trying.
To expand.
The battlefield and.
Further stretch.
Their defending units.
Invading troops.
Are more than a month.
Into a north-eastern.
Ground offensive.
And while Ukraine.
Has slowed their advances.
There’s been.
No letting up.
It’s why he.
Now finds himself.
Hundreds of kilometres away.
From the Kherson region.
“Everything happened.
In a hurry and.
There was no preparation.
Everyone is here:”
“Marines, air assault forces.
The State Border Guard Service.
Regular infantry, territorial defence.
And national police.”
“There are also more drones.
In the sky.
Compared to the east bank.
Of the Dnipro.”
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
‘Gandalf the Green’ concedes.
Time is running out.
For a diplomatic solution.
Which favours Ukraine.
Which is why.
He recently held.
A peace summit.
In Switzerland.
‘Gandalf the Green’ admits.
His priority is.
To simply hold.
The front line.
Also, he claims.
There are still plans.
For a counter offensive.
In the future.
He could find.
Himself back at.
‘Elves’ “hellish” river.
Crossing in the south.
A thin strip of land.
A “moonscape”.
If he survives.
Defending the Kharkiv region.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Marine reveals struggle of defending Kharkiv (bbc.com)
15 poems by Japanese poetess Kurama about russian missile attack on the Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital
Painting by Oleksiy Kustovsky (Kusto). «Okhmatdyt».
Kurana
(Japan)
POETS FACING “MEAT ASSAULTS”
“We need everything.
And there is always a lack.
The boys are holding on.
We're all hanging on.”
“It's hard.
But everyone knows.
The price and.
Why it's all being done.”
On the frontlines.
‘Elves’ soldiers use.
A graphic term.
To describe.
The ‘orcs’ tactics.
They face daily.
They call them.
“Meat assaults”:
Waves of ‘orcs’ soldiers.
Coming at their defensive positions.
Sometimes nearly a dozen times.
In a day.
Lt Col of.
The Khartia Brigade of.
‘Elves’ National Guard.
Says about “meat assaults”.
Wave after wave can arrive.
In just a few hours.
At front-line positions.
North of Kharkiv.
“The ‘orcs’ use these units.
In most cases purely.
To see where our firing equipment.
Is located.”
“And to constantly exhaust.
Our units.
Our guys stand.
In positions and fight.”
“And when four or five waves.
Of the enemy come at you.
In a day which you have to.
Destroy without end.”
“It is very difficult.
Not only physically.
But also psychologically.”
The Lt Col says.
“We need everything.
And there is always a lack.
The boys are holding on.
We're all hanging on.”
“It's hard.
But everyone knows.
The price and.
Why it's all being done.”
Those attacking are normally.
Quickly spotted by drones above.
And the ‘orcs’ leave their dead.
And wounded on the battlefield.
“Their main task is.
Simply meat assaults.
And our total exhaustion.”
The tactic is a sign.
That ‘Mordor’ is seeking.
To make the most of.
Its key advantage.
- numbers.
“We need everything.
And there is always a lack.
The boys are holding on.
We're all hanging on.”
“It's hard.
But everyone knows.
The price and.
Why it's all being done.”
For him the ability.
To strike into ‘Mordor’.
May have been vital.
But he now sees.
His enemy adapting.
Its tactics.
And not just with.
“Meat assaults”.
His losses now come from.
Mortars and glide bombs.
While his ‘elves’ forces.
Remain short of ammunition.
“We need everything.
And there is always a lack.
The boys are holding on.
We're all hanging on.”
“It's hard.
But everyone knows.
The price and.
Why it's all being done.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Russia's 'meat assaults' batter Ukraine's defences (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET COMPARING
In Pokrovsk.
In the Donetsk region.
Captain from ‘elves’.
110th Brigade compares.
What he sees to.
A conveyor belt.
Bringing ‘orcs’.
To be killed.
Although still allowing.
Them to push.
Forward slowly.
A conveyor belt.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Russia's 'meat assaults' batter Ukraine's defences (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET ACKNOWLEDGING
“There are a lot of criticisms.
Because we have lost.
A lot of our guys because of.
Soviet-type mindset and strategy.”
Says a former Security Service officer.
“We are limited with manpower.
We have no other options.
Than thinking of our people.”
In the area.
Around Kharkiv.
‘Orcs’ advances.
Have been stopped.
But in the east.
‘Orcs’ attritional approach.
Is making slow.
But steady advances.
“Unfortunately.
There are a lot of ‘orcs’.
And they are trying to conduct.
This rolling operation.”
“Centimetre by centimetre.
Inch by inch.
100m per day.
200m per day.”
In the area.
Around Kharkiv.
‘Orcs’ advances.
Have been stopped.
But in the east.
‘Orcs’ attritional approach.
Is making slow.
But steady advances.
“And unfortunately.
It's successful for them.”
“We are driving.
Towards stalemate.”
He says, acknowledging that.
This may lead eventually to.
The “bitter pill” of.
Some form of negotiation.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Russia's 'meat assaults' batter Ukraine's defences (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS DEPENDENT ON
Power supply.
Is a matter of.
Life and death.
For her son.
Her son was born.
With disabilities and needs.
Electricity-powered equipment.
To be able to breathe.
With disabilities and needs.
Electricity-powered equipment.
To be able to eat.
And to receive medication.
"We are very dependent on electricity.
If it wasn't for this bloody war.
Life would be difficult.
But we'd be able to cope.”
Recent blackouts.
Have lasted as long as.
12 hours a day.
In her neighbourhood.
Power supply.
Is a matter of.
Life and death.
For her son.
She lives in the southern.
Port city of Odesa.
The endless power cuts.
Make life extremely difficult.
Because she needs.
To make sure.
The supply of electricity.
Is constant.
She has a generator.
Which runs on petrol.
And needs to be topped up.
All the time.
But it has to.
Be stopped.
Every six hours.
To cool down.
Power supply.
Is a matter of.
Life and death.
For her son.
Power cuts also affect.
Mobile phone coverage.
So getting through to the ambulance service.
For her son can be a struggle too.
“Sometimes it takes half an hour.
Sometimes it's an hour.
Before the ambulance arrives.
When my child goes into convulsions.”
“And turns blue.
My son can die.
If he doesn't get oxygen.
I'm lost for words.”
Recent blackouts.
Have lasted as long as.
12 hours a day.
In her neighbourhood.
Power supply.
Is a matter of.
Life and death.
For her son.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Ukrainians struggle as power outages worsen (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET ELECTED
“Our elderly ladies.
Can't pop out.
To the shops.
To get their bread.”
Generators are an increasingly.
Common sight in Ukraine.
The ‘elves’ capital, Kyiv, has been.
Experiencing lengthy power cuts.
She was elected.
By residents of her.
24-storey apartment block.
To help run the building's facilities.
She says living in tower blocks.
Is not easy because.
Power cuts also mean.
No running water on the upper floors.
“Our elderly ladies.
Can't pop out.
To the shops.
To get their bread.”
“The lifts are not working either.
So mothers with children.
And disabled people.
Have to wait.”
“They plan their trips outside.
Depending on.
When there is electricity.”
She adds.
“They've got to.
Stay indoors.
For six hours.
On end.”
“Our elderly ladies.
Can't pop out.
To the shops.
To get their bread.”
Such residents.
In tall buildings.
Are stuck inside.
Their sweltering apartments.
Because air conditioning.
Isn't working.
They are also more exposed.
To ‘orcs’ air strikes.
Because they are unable.
To go to the safety of.
The bomb shelters, which are.
Typically located underground.
“Our elderly ladies.
Can't pop out.
To the shops.
To get their bread.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Ukrainians struggle as power outages worsen (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET WITH A HEAD TORCH
In Zaporizhzhia.
A dentist says appointments.
Have to be rescheduled.
At the last moment.
And there've been occasions.
When electricity disappeared.
During complicated surgery.
“If this happens.”
“We start our generators.
So we can finish.
What we have started.
There's no other way.”
“We can't tell the patient.
To come back tomorrow.
Literally a couple of weeks ago.
Power cuts became particularly frequent.”
“Of course they're.
Very disruptive.”
He has to deal with.
Power cuts during surgery.
To perform urgent or.
Less complicated operations.
During blackouts.
He uses a head torch.
This is a skill.
He acquired and perfected.
While treating soldiers.
On the front line.
And his firm still provides.
Free or heavily discounted services.
For members of.
The ‘elves’ army.
“I can treat toothache.
Or swelling without electricity.
We've learnt to perform.
Surgery without electricity.”
In Zaporizhzhia.
A dentist says appointments.
Have to be rescheduled.
At the last moment.
And there've been occasions.
When electricity disappeared.
During complicated surgery.
“If this happens.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Ukrainians struggle as power outages worsen (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET AWARE
“This is the price.
We pay for freedom.”
“This is the price.
We pay for freedom.”
She is aware that.
A lot of anger is.
Directed at her company.
For cutting electricity so often.
For so long.
And for so many customers.
But, she says.
There's no other option.
“We are at war.
The energy sector is.
One of the goals.
For the ‘orcs’ terrorists.”
“And it's obvious why:
All our life.
All our civilization.
Is built on electricity.”
“You just have to destroy.
Your enemy's power grid.
And they will have no economy.
And they will have no life.”
“All state-owned.
Thermal power plants are destroyed.
All hydropower plants in our country.
Are damaged by ‘orcs’ missiles or drones.”
“This is the price.
We pay for freedom.”
“This is the price.
We pay for freedom.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Ukrainians struggle as power outages worsen (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS TICKING
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Ultimately found a way.
Through the woods.
And past the ‘orcs’.
And fetched the cut-off troops.
Some of whom were wounded.
“The position is ours.
The path is unlocked.”
To find themselves.
Cut off, surrounded and.
Under ceaseless enemy attack.
This summer.
Unknown to most observers.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ at the aggregating plant.
Weren’t the only ones.
In early May.
A small ‘elves’ team was.
Holding a defensive position.
In the forest.
Northwest of Chasiv Yar.
In eastern Ukraine.
Just west of Bakhmut.
When ‘orcs’ forces advanced.
From the ‘elves’ army’s.
225th Assault Battalion.
And ‘elves’ marine corps’.
223rd Marine Battalion.
The ‘elves’ team.
Seemingly numbering.
Fewer than a dozen troops.
Suddenly found itself.
All alone in the woods.
‘Orcs’ all around.
Friendly forces.
Hundreds of yards away.
“The fighters kept.
A circular defense.
Repelling the invaders’ attacks.
Around the clock.”
The 225th.
Assault Battalion explained.
In a social media post.
On Tuesday.
For 70 days.
The ‘elves’ held out.
Waiting for the ‘elves’ army’s.
24th Mechanized Brigade.
The nearest big unit.
To fight its way.
To the forest strongpoint.
And escort.
The soldiers and marines.
To the relative safety of.
The main ‘elves’ line.
For 70 days.
Cargo-carrying drones.
Kept the men alive.
“While we tried to.
Clear the way.”
“The only way of.
Supply was drones.
We used to deliver ammunition.
Food and water.”
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Ultimately found a way.
Through the woods.
And past the ‘orcs’.
And fetched the cut-off troops.
Some of whom were wounded.
“The position is ours.
The path is unlocked.”
To find themselves.
Cut off, surrounded and.
Under ceaseless enemy attack.
This summer.
Unknown to most observers.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ at the aggregating plant.
Weren’t the only ones.
In early June.
‘Orcs’ troops from.
The 83rd Air Assault Brigade.
Stormed a chemical aggregating plant.
In Vovchansk.
The main battleground.
In ‘orcs’ faltering.
Northern offensive.
It seems their goal was.
To capture the plant.
And use it as a base.
For crossing the Vovcha River.
Which threads east to west.
Just south of the plant and.
Forms a natural fortification for.
The ‘elves’ defending southern Vovchansk.
The plan went wildly awry.
When ‘elves’ troops counterattacked.
And advanced a few hundred yards.
North along Soborna Street.
In capturing a length of the street.
The ‘elves’ cut off the ‘orcs’.
In the plant from the rest of.
The ‘orcs’ force in Vovchansk.
Six weeks later.
The 83rd Air Assault Brigade.
Troopers were still.
In the plant.
— surrounded, cut off.
And under relentless.
Bombardment by.
‘Elves’ warplanes.
It’s possible ‘orcs’ forces.
Broke through to the plant.
In recent days and finally.
Rescued the besieged troops.
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Ultimately found a way.
Through the woods.
And past the ‘orcs’.
And fetched the cut-off troops.
Some of whom were wounded.
“The position is ours.
The path is unlocked.”
To find themselves.
Cut off, surrounded and.
Under ceaseless enemy attack.
This summer.
Unknown to most observers.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ at the aggregating plant.
Weren’t the only ones.
It wasn’t the first time.
‘Elves’ drone operators.
Had come to the aid of.
Stranded ‘elves’ troops.
70 days is.
A long time to survive.
On thin rations delivered.
From the air by tiny drones.
It’s even longer when.
You’re under enemy fire.
A photo of the survivors.
Posted on Tuesday depicts.
Hungry-looking.
Soldiers and marines.
With long beards.
And tattered uniforms.
Remarkably.
The rescue mission took place.
As ‘orcs’ forces were advancing.
Into the outermost neighborhood.
Of Chasiv Yar.
The canal district on.
The exposed eastern side of.
The Siversky Donets-Donbas canal.
A natural barrier.
That protects.
The town center.
From ‘orcs’ assaults.
In retreating west.
From the canal district.
And rescuing those.
Surrounded troops.
The ‘elves’ have straightened.
Their defensive line.
In and around Chasiv Yar.
The four-month battle rages on.
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Ultimately found a way.
Through the woods.
And past the ‘orcs’.
And fetched the cut-off troops.
Some of whom were wounded.
“The position is ours.
The path is unlocked.”
To find themselves.
Cut off, surrounded and.
Under ceaseless enemy attack.
This summer.
Unknown to most observers.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ at the aggregating plant.
Weren’t the only ones.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS KNOCKING OUT
Struggling to acquire enough.
New armored vehicles to replace.
The roughly 16,000 vehicles.
It has lost in Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ military got.
Desperate this spring.
It began equipping assault troops.
With inexpensive dirt bikes.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
Sometimes, it works.
While ‘orcs’ northern offensive.
Which kicked off.
On 9 May.
Quickly ground to a halt.
In the town of Vovchansk.
A few miles south of.
The ‘Mordor’-Ukraine border.
The nearly 500,000-person.
‘Orcs’ force in Ukraine.
Has managed to advance a few miles.
In a couple of sectors in recent weeks.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
Usually, however.
The bike assaults don’t work.
A result that wouldn’t surprise.
The various European armies.
That experimented with.
Assault motorcycles.
During and right after.
World War I.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
And sometimes.
The bike assaults.
Turn into bloodbaths.
For the ‘orcs’.
On 28 June.
A large group of assault bikers.
Dozens, it seems.
Attacked the ‘elves’ army.
The 72nd.
Mechanized Brigade.
In Vuhledar.
In southern Ukraine.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
According to an ‘orc’ correspondent.
The goal was to get around.
The ‘elves’ position in order to cut it off.
“A blow to the ‘elves’ in the back.
Or rather from the rear.
Is brewing there.”
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
It wasn’t to be.
The ‘elves’ struck the ‘orcs’ column.
Which also included.
T-80 tanks and other armored vehicles.
With drones and — it seems.
Missiles and artillery.
Buried mines may have added.
To the destruction.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
When the smoke cleared.
The ‘orcs’ force was in ruins.
The 72nd.
Mechanized Brigade claimed.
It knocked out.
16 tanks.
34 fighting vehicles.
And 19 bikes.
And killed or badly wounded.
More than 800 ‘orcs’ troops.
The 72nd.
Mechanized Brigade claimed.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
Tragically for the ‘orcs’.
The Vuhledar bike assault.
Wasn’t the only failed bike assault.
In late June or early July.
On Monday.
An analyst tallied.
25 destroyed ‘orcs’ motorcycles.
From recent battles.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Dozens Of Russians Attacked On Dirt Bikes; A Ukrainian Unit Blew Up 19 (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS ASSAULTED IN NOVOMYKHAILIVKA
Whether the town’s ruins.
Are worth the price.
‘Orcs’ paid is a question.
Only ‘orcs’ can answer.
While Ukraine.
And indeed the whole world.
Was distracted by.
The ‘orcs’ campaign.
To capture the industrial town.
Of Avdiivka.
In eastern Ukraine.
Starting in October.
The ‘orcs’ military launched.
A smaller assault on another.
Eastern town: Novomykhailivka.
20 miles to the south.
Around the same time.
The ‘orcs’ captured what was left.
Of Avdiivka in mid-April.
They also captured Novomykhailivka.
The former battle was.
Costlier for the ‘orcs’.
But only.
In raw terms.
Relative to the scale of the fight.
The six-month battle.
For Novomykhailivka.
Was just as bloody.
‘Elves’ forces repelled.
An ‘orcs’ attack south of.
The ruined town.
As recently as July 2.
At the cost of.
320 vehicles and.
Potentially thousands of.
Troops over six months.
The ‘orcs’ military.
Advanced four miles.
Into and through.
Novomykhailivka.
Whether the town’s ruins.
Are worth the price.
‘Orcs’ paid is a question.
Only ‘orcs’ can answer.
Estimates vary.
But it’s possible.
‘Orcs’ lost more than.
40,000 troops.
— a third killed.
Two-thirds wounded.
Plus more than 1,000 vehicles.
Capturing Avdiivka.
Meanwhile around.
Novomykhailivka.
‘Mordor’ wrote off.
More than 300 vehicles.
According to.
An ‘elf’ drone operator.
That implies troop losses.
Of around 13,000.
Killed and wounded.
‘Elves’ losses were.
Much lighter.
In both battles.
‘Elves’ forces repelled.
An ‘orcs’ attack south of.
The ruined town.
As recently as July 2.
At the cost of.
320 vehicles and.
Potentially thousands of.
Troops over six months.
The ‘orcs’ military.
Advanced four miles.
Into and through.
Novomykhailivka.
Whether the town’s ruins.
Are worth the price.
‘Orcs’ paid is a question.
Only ‘orcs’ can answer.
When three ‘orcs’.
Field armies with dozens of.
Brigades and regiments attacked.
Avdiivka in early October.
“All our attention was there.”
The ‘elf’ drone operator recalled.
“But there was.
One more big battle.”
Seven ‘orcs’ regiments and brigades.
Including the ill-fated.
155th.
Naval Infantry Brigade.
Assaulted the ‘elves’ garrison.
In Novomykhailivka.
Made up of.
Two active brigades.
The fighting was relentless.
In a long thread.
On social media.
The ‘elf’ drone operator detailed.
‘Orcs’ tank losses.
Including 1950s-vintage T-54s.
T-62s from the 1960s.
And newer T-72s and T-80s.
‘Elves’ mines, artillery.
And drones knocked out.
Dozens of tanks.
But the ‘orcs’ kept coming.
One T-80 ran over.
Nine mines.
Before it ground.
To a halt.
As in the battle for Avdiivka.
The ‘orcs’ ran low.
On purpose-made.
Armored vehicles.
And deployed.
More than a few.
Do-it-yourself vehicles.
As replacements.
At least one.
Up-armored “turtle tank”.
Was immobilized.
By an ‘elves’ mine.
“Turtle tank” — a T-62.
With no turret and.
A shell of add-on.
Anti-drone armor.
The heavy losses.
The ‘elves’ inflicted on the ‘orcs’.
Stalled but didn’t prevent.
Novomykhailivka’s fall in mid-April.
‘Elves’ forces repelled.
An ‘orcs’ attack south of.
The ruined town.
As recently as July 2.
At the cost of.
320 vehicles and.
Potentially thousands of.
Troops over six months.
The ‘orcs’ military.
Advanced four miles.
Into and through.
Novomykhailivka.
Whether the town’s ruins.
Are worth the price.
‘Orcs’ paid is a question.
Only ‘orcs’ can answer.
As in Avdiivka, the ‘elves’.
Defending Novomykhailivka.
Were desperately short of.
Artillery shells and anti-tank missiles.
Mostly owing to.
A long blockade of
Further U.S. aid.
To Ukraine.
That blockade finally.
Ended as.
‘Orcs’ troops were marching.
Into Novomykhailivka.
In the months following.
Their capture of Novomykhailivka.
The ‘orcs’ have continued attacking.
To the north, west and south.
But with less success.
As more American munitions.
Have arrived along.
The front line.
Whether the town’s ruins.
Are worth the price.
‘Orcs’ paid is a question.
Only ‘orcs’ can answer.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Russia Lost 300 Vehicles Capturing One Ukrainian Town (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS DISMANTLING AROUND KURAKHIV
In April 2022.
‘Orcs’ forces attacked Marinka.
A front-line town in eastern Ukraine.
West of Donetsk.
After 20 months of bloody fighting.
That leveled Marinka.
The ‘orcs’ fully occupied.
The town back in December.
That opened a route toward.
Kurakhiv, an ‘elves’ stronghold.
Eight miles to the west along.
The O0510 road.
But actually reaching.
Kurakhiv — along the road.
Or via the fields.
To the south.
Has proved difficult.
For the ‘orcs’ army’s.
150th Motor Rifle Division.
And adjacent units.
On or just before Thursday.
An ‘orcs’ formation rolled out.
Along the fields.
And got “dismantled.”
“Dismantled.
... for spare parts.”
The ‘elves’ 79th.
Air Assault Brigade boasted.
Buried mines disabled.
Three tanks.
Drones and, it seems.
Anti-tank missiles finished them off.
Drones destroyed.
At least one motorcycle.
And then chased down and.
Killed six ‘orcs’ soldiers.
Two armored personnel carriers.
Were damaged.
According to a former advisor.
To ‘elf’ minister of the interior.
One ‘orc’ survivor sought.
Shelter in the ruins.
Of a battle-damaged building.
Only to get pulverized.
By an ‘elves’ air force fighter.
Lobbing a satellite-guided bomb.
“The column did not reach.
The ‘elves’ positions.”
On or just before Thursday.
An ‘orcs’ formation rolled out.
Along the fields.
And got “dismantled.”
“Dismantled.
... for spare parts.”
The ‘elves’ 79th.
Air Assault Brigade boasted.
The ‘orcs’’ defeat isn’t unusual.
Most ‘orcs’ attacks.
Along this axis don’t.
Get very far.
14 attacks in the area on Thursday.
And 12 on Wednesday.
What is unusual is the mix.
Of forces the ‘orcs’ deployed.
According to the 79th.
Air Assault Brigade.
The ‘orcs’ formation included.
Brand-new T-72B3M tanks.
With all the latest gadgets.
— anti-drone cage armor.
Radio jammers and.
Mine-clearing rollers.
Plus an assortment of.
Armored personnel carriers.
As well as soldiers.
Riding on motorcycles.
On or just before Thursday.
An ‘orcs’ formation rolled out.
Along the fields.
And got “dismantled.”
“Dismantled.
... for spare parts.”
The ‘elves’ 79th.
Air Assault Brigade boasted.
In that sense.
The assault group included.
The best and worst of.
The ‘orcs’ military.
As its wider invasion.
Of Ukraine.
Grinds toward.
Its 29th month.
The 47-ton.
Three-person T-72B3M is.
One of just two tank types.
In production in ‘Mordor’.
The other is the heavier T-90M.
‘Orcs’ industry manufactures.
Between 500 and 600.
New T-72s and T-90s a year.
That’s a lot more tanks.
Than any other country produces.
In a year.
But far too few to.
Make good the roughly.
1,200 tanks.
‘Orcs’ forces lose.
In Ukraine every year.
On or just before Thursday.
An ‘orcs’ formation rolled out.
Along the fields.
And got “dismantled.”
“Dismantled.
... for spare parts.”
The ‘elves’ 79th.
Air Assault Brigade boasted.
To make up the gap between.
Tank production and tank losses.
‘Mordor’ has been pulling.
Old tanks.
T-54/55s from the 1950s.
T-62s from the ’60s and older.
T-72s and T-80s from the ’70s and ’80s.
— out of long-term storage.
As old models account.
For a growing proportion.
Of the ‘orcs’’.
3,000-strong tank corps.
Those factory-fresh.
T-72B3Ms are.
Becoming a rarity.
And that surely makes.
Their wholesale destruction.
In failed assaults such as.
That around Kurakhiv.
Especially painful for the ‘orcs’.
On or just before Thursday.
An ‘orcs’ formation rolled out.
Along the fields.
And got “dismantled.”
“Dismantled.
... for spare parts.”
The ‘elves’ 79th.
Air Assault Brigade boasted.
It’s telling that.
The assault group.
Aiming for Kurakhiv included.
Fewer APCs than tanks.
‘Mordor’ is struggling.
To acquire replacement tanks.
But it’s struggling.
Even more to acquire replacement.
APCs and infantry fighting vehicles.
That’s apparently why.
The group also included.
Bike troops.
As armored vehicles.
Become an increasingly rare.
And precious commodity.
In the ‘orcs’ military.
Civilian-style vehicles.
— trucks, all-terrain vehicles.
And motorcycles.
Are replaceing them.
And they’re getting.
Dismantled at least.
As swiftly as.
The tanks and APCs do.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Russia's Best Tanks Attack — And Get ‘Dismantled For Spare Parts' (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS TICKING
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Ultimately found a way.
Through the woods.
And past the ‘orcs’.
And fetched the cut-off troops.
Some of whom were wounded.
“The position is ours.
The path is unlocked.”
To find themselves.
Cut off, surrounded and.
Under ceaseless enemy attack.
This summer.
Unknown to most observers.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ at the aggregating plant.
Weren’t the only ones.
In early May.
A small ‘elves’ team was.
Holding a defensive position.
In the forest.
Northwest of Chasiv Yar.
In eastern Ukraine.
Just west of Bakhmut.
When ‘orcs’ forces advanced.
From the ‘elves’ army’s.
225th Assault Battalion.
And ‘elves’ marine corps’.
223rd Marine Battalion.
The ‘elves’ team.
Seemingly numbering.
Fewer than a dozen troops.
Suddenly found itself.
All alone in the woods.
‘Orcs’ all around.
Friendly forces.
Hundreds of yards away.
“The fighters kept.
A circular defense.
Repelling the invaders’ attacks.
Around the clock.”
The 225th.
Assault Battalion explained.
In a social media post.
On Tuesday.
For 70 days.
The ‘elves’ held out.
Waiting for the ‘elves’ army’s.
24th Mechanized Brigade.
The nearest big unit.
To fight its way.
To the forest strongpoint.
And escort.
The soldiers and marines.
To the relative safety of.
The main ‘elves’ line.
For 70 days.
Cargo-carrying drones.
Kept the men alive.
“While we tried to.
Clear the way.”
“The only way of.
Supply was drones.
We used to deliver ammunition.
Food and water.”
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Ultimately found a way.
Through the woods.
And past the ‘orcs’.
And fetched the cut-off troops.
Some of whom were wounded.
“The position is ours.
The path is unlocked.”
To find themselves.
Cut off, surrounded and.
Under ceaseless enemy attack.
This summer.
Unknown to most observers.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ at the aggregating plant.
Weren’t the only ones.
In early June.
‘Orcs’ troops from.
The 83rd Air Assault Brigade.
Stormed a chemical aggregating plant.
In Vovchansk.
The main battleground.
In ‘orcs’ faltering.
Northern offensive.
It seems their goal was.
To capture the plant.
And use it as a base.
For crossing the Vovcha River.
Which threads east to west.
Just south of the plant and.
Forms a natural fortification for.
The ‘elves’ defending southern Vovchansk.
The plan went wildly awry.
When ‘elves’ troops counterattacked.
And advanced a few hundred yards.
North along Soborna Street.
In capturing a length of the street.
The ‘elves’ cut off the ‘orcs’.
In the plant from the rest of.
The ‘orcs’ force in Vovchansk.
Six weeks later.
The 83rd Air Assault Brigade.
Troopers were still.
In the plant.
— surrounded, cut off.
And under relentless.
Bombardment by.
‘Elves’ warplanes.
It’s possible ‘orcs’ forces.
Broke through to the plant.
In recent days and finally.
Rescued the besieged troops.
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Ultimately found a way.
Through the woods.
And past the ‘orcs’.
And fetched the cut-off troops.
Some of whom were wounded.
“The position is ours.
The path is unlocked.”
To find themselves.
Cut off, surrounded and.
Under ceaseless enemy attack.
This summer.
Unknown to most observers.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ at the aggregating plant.
Weren’t the only ones.
It wasn’t the first time.
‘Elves’ drone operators.
Had come to the aid of.
Stranded ‘elves’ troops.
70 days is.
A long time to survive.
On thin rations delivered.
From the air by tiny drones.
It’s even longer when.
You’re under enemy fire.
A photo of the survivors.
Posted on Tuesday depicts.
Hungry-looking.
Soldiers and marines.
With long beards.
And tattered uniforms.
Remarkably.
The rescue mission took place.
As ‘orcs’ forces were advancing.
Into the outermost neighborhood.
Of Chasiv Yar.
The canal district on.
The exposed eastern side of.
The Siversky Donets-Donbas canal.
A natural barrier.
That protects.
The town center.
From ‘orcs’ assaults.
In retreating west.
From the canal district.
And rescuing those.
Surrounded troops.
The ‘elves’ have straightened.
Their defensive line.
In and around Chasiv Yar.
The four-month battle rages on.
The 24th Mechanized Brigade.
Ultimately found a way.
Through the woods.
And past the ‘orcs’.
And fetched the cut-off troops.
Some of whom were wounded.
“The position is ours.
The path is unlocked.”
To find themselves.
Cut off, surrounded and.
Under ceaseless enemy attack.
This summer.
Unknown to most observers.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ at the aggregating plant.
Weren’t the only ones.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS KNOCKING OUT
Struggling to acquire enough.
New armored vehicles to replace.
The roughly 16,000 vehicles.
It has lost in Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ military got.
Desperate this spring.
It began equipping assault troops.
With inexpensive dirt bikes.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
Sometimes, it works.
While ‘orcs’ northern offensive.
Which kicked off.
On 9 May.
Quickly ground to a halt.
In the town of Vovchansk.
A few miles south of.
The ‘Mordor’-Ukraine border.
The nearly 500,000-person.
‘Orcs’ force in Ukraine.
Has managed to advance a few miles.
In a couple of sectors in recent weeks.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
Usually, however.
The bike assaults don’t work.
A result that wouldn’t surprise.
The various European armies.
That experimented with.
Assault motorcycles.
During and right after.
World War I.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
And sometimes.
The bike assaults.
Turn into bloodbaths.
For the ‘orcs’.
On 28 June.
A large group of assault bikers.
Dozens, it seems.
Attacked the ‘elves’ army.
The 72nd.
Mechanized Brigade.
In Vuhledar.
In southern Ukraine.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
According to an ‘orc’ correspondent.
The goal was to get around.
The ‘elves’ position in order to cut it off.
“A blow to the ‘elves’ in the back.
Or rather from the rear.
Is brewing there.”
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
It wasn’t to be.
The ‘elves’ struck the ‘orcs’ column.
Which also included.
T-80 tanks and other armored vehicles.
With drones and — it seems —.
Missiles and artillery.
Buried mines may have added.
To the destruction.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
When the smoke cleared.
The ‘orcs’ force was in ruins.
The 72nd.
Mechanized Brigade claimed.
It knocked out.
16 tanks.
34 fighting vehicles.
And 19 bikes.
And killed or badly wounded.
More than 800 ‘orcs’ troops.
The 72nd.
Mechanized Brigade claimed.
The theory is that.
Soldiers on fast-moving dirt bikes.
Might outrace the thousands.
Of tiny ‘elves’ drones.
That swarm over.
The 700-mile front line.
Every day of ‘orcs’ 28-month.
Wider war on Ukraine.
Tragically for the ‘orcs’.
The Vuhledar bike assault.
Wasn’t the only failed bike assault.
In late June or early July.
On Monday.
An analyst tallied.
25 destroyed ‘orcs’ motorcycles.
From recent battles.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Dozens Of Russians Attacked On Dirt Bikes; A Ukrainian Unit Blew Up 19 (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS ASSAULTED IN NOVOMYKHAILIVKA
Whether the town’s ruins.
Are worth the price.
‘Orcs’ paid is a question.
Only ‘orcs’ can answer.
While Ukraine.
And indeed the whole world.
Was distracted by.
The ‘orcs’ campaign.
To capture the industrial town.
Of Avdiivka.
In eastern Ukraine.
Starting in October.
The ‘orcs’ military launched.
A smaller assault on another.
Eastern town: Novomykhailivka.
20 miles to the south.
Around the same time.
The ‘orcs’ captured what was left.
Of Avdiivka in mid-April.
They also captured Novomykhailivka.
The former battle was.
Costlier for the ‘orcs’.
But only.
In raw terms.
Relative to the scale of the fight.
The six-month battle.
For Novomykhailivka.
Was just as bloody.
‘Elves’ forces repelled.
An ‘orcs’ attack south of.
The ruined town.
As recently as July 2.
At the cost of.
320 vehicles and.
Potentially thousands of.
Troops over six months.
The ‘orcs’ military.
Advanced four miles.
Into and through.
Novomykhailivka.
Whether the town’s ruins.
Are worth the price.
‘Orcs’ paid is a question.
Only ‘orcs’ can answer.
Estimates vary.
But it’s possible.
‘Orcs’ lost more than.
40,000 troops.
— a third killed.
Two-thirds wounded —.
Plus more than 1,000 vehicles.
Capturing Avdiivka.
Meanwhile around.
Novomykhailivka.
‘Mordor’ wrote off.
More than 300 vehicles.
According to.
An ‘elf’ drone operator.
That implies troop losses.
Of around 13,000.
Killed and wounded.
‘Elves’ losses were.
Much lighter.
In both battles.
‘Elves’ forces repelled.
An ‘orcs’ attack south of.
The ruined town.
As recently as July 2.
At the cost of.
320 vehicles and.
Potentially thousands of.
Troops over six months.
The ‘orcs’ military.
Advanced four miles.
Into and through.
Novomykhailivka.
Whether the town’s ruins.
Are worth the price.
‘Orcs’ paid is a question.
Only ‘orcs’ can answer.
When three ‘orcs’.
Field armies with dozens of.
Brigades and regiments attacked.
Avdiivka in early October.
“All our attention was there.”
The ‘elf’ drone operator recalled.
“But there was.
One more big battle.”
Seven ‘orcs’ regiments and brigades.
Including the ill-fated.
155th.
Naval Infantry Brigade.
Assaulted the ‘elves’ garrison.
In Novomykhailivka.
Made up of.
Two active brigades.
The fighting was relentless.
In a long thread.
On social media.
The ‘elf’ drone operator detailed.
‘Orcs’ tank losses.
Including 1950s-vintage T-54s.
T-62s from the 1960s.
And newer T-72s and T-80s.
‘Elves’ mines, artillery.
And drones knocked out.
Dozens of tanks.
But the ‘orcs’ kept coming.
One T-80 ran over.
Nine mines.
Before it ground.
To a halt.
As in the battle for Avdiivka.
The ‘orcs’ ran low.
On purpose-made.
Armored vehicles.
And deployed.
More than a few.
Do-it-yourself vehicles.
As replacements.
At least one.
Up-armored “turtle tank”.
Was immobilized.
By an ‘elves’ mine.
“Turtle tank” — a T-62.
With no turret and.
A shell of add-on.
Anti-drone armor —.
The heavy losses.
The ‘elves’ inflicted on the ‘orcs’.
Stalled but didn’t prevent.
Novomykhailivka’s fall in mid-April.
‘Elves’ forces repelled.
An ‘orcs’ attack south of.
The ruined town.
As recently as July 2.
At the cost of.
320 vehicles and.
Potentially thousands of.
Troops over six months.
The ‘orcs’ military.
Advanced four miles.
Into and through.
Novomykhailivka.
Whether the town’s ruins.
Are worth the price.
‘Orcs’ paid is a question.
Only ‘orcs’ can answer.
As in Avdiivka, the ‘elves’.
Defending Novomykhailivka.
Were desperately short of.
Artillery shells and anti-tank missiles.
Mostly owing to.
A long blockade of
Further U.S. aid.
To Ukraine.
That blockade finally.
Ended as.
‘Orcs’ troops were marching.
Into Novomykhailivka.
In the months following.
Their capture of Novomykhailivka.
The ‘orcs’ have continued attacking.
To the north, west and south.
But with less success.
As more American munitions.
Have arrived along.
The front line.
Whether the town’s ruins.
Are worth the price.
‘Orcs’ paid is a question.
Only ‘orcs’ can answer.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Russia Lost 300 Vehicles Capturing One Ukrainian Town (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS DISMANTLING AROUND KURAKHIV
In April 2022.
‘Orcs’ forces attacked Marinka.
A front-line town in eastern Ukraine.
West of Donetsk.
After 20 months of bloody fighting.
That leveled Marinka.
The ‘orcs’ fully occupied.
The town back in December.
That opened a route toward.
Kurakhiv, an ‘elves’ stronghold.
Eight miles to the west along.
The O0510 road.
But actually reaching.
Kurakhiv — along the road.
Or via the fields.
To the south.
Has proved difficult.
For the ‘orcs’ army’s.
150th Motor Rifle Division.
And adjacent units.
On or just before Thursday.
An ‘orcs’ formation rolled out.
Along the fields.
And got “dismantled.”
“Dismantled.
... for spare parts.”
The ‘elves’ 79th.
Air Assault Brigade boasted.
Buried mines disabled.
Three tanks.
Drones and, it seems.
Anti-tank missiles finished them off.
Drones destroyed.
At least one motorcycle.
And then chased down and.
Killed six ‘orcs’ soldiers.
Two armored personnel carriers.
Were damaged.
According to a former advisor.
To ‘elf’ minister of the interior.
One ‘orc’ survivor sought.
Shelter in the ruins.
Of a battle-damaged building.
Only to get pulverized.
By an ‘elves’ air force fighter.
Lobbing a satellite-guided bomb.
“The column did not reach.
The ‘elves’ positions.”
On or just before Thursday.
An ‘orcs’ formation rolled out.
Along the fields.
And got “dismantled.”
“Dismantled.
... for spare parts.”
The ‘elves’ 79th.
Air Assault Brigade boasted.
The ‘orcs’’ defeat isn’t unusual.
Most ‘orcs’ attacks.
Along this axis don’t.
Get very far.
14 attacks in the area on Thursday.
And 12 on Wednesday.
What is unusual is the mix.
Of forces the ‘orcs’ deployed.
According to the 79th.
Air Assault Brigade.
The ‘orcs’ formation included.
Brand-new T-72B3M tanks.
With all the latest gadgets.
— anti-drone cage armor.
Radio jammers and.
Mine-clearing rollers —.
Plus an assortment of.
Armored personnel carriers.
As well as soldiers.
Riding on motorcycles.
On or just before Thursday.
An ‘orcs’ formation rolled out.
Along the fields.
And got “dismantled.”
“Dismantled.
... for spare parts.”
The ‘elves’ 79th.
Air Assault Brigade boasted.
In that sense.
The assault group included.
The best and worst of.
The ‘orcs’ military.
As its wider invasion.
Of Ukraine.
Grinds toward.
Its 29th month.
The 47-ton.
Three-person T-72B3M is.
One of just two tank types.
In production in ‘Mordor’.
The other is the heavier T-90M.
‘Orcs’ industry manufactures.
Between 500 and 600.
New T-72s and T-90s a year.
That’s a lot more tanks.
Than any other country produces.
In a year.
But far too few to.
Make good the roughly.
1,200 tanks.
‘Orcs’ forces lose.
In Ukraine every year.
On or just before Thursday.
An ‘orcs’ formation rolled out.
Along the fields.
And got “dismantled.”
“Dismantled.
... for spare parts.”
The ‘elves’ 79th.
Air Assault Brigade boasted.
To make up the gap between.
Tank production and tank losses.
‘Mordor’ has been pulling.
Old tanks.
T-54/55s from the 1950s.
T-62s from the ’60s and older.
T-72s and T-80s from the ’70s and ’80s.
— out of long-term storage.
As old models account.
For a growing proportion.
Of the ‘orcs’’.
3,000-strong tank corps.
Those factory-fresh.
T-72B3Ms are.
Becoming a rarity.
And that surely makes.
Their wholesale destruction.
In failed assaults such as.
That around Kurakhiv.
Especially painful for the ‘orcs’.
On or just before Thursday.
An ‘orcs’ formation rolled out.
Along the fields.
And got “dismantled.”
“Dismantled.
... for spare parts.”
The ‘elves’ 79th.
Air Assault Brigade boasted.
It’s telling that.
The assault group.
Aiming for Kurakhiv included.
Fewer APCs than tanks.
‘Mordor’ is struggling.
To acquire replacement tanks.
But it’s struggling.
Even more to acquire replacement.
APCs and infantry fighting vehicles.
That’s apparently why.
The group also included.
Bike troops.
As armored vehicles.
Become an increasingly rare.
And precious commodity.
In the ‘orcs’ military.
Civilian-style vehicles.
— trucks, all-terrain vehicles.
And motorcycles —.
Are replaceing them.
And they’re getting.
Dismantled at least.
As swiftly as.
The tanks and APCs do.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Russia Lost 300 Vehicles Capturing One Ukrainian Town (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN AN AMBUSH
He was one of last.
Journalists in Bakhmut.
An ‘elves’ city captured by.
‘Orcs’ forces in February 2023.
He saw both.
The peak of the battle and.
The ‘orcs’ military.
Entering the city.
He also witnessed.
The ‘orcs’ advance.
In the Avdiivka region.
As well as the siege of Kharkiv.
In May, he and a colleague.
Joined the Kayfariki unit.
An ‘elves’ military group made up of.
Left-wing FC Arsenal Kyiv fans.
During the ambush.
He heard his comrades.
Constantly repeating a phrase.
He could not understand.
“When it finally got translated.
I found out.
It was that the guys saying.
‘I love you’ to each other.”
Unbeknownst to the ‘elves’ forces.
‘Orcs’ had identified.
The unit's location and.
Had planned an attack.
It was not until.
The early hours of.
The final day that this plan.
Was put into action.
His unit was bombarded.
For three hours.
It occurred in.
The Donbas region.
“Once this ended.
A convoy of tanks.
Drove into our town.
All hell broke loose.”
This initiated 14 hours.
Of back and forth.
Gunfire, artillery.
And drones.
There were roughly.
70 ‘orcs’ soldiers.
Compared to the eight.
‘Elves’ fighters.
During the ambush.
He heard his comrades.
Constantly repeating a phrase.
He could not understand.
“When it finally got translated.
I found out.
It was that the guys saying.
‘I love you’ to each other.”
He recalled that.
The ‘orcs’ were so close.
He could hear.
Them strategising.
Asking the commander.
What the plan should be.
He was met.
With the response:
“Dying is not part of the plan.
We’re going to escape.
But it’s probably.
Not going to work.”
Outnumbered, injured.
And quickly.
Running out of ammunition.
Their situation was untenable.
During the ambush.
He heard his comrades.
Constantly repeating a phrase.
He could not understand.
“When it finally got translated.
I found out.
It was that the guys saying.
‘I love you’ to each other.”
“I accepted I was dead.”
When he asked.
How one of.
The injured soldiers felt.
The only reply was:
“I don’t feel anything.
We’re already dead.”
“We’re already dead.”
The photographer said.
“Everybody was injured.
We could hear the ‘orcs’.
Screaming for our blood.”
“There was a point.
Where the commander was like.
‘This is probably it’.”
‘This is probably it’.
“When you hear.
Something like that.
I think back over my life.
And think ‘I had a good run’.”
During the ambush.
He heard his comrades.
Constantly repeating a phrase.
He could not understand.
“When it finally got translated.
I found out.
It was that the guys saying.
‘I love you’ to each other.”
“Once night came we just.
Sprinted out the back.”
He described how the unit.
Ran three kilometres.
Facing ‘orcs’ gunfire.
The entire time.
“How they didn’t hit any of us.
Is beyond a miracle.”
Eventually, the group escaped.
Beyond the reach of the ‘orcs’ guns.
And were rescued by ‘elves’ troops.
They survived with zero casualties.
“I’m definitely.
One of the lucky ones.”
The Belfast man has already.
Been back to Ukraine.
To catch up with the unit.
Which is now back on the frontline.
“I met them all.
They were in pretty good spirits.”
During the ambush.
He heard his comrades.
Constantly repeating a phrase.
He could not understand.
“When it finally got translated.
I found out.
It was that the guys saying.
‘I love you’ to each other.”
He “instantly fell in love.
With the country”.
A Belfast conflict photographer first.
Visited Ukraine in 2018.
When war broke out.
Five years later.
It was a “no brainer”.
That he had to go.
“It was a direct train.
From Berlin to the ‘elves’ border;
Within a week I was.
On the ‘orcs’ border.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: NI photographer caught in Russian ambush (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS CONFRONTING
As ‘elves’ troops fled.
A clutch of motor rifle regiments.
From the ‘orcs’ 1st Army Corps.
Seized the opportunity.
And marched four miles.
To the west.
In the span of a week.
Ultimately capturing Prohres.
And sweeping around those two.
‘Elves’ battalions north of the village.
The surrounded ‘elves’ then.
Experienced their own leadership crisis.
The brigade commander never.
Gave the order to break through.
So the personnel confronted him.
With the fact that.
The personnel who were.
In that area confronted him.
With the fact that the boys.
Would break through with a fight.
The encircled ‘elves’ troops.
Decided, on their own.
To battle their way to the main.
‘Elves’ line hundreds of yards to the west.
A day after getting.
Surrounded and cut off by.
Advancing ‘orcs’ troops just north.
Of the village of Prohres.
Two battalions of ‘elves’ soldiers.
From the ‘elves’ army’s.
31st Mechanized Brigade.
Made a hard decision.
On 20 April.
‘Orcs’ troops took.
Advantage of the confusion.
Resulting from a reshuffling.
Of ‘elves’ forces.
West of the ruins of.
The eastern city of Avdiivka.
— and attacked.
Breaking through positions.
Held by the ‘elves’ army’s.
115th Mechanized Brigade.
The ‘orcs’ quickly advanced.
The ‘elves’ 115th Mechanized Brigade.
Had recently rotated.
Into positions.
In Ocheretyne.
The ‘orcs’ army’s.
30th Motor Rifle Brigade.
Quickly advanced.
Several miles to the west.
‘Orcs’ reinforcements raced.
Into the breach.
Cementing the territorial gains.
Three months later.
It’s happening again.
— and in the same sector.
In just the last week.
‘Orcs’ have advanced.
Nearly four miles farther.
West from Ocheretyne.
Marching .6 miles a day.
Might not seem particularly fast.
But by the standards of.
‘Orcs’ 28-month wider war.
On Ukraine.
It’s practically a sprint.
A day after getting.
Surrounded and cut off by.
Advancing ‘orcs’ troops just north.
Of the village of Prohres.
Two battalions of ‘elves’ soldiers.
From the ‘elves’ army’s.
31st Mechanized Brigade.
Made a hard decision.
An ‘elf’ correspondent.
Called the situation.
Around Ocheretyne.
“Critically difficult.”
It’s easy to lose sight of ‘orcs’.
Enduring advantage over Ukraine.
As the wider war grinds.
Into its third year.
Even as ‘Mordor’ loses.
More than a thousand people a day.
Killed and wounded.
The ‘orcs’ military keeps attacking.
Every attack is an opportunity.
To break through.
Confusion among ‘elves’.
Commanders is a factor.
The ‘orcs’ breakthrough.
Around Ocheretyne in April.
Threw the ‘elves’ off-balance.
And they’re still struggling to recover.
“The ‘orcs’ command attacks.
... those brigades that.
Have the weakest.
Management and organization.”
Seemingly referring to.
The 110th Mechanized Brigade.
And 111th.
Territorial Defense Brigade.
“That is, the enemy is.
Not looking for ...
The most vulnerable defense borders.
But the most vulnerable units.”
At their worst.
The ‘elves’ forces.
West of Avdiivka.
Are totally befuddled.
Drone crews and.
Electronic warfare troops are.
“Scattered and unorganized.”
The battle is fluid.
27 attempts.
By ‘orcs’ troops to penetrate.
The unstable ‘elves’ line.
East of Pokrovsk on Monday.
Twenty-two of the attacks failed.
But that means five succeeded.
He expressed worry but not panic.
“I cannot say that.”
“The ‘elf’ command does not.
See and understand.
The critical situation.
There's a lot going on.”
“None of the commanders.
Sit with their hands folded.”
It would help, he stressed.
If ‘elves’ electronic warfare troops.
In the sector would stop.
Jamming friendly forces.
“Our own jamming destroys.
A significant number of our own drones.”
A day after getting.
Surrounded and cut off by.
Advancing ‘orcs’ troops just north.
Of the village of Prohres.
Two battalions of ‘elves’ soldiers.
From the ‘elves’ army’s.
31st Mechanized Brigade.
Made a hard decision.
Potentially hundreds of.
‘Elves’ troops are nearly surrounded.
Outside the village of Prohres.
In eastern Ukraine.
It’s the latest setback.
For ‘elves’ forces.
In what may currently be.
Their most vulnerable sector.
As ‘orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine.
Grinds toward.
Its 29th month.
There were ominous signs.
On the battleground west of.
The ruins of Avdiivka.
In recent days.
In the span of a week.
A clutch of ‘orcs’.
Motor rifle regiments marched.
Four miles to the west.
A rapid advance.
By the standards of.
The ‘Mordor’-Ukraine war.
It’s practically a sprint.
Rolling toward the Prohres.
A tiny community with.
Around a hundred homes.
The ‘orcs’ formation split in two.
And mostly encircled.
Two battalions from.
The ‘elves’ army’s.
31st Mechanized Brigade.
Friendly troops.
Aren’t far away.
And the nearly surrounded troops.
Are holding out.
At present, there is.
No order to withdraw.
But “We don’t defend ruins to the death.”
Is the policy of ‘elf’ commander-in-chief Gen.
Now the 47th Mechanized Brigade.
And the part of the 31st Mechanized Brigade.
That isn’t surrounded outside Prohres.
Hold the line west of the village.
It’s no secret how the isolated.
‘Elves’ battalions are surviving.
But drone deliveries can’t feed.
And water hundreds of people indefinitely.
Replace missiles.
And other heavy munitions.
Or get the wounded.
To safety.
The battalions cut off near Prohres will.
Have to fight their way to the west.
Or wait for brigades to fight.
Their way to the east.
The alternative is slow starvation.
Or swift destruction.
As the larger ‘orcs’ force.
Attacks from all sides.
A day after getting.
Surrounded and cut off by.
Advancing ‘orcs’ troops just north.
Of the village of Prohres.
Two battalions of ‘elves’ soldiers.
From the ‘elves’ army’s.
31st Mechanized Brigade.
Made a hard decision.
Rather than waiting for rescue.
The encircled ‘elves’ fought.
Their way out.
On Thursday.
The rest of the 31st Mechanized Brigade.
Along with the nearby.
47th Mechanized Brigade.
Apparently assisted the break-out.
With the help of.
Coordinated actions of artillery.
Air reconnaissance.
And related forces.
As well as under the control.
Of officers on the ground.
The guys from the 1st and 3rd Battalions.
Could break out of the encirclement in full force.
A day after getting.
Surrounded and cut off by.
Advancing ‘orcs’ troops just north.
Of the village of Prohres.
Two battalions of ‘elves’ soldiers.
From the ‘elves’ army’s.
31st Mechanized Brigade.
Made a hard decision.
The successful evacuation.
Saved potentially hundreds of.
‘Elves’ troops from.
Death or capture.
And deprived ‘the One’ of.
A major propaganda victory.
But the wider battle continues.
Losses are high on both sides.
After consolidating.
Their control over Prohres.
‘Orcs’ troops also occupied.
The adjacent village of Vovche.
‘Elves’ volunteers have been rescuing.
Civilians from the front line.
While the army redoubles.
Its efforts to halt the ‘orcs’ advance.
The elite 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Has lost two of its precious.
M-1 Abrams tanks around Vovche.
In just the past three weeks.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Confused Ukrainian Troops Jam Their Own Drones As the Russians Advance (forbes.com)
Hundreds Of Ukrainian Soldiers Are Nearly Surrounded Near Prohres (forbes.com)
Cut Off Near Prohres, 2 Ukrainian Battalions Fought Their Way Out (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN CONCERT
On or just before Wednesday.
A large ‘orcs’ force apparently from.
The 150th Motor Rifle Division.
Attacked from multiple directions.
Aiming for the ‘elves’ stronghold.
In Kurakhivka.
It was one of the biggest assaults.
In memory in that sector.
According to the ‘elves’.
79th Air Assault Brigade.
The ‘orcs’ force included 11 tanks.
45 infantry fighting vehicles.
The ‘orcs’ force included.
A rare BMP-T tank support vehicle.
And 12 motorcycles crewed.
By several hundred soldiers.
Within hours of the dawn assault.
The ‘orcs’ were in full retreat.
Leaving behind.
Six wrecked tanks.
The ‘orcs’ were in full retreat.
Leaving behind.
Seven wrecked fighting vehicles.
And all 12 bikes.
The 79th Air Assault Brigade.
Counted 40 dead ‘orcs’.
And 37 wounded ones.
“Kudos to you, paratroopers!”
How the ‘elves’ defeated.
The ‘orcs’ is no secret.
First, they spotted.
The attackers from the air.
“Our artillery immediately.
Started working.”
As the shells landed.
The ‘elves’ launched explosive drones.
Deployed anti-tank missileers.
And then waited for.
The ‘orcs’ to roll over.
Pre-placed minefields.
“After the knocking out of.
The first tanks and armored vehicles.
Other vehicles rushed.
To flee the battlefield.”
The brigade launched additional drones.
To hound the retreating survivors.
“The ‘orcs’ suffered.
Tremendous losses in manpower.”
Left unsaid in the 79th.
Air Assault Brigade’s description of.
Its successful defensive battle.
Is the steady leadership.
That made the victory possible.
‘Elves’ defenses held east of Kurakhivka.
Because the 79th Air Assault Brigade’s.
Subordinate units didn’t fight alone.
They fought together.
Drone crews, artillery gunners.
Missile teams and mine-laying engineers.
All working in concert.
One day after sending.
57 armored vehicles and.
A dozen bike troops.
On a doomed mission.
To break through the ‘elves’ line.
East of the ‘elves’ stronghold.
In Kurakhivka.
In eastern Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ army tried again.
And with similar results.
The first assault on Wednesday.
Met a synchronized defense.
The smaller assault.
On Thursday.
Involving 16 vehicles.
Met the same layered defense.
— and the same fate.
The attackers turned around.
Abandoning a destroyed tank.
And two destroyed fighting vehicles.
“Twenty-three ‘orcs’ finished.
Their SVO ahead of schedule.”
The 79th Air Assault Brigade quipped.
Using the ‘orcs’ acronym.
For “special military operation”.
“Another 29 received.
Injuries of varying severity.”
The ‘elves’ brigade added.
In stark contrast to.
The Avdiivka sector 20 miles.
To the north where ‘orcs’ forces.
Are slowly pushing back.
Disorganized ‘elves’ forces.
The Kurakhivka sector is.
Becoming an attrition trap.
For the ‘orcs’.
They keep attacking.
Keep encountering.
Stiff ‘elves’ defenses.
And keep retreating.
Only to repeat.
The bloody exercise.
A few days later.
Only to repeat.
That made the victory possible.
‘Elves’ defenses held east of Kurakhivka.
Because the 79th Air Assault Brigade’s.
Subordinate units didn’t fight alone.
They fought together.
Drone crews, artillery gunners.
Missile teams and mine-laying engineers.
All working in concert.
But the twin prizes of.
Kurakhivka and Kurakhove are.
Hard for ‘orcs’ commanders.
To resist.
And the ‘orcs’ know.
Better than anyone that.
These back-to-back assaults.
Fail until they don’t.
It just takes one lucky attack.
Out of dozens to.
Achieve that first breakthrough.
That can trigger.
A gradual collapse.
Of ‘elves’ defenses.
Allowing the ‘orcs’.
To claw forward.
That’s what happened.
West of Avdiivka recently.
It’s surely what ‘orcs’ commanders hope.
Will happen east of Kurakhivka, too.
Yes, the ‘orcs’ attack on.
The 79th Air Assault Brigade’s positions.
On Wednesday ended.
In disaster for them.
So did their attack on Thursday.
But maybe the next attack will succeed.
It’s apparent.
The ‘orcs’ are willing to.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
With Drones, Artillery, Missiles & Mines, Ukraine Halted A Huge Attack (forbes.com)
For 2 Days, Russia Hurled Tanks At Ukraine's 79th Air Assault Brigade (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS OUTMANEUVERING
On 9 May.
‘Orcs’ forces attacked across.
Ukraine’s northern border.
With ‘Mordor’.
This offensive, timed to.
Coincide with Victory Day.
Quickly ran into a wall of.
‘Elves’ mechanized brigades.
All summer, the ‘elves’.
Have been pushing back slowly.
Reclaiming the sliver.
Of ‘elves’ territory.
The ‘orcs’ captured in.
The early days of the offensive.
The counterattacks involve.
Artillery and drone operators.
Supporting tanks and infantry.
All overseen by commanders.
In their headquarters.
It’s all very modern.
But sometimes the outcome.
Hinges on that most ancient.
Tenet of warfare:
Deception.
The ‘elves’ army’s.
3rd Assault Brigade.
Fighting somewhere.
North of Kharkiv this summer.
Showed how.
— in an early morning attack.
That turned into.
An elaborate daytime ruse.
Cameras in the brigade’s.
Headquarters and with.
Its tanks and infantry.
Captured the drama.
“Work very carefully.
Very carefully.”
One 3rd Assault Brigade.
Commander intoned.
As a platoon.
Supported by T-72 tanks.
Mortars and drones.
Readied for an assault.
On a web of.
‘Orcs’ trenches.
Anchored by a gully.
The tanks attacked first.
Just as the sun was peeking.
Over the horizon.
One tanker bellowed.
At the unseen ‘orcs’.
“I’ll never forget.
Or forgive you.
You bastards!”
The tanks fired a few rounds.
And then pumped out.
A smoke screen.
“Let’s get moving.”
An infantry leader said.
The ‘elves’ infantry reached.
One of the outermost.
‘Orcs’ trenches.
They could hear.
An ‘orc’ machine gunner.
Just 100 yards away.
“Little by little.
Yes, we keep moving.”
The infantry leader said.
Urging his soldiers forward.
They advanced along.
The trench toward the gully.
— an ‘orcs’ strongpoint.
“We need to shoot.
A tank or mortar there.”
A commander said back at headquarters.
One of the T-72s.
Fired three shots.
“All three shots hit perfectly.”
The commander observed.
But sometimes the outcome.
Hinges on that most ancient.
Tenet of warfare:
Deception.
Back in the trench.
One ‘elf’ soldier sat bleeding.
From a wound to his hand.
“I’ll just tie it up.”
A medic told him.
Another had suffered.
An injury to his buttocks.
“Is my ass bleeding badly or not?”
Scrutinizing drone feeds.
Officers and their staff.
Analyzed the battlefield.
One officer concluded.
An ‘orc’ machine gunner.
“Controls two sectors.”
The infantry leader responded.
“We have to break in.”
Luckily for the ‘elves’.
The ‘orcs’ artillery was silent.
“There’s no artillery there now.
— we have a chance to break in.”
The infantry leader reported.
But he and his team were low on supplies.
“Four fucking magazines.
He muttered. “No water.”
The ‘orc’ machine gunner was.
Still firing away.
“We’re going to look for.
Them with a drone.”
The infantry leader said.
And then, a stroke of luck.
The ‘elves’ soldiers found.
An intact ‘orcs’ radio.
But sometimes the outcome.
Hinges on that most ancient.
Tenet of warfare:
Deception.
Left behind by retreating infantry.
“They’re assaulting us.”
An ‘orc’ soldier complained.
On his channel.
That radio was an opportunity.
“Get the frequencies of the ... radio.”
A 3rd Assault Brigade commander barked.
“Try to organize it.”
“We will now try to.
Fuck them over.”
The infantry leader said.
“Who is an 'orcs’-language-speaker?”
The ‘orcs’ radio chatter.
Indicated they were.
Expecting reinforcements.
It was time to move.
An 'orcs’-language-speaking.
‘Elf’ soldier hopped on.
The captured radio.
“We’re 1st Company.”
He transmitted.
Part of the same battalion.
As the ‘orcs’.
In the gully.
The ‘orcs’ machine gun.
Shifted its fire.
To avoid hitting.
Its “allies.”
“Let’s go.”
The 3rd Assault Brigade.
Infantry leader ordered.
“Yell in 'orcs’-language!”
But sometimes the outcome.
Hinges on that most ancient.
Tenet of warfare:
Deception.
By the time the ‘orcs’ realized.
The soldiers approaching them.
Weren’t fellows ‘orcs’.
It was too late.
They were all.
But surrounded.
The ‘orcs’ survivors.
Retreated across a field.
“The rest of the roosters.
Are running away.”
A 3rd Assault Brigade.
Commander crowed.
Out in the open.
The fleeing ‘orcs’ were.
Easy targets for.
The ‘elves’ mortars and drones.
“Let’s start shooting at that field.
A little bit,” an officer ordered.
Two ‘orcs’ survivors.
Approached a bridge.
An ‘elves’ drone was watching.
“Wait a moment.”
An ‘elf’ commander breathed.
“They’ll be together.”
As soon as the two ‘orcs’.
Were standing side by side.
An ‘elves’ shell exploded.
At their feet.
The carnage was bad enough.
That the 3rd Assault Brigade.
Censored the drone video.
Before releasing it.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS PAYING THE PRICE
For now, Ukraine has no easy answers.
To protect its cities from attack.
So what can be done?
To counter glide bombs?
‘Mordor’ is increasingly.
Using “glide bombs”.
Cheap but highly destructive ordnance.
To advance its offensive in Ukraine.
More than 200.
Of them are thought.
To have been used.
In just a week to pound.
‘Elves’ northern town of Vovchansk.
During ‘orcs’ current.
Cross-border advance.
Near Kharkiv.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
3,000 such bombs.
Were dropped on the country.
In March alone.
For now, Ukraine has no easy answers.
To protect its cities from attack.
So what can be done?
To counter glide bombs?
Vovchansk police chief.
Has see the impact of.
Glide bombs up close.
“There are no words.”
“To describe the aftermath.
Of a glide bomb attack.
You arrive to see people.
Who are lying there, torn apart.”
The mass use of.
Glide bombs by ‘orcs’ is.
A relatively recent development one.
That has proven devastating.
For ‘elves’ forces.
In recent months.
They are cheap.
But destructive.
For now, Ukraine has no easy answers.
To protect its cities from attack.
So what can be done?
To counter glide bombs?
Glide bombs are built by.
Adding fold-out wings.
And satellite navigation.
To old Soviet bombs.
A recent report said they were.
Decisive in February’s capture.
Of the once heavily fortified.
Key eastern town of Avdiivka.
‘Orcs’ forces are now.
Using glide bombs.
To attack the northern city.
Of Kharkiv.
Ukraine has so far struggled.
To counter them.
The Vovchansk police chief.
Has been helping to evacuate.
Front-line border villages.
In the Kharkiv region.
Where ‘orcs’ forces have.
Recently been advancing.
For now, Ukraine has no easy answers.
To protect its cities from attack.
So what can be done?
To counter glide bombs?
Parked up in his police car.
He tells you.
The scale of attacks.
Has increased dramatically.
“Over the past six months.
We were hit by glide bombs.
Quite often, maybe.
Five to 10 bombs per week…”
“But this month we’ve had.
Far more than ever.”
‘Mordor’ is able to stockpile.
Glide bombs in high quantities.
Because they are quite.
Easily produced.
So what can be done?
To counter glide bombs?
The destruction that.
The glide bombs create.
Is extraordinary.
So what can be done?
The ordnance thought to be.
Most commonly used for glide bombs.
Is the FAB-1500.
Which weighs 1.5 tonnes.
For comparison.
An ‘orcs’ 152mm shell.
Contains about 6.5kg.
Of explosive material.
Even the smallest glide bomb.
The FAB-500.
Contains more than.
200kg.
They turn even well-fortified.
‘Elves’ positions.
Into vulnerable targets.
So what can be done?
The powerful blasts.
Also have severe effects.
on the human body.
So what can be done?
For now, Ukraine has no easy answers.
To protect its cities from attack.
So what can be done?
To counter glide bombs?
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Russia's lethal glide bombs hitting Ukraine's cities (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS THROWN INTO
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
Its tiny screen.
Lighting up with warnings.
When ‘orcs’ drones.
Are above you.
You are driving fast along.
A country road in the darkness.
Near the front lines.
Outside Kharkiv.
Like many in this war.
The soldiers inside.
Have come to revere.
The little cube.
They call “sugar”;
It warns of.
The unseen dangers above.
Like a talisman.
On the vehicle’s roof are.
Three mushroom-shaped antennas.
That make up separate.
Drone-jamming equipment.
The car emits.
An invisible aura.
Of protection that.
Will thwart some.
But not all.
Of the ‘orcs’ attack drones.
Patrolling the skies.
Above this battlefield.
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
“It has detected.
The Zala Lancet ‘orcs’ drones.”
Says Senior Lt, 53.
From the front passenger seat.
Describing one of.
The most powerful.
Long-range ‘orcs’ drones.
And its targeting drone.
“Is that why we’re driving so fast?”
You ask, aware that.
The drone-jamming antenna is.
Useless against a Lancet.
“We’re not a priority.
For them, but.
It’s still better.
Not to slow down.”
“Because it’s very dangerous.”
Says the Senior Lt.
From the Khartia Brigade.
Of ‘elves’ National Guard.
The jamming equipment blocks.
Roughly 75% of frequencies.
That drones use to communicate.
With their operators.
But some like the Lancet.
Are difficult to block because.
They are entirely autonomous once.
Their target has been marked.
Because of the Lancet’s power.
It tends to be used on larger targets.
Such as armoured vehicles.
Or infantry positions.
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
Almost none of.
This technology was.
Here in Ukraine.
A year ago;
Now it is commonplace.
Drones, which were once.
Peripheral to the war, are.
A central component for both sides.
Alongside infantry.
And artillery as Ukraine.
Struggles to hold back.
‘Orcs’ advances.
Ukraine has been.
Thrown into the bleak.
Future of war.
Where within minutes.
Individual soldiers.
Fast-moving vehicles.
And trench positions.
Can be precisely targeted.
About 25 from ‘Mordor’.
Attacked Kharkiv.
On Tuesday night.
Although most were intercepted.
‘Elves’ army is fighting back.
With its own drones.
And there are dozens across.
This stretch of front line.
Drones have civilians.
In their sights too.
One ‘elf’ soldier says.
Every day they kill 100 ‘orcs’.
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
The last images from drone cameras.
Are usually of men panicking.
Their arms flailing.
Weapons firing before they are killed.
The brigade’s 37-year-old.
Drone commander says that.
Without shelter in a building.
There is little chance of survival.
- for ‘orcs’.
And his men too.
“It's the new way or.
A new path in modern war.”
“In 2022 it was.
Only infantry war.
And today one half is.
Only a war of drone.”
“A battle between.
‘Orcs’ drones and ours.”
The move to drone warfare is.
A combination of necessity and innovation.
Drones are in plentiful supply.
Even though when armed they lack.
The explosive fire power.
Of artillery.
Ukraine has consistently.
Run short of artillery shells.
And its allies have been slow.
To produce and supply them.
But a Drone Coalition. Of.
‘Elves’ allies has pledged.
To supply the country.
With a million drones this year.
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
‘Mordor’ has made.
Its own innovations.
On the battlefield too.
Using an older technology.
And the village of Lyptsi.
Just 10km from.
The ‘orcs’ border.
Has paid the price.
It was devastated.
By glide bombs.
Soviet-era “dumb bombs” fitted with.
Fins and a satellite guidance system.
Some are as large as 3,000kg.
And when launched from aircraft.
Glide onto ‘elves’ infantry positions.
And towns to highly destructive effect.
One woman was.
Driven out of Lyptsi.
By these attacks.
“Everything was exploding all around.”
“Everything was burning.
It was scary there.
It was impossible to even.
Get out of the cellar.”
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
The drone commander takes you.
On a tour of his drone teams.
Embedded along.
The front line in Lyptsi.
Every vehicle.
You encountered near there.
Was fitted with.
Drone-jamming equipment;
But the jammer’s protection ends.
When you exit the vehicle.
It’s dangerous to be caught.
Out in the open.
So you follow him running.
Across the rubble for cover.
Out of breath.
You make it.
To the drone unit’s underground base.
Beneath a ruined building.
Where you are introduced.
To two operators.
There are drones.
On every surface.
Next to a frying pan.
With their evening meal.
They get through many hundreds.
Of drones in a month.
As most are single-use.
And detonate on their target.
Their weapon of choice is.
The First Person View drone.
Which carries.
A payload of.
Between 1kg and.
2kg of explosive.
Packed with shrapnel.
The drones are modified.
Off-the-shelf models.
Which have cameras to.
Send video back to.
Their remote operators.
“We call them celebration drones.
In Ukraine.
They were used to film weddings.
And parties before the war.”
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
You watch on a screen.
In real time beside.
One operator who is fixed.
In concentration.
Flying a drone.
Manually to a target.
Across open fields.
And woodland.
“He knows every puddle.
Every tree.
In the area.”
The other operator says.
The FPV drone approaches.
A building where.
An ‘orc’ soldier is believed.
To be hiding.
It flies through an open window.
And detonates.
The operator's screen turning.
To static as the signal is lost.
At the same time.
Another drone team.
Is targeting an ‘orcs’.
Tigr light-armoured vehicle.
And scores a direct hit.
Captured by a second.
Surveillance drone.
That’s watching from above.
The men stay on these positions.
Flying missions day and night.
For up to five days at a stretch and.
Spend as little time outside as possible.
Their biggest fear is glide bombs:
One landed nearby.
Earlier that week.
And the whole building shook.
What happens if.
There’s a direct hit?
“We die.”
The other operator replies.
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
The drone commander shows you.
A recording from earlier in the week:
An ‘orc’ soldier is.
Caught in the open.
And the unit’s drone.
Has him in its sights.
The soldier notices it.
And runs for cover.
Hiding in a drainage culvert.
By the roadside.
Slowly the drone lowers.
To its level.
Checking one side of.
The drainage pipe.
Then going around.
The other side.
Where the soldier.
Is hiding.
It detonates and.
The man is blown out.
Dying by the roadside.
“He was divided.
Into two parts.”
Explains the drone commander.
The operators are cool.
And dispassionate.
Almost clinical in their.
Targeting and killing.
They are as far as.
5km away from.
Their targets.
One step removed.
From the immediate blood.
And guts of the battlefield.
But encountering these weapons.
On the frontline is nerve-wracking.
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
A few days later.
After dark, at an infantry trench.
Close to ‘orcs’ positions.
A unit commander tells you.
He believes the ‘elves’ have.
The upper hand in drone warfare.
The ‘orcs’ the advantage.
With glide bombs.
‘Mordor’ also.
Has the advantage.
In drone numbers:
Six for every ‘elves’ one.
Although the drone teams.
You were with.
Say they have.
The technological edge.
And are quicker.
At finding ways.
To counter-attack and.
Jam ‘orcs’ drones.
The trench is in a wooded copse.
Surrounded by fields.
A thick canopy of trees.
Provides cover.
But as you are speaking.
An ‘orcs’ FPV drone is detected.
And begins to move closer.
To the position.
The few dim lights.
Mostly phone screens.
Are turned off.
In the trench.
And the men sit silently.
As the drone’s approach gets louder.
You hold your breath.
As it hovers overhead.
For what seems like an age.
No one dares move.
But then the drone moves on.
In search of another target.
The largest drone in the brigade’s.
Arsenal is the Vampire.
Which with its six rotors.
Is the size of a coffee table.
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
Again you join.
The drone commander.
On another mission.
In Lyptsi after dark.
Under the sound of.
Constant artillery fire.
Where you meet.
The heavy bomber team.
They work to attach.
The bomb to the drone.
“Weighing 10kg.
The ‘orcs’ call this drone the Bogeyman.”
Its payload is powerful.
Enough to take out.
Their intended target.
An ‘orcs’ command post, they say.
As the men work.
An ‘orcs’ drone makes.
A number of passes overhead:
Each time it does.
The soldiers retreat.
Into the basement.
Wait for the all-clear.
Then resume the assembly.
As the drone takes off.
Into the night in a cloud of dust.
They watch its progress again.
From a second surveillance drone.
Just then.
With barely any warning.
You see on.
The drone’s thermal camera.
Three ‘orcs’ glide bombs.
Detonating over.
The ‘elves’ position.
Over a kilometre away.
The shock waves are visible:
Seconds later they reach.
Your location and the house.
Around you shudders violently.
‘Elves’ allies know that.
By supporting the drone effort.
They are helping.
The country’s cause.
But it isn’t simply.
An act of charity.
The drone commander and.
His men know this.
As you leave their position.
An ‘orcs’ drone returns and.
You drive off at speed.
Into the darkness.
In the truck he tells you:
“No one is fighting war this way.
- they are learning from us.
This will be the future war.”
The black box sits.
On the army truck.
Dashboard like.
A talisman.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine thrown into war's bleak future as drones open new front (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS RESPONDING
But that’s cold comfort.
To ‘elves’ forces that have fought.
For years to keep the ‘orcs’.
Out of Pokrovsk.
And are now watching.
The invaders.
Creep closer and closer.
To the city.
Steadily advancing behind.
A barrage of devastating.
Glide bombs and.
Firing anti-tank missiles.
By the truckload.
‘Orcs’ troops are now.
Just 11 miles.
East of Pokrovsk.
A key ‘elves’ stronghold.
In eastern ‘elves’ Donetsk Oblast.
“This is where the fighting.
Remains the most intense.”
‘Gandalf the Green’ conceded.
On Friday.
“And this direction requires our most.
Intensive responses to the occupier.”
But that’s cold comfort.
To ‘elves’ forces that have fought.
For years to keep the ‘orcs’.
Out of Pokrovsk.
And are now watching.
The invaders.
Creep closer and closer.
To the city.
As ‘orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine grinds into.
Its 29th month.
Two opposing ideas are true.
‘Mordor’ is losing more.
Troops and equipment.
Than it can afford to lose.
Over the long term.
At the same time.
‘Mordor’ still has more.
Troops and equipment.
Than Ukraine.
And, as other ‘orcs’ attacks.
Stall out, is seizing.
On that numerical advantage.
To march on Pokrovsk.
The ‘orcs’ have concentrated.
Around 20 regiments and brigades.
In their wide salient.
East of Pokrovsk:
In all, potentially 40,000 troops.
Six or so ‘elves’ brigades.
With around 12,000 troops.
Are trying to slow their advance.
But that’s cold comfort.
To ‘elves’ forces that have fought.
For years to keep the ‘orcs’.
Out of Pokrovsk.
And are now watching.
The invaders.
Creep closer and closer.
To the city.
As early as May.
A lopsided battle along.
the Pokrovsk axis.
Was anticipated.
Explained like;
“It's one of the most.
Dangerous directions.
At the moment.”
“‘Orcs’ have a significant number.
Of forces in the area.
Which they will undoubtedly.
Use to push further.”
“While ‘elves’ forces have taken.
Measures to stabilize the line.
The distribution of forces.
Is uneven.”
“The distribution of forces.
Is uneven.
Making the front line.
Unstable and very risky.”
But that’s cold comfort.
To ‘elves’ forces that have fought.
For years to keep the ‘orcs’.
Out of Pokrovsk.
And are now watching.
The invaders.
Creep closer and closer.
To the city.
One of the ‘elves’.
Army’s best brigades.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
Is leading the ‘elves’ defense.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade.
— the main operator.
Of ‘elves’ American-made.
Heavy armored vehicles —
But the ‘orcs’ have devised.
New tactics to defeat.
The 47th Mechanized Brigade’s.
M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles.
While powerful glide bombs.
Launched by ‘orcs’ air force.
Sukhoi fighter-bombers.
Pummel the rear area.
‘Orcs’ scouts on motorcycles.
Probe ‘elves’ positions.
Closer to the line.
Of contact.
When the scouts spot.
An ‘elves’ vehicle.
‘Orcs’ anti-tank missileers.
Move in.
Over the past few days.
The number of.
Anti-tank missiles.
Has significantly increased.
Anti-tank missiles.
Fired by military personnel.
At the positions.
Of the defense forces.
But that’s cold comfort.
To ‘elves’ forces that have fought.
For years to keep the ‘orcs’.
Out of Pokrovsk.
And are now watching.
The invaders.
Creep closer and closer.
To the city.
On or right before Friday.
A 47th Mechanized Brigade.
M-2 Rolled.
Toward ‘orcs’ troops.
East of Pokrovsk.
Firing its 25-millimeter.
Auto-cannon.
As it advanced.
An ‘orcs’ anti-tank missile.
Struck it from directly ahead.
Immobilizing.
The 34-ton vehicle.
Seven crew and passengers.
Bailed out of the burning Bradley.
And fled back toward ‘elves’ lines.
‘Elves’ commanders are worried.
Emboldened ‘orcs’ commanders.
Continue to pour.
Troops and vehicles.
Into the salient.
‘Elves’ commanders are worried.
What happens next.
Is unclear.
For the ‘elves’.
The silver lining.
In the gathering storm.
Is that urban terrain is.
Easier to defend.
The closer the ‘orcs’.
Get to Pokrovsk.
The harder it might be.
To sustain their advance.
The current pace of.
The enemy’s advance towards Pokrovsk.
Is slowing due to the proximity.
To urban areas.
But that’s cold comfort.
To ‘elves’ forces that have fought.
For years to keep the ‘orcs’.
Out of Pokrovsk.
And are now watching.
The invaders.
Creep closer and closer.
To the city.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
With Bombs & Missiles, Russians Beat Back The Ukrainian 47th Brigade (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS BECOMING ADEPT
Photos and videos depict.
The Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter.
Burning near Donetsk.
In ‘orcs’-occupied eastern Ukraine.
‘Elves’ forces deploy.
More than 100,000 explosive.
First-person-view drones.
A month.
All along.
The 700-mile front line.
Of ‘orcs’ 28-month wider war.
On Ukraine.
The drones smash into.
Armored vehicles.
Chase down.
Exposed infantry.
And follow artillery.
Fire back to its origin.
In order to target.
‘Orcs’ howitzers.
And today one of.
The small quadcopter drones.
May have shot down.
An ‘orcs’ helicopter.
Remotely steered.
By an operator wearing.
A virtual-reality headset.
Apparently for the first time.
Photos and videos depict.
The Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter.
Burning near Donetsk.
In ‘orcs’-occupied eastern Ukraine.
This new use of.
Explosive drones has been.
A long time coming.
As long ago as September.
‘Elves’ operators first tried.
Ramming their flying robots.
Into ‘orcs’ helicopters.
Mid-flight.
The drone threat got so serious.
That the ‘orcs’ air force began.
Assigning some helicopters to.
Escort other helicopters.
It apparently took.
At least 10 months of trying.
Before an ‘elf’ drone operator.
Finally hit an ‘orcs’ helicopter.
The months of misses.
Are understandable.
A helicopter can fly.
Faster than 150 miles.
Per hour at altitudes.
Exceeding thousands of feet.
— too fast and too high.
For a two-pound drone.
To get a clean shot.
Without an enormous degree.
Of skill or luck.
On the part of the operator.
The ‘elves’ drone pilot in.
The possible Wednesday shoot-down.
Was very skilled or lucky.
— or both.
Photos and videos depict.
The Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter.
Burning near Donetsk.
In ‘orcs’-occupied eastern Ukraine.
They spotted the 12-ton.
Three-crew ‘orcs’ helicopter.
While it was still close.
To the ground.
The ‘orcs’ helicopter.
— which performs attack.
Transport and.
Medical-evacuation missions —
An FPV drone.
Normally carries just.
A few pounds of explosives.
But it doesn’t take much.
Firepower to knock down.
A helicopter.
If it takes a hit it.
In the rotors.
After more than.
Two years of war.
‘Elves’ drone operators.
Have become extremely adept.
At targeting the most.
Vulnerable parts of ‘orcs’ targets:
Flying drones into the open hatches.
Of armored personnel carriers.
Under the add-on armor.
On so-called “turtle tanks”.
And through the doors of.
Reinforced infantry dugouts.
Compared to.
A 36-inch-wide hatch.
An Mi-8’s 69-foot-diameter.
Rotor disc is an easy target.
Photos and videos depict.
The Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter.
Burning near Donetsk.
In ‘orcs’-occupied eastern Ukraine.
What might be most impressive.
Is how far.
The ‘orcs’ helicopter may.
Have been from the front line.
The western edge of Donetsk is.
Just three miles from the front line.
— well within the range.
Of an unaided FPV drone.
But the eastern edge.
Of the city is closer to.
10 miles from.
The front line.
That’s apparently where.
The shoot-down took place.
To travel 10 miles.
An FPV might need help.
From a second drone.
Trailing a few miles behind.
That captures and rebroadcasts.
Its short-range command signal.
Photos and videos depict.
The Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter.
Burning near Donetsk.
In ‘orcs’-occupied eastern Ukraine.
It’s a complex operation.
Requiring careful coordination.
One more loss isn’t.
Catastrophic for the ‘orcs’.
The ‘orcs’ military has.
Hundreds of helicopters.
And, so far, has lost just.
A hundred or so to ‘elves’ action.
But now that the ‘elves’ have.
Droned their first helicopter.
They may redouble their efforts.
To take down ‘orcs’ rotorcraft.
Considering how many FPV drones.
The ‘elves’ deploy every month.
The threat to ‘orcs’ helicopters.
Could intensify — a lot.
Photos and videos depict.
The Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter.
Burning near Donetsk.
In ‘orcs’-occupied eastern Ukraine.
The main ‘orcs’ source.
For this story.
Helicopter pilot.
And the blogger.
Now claims that.
An ‘elves' ground-launched rocket.
— not a drone —
Shot down the Mi-8.
Photos and videos depict.
The Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter.
Burning near Donetsk.
In ‘orcs’-occupied eastern Ukraine.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
A Two-Pound Ukrainian Drone May Have Shot Down A 12-Ton Russian Helicopter (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN A SKIRMISH
‘Elves’ weirdest drone killers.
Are back in action.
In their 50-year-old.
Propeller-driven training plane.
Adding two aerial kills.
To their already impressive tally.
In the span of.
Just a few days.
A capture from the video.
Feed of an ‘orcs’.
Unmanned aerial vehicle.
Circulated online on Saturday.
Seems to depict.
Two ‘elves’ aviators.
Staring down.
Their latest target.
— the drone itself —
From the open cockpit.
Of their 1970s-vintage.
Yakovlev Yak-52 trainer.
The Yak-52.
And the ‘orcs’ drone.
Are only a few yards.
Apart.
It appears.
The Yakovlev’s back-seat passenger.
— who has reportedly wielded.
A drone-destroying shotgun —
Is aiming something.
At the drone.
Possibly the shotgun.
That has made him famous.
In mid-April.
Videos circulated online.
Depicting the 120-mile-per-hour.
Yak-52.
Apparently belonging to.
An ‘elf’ volunteer flying club.
But clearly fighting on behalf of.
The ‘elves’ air force.
Engaging an ‘orcs’.
Orlan surveillance drone over.
Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine.
And reportedly shooting it down.
Six weeks later.
In early June.
A similar video.
Appeared online.
— this one captured by the ‘orcs’ —
It depicts.
The Yak-52 engaging.
An ‘orcs’ ZALA surveillance drone.
In that video.
The back-seat gunner can be.
Seen reaching for something.
Possibly his weapon.
Photos that briefly appeared.
On social media on Tuesday.
Reveal the kill markings on the side.
Of the propeller-driven Yakovlev:
At least six Orlan.
And two ZALA.
Unmanned aerial vehicles.
Additional markings are ambiguous.
The video capture from Saturday.
Seems to depict.
An additional pair.
Of kill markings.
Meaning the ‘elves’ drone hunters.
Have had a busy week.
An additional pair.
Of kill markings.
‘Elves’ weirdest drone killers.
Are back in action.
In their 50-year-old.
Propeller-driven training plane.
Adding two aerial kills.
To their already impressive tally.
In the span of.
Just a few days.
A capture from the video.
Feed of an ‘orcs’.
Unmanned aerial vehicle.
Circulated online on Saturday.
Seems to depict.
Two ‘elves’ aviators.
Staring down.
Their latest target.
— the drone itself —
From the open cockpit.
Of their 1970s-vintage.
Yakovlev Yak-52 trainer.
The Yak-52.
And the ‘orcs’ drone.
Are only a few yards.
Apart.
It appears.
The Yakovlev’s back-seat passenger.
— who has reportedly wielded.
A drone-destroying shotgun —
Is aiming something.
At the drone.
Possibly the shotgun.
That has made him famous.
When the first videos of.
The Yak-52-versus-drone.
Dogfights appeared.
On social media.
Some observers speculated that.
The crew of the one-ton training plane.
Was firing at the drones with.
Underwing guns or rocket pods.
But as one expert noted.
Very few Yak-52s were.
Ever modified to carry.
Underwing weapons.
So it should have come.
As no surprise when it came to light.
That the ‘elves’ were firing.
A shotgun from the plane’s back seat.
At a time when.
The ‘elves’ air force is trying to.
Save its most expensive.
Surface-to-air missiles.
For the most dangerous ‘orcs’ targets.
— ballistic and cruise missiles.
As well as manned fighter-bombers.
Lobbing powerful glide bombs —
A guy with a shotgun.
Riding in a slow propeller plane.
Is an inexpensive way.
To shoot down.
Intruding ‘orcs’ drones.
Far from the front line.
But that doesn’t mean.
It’s easy for the ‘elves’.
Both the Yak-52’s pilot.
And the back-seat gunner must be.
Skilled and patient to get.
A clean shot at a small drone.
Again, this isn’t dissimilar.
From a World War I dogfight.
At what close ranges.
It was necessary to shoot.
If the ‘elves’ crew of.
That Yak-52 suffered through.
A similar learning process.
It happened months ago.
In all the recent aerial skirmishes.
The Yakovlev pilot apparently maneuvered.
To within tens of feet of his target.
Before the back-seater opened fire.
‘Elves’ weirdest drone killers.
Are back in action.
In their 50-year-old.
Propeller-driven training plane.
Adding two aerial kills.
To their already impressive tally.
In the span of.
Just a few days.
A capture from the video.
Feed of an ‘orcs’.
Unmanned aerial vehicle.
Circulated online on Saturday.
Seems to depict.
Two ‘elves’ aviators.
Staring down.
Their latest target.
— the drone itself —
From the open cockpit.
Of their 1970s-vintage.
Yakovlev Yak-52 trainer.
The Yak-52.
And the ‘orcs’ drone.
Are only a few yards.
Apart.
It appears.
The Yakovlev’s back-seat passenger.
— who has reportedly wielded.
A drone-destroying shotgun —
Is aiming something.
At the drone.
Possibly the shotgun.
That has made him famous.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine’s World War I-Style Dogfighters Shot Down More Russian Drones (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS DOGFIGHTING
‘Orcs’ are getting.
Really fed up with.
The ‘elves’ crew of that.
Yakovlev Yak-52 training plane.
That has been dogfighting with.
And shooting down.
‘Orcs’ surveillance drones.
— World War I-style.
In three months.
Two aviators riding in a Yak-52.
— a front-seat pilot.
And a back-seat gunner —
Have taken out at least.
12 ‘orcs’ drones.
If you believe.
The kill markings.
The kill markings.
The crew has painted.
On the side of.
The 1970s-vintage plane.
The problem for the ‘orcs’.
Is that a Yak-52 is.
Hard to knock down.
For the same reason.
It’s an effective platform.
For a shotgun-armed crew member.
Taking potshots at.
Nearby drones.
The Yakovlev is robust.
And inconspicuous.
A propeller-driven Yak-52.
Doesn’t paint a very big picture.
On the radar screens.
of ‘orcs’ beleaguered long-range.
Air defense batteries.
And even if you damage.
A Yak-52 by, say.
Ramming it with a drone.
— the crew could probably.
Still land the plane.
‘Orcs’ are getting.
Really fed up with.
The ‘elves’ crew of that.
Yakovlev Yak-52 training plane.
That has been dogfighting with.
And shooting down.
‘Orcs’ surveillance drones.
— World War I-style.
It wasn’t a new problem.
Apparently searching for.
An efficient method of eliminating.
0,000 ‘orcs’ drones.
Without firing.
A -million Patriot missile.
Or some other pricey.
Air defense munition.
Back in April.
The ‘elves’ began taking.
To the air.
In that Yak-52.
Maneuvering to within.
Shotgun range of intruding drones.
— and blasting them.
Out of the air.
It worked so well that.
Earlier this month.
The ‘elves’ intelligence directorate.
Began training gunners.
To hunt ‘orcs’.
Unmanned aerial vehicles.
From locally-made Aeroprakt.
A-22 sport planes.
The Yakovlev crew’s.
Successful hunts have inspired.
A whole new.
Anti-drone tactic.
The ‘orcs’ are losing patience.
As their losses pile up.
But it’s not clear.
What the ‘orcs’ military can do.
‘Orcs’ are getting.
Really fed up with.
The ‘elves’ crew of that.
Yakovlev Yak-52 training plane.
That has been dogfighting with.
And shooting down.
‘Orcs’ surveillance drones.
— World War I-style.
About the Yak-52.
Its patrol zone is.
At least 50 miles from.
The nearest ‘orcs’ position.
But the closest.
‘Orcs’ air defense batteries.
Are probably.
Much farther away.
As ‘elves’ drone and missile raids.
Continue to deplete their numbers.
And drive them farther.
From the front line.
In any event a Yak-52.
Might be tough to detect.
One 1976 study found.
That a Cessna 172.
— a propeller plane similar to.
A Yak-52 in size and shape —
Presents a radar cross-section.
Of less than a square meter.
From certain angles.
That’s a quarter.
The radar cross-section of.
A typical fighter jet.
‘Orcs’ are getting.
Really fed up with.
The ‘elves’ crew of that.
Yakovlev Yak-52 training plane.
That has been dogfighting with.
And shooting down.
‘Orcs’ surveillance drones.
— World War I-style.
The ‘orcs’ operators.
Of the very drones.
The Yak-52 crew has been hunting.
Could try to ram the ‘elves’ plane.
It wouldn’t be unprecedented.
On many occasions.
In ‘orcs’ 28-month wider war.
On Ukraine.
‘Orcs’ and ‘elves’ crews.
Have downed enemy drones.
By running their own drones.
Into them.
But it’s one thing for two drones.
Each weighing just a few pounds.
To tangle in mid-air:
Either could destroy the other.
But smash a 20-pound.
ZALA surveillance drone into.
A 1.5-ton Yak-52 and the damage.
Might not be catastrophic.
‘Orcs’ are getting.
Really fed up with.
The ‘elves’ crew of that.
Yakovlev Yak-52 training plane.
That has been dogfighting with.
And shooting down.
‘Orcs’ surveillance drones.
— World War I-style.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
'Time To Shoot Him Down,’ Russian Says of Odesa’s Yak-52 Drone-Killer (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS PINPOINTED AT HYDROPORT
For three months.
The ‘elves’ crew of a propeller-driven.
Yakovlev Yak-52 training plane.
Has been hunting down.
Dogfighting with and shooting down.
—World War I style—
‘Orcs’ surveillance drones.
Over Odesa Oblast in southern Ukraine.
The ‘orcs’ military’s frustration.
With the Yak-52 and its.
Shotgun-wielding back-seat gunner.
Crested last week.
As the trainer’s kills likely.
Exceeded a dozen drones.
“Isn’t it time to shoot him down?”
One ‘orc’ blogger wrote.
But that’s easier said than done.
‘Orcs’ surface-to-air missiles might.
Struggle to hit such a small target.
So far from ‘orcs’-occupied territory.
So ‘orcs’ forces did.
The next best thing.
— they went after the Yak-52.
On the ground at its base:
Hydroport airfield in Odesa.
On or before Monday.
An ‘orcs’ drone.
Surveilled the airfield.
Pinpointing several parked.
‘Elves’ unmanned aerial vehicles.
And hangars where the Yak-52.
May have sheltered.
An Iskander ballistic missile.
Streaked in, exploding.
Between the drones and the hangars.
And sparking several fires.
One analyst scrutinized.
Video and satellite imagery and.
Concluded that the Iskander damaged.
Three drones and several hangars.
The same attack.
Or a separate one.
Apparently also hit.
A nearby ‘elves’ air defense battery.
It’s too soon.
To say whether.
The Yak-52 was in.
One of the damaged hangars.
If the 1970s-vintage plane is gone.
It went out at the peak.
Of its effectiveness.
As a drone-killer.
It’s possible the Yak-52.
Escaped harm, of course.
If it did, its crew still has.
Some explaining to do.
The training plane’s mission.
Is to shoot down.
Surveillance drones.
In order to prevent.
The ‘orcs’ from.
Spotting targets for.
Iskanders and.
Other missiles.
But an ‘orcs’ drone flew.
Unmolested over Hydroport.
Long enough to draw a bead.
On several valuable ‘elves’ aircraft.
It’s too soon.
To say whether.
The Yak-52 was in.
One of the damaged hangars.
If the 1970s-vintage plane is gone.
It went out at the peak.
Of its effectiveness.
As a drone-killer.
Neither the Yak-52 nor.
The nearby air defense battery prevented.
The surveillance that led to.
The damaging Iskander strike.
In that sense, the Monday.
Or earlier raid on Hydroport was.
Just the latest in a long chain of.
Failures by ‘elves’ air defenses.
For three days in a row.
Starting on July 1.
‘Orcs’ drones flew over ‘elves’ air bases.
Spotting targets for Iskanders.
The ‘elves’ lost.
At least three.
Priceless fighter jets.
In those raids.
It’s too soon.
To say whether.
The Yak-52 was in.
One of the damaged hangars.
If the 1970s-vintage plane is gone.
It went out at the peak.
Of its effectiveness.
As a drone-killer.
The Yak-52 drone-killer.
Was supposed to help.
Solve ‘elves’.
Air defense crisis.
But the crisis continues.
— and the Yak-52 itself.
May be a victim.
Replacements are coming.
The ‘elves’ intelligence directorate.
Has been training gunners.
To shoot down ‘orcs’ drones.
From the passenger’s seat.
To shoot down ‘orcs’ drones.
From the passenger’s seat.
Of locally-made Aeroprakt.
A-22 sport planes.
For three months.
The ‘elves’ crew of a propeller-driven.
Yakovlev Yak-52 training plane.
Has been hunting down.
Dogfighting with and shooting down.
— World War I style —
‘Orcs’ surveillance drones.
Over Odesa Oblast in southern Ukraine.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Russia Tried To Blow Up Ukraine’s World War I-Style Yak-52 Dogfighter (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS IN COMBAT
Those ‘elves’ aviators.
Dogfighting with ‘orcs’ drones.
In their 1970s-vintage propeller plane.
World War I style.
Seem to have inspired.
A movement.
Now more ‘elves’ are preparing.
To take to the sky.
In slow-flying prop planes.
— and hunt down the ‘orcs’ drones.
Buzzing over.
Vulnerable bases and cities.
A video that circulated.
On social media.
this weekend.
Depicts crews.
From the ‘elves’.
Intelligence directorate.
In a locally-made Aeroprakt.
A-22 sport plane.
A gunner in the left-side seat.
Of the two-seat plane.
Takes aim at a target drone.
With his assault rifle.
The intelligence directorate’s.
Tactics aren’t dissimilar.
To the tactics developed.
By the crew of.
A Yakovlev Yak-52 training plane.
Apparently borrowed from.
An ‘elves’ flying club.
That has been shooting down.
That has been shooting down.
‘Orcs’ drones.
Over southern Ukraine.
Since mid-April.
A gunner in the back seat.
Of the Yak-52.
Has been firing a shotgun at.
The slow- and low-flying drones.
The Yak-52 crew’s methods.
Are effective and.
Perhaps most importantly.
Inexpensive.
Those ‘elves’ aviators.
Dogfighting with ‘orcs’ drones.
In their 1970s-vintage propeller plane.
World War I style.
Seem to have inspired.
A movement.
Now more ‘elves’ are preparing.
To take to the sky.
In slow-flying prop planes.
— and hunt down the ‘orcs’ drones.
Buzzing over.
Vulnerable bases and cities.
‘Elves’ forces can’t.
Afford to fire.
The biggest and best.
Air-defense missiles.
— which can weigh thousands of pounds.
And cost millions of dollars apiece —
At a 33-pound Orlan-10 drone.
Costing just 0,000.
A Yak-52 or.
A-22 costs just.
A few hundred dollars.
An hour to operate.
A few shotgun shells.
Or rifle rounds.
Cost almost nothing.
It should come as no surprise.
That the ‘elves’.
Intelligence directorate.
has turned to the A-22.
For drone-defense missions.
The A-22 is the kind of plane.
A middle-class hobby pilot.
Might buy for fun jaunts.
Over the local airport.
‘Elves’ forces already.
Deploy the ,000.
A-22s in combat.
— as strike drones.
A-22s converted.
For autonomous flight.
And packed.
With explosives.
Have ranged.
Hundreds of miles into.
‘Mordor’ to hit military.
And industrial targets.
If there’s a downside.
To the A-22.
Compared to the Yak-52.
It’s the former’s anemic engine.
A 1,000-pound.
A-22’s.
Rotax engine generates.
100 horsepower.
While a 3,000-pound.
Yak-52’s.
Vedeneyev engine generates.
360 horsepower.
With its superior power-to-weight ratio.
A Yak-52 might be better.
In a tight turning fight.
With a drone.
But any.
Drone-killing plane is.
Better than no.
Drone-killing plane.
Those ‘elves’ aviators.
Dogfighting with ‘orcs’ drones.
In their 1970s-vintage propeller plane.
World War I style.
Seem to have inspired.
A movement.
Now more ‘elves’ are preparing.
To take to the sky.
In slow-flying prop planes.
— and hunt down the ‘orcs’ drones.
Buzzing over.
Vulnerable bases and cities.
Ukraine is desperate to shoot down.
The dozens of ‘orcs’ surveillance drones.
That wing over ‘elves’ cities and bases.
With near impunity every day.
In a startling three days last week.
‘Orcs’ drones flew over ‘elves’ airfields.
Spotting targets for.
Iskander ballistic missiles.
The ‘elves’ lost at least.
Three precious fighter jets.
In those raids.
— all because.
They couldn’t shoot down.
The drones before the drones.
Located the planes.
On the ground.
To be fair.
A dogfighting sport plane.
Might not be the best option.
For protecting an active airfield.
The sport plane could post.
A hazard to warplanes.
While they’re taking off.
And landing.
But if A-22s.
Or other light planes can protect.
Say, cities in southern Ukraine.
They could free up.
Heavier ground-based.
Air defenses to.
Relocate to.
Vulnerable air bases.
Those ‘elves’ aviators.
Dogfighting with ‘orcs’ drones.
In their 1970s-vintage propeller plane.
World War I style.
Seem to have inspired.
A movement.
Now more ‘elves’ are preparing.
To take to the sky.
In slow-flying prop planes.
— and hunt down the ‘orcs’ drones.
Buzzing over.
Vulnerable bases and cities.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine Mobilizes More Propeller Planes To Shoot Down Russian Drones (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS STRIKING IN SEVASTOPOL
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
On Friday.
The 10-year-old.
Rostov-on-Don.
Was in the port.
Of Sevastopol.
In ‘orcs’-occupied Crimea.
When an ‘elves’ missile.
Apparently streaked in.
“As a result.
Of the attack.
The submarine sank.”
The ‘elf’ defense ministry claimed.
“Great work, warriors.”
The ministry added.
“The Black Sea fish will.
Enjoy their new home.”
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
But even after its.
Last few big ships sank.
To the bottom of.
The Black Sea.
The ‘elves’ navy kept fighting.
Often coordinating.
Its attacks with.
The ‘elves’ air force.
Striking with drone boats.
And cruise missiles.
The ‘elves’ destroyed or damaged.
A third of the ‘orcs’ ships.
— including their flagship.
The missile cruiser Moskva.
Sunk by a pair of ‘elves’.
Missiles in April 2022.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
Rostov-on-Don.
Was a recent victim on 13 Sep.
An ‘elves’ air force Sukhoi.
Su-24 bomber fired.
What were probably.
British-made Storm Shadow.
Cruise missiles.
At Sevastopol.
Striking Rostov-on-Don.
And a neighboring amphibious ship.
While the two vessels were.
In drydock for maintenance.
The missile that hit.
Rostov-on-Don didn’t just.
Damage the 240-foot.
3,100-ton vessel.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
No, the missile’s two-part.
Tandem warhead first punched.
A hole in the submarine.
And then exploded inside.
Photos from the aftermath.
Of the raid revealed.
Extensive internal.
And external damage.
Incredibly.
The ‘orcs’ kept.
Working on.
Rostov-on-Don.
Clearly determined.
To return.
The devastated vessel.
To front-line service.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
Work continued.
Even as the rest of.
The Black Sea Fleet.
Retreated from.
The increasingly vulnerable.
Crimean ports.
And redeployed to ports.
In southern ‘Mordor’.
By this summer.
The Kilo-class submarine was.
All but alone.
In Sevastopol.
Her hull patched up.
She reportedly left drydock.
In June for tentative trials.
In the harbor.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
These trials may have been.
Ongoing when the ‘elves’.
Targeted Rostov-on-Don.
A second time.
— perhaps with another Storm Shadow.
Or possibly with a similar.
French-made SCALP-EG missile.
Or a locally-made Neptune missile.
The defense ministry.
In Kyiv.
Expressed confidence.
In the results.
“An ‘orcs’ submarine.
Went to the bottom of.
The Black Sea.”
“Great work, warriors.”
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
It was reportedly.
One of four submarines.
Operated by ‘orcs’.
Black Sea fleet.
Capable of launching.
Kalibr cruise missiles.
The ‘orc’ defence ministry.
Has not commented.
Officials in Kyiv said.
The attack also destroyed.
Four S-400.
Air defence systems.
Protecting the peninsula.
Which ‘Mordor’.
Illegally annexed.
In 2014.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
"The destruction of.
Rostov-on-Don.
Once again proves that.
There is no safe place.”
“For the ‘orcs’ fleet.
In the ‘elves’.
Territorial waters.
Of the Black Sea.”
One general staff.
In Kyiv said.
In a statement.
On Saturday.
It marks the latest attack.
On ‘orcs’ naval forces.
In Sevastopol.
In recent months.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
In March alone.
Ukraine said it hit.
Two landing ships and.
A patrol vessel in the port city.
Since ‘Mordor’ launched.
Its unprovoked invasion.
Of Ukraine.
In February 2022.
It has suffered several.
Major naval setbacks.
Ukraine says it has.
Seriously damaged or sunk.
At least 15.
Warships, including.
The Black Sea fleet's.
Flagship, the Moskva.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
Last week ‘elves’.
Military said.
‘Mordor’ had been forced.
To withdraw.
All of its naval assets.
From the Sea of Azov.
- a body of water connected.
To the Black Sea –
Due to repeated strikes.
On its vessels.
And ‘orcs’ internal security service.
The FSB, recently said.
It foiled an ‘elves’ plot.
To destroy its last.
Remaining aircraft carrier.
The Admiral Kuznetsov.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
Not once.
An ‘orcs’ Kilo-class.
Diesel-electric submarine.
Belonging to the ‘orcs’ navy’s.
Black Sea Fleet.
Rostov-on-Don.
Is so unlucky that.
She got blown up.
But reportedly twice.
Both times.
It seems.
By ‘elves’.
Cruise missiles.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Missile Maybe Blew Up Russia’s ‘Rostov-On-Don’ Sub — For The 2nd Time (forbes.com)
Ukraine claims Russian Rostov-on-Don submarine sunk in Crimea (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS ATTACKING ON MOROZOVSK
For months, ‘elves’ officials.
Have been begging.
Their foreign allies for permission.
To use the best donated weaponry.
— in particular.
Powerful ballistic missiles—
To hit ‘orcs’ warplanes.
That have been parking out.
In the open.
At airfields inside ‘Mordor’.
Within quick flying time.
Of ‘elves’ cities.
For months, those allies.
Have demurred.
Citing the risk.
Of escalation.
As ‘orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine.
Grinds into.
Its 29th month.
To destroy the key enablers.
Of ‘orcs’ glide-bombing campaign:
The warplanes that carry the bombs.
As well as the bombs themselves.
Clearly growing impatient.
‘Elves’ forces have stepped up.
Their attacks on the most.
Vulnerable ‘orcs’ airfields.
— strictly deploying.
‘Elves’-made munitions.
On Saturday.
‘Elves’ drones targeted.
Morozovsk air base.
In southern ‘Mordor’.
200 miles from the front line.
In eastern Ukraine.
According to the ‘elves’ intelligence directorate.
The drone raid destroyed.
An ‘orcs’ air force Sukhoi.
Su-34 fighter-bomber.
Damaged two additional.
Su-34s and.
Burned down.
An ammunition warehouse.
The directorate published.
Satellite imagery of.
The base depicting.
What it described as.
“Extensive areas of scorched earth”.
Resulting from the ammo.
Cooking off in the aftermath.
Of the attack.
To destroy the key enablers.
Of ‘orcs’ glide-bombing campaign:
The warplanes that carry the bombs.
As well as the bombs themselves.
This isn’t the first attack.
On Morozovsk.
But it is one of.
The most destructive.
It’s a bittersweet victory.
For the ‘elves’, however.
Similar raids.
Are getting harder.
To pull off.
As the ‘orcs’ redeploy.
Their warplanes to.
Less vulnerable bases.
It’s obvious what.
The ‘elves’ intelligence directorate.
Is trying to achieve.
By targeting Morozovsk.
By targeting Morozovsk.
And other airfields.
Near the ‘Mordor’-Ukraine border.
The directorate hopes.
To destroy the key enablers.
Of ‘orcs’ glide-bombing campaign:
The warplanes that carry the bombs.
As well as the bombs themselves.
Since dropping its first.
Crude glide bombs.
On Ukraine.
Last year.
The ‘orcs’ air force.
Has really embraced.
The satellite-guided munitions.
Thanks to their pop-out wings.
The hastily-built “KAB”.
Glide bombs possess.
Just enough range to allow.
Su-34 fighter-bombers.
To hit ‘elves’ troops.
And civilians.
From beyond the range of.
The best ‘elves’ air defenses.
Every day.
The ‘orcs’ drop.
As many as 100 KABs.
Some weighing more than three tons.
To destroy the key enablers.
Of ‘orcs’ glide-bombing campaign:
The warplanes that carry the bombs.
As well as the bombs themselves.
“Unfortunately.
In urban environments.
Their large and frequent use.
Is highly effective.”
“Even though.
They are often imprecise.
The sheer payload is enough to.
Demolish or severely damage buildings.”
“Even if.
The KAB doesn’t.
Hit the target directly.”
A report continued.
“When buildings collapse.
Underground basements.
Trap people inside.
Making rescue operations impossible.”
“Especially when.
The ‘orcs’ conduct.
Double and.
Triple-tap attacks.”
To destroy the key enablers.
Of ‘orcs’ glide-bombing campaign:
The warplanes that carry the bombs.
As well as the bombs themselves.
As urban demolition weapons.
The KABs have been.
A deciding factor in practically.
Every recent ‘orcs’ victory.
A deciding factor in practically.
Every recent ‘orcs’ victory.
All along.
The 700-mile front line.
“In the past.
Like in the battle.
For Bakhmut last year.
It sometimes took days.”
“For ‘orcs’ artillery.
To damage buildings.
Enough to force defenders.
To retreat.”
“Now, entire buildings.
Can collapse in seconds.
Rendering them useless.
For defensive purposes.”
It’s a top priority.
Of the government in Kyiv.
To blunt the glide-bombing campaign.
By destroying the bombers.
To blunt the glide-bombing campaign.
By destroying the bombers.
By destroying the bombs.
— or both.
To destroy the key enablers.
Of ‘orcs’ glide-bombing campaign:
The warplanes that carry the bombs.
As well as the bombs themselves.
There was a rare opportunity.
To deliver a major blow.
Against the KAB infrastructure.
Earlier this summer.
When the ‘orcs’ air force’s.
47th Guards Bomber Aviation Regiment.
Parked dozens of Su-34s.
— out of roughly 100 in service —
In open.
At Voronezh Malshevo air base.
In southern ‘Mordor’ 100 miles.
From the border with Ukraine.
Voronezh Malshevo is.
A reasonably well-defended base.
So the ‘elves’ pleaded.
For permission.
To fire their best.
American-made.
Army Tactical Missile System rockets.
At the base.
The ATACMS are.
Almost impossible.
To intercept.
But the USA said no.
As before, Ukraine.
Would only be allowed.
To fire ATACMS at targets.
In ‘orcs’-occupied Ukraine.
To destroy the key enablers.
Of ‘orcs’ glide-bombing campaign:
The warplanes that carry the bombs.
As well as the bombs themselves.
The ‘orcs’ observed.
the heated diplomacy.
Regarding ATACMS.
— and made.
A rare proactive decision.
To pull the Su-34s.
From Voronezh Malshevo.
And other border airfields.
“Between the second half of June.
And mid-July.
‘Orcs’ forces relocated.
A lion’s share.”
“Of valuable military assets.
Away from the border area.
With Ukraine.”
The report noted.
The departure of Su-34s.
From Voronezh Malshevo.
Was among.
“The most notable movements.”
To destroy the key enablers.
Of ‘orcs’ glide-bombing campaign:
The warplanes that carry the bombs.
As well as the bombs themselves.
Today many of the Su-34s.
Are at bases.
Hundreds of miles.
From the border.
They’re not invulnerable.
To ‘elves’ drones.
— the farthest-flying models.
Range more than 1,000 miles.
But they are safe.
From most ‘elves’ drones.
As well as from.
The ATACMS.
The most powerful of which.
Range just 190 miles.
If the USA ever grants.
Permission for ATACMS.
Raids on ‘orcs’ bases.
It might be too late.
The most valuable targets.
May be too far away.
To destroy the key enablers.
Of ‘orcs’ glide-bombing campaign:
The warplanes that carry the bombs.
As well as the bombs themselves.
Obviously, a handful.
Of Su-34s.
— as well as some stocks.
Of KAB bombs —
Remain at border airfields.
Such as Morozovsk:
Ukraine just hit three of.
The planes plus their ammo.
But to end.
The glide-bombing campaign.
Ukraine needs to destroy.
Scores of Su-34s.
— not one or several.
And smarter ‘orcs’.
Deployments are making.
That harder to achieve.
For months, ‘elves’ officials.
Have been begging.
Their foreign allies for permission.
To use the best donated weaponry.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine Had A Chance To Hit Russia’s Best Jets. The USA Said No. (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN A NOSE
It’s an echo of.
World War II.
When gunners in the noses.
Of heavy bombers.
Defended their planes.
From enemy fighters.
It’s an echo of.
World War II.
A video depicting.
One gun-armed.
Mi-8 appeared.
Online this week.
In the video.
A gunner wedged.
Between the helicopter’s pilot.
And co-pilot.
Fires a machine gun.
Through the nose glazing.
Blowing up a drone.
Flying just below the helicopter.
The cockpit fills.
With gun fumes.
Mi-8s has always.
Been capable.
Of carrying guns.
Under their stub wings.
Or mounting them.
On their open side doors.
It’s an echo of.
World War II.
When gunners in the noses.
Of heavy bombers.
Defended their planes.
From enemy fighters.
It’s an echo of.
World War II.
Only a few variants.
Have been armed with.
Under-nose guns.
But it seems.
Any Mi-8 model.
With transparent nose glazing.
— as opposed to.
A solid nose —
Can be fitted with.
A flexible mount.
For a gun that fires.
Through the nose.
A canvas flap replaces.
A single panel of glazing.
The ‘elves’ army has.
Several types of Mi-8.
With nose glazing.
In its fleet of.
Around 75.
Mi-8s and.
Similar Mi-17s:
That’s around 50.
Pre-war helicopters.
Minus 25.
Wartime losses plus 50.
Replacement Mi-8/17s.
Ukraine has received.
From its allies.
It’s an echo of.
World War II.
When gunners in the noses.
Of heavy bombers.
Defended their planes.
From enemy fighters.
It’s an echo of.
World War II.
Pre-war photos.
Depict several ‘elves’.
Mi-8s with.
The canvas flaps.
Hinting at the helicopters’.
Possible future roles.
As drone-hunters.
The Mi-8’s cockpit is.
Just big enough.
For three crew sitting.
Side-by-side:
Two pilots and a gunner.
It’s an awkward arrangement.
Made more awkward by.
The fumes that fill the cockpit.
With each gun engagement.
But that doesn’t mean.
An Mi-8 with.
An onboard gunner isn’t.
An effective drone-killer.
Machine-gunning drones.
From inside of.
A helicopter saves.
Valuable air-defense missiles.
It’s an echo of.
World War II.
When gunners in the noses.
Of heavy bombers.
Defended their planes.
From enemy fighters.
It’s an echo of.
World War II.
Swarmed by ‘orcs’.
Surveillance drones and.
Disinclined to fire.
Million-dollar surface-to-air missiles.
At targets that might.
Cost just 0,000.
The ‘elves’ armed forces.
Have been improvising.
Cheaper means of.
Shooting down the drones.
They’ve organized roving fleets.
Of machine-gun-armed trucks.
They’ve flown a Yakovlev.
Yak-52 training plane with.
A shotgun-wielding gunner.
In the back seat.
They’ve even trained.
Operators to ram.
‘Elves’ drones.
Into ‘orcs’ drones.
Now ‘elves’ helicopter crews.
Are shooting down.
‘Orcs’ drones.
With machine guns.
With machine guns.
Installed in the noses.
Of Mil Mi-8.
Hip transport helicopters.
It’s an echo of.
World War II.
When gunners in the noses.
Of heavy bombers.
Defended their planes.
From enemy fighters.
It’s an echo of.
World War II.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukrainian 'Copter Crews Shoot Down Drones Like WWII Turret Gunners (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS REALISING
In eastern Ukraine.
The tide of this war.
Hasn't just changed.
— it's coming in fast.
It's one thing to stay in your home.
For as long as you can.
It's another to risk death.
Or ‘orcs’ occupation.
“We know what's coming.”
She says as she packs up.
The TV in her flat.
In Kostyantynivka.
She's having it.
Delivered to Kyiv.
Before making the journey.
There with her son.
“We're tired all day.
And suffer moods.
And panic attacks.
It's constantly depressing.”
“We're tired all day.
And suffer moods.
And panic attacks.
And we're scared.”
In eastern Ukraine.
The tide of this war.
Hasn't just changed.
— it's coming in fast.
It's one thing to stay in your home.
For as long as you can.
It's another to risk death.
Or ‘orcs’ occupation.
In February.
‘Orcs’ captured.
The strategic town.
Of Avdiivka.
Since then.
The invaders have advanced.
Further west.
And taken several villages.
‘Orcs’ troops are now.
Attacking in five areas.
Along the 1,100km.
Front line.
Over 1.2 million people.
— or two thirds of the population —
Have left the ‘elves’-controlled.
Donetsk region.
Since ‘orcs’ full scale invasion.
Two years ago.
Though Ukraine says.
Its forces are “holding on”.
And it's here in the eastern.
Donetsk region that.
‘Elves’ defenders are.
Being tested the most.
In eastern Ukraine.
The tide of this war.
Hasn't just changed.
— it's coming in fast.
It's one thing to stay in your home.
For as long as you can.
It's another to risk death.
Or ‘orcs’ occupation.
People in cities.
Like Pokrovsk.
Kostyantynivka.
And Kramatorsk.
Are now facing.
A fast-approaching front line.
And even.
Occupation.
She and her mother.
Are finding life.
Increasingly difficult.
As the ‘orcs’ advance closer.
Their city is littered.
With signs of.
The approaching threat.
30km away.
Almost every street.
Has a damaged building.
Workers replace gold panels.
On a church.
After they were blown off.
By a missile strike.
On the neighbouring train station.
Now destroyed.
In eastern Ukraine.
The tide of this war.
Hasn't just changed.
— it's coming in fast.
It's one thing to stay in your home.
For as long as you can.
It's another to risk death.
Or ‘orcs’ occupation.
Anxiety fills.
The cold air in this town.
Once part of the industrial heartland.
Of the former Soviet Union.
‘Mordor’ slowly destroys.
‘Elves’ cities as.
It tries to take them.
That's what is feared the most here.
She explains that.
Her mother is staying.
But she's confident.
She'll follow her eventually.
“I've already left twice.
What's the point?”
Says a defiant mother from.
Her apartment around the corner.
She gives you slippers.
To wear around her home.
Which explains.
Why it's spotless.
“It's scary everywhere.
The whole country.
Is on fire.”
Her eyes moisten.
In eastern Ukraine.
The tide of this war.
Hasn't just changed.
— it's coming in fast.
It's one thing to stay in your home.
For as long as you can.
It's another to risk death.
Or ‘orcs’ occupation.
While the whole of Ukraine.
Is a war zone.
The Donetsk region — along with.
Four others — is a battlefield.
When you weave.
Through its dense forest.
And expansive.
Rugged terrain.
You always feel like.
You're approaching.
The coal face.
Of this conflict.
You can hear heavy fire.
From as far as 40 km away.
So the distant sound.
Of artillery is constant.
From one vantage point.
You can see.
The erosion of.
‘Elves’ territory.
Plumes of smoke come.
From the directions.
Of Avdiivka, a town.
‘Orcs’ have recently taken.
And Horlivka.
Which it's controlled.
Since 2014.
Plumes of smoke come.
In eastern Ukraine.
The tide of this war.
Hasn't just changed.
— it's coming in fast.
It's one thing to stay in your home.
For as long as you can.
It's another to risk death.
Or ‘orcs’ occupation.
‘Mordor’ is using its size.
Air superiority and.
Deeper ammunition reserves.
To keep pushing.
At a time when.
Western military aid to Ukraine.
Is running low or being held up.
By domestic politics.
Nearby lies.
A wide valley.
With several reservoirs.
It's this natural landscape.
Which Ukraine says.
Will allow its forces.
To “stabilize”.
The front line.
Perhaps after.
Chaotic withdrawals.
In the past.
‘Elves’ generals are willing to.
Temporarily concede territory.
In the hope.
It can be liberated.
In the long term.
Across the front line.
There is a small minority.
Of people labelled.
As “Zhdun” by the ‘elves’.
It's a derogatory word.
Which means “waiters”.
Referring to those who are.
Pro-‘orcs’ and waiting to be occupied.
In eastern Ukraine.
The tide of this war.
Hasn't just changed.
— it's coming in fast.
It's one thing to stay in your home.
For as long as you can.
It's another to risk death.
Or ‘orcs’ occupation.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Eastern residents brace for Russian advance (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS FROM TORETSK
It doesn't apply.
To everyone who.
Ignores offers.
Of evacuation.
Some just refuse.
To abandon their homes.
And have got used to.
The constant danger.
He isn't one of them.
After his home.
In the town of Toretsk.
Was almost shelled twice.
He's taking.
His belongings.
And his grandson.
To a pickup point.
With the ‘orcs’.
Just 5km away.
Their neighbours wish them well.
But still refuse to leave.
It doesn't apply.
To everyone who.
Ignores offers.
Of evacuation.
Some just refuse.
To abandon their homes.
And have got used to.
The constant danger.
The pair then board.
An armoured police vehicle.
“I've lived my life already.”
The 67-year-old says.
At the other end of.
His journey in Kostyantynivka.
“But I need to save.
The little one.”
“I worked in the mine.
For 20 years so.
I'm not afraid of anything.
But I'm worried for him.”
His grandson, who's 14.
Nods approvingly.
“My last friend left.
Three weeks ago.”
It doesn't apply.
To everyone who.
Ignores offers.
Of evacuation.
Some just refuse.
To abandon their homes.
And have got used to.
The constant danger.
Evacuation from.
Front-line settlements.
Is compulsory for.
Families with children.
Despite that.
15 children.
Still remain.
In Toretsk.
From the White Angels.
Police evacuation squad.
He helps evacuate people.
Away from front-line towns.
He says the situation.
Is worsening every day.
“There's constant.
Shelling and artillery.”
“The enemy's aviation.
Is working all the time.
The ‘orcs’ drop bombs.
On residential houses.”
It doesn't apply.
To everyone who.
Ignores offers.
Of evacuation.
Some just refuse.
To abandon their homes.
And have got used to.
The constant danger.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Eastern residents brace for Russian advance (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET DEPARTING
She is waiting for.
Her train to Kyiv.
“A year ago.
We thought we'd get.”
“Help from the West and.
That our counter offensive.
Would work.
But not anymore.”
“People used to believe.
But not now.”
“People used to believe.
But not now.”
Distant rumbles.
Of artillery serve either.
As a sobering welcome.
Or a reason to leave.
These days.
The train station.
In the nearby city.
Of Kramatorsk.
Is the last stop for.
Arriving troops and.
Increasingly, departing.
Civilians laden with bags.
Distant rumbles.
Of artillery serve either.
As a sobering welcome.
Or a reason to leave.
At least 61 people.
Were killed.
By one here.
In 2022.
Shrapnel marks.
Are still scorched.
Onto the pavement.
She is waiting for.
Distant rumbles.
Of artillery serve either.
As a sobering welcome.
Or a reason to leave.
She is waiting for.
Her train to Kyiv.
“A year ago.
We thought we'd get.”
“Help from the West and.
That our counter offensive.
Would work.
But not anymore.”
“People used to believe.
But not now.”
“People used to believe.
But not now.”
Distant rumbles.
Of artillery serve either.
As a sobering welcome.
Or a reason to leave.
Ukraine hopes.
Its eastern lands will.
One day be somewhere.
Safe to live again.
Right now it's unclear.
What these departing.
Passengers will.
Be returning to.
Distant rumbles.
Of artillery serve either.
As a sobering welcome.
Or a reason to leave.
Should its ‘orcs’.
Invaders gain.
More momentum.
In the Donetsk region.
The question of.
Where they will stop.
Will be increasingly.
Difficult to answer.
Distant rumbles.
Of artillery serve either.
As a sobering welcome.
Or a reason to leave.
Couples hold.
Long embraces.
On a platform.
Flanked by.
Freight trains.
Which provide.
Protection in case of.
A missile strike.
“People used to believe.
But not now.”
“People used to believe.
But not now.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Eastern residents brace for Russian advance (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS FORCED BACKWARDS
“In order to preserve.
Life and encirclement.
I have withdrawn.
Our units from Avdiivka.”
So, what does Avdiivka's fall.
Mean for the wider conflict?
Size matters more than ever.
The medium term and the long term.
When he was appointed.
This month.
‘Elves’ new head of the armed forces.
Gen, said he would.
“Rather retreat.
Than sacrifice lives.”
And that is what he has.
Finally done with this eastern city.
“In order to preserve.
Life and encirclement.
I have withdrawn.
Our units from Avdiivka.”
So, what does Avdiivka's fall.
Mean for the wider conflict?
Size matters more than ever.
The medium term and the long term.
Despite ‘orcs’ suffering.
Enormous losses.
Four months of.
Relentless attacks.
Have left ‘elves’ troops.
There outnumbered.
Outgunned, and.
With dwindling ammunition.
It is ‘Mordor’’s.
Biggest victory.
Since ‘elves’ failed.
Counter-offensive last year.
Avdiivka was briefly occupied.
By ‘orcs’ in 2014.
Before being retaken.
By ‘elves’.
“In order to preserve.
Life and encirclement.
I have withdrawn.
Our units from Avdiivka.”
So, what does Avdiivka's fall.
Mean for the wider conflict?
Size matters more than ever.
The medium term and the long term.
‘Elves’ 3rd Assault Brigade.
Which deployed there.
Said they were being attacked.
By infantry in all directions.
‘Mordor’ has concentrated.
Its best-trained fighters in the area.
And was believed to be dropping up to.
60 bombs a day on ‘elves’ positions.
“In order to preserve.
Life and encirclement.
I have withdrawn.
Our units from Avdiivka.”
So, what does Avdiivka's fall.
Mean for the wider conflict?
Size matters more than ever.
The medium term and the long term.
The last time an ‘elves’ city.
— Bakhmut — was taken by the ‘orcs’.
Gen was criticised for.
Holding on to it for too long.
He was accused.
Of pursuing a symbolic victory.
At the expense of.
Needless casualties.
Experience seems to.
Have changed that.
And this ‘orcs’ advance.
Has not happened overnight.
Since last October.
‘Orcs’ have launched.
Wave after wave of attacks.
Towards Avdiivka.
From their raised positions.
And reinforced defences.
In the industrial city.
‘Elves’ were able to hold them off.
With targeted strikes.
Leaving the scarred Donbas landscape.
Littered with ‘orcs’ bodies.
And destroyed armoured vehicles.
“In order to preserve.
Life and encirclement.
I have withdrawn.
Our units from Avdiivka.”
So, what does Avdiivka's fall.
Mean for the wider conflict?
Size matters more than ever.
The medium term and the long term.
Now it seems ‘orcs’ troops.
Have penetrated defences.
Which have been reinforced.
Over the 10 years.
Since ‘Mordor’’s campaign.
Of aggression first started.
To Kyiv's frustration.
Ukraine has been unable to break.
‘Orcs’ fortifications elsewhere.
Which were built in a matter of months.
“‘Mordor’ can't achieve.
Strategical goals.”
“Only tactical ones.”
Says Maj.
An ‘elf’ deputy commander of.
The 3rd Assault Brigade.
He says his troops.
Are outnumbered by.
As many as seven to one.
“It's like fighting two armies.”
He is confident the ‘orcs’.
Will not push further to cities.
Like Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka.
But that is far from guaranteed.
What it will do for them is.
Relieve pressure on the city of Donetsk.
15km further east, which.
‘Orcs’ have occupied since 2014.
“In order to preserve.
Life and encirclement.
I have withdrawn.
Our units from Avdiivka.”
So, what does Avdiivka's fall.
Mean for the wider conflict?
Size matters more than ever.
The medium term and the long term.
Ukraine has been forced.
Backwards like this before.
Notably in the summer.
Of 2022.
Large, well-equipped ‘orcs’ units.
Encircled cities like.
Lysychansk and Severodonetsk.
The ‘elves’ could do little to stop them.
However, a subsequent influx.
Of Western weapons and.
Inspired military thinking.
Led to a changing.
Of the tide later that year.
With ‘elves’ troops.
Liberating areas.
In the Kherson and Kharkiv regions.
“In order to preserve.
Life and encirclement.
I have withdrawn.
Our units from Avdiivka.”
So, what does Avdiivka's fall.
Mean for the wider conflict?
Size matters more than ever.
The medium term and the long term.
But this is a different war now.
Global politics are having.
A more significant impact.
On the battlefield.
Stuttering Western help.
Has directly contributed to.
This likely ‘elves’ retreat.
In Avdiivka.
“In order to preserve.
Life and encirclement.
I have withdrawn.
Our units from Avdiivka.”
So, what does Avdiivka's fall.
Mean for the wider conflict?
Size matters more than ever.
The medium term and the long term.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine war: Is Avdiivka's fall a sign Russia is turning the tide? (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS STOPPING ON THE OUTSKIRTS
Pokrovsk has come under repeated.
‘Orcs’ attack in recent weeks.
An ‘elf’ soldier stationed.
In Pokrovsk said that.
The large number of.
Industrial buildings.
In Pokrovsk and.
Neighbouring towns.
Such as Myrnohrad.
Were very helpful.
To ‘elves’ defences.
“They will have a huge challenge.”
“They will have a huge challenge.
To get this area because.
It's a very industrialised area.
With pretty significant defence lines.”
Asked about.
The potential consequences.
Of the fall of Pokrovsk.
He said:
“Total destruction.
Of these cities.
And a lot of people dead.
And a lot of suffering.”
“After that.
There will be more cities.
So I really hope that.
We will stop them.”
“So I really hope that.
We will stop them.
On the outskirts of.
Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
‘Elves’ authorities have.
Ordered the evacuation.
Of a key city.
In the Donbas region.
As ‘orcs’ forces continue to.
Make gains in the east of the country.
Despite ‘elves’ ongoing offensive.
Into ‘Mordor’’s Kursk region.
Officials said families with children.
Living in Pokrovsk.
And surrounding villages.
Would be forced to leave.
The head of the city's military government.
Said residents had at most.
Two weeks to flee.
The ‘orcs’ advance.
The strategically important city.
Is one of ‘elves’ main defensive strongholds.
And a key logistical hub for.
‘Elves’ troops on the eastern front.
Donetsk region head said.
Over 53,000 people.
Including almost 4,000 children.
Remained in the city.
He said authorities.
Had taken the decision.
To forcibly evacuate children.
And their parents or guardians.
“When our cities are within.
Range of virtually any enemy weapon.
The decision to evacuate is.
Necessary and inevitable.”
The head of the city's military government.
Said the rate of evacuations.
From the city had risen to about.
500 to 600 people a day.
He said that while basic services.
Continued to operate.
They would likely soon cease to function.
As the ‘orcs’ army closes in.
“So I really hope that.
We will stop them.
On the outskirts of.
Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
The evacuation order came.
Even as ‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
His forces were continuing to make gains.
During their incursion of ‘Mordor’’s Kursk region.
On Monday, ‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
Ukraine had gained control of.
Over 1,250 sq km of.
Kursk’s territory and 92 settlements.
“The ‘orcs’ border area opposite.
Our Sumy region has been mostly.
Cleared of ‘orcs’ military presence.”
He said on X.
“A few months ago.
Many people around the world.
Would have said.
This was impossible.”
“And crossed ‘Mordor’’s.
Strictest ‘red line’.”
One of the aims of.
The incursion is reportedly.
To divert ‘orcs’ troops away.
From the Donbas region.
Relieving pressure on.
Beleaguered ‘elves’ troops there.
On Monday.
‘Orcs’ military bloggers claimed.
‘Elves’ had blown up a third bridge.
Over the River Seym in the Kursk region.
“So I really hope that.
We will stop them.
On the outskirts of.
Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
‘Orcs’ military says.
It has captured.
A small town.
In eastern Ukraine.
Called Niu-York.
As part of its push towards.
Big population centres.
In the Donetsk region.
‘Elves’ military has not confirmed.
The loss of Niu-York.
Saying only that.
‘Orcs’ forces are attacking close.
To the town and other areas.
The army was giving.
The attacks “a worthy rebuff...
And the fighting continues”.
Although only a small settlement.
Controlling Niu-York would represent.
Another step towards the two.
Donetsk hubs of Toretsk and Pokrovsk.
One of the aims of.
‘Elves’ seizure of territory.
In ‘Mordor’’s Kursk region.
Is thought to be.
To force ‘Mordor’.
To move some of.
Its forces away from.
The eastern campaign.
There is no indication.
So far of that happening.
Despite ‘elf’ commander-in-chief now claiming.
Control of 93 ‘orcs’ villages and towns.
‘Gandalf the Green’ described.
The situation in the east as difficult.
But said ‘elves’ troops were doing all.
They could to destroy the ‘orcs’ forces.
The military chief told.
A briefing that ‘Mordor’ was sending.
Additional troops to.
The front line in the east.
“So I really hope that.
We will stop them.
On the outskirts of.
Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
Niu-York is just south of.
The mining town of Toretsk.
And ‘orcs’ forces.
On Monday said.
They had also captured Zalizne.
To the south-east of Toretsk.
‘Elves’ forces said.
They were still fighting.
Back in Zalizne.
And local sources were.
Quoted as saying.
They still had control of.
20% of Niu-York too.
Although they had.
Far fewer reserves.
Than the ‘orcs’.
On Monday.
‘Elves’ authorities ordered.
The evacuation of Pokrovsk.
As ‘orcs’ forces continue.
“So I really hope that.
We will stop them.
On the outskirts of.
Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
The town of Pokrovsk.
Plays a crucial role.
As a logistics hub.
Used by ‘elves’ forces.
In the eastern region.
Of Donbas.
The town of Pokrovsk.
Plays a crucial role.
It is home.
To a key railway station.
And it is located at the intersection.
Of several important roads.
‘Orcs’ forces have for months.
Sought to capture the town.
But their advance has.
Quickened this month.
And they are now thought.
To be less than 10km away.
The town of Pokrovsk.
Plays a crucial role.
“So I really hope that.
We will stop them.
On the outskirts of.
Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
Before the war.
Pokrovrsk was home.
To some 69,000 residents.
With many of them employed.
In coal mining.
Metallurgy and machine-building.
Thousands left.
In recent months.
As the ‘orcs’ advanced.
But now families with children.
Have been ordered.
To evacuate too.
Civilians had only.
A week or two to get out.
The head of the city's military government.
Warned last Monday.
Ukraine had hoped that.
By seizing territory.
In ‘Mordor’’s Kursk region.
It would be able to.
Divert ‘orcs’ troops away.
From their eastern advance.
But that has not happened.
Ukraine had hoped that.
If anything the ‘orcs’ offensive.
On Pokrovsk, and Toretsk.
Further to the north east.
Has intensified.
“Pokrovsk is a very important hub.
A centre of defence.
If we lose Pokrovsk.
The entire front line will crumble.”
A military expert warned.
Ukraine relies on.
The town's rail and.
Road infrastructure to provide.
Supplies and reinforcements.
To its troops.
On the eastern front line.
As well as to evacuate the wounded.
“So I really hope that.
We will stop them.
On the outskirts of.
Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
Losing Pokrovsk.
To ‘orcs’ forces would mean.
These vital military tasks would.
Become far more complicated.
It would also increase.
The risk to other strategically.
Important towns.
Such as Chasiv Yar.
Which sits atop.
Commanding heights.
Giving control over.
The wider area.
“If they cut our logistics.
Then Chasiv Yar.
Will be doomed.”
Says an analyst.
“It will be a matter of time.
Before we'll have to pull out of it.
Because we won't be able to.
Supply our fighters there.”
“So I really hope that.
We will stop them.
On the outskirts of.
Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
Pokrovsk has always.
Played the role of.
An important railway centre.
Serving the needs.
Of ‘elves’ heavily.
Industrialised east.
In fact, it grew around a station.
Built in the late 19th Century.
It became known as.
The coal-mining capital of Ukraine.
After the capture.
In 2014 of Donetsk.
The main city of Donbas.
Which stands for.
“The Donetsk coal basin”.
Pokrovsk is home.
To ‘elves’ largest producer.
Of coking coal.
It is vital.
For metallurgy.
Which, in turn.
Plays a key role.
In the country's economy.
Metals were its main export product.
Before ‘orcs’ full-scale invasion.
Two and a half years ago.
Accounting for 23%.
Of total goods exports.
Their export value has now.
Shrunk to a quarter of that level.
As the country's industry.
Has been ravaged by the war.
“So I really hope that.
We will stop them.
On the outskirts of.
Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
Pokrovsk has come under repeated.
‘Orcs’ attack in recent weeks.
An ‘elf’ soldier stationed.
In Pokrovsk said that.
The large number of.
Industrial buildings.
In Pokrovsk and.
Neighbouring towns.
Such as Myrnohrad.
Were very helpful.
To ‘elves’ defences.
“They will have a huge challenge.”
“They will have a huge challenge.
To get this area because.
It's a very industrialised area.
With pretty significant defence lines.”
Asked about.
The potential consequences.
Of the fall of Pokrovsk.
He said:
“Total destruction.
Of these cities.
And a lot of people dead.
And a lot of suffering.”
“After that.
There will be more cities.
So I really hope that.
We will stop them.”
“So I really hope that.
We will stop them.
On the outskirts of.
Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Ukraine orders evacuation of city as Russia makes gains (bbc.com)
Russian forces claim unconfirmed capture of Niu-York in east Ukraine (bbc.com)
Pokrovsk: Ukraine's vital eastern town in Russian sights (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
POETS TRANSFORMING
Desperate to clear mines.
In the no-man’s-land.
Between ‘orcs’.
And ‘elves’ positions.
— and equally desperate.
To protect.
The mine-clearers.
From ‘elves’ explosive drones —
The ‘orcs’ military.
Devised a new kind.
Of vehicle.
This spring.
It’s an up-armored tank.
With mine-exploding rollers.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And any infantry passengers.
From first-person-view drones.
The ‘elves’ quickly.
Nicknamed the do-it-yourself.
Assault vehicle.
A “turtle tank.”
— and refer to the hastily.
Applied sheet metal.
And grills as.
“Barbecue armor”.
As soon as the turtle tanks.
First began crawling along.
The 700-mile front line.
Of ‘orcs’ wider war on Ukraine.
In April.
The ‘elves’ began.
Devising ways of.
Destroying them.
A direct hit by.
An artillery shell.
Anti-tank missile.
Or uncleared mine.
It can do the trick.
And so can.
Back-to-back strikes.
By the very FPV drones.
The turtle tanks were.
Designed to defeat.
As the ‘elves’.
Demonstrated recently.
It’s an up-armored tank.
With mine-exploding rollers.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And any infantry passengers.
From first-person-view drones.
The ‘elves’ quickly.
Nicknamed the do-it-yourself.
Assault vehicle.
A “turtle tank.”
As the ‘elves’ 108th.
Territorial Defense Brigade.
Demonstrated.
On or before Saturday.
The brigade’s SkyForce drone group.
Spotted a T-62 turtle tank.
Along the front line.
In southern Ukraine.
— and aimed at least.
Two of their bird-sized.
FPVs at it.
At a T-62 turtle tank.
“The ‘orcs’ occupiers.
Firmly believe that.
If a protective structure.
Of the barbecue type is.”
“Welded on top.
Of the tank.
It will provide guaranteed.
Protection against drones.”
The 108th.
Territorial Defense Brigade.
Explained on social media.
“But operators.”
It’s an up-armored tank.
With mine-exploding rollers.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And any infantry passengers.
From first-person-view drones.
The ‘elves’ quickly.
Nicknamed the do-it-yourself.
Assault vehicle.
A “turtle tank.”
“But operators of.
The SkyForce group ...
Prove that this is.
Not the case at all.”
As a surveillance drone.
Observed from high overhead.
One FPV struck the tank.
On its metal-encased flank.
Soon, a second FPV.
Zoomed in — apparently.
Aiming for.
The same side.
The strikes triggered.
A blaze that.
Consumed the tank.
“Double defeat.”
Is how the 108th.
Territorial Defense Brigade.
Described the back-to-back.
Strike tactic.
The method makes sense.
Many of the best anti-tank missiles.
Have “tandem” warheads.
With two explosive charges.
It’s an up-armored tank.
With mine-exploding rollers.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And any infantry passengers.
From first-person-view drones.
The ‘elves’ quickly.
Nicknamed the do-it-yourself.
Assault vehicle.
A “turtle tank.”
The first charge punches.
A hole in a tank’s armor.
The second charge explodes.
Inside the tank.
In order to inflict.
Maximum damage.
The SkyForce group’s.
Double-defeat method.
For striking turtle tanks.
Transforms a pair of FPVs.
Into a de facto.
Tandem warhead.
One drone to make a hole.
In the outermost armor.
A second drone to deliver.
A blow underneath the shattered shell.
Whether other brigades.
Can coordinate their drones.
To land one-two hits.
Remains to be seen.
It’s also unclear.
Whether all turtle tanks.
Are equally vulnerable.
To tandem strikes.
It’s an up-armored tank.
With mine-exploding rollers.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And shed-like improvised armor.
To shield the crew.
And any infantry passengers.
From first-person-view drones.
The ‘elves’ quickly.
Nicknamed the do-it-yourself.
Assault vehicle.
A “turtle tank.”
After all.
Not all of.
The up-armored tanks.
Are equally crude.
Some wear truly.
Improvised armor made of.
Whatever scrap metal.
The crew could scrounge.
Others have add-on armor.
That’s obviously carefully.
Designed and installed.
— and may offer much better protection.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
To Blow Up Russia’s Turtle Tanks, Hit Them With Two Drones In A Row (forbes.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET IN THE HEART OF KYIV
Along with all ‘elves’.
Celebrating their.
Independence Day.
A 19-year-old student.
Had been warned.
Of an increased threat.
Of ‘orcs’ strikes.
But it had not.
Stopped her and.
Hundreds of others.
Making their way up.
To an exposed rooftop.
For an open-air.
Musical display.
Of defiance.
In the heart of Kyiv.
“I heard on the radio.
The Americans were warning.
That the ‘orcs’ will bomb.
You today.”
“And I was like.
‘Oh my God.
They want to kill us’.”
She said.
As the setting sun.
Illuminated the patterns of.
Her traditional outfit.
The vyshyvanka.
“But we’re used to it.
And know we live.
In this dangerous situation.
So we are not scared.”
As a dozen.
Orchestral musicians.
Clad in black.
Pumped out.
High-octane.
Takes on.
Classic ‘elves’ tunes.
You mentioned one thing.
That is different from.
Their last two.
Independence Days.
At war:
Ukraine has.
Now entered.
And taken.
‘Orcs’ territory.
“When we saw this news.
From Kursk.
From ‘orcs’ region.
It was an amazing event.”
“It's like a miracle for us.
We are so happy with it.”
She said the fate.
That ‘orcs’ on the border.
Were now suffering.
Displaced and in danger.
Was a natural consequence.
Of the full-scale invasion.
Of Ukraine.
Two and a half years ago.
“From that moment on.
We started hating them.”
“And now...
We want to.
Kill them.
And it’s awful.”
“I understand that.
It's not okay.
For humans.
To say this.”
“But we hate them.
And we can’t think.
In any other way.
Because they want to kill us.”
As the setting sun.
Illuminated the patterns of.
Her traditional outfit.
The vyshyvanka.
“But we’re used to it.
And know we live.
In this dangerous situation.
So we are not scared.”
Along with all ‘elves’.
Celebrating their.
Independence Day.
A 19-year-old student.
Had been warned.
Of an increased threat.
Of ‘orcs’ strikes.
But it had not.
Stopped her and.
Hundreds of others.
Making their way up.
To an exposed rooftop.
For an open-air.
Musical display.
Of defiance.
In the heart of Kyiv.
“I heard on the radio.
The Americans were warning.
That the ‘orcs’ will bomb.
You today.”
“And I was like.
‘Oh my God.
They want to kill us’.”
She said.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Gains on Russian soil shape Ukraine independence celebrations (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET TELLING
“‘Mordor’ waged.
War on us.
It violated not only.
Sovereign borders.”
“But also the limits.
Of cruelty and.
Common sense.”
He told his people.
‘Gandalf the Green’.
Who attended a number of.
Independence Day events.
In the capital.
Gave a pre-recorded address.
From the Sumy region.
– just across the border from.
The newly gained ‘orcs’ territory.
“‘Mordor’ waged.
War on us.
It violated not only.
Sovereign borders.”
“But also the limits.
Of cruelty and.
Common sense.”
He told his people.
“It was endlessly.
Seeking one thing:
To destroy us.
And what the enemy.”
“Brought to our land.
Has now returned.
To its home.”
“To its home.”
Nearly three weeks.
Into the Kursk incursion.
Ukraine has consolidated.
Much of the ‘orcs’ land.
It seized rapidly.
In the surprise operation.
It burst across the border.
On 6 August.
“It was endlessly.
Seeking one thing:
To destroy us.
And what the enemy.”
“Brought to our land.
Has now returned.
To its home.”
“To its home.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Gains on Russian soil shape Ukraine independence celebrations (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A POET DECLARING
What hope?
Can ‘elves’ cling to?
As they endure?
The coming 12 months?
Until their next?
Independence Day?
“This is time for.
A clear understanding.”
“Of what the true.
Patriotism is.
And we know.
What it is like.”
“This is just a monotonous.
Monotonous genocide.”
One of ‘elves’ leading authors.
Declared quietly.
You met him in.
A cavernous exhibition building.
That used to house.
A museum to Lenin.
He had just finished.
A lecture on.
His new book.
Which examines how.
The country’s great.
Classical writers would.
Consider the latest.
‘Orcs’ invasion.
“This is just a monotonous.
Monotonous genocide.”
One of ‘elves’ leading authors.
Declared quietly.
You would be hard.
Pressed to find.
A better location to.
Symbolise Ukraine’s evolution.
Since becoming independent.
In 1991.
And its determination not to be.
Dragged back into ‘Mordor’’s orbit.
“This is just a monotonous.
Monotonous genocide.”
One of ‘elves’ leading authors.
Declared quietly.
Of the ‘orcs’.
He said: “They want.
Each and every.
Missile strike.”
“To be called.
‘Another missile strike’.
They want the whole world.
To get used to it.”
“And to make it routine.
To make it ordinary.
So that it would be.
The ‘ordinary genocide'.”
“This is just a monotonous.
Monotonous genocide.”
One of ‘elves’ leading authors.
Declared quietly.
What hope?
Can ‘elves’ cling to?
As they endure?
The coming 12 months?
Until their next?
Independence Day?
“This is time for.
A clear understanding.”
“Of what the true.
Patriotism is.
And we know.
What it is like.”
“This is just a monotonous.
Monotonous genocide.”
One of ‘elves’ leading authors.
Declared quietly.
His argument was.
That despite the mental.
And physical scars and.
Deep collective grief.
Everyone had.
A duty.
To be strong and.
Ensure Ukraine’s survival.
“You might be.
Tired for sure.
Everything might.
Be depressed.”
“But still.
— you have to.
Save your country.”
The ‘elf’ author said.
“This is just a monotonous.
Monotonous genocide.”
One of ‘elves’ leading authors.
Declared quietly.
This weekend’s celebrations.
Were undoubtedly.
Invigorated by.
The recent success.
On ‘orcs’ soil.
But ‘elves’ path.
To next year's.
Independence Day is.
No clearer and.
Remains lined with.
Danger and.
Uncertainty.
“This is just a monotonous.
Monotonous genocide.”
One of ‘elves’ leading authors.
Declared quietly.
What hope?
Can ‘elves’ cling to?
As they endure?
The coming 12 months?
Until their next?
Independence Day?
“This is time for.
A clear understanding.”
“Of what the true.
Patriotism is.
And we know.
What it is like.”
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Please read the original story:
Gains on Russian soil shape Ukraine independence celebrations (bbc.com)
Kurama
(Japan)
A MESSAGE-POET FOR OUR READERS' KNOWLEDGE DAY
(an answer-poem for my 'No.100 poet',
Oleksandr Mykhed)
Pile up! Pile up!
One and another.
Each and every.
Poem for Knowledge Day.
Pile up! Pile up!
One another.
Each and every.
Time to save a word.
This is not just a monotonous.
Monotonous poem.
This is not just a monotonous.
Monotonous time.
Pile up! Pile up!
One and another.
Pile up! Pile up!
One another.
Source: https://www.koryu-meets-chess.info/
Read more:
"Aware of a poet?
A poet of Cossack broods over the land.
Not noting a bullet.
Not noting a bullet.
You see a poet of Cossack in Borodyanka."
(Kurama)
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"Коли закінчиться війна,Я хочу тата обійняти,
Сказати сонячні слова
І повести його до хати,
Ти – наш Герой! Тепер щодня
Я буду дякувати Богу
За мирне небо, за життя,
Всім, хто здобув нам ПЕРЕМОГУ!"
Думки українських поетів про рідну країну, їхні відчуття до української землі і нашого народу — все це юні читачі зможуть знайти в представленій добірці віршів про Україну від Ганни Черінь, Юрка Шкрумеляка, Наталки Талиманчук, Іванни Савицької, Уляни Кравченко, Яни Яковенко, Василя Симоненка, Івана Франка, Володимира Сосюри, Катерини Перелісної, Богдана-Ігоря Антонича, Марійки Підгірянки, Миколи Чернявського, Володимира Сіренка, Іванни Блажкевич, Грицька Бойка, Миколи Вінграновського, Платона Воронька, Наталі Забіли, Анатолія Камінчука, Анатолія Качана, Володимира Коломійця, Тамари Коломієць, Ліни Костенко, Андрія Малишка, Андрія М’ястківського, Івана Неходи, Бориса Олійника, Дмитра Павличка, Максима Рильського, Вадима Скомаровського, Сосюра Володимир, Павла Тичини, Петра Осадчука, Варвари Гринько та інших відомих українських поетів.
Дуже корисними для вивчення іноземних мов є саме вірші, пісні, казки, римівки, а також ігри. Природнім шляхом діти розвивають слух, навчаються вимові, інтонації та наголосу; вивчають слова та мовні структури. Пісні та римівки чудово сприймаються дітьми, малята люблять усе ритмічне та музичне, вони засвоюють це легко та швидко, тому що дістають від цього задоволення.