Are we getting tired? Ban Lukashenko. Putin's daughters and orthodox family values.

Are allies tired of Ukraine? (spoiler: no”ish”)

We are going through challenging times; there is no reason to pretend they are not. Ukraine is lacking missiles, and partners have not been able to boost production capacities as much as expected. The US has not delivered long-range missiles for ATACMS or GLMRS munitions. F-16 fighter jets have not arrived. Russia is expanding its drone production; its economy is not even close to collapsing, and another wave of mobilization may be coming, besides constantly ongoing hidden mobilization. Even more importantly, the US Congress has not yet supported the much-expected $61 billion aid package to Ukraine, and the Pentagon has reported that the speeds of deliveries of all that is needed have already slowed down.

Having said all that, no, it is not all in dark colors. The US Congress has until the end of this calendar year to vote for the aid package to Ukraine, and it's not looking as bad as it might seem. The negotiations are tough, but thank you, President Joe Biden, the White House, and the Pentagon, for not giving up or appeasing their bullies. According to the latest research from the Ronald Reagan Institute, 59% of Americans support sending military aid to Ukraine, and just 30% oppose it. Seventy-five percent of Democrats and 50% of Republicans support sending aid, and three-quarters believe that Ukraine should win this war. The consistent level of support since last year gives hope that the will of the people cannot be ignored. The weapon and missile production in Ukraine and the West will slowly catch up with demand, and Ukraine is rapidly expanding its drone production and capacities. Next year will be very hard, but 2025 will be a change. Since the beginning of the large-scale war, I have not been predicting that it will end soon, “in two weeks” or “next summer." I see no will for that from the Russian side, while Ukraine will not stop defending itself. Meanwhile, the best thing we can do is not get tired and not let the attention shift totally to Israel and HAMAS. Yes, it is important, but so are 110,000 war crimes and hundreds of thousands of deported children in Ukraine.

Ban Lukashenko from family…and photos!

I am stunned to see the Belarusian dictator in the first row of the family photo in the UN climate summit COP28. Why is Lukashenko in this meeting overall, being as much a war criminal as Vladimir Putin? Since 2020, every 70th Belarusian has been repressed. Russia is using Belarus as its extended frontline, launching missiles and planes from its territory. The Belarussian dictator has given over significant amounts of its weapons to Russia and has allegedly not participated in the war directly only because a significant part of the army as well as people are against that. Belarus has kidnapped Ukrainian children and is keeping them in camps against their will, making Lukashenko an accomplice in genocide. Why is Belarus still in OSCE and Lukashenko in the UN family photo?

As I said at the EU Enlargement Conference, “there is an elephant in the room." (Video from the conference at 6:40.) "While we keep explaining how much the US and EU support Ukraine, the world security structures are broken, like the OSCE and UN, and it is time to stop pretending they are not and do something about it."

It was said even before the family photo and about the same time when Belarus and Russia vetoed the Estonian chairmanship in OSCE. War will never be won by being scared of “inconveniences'', pretending it is all good, or appeasing the dictator. Churchill would tell you. He is very much missed by the world right now.

Religious Putin, church, and family values

The topic of war has not been “selling” that well for Russian society. A quarter is against it, a quarter strongly supports it, and another half would like a victory but not at any cost. Mobilization would be (passively) opposed, and just returning to life as usual would be preferred. Putin heard this request, and in his (not yet announced) presidential campaign, he plans not to promote war but pretend that life really does continue as usual. The main “sales articles” will be ultra-conservatively promoting values like family and church. It could be seen already in Putin's latest appearance in the middle of two Jesus Christs in World Russian People′s Council (whatever that means). Two Jesuses, but only one Putin preaching from beyond.

Yes, Putin would like to preach that he is “married to Russia,” but many people will be (quietly in the kitchen) wondering about his own family. Once divorced, maybe not married, he has hidden or denied all of his children, as well as the latest mother of his children. What an example of family values. Oh, and according to his latest speech, families should have, in his mind, at least “7 or 8” children “like in good old times." Well, historians have said that Russians have never had so many children on average, and this is a myth. Maybe a myth, but you need to solve a demographic crisis that is already obvious. A good companion in myth-making is the Russian Orthodox Church, which has truly radicalized since the beginning of the large-scale war, announcing Putin as “the chosen one” and blessing the missiles. They are quite a pair: Putin provides weapons, power, and money, and Patriarch Kirill provides ideology, blessings, and propaganda channels. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian leadership has invested significantly in rebuilding the churches and promoting the Russian Orthodox Church. The Church has responded by blessing the war and echoing every message of the Kremlin. A match made in hell, not in heaven, although I doubt that Soviet Union bread KGB officer cares much about religion, heaven or hell.

Putin′s daughter buys a drone factory.

Okay, let's start from the beginning. Putin has admitted to having two official daughters but has not named them and prefers to call them “those women” instead. Unofficially, he allegedly has 7–8 children; maybe this is why Freudian slip, in his latest public appearance, said that all Russians should have that many. Anyway, two official daughters are well-known by international authorities, and they have been sanctioned by the EU and US.

Maria Vorontsova (in the picture right) is a genetic researcher, and her institute allegedly received billions of dollars from the Kremlin. Her younger daughter, Kateryna Tikhonova, is, besides being an acrobatic rock and roll enthusiast, a scientist, and a tech executive who has supported the government in different roles. Her latest role is that of the new owner of the biggest drone producer in Russia. The National Intellectual Development Foundation (NIDF), or Innopraktika, belonging to Kateryna, is now a 10% owner of the Geoscan group of companies, which manufactures civil aircraft drones and software for photogrammetric data processing. Besides that, Kateryna is in charge of the 1.6 billion-dollar start-up incubator at her alma mater, Moscow State University. As an irony, after divorcing her billionaire husband, she has been in love and has had a daughter with German ballet dancer Igor Zelenskyy. I wonder if she will be taking the last name of her husband.

Thank you on behalf of Heroiam Slava NGO

It was an honor to receive Gratitude from the Minister of Defence of Estonia Hanno Pevkur on the annual award ceremony.

I would like to thank each and every one that is supporting our NGO Heroiam Slava heroiamslava.org. We are continuing to support Ukraine with drones, help to search and bring back the deported to Russia Ukrainian children and as a Christmas campaign, sending gifts to children and elderly in the frontline city of Pokrov.

Picture of the week.