Agnius Paradnikas

17-year-old math prodigy gave his entire prize to Ukraine — an incredible act of generosity. Skomantas Urbonas won Norway’s national math olympiad and donated the entire award to support Ukraine’s army and healthcare. 15,000 kroner. He simply took it and gave it away. “I’ve always believed that evil wins when good people do nothing. That’s why I chose to act,” he said. He’s from Lithuania. His courage speaks louder than words. A huge thank you to him—and to his parents—for raising such a remarkable human being.

@mdonatas Nice initiative 💪

This year, during our Christmas party, my workplace has organized a charity auction for the third year in a row, where all the money raised goes to organizations we choose. This time we decided that everything would go to Blue / Yellow for Ukraine Lithuania. Auction items are goods or services provided by employees themselves. I "bought" 4 auction items, ranging from granola to a few nights in Nida (a resort town by the Baltic sea). The photo shows the presentation of the most expensive auction item, which I bid on through clenched teeth until I finally won at €650 🥳 In total, I spent €1,140, paid directly into the Blue Yellow account - and still ended up only in a second place by the total donated amount 😅 We've had a great time and collected a sizeable sum for Ukraine as well ❤️ Slava Ukraini 💙💛

My post from August 2025 once again in English. It is more relevant than ever: I am afraid. Not for myself – for my children. I grew up in the 80s and 90s.
I witnessed the fall of the Berlin Wall and how everyone rejoiced.
I remember the war in Yugoslavia.
How NATO stopped a dictator.
How those responsible were brought to trial. My childhood and youth were not perfect.
But they were good. At university I spent a year living in England.
On an Erasmus grant.
Without having to think about visas.
Back then, the United Kingdom was still in the EU.
I met people from all over Europe. That was Europe for me:
Freedom.
Peace.
Solidarity. Today I am afraid
that my children will not grow up as peacefully as I did.
What if, with the next blow in this “hybrid” war,
a dam in Norway is hacked?
The water supply of a major city in Poland is poisoned?
GPS interference causes a passenger plane to crash,
perhaps over a city? Will I finally be allowed to call it war then?
Without “hybrid”? Russia is waging war.
Against all of us. The Ukrainians are standing on the front line for all of us. And we?
We’re doing… nothing.
We sit in cafés, drinking cappuccino,
as if everything were normal.
It makes me so angry. We should be out on the streets.
We should be demanding from our politicians:
More for Ukraine.
More money.
More weapons.
More Taurus. Stop Putin
before he comes for us.
We owe that to Europe.
And above all: to our children. #EuropeStandsTogether

Except, it is. I’ll give you the technical answer first, and the personal one second. 1. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is not a contained conflict - it’s an attack on the international order the U.S. helped build after WWII. If aggression goes unchecked in Europe, it signals to China, Iran, and North Korea that military force pays. That makes future wars more likely, including those that could directly involve U.S. troops. 2. NATO’s credibility is on the line. America’s security guarantees - what keeps allies aligned and adversaries deterred -mean less if Russia can invade, annex, and brutalize without consequence. 3. Instability in Europe drives up global energy and food prices, which hit Americans directly at the pump and in the grocery store. Ukraine is one of the world’s top grain exporters, and Russia has weaponized food supply. 4. A destabilized Europe means disrupted trade with America’s largest economic partner and more costly defense commitments in the long run. 5. Supporting Ukraine now, with money, weapons, and intelligence - not American troops - is cheaper and less risky than fighting a broader war later if Russia pushes beyond Ukraine. 6. History shows appeasement of aggressors doesn’t buy peace, it breeds escalation. Ukraine is the proving ground of whether deterrence still works. 7. Russia’s campaign is not just military - it includes the systematic deportation of Ukrainian children, widespread sexual violence, and targeting of civilians. The U.S. has long defined itself as a defender of human rights and freedom, turning away would betray that legacy. 8. The struggle of Ukrainians resonates with America’s own founding ideals: free people resisting tyranny. 9. Ukraine is also about the West versus authoritarian blocs. Russia and China are aligned in trying to rewrite the global order against democracy. Supporting Ukraine is not charity - it’s strategy in the broader contest for the 21st century. 10. If Russia “wins,” China will take lessons for Taiwan. If Ukraine stands, America’s deterrence is strengthened everywhere. On the personal side: The courage of Ukrainians reminds me why I’m proud to be an American. Americans know what it means to fight for independence, to defend family, to resist tyranny. Ukraine’s struggle is a mirror held up to our own history - the same yearning for liberty, the same courage in the face of overwhelming odds. To turn away would be to forget who we are. We may live thousands of miles apart, but the principle is the same: if might makes right, if children can be stolen, women brutalized, and cities reduced to ash without consequence, then no one’s freedom is safe. Not theirs, and not ours. Supporting Ukraine isn’t about politics or party. It’s about remembering that America has always been strongest when we stood with the oppressed against the oppressor, when we recognized that our blessings of liberty come with the burden to defend them. If Ukraine falls, the world grows darker and America smaller. But if Ukraine endures, so too does the belief that freedom is worth any sacrifice, and that America still has the courage to stand for something greater than itself.

@Gianl1974 @Kasparov63 B,

Can everyone stop pretending Putin wants peace? He doesn't want to end the war, he wants to end Ukraine.

Hello everyone who follows Ukraine and wants to help. I am currently fundraising for a non-lethal aid in form of excavators and engineering equipment for Ukraine. (Donation link in the end) The fundraiser has stalled 100/120k goal, with only 20k left to collect so I would like to add a small video and explain the importance. Please watch the video to understand in which conditions these machines work, and how thick vegetation is, and that no other machine can work in such conditions. It’s literally working inside the bush under the tree without breaking the branches. Fortifications that these machines built are not those huge centralized bunkers for battalions. The size of the position is usually for a 5-20 men. While this seems small and insignificant, a good concealed position with dedicated and determined personnel can be an impenetrable fortress for the enemy. Our excavators are designed to build exactly that, their ability to work in a tight concealed areas without breaking the cover of leaves have proven to be decisive in building fortifications. What’s funny is that initially most of the engineers and commanders are skeptical of these machines, because they aren’t popular and unfamiliar in Ukraine. It takes time, first two weeks after getting the equipment they learn on practice how to apply machine capabilities, after a month they start calling and praising it saying they never expected such productivity and ability to work in tight spots. A month later all neighbors of that unit start calling and asking for similar machines. I know this isn’t a sexy drone, but this is a non lethal boring machine that saves lives. While it’s hard for me to quantify the impact, it’s no rare for me to receive a message from someone saying that they were recently under heavy artillery and drone attack but they felt safe because the enemy didn’t know their exact position and their bunker is deep enough to withstand direct hits. I think that this is a low hanging fruit of the life saving for Ukrainian defenders. Donation link: paypal.com/donate?campaig…

Today, a brilliant operation was carried out — on enemy territory, targeting only military objectives, specifically the equipment used to strike Ukraine. Russia suffered significant losses — entirely justified and deserved.

In the last week, Trump admin has: 1) called Zelensky a dictator 2) lied about who started the war 3) attempted to humiliate Zelensky in the Oval Office 4) stopped military aid to Ukraine 5) stopped US intelligence sharing with Ukraine 6) banned the UK from sharing US intelligence with Ukraine 7) stopped cyber warfare on Russia 8) encouraged lifting Russian sanctions 9) engaged in secret talks with Zelensky's political opponents to replace him 10) hinting at revoking legal status of Ukrainian refugees 11) disrespected allied soldiers who fought and died fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq after the US invoked article 5 12) all the while attacking the EU, Canada, Mexico, the UN, NATO. What else?

🇺🇦

This will go down in history as one of the most unnecessarily shameful moments in the history of the White House.

Без слабкого союзника Україна стає тільки сильнішою! Слава Україні. І працюємо далі, шановні.

Trump: “You don’t have strong cards.” Zelensky: “I didn’t come here to play cards.” 🗿

@GuyDealership I asked Grok if Elon can (theoretically) remotely and simultaneously detonate all Teslas. Short answer was yes!

@Replit made me a millionaire (in cycles) Here's how me, a high-school sophomore became part-time freelance developer ✨ 🧵👇

Reminder! Today a .NET Crowd event with: ✔️ 2 speakers ✔️ English language ✔️ Live @ Multikino Lietuva, Vilnius ❌ No streaming this time (unfortunately) ✔️ Snacks, drinks, chats after the event @ Action! by Apollo Free seats available! Register: eventbrite.com/e/net-crowd-me…

We’re hosting a new event🤩 ✔️ 2 speakers ✔️ English language ✔️ Live @ Multikino Lietuva, Vilnius ❌ No streaming this time (unfortunately) ✔️ Snacks, drinks, chats after the event @ Action! by Apollo Register here: eventbrite.com/e/net-crowd-me…

AI gives a ground for us to believe that 1000x software developers might be a reality in future. @amasad gives a good overview of it.

.@elonmusk Ukraine desperately needs your continued support. Please restore the full functionality of your Starlink satellites. Defense from a genocidal invasion is not an offensive capability. It’s survival. Innocent lives will be lost. You can help. Thank you.

It's now 2023 in Ukraine, and both my mom and grandma mentioned President @ZelenskyyUa's New Year speech. Chilling, epic, gut-wrenching. Here it is, with English subs youtu.be/ANaVkRxDPCI Transcript in English: president.gov.ua/en/news/novori… Слава Україні!