Kristoffer Hecquet

The Kremlin gets roughly 1/8th of its military budget from taxes on oil and gas bought by the EU. In other words, the EU is paying for 1/8th of every bomb landing on Ukraine. Do I need to draw you a picture? I drew you a picture.

Wake up, Berlin, Paris. Please...

When your wife drags you around weapons-shopping but all you want to do is eating a cheap kebab.

@JayinKyiv I dont know how much more of a warning western leaders need until they provide Ukraine with what they need to win the war.

@BenTeitel I know. The world cannot consume more conflicts. But I get serious flashbacks to Ukraine in 04 and 14. Maybe its just an anniversary thing :) RFE has quite good reporting I think rferl.org/a/georgia-fore…

@HecquetK Why is it so hard to find overview, updating articles on Georgia? There's literally nothing on the NYTimes

Brave georgians. Send them throughts

Today, Bulgaria and Romania join the Schengen family. I welcome the lifting of internal air and sea border checks. This is a great success for the people of both countries. It also benefits millions of EU citizens across Europe. Making the Schengen area even stronger.

Woman at Navalny’s funeral compares Putin and Navalny: “One sacrificed himself to save the country, the other one sacrificed the country to save himself”

I am 34 y.o. Belarusian living in exile in Poland. FIRST time in my life I will see a peaceful transition of power. To opposition. After democratic elections. With 73% turnout. My message to you - value and protect your democracy. You can't even imagine what a miracle you have.

The first global temperature data is in for the full month of September. This month was, in my professional opinion as a climate scientist – absolutely gobsmackingly bananas. JRA-55 beat the prior monthly record by over 0.5C, and was around 1.8C warmer than preindutrial levels.

@Gerashchenko_en Malmö, Sweden. Born in DK

Friends, What is our geography here? If you don't mind, share the country and city you're from and the ones where you live now. Thank you!

580 days of war. A little recap for those who may have forgotten: 1. At the beginning of the invasion: - At the beginning, they said, "We will take Kyiv in 3 days"; - In the beginning, they said, "The objectives are to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine"; - In the beginning, they said: "We will protect the Russian population in Ukraine"; What happened? - Kyiv remained standing, but they massacred thousands of people in #Bucha, #Irpin, #Borodyanka, #Makariv, #Izum, #Mariupol; - They didn't denazify anyone, because they didn't have anyone. They did not demilitarize, but created a militarily strong Ukraine; - They bombed and razed to the ground cities with a large Russian-speaking population: #Mariupol (510k inhabitants, 44% Russian) was razed to the ground. #Kharkiv (1.4 mil inhabitants, 36% Russian), #Severodonetsk (120k inhabitants, 39% Russian), #Lysychansk (115k inhabitants, 31% Russian), #Kherson (290k inhabitants, 45% Russian), #Melitopol (150k inhabitants, 40% Russian) and many others where the largest local ethnicity was Russian. Some of them were simply razed to the ground. Others were and still are bombed—the Russian model of protecting its population. 2. A few months after the invasion: - We will conquer Donbas; - We will annex all the territories we now control; What happened? - The historic #Donbas region (Donetsk and Lugansk Oblast) has never been conquered and will never be conquered; - They lost the territories of Herson Oblast, #Kharkiv Oblast, a small part of #Zaporozhia Oblast, #Lugansk Oblast, and Donetsk Oblast, annexed by Putin's decree of September 2022; 3. What followed after that: 3.1 Putin demanded the conquest of Donbas by the end of July 2022; What happened? - They didn't conquer it; 3.2 Putin demanded the conquest of Donbas by the end of August 2022; What happened? - They didn't; 3.3 Putin limited himself to ordering the conquest of Bakhmut by the end of October 2022! What actually happened? - They did not conquer it; 3.4 Putin ordered Bakhmut to be conquered by the end of the year! What actually happened? - You guessed it. They didn't conquer it; 3.5 Putin ordered that by the end of February 2023, Bakhmut be conquered! - You guessed it again. They haven't; #Bakhmut, the mining town, the historic fortress in Donbas, fell after it turned into the #Wagner graveyard at the end of May 2023. The 3-day war reached 580, and the world's second-largest army became the world's second-largest army not. Nor in Europe. But of Ukraine. During #Prigozhin's Mysterious March, the Russian Army became the second-largest army in... the Russian Federation. ---- Let's remember the pressures Ukraine was under. To the world's distrust of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Let us not forget the desperation of Ukrainians and the nearly 7 million refugees who have fled the country because of war criminal Vladimir Putin and his army of terrorists. Let us remember the "I don't need a ride, I need Ammo", the "russian warship, go f**k yourself!", and the hero with a cigarette in his mouth who in his last moments defies the war criminals in front of him and shouts "Slava Ukraini". Let us remember the Heroes of Azovstal. Let us remember the mass graves at Bucha, Izium, Borodyanka, #Chernihiv, and those we will discover in Mariupol. Let us remember the children deported and killed in Russian concentration camps. Let us remember the courage, the bravery, the tenacity, and the sacrifice made by the Ukrainian people, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and those who today inspire an entire world, and let us respond properly to ... #SlavaUkraini!

Ver her bare for at fiske! ×D

"Can you give up any part of Ukraine for peace?" Very seriously one of the silliest and the most childish questions one can ask nowadays. And not just because it simply puts us in a world where a sovereign nation, a target of large-scale military aggression and the biggest war of conquest since WWII, is being pressured into the betrayal of a huge part of its own territory and people "for the sake of peace", and that is being done as some perverted form of high moral ground. And not just because it puts us in a world where any warmongering regime, especially those having the bomb or moving towards having one, is officially encouraged and welcome to extort everything and anything they want, "or else!" It's a world in which high-minded pseudo-intellectuals think the freedom and independence of a 40-million nation are somewhat of lesser value than their beloved fear of "nuclear escalation" they have licked all over for years. It's silly because such a naive approach just doesn't work. No, you won't "give peace a chance" by just forcing Ukraine into giving up of 20% of its territory (or 10%, or 50%, or 80%, whatever). Maybe we should give up Florida to Vladimir V. Putin of Russia "for the sake of peace?" Or maybe the Lake Como area? No? Why not? In the lore of today's Kremlin propaganda, the current war in Ukraine is not about just Ukraine but the entire West, America & NATO (oh yeah, they're too chauvinistic to be losing the war to those dirty khokhols alone). Of course, it's extremely naive to think that giving Putin Zaporizhia or Dnipro for now would somehow make him stop. (I think once upon a time there was a guy with whom a similar thing didn't work out). Because it's not a lawsuit in which a rancho owner next door disputes your legal ownership over a patch of land between your households. Putin & his cronies don't give a shit about Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Kyiv, Bakmut/Mariupol you name it. Territorial grabs are nothing but just an instrument. HE NEEDS WAR AS SUCH. He needs never-ending confrontation, international isolation, the besieged fortress of mother Russia, hatred, division, Cold War 2.0, and the state of 10 seconds to midnight forevermore. If things had been as planned on February 24, with Ukraine crushed and Kyiv taken within 3 days, it would have been a brilliant triumph. The vast majority of the Russian population would have been ecstatic about the new conquest. But similarly to the Crimea effect of 2014, the euphoria would evaporate before too long. The Crimean appeasement morphed into a bloodletting war of Donbas. The West's desire to put its head in the sand via the Minsk Accords ended up being February 24, 2022. Who would have been next soon if things went as planned those days? THE KREMLIN CAN'T CARRY ON WITHOUT IGNITING NEW WARS AGAIN AND AGAIN. Yet another attempt to twist Ukraine's hands into a "concession for the sake of peace" will again result in nothing but a short respite -- and then an even more catastrophic war. If you seriously think this war can be ended by just giving Putin what he wants AGAIN, I can only suggest that you try to grow up and see some real life. KREMLIN WARS WILL NOT STOP UNTIL WE STOP THE KREMLIN. But if you seriously ask things like "Can you give up any part of Ukraine for peace?" knowing what really stands behind that -- you could just have some guts to admit that you don't care about "peace" and you just need to get rid of this annoying problem for now and keep comfortably feeding the crocodile hoping that it will eat you last.

My thoughts regarding the issues reported by the @KyivIndependent article about the evaluation of NATO training and the 32nd Mechanized Brigade. Please consider this text as a supplementary piece interjected with opinions - my own and those I spoke to in the field. I got in touch with not only the 32nd but also the 92nd Mechanized Brigade. The 92nd fought alongside the 32nd and can provide unique insight, as they are experienced and saw firsthand the schism between theory and practice. Our new infantry brigade did a heroic job in the given circumstances: limited time, resources, and ammunition. My conversations with everyone outside of the 32nd were marked with gratitude, as nobody appreciates people willing to do the job of infantry more than infantry. Don't doom over this text. My effort is to give another small input into making Western training more effective. Let me also point out that when dealing with losses, emotions run high, and there is an opening for toxicity to seep in. The disconnect between expectations set by the training and the reality of the Ukrainian battlefield can be explained better with a lack of communication at the higher level than with "Western arrogance". It can still get you angry, but you would be a fool to escape into a simple narrative that relies on a lack of intelligence or empathy. You can not expect Western militaries to be perfectly in tune with the requirements of the Ukrainian battlefield at the institutional level when our own institutions run into similar problems with less distance to the front. If you think Ukrainian training is perfect, I have an illegal bridge to sell you. You can watch the videos of Western instructors saying farewell to Ukrainian recruits anytime. Twitter replies made by armchair generals do not represent them. I think they very much care. Background: The 32nd Mechanized Brigade was formed at the beginning of 2023 and partially equipped with Western equipment with the core of its mechanized infantry utilizing the American M113 armored personnel carrier. Its infantry battalions underwent training in the spring of 2023 in a NATO country. After the return to Ukraine, the brigade received equipment and ammunition and was fully staffed. During the summer, the 32nd brigade was deployed alongside the 92nd brigade, which had been fighting for the past nine months in the Svatove axis in the northeast of Ukraine. The deployment quickly became problematic and resulted in heavy casualties, eventually forcing the command to reconsider. The training: I’ve spoken to one of the sergeants in the brigade with the call sign “Nestor” about the training they received abroad. Overall, the training included basic infantry, reconnaissance, and assault tactics. Nestor said the most interesting and useful part was the reconnaissance training. “We learned how to get close to the enemy and build secure observation posts. It was essential.” They also learned how to adjust artillery and navigation. “Navigation was useful; spotting was interesting, but it was not particularly useful on the battlefield so far.” However, his overall verdict of the training was mixed: “It was like the instructors were in a vacuum. We received training in infantry tactics, while this war is a war of artillery and drones.”. On one occasion, Nestor’s commander asked if trainers would at least consider the presence of drones on the battlefield. The answer was a damning “No.”. “You didn’t take your drones with you, and the only drone we have available is DJI Phantom 4, but we can’t even use it for bureaucratic reasons.” he recalls them saying. So they continued the training as is. Western-provided training fell short of considering current realities on the battlefield. The brigade’s first deployment in Ukraine was to hold the defense in the Svatove direction. However, Nestor commented: “Our battalion received zero defensive combat training. It was all assault oriented.” On a positive note, the sergeant says that our infantry learned to move and storm buildings and trenches. “If you consider this basic infantry training, it was good.” The infantry companies spend seven days practicing assault combined arms operations, storming different objectives. One day, it was a small town. Another day, it was an enemy trench. “We went through swamps, mud, and cold nights. Once, our instructor said that living through it on the battlefield would be easier if we experienced these conditions now. He was right.” But the companies received too little training on surviving the battlefield: “There was no camouflage training. The infantry didn’t learn how to conceal positions, build bunkers, and no defensive combat training.” In the end, Nestor adds that one of the things that they needed was EOD awareness and training. “You must understand the battlefield is littered with booby traps, mines, and explosive ordinance. We knew it before the deployment. Everyone in Ukraine knows it. We asked trainers if we could get any training on the topic.” But for some reason, the trainers refused to even discuss it. It was a taboo. “We regret the lack of EOD training specifically. It could have saved lives.” The deployment: After the training in Germany by a NATO country was complete, and after a short period in Ukraine, they were sent to reinforce Svatove direction. Problems appeared immediately. Nestor’s battalion was deployed shoulder to shoulder with one of the battalions of the 92nd brigade. The 92nd brigade soldier with the call sign “Zero” explains, “It appears that they were trained on another planet. What was obvious to us was a terra incognito for them.” He continues with a story of one of their first encounters with 32nd infantry: “We were driving 15km from the front line, and I noticed a military Ural (truck), with a full platoon clustered around near one of the small local grocery stores. They acted like they didn’t know it was a war zone. We had to stop and tell them that ZALA (russian) drone was reported around. The platoon commander did not know the enemy had such capabilities.”. A grave mistake in NATO training was that a company commander stayed in the trenches with the company. While it sounds heroic and may work when facing a poorly equipped enemy, russia is well-equipped and has hundreds of drones. This costly mistake was corrected after they lost a couple of positions. “The company commander has to have the eyes in the sky. He has to have his own drone stream and communicate with platoon or group commanders.” - It was a costly lesson for Nazar’s unit; “It cost us lives.” I asked why a company commander couldn’t stay in the trench. My friend from the 92nd Brigade explained that when the company commander is in the trench, he becomes another link in the chain of command: “Please understand controlling 100 soldiers in combat is a hard task. The higher-level commander watches a drone stream and makes decisions. He gives an order to the company commander over the radio. The company commander has to understand exactly what is going on to make decisions and pass orders to the platoons. For that, you need to observe the battlefield from the top. Try sitting under tank shelling and yelling over the radio while being yelled over the radio yourself. It is much more efficient when the company commander has his own command and control room with drone streams coming in. He can make calm and weighed decisions looking at the battlefield instead of listening to what is happening, and it is no longer a game of telephone.” “In the current battlefield, even the group or a platoon commander has to have a tablet with our special map application to be effective, and you can not rely on a stupid enemy anymore. They evolved.” summarizes Nestor, “We knew none of that, and no one could share the experience and knowledge with us. Now we are smarter, but the price was terrible.” Another capability that was undertrained might surprise: driving. It might sound absurd to some, but those familiar with the battlefield know how hazardous and costly even a simple drive toward or away from the front can be. Our drivers must be more experienced in driving at night; driving during the day is too dangerous. Training for night driving operations is critical to avoid casualties and the loss of valuable equipment. It is also emblematic: It may not seem a top priority for NATO training personnel with a shortened schedule. However, its importance must be communicated just like any other discrepancy mentioned here and elsewhere. Conclusion: The disconnect of the NATO training leads to a brigade being unprepared on the battlefield. Specifically, the lack of UAV, defensive, mine awareness, and EOD training has led to unnecessary casualties on the battlefield. To avoid a similar situation in the future, Ukraine needs to treat NATO training as basic infantry training instead of a complete cycle of brigade/battalion-level preparation. We need to perform post-training exercises and adapt the units to the newest technologies and tactics on the battlefield. Ultimately, the brigade has gained enough experience to be effective, but the cost could have been much smaller.

Albanian Prime Minister, Edi Rama, has a sense of humor which is exactly my taste. Absolutely great. #Albania #Russia

Study: Engaged journalism can not only strengthen the relationship between a newsroom and its community but can also provide much-needed revenue. ow.ly/vKMo50PAFej @EngagingNews @Katalina_Marie

Så. Nu skal batterierne lades... Nu er der minuspriser... ing.dk/artikel/foelg-…

EU-Kommissionen har godkendt USA som sikkert tredjeland. Lad de lovlige dataoverførsler "flyde frit og sikkert" - er sikker på, at mange danske organisationer er glade lige nu. #gdpr #databeksyttelse version2.dk/artikel/ny-dat…