Weekly Exclusives
Weekly Exclusives - a newsletter that contains author publications, interviews, exclusive comments, photos and videos.
Photos of the week
The largest trident made of didukhs in Ukraine was presented in Lviv
Interview
Robert “Madiar” Browdy
The now iconic 414th Independent UAS Regiment, popularly known as Madiar’s Birds, is about to expand into an independent brigade in a little while. The would-be brigade commander, Captain Robert Browdy announced this on his social media platforms the other day, while simultaneously announcing recruitment and fund rising campaigns for his unit.
Madiar’s Birds has long been a brand in itself. Videos showing its UAS operators disposing of “worms” (as Madiar refers to enemy soldiers being targeted – translator’s note), accompanied with Madiar’s proprietary style comments, instantly get tens of thousands views within a matter of hours and quite consistently. More than 1,200 civilians applied to join the Madiar’s Birds 14th UAS Regiment as soon as on the third day after recruitment had been announced and advertised in social networks, and UAH 23 million worth of donations from Ukrainians has been raised. It took just one year for Madiar’s Birds to grow from a company into an independent battalion, then independent regiment, and ultimately a full-size brigade, representing a progress that is going to benefit the battlefield and all of Ukraine generally.
In this Victory Commanders series interview with Ukrinform, Madiar was speaking about his expectations from this company-to-brigade expansion, about how much it costs to raise a drone operator to proficiency and to engage an enemy target, about the future advancement of UAV technologies, and about the way the Madiar Birds’s regiment has evolved into an autonomous organism in which each life is valued and protected.
Ambassador of the Netherlands to Ukraine Alle Dorhout
Alle Dorhout has been leading the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine since this summer. A historian who studied the history of Eastern Europe, he also at one time headed the Intelligence Directorate at the General Intelligence and Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so his academic and career background gives the experienced diplomat an understanding of the dynamic geopolitical shifts that Russia's war against Ukraine has brought to Europe.
The ambassador spoke with Ukrinform late last week, telling about his vision of the Netherlands’ role in international support for Ukraine and focusing on the specifics of the challenging path to EU membership, the objective shortcomings of the international sanctions regime against Russia and the nuances of freezing Russian assets, the importance of international law and achieving the goals of holding war crime perpetrators accountable. The diplomat also shared his opinion on the best security guarantee for Ukraine and on the changing public discourse in Europe regarding the urgent threats to the continent's security posed by Russia.
Publication
The Kremlin patient: condition worsening, both politically and mentally
Vladimir Putin's annual "Direct Line" event, combined with a big press conference, this time seems to have set a record for the degree of inadequacy -- or even madness -- of its main character. At other times, it would be easy to just make fun of the guy over some of his embarrassments. It is not for nothing that the annual event had once gained a colloquial title, "Putin's stand-up".
But now, amid a brutal war, we see it from a different perspective because sometimes the sinister outlines of the Kremlin's plans emerge through all the nonsense the Kremlin boss is uttering. Also, the mental condition of the Moscow dictator, his personality type, becomes more understandable. It’s important to note that in the case of a personalist dictatorship, final decisions are made by a single person.
Fact Checks
Russian propaganda spreads fake about ban on female names in Ukraine
Russian media outlets and Telegram channels are circulating a video of an unidentified girl on TikTok who claims that the Verkhovna Rada has allegedly passed a law "obliging" all female citizens in Ukraine named Tetiana to change their names to Horpyna from January 1. Failure to comply, she claims, will result in fines and "even imprisonment." This false information has spread rapidly on the Chinese-owned TikTok platform and has already caused outrage among some women on the platform.
This claim is entirely fake. The girl in the video provides no evidence to support her statement, offers no references to a "draft law," no date of its "approval," or any other verifiable details. She merely states that she "heard" this information "somewhere." Notably, the Verkhovna Rada has never considered such a bill, as it simply does not exist.
Judging by the TikTok account of the video's creator, she resides in Germany.
This appears to be yet another absurd attempt by Russian propagandists to incite hostility within Ukrainian society, particularly on sensitive issues related to language and the de-Russification of place names in Ukraine. Such fakes aim to delegitimize these cultural processes, which hold significant importance for Ukraine's identity and sovereignty.
These tactics are reminiscent of old Soviet methods designed to discredit Ukrainian culture and language. During the USSR era, the stereotype of a "Khokhol" — an ignorant villager with a primitive culture speaking a "ridiculous" language — was imposed. Jokes, fictional characters, and even derogatory terms were deliberately created to belittle Ukrainian heritage and undermine national pride.
It is also worth noting that the name Horpyna has no connection to Tetiana. Horpyna is the Ukrainian form of the Roman name Agrippina, while Tetiana originates from ancient Greek.
Video
St. Nicholas Church in the capital was damaged by Russian missile strikes on the morning of December 20
Russia attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles: there are dead and wounded, houses and cars destroyed
News:
War
Missile strike on Kyiv yet another manifestation of Russian barbarism – Poland’s MFA
Enemy persists in its efforts to capture Kozatskyi Island – military spox
Saint Nicholas Church in Kyiv damaged due to Russian missile strike
New Nyzhankovychi-Malhowice checkpoint to ease border traffic - Ukrainian ambassador
Ukraine needs American THAAD systems to counter Oreshnik missile - Austrian colonel
Politics
Government has not yet submitted bill on demobilization to parliament - MP
Putin’s propaganda potential remains endless – German MP
Poland comments on Ukraine's plans to open new consulates
Economy
Minister Koval: Ukraine’s agricultural exports reach 72.7M tonnes since early 2024
Honorary Consul of Ukraine in the Netherlands: Russia earns EUR 7B from fish sales, sanctions needed
Nuclear energy to be most promising area of Ukraine-Poland cooperation – expert’s opinion
Insurance proceeds under MTPL insurance in Ukraine to go up to UAH 500,000
Export season 2024/25: How much grain, oilseed crops Ukraine plans to sell
Some 130 young families to obtain housing under preferential lending programme by year end
See you next Friday!