by James Chaplin | Sep 11, 2023 | Current Affairs, Notes From Ukraine
Having spent the last few weeks in Ukraine, I was fortunate enough to be staying at the Intercontinental Kyiv, during the YES conference and was able to speak to people about the war. With that, it became increasingly obvious that there is a clear scenario where they...
by James Chaplin | Jun 24, 2023 | Current Affairs, Notes From Ukraine
In a dramatic 24 hours, Prigozhin has led Wagner to first of all take control of Rostov (the nerve centre of the Russian military command for Ukrainian operations), then taken his militia north to march on Moscow, where they have already reached Voronezh (halfway.)...
by James Chaplin | Jun 8, 2023 | Current Affairs, Notes From Ukraine
So the Russians finally did what the Ukrainians had feared they would. They blew up the Kakhovka dam, which in one fell swoop has caused ecological devastation on a scale unparalleled since Chornobyl, which in an ironic twist of fate, also happened in Ukraine. The...
by James Chaplin | Apr 16, 2023 | Current Affairs, Notes From Ukraine
Having just returned from a week in Ukraine, the change in attitude from the people I saw, is noticeable since my last visit, last September. First, the fact that winter has passed has meant instead of fear and apprehension there is a knowledge that no matter what,...
by James Chaplin | Jan 1, 2023 | Current Affairs, Notes From Ukraine
For Putin, the facts on the ground will make grim reading. Over 100,000 soldiers killed, possibly double that injured. New recruits are being incorporated into existing battalions just to cover for those KIA and IIA. Over half of the battle-ready tanks have been...
by James Chaplin | Nov 27, 2022 | Current Affairs, Notes From Ukraine
“There are decades where nothing happens, and weeks where the events that happen change life for decades” The sudden death of Vladimir Makei, the Belarusian foreign secretary, indicates a power struggle behind the scenes in Belarus. Reports of how he died...