Thursday, October 16, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Russia warned the UN of attack on Kherson dam in october

The war in Ukraine

Published 7 June 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Left: Russia's UN representative Vasily Nebenzya. Right: Kachovka hydropower plant.
3 minute read

There is still a lot of uncertainty about the blasting of the Kachovka hydropower plant and how disastrous the consequences are likely to be. No one has claimed responsibility, but Russia points out that it tried to warn the UN Security Council as early as October last year that Ukrainian forces were planning to blow up the dam – and what terrible effects this would have for the civilian population in the region.

On the night of June 6, the Nova Kachovka power plant dam in Russian-controlled Kherson blew up and widespread flooding quickly ensued. At least 300 buildings were immediately evacuated, thousands of wild animals are said to have died, tens of thousands of people are now threatened by the floods and hundreds of thousands of people are said to lack normal access to water.

At the time of writing, it is not clear how the dam was blown up, nor is it clear who is behind the terrorist attack, with Ukraine and Russia blaming each other. Both claim that the other side blew up the dam to gain a tactical military advantage.

 

As early as last fall, however, Russia’s permanent UN representative Vasily Nebenzya warned that the destruction of the power plant dam was a real threat. He tried to make the Secretary-General and other UN representatives aware that Ukrainian forces were planning to destroy the dam – either with missiles or with mines.

Such a reckless Ukranian attack would result in catastrophic flooding of the nearby territories and irreparable damage to the city of Kherson. It might cost thousands of innocent lives. The authorities in Kiev and their Western backers will bear full responsibility for all the consequences of such a devastating scenario”, he wrote on October 21, 2022.

He further explained that in order to avoid such a threat to civilians, Russia was at that time engaged in a large-scale evacuation of residents in the area, and called on the UN to do “everything in its power to prevent this heinous crime from happening”. He further appealed for his warning to be passed on to all Security Council members.

This did not happen. Like several other warnings issued by Russian representatives since the outbreak of the war, it was ignored by Western representatives, and it is unclear whether any efforts were made to protect the dam at all. Instead, several European leaders are now taking the opportunity to claim, without presenting any evidence, that Russia blew up the hydroelectric plant.

We warned the global community and UN leadership about this. At the end of October 2022, we circulated as an official UNSC document a letter of the Permanent Mission of Russia where we drew attention to Kiev’s plans to destroy the Kakhovka Hydroplant. We regret that our calls to the Secretary-General to do everything possible to prevent this appalling crime remained unheeded”, Nebenzia writes after the attack.

He also believes that Ukraine is increasingly engaging in terrorist practices – and openly boasting about it – and is also responsible for the explosion on the Crimean bridge and the assassination of several prominent Russians.

We find it deeply puzzling that the UN Secretariat each time refuses to condemn Kiev’s attacks, citing a lack of information, as, for example, with regard to the shelling of the Zaporozhye NPP by Ukrainian armed forces, although it is obvious to everyone from which side the shelling occurs”, he continues.

He concludes by calling on the UN Secretary-General to condemn what he considers to be terrorist attacks committed by the Kiev regime, stressing that ”all the circumstances of the barbaric attack on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant must be clarified”.

It is unacceptable that the situation with the Bucha tragedy or the explosion of the Nord Stream pipelines be repeated”.

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Hegseth to Europe: Buy more American weapons for Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published yesterday 14:44
– By Editorial Staff
Pete Hegseth together with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
2 minute read

Western military support to Ukraine has nearly halved over the summer. Now the US Secretary of Defense is demanding that NATO countries once again open their wallets for more American weapons deliveries – but several major European nations are hesitating.

Pete Hegseth had a clear message when he met with his NATO counterparts in Brussels on Wednesday: Europe must invest even more money in American weapons for Ukraine.

The US Secretary of Defense pointed to a report from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy showing that military support to Kiev fell dramatically during the summer months – a 43 percent decrease compared to the first half of the year.

Hegseth was explicit about his view on how peace is achieved.

— You get peace when you are strong. Not when you use strong words or wag your fingers, you get it when you have strong and real capabilities that adversaries respect, he declared to assembled journalists.

Zelensky wants more

At the center of discussions is the PURL program – Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List – which has fundamentally changed how the U.S. supports Ukraine militarily. Previously, Washington donated weapons directly, but now NATO countries must pay for the deliveries themselves.

According to Hegseth, the logic is simple: The more Europe buys, the faster the war can be concluded.

— Our expectation today is that more countries donate even more, that they purchase even more to provide for Ukraine, to bring that conflict to a peaceful conclusion, he said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte announced that $2 billion has been pledged so far through the PURL system, and that he expects additional contributions. But the figure falls far short of the $3.5 billion that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had hoped to secure by October.

Three countries made new pledges on Wednesday: Sweden, Estonia, and Finland. Corresponding commitments from European heavyweights such as Spain, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom are still lacking.

USA – the big winner?

The Russian government has accused Kiev’s European financiers of prolonging the conflict at the expense of Ukrainian lives, and Moscow claims that European countries are unwilling to acknowledge the failure of their strategy.

Meanwhile, European NATO members continue to bear the economic consequences of their sanctions policy against Russia. After rejecting Russian energy, many EU economies have been hit by rising production costs and widespread bankruptcies in industry.

The United States, however, has benefited from developments through increased investment flows and higher sales of liquefied natural gas to Europe.

Trump threatens to send Tomahawks to Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published 13 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile
2 minute read

US President Donald Trump says Ukraine could receive long-range Tomahawk missiles if the war is not resolved. He acknowledges that such arms deliveries would constitute “a new step of aggression” toward Russia.

President Donald Trump announced during an appearance on Sunday that he is prepared to bring up the issue of delivering Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine in discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin, if the war does not end in the near future.

If this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, according to reports from Associated Press.

He emphasized at the same time that he would like to understand what Ukraine intends to do with the weapons, to avoid an unwanted escalation in the war.

Like Trump himself, however, several sources have expressed reservations about an actual delivery. Reuters reports that it is unlikely the US will send Tomahawks to Ukraine, as existing stockpiles are already earmarked for the Navy and other military purposes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long desired Tomahawk missiles from the US. Montage. Photo: IAEA, Matt Johnson/Right Cheer/CC BY 2.0

Could strike targets deep inside Russia

Tomahawk missiles have an estimated range of approximately 2,500 km (1,550 miles), which would give Ukraine the capability to strike targets deep inside Russia – including Moscow – if the deliveries become reality.

Some critics and analysts question, however, how much such a weapon could affect the conflict on the ground. According to reports, Trump’s closest advisers are skeptical that Tomahawk missiles would significantly change the combat dynamics.

The Kremlin is now issuing strong warnings about consequences if Tomahawks are delivered to Ukraine. Russian representatives claim that such an action would dramatically escalate the conflict and set the stage for a new chapter in the war.

Russia further argues that Ukrainian forces would not be able to handle such a sophisticated system without direct American participation.

Previous statements from Vladimir Putin have also indicated that delivery of such weapons would represent a qualitatively new stage in the conflict.

The rhetoric between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump increasingly strained. Photo: US Department of Defense

Trump: “Sort of made a decision”

Trump has previously hinted that he has sort of made a decision regarding delivery of Tomahawks, but that he wants more information about what Ukraine actually plans to do with them. He has also emphasized that the weapons would not be sent directly by the US to Ukraine, but rather through the NATO alliance.

If an agreement is reached and the weapons are actually delivered, difficult technical, organizational and diplomatic challenges remain to be solved.

Ukraine would need operational capacity, training, target selection systems and support to handle long-range offensive capability.

The threat to arm Ukraine with Tomahawks marks a clear shift in rhetoric from the Trump administration and an increased willingness to use the war’s heaviest symbols in diplomatic pressure.

Between words and reality stand logistical constraints and political concerns – not least from Moscow.

If the decision is made – and the weapons are delivered – we may face a new escalation in the conflict where the risks of direct confrontation between the great powers could become reality.

Islamist leader monitored by Swedish security police – now celebrated drone specialist in Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published 8 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Viktor Gaziev is clear that he would never have joined the war without the involvement of Swedish authorities.
3 minute read

Sweden’s security police (Säpo) considered him such a dangerous threat that he was kept under daily surveillance. But in June 2023, Viktor Gaziev disappeared – and now he has been found in Ukraine where he has become a celebrated drone expert, received awards and met President Zelensky.

He claims that Swedish authorities pressured him to go to war and escorted him there.

Viktor Gaziev was one of the so-called six imams who in 2019 were classified as a serious threat to Sweden’s national security. The Swedish government decided to deport him, but the deportation was never carried out – Gaziev was deemed at risk of torture and persecution in his homeland Russia.

Instead, the radical Islamist was kept under extensive surveillance with daily reporting requirements to police. Until he suddenly disappeared.

Swedish public television SVT’s investigative program Uppdrag granskning has now tracked him down – not in Sweden, but as a drone specialist in the Ukrainian army.

Pressured to go to war

How did an internationally wanted person without travel documents and with daily reporting requirements at Gävle police station in central Sweden end up in Ukraine?

Gaziev himself describes it as the result of pressure from Sweden’s Security Police (Säpo). He claims that Säpo arranged a private meeting with his ex-wife and urged her to persuade him to leave. The incentive was allegedly a promise that the agency would not hinder her application for Swedish citizenship.

Several other people classified as security threats confirm to Uppdrag granskning that they received similar proposals to go to Ukraine.

However, Security Police operational chief Fredrik Hallström completely rejects the claims: “We do not conduct the type of activities alleged here”, he maintains, continuing:

— We do not suggest or try to persuade anyone to travel to a specific place. Least of all to war-torn Ukraine.

Military intelligence contact planned the trip

In chat conversations that Uppdrag granskning has accessed, it emerges how the trip to Ukraine was planned in detail. A person who identifies himself as a Swedish soldier discusses flight tickets to Poland and which border crossing they should use. Gaziev claims the person works for MUST, Sweden’s military intelligence service.

In the chat, Gaziev sends his bank details and shows military equipment he bought for the war. According to Gaziev, it was his contact person at the Security Police who gave him the contact to MUST.

— They talked to the military service in Poland. It was a man and a woman who flew with me to Warsaw without documents, without a passport, just a Swedish driver’s license.

MUST has refused to comment on the allegations at all.

Ukrainian commander confirms Swedish involvement

However, Murad Zumzo, a commander in the Ukrainian army, gives a completely different picture than Säpo. He says he spoke on the phone with a Swedish person who matched the name in the chat – and that the Swede had a central role in getting Gaziev to Ukraine.

— He made contact and took him to the Polish-Ukrainian border. I sent two of my guys there. The Swedes and Poles handed him over, says Zumzo.

Viktor Gaziev is clear that he would not have joined the war without Swedish authorities’ involvement and he took Säpo’s alleged promise about citizenship for his ex-wife very seriously.

But today he believes he was manipulated – his ex-wife was denied her citizenship application with reference to information from the Security Police itself.

Norwegian-led training base for Ukrainian soldiers opened in Poland

The new cold war

Published 2 October 2025
– By Editorial Staff
EU representatives visit Camp Jomsborg during the opening ceremony.
2 minute read

A Norwegian-led training center for Ukrainian troops has opened in southeastern Poland. Camp Jomsborg can accommodate up to 1,200 soldiers at a time and will focus on drone warfare.

The facility in Nowa Dęba-Lipa was inaugurated on Wednesday in the presence of defense ministers from Norway and Estonia, as well as representatives from Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark.

Camp Jomsborg, built by engineers from Norway’s Brigade Nord, represents another escalation of Western support for Ukraine since the war with Russia broke out in 2022. Poland has since become a central hub for logistics and training of Ukrainian forces.

According to Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the training will be conducted by instructors from allied NATO countries, with particular focus on modern drone technology.

— There is no other army in the world as well trained in drones and counter-drone systems as Ukraine’s, he claimed at the inauguration ceremony.

Around 250 Norwegian soldiers are already stationed at the site, and five rotations of 500 troops each are planned for next year. Estonia has also sent personnel, and more nations are expected to follow.

“Not a one-way street”

Kosiniak-Kamysz argued that the cooperation not only benefits Ukraine, but that the allied countries also benefit from Ukrainian combat experience.

— This is not a one-way street. An important element is that we will draw on Ukrainian experience. Right next to us is a drone launch strip, the defense minister said.

He emphasized that the base symbolizes NATO countries’ unity and claimed that “peace requires strength, skill, training, a well-prepared army, a strong alliance and resilient societies”.

On the same day as the inauguration, EU leaders agreed to create a so-called “drone wall” along the bloc’s eastern flank, following claims from Poland and Estonia about Russian airspace violations. Moscow has dismissed the accusations as groundless and accused the EU of trying to incite a war against Russia.

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