'Rumour Has It That Commander Of Russian Black Sea Fleet Died’

Chief of Staff Oleg Tsekov is unconscious in hospital.

ISW maps show a slight AFU advance south-east of Robotyne towards Melitopol. In addition, ISW writes in its summary that there have been some successes by Ukrainian troops near Bakhmut. But the maps do not show this yet, writes Russian publicist Alfred Kokh on Telegram.

According to these maps, the Russians suddenly withdrew and left the village of Synkivka, not far from Kupyansk. There was no fighting there, at least nothing reported anywhere. Yesterday the front line was to the west of this village, but now it is to the east. What could that mean? I can't guess.

At least two generals have been identified as victims of yesterday's Ukrainian attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.

According to Kirill Budanov, Colonel-General Alexander Romanchuk, commander of the Zaporizhzhia group, is in a serious condition. Budanov also said that the chief of staff, Lieutenant-General Oleg Tsekov, was unconscious in hospital.

He also said that at least nine senior Russian officers were injured. There are rumours that Admiral Viktor Sokolov, commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, has been killed. But Budanov said he had no such information. In general, the war continues at its own pace with no end in sight. I remembered today that when I was travelling in Mexico, near the Mayan pyramids, I saw special temples where people were sacrificed to the gods. The more terrible the gods were and the more important the people's requests to them were, the younger and healthier the people who were sacrificed.

And when, for example, a plague struck city after city, or a drought destroyed the crops, there was nowhere to go and the Maya sacrificed their young children. Lots of little children. For the glory of the gods. And to please them.

And what's changed in the centuries since? Nothing. People choose the youngest, the bravest, the healthiest, and sacrifice them. I don't know. In the name of the god of war?

No, no, no! We don't want old and disabled people. Keep them. Our god loves men above all. Young, strong and healthy. So before we sacrifice them, we give them a medical examination. To make sure everything is fair. We don't cheat our gods! We worship them.

And then, when we're all dead, we'll stand before the Almighty. And good old God will ask us why we killed those boys. And we will eagerly begin to explain to him that there were borders, that they went here and here, along this line, up to this village, and then the border turned steeply here, and so on to the sea....

And so the enemies came to this land, and it is ours. And we have defended it. On the other side of the border is their land. We have no claim to it, but they came here. And here is our land...

And God is surprised to learn that men have invented states and drawn lines on the earth He created. And they made such rules that whoever crosses the line must be killed. And they divided people into groups and said that each group is a subject of a particular state, which has borders with lines. And a member of one group cannot cross the lines into another group without the consent of that group...

And when we stand before Him, we are horrified at the folly of our behaviour. What does it matter when young, beautiful, brave people, our children, are dying? Damn the lines? What the hell? What are you talking about?

We are Rus! No, we are Rus! We burned you a thousand years ago! No, we burned you... Oh well, let's kill our children then. Whoever kills more is right. That'll be the real Rus!

So there's nowhere to go! So come on, son, get ready for war. You must defend your fatherland. Otherwise it will disappear. And how can we do without our fatherland? We can do without you. But without it, we'll be wasted... I'm old now, I can't go. But it's time for you to go and die. Fight for your country.

What treacherous enemies! They've crossed the line! They say we drew the line wrong.

It should be the other way round! What the hell are they up to? Don't we know how it's supposed to be? Our ancestors lived here a thousand years ago! See the chronicle? It's all written here. And your chronicle, throw it away. It's wrong. Ours is more accurate than yours! Be-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba!

So, son, don't argue. It's clear it's your time to die. Just kill more of their young and healthy men before you die. Then you'll be good. And we'll honour you forever, don't doubt it. We'll do it right. That's the way of sacrifice. Songs, dances, a bust in the hero's homeland. It's a beautiful, ancient tradition.

Once again, the earth is a thing. An inanimate object. Rocks, sand, humus. As you read this, hundreds of thousands of plots of land are being bought and sold all over the world. Acres, hectares... To attribute some sacred qualities to land, to believe that people must be killed and die for it, is wild paganism.

State leaders cultivate the belief of their subjects in this terrible pagan cult of the motherland. Demeter-Astarta-Isis. Their self-interest is clear. It's the very myth of the state.

But you and I are Christians! And Muslims! And Jews! So we are monotheists. We have no god but the Creator. Sabaoth, Adonai, Allah. The first commandment! And the second: Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, nor worship any idol.

God forbade murder! At all. Quite simply: Thou shalt not murder. Full stop. You must protect people from enemies. Your elders, women and children. But not an empty, lifeless thing. Not a thing. There's no magic in it. It's just a commodity. You're being deceived.

And this war is not about land, it's about people. The homeland is the people.

Just people. Nothing but people. It's the only war that makes sense. And it's the only reason we're on the right side. That's the only reason. And that's why our side is right. And that's why the enemy will be defeated and victory will be ours.

Glory to Ukraine!