John Foreman CBE
@John_ForemanCBE
Former UK Defence Attaché Moscow and Kyiv. Also worked DC, NATO and EU. Banned by Russia, decorated by Ukraine. Associate Fellow @ChathamHouse @nestcentreorg
Happy Birthday Kyiv. 1543 years old today. A beautiful, European city under barbarous Russian assault. Capital of a free, proud and courageous nation. ‘Good Lord, protect Ukraine. Give her strength, courage, faith, hope’
Please enjoy this response to a post war 'open for business' notice by Lt Colonel Bill Scott DSO, Insurance executive & former CO of the doomed 2/21st Bn 'Gull Force' (Ambon) and ex prisoner of war. #WehaveWays ping @robert_lyman @almurray @madeofstone71 @nickfshort
It’s no exaggeration that Ukrainian public opinion is in an absolute firestorm after the parliament today approved a law essentially dismantling independent anti-corruption agencies, just days after SBU raided key investigators. The law isn’t enacted until Zelensky signs it — and…
Russian army reform is crude and bloody learning dangerously fast. Is Russia preparing for perpetual war — are we prepared to stop it? This episode draws on analysis by @John_ForemanCBE and @edwardlucas as well as @bobseely new book ‘The New Total War’. youtu.be/wGWGbYQZ6F4
July 23 - 27, the Russian Navy will conduct the «Iyulskiy shtorm»(July Storm) exercise in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Baltic and Caspian Seas, involving forces from the Northern, Pacific, Baltic fleets and the Caspian flotilla. tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/2…
“In addition to the air defense and missile insufficiencies, Ukraine’s ground troops, who remain vastly outnumbered on the front line, are also running low on 155mm artillery shells, Syrsky said, and need an additional supply of armored vehicles… North Korean troops, who may…
Absolutely awesome sight #seapower
.@HMSPWLS arrived in Darwin, Australia this morning #CSG25 #TalismanSabre2025 19 Jets on deck, including 034 recovered from India (plus one USMC jet)
Russia: strong state, weak civil society Ukraine: weak state, strong civil society Zelensky and the Kyiv political elite have totally screwed the pooch here.
Confirmation that Zelensky signed bill into law has now disappeared from parliamentary website. Reverse ferret warning. pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2025/…
Seriously concerned over today’s vote in the Rada. The dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU’s independence is a serious step back. Independent bodies like NABU & SAPO, are essential for 🇺🇦’s EU path. Rule of Law remains in the very center of EU accession negotiations.
❗️MPs adopt with 263 votes the draft law #12414, destroying independence of #NABU & #SAPO. This is a massive setback in anti-corruption reform and direct threat to 🇺🇦's path to the EU! We call on @ZelenskyyUa to veto the destructive changes! Statement👉bit.ly/4m87ApP
‘The amendment bill was pushed through with unusual speed, as it was cleared by the committee, passed by the legislature, and signed by Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, all in a single day’ 🤔
⚡️ BREAKING: Ukraine's parliament passes bill destroying independence of key anti-corruption bodies. The bill was passed with the support of 263 lawmakers, while 13 voted against it and 13 abstained. kyivindependent.com/bill-subordina…
Ukrainian politicians of whatever stripe never fail to live down to expectations. And have been doing so since 1991. ганьба!
⚡️ BREAKING: Ukraine's parliament passes bill destroying independence of key anti-corruption bodies. The bill was passed with the support of 263 lawmakers, while 13 voted against it and 13 abstained. kyivindependent.com/bill-subordina…
I still miss being at sea. The taste never fades.
“And once you're a sailor,” Jack London would have written, “you always remain one. The taste of salt air never fades. A sailor never lives long enough to lose the desire to battle the wind and waves.” Fatu-Hiva - Marquesas Islands ( Îles Marquises), southern Pacific Ocean.…
Me Prince Andrew Epstein 😬
Me Queen Elizabeth II Trump Epstein
Bombs for ‘Britain’s new F-35A’ which won’t enter service for years.
Flight from New Mexico to RAF Lakenheath believed to have dropped off B61 nuclear bombs that can be carried by Britain’s new F-35A fighter jets ⬇️ thetimes.com/article/cbb670…
Away from turmoil in Kyiv, the situation at the front 😬
According to @Deepstate_UA, groups of Russian soldiers reached Pokrovsk a couple of days ago because one of the brigades defending the city lacked infantry. Some of the groups are reportedly still in the city. t.me/DeepStateUA/22…
Coming soon after @owenmatth warning about serious political infighting at the heart of Ukraine’s government, and readiness to go after political opponents, this is very bad news. ‘Nothing is more corrosive to wartime morale than the idea that a nation’s leaders are stealing as…
🧵A lengthy thread here on today's news of searches and arrests in Ukraine and what the various parties involved as well as civil society and Kyiv's Western backers see happening.
A small clarification because fake news are doing the rounds again. Germany's Minister of Defence Boris Pistorius did not say at today's UDCG meeting that Germany will support #Ukraine with five Patriot fire units. He said that “Germany will contribute to providing the five…
‘In August 1992, when the dog days were drawing to an end, I set off to walk the county of Suffolk, in the hope of dispelling the emptiness that takes hold of me whenever I have completed a long stint of work’.
Russia has been waging a war of attrition against Ukraine, where developments typically unfold slowly—until they suddenly accelerate. What I find particularly concerning is that, over the past 30 days, Russian forces have advanced over 9 km along several axes. Most notably, on…
Perspective. This is the map from the end of Ukraine's counteroffensive at the end of 2022, vs now in July 2025. The dark red line is now, the lighter one was then. Look at the macro picture. We often have people in our replies going "You're reporting Ukraine losing village…
Strongly recommended. Many important points in this article. If you need some convincing, here one of the many money quotes:
x.com/i/article/1947…