Brian Mann
speaker
1,678 appearances
209 recordings
3 series
first heard Nov 2024
last heard today
Brian Mann’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 168 in all, peaking in Sep 2026 with 21.
Appearances
Good morning, Cassara.
Well, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says they were able to shoot down 50 of the 70 or so missiles launched Christmas morning by Russia. Ukraine also blocked most of those drones. They often used electronic jammers, causing them to crash. But at least 20 of these missiles got through. There were explosions and fires across Ukraine. One utility worker and engineer was killed.
In his statement on social media, Zelensky condemned this attack. He said it was clearly time for the holiday, called it inhumane and evil, but said this latest violence, and I'm quoting here, will not break Ukraine and will not spoil Christmas. President Biden also called the attack outrageous.
And President-elect Donald Trump's incoming special envoy for Ukraine and Russia condemned Moscow's decision to attack yesterday. He said the U.S. is more resolved than ever to bring peace to the region.
Well, this is clearly rattling the system. The biggest utility in the country said yesterday, Sarah, that this strike was the 13th large attack on the energy grid this year alone. Even before yesterday's missile launch, there were already rolling blackouts across the country. These explosions and fires caused more power outages. A lot of homes lost heat.
Luckily, it's been a pretty mild winter here so far by Ukraine standards. Yesterday, Maxim Timchenko, the head of that big private utility DTEK, he called for Ukraine's allies to help boost the country's air defense systems.
Yeah, there's no question Ukrainians are weary. But if Russia's goal here is to make Ukrainians so miserable they lose the will to fight and defend their country, I'm not seeing evidence that's working. After yesterday's attack, I heard anger, not fear. People are remarkably resilient in Ukraine. They've adapted to this war. A lot of homes I visit have generators. They have stockpiles of fuel.
I went out for some last-minute Christmas shopping yesterday, and I saw families back out of the bomb shelters celebrating Christmas, eating dinner. But I don't want to romanticize what's happening in Ukraine. The situation here remains very hard.
Most military analysts think Russia has the advantage this winter on the battlefield. Russian troops clearly outnumber the Ukrainians. They have more artillery and shells. But Russian advances have been slow. Russia will fight for days just to take one small village. And the cost to Moscow in casualties and men killed and wounded appears to be staggeringly high.
Ukraine, meanwhile, is fighting with very different tactics. They're retreating slowly, preserving as many soldiers' lives as possible. I spoke, Sarah, to dozens of Ukrainian soldiers near their front lines, and they say they're bone deep in exhaustion. They're frustrated at times by the lack of equipment, but they seem confident Ukraine's army can keep holding on.
Thanks, Sarah.
Ukraine's Prime Minister, Denis Shmuhal, said on social media the first billion dollars have arrived. That's out of 20 billion in loans expected from the U.S., with an additional 30 billion in support slated to come from other big industrial G7 countries, including Britain and Canada. We thank our American partners and the World Bank for this important step toward justice, Schmahal said.
The arrangement allows countries to support Ukraine's economy and military with massive loans, with payback coming from revenue from Russia's overseas assets frozen after the 2022 invasion. Russian officials have condemned the arrangement as fraudulent, posting on social media that loans and other support for Ukraine will prolong the war. Brian Mann, NPR News, Kyiv.
Up First from NPR · Ukraine's Drone Use, H-1B Visa Uncertainty, New Species In 2024 · 24 Dec 2024
podcast
Good morning, Asma.
Well, it's interesting. Ukraine's military actually made it hard to know exactly where I was. The location of these command posts, it's a carefully guarded secret. I was guided in an armored car to a village outside Bukrovsk. It's a key coal mining town and transportation hub. It's been under siege by Russia since spring.
Soldiers brought me in darkness to a workshop where I saw technicians building these drones. They're black, five-bladed devices about the size of a small lawnmower. Then they took me to a command post where teams coordinate these drone attacks across a huge battlefield.
Well, these attacks are actually terrifying to watch. The drones operate at night. Their cameras see in infrared. So on a big flat screen TV, Asma, I watched as one drone spotted a Russian soldier. He was moving forward, trying to get close to Ukrainian positions. His body heat was visible against the snowy ground. And I had my recorder on while this was happening.
Okay, the camera is zooming in on bright heat signatures. And a bomb is dropping. You can see it falling. And another flare of light. A large explosion now. And the Ukrainian Zazma said that Russian soldier was killed. I was standing next to a Ukrainian soldier who goes by the call sign PIP, who coordinates attacks, that these drone pilots were working that night.
He said their job is to disrupt as many Russian assaults as they can. We doing this every day, nonstop, 24 hours. Are they also doing this? With us, yes. So both ways? Yes.
And that's a brutal reality of this war. These drones, they're killing a lot of Russians and Ukrainians.
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