Yaroslav Trofimov
@yarotrof
Followers
142K
Following
4K
Media
1K
Statuses
28K
Chief Foreign-Affairs Correspondent of The Wall Street Journal. Author of đNo Country for Love đ and đOur Enemies Will Vanishđ Insta & BlueSky @yarotrof
Joined April 2009
Coming to America! The U.S. launch of my novel đNo Country for Love đ is only a week away. All event details and registration links are here:
2
6
39
Trump visits the coronavirus swab production line in Maine, without a mask, and the manufacturer says it will now have to throw away the dayâs output.
5K
47K
81K
I was going to stop posting videos from Kherson but canât resist with this one. Especially the poster at the end.
685
6K
38K
Orbanâs peace mission to Moscow was a great success.
561
9K
35K
Putin basically says Ukraine shouldnât exist. âA steady statehood didnât occur.â Almost the same words that Stalin said about Poland in 1939.
367
9K
29K
Blow up pagers, force the surviving Hezbollah cadres to rely on walkie talkies, and then blow up the much bigger explosive devices inside the walkie talkies. A TV spy series producers would rule out this twist plot as impossible to believe in.
385
3K
28K
Liberated Kherson singing Chervona Kalyna, a song that was banned for nine months. No electricity â Russia destroyed the power lines before leaving.
214
4K
19K
Russiaâs rapid thrust into Voznesensk was meant to showcase its military prowess. Instead, the Ukrainian town dealt Russian forces one of the most humiliating defeats of the war. My report from the battlefield where Russian bodies are still being collected
437
6K
18K
Putin: I consider occupied areas of Ukraine to be Russia and any attempt to reclaim them will trigger a nuclear response. If this principle is allowed to stand, whatâs to stop him announcing that he considers Warsaw or Riga or Berlin to be Russia?.
609
3K
17K
On day 88 of the war, Russian tanks have finally entered Kyiv.
286
3K
17K
Russia launches massive strikes on central Kyiv on a busy Monday morning, for the first time since the war began. Where is the air defense that the US and Germany have been talking about for months, without any sense of real urgency?.
452
3K
17K
Yes, life in Gaza has been terrible and Palestinians have suffered under occupation. No, it doesnât make it right to go rape and kill Israeli women and kidnap and parade their orphaned children in Gaza. I donât know why but somehow lots of people donât seem to understand that.
491
3K
17K
Amazing footage of the first Ukrainian troops reaching Khersonâs main square.
255
3K
15K
The U.S. isnât giving Ukraine ATACMS missiles (range 300 km) because it would be an escalation and cross Russiaâs red lines. But Iran is supplying Russia with missiles that have ranges of 300 to 700km, and that is just normal business?
683
4K
15K
Lots of videos of Russian POWs (including a lieutenant-colonel) and abandoned Russian positions coming from the Balakliya-Izyum front as Russian military bloggers and analysts remain in doomsday mode. The speed of the Ukrainian advance seems to have stunned everyone.
149
2K
13K
Kherson would have been a ruin, and tens of thousands would have died in the campaign, if Himars strikes on bridges hadnât hamstrung Russian logistics and forced the Russians to withdraw without urban combat. The U.S. literally saving civilian lives with weapons deliveries.
131
2K
13K
If it was Israel, as everyone seems to believe, and if Iranâs drone and ballistic missile facilities have been seriously damaged, as appears to be the case, thatâs worth a hell of a lot more than 14 tanks.
282
1K
14K
Odesaâs main Orthodox cathedral. Established in 1794, destroyed by Stalin in 1936, rebuilt under an independent Ukraine and destroyed again by Putin in 2023. One of several historical parts of central Odesa, a UNESCO world heritage site, hit by Russian missiles strikes today.
973
7K
12K
Probably Ukraineâs most significant counter-offensive success so far: retaking the city of Trostyanets yesterday and unblocking the resupply road from the besieged regional capital Sumy to Poltava. That leaves only one regional capital, Chernihiv, encircled. (đˇ via Sumy Gov.)
95
2K
12K
People in Iran are braving bullets to protest for womenâs rights. People in China are on the streets calling for freedom. The only recent protests I have seen in Russia is by people who complain they havenât been given sufficiently good weapons and equipment to go kill Ukrainians.
388
2K
12K
Basically the US persuaded the SDF Kurds to dismantle defensive positions that deterred Turkey, promising security guarantees in exchange. Then once the SDF Kurds became defenseless, Trump gave Erdogan the green light to invade. Hard to imagine a more sinister sequence of events.
259
6K
11K
We went to Kharkiv today. It is grim beyond belief. Ukraineâs second largest city is being pulverized by Russian air strikes that have gutted its historical downtown.
368
6K
11K
Komsomolskaya Pravda, the pro-Kremlin tabloid, says that according to Russian ministry of defense numbers, 9,861 Russian soldiers died in Ukraine and 16,153 were injured. The last official Russian KIA figure, on March 2, was 498. Fascinating that someone posted the leaked number.
478
5K
11K
Two Polish civilians are dead today because Russia unleashed a barrage of nearly 100 cruise missiles against Ukrainian cities. Even if the missiles that hit Poland are stray Ukrainian S-300 air defenses, as Moscow claims, the Russian attack is the reason why it all happened.
427
2K
10K
When secret U.S. slides leaked out yesterday, Russian propaganda channels quickly reposted them â but after a little photoshop. Suddenly, 43.5k đˇđş fatalities turned to 17.5k, while 17.5k đşđŚ KIA became 71.5k. Russian vehicle losses shrank from 6,004 to 600. Spot the differences.
445
2K
10K
Kharkiv. Not Beirut. Happens almost daily. Not making news anymore.
424
4K
11K
Russia attacks Kyiv with a swarm of Iranian kamikaze drones, some of which manage to get through air defenses and hit the city center. Iran developing and perfecting with Russia a weapons system that could be used against Tel Aviv, Riyadh or Abu Dhabi.
401
2K
10K
How did I miss this? Russian envoy to UN cites a Ukrainian woman quoted by Meduza as saying Russian soldiers provided humanitarian aid. Ukrainian envoy reads the remainder of the quote: âAnd then they threw a hand grenade into the cellar.â.
Đ˝ĐľĐąĐľĐ˝ĐˇŃ ĐżĐžĐżŃŃĐ°ĐťŃŃ ĐżŃĐžŃиŃиŃОваŃŃ ĐодŃСŃ, пОНŃСŃŃŃŃ ŃоП, ŃŃĐž ĐľŃ Đ˛ ХОвйоСо ĐĐРникŃĐž и но ŃиŃ�Ń. ĐĄĐľŃгоК ĐиŃНиŃĐ° напОПниН нойонСо Đž ŃОП, ĐżŃĐž ŃŃĐž Он иС ŃОгО Мо инŃĐľŃвŃŃ "СайŃĐť"
72
3K
9K
Ukrainian combat medics on the frontline in Donetsk region a few days ago.
126
931
10K
Ukraineâs presidential advisor Oleksii Arestovych demands military personnel to stop filming demeaning videos of captured Russian pilots and soldiers, saying that Geneva conventions must be observed. âWe are a European army of a European nation. Donât be like Satan.â.
143
2K
9K
Putin to Carlson: we do not intend to attack NATO countries. Two days later: Russia issues an arrest warrant for the prime minister of a NATO country.
177
2K
9K
When Turkey and India spent nearly $9 billion to buy S-400 batteries from Russia, this is not exactly the performance they had in mind. Watch the Russian S-400 system fire its load, and then an entire S-400 battery â four launchers and a radar â get wiped out by
360
2K
9K
Putin: âIt would be ridiculous for us to start negotiating with Ukraine just because itâs running out of ammunition.â.Republican leadership of the House cutting off military supplies to Ukraine has made Putin drop his pretense about desiring peace talks. He wants it all.
687
4K
9K
The imagery of America shutting the borders, Germany doing nothing and China sending a planeload of critical medical supplies to Italy may be propaganda but the plane is real and it is now in Rome. Historical memories are being shaped.
281
3K
9K
Another senior Russian officer killed in Mariupol, Russian officials confirm. Col. Aleksey Sharov, commander of the 810th Black Sea Marines Brigade.
280
1K
8K
The Russian military decided to overwhelm Ukrainian logistics near Izyum with the burden of recovering and repairing a couple of companiesâ worth of T-80 tanks. The cunning minds of the 4th Guards Kantemirov Division strike again. (1/2)
154
1K
8K
Kherson liberation chronicles, from Ukrainian social media: When soldiers enter to clear a village that was occupied by Russia and a local girl comes out with a violin to play the Ukrainian anthem.
73
2K
8K
Looks like Russian authorities are so afraid of renewed drone attacks in Moscow that they are spoofing/jamming the GPS navigation signal. Muscovites can no longer order cabs.
266
998
8K
The headquarters of Russiaâs Southern Military District in Rostov â the nerve center of the Russian war against Ukraine and a compound briefly seized by Wagner in June â rocked by powerful explosions.
172
1K
7K
The people in the online spaces where Jack Teixeira spent his time and allegedly leaked highly classified documents posted violent slurs against Black, gay and trans people, Jews, Ukrainians and pretty much everyone else. Everyone, except the Russians.
720
3K
7K
If Ukraine is defeated and occupied by Russia one day, many Ukrainians will blame the fickle and unreliable West for their tragedy. And if Russiaâs armies head to Poland and further into Europe after that, they will have hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian veterans in their ranks.
643
1K
8K
So basically tiny Estonia supplied Ukraine with *twice* as much military assistance as France, the EUâs strongest military power and one calling for European strategic autonomy.
More info on French contributions to Ukraine. Total amount is EUR120 million so far. Milans, Javelins and Mistrals sent over (no firm numbers). Other aid included pre-war training and ongoing access to French satellite imagery.
159
2K
7K
Russian advances in Avdiivka, which increasingly looks likely to become the first Ukrainian city to fall since the capture of Bakhmut last May, are the direct result of acute ammunition shortage â caused by the U.S. Congress withholding further military aid to Ukraine.
After gaining a foothold in the south two weeks ago, Russian forces have advanced and entered Avdiivka from the north over the past few days. Butusov and Tsaplienko both say the situation is critical.
694
3K
7K
For perspective: 500 Javelins will cover three to five days of fighting. 18 howitzers will account for maybe 3% of deployed field artillery. That many or more get lost in a week. The rate of assistance is a fraction of the rate of depletion.
BREAKING: The latest batch of U.S. military equipment has begun arriving in Ukraine, including: . - 18 155mm howitzers . - 11 Mi-17 helicopters. - 200 armored personnel carriers. - 300 Switchblade drones. - 500 Javelin missiles. - 10 counter-artillery radars. #StandWithUkraine đşđŚ.
261
2K
7K
Senator Graham in Kyiv in May, one of the many times when he criticized the Biden administration for not giving Ukraine enough weapons and pledged that American support will not waver.
My statement on my decision to vote 'No' on the National Security Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2024:
352
2K
7K
And now finally a video emerges of Ukrainian soldiers (wasting a few rounds) in the Izyum government building.
63
768
7K
Russiaâs massive use of Iranian drones to target the civilian infrastructure in Ukraine is funding and improving the Iranian drone program that Tehran aims to use against Israel sooner or later. How long can Israel keep behaving as if the war in Ukraine is none of its business?.
239
1K
7K
Devastating. Central Kharkiv, a beautiful beautiful city, already looks like Aleppo. Those are war crimes.
@natachabut An Al Jazeera team was able to enter the devastated city of Kharkiv in Ukraine after Russia announced a pause in fighting to allow people to leave. Reporter @stratfordch was shocked by what he saw ⤾ď¸
115
2K
6K
Bonkers Russian Army recruitment commercial, in which soldiers under fire in a trench discuss Ukrainian real estate investments. (One wants to buy an apartment in Kyivâs tony Pechersk neighborhood once it is conquered, the other says he prefers Odesa because of the seaâŚ)
707
2K
7K
The man in the middle was a đşđŚ soldier killed fighting Russian invaders last summer. When his family reburied him in his home village of Hroza, retaken last Sept from Russian occupation, Russia fired a missile to kill everyone else in this photo, plus 48 other villagers. Medieval
311
3K
6K
Guess Ukraine would be the first country in the world with a Jewish president and a Muslim defense minister.
Zelensky removes Reznikov as defense minister, taps Crimean Tatar executive and negotiator Rustem Umerov to run the ministry. My latest. .
132
1K
6K
Extraordinary đĽ warning from Ukraine to Belarus: Belarusian forces, including Wagner mercenaries, gathering along the border in the Gomel region north of Kyiv and Chernobyl threaten Ukraineâs and the worldâs security, and must withdraw beyond the range of their weapons systems.
109
1K
6K
For the first time, a video emerges of a recruitment talk for Wagner by Prigozhin in a Russian prison camp. Absolutely bonkers. âNobody goes back behind bars. If you serve six months, you are free. If you arrive in Ukraine and decide itâs not for you, we execute you.â
367
2K
6K
Russia repeatedly tried to kill HUR chief Gen Budanov, striking his office twice with missiles, and likely poisoned his wife and other aides, so I donât think there is any new dimension here.
The killing of a senior đˇđş general in Moscow might have the Kremlin ordering the same type of operations in Kyiv đşđŚ. Has a new dimensionen been added to the conflict?
110
1K
7K
Water level rising fast in Kryvy Rih, one of Ukraineâs largest cities, after a salvo of Russian cruise missiles breached a reservoir dam, causing a flood. Seven months into the war, long-promised US and German air defenses that could prevent such strikes have yet to arrive.
125
2K
6K
A reminder that Russia is using North Korean and Iranian missiles and drones to strike cities across Ukraine every day but Ukraine remains prohibited from using American and European weapons to strike military targets in Russia because OMG escalation.
127
2K
6K
Looks like a dogfight between Russian and Ukrainian jets over Vasylkiv. The Ukrainian jet flew low over the town a few minutes later. Vasylkiv remains under Ukrainian control after a failed Russian airborne landing, and the Ukrainian Air Force is still in the skies.
125
2K
6K
Russiaâs Bryansk, a logistics hub for the Russian war on Ukraine, looks like a Ukrainian city this morning, with its huge fuel depots on fire amid unconfirmed speculation about a Ukrainian strike. Image source
213
1K
6K
Increasing speculation in Russian media that the Baku-Grozny Azerbaijan Airlines flight was shot down by Russian air defenses that mistook it for a Ukrainian drone. Footage of the damage to the fuselage.
239
2K
6K
Kill and hide. Azerbaijani officials tell local media that Russia hit flight J2-8243 with an anti-aircraft missile and then jammed electronics and denied permission to land in three airports, steering the damaged plane into the Caspian Sea so that it would crash there and
165
2K
6K
Poor, poor Vladimir Putin. Until now, nobody in the West has had the chance to hear him explain all the excellent reasons for why he had to invade Ukraine. Not in the speech that was broadcast live on every global network the morning of the invasion, and not in countless others.
428
695
6K
You know whoâs got real Ukraine war fatigue? Ukrainians. The only problem is that, 19 months in, Russia still wants to wipe out their country.
147
1K
5K
The US and allies planned to support a Ukrainian insurgency after a swift Russian conventional victory. Now, they are struggling to sustain a Ukrainian Army that has held its ground and needs more ammo to fight a large-scale conventional war.
124
1K
5K
Czech Republic has already sent T72M tanks to Ukraine as it and Slovakia mull repairing and refitting Ukrainian armor on their soil. Scoop by âŚ@drewhinshaw⊠w me.
99
1K
5K
A negotiated permanent settlement is impossible now. No Ukrainian president will survive rewarding Russia with occupied Ukrainian land. A negotiated ceasefire would just allow Russia to rearm, refit, and try going for Kyiv again. All else is wishful thinking at this stage.
NBC News Exclusive: Some U.S. and Western officials think neither side can win and see winter as a shot at diplomacy in Ukraine-Russia war. New details from @ckubeNBC @carolelee & @JoshNBCNews
167
1K
5K
In todayâs dam attack thatâs flooding Kryvy Rih, the Kremlin sticks to the old playbook. Back in 1941, Stalin killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians, blowing up the Zaporizhzhia dam and flooding cities and villages downstream.
148
2K
5K
Russia confirms that Maj Gen Vladimir Frolov, deputy commander of the 8th Army, was killed in combat in Ukraine.
195
958
5K
The Russians once promised safe passage out of Ilovaysk, in 2014. Then they shelled the retreating column in the middle of the safe passage, killing over 400 Ukrainian soldiers. If youâre wondering about their offer re Mariupol.
Are the Russian military in Mariupol really surprised there is no surrender in exchange for âsafe passageâ and âhumanitarian corridors for civiliansâ? No one believes a word they say . No one. It is why peace talks founder. Trust . There is none. #Ukraineď¸.
77
2K
5K
Russia is retaliating against its military defeat in Kharkiv by hitting the power grid across eastern Ukraine, plunging Kharkiv, Dnipro, Poltava and other cities â and millions of civilians â into darkness.
218
2K
5K
All these US bases in Taliban Afghanistan and in Turkmenistan. Wow! Theyâve been real good at hiding them. Am now fully expecting a tweet with a map of Russia surrounded by NATO bases in China.
169
518
5K
Something tells me there will be another dizzying twist in the Prigozhin saga very soon.
143
491
5K
Spokeswoman for Donetsk Peopleâs Republic tells Russian military TV that 50 Ukrainian POWs from Azov, kept in a separate barrack, were killed in the Olenivka strike and many more injured. But, what a happy coincidence, none of the Russian guards were killed or injured. đ¤
382
2K
5K
To the chants of Allahu Akbar, the city once founded by Greeks fleeing the Ottoman Empire was âliberatedâ of its inhabitants by Putinâs Chechen militias. What a twist of history.
Russia's "liberation" of Mariupol looks like this, according to Ramzan Kadyrov's Telegram channel
272
2K
5K
Russia, which has been showering Ukrainian cities with cluster munitions that have dud rates upwards of 30% (meaning that 30+% of bomblets remain unexploded and dangerous) is very very upset about the U.S. supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions that have a dud rate below 2.35%.
176
1K
5K
Itâs not just Putin. Canceling Ukraine is a desire shared by many Russians throughout the years â including some of the countryâs liberal luminaries and literary giants. âThe Russian democrat ends where the Ukrainian question begins.â My essay in @WSJ
155
2K
5K
We were the first journalists to visit liberated Lyman, where locals rejoice and loot Russian stores, corpses of ambushed Russian troops lay on the roads, and Ukrainian troops make a bonfire of Russian referendum posters. Photos by âŚ@ManuBraboâŠ
69
1K
5K
Ukraine is literally the most documented war in the history of wars, with drone footage of dozens of engagements every day and hundreds of journalists on the frontlines.
With every war going all the way back to Vietnam, the press has been heavily integrated with the troops and there's thousands of hours of live video footage. In Ukraine, nothing. We get no footage, no detailed updates, no graphs explaining how the war is going, who has.
173
548
5K
Kupyansk, the biggest city in Russian-occupied parts of Kharkiv region and the seat of the occupation âgovernmentâ is back under Ukrainian control as the swift Ukrainian offensive continues. Photos from local social media.
55
815
5K
Medvedev: Even if Ukraine surrenders the territories we claim and renounces NATO aspirations in exchange for a peace deal, sooner or later we would still have to put the nail into the coffin of Ukrainian statehood and return the rest of the countryâs lands âinto the bosom of.
179
2K
5K
The bodybags of untrained mobilized Russian men are starting to come home from Ukraine â including to big cities like Moscow. Even the Z propagandists are getting upset. Here is the 28yo former head of dept in Moscow city govât, drafted Sept 23, killed Oct 10.
297
1K
5K
One of Russiaâs main defense electronics producers and research centers, NII Platan near Moscow, is on fire, with staff trapped inside. According to Platanâs archived website, its components are used in all Russian fighter jets, nuclear launch munitions, S-400 air defenses and
233
1K
5K
Swedenâs Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is a happy man tonight, greeted by an ovation as he walked into the lobby of his hotel in Vilnius, shortly after securing Turkeyâs long-withheld assent for Swedenâs NATO membership bid.
92
658
5K
Putin is literally staring at the words âUkraine â Pays des Cossaquesâ across current Ukraine on this map from 1670.
Putin, in full philosopher-tsar mode, peers over a Louis XIV map from the 17th century, which he says proves âno Ukraine ever existed in the history of mankindâ
137
717
5K
If anyone cheering on Hamas from the safety of the West thinks that todayâs events will make Palestinian statehood any closer or make the lives of ordinary Palestinians any easier, they live in an alternative reality.
212
956
5K
The Ukrainian blackout on the invasion of Russia is gone. Here are soldiers of the 61st Brigade recording a video at the Gazprom offices in Sudzha, a district center of the Kursk region of Russia. âThe city is under the control of armed forces of Ukraine and quiet.â
142
803
5K
Zelensky says no elections to be held next year. Ukraineâs existing law bans elections during wartime. For all those shedding crocodile tears about the demise of Ukrainian democracy: the UK didnât have general elections between 1935 and 1945, yet somehow remained a democracy.
138
816
4K
The weirdest thing here is that Putin tells Macron he holds Zelensky responsible for the 2014 âbloody coupâ in Ukraine. Zelensky was hosting the New Year show on Russian state television in Moscow as the Maidan protests were under way in Kyiv in 2014.
58
996
5K
Ukraineâs Third Storm Brigade on the Bakhmut front says it has encircled and routed Russiaâs 72nd Brigade, killing three batallion commanders and the Russian brigadeâs intelligence chief as it retook the village of Andriyivka in a two-day operation.
90
747
4K
How a small Ukrainian town routed a Russian battalion tactical group. âThe Russians had orders to come in, seize, and await further instructions. They had no orders for what to do if defeated. That, they didnât plan for.â My page 1 report from Voznesensk.
53
1K
4K
Russia is switching to a war footing and preparing to fight several years to obliterate Ukraine. The West, while providing Kyiv with some weapons, continues business as usual. My @WSJ essay on why time may be on Putinâs side if the West doesnât wake up
186
2K
4K
To understand the size of the Proletarsk state reserve fuel facility, here is the satellite photo. Back of the envelope calculation is that it holds up to $200 million worth of fuel, based on the Russian domestic wholesale price of about $500 per ton of diesel. Each of these
Itâs been three days since Ukrainian drones hit the diesel storage tanks of the Russian State Reserve in Proletarsk, Rostov region, and the fire is still spreading.
114
896
4K
Ireland, whose safety is de-facto guaranteed by NATO, and which not only rides for free but also grandstands lecturing others who, unlike her, donât have the luxury of being an island off an island off the safe side of Europe and today face an existential threat.
President Higgins has another go at NATO. He would have an entirely different sensibility if he lived in the Baltic states or others that know Russian predation. He continues to exemplify Irelandâs âostrichâ mentality when it comes to security and defence. We need to grow up.
352
760
5K
Mobs break into the Makhachkala airport, in Russiaâs north Caucasus, looking to lynch Jews after rumors spread about the arrival of Jewish refugees from Israel.
953
2K
4K
Starlink says it limited Ukrainian military use, particularly for drones, because the system was never meant to be used for âoffensive purposes.â Guess defending oneâs country is now offensive.
331
1K
4K
How a U.S. Navy noncommissioned officer created a pro-Russian propaganda network that brought to prominence stolen Pentagon files. Our investigation of the Donbass Devushka affair.
209
2K
4K
Russian MOD confirms that Russian troops redeployed to âmore advantageous defensive positionsâ along the Berkhivka reservoir north of Bakhmut â or, in plain English, retreated by several km.
109
651
4K
Russian cruise missile strikes on cities all over Ukraine, timed to maximize civilian casualties. The biggest series of salvoes since the war began. Putinâs rage is unlikely to significantly weaken Ukraineâs military ability, but it will increase Ukrainiansâ motivation to fight.
101
961
4K