Here she checked herself
in some alarm,
at hearing something
that sounded to her
like the puffing of
a large steam-engine
in the wood near them,
though she feared
it was more likely
to be a wild beast.
‘Are there any lions or tigers
about here?’ she asked timidly.
‘It’s only the Red King
snoring,’ said Tweedledee.
‘Come and look at him!’
the brothers cried,
Everyone agrees:
It’s getting worse.
Everyone agrees:
It’s getting worse.
The people of Kyiv have.
Like the citizens of.
Other ‘elves’ cities.
Been through a lot.
After three and a half years.
Of fluctuating fortunes.
They are tough and.
Extremely resilient.
and they took each one of
Alice’s hands,
and led her up to where
the King was sleeping.
‘Isn’t he a lovely sight?’
said Tweedledum.
Alice couldn’t say
honestly that he was.
But in recent months.
They have been experiencing.
Something new:
Something new:
Vast, coordinated waves.
Of attacks from the air.
Involving hundreds of.
Drones and missiles.
Often concentrated.
On a single city.
Last night.
It was Kyiv.
And the week before too.
In between.
It was Lutsk.
In the far west.
He had a tall
red night-cap on,
with a tassel, and
he was lying crumpled up
into a sort of untidy heap,
and snoring loud
– ‘fit to snore his head off!’
as Tweedledum remarked.
Three years ago.
Iranian-supplied Shahed drones.
Were a relative novelty.
You remember.
You remember.
Hearing your first.
Buzzing a lazy arc.
Across the night sky.
Above the southern city.
Of Zaporizhzhia.
In October.
2022.
‘I’m afraid he’ll catch cold
with lying on the damp grass,’
said Alice, who was
a very thoughtful little girl.
‘He’s dreaming now,’
said Tweedledee:
‘and what do you think
he’s dreaming about?’
But now everyone is.
Familiar with the sound.
And its most fearsome.
Recent iteration:
A dive-bombing wail.
Some have compared to.
The German World War Two.
Stuka aircraft.
The sound of swarms.
Of approaching drones.
Have sent hardened civilians.
Back to bomb shelters.
The metro and.
Underground car parks.
For the first time since.
The early days of the war.
Alice said, ‘Nobody
can guess that.’
‘Why, about you!’
Tweedledee exclaimed,
clapping his hands triumphantly.
‘And if he left off
dreaming about you,
where do you suppose you’d be?’
“The house shook like.
It was made of paper.”
A Kyiv resident said after.
Last night’s heavy bombardment.
“We spent the entire night.
Sitting in the bathroom.”
“The house shook like.
It was made of paper.”
“I went to the parking.
For the first time.”
Another resident said.
“The building shook and.”
“I could see fires.
Across the river.”
The attacks don’t always.
Claim lives.
But they are spreading fear.
And eroding morale.
But they are spreading fear.
And eroding morale.
‘Where I am now,
of course,’ said Alice.
‘Not you!’ Tweedledee
retorted contemptuously.
‘You’d be nowhere.
Why, you’re only
a sort of thing
in his dream!’
After an attack.
On a residential block.
On a residential block.
In Kyiv last week.
A shocked grandmother said.
That her 11-year-old grandson.
Had turned to her.
In the shelter.
And said he understood.
The meaning of death.
The meaning of death.
For the first time.
He has every reason.
To be fearful.
He has every reason.
To be fearful.
‘If that there King was to wake,’
added Tweedledum,
‘you’d go out – bang! –
just like a candle!’
‘I shouldn’t!’
Alice exclaimed indignantly.
‘Besides, if I’m only
a sort of thing
June saw the highest.
Monthly civilian casualties.
In three years with.
232 people killed.
June saw the highest.
Monthly civilian casualties.
In three years with.
Over 1,300 injured.
Many will have been.
Killed or wounded.
In communities close.
To the front lines.
But others have been.
Killed in cities.
Far from the fighting.
Far from the fighting.
in his dream,
what are you,
I should like to know?’
‘Ditto,’ said Tweedledum.
‘Ditto, ditto!’ cried Tweedledee.
He shouted this
so loud that Alice
couldn’t help saying,
Modifications in.
The Shahed’s design.
Have allowed it to fly.
Much higher than before.
And descend on its target.
From a greater altitude.
And descend on its target.
From a greater altitude.
Its range has also increased.
To around 2,500km.
And it’s capable of carrying.
A more deadly payload.
‘Hush! You’ll be
waking him,
I’m afraid,
if you make so much noise.’
‘Well, it’s no use your talking
about waking him,’
said Tweedledum,
‘when you’re only
Tracking maps.
Produced by local experts.
Show swirling masses.
Of Shahed drones.
Sometimes taking circuitous.
Routes across Ukraine.
Before homing in.
On their targets.
Many – often as many.
as half – are decoys.
Designed to confuse and.
Overwhelm ‘elves’ air defences.
Other, straight lines show.
The paths of ballistic.
Or cruise missiles:
Much fewer in number.
But the weapons.
‘Orcs’ relies on.
To do the most damage.
To do the most damage.
one of the things
in his dream.
You know very well
you’re not real.’
‘I am real!’ said Alice,
and began to cry.
‘I am real!’ said Alice,
and began to cry.
An analysis shows.
An increase in ‘orcs’ drone.
And missile strikes.
In the two months.
Following the US President’s.
Inauguration in January.
March saw a slight decline.
With occasional spikes.
Until May, when the numbers.
Suddenly rose dramatically.
New records have been set.
With alarming regularity.
June saw a new monthly high.
Of 5,429 drones.
July has seen more than.
2,000 in just the first nine days.
‘You won’t make yourself
a bit realler by crying,’
Tweedledee remarked:
‘there’s nothing to cry about.’
‘If I wasn’t real,’ Alice said
– half-laughing through her tears,
it all seemed so ridiculous –
‘I shouldn’t be able to cry.’
With production.
In ‘Mordor’.
Ramping up.
Some reports suggest.
‘Orcs’ may soon be able to fire.
Over 1,000 missiles.
And drones.
In a single night.
Experts in Kyiv warn.
That the country is.
In danger of.
Being overwhelmed.
‘I hope you don’t suppose
those are real tears?’
Tweedledum interrupted
in a tone of great contempt.
‘I know they’re talking nonsense,’
Alice thought to herself:
‘and it’s foolish
to cry about it.’
“If Ukraine doesn’t find.
A solution for.
How to deal with.
These drones.”
“We will face.
Great problems.
During 2025.”
Says a former intelligence officer.
“Some of these drones.
Are trying to reach.
Military objects.
– we have to understand it –”
“But the rest.
They are destroying apartments.
Falling into office buildings.
And causing.”
“And causing.
Lots of damage.
To citizens.”
To citizens.”
So she brushed away her tears,
and went on
as cheerfully as she could,
‘At any rate
I’d better be getting out
of the wood,
for really it’s coming on
very dark.
For all their increasing capability.
The drones are not.
An especially sophisticated weapon.
But they do represent yet.
Another example.
Of the vast gulf.
In resources between.
‘Orcs’ and ‘elves’.
It also neatly illustrates.
The maxim.
Attributed to the Soviet Union’s.
World War Two leader.
That “quantity has.
A quality of its own.”
“This is a war of resources.”
Says a man of the Kyiv-based.
Ukrainian Security and.
Cooperation Centre.
“When production of.
Particular missiles became.”
“Too complicated.
– too expensive.
Too many components.
Too many complicated supply routes –”
“They concentrated on this.
Particular type of drone.
And developed different.
Modifications and improvements.”
Do you think it’s going to rain?’
Tweedledum spread
a large umbrella over
himself and his brother,
and looked up into it.
‘No, I don’t think it is,’
he said: ‘at least
– not under here. Nohow.’
The more drones.
In a single attack, he says.
The more drones.
In a single attack.
The more Ukraine.
Hard-pressed air defence units.
Struggle to shoot them down.
This forces Kyiv.
To fall back on.
Its precious supply of jets.
And air-to-air missiles.
To shoot them down.
“So if the drones go.
As a swarm.
They destroy all.
The air defence missiles.”
‘But it may rain outside?’
‘It may – if it chooses,’
said Tweedledee:
‘we’ve no objection.
Contrariwise.’
‘Selfish things!’ thought Alice,
and she was just going to say
‘Good-night’ and leave them,
Hence ‘Gandalf the Green’’s.
Constant appeals to.
‘Elves’ allies to do more.
To protect its skies.
Not just with Patriot missiles.
– vital to counter.
The most dangerous ‘orcs’.
Ballistic threat –
But with a wide array.
Of other systems too.
On Thursday.
The British government said.
It would sign.
A defence agreement.
With Ukraine.
To provide more than.
5,000 air defence missiles.
Kyiv will be looking for.
Many more such deals.
In the coming months.
Here she checked herself
in some alarm,
at hearing something
that sounded to her
like the puffing of
a large steam-engine
in the wood near them,
though she feared
it was more likely
to be a wild beast.
‘Are there any lions or tigers
about here?’ she asked timidly.
‘It’s only the Red King
snoring,’ said Tweedledee.
‘Come and look at him!’
the brothers cried,
*Because I read “Russia’s intensifying drone war is spreading fear and eroding Ukrainian morale” by Paul Adams on 11 Jul 2025, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022, on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, including a story of Katya, a story of Svitlana, analysis by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, a story of Ivan, and a story of Serhii, led by ‘THROUGH the LOOKING-GLASS’ written by Lewis Carroll, you know.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Russia’s intensifying drone war is spreading fear and eroding Ukrainian morale
