This was a puzzler.
After a pause, Alice began,
‘Well! They were both
very unpleasant characters –‘
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.
A massive overnight ‘orcs’ attack.
Has hit ‘elves’ capital Kyiv.
Killing at least two people.
And injuring 16.
The attack involved.
18 missiles and.
About 400 drones.
Primarily targeting the capital.
‘The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright –
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.
Residents’ sleep was.
Interrupted for three hours.
As drones and missiles.
Converged on the capital.
Authorities in Kyiv said.
Drone wreckage struck.
The roof of a residential building.
And fires burned across the city.
The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done –
“It’s very rude of him,” she said,
“To come and spoil the fun!”
In June.
Ukraine recorded.
The highest monthly.
Civilian casualties.
In three years.
With 232 people killed.
And 1,343 injured.
According to the UN.
The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead –
There were no birds to fly.
In the early hours.
Of Thursday morning.
‘Elves’ police reported that.
‘Orcs’ drone strikes had hit.
‘Orcs’ drone strikes had hit.
Eight districts in Kyiv.
“Residential buildings.
Vehicles, warehouses, office.”
“And non-residential buildings.
Are burning.”
The administration head said.
In a post on Telegram.
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
“If this were only cleared away,”
They said, “it would be grand!”
The Interior Minister confirmed that.
A 68-year-old woman and.
A 22-year-old police officer.
At a metro station had been killed.
In Kyiv’s Podilsky district.
A primary healthcare centre was.
“Almost completely destroyed”.
Kyiv’s Mayor said.
‘If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year,
Do you suppose,” the Walrus said,
“That they could get it clear?”
‘I doubt it,” said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.
City residents were.
Urged to shelter.
Until the air raid siren.
Was lifted.
And also close windows.
When they returned to their homes.
Because there was.
A “lot of smoke” in Kyiv.
“O Oysters, come and walk with us!”
The Walrus did beseech.
“A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each.”
Overnight, ‘elves’ air force.
Reported a threat of.
‘Orcs’ drone attacks.
In a number of regions.
It was not immediately clear.
Whether there were any.
Casualties outside Kyiv.
Casualties outside Kyiv.
The eldest Oyster looked at him.
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head –
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.
It followed what Ukraine.
Described as the largest.
‘Orcs’ aerial attack.
On Tuesday night.
When 728 drones and.
13 cruise or ballistic missiles.
Struck cities.
Across the country.
But four young oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat –
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn’t any feet.
Late on Wednesday.
Three people were killed.
In an ‘orcs’ air strike.
In the town of Kostiantynivka.
Close to the front line.
In eastern Ukraine.
The country’s emergency service.
DSNS said.
Four other oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more –
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.
“‘Mordor’ is obviously.
Stepping up terror.”
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
“It is necessary.”
“To be faster with sanctions.
And pressure ‘Mordor’.
So that it feels the outcomes.
Of its own terror.”
“Our partners need.
To act faster investing.
In weapons production.
And developing tech.”
The Walrus and the Carpenter
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.
He said that.
On Thursday.
He would be speaking.
To partners about.
Additional financing.
For producing.
Interceptor drones.
And air defence supplies.
“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes – and ships – and sealing-wax –
Of cabbages – and kings –
And why the sea is boiling hot –
And whether pigs have wings.”
The US had resumed.
Sending some weapons.
To Ukraine.
This was reported.
Late on Wednesday.
Days after it halted.
Shipments of some.
Critical air defence arms.
“But wait a bit,” the Oysters cried,
“Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!”
“No hurry!” said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.
The latest attack underlines.
Just how remote the prospects.
Of a diplomatic breakthrough.
Seem to have become.
On Wednesday.
Germany’s Chancellor said.
Diplomacy had been exhausted.
Diplomacy had been exhausted.
The Kremlin spokesman spoke.
In similar terms.
In similar terms.
Earlier in the week.
“A loaf of bread,” the Walrus said,
“Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed –
Now if you’re ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed.”
And the US President seems.
Increasingly impatient.
With ‘the One’
“We get a lot of bull—-”
“Thrown at us.
by ‘the One’.
If you want to know the truth.”
He said on Tuesday.
“He’s very nice to us.
All the time.
But it turns out.
To be meaningless.”
‘But not on us!” the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
“After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!”
“The night is fine,” the Walrus said.
“Do you admire the view?”
The Kremlin spokesman said.
‘Mordor’ was.
‘Mordor’ was.
“Pretty calm about this.”
“Pretty calm about this.
The US President’s way of talking.
Is generally quite harsh.
The phrases he uses”.
“It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!”
The Carpenter said nothing but
“Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf –
I’ve had to ask you twice!”
The two leaders have been.
In regular contact.
But this has so far failed.
But this has so far failed.
To translate.
Into tangible steps.
Towards a ceasefire.
In Ukraine.
– something the US President.
Once said he would be.
Able to achieve.
In a day.
“It seems a shame,” the Walrus said,
“To play them such a trick,
After we’ve brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!”
The Carpenter said nothing but
“The butter’s spread too thick!”
The US President has been.
Threatening sanctions.
On ‘Mordor’.
Since taking office in January.
Since taking office in January.
But has so far not imposed any.
A bipartisan bill is working.
Its way through Congress.
Which would penalise countries.
Such as China and India.
That continue to buy.
‘Orcs’ oil and gas.
The US President said.
He might support it.
The US President said.
He might support it.
“I weep for you,” the Walrus said,
“I deeply sympathize.”
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.
The focus among Kyiv’s allies.
Has now shifted back to.
How to protect Ukraine.
And punish ‘Mordor’.
How to protect Ukraine.
And punish ‘Mordor’.
With Europe working on.
A new package of sanctions.
“O Oysters,” said the Carpenter.
“You’ve had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?”
But answer came there none –
And this was scarcely odd, because
They’d eaten every one.’
All this is likely to be.
Discussed in Rome.
Where a two-day conference.
Attended by delegates.
From 77 countries.
On Ukraine’s recovery is.
Due to start.
On Thursday.
With ‘orcs’ drone attacks.
On Ukraine increasing.
In frequency and scale.
Renewed attention on.
How to protect.
Ukraine’s airspace.
Could also be.
On the agenda.
“O Oysters,” said the Carpenter.
“You’ve had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?”
But answer came there none –
And this was scarcely odd, because
They’d eaten every one.’
Later on Thursday.
The US Secretary of State.
Is expected to meet.
Is expected to meet.
The ‘orc’ Foreign Minister.
On the sidelines.
Of a summit.
In Malaysia.
‘That was mean!’
Alice said indignantly.
‘Then I like the Carpenter best
– if he didn’t eat
so many as the Walrus.’
‘But he ate as many as
he could get,’
said Tweedledum.
This was a puzzler.
After a pause, Alice began,
‘Well! They were both
very unpleasant characters –‘
Here she checked herself
in some alarm,
at hearing something
that sounded to her
*Because I read “Deadly new Russian drone and missile attack hits Kyiv” by Paul Adams & Jaroslav Lukiv on 10 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, led by ‘THROUGH the LOOKING-GLASS’ written by Lewis Carroll, you know.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
