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.
At least 25 people.
Have been killed.
Across Ukraine in.
Overnight and early morning.
‘Orcs’ air strikes.
That hit a prison.
And a hospital.
Local officials say.
‘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.
The deadliest attack was.
On the Bilenke penitentiary.
Where 16 inmates were killed.
And more than 50 injured.
The deadliest attack was.
On the Bilenke penitentiary.
In the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
In the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
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!”
A separate ‘orcs’ strike.
On people queuing for.
Humanitarian aid killed five.
In the north-eastern Kharkiv region.
Three people were killed.
In the central Dnipropetrovsk region.
Including a pregnant woman.
Including a pregnant woman.
Another casualty.
Was reported elsewhere.
In the region.
Another casualty.
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.
Later on Tuesday.
The US President confirmed.
A deadline of 8 August.
For ‘Mordor’.
A deadline of 8 August.
For ‘Mordor’.
To agree a ceasefire.
Or else face sweeping sanctions.
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 US President had issued.
An ultimatum to ‘Mordor’.
On Monday.
During a visit to the UK.
Saying he would reduce.
The 50-day deadline.
Previously issued.
To ‘the One’ earlier this month.
‘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.
In response.
To the overnight strikes.
On Ukraine.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
‘Mordor’ “must be forced.
To stop the killings.
And make peace”.
Via “tough” sanctions.
“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.”
On Tuesday morning.
‘Elves’ justice ministry said.
Four glide bombs hit.
The Bilenke penitentiary.
Shortly before midnight.
Destroying the dining hall.
Administrative headquarters.
And quarantine area.
It said that more than.
50 people were injured.
And 44 of them had to be.
Taken to hospital.
The ministry had earlier reported.
17 inmates were killed.
But later amended.
The death toll.
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.
‘Orcs’ forces have frequently.
Targeted the front-line region.
Targeted the front-line region.
Of Zaporizhzhia.
Since the start of.
Since the start of.
The full-scale invasion.
Of Ukraine in 2022.
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.
It is one of.
Four south-eastern regions.
In Ukraine.
That ‘Mordor’ claims.
To have annexed.
Since 2022.
Although ‘Mordor’ does not.
Fully control any of them.
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.
In a separate ‘orcs’ rocket attack.
On Tuesday morning.
Five people were killed.
In the village of Novoplatonivka.
Five people were killed.
In the village of Novoplatonivka.
Kharkiv region.
The local authorities said.
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.
The villagers had gathered.
Near a local shop.
To get humanitarian aid.
The regional police chief said.
‘Elves’ officials later.
Released photos.
Showing bodies.
Lying near a destroyed shop.
“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.”
Another ‘orcs’ rocket strike.
Hit a hospital in Kamianske.
Dnipropetrovsk region.
Killing three people.
A 23-year-old.
Pregnant woman was.
Among the casualties there.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
He accused ‘orcs’.
Of killing ‘elves’.
When a ceasefire “could.
Have long been in place”.
“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.
Earlier in July.
The US President set.
A 50-day deadline.
For ‘Mordor’.
To reach a truce.
With ‘elves’.
Or risk economic penalties.
But the warning.
But the warning.
Has not halted.
‘Orcs’ barrage of strikes.
‘Orcs’ barrage of strikes.
“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.”
The wave of attacks came.
As ‘Mordor’ said.
Its troops were pushing deeper.
Into ‘elves’ territory.
At the weekend.
‘Mordor’ said its forces had seized.
The village of Maliivka.
Weeks after claiming.
Control over their first village.
In the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Ukraine has rejected.
‘Mordor’’s claims.
‘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 “Russian strikes kill 25 in Ukraine, as Trump confirms deadline for talks” by Rachel Hagan & Jaroslav Lukiv on 30 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:
Ukraine reports 25 killed as Russia hits prison and hospital
