“For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light:
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly!
But westward, look, the land is bright.”
At least 16 people.
Have been killed.
Including two children.
In Kyiv.
After ‘orcs’ launched.
A massive overnight.
A massive overnight.
Drone and missile strikes.
On the ‘elves’ capital.
And other regions.
On the ‘elves’ capital.
And other regions.
“For, although common Snarks do no manner of harm,
Yet, I feel it my duty to say,
Some are Boojums—” The Bellman broke off in alarm,
For the Baker had fainted away.
The victims’ bodies.
Were pulled from the rubble.
Of a partially destroyed.
Apartment building.
In Kyiv.
Where rescuers are still.
Searching for at least.
20 people feared missing.
Searching for at least.
20 people feared missing.
‘Elves’ emergencies service.
DSNS said.
They roused him with muffins—they roused him with ice—
They roused him with mustard and cress—
They roused him with jam and judicious advice—
They set him conundrums to guess.
It said 47 people.
Including two children.
Including two children.
Were injured.
Friday has been.
Declared a day.
Of mourning.
In the city.
When at length he sat up and was able to speak,
His sad story he offered to tell;
And the Bellman cried “Silence! Not even a shriek!”
And excitedly tingled his bell.
It is the third day.
It is the third day.
In a row.
Ukraine has reported deaths.
As Moscow ramps up.
Its assault after.
A three-day ceasefire.
Expired on Monday.
There was silence supreme! Not a shriek, not a scream,
Scarcely even a howl or a groan,
As the man they called “Ho!” told his story of woe
In an antediluvian tone.
The overnight barrage.
Saw more than.
670 drones.
And 56 missiles.
Targeting the country.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
This is among the largest attacks.
‘Mordor’ has mounted.
Since the start of.
Its full-scale invasion.
Of Ukraine.
In 2022.
“My father and mother were honest, though poor—”
“Skip all that!” cried the Bellman in haste.
“If it once becomes dark, there’s no chance of a Snark—
We have hardly a minute to waste!”
The strikes hit.
More than 180 sites.
More than 180 sites.
Across Ukraine.
Including more than 50.
Residential buildings.
Residential buildings.
‘Gandalf the Green’ added.
“I skip forty years,” said the Baker, in tears,
“And proceed without further remark
To the day when you took me aboard of your ship
To help you in hunting the Snark.
He said a total of.
More than 1,560.
‘Orcs’ drones had targeted.
‘Elves’ cities.
Since Tuesday night.
Describing Moscow’s assault.
As “definitely not.
The actions of those.”
“Who believe the war.
Is coming to an end”.
And urging allies to.
Hold ‘Mordor’ accountable.
“A dear uncle of mine (after whom I was named)
Remarked, when I bade him farewell—”
“Oh, skip your dear uncle!” the Bellman exclaimed,
As he angrily tingled his bell.
After an urgent meeting.
With ‘elves’ top military.
And security officials.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
A “significant number”.
Of drones were shot down.
With an “overall interception rate”.
Of 93%.
“He remarked to me then,” said that mildest of men,
“‘If your Snark be a Snark, that is right:
Fetch it home by all means—you may serve it with greens,
And it’s handy for striking a light.
But the same figures.
For missiles stood.
At 73%.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
Admitting that.
The “key challenge” remained.
In how to defend against.
‘Orcs’ ballistic missiles.
He said the “priority number one”.
Was to secure more deliveries.
Of “anti-ballistic systems.
And missiles for them”.
“‘You may seek it with thimbles—and seek it with care;
You may hunt it with forks and hope;
You may threaten its life with a railway-share;
You may charm it with smiles and soap—’”
Ukraine has repeatedly.
Said it has.
A massive shortage.
A massive shortage.
Of US-made.
Patriot missile systems.
Which can effectively.
Intercept ‘orcs’ ballistics.
(“That’s exactly the method,” the Bellman bold
In a hasty parenthesis cried,
“That’s exactly the way I have always been told
That the capture of Snarks should be tried!”)
Reacting to the latest.
‘Orcs’ attacks.
The EU Commission President.
Accused ‘Mordor’.
Of indiscriminately.
Targeting civilians.
Of indiscriminately.
Targeting civilians.
“Another night of.
Death and destruction.”
She wrote in a post on X.
“While ‘Mordor’ openly.”
“While ‘Mordor’ openly.
Mocks diplomatic efforts.
We continue to.
Strengthen Ukraine.”
“We are finalizing.
A €6 billion.
Drone support package.
And we keep the pressure.”
“And we keep the pressure.
On ‘orcs’ war economy.
With ever tougher sanctions.”
She added.
“‘But oh, beamish nephew, beware of the day,
If your Snark be a Boojum! For then
You will softly and suddenly vanish away,
And never be met with again!’
In Kyiv.
A search and rescue.
Operation began.
Early Thursday.
To look for people.
Under the rubble.
Of a nine-storey.
Apartment block.
In the south-western.
Darnytskyi district.
Dozens of people.
Have been rescued alive.
“It is this, it is this that oppresses my soul,
When I think of my uncle’s last words:
And my heart is like nothing so much as a bowl
Brimming over with quivering curds!
But the death toll.
Has been rising.
Throughout the day.
Throughout the day.
And there are fears.
That more victims are.
Still under the rubble.
Still under the rubble.
“It is this, it is this—“ “We have had that before!”
The Bellman indignantly said.
And the Baker replied “Let me say it once more.
It is this, it is this that I dread!
Police said two men.
Aged 21 and 30.
And a woman, who has not.
Yet been identified.
Were found dead.
In the wreckage.
Of the building’s.
Destroyed entrance.
“I engage with the Snark—every night after dark—
In a dreamy delirious fight:
I serve it with greens in those shadowy scenes,
And I use it for striking a light:
The Kyiv Mayor said.
The body of.
A 12-year-old girl.
Had been recovered.
From the rubble.
Of a house nearby.
From the rubble.
Of a house nearby.
The DSNS later said.
Another child was killed.
The emergency service.
Provided no further details.
“But if ever I meet with a Boojum, that day,
In a moment (of this I am sure),
I shall softly and suddenly vanish away—
And the notion I cannot endure!”
In his late evening video address.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
The apartment block was hit.
By a Kh-101 cruise missile.
A man also died in hospital.
The city’s police added.
Who had been at a petrol station.
Which came under attack.
The Bellman looked uffish, and wrinkled his brow.
“If only you’d spoken before!
It’s excessively awkward to mention it now,
With the Snark, so to speak, at the door!
More than 1,500 rescuers.
And police officers are.
Working in the aftermath.
Of ‘orcs’ overnight attacks.
Almost 600.
Almost 600.
Of them in Kyiv.
Said the ‘elf’ Interior Minister.
Teams said they had moved.
More than 20 cubic metres.
Of debris and evacuated.
Five damaged vehicles.
“We should all of us grieve, as you well may believe,
If you never were met with again—
But surely, my man, when the voyage began,
You might have suggested it then?
Near the scene.
Some residents sat.
Some residents sat.
Inside tents.
Erected by volunteers.
And local officials.
Wrapped in blankets.
In shock and disbelief.
“It’s excessively awkward to mention it now—
As I think I’ve already remarked.”
And the man they called “Hi!” replied, with a sigh,
“I informed you the day we embarked.
She was among those.
Watching the debris.
Being cleared.
With tears in her eyes.
She had returned to Ukraine.
After being away.
For two years.
For a short visit.
And was staying.
In a nearby apartment.
When the attack happened.
When the attack happened.
“The entire building.
Was shaking.
It was very scary.”
She said at the scene.
“It was so quiet lately.
That I thought.
Perhaps it was time.
To move back completely.”
“And yesterday and today.
We had such an Armageddon.”
“And yesterday and today.
We had such an Armageddon.”
“You may charge me with murder—or want of sense—
(We are all of us weak at times):
But the slightest approach to a false pretence
Was never among my crimes!
The strikes also damaged.
Other residential buildings.
A school, a veterinary clinic.
And other infrastructure in Kyiv.
According to ‘Gandalf the Green’.
While the mayor said.
The city’s water supply.
Had been disrupted.
“I said it in Hebrew—I said it in Dutch—
I said it in German and Greek:
But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much)
That English is what you speak!”
The large-scale attack saw.
‘Orcs’ drones and missiles.
Fly across.
Much of Ukraine.
‘Gandalf the Green’ said.
Seven people were injured.
In the Kyiv region.
In the Kyiv region.
28 in the north-eastern city.
Of Kharkiv.
And another two.
In the southern Odesa region.
“’Tis a pitiful tale,” said the Bellman, whose face
Had grown longer at every word:
“But, now that you’ve stated the whole of your case,
More debate would be simply absurd.
The ‘elf’ Prime Minister said.
The country urgently needed.
“Help in strengthening.
Its air defence”.
“This is the only way.
To save our people.
And our cities.”
She wrote on social media.
“The rest of my speech” (he explained to his men)
“You shall hear when I’ve leisure to speak it.
But the Snark is at hand, let me tell you again!
‘Tis your glorious duty to seek it!
The ‘elf’ Foreign Minister noted.
That the attack had taken place.
During a crucial summit between.
The US President and the China’s.
And urged the two leaders.
To exert pressure on ‘Mordor’.
“I am certain that.
The leaders of.”
“The United States and China.
Have enough leverage over ‘Mordor’.
To tell ‘the One’.
To finally end the war.”
“To seek it with thimbles, to seek it with care;
To pursue it with forks and hope;
To threaten its life with a railway-share;
To charm it with smiles and soap!
The latest attacks came.
Shortly after a three-day.
US-brokered ceasefire.
Expired late on Monday.
And as the war has reached.
A stalemate.
A stalemate.
On the vast frontline.
“For the Snark’s a peculiar creature, that won’t
Be caught in a commonplace way.
Do all that you know, and try all that you don’t:
Not a chance must be wasted to-day!
Both ‘Mordor’ and Ukraine.
Reported multiple violations.
During the truce.
During the truce.
– mostly along the frontline –
But no large aerial attacks.
– mostly along the frontline –
But no large aerial attacks.
“But if ever I meet with a Boojum, that day,
In a moment (of this I am sure),
I shall softly and suddenly vanish away—
And the notion I cannot endure!”
It coincided with.
‘Orcs’ annual Victory Day parade.
Which went ahead.
Without incident.
After being scaled back.
For fear of a potential attack.
‘The One’ suggested afterwards.
That the war could be drawing to a close.
“I said it in Hebrew—I said it in Dutch—
I said it in German and Greek:
But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much)
That English is what you speak!”
But ‘Mordor’ resumed.
Its attacks on Tuesday.
Killing nine people.
Killing nine people.
Six more people were killed.
Six more people were killed.
In another major attack.
On Wednesday.
Which ‘elves’ air force said.
Saw 892 drones.
Launched from ‘Mordor’.
Launched from ‘Mordor’.
“For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,
Seem here no painful inch to gain,
Far back, through creeks and inlets making,
Comes silent, flooding in, the main.
And not by eastern windows only,
When daylight comes, comes in the light:
In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly!
But westward, look, the land is bright.”
*Because I read “Ukraine rescuers pull dead from rubble of Kyiv flats after massive Russian strikes” by Ian Aikman & Abdujalil Abdurasulov on 14 May 2026, 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 Iryna, led by “some lines” quoted in the last part of ‘CHAPTER XVIII YUGOSLAVIA AND GREECE’ in ‘The Second World War: The Classic One-Volume Abridgment’ written by Winston S. Churchill, and ‘The Hunting of the Snark’ written by Lewis Carroll, you know.
Please read the original story on the BBC news:
Ukraine rescuers pull dead from rubble of Kyiv flats after massive Russian strikes
