Neil Hauer

Years On, Sumy Struggles with Russian Bombardment - OffBeat Research Neil Hauer reports from Sumy, a city which has grown increasingly war-weary as the threat of constant drone attacks and bombardments drag on the daily lives of its residents.

While Donbas has captured public attention, the rest of Ukraine also suffers from Russia's war. In Sumy, a growing drone campaign portends more displacement as locals fear the city becoming a 'second Kherson.'

I visited Sumy for @offbeatresearch.bsky.social: offbeatresearch.com/2025/11/year...

In Donbas, Ukrainian troops fight off endless Russian assaults | CBC News In Dobropillia, a coal-mining town just a few kilometres from the front line with Russia in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, its few remaining inhabitants shuffle to find food or water under the const...

The battle for Donbas is now fought with small arms and smaller drones, and men in teams of two or three. But the fighting is even deadlier than earlier in this war.

I visited Dobropillya and spoke with some of its Ukrainian defenders, for CBC: www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...

I'm in Sloviansk, eastern Ukraine. Three massive Russian glide bombs just tore into the city a few kilometers away, big enough to feel their shockwaves in my apartment. Just an average night for Donbas.

Pay Neil Hauer using PayPal.Me Go to paypal.me/neilhauer and type in the amount. Since it’s PayPal, it's easy and secure. Don’t have a PayPal account? No worries.

You can also support me on PayPal. Many thanks in advance - this is a dangerous and poorly-paid profession. www.paypal.me/neilhauer

Neil Hauer is Artist Canadian journalist, proud freelancer for almost a decade. Reporting on Russia, Ukraine, the Caucasus and (soon) Syria for CBC, CNN, New York Magazine, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs and everyone els

Full article on the 14th Brigade and the situation on the Pokrovsk/Myrnohrad front coming soon. In the meantime, if you like my reporting, I would very much appreciate your support in continuing it: buymeacoffee.com/neilphauer

7. Bobruk doesn't believe that any major Russian offensive is coming this fall. 'They are already doing all that they can, throwing meat constantly. They don't have the forces, and armoured vehicles don't have the same effect as they did earlier in the war.' /thread

6. Russians are now increasingly using civilian clothing in attempts to bypass positions. Very common just to see one or two Russians dressed casually and just wandering around. This has even led to ambushes on his team by men they had presumed were civilians.

This meant that his team, which had been largely holding in place, was now suddenly flanked from their left. 'Many, many cases of this,' he says. 'Everyone still left in these places (near the front) are pro-Russian - many actively help them. We are constantly endangered by them.

5. Pro-Russian civilians supporting the enemy is a huge problem in these frontline villages. Bobruk tells one story of two locals in a building to their west warmly greeting Russian soldiers and welcoming them in, allowing them to use their apartment. /cont

4. When major Russian assaults do come, they are almost exclusively by motorbike. Bobruk told of one Russian assault with 112 (!) motorbikes involved, each carrying two soldiers. These are rarely successful. 'Barely ten of these 224 Russians survived,' he said.

3. Armour has nearly disappeared from the battlefield. Tanks, IFVs and heavy vehicles are all but absent now. 'We saw enemy armour literally three times total in 90 days,' Bobruk said. 'It's only men now - just meat.'

2. Units are all tiny now, on both sides. Bobruk's team deploys mostly in pairs, and Russians come in ones or twos. 'Even three soldiers together is already enough to almost guarantee a (FPV) drone strike,' Bobruk said.

1. Bobruk and his team had just completed 90-day rotation, basically on the zero line/gray area the entire time. Surviving this was almost a miracle. They now had just five days off (mostly still in Donetsk oblast) before heading back - the lack of manpower is that bad.

Yesterday I had the rare opportunity to speak with infantry from Ukraine's 14th Brigade. They had just returned from a 90-day posting in Novoekonomichne - one of the hottest parts of the entire front. Their commander, 'Bobruk,' had some very interesting insights.

Thread:

If you're interested and have a few bucks to spare, I'd love your support in creating on-the-ground reporting with Ukraine's armed forces as they fight the Russian invaders. Donation link is below. Thank you in advance 🙏
buymeacoffee.com/neilphauer

Dear followers, I have a request for you. I'm presently back in Ukraine again, and looking to make a reporting trip out to Donbas soon. The costs of this are not low, though, and keep growing as media budgets shrink. That's why I'm asking for your help to make this trip work. /1

A Stoppable Force and a Movable Object: Mutual Exhaustion in Russia and Ukraine Heavy losses in manpower and materiel have degraded the ability of both sides to achieve significant breakthroughs in offensive operations, while the past 18 months of the war have been marked by near...

More than three years into full-scale warfare, Ukraine and Russia are locked in a war of attrition, with an uncertain outcome. Yet there are some key steps that Western policymakers can take to ensure Ukraine emerges victorious.

My new policy paper: carleton.ca/eetn/2025/a-...

What it’s like for minority Christians in Syria, after the fall of the longtime dictator It’s been four months since the fall of longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad marked the beginning of a new era in Syria. While the strongman’s toppling has brought hope, incidents of sectarian violence -...

Syria's minorities have been in the news lately, amidst uncertainty over their futures. But in the city of Aleppo, one Christian community is thriving: the Armenians.

I spent a few days with them, for CTV News: www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...

In Tbilisi for a quick visit, and it's noticably depressing here. The most common conversation with friends is 'did you make it across the border okay?', followed by stories of foreigners who were deported. This from a country that was once the light in the region.

Visiting Ottawa this week for a short conference (and presentation on Russia/Ukraine) at my alma mater, @Carleton_U. Have already met so many Ukrainians the past day here 🇺🇦🇨🇦

Have a pair of longform pieces (3,000-5,000 words) on Syria that I'm trying to find homes for. I've got good pitches drawn up for each, but struggling to find the right outlet(s). Any advice or suggestions appreciated.

Still searching, folks

Nah he's right, this app is boring and lame

You can also reach me via email: neil.hauer@gmail.com

Editors: I'm looking for a home for a story of mine on Latakia, Syria, where I was present just days before the the explosion of violence there this past weekend. Anyone interested? DMs are open.

Latakia, on the Syrian coast. The former heartland of the Assad regime.

Syrian gas attack witnesses coerced into false testimony face new threats at home | CBC News After the Syrian government launched a chemical attack on the rebel-held area of Douma, Syria, in 2018, some of the survivors were forced to falsely testify it never happened. Now, some of those peopl...

On April 7, 2018, the Assad regime gassed the city of Douma. Survivors were brought to the Hague & forced to deny it. But their story didn't end there: two of the witnesses have been thrown out of their homes and threatened by HTS fighters.

My latest from Syria: www.cbc.ca/news/world/s...

Hey Francis, cheers for putting out this call for pitches - have just sent you an email

Yeah he said he's been to the US like ten times and both of his brothers are there, but as he has no kids and tons of local friends and couldn't be bothered to uproot his life he stayed put

We walked down Al Amin street, the heart of the old Jewish quarter of Damascus, and he hailed out to people like he was a rock star. This is his Palestinian friend Nizar al-Aswad. 'I am the Palestinian resistance, and he is the Jewish spy,' Nizar joked.