Senseless

 August 28, 2025

The Prime Minister condemned Russia’s “senseless” strikes and confirmed that the offices of the British Council had been hit.

“Putin is killing children and civilians, and sabotaging hopes of peace. This bloodshed must end,” Sir Keir said.

The British Council, which offers English language programmes to Ukrainians in the capital, said its offices were “severely damaged” and a night guard injured. In June, Moscow banned citizens from working with the council, claiming it was a front for British spies.

A building housing the European Union’s delegation to Kyiv was also severely damaged in the strikes, according to EU officials, who labelled the attack “deliberate”.

In total, 629 drones and 31 missiles were fired by Russia, killing at least 15 people – including four children.

Russia claimed it had targeted military sites in its overnight strikes, saying it had used hypersonic missiles in the attacks.

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Perplexity AI:

August 28, 2025. Russia launched a large number of drones and hypersonic missiles toward Kiev overnight. Do we know what kind of missiles these were? I would be interested in costing the attack...

Russia's massive attack on Kyiv overnight on August 28, 2025, involved Shahed-type attack drones and decoys, as well as several classes of missiles: two Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missiles, nine Iskander-M or North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles, and 20 Kh-101 cruise missiles, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.

Missiles Used in the Attack

Hypersonic: Kh-47 Kinzhal (aeroballistic hypersonic missile).

Ballistic: Iskander-M and possibly North Korean KN-23 (short-range ballistic missiles).

Cruise: Kh-101 (long-range air-launched cruise missiles).

Drones: Shahed-type attack drones (primarily used for saturating defenses and reconnaissance).

Estimated Cost of the Attack

The cost of Russian missile and drone assaults is regularly reported in the hundreds of millions to over a billion US dollars for large-scale raids. Recent cost breakdowns for similar attacks give estimates per munition type:

                                                                             

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Had a bit of a breakthrough on how the Russian language works yesterday; thought I'd share.

Copilot:

Russian language; what is the suffix 'kaya'?

Great question! In Russian, the suffix -kaya (spelled -кая in Cyrillic) is actually a combination of two elements:

🧩 Breakdown of "-kaya"

-sk- or -k-: This is the core adjectival suffix. It transforms a noun into an adjective, often implying origin, association, or possession.

-aya (-ая): This is the feminine adjective ending, used to match feminine nouns in gender and case.

📌 Meaning and Usage

The full suffix -skaya or -kaya is used to form feminine adjectives that describe:

Origin: Frantsuskaya улица = "French street"

Possession or association: Volkovskaya улица = "Volkov's street" (associated with someone named Volkov)

Titles or names: Russkaya = "Russian" (feminine form)

It's similar to how English uses endings like -ian, -ish, or -ic to form adjectives: Canadian, Spanish, heroic.

🧠 Example

Masculine: Russkiy (Русский) — Russian (man or masculine noun)

Feminine: Russkaya (Русская) — Russian (woman or feminine noun)

So when you see -kaya, think: “This is an adjective describing a feminine noun, often showing origin or association.”

Want to explore how this suffix appears in Russian surnames or place names?

So she is Russkaya and he is...what?

Exactly! If she is Russkaya (Русская), then he is Russkiy (Русский).

👩‍🦰 Feminine vs 👨 Masculine Adjective Forms in Russian

Russian adjectives change their endings based on the gender of the noun they describe. Here's how it works for the adjective meaning "Russian":

                                                                              

So yes—he is Russkiy, and that little ending shift carries a lot of grammatical weight in Russian!

Want to dive into how these endings change in different cases or with other adjectives?

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How is gender distributed in Russian; close to sexual gender, or everywhere, like in French?

Russian gender is grammatical, not strictly biological—so yes, it's distributed everywhere, much like in French. Here's how it works:

🧠 Grammatical Gender in Russian

Russian has three grammatical genders:

Masculine (e.g., стол – "table")

Feminine (e.g., книга – "book")

Neuter (e.g., окно – "window")

These genders apply to nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs in the past tense, regardless of whether the noun refers to a person, object, or abstract concept.

👥 Biological vs. Grammatical Gender

Biological gender (male/female) aligns with grammatical gender for people and animals: мальчик (boy) is masculine, девочка (girl) is feminine.

But for inanimate objects, gender is arbitrary: стена (wall) is feminine, дом (house) is masculine, молоко (milk) is neuter.

📚 Examples of Gender Everywhere

Adjectives: большой стол (big table – masculine) большая книга (big book – feminine) большое окно (big window – neuter)

Past tense verbs: Он пошёл (He went – masculine) Она пошла (She went – feminine) Оно пошло (It went – neuter)

So yes, gender is baked into the entire grammatical system, not just tied to biological sex. Russian speakers constantly adjust word endings to match gender, just like in French—but with the added twist of a neuter category.

Want to see how this plays out in Russian poetry or slang?

The ending for big in big book isn't 'kaya'...

You're absolutely right—and that’s a sharp observation! The word for “big” in Russian is большой (bol'shoy), and its endings change depending on the gender of the noun it modifies.

📚 Why It’s Not “-kaya” in “Big Book”

The adjective большой follows a different pattern than adjectives like русский/русская. Here's how большой changes:

                                                                                     

o in большая книга, the ending -ая is used—not -ская or -kaya—because большой is a descriptive adjective, not a derived adjective from a noun.

🧠 What’s the Difference?

-skaya endings (like russkaya) are derived adjectives, often from nouns (e.g., Russia → Russian).

большой is a base adjective, not derived from a noun, so it uses standard gender endings:

Masculine: -ой

Feminine: -ая

Neuter: -ое

Plural: -ие

Russian grammar loves its endings, but it’s got layers—like a linguistic onion 🧅. Want to peel back another layer?

You are using two different alphabets here. I need pointers on this!!

Absolutely, Louise! Russian uses the Cyrillic alphabet, which is different from the Latin alphabet used in English—but I often show both to help learners bridge the gap. Let’s break it down so you can confidently navigate both.

                                                                                

🧭 Why I Use Both

Cyrillic: Shows how the word is actually written in Russian.

Latin transliteration: Helps you pronounce it using familiar letters.

For example:

Русская = Russkaya → feminine adjective meaning “Russian”

Большая = Bolshaya → feminine adjective meaning “big”

The Latin version isn’t perfect—it’s a transliteration, not a translation. It’s like writing Russian sounds using English letters.

🛠️ Tips for Navigating Cyrillic

Start with familiar shapes: Some Cyrillic letters look like Latin ones but sound different. Example:

В looks like “B” but sounds like “V”

Н looks like “H” but sounds like “N”

Use a cheat sheet: Keep a Cyrillic-to-Latin chart handy while reading or practicing.

Practice with your name: Try writing “Louise” in Cyrillic: Луиза

Use online converters: Tools like Lexilogos Cyrillic ↔ Latin converter let you type in one alphabet and see the other.

Would you like a personalized Cyrillic alphabet guide with pronunciation tips and examples? I can whip one up just for you.

Take me through pronouncing the various versions of 'big'...

Absolutely, Louise! Let’s walk through the Russian adjective for “big,” which is большой (bol'shoy) in its masculine form. Russian adjectives change their endings based on gender and number, and each version has its own pronunciation rhythm. I’ll break it down for you:

                                                                                   

🗣️ Pronunciation Tips

Stress: In all forms, the stress falls on the second syllable: -shoy, -shah, -shoh, -shee.

Softness: Russian vowels like я, е, and и soften the consonants before them. So in большая, the “ш” is slightly softened by the “я.”

"ль" Sound: The ль in больш- is a soft “L,” like the “ll” in “million” but lighter—almost like your tongue is smiling.

🧠 Context Examples

Masculine: большой дом — “big house”

Feminine: большая книга — “big book”

Neuter: большое окно — “big window”

Plural: большие города — “big cities”

Would you like a little audio-style walkthrough next time? You can tap the microphone button and I’ll guide you through the sounds live. Or I can show you how this adjective changes in different cases—Russian grammar loves a good transformation!

What is Russia's famous ballet company...? How would I pronounce it?

Russia’s most famous ballet company is the Bolshoi Ballet — written in Russian as Большой балет.

🎭 Name & Meaning

Bolshoi (Большой) means “big” or “grand” in Russian.

Ballet (балет) is borrowed directly from French, pronounced similarly.

So the name literally means “Grand Ballet”, and it’s based at the iconic Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

                                                                                      

Put together: bohl-SHOY bah-LET

It’s elegant, just like the company itself. The Bolshoi Ballet is renowned for its dramatic style, technical precision, and historic productions like Swan Lake, Giselle, and Spartacus.

Want to explore how the Bolshoi compares to the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg, or dive into its most famous performances?

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