The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak

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The First Substack Dedicated Exclusively to War Correspondence
Introducing 'The Counteroffensive,' a reporter's open notebook from Ukraine
 • 
Tim Mak
63
We will not yield.
As the second Trump era begins, The Counteroffensive will stand against autocracy; we will take care of our people; and we will take action despite fear…
 • 
Tim Mak
25
The epic battle that saved Kyiv from Russian occupation
We spent months painstakingly piecing together eyewitness accounts of the most important battle of the war so far: This is the Battle of Antonov…
 • 
Tim Mak
14
The grave of Ukraine’s first F-16 pilot killed in action
We traveled to Oleksii Mes’ hometown of Shepetivka to find where one of Ukraine’s finest was laid to rest. Zelenskyy has fired his air force chief, in…
 • 
Alessandra Hay
, 
Anastasiia Kryvoruchenko
, 
Tim Mak
, 
Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova
, and 
Oleksandr Matviienko
20
The collapse of the Russian economy
The dramatic decline in the Ruble offers hope that the outcome of the war might be decided off the battlefield -- and that pressures on the Russian home…
 • 
Yelyzaveta Yefimenko
, 
Mariana Lastovyria
, and 
Myroslava Tanska-Vikulova
20
A horrific year for Putin
2024 was a nightmare for the dictator. Here's hoping to worse for him in 2025.
 • 
Tim Mak
19
NEWSFLASH: Russia wracked by rebellion; Putin denounces “treason” in emergency speech
The Wagner Group has seized territory in Russia and is trying to remove the nation’s military leadership from power. The UK assesses that the…
 • 
Tim Mak
, 
Christopher Allbritton
, 
William Glover Weiss
, and 
Ross Pelekh
31
The Great Ukrainian Cheese Heist
How cheese was transported out of a country at war, jumping over bureaucratic hurdles, making it to the World Cheese Awards in Norway. And Alessandra…
 • 
Felicity Spector
, 
Tim Mak
, and 
Alessandra Hay
14
The Russian mines slowing Ukraine’s counteroffensive, and those fighting to neutralize them
A deep dive into Russian anti-tank mines, and the de-mining volunteers who risk it all. Plus, I explain why the once pro-Ukraine aid conservative think…
 • 
Ryan McBeth
 and 
Tim Mak
24
A Ukrainian saboteur group’s desperate last stand
Exploring the true meaning of courage, inside the mind of a man who operated behind enemy lines. And in reporter’s notebook, Ross writes about why he…
 • 
Ross Pelekh
 and 
Tim Mak
24
How to talk to your Republican uncle about Ukraine
Congress passed a 45 day stopgap bill, but without funding for Ukraine. So we dug through the findings of Republican focus groups held in Atlanta and…
 • 
Tim Mak
50
The weapon behind Russia’s creeping battlefield advances
Glide bombs blend Cold War-era ‘dumb’ munitions with precision-guided technology. With Ryan McBeth, we’re presenting this deep dive into a weapon that…
 • 
Ryan McBeth
, 
Tim Mak
, and 
Oleksandr Matviienko
15
© 2025 Tim Mak
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