I am here for you — anyone who feels intimidated

I was recently shocked to learn that Ukrainians in Poland are being persecuted, attacked, and harassed. Let every Ukrainian know that I am here for them — for all those who feel intimidated. As far as time and means allow, I will do everything I can to help.

As a citizen of this country and a Doctor of Science, I am always far more credible to Polish authorities than a foreign citizen. I know this from experience — I have been at the Polish-Ukrainian border many times and have seen how Polish officials treat Ukrainians. They will not treat me that way.

I am not a lawyer, but I am a person who has always cared most about the fate of the weakest — because that's simply who I am. Those whom the state, or some brute in it, wants to terrorize because it can.

I grew up traumatically on the fate of the Jews of my city. I slept in the bed of a Jewish child who was shot at the local Jewish cemetery. You don't forget that. And I won't let it happen again — never, nowhere, to anyone.

Below is an A4 poster with all the information in Polish and Ukrainian. You can download it, print it, and hand it out wherever it might reach someone who needs this help — in a shop, a stairwell, a clinic, a school, a workplace.

OCTOPUS: concept of water-based protection against drones

Dr Witold Kilarski · 18 September 2026

OCTOPUS („Ośmiornica") is a non-commercial concept submitted to Ukrainian institutions for professional evaluation. The starting point was the question of whether existing water infrastructure, including water cannons and firefighting equipment, could provide an additional, final layer of protection for people against FPV drones.

Initial considerations also included pressure washers, such as Kärcher, solely as a hypothetical possibility in an emergency situation. However, their effectiveness or safety in such an application has not been demonstrated. This is not a recommendation to use a pressure washer against an armed drone.

The concept remains unverified. In response to the submission, Ukraine's State Emergency Service (DSNS) identified the limitations of manual operation against a fast, manoeuvring drone and the direct danger to the rescuer. I took these comments into account and thanked them for considering the proposal. I also submitted the concept to other institutions; I do not present this as their support for or approval of the concept.

Protecting people takes priority: follow alarms and the instructions of the relevant services and use available shelters. Do not leave cover in an attempt to intercept a drone. DSNS guidance for the public during wartime threats.

Damage to or the fall of a device does not mean that the danger of an explosion has been eliminated. DSNS guidance concerning dangerous objects.

This entry documents the idea and its limitations. It contains no combat instructions, equipment parameters or recipes for additives to water. Any further assessment is for authorised specialists, not for people making improvised attempts during an attack.

I am conveying the idea free of charge. I do not expect funding or remuneration for its evaluation or use.

Translation of the Polish original. Polish original (PL)