“Two dancers from the Russian company were set to perform at a benefit for a prestigious competition for young dancers, but they were sidelined after protests by pro-Ukrainian activists.” “Two dancers from the Mariinsky Theater in Russia were barred from performing at a youth ballet gala in New York … [after previously being] set to take part in two performances, […]
» Read more
“… [T]he Kremlin’s goals … have not changed. Dmitriy Medvedev, … former Russian president and current deputy head of the Russian Security Council, described them clearly … [to] include the ‘complete capitulation’ of Ukraine with the subsequent absorption of [Ukrainian] territories and resources by Russia. … Everything … Putin’s regime has already done and will continue to do is a […]
» Read more
(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Mykhailo Minakov – April 22, 2024) Mikhail (Mykhailo) Minakov is the Kennan Institute’s Senior Advisor on Ukraine and Editor-in-Chief of Focus Ukraine, Kennan Institute’s Ukraine-focused blog. The mood in Ukraine before the U.S. House of Representatives approved the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act on April 20 had become increasingly somber. President Zelensky pinpointed the underlying problem […]
» Read more
“Ammunition and arms will be rushed to Kyiv’s forces on funding bill’s approval, ‘literally in the nick of time’” “The House vote to approve $60 billion … for Ukraine comes at a desperate moment … and holds the prospect of helping them stave off a Russian onslaught at the last possible moment. If approved by the Senate … and … […]
» Read more
“… Zelensky … [on] Sunday … emphasiz[ed] that the U.S. is helping protect democracy throughout the region. … ‘The Americans are not funding the war in Ukraine. They foremost protect freedom and democracy all over Europe. And Ukraine is fighting … sending their best sons and daughters to the front …reduc[ing] the price for all Europe, for all NATO,’ Zelensky […]
» Read more
“To Halt Russia’s Advance, Kyiv Needs More Boots on the Ground” “… The debate in the U.S. Congress over … military aid to Ukraine has been a debacle. … [M]onths of dithering in Washington have dismayed Europeans and given Moscow hope that Western resolve … is cracking. Russian forces — bolstered by equipment from China, Iran, and North Korea — […]
» Read more
“The troops would be serving in a non-combat role, officials said.” “The U.S. is considering sending additional military advisers to the [U.S.] embassy in Kyiv … as Russia appears to be gaining momentum …. The advisers would not be in a combat role, but rather … advise and support the Ukrainian government and military …. ‘Throughout this conflict … DOD […]
» Read more
“… [With] restored U.S. support and ongoing help from Europe, Ukraine might be able to turn the tide. …. Ukrainian conscription … [now] allow[s] the government to draft men ages 25 and 26, [so that] some 400,000 more men are now eligible. … [T]hat likely won’t be enough to find 200,000 more, so [Ukraine] will also need … to increase […]
» Read more
“Comments from European Central Bank chief point to transatlantic rift over use of seized funds” “… Lagarde … [said] … ‘I have seen four different … proposals to circumvent what many other jurists or lawyers — including in some [U.S.] administrations … — regard as a very serious legal obstacle ….’ She added that [the] work was ‘ongoing’ …. ‘Moving […]
» Read more
“On 17 April 2024, Russia announced the withdrawal of its peacekeeping forces from Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. This surprise announcement means … the troops will leave one and half years before the formal end of their mandate … amid crucial developments in the [South Caucasus] power balance …. [F]ollowing Azerbaijan’s recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh and the subsequent exodus of Karabakh Armenians … […]
» Read more
(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – William E. Pomeranz – April 18, 2024) William Pomeranz, the Director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan Institute, is an expert guide to the complexities of political and economic developments in Russia, particularly through the lens of law. Vladimir Putin is putting a brave face on Russia’s downward economic spiral. To survive, he has gone back […]
» Read more
“The stark warning from a top administration official comes as Kyiv worries about Russia’s looming summer offensive.” “CIA Director William Burns offered a stark warning to lawmakers on Capitol Hill … Thursday …. ‘With the boost that would come from [proposed] military assistance, both practically and psychologically, Ukrainians are entirely capable of holding their own through 2024 and puncturing Putin’s […]
» Read more
“… The cause is primarily the rapid onset of warm spring weather meeting lots of winter snow, causing a sudden melt and quick filling of rivers. [The University of Reading’s Maria] Shahgedanova said about half of all floods in this region have started this way, with another third attributed to rainfall and about 15% due to ice blockages in rivers. […]
» Read more
“… If the tide doesn’t turn soon in this third year of Russia’s invasion, it will be the nation of Ukraine as it currently exists that is consigned to the past. For a war of such era-defining importance, the scale of Western leaders’ actions to help Kyiv repel Russia’s invaders has fallen far short of their soaring rhetoric. … Without […]
» Read more
“… [Ukrainian Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov] fought behind Russian lines between 2014 and 2016 in [the] Donbas … injured three times … taking shrapnel in his heart, neck and back. In 2016, he led a raid that killed [a Russian FSB] lieutenant general …. Budanov [has] predicted … a big [Russian summer] offensive … to try to capture all of […]
» Read more
“… Should Kyiv be defeated in the full-scale invasion launched by Russia in February 2022, ‘the global system of security will be destroyed … and all the world will need to find … a new system of security,’ [Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys] Shmyhal said … Wednesday …. ‘Or, there will be many conflicts, many such kinds of wars, and in […]
» Read more
” U.S. and Russia have a long history of polar science cooperation.” “… The United States and Russia should be working together to understand the deepening crisis …. Warming at a rate four times faster than the rest of the world, the Arctic is disproportionately affected by global warming: sea ice is diminishing, coastlines are eroding, ecosystems are collapsing, and […]
» Read more
“Hollywood and DC ignore fact that Russia’s army is bigger than when the war began and Ukraine can’t keep up” “… First, Ukraine lacks the soldiers to win. … As Ukraine’s Commander of Joint Forces said … April 11, there are seven to 10 times more Russian soldiers than … Ukrainians on the battlefield … three days after his colleague, […]
» Read more
“… The IMF[] expects Russia to grow 3.2% this year, … more than the UK, France and Germany. Oil exports have ‘held steady’ and government spending has ‘remained high’ contributing to growth, the IMF said. … Despite the Kremlin being sanctioned over its invasion of Ukraine, the IMF upgraded its January predictions for the Russian economy this year, and said […]
» Read more
“The war in Ukraine scattered Russia’s opposition. From exile, it is biding its time as it seeks ways to weaken President Vladimir Putin.” “… [A]fter … Alexei Navalny died in an Arctic prison colony … his wife, Yulia Navalnaya, met with his grieving aides to ask: What next? … Russia’s [2022] invasion of Ukraine … and Putin’s brutal crackdown on […]
» Read more
“Russia and Ukraine reached deal with Turkey, sources say But Ukraine pulled out at last moment – sources Deal would have given safety to merchant shipping Turkey’s Erdogan was about to announce it on March 30″ “Russia and Ukraine negotiated for two months with Turkey on a deal to ensure the safety of shipping in the Black Sea and reached […]
» Read more
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Simon Saradzhyan – April 12, 2024) The share of Russians who would like to leave Russia for permanent residence in another country has reached a record low, according to the results of a national poll conducted by Russia’s Levada Center on March 21-27, 2024.This center has been measuring Russians’ attitudes toward emigration since 1990, registering […]
» Read more
“A Hidden History of Diplomacy That Came Up Short—but Holds Lessons for Future Negotiations” “… By the end of March 2022, a series of in-person meetings in Belarus and Turkey and virtual engagements over video conference … produced the so-called Istanbul Communiqué … describ[ing] a framework for a settlement. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators then began working on the text of […]
» Read more
“The great tragedy of the Russian-Ukrainian war is that it will ultimately prove to have been futile. The likely outcome — territorial adjustments in Moscow’s favor, security guarantees for Ukraine and Russia — could have been peaceably negotiated beforehand had leaders had a firmer grasp of the real balance of power or greater political courage. The cost of failed diplomacy […]
» Read more
“Ukraine is facing challenges on multiple fronts, from critical shortages of munitions and manpower to Russia ramping up its attacks. It comes amid uncertainty around future aid from the U.S. …” Click here for: “Exclusive: Zelenskyy says without U.S. aid ‘we’ll have no chance of winning’ [including transcript]” – PBS: Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Amna Nawaz, Dan Sagalyn, Sam Lane “… Amna […]
» Read more
“Russia has been able to swiftly repair some of [the] key oil refineries hit by Ukrainian drones, reducing capacity idled by the attacks to about 10% from almost 14% at the end of March …. Ukraine stepped up drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure since the start of the year, hitting … major oil refineries across the world’s second largest […]
» Read more
“Zelensky and Yermak find themselves tied to one another and somewhat interdependent: the former on the staffing policy of his head of administration, the latter on the political survival of his patron.” “… Zelensky is continuing his large-scale purge of the Ukrainian leadership in an attempt to achieve greater cohesion and efficiency … [while] preparing for a double crisis in […]
» Read more
“The government and its people are recognizing what a cease-fire deal with Russia would really mean.” “In recent days … Zelensky … announc[ed] his openness to making several concessions to Russian demands … includ[ing] a commitment to Ukrainian neutrality with respect to military alliances, a rejection of any nuclear arsenal, and … acceptance of Russian control over Ukraine’s eastern regions. […]
» Read more
“… [R]eviving a proposal … Ukraine had rejected. … Dmitry Peskov said [Friday] … the draft document … discussed in Istanbul in March 2022 could be ‘the basis for starting negotiations.’ At the same time, he noted … [the] need to take into account … ‘new realities.’ ‘There have been many changes since then, new entities have been included in […]
» Read more
“… [I]t is increasingly clear that the Ukrainian army is not capable of reconquering … territories lost to Russia … [W]ithout continued and massive Western aid, the Ukrainians will suffer eventual defeat owing to Russia’s huge economic and demographic superiority, and … such aid cannot be guaranteed. Sanctions have not cratered Russia’s economy or crippled its war effort. Russia has […]
» Read more
“… At the start of the war, when Ukraine lost access to its deep-water ports in the Black Sea, the EU temporarily exempted Ukrainian lorry drivers from a permit system …. upset[ting] Polish drivers, who had dominated .. local freight …. [A] suspension of import duties and quotas on Ukrainian farm goods, produced by larger, more efficient outfits, posed competition […]
» Read more
“… [S]eek[ing] to influence congressional and other political debates to stoke anti-Ukraine sentiment, Kremlin-linked political strategists and trolls have written thousands of fabricated news articles, social media posts and comments that promote American isolationism, stir fear over the United States’ border security and attempt to amplify U.S. economic and racial tensions, according to a trove of internal Kremlin documents obtained […]
» Read more
“Ukraine ‘will lose the war’ if the United States Congress does not approve military aid to help it resist Russia’s invasion, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “It’s important to specifically address the Congress: if the Congress doesn’t help Ukraine, Ukraine will lose the war,” Zelensky said Sunday during a video meeting of the Ukrainian fund-raising group UNITED24. “If Ukraine loses this […]
» Read more
“In honoring a book depicting Ukrainian volunteers in the Waffen SS as heroes and patriots, the group reveals historical ignorance — or indifference to antisemitism.” “… [T]he American Library Association (ALA) published a list of Best Historical Materials for 2023, which includes Enemy Archives: Soviet Counterinsurgency Operations and the Ukrainian Nationalist Movement — Selections from the Secret Police Archives. This […]
» Read more
“… [Britain] … has joined France, Germany and the United States … accepting the International Olympic Committee’s plan for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the Paris Olympics …. [T]he IOC and … International Paralympic Committee have decided that [those] athletes … can take part … as neutrals if they have not publicly supported the invasion of Ukraine and […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – April 5, 2024) Russia’s Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media said Friday that two-thirds of tech workers who left the country after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have returned. “Over the past year, we have not observed an outflow of IT specialists,” the ministry said in a statement, which appeared to have been […]
» Read more
“Lavrov discussed security with Wang during visit to China Beijing and Moscow have deepened ties since the start of war” “Russia and China agreed to start a [security] dialogue … with the aim of ‘double counteracting’ the [U.S.-led] European-Atlantic alliance …. ‘We have a common goal of increasing security in Eurasia,’ Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday … [meeting] […]
» Read more
“… [R]ecalcitrance in Congress is not Ukraine’s only problem. Europe has been slow to step in … and … Zelensky[] may have taken too long to lower the recruitment age to 25 …. American weapons and artillery are essential to Ukraine’s ability to hold the line and[] eventually … negotiate for an end to hostilities from a position of strength. […]
» Read more
“… [T]ightening … alignment between Russia and China is one of the most important geopolitical outcomes of Putin’s war against Ukraine. … Xi and Putin drive much of this reorientation, but it is also the byproduct of the deepening schism between the West and both countries. … [T]he West should be prepared for an extended period of simultaneous confrontation with […]
» Read more
“The commander of one of Ukraine’s most skilled units sent his men on a dangerous mission that required them to outmaneuver a swarm of aerial threats.” “Members of Ukraine’s 1st Separate Assault Battalion describe themselves as firemen. Their job is to rapidly deploy to areas along the front that are in danger of collapse. Lately, their service has been in […]
» Read more
“According to the Pryncyp organization, which defends the interests of those injured in war, almost 70% of them have financed medical care themselves. ‘Semi-fit’ or wounded, they hope to influence the government.” “The Russian aggression that began on February 24, 2022, is far from having destroyed Ukraine’s democratic foundations. At the very heart of the army, a critical voice is […]
» Read more
(The Kennan Institute – Igor Slabykh – April 5, 2024 – wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/crocus-attack-may-end-ban-death-penalty-russia) [Igor Slabykh is a lawyer and manager with twenty years of experience in Russia and the U.S.; he holds a law degree from the Moscow State Open University and an LLM from the George Washington University Law School.] Fifteen years after the death penalty was abolished in Russia, […]
» Read more
“Russian budget revenues in the first quarter of 2024 reached 8.7tn ($94bn) roubles … marking year-on-year growth of more than half, [according to the Russian] finance ministry …. Energy revenues, … a third of Russia’s total budget earnings, surged by almost 80 per cent … [due to] high oil prices and one-off [energy exporter tax-related] payments …. Non-oil and gas […]
» Read more
“… Even when government campaigns are successful, they struggle for momentum. … Russian propaganda has been pushing stories about how wonderful the Russian medical care is – despite problems …. Such propaganda campaigns work for a few weeks, but then the conversation around this topic on social media becomes negative, and the Kremlin tries to drive it up again. Likewise […]
» Read more
“… Biden’s policy of ambivalence toward Ukraine means … he has provided enough weapons to avoid defeat (at least so far) but with enough constraints that Kyiv also hasn’t been able to win. Witness U.S. unhappiness about Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russian territory. Ukraine has struck at least 15 of Russia’s 30 major refineries since January. The West has been […]
» Read more
(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 6 Things to Know Russian forces have gained 23 square miles of Ukrainian territory, while Ukrainian forces have re-gained 0 square miles in the past month, according to the April 2, 2024, issue of the Belfer Center’s Russia-Ukraine War Report Card. Most recently, Russian forces have advanced into the outskirts of the town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, […]
» Read more
“… [Past] Russian attacks towards the energy network in Ukraine … focused on the power distribution system and damages [had] been easy to repair quickly. This new campaign is … much more serious … since its focus is [on] power production facilities … [that] might take years to repair or replace. Why has Russia shifted its focus? … [In the […]
» Read more
“… [E]ven without the Crocus City Hall attack, [] Putin was primed to step up his assault on Ukraine. After his landslide victory in … [a] rubber-stamp presidential election, [] Putin is more secure than ever in his position and free to focus fully on the war effort. … Russian forces now hold material and manpower advantages over Ukraine. … […]
» Read more
“Thousands of wives, girlfriends and mothers of serving soldiers have taken to the streets to call for fresh recruits to replace soldiers who signed up at the start of the war” “… At the most recent protest, held last week, around 4,000 women gathered in 21 cities across the country. In Kyiv, women wrapped in Ukrainian flags marched to Maidan […]
» Read more
“… The menacing images I watched … were sketched using signals captured by sensors from land, sea, air and space … [depicting abstractions of] Russian air-defense systems … Ukrainian drone operators can instantly map a safe route to [a] target using [a] system … developed for them by … U.S. software company Palantir …. part of an astonishing wave of […]
» Read more