JRL NEWSWATCH: “Will the West Abandon Ukraine? Kyiv Must Prepare for a Possible Change of Heart in America and Europe” – Foreign Affairs

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“A coalition of the world’s wealthiest and most technologically advanced countries gives Ukraine a major structural advantage. Russia, by contrast, has only two countries—Iran and North Korea — openly assisting it  … although China has been … an important economic backstop … and a provider of nonlethal military aid. … Western military support comes with its own risks and challenges[] […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin meets Kim Jong Un, looking for arms – and friends” – Christian Science Monitor

File Photo of Kim Jong-Un At Podium Near North Korean Flag and Hammer and Sickle Emblem, adapted from hhs.gov image

“Vladimir Putin is often accused of trying to restore the old Soviet Union. But his meeting with Kim Jong Un suggests he might be focusing on restoring ties with like-minded former Soviet allies instead.” “… Both the Russian and North Korean delegations at the Vostochny Cosmodrome, near the Chinese border, included officials responsible for munitions, suggesting an urgent Russian interest […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Olympic sports have a Russia dilemma. ‘Neutrality’ is a cop-out.” – Washington Post

Olympic Rings Lit at Night, adapted from image at state.gov

“… The World Aquatics Bureau announced … athletes from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to compete in international events … as ‘neutrals’ …. the cop-out … most athletic governing bodies have taken since Russia invaded Ukraine …. At least Wimbledon — in 2022 — actually banned Russian and Belarusian players …. [T]he men’s and women’s governing bodies of tennis […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Can Samantha Power Win the Battle for Ukraine’s Future?” – New York Times

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“… [E]ventually the war will end. What happens to Ukraine then? … Will it revert to the oligarchical model that typified its early years[] [o]r … make good on its promise of genuine modernity? That process … require[s] a renovated ethical culture to undergird a strong rule of law and a political class bound by … public duty and personal […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The third line: How the Pentagon assesses Ukraine’s progress; A rare interview with America’s Defence Intelligence Agency” – The Economist

DIA Headquarters Building, adapted from dia.mil image

“… [DIA Director Trent] Maul … notes that Sergei Surovikin, the Russian general who built [Russia’s] defensive lines [in Ukraine], and Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner Group mercenaries achieved Russia’s most tangible gains of the past year, are both off the battlefield — the former sacked and the latter dead …. [] Maul …  says … Ukraine’s recent successes are ‘significant’ […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Elizabeth Warren Demands Probes of Elon Musk, SpaceX After Ukraine Revelations” – Bloomberg

File Photo of Elon Musk, adapted from image at nasa.gov, with photo credit to Bill Stafford

“Warren calls on Pentagon to look into decision over attack Musk, other tech chiefs will meet with senators on Wednesday” “… Warren is demanding an investigation into SpaceX after Elon Musk acknowledged he had blocked Ukraine from extending the private Starlink satellite network for an attack on Russian warships near the Crimean coast. … Musk said. ‘… If I had […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Offensive to Reverse Ukraine’s Gains Is Stalling” – WSJ

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… Kupyansk was captured by Russia without a fight in February 2022 …. Ukrainian forces reclaimed the city in a lightning offensive a year ago … oust[ing] Russia from nearly all of Kharkiv and parts of [the] nearby Donetsk and Luhansk regions. …. Russian troops have remained within artillery range of Kupyansk … [launching] nearly daily barrages. In [recent] weeks, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s counteroffensive to continue after onset of bad weather, spy chief says” – Reuters

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Ukraine’s counteroffensive … will continue through the onset of cold and wet weather later this year …, Kyiv’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said[:] …. ‘Combat actions will continue in one way or another. In the cold, wet and mud, it is more difficult to fight. Fighting will continue. The counteroffensive will continue’ …. Apart from the huge concentration of Russian […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukrainian Accounts of Torture Point to Systematic Russian Policy, Expert Says” – New York Times

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“The U.N. Special Rapporteur on torture said Moscow’s refusal to address the issue represented tacit approval of its use. Russia has denied it practices torture.” “Torture perpetrated by Russian officers against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war has reached such a level that it is clearly a systematic, state-endorsed policy, [according to Alice Jill Edwards, U.N. Special Rapporteur on torture […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Staying the course: Donald Trump will ‘never’ support Putin, says Volodymyr Zelensky” – The Economist

Screenshot file photo of Volodymyr Zelensky Gesturing, from Congressional Teleconference, adapted from image at doggett.house.gov

“But Ukraine’s president fears that some of his country’s Western backers are losing faith.” “… Having failed to overwhelm Ukraine quickly, [] Putin seems determined to exhaust the country and to wear out its partners’ resolve to keep funding and supplying it with arms. … But [] Zelensky says Russia itself is fragile. … [suggesting that Russia itself will suffer […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Russia learned from mistakes to slow Ukraine’s counteroffensive” – Washington Post

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“Three months into Ukraine’s … counteroffensive, Russian occupying forces have largely been able to hold their positions, often by learning from past mistakes. They have reconstituted decimated units, swapped in new ones and turned from sweeping attacks to the defense of heavily fortified front lines, showing that despite heavy losses, Moscow is willing to dig in for the long haul […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s New Defense Minister Reveals Priorities in First Major Speech” – Newsweek/ David Brennan

Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

“Ukraine’s new defense minister, Rustem Umerov, has called on foreign allies to provide ‘heavy weaponry, heavy weaponry and, again, heavy weaponry’ …. On Friday, Umerov told the Yalta European Strategy summit in Kyiv that Ukraine is ‘grateful’ for … Western support … but warned that Kyiv’s forces will need more to overcome … ‘big challenges’ … driving Russian troops out […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “In Ukraine, a U.S. Arms Dealer Is Making a Fortune and Testing Limits” – New York Times

File Photo of Weapon and Ammunition for Ukrainian Live Fire Exercise, adapted from army.mil image

“Billions are pouring into a clubby, secretive arms market. With Pentagon cash and unusually close Ukrainian military ties, Marc Morales has few peers.” “… The [Biden] administration has sent Ukraine more than $40 billion in security aid, including advanced weapons …. But the Pentagon also relies heavily on little-known arms dealers like [Florida-based Marc] Morales … [with] connections … to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian Agricultural Bank could have SWIFT access within 30 days, UN tells Moscow” – Reuters

Wheat in Field, adapted from image at usda.gov

“A Russian Agricultural Bank subsidiary in Luxembourg could immediately apply to SWIFT to ‘effectively enable access’ for the bank to the international payments system within 30 days, the United Nations told Russia in a letter …. ‘SWIFT has confirmed that RSHB Capital S.A. would be eligible to apply for membership and access to SWIFT for food and fertilizer transactions, based […]

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Russia in Review, Sept. 1-8, 2023

File Photo of Red Square, Kremlin, Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

7 Things to Know G-20 leaders began arriving in New Delhi on Sept. 8 for their annual gathering as negotiators struggled to bridge differences over the war in Ukraine in the group’s joint statement. While it remains unclear whether a final consensus can be reached, China appears to have dropped its initial opposition to language on Ukraine and Russia, according […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. General Warns Time Is Running Out for Ukraine’s Counteroffensive” – Newsweek

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“[According to] General Mark Milley, … Chairman[,] … Joint Chiefs of Staff[,] … Ukraine’s forces have … 30 to 45 days left … before … fall weather … stop[s] their advance. … ‘There’s still heavy fighting going on,’ Milley said, adding that Ukraine was ‘still plugging away with steady progress.’ …  [W]ith progress slow, and the counteroffensive launched later than […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine ‘in deep trouble’: Some experts say $1B more from U.S. won’t matter” – USA Today

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“A new defense minister, an encouraging visit from the U.S. secretary of state and another $1 billion in aid have fueled optimism in Ukraine this week. But will they have an impact on the war? Ukraine and U.S. officials says yes. Some experts are not convinced. …” Click here for: “Ukraine ‘in deep trouble’: Some experts say $1B more from […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Is Ukraine really interested in fighting corruption?” – The Economist

Hands Opening Envelope Containing Cash

“Volodymyr Zelensky removes his defence minister and goes after an oligarch” “… At face value [Ukraine’s latest corruption stories] show the government wresting back the initiative on reform. … Zelensky said he would replace … defence minister[] Oleksii Reznikov … following months of corruption scandals …. [T]he SBU … detained [oligarch] Ihor Kolomoisky … on suspicion of fraud and money-laundering. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin Faces Geopolitical Setback in South Caucasus” – Foreign Policy

Yerevan

“Armenia turns toward West after accusing Russia of failing as a partner.” “… Armenia is having second thoughts about its longtime partnership with Russia and is beginning to shift … toward the West, … an embarrassing setback for the Kremlin in the strategic region. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said … his country’s reliance on Russia wasn’t paying off, particularly […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “A Shift in Ukrainian Strategy” – Geopolitical Futures/ George Friedman

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… [After] Zelenskyy announced … that he replaced his defense minister … a group of senior U.S. generals met with Ukrainian generals on the border with Poland …. Ukraine’s strategy has been brilliant, especially in the early stages …. distribut[ing] its force into small units … [with] a high degree of freedom. … [K]nowledge and familiarity with the terrain … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “A higher global oil price will help Russia pay for its war; The Kremlin tries new tactics to keep proceeds afloat” – The Economist

Oil Wells file photo, adapted from image at usda.gov

“… After … record volumes in recent months, despite Western embargoes, dwindling production and the [Black Sea navigational] risks … Russia’s crude shipments fell to 3m barrels a day (b/d) in August … 800,000 lower than … April-May … and below pre-war levels. …. On September 5th Russia said it would extend a ‘voluntary’ 300,000 b/d cut … to the […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Kremlin Seeks to ‘Legitimize’ Authority With Elections in Occupied Ukraine” – Moscow Times

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Moscow Times – Anastasia Tenisheva, Pyotr Kozlov – Sept. 8, 2023) The Kremlin is working to solidify its control — both militarily and politically — over the four Moscow-occupied regions of Ukraine with this month’s regional elections there, experts and officials told The Moscow Times. Nearly a year after Moscow staged widely disputed referendums to annex Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Blinken Focuses on Mine Clearing in Ukraine as U.S. Lays Groundwork for Life After War” – WSJ

Russian Landmine TM-62, adapted from image at army.mil

“Mines have hindered Kyiv’s counteroffensive and threaten civilians living in reclaimed areas; as much as a third of the country affected.” “[In] painstakingly slow [work,] [t]wo explosives specialists armed with metal detectors can take over a month to clear a plot of Ukrainian farmland around half the size of a football field riddled with mortars, artillery shells and unexploded fuses. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Zelensky: Despite what ‘anyone says’ counteroffensive is pushing forward” – CNN

Screenshot file photo of Volodymyr Zelensky Gesturing, from Congressional Teleconference, adapted from image at doggett.house.gov

“… Zelensky said on Saturday[] ‘Ukrainian forces are moving forward. Despite everything and no matter what anyone says, we are advancing, and that is the most important thing. We are on the move’ …. By the end of [July], Ukraine had committed more troops to the southeast … a sign that it had identified potential weaknesses in Russian defensive lines. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Pushing Ukraine to negotiate now would be disastrous” – Chatham House

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“More than 500 days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there are signs that some of Ukraine’s supporters in the West want to prepare the ground for negotiations. Such a shift in policy would be catastrophic.” “… The counteroffensive has not stalled … but Ukraine would have made more progress had the U.S. not displayed … timidity over supplying … […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Return of History; Ukrainian scholar Serhii Plokhy on the war in his home country” – Harvard Magazine

File Photo of Library at Harvard University with Banners and Persons Walking on Quad, from image at state.gov

“… He adds, ‘The collapse of the Soviet Union was not an event, but a process.’ For the Russian Federation, the process is already under way. He points to the cascade of poor decisions that have characterized Russia’s military campaign. ‘This war has produced absolutely the opposite results from what Putin imagined’: not only Ukraine’s forceful resistance, but renewed unity […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Russia Globalized the War in Ukraine; The Kremlin’s Pressure-Point Strategy to Undermine the West” – Foreign Affairs/ Michael Kimmage, Hanna Notte

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“… Ukraine’s well-being runs through global networks, which Russia … seeks to disrupt and damage. The Kremlin’s ultimate goal is clear: strangling the Ukrainian economy, society, and state by whatever means necessary. … [I] it is essential to preserve Ukraine’s integration into the global economy, which Russia is deliberately attempting to degrade. The United States’ most immediate challenge is food […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine Defense Ministry asks for ‘ammunition, not advice’ in new video” – The Hill

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“The Ukraine Defense Ministry asked for ‘ammunition, not advice’ in a new video … following recent criticism from U.S. officials over Kyiv’s strategy amid a slow-moving counteroffensive. ‘It seems like everyone is now an expert on Ukrainian warfare,” the Defense Ministry [stated] …. The White House [recently] announced another $250 million security package for Kyiv … bringing total U.S. assistance […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee chair calls Russia-China alliance the biggest threat since WWII” – AP

American Flag and Partial View of U.S. Capitol Dome, adapted from image at aoc.gov

“The chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee said Friday [that regarding] a partnership between the Russian and Chinese leaders … ‘We have never seen a threat this large scale to Europe and the Pacific … since World War II.’ An alliance between … Xi Jinping and … Putin ‘provides a very big challenge I think for the free […]

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Russians Don’t Oppose Putin on Ukraine Because He has Ensured that Large Swaths of Them View Themselves as Winners over Last Two Decades, Busygina Says

Aerial View of Kremlin and Environs

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Aug. 29, 2023) Many observers blame the failure of Russians to oppose Putin on the war as the result either of the historical subservience of the people there to their rulers and to the related sense they have that nothing depends on them and therefore there is no need for them to […]

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Books To Boots: Critics Say New Russian History Textbook Is Propaganda, Preparation For War

Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

(Article text Copyright © 2023 RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036. – rferl.org – Robert Coalson – Aug. 31, 2023 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-history-textbook-propaganda/32572916.html) As schools across Russia and the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine prepare for the start of the school year on […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Isolated from West, Russia looks to Africa as land of opportunity” – Christian Science Monitor/ Fred Weir

Africa Map

“Shunned by the West over its war in Ukraine, Russia is looking to Africa to find new international partners. And, lacking colonial history on the continent, Moscow is finding a more welcoming audience.” “… [A] military coup in the Sahel nation of Niger, supported by crowds waving Russian flags, … [overthrew] yet another pro-Western African leader … attempting to curb […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Can Ukraine Induce More Russian Soldiers To Quit?” – Forbes/ Craig Hooper

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“… Russia’s army is at the end of its tether. With Russia’s modern tanks and armored vehicles largely gone or inoperative, Russia is pulling late 1940’s vintage T-10 tanks and other mechanized relics out of storage. Russian leaders are virtually begging North Korea, Iran, China and other former client states for help. Russian conscripts are arriving on the front under-equipped […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “The Godfather in the Kremlin”- WSJ

Kremlin and River

“The very public death of Putin henchman Yevgeny Prigozhin highlights the evolution of Russia into a mafia state held together by violence and incapable of global leadership.” “… Prigozhin had come to symbolize the criminal trajectory of the Russian state[,] [i]n the 1980s, … imprisoned in the Soviet Union, … [then] a rags-to-riches transformation from [post-Soviet] street vendor … to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Why the U.S. and Europe Still Buy Russian Nuclear Fuel” – Bloomberg

“… Kremlin-controlled Rosatom … continues to be the dominant source of fuel for the world’s nuclear power stations — supplying about half of global demand …. Western nations are racing to reconstitute their own processing capacity ….  [U]ranium ore needs … a vast industrial process …. Rosatom is … in every part of the supply chain, from ore extraction to […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “An evacuation order finds few followers in northeastern Ukraine despite Russia’s push in the region” – AP

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“… Citing a Russian attempt to push back into the area, the Kupiansk district military administration told roughly 12,000 residents to seek safety elsewhere. Only a few hundred have heeded …. Among the thousands who haven’t, some are paralyzed by the daunting task of relocating. Others said they had considered the hardships of displacement and decided to brave … renewed […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia expert Fiona Hill says Prigozhin’s death in a plane crash is ‘par for the course'” – Face the Nation

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“NANCY CORDES: … So, … Putin claims he had nothing to do with this. Is there anyone in the diplomatic community who believes that? FIONA HILL: I doubt it. … I think what we can certainly say is he didn’t order it not to happen because there are plenty of people who were painting a target on Prigozhin’s back. The […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Why We Should Not Bet on a Peaceful Russia” – Foreign Policy

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“The idea that a deal with Moscow will bring peace in Ukraine is based on very flimsy assumptions.” “… Those calling for an immediate negotiated settlement are … making an extremely risky bet. History, comparison, and much of theory isn’t on their side. … [T]hey are advising Ukraine to put its survival on the line [] in exchange for the […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘He Has Blood on His Hands'” – New York Times

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“In a Ukraine village, there are no tears for Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner private militia, whose presumed death in a plane crash was reported this week.” “Mykola Honchar lives in a crumbling stone house in what is left of a tiny hamlet of eastern Ukraine. … attacked by Russian forces … last year, as … Wagner […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How the suspected death of Prigozhin could impact Russia’s stability [Angela Stent]” – PBS

Yevgeny Prigozhin file photos, adapted from images at fbi.gov

“Angela Stent …: Oh, I think Putin would have enough reason to [want] Prigozhin dead. After all, Prigozhin challenged the Kremlin. He challenged the conduct of the war. He had a populist message to Russians that, while their children were dying and their husbands dying in Ukraine, the children of the elite were in the South of France enjoying themselves. […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “As Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Grinds On, Russia Seeks to Advance in the North” – WSJ

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Russia is trying to retake some of the territory that it lost to Ukraine in the region of Kharkiv.” “Russia is on the attack in northeastern Ukraine … seek[ing] to take back territory … Kyiv recaptured last fall and … divert Ukrainian forces from their counteroffensive in the south and east. The main fighting is taking place around the village […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Ukraine’s Appeals to Europe Can Alienate Others; Rhetoric about ‘European civilization’ clashes with anti-colonial ideals.” – Foreign Policy

Europe Map

“… Ukrainian pleas for military aid, financial support, and eventual membership in the European Union and NATO have often used the language of Europe and of European civilization. … Zelensky stressed that Ukraine is fighting for the ‘European way of life,’ founded upon ‘rules, values, equality, and fairness.’ This is a powerful idea for Ukrainians, but one that can be […]

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VIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “Former Ukraine prosecutor makes explosive claims against Joe and Hunter Biden in new interview” – Fox

File Photo of Joe Biden at Podium with U.S. Seal, With Ukrainian and U.S. Flags in Background

“White House says Shokin not credible, was fired for being too soft on corruption.” Fox News reports on an exclusive interview with former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin, set to air Saturday at 8 p.m. ET., including allegations against Joe and Hunter Biden, including allegations the then-Vice President Joe Biden used U.S. financial support to pressure then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko […]

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Press Gaggle by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan [Excerpt re: Ukraine]

File Photo of Jake Sullivan Gesturing While Speaking Next to U.S. Flag, with White House Logo in Background

(The White House – Aug. 22, 2023) … MODERATOR: Thank you. Our first question who go to Aamer with the AP. Q Hi, Jake. So, I had just two questions, Ukraine-related. Russia has reported success in its push in Northeast Ukraine. Just going forward, what do you see as complications presented to Ukraine by Russia’s reported gains? And many of […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: Ukraine defies odds by advancing in counteroffensive – senior official” – Reuters

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“Ukraine has made progress in its counteroffensive … proving it can push back a better-armed and numerically superior enemy, [Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar] said … Tuesday. Ukrainian troops have faced vast Russian minefields and trenches …. Maliar brushed aside any suggestion that Kyiv’s progress was too slow …. ‘It’s incorrect to measure this advance by metres or kilometres,’ Maliar […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin, Xi and BRICS Allies See Chance to Shake Up World Order” – Bloomberg

File Photo of Beijing Temple, adapted from image at lbl.gov

“Dozens of nations have lined up to become members of BRICS.” “… The BRICS bloc — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — will use an annual leaders’ summit in Johannesburg … to begin the process of enlisting more members to bolster its global heft, a push driven mainly by Chinese President Xi Jinping but also backed by Russia […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin conquers Russia’s history textbooks” – Washington Post

Bookcase file photo, adapted from image at nlm.nih.gov

“What will Russia look like after … Putin’s ruinous war against Ukraine? [] Putin has used the war to drive the Russian state and society deeper into dictatorship. This legacy will be long-lasting, and now [] Putin is rewriting high school history textbooks to convey his many lies and fabrications to a new generation. Schoolbooks have long been a battleground […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Flagship Oil Above $60 Does Little to Halt G-7 Services” – Bloomberg

Oil Wells file photo, adapted from image at usda.gov

“… The price of Russia’s flagship oil … jump[ing] above a [G7] imposed cap … has done little to impede … western services for the trade. …. About 40% of vessels lifting crude from Russia’s Baltic and Black Sea ports were owned by companies based in countries signed up to the cap. Before the threshold was breached, about half were […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “As Ukraine counteroffensive gets bogged down, it’s back to the drawing board” – Politico EU

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

“There’s a feeling we’re back in a war of attrition that risks stretching the patience of impatient allies, who only have themselves to blame for the slow progress.” “… [I]t feels as though we’re back in … a war of attrition that risks stretching the patience of impatient allies — something the Kremlin is no doubt hoping for. … Ukrainian […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Putin, Pushkin and the decline of the Russian empire” – Financial Times

Aleksandr Sergeevich Pushkin file image, adapted from image at loc.gov

“Behind Ukraine’s rejection of Russia’s revered poet is a much bigger story of imperial decay.” “… For Ukrainians … engaged in an existential struggle for their independence against Russia’s war of recolonisation, Pushkin is a symbol of the Russian imperialism that has long denied Ukraine’s right to a separate national existence. Pushkin was a great poet, but also a poet […]

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