JRL NEWSWATCH: “China and Russia no longer perceived as top security threats, research finds” – CNBC

Satellite Image of Earth in Style of Mercator Map, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“China and Russia are considered less of a threat to Western populations now than a year ago, according to a new study which points to rising concern around non-traditional risks. Mass migration due to war or climate change and the rise of radical Islam now rank among the top perceived risks among G7 countries. The majority of respondents in Western […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “National Security Expert Fiona Hill Says Russia ‘Will Always Matter’ at HKS Event” – The Harvard Crimson

Redacted File Photo of Fiona Hill, adapted form image at seanmaloney.house.gov

“…Hosted by Russia Matters — a project at the HKS Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs that publishes analysis on U.S.-Russia relations — [an] event [featuring Fiona Hill ] was moderated by former HKS Dean Graham T. Allison ’62 and former Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula J. Dobriansky. Hill, the former senior director on Russia and […]

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Russia in Review, Jan. 12-19, 2024

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

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 1. In the past month, Russian forces have gained 57 square miles of Ukrainian territory, while Ukrainian forces have re-gained 1 square mile, according to the Jan. 16, 2024, issue of the Russia-Ukraine War Report Card. In an article on the war entitled “Russia Regains Upper Hand in Ukraine’s East as Kyiv’s Troops Flag,” NYT noted […]

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Russia in Review, Jan. 5-12, 2024

Kremlin and Red Square file photo, adapted from image at state.gov

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 6 Things to Know The Pentagon has failed to properly track at least $1 billion in weapons that the U.S. has provided to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, according to a report by the Defense Department’s inspector general, FT  reports. The high rate of weapons that were missing or otherwise immediately unaccounted for in government […]

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Russia Analytical Report, Nov. 27-Dec. 4, 2023

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

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) Miscalculations and divisions marked the efforts of Kyiv and its allies to plan the Ukrainian military’s summer offensive, according to the results of extensive research by Washington Post staff into the lead-up to the largely unsuccessful operation. “The year began with Western resolve at its peak, Ukrainian forces highly confident and … Zelensky predicting a decisive […]

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Moscow Shatters Daily Record Snowfall

Artist's Conception of Snowflakes and Snowfall adapted from weather.gov image

(Moscow Times – Dec. 4, 2023) Moscow broke a daily snowfall record on Sunday when nearly 11 millimeters of precipitation fell over just 12 hours, meteorologists in the Russian capital said. Sunday’s snowfall, powered by a strong cyclone that formed over southern Europe last week, marked the absolute daily record in Moscow since observations began in 1878, according to meteorologist […]

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Russia in Review, Nov. 9-17, 2023

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

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) The U.S. Congress’ interest in financing Ukraine’s fight against invading Russian forces has “dipped lower than ever,” according to WP. Moreover, rising competition from other national security priorities could “sound the death knell for continued American aid” for Kyiv, this newspaper predicted shortly before Biden signed a bill that is designed to avoid a government shutdown, […]

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RUSSIALINK: “As Russia’s Permafrost Thaws, Ancient Pathogens Risk Re-Awakening” – Moscow Times

Anthrax Microscopic Image, adapted from cdc.gov image

(Moscow Times – Nov. 7, 2023) Ancient pathogens that have been preserved in northern Russia’s permafrost for millennia could reawaken as global temperatures rise, scientists warn, potentially putting humanity at risk of never-before-seen diseases. Jean-Michel Claverie, a virologist and emeritus professor at the Aix-Marseille University School of Medicine, is one of the few scientists worldwide who has studied “zombie viruses” […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Climate Skeptics Muddy Russians’ Understanding of Warming Planet” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Polar Bear on Snow with Bare Ground in the Background, adapted from image at nasa.gov with photo credit to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Eric Regehr

(Moscow Times – Oct. 18, 2023) “Warming is about to end. And the cause is not humans, but the interplay between the Sun and Earth. Currently, we are in a favorable period, but we will inevitably transition to an unfavorable [cold] one … around 2030-2035.” This statement by Andrei Fedotov, director of the Limnological Institute of the Russian Academy of […]

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Russia in Review, Sept. 29-Oct. 6, 2023

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

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 7 Things to Know Putin has shot down proposals to lower the threshold for nuclear weapons use in Russia’s doctrinal documents, but called for Russia to de-ratify the CTBT. When asked by Sergei Karaganov at the Valdai Club meeting on Oct. 5 whether Russia should “modify the doctrine on using nuclear weapons, lowering the nuclear threshold,” Putin said: “[T]here […]

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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: “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: “Norway is rebuilding a reindeer fence at the border to stop the animals’ costly strolls into Russia” – AP

Reindeer File Photo adapted from image at blm.gov

“Norway is rebuilding a dilapidated reindeer fence along its border with Russia in the Arctic to stop the animals from wandering into the neighboring country.” “[The wandering reindeer go on] costly strolls for which Oslo has to compensate Moscow over loss of grassland. Norwegian officials said … so far this year, 42 reindeer have crossed into Russia seeking better pastures […]

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Russia in Review, May 12-19, 2023 – 5 Things to Know

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

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) Chinese President Xi Jinping told leaders of the five Central Asian republics that Beijing is ready to help them strengthen “their law enforcement, security and defense” capacities. Playing host to these leaders in Xian during a two-day summit, Xi also said China would provide $3.7 billion in financing support and “free assistance” to the five republics […]

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Russia in Review, May 5-12, 2023: 7 Things to Know

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) Moscow blaming West at every turn: Vladimir Putin attacked the West on May 9, claiming that Russia’s future depended on the outcome of the war in Ukraine, as he attended a slimmed-down military parade to mark victory over Nazi Germany in WWII, MT reports. “A real war has once again been unleashed against our motherland,” he […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s New Winter War: Could Putin Go the Way of Napoleon and Hitler?” – Foreign Affairs

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

“… [W]hen the Kremlin was finally forced to order a ‘partial mobilization’ of the Russian population, it had to warn those called up that uniforms and equipment were in short supply. They would have to provide their own body armor and even ask their mothers and girlfriends for sanitary pads to use instead of field dressings. The lack of bandages […]

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RUSSIALINK: “As Winter Sets In, Ukrainian Battlefields Show[] Few Signs Of Freezing” – Moscow Times

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

(Moscow Times – James Beardsworth – Nov. 24, 2022) As the first snow fell across Ukraine last week, the Ukrainian army launched an attack on Russian positions around Kreminna in a renewed — albeit so far unsuccessful — effort to retake the eastern town. At the same time, Ukrainian special forces were reportedly pushing back Russian troops in the islands […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “High fuel prices could kill more Europeans than fighting in Ukraine” – The Economist

Map of Europe, adapted from image at loc.gov

“Russia is using energy as a weapon. How deadly will it be?” “To win … in Ukraine … Putin needs the West to stop supporting his adversary. His best opportunity to drive a wedge between them will arrive this winter. … In August [] Putin turned off … a big pipeline to Europe. Fuel prices surged, squeezing the economies of […]

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Russia’s missiles and winter conditions mean no quick end to Ukraine war

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

Are there prospects for peace in Ukraine amid Russian missile attacks and a winter battlefield stalemate? (opendemocracy.net – Paul Rogers – Nov. 22, 2022) Paul Rogers is Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies in the Department of Peace Studies and International Relations at Bradford University, and an Honorary Fellow at the Joint Service Command and Staff College. With its retreat from […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Green Is Russia?” – London Review of Books/ Tony Wood

File Photo of Arctic Fox Running Across Snow, adapted from image at USGS.gov, with photo credit to Mike Lockart and USGS

“… Thane Gustafson’s Klimat was published twelve months ago, but … the effects of the war [in Ukraine] … on Russia’s main exports … align with his arguments about the consequences of climate change for Russia. The world’s fourth largest greenhouse gas emitter, Russia … [also] will continue to profit from rising oil prices …. But … Gustafson projects a […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Without Russia, science going solo on world’s woes, dreams” – AP

File Photo of Polar Bear on Snow with Bare Ground in the Background, adapted from image at nasa.gov with photo credit to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Eric Regehr

“… In [important] scientific fields … Putin’s war in Ukraine is causing a swift and broad decaying of relationships and projects that bound together [Russia] … and the West. Post-Cold War bridge-building … is unraveling as Western nations seek to punish and isolate the Kremlin …. The costs …, scientists say, could be high on both sides. Tackling climate change […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Glasgow Deals Prompt Russia Rethink on Coal Plans, Carbon Tax” – Bloomberg/ Evgenia Pismennaya, Yuliya Fedorinova

Graphics Depicting Carbon Compounds and Water Molecules, adapted from image at nasa.gov

“Russia will look to cut its ambitious goals for boosting coal production … and consider imposing a carbon tax or other regulation in the wake of … the COP26 summit … according to two officials familiar with the plans. But Russia won’t join the global agreement to reduce methane emissions, [they] said, speaking on condition of anonymity …. [Russia] is […]

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RUSSIALINK: “What Did Russia Achieve at COP26?” – Moscow Times

Siberian River, Forest, Mountain

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nov. 16, 2021) Now that the United Nations’ COP26 climate summit has ended, opinions are split over whether world leaders made the commitments needed to keep global warming from passing a catastrophic threshold. Here’s a look at things Russia did — and did not do — at the landmark summit in Glasgow: Deforestation pledge Russia, […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “A critical situation might be in the making on the Northern Sea Route” – Barents Observer

Arctic Map

An early freeze has taken shippers by surprise and a big number of vessels are in danger of getting stuck in thick sea-ice […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Kremlin Pushes Back on Biden’s Climate Criticism” – Moscow Times

Siberian River, Forest, Mountain

Russia, as well as fellow major polluters China and India, did not sign the U.S. and EU-led Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions 30% by 2030 …. [but] the world’s fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter[] did join over 100 countries … promising to end deforestation by 2030 […]

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RUSSIALINK: “How Is Climate Change Impacting Russia?” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Polar Bear on Snow with Bare Ground in the Background, adapted from image at nasa.gov with photo credit to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Eric Regehr

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Nov. 2, 2021) As world leaders gather in Glasgow for the COP26 climate summit in hopes of agreeing on a strategy to avoid catastrophic global warming, Russia stands to face significant changes from climate change in the coming decades. Here’s a look at some of the ways Russia, which is warming 2.5 times faster than […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Rosneft announces energy transition strategy as climate conference approaches” – bne Intellinews

File Photo of Rosneft and Russian Flags Next to Rosneft Banner

“Oil giant Rosneft announced the creation of a plan to transition to green energy, but also warned that fossil fuels would never fully be replaced.” “Russian state oil major Rosneft is developing a new strategy centred on the transition to renewable energy resources. … [according to] CEO Igor Sechin …. However, … [he] stress[ed] that oil and gas would continue […]

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Nicola Avery: Re: “Our occasional blog about climate science in/around Russia” [“More Than Bears: News From Climate Scientists Around Russia”]

File Photo of Polar Bear on Snow with Bare Ground in the Background, adapted from image at nasa.gov with photo credit to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Eric Regehr

Subject: Our occasional blog about climate science in/around Russia Date: Wed, 08 Sep 2021 From: Nicola Avery <nicolaavery@protonmail.com> We started a climate science blog a year or so ago, profiling scientists, mostly in Russia. We are developing the blog on a voluntary basis so only posting occasionally which is managed by Alina Bychkova at Nottingham Trent University, cc’d. We have […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russia’s 2021 Wildfires Now Largest in Recorded History” – Moscow Times

Forest Fire file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Aug. 17, 2021) Russia’s 2021 wildfires are already the largest in the history of satellite observations, burning across 17.08 million hectares of land, the Greenpeace Russia environmental group has said. The new record beats the previous record set in 2012, when fires burned 17 million hectares of land, and comes with weeks left to go […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Putin Alarmed Over ‘Unprecedented’ Natural Disasters in Russia” – Moscow Times

Forest Fire file photo

Putin … said the scale of natural disasters that have hit Russia this year is “absolutely unprecedented” as local officials ask for Moscow’s help to tackle fires and floods […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Economic Reality Is Dragging Russia Toward Climate Acceptance” – Bloomberg

File Photo of Polar Bear on Snow with Bare Ground in the Background, adapted from image at nasa.gov with photo credit to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Eric Regehr

“Europe’s border tax and China’s carbon-neutral ambitions might just force a fossil fuel giant to face climate facts.” “… Sooner than expected, Putin’s hydrocarbon-dependent regime has found itself watching key markets slip away as China targets net-zero emissions and Europe introduces measures including a levy on heavy industry imports that fail to meet its climate protection standards. Having lauded the […]

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The Week In Russia: The Dangerous Summer

Forest Fire file photo

As September elections approach, COVID-19 takes a mounting toll and wildfires burn across huge swaths of the country …. The Kremlin crackdown on dissenters, civil society, and independent media continues […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Storm, rains near Novorossiysk help reduce pollution in Black Sea after oil product spill – WWF” – Interfax

Black Sea Satellite Photo file image

MOSCOW. Aug 13 (Interfax) – The concentration of oil products in the Black Sea following a spill in the area of Novorossiysk is decreasing due to a storm and heavy rains, the head of the WWF Russia program for corporate environmental responsibility, Alexei Knizhnikov told Interfax on Friday. “There is a very strong storm happening now in the vicinity of […]

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RUSSIALINK: “UN’s Bombshell Climate Change Report Forecasts Fire and Floods for Russia” – Moscow Times

File Photo of Polar Bear on Snow with Bare Ground in the Background, adapted from image at nasa.gov with photo credit to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Eric Regehr

Russia can expect to see intensifying wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events in the coming decades as the global climate crisis deepens a decade sooner than projected […]

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