“… Nov. 7 in Moscow, the Kremlin defiantly renounced its membership in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), once thought of as a pillar of European stability. … NATO countries quickly followed suit, suspending … treaty obligations. The CFE is not the only arms control agreement … thrown onto the garbage heap of history in recent years. […]
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(Moscow Times – Nov. 14, 2023) Russia has managed to almost entirely circumvent a G7 price cap on its oil exports, with Moscow claiming average sales at more than $20 per barrel above the imposed limit, the Financial Times reported Tuesday, citing Western officials and Russian export data. [ft.com/content/09e8ee14-a665-4644-8ec5-5972070463ad] According to an unnamed senior European official who spoke to FT, […]
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“More than 300 Ukrainian scholars, activists and artists express their solidarity with Palestinians in an open letter.” “… As activists committed to freedom, human rights, democracy and social justice, and while fully acknowledging power differentials, we firmly condemn attacks on civilian populations – be they Israelis attacked by Hamas or Palestinians attacked by the Israeli occupation forces and armed settler […]
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“Russian forces are encircling Avdiivka, a new war map [from the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War] shows, as Moscow is said to have accumulated around 40,000 troops for a fresh assault on the eastern Donetsk town. Russian forces launched a major offensive [there] in October[, yet] Avdiivka has been the target of [Russian] aggression since 2014, when … […]
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“… Some 4.8m [Ukrainians] lost their jobs … when Russia attacked. Unemployment is estimated [at] 18.4% in October … [down] from [over] 30% in [early] 2022 … [yet still] well above pre-war levels. … [Reportedly] 17% of Ukrainian workers have changed professions …. American officials estimate … at least 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died … [with] up to 120,000 more […]
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“‘It would only be fair,’ Galushchenko says of attacking Russian oil and gas in response to possible attacks against Ukraine’s grid this winter.” “Ukraine is open to the possibility of attacking Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure if Moscow ramps up its targeting of Ukraine’s electric system this winter, Ukraine Energy Minister German Galushchenko said …. Galushchenko … said Russia has […]
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“Roman Chervinsky, a colonel in Ukraine’s special operations forces, was integral to the brazen sabotage operation, say people familiar with planning.” “… Roman Chervinsky, a decorated 48-year-old colonel who served in Ukraine’s special operations forces, [reportedly] was the ‘coordinator’ of … Nord Stream [sabotage] operation … logistics and support for a six-person team that rented a sailboat under false identities […]
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(Moscow Times – Nov. 11, 2023) The Kremlin has begun compiling a list of influential figures that would campaign on behalf of President Vladimir Putin as he seeks re-election next year, the Kommersant business daily reported Monday, citing several anonymous sources familiar with the matter. According to the newspaper, work on organizing a so-called “initiative group” of campaign surrogates suggests […]
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“Foreign firms have sold assets worth over $21 billion Third wave of business elite swoops in to grab bargains” “A new cohort of Russian business elite has emerged to benefit from the void left when international firms suddenly exited following … Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. … snapp[ing] up assets at discounted prices after … multinationals … [left due to] pressure […]
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“With so much in the war against Russia hinging on refilling the ranks of soldiers, efforts are underway to draw more Ukrainian women into the army.” “… [F]ighting in Ukraine has bogged down in vicious battles of attrition along a zigzag [southeastern] front line …. [S]teady suppl[ies] of weapons and personnel are crucial … Ukraine … benefit[s] [from] … Western-donated […]
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(Moscow Times – Nov. 9, 2023) Ukraine on Thursday criticized calls for Kyiv to hold negotiations with Russia, following media reports that its Western allies were pushing for peace talks in the wake of an underwhelming Ukrainian counteroffensive. Nearly two years into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the sprawling front line remains largely static as both Ukrainian and Russian forces struggle […]
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“MARGARET BRENNAN: … Your president has said that … the war in the Middle East is diverting some attention from the war that’s happening in Ukraine. And he said that’s part of Russia’s goals. So I want to hear from you, where you think the conflict is, because I know that Ukraine has said it is running very short of […]
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(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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“Even Republicans who support arming Ukraine are skeptical of providing more cash to the country’s government.” “… [Some] top Biden administration officials [have] urged [Congress] to provide $11.8 billion in direct budget support to Kyiv to help pay … day-to-day bills. … part of a roughly $106 billion emergency funding request covering Ukraine, Israel and other issues. … Ukraine’s economy […]
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“… Putin [reportedly] has decided to run in the March presidential election, a move that will keep him in power until least 2030 …. After defusing an armed mutiny by the leader of the Wagner mercenary group … Putin has moved to shore up support among his core base in the security forces, the armed forces and with regional voters […]
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6 Things to Know Commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces Valery Zaluzhny has admitted that his forces’ offensive has reached a stalemate, while the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces and architect of last year’s successful counteroffensive Oleksandr Syrskyi has described the current conditions along the 600-mile frontline as “difficult” and “challenging.” “There will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough … […]
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“… [F]ew have paid attention in recent years as the entire framework of strategic arms control, assembled over decades by Moscow and Washington, has been dismantled piece by piece by American and Russian politicians, leaving a dangerous vacuum where mutual responsibility, verification, and dialogue used to be. The last important agreement, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, effectively lapsed when … Putin […]
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“… Zelensky’s top priority and perhaps … main contribution to the nation’s defense had been to keep attention on Ukraine and .. rally the democratic world …. Both tasks would become a lot harder with the outbreak of war in Israel. The focus of Ukraine’s allies in the U.S. and Europe … quickly shifted to the Gaza Strip. … A […]
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“The conversations have included very broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up to reach a deal with Russia.” “U.S. and European officials [reportedly] have begun quietly talking to the Ukrainian government about what possible peace negotiations with Russia might entail …. includ[ing] broad outlines of what Ukraine might need to give up …. Some of the talks […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Simon Saradzhyan – Nov. 3, 2023) Simon Saradzhyan is the founding director of Russia Matters. Time journalist Simon Shuster has just published an article titled “Volodymyr Zelensky’s Struggle to Keep Ukraine in the Fight,” which contains three revelations that do not bode well for that struggle. First, the article reveals that Zelensky—who remains staunchly opposed […]
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“General Valery Zaluzhny admits the war is at a stalemate” “Five months into its counter-offensive, Ukraine has managed to advance … just 17 kilometres. Russia fought for ten months around Bakhmut in the east ‘to take a town six by six kilometres.’ … Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhny, [said] … ‘Just like in the first world war we have reached […]
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“Putin’s war in Ukraine is leaving billionaires who sought to integrate with the West to face the reality of international isolation.” “… Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed everything for [certain Russian oligarchs] … who prospered under Putin until the U.S. and Europe imposed sweeping sanctions aimed at isolating the Kremlin leader and bringing his economy to its knees. The penalties […]
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“… [E]vidence attesting to Russia[n] atrocities in Ukraine … represents a small fraction measured against the likely scale of atrocities …. Notwithstanding the … accounts detailing systematic torture, rape, execution and other forms of abuse … independent investigators are denied access to territory seized by Russian forces. … [T]he Kremlin’s commanders have time to eliminate traces of physical evidence as […]
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“Ukraine’s army is in dire need of manpower, an aide to its president told Time magazine. The lack of soldiers means Ukraine isn’t able to make proper use of Western-provided gear, he said. As well as suffering casualties, many Ukrainian men are trying to escape enlistment.” “A Ukrainian official said Ukraine’s army is suffering a manpower shortage that is hampering […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) The Kremlin stands to benefit from the Israel-Hamas conflict in three ways, according to Hanna Notte of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. The conflict distracts the West from the war in Ukraine; it hinders normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel; and it helps Russia to style itself as David to the Western […]
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“… Putin is … expected to seek another term when Russia holds presidential elections next March. … But 71 is an age when death or serious illness are hardly distant concerns …. If Putin was not on the ballot … it’s not clear who might take his place. … There are no primary elections … [P]olitical parties … present [candidates] […]
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“Is … Putin dead? … [M]ysterious Russian Telegram channel … ‘General SVR’ and [prominent Russian political analyst] Valery Solovey … [say] yes. … [Putin] supposedly breathed his last … Thursday, Oct. 26. The Putin we see now [allegedly would] … actually his double … [already] filling in for the sickly real Putin for several months. Few Russian or Western analysts […]
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“Once upon a time, Alexey Navalny wanted to be a normal politician in a normal country. Now that’s just a fantasy.” [original article was adapted from “The Dissident: Alexey Navalny, Profile of a Political Prisoner,” released by Twelve, an imprint of Hachette Book Group.] “… Navalny, despite decades crusading against Russian corruption and against … Putin’s increasingly dictatorial rule, never […]
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(Kennan Institute – Victor Andrusiv – Oct. 31, 2023) Victor Andrusiv is a Ukrainian political and civic activist and officer in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He was previously the Director of the Kyiv School of Public Administration and the former executive director of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future. In successive speeches, President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State […]
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“… Biden [has] … emphasized that … missiles and artillery shells … sent overseas are made in America, providing a local economic boost. … [T]hat may not be a winning argument for [a] significant number of Republican lawmakers …. ‘We are $33 TRILLION in debt, and Ukraine is not the 51st state,’ [posted] Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala. …. When Russia […]
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“Moscow has gambled on pouring troops, bombs and artillery into large-scale assault on Avdiivka.” “… For more than two weeks, Russian forces have [targeted Ukraine’s] … eastern industrial city of Avdiivka, using so-called human waves, airdropped bombs and heavy artillery …. Russia [reportedly] has deployed at least three battalions with thousands of soldiers in the fight for Avdiivka … start[ing] […]
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“More than a year and a half since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, defense companies have been struggling to hire workers, untangle supply chains and restart mothballed production lines.” “Billions … spent by the federal government to arm Ukraine and replenish U.S. military stockpiles have been slow to translate into a significant number of new [U.S.] jobs … as defense manufacturers […]
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“… Comigration [is] … a small collective of comedians … [who] have left Russia since Putin’s [2022] invasion of Ukraine … and now ply their trade in Georgia. The contrast in their material is striking [compared with comedians still back in Russia]. According to one …, Ilya Ovechkin, any reference to Putin in a joke boosts laughs by 70%. In […]
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“… Zelensky’s immediate and forceful support for Israel … against Hamas has imperiled almost a year of concerted efforts … to win the support of Arab and Muslim nations in [Ukraine’s] war against Russia. Zelensky’s early statements … after the surprise attack by Hamas … [killing] more than 1,400 Israelis … helped Ukraine stay in the international spotlight, and … […]
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“Chinese and Russian military officials on Monday criticized the United States as an agent of global instability … Russia’s defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, … threatened grave consequences over Western involvement in the war in Ukraine. … Shoigu made the remarks at the Beijing Xiangshan Forum, China’s annual international military summit … [China’s] second-highest-ranked military official, Zhang Youxia, also issued oblique […]
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“… [O]netime Russia advisor to then-President Trump [Fiona Hill] fears … support for Ukraine is gradually eroding, encouraging … Putin to try to wait the West out. … But she’s worried about much more …, beginning with Israel’s war in Gaza …. The two conflicts aren’t directly linked, but each is likely to affect the other. ‘These could be global-system-shifting […]
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“The fight for the battered city of Avdiivka has emerged this fall as the fiercest battle of the war. Waves of Russian assaults have not broken through so far.” “… [T]wo [city] landmarks have been the focus of furious fighting since Oct. 10 as thousands of Russian troops began a major new offensive in eastern Ukraine to seize [long-coveted] Avdiivka […]
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“The former White House Russia expert on Biden’s speech linking the two wars—and how Putin might cash in.” “… [T]here are valid reasons to worry about … a wider conflict [] in the Middle East. … [A]s the United States expends time, money, arms, and political capital … containing that crisis, it gives actors in other arenas an opportunity to […]
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(PONARS Eurasia Policy Memo No. 860 – Polina Sinovets – Oct. 23, 2023 – PDF: click here) Dr. Polina Sinovets is a Founder and a Head of the Odesa Center for Nonproliferation (OdCNP) at Odesa I.I. Mechnikov National University (Ukraine). This memo is based on a forthcoming NATO Defense College policy brief, “Fifty Shades of Red: Where Does Russia Draw […]
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“Since the invasion in 2022, the Minneapolis institution has faced immense pressure. It has responded by curating bold antiwar exhibitions.” “Overlooking … one of the main arteries … weav[ing] through [Minneapolis] is a tower painted in yellow and blue for the Ukrainian flag. It belongs to the Museum of Russian Art. Museum staff … painted the flag … just days […]
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“Kyiv is converting U.S. missiles for new uses and prioritising joint ventures with western companies.” “… [Ukrainian] Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal [said] … ‘We understand we should produce [ammunition] here in Ukraine because … [globally ammunition is] depleted …. [Ukraine learns from] its dramatic increase in domestic drone manufacturing, he said, … up from ‘a few dozen last year’ to […]
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“The world has forgotten Russia’s war in Ukraine before. Ukrainians remember — and will not let it happen again.” “… With a slow-going counteroffensive and Russia showing no sign of quitting, Ukraine faces the prospect of a long war … requir[ing] unprecedented, long-term support from allies. The Israel-Hamas war comes on top of turmoil in the U.S. Congress, widening fractures […]
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“Money trickles back in, lured by the chance to help the fight against Russia and score assets on the cheap.” “… Steel-nerved investors are trickling back into Ukraine, lured by the chance to help the country in its fight against Russia — and to score assets on the cheap. … Prospects for Ukraine’s economy remain fragile. … Losing long-term backing […]
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(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Simon Saradzhyan – Oct. 19, 2023) Simon Saradzhyan is the founding director of Russia Matters. BOOK REVIEW “Getting Russia Right” By Thomas Graham Polity, October 2023 Multiple books have been published since Vladimir Putin’s re-invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that explore the sources of Russia’s aggressive conduct. In fact, some of these books were […]
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“… [A DOD] official said … tens of thousands of 155-millimeter artillery shells promised to Ukraine would be diverted to Israel. … an example of the American weapons … [reportedly] needed in both wars, which could stretch … U.S. capacity to keep up …. especially … if Israel’s expected [Gaza] ground offensive … lasts for months. … Ukraine and Israel […]
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(Moscow Times – Anastasia Tenisheva – Oct. 21, 2023) MOSCOW — Loud music, people dancing and faces covered with glitter — today, parties in Russia’s capital look like parties anywhere. “As long as there is an opportunity to enjoy life, then you need to do it,” Daria, a Russian in her 20s, told The Moscow Times at a techno music […]
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“The emergency funding request to Congress, which would also include funds to fortify border security, is expected by Friday.” “… Biden [reportedly] is expected to ask Congress … to approve about $100 billion in emergency funds to arm Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan and fortify the U.S.-Mexico border …. The funding request, which lawmakers expect to receive by Friday morning, would […]
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“… Retaking the towns of Kupiansk and Lyman last year near Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv was a key step in the Ukrainian military’s drive to evicting Russian troops from some parts of the country’s Donbas industrial heartland. … The focus on the eastern front … shifted … [more recently] from Bakhmut to Avdiivka, a town further southwest known for […]
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“If he was he would find that it is cooling toward the concept of ‘as long as it takes.’” “… While the seeming shift in public opinion is … important … and should signal … that the time has come to pursue negotiations, it is clear that those whose opinions matter most — in Kiev, Moscow, and Washington — aren’t […]
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(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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