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In The News Russia-Ukraine War War in Ukraine

Putin Blames U.S. For “Dragging Out” Conflict

While delivering the welcome address at the Moscow Conference on International Security on Tuesday, Vladimir Putin accused Washington of “dragging out” the conflict in Ukraine. The Russian president also mentioned the visit by Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan earlier this month, calling it a “thoroughly planned provocation”. The conference, which […]

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Seven Battlefield Signs Russia’s Army Has Hit A Wall In Ukraine

Russian troops have so far been unable to mount a decisive offensive in the east, as Ukraine records small but meaningful successes near the southern city of Kherson. This is not how Vladimir Putin had it planned.

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Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

The Enemy Within: Why Zelensky Must Take On Ukraine’s Oligarchs To Defeat Russia

Ukraine has long had an issue with oligarchs standing in the way of progress, and they have almost always been linked to the Kremlin. Now in the context of the war with Russia, President Zelensky has no choice but to tackle this problem.

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Migrant Lives Society

Not My Problem: Individual Responsibility And Government Abuse Of Asylum Seekers

Denial and indifference drive the way ordinary Australians face the mistreatment of refugees.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Iran Nuclear Deal, Another Victim In Putin’s Strategy Of Chaos

Nuclear talks between Iran and the West are stalled, as Russia signs deal with Tehran for drones. But does the increasingly isolated Iranian regime risk becoming another Russian vassal like Syria or Belarus?

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Food / Travel Russia-Ukraine War

Baden-Baden Postcard: Haven For Wealthy Russians Reduced To Tourist Ghost Town

For 200 years, the Black Forest spa town of Baden-Baden has been the destination of choice for Russian tourists, with oligarchs shopping in the luxury boutiques and buying up swathes of property. Now Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has changed all that and the town’s once-bustling streets are empty.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Why The West Quietly Fears Russia’s Defeat

Western leaders have given mixed messages on ending war in Ukraine. They fear the fallout of a power change in Moscow, and when it comes to Putin, it may be a case of “better the devil you know.”

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Russia-Ukraine War

Confronting The Dangers Of A War Reporter

Of the some 9,000 journalists believed to have arrived in Ukraine to report on the war, many were under-prepared. A course in France is now training them on how to face the harsh realities of conflict and teaching them essential survival techniques.

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Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

Wartime News And French Sunshine: A Cry In The Dark For My Precious Ukraine

Our Ukrainian journalist has another job to help pay the bills: at a luxury hotel in the South of France. It brings the stark contrast of her life right now, and the risks facing her native country, into desperately sharp relief.

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Geopolitics Migrant Lives

Taliban To Traffickers — The Perilous Journey Of Women Fleeing Afghanistan

Staying in a theocracy whose rulers subjugate women was not an option, but trying to get to destinations in Europe and beyond comes with unthinkable perils of its own.

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Russia-Ukraine War Society

What Russians Fear The Most (And It’s Not Escalation In Ukraine)

An annual report has revealed Russians’ anxieties. This year, contracting COVID has been replaced by food shortages, inflation, and internet blackouts.

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Russia-Ukraine War

Serhiy Haidai: Ukraine’s Man In Donbas Is Forced To Explain Russian Gains

Ukrainian newspaper Livy Bereg asked Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief adviser on the Donbas, Serhiy Haidai, why he did not hold Ukraine’s position in the Luhansk region.

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Russia-Ukraine War War in Ukraine

The Rise And Fall Of Russian Journalism Broke My Ukrainian Heart

Ukrainian journalist Anna Akage looks back on the glory days of post-Soviet, high-quality journalism, which captured her ima and how quickly it was bound to be replaced by a “new truth” permeating Russian society.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Mykolaiv Postcard: Life On Ukraine’s Creeping Southern Front Line

The fate of Mykolaiv and surrounding areas of southern Ukraine are crucial in the next stage of the war. A reporter visits local villages … and the troops on the front line.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

“Welcome To Our Hell…” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Speaks

In a rare in-depth interview, Ukraine’s top diplomat didn’t hold back as he discussed NATO, EU candidacy, and the future of the war with Russia. He also reserves a special “thank you” for Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Flashback In The USSR? How Former Soviet Republics Are Reacting To War in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has been upfront about his desire to rebuild Russia’s influence in the region. Former Soviet states are watching developments in Ukraine closely, with many trying to ensure futures free of interference by Moscow.

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Russia-Ukraine War

Kharkiv Revisited: Inside Russia’s New Assault On The “Hero City” Of Ukraine

The nation’s second-largest city, Kharkiv was quiet for weeks after Ukrainian forces took control. But now it is again under attack as Russia pushes to capture the city that’s considered the “gateway” to Ukraine. Die Welt reports from the frontline.

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Russia-Ukraine War

Why Hasn’t Joe Biden Visited Ukraine?

U.S. President Joe Biden has been evasive when asked if he plans to follow European leaders by visiting Kyiv. However, such a move could have far-reaching consequences for Ukraine and the rest of the world.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Sergey Lavrov, Putin’s Decoy-In-Chief

The Russian Foreign Minister, among the country’s most recognizable figures, embodies both the corruption and confusion of the Putin regime. Not everything is what it seems — and that’s the point.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

To “Not Humiliate” Putin Is The Real Danger

French President Emmanuel Macron is making a point of keeping an open dialogue with Putin, hoping to avoid a world war at all costs. But he needs to get his historical comparisons (and world wars) in order.

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Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

When The Age Of Compromise Gave Way To A Time Of Heroism

We know them from the movies: the heroes who save the world from disaster in the nick of time. In real life, you sometimes look for them in vain. But the Russian invasion of Ukraine shows that the West needs new heroes.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Good Biden, Bad Scholz, Tail-Wagging Macron: How Ukrainians Really See World Leaders

Ukrainians assess their friends, enemies and frenemies…

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Economy Russia-Ukraine War

As Global Economy Tanks, Future Russian Sanctions Get Harder For West To Swallow

Kyiv wants the West to hit at the heart of the Russian economy, especially its energy exports, as the best weapon Ukraine and its allies may have. But with the EU preparing its 7th package of sanctions, it must strike a delicate balance as the global economy is on the brink of a major crisis.

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Russia-Ukraine War Society

The Return Of Groupthink In Russian Classrooms

For years, Vladimir Putin’s regime has been pushing its agenda into schools. With the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the pressure on the education system has intensified on a massive scale. Here’s a peek inside the means of control over students’ minds.

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Russia-Ukraine War Society

Icons Of Ukraine: Street Art Marks World’s Support For A People And A Cause

In the last 100 days, street art murals supporting Ukrainian resistance have appeared everywhere from Kyiv to Syria. Here’s a look at the most moving and powerful murals.

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Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

Servant Of The People: Why Zelensky Will Concede Nothing To Russia

Those calling for Kyiv to negotiate away part of its territory, understand neither history nor the current reality of Ukrainian democracy.

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Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

My Debt To Russia, My Letter To Putin: A Very Personal Plea To End The War

Polish-born French writer Marek Halter, who fled the Nazis to the USSR, has known Vladimir Putin for 30 years. Halter sent the Russian president a long letter on May 18, and later shared a copy of it with Les Echos. In the letter, he lays out the path for Putin to renounce the war without undermining Russia’s standing.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Ukrainian “Spies And Traitors” Dumped In Russia’s Already Crowded Prison System

Russian jails were already struggling thanks to long investigations and an arrest bias. But the conflict in Ukraine has made a bad situation worse in detention centers around the country, with so-called Ukrainian “spies and traitors” locked up without trial.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

In Georgia, Fears Of Being Back On Putin’s Hit List

Putin has not forgotten about the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, which wants to decide in July whether to join Russia. People here still remember when the Russian army invaded while the West looked on. And there is growing worry that this could soon happen again.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

The “Corrosion” Strategy: How Ukraine Targets Russian Networks And Morale

Russia continues to shrink its ambitions in Donbas, as Ukraine doubles down on its strategy of guerilla attacks, interrupting supply and communication contacts and ultimately undermines the morale of the enemy.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Russia’s Military Failures Are Really About Its Soldiers

No doubt, strategic errors and corruption at the highest ranks in the Kremlin are partly to blame for the Russian military’s stunning difficulties in Ukraine. But the roots run deeper, where the ordinary recruits come from, how they are exploited, how they react.

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Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

Revenge v. Rule Of Law: How You Treat Your Prisoners Of War Says It All

A Ukrainian court has convicted the first Russia soldier of war crimes. Meanwhile, Moscow offers no news on the Ukrainian soldiers surrendered in Mariupol. The very meaning of this war may be contained in the different treatment of POWs.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Is Odessa Next? Putin Sees A Gateway To Moldova — And Chance For Revenge

After the fall of Mariupol, Vladimir Putin appears to have his eye on another iconic southern coastal city, with a strong identity and strategic location.

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Russia-Ukraine War

The Dead And Disappeared: A Village Emerges From 72 Days Of Russian Occupation

Russian forces have been pushed out of the area around Kharkiv. Villages that were occupied for two months are free once more — but utterly destroyed. And thousands of people have disappeared without a trace.

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Future Russia-Ukraine War

Cyber War Chronicles: Meet The Hackers Taking On Russia

The war in Ukraine is not just being fought on the ground. The battle for dominance increasingly happens on the digital field, where a worldwide network of cyber-soldiers conduct attacks to disrupt Russia’s war effort, from the outside and inside too.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Inside Russia’s Revival Of Stalinist “Filtration Camps”

Though different than concentration camps constructed by Nazis, the “filtration” facilities nevertheless are a return to another brutal history, reopened under Putin, and ramped up since the invasion of Ukraine.

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Geopolitics Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

Why Macron’s New EU Membership Scheme Is All About Appeasing Putin

French President Emmanuel Macron has proposed a new European Political Community, with support from Germany’s Olaf Scholz, that would include Ukraine in a second-tier union. No, this is not about European “core values” — it’s just the latest attempt by the EU’s two biggest players to be sure not to upset Vladimir Putin.

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Geopolitics Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

How Millennials And Boomers See Putin’s Nuclear Threats Differently

Baby boomers who grew up under the threat of nuclear armageddon warn against a nuclear escalation of the war in Ukraine. But the younger generations are not cowed by Putin’s blackmail. And that’s a very good thing.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Kaliningrad Revisited: Where Putin’s ​Nuclear Threat Is Most Chilling

Vladimir Putin has put his nuclear forces on alert — a shock for many, but even more so for those just across the Polish border from Kaliningrad where Russian nuclear missiles are stationed, and aimed at European capitals from Warsaw to Berlin.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War Society

Beyond Post-Soviet: Ukraine’s Architectural Opportunity From The Rubble Of War

The war rages on, but some in Ukraine are already looking to how society can be rebuilt. Two Ukrainian architects share their vision for what a future Ukrainian urbanism — and society — might look like.

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