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Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

Just Let Them Have Crimea! On The Risks Of Russian “Resentment” — And Ukraine’s Too

Russian-born, Kyiv-based writer Michael Sheitelman writes that while everybody is afraid of Russia’s bitter wrath should it be forced to relinquish Crimea, the same should go for Ukraine. Imagine that scenario now…

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In The News

Frozen In Time: A Rare Look At Life In Mariupol Under Russian Occupation

Russian occupation authorities promised to rebuild housing in Mariupol by winter, but in reality, thousands of people face the cold in largely destroyed houses and apartments. Mariupol residents told Vazhnyye Istorii about how they are surviving as winter falls.

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Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

Why Ukraine-Russia Peace Talks Are Now More Impossible Than Ever

The reconquest of Kherson seemed like a turning point in the Ukraine war. But while Kyiv and the West can see it as an encouraging sign for the long-term fate of the war, it makes negotiations a veritable non-starter now. A cold, hard analysis from French geopolitical expert Dominique Moïsi.

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In The News Russia-Ukraine War

First Snow In Ukraine Falls On Second Day Of Mass Air Strikes On Power Grid

Is this what Vladimir Putin’s winter plans look like?

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In The News

Could India Be The Ukraine-Russia Mediator The World Needs?

New Delhi has the ability and diplomatic space to lead an effort to halt the conflict. But timing is everything.

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In The News Russia-Ukraine War

After Kherson, How Russia’s Army Could “Fold Like A House Of Cards”

Kyiv has no intentions of letting Russian troops regroup with any “operational pause.” Events will begin to move quickly in Donbas, and may be heading for Crimea sooner rather than later.

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In The News Russia-Ukraine War

Russia Is Either Giving Up Kherson, Or Setting A Trap

The mixed messages Friday may be part of a Kremlin strategy to fight for the southern city even harder.

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In The News

Notes From The Front: How The Russian Army Is Rotting From Within

The deteriorating conditions among Russia’s front line troops, chronicled by a handful of foot soldiers who have spoken out, may explain why Ukraine’s recent counter-assault has been so successful.

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In The News

Putin’s Troops Make Hasty Retreat Back Into Russia

Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service posted a video Tuesday morning with the caption “Vovchansk is back home.” In the video, Ukrainian troops can be seen removing Russian flags and signs from buildings in the city in the northeast Kharkiv region. Vovchansk was occupied on the first day of the invasion and reports began to come […]

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Russia-Ukraine War

Russia’s Next New Strategy: Try To Stall Until 2023

Russia’s progress on the frontline has stalled. But without weapons promised by the West, Ukraine has not been able to carry out decisive counteroffensives. The West’s indecisiveness risks the war being dragged out until next year — which is exactly what Putin wants.

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In The News War in Ukraine

Zelensky Aims For “Victory” In Independence Day Speech

Ukraine is celebrating its Independence Day. Thirty one years ago, without a single shot being fired, the Soviet Union finally broke up and all of its republics set out to build their statehood. Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage. Sign up to our free daily newsletter. The […]

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In The News

Nuclear Security On Top Of Agenda As Guterres And Erdogan Meet Zelensky

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan are due in Lviv today for a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage. Sign up to our free daily newsletter. The three will discuss grain and nuclear safety, while Erdogan is also […]

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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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In The News

What The Grain Deal To End Russia’s Blockade Will And Will Not Include

The accord between Kyiv and Moscow has been in the works all week, signing today in Istanbul.

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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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In The News

Why China Is Still Watching Ukraine So Closely

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed the rules of diplomacy. As Russia and China show budding unity, the world’s diplomats must look at the effects of Eastern Europe on East Asia — and Taiwan specifically.

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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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In The News

Territory Gains And Losses Point To Long War

Russia says it has conquered new territory in Donbas, while Ukraine says it has retaken parts of the city of Kharkiv. The competing claims come as Vladimir Putin appears to be bracing for a long “protracted” conflict.

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Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

How Sanctions Are Quietly Destroying Russia’s Economy

The European Union has prepared the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, which includes restrictions on Russian oil imports, as well as disconnecting more Russian banks from the SWIFT bank circuit. The effectiveness of these measures are not always visible, but they are real … and potentially fatal .. for the Russian economy.

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Geopolitics Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

Russkiy Mir Or Bust? How Putin’s “Russian World” Will Backfire In An Epic Way

Under Putin, the phrase “Russkiy Mir,” translated as “Russian world” but also “Russian peace,” has driven Kremlin’s foreign policy. It’s built on the idea of a civilization that stretched well beyond Russia’s borders, but it is Putin himself dooming Moscow to fade in importance, and the ancient capital of Kyiv to rise from the ashes.

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Economy Geopolitics Russia-Ukraine War

Dubai Postcard: Russian Oligarchs Find Refuge From Sanctions In UAE

Hit with Western sanctions, Russian oligarchs are racing against time to relocate their assets to tax havens. They turn to private banks where transactions, opaque as they are in the UAE for instance, make it almost impossible to trace funds.

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In The News

Acclaimed Ukrainian Photographer Maks Levin Hasn’t Been Seen Since March 13

The veteran photojournalist was covering the Russian invasion north of Kyiv, after spending years chronicling Ukraine’s longstanding battles in its eastern regions against pro-Russian separatists.

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Russia-Ukraine War

The Sergei Shoigu Enigma, ‘Last Man In The Bunker’ With Putin

Gloom and uncertainty increasingly surround Putin as his would-be blitzkrieg of Ukraine stalls. The world wonders whether he’ll double down, or if could be betrayed by his entourage. Sergei Shoigu, the man running Russia’s military, is iron-clad loyal. He also hasn’t been seen in public in two weeks.

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In The News

Peace-Loving Putin v. War-Mongering West: How Russian Media Is Spinning Ukraine

The message from state-controlled media in Russia is clear: we are a peace-loving country constantly provoked by the West. The coverage is very different to the war hysteria before the annexation of Crimea and hides how the Kremlin benefits financially from tensions in Ukraine.

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Geopolitics Ideas Russia-Ukraine War

And Russia’s Interests? No Good Scenario From Ukraine Invasion

A top analyst at one of Moscow’s most prestigious research institutes comes down clear and strong: Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine will leave the country isolated on the world stage, with grave consequences for the country’s future.

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In The News

Ukraine, What Now? Here Are Putin’s Four Options

The situation in eastern Ukraine is highly explosive. What will happen after the recognition of the self-proclaimed “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states? Will Putin hunker down or double down? Instant analysis from German foreign policy thinkers on what happens next.

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Geopolitics

Kazakhstan’s Turn: Putin Having His Way With Former Soviet Republics

As with Ukraine and Belarus, Kazakhstan is falling under the grip of Moscow as a response to disorder and threats to align with the West.

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In The News

Biden-Xi Meeting, EU v. Belarus, Valentino Rossi Retires

? Bonghjornu!* Welcome to Monday, where leaders of the world’s two superpowers meet (virtually), the EU is set to tighten sanctions against Belarus, and an Italian racing legend retires on top. We also have a Ukrainian news report on the methods used by Russian authorities to target the Muslim minority Crimean Tatars. [*Corsican] SIGN UP […]

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In The News

How Russia Targets Crimean Tatars, Long Oppressed Muslim Minority

Seven years after Moscow annexed Crimea, arrests and trials of Crimean Tatars are used as weapons to repress this ethnic minority that has already suffered for centuries.

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In The News

Russia And Ukraine, The Meaning Of A Bad Status Quo

Despite being parties of one conflict and neighbors and comrades of the same historical events, it is now obvious that Russia and Ukraine — or at least their very different leaders, Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky — are living in opposing realities.

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Geopolitics Ideas

Just The Two Of Us: Why Belarus’ Lukashenko Is Betting On Putin

-Analysis- MINSK — Following the Nov. 17 elections for Belarus” lower house of parliament, independent observers and opposition politicians unanimously rated this campaign as one of the dirtiest in the 25 years of Alexander Lukashenko’s rule. The 65-year-old president of Belarus has once again demonstrated that he is not going to adjust the eastern tilt […]

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In The News

Solzhenitsyn’s Widow: On Putin, Russian Soul And French Lit

PARIS — As we prepare to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the author of The Gulag Archipelago, his widow and intellectual accomplice, granted a rare and exclusive interview to Le Figaro. Natalia Solzhenitsyn evokes her husband’s gigantic literary and historical work in identifying the causes of the Russian tragedy. She recalls that […]

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In The News

Donbass Blues, The Forgotten Conflict In Eastern Ukraine

KRASNOHORIVKA — The sound of canon fire has become more distant of late in Krasnohorivka. But the war continues to haunt Lioudmila Sidonnka. The young mother’s stories are those of soldiers running in all directions, of smoking tanks, never-ending detonations, nights spent in her building’s basement, houses on fire. Little wonder that so many residents […]

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March 16

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Geopolitics Ideas Syria Crisis

Obama Plays Chess, Putin Plays Poker

Where the Russian leader lacks any real strategy, his American counterpart is short on nerve. They’re playing two different games and following very different rules.

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blog

Ukraine Truce Breached, Remembering Abducted Schoolgirls, GoPro In Space

SEPARATISTS BREACH UKRAINE CEASEFIRE The Ukrainian military accused pro-Russian separatists yesterday of using heavy weaponry that is supposed to have been withdrawn per a ceasefire both parties agreed to in February, Reuters reports. EXTRA! Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust joins the rest of the world today in marking the first anniversary of the terrorist organization Boko […]

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Economy Ukraine Winter

For Better And Worse, Crimea Depends On Moscow For Economic Survival

SIMFEROPOL — One year after Russia annexed Crimea, oyster farmer Sergey Koulik is exultant about both the future and the past. “Russian Crimea means new markets, more business and state funding,” he says. “Crimea’s return to the mother country is a good history lesson for all of Europe.” Koulik owns the only oyster farm in […]

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Israel Votes, Greece Gets The Finger, Cervantes’ Tomb

ISRAEL VOTESPhoto: Omer Messinger/ZUMAMillions of Israelis are voting today to elect a new parliament and potentially a new prime minister in a tightly fought election that has become a referendum on incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu, who is running for a fourth term. Late polls show center-left opponent Isaac Herzog, leader of the Zionist Union, with a […]

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blog

The 10 Best Songs About Putin

It’s been a year since the Russian Federation annexed Crimea. The controversial move, which caused as much anger as paralysis in the West, confirmed Vladimir Putin in his role of strongman of the East. This was a move that the Russian president prefers calling a “restitution” rather than an “annexation” — a mere question of […]

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blog

Ukraine’s Shaky Truce, HSBC Free Fall, Oscar Speeches

UKRAINE TRUCE STILL SHAKYAn already shaky ceasefire in eastern Ukraine is threatening to collapse further after a blast killed two people yesterday at a march commemorating the first anniversary of former president Viktor Yanukovych’s ousting. Ukrainian authorities said they arrested four people who had been armed and trained in Russia, Reuters reports. Pro-Russian rebels and […]

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