Worldcrunch
While Vladimir Putin describes Volodymyr Zelensky’s authority as “illegitimate,” the French foreign minister asserts that he has “every right to lead his country toward peace.” The weakened Ukrainian president is in Paris at a decisive moment in the conflict.
Poland, one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine since the beginning of the war, and a neighboring country to Ukraine, has accepted over one million refugees fleeing the Russian invasion. However, as time has gone on, Poles have grown to increasingly resent Ukrainians. But why? Olena Babakova, a Ukrainian journalist, explains for Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza.
Even his critics inside Ukraine are uniting behind Volodymyr Zelensky for standing up to U.S. President Trump and Vice President Vance to defend their nation’s interests.
After walking the 50 kilometers that separate the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and the Russian border, Spanish reporter Unai Aranzadi arrives in the small village of Kozacha Lopan. Places like these are perhaps the ones where it will be most difficult to heal the wounds of all that has been suffered to date.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and fears of westward escalation have already led many European countries to up their own defense strategies. But instead of the latest technologies, rockets, and fighter jets, the true key to fighting back may lie in studying the polar region, critical for world stability.
While the Western establishment is hoping for a Kamala Harris victory, either way fundamental changes are coming to the Transatlantic relationship that Europe can no longer evade.
Founded by four amateur musicians with a passion for rock, Ukraine’s largest holding company, which includes supermarkets and banks, has paid a heavy price for the war. But that has not stopped Fozzy Group from using its economic power to serve its threatened homeland.
With increased aggression from clients, police repression and a sudden decrease in their livelihoods, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is impacting this already-vulnerable group of women.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s brutality and the escalation of Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities should prompt Ukraine’s allies to demonstrate total unity and solidarity against Moscow.
As the vice president is now virtually assured to face Donald Trump on November 5, questions arise on what her election to U.S. president would mean for the rest of the world.
As the alliance’s 32 countries celebrate their 75th anniversary at a summit in Washington, uncertainties over the possible reelection of Donald Trump in November, and dark clouds over Europe and France are raising serious questions about NATO’s future.
The result of the French elections, along with doubts about U.S. President Joe Biden’s health, weakens Western support for Ukraine. A poll of Europeans shows support for Ukraine continues to be strong, but that Europeans no longer believe a military victory against Russia is possible.
Literary scholar and fiction writer Mykhailo Nazarenko discusses the would-be cast of characters of fantasy writer JRR Tolkien in Ukraine’s war against the Russian invaders.
With strikes on Moscow’s fleet in the Black Sea, Ukraine has undermined the Russian capacity to slow down Ukrainian grain exports. It’s a pivotal triumph, which nonetheless can’t hide Kyiv’s losing ground on the front line on a regular basis.
Home to the unicorn Vinted, Lithuania’s capital is fostering its image as a Northern European tech hub and cultural capital, in an effort to attract new businesses and talents — despite its cold weather and two difficult neighbors: Russia and Belarus.
Ukrainian journalist and soldier Pavlo Kazarin reflects on what he has learned about dealing with time, taking control of circumstances, and living in this historic era since enlisting in the army.
The fact that the Ukrainian army has been forced onto the defensive is mainly due to sluggish support from the West. However, there is another factor at play that is contributing to the dangerous situation: the leadership approach of President Zelensky is being increasingly called into question.
The French president’s suggestion that Western troops could be sent to Ukraine, took Western allies by surprise. Yet Macron wanted to send a double message at a key moment — to ally and adversary alike.
As the war in Ukraine enters its third year, results of a survey suggest that only one European out of ten thinks that Ukraine will come out of this war with a victory. While their support has not shifted towards Russia, the poll results give an insight into how fatigue is playing in citizens’ minds — and what European governments have to put up with if they want to continue supporting an expensive war.
February 26 – March 3, 2024
In not condemning Russia and openly siding with Israel, India’s foreign policy establishment is merely jettisoning the thin layer of politically-expedient, feel-good idealistic post-colonialism that veils an iron-fisted pragmatism.
With Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas suddenly appearing on Moscow’s wanted list, both the past and present offer plenty of evidence that the small Baltic nation — with 40% Russian speakers — could be the next neighbor after Ukraine in the Kremlin’s crosshairs.
With Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas put on Russia’s Most Wanted list, Tallinn is drawing up clear plans on how it intends to secure its border with Russia — an idea it shares with Latvia and Lithuania. But the three small countries don’t have the territorial or strategic depth to absorb an attack the way Ukraine did, which is why they ultimately rely on NATO.
Look back over the past two decades, and you’ll see Vladimir Putin has always been the man revealed by the Ukraine invasion, an evil and sinister dictator. The Russian leader just manages to mask it well.
With the rejection of the aid plan for Ukraine, Eastern Europe fears that Trump’s isolationist policy will mark the end of U.S. protection from the Putin regime. News from Ukraine of President Volodymyr Zelensky replacing his head of armed forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, together with the difficult situation on the battlefield, are generating a lot of tension in Ukraine — and in the wider Europe.
It goes far beyond Vladimir Putin: determinism, imperialism and other deeply ingrained ideas color the perceptions of many Russian citizens — even the would-be “liberal” sectors of society.
Nearly two years on, the Ukraine war is confirming to be one of those decisive moments where history calls on us to respond. The Spanish Civil War was one too, and despite its obvious differences, there are lessons about the failure a century ago that should make us redouble our support for Kyiv.
In the Ukraine war, Russia’s military spending is as high as ever. Now the West is alarmed because the Kremlin leader is indirectly hinting at a possible attack on Latvia, a NATO member. It is a reminder of a growing danger to Europe.
The escalation of war in the Middle East and the stagnation of the Ukrainian counteroffensive have left many leaders in the West, who once supported Ukraine unequivocally, to look toward ceasefire talks with Russia. For Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza, Piotr Andrusieczko argues that Ukraine simply cannot afford this.
The country is scrambling to shore up production and distribution amid the inevitability of continued Russian attacks, questions around the pace of restoration of damaged facilities, and the possibility of a harsher winter than last year’s.
A report Monday from Reuters tells us what all knew: Vladimir Putin will seek a fifth term in Russia’s March 2024 presidential elections. But he needs a high turnout and overwhelming support to seal the legitimacy of his war in Ukraine.
Russian ambitions to expand its empire have existed for centuries. But are they doomed to be this way forever? Janusz Onyszkiewicz, the former defense minister of Poland, digs into the history — and the future.
What happens next in the Middle East, including a possible expansion of the war at the Israeli-Lebanon border, will be determined by choices that are made in different capitals. Keep your eye on Tehran.
Equating the Hamas attack on Israel with the Russian invasion of Ukraine is a way to keep attention, and aid, coming for his nation’s war. But the situations are quite different, and Zelensky’s clear stance on the side of Israel risks losing both attention and support.
The Russian economy has proven remarkably resilient to Western sanctions, a phenomenon largely driven by Russia’s expanding military-industrial complex and increased trade with India and China. One challenge remains unsolved however: a lack of young working-aged men ready for hire in the country’s industrial and white collar sectors.
Russia has both the means and potentially motivation for triggering mayhem in the Middle East, including the benefits of distracting the West from its war in Ukraine.
Russia has become the most sanctioned country in the world since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, but data show that the country has mobilized a fleet of off-the-books ships to continue selling oil around the world.
Melitopol, Ukraine has been occupied by Russian forces since Feb. 2022, and the occupiers have set up prisons where residents are routinely tortured. Russian independent news site Vazhnyye Istorii/Important Stories spoke with people who have escaped these nightmarish prisons.
They were offered high salaries, promises of honor, and state welfare. But Wagner Group fighters say Russia treated them like pariahs after they returned from the war in Ukraine.
The Russian Orthodox Church has long supported Russia’s ongoing war effort in Ukraine. Now, clergy members in other countries are suspected of collaborating with and recruiting for Russian security forces.