Worldcrunch
Russia’s invasion pushed some 8 million Ukrainians to leave the country. While some are starting to return — for their families, education or other reasons — the total number of Ukrainians who return home depends on the duration of the war. And some demographers warn that only one-third or one half of emigrants may come back.
The return of war in Europe is not just a political or strategic challenge — it is changing how people live, relate to one another and imagine the future.
From drones over Poland to jets in Estonian airspace, Moscow is testing Europe’s nerves as Ukraine’s deep strikes rattle Russia. But the escalation could backfire, bringing Europeans closer together instead of driving them apart.
A historic ally of Kyiv, Poland has found itself on the frontlines of the Ukraine-Russia war. What began as a border crisis back in 2021 has now evolved into a full-scale struggle for security, sovereignty, and survival on NATO’s eastern flank.
Europeans are preparing their plan to “reassure” Ukraine after a peace agreement that never materialized. Their goal is above all to convince Donald Trump to sanction Moscow, and to help Ukraine. But that will mean increasing the Continent’s dependence on the United States.
Ten days after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, the hopes for peace negotiations that it had raised have faded: Russia has set conditions that are difficult to accept. There is no meeting between Zelensky and Putin planned, Russian Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed yesterday. What will Trump do?
More than three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country, life in Ukraine is still marked by strikes and fear. But Ukrainians are also seeking getaways to catch a break and find relief.
The United States faces a lack of practical alternatives to sustaining Ukraine’s defense. With missile production lagging and diplomacy stalled, Washington is struggling to deliver the air defenses Kyiv needs to slow Russia’s advance.
After a brush with death in Ukraine in 2023, Colombian writer Héctor Abad Faciolince discusses his experience, survivor’s guilt, his new book, Ahora y en la hora (“Now and in the Hour”), and the war in Ukraine.
Interest in professional military service is growing among Gen Z in Poland, a frontline state in the Ukraine war. But is this generation, who spent much of their coming of age indoors during COVID-19, really ready to fight?
👋 Alò!* Welcome to Friday, where the EU imposes new sanctions on Russia, Donald Trump struggles to tamp down the Jeffrey Epstein uproar, and a famed Austrian daredevil dies in a paragliding accident. We also feature an article on the rise of the “Instagram Sheikhs” — a diverse group of digital-savvy Muslims who fuse Islamic […]
Some 49,000 soldiers have deserted from the Russian army. But to avoid the harshest charges or being sent forcibly back to the front, some are surrendering promptly in the hopes of being sent simply to prison.
At the NATO Summit in The Hague, European leaders are focused on appeasing Donald Trump by heeding his call for increased defense spending, while carefully avoiding any mention of Ukraine. By sidelining the ongoing war on its eastern border, the alliance errs in favor of political caution.
👋 Salü bisàmme!* Welcome to Tuesday, where Israel and Iran trade more strikes as Trump says he is “looking at better than a ceasefire,” Russian airstrikes kill at least 14 in Kyiv, and tourists in Ibiza are scared to answer today’s quiz question. Meanwhile, Pauline Castellani in French daily Le Figaro takes a deep whiff […]
Donald Trump called Putin crazy, but he’d never use his favorite insult against the Russian president: Loser. But that’s what Trump is beginning to look like after five months of promising to end the Ukraine war in 24 hours.
TikTok videos and promises of big paydays have lured Nepali men to Ukraine’s front lines — but many haven’t come home. Now, their families are crossing continents to learn their fates.
From Pope Leo XIV and Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin to Italian Prime Minister Meloni and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, intense maneuverings are underway to see if the peace process can be relaunched in Rome. There are both religious and judicial hurdles to overcome.
Despite heavy international sanctions from the West, Russia has taken a lighter economic hit than expected. Rather than suffering from war, it’s become dependent on it — like Germany in the 1930s.
Following his call with Vladimir Putin on Monday, Donald Trump seemed to wash his hands of the rest. His ultimate agenda seems to be about inking business deals, just like he’s done on his recent visit to the Gulf states.
Along with questions of a ceasefire deal with Russia come questions of when Ukraine will hold its next presidential election. While much remains uncertain, Livy Bereg considers the prospects of potential candidates — including several recognizable faces from the past.
The Russian president has no problem talking about negotiations and peace treaties. But he’s a master decoy artist. Putin has built his power on conflict, and now he needs war to hold on to it.
We’re still far from the 30-day ceasefire the Americans had hoped for. Even Tuesday’s announcement of a halt to hostilities in the Black Sea comes with Russian conditions. The negotiations are shaping up to be a long game — one that feels more like a high-stakes bluff than a real path to peace.
The Russian president has no problem talking about negotiations and peace treaties. But he’s a master decoy artist. Putin has built his power on conflict, and now he needs war to hold on to it.
With Trump’s return to power, Russia is rapidly moving closer to the United States; Putin has even agreed to mediate talks between Washington and Tehran. But can Iran still trust Russia? Or is it, like Ukraine, just another bargaining chip?
It is likely that there will not be a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia this year — or ever one at all. If negotiations stagnate, they could resemble the post-World War II relations between Japan and the Soviet Union: A peace treaty was never signed, and the dispute over the Kuril Islands has persisted for more than 70 years.
Although Poland is known as a key supporter of the Ukrainian cause, public opinion is beginning to shift, especially among the far-right. Leading the charge is far-right presidential candidate Grzegorz Braun.
Unthinkable just a few months ago, the return of Russian gas to supply European countries is now being advocated by some on the continent. But the move faces both political and technical barriers, and its medium-term benefits are not clear.
Ukrainians are still processing Friday’s meeting. Donald Trump speaks about Zelensky’s “cards.” It’s as if he doesn’t realize what a war is.
Donald Trump has suspended U.S. military aid to Ukraine until Volodymyr Zelensky demonstrates “good faith” in negotiating with Vladimir Putin. It’s an unprecedented move with an interesting parallel with what’s happening with Israel, where the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has expedited the delivery of $4 billion in military aid.
Iran prefers the EU’s discretion and apparent respect for its ideological red lines, in contrast with Donald Trump’s ostentatious and menacing style. So the growing rift between the U.S. and EU over resolving the Ukraine-Russia war may be a welcome chance for Tehran to revive secret contacts it loves so much with an EU in search of diplomatic clout.
Poland was right to vote alongside Ukraine and other Western countries on a UN resolution this week that clearly indicated President Vladimir Putin’s Russia as the culprit in the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. But would Polish diplomats have made that same choice if the nationalist-conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) were in power. The election in May could see that happen.
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.
It’s as if, before our very eyes, the president of the United States were reading a script written by the Kremlin. French political analyst Dominique Moïsi, says the reversal on Ukraine is an ally’s betrayal of historical proportions.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of a “turning point” after his discussions with his U.S. counterpart at the White House on Monday. But Donald Trump did not confirm. The United States remains ambiguous, especially as, at the United Nations, it voted with Russia and against the European Union and Ukraine — an unprecedented move.
The war in Ukraine has reached a stalemate, and a ceasefire appears increasingly likely. Painful compromises with the aggressor may be inevitable. But what comes next?
This week, U.S. President Donald Trump doubled down on his accusations against Ukraine. It looks as though Kyiv may have to rely solely on European military aid. But France’s president, along with the British prime minister, have made urgent plans to visit Trump.
U.S President Donald Trump appears to be pushing forward his pledge for a quick peace in Ukraine, following his surprise call Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But what would a ceasefire look like? And how doe we get there?
As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine within his first 24 hours in office — a deadline the US president has now missed. Even so, negotiations to end the three-year conflict are expected to accelerate. What are Russia, Ukraine and the United States’ current positions? And what do experts think will happen?
With the unpredictable Donald Trump returning to the White House in January, what will global politics be like in 2025? In addition to major issues like the war in Ukraine, the conflicts in the Middle East and China, there’s another nagging question: What about Europe?
Father Petro Balogh recalls the later books of the Old Testament, and especially in the New Testament, where personal faithfulness and holiness do not necessarily guarantee deliverance from earthly enemies or suffering — look at the story of Jesus himself.