“The problem with fake news is not that people believe it. The problem is that they don’t believe anything anymore.”— Yuval Noah Harari, 21 Lessons for the 21st Century In February 2022, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine triggered the largest European conflict since World War II. But this war isn’t just being fought with tanks […]
Browsing Category: Ukraine war
Anthony Albanese / Australia / Block 3 / DOGE / Donald Trump / Greenland Annexation / News / Peter Dutton / The Conversation / Trump Effect / Trump Liberation Day / Trump Tariffs / Ukraine war / US-Australia relations / World
Australians hate Trump’s policies and distrust US: poll
Australians strongly disagree with key policies of US President Donald Trump, and have overwhelmingly lost trust in the United States to act responsibly in the world, according to the Lowy Institute’s 2025 poll. Despite this, 80% of people say the alliance is “very” or “fairly” important for Australia’s security, only fractionally down on last year’s […]
Block 3 / Estonia / NATO Article 5 / News / Russia / Russia Shadow Fleet / Trump-Putin Negotiations / Ukraine war / United Kingdom / World
Russia plays it cool on Estonia’s ‘shadow fleet’ ship seizure
Estonia seized one of Russia’s “shadow fleet” vessels on Friday (April 11), just two days after approving a new law that allows it to use force to sink such ships if they pose a national security threat. RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan condemned the first as “state-sponsored piracy”, while Russian President Vladmir Putin’s senior aide Nikolai Patrushev speculated that Britain might be behind the […]
Block 3 / Estonia / Estonian Nationalism / Europe / NATO / News / Russia / Russia-Europe War / Ukraine war / World
Estonia cribbing Ukraine’s script for provoking Russia
On June 28, 1914, Gavrilo Princeps, a Bosnian-Serb radical, shot and killed Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg. Princeps did not act alone. He was one of at least six principals in an organization called Young Bosnia, and his group and others were seeking independence from the Austro-Hungarian empire. He […]
Baltics / Block 3 / Germany / Lithuania / Military Schengen / NATO / NATO-Russia Founding Act / News / Russia / Suwalki Corridor / Ukraine war / World
Germany’s Lithuanian base complicates grand US-Russia deal
Germany just opened its first permanent military base abroad since World War II amidst the competition for leadership of post-conflict Europe between itself, France and Poland. Located in southeastern Lithuania near the Belarusian border and in proximity to Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, it’s strategically positioned to give Germany outsized influence in shaping Europe’s future security architecture. That’s because Germany is now a […]
Block 2 / News / Recep Tayyip Erdogan / Syria War / The Conversation / Turkey / Turkey-Russia Relations / Ukraine war / World
Turkey holds the key to solving multiple global crises
While Turkey’s government is struggling to deal with mass protests at home (after Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was imprisoned), in foreign affairs, it is in an increasingly strong position as a key power broker in deals with Europe, the US and Russia. At the crossroads between Asia and Europe, Turkey is strategically important to just […]
Block 2 / Donald Trump / Fox News / News / Sanctions on Russia / Sino-Russia Split / Taiwan war / The Conversation / Ukraine war / US-EU Split / Vladimir Putin / World
Trump’s Sino-Russia split bid likely to backfire
Is the US angling for a repeat of the Sino-Russian split? In an October 31, 2024, interview with right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson, President Donald Trump argued that the United States under Joe Biden had, in his mind erroneously, pushed China and Russia together. Separating the two powers, he said, would be a priority of his […]
Appia Institute / Block 2 / Donald Trump / News / Ukraine war / US-China relations / US-Europe Relations / US-Russia relations / Vladimir Putin / World / Xi Jinping
Losing the war of wedges
While US President Donald Trump is talking to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, he’s also engaging with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. The American strategy is to drive a wedge between the two leaders and turn them against each other. The goal could be to have Russia turn against China and thus force Beijing to […]
America First / Belt and Road Initiative / Block 1 / Donald Trump / News / Panama Canal / Ukraine war / United States / US Economic Coercion / US National Interest / US Unipolar Moment / USAID Closure
Why Trump’s global transformation might just succeed
Since returning to office in January 2025, Donald Trump has aggressively pursued a radical reshaping of US foreign policy. In early March, the State Department terminated foreign assistance programs supporting political opposition and regime change in Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, deeming them no longer in the US “national interest.” Trump also reversed the Biden administration’s […]
Block 3 / News / Russia / Russia Central Bank / Russia Economic Slowdown / Russia Economy / Russia Interest Rates / Russia Stagflation / Russia Stagnation / Sanctions on Russia / The Conversation / Ukraine war / World
Russia’s economic pain won’t force it to end the war
In recent months, many Western media commentators have suggested the Russian economy is in such serious trouble that President Vladimir Putin will soon have little choice but to end the war in Ukraine. In December, the Washington Post reported fears among Russian businesses that interest rate hikes to combat inflation could bring the economy to […]