Geoffrey Roberts – Ten Reasons Why Putin Might Prefer the Risks of a Compromise Peace to the Costs of a Forever War with Ukraine and the West
Geoffrey Roberts is Emeritus Professor of History at University College Cork and a member of the Royal Irish Academy Russian Casualties: the BBC-Mediazona research indicates that Russia has lost 60,000-70,000 soldiers – four times as many as during 10 years of war in Afghanistan and more than the Americans lost in Vietnam. Russia’s force-conservation tactics and strategy are designed to minimise2024-05-23 | Geopolitics, Article, Geoffrey Roberts
Putin's 2024 Address to the Federal Assembly: Ukraine, the West and new major social projects
On Thursday, February 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his annual Address to the Federal Assembly. In the beginning of the speech, he touched on the topics of the special military operation in Ukraine, relations with the West, strategic stability, and later proceeded to announce a number of new national projects, changes in economic and social sphere. About special military operation2024-02-29 | Russia
Time Isn’t on Zelensky’s Side, Even if TIME Is
Ukraine’s war aims are unrealistic. Kyiv has long maintained that its definition of victory, namely the retaking of all Ukrainian territory including Crimea, is achievable with Western arms and money. Now a disastrous summer counteroffensive, which has resulted in horrific Ukrainian casualties while reclaiming negligible amounts of territory, has Zelensky’s advisers reconsidering whether those aims are realistic. Yet Zelensky’s belief2023-11-02 | Europe, Media, Military
Russia should not encourage Saudi Arabia to join BRICS
Saudi Arabia is going to hold an anti-Russian conference on Ukraine. The Saudis want to join the BRICS, but Moscow needs to wait a little with the approval. Anti-Russian agenda of the conference in Jeddah Invitations to the conference in Jeddah on August 5-6 were sent out to nearly 30 countries, including Russia's BRICS partners such as China, India, Brazil, and2023-08-03 | World
Militias are a symptom, not a cure
With global attention focused on deadly clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces in Khartoum, another militia halfway around the world was locked in battle against its own national military: the Wagner Group, which tussled with the Russian army in Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast. It was just one of many operations recently waged […]2023-05-24 | Opinion, Arab Spring, Dictatorships
The conflict in Ukraine: A test of European unity and global order
The relationship between Russia and the West has been marked by tension and conflict for several decades. The most recent source of conflict in recent years has been Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, has deep cultural, economic and political ties with Russia. However, these have been strained by the recent conflict in a manner that could2023-05-04 | Africa, Article, Asia & Americas
The coming crucial battle for Crimea
To paraphrase the words of the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, everything began with Crimea, and everything will end there as well. When Russia first occupied Crimea in 2014, it was a major win for Putin, who successfully called the West’s bluff by proceeding to annex the peninsula with minimal international opposition. Now, as Ukrainian forces […]2023-03-28 | Ukraine War, Battle of Bakhmut, Battle of Crimea
Ukraine war: a question of territory
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Ukraine will not surrender one meter of land to Russia. It would seem that his demand makes any diplomatic solution to the war impossible. Russia, after all, has recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent and has annexed Crimea. So while Zelensky looks at his war aims one way, the […]2023-02-18 | Ukraine War, Battle for Stalingrad, Battle of Bakhmut
In Response to Opportunistic Critics: Where I Actually Stand on the Russia-Ukraine War
It is important for readers to be aware that the Brenthurst Foundation is hardly a neutral institution when it comes to an ideological worldview. It is funded by white mining capital and, as a casual look at its board and associates shows, deeply enmeshed in the Western military establishment – apart from a handful of Africans. At that time, in December 1991,2023-02-11 | Articles, Commentary, Global South
Putin raising war stakes despite losses and retreats
During a recent visit to St Petersburg, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his confidence in his country’s victory over Ukraine. Visiting a defense contractor, he also took the opportunity to reassure workers that his so-called “special military operation” was in defense of ethnic Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine against a “neo-Nazi regime” in Kiev. […]2023-01-19 | Ukraine War, Block 3, Crimea
Russia and Ukraine get ready for major battle for Kherson amid evacuation of civilians
Military experts are closely watching the events unfolding around the city Kherson. A major battle is going to unfold for the city already in the coming days or weeks. The main question that many ask themselves today is whether the Russian forces are going to fight for the city or they are going to retreat, possibly without a fight. The Armed Forces2022-10-21 | Incidents
Assad: Russia’s Operation in Favor of Restoring International Balance
Islam Times - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad congratulated Russia on the success of the referendums to annex the Donbass Region, Kherson, and Zaporozhye to the Russian Federation, pointing to that the Syrian people have been following up the special military operation in Donbass the same way it was following up the battles against terrorists in Syria, underlining that Russia’s operation2022-10-21 | Syria
Ukraine’s Ethnic Russians Taking Final Steps to Join Russia
Islam Times - As the seventh month of Ukraine war comes to an end, the breakaway eastern and southern regions of Ukraine hold their referendums to make an important decision on their political future. For years aspiring to join the Russian Federation, the ethnic Russians started their vote on Friday. People of Luhansk and Donetsk in the east and Kherson2022-09-25 | Europe
If the West is not careful, Russia will make the Balkans a second front
This month has likely been the most crushing for Russia since it launched its invasion of Ukraine almost seven months ago. In an aggressive counter-offensive operation, Ukrainian forces recaptured the cities of Kharkiv and Kupiansk, reportedly retaking 3,000 square kilometres of territory rapidly, and driving out Russian forces. Aside from Kherson and the annexed territories in the east of the2022-09-21 | Article, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Europe & Russia
Turkey, Ukraine issue joint declaration on partnership
Ankara (SONNA)-Turkey and Ukraine on Friday issued a joint declaration expressing common intention to continue to develop and strengthen strategic partnership. The declaration issued in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv following the 2+2 meeting in the quadriga format between foreign and defense ministers of Ukraine and Turkey called for exploring new avenues of cooperation between the two naval forces. “During the meeting,2020-12-19 | News, World
An End to the World as We Know It?
Congress and the White House compete in year-end stupidity sweepstakes At the end of the nineteenth century, Lord Palmerston stated what he thought was obvious, that “England has no eternal friends, England has no perpetual enemies, England has only eternal and perpetual interests.” Palmerston was saying that national interests should drive the2019-12-27 | Commentary & Analysis, Philip Giraldi
Ukraine to buy additional Javelin anti-tank missiles
Ukraine is set to purchase a new batch of Javelin shoulder-fired anti-tank missile systems, according to a statement issued Thursday by Ukraine’s Defence Ministry. The United States has been one of Kyiv’s strongest supporters since Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the outbreak of fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region that has killed more than 13,000 people. Contracts2019-12-27 | Army, Missiles & Bombs, News
Putin: Russia Leads the World in Hypersonic Weapons
MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia has got a strong edge in designing new weapons and that it has become the only country in the world to deploy hypersonic weapons. Speaking at a meeting with top military brass, Putin said that for the first time in history Russia is now leading the world in developing an entire2019-12-24 | avangard hpersonic glide vehicle, burevestnik missile, china
Impeachment and Damage to U.S. Foreign Policy
By Robert E. Hunter Russia, and especially Ukraine, have been centerpieces of the House impeachment hearings, as well as of massive media coverage. But largely lost in the domestic politics focused disarray is serious discussion of the foreign policy aspects of American engagement with these two countries. Factors relating2019-11-27 | Analysis, US Foreign Policy, Robert E. Hunter
Saudi Arabia to increase the quota for Hajj for Russian Muslims
Moscow, August 26, 2019 Saudi Arabia may increase the quota for Hajj for Russian pilgrims by 500 places - up to 26 thousand people a year. It is due to the increase of number of Muslims in the country, says the Ministry of Hajj Affairs of Saudi Arabia. For comparison, in 2014 the quota was2019-08-26 | News
Waiting for Mueller—and Losing on Russia
by Robert E. Hunter Long-running anticipation of Robert S. Mueller III’s report on the 2016 presidential election has become like a Samuel Beckett play. Indeed, near the end of Waiting for Godot is the following exchange: Estragon: I can’t go… Continue Reading2019-02-28 | Russia, Cold War, Crimea