Johnson's Russia List

20/02/2024

“At the White House, the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, Ukraine backers amp up the pressure on Republican holdouts.” “… [T]he Pentagon … touted the impacts of U.S. and …

20/02/2024

“Just this [past] week the Kremlin claimed it was at war with the United States and Putin’s No.1 enemy was found dead in prison. Russians are terrified about what’s next.” “& #8230…

20/02/2024

“With Ukraine’s forces at risk of encirclement, the top military commander ordered a retreat. In startlingly candid accounts, soldiers described disarray and despair.” “Ukraine or…

20/02/2024

“There is a dawning recognition that the continent urgently needs to step up its own defense, especially as the U.S. wavers, but the commitments still are not coming.” “… In…

20/02/2024

(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Feb. 15, 2024) There are ever increasing signs of problems in all sectors of Russian life, Anatoly Nesmiyan who blogs under the screen name E…

17/02/2024

“Fear and greed drive Russia’s regime. The opposition leader struck at both.” “… Navalny’s death was blamed by Russian prison authorities on a blood clot … [H]is docto…

17/02/2024

“Many in the West saw Alexei Navalny as the Russian opposition’s most promising challenger to Vladimir Putin. His death in prison on Friday brings a tragic end to a struggle the Kremlin had a…

16/02/2024

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org) 5 Things to Know Donald Trump’s advisers have discussed getting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin around a negotiating table early in a po…

16/02/2024

“Oleksandr Syrsky aims to shore up eastern town, with troops fearing heavy losses as western supplies run short” “Russian forces closing in on … Avdiivka are an early test f…

16/02/2024

“… But it wasn’t getting bogged down in historical minutiae that most hurt Putin’s case. He undermined his claim to be ready for practical diplomacy by endlessly parading his ethno-nati…

15/02/2024

“The Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, called President Biden experienced and predictable. But Moscow watchers said the comments most likely had an ulterior motive.” “… …

15/02/2024

“The Steadfast Defender exercise, the biggest since the Cold War, comes as it is revealed Moscow has lost 3,000 tanks in Ukraine” “… The exercise … will see nations re…

15/02/2024

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Victor Andrusiv, Officer, Ukrainian Armed Forces; Former Director, Kyiv School of Public Administration – Feb. 14, …

15/02/2024

“… The July 2023 NATO summit … settl[ed] on an ambiguously worded communiqué declaring … NATO could invite Ukraine to join ‘when Allies agree and conditions are met.& #…

15/02/2024

“China and Russia are considered less of a threat to Western populations now than a year ago, according to a new study which points to rising concern around non-traditional risks. Mass migrat…

14/02/2024

“Long-winded, often factually erroneous arguments back his conviction that Russia has a historic right to Ukraine” “[In his] two-hour interview with Tucker Carlson … Putin r…

14/02/2024

“Decision to replace Ukraine’s popular top general comes as the army struggles to hold back Russian forces” “… The move is aimed at rebooting the country’s war effort, Zelen…

14/02/2024

“… [Ukraine’s] Prosecutor General’s Office has registered over 7,000 cases of collaboration and several thousand more on similar charges. The number will rise exponentially …

14/02/2024

“… IMF First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath … said decisions about what to do with [Russian] assets rested solely with countries holding them. She declined to offer an opi…

14/02/2024

“… Russia has lost over 2,900 main battle tanks … about as many as it had in active inventory at the outset of the operation. Moscow has been able to … pull[] thousands of o…

14/02/2024

"The KGB agent turned warlord president has shaped Russia with resentment and force. As Donald Trump threatens to abandon NATO allies if he returns to the White House, Putin’s poised to take advantage." "... In Ukraine, Putin is attempting to strike his own decisive blow against the US and Europe to reshape that global order to Russia’s advantage. Putin’s gamble — backed by military force and grudges — is that he can bend the world to his will....

“The KGB agent turned warlord president has shaped Russia with resentment and force. As Donald Trump threatens to abandon NATO allies if he returns to the White House, Putin’s poised to take …

14/02/2024

"... The process of 'vymorozka,' which roughly translates as 'freezing out,' is backbreaking and tedious work that takes weeks in some of the world's harshest conditions, with temperatures dropping to minus 50 degrees Celsius (-58 F). Workers chip away at the ice encasing the ships, looking for areas in need of repair ... docked in the harbour of Yakutsk on the banks of the Lena River, Siberia's economic lifeblood in summer, during the winter months....

“… The process of ‘vymorozka,’ which roughly translates as ‘freezing out,’ is backbreaking and tedious work that takes weeks in some of the world’s harshes…

12/02/2024

“Skepticism remains high about the Russian leader’s intentions after he told Tucker Carlson that the war in Ukraine could be settled with a peace deal.” “The Biden administration …

12/02/2024

“…Hosted by Russia Matters — a project at the HKS Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs that publishes analysis on U.S.-Russia relations — [an] event [featuring Fiona Hill…

12/02/2024

“As political paralysis grips Berlin, the energy crisis was the final blow for a growing number of manufacturers” “… Manufacturing output in Europe’s biggest economy has bee…

12/02/2024

“… Zelensky announced … that [former commander-in-chief General Valerii] Zaluzhny would be replaced by Oleksandr Syrsky, … Commander of Ukrainian Land Forces since 2019. & #8…

12/02/2024

“… [V]acillating among pedantic, sarcastic and aggrieved, Putin spent the first uninterrupted half-hour on his tired claims that Ukrainians are not a nation, that they’re neo-Nazis, per…

12/02/2024

“The dismissal of Valery Zaluzhny is a crucial new phase in the war. Unfortunately, President Zelensky risks getting it wrong.” “The most important question is whether [] Zelensky…

12/02/2024

Subject: De-centering Russia Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2024 From: Karen Hewitt My comments on the lecture by Juliet Johnson on ‘De-centering Russia’ aseees.org/news-eve…

12/02/2024

(Moscow Times – Andrei Muchnik – Feb. 12, 2024) Trailer: “The Master and Margarita” was only released less than a month ago but it has already become one of the highest gros…