The ceremony marking presentation of Gold Star medals to Heroes of Russia, St George Hall, Kremlin, Moscow, December 8, 2023 The announcement on Friday by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he will seek reelection for a fifth term in office came as no surprise. That he chose the occasion of a Kremlin ceremony conferring the Hero of Russia …
War Fatigue Complicates West’s Aid to Ukraine
Left-winger former prime minister Robert Fico emerged as winner in Slovakia’s parliamentary election, Bratislava, Sept 30, 2023 A pall of gloom descended on Europe as the long-feared uncertainty set in over the weekend as to how long would the collective West underwrite the proxy war in Ukraine. To lift their sagging spirit, some European foreign ministers …
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‘Biden’s phase’ of Ukraine war is beginning
Long-range cruise missiles supplied by UK and France, hit Russia’s Black Sea fleet at its home port of Sevastopol, Sept 13, 2023 The ground war in Ukraine has run its course, a new phase is beginning. Even diehard supporters of Ukraine in the western media and think tanks are admitting that a military victory over …
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Lessons from the Korean War
The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Springfield in Busan for a port visit, South Korea, July 22, 2023 The psychology of forgetting and why memory fails is a tantalising topic in the life of individuals or nations. Cognitive psychology spawned many theories about it. The main theory, the motivated forgetting theory, is the most charming …
The rise and fall of a Russian oligarch
Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin [centre] poses with two Wagner Group fighters, Bakhmut in Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 25, 2023 The Kremlin leadership has acted decisively to meet the threat of an armed insurrection by the Russian oligarch and self-styled ‘founder’ of Wagner Group of military contractors, Yevgeny Prigozhin. In a series of videos released on …
Biden walks back on Ukraine’s Nato accession
The US President Joe Biden (R) met NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House, Washington, June 13, 2023 If only the US President Joe Biden had a time machine as in the post-apocalyptic science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, he should have used that vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively backward …
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Russia won’t let Ukraine be bleeding wound
Russian President Vladimir Putin: Kiev has lost 186 tanks, 418 armoured vehicles, losses mounting, St. Petersburg, June 16, 2023 With the Ukrainian offensive under way for a fortnight, all eyes are on the battlefields, and, crucially, Russia’s options ahead. In a little over three weeks from now, the NATO will be holding a summit in Vilnius …
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Ukraine: Stalemate in an attritional war?
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) arrives at the Headquarters of the Dnepr Group of Forces, Kherson Oblast, April 17, 2023 The Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to the country’s “new territories” of Lugansk and Kherson/Zaporozhye Regions on Monday to assess the military situation. The countdown has begun for the Ukrainian “counterattack”. The arrival of Patriot missile system …
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Ukraine: A war to end all wars in Europe
US President Joe Biden (L) and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House, Washington, DC, March 3, 2023 The dash for the White House in Washington on Friday by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz remains a riddle wrapped in a mystery. Scholz landed in DC, drove to the White House and was received by President …
Waiting for Biden’s definition of victory in Ukraine
A Ukrainian soldier adds wood to a fire to stave off the bitter cold, Bakhmut, Donbass (File photo) There was an air of magical realism in the daylong visit to Kiev last Friday by the EU’s policy commissioners comprising the executive branch of the group — the so-called College — led by the European Commission …
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