Ukraine Russia War

  • Ukraine and Russia need to explain their differences

    A confusion over a perceived absence of reasons for Russia invading Ukraine is the same as a lack of position for Ukraine as a relatively new democracy, juxtaposed against the closeness of some in Ukraine who feel a strong kinship for Moscow’s leadership in return.

    This is the leverage Putin has, to start with, as well as a look of dominance in a region of Europe that runs its loyalties along many different, and sometimes conflicting, lines. The lack of a political orientation is also hampering a strong opinion from emerging, for or against, by powers similar to Ukraine.

    The mixed messaging plays in Moscows favour, and has done so ever since communications became a strength of the Presidential power structure. Russia doesn’t struggle to keep a narrative for the citizenry to follow, and translates historical timelines into notions of national pride. It’s an abut to argumentation produced by Ukraine.

  • Europe may have to go quietly on its Anti-Americanism

    The Russia-Ukraine war is a disastrous affair. For Europeans who believe in a peaceful post-war settlement it challenges everything. The never ending progress of harmony is stalled, struggling across a border in Eastern Europe. The security of Europe is under such a serious threat it has to be considered existential.

    But, a perverse Anti-Americanism is creating a narrative arc. It threatens how Europeans have seen this issue since 1945. America isn’t far behind many breakthroughs in deadlocks that occur because of seemingly insurmountable odds. Their exclusion could sink European ideals which are its main priority in the modern era.

    The extrication of the world’s only superpower is a ridiculous idea. It’s a disastrous denial of the existing world order as it is, and yet another exaggeration of Europe’s ability to do things for itself. The European project is one thing, but the rest of the world is still an entirely separate reality. Europe’s leaders need to consider this first.

  • A Zelenskyy-Putin summit is now a possibility

    The war by Russia against Ukraine won’t be ended without a closer than close meeting with high level delegations, and with the possibility of both Zelenskyy and Putin in attendance together.

    This war is at the limits of European engagement with the world on the ground, and at a strong Russian border with Europe’s reality, it amounts to a point in time that cannot slip away easily.

    The political poise of either country is going to be determined by what the leaders say about each other – or to one another. It filters the insults. It eliminates falsehoods. In real terms, it makes it all more stable.

  • Russia is looking for weaknesses – as usual

    President Putin, the spy hawk, is no doubt looking for weaknesses in Ukraine’s return fighting. He may be seeking intelligence on its assets, information on designs for combat, or advance knowledge of new supplies of weaponry and finance.

    This isn’t normal war leadership. It’s a desperate search for answers. This stage of frustration is seen as the beginning of the end of an aggressors stab for power. It shows a lack of ability, because progress slows by the collection of such data, and military chiefs know that it means the end.

    The seat of power that he has is stable in peacetime but not in the uncertainty of conflict, and the fulcrum of Russian crime, tramlines of historical dissent, and uprisings here and there bring up the basic fears of surprises the State of Russia cannot control, leading to trouble within media management control.

    It’s not a clincher, but it lays out the path ahead for a Russian leader more clearly than anything else. If Moscow is to stay neutral on his leadership, and if the President is supposed to regather pride in the nation following a bruising war, its leadership has to prepare a way out that seems fitting for the time and the moment, because the clock is ticking down on victory.

  • What now for Ukraine?

    The Ukraine war is a moment of reckoning for Europe because beforehand we felt things were safe.

    Many in high European circles felt that Russia was pacified and that war was not possible. In their eyes, it was the only option and had been since the Second World War.

    The assault on Ukraine is therefore a wakeup call but even now it’s not clear how many should be worried about it.

    There’s obviously a strong reaction to any threat to the security of Europe.

    The Second World War was a costly exercise. Its level of sacrifice continues to have a profound effect on us today, leaving us in a truly defensive mode.

    What we’re willing to do is a first test of structure and integrity.

    NATO juggles its responsibilities as a public exercise. It hasn’t made strong moves against Russia. Its members are largely absent.

    European nations have struggles of their own, being unwilling to drop everything to fight a Russian phantom for Ukraine. It harks back but doesn’t make sense.

    Ukraine has to win but maybe it will happen on its own terms. The ‘boots on the ground’ are Ukrainians seeking an urgent reset for their ambitions.

    If this works Europe has proved that the free world is a place of conclusion for nefarious intent. Any plan of Putin can take a back seat in the great scheme of things.

  • Ukraine’s drone war is a success in the making

    The Ukrainian secret services weren’t known for having a high success rate. Even in the last few decades it’s suffered setbacks that few countries could survive. The battle for secrecy and added advantage is a hard one in a region where Russia already dominates the field.

    Yet, where this has been a point of regret for Ukrainian lawmakers before, the nation’s effort in the response to Russia’s invasion has lifted their spirits. There are signs that such a burden to defend oneself has stirred a new intellectual spirit, mainly among young people.

    The emergence of drone warfare as a weapon of choice indicates that Intelligence is breaking new ground. In a deadly war for ultimate survival, a prioritisation of surveillance toward the end of air superiority is resulting in successes that has put dents in the Russian armoury.

    It’s not a fight to the death, and Ukraine needs sufficient power to deter Russia with strikes that are lasting and final, but it shows a resurgence of proactivity that may outlast the war to prove useful in future. It’s unnerved Moscow’s leadership, for a start.

  • Death powers the worst of Russian endeavour

    The loss of over one million lives in Russia’s war with Ukraine is the result of a cruel war machine that ordinary Russians are churned out by to calculate a future policy of aggression toward the rest of the world in the future.

    This reality is missing on the ground in places like Moscow, where old stories are still turned around as being the stuff of the physics of life – or how it all works.

    The youth mentality is dark, bitter, and brutal in many of the places further out from the centres of power and intrigue. They suffer nights of depression, as maybe they too will become a casualty of Putin’s war with a foreign field.

    The impact on the economy is a helpful tool sometimes to work it out, but the sorry tales that are the latest intercession for ceasefire are the real substance for debate.

  • Ukraine is on a bold stretch

    The length of the Ukraine-Russia war means Ukraine is now in a stretch of time during which it’s believed many things will be now decided. The technicalities are included, but also involved are the democratic questions of those still noted as being sympathetic to Russia, even to the point of siding with it.

    President Zelenskyy of Ukraine speaking to the House of Commons in 2022 about his country’s war.

    This may not be as big a constituency as Russia believes, but it’s still a factor in any negotiations. At every table the question will be posed or sit as a silent participant, helping to decide the outcome of arguments. The polling numbers aren’t available because of the disruption of the times, but sympathy slips if the aggressor is too wanton.

  • Ukraine fights hard in word and deed

    Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy has come out fighting against Russian misinformation on many occasions to defend his country’s record and to offer insight to a worldwide audience. It’s not easy reading because he has to state things that are true that many people say are not and use to abuse him.

    This is the nature of politics and of the real world. He knows it and he uses his platform to this advantage. He’s a responsible technician of words and has the acute sensibility needed of a leader. His people benefit widely by his advice and no doubt he has saved Ukrainian lives.

    “Fuck away to Russia. Go home. You don’t respect anybody in the United States. You don’t respect the rules. You don’t respect democracy. You don’t respect Ukraine or Europe. Go home.”

    – @ZelenskyyUa/X

    The future is a binding contract with the people, however, and he needs to focus. His country demands democracy – and more leadership. He has to change tact as soon as he’s asked to. His forward efforts are crucial now to a change of tone and of footing against Russia.

    The State of Ukraine won’t go down to live under the hand of Russia. It will have to prevail, though, by fighting hard until the end. It has to bring this war to an end as the responsible opposing force. The weight of history is behind it, but it must use it intelligently.

  • Russia’s aggression is historic in character, but not in nature

    The belief that the Russian army is barbaric today is built up on the prior involvement of Wagner which had elements that were described as being plainly illegal by international observers before the war.

    The offset of Wagner as a military contribution has not dampened the spirits of Russia for a military victory in Ukraine. In fact it’s left to more native forces to pursue the end goal that is still in mind.

    Videos of Russian aggression – posted in 2022 – that shows limited use of powerful weapons. (Source: russia_ukraine7/Telegram).

    The use of some types of technology has come across in media reports so far and available footage on social media also shows the same uses of these. However, it’s not certain if Russia is going to use its more powerful weaponry.

    The hallmarks of a real war are there but Russia has yet to deal heavy blows that would make Ukraine think again about its chances. It may be a tactic or it may be failures at home that are causing this to be so. The way forward is uncertain. 

  • Two futures are fighting for the same promise

    The Ukraine-Russia war is not something to hold up as an example of how to get things done, but the reality is that the two warring parties are seeking for this to be the outcome of its respective efforts. The matter is how it’s handled.

    On the Russian side, it may be looking for a place for its next President. This is a tall order for Ukraine because their hostile neighbours seek to weigh in heavily on this top political prize. The meaning of the Presidency in modern Russia is now seen to be its foremost priority.

    The negotiations in Moscow over this matter are probably the consideration of all but none of its leadership elite. The place of Putin is secured in its records, but most powerful Russian leaders are pragmatic in their approach. They want repeats, not failures after successes as they see it in the systems of States in the West.

    In Ukraine’s view, the moment is not about another mad leader, so to speak, but an assessment of its progresses – and its compromise. The power ‘loans’ that have given it some scope have allowed it to rise to a new prominence that it didn’t have before. It may struggle to keep it. This pre-eminence in the region is a struggle in the making.

  • Ukraine is fighting a hard ground war

    The likelihood of Russia allowing Ukraine any inch in their marathon battle against Kyiv is low in the great scheme of things.

    Russian strategists have often stated in public and in private that such allowances are illusions in warfare.

    They may sound fair about things beforehand, but during the proceedings Generals in Russia are also known as being ruthless.

    Footage posted in November 2025 to a social chat app showing two Ukraine soldiers fighting for their lives. (Russia vs Ukraine war footage/Telegram)

    The mindset of the aggressor is a key to understanding the next stages of any conflict. It determines the outcome of preparations on the front of the defensive.

    However, the surge in support by new strategy, fresh eyes, or surprise data is of incalculable value to those that have to do the heavy lifting, as it’s proved in Ukraine.

    The daily ramifications of having to fight are part of the true test of character for soldiers, but modern warfare is a much different physical game than before.

  • Ukraine is preparing for Russia in 2026

    The President of Ukraine is warning his people, and the world, that Russia is preparing for another year of war against his State. This is a bad omen because it states he feels like peace is not in sight yet.

    President Zelenskyy is a pragmatist, and he carries it across in his messages to the world on X. This has now been a familiar channel for safe communications about the enemies’ intentions.

    “Today, we again heard signals from Moscow that they are preparing to make next year a year of war. These signals are not only for us. It is crucial that our partners see them, and not only see them but also respond – especially partners in the United States, who often say that Russia wants to end the war.”

    Russia itself is not willing to speak so clearly. It sabre rattles because it has to do so. It also has enemies in some places, not just in Europe, or even North America. It has to stay strong, and think strong as well.

    However, Ukraine is showing a fortitude that signals a different message to us. It shows that Russia cannot win inevitably and that its fortunes are mere chances in an attack it launched itself.

  • The US needs to be careful

    The ceding of Ukrainian land to Russia is not a compromise most in the West actually want to see. This is the nightmare scenario many have long dreamed of.

    It cannot happen because Russia benefits from such a move, and many others lose out because of it.

    It’s the same as America pulling out of its areas of interest around the world, resulting in such a catastrophic loss of influence, and some measure of control.

    This is the problem that America finds itself in, as does Ukraine, as it seeks to define itself as a State while keeping its border strong against and alongside a resurgent Russia.

  • Putin may try to up the anti

    The belief that Europe as a continent is going to back Ukraine militarily is hardly surprising. It follows in the development of President Putin’s limited field of view.

    He only sees as far as his own borders in both fact and as a matter of principle. The uncertain status of Ukraine’s border is giving him reasons to say more.

    He may indeed find his soldiers are returned heavier fire or targeted by more powerful strategy. This isn’t the cause of a wider war.

    Putin needs to have his plan for greater domination shut down, and holding to lines isn’t the answer. If he fears it, it will come.