Russia

( Human Rights Watch ) – For several hours on March 6, 2022, Russian forces bombarded an intersection on a road that hundreds of civilians were using to flee the Russian army’s advance in northern Ukraine to Kyiv, Human Rights Watch said today. The repeated nature of the attacks, which according to the government killed […]

Featured

Western Sympathy for White Ukrainian Refugees, while ignoring, demonizing Palestinian Refugees from Israeli Aggression

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Raed Qadura writing at Al Jazeera points to the “Hypocrisy Crisis” in the international coverage of Russia in Ukraine versus the way Israel and Palestine are covered. When hundreds of Ukrainians in the city of Kherson hit the streets to protest Russia’s occupation, they are lionized as brave heroes. Article […]

Democracy

Economic sanctions may deal fatal blow to Russia’s already-weak domestic opposition

The Conversation

By Brian Grodsky, University of Maryland, Baltimore County | – The West has responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by imposing harsh economic sanctions. Most consequentially, key Russian banks have been cut out of the SWIFT payments messaging system, making financial transactions much more difficult. The United States, European Union and others also moved to […]

Bashar al-Assad

America’s Allies Accept the Pain of Cutting off Russia, Except for Israel

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera reported on Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s three-hour meeting in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday. The meeting was advertised as a mediation attempt, but Israel is not in a position to mediate with Putin. Mediators to a conflict usually bring wealth or power to the […]

Authoritarianism

How Zelenskyy emerged as the antithesis of Putin and proved you don’t need to be a strongman to be a great leader

The Conversation

By Michael Blake, University of Washington | – Whatever happens in the coming weeks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will go down as the face of Ukrainian resilience during the Russian invasion of his country. His response to the Russian invasion of his country has been widely praised, both at home and abroad. His speech to the […]

China

Would a “Cold” War Be the Best News Around? Ukraine, Taiwan, and Other Flashpoints in a New Age of Geopolitics

Michael T. Klare

( Tomdispatch.com ) – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been widely described as the beginning of a new cold war, much like the old one in both its cast of characters and ideological nature. “In the contest between democracy and autocracy, between sovereignty and subjugation, make no mistake — freedom will prevail,” President Biden asserted […]

Climate Crisis

EVs are Freedom Cars: When you Fill up your Car with Gasoline, you’re Helping Putin Destroy Ukraine

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Alex Mills writes that Russia produces 11 million barrels a day of petroleum and in 2021 exported 7.5 million barrels a day. That is about 11.5 percent of all the petroleum produced daily in the world. It is in part the income from those oil sales that helps Vladimir Putin […]

Donald Trump

Can the Republican Party shake its Putin Habit, as Pence takes on Trump?

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump’s response to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s horrific invasion of Ukraine was to call Vlad the Invader a “genius.” A majority of Republicans seems to agree. Their idolization of the Russian martinet appears to be rooted in their perception of him as a white Christian nationalist. There were even cheers […]

Nonviolence

Ukraine: Nonviolent Resistance is a brave and often effective Response to Aggression

The Conversation

By Alexandre Christoyannopoulos | – Responses to the Russian invasion have been swift. Thousands of people both in Ukraine and abroad are enlisting to fight against the odds. Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are being forcibly mobilised. An “international legion” is being formed from hundreds of non-Ukrainians volunteers. People across the […]