This is Russia’s imperialist thinking laid bare: a belief in greatness that demands sacrifice, a messianic purpose untethered from reason and a chilling comfort with violence. No war crime is too heinous, no bomb too big for a system that knows nothing but oppression and subjugation. Many in Russia are even bizarrely convinced they’re liberating Ukraine…
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested that China could play a key role in brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine, in comments that referenced the dramatic collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s 50-year regime in Syria on Sunday. “Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can…
Caravans of sand-filled trucks and bright red cranes punctuate the skyline of a rapidly expanding industrial complex in northern Vietnam. Further south in Malaysia, quiet villages and palm oil plantations are metamorphosing into heavy-duty technological manufacturing estates. As multinationals, governments and startups rush to develop AI, establish chipmaking hubs and carve out access to raw…
The Lavrov interview is Carlson’s second with a top Russian official this year. In February, Carlson went to Moscow for what was widely panned as a softball Kremlin-friendly sit-down with President Vladimir Putin. Carlson said he spoke to Lavrov to shed light on the “Russian perspective” on the ongoing war with Ukraine. Russia has waged…
Overall, the front lines of Syria’s civil war have been stagnant since 2020, although there have been fierce episodic clashes. For the past four years, Assad has controlled much of the country and its largest cities; a Turkey-tolerated, HTS-led alliance of mostly Islamist rebels have remained squeezed in an enclave in Idlib and parts of…
The Biden and Trump administrations are turning their attention to the Israel-Hamas War in hopes of bringing a swift resolution to the violence.On Monday, President-elect Trump demanded the release of Israeli hostages, threatening that if it doesn’t happen before his inauguration on Jan. 20, there would be “ALL HELL TO PAY.””It’s all talk, and no…
Putin has signed off on a record defense budget for 2025 amid the ongoing Ukraine war. Defense spending will rise to 13.5 trillion rubles, making up a third of the country’s budget. Russia’s economy faces inflation and ruble decline, despite military-driven activities. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off a federal budget that will boost…
North Korean soldiers. Photo: Getty Images Intelligence reports indicate that 2,000 North Korean military personnel have been deployed to combat units of the Russian army, assigned to marine brigades and airborne divisions. Source: Andrii Cherniak, spokesperson for Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), in an interview with Donbas Realii (a Radio Liberty project) Quote: “There are…
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock accused China of providing Russia with weapons for its war of aggression against Ukraine and threatening peace in Europe ahead of a potentially thorny visit to Beijing. “Instead of taking responsibility for peace and security in the world as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China is opposing…
And unlike others in Trump’s MAGA circle, Kellogg welcomed President Joe Biden’s decision to approve Ukraine’s use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, saying it has given Trump “more leverage” and adding that “it gives President Trump more ability to pivot from that.” Contrast that with the howls of protest over the…