WW3 is coming?
Dmitry Puchkov’s Youtube channel banned, new foreign currency stores to open in Russia
China drills its army near Taiwan, the Republic of Artsakh declares limited mobilisation, and the Kosovo crisis is “postponed” until 1 September.
Russia’s MPs suggest to ban child adoption for citizens of “unfriendly countries”, TV host Ivan Urgant and the Bi-2 band are added to the list of “foreign-influenced agents,” and Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president, vows to “take revenge” on YouTube for banning the channel of Dmitry Puchkov, an eccentric vlogger.
Russia’s H&M outlets re-open in Moscow to sell the remaining stock before leaving the country completely. Meanwhile, a chain of duty free shops is scheduled to open in Saint Petersburg for foreign diplomats – and they are thought to be pretty much like Beriozka shops from the Soviet era.
Watch Kirill Martynov, Novaya. Europe’s chief-editor, comment on last week’s news in his Saturday YouTube show
Against all odds
How sound economics has brought Ukraine’s GDP close to prewar levels despite four years of devastation
Four years of hell
Putin’s misjudged effort to subjugate Ukraine has only helped cement its national identity, and it won’t ever stop fighting
The artlessness of the deal
Trump’s diplomatic blitz exposes his fundamental misunderstanding of peacemaking
Electoral illusion
Claims that Kyiv is preparing to go to the polls to end the war in Ukraine are far-fetched to say the least
Anyone’s game
Who would win if presidential elections were actually held in Ukraine this spring?
Suspect citizens
Much as in Soviet times, the Kremlin still views those with second passports as disloyal
The new atomic era
The expiration of the New START Treaty last week showed that the world has grown too comfortable with nuclear weapons
Powerless
Farcical peace talks in Abu Dhabi have gone nowhere as Ukraine freezes amid Russia’s winter onslaught
Under pressure
Giving up Donbas in return for US security guarantees could be fatal misstep for Ukraine
