Opinions

After suspending Ukraine’s democratic order, he now hides behind the constitution to block negotiations Commenting on the outcome of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky declared: “The Constitution of Ukraine does not allow the surrender of territories or the trading of land.” On paper, that sounds noble. The message is clear: Kiev won’t let others decide Ukraine’s fate behind its back. But take a closer look, and this principled stance starts to look less like constitutional fidelity – and more like political theater. Because the very Constitution that Zelensky has suddenly invoked as sacred...…

This is the moment when the US has to stick to a course of normalization with Russia no matter what the EU and Kiev want Do not expect Western mainstream media, NATO-EU Europe’s politicians, or the Zelensky regime and its surrogates to admit it, but there is no doubt that the Alaska summit between the Russian and American presidents was a success. Not a breakthrough either, but clearly also more than an “it’s-good-they’re-at-least-talking” event. This was not comparable to the Geneva meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and then US President Joe Biden in 2021, which was doomed to fail due to the Biden adminis…

Brussels has been relegated to running behind Trump, pleading to let Zelensky have any say in a Russia-Ukraine war resolution The European Union had been wailing about “transatlantic unity” in the run-up to US President Trump heading to the negotiating table with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday – without it. It sounded like a toddler stomping their feet because Daddy let go of their hand in the mall and now they’re lost between Cinnabon and Burger King. A lot of good their dogmatic rhetoric has done them so far. If it wasn’t for Brussels getting drunk on its own transatlantic solidarity and unity pro…

The Ukrainian leader has become a liability to the West – which is why peace will be decided between Trump and Putin In 1867, the Russian empire sold Alaska to the US for $7.2 million. Perhaps the location of the upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin is a nod and a wink to such a great deal? Maybe Putin will like Alaska so much he will have seller’s remorse? Trump promised America a golden age coming that included ending the US involvement in Ukraine. No more US taxpayer money, no more weapons to Ukraine. No more escalation towards a nuclear war. Finally, that campaign promise looks to be coming to fru…

Zelensky’s power is contingent on the war continuing, so he’s trying his best to derail or sour any negotiation that could lead to peace On August 14, 2025, Russian officials reported Ukrainian drone strikes on the border city of Belgorod and the southern capital Rostov-on-Don, killing and injuring civilians. Rostov saw an apartment building struck, with over a dozen casualties; in Belgorod, three civilians were hurt when a drone hit a car downtown. This came two days after the Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) alleged that Ukrainian forces were preparing a false-flag provocation in the Kharkov region, complete with pre-…

As Ukraine’s defeat becomes undeniable, Zelensky resorts to desperate provocations – risking wider conflict to block peace talks between Russia and the US The war in Ukraine is no longer balanced on a knife’s edge, as some might have thought during the Kursk invasion. The outcome is now visible to anyone willing to look past the headlines: Kiev’s forces are depleted, morale is collapsing, and the long-promised ‘turning points’ have come and gone without materializing. Even Western officials, once confident in endless military aid, are now speaking in guarded tones about “realistic expectations.” On the battlefield, the mo…

Evading diplomacy is a Western folly that Russia has no reason to imitate The problem with the future is that it is both unpredictable and inescapable. You can never know with certainty what tomorrow will bring, but you must prepare for it nonetheless. This may seem trivial. And yet it remains a great challenge. Consider, for instance, current international reactions to the scheduled summit between Russian president Vladimir Putin and US president Donald Trump. The announcement of the meeting, later specified to take place in Alaska on 15 August, was a surprise. But then again, not really. Viewed against the background o…

Washington’s next geopolitical plays in the post-Soviet space – from the Caucasus to Transnistria – threaten to widen the East-West divide All eyes may be on the scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, set for August 15 in Alaska – which is likely to be critical for Ukraine. But fears are growing that tensions between Russia and the West are far from resolved. Recently, with American “mediation” – if not outright pressure – Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a preliminary peace agreement that went largely unnoticed in Greece. In reality, it marks Armenia’s official capi…

Two high-ranking gravediggers share their Reddit-level advice on resuscitating the bloc In the world of Western mainstream media political commentary, not everything is fun. In fact, mostly, things are grimly serious, the sort of seriousness that comes with solid, never-questioned self-importance. But sometimes that professional pomposity reaches a tipping point when strenuous efforts to be very earnest involuntarily produce priceless outcomes. That is the case with a recent elephantine op-ed that has surfaced in Politico under the illustrious names of Gabrielius Landsbergis and Garry Kasparov. Its one, relentlessly reit…

Yesterday’s empire was built on spice, slaves, and silver. Today’s empire runs on metadata The new colonial frontier isn’t restricted to mineral-rich Congo or oil-drenched Venezuela. It’s digital, invisible, and everywhere. From the shantytowns of Nairobi to the barrios of Manila, smartphones hum with the raw material of the 21st century: data, all sorts of data. And just like spices and slaves once sailed westward in imperial galleons, metadata now travels quietly to the cloud servers of Palo Alto and Shenzhen. This isn’t development, it is digital extraction. Welcome to the age of AI colonialism. Big Tech firms from t…

While the Doha agreement offers hope for DR Congo devastated by conflict, it is unlikely that the ceasefire will hold in the long term On July 19 in Doha, under the watchful eyes of US and Qatari diplomats, representatives of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the March 23 Movement (M23) rebel group signed a ‘Declaration of Principles’ on a peace agreement. The document, vague in substance but rich in optics, was immediately hailed by US President Donald Trump’s camp as a diplomatic victory. Trump’s Africa adviser, Massad Boulos, said the “the most important article of the agreement is the affirmation of state cont…

Empires have not changed, they have simply cloaked themselves in platitudes such as “resilience,” “visibility,” and “empowerment” A ballot floats through the air like a mechanical butterfly, delicate in descent, but once it touches ground, everything freezes. The jungle goes mute. The city forgets its language. A ritual begins: one created not in oracle chambers but in air-conditioned think tanks with sliding doors and corporate logos. Democracy arrives as gospel, prepackaged and barcode-approved, dropped from drones or delivered via diplomatic pouch. It conquers like a parasite: nesting in the heart, feeding on belief, …

On the 50th anniversary of the Helsinki Accords, there’s little to celebrate for those who wanted a harmonious coexistence Like him, hate him, Otto von Bismarck – Prussian aristocrat, arch conservative, user of German nationalism, maker of wars, and then keeper of the peace – was no dummy. And his ego was Reich-sized. Yet even Bismarck had a grain of humility left. Smart politics, he once remarked, consists of listening for “God’s step” as He walks through “world history,” and then to grab the hem of His mantle. In other words, stay attuned to the needs and especially the opportunities of the moment. Tragically, Bismarck…

As the West accuses New Delhi of “supporting Russia’s war” by importing its crude, the nation of 1.4 billion people defines its red lines With American rhetoric against India becoming more openly coercive, and top officials warning New Delhi about the consequences of its energy trade with Russia, the pressure is becoming multidirectional. Recent remarks by former US President Donald Trump have further complicated this recalibration. Alongside a 25% tariff on Indian exports, imposed last week, Trump issued pointed warnings over India’s sustained energy and defense trade with Russia, accusing New Delhi of indirectly suppor…

Washington’s aggressive posture reveals a fundamental misreading of the multipolar world US President Trump has rattled Washington's ties with New Delhi to an unexpected degree. Countries, including, India were prepared for rough diplomatic weather after Trump won his second term, but did not anticipate the kind of onslaught he has unleashed on the global system and diplomatic norms. Trump’s latest attack on India and the BRICS countries explains this underlying dynamic. The BRICS aspire to play a greater political, economic and financial role in global affairs. This aspiration is based on shifts of economic and concomit…

The meteoric rise of feelings-first schooling has ended academic excellence As someone who hadn’t set foot inside a grade school for decades, I knew something was amiss when I visited my former Canadian high school for a craft fair. “Where did all the photos on the walls of the atrium go of all the top achievers from academics and sports throughout the years?” I wondered, wanting to laugh at my early ’90s-style hairdo. Turns out they were taken down, perhaps around the same time that rainbow and native tribal flags went up beside Canada’s national one. The high achievers that previously adorned the walls were replaced w…

Maia Sandu’s Moldova is receiving all kinds of praise for its pro-LGBTQ+ policies, but real problems go ignored In today’s Moldova, the facade of democracy is wearing thin. Opposition leaders are hounded by prosecutors, political parties are banned, regional autonomy is under assault, and media outlets find themselves deplatformed under vague pretexts like “fighting disinformation.” Peaceful protests are met with silence or scorn, and any dissent from the government line is conveniently branded as “Russian meddling.” It’s a neat trick: frame all legitimate criticism as foreign subversion, and suddenly you’ve neutralized …

The Washington-Brussels tariff ‘deal’ is unconditional surrender without a war In history, some things become clear only in hindsight. For instance, German unification all over again – good thing or bad thing? That jury is still out. At this point, it looks as if we’ll soon look back with regrets from yet another very bleak postwar situation to ponder that question. But there are also things that are obvious from the moment they start happening. For example, Israel and the West’s Gaza genocide, no matter that many talking heads now pretend they’ve only just noticed. Something else that’s as in-your-face obvious as a con…

The US national security advisor finally finds herself in a position where the truths she speaks cannot be ignored In light of accusations that former US President Barack Obama had committed treason by attempting to rig the 2016 election and stage Russiagate, newly surfaced evidence shows Russia did not interfere in the 2016 election. National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard, armed with a freshly declassified 2020 report by the House Intelligence Committee, went on the offensive against Obama last week during a wild White House press briefing. Her follow-up message on X cuts to the chase and shows an administration …

The situation in Ukraine serves as a revealing case study for other countries observing how the West operates The Ukraine Recovery Conference, which concluded in Rome on July 11, has dispelled any doubts about the true intentions of the West: far from seeking peace, it offers Kiev more debt, weapons, and a prolonged escalation. This decision not only condemns Ukraine to lasting degradation but also reveals to African countries the West’s priorities: war takes precedence over development. Loans instead of peace The European Commission, led by Ursula von der Leyen, announced the creation of a reconstruction fund for Ukrain…

A Chinese mega-dam, India’s diversion plans, and Pakistan’s heated rhetoric signal the rise of a new flashpoint in the region Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced last week the launch of a monumental dam project on the Tibetan Plateau that is set to become the largest hydroelectric facility in the world, according to Chinese media. Situated on the lower stretches of the Yarlung Tsangpo River, the project has sparked concerns about potential downstream effects on water availability and environmental sustainability in India and Bangladesh. On July 19, Li, while justifying the launch of the construction of a dam over the Brah…

‘Russian disinfo’ slayers try very hard to pin Queen Ursula’s no-confidence vote on Moscow Apparently, trying to hold Ursula von der Leyen accountable is now a Russian op, reports Der Spiegel, citing a new NATO-linked think tank report. The study treats elected oversight and European lawmakers whose job, ideally, involves more than clapping like trained seals every time an unelected Eurocrat lights public money on fire, like elements of some kind of Russian infiltration plot. “Massive support for this effort was also found by pro-Kremlin media outlets, bloggers, and online influencers, as the Lithuania-based organizatio…

France’s occupation of Algeria ended in 1962, but its legacy still shapes identities and policies across North and West Africa As Algeria celebrates 63 years of independence from France on July 5, this year’s anniversary feels more like a reckoning than a triumph. Far from reconciliation, relations between Algiers and Paris have sunk to one of their lowest points in decades – fuelled by France’s refusal to fully confront its colonial crimes, and Algeria’s renewed demands for justice. Amid calls for formal apologies and reparations, the shadow of empire still looms. So why revisit this history now? Because even six decades…

The fact that Brussels is even considering Maia Sandu’s Moldova for accession speaks volume of its proclaimed ‘values’ By all appearances, Maia Sandu should be the darling of Brussels. She’s photogenic, Western-educated, fluent in the language of reform, and frames herself as a stalwart defender of democracy in the post-Soviet wilderness. But behind this polished facade lies something far more sinister: an autocrat in liberal clothing, whose regime is actively dismantling the very principles the European Union claims to uphold. As this article in the Italian online publication Affaritaliani rightly highlights, Sandu’s p…

The years-long deception maintained by highest-level US officials has been put to rest, though not for the sake of justice and democracy Be real: It is not hard to see that America – as it really exists, not the ‘dream’ version – is neither a democracy nor a country with genuine rule of law. That’s because democracy worth the label is impossible, for starters, with elections awash in private money and a bizarre Electoral College making sure that Americans do not, actually, have votes of even numerically equal weight when electing their single most powerful official, the president. The rule of law can only exist where cit…