Author: Syndicated

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin recently signed a decree to simplify the procedure for Russian citizenship, specifically for residents of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts in occupied Ukraine. The action further proves that Putin had every intention to annex Ukrainian territory. The May 25 decree coincided with news from Petro Andriushchenko, Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol, that the Russian proxy ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ had begun directly issuing Russian passports without going through the pretense of receiving the ‘citizenship’ of the illegal puppet government. The new decree, in fact, was merely supplemental to Putin’s original policy that weaponized citizenship on...

“It’s becoming harder to sell stories about Ukraine,” said one of my colleagues from an international TV crew, as we drove past bombed-out apartment blocks in the town of Borodianka, just north of Kyiv. “People are tired of this war.” I understand. I am Ukrainian. Most of my acquaintances abroad stopped wondering whether I was dead or alive in the third week of Russia’s full-scale invasion. I am currently working as a fixer – a translator, organizer, problem solver – for international television. This is my first visit to the villages and towns north of the capital since they...

In a now-censored essay, former PRC Ambassador to the Ukraine Gao Yusheng, explained why Russia was losing the war in Ukraine. He also shared his thoughts about the effect that defeat may have on the international order. Gao Yusheng’s article appeared on the website of “Phoenix News” on the afternoon of May 10 and was taken down within hours. Before it was removed, Gao Yusheng’s words were downloaded. An English version was translated and published by David Cowhig are provided below. Ambassadors in China usually do not publish anything, especially opinions, without pre-clearing the content. A few of the key messages,...

Tamara Zlobina, a philosopher, culturologist and editor-in-chief of “Gender in Detail,” explains why Western “peacekeeping” initiatives in the midst of conflict are a blind and shameful stance. During the two months of the war, I saw four appeals from Western feminists not to give Ukraine weapons. Italians, Germans, and feminists from Spanish-speaking countries joined by North Americans stood out. The “Feminist Anti-War Resistance” is one of the few movements still trying in a coordinated a balance to resist the gloom, and feminists from Central and Eastern Europe are as shocked by their Western counterparts as we are. All these...

As war rages across Ukraine, Mykhaylo Tereshchenko is locked in his own spiritual battle that risks tearing his parish apart. The priest is at a loss. He is a cleric of the Moscow branch of Ukraine’s Orthodox Church, which formally pledges allegiance to Russia’s Patriarch Kirill. But on the ground, Tereshchenko is a fierce Ukrainian patriot, shocked by the brutality of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his country. “This war has brought nothing good,” said Tereshchenko from his church in Kozelets, around 50 miles (80 kilometres) north of Kyiv. “It has only brought us grief, destruction and death.” He...