1. In his most important campaign speech, Putin promised the Russians ‘guns and butter’: 5 observations after the Russian elections
After the three-day staged presidential election that ended last Sunday, Vladimir Putin declared that his landslide victory is a public mandate to act as necessary in the war in Ukraine and in various domestic affairs.
Putin is therefore expected to use the magnitude of his election victory to justify more aggression in Ukraine. Many Russians are worried about what is to come next.
Read the article.
2. Despite Putin’s re-election: ‘Resistance is growing, throughout Russia’
Russia has elected a new president, but it was never exciting. Putin succeeds himself. Yet according to Derk Sauer, the Dutch publisher of the Russian online newspaper TheMoscow Times, at most 25 percent of the population right behind the president.
“Most of the population is unhappy with the situation, but just looks away.”
Read the interview.
3. These Belgian pilots teach Ukrainians to fly F-16s: ‘You notice a different mindset in them’
In Denmark, around fifty Belgian soldiers train Ukrainian pilots and technicians to fly and maintain F-16 fighter planes. The Belgians are impressed by the eagerness to learn of their Ukrainian colleagues.
“Pride is the feeling that dominates. I consider it a privilege that I can support the Ukrainians and that my work here can ultimately help protect the population.”
Read the report.
4. ‘In Ukraine my life was quiet. Here, every day feels like the first’: how stress determines the lives of Ukrainian refugees in our country
The war may be far away in Belgium, but that does not mean that Ukrainian refugees can rest easy here. Two years after the start of the war, it is causing them stress. ‘We first saw many practical problems, but now more profound psychosocial problems are emerging.’
Read the testimonies of Ukrainian refugees.
5. Can Europe still avoid the question: what will we do if Russia advances – without leaders, without ammunition?
In Berlin, Poland, France and Germany radiated unity in their support for Ukraine. That held until Macron started talking about sending troops. Yet no one can ignore those kinds of questions anymore.
The most urgent of these: how will Ukraine get through the spring and summer without major military setbacks? A derivative question for Western countries that view support for Ukraine as crucial is: how can they most effectively organize this support in the total absence of Western leadership, in both the US and Europe?
Read the analysis.
6. Russia’s latest weapon of one and a half tons sows death and destruction on Ukrainian positions: ‘This is pure hell’
A decades-old and ‘dumb’ aircraft bomb weighing no less than 1.5 tons that has been made ‘smart’. That is the latest devastating weapon in their arsenal that the Russians have increasingly deployed in Ukraine in recent weeks. And also the reason why that country is begging for more anti-aircraft defense in anticipation of the F-16s.
“Previously we were only bombarded with artillery. Now they are attacking us even more aggressively and have begun to deploy their air force, especially the FAB-1500. While they were more or less used to the FAB-500, the 1500 version is pure hell.”
Read the article.
7. This activist is a thorn in Putin’s side: ‘Navalny’s murder is an expression of the Kremlin’s ultimate weakness’
The not-so-surprising winner of the Russian presidential elections is Vladimir Putin. Last month he settled with opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Almost a year earlier he also tried the same with Natalia Arno, another fierce opponent of the regime.
“Putin has made Alexei a martyr. You can only kill a person once, but they will never destroy his ideas.”
Read the interview.
8. Purely military or political pressure? Americans question Ukrainian strategy
The Ukrainians believe that defending places with little strategic value is still worthwhile. The attacking Russians pay an even higher price and it is important for morale, or so the reasoning goes.
However, there is skepticism in Washington as to whether this is the right strategy. “I understand that the government is frustrated. It is unclear whether military decisions in Ukraine are purely military or influenced by political pressure.”
Read the analysis.
9. Immense destruction following the largest attack on Ukraine’s electricity grid since the start of the war
With large-scale air strikes, Russia caused destruction in Ukrainian residential areas and energy networks on Friday. Ukraine is paying the price for indecisiveness in the West over military support.
President Volodymyr Zelensky lashed out at the West for delaying decisions on military aid. “Russian missiles have no delays, unlike aid packages for Ukraine. Shahed drones have no indecision, unlike some politicians.”
Read the article.
Tags: Russian drones indecision politicians unmissable articles war Ukraine
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