17.12.2024

Russian drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian targets have increased in frequency in the week since the U.S. election, killing civilians and destroying another dam. Russian troops continued to make incremental gains toward the city of Pokrovsk. The Russian army is preparing a new offensive, this time using North Korean troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Donald Trump on his election but implied that he would have discussions only if the U.S. initiates talks, drops its sanctions, and refuses to offer any further support for Ukraine—accepting, in other words, a Russian victory. Meanwhile, Russian state television welcomed news of the election by gleefully showing nude photographs of Melania Trump on the country’s most-watched channel. How will the...

17.12.2024

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has made much of Russian Orthodoxy as a moral paragon, while intentionally omitting in his alternative history that Christianity came to Russia from Kyiv and that the Muscovy Patriarchate was established at gunpoint after the Muscovites kidnapped the Ecumenical Patriarch. An interesting question for the uninformed is whether the Russian Orthodox Church in the Russian Federation or abroad is in essence a religious institution or simply a tool of Russian imperialism. In the United States this matter is quite vague as the Russian Orthodox Church has never registered as a foreign agent with no repercussions from the United States Departments of State or Justice. Similarly, the accommodation or treatment of the Moscow Church by the Catholic Church in...

17.12.2024

The briefing from Defence Intelligence was typically understated. “Russian territorial advances in Ukraine have accelerated through 2024,” it said. “This has been underpinned by the Russian leadership’s tolerance for casualties, and Russia’s land forces’ quantitative overmatch relative to the Ukrainian armed forces. The front line is now less stable than at any point since the opening stages of the conflict.” Translated into layman’s terms, Russia is making significant gains and Ukraine is in a weaker position than it has been at any point since the start of the war. The Russian “meat-grinder” — or as officials at the British government agency put it, its “tolerance for casualties” — is having an effect. More than 700,000 Russian personnel have been killed or injured, while 3,500 tanks have been...

26.11.2024

At the end of October, Canadian parliamentarians convened a Standing Committee on Public Safety Security and Defence Committee session to discuss the impact of Russian disinformation on Canada's information landscape. While testimonies on disinformation are not new in the country, this session gained significant attention after former minister and prominent politician from the opposition Conservative Party, Chris Alexander, accused well-known journalist David Pugliese from the Ottawa Citizen of working for Soviet (and potentially subsequently for Russian) intelligence services. Alexander didn't stop at accusations. As evidence, he presented KGB documents that allegedly showed...

26.11.2024

It’s felt like a week on the brink. But of what exactly? It ended with warlike noises from Moscow, but every major party to the Ukraine war is now jockeying for advantage, trying to end that conflict on the best terms for itself. “So, that’s what you wanted?” Russia’s former president and a noted hawk, Dmitry Medvedev, posted on social media, with video of Russian missile warheads raining down on a Ukrainian city. “Well, you’ve damn well got it!” This, and a more temperate TV address on Thursday night by Vladimir Putin, sought to drive home a forceful response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets earlier in the week, after President Biden’s agreement to allow the use of western-supplied weapons in that way. In truth, after Putin saw America breach a red line ...

12.11.2024

According to Politico, seven NATO member countries remain hesitant to extend a membership invitation to Ukraine. Citing four anonymous U.S. and NATO officials and diplomats, Politico names the United States, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, Hungary, and Slovakia as the primary holdouts. Each of these countries has its own reasons for caution, yet the key to NATO’s decision-making lies in its rule of consensus. While some countries contribute more to NATO’s mission, each member has an equal say in inviting new members. Thus, every objection must be taken into account, regardless of military might or strategic value. The influence of the United States is paramount, yet even it cannot move forward without the cooperation of these smaller nations...

12.11.2024

Donald Trump’s looming return to the White House is seen as a major gain for Russia and a potentially disastrous turn of events for Ukraine. But neither of the two warring sides wanted to say so out loud on Wednesday. The Kremlin reacted cautiously – at least in public – to news of Mr. Trump’s win in the U.S. presidential election, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was among the foreign leaders racing to congratulate Mr. Trump even before the vote counting was finished. Mr. Trump has spoken repeatedly in the past of his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and hinted at ending the massive U.S. military aid to Ukraine that has allowed the country to defend itself against the full-scale invasion Mr. Putin ordered 2 ½ years...

12.11.2024

On October 28, Canada observes National Internment Commemoration Day. Across the country, communities are hosting events to remember those affected by Canada’s First National Internment Operations, which unjustly imprisoned 8,579 Ukrainians and other Europeans from 1914-1920. Click here to find an event in your city this weekend and join others in commemorating this dark chapter in Canadian history. “This year our UCC National Internment Committee has expanded its Internment Education Campaign, encouraging the use of resources designed for both elementary and secondary students,” said Borys Sydoruk, Chair of the National Internment Commemoration Committee.“We encourage all Canadians to mark this important day of commemoration in...

29.10.2024

The Federal relations expert Harun (Vadim) Sidorov believes that the BRICS summit held in Kazan is directly related to the decolonization agenda and is “an illustration of the different attitudes of the Kremlin and its opponents towards it.” According to the Idel.Realii columnist, “The Kremlin, which is already facing official accusations of colonialism from the West, is actively trying to shift the blame to the West’s relations with the so-called “global South.” The Russian Foreign Ministry tried to present the adoption of the...

29.10.2024

"The New York Times” reported that Russia has been providing small arms to the Houthis. American officials including Secretary Austin during his recent visit to Ukraine indicated that according to American military intelligence Russia is considering providing the Houthis with missiles should the West escalate the war in Ukraine. Apparently, recently released in a prisoner exchange with the West, Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is negotiating the sale of advanced missiles. This information was given to the Ukrainians to justify Western reluctance to allow Ukraine's use of Western weapons deeper into Russia. I suppose that any excuse is as...