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...

29.10.2024

In an impactful move to defend the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians held by Russia, and support families affected by Russian aggression, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) has formalized its cooperation with the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (CHTPW). This new Memorandum of Cooperation marks a vital step forward in the collective effort to facilitate the release of Ukrainian citizens held in Russian captivity. The CHTPW, operating as the coordinating council of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, is tasked with overseeing all matters related to prisoners of war. UWC President Paul Grod and General Kyrylo Budanov, head of the POW coordination center and head of Ukraine’s Military Intelligence, formalized a cooperation agreement, emphasizing the importance of unity ...

29.10.2024

Moscow seems to have pressed pause on its plans to arm the Houthis with missiles, but the threat of it gives the Kremlin leverage elsewhere in the world. What all this amounts to is what a Leninist maxim calls probing with bayonets. The next line: "If you find mush, you push." Mush was George W. Bush's feeble response to Russia's invasion of Georgia, followed by Barack Obama's equally feeble one to Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014, It was Donald Trump's threats to withdraw from NATO, his attempt (foiled by his own advisers) to withdraw U.S. troops from northern Syria, his pathetic hopes for a deal with the...

15.10.2024

Go back to 24 February 2022, the most fateful day in Europe this century: the day when Vladimir Putin sent his armies into Ukraine. The least discussed aspect of the revival of Russian imperialism was the miserable failure of Western intelligence. It wasn't that Western analysts missed the invasion—they didn’t. The Biden administration and its allies did an admirable job. They warned Ukraine and Europe, and pre-empted Russian propaganda efforts to create a false pretext for the invasion. But their success ended there. They vastly overestimated Russia’s military prowess while grossly underestimating Ukraine’s resolve—a misjudgement that persists today, with devastating consequences. Intelligence sources briefed journalists, who then shared these faulty assumptions...

01.10.2024

17.09.2024

I condemn TVO’s decision to help fund the film “Russians at War” using its funding allocation from the Canada Media Fund. The film “Russians at War” whitewashes Russia’s crimes against the people of Ukraine by falsely portraying members of Russia’s military as victims and by absolving them of their responsibility for the invasion of Ukraine and the war crimes they have committed. For years, the Russian military has committed genocide, rape, torture, murder and the mass systemic abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children - a crime for which the International Criminal Court has indicted Vladimir Putin. The director of...