07.01.2025

The boxing world witnessed something special last Saturday as Oleksandr Usyk faced Tyson Fury in what fans called “the fight of the millennium.” The 37-year-old Ukrainian didn’t just defend his heavyweight titles – the WBA Super, WBC, WBO, and The Ring – he proved why he’s at the top of the sport. Their first bout in May ended with Usyk winning by split decision, leaving room for debate. This time was different. After twelve rounds of masterful boxing, all judges agreed: Usyk wasn’t just the winner, he was the better fighter. His journey to the top has been a wild ride – full of unlikely twists, perfect timing, and the kind of determination that turns sparring partners into champions. “I am very feel”: Usyk’s bad ...

07.01.2025

Over the past 50 years, Russia has abused Ukraine and Europe’s dependence on gas supplies and transit revenues to extort political concessions, spread corruption, and exert malign influence. It cut off exports on numerous occasions, triggering disruption across Europe and freezing millions of consumers during exceptionally harsh winters. Since 2022, it has waged not just a full-scale hot war against Ukraine but also sought to undermine Western support for Kyiv by weaponizing gas exports and generating an energy supply crunch of unprecedented proportions across Europe. Furthermore, the Russian Federation has extended...

07.01.2025

This is the sound of light. This is the sound of a miracle. This is the sound of life. This is the sound of Christmas. Our "Shchedryk." Our Leontovych. Our history, which carries especially profound symbolism in times of war. The great Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych spent several years living and working in the city now known as Pokrovsk. There, he taught music to children, formed a choir, and it was in that very place that he composed the second edition of "Shchedryk," which is heard in every corner of the world these days. This is how a Ukrainian gifted the world the musical spirit of Christmas. And may everyone in the world remember Ukraine when they hear it. The way we are fighting today for the main symbol of this holiday – for hope and for the triumph of life. On our land, in every city and town, including Pokrovsk. The divine music composed there and...

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...