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The hidden cost of Putin’s war: A more dependent Russia
Russia

The hidden cost of Putin’s war: A more dependent Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly characterized his all-out war against Ukraine as a struggle for "sovereignty," yet what limited territorial gains Russia has achieved since 2022 pale in significance to the staggering dependence on China that has emerged. While the Kremlin had already been pursuing a "pivot to the East" for some time, this was never presented as the rapid wholesale embrace of Beijing necessitated by the protracted conflict. In fact, Western sanctions have left M
Ukraine's ballooning debt, explained
Economy

Ukraine's ballooning debt, explained

Ukraine's debt is ballooning. By the end of last year, the country owed over $213 billion to creditors — a hair's breadth away from the size of the country's entire economy. That doesn't include a new 90-billion-euro loan to Kyiv agreed by European leaders at a summit on Dec. 19, of which a sizable chunk will add to Ukraine's debt pile. As Russia's full-scale invasion approaches its fifth year and progress towards a peace deal remains uncertain, the anticipated postwar reconstruction boom is o
Russia broke the energy ceasefire. The West can enforce one that lasts
Opinion

Russia broke the energy ceasefire. The West can enforce one that lasts

Russia is back to destroying Ukraine's critical infrastructure, following several days of reprieve facilitated by U.S. President Donald Trump's diplomatic push. Moscow's brief pause on terror was unmasked as a magnified attack days later. Russian drones and missiles were launched on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving hundreds of thousands without water, heat, and electricity under the polar vortex temperatures as low as -20 Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit). Without sufficient air defense, Ukraine
The Belarusian woman at the center of Epstein’s final days
Belarus

The Belarusian woman at the center of Epstein’s final days

The U.S. Department of Justice on Jan. 30 published over 3 million documents in accordance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The publication of the Epstein files unearths corruption and human trafficking in countries across the globe. In Belarus, the story had another twist. The files flesh out Epstein's personal connection to Belarus through 36-year-old Belarusian national Karyna Shuliak. According to the New York Times, Shuliak was the last person Epstein talked to outside prison befo
'Everyone is waiting for spring' — How Kyiv's hardest hit district is coping with no heating

'Everyone is waiting for spring' — How Kyiv's hardest hit district is coping with no heating

The east bank of Kyiv has been hit hardest by Russia’s latest attacks on the capital’s energy infrastructure, leaving tens of thousands of residents facing much of the winter without central heating as nighttime temperatures drop to -19°Celsius. "They destroyed our thermal power plant," 73-year-old Nina Pavlivna told the Kyiv Independent whilst standing bundled against the freezing afternoon air in the Darnitskyi District of the capital. "We don't know when it will be repaired". The most seve
Analysis: More drones for Europe? What Ukraine's 'opening' of weapons exports really means
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Analysis: What we know about Zelensky’s 'opening' of Ukraine's weapons exports

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Feb. 8 the opening of 10 offices for weapons export throughout the European Union by the end of 2026. "Today, we are opening exports," Zelensky wrote. But the reality is a little different. Ukraine's arms makers often lament that they can make far more weapons than the Ukrainian government has money to buy. Selling or building new weapons internationally can help, they say, but export restrictions keep them bottled up in-country. While the news that Zele
Russia's Arctic shadow war: How Moscow’s most-probed front fuels its Ukraine invasion
Russia

Russia's Arctic shadow war: How Moscow’s most-probed front fuels its Ukraine invasion

Norway’s Svalbard fiber optic cables — a pair carrying vital Arctic satellite data from SvalSat, the world’s largest commercial ground station — thread through waters dangerously close to Russia’s reach. The Kremlin's Nagurskoye air base on Franz Josef Land is just 260 kilometers (161 miles) from Svalbard’s shores. These cables transmit satellite signals and sensitive data that European governments, research institutions, and militaries rely on, including infrastructure bolstering Ukraine’s de