2. Ten days ago, he again denies that "Ukraine defends its sovereignty and democracy". He also claims that Ukraine is loosing and the US forces are directly engaged with the Russian forces in Ukraine.
3. On March 16, Tucker asks "Where's all the money going? You can't have an audit. Because if you do want an audit of where your money is going into the most corrupt country in Europe, you're a tool of Putin".
4. Just before the war Tucker compares Zelensky to Lenin: "Zelensky is far closer to Lenin than to George Washington. He is a dictator...A dangerous authoritarian who has $100 billion in U.S. tax dollars to erect a one-party police state in Ukraine."
Ukrainian schoolgirls won the European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad, which took place in Slovenia. The war made participation all but impossible. Polina Henik, Irina Romanyuk, Yevgenia Frankevich, and Marina Spektrova got the gold and three silver medals. 1/
The team finished the fourth after China, the US, and Australia (all teams outside of Europe) and ahead of historically strong countries like Romania, Turkey, Poland, Germany. 2/
But the war kills young Ukrainian mathematicians too. A month before the event, Yulia Zdanovska, a participant in the competition of 2016 and 2017, was killed during a shelling by Russian forces in Kharkiv. She was 21 years old. 3/
Konstantin Sonin @k_sonin has written "Stop Victim-Blaming Russian Refugees". Before you take either side, please read the column.
I feel compelled to comment as a Ukrainian because I know Konstantin personally and I have written on the subject before. themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/25/sto… 1
Konstantin's point is that the Kremlin has imposed unimaginable suffering on Ukrainians, but also on some Russians. Konstantin also talks about the responsibility for the war of the Russians as individuals and the society.
I view the problem from a different angle. 2/
For me, a Ukrainian, it is critical to know where every Russian stands on these five issues: the war, serving in the Russian military, atrocities committed in Ukraine, sovereignty of Ukraine, and the future of Crimea. 3/
How Putin invited the war. A fascinating collection of insider stories about incompetence and failed attempts to bring Ukraine into the fold over the last decade. Russia had learned nothing and thus chose to escalate to the war. 1/ verstka.media/kak-putin-prid…
Most people do not understand this war. The wars don't appear out of nowhere. To answer "why" there is a war one should understand the context and history of the relationship. In this thread, I list key facts from the article that are easy to overlook but are crucial. 2/
They help embed the war into the complex prior history of Russian attempts to annex Ukraine. At the time, those events felt as a collection bizarre, unexplainable, crazy, and unrelated occurrences. Not now. In the hindsight, the trend was clear and the war was inevitable. 3/
Breaking from @KSE_Institute: International sanctions have significantly impacted Russian oil exports in Q1 2023, but there's evidence suggesting sanctions violations. How have these measures affected Russia's economy and what can be done to ensure compliance? 1/
KSE Institute studies the effect of the recently introduced sanctions: the European Union’s (EU) embargoes on Russian seaborne crude oil, in force since December 5, 2022, and Russian oil products, in force since February 5, 2023. 2/
It also looks at the effect of the complementary Group of Seven (G7) price cap mechanisms. For this analysis @kse_ua use high-frequency data on Russian oil exports in the first quarter of 2023. This is the first analysis of these sanctions using this most recent data 3/
Today, I am at the Warsaw School of Economics. Talking reconstruction of Ukraine with Sergei Guriev @sguriev back to Lviv tomorrow. My key points:
1. Do it now, don’t wait until the war is over. It saves people and economy.
2. Start small and scale up what works. 1/
Also, remover that good economics is usually bad politics and vise versus. But bad politics will be exploited by Russia. So, you have to get both right at the same time: good economics and good politics. (This is the university building.) 2/
Most people thinking about reconstruction in terms of brick and mortar. Let’s rebuild what was destroyed. But the correct order is different. First, community rebuilding and social reintegration, then jobs, then sustain le economics, then buildings. (That’s the school’s inside)3/
The @AndriyYermak-@McFaul Group has unveiled a new action plan to strengthen Russian sanctions. If implemented, they will crush Russia's oil and energy sector, non-energy trade, military, technology, and financial sectors. Here are the key sanctions proposed. 1/
1. Strengthening Sanctions on Oil and Energy
a. Lower oil price cap: Ratchet down the oil price cap to $45 on a barrel of crude oil, strengthen oil price cap enforcement, and impose an import tax on Russian oil and gas supply to sanctions coalition countries.2/
b. Energy embargo: End the direct supply of Russian gas to the European Union, build a reserve buffer of gas in Ukraine, and embargo Russian energy in East Asia. 3/