Historian Antony Beevor: "For Russians, conspicuous cruelty is a necessary weapon of war."
The atrocities in Ukraine aren't aberrations — they're rooted in centuries of uniquely brutal warfare.
And the West failed to see it coming — The Telegraph. 1/
Russian mass rape, torture, and murder in Bucha aren't the work of rogue soldiers — they're systematic. The 19,500 missing Ukrainian children show what Russian conquest really means. 2/
Russian soldiers are themselves brutalized by torture from their own comrades. In the 1990s, there were 5,000 suicides yearly among conscripts — and Russian generals thought it was funny.
One made recruits dig their own graves "since they'd need them before long." 3/
Europe faces a hard choice: sovereignty or dependence on Trump’s America.
Three times Trump pushed Ukraine to concede to Russia. Three times EU leaders scrambled to stop him. The transatlantic relationship is effectively over, writes Martin Sandbu for FT.
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Will Europe act as a rule-maker or accept life as a rule-taker under Washington?
EU must build a plan for EU–US decoupling to limit how MAGA America can pressure Europe again.
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Last year’s EU–US “deal” forced Europe to swallow Trump’s tariff hikes.
EU governments should cut exposure to US markets, pull export-promotion incentives for the US, and hit back when Washington raises tariffs.
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Kuleba: There are tasks and missions in life, when you just cannot afford having plan B.
In the case of Russia's war against Ukraine, when the conflict is existential, having no plan B is the best way for you to try to defend yourself and to survive. 1/
Kuleba: I appreciate everything that has been done for Ukraine. This is not me saying that no one did anything to help Ukraine. But history is ruthless and we are judged by whether our deeds were sufficient. Enormous effort was done, but it was still not enough. 2/
Kuleba: We react instantly in an emotional way to what we see on our screens. In the old days it was the TV, the paper or a neighbor. Today we're on various social media under permanent pressure of information flow. Our brains stayed the same but must handle a bigger volume. 3/
“Drone operators are hunted. You feel it from your first day.”
As casualties rise, Ukraine relies on civilians to fill drone units. Training lasts just 15 days before deployment near the front. Dozens of women now serve or train, with more joining monthly — The Guardian.
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Dasha, 37, commands a mixed unit near the eastern front. “It’s not about proving anything. It’s about necessity. Everyone is stretched. Everyone is adapting.”
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Elisabeth, 30, an FPV pilot, says the hardest part isn’t gender but survival: “People stopped caring who was a woman. They cared who could fly.” Each mission means risking or taking lives.
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Zelenskyy: The peace plan looks better now. The points related to territory were discussed for 6.5 hours yesterday.
Tomorrow I will receive the US feedback. Then the US will receive Russia’s reaction. After that, we will see approximately where we stand. 1/
Zelenskyy: Russia’s military suffered its largest losses in 4 years this October — 25,500 soldiers killed. 2/
Zelenskyy: The issue is not about kilometers, but about the cost. The issue is not whether Russia can advance — the issue is that Russia does not want to stop.
The question of territory is always a question of people lost. 3/