1/ A new survey shows that global trust in the United States has plummeted since Donald Trump returned to office. Trump himself is less popular internationally than Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping. Israel and Iran come out as the least popular countries in the world. ⬇️
2/ The Alliance of Democracies has published its annual Democracy Perception Index, the world's largest annual survey on democracy. 111,000 respondents across 100 countries were surveyed between 9-23 April 2025.
3/ The survey shows that the net perception rating of the United States fell from +22% last year to -5% this year, just ahead of Russia with -9%. The share of countries with a positive image of the US dropped from 76% last year to 45% this year. China went up from +5% to +14%.
4/ The US is now the seventh least popular country in the world in terms of respondents' perceptions. The bottom three are Belarus (-21%), Israel (-23%) and Iran (-25%). While Russia and China have improved their ratings significantly since 2022, the US has fallen sharply.
5/ Globally, perceptions of the US are now deeply negative in Canada, Mexico, most of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, China, Australia and south-east Asia. Only Ukraine, sub-Saharan Africa, South America, India, Thailand and the Philippines are still net positive.
6/ Sentiment has swung in favour of China worldwide, with only Poland, Ukraine, Georgia and Japan standing out as still being strongly pro-US. Most other countries have become mildly or strongly pro-China.
7/ This is clearly being driven by Donald Trump and his policies, especially tariffs. In 82% of countries, more people view him negatively (57% on average) than positively (27%). This is worse than Putin (32% positive, 49% negative) and Xi (32% positive, 32% negative).
8/ In a striking contrast to the other two leaders, Trump is severely unpopular in both democratic and authoritarian countries, and in every part of the world except sub-Saharan Africa. Putin and especially Xi are popular in authoritarian countries, particularly in Africa. /end
1/ Russian warbloggers are continuing to provide examples of how Telegram is used for frontline battlefield communications, to refute the claim of presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov that such a thing is "not possible to imagine". ⬇️
2/ Platon Mamadov provides two detailed examples:
"Example number one:
Aerial reconnaissance of Unit N spotted a Ukrainian self-propelled gun in a shelter in the middle of town N."
3/ "Five minutes after the discovery, the target's coordinates and a detailed video were uploaded to a special secret chat group read by all drone operators, scouts, and artillerymen in that sector of the front.
1/ Russian soldiers overwhelmingly prefer to use Telegram for tactical communications despite the Russian army having its own dedicated military messengers. The reason isn't complex – the military's own alternatives are unreliable and difficult to use. ⬇️
2/ 'Vault No. 8' explains the problem:
"The Telegram slowdown is particularly nasty because Telegram is used for communication on the front lines.
Military messengers have been around since I wrote about this, but... Guess what you have to do to get a firmware-ready smartphone?
3/ "That's right! Buy it [with your own money] and send it in for a firmware update. On top of that, one of the military messengers periodically crashes like crazy, and the phone has to be sent in for a [periodic] firmware update, which takes at least a couple of weeks.
1/ The Russian government's throttling of Telegram has deprived the Russian army of a huge repository of information for its soldiers' professional development and a key source of essential technical advice and instruction, as Russian warbloggers explain. ⬇️
2/ 'Kiba's Signalman's Diary' explains:
3/ "Telegram alone has been the only place where self-organised closed chats and knowledge bases on communications, in demand by the military at the moment, were quickly created and developed, independent of decisions and initiatives from above.
1/ Russian warbloggers are outraged at the Russian government's view that blocking Telegram is no big deal for frontline troops. They say it's a catastrophe heaped on the disaster of losing Starlink and that anyone who says Telegram isn't needed is talking "complete bullshit". ⬇️
2/ Dmitri Peskov, Vladimir Putin's spokesman, says: "I don't think it's possible to imagine frontline communications being provided via Telegram or some other messenger. It's difficult and impossible to imagine such a thing."
3/ However, it is very much a thing, as warbloggers have been pointing out furiously. 'Callsign Bruce' provides an example of how it is used to avoid friendly fire incidents:
"I'll give you a real-life example from one of the directions."
1/ Life after Starlink is proving to be difficult and frustrating for the Russian army. Russian warbloggers appear to be going through the stages of grief, expressing anger and alarm at the crisis and concern that Ukraine will exploit it. One anticipates "24/7 fucking". ⬇️
2/ Further instances of price-gouging are being reported, with the cost of US-made Ubiquiti WiFi bridges – illegally imported into Russia – doubling overnight. 'Strong Word' complains:
3/ "Elon is certainly a real jerk. But we have some real assholes in the rear who decided to ride the wave and make money off their own soldiers. Wi-Fi bridges instantly doubled in price. It's maddening, some are spilling blood, and others are making a living off of it."
1/ What can Russian soldiers do with thousands of useless Starlink terminals? One Russian warblogger has some humorous suggestions. ⬇️
2/ 'BKGB Casuar' writes:
"Here are 10 ways to use a broken terminal in the Special Military Operation zone:
3/ "1. Butt Kick.
The ground in the trench is cold and damp, and Elon Musk's plastic is warm and high-tech. Use it as an elite seat. Now you're not just a soldier in the mud, but a cyberpunk on a throne, whose butt is protected from moisture by American technology.