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/ A Russian soldier who has fled to the West for asylum has described life in an occupied frontline Ukrainian district. He describes children being abducted, wounded soldiers being sent into assaults, corrupt and incompetent officers, and a tank unit relying on film props. ⬇️
2/ Despite opposing the war, 22-year-old web designer Evgeny was rounded up in a mobilisation raid on the Moscow metro. He was designated to be a sapper, but received no training – "all this time we were just digging holes." His unit was eventually sent to Ukraine.
3/ They were "dropped off in a damp forest near Tokmak in Zaporizhzhia [region]" and made their way to the nearby village of Solodka Balka, about 8 km from the front line. The village is a Russian defensive stronghold with substantial trench systems nearby.
1/ Thousands of Ukrainian civilians still live in destroyed villages under Russian occupation. Their situation is less visible than those in the cities, but a Russian soldier's account gives an idea of an environment where occupiers and civilians co-exist uneasily among ruins. ⬇️
2/ The Telegram channel 'Marmot of the burning steppes' writes of a Russian soldier's experiences in an occupied frontline Ukrainian village under the constant threat of drones:
3/ "Another interesting sensation is to walk through a village at night, but full of civilians.
Wrapped in a cloak and scarf over the armour, jingling the heels of our boots, holding our hands on our weapons, we walk in the uncertain light of the moon.
1/ A shared love of nuclear weapons unites Ukrainians and Jamaicans, a new poll reports. Africans and South Asians don't like international law, Russians are keener to fight for their country than Ukrainians, and the latter want more than Russians to spend money on defence. ⬇️
2/ The latest edition of the annual Democracy Perception Index is published by the Alliance of Democracies and based on a survey of 111,000 people in 100 countries conducted in April 2025. It has some perhaps non-intuitive findings on defence and security issues.
3/ Most people worldwide agree that countries should follow international laws, but there are striking exceptions. India, Pakistan and most sub-Saharan African countries are either neutral on the concept or disagree mildly to strongly.
1/ A military doctor who has deserted from the Russian army says she was forced to be a commander's 'field wife', had to rate crippled men as fit, saw 'undesirable' soldiers being shot by their officers, and others being "sold for slaughter" for their commanders' profit. ⬇️
2/ A female military doctor serving in the 19th Tank Regiment (military unit 12322) recorded a video about what she saw and experienced since joining the unit in June 2023. There are around 40,000 women in the Russian armed forces, mostly in medical roles.
3/ After signing a contract, she says she ended up after training "in Totskoye, Orenburg region – under the regiment commander Evgeniy Borisovich Ladnov, to the very commander who is called the 'butcher commander', the 'killer commander'".
1/ The screech of drones (sound on) has become the defining sound of the Russia-Ukraine war. Two Russian commentaries describe what it's like in an environment where, according to Russian sources, Ukrainian drones outnumber Russian by seven to one. ⬇️
2/ 'Den Surca', written by a frontline Russian soldier, gives an insight into the psychological impact of 24/7 drone warfare:
3/ "There is absolutely nothing to write about. Every day is full of events and tension - but even so, nothing inside wants to even try to cling to some moment.
Several of our dugouts were burned. I passed by – I saw these pits filled with ash and burnt metal.
1/ A frustrated Russian warblogger complains at the "hopeless" nature of coordination between units of the Russian army, which he says is characterised by "arrogant disregard". It's a situation, he says, where "one branch of the military spins on the dick of another." ⬇️
2/ '13 Tactical' shows off a patch which he says is popular in the Russian army:
"Where did the INTERACTION patch come from and why is it so popular among the military?"
3/ "In addition to the number 13 and text, it depicts opossums [sic] from the Ice Age [movies], one holding a colander, the other holding a radio with a torn wire, both in armour.