Commentary

Donald Trump’s hostility toward Ukraine is no accident. It is part of a long-standing pattern, a vendetta born from personal grievance, political self-interest, and his alignment with Vladimir Putin’s authoritarianism. This week, Trump once again showed his hand. Following Russia’s barbaric Palm Sunday missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Sumy, which targeted and killed civilians, including children going to Palm Sunday services, Trump didn’t condemn the attack. He just shrugged it off, dismissing it as “a mistake.” Worse, he actively rejected a joint G7 statement that denounced the strike and reaffirmed support for Ukraine. A missile that tore through a city on a holy day, launched by a regime known for targeting civilians, was met ...

Something is happening behind closed doors—something that could shape the future of Ukraine, and by extension, the principles of global democracy. It’s not happening on the battlefield or in a UN chamber. It’s happening on paper. At the center of the controversy is a proposed deal between the United States and Ukraine. On the surface, it appears to be a postwar investment agreement. But a closer look reveals something more troubling: an arrangement that would give the U.S. significant control over Ukraine’s valuable natural resources—everything from rare earth minerals to oil and gas—in exchange for repaying military aid already provided. According to a Financial Times report, the draft agreement proposes that Ukraine commit “no less than 50% of extractive profits from state-owned subsoil resources” to a joint investment fund managed by U.S.-appointed trustees. That fund...

As the number of dead and severely wounded in the Russian – Ukrainian war surpasses a million souls; as the body count in the latest Israeli – Palestinian war hits five digits; as China threatens Taiwan; and as Houthis attack Red Sea shipping, polite table talk often veers to the impolite subject of international politics. Yet the resultant flow of words easily becomes lost in a fog of imprecision, ambivalence and conflicting definitions. It is possible to argue with someone with whom you totally agree, only because of a different understanding of terms. To a scientist, mathematician, or engineer this state of affairs is unacceptable. A theorem, or equation is but a meaningless waste of ink unless and until the terms are defined. F=ma has meaning only if F is defined as force, m as mass and a as acceleration. Any ambiguity or ambivalence in such matters results in failure, error or...

Ukraine’s campaign against the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC-MP) is not a violation of religious liberty—it is a wartime imperative. The UOC-MP, operating under the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), is a Kremlin-aligned entity that has aided Russia’s invasion, spread propaganda, and harbored agents of the enemy. This is not speculation. It is documented fact. As Russia wages its genocidal war, Ukraine is defending its people from an internal fifth column. Evidence of Collaboration: Not Alleged—Proven Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has published damning evidence collected during raids on UOC-MP churches and monasteries. In a statement from December 2022, the SBU confirmed the discovery of: Russian passports, forged...

The Trump-Rubio administration has quietly terminated funding for efforts to track and rescue Ukrainian children abducted by Russia, despite mounting evidence that thousands remain unlawfully detained in Russian-controlled territories. This decision not only weakens international accountability for war crimes but also signals a dangerous shift in U.S. foreign policy—one that prioritizes appeasement over justice. From Nazi Crimes to Russian War Crimes The forced abduction of children during wartime is not a new crime. It was a defining charge in the RuSHA Trial, one of the Nuremberg Trials following World War II, where Nazi officials were convicted for kidnapping children from ...

It is surprising how inconsistent people can be. When we say A, we usually do not think that we need to pronounce B as well. We approach a social fact as though it were isolated, torn from life and having no consequence. And today we honor the memory of Shevchenko or at least we respond to its celebration. But at the same time — we draw no conclusions. Not only do we not listen to the words that were read, but often even in print it cannot be seen that anyone gave any thought to that which the recognition of this anniversary demands of us. It can only be one of two things: either...

In a powerful address to the German Bundestag during the annual Holocaust remembrance ceremony, 88-year-old Holocaust survivor Roman Schwarzman drew stark parallels between his experiences during World War II and Russia’s current aggression against Ukraine, delivering a plea for continued support of his homeland. “Back then, Hitler wanted to kill me because I am Jewish. Now Putin is trying to kill me because I am Ukrainian,” Schwarzman declared in one of the most poignant moments of his speech, highlighting the tragic symmetry of his life experiences. The survivor of...

Russian historian Botakoz Kassymbekova asserts that Russia’s colonial and authoritarian identity is structurally entrenched, resisting reform or democratization. She highlights how the country’s imperial system disproportionately burdens ethnic minorities and its “national republics,” while fostering privileges for metropolitan Russians, perpetuating inequality and unrest. Russia’s deep-rooted colonialism and imperial identity are not reformable, argues Botakoz Kassymbekova, a historian specializing in Eastern European studies at the University of Zurich. Speaking about Russia’s persistent dominance over its ethnic minorities, Kassymbekova emphasized that...

Whenever I come to Ukraine, I find words that have lost their essence elsewhere swell again with meaning. The fight for “freedom” is not a pretentious slogan here, but just what you do every day. “Sovereignty” is not a slippery abstraction, but the difference between deciding your own fate or having it decreed in Moscow. It’s also in Ukraine that one realises that “freedom” and “sovereignty” exist in a collaborative relationship with others. Ukraine is now defending its neighbours’ freedom from an advancing Russia. Kyiv’s resistance is benefiting Taiwan’s freedom, too. Meanwhile, without help – especially from America – Ukraine would still...

While the world celebrated the holidays, Ukraine continued to endure unrelenting bombardment, a stark reminder of the ongoing horrors inflicted by Russia’s war of aggression and genocide. As we enter the new year, Ukraine faces not just Russia but the axis of evil, including North Korean troops and Chinese and Iranian weapons that prop up the Kremlin’s war machine. An impending betrayal compounds this precarious fight: in mere weeks, the United States is poised to abandon its commitments, ceasing to be a reliable ally for Ukraine. This grim reality highlights a bitter...