Category: Politics & Diplomacy

Tracking mercenaries

In Season 1, Episode 7 of the Guns for Hire podcast, host Alia Brahimi is joined by the Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins. They discuss the importance of Libya to the genesis of Bellingcat, the events which led to Eliot being personally sued by the mercenary leader Yevgeny Prighozin, and how anyone with a bit of

Full transcript: The 2023 Global Citizen Awards honor leaders who build bridges in the face of unprecedented crises

Gear up to watch the exclusive broadcast of the event Flagship Event September 28, 2023 2023 Global Citizen Awards This year’s Global Citizen Awards honor world leaders, US officials, and others who embody global citizenship. Read more Event transcript Uncorrected transcript: Check against delivery JOHN F.W. ROGERS: Ladies and gentlemen, if I can just have

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dedicates his Global Citizen Award to the brave people of Ukraine and those killed by ‘Russian terrorists.’ Read his full remarks.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accepted an Atlantic Council 2023 Global Citizen Award for leading the Ukrainian people in the fight to protect his country’s sovereignty. Read his moving address to the gala dinner in New York in the transcript below. Gear up to watch the exclusive broadcast of the event Flagship Event September 28, 2023 2023 Global Citizen Awards This

Russia seeks to legitimize occupation of Ukraine with sham elections

In early September, Russia staged sham parliamentary elections in occupied regions of southern and eastern Ukraine as Moscow attempted to legitimize its earlier illegal annexation of five Ukrainian provinces. While the international community strongly condemned the ballots, Russian officials are expected to use the rigged elections for propaganda purposes as the Kremlin seeks to disguise

Five ways the West might increase pressure on the Russian economy

On Wednesday, Russia’s central bank announced new measures to speed up its sale of foreign currency ten-fold to prop up the wobbly ruble. Although the drop in the ruble’s exchange rate since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is an imperfect indicator of true financial health, there is no denying that the West’s financial sanctions, export

Ukraine’s partners cannot remove Putin but they can stop legitimizing him

In the weeks following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, many Western leaders indicated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had passed the point of no return. Most notably, US President Joe Biden declared that Putin “cannot remain in power.” Those sentiments, however, have since been significantly diluted, with Washington, London, Berlin,

Russia is ramping up its CBDC. Will Putin’s ‘robot ruble’ work?

The “August curse” has spared the Kremlin this year, but the same cannot be said of Russia’s central bank. The month has periodically been the venue of political surprises in Russia, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has apparently shot down any doubt that he retains full power. However, a massive exchange rate crash brought on