On June 16, members of Ukraine’s LGBTQI+ community and allies gathered in central Kyiv to celebrate the first Pride March in the Ukrainian capital since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion more than two years ago. The event highlighted changing attitudes in wartime Ukraine as the country stands defiant against Russia and embraces a European
Not so long ago, the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) was widely seen as one of the “be there or be square” events for the world’s business elites, political leaders, and global influencers. Often called Russia’s Davos, SPIEF takes place every June in Russia’s second city, which also happens to be Vladimir Putin’s
On the eve of last weekend’s Global Peace Summit in Switzerland, Vladimir Putin unveiled a peace proposal of his own. The presentation of this rival peace plan was an obvious attempt to undermine Ukraine’s Swiss initiative, but it also served as a timely reminder that Putin is waging an old-fashioned war of imperial conquest and
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine is often referred to as the world’s first large-scale drone war. But what exactly does “drone war” mean in practical terms, and how is this war being waged? Media coverage of the drone war often focuses on particular models such as the Shahed drones used by Russia to attack
Over the weekend of June 15-16, almost one hundred representatives of countries from around the globe and several international organizations gathered in Switzerland for a Summit on Peace in Ukraine. Described by some commentators as “the largest diplomatic effort” in Ukraine’s history, the summit was designed to rally international support for the Ukrainian vision of
At dawn in May 2020, a French police raid on a sleepy village near Paris ended a 26-year manhunt for one of the Rwanda genocide’s most notorious fugitives. By October 2022, 89-year-old Felician Kabuga was standing trial in The Hague for crimes without a statute of limitations: Genocide, direct and public incitement to genocide, and conspiracy
“United in defense, united in recovery, stronger together,” was a key slogan at the 2024 Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) held in Berlin on June 11-12. It is an apt summation of Ukraine’s aspirations as it copes with the unprecedented destruction of approximately half of the country’s electric power and district heating capacity by targeted Russian
In his recent interview with TIME magazine, US President Joe Biden indicated that his skepticism about Ukrainian NATO membership is deep-rooted and goes far beyond any practical opposition to granting Kyiv an invitation to join the alliance while the current war with Russia is still ongoing. It would seem that President Biden does not regard
The Ukrainian Parliament took another small but meaningful step on the road toward European integration in early June with the adoption of a new law officially establishing English as the language of international communication in Ukraine. In line with this legislation, a wide range of Ukrainian government officials will now be expected to reach a
A combination of Ukrainian ingenuity and Western-supplied long-range missiles is making the Russian occupation of Crimea increasingly untenable. The continued weakening of Russia’s position on the Crimean peninsula is a major blow to Kremlin prestige that also has potentially serious practical implications for the future of the war. In recent weeks, long-awaited supplies of US
