Economist & author, specializing in the economics of Eastern Europe, especially Russia & Ukraine.
Chrystia Freeland: "Inside the United States, the pressing question is whether the country will remain a democracy. That matters to the rest of us, too" "Mr. Trump has made his view plain. His Washington doesn’t have allies. It has only satraps, enemies and equals..." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/o...
Opinion | ‘You Aren’t Going to Like What Comes After America’Remember when ‘blame Canada’ was a joke?www.nytimes.comDaily Beast: "Putin Gets Spectacularly Ambushed on Live TV After Leaving His Bunker" We must not overestimate Putin's remaining staying power. www.yahoo.com/news/world/a...
Putin Gets Spectacularly Ambushed on Live TV After Leaving His BunkerVladimir Putin ventured out in public for the first time in months and walked smack dab into an ambush during a televised meeting that went off the rails. Fresh off a tightly controlled publicity stun...www.yahoo.com@FT: "Brazil has denied visas for two senior US envoys over fears they intended to interfere in upcoming elections..." US foreign policy has become the spreading of lies under Trump. What a disaster! www.ft.com/content/fa78...
Brazil denies visas to US officials over alleged election interferenceGovernment claims Trump envoys sought to cast doubt over integrity of voting system to aid ally Flávio Bolsonarowww.ft.comMy recent article in the Kyiv Post: "The Ankara NATO Summit: A Minor Respite for NATO" No major achievement was reached, while no immediate disaster occurred. www.kyivpost.com/opinion/80364
Ankara Summit: Can NATO Confront Its Trump Problem?Trump’s Ankara appearance shook NATO’s unity to the core, whatever the final communiqué says. It’s time now for Europe to build its own defense with Ukraine’s military among the best it has.www.kyivpost.comGideon Rachman: "Rampant crime, poverty and weak institutions make Latin America susceptible to Trumpism. But in the more prosperous and established democracies of Europe, the Maga message is falling flat." www.ft.com/content/2304...
Trump’s plan for Europe is falling apartThe US president has a genius for alienating existing and potential allieswww.ft.comThe Wall Street Journal criticizes JD Vance: "Equally naive and misinformed is his view that the government can revive a more traditional American culture with trade protection and industrial policy and by retreating from the world." THAT IS TRUMP'S VIEW. Say so! www.wsj.com/opinion/jd-v...
Opinion | JD Vance and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad WeekHis ‘understanding’ with Iran is in tatters, and Trump has diverged from him on arming Ukraine.www.wsj.comRussia's giant size is no longer strategic depth, but an enormous weakness. Long transportation is needed & can be attacked anywhere. Russia can only defend a few spots. Ukraine has invalidated Russia's whole strategy since the Napoleonic wars. kyivindependent.com/will-ukraine...
Will Ukraine's 'long-range sanctions' decide the war?The Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv in early July 2026 were the largest such state terrorist attacks to date against civilian infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital. Yet, these acts by the ...kyivindependent.com"Fifa will allow Folarin Balogun, the star striker of the US men’s national team, to play its knockout World Cup match against Belgium on Monday after a complaint from Donald Trump to football’s governing body." Trump disqualifies the US (as expected). www.ft.com/content/a858...
Fifa reverses suspension of star US striker after call from TrumpBelgium cries foul after governing body clears Folarin Balogun to play World Cup matchwww.ft.com"Alexander Volfovich, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, advised Belarusian citizens to refrain from traveling to Russia, particularly to border areas, citing security risks." www.kyivpost.com/post/79490?u...
Belarus Advises Against Travel to Russia; Ukraine Denies Strike on BusThe State Security Council of Belarus advised citizens to avoid traveling to Russia following reports of a drone striking a passenger bus in the Bryansk region.www.kyivpost.com"Gasoline Prices in Annexed Sevastopol Jump 30% in One Week" www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/07/02/g...
Gasoline Prices in Annexed Sevastopol Jump 30% in One Week - The Moscow TimesGasoline prices in the port city of Sevastopol surged by a dizzying 30% last week, according to new government data, though Russian media reported that actual prices at the pumps are rising far higher...www.themoscowtimes.com