Category: Ukraine
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Putin’s confidence in winning the war, not just in Ukraine.
Yesterday was the day of the funeral of Alexei Nevalny… A sombre affair with thousands queueing to pay their respects. They stood in silence holding onto flowers and entered the Orthodox church while being monitored by the state security forces. There was no family apart from Navalny’s parents. Alexei Navalny’s wife was in Europe, doing her…
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Ukraine 2 years on
It is two years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the meat-grinder that is the war – is not slowing down. Advika, is the latest town to fall to Russia. But Ukraine with a shortage of ammunition held back by the US Congress’, due to their inability to differentiate right from wrong; Congress are now electioneering for the…
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Taiwan’s 2024 election
The 1984 Sino – British agreement that Britain and China had over the status of Hong Kong, and the agreement that there would be one nation and two systems, has galvanised the elections in Taiwan. Furthermore, the questions concerning identity and independence is also being reflected by the war in Ukraine, and the difficulties that…
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Putin’s mis-step
In the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Vladimir Putin believed that the troops would be welcomed, because he believed that “Ukraine’s pro-Russian citizens had been driven underground and persecuted for their convictions.” The idea of liberator was central to the thinking of the Russian state, but the Ukrainians distinguished themselves, not just…
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Will Ukrainian grain reach the World
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine , Ukrainian exports have been seriously disrupted. The Russian Navy blockaded Ukrainian ports for four months and on the 22nd July 2022, Russia came to an agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to open a safe maritime route for Ukrainian grain. But Russia has reneged on…
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NATO and the Ukrainian question.
It is highly unlikely that Ukraine will get NATO membership at the moment, but there is a model for Ukrainian membership and that is the German model. Germany was divided after the second World War and got NATO membership, could the same argument be made for Ukrainian membership of NATO?…. However, the German model took…
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BRICS and the war in Ukraine
On 24th February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, yet the world as a whole did not react. The BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), took a position of non-alignment, they argued that the war in Ukraine was determined by Russia reacting to the West’s encroachment on their territory. India in particular argued that Western hegemony…
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Europe’s vision of China
Ursula Von de Leyen, the leader of the European Commission argues that ‘China is becoming more repressive at home and more aggressive abroad.’ She says that China has turned the page on an era of reform and opening and ‘is moving into an era of security control.’ This is certainly different from the language that has…
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Power politics
Beijing has made an argument for the cessation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. But underlying it are a number of issues that will not end the war at the present moment. IN their plan they argue for an immediate end to the fighting and for peace talks to begin. But that would leave Ukraine…
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Does China have a say in Ukraine
China has a role in the conflict in Ukraine, but surprisingly it is a role determined by the values that it shares with Russia. China is now Russia’s largest client for gas and oil production. The market is now valued at $250 billion, but when compared to the trade Russia had with Europe, it is…
Current Affairs 