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Moscow has lauded Washington’s willingness to push for a ceasefire, but any agreement must be based on long-term solutions, Ryabkov has said Russia has not gained clarity regarding the US peace plan for settling the Ukraine conflict since last week’s meeting between delegations of the […]
Moscow has lauded Washington’s willingness to push for a ceasefire, but any agreement must be based on long-term solutions, Ryabkov has said
Russia has not gained clarity regarding the US peace plan for settling the Ukraine conflict since last week’s meeting between delegations of the two countries in Saudi Arabia, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said. However, he stressed that Moscow has noted Washington’s willingness to swiftly resolve the crisis.
The discussions between the teams led by Foreign Secretary Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Riyadh focused on potential Ukraine peace talks and the possibility of a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump. Both Moscow and Washington have praised the talks as highly productive.
In an interview with RIA Novosti published on Monday, Ryabkov stated that Russia is open to resolving the conflict based on a “balance of interests.” However, Moscow does not understand Trump’s plan.
“We have not gained any further understanding. However, we can confidently note the US side’s desire to push for a swift ceasefire,” Ryabkov said. He stressed, however, that a ceasefire without a long-term settlement would only lead to a “quick resumption of hostilities and an even more severe conflict.”
Russia wants to avoid such a scenario, the diplomat said, adding that the solution must address the root causes of the conflict, such as Kiev’s aspirations to join NATO and its policies regarding the Russian-speaking Donbass region.
Four formerly Ukrainian regions: the Donetsk People’s Republic, Lugansk People’s Republic, Kherson region, and Zaporozhye region joined Russia following a series of referendums in 2022. Crimea had previously voted to join Russia in 2014. Ukraine seeks to return them to its control, while Russia has rejected Kiev’s claims outright.
US President Donald Trump recently suggested that Kiev could get some of the territory back, adding, however, that a return to the pre-2014 borders is “unlikely.”
Ryabkov recalled a peace plan proposed by Putin last year, noting that it contained a “significant compromise element.” Moscow has “not declared anything that would exclude a mutually acceptable step forward—quite the opposite,” the diplomat argued.
In June, Putin set out conditions for peace negotiations with Kiev, which involved the complete removal of Ukrainian troops from all Russian territories, including the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. They also involved Ukraine legally committing to never joining NATO or any other Western military blocs.
Russia has repeatedly argued that the Ukraine conflict was provoked by the military bloc’s expansion towards its borders.
Trump indicated earlier this month that Washington will not support Kiev’s accession as part of a potential peace deal with Moscow, while his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, described Ukraine’s NATO ambitions as “unrealistic.”
The 16th package of Ukraine-related sanctions also targets an actor, a chess grandmaster, a TV presenter and an Olympic gymnast Russian comedian Mikhail Galustyan was added to the EU sanctions list on Monday. The bloc’s 16th round of Russia sanctions is timed to mark the […]
The 16th package of Ukraine-related sanctions also targets an actor, a chess grandmaster, a TV presenter and an Olympic gymnast
Russian comedian Mikhail Galustyan was added to the EU sanctions list on Monday. The bloc’s 16th round of Russia sanctions is timed to mark the third anniversary of the escalation of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.
The updated blacklist has added 48 individuals and 35 entities seen by Brussels as responsible for “undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”
A 46-year old producer and TV presenter, Galustyan has starred in dozens of comedies and TV shows and also campaigned for Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2012 and 2018 elections.
Brussels has accused Galustyan for the “militarization of Russian youth,” citing the actor’s role as head of the Federation of Military and Tactical Games and membership of the “Yunarmiya” patriotic military movement.
The EU blacklist also includes other well-known Russians, such as TV presenter Julia Baranovskaya, blogger and a media manager Kristina Potupchik, chess grandmaster Sergey Karjakin, and Olympic champion gymnast Nikita Nagorny.
Other sanctioned individuals include senator from the Astrakhan region, Andrey Derkach, CEO of state-run arm producer Almaz-Antey, Yan Novikov, shareholder of the Ural Mining, Igor Kudryashkin, CEO of the machinery-building holding ‘Stan’ Boris Bogatyrev.
The latest sanctions include a “phased-in” ban on EU nations importing primary aluminum from Russia. They also target 13 more banks and 73 more vessels involved in shipping Russian crude oil and revoke the broadcasting licenses of eight Russian media outlets.
Last month, EU members extended the existing sanctions on Russia for another six months. The restrictions already target a wide range of sectors and include trade embargoes, travel bans, and individual sanctions against Russian businessmen and public figures.
Moscow has denounced Western restrictions as illegal and that they have failed to destabilize the Russian economy or isolate it from the global financial system.
Commenting on the news, Galustyan told RIA Novosti that EU blacklisting came as a complete surprise to him. “Apparently, European politicians have run out of arguments if they have started persecuting and sanctioning actors and cultural figures, comedians, and satirists who bring joy and smiles to people,” he said.
After 36 months of active fighting, navigating retreats, counterattacks, and protracted assaults, Russia has gained the initiative Exactly three years ago, Russian troops entered Ukraine with the aim of forcing Kiev to halt military attacks on the Donbass republics, to ensure its own security, and […]
After 36 months of active fighting, navigating retreats, counterattacks, and protracted assaults, Russia has gained the initiative
Exactly three years ago, Russian troops entered Ukraine with the aim of forcing Kiev to halt military attacks on the Donbass republics, to ensure its own security, and dismantling a regime that fostered the growth of neo-Nazism in the country. Due to the West’s support for its proxies in Kiev, the conflict has dragged on, and Russia’s military operation has reshaped perceptions of what a modern armed conflict between two large armies – each with its own strengths and weaknesses – should look like.
Here we revisit the events of the past three years, reflecting on the significant developments along the front lines.
February – March 2022: Shock and awe, or there and back again
Russia’s military operation started in the early hours of February 24, 2022. Troops were deployed to Ukraine from seven main directions: towards Kiev along the right bank of the Dnieper River; towards Chernigov; Sumy; Kharkov; and the north of the Lugansk People’s Republic; and from Crimea via two routes: one via Perekop towards Kherson and the Kakhovka Dam, and another through Chongar towards Melitopol. Landing forces were also deployed – amphibious forces landed on Snake Island in the Black Sea and airborne forces landed at Gostomel Airport near Kiev.
At the same time, massive missile strikes struck pre-identified targets all over Ukraine: air defenses were suppressed, communication nodes were disabled, fortified command posts, weapons depots, fuel storage facilities, and oil refineries were destroyed. One missile even struck the call center of Ukraine’s Center for Information and Psychological Operations near Kiev.
FILE PHOTO. Russian tactical airborne troops taking control of the Antonov airfield in Gostomel. March 12, 2022
The militias of the then-newly-recognized Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) also actively fought. LPR militia advanced north, capturing territory alongside Russian forces, while DPR forces moved west from the Sea of Azov to Volnovakha, in the direction of the Russian army. By March 2, through their joint efforts, the city of Mariupol had been encircled.
However, the primary mission assigned to the LPR and DPR militia units was to engage and neutralize the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) along the most heavily fortified section of the line of demarcation (what had essentially been the border between the DPR and Ukraine since 2015) which stretched from Toretsk through Donetsk and to Ugledar.
Overall, the task was achieved: the Ukrainian command struggled to maneuver the main forces of the AFU and, with a few exceptions, offered little resistance during the first two weeks of the fighting.
Among the exceptions were Kharkov (it remains unclear if there were plans to capture the city in the early days of the operation, but Russian forces left after brief street battles) and the area to the west of Kiev, particularly the triangle formed by Gostomel, Bucha, and Irpin. The Russian command did not intend to seize Kiev; the group in Gostomel aimed to block the city from the west. Due to indiscriminate Ukrainian artillery fire, many civilians lost their lives in Bucha (a fact that the Ukrainian side later attributed to the Russian army). In Gostomel, a Ukrainian missile strike destroyed the An-225 Mriya, the world’s largest cargo plane.
FILE PHOTO. Workers dismantle the wreckage of the largest Ukrainian transport aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya, at Gostomel airfield near Kiev, Ukraine. February 22, 2024.
The successful operations of the Russian Armed Forces included the capture of the Kakhovka Dam and the bridge over the Dnieper River in Kherson on February 24. Following that, Russian forces advanced north. Passing through Kherson without entering Nikolaev, the columns halted and eventually turned back a short distance from the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant.
In addition to Kherson, the southern areas of Kherson Region and Zaporozhye Region as well as the city of Melitopol and the port of Berdiansk were occupied during the first week. On March 3, as part of a swift and nearly bloodless operation, the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant came under Russian control, and the city of Energodar was captured without a battle.
FILE PHOTO. A soldier of the Russian Armed Forces on the territory of the Zaporizhia NPP in Energodar. May 1, 2022.
During this period, the Russian army acted in a highly maneuverable and dispersed manner. Aside from the Donbass, there was virtually no front line; as military columns advanced, they often left only isolated checkpoints behind them, or even unmonitored territory.
For example, Russian forces didn’t enter the city of Chernigov, opting instead to pass through Sumy several times. The roads were under the nominal control of the Russian army, but it wasn’t consistent.
This situation couldn’t last long. By early March, Russian forces in northern Ukraine began to suffer significant losses due to semi-partisan attacks launched by territorial defense units and hastily assembled reserves of the AFU. Using light armored vehicles and often simple civilian cars, they systematically targeted Russian supply columns.
After the failed negotiations in Istanbul, Russian troops were withdrawn from Kiev as well as Chernigov and Sumy regions. They were redeployed to Kharkov and Donbass to bolster combat formations and create a front line. This was done in the first days of April 2022.
April – October 2022: ‘Swiss cheese’ instead of a front
Lacking the ability to advance along the entire front, the Russian army switched to defense in most areas. Intense fighting erupted in the spring over the besieged city of Mariupol, which housed a garrison of 20,000 Ukrainian troops; half of them were part of the neo-Nazi Azov regiment that had controlled the city since 2014. The battles reduced Mariupol to rubble, and culminated in the complete destruction of the nationalists’ last stronghold – the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works. By May 20, the garrison at the steel works surrendered, and over 2,000 neo-Nazis were taken prisoner. The battles in the city were over.
Due to a shortage of personnel, the Russian military leadership was forced to improvise. The front sector north of Donetsk was handed over to PMC Wagner, whose leader, Evgeny Prigozhin, began recruiting volunteers, including convicts. At its peak, PMC Wagner boasted around 20,000 fighters, and during the spring and summer of 2022, they successfully stormed Popasnaya, Svetlodarsk, and the Uglegorsk power station, and participated in battles for the cities of Lisichansk and Severodonetsk.
During the same period, the Russian army found itself in a precarious situation: mobilization efforts were ramped up in Ukraine, and the number of servicemen in the AFU grew dramatically. By fall, estimates suggested that the Ukrainian army was two or three times as large as Russia’s (approximately 500,000-600,000 servicemen compared to Russia’s 180,000-200,000 people).
This lack of troops prevented Russian forces from establishing a solid front line, as prescribed by military doctrine, and defense remained patchy in several areas, particularly in northern Kharkov. It was there, in September, that the AFU launched its most successful operation.
With Russian forces largely concentrated in populated areas, the AFU exploited light armored vehicles and even regular civilian cars to penetrate deep behind enemy lines. Without engaging in direct combat, they quickly took control of vast territories, forcing Russian garrisons to flee to avoid encirclement.
In just a few days, the AFU advanced 70-80km along a front stretching 130km, capturing the towns of Izium, Kupiansk, Liman, and Vovchansk. The AFU employed its tactical advantages – reconnaissance, effective communication, and a significant numerical superiority (up to eight times greater in the direction of the main assaults) – to the fullest.
The Ukrainian offensive near Kherson did not unfold as successfully. Throughout the spring and summer, the Ukrainian army struggled to advance toward Kherson along the road to Nikolaev and attempted to cross the Ingulets River, which had become an improvised frontline to the northwest of the regional center.
During the summer, NATO began supplying the AFU with artillery, particularly Western HIMARS rocket systems, which proved most effective in Kherson region. The supply line for the Russian forces in Kherson relied heavily on two crossings: the Antonovsky automobile bridge and the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station dam. Both were subjected to daily missile strikes, and over time, the bridge became completely unusable (two pontoons were set up), while the dam operated intermittently as a crossing point.
As a result, by late October 2022, the Russian command made the “difficult decision” to fully withdraw from the right bank of the Dnieper River, including the city of Kherson. The Russian forces faced personnel shortages and significant supply challenges.
After the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge and amid the looming threat of a Ukrainian breakthrough toward the Sea of Azov, in September and October 2022 Russia announced partial mobilization, calling up 300,000 troops. This was undoubtedly one of the most challenging periods for Russia.
November 2022 – October 2023: Bakhmut, Ukraine’s counteroffensive, and a turning point at the front
The partial mobilization and urgent military reforms allowed Russia to stabilize the front, leading to a relatively quiet period during the winter and spring. The only hotspot (but an intense one) was Artemovsk (called Bakhmut in Ukraine), where the bloodiest battles raged, earning it the grim nickname of “the Bakhmut meat grinder.”
The main forces that operated here were Prigozhin’s PMC Wagner. By mid-January 2023, they captured the important city of Soledar after which battles for Artemovsk (Bakhmut) began.
Artemovsk became the site of the first urban battles, and set the stage for many other such battles across Donbass. Initially, Artemovsk was surrounded on three sides, and Russian forces established fire control over the main roads leading into the city. This paved the way for PMC Wagner to launch an assault that would last nearly three months.
By late May, Artemovsk was captured by Russians. However, the hard-fought victory was overshadowed by a public confrontation between Prigozhin, the head of PMC Wagner, and the Russian military establishment. In June 2023, Prigozhin attempted a mutiny; as a result, the Wagner group was disbanded.
As early as January 2023, Ukrainian command resolved to hold onto “Fortress Bakhmut” at all costs, a decision that drew significant criticism later on. The resources spent on sustaining a garrison in a city of little strategic value, along with efforts to break the encirclement through counterattacks, could have been more effectively employed in the south of Ukraine during the key battles of summer 2023.
Motivated by success the previous fall, both Kiev and NATO now believed the AFU could inflict a decisive military defeat on Russia. The prevailing opinion was that the Russian army was “a colossus with feet of clay” and could be easily toppled by a strong, single blow.
The area north of the Azov Sea was chosen as the target for such a blow. The plan was to cut the so-called “land corridor” connecting mainland Russia with Crimea, which would force Putin to withdraw forces from southern Kherson and Zaporozhye regions – and potentially even from Crimea if the Kerch Bridge were damaged again. The open steppe was suitable for tank movement and the area was sparsely populated, so it seemed like a good plan.
The offensive was to be carried out by an “assault guard” – ten new brigades equipped with Western weapons. Current information suggests that the plan involved using two or three heavy brigades to breach Russian frontline defenses at two points. Following this, an additional one or two brigades would expand the breaches and allow high-mobility units to push through, followed by regular Ukrainian forces. To further weaken Russian defenses, airborne operations were also planned along the lower reaches of the Dnieper River.
If it were successful, the operation would have mirrored the Kharkov offensive: in just a few days, the Ukrainian army could have reached the Sea of Azov, forcing the Russians to flee. This would have only slightly expanded the front, and the area could have been effectively defended by leveraging the AFU’s overall numerical superiority.
It’s worth noting that if carried out in the summer-fall of 2022, this plan would have had a solid chance of success. However, the Russian command was not caught off guard; it was prepared. The partial mobilization in the fall had balanced the number of troops on the front lines, and since Ukraine and the West openly discussed their upcoming counteroffensive throughout the winter, Russia concentrated its fortification efforts in the southern sector.
Throughout the winter and spring, Russian civil and military construction organizations built a defensive line that was 150km long and up to 50km deep, which became known as the “Surovikin Line.” It helped the Russian General Staff carry out its strategic defensive operation.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive began on June 6 but quickly went awry. Just a day earlier, the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station dam collapsed. While the resulting wave washed away Russian fortifications on the southern bank of the Dnieper River, it also made it impossible for the Ukrainians to cross the river.
Ukrainian forces launched their assault in two directions: near Robotino and at the so-called Vremevsky bulge (south of Velikaya Novoselka). However, the attack faltered: the German-made tanks hit mines, while immobilized Ukrainian armored columns were attacked from the air and pre-established firing positions. Footage of burning German-made tanks, followed by numerous images of destroyed British and French tanks, became a ‘cold shower’ for Ukraine and its backers.
But the counteroffensive did not end there. The Robotino area and the former Vremevsky bulge soon became sites of intense fighting. With great persistence, Ukrainian forces pressed against Russian defenses, first with heavy breakthrough brigades and then with lighter units intended to exploit any breaches and quickly move toward the Sea of Azov.
However, in four and a half months of fighting, the AFU couldn’t breach the “Surovikin Line.” They barely managed to advance on two narrow fronts, just reaching the first of Russia’s three defensive positions.
By October 2023, Ukraine’s offensive had completely stalled. Ukrainian leadership and Western media were forced to face the stark reality: the “counteroffensive” had failed, and the notion that Russia could be defeated on the battlefield now looked ridiculous.
In 2023-24, there was a true revolution in weaponry: the widespread use of FPV (First-Person View) drones became the new norm. These drones supplemented the DJI Mavic and Matrice commercial quadcopters already used for reconnaissance. For the first time in military history, nearly every soldier on the front line was aware of what was going on at tactical depth around the clock and had access to weapons with high-precision strike capabilities, which would be ready for action within minutes.
Like a revolver in the Wild West, drones leveled the playing field; a tank worth hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars could now be taken out by a device costing less than $1,000, operated from several miles away. Over two years, both sides saw a significant increase in drone usage –and it wasn’t just quantity (up to several thousand drones could be launched per day) but also their quality that increased. Drones with more payload capacity, night-flying drones equipped with thermal imaging, signal relay drones, mothership drones that transport lighter drones directly to the front lines, self-guided drones, and fiber-optic drones impervious to electronic warfare all became available at this time.
In these circumstances, the Russian General Staff had to find effective ways to dismantle the enemy forces. The drone revolution, combined with NATO’s intelligence and communication capabilities, made it impossible to breach the front line at strategic depths, and limited operations to positional warfare rather than maneuver tactics. The Russian army made numerous assault attempts – a January-February 2023 assault on the strategically vital town of Ugledar by Russian forces, carried out according to Soviet military doctrine, had failed; likewise, an effort to breach Ukrainian defenses near Avdeevka on October 10-11, 2023 did not go as planned. This marked the beginning of the fourth phase of the conflict.
The siege of Avdeevka turned into a four-month ordeal, reminiscent of Bakhmut. The city was encircled on three sides, and Ukrainian supply lines came under Russia’s fire control. However, instead of a simultaneous frontal assault, the strategy focused on methodically wearing down the city’s garrison, minimizing assaults in the urban area.
With no means to break through the front, in August 2024, Ukrainian forces launched an attack on Russia’s Kursk Region. This area had previously remained quiet: instead of a layered defense, the Russian side maintained light combat security along the border. The operation mirrored Ukraine’s 2022 Kharkov campaign: the AFU swiftly infiltrated the area using fast-moving vehicles, leveraging communication and reconnaissance advantages to quickly capture a large area and force Russian forces to chaotically retreat.
However, the advance in Kursk soon got bogged down. The only significant town captured by the AFU was Sudzha, while progress toward the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant halted within days.
By early September, the Russian army had managed to reduce Ukraine’s foothold near Sudzha by 60%. Following this, the situation no longer posed a strategic threat, and fighting transitioned into the phase of positional warfare. If the goal of the Ukrainian command was to compel Russia to divert its forces from Donbass, it had failed. Sudzha increasingly drained Ukraine’s already limited reserves in late 2024 and early 2025.
Meanwhile, in Donbass, the Russian army effectively replicated the tactics used in Avdeevka, carrying out many successful assaults throughout 2024. The approach was straightforward: to encircle cities, take supply lines under fire control, wear down the garrison, and capture the city with minimal combat. The Russians employed drone strikes, particularly using Lancet drones with a range of up to 80km, as well as high-precision guided bombs equipped with UPMK modules; during fierce battles, hundreds of such bombs were used per day.
In the first half of 2024, the Russian army captured just one city (Avdeevka), but in the second half of 2024, they took control of seven cities and about fifteen urban settlements. In September 2024, the second assault on Ugledar took place. The 2024 offensive campaign culminated in the Kurakhovo operation, the largest since the initial phase of the special military operation.
It’s important to note that these assaults on numerous cities and towns in the DPR were not the goal for the Russian army. Unable to decisively defeat the AFU in maneuver warfare, the Russian military adopted a strategy of “tactical opportunism.” Capitalizing on their numerical superiority and firepower, coupled with complete air superiority, the Russians pressed the Ukrainian army along the entire thousand-kilometer-long front line, exploiting the situation to their advantage wherever Ukrainian defenses faltered.
This strategy significantly depleted the Ukrainian army. According to Ukrainian sources, a typical frontline brigade is now at best half-staffed (compared to the well-staffed (85-90%) Russian brigades). The quality of Ukrainian soldiers is also visibly declining: the last major voluntary recruitment consisted of the so-called “assault brigades” formed in early 2023. Since then, most reinforcements have been assembled from forcibly mobilized people, and thousands of conscripts have deserted the front lines. Consequently, operational crises have increased, with undertrained brigades fleeing, leading to the abandonment of several towns and newly established defensive positions. The situation has only been made worse by the Kursk operation, where all fresh, well-prepared, and better-equipped Ukrainian reserves are deployed.
As of February 2025, we’re seeing an ‘operational pause’ at most sections of the front. Both sides are actively preparing for the spring-summer campaign. While we lack a complete picture, there’s a growing sense that the Ukrainian forces may be struggling to prepare for it adequately. So despite being worn down from combat, the Russian army has a real chance of achieving decisive success in the next six months to a year. This could lead to the collapse of Ukrainian defenses, and potentially to the collapse of the front for dozens or even hundreds of miles.
Of course, this campaign may never take place. Negotiations between Washington and Moscow are currently underway, which could ultimately determine Ukraine’s fate without a final battle.
Moscow-Beijing “foreign policy tandem serves as a factor of stabilization in world affairs,” the statement reads Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, about Moscow’s latest contacts with Washington, the Kremlin reported on Monday. Beijing has expressed support for the renewed […]
Moscow-Beijing “foreign policy tandem serves as a factor of stabilization in world affairs,” the statement reads
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, about Moscow’s latest contacts with Washington, the Kremlin reported on Monday. Beijing has expressed support for the renewed dialogue and new potential for resolving the Ukraine crisis, the statement said.
Putin and Xi spoke on the phone to “share opinions on issues of immediate interest” for bilateral cooperation and the global agenda, describing the exchange as “warm and friendly.”
“The leaders have stressed that the Russian-Chinese foreign policy tandem serves as a factor of stabilization in world affairs. Its strategic nature is not affected by external influence and does not pose a threat to any third party,” the statement said.
The Chinese description of the phone call said it was requested by Moscow, adding that during the talk, Xi expressed approval of the fact that “Russia and relevant parties have made positive efforts to resolve the crisis.”
US President Donald Trump has reversed attempts to “isolate” Russia which were pursued by the previous administration. Now Moscow and Washington are working to restore normal diplomatic relations. Senior officials from both countries have said that this could lead to a resolution of the Ukraine conflict.
Members of the new US government had previously criticized President Joe Biden’s approach, arguing that it pushed Moscow into a position of a “junior partner” with Beijing, harming US interests.
Conversely, Russia and China have described their relationship as a “no-limits partnership” based on mutual respect and shared views on how the world should be governed. Moscow and Beijing have criticized the US for allegedly fueling chaos around the world in an attempt to undermine competition.
Police, firefighters and bomb squads are working at the site of an explosion at Moscow’s diplomatic mission in Marseille An explosion occurred at the Russian Consulate General in the French city of Marseille on Monday. Police and firefighters are currently working on the scene to […]
Police, firefighters and bomb squads are working at the site of an explosion at Moscow’s diplomatic mission in Marseille
An explosion occurred at the Russian Consulate General in the French city of Marseille on Monday. Police and firefighters are currently working on the scene to determine the circumstances of the blast. Officials have said that no people were harmed in the incident.
While the investigation is ongoing, Moscow has suggested that the blast may have been the result of a terrorist plot. Last week, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Agency (SVR) warned that the country’s diplomatic missions in Europe could become the targets of Ukrainian attacks as Kiev tries to derail Russia-US talks to avoid having to make “excessive concessions” in a peace settlement with Moscow.
The State Duma speaker has denounced emigrants who “abandoned” Russia in difficult times Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has lambasted men who left the country during the Ukraine conflict as cowards who “abandoned” their homeland. He made his remarks while offering his best wishes to Russians […]
The State Duma speaker has denounced emigrants who “abandoned” Russia in difficult times
Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has lambasted men who left the country during the Ukraine conflict as cowards who “abandoned” their homeland.
He made his remarks while offering his best wishes to Russians on Defender of the Fatherland Day, a public holiday celebrated on February 23.
“The hardships and challenges we are facing together with our country have shown us that there are also those who became afraid, abandoned Russia in a difficult moment, and fled abroad out of cowardice. It is even worse when they are now badmouthing [Russia],” he wrote on Telegram on Sunday.
“Therefore, today’s sacred holiday is not for them. We need to openly say it and emphasize it if we are thinking about the future of our country,” he added.
While the holiday dates back to the founding of the Red Army, today it is used to celebrate all men and serves as the male equivalent to the International Women’s Day, which is celebrated in Russia on March 8.
According to Forbes Russia, between 600,000 and 900,000 people have left the country since 2022, with many moving to neighboring Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Georgia. Some fled to avoid military service after partial mobilization was declared in September 2022.
In October 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he “did not see anything immoral” in moving abroad per se. “We have a free country where a person has the right to choose where to live where he sees fit,” he said.
“What matters is the actions of individual people. If they violate Russia’s law, they must be held responsible no matter where they reside,” he argued.
The upcoming meeting will involve senior officials from the two countries’ foreign services A new meeting between Moscow and Washington is expected to take place in the coming week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said. It will involve department head-level officials from the […]
The upcoming meeting will involve senior officials from the two countries’ foreign services
A new meeting between Moscow and Washington is expected to take place in the coming week, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has said.
It will involve department head-level officials from the foreign services of the two countries, Ryabkov revealed on Sunday. The deputy foreign minister did not name any individuals he expects to participate in the meeting.
“We are open to contacts with the American side, in particular, to address the irritants in bilateral relations. We expect real progress when the meeting scheduled for the end of the coming week takes place,” the deputy foreign minister said.
On Saturday, the senior diplomat suggested the looming meeting will come in preparation for higher-level talks involving Russia’s deputy foreign minister and his US counterpart. Ryabkov said the two sides have been in discussing where exactly the meeting would take place, confirming only that it is set to occur in a third country.
Contacts between Washington and Moscow, largely nonexistent for years already, intensified after US President Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20. A phone call between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on February 12 was followed by a meeting between their respective countries’ delegations in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last week to address various issues, including the Ukraine conflict.
Their respective delegations were led by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Both sides have expressed cautious optimism in the aftermath of the Riyadh talks.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has described the ongoing dialogue as “promising,” suggesting it might ultimately clear the way for peace negotiations to resolve the Ukraine conflict.
“The dialogue is taking place between two truly outstanding presidents. It is promising. It is important that nothing hinders the realization of their political will,” Peskov said in an interview published on Sunday.
This situation was always different from other Eastern European states – NATO just didn’t listen It’s always easy to feel prescient in hindsight. I recall conversations from 15 or 20 years ago with Western interlocutors – who are now from unfriendly nations – on NATO expansion. The […]
This situation was always different from other Eastern European states – NATO just didn’t listen
It’s always easy to feel prescient in hindsight. I recall conversations from 15 or 20 years ago with Western interlocutors – who are now from unfriendly nations – on NATO expansion. The discussions always began in a relatively solemn manner. From our side, we politely asked, why are you doing this? The bloc was creeping ever closer to Russia’s borders, despite assurances that it was not an anti-Russian project. Their response was equally polite: What are you talking about? This is not directed against Russia. You should welcome having stable, democratic neighbors under NATO’s watchful eye.
After an hour, especially in informal settings, the real opinions began to surface. We warned, if you keep pushing, you’ll eventually reach Ukraine – and that is impossible. That is the red line.
The response? Come on! You objected to Poland and Hungary, and then you accepted it. You were angry about the Baltics, and nothing happened. What’s the difference with Ukraine? You’ll get used to it just like before.
Our objections – “No, you don’t understand! Ukraine is entirely different! This will not be the same; this will end badly!” – were met with amused smiles and condescending nods. We understand your concerns, but don’t worry, we’ll handle it, their expressions seemed to say.
A Foretold Crisis
We were right. They were wrong. But that fact does not make today’s reality any easier. The drive to pull Ukraine into NATO – an irresistible prize for the Atlantic bloc – was not some last-minute maneuver. US State Department documents from the 1990s show that Ukraine’s future membership in NATO was discussed even as the Soviet Union collapsed. It was not an immediate goal, but it was a logical consequence of the West’s Cold War victory. Any objections that contradicted this logic were dismissed outright.
The geostrategic miscalculations and arrogance that defined the so-called liberal world order are one thing. But what is more interesting is why Ukraine actually turned out to be very different. Why did those for whom Ukraine was just another chess piece in a grand geopolitical game fail to understand its unique position? Or did they understand but simply not care?
One interpretation is that the Ukrainian question is inseparable from the Russian question. The two are intertwined in a web of history, geography, religion, culture, and mythology. The struggle between inextricable symbiosis and desperate separation is not a contradiction – it is a dialectic. Every attempt to define one without the other results in instability. And each time outsiders tried to manipulate this balance for their own ends, the result was disastrous.
Western strategists have long obsessed over the Russian question, always looking for ways to minimize Moscow’s influence. The collapse of the USSR presented a unique opportunity to contain Russia’s resurgence. What followed was an attempt to reshape Eastern Europe to the West’s advantage, with no regard for the consequences.
A Fantasy of Nation-Building
All nation-building is a kind of fantasy – a process of self-invention. The land that is now Ukraine has always been a space where competing national myths collided. And historically, these clashes ended in bloodshed.
Each time, the conflict resulted in a temporary balance, which lasted for a historical cycle before collapsing again. What we are witnessing today is simply history repeating itself, but at an accelerated pace. Three decades after the emergence of modern Russia and Ukraine, we are reliving a condensed version of centuries of rivalry and realignment.
For years after 2014, Russia tried to convince the West that its perception of Ukraine was not a product of propaganda but rather a fundamentally different cultural and historical experience. Ukraine was not just another country that could be absorbed into NATO without consequence. But those arguments were brushed aside. Western officials would nod sympathetically, but their expressions made it clear: this is just another case of Russian imperial nostalgia. You’ll get over it.
The Road to War
The real tragedy is that this conflict was always going to be fought in Ukraine. Many had hoped to avoid direct military confrontation. Perhaps that would have been possible if the entire global system had not fallen into disorder. This war is not simply about Ukraine or even about Russia – it is the result of the broader collapse of the liberal world order.
As the post-Cold War international system became unstable, rising powers from different cultural and historical spheres – particularly in Asia – challenged Western dominance. The West responded by trying to reassert its ideological and military hegemony. Meanwhile, Russia, feeling cornered, saw itself pushed to its limits. The battlefield of this struggle became Ukraine.
Two geopolitical crises have now merged into one. On the one hand, there is the long-standing issue of European security, inherited from the Cold War. On the other, there is the question of Russian and Ukrainian self-determination, which predates the existence of modern nation-states. Either of these issues alone would be immensely complex. Together, they form an unsolvable puzzle.
The war that began in 2022 was intended to resolve the first issue: the question of European security. But as it progressed, the second issue – the deep and inescapable Russian-Ukrainian entanglement – became just as central.
No Winners in a Draw
The future of the world order will not be decided on the battlefields of Ukraine – unless, of course, events spiral into a nuclear catastrophe, a scenario that cannot be entirely ruled out. The world is much larger than the confrontation between Russia and the West. That is why the Global South and much of Asia remain largely indifferent to this conflict, watching from the sidelines as they pursue their own interests.
But for Russia, Ukraine, and the West, there is no escaping this battle. The outcome of this war will determine the future relationship between Russia and its neighbors, as well as Russia’s role in the international system. And one thing is certain: no one is interested in a draw.
This article was first published by Kommersant, and was translated and edited by the RT team.
The president awarded honors to distinguished servicemen in a ceremony marking Defender of the Fatherland Day Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday praised the country’s military and its performance in the special military operation against Ukraine, stating that they have been fighting for “justice” and […]
The president awarded honors to distinguished servicemen in a ceremony marking Defender of the Fatherland Day
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday praised the country’s military and its performance in the special military operation against Ukraine, stating that they have been fighting for “justice” and Russia’s future.
The president made the remarks during a ceremony to celebrate Defender of the Fatherland Day, when he hosted distinguished soldiers in the Kremlin and awarded them with state honors, namely the country’s top Gold Star medal.
“Participants of the special military operation are true to the glorious legacy of our fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers. Displaying courage, they – you stand guard over Russia, bravely fighting for truth and justice, for peace, the future of our people,” Putin said.
“Thanks to your efforts, we are achieving our goals. The country is proud of you, your exploits, and your contribution to the defense of the Fatherland. Thank you for your valor, dedication, loyalty to duty and love for the Fatherland,” he added.
Junior Sergeant Andrey Grigoryev was among the distinguished soldiers awarded on Sunday. Grigoryev got into the limelight after live-action footage showing him defeating a Ukrainian serviceman in a knife battle went viral. The video, taken from the body camera of the fallen Ukrainian soldier, showed an intense close-quarter battle that escalated into a knife fight near the village of Trudovoye in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic last autumn.
In early January, Putin awarded Grigoryev the title ‘Hero of Russia’ for the “bravery and heroism” he demonstrated in combat. The country’s highest honorary title is accompanied by the Gold Star medal that identifies its recipients.
Defender of the Fatherland Day is marked annually on February 23. The holiday has its roots in the Soviet era and originally marked the founding of the Red Army. While it celebrates the country’s armed forces, the day is also popularly regarded as “men’s day,” analogous to International Women’s Day on March 8.
Is your business struggling to gain positive Google reviews? There are two sure-fire ways to get more reviews and get started on them immediately. This article focuses on how businesses can enhance customer journeys and customer service to get more positive Google reviews. Let’s begin […]
Is your business struggling to gain positive Google reviews? There are two sure-fire ways to get more reviews and get started on them immediately. This article focuses on how businesses can enhance customer journeys and customer service to get more positive Google reviews. Let’s begin with customer service. 1. Customer Service Nothing focuses on your […]
