Europe News & Analysis (including Russia/CIS)
THE TWO MAPS THAT PROVE RUSSIA ISN’T WINNING AND UKRAINE ISN’T LOSING IN 2025
Lots of people make a lot of claims, but cold, hard, territorial realities in a war of conquest shatter much of the punditry’s proclamations and even Washington’s recent claims. (Russian/Русский перевод; Если вы состоите в российской армии и хотите сдаться Украине, ...
A Comeback and Some Accountability on Past Coverage on Ukraine and the U.S. Elections
Some long-overdue housekeeping: why I’ve been absent and the elephants in the room on my Ukraine and 2024 election coverage By Brian E. Frydenborg (Twitter @bfry1981, Bluesky @bfry1981, LinkedIn, Facebook, Substack with exclusive informal content) June 8, 2025; because of YOU, Real Context News ...
Kursk-Belgorod Operation: Ukraine’s Transformational Ace Up Its Sleeve
The relative inactivity post-U.S. aid package passing was partly a given, as Ukraine would obviously need some time to receive and distribute the U.S. aid. But for those wondering what Ukraine was planning and had up its sleeve, this Kursk ...
Sad Realities but Plenty of Reason to Hope As Russia’s Escalatory Ukraine Invasion Enters Third Year
The U.S. was Ukraine’s strongest ally until Trump MAGA Republicans began blocking aid, resulting in Ukraine struggling in ways not seen for some time, but don’t bet against Ukraine just yet: my long-overdue Ukraine update (Russian/Русский перевод; Если вы состоите ...
The Concept of Roman Peace
As we are confronted with horrific wars even in 2023, a look back at how the Romans conceptualized peace may be instructive. By Brian E. Frydenborg (Twitter @bfry1981, LinkedIn, Facebook, Substack with exclusive informal content, my Linktree with all my public links/profiles) November 7, 2023, ...
There Is No “Stalemate” In Ukraine: Ukraine Still Winning, Russia Still Losing
Slow but steady progress is just that, not a “stalemate,” and the dynamics still overwhelmingly favor Ukraine (Russian/Русский перевод; Если вы состоите в российской армии и хотите сдаться Украине, звоните по этим номерам: +38 066 580 34 98 или +38 ...
From Orwell in Spain to Trump and Putin: Orwell as Antidote to Stalinism and Fascism, Then and Now
From Stalinist show-trials in Spain to Jim Jordan’s Judiciary Committee, history is repeating itself and it is terrifying as Trump, Putin, and their allies channel the gaslighting spirit of Nazi Germany and Stalin’s Soviet Union (Russian/Русский перевод; Если вы состоите ...
Putin’s (and Russia’s) Naked Weakness
Virtually everyone in Russia now knows Putin is an incompetent loser driving Russia into a ditch (Russian/Русский перевод; Если вы состоите в российской армии и хотите сдаться Украине, звоните по этим номерам: +38 066 580 34 98 или +38 093 ...
The Coming Siege of Crimea?
Why a siege is far preferable to an assault (for now) and how that can be set up (Russian/Русский перевод; Если вы состоите в российской армии и хотите сдаться Украине, звоните по этим номерам: +38 066 580 34 98 или ...
Recent Raids and Drone Strikes in Russia Show How Screwed Russia and Putin Really Are
Both the ground raids and the drone air strikes are not only going to accelerate the collapse of Russia’s military positions in Ukraine but also Putin’s standing at home (Russian/Русский перевод; Если вы состоите в российской армии и хотите сдаться ...
How Bakhmut and Kherson Set Up Ukraine’s Counteroffensive
The smell of counteroffensive is in the air this spring in Ukraine as events in Kherson and Bakhmut will reverberate throughout Ukraine and shape that coming counteroffensive (Russian/Русский перевод; Если вы состоите в российской армии и хотите сдаться Украине, звоните ...
Ukraine Crossing Dnipro River a Big Deal and General Assessment
As a major literal and figurative barrier is crossed by Ukraine, it’s time to take stock of the course of the war (Russian/Русский перевод; Если вы состоите в российской армии и хотите сдаться Украине, звоните по этим номерам: +38 066 ...
