Europe's Goodbye to Russian Gas Lacks Specifics on Finding Replacements
Just a few weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin was brimming with confidence when he said gas flows to Europe via pipeline could be stepped up. There even were signs that US President Donald Trump might be on board.
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Wall Street Journal
15 minutes ago
- Wall Street Journal
‘Our Dear Friends in Moscow' Review: Propaganda and the Press
In September 2020 Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, two of Russia's leading investigative journalists, fled to the West. For years they had been watched and harassed by their country's security services, and by that spring Mr. Soldatov's life was in danger. Neither of them could have imagined this would be their fate when they started out as young reporters in 2000. Having come of age in the 1990s, they had believed that they belonged to a new generation of Russians who were committed to democracy and human rights, only to see their friends reject these ideals in favor of authoritarianism and anti-Westernism. 'Our Dear Friends in Moscow' is a searing and sobering book that captures the profound cynicism and xenophobic nationalism that define contemporary Russia. 'Our Dear Friends in Moscow' tells two interconnected stories. One is intensely personal and recounts the relationships among Mr. Soldatov, Ms. Borogan and several fellow journalists: Evgeny Krutikov, the scion of a once-elite Soviet family; Petya Akopov, an intellectual with a fascination for repressive regimes; Zhenya Baranov, a war correspondent; and Olga Lyubimova, a TV host with connections to the reactionary film director Nikita Mikhalkov. In the early days, their differences seemed unimportant. They worked and socialized together. They partied, drank, smoked and debated the 'accursed questions' about Russia's troubled past and murky future. Things changed once Russian president Vladimir Putin began to suffocate the independent media and civil society in the early 2000s. For a while it seemed that the regime would allow liberal journalists some space in which to work. 'Many believed that this coexistence could last for years and that one day Putin would just be gone,' the authors write. Then, they add, 'things would go back to 'normal'—whatever that meant.' But Mr. Putin did not go away, and the repression intensified. Mr. Soldatov, Ms. Borogan and their friends had to decide whether to resist and join the opposition or to surrender and join the Putin propaganda machine.
Epoch Times
16 minutes ago
- Epoch Times
China's Pro-Russia Remark Aimed at Repairing Ties After Intelligence Breach: Insider
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently told the EU's top diplomat that China does not want Russia to fail in Ukraine because Beijing wants to keep the United States distracted—emphasizing that a Russian collapse would allow the United States to redirect its strategic focus toward Beijing. This statement, to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, raised eyebrows internationally, as it departs from China's long-standing claims of neutrality regarding the war.
American Military News
an hour ago
- American Military News
China, Russia hold major joint military exercise
China and Russia are preparing to hold a series of joint naval exercises in the Pacific over the first week of August, which analysts believe is part of an attempt to challenge the dominance of the U.S. military. TASS, a Russian state news agency, reported that the Russian Pacific Fleet is preparing to host Maritime Interaction 2025, a series of joint naval drills between Russia and China, from August 1 to August 5. 'The Pacific Fleet will host the Russia-China joint naval drills dubbed Maritime Interaction 2025 on August 1-5, 2025,' the Russian Pacific Fleet said in a statement obtained by TASS. 'The standard exercise will be held in the Sea of Japan, with the purpose being to allow the personnel of the Russian Navy and the Navy of the People's Liberation Army of China to share expertise. Defensive in nature, the drills are not directed against third countries.' According to the Russian state news agency, the joint naval drills between Russia and China are expected to feature activities both on land and at sea. The outlet noted that the Russian city of Vladivostok will be used as a command headquarters for the joint military training. READ MORE: Russian military aircraft tracked near Alaska TASS reported that the Russian Pacific Fleet confirmed that the joint naval drills between the two nations will include air defense training, submarine combat training, search and rescue operation training, and joint gun exercises. In a statement released on Wednesday, Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, noted that both China and Russia will deploy contingents from the military forces participating in the joint training to the 'relevant waters of the Pacific Ocean' following Maritime Interaction 2025 for the sixth joint maritime patrol. 'This is an arrangement within the annual cooperation plan between the Chinese and Russian militaries,' the Chinese spokesperson said. 'It is not targeted at any third party, nor is it related to the current international and regional situation.' According to Newsweek, while Russia and China do not currently have a formal treaty or alliance, analysts have suggested that the two countries are both seeking to challenge the dominance of the U.S. military. Last month, Garrett Campbell, a retired U.S. Navy captain and an adviser to NATO, warned, 'It has become resoundingly clear that the increase in bilateral military activities is directly linked to a shared strategic vision held by both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin.'
