WORLD ROUNDUP – 13-19 FEBRUARY 2023The Truth about UFOs | Russia Has Already Lost in the Long Run | Is Chinese Science All It’s Cracked Up to Be? | Conspiracy Theories on '15-Minute Cities' Flourish, and more
WAR IN UKRAINE
· Russia Has Deployed 97% of Army in Ukraine but Is Struggling to Advance, U.K. Says
U.S., allies gather for a second day of talks on boosting supplies to Kyiv
· Moscow’s Military Capabilities Are in Question After Failed Battle for Ukrainian City
The scale of Moscow’s losses there is only now beginning to come into focus
· Russia ‘Loses 2,000 Troops for Every 100 Yards Won’
Costly Russian human wave assaults in eastern Ukraine
· Putin Faces ‘Quiet Rebellion’ in Kremlin Over Ukraine War Failures
Putin’s image as a master strategist has been shattered
· It’s High Time to Decolonize Western Russia Studies
Why has it taken a war of conquest for experts to recognize Russia’s nature as a vast imperial enterprise?
· Russia Has Already Lost in the Long Run
Even if Moscow holds onto territory, the war has wrecked its future
CHINA WATCH
· Paper Dragons: Is Chinese Science All It’s Cracked Up to Be?
Chinese brag often turns out to be little more than a paper dragon
· Three Years On, Covid Lab-Leak Theories Aren’t Going Away. This Is Why
Are they just fringe conspiracies—or could they be something more?
· Sofia’s Rollout of Chinese Cameras in Public Transit Raises Questions, Sparks Backlash
The Chinese company has become the target of U.S. sanctions over its links to the Chinese military
· Kim Jong-un Tightens Grip on Power with Purge of Party Officials
Restless leader acts amid reports of worst food crisis since the famines of the 1990s
· For Xi Jinping, Cyber Is Personal
Cyber has also become a key tool in the preservation of Xi Jinping
· What China Has Learned from the Ukraine War
Even great powers aren’t safe from economic warfare—if the U.S.-led order sticks together
· The U.S. Overreacted to the Chinese Spy Balloon. That Scares Me.
U.S. should fashion a more calm, sober approach to the China’s challenge
· The Sources of Chinese Conduct
Are Washington and Beijing fighting a new cold war?
THE LONG VIEW
· Militantly Waiting for the End of Time
Messianism retains a potent attraction
· The Truth about UFOs
The stigma attached to military personnel who report unidentified aerial phenomena has gone
· Gung-Ho Poland Is Becoming a Military Leader in Europe
The Franco-German axis is tired and NATO is looking eastwards
· U.S. Worried by Myanmar Junta, Russia Expanding Nuclear Cooperation
Myanmar has been suspected of pursuing a nuclear weapons program in the past.
· ‘An Unprecedented Constitutional Crisis’
What Netanyahu’s assault on the Supreme Court means for Israel
· In 46 Words, Biden Sends a Clear Message to Israel
Biden is as pro-Israel in his gut, so whatever Biden has to say about Israel comes from a place of real concern
· Good Riddance to the War on Terror
December 31 marked the end of what came to be called the “global war on terrorism,” or the GWOT
· It’s Time for America to Revisit the Monroe Doctrine
Bold actions in the Western Hemisphere by China and Iran aim to test U.S. response and resolve
MORE PICKS
· How UFO Mania Went Mainstream
With unknown objects now being shot down from the skies, the latest headlines are out of this world
· Conspiracy Theories on ‘15-Minute Cities’ Flourish
Conspiratorial social media users claim we are on the road to “climate lockdowns”
· ‘Radical Change Will Come’: Iranians Propose New Political System After Months of Anti-Regime Protests
Proposals for a post-Islamic-republic put forth amid widespread protests
· Parents Urged to Report Their Radicalized Teens Using Online Form
Only 166 of the 6,406 referrals to the Prevent program in the year to March 2022 were made by friends or relatives
· Was Pablo Neruda Murdered?
There has long been suspicion that Neruda was murdered by Pinochet’s military dictatorship
· Australia Foils Iran Surveillance Plot and Vows to Bring Foreign Interference ‘Into the Light’
Iran that was targeting an Iranian-Australian on Australian soil
· France ‘Concerned’ About State of Britain’s Armed Forces
UK capability questioned amid wrangles over funding, depleted reserves
· How Corruption and Misrule Made Turkey’s Earthquake Deadlier
Buried under the rubble were also the promises of responsive governance and a corruption-free country
WAR IN UKRAINE
Russia Has Deployed 97% of Army in Ukraine but Is Struggling to Advance, U.K. Says (Isabel Coles and David Luhnow, Wall Street Journal)
The U.K. said Russia has deployed nearly its entire army in Ukraine, increasing pressure along the front line in the east of the country but falling short of a breakthrough.
Ukrainian officials have warned of a renewed Russian onslaught to coincide with the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion next week. But some Western officials say the offensive is unlikely to be one single event. Russian forces have redoubled attacks along the front lines in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, eking out gains after a series of reversals last year.
Moscow’s Military Capabilities Are in Question After Failed Battle for Ukrainian City (Marc Santora, New York Times)
A disastrous Russian assault on Vuhledar, viewed as an opening move in an expected spring offensive, has renewed doubts about Moscow’s ability to sustain a large-scale ground assault.
Russia ‘Loses 2,000 Troops for Every 100 Yards Won’ (Bruno Waterfield and George Grylls, The Times)
Russia is losing as many as 2,000 men for every 100 yards gained in human wave assaults in eastern Ukraine, according to NATO intelligence.
The figures came after a day of pledges by NATO defense ministers to equip Ukraine against the Russian offensive, particularly its aerial threat, amid reports that the Kremlin is massing fighter jets, bombers and attack helicopters on its western borders.
Putin Faces ‘Quiet Rebellion’ in Kremlin Over Ukraine War Failures (Marc Bennetts, The Times)
The Russian leader looks increasingly isolated and his mistakes have cost him the respect and loyalty of top officials, analysts say.
It’s High Time to Decolonize Western Russia Studies (Artem Shaipov and Yuliia Shaipova, Foreign Policy)
As a fact of history and problem of contemporary geopolitics, Russia’s nature as an imperial power is incontrovertible.So why has this fundamental, foundational fact about Russia been all but ignored in the West for so long, including among those who study and analyze the region? Why has it taken a brutal war of conquest for most Western Russia experts even to begin addressing Russia’s nature as a vast colonial enterprise? (Cont.)
