Every day, ships leave this russian owned factory in Ireland straight for St Petersburg carrying thousands of tonnes of raw alumina for the war machine.
There’s corruption everywhere. Locals tell me politicians are bought by oligarchs.
Ireland is no longer militarily neutral.
Kasparov: Russians may not embrace Western democracy by heart, but they may embrace it by stomach if forced to choose between becoming a Chinese satellite or paying the price to return to Europe.
Nothing happens in Russia until Ukraine wins: victory for Ukraine, freedom for Russia. 2X
This is a brilliant investigative piece on Farage, the dark millions behind him and the double standards of so much British journalism. Read and retweet! Nigel Farage pocketing £5m from a donor shows he’s unfit for power https://t.co/zHuVfDV8dh
Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Andrii Melnyk:
Thirty-five million Russians have no toilet at home.
On the one hand, Russia demands recognition as a "great superpower," claiming the right to redraw state borders by force and impose a new sphere of influence.
Yet, on the other hand, around 35 million Russian citizens still rely on outside toilets — shabby wooden huts in yards and gardens.
Putin wants to convince American mediators and the broader international community that peace itself hinges on Ukraine’s voluntary surrender of the Donetsk region and that, once this demand is met, Russia will at last be happy and eternal peace will follow.
Does anyone seriously believe this fairy tale? We don’t.
What is the purpose of this relentless war of conquest when only about 1 percent of Russia’s vast territory is populated and developed, while the remaining 99 percent are largely neglected and, at best, partially exploited for natural resource extraction?
Moreover, during his 26-year rule, Putin has effectively abandoned his population, many of whom still struggle with the most basic standards of sanitation.
According to official statistical data, one-fourth of Russian households do not have access to centralized sewage systems or indoor sanitation facilities.
In rural areas, the situation is even more severe: in some regions, up to two-thirds of households must rely on outdoor pit latrines.
Let us imagine the scale of the absurdity we are dealing with.
On the one hand, Russia demands recognition as a "great superpower," claiming the right to redraw state borders by force and impose a new sphere of influence.
Yet, on the other hand, around 35 million Russian citizens still rely on outside toilets — shabby wooden huts in yards and gardens.
Let me repeat: thirty-five million Russians have no toilet at home.
This is roughly the population of Malaysia, Poland, or Saudi Arabia and is comparable to the population of Texas, or almost that of California.
Putin wants Russia to be seen as a respected global player while living conditions for a huge part of Russia’s population remain no better than in the early Middle Ages.
This is the true paradox before us: Putin seeks imperial expansion abroad while failing to secure basic human dignity at home - @MelnykAndrij
Trump ended military support for Ukraine. It was a direct betrayal of the Budapest Memorandum.
But now it gets even worse.
European nations raised $750 million to buy U.S. weapons for Ukraine. They sent the money.
And now Trump refuses to deliver because of the war he started with Iran.
A war involving Iran is no longer just about the Middle East. It is reshaping the battlefield in Ukraine as well.
Carole Cadwalladr, "My ongoing frustration with Nigel Farage he is seen as this English figure, wears tweed, goes to the pub, we see him through this lens"
"He has received almost no journalistic scrutiny throughout his entire career till very recently"
"He's not that cuddle cosy golf club English pub figure"
"He is in a relationship with the US far right and with the European pro-Kremlin far right"
"What happened in Brexit, we saw that money that force that influence, those networks coming together"
"It was the first real political campaign in the UK run through these online platforms"
"They ran a mock, blasted through electoral law, data law, and we're living with the consequences of that"
"Our constitution changes, the shape of Europe changed, our national security changed"
"And here is Nigel Farage in this pole position now, to potentially take power and we're not understanding the consequences of that"
"If you look at what Trump is doing in the US, the way he had a plan of what to do in office"
"Farage is now working with the same people"
"There is going to be an all out assault in the same way on the rule of law and our institutions"
Zack Polanski, "It's already happening"
Carole Cadwalladr, "The stakes of that are unfelt by most people, it's an abstract"
"We have to see what is happening in America and learn those lessons"