Anna Karjalainen

🇬🇪 On Sept 27, 1993, Abkhaz separatists, backed by Russian forces, North Caucasus fighters & mercenaries, captured the city. By Sept 30, they occupied all of Abkhazia.

5,738 Georgian civilians were killed. Nearly 300,000 Georgians were forced from their homes.

Belarus proposes building nuclear plant to supply electricity to occupied Ukraine Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko expressed the idea of building a new power plant in the east of Belarus during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sept. 26.

⚡️Belarus proposes building nuclear plant to supply electricity to occupied Ukraine.

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko expressed the idea of building a new power plant in the east of Belarus during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sept. 26.

Uh oh. Poland has urged its citizens to leave Belarus immediately and avoid traveling there.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urges Polish citizens remaining in the Republic of Belarus to leave its territory immediately, using available commercial and private means.”

Norway opens world’s northernmost permanent radiation monitoring The air filter monitoring station will serve as an important supplement to Norway’s nuclear emergency preparedness and will strengthen vigilance in the north.

Norway takes measures to monitor human-made isotopes in the high Arctic amid Russia's test-season for the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile at Novaya Zemlya.
#Svalbard #Radiation #NuclearSafety #CTBTO

❗️The 🇩🇪German Navy frigate FGS Hamburg (F220) called at the port of 🇩🇰Copenhagen as part of NATO's Operation Baltic Sentry to protect the Baltic region.

Latvia urges NATO to bolster Baltic air defence after Russian incursions Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics urged NATO on Saturday to increase its protection of the Baltic States, citing Russian violations of the alliance's airspace, and adding to a similar call from Lithuania.

"Transforming Baltic air policing to a Baltic air defence mission with respective rules of engagement should be a priority"

Unidentified drones reportedly spotted in Denmark, Lithuania, Finland The incidents come as Russian drones and military aircraft have increasingly entered NATO airspace, prompting heightened alert and readiness across the alliance.

⚡️Update: NATO to expand Baltic Sea mission after Danish drone incursions.

The alliance plans to upgrade its Baltic Sentry mission to include new "intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms and at least one air-defense frigate," according to a NATO statement sent to Reuters.

YouTube video by Byline TV We Need To Talk About Ukraine.

We Need To Talk About Ukraine - and what it would give up by surrendering the Donbas youtu.be/FEv_G-q4nMI?... @reflextv.bsky.social via @bylinetv.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social

Putin’s Bots and Drones Target Trust And the American media ecosystem leaves us vulnerable.

"Information shapes perceptions, drives alliances, corrodes trust, and determines the resilience and power found in democracies." Putin understands and exploits this better than we do. ICYMI @markhertling.bsky.social: www.thebulwark.com/p/putins-bot...

www.nbcnews.com/world/europe...

While intercepting drones is key to defending NATO's airspace, experts say governments should consider measures such as air raid warning apps and increased shelter capacity.

"It would be a terrifying new step, but I don't think it's an excessive step," defense analyst @cerianbond.bsky.social said.

So Trump tells Europeans to increase their defence budgets & buy more US kit, & the Pentagon tells them they can’t have it. Maybe it’s time for Europe to stop thinking it can rely on the US, & start investing in a rapid build-up of domestic arms production, even if it’s slightly lower quality.

And also on Friday, two Russian aircraft buzzed a Polish oil platform in the Baltic. I’m sensing a pattern. If NATO doesn’t make the Russians take them seriously, intrusions will grow more dangerous. They need to be told if they enter NATO airspace, they will be shot down - & we have to mean it.

The Latest Challenge to Türkiye’s Democracy: Crippling the Main Opposition Party The country stands at yet another important threshold of power consolidation and shrinking space for the opposition.

The government-led campaign against Türkiye’s main opposition party appears to follow a central principle, says @iacoskun.bsky.social: “If you can’t beat them, find another way to contain them.”

What this containment looks like & what it may mean: carnegieendowment.org/emissary/202...

The data is in -- tourism to US dropped after Trump came in, while tourism recovered in rest of world...foreign arrivals at American airports down 3.8% compared with 2024, or 1.3m fewer people. With more Americans going the other way. See charts via @economist.com

www.economist.com/graphic-deta...

At least we have a fully consistent TransAtlantic response to Russian aggression: We respond in two weeks!

UK fighter jets begin NATO air defence mission over Poland British fighter jets have flown their first NATO air defence sortie over Poland as part of NATO's Eastern Sentry mission, the government said, aimed at strengthening the Western alliance's defences following a Russian drone incursion this month.

UK fighter jets begin NATO air defence mission over Poland reut.rs/424E5xA

Rosnefteflot’s towing fleet Russian flag tug RN Neptune transited Bosphorus towards Med en route from Tuapse to Ust-Luga. #OOTT

Jets Over Estonia Are Putin’s Latest Check of U.S. and NATO Resolve NATO chased away the jets a week after shooting down Russian drones in Poland. These incidents add to a troubling trend.

NATO leaders have announced a new initiative, Eastern Sentry, to defend the airspace of frontline states. But the U.S. response has been underwhelming—nonexistent, really. Trump has repeatedly suggested that the incursion of Russian drones into Poland may have been accidental. on.cfr.org/4mwpUbX

Polish border shutdown poses questions on Asia-Europe rail freight The closure of Poland’s crossings with Belarus on September 12 has rattled transport and logistics companies, which warn that a prolonged halt could drive cargo away from the country, disrupt supply chains and inflate costs for businesses,

ICYMI: The closure of Poland’s crossings with Belarus on September 12 has rattled transport and logistics companies, which warn that a prolonged halt could drive cargo away from the country, disrupt supply chains and inflate costs for businesses, Bne IntelliNews

Estonia’s foreign minister summons Russia’s chargé d’affaires over 12-minute incursion in Estonia’s airspace Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 19 summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Russian Federation in Estonia to lodge a protest for an "unprecedentedly brazen" violation of Estonia’s airspace after three MiGs entered its airspace.

ICYMI: Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on September 19 summoned the chargé d’affaires of the Russian Federation in Estonia to lodge a protest for an "unprecedentedly brazen" violation of Estonia’s airspace after three MiGs entered its airspace. Bne IntelliNews

$23bn windfall for Kazakhstan as Beijing shifts up a gear on New Silk Road Resource-rich Central Asian country emerges as a standout destination for Chinese investment.

ICYMI: Resource-rich Central Asian country emerges as a standout destination for Chinese investment. Bne IntelliNews

North Korean leader oversees test of AI-powered attack drones Pyongyang unveiled its first attack drones last year, a move that experts warned was closely linked to its growing military partnership with Russia, and may also be linked to Chinese agencies supplying Pyongyang with technical support.

Pyongyang unveiled its first attack drones last year, a move that experts warned was closely linked to its growing military partnership with Russia, and may also be linked to Chinese agencies supplying Pyongyang with technical support. Bne IntelliNews

NEW: Reporters at the Pentagon have been told they can no longer report information which has not been approved. Those who refuse will lose their press credentials - WaPo

Explosions rocked many Ukrainian cities overnight, and the city of Dnipro suffered: russia launched dozens of Shared drones, ballistic missiles, and then cruise missiles at the city. Early in the morning, a multi-story residential building was hit, with injuries...

Recognising Palestinian statehood is a moral duty, says Keir Starmer

🔺 NEW: Sir Keir Starmer will formally recognise Palestine as a state on Sunday after Israel failed to meet conditions he set in July that would have postponed the historic step

Tech Companies Warn H-1B Visa Holders to Avoid Foreign Travel The tech sector and other companies rushed to warn employees with H-1B visas against foreign travel as they responded to the chaos created by President Donald Trump’s move to slap a $100,000 application fee on the widely used program.

The tech sector and other companies rushed to warn employees with H-1B visas against foreign travel as they responded to the chaos created by President Donald Trump’s move to slap a $100,000 application fee on the widely used program

Capitulation and the Attack on Free Speech The crackdown on Jimmy Kimmel is an outrage that puts us all at risk

Theodore Roosevelt, 1918:

“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country.”
www.americaamerica.news/p/capitulati...

YouTube video by Democracy for Sale How Reform UK Became Britain's MAGA Movement - Eliot Higgins (Bellingcat)

Recently @eliothiggins.bsky.social appeared on the Democracy For Sale podcast discussing how our information ecosystem is breaking and what steps we could take to rebuild it: youtu.be/ZPSvAS2W3cc?...

In more bizarre #Intervision developments, Russia’s entry Shaman addresses the audience after his act and says he asks the jury to disregard his performance and not assign him a score - the “rules of hospitality” dictate “I have no right to lay claim to victory”, he says.