@stevenseegel.bsky.social
professor & associate chair of Slavic and Eurasian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, dog lover, slow marathon runner, opinions mine
β‘οΈUkrainian journalist Roshchyna died in Russian custody in September 2024, investigation finds.
Viktoriia Roshchyna disappeared in August 2023 while reporting in Russian-occupied territories. Russian authorities confirmed her detention the following year.
Very interesting. Trump seems to finally be getting intelligence that Russia is not doing well and Ukraine has actually started to gain an upper hand in some areas. The narrative of Ukraine failure, which was always overblown, might be ending in Washington.
23.09.2025 20:32 β π 350 π 59 π¬ 54 π 10That is indeed the point.
20.09.2025 17:34 β π 35 π 4 π¬ 0 π 0
β‘οΈUpdate: 1 killed, 13 injured in large-scale Russian missile, drone attack on Ukrainian cities.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, regional Governor Serhii Lysak reported that one person was killed and 13 others injured amid the large-scale attack on the country.
The US ceased to be a reliable NATO ally on January 20, 2025. The last week has simply made that undeniable. The only question now is whether European leaders accept it.
The USA will not now defend Europe from Russia. That is reality. Everything else is hopes and dreams.
β‘οΈUkraine reportedly strikes oil refinery in Russia's Saratov Oblast, explosions reported deep inside Russia.
Ukrainian drones reportedly struck an oil refinery in the Russian city of Saratov overnight on Sept. 20, Russian Telegram media channels reported, citing resident accounts.
Not only the Saratov refinery, which produces annually over 7 million tons in oil products, was hit by Ukrainian drones last night, but also the Novokuybyshevsk refinery in the Samara region, Russia, the latter producing 7.9 million tons in oil products, annually.
20.09.2025 07:25 β π 749 π 137 π¬ 15 π 10Against the backdrop of Russian jets violating the airspace of Estonia and Poland earlier today, I find it odd that so many sensible people, including Lithuaniaβs Defence Minister, invoke Turkeyβs response to a Russian attack aircraft in 2015. 1/7
20.09.2025 06:59 β π 40 π 19 π¬ 3 π 4In which case, my liberal arts college could learn a lot from you ;)
17.09.2025 19:31 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0I'm sensing a need to add "power, money, and corruption" to course titles
17.09.2025 18:41 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0I have heard this view many times and interestingly, I am hearing it more now than in the past. Often it is little more than a convenient excuse to sit back and do nothing. Even when it isn't, the distance from here to complacency is short. "Kyiv in 3 days" is history but Russia might as well win
15.09.2025 10:12 β π 64 π 15 π¬ 6 π 1
β‘οΈZelensky calls for tougher US sanctions, warns Russian drone strikes on Poland are 'Putinβs war.'
Zelensky remarks come days after Russian drones violated Polish airspace and were shot down in what marked the first known instance of NATO forces directly engaging Russian aerial assets.
β‘οΈRomania scrambles jets, Poland closes airport over Russian drone alerts.
"Russian military personnel know exactly where their drones are headed and how long they can stay in the air," Volodymyr Zelensky said, commenting on the attacks. "This cannot be an accident.β
β‘οΈ'This is just the beginning' β Pro-Ukrainian partisans claim strike on Russian air defense factory.
Communications were disabled after a strike on an air defense factory in the Russian city of Tula, the pro-Ukrainian Atesh partisan group claimed on Sept. 11.
Latest in @theatlantic.com . The Russian deliberate attack on Poland (and thats what it was) should have been easy for NATO to handle. However the alliance failed--and the reasons why show just how dysfunctional it has become.
11.09.2025 07:54 β π 368 π 116 π¬ 13 π 4Russia attacked Poland with 19 Shahed and Gerbera drones costing around $35,000 each.
Four of the drones were shot down with AIM-120C-7 missiles, each costing over $1 million.
Given Poland and NATO refuse to recognize they're at war, the battle advantage lies with Russia.
π€‘ Russia has demanded that Poland immediately reopen checkpoints on the Polish-Belarusian border.
π΅βπ« Zakharova called the decision to close the checkpoint βdestructiveβ and warned Poland of βserious damage.β
NEW: Russian drones violated Polish airspace on the night of September 9 to 10 in what NATO and European officials have suggested was an intentional Russian incursion.
Read the full update: isw.pub/UkrWar091025
The Russian drone attack on Poland has created an extremely sensitive situation. Some groups within Poland may push to trigger Article 4 of the NATO treaty, which would mean requesting Alliance-wide consultations on the countryβs security concerns. 1/7
10.09.2025 08:37 β π 78 π 13 π¬ 3 π 10
β‘οΈ Update: NATO activates Article 4 after Russian drones entered Polish airspace, Warsaw says.
Article 4 of the NATO treaty allows member states to request consultations with the allies if they believe their security has been threatened, without triggering a military response.
Russia sentences Crimean Jehovahβs Witness to six years 'for reading religious texts'
khpg.org/en/1608814987
The Union State of Russia and Belarus carried out a pre-planned armed attack on Poland.
Because Poland and NATO do not recognize last night's assault with drones to be an act of war, this engagement must be regarded as a victory for the russian terrorist state.
So if Russia did not attack Poland last night--can we say the Russians launched a special military operation against Poland? That cant offend anyone right....
10.09.2025 15:41 β π 464 π 89 π¬ 12 π 5Today, millions of people suddenly discovered, to their astonishment, that the North Atlantic Treaty also has articles 1 to 4. Thanks to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation for their educational efforts
10.09.2025 18:38 β π 357 π 60 π¬ 4 π 3Russian drones attacked Poland, a NATO country. Are we just supposed to spin this story some other way?
10.09.2025 06:57 β π 21 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
β‘οΈPutin βtesting NATO resolve,β US congressman warns as Poland confirms airspace breach by Russian drones.
Polish authorities temporarily closed Warsaw Chopin Airport and placed the countryβs air defenses on high alert overnight on Sept. 10.
The "coalition of the willing" should be called the "coalition of the meetings". They don't do blitzkrieg, they do sitzkrieg.
10.09.2025 07:12 β π 1440 π 272 π¬ 38 π 9
Just sent out this free post. Russia attacked Poland last night--and the NATO response indicates institutional and national failure. They were clearly not prepared, cannot even call the Russian attack an attack, and do not understand their real security concerns. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
10.09.2025 08:36 β π 507 π 189 π¬ 28 π 26We got very close to a hot war with Russia in the last 24 hours.
10.09.2025 07:45 β π 561 π 93 π¬ 29 π 5Last night in Poland we saw the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began, and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental.
I am in contact with NATO Secretary General Rutte and Poland FM Sikorski.
The EU stands in full solidarity with Poland. (1/2)
