Dr. Elizabeth Wishnick

Power of Siberia 2: Significant Shift in Global Gas Markets or Another Pipe(line) Dream? Source: https://www.ft.com/content/541f8bcb-118a-419e-869f-3273fcc9ce92

A PRC observer speculated that Putin's recent proposal for an SCO Development bank might have been geared to Gazprom's woes, not those of developing countries!

See my Substack debunking the pipeline deal of the century
chinasresourcerisks.substack.com/p/power-of-s...

Financing seems to be a big obstacle to the putative Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline from China to Russia as yesterday the PRC's bond rating agency gave Gazprom a AAA rating, perhaps as a consolation prize (no PRC financing promised). Risky for PRC lenders as Gazprom's rating was lower pre-2022.

Before we conclude there's a new world order for gas after Russia's Gazprom signed a memo of intent last week with China's CNPC to build the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline via Mongolia let's look at the details. See my latest Substack post:

chinasresourcerisks.substack.com/p/power-of-s...

Thanks to @joeyans.bsky.social for getting past the standard headlines. @keirgiles.bsky.social and I examine the role of India in relations with Russia and China. Despite all the loose talk about a new China-Russia-India axis, there are a lot of complex issues that will prevent this.

Inside Russia’s Shadow Military Sustaining the War - War on the Rocks “The Nevsky Battalion is accepting volunteers.” This recruitment ad appeared on Russian social media in summer 2025 and is hardly a one-off. Swap out

Terrific new article by Mariya Omelicheva @warontherocks.bsky.social on the role of a huge number of semi-state forces in Russia’s war against Ukraine: warontherocks.com/2025/08/insi...

Just Showing Up

I have a GMF piece up on the backstory behind this week's low-content EU-China summit. A "success" that won't feel like one: www.gmfus.org/news/just-sh...

YouTube video by Decoding Geopolitics Podcast with Dominik Presl The Limit of Russia-China “No-Limit Friendship” & Why 'Reverse Nixon' Will Fail | Elizabeth Wishnick

Some intriguing articles in @nytimes.com lately about PRC hacking in Russia and Kremlin distrust of China. For my take on the limits of the partnership see my interview on the Decoding Geopolics podcast with @dompresl.bsky.social youtu.be/-CSNX3bCiU4?...

What President Lee Jae-myung Means for Northeast Asian Security From the North Korea-Russia alliance to China and Japan, South Korea’s neighbors are watching closely for signs of Lee’s foreign policy approach.

What do China, Russia, and North Korea think about South Korea's new president? See my laest artcle with @cna Carita Reid thediplomat.com/2025/06/what...

What does this mean for the Wilson Center? Does anyone know?

🇷🇺New Episode🇨🇳
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin’s relationship is growing stronger and it could change global power as we know it. Today in The Bunker, @lizwish.bsky.social joins @chrisjonesprod.bsky.social to unpack what their growing alliance means for the rest of the world ➡️ linktr.ee/bunker_pod

DOGE Loses Battle to Take Over USIP—and Its $500 Million Headquarters A federal judge called DOGE’s actions at the United States Institute of Peace “unlawful.”

And here it is in plain English

www.wired.com/story/usip-d...

The Xi-Putin Summit: A Display of China-Russia Resilience on Victory Day Amid Trump’s tariffs and Ukraine talks, Putin and Xi were determined to display the strength of their strategic partnership despite U.S. pressure.

Last week Xi and Putin dropped the "no alliance" formulation. It's also missing from the PRC White Paper on National Security For all the details from the Russian and Chinese documents, see my latest article @thediplomat.com
thediplomat.com/2025/05/the-...

A huge loss for research and educational exchanges, not to mention US soft power.

Fulbright-Hays Grants Canceled for the Year The grant programs have supported the international research of students and scholars for more than 60 years.

www.insidehighered.com/news/global/...

Cartoon: Feds crack down on spring migration To support this work and receive my weekly newsletter with background on each cartoon, please consider joining the Sorensen Subscription Service! Also on Patreon . Follow me on Bluesky ...

www.dailykos.com/stories/2025...

President Donald Trump's approval rating by state in 2025 What is President Donald Trump's approval rating? According to one poll, here's the breakdown in all 50 states.

Worth scrolling through as his approval rating is in low 50s or below 50 in some red states.

www.yahoo.com/news/preside...

The Chinese Mercenaries Fighting Russia’s War in Ukraine How these fighters are recruited, why they joined, and what it means for China’s role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict – and global security in general.

In this article for @thediplomat.com I discuss the 150 or so Chinese mercenaries fighting for Russia in Ukraine--how they were recruited, why they go, and what this mean's for China's role in conflict zones. thediplomat.com/2025/05/the-...

A fascinating story!

White House Proposal Could Gut Climate Modeling the World Depends On Potential funding cuts for NOAA and its research partners threaten irreparable harm not only to climate research but to American safety, competitiveness, and national security.

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Update on USIP

SAVE Act: House Passes GOP Voting Bill That Could Disenfranchise Millions Read more here.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to pass the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a major voter suppression measure that, if it became law, could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters and badly undermine U.S. democracy. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

Hopefully this extends to their antics at the Wilson Center & other agencies they had no business ransacking. Still waiting for their "fraud" highlights from the Wilson Center. Along with discovering that only 30% of funding was federal, they must have learned that money only paid program staffs.

War hero schools a chickenhawk.

Opinion | The 3 words that Putin apologists use to blame the West for Russian aggression “Not one inch” was never a promise to Russia that NATO wouldn’t expand.

www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Sign the Petition Restore the histories of America's servicewomen

www.change.org/p/restore-th...

Wired has really stepped up with its DOGE coverage! They’ve earned my subscription many times over.

The American people have risen up and they are PISSED AS HELL.
#HandsOff

Trump slammed for ‘covertly’ withholding FEMA funds from blue states The Trump administration had claimed FEMA was just launching a new manual review process for allocations — a process the states showed is covertly based on Trump's funding freeze.

NEW: The Trump Admin has been "covertly" withholding FEMA funds from Democratic states, seemingly as retaliation for sanctuary laws, a judge ruled.

Hawaii is missing $6 million for widlfire aid. Oregon is waiting on $129 million for disaster prevention.

DOD is not ending military education. Our satellite campus of the Command and General Staff College is being cut. We educate ~500 Majors/year. These officers will now go to Fort Leavenworth, meaning those in the NCR will now have to go TDY or move + civilian faculty (including me) are jobless.

BOOM!! Bluesky now has more than 34 MILLION users! Share the good news!! 💙 🦋
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