The first few days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine did not go down how President Putin or the rest of the world might have imagined. Some blame Russia’s intelligence apparatus for its surprising failure to quash the Ukrainian military early on. But with Putin sitting on top of a spy machine that feeds its leader…

Russian President Vladimir Putin is running out of places he can travel without getting arrested. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March, now South Africa and Armenia – both Russian allies – told Putin they would have no choice but to lock the leader up if he crossed their…

Authoritarian governments, like those in Russia and China, have renewed their commitments to media suppression with high-profile crackdowns on media stationed within their borders. Russia and China have collaborated closely on disseminating propaganda under the guise of journalism while also employing similar methods to deal with voices of dissent. Russian journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to…

When TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testified before Congress in March, he claimed the platform — owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance — doesn’t share user data with the Chinese government. Lawmakers weren’t buying it and neither have dozens of countries around the world. Congress, the U.S. military and more than half of U.S. states…

The addition of Finland as the 31st member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) doubles the alliance’s border in northeastern Europe and provides a significant setback to Russia and Vladimir Putin. During the ceremony in Brussels on April 4 that officially welcomed Finland into the NATO ranks, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken…

Finland is set to become the newest member of NATO today, doubling NATO’s presence along Russia’s borders. It is election day in Chicago, as two Democratic candidates are in a run-off for Chicago mayor. These stories and more highlight the daily rundown for Tuesday, April 4, 2023.  Finland joins NATO as 31st member Finland will…

Vladlen Tartarsky, a well-known pro-Russian military blogger, was killed in an explosion at a cafe in Saint Petersburg on Saturday, April 1. Russian state media reported that Tartarsky was given a small statue as a gift which was laced with more than 200 grams of TNT, causing the explosion that killed him and injured at…

If Russia were to win the Ukraine War and push towards territory closer to Turkey, like in Moldova and Romania, Turkey would benefit from the security of being part of NATO. But Turkey, still reeling from massive earthquakes in February 2023, is a headache for NATO in many ways. Some Turkish companies and banks have…

It’s been six months since a series of explosions damaged the Nord Stream pipelines. Investigators still don’t have conclusive evidence showing who is responsible for the sabotage, but there is a new theory. Germany’s digital new outlet, TOnline, working with Open Source Intelligence, found evidence the Russian navy may have used mini-submersibles to bomb the…