Foreign Policy

Brief #153 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov

I see yapping about those who left – Alla, Maxim, Chulpan, Zemfira … It’s Russia that left you. Because Russia is them, not you,” Andrey Makarevich, the legendary Russian singer, said on his personal blog. After February 24th, 2022, when Putin’s army invaded Ukraine with a bloody violent war, a number of top Russia’s celebrities left the country. Their destination is the USA, Israel, Latvia, Germany, and the other places where they feel safe to speak about their disagreement with the war and call for peace.

Brief #152 – Foreign Policy

Ukrainian forces have retaken the Kyiv region and other surrounding areas over the weekend as Russian troops have begun a withdrawal from certain areas of Ukraine. The ongoing invasion has proven to be much more difficult than it seems Russian military officials had expected. About two-thirds of Russian troops have left the Kyiv region and are already in Belarus or on their way there. Though the withdrawal is seen as victory in holding back Russian forces, they are likely to regroup, resupply, and gather reinforcements which may instead intensify fighting later on in other regions.

Brief #150 – Foreign Policy
By Ibrahim Sultan

Over a month into Russia’s assault on Ukraine, there still is no end. Russia’s attempt to conquer Ukraine has stalled and taken a much larger toll than many predicted. A lack of preparedness, supplies, and morale has caused a stalemate among ground forces. Yet as Russia’s advance has slowed, its air assaults have intensified. About 300 people are believed to have been killed in an airstrike by Russian warplanes on a theatre in the city of Mariupol.

Brief #149 – Foreign Policy
By Randy Wyrick

American basketball superstar Brittney Griner is a political prisoner in Russia. To see her plight any other way is to fail to see it at all.

Brief #149 – Foreign Policy
By Ibrahim Sultan

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine enters its second week, the destruction and death toll have continued to worsen. Nearly 2 million people or 4.5% of the population, have fled Ukraine. Most refugees have made their way to neighboring countries such as Hungary, Poland, Moldova, and Slovakia.

Brief #148 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov

My friend Maria is a New York volunteer who collects clothes, blankets, and medicines for Ukrainian hospitals. She sends it to Poland volunteers, paying for express air shipping from her own pocket. Maria was born in Mariupol. Had you ever heard about this place before the devastating war in Ukraine started? Mariupol was a beautiful green Ukrainian city on the coast of the Sea of Azov. If you travel there before February 24th, 2022, you would love this quiet nice place.

Brief #146 – Foreign Policy
By Ibrahim Sultan

On February 24, 2022, the largest assault on a European state since World War Two began as Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces entered by way of air, land, and sea quickly spreading across the country. Areas outside of the capital Kyiv, such as the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and Ukraine’s second-largest city Kharkiv have fallen under Russian control.

Brief #145 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov

I spent my childhood years in Odessa, a sunny seaport city in south Ukraine, on the Black Sea shore. People of more than 133 nations and nationalities have been residing in the Odessa region for hundreds of years. This multicultural melting pot induced tolerance to each other’s traditions, cultures, and languages. That is what was engraved in my childhood memory.

Brief #144 – Foreign Policy
By Ibrahim Sultan

On February 20, 2022, Belarus’ defense ministry announced that Russian troops which had been sent for military exercises and scheduled to return on Sunday would remain in the country indefinitely.

Brief #143 – Foreign Policy
By Ibrahim Sultan

Tensions and the threat of war in Europe remain high in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. On February 10th Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and British Secretary of State Lizz Truss held talks in Moscow to air grievances and attempt to engage in diplomacy.