Brief #142 – Foreign Policy
By Abran C
On July 31, 2022 Ukranian President Zelensky ordered civilians to evacuate from the Donetsk region. Between 200,000 and 220,000 civilians still live in the unoccupied area of Donetsk, according to Ukrainian estimates.
Brief #141 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The WNBA is the premier basketball league in the world for professional female basketball players and has been at the center of American media attention due to the trial of Brittney Griner in Russia. Brittney Griner, an American basketball player, who plays for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
Griner was arrested quickly after the Russian invasion into Ukraine; with critics of the Putin regime and war suggesting that she was arrested as a political pawn, however, her charges are regarding the use of hashish oil which is illegal in Russia.
Brief #141 – Foreign Policy
By Abran C
As fighting continues to rage in Ukraine’s East, Russian President Putin on Monday, July 4th, 2022 declared victory in the region of Luhansk, only one day after Ukrainian forces withdrew from their last remaining bastion of resistance in the province, the city of Severodonetsk, which is now in Russian hands.
Brief #140 – Foreign Policy
By Ian Milden
On June 22nd, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced plans to dissolve the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. This means that a snap election will be held this fall. This will be the fifth election in Israel in under four years.
Brief #139 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The Tour de France is the pinnacle of professional cycling. It is the highest level of competition on the biggest stage in the world, in one of the toughest endurance sports out there. Until now, it has been strictly for men. This 21-day stage race has taken place almost every summer since 1903 – with some breaks in competition for the two world wars which devastated much of France. Like many other major sporting competitions, the Tour de France is a 21-day period of time for France to show off its many glorious features.
TV viewers and spectators alike are treated to dazzling images of the Alps and Pyrennees mountains, views over the Atlantic and Mediterranean, mass celebrations and French heroics on Bastille Day, and to end it all – a massive sprint finish down the Champs Elysees in the heart of Paris at dusk with views of the Seine, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe.
Brief #138 – Foreign Policy
By Yelena Korshunov
I’m speaking with a man who was on his way to fight for his country, Ukraine, that was invaded by Russia’s troops on February 24, 2022. He packed his bag in his Brooklyn house to cross the Atlantic Ocean, back to the land where he was born. He was almost done with packing when his close relative stepped in.
Brief #137 – Foreign Policy
By Abran C
Over 100 days into Russia’s war on Ukraine, there is still no end in sight. Russia now controls a large swath of Ukrainian territory that extends from around Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv, through the separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, and westward to the city of Kherson, forming a land bridge linking the captured territory to the Crimean peninsula.
Brief #136 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The intersection of sports and politics have largely focused on this winter’s Olympic Games in China, and also the banning of Russian athletes globally. However, one gargantuan sport competition is set to take place this fall, and the controversy surrounding it has been to a large degree overshadowed by other parts of the world.
Brief #125 – Foreign Policy
By Abran C
On May 8, 2022, it was reported by the governor of the Luhansk region in Ukraine that a Russian missile killed 60 people sheltering inside a school. The Luhansk region has seen fierce combat as Russian troops and separatist fighters seek to surround government forces in their eastward offensive.
Brief #124 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The larger question regarding the banning of Russian and Belarussian athletes is, should it apply to athletes who openly oppose the war and/or Vladimir Putin? An interesting example is Andrey Rublev. He wrote “No War Please” on a TV camera lens after advancing to the final match of the Dubai Championship. Is this sort of outward expression of anti-war sentiment something to be considered when banning athletes from sports based on the actions of their governmental leaders?
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.
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.