tribune
The war Against Ukraine Exposes the Shortcomings of International Humanitarian law: Together we can Remedy Them
Mikhail Savva, political scientist and expert at the Ukrainian Centre for Civil Liberties, calls for reform of international humanitarian law in the face of Russian authorities' misleading and deceitful behavior. In his view, the existing mechanisms are not sufficient to force Russia to respect the international conventions it has...
Our Call: Free Vladimir Kara-Murza
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a close friend of Boris Nemtsov and one of the most prominent members of the liberal and anti-nationalist opposition to Vladimir Putin, was arrested at his home in Moscow on April 11, 2022 and sentenced to 15 days in prison — for now. A brilliant personality, a regular...
The Medium Term Consequences of Attempts to Re-engage With the Russian Regime
In my previous paper for Desk Russie, I pointed out the fatal consequences of the lack of understanding of the nature of Putin’s regime by some Western leaders. I am trying to go further here: the attempts to re-engage with the Kremlin have also had long-term effects on the...
Mariupol, a Martyred City: “Putin Intends to Annihilate Mariupol in an Attempt to Force the Ukrainian Government to Capitulate”
Josef Zissels, co-chairman of the Union of Ukrainian Communities (the Vaad), summarized on WhatsApp on March 15 the vibrant story of his friend who is in Mariupol. What is happening there defies imagination. It is about the destruction of a large industrial city, entirely Russian-speaking, and the killing of...
Ukrainian Civil Society Leaders’ six Asks for the World
Putin has unleashed a bloody war on the people of Ukraine. Our hospitals, schools and homes have been bombed, our streets filled with tanks, our sons and daughters shot. Why? Because we stood up to authoritarianism and chose a better life. We chose democracy. We chose freedom. As our nation...
Putin or the Passion for Evil
Putin's aggression against Ukraine was perceived as a thunderclap by the West, because it is always difficult to believe the worst. However, there has been no lack of warning signs, and not only in the last few weeks. Putin's regime has revealed worrying tendencies from his very first months. In...
Calling a Spade a Spade: the Rogue Essence of the Kremlin Regime
How to fight Russian disinformation and lies of Putin's regime on Ukraine? Instead of "dialoguing" with leaders who only swear by force, one should start by calling a spade a spade, and a murderer a murderer, advises one of the best Ukrainian political scientists. In a recent Le Monde article,...
Russia’s Attack on the European Security Order: Germany Must Act
Desk Russie publishes the Open Letter by 73 German Experts on Eastern Europe and International Security, first published in German by “Zeit Online”, on 14 January 2022. Renowned scholars address the Government and political parties represented in the German Parliament. Exposing a destructive and aggressive Russian policy, this important...
Sowing Chaos
The Russian president is known for his professional habit of disguising the truth, but he is sometimes surprisingly frank. On November 18, at an expanded meeting of the Foreign Ministry's college, he said that Russia's actions were causing "some tension" in the West and that the goal of Russian...
Covid19: How Russia Lost the Third World War
It is already possible to recognize that Russia has lost the Third World War, it is a medical diagnosis. The demographic losses due to Covid19 already amount to one million people in one and a half years, compared to the deaths during the First World War (from 1.3 to...