John Mearsheimer: Toward All-Out War With Both Russia & Iran
Glenn Diesen | May 18, 2026
Prof. John Mearsheimer discusses the West going up the escalation ladder against both Russia and Iran, with all-out war as the logical conclusion.
Dead Silence: UN, OSCE Ignore Russian Appeals Over Ukraine’s Slaughter at Starobelsk
Sputnik – 28.05.2026
MOSCOW – There has been no response from the UN, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), or other international organizations to Russia’s appeals regarding the Ukrainian strike on Starobelsk, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova told Sputnik.
Lantratova previously reported that she had sent letters to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the OSCE Secretary General, the President of the UN Human Rights Council, and other international organizations regarding the Ukrainian strike on a college and dormitory in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).
“We sent letters immediately after the tragedy occurred. We have not yet received any response. We are awaiting it, and hope for an objective assessment of these events by the international public… We hope for a response, and moreover, we will send [letters] to all our counterparts in various countries around the world so that people know the truth,” Lantratova said.
On May 22, Ukrainian forces attacked an academic building and a dormitory of the Starobelsk Professional College of Lugansk State Pedagogical University. Twenty-one people were killed and 44 others wounded.
Senior MP reveals Russia’s strategy for strikes on Kiev
RT | May 26, 2026
The Russian military will begin targeting bunkers used by Ukrainian military commanders and leadership in response to Kiev’s continued terrorist attacks on civilians, senior MP Andrey Kartapolov says. Ukraine’s parliament – the Verkhovnaya Rada – and Vladimir Zelensky’s office are not on the target list, he told Parliamentskaya Gazeta on Tuesday.
In the wake of the deadly Ukrainian drone attack on a college in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Moscow announced a new strategy, pledging to systematically hit assorted targets across the Ukrainian capital in retaliation. The strike killed at least 21 people, mostly teenage girls sleeping in a dormitory, in what the Russian Foreign Ministry characterized as the manifestation of “the Nazi and terrorist nature of the Kiev regime.”
Russia’s “patience has run out,” Kartapolov said, commenting on the tragedy. Kiev’s tactics have spiraled into “blatant terrorism against our civilians,” the head of the State Duma Defense Committee stated, adding that Moscow would now abandon its self-imposed commitment not to target Ukraine’s capital.
When asked about potential targets, the lawmaker stated that neither the Verkhovnaya Rada building nor Zelensky’s office counts as a “decision-making center.” Ukrainian MPs do not control the troops, and Zelensky himself does not even visit his office any longer, the MP stated.
“Decision-making centers [are] underground fortified [military] command and control centers,” as well as bunkers used by the Ukrainian security services and leadership, said Kartapolov, himself a retired colonel general and former deputy defense minister.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry urged foreigners to leave the Ukrainian capital and warned locals to stay away from military, industrial, and government sites. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well.
The EU has openly dismissed the warnings, accusing Moscow of “unacceptable escalation.” The bloc’s foreign policy spokeswoman, Anitta Hipper, said on X on Tuesday that Brussels summoned the Russian Charge d’Affairs over the ministry’s call and stated that “the EU delegation stays in Kiev.”
The Russian military maintains that it never targets purely civilian sites in Ukraine and focuses on military or dual-use installations.
Oreshnik strike a retaliation for Kiev’s ‘terrorist attacks’ – Moscow
RT | May 24, 2026
Russian forces launched a “massive strike” overnight against military targets in Ukraine, using intermediate-range hypersonic Oreshnik system and Iskander ballistic missiles, Kinzhal and Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, air-, sea- and ground-launched cruise missiles, as well as attack drones.
The strike came after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the Defense Ministry to “submit proposals” for a response to a Ukrainian drone attack on a teacher training college dormitory in the Lugansk People’s Republic, which left 21 people dead and 42 injured, mostly teenage girls.
The bombardment targeted the Ukrainian military’s command and control facilities, air bases, and the country’s defense industry enterprises, the ministry said. No strikes had been planned or carried out against civilian infrastructure, it added.
“The objectives of the strike have been achieved. All designated targets were hit,” it stressed.
Earlier on Sunday, Ukrainian media and Telegram channels circulated videos showing clusters of bright objects rapidly descending from the sky, claiming that Russia had deployed an Oreshnik against an unspecified target in the town of Belaya Tserkov near Ukraine’s capital, Kiev.
The dormitory of Starobelsk College, a facility of Lugansk Pedagogical University located in the town of Starobelsk, was struck by multiple waves of Ukrainian drones on Friday while students were asleep inside, in what Putin described as a deliberate “terrorist act.”
Governor Leonid Pasechnik declared May 24-25 days of mourning, describing the attack as “pure evil” and saying those responsible would face “deserved and inevitable punishment.”
Earlier, the US Embassy in Kiev warned American citizens of a “potentially significant air attack” that could take place within 24 hours and urged them to be ready to seek shelter immediately if an air alert was issued.
Moscow first publicly confirmed firing an Oreshnik in November 2024 when the missile was used in a strike on the Yuzhmash military-industrial facility in Dnepropetrovsk. It was deployed for the second time this January, obliterating an aircraft repair plant in Lviv, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
Russia Has Three Responses to Ukrainian Attack on Donbass Children – Expert
Sputnik – 22.05.2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the Defense Ministry to plan responses to the Ukrainian drone attack on a high school dormitory in Starobelsk in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).
Russia has several options, National Defense magazine editor-in-chief Igor Korotchenko tells Sputnik.
- Hitting decision-making centers — specifically in Kiev, “where the leaders of the terrorist regime direct and order attacks on Russia, including the latest large-scale tragedy involving the deaths of children”
- Critical infrastructure that supports Ukrainian Armed Forces rear operations and stability
- Ukrainian military and state command networks
“The retaliation strike must be large-scale and concentrated,” Korotchenko says. “Of course, we will not strike civilian infrastructure or the civilian population. Those are the methods used by Zelensky’s terrorists against us.”
The pundit stressed that Russia is fighting the military operation in Ukraine in line with international law and the UN Charter.
“Accordingly, strikes will target only military sites, critical infrastructure — considered lawful military targets — and Ukraine’s political and military command centers.”
The strike on the Starobelsk dormitory was not accidental — it came in three waves during the night. There are no military facilities near the dormitory.
Why does the Zelensky regime target civilians? Because it built up an illusion of safety and impunity, the expert replies.
Douglas Macgregor: NATO Attacked Russia; U.S. Being Pushed Out of the Middle East
Glenn Diesen | May 21, 2026
Ukrainian drone could have caused mass casualties – Greek defense minister
RT | May 21, 2026
A Ukrainian naval drone found off a Greek island earlier this month could have sunk a civilian ship and led to mass casualties, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias has said.
The unmanned surface vessel (USV) was reportedly a Ukrainian Magura V3 kamikaze drone, capable of carrying an explosive payload of up to 300kg. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and senior government officials were reportedly briefed on the matter last week, according to CNN.
Speaking at a conference on Wednesday, Dendias refused to divulge the details of the investigation, but stressed that the drone could have caused immense damage.
“It was obviously something extremely dangerous… there is not the slightest doubt – I repeat, the slightest doubt – that this is a Ukrainian sea drone,” he said, adding that if a cruise liner crossed paths with the USV, the ship would have been at “the bottom of the sea.”
How many dead would we have mourned? And how permissible is this thing in the Mediterranean?
Dendias stressed that Kiev owes Athens “a very big apology,” as well as “the absolute assurance that something like this will not happen again in the wider region.”
Ukraine has used such drones for months to attack ships in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, targeting vessels it sees as linked to Moscow. Russia has condemned the strikes, calling them “terrorism and maritime piracy.”
Ukrainian UAVs targeting Russian infrastructure have also increasingly flown through the territory of other countries, such as the Baltic states and Finland, according to Moscow. Several Ukrainian drones have crashed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland in recent weeks.
Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu said in April that should these countries deliberately allow Ukrainian drones to pass through their airspace, they become “open accomplices in aggression against Russia.” In that case, Moscow has the right to self-defense against such an “armed attack,” he warned.
Europe’s Irrationality & Inability to Discuss War
By Prof. Glenn Diesen | May 20, 2026
I argue that European states have made themselves legitimate targets by being participants in attacks on Russia. The emotional and often hysterical reactions this argument provokes reveal the extent of the radicalisation engulfing Europe.
Most countries avoid sending weapons to states engaged in war precisely because doing so risks making them participants in the conflict. Many Western leaders, from Boris Johnson to Marco Rubio, recognise that this is a proxy war. European states provide weapons, intelligence, targeting, planning, and contractors. European leaders openly speak about the need to bring the war to Russian territory and to destroy Russian refineries, while rapidly expanding the production of long-range weapons to support this objective. Attacks are now also being launched from the territory of the Baltic states. It is therefore difficult to deny that European states are directly involved in military actions against Russia. As this involvement escalates, Russia is under ever-greater pressure to retaliate and restore its deterrence. This should all be common sense, yet in Europe, recognising the march to war is considered a controversial observation. Why?
The responses I receive rarely address this argument directly. Instead, they focus on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and war crimes. Whatever one’s views on those issues, they do not alter the question of Western participation in attacks on Russia. The implicit argument seems to be that Russia is uniquely evil, and therefore the West is justified in attacking Russia while Russia is not permitted to respond. Most people would recognise that if Russia had launched missiles into Washington or London in response to the invasion of Iraq, it would have been understood as a Russian attack with unpredictable consequences. By attacking Russian forces in Ukraine, European states became involved in the conflict; by attacking inside Russia itself, they are deepening that involvement further and making a Russian retaliation inevitable. Ukraine’s right to self-defence has nothing to do with the discussion of European participation. There was a time when President Biden argued that sending F16s to Ukraine meant World War 3, today this argument would be smeared and censored in Europe as “Russian propaganda”. The instinct for self-preservation is gone.
I argue that Europeans have become radicalised because there now appears to be a widespread belief that acknowledging the reality of European involvement is treasonous. In their minds, reality is a social construction. Warning that Europe may be heading toward a direct war with Russia is condemned as “legitimising” Russian retaliation and dismissed as a “pro-Russian” position. The prevalence of constructivism and the focus on “speech acts” have led to the belief that even using realist analysis and discussing competing national interests entails legitimising realpolitik and thus socially constructing a more dangerous reality. Speech acts refer to the use of language as a source of power to construct political realities and influence outcomes. Everything is interpreted as normative statements about what one supports or wishes how the world worked, as opposed to recognising an objective reality of the world. If one does not participate in the suicidal self-delusion, then there will be accusations of having taken the side of Russia. Had this radicalised mentality prevailed during the Cold War, we would never have survived.
Academics in Europe are forced into the role of activists. It is impossible to analyse conflicts without being met with the demand to condemn Hamas, Iran, Russia and the “other” to prove you have picked our side. This is the ideological litmus test to establish if you are allowed to participate in the discussion or must be purged from polite society. The role of academics is analytical, not moralistic. The purpose is to explain motivations, power distribution and strategic behaviour. An objective analysis allows us to pursue the best policy to maximise our security. The demand to conform to the “correct” moral posture and EU-approved speech acts implies obligatory participation in the emotional and hysterical sloganeering. When the premise in any discussion is that we are in a struggle between good and evil, then security can only mean victory or deterrence. War creates peace, diplomacy is appeasement, and Europeans celebrate ignorance by criminalising the ability to recognise the security concerns of the other side.
In Europe, it is also considered “Russian propaganda” to argue that NATO expansionism provoked the Ukraine War. The overwhelming evidence supporting it is irrelevant and will under no circumstance be discussed, as it is considered an immoral argument that legitimises Russia’s invasion. Our political leaders frame all their policies as “pro-Ukrainian”: the toppling of Yanukovych, arming the far-right militias, sabotaging the Minsk peace agreement, ignoring Russian security concerns, supporting busification, boycotting diplomacy, etc. What makes this “pro-Ukrainian”? Did any of this do anything good for Ukraine? These questions cannot be asked because they are considered to be “pro-Russian” questions. Everyone has empathy for the gruesome situation in Ukraine, and would like to support those who suffer, and the European leaders have claimed the right to monopolise on what a “pro-Ukrainian” position entails – to fight to the last Ukrainian.
Similarly, warnings about Europe’s march to war with the world’s largest nuclear power by participating in attacks are viewed as treasonous efforts to reduce trust, legitimacy and support for the NATO war efforts at the behest of Russia. “Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad”.
Russia once again denounces Kiev’s crimes against the Orthodox Church
By Lucas Leiroz | Strategic Culture Foundation | May 20, 2026
The Ukrainian regime continues intensifying its persecution against the faith traditionally followed by the majority of the local population. In yet another episode exposing the worsening internal crisis in Kiev, a Russian human rights organization recently sent an official letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, denouncing what can be described as a systematic campaign of persecution against the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The document, signed by Ivan Melnikov, vice-president of the International Movement Human Rights Defense Committee, described a series of violations allegedly committed by Ukrainian authorities and radical nationalist groups. According to the complaint, the Kiev regime has been promoting continuous repression against representatives of the Orthodox Church historically linked to the Moscow Patriarchate, while simultaneously favoring the so-called “Orthodox Church of Ukraine”, considered politically aligned with the Ukrainian government.
According to the letter sent to the UN, the process of religious persecution has intensified proportionally to the escalation of the war. In recent years, hundreds of canonical Orthodox churches have been forcibly seized by radical activists and Ukrainian security forces. The purpose of these operations would be to transfer the temples to religious structures considered more loyal to Kiev’s current political project.
The most emblematic case mentioned in the document involves the historic Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, one of the most important spiritual centers of Slavic Orthodoxy and an architectural heritage site of global significance. According to the allegations, the monastic complex has been subjected to a systematic process of expropriation conducted by Ukrainian authorities. More than 220 monks have been deprived of their residences within the monastery, in what is described as a direct violation of international norms protecting human rights and religious freedom.
The letter further states that, on May 12, 2026, employees of the state administration responsible for the Lavra’s architectural reserve allegedly invaded the Church of the Conception of Saint Anna without awaiting a judicial decision, breaking locks and forcibly entering the temple. According to the complainants, the episode symbolizes the deterioration of the rule of law in Ukraine and the growing political instrumentalization of religious institutions.
Another particularly serious point mentioned in the document concerns the alleged forced mobilization of Orthodox monks into the Ukrainian army. According to information presented to the UN, more than twenty religious figures have been compulsorily recruited since the beginning of the year. The complaint even includes reports of torture and physical violence against members of the clergy, presented by Metropolitan Longin of Banchensk during a recent sermon.
According to the report, Ukrainian military representatives allegedly subjected religious figures to extreme psychological pressure and mistreatment in order to force them to sign military mobilization documents. The accusation reinforces the perception that the conflict is no longer limited to the geopolitical sphere and has begun directly affecting civilian and religious sectors considered politically inconvenient for Kiev.
The letter also states that hundreds of Orthodox priests are currently being persecuted, arrested, or investigated by Ukrainian authorities under accusations related to state security. Many of these religious figures, according to the complainants, have no involvement whatsoever in the political disputes between Moscow and Kiev, yet are still treated as suspects solely because of their religious affiliation.
The document maintains that several clergy members remain in pre-trial detention centers under precarious conditions, subjected to prolonged pressure and even torture. The Russian organization argues that such practices openly violate international conventions such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights itself.
This is not the first time the matter has reached the United Nations. The author of the letter recalls that similar allegations had already been presented during a UN Security Council meeting in May 2023. According to him, however, the situation has only deteriorated since then.
The case reveals a dimension of the Ukrainian conflict that is frequently neglected: the deepening of religious and identity tensions within the country itself. While European governments continue portraying Kiev as an absolute symbol of so-called “Western values,” accusations involving censorship, political persecution, and religious repression continue to multiply.
The offensive against the Canonical Orthodox Church appears to reflect a broader attempt to redefine Ukrainian national identity on radically anti-Russian foundations, even if this implies restricting the fundamental rights of millions of believers. Ukraine should face collective sanctions in the international arena for such actions.
Estonia shoots down alleged Ukrainian drone
RT | May 19, 2026
Estonia has shot down an alleged Ukrainian drone over its territory for the first time, the NATO and EU member state’s defense minister, Hanno Pevkur, has said.
Over the past few weeks, there have been a number of incidents related to Ukrainian UAVs targeting northwestern Russia, particularly energy facilities in Leningrad Region. Some of the aircraft eventually crashed in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland.
Moscow has warned that if it turns out that the Baltic States and Finland “deliberately provide their airspace” to Kiev’s UAVs, Moscow has the right to self-defense in response to an “armed attack” under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Pevkur told the outlet Delfi on Tuesday that “this is the first time we have shot down a drone ourselves.”
The downed UAV had been deployed by Kiev to target Russian territory, the minister claimed.
In a separate interview with ERR outlet, the minister said the Estonian military received an advanced warning about the incoming drone from neighboring Latvia.
“We activated the necessary measures, and a Baltic Air Policing fighter jet shot the drone down” over Lake Vortsjarv in the southern part of the country, he explained.
Baltic Air Policing is a NATO mission to guard the airspace of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
There is yet no information about possible injuries or damage stemming from the incident, Pevkur said. Various Estonian agencies are on their way to the site where the debris of the drone fell, he added.
Trita Parsi: Iran War Marks the End of American Primacy
Glenn Diesen | May 18, 2026
Trita Parsi is the co-founder and Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. Parsi discusses why a peace deal can be achieved, yet it seems more likely that the US will restart the war.
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IAEA Secretariat Ignores Daily Ukrainian Attacks on Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant – Rosatom Chief
Sputnik – 16.05.2026
MOSCOW – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Secretariat is effectively ignoring daily Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and the killing of Russian citizens by Ukrainian forces, Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev said on Saturday.
“The IAEA Secretariat is effectively ignoring daily Ukrainian attacks on the ZNPP, civilian infrastructure, and the killing of Russian citizens by Ukrainian forces, limiting itself solely to public statements about the threat of drones flying at a distance from Ukrainian nuclear power plants,” he said.
He added that the topic of escalation in the ZNPP area will be key during upcoming consultations with IAEA leadership, tentatively scheduled for mid-July.
“Regarding the issue of ensuring reliable power supply to the power units, let me remind you that for more than two months now, the plant has been supplied via only one power line instead of two. During this time, we have repeatedly faced situations of complete blackout of the ZNPP and the launch of reserve, or in other words, emergency, diesel generators,” the Rosatom CEO said.
On New Strike
A Ukrainian kamikaze drone has hit a pipeline running along the turbine halls of the ZNPP, Likhachev also said.
“Today, a kamikaze drone struck a pipeline running along the ZNPP turbine halls and, without detonating, fell near Power Unit 1,” Likhachev said.
More drones hit two gas stations in the city of Energodar, disabling them, he added.
“Drones are targeting trucks and buses, effectively preventing the delivery of food and essential goods,” Likhachev said.
This is sowing panic and making normal life in the city impossible, he also said.
“People are afraid to leave their homes. These intimidation tactics are also aimed at ZNPP employees, directly undermining the nuclear safety of the plant,” Likhachev added.
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Cuba: the Weight of a Long History
200 Years of US Interventionism
By MANUEL R. GÓMEZ | CounterPunch | February 27, 2015
… As far back as 1809, Jefferson tried to purchase Cuba. In 1820 he went further; he told Secretary of War J.C. Calhoun that the U.S. “ought, at the first possible opportunity, to take Cuba.” As President, John Quincy Adams predicted that Cuba would fall “like a ripening plum into the lap of the union.” These are but two of many prominent examples of a widespread ambition to annex Cuba, or at least to control its destiny, from very early in U.S. history. After “the West,” Cuba figured as a prominent second place in U.S. expansionist aims from the beginning of the Republic. … Read full article
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