Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
Firefighters work at the site where an industrial area was hit by a Russian missile strike in the Kyiv region on Nov. 13, 2024.
Russia fires on Kyiv
The attack also renewed fears that, with the approach of winter, Russia will again attack energy infrastructure targets in Ukraine to leave parts of the country without power or heat for extended periods. Ukraine’s state-owned national power company announced on Wednesday that new limits will be imposed on electrical supply for businesses in and around Kyiv and in the regions of Odesa, Dnipro, and Donetsk.
Trump and Putin together.
What can Trump offer Putin?
Trump has promised to end Russia’s war in Ukraine within “a day.” That time frame isn’t realistic, but Trump does look likely to make a concerted push to stop the fighting.
The easy part will be pushing Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to the bargaining table. As Ukrainian forces struggle to hold their ground in the Donbas region and Russians launch more successful strikes on energy infrastructure ahead of winter, Kyiv’s dependence on Washington for weapons and finance continues to grow. Zelensky must take seriously any Trump threat to abandon Ukraine.
More challenging will be to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to offer the concessions needed to win anything more than an unstable cease-fire. Russian forces have taken heavy losses since the war began, but Putin has many more troops and future conscripts to draw on than Zelensky. Putin also appears to believe he can win a war of attrition that gives Russia a lot more Ukrainian land. With that in mind, it’s hard to see which carrots and sticks Trump can use to persuade Putin to negotiate in good faith.
Ukraine war: What freedom looks like
In Ukraine, freedom is not some abstract concept studied by philosophers and poets.
Thousands of Ukrainians have fought and died to preserve their country's hard-earned freedoms, says historian and author Timothy Snyder. "There's this Ukrainian word “de-occupation,” which they tend to say instead of liberation. And that really gets you thinking about freedom as positive because, sure, you can de-occupy, and it's important that the torture stops, and the deportations stop, and the kidnapping of children stops. But the word de-occupation reminds you that that is still just the beginning. You have to clear the rubble and rebuild the playgrounds, and the buses and the trains have to start running again."
In a wide-ranging interview with Ian Bremmer for the latest episode of GZERO World, Snyder talks about how Ukrainians view freedom differently from many in the West. For them, it is a means to an end rather than the end itself. Sure, they need freedom from Russian aggression, Snyder says. But that's only step one. True freedom is about the liberties we can enjoy, like a train running on time and taking a child to a playground. That's the kind of freedom, Snyder says, that Ukrainians are fighting to protect.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visits the National Defense University in Pyongyang, North Korea, October 7, 2024, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea severs connections to South as tensions climb
South Korea’s military announced Monday it had detected North Korea preparing to destroy roads connecting the two countries, the latest in a series of steps advancing Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un’s renunciation of peaceful reunification. Pyongyang also threatened to attack the South over alleged drone incursions this weekend and announced it would begin fortifying its side of the border last week.
Kim’s sister and close ally Kim Yo Jong also flung invective at Seoul’s troops on Monday, calling them “mongrels tamed by Yankees” and saying that their “master” — the US — must be held accountable for the alleged drone flights over the Hermit Kingdom. On Friday, South Korea’s defense minister denied responsibility for the drones, which allegedly dropped anti-regime leaflets, and later said “we cannot verify the truth behind North Korea’s claims.” It is highly likely that any drones were flown by private organizations that attempt to agitate in North Korea and have distributed leaflets by balloon in the past.
All in all, Pyongyang’s provocations — which, lest we forget, include deploying troops to fight for Russia in Ukraine — are part of a pattern of escalation dating back to at least the fall of 2023, says Eurasia Group regional analyst Jeremy Chan. Whether it continues may depend heavily on the results of the US election, as “North Korea is trying to build out leverage it could bargain away in a potential future Trump administration while retaining its nuclear deterrent,” says Chan.
Trump’s advisors have signaled an openness to accepting a freeze in North Korea’s nuclear program – rather than full denuclearization – in return for sanctions relief. “But a freeze probably isn’t going to be enough for Trump,” says Chan. “If Kim could also agree to a moratorium on developing North Korea’s nuclear-powered submarines, military spy satellites, and long-range missiles, however, that could give enough of a win to Trump to sell to the American people.”
Iran's VP denies supporting Russia in Ukraine war
On GZERO World, Ian Bremmer sits down with Iran’s Vice President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif to get his perspective on the regional conflict. Zarif adamantly condemns Russia’s incursion into Ukrainian territory. He says, “Russia is to blame for the invasion of Ukraine,” but insists “the United States is responsible for what led to that invasion,” referring to US aid to Ukraine.
Zarif emphasizes the importance of Iran’s trade relationship with Russia. When Bremmer presses him about Iran’s complicity in the war, Zarif denies involvement. He says, "We simply engage in business.” As the Russia-Ukraine war continues to drag on, Iran’s actions will come under increased scrutiny.
Watch full episode: Iran's next move: Interview with VP Javad Zarif
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
A satellite view of Vuhledar, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, September 25, 2019. 2024 Planet Labs Inc./
Russia captures key Ukrainian town
Ukrainian officials acknowledged on Wednesday that Russian forces had taken the hilltop town ofVuhledar in the past few days. There are several reasons why this development matters for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The seizure of this town demonstrates Russia’s determination to exert its advantage over Ukrainian forces in both manpower and firepower. Russian troops tried and failed to take this town at least four times over the past two and a half years, at a great cost to Russian lives.
It also demonstrates that Russian commanders and fighters are learning as they go. Instead of trying to take the town head-on, as they’ve done multiple times here and elsewhere in eastern Ukraine, the Russians first took smaller towns to the east and west before moving on Vuhledar from both sides. Thisflanking maneuver helped make the retreat from the town by Ukrainian forces more chaotic and bloodier than past troop withdrawals. Russians are trying similar approaches in other target areas.
Vuhledar is astrategically important town in Donetsk province in Ukraine’s Donbas region because it stands close to a rail line that links Russian-occupied Crimea with the eastern Donbas region.
Finally, the loss of this town brings Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, a step closer to tough choices about where to continue the fight in this region and where to concede. But it also gives him another argument to make with Ukraine’s Western allies in his bid to win more military and financial support.
These images and videos show the aftermath of a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Lviv.
Ukraine’s cabinet shakeup comes at precarious moment
Ukraine had an eventful and tragic Wednesday. Seven people were killed as Russia carried out an attack on the western city of Lviv, which is far from the front lines, in a grim reminder that nowhere in Ukraine is safe as the war continues. Four of those killed were from the same family, including a mother and her three daughters. The father survived the attack but is reportedly in critical condition.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kulebaresigned as part of an expected cabinet reshuffle, with four other ministers submitting resignations the day before.
Kuleba has been among the most vocal and prominent figures in the Ukrainian government since Russia invaded in 2022. As Ukraine’s top diplomat, he represented Kyiv on the world stage and helped garner international support for his country in the face of the Russian onslaught.
What’s with the shakeup? These cabinet changes come at a precarious moment in the war, with Ukrainian forces taking the fight inside Russia even as Kyiv continues to face difficult circumstances on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, boasts of advances in the region.
But the shakeup doesn’t appear to signal that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to take the country or its approach to the war with Russia in a drastically different direction. Instead, this is seemingly about Kyiv projecting a different, fresher image as the war drags on. Zelensky on Wednesday said the Ukrainian government needed “new energy, and that includes in diplomacy.”
The next foreign minister will probably join Zelensky for a trip to the US for the UN General Assembly in late September. Though no official announcement has been made, reports indicate that Kuleba’s deputy, Andrii Sybiha, is set to replace him.
Ukraine's Kursk invasion complicates Putin's war efforts
Carl Bildt, former prime minister of Sweden and co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations, shares his perspective on European politics from Tabiano Castello in Italy.
How will the Ukraine Kursk incursion affect Putin's way of handling his war?
No question. It does complicate things for him quite considerably. First, they were trying to say, "Well, this is a quick thing. This will be over. The mighty Russian army is going to throw out the evil Ukrainians within a short period of time." That has clearly not been successful. So, now they're trying to say, "Well, this is not a big thing." They're trying to play it down. But whatever. It does complicate significantly the narrative that Putin has been trying to hand out, some say, or get anchored with the Russians that victory is going to come. It's only question of patience. He will have quite considerable difficulty. More on the political way. In the political respect than in the military with this operation.
What do we expect of Indian Prime Minister Modi's visit to Kyiv in the coming days?
I think it's going to be interesting to see. I would be interesting to see whether he hugs, embraces Zelensky in the way he did in a way that was quite remarkable with Putin when he was in Moscow a couple of weeks ago. And I think that sort of hugging of Putin did create some image problem for India in part of the word, notably in the West. And it will be interesting to see how far he goes in his visit to Kyiv in sort of counterbalancing the impression created by that hugging of Putin in the Kremlin.