Delighted that @edwardlucas.bsky.social has reviewed paperback of The Baton & the Cross today @thetimes.com If you want to know more about why Russian clerics promise eternal life to those who kill Ukrainians, I'm at Stanfords Travel Books in Covent Gdn 19th November.
Edward Lucas
@edwardlucas.bsky.social
Journalist, author, thinktanker, baker, swimmer, politician. Lifelong Kremlin-basher.
Fogbound: Narrative Wars | "Ukraine’s setbacks are troubling but only part of the story." @edwardlucas.bsky.social
Fogbound: Narrative Wars
Ukraine’s setbacks in its fight against Russia are troubling but only part of the story. Europe needs to take note.
cepa.org
Other countries have state-funded agencies with the sole duty of championing financial consumers’ rights. The FCA is paid for by a levy on the financial industry. It reports to the Treasury, not to the Ministry of Justice. (£) www.thetimes.com/comment/colu... By @edwardlucas.bsky.social
Fraud hits harder when victims are shunned
Regulator supposedly combating financial crime is leaving customers desperate and destitute
thetimes.com
False Alarms: and Real Ones | "Western scaremongering about the Baltics’ vulnerability is missing the real threat." @edwardlucas.bsky.social
False Alarms: and Real Ones
A Russian landgrab in Estonia in 2028 would destroy NATO. Western scaremongering about the Baltics’ vulnerability is missing the real threat.
cepa.org
Denmark’s drone humiliation weakens us all - important comment by @edwardlucas.bsky.social “But it has been “sleepwalking” when it comes to its domestic security, says Hans Tino Hansen, a hawkish Dane who runs Risk Intelligence, a consultancy.” www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
Denmark’s drone humiliation weakens us all
Paltry deterrence is an invitation to Putin to wreak havoc, making a mockery of Nato’s defences
thetimes.com
@edwardlucas.bsky.social on Mario Draghis evisceration of current EU politics. “…the EU is a mere “spectator” in world politics. It meekly accepts US tariffs. It is sidelined in conflicts in Iran and Gaza. In Ukraine, it pays the piper but does not call the tune...”
Mario Draghi’s speech to Europe is a warning to us all
He is right: without a radical change Europeans will be spectators at their own funeral
thetimes.com
Brilliant article by @edwardlucas.bsky.social indeed. Here's the 🎁 link (no paywall). www.thetimes.com/article/1585...
While Europe waits on Trump, Putin is winning
Focus on summits and supposed security guarantees misses the point: Russia has the initiative
thetimes.com
MAXimum surveillance: how Russians are being driven into the FSB’s pocket messenger. Starting September 1, the Russian messenger Max will become mandatory for preinstallation on all devices in Russia⤵️
Our diplomacy and discussion frame the central issue as finding a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine. Seen from Moscow a much wider contest is under way, aiming to break the old rules and alliances to create a might-is-right world. (£) www.thetimes.com/comment/colu... By @edwardlucas.bsky.social
While Europe waits on Trump, Putin is winning
Focus on summits and supposed security guarantees misses the point: Russia has the initiative
thetimes.com
Denis, I recommend looking more closely at Italy than that. The fair criticism of Meloni is that she and her government have shied away from any major reforms. The one that bears no relation to reality is that she and her government bear any resemblance to Mussolini, because (so far!!) they don't
Weakly: Captive Nations | "The Trump administration remembers to mark a Cold War anniversary." @edwardlucas.bsky.social
Weakly: Captive Nations
The Trump administration remembers to mark Captive Nations Week. This year’s was perhaps not the White House wordsmiths’ finest effort.
cepa.org
Discussed in this column by @edwardlucas.bsky.social today (£) www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
The West is taking the fight to Russia — online
Putin’s hackers have some devious tactics but we can cause cyber mischief for the Kremlin too
thetimes.com
You can understand when people are ashamed at having been outwitted and don’t want to talk about it. But it doesn’t help everybody else understand the threat. With a huge number of people potentially affected by this, our common security is more important than any one of us feeling embarrassed!
delighted to sign this letter www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
There is only one warmonger on the European stage: Vladimir Putin | Letter
Letter: Experts on Russia, Ukraine and international security respond to a letter that criticised Fiona Hill for her assessment of the Russian threat to Britain
theguardian.com
Banking: Moldova’s Winning | "Russia’s grip on the unrecognized Transnistrian state is weakening. No stunts, please." @edwardlucas.bsky.social
Banking: Moldova’s Winning
Even if the Kremlin succeeds in toppling Moldova’s pro-Western government, the authorities in Kyiv won't tolerate Russian reinforcement.
cepa.org
“Battered, beleaguered, tired and outnumbered, Ukrainians have, at minimal cost, in complete secrecy, and over vast distances, destroyed or damaged dozens, perhaps more, of Russia’s strategic bombers [in the] the most audacious attack of the war.” @edwardlucas.bsky.social
Ukraine and Russia agree to swap dead and wounded troops but report no progress toward ending war
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Turkey for their second round of direct peace talks in just over two weeks.
apnews.com
National defence must include our elections - as @edwardlucas.bsky.social argues those who want to damage our democracy are as likely to use electoral interference as bombs. An ambitious Elections Bill must urgently close the gaping loopholes in our defences. www.thetimes.com/article/e280...
National defence must include our elections
It is time to tackle the misinformation and murky political funding that damage democracy
thetimes.com
Under our flimsy rules, any foreign kleptocrat or broligarch can promote such causes, shrouded in anonymity, so long as they do so outside an election period and without supporting a specific party or candidate. (£) www.thetimes.com/comment/colu... By @edwardlucas.bsky.social
National defence must include our elections
It is time to tackle the misinformation and murky political funding that damage democracy
thetimes.com
"The one thing you need to know about the Nordic Baltic region plus Poland is it has a GDP larger than Russia" — @edwardlucas.bsky.social, Senior Advisor at Center for European Policy Analysis @cepa.org #LennartMeriConference
"Amid the media fireworks of the tariff war, long-term strategic considerations are absent. By contrast, Putin does have a plan. Befriend Trump. Split the European Union. Wreak havoc. Wear down Ukraine. So far, it’s working." @edwardlucas.bsky.social
Tone-Deaf: Nobody’s Dancing
The US and Europeans alike are failing to meet Russia’s strategic challenge. Seize Russian assets. Rush help to Ukraine. And rearm—fast.
cepa.org
"We have seen a new kind of warfare unfold in Ukraine, but most countries have barely started to devote the time and money needed to get ready to fight the new way." @edwardlucas.bsky.social
Rain (Fire) on the Parade
The 80th-anniversary celebrations of victory in Europe after World War Two will be disappointing—for Russia.
buff.ly
Good interview with @edwardlucas.bsky.social on Times Radio. Completely agree that we’re not seeing an adequate sense of urgency regarding rearmament in Europe, and that we might not be as lucky this time around. youtu.be/-oMHPtYb9jw?...
Trump and Vance ominously hint at severing ties with 'enemy' Europe | Edward Lucas
YouTube video by Times Radio
youtu.be
“The EU leadership and the CCP are jointly championing free trade, and denouncing the disruption caused by Trumpian tergiversation on tariffs.” @edwardlucas.bsky.social
China First? No Thanks
In the past years, attitudes to China in the US and allies seemed to be converging. Transatlantic angst now clouds Europe’s strategic choice.
buff.ly
China First? No Thanks | "Transatlantic angst clouds Europe’s strategic choice." @edwardlucas.bsky.social
China First? No Thanks
In the past years, attitudes to China in the US and allies seemed to be converging. Transatlantic angst now clouds Europe’s strategic choice.
cepa.org
How should Europe respond to the US-China tariff war? America First or China First? The ultimate dilemma, @edwardlucas.bsky.social writes in Lithuania's LRT, is whether to throw Europe's hat in with the US, or tacitly accept Chinese dominance.
US-China tariff war: how should the EU respond?
Now that the US has suspended its special tariffs for most countries, the focus of the global tariff dispute has shifted to the clash between Washington and Beijing.
eurotopics.net