After a barrage of airstrikes on cities and military bases around the country, Russian forces were closing in on Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv on Saturday. City officials warned of street fighting, and residents were preparing for a third night of assaults. Here are the things to know about the Russian …

Eric Draitser is an independent political analyst and host of CounterPunch Radio. You can find his exclusive content including articles, podcasts, audio commentaries, poetry and more at patreon.com/ericdraitser. He can be reached at ericdraitser@gmail.com.

“How many divisions does the Pope have?” —Joseph Stalin Despite the impressive TikTok feeds showing the Russian phalanx heading in formations across the Ukrainian frontier and the missile extravaganza across the country, the success of the Russian army as an instrument of foreign policy is little better than average (perhaps …

Who you trying to get crazy with ése? Don’t you know I’m loco? To the one on the flamboyant tip I’ll just toss that ham in the frying pan Like Spam, get done when I come and slam Damn, I feel like the Son of Sam Don’t make me wreck …

Finland and Sweden have brushed off warnings from neighboring Russia that their possible joining of NATO would trigger “serious military-political consequences” from Moscow for the two countries. A statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry Friday voiced concern about what it described as efforts by the United States and some of …

Ukrainian forces put up fierce resistance to slow the advance of the larger and more powerful Russian military closing in on the capital, as the U.S. and EU rushed ammunition and weapons to Kyiv and announced powerful new financial sanctions aimed at further isolating Moscow. Terrified men, women and children …

In a significant shift, the German government said Saturday it will send weapons and other supplies directly to Ukraine, which is fighting to keep Russia from invading its capital city. Germany is also ready to also support some restrictions of the SWIFT global banking system for Russia, officials said. The …

The media and the war machine (or do I repeat myself?) want us to take sides in the Russo/Ukraine war. To those of us with long histories in military conflicts in which the US foreign policy establishment, media, and military have an interest, the terms are always framed as white …

Russia’s long-predicted invasion of Ukraine finally happened, but the reasons for it are widely misrepresented. Basic history is necessary in order to understand it. The Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline, from Russia, under the Baltic Sea, to Germany, was planned in order to enable greatly increased sales-volume of the …

The first signs of the dual track in Russia’s hybrid war in Ukraine have surfaced. By Thursday evening, the Kremlin held out an olive branch to the Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky. Succinctly put, President Vladimir Putin expressed his preparedness to engage in discussions with his Ukrainian counterpart with a focus …