Why could a ceasefire in Ukraine, if mishandled, make Ukraine’s and Europe’s situation more dangerous not less? We try to explain - and see the full report for notes on how to make sure any possible ceasefire makes things better not worse.
»When a latter-day Liber de Spectaculis is written, Sunday’s events will be described as falling well short of the one benchmark that seems to matter to the president: talis qualem mundus numquam vidit—“such as the world has never seen.”«
🎁 link (no paywall)
OTD in 1941 Soviets started forcibly deporting 50,000 of the Baltic people we had ‘liberated from fascism’. 60% died. 75% were women & kids
Imagine mass deportations happening today..
OTD in 1940 USSR issued ultimatum to Lithuania to let us occupy & form pro-USSR government or we would invade them & install pro-USSR government. It totally had nothing to do with a secret clause in a treaty with the nazis.
We became the world's largest country by peaceful means.
Includes an analysis of this article: responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-russ.... As always, very much worth your time, by @markgaleotti.bsky.social
"The UFC event captures something about this moment in our history.
After all, it’s vulgar, it’s violent, it’s commercial, it’s grandiose, it’s tacky, and it dishonors a place once thought worthy of care and respect. In other words, it’s Donald Trump."
open.substack.com/pub/thebulwa...
The US is reducing its military footprint in Europe to the degree that it will do nothing to defend NATO states against Russia, but enough that the Trump administration will hope that it can still bully democratic Europe.
www.nytimes.com/2026/06/12/w...