Notes and Essays -- John Brown

Trump image from article By DARLENE SUPERVILLE, AP Updated 7:58 PM EDT, May 8, 2026; article contains additional illustrations WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that the leaders of Russia and Ukraine have agreed to his request for a three-day ceasefire and an exchange of prisoners, adding that such a halt to hostilities could be the “beginning of the end” of the long war between them. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Yuri Ushakov, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, both confirmed the agreement. “I asked and, President Putin agreed. President Zelenskyy agreed -- both readily,” Trump said as he departed the White House to attend a dinner at his Virginia golf club. " And we have a little period of time where they’re not going to be killing people. That’s very good [.]” Trump earlier Friday had announced on social media that the ceasefire would run Saturday through Monday. Saturday is   Victory Day in Russia , a holiday that comm...

Inbox The Kyiv Independent Unsubscribe 5:50 PM (1 hour ago) to me Friday, May 8, 2026 war notes Asami Terajima War Notes by Asami Terajima Dear War Notes readers, This is Asami Terajima writing this week's War Notes from a sunny, warm Kyiv. It's strange how quickly it got warm in recent days. My skin is still not used to the amount of sunshine, after enduring a long and exceptionally cold winter. There is a lot to unpack this week, but before I get started, I just wanted to say that my colleagues have been working exceptionally hard to deliver the latest updates about both sides' demand for a temporary ceasefire ahead of Russia's May 9 celebrations. You can support us by becoming a member of the Kyiv Independent, for as little as $5 a month. Ukraine and Russia proposed separate short-term ceasefires this week, with both sides accusing each other of violating the truces. The week began with Russian President Vladimir Putin declaring a two-day "Victory Day...

 From Quora Elena Gold  ·  Follow Media analyst  Tue Do you still stand with Ukraine? Since day 1 of the Russian invasion—and this was in February 2014 in Crimea, not in February 2022—I stand with Ukraine . For a long time, I wasn’t into politics: my interests were about home, work, family. It was the Russian attack against Georgia in August 2008 that made me realize how dangerous the Russian leadership was. And before that—without even being interested in politics—I realized that Putin-Medvedev switch was wrong (with Putin taking the position of the Prime Minister and head of Government, while Medvedev was installed as the President of Russia). But it was the 2014 Russian invasion of Crimea that colored the geopolitical world into black and white, with no space for the shades of gray, for me. I have contacts both in Ukraine and Russia, and the majority of Russians completely misunderstood what was happening. After capturing Crimea in February 2014 and hastily announ...

  Some see a clear explanation: Russia needs more troops, and young men in Africa desperately need jobs. By Matthew Mpoke Bigg Reporting from Nairobi, Kenya  The New York Times , May 4, 2026 Family members of people recruited by Russia for the war in Ukraine protested in Nairobi. Thousands of young African men have signed up to fight in Moscow’s war against Ukraine. Some have posted cheerful videos with Russian soldiers. But many others say they were deceptively lured to Russia and then coerced into signing military contracts. Many have been killed on the battlefield. Though Africa is thousands of miles from the front line and most African nations have adopted a neutral stance in the war, some see a clear explanation for the phenomenon: Russia needs more troops, and young African men need jobs.  In interviews with The New York Times, several Africans said they traveled to Russia for work, only to be pressured into signing military contracts. Here is a look at what’s behin...

Hezbollah has increasingly turned to  explosive fiber-optic drones , a low-cost weapon first widely used in Ukraine and now spreading to other battlefields. Guided by thin cables instead of radio signals, the drones are difficult for Israel to jam, and Israeli officials say they have become a persistent threat to troops in southern Lebanon. AI Overview As of May 2026, Hezbollah is increasingly deploying low-cost,  explosive fiber-optic drones  to target Israeli troops in southern Lebanon and along the border. These drones, which gained prominence in the Ukraine war , are considered a major challenge to Israeli defense systems because they cannot be stopped by electronic jamming.   The Japan Times  +3 Key Aspects of the Fiber-Optic Drone Threat Jam-Proof Technology:  Instead of radio signals or GPS, these  First-Person View (FPV) drones  are guided by a thin, spooling fiber-optic cable that connects them directly to the operator. This makes them i...