Notes and Essays -- John Brown

A case about kickbacks has drawn attention in a country worried that corruption threatens the war effort, and its future. Corruption allegations against his office have toppled Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Ruslan Kravchenko. Thomas Peter/Reuters By Maria Varenikova , Cassandra Vinograd and Nataliia Novosolova Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine Sept. 16, 2026  Updated 9:14 a.m. ET Original article contains links. Ukrainians are used to revelations of corruption in their government. But one case that emerged this month has managed to grab their attention, in part because of a vivid turn of phrase.   An official working under Ukraine’s top prosecutor was caught on tape by anti-corruption investigators describing his own approach to enriching himself through corruption. “If you’re going to do something, then go all in — boom,” the official was recorded saying. He then explained, profanely, what he meant. If you’re going to sleep with a woman, he said, then sleep with “a queen.” And i...

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A bipartisan sanctions bill would hit the regimes that terrorize us. The House should pass it. September 15, 2026 at 6:45 a.m.  The Washington Post By Oleksandra Matviichuk and Masih Alinejad Oleksandra Matviichuk is the head of the Center for Civil Liberties in Kyiv, which shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. Masih Alinejad is an Iranian journalist, author and women’s rights campaigner. From left: Photos of killed Iranian protesters, at a D.C. rally on Jan. 16,  and photos of killed Ukrainians, in Kyiv in 2023.  (Saul Loeb/ AFP/ Getty Images; Ed Ram/ For The Washington Post) The Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act provides Congress the best opportunity in almost two years to pass major new sanctions against Russia and extend long-standing sanctions against Iran. As two activists who have devoted our lives to defending human rights in our countries — one of us, a Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the other, an Iranian journalist who has survived multipl...

The Kremlin said that an agreement would be “a very good idea” but that any deal would not have much effect on fuel markets, as President Trump had suggested. A film (shown in the article but which can't be reproduced here for technical reasons I know nothing about)) mentions the Strikes in Russia and Ukraine targeted oil refineries and petrol stations overnight on Monday, while the prospect of an energy cease-fire announced by President Trump remained elusive. By Ivan Nechepurenko The New York Times Sept. 15, 2026 Updated 10:30 a.m. ET image (not from article) from The Russian and Ukrainian governments made clear on Tuesday that neither had agreed to an energy cease-fire that President Trump presented as a done deal a day before. Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, said at a news briefing that, while Russia believed a halt to strikes against energy infrastructure would be “a very good idea,” such a deal would not have much effect on fuel markets, as Mr. Trump had claimed. Pr...

He tells Kyiv to stop hitting Russian diesel, while Putin bombs civilian targets. By The Editorial Board Updated Sept. 13, 2026 5:48 pm ET The Wall Street Journal See also Firefighters extinguish a car of a passenger train hit by a Russian drone strike at a railway station, Lutsk, Ukraine, Sept. 12. State Emergency Service Of Ukrai/ Handout/ Reuters An armed Russian jet drone hit the engine of a passenger train in Ukraine near the Polish border on the weekend. Meanwhile, President Trump lectured Ukraine’s President to stop hitting energy targets in Russia. Go ahead, make Vladimir Putin’s day, Mr. President. The passenger train line between Warsaw and Kyiv is a a main travel route for civilians, as the Kremlin knows. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt and a key adviser to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are reported to have been on a different train the same evening. Were the Russians hoping to hit those European allies of Ukraine?...

President Trump had said both sides would stop energy strikes, amid an escalating aerial campaign on both sides By Anastasiia Malenko   Sept. 15, 2026 7:47 am ET original article contains links A burning gas station in Kyiv, Ukraine. Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters Quick Summary -- Russia and Ukraine launched overnight aerial strikes on each other’s infrastructure despite President Trump saying both agreed to stop energy strikes. -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is not convinced that Russia is willing to abide by any agreement.  --  President Trump said the U.S. told Zelensky that Ukraine needs to stop hitting diesel fuel in Russia due to shortages and rising fuel prices. KYIV, Ukraine—Russia and Ukraine carried out aerial strikes on each other’s infrastructure overnight, despite an announcement by President Trump that both had agreed to stop hitting energy targets.   Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia “continues to attack our energ...