Preparing for Defeat  —  I'm writing this from Skopje, North Macedonia, where I've been for the last week teaching one of our Leadership Academy for Development courses.  Following the Ukraine war is no different here in terms of available information, except that I'm in an adjacent time zone …

The Things I'm Afraid to Write About  —  One evening, I sat on the brown-leather couch of a younger man who admired me for my writing, and maybe other things, if the salty text messages were true.  He came from a different generation, but I was pleased to discover that he shared …

The Weakness of the Despot  —  An expert on Stalin discusses Putin, Russia, and the West.  —  Stephen Kotkin is one of our most profound and prodigious scholars of Russian history.  His masterwork is a biography of Josef Stalin.  So far he has published two volumes—"Paradoxes of Power …

Intelligence points to heightened risk of Russian chemical attack in Ukraine, officials say  —  MUKACHEVO, Ukraine — The United States and its allies have intelligence that Russia may be preparing to use chemical weapons against Ukraine, U.S. and European officials said Friday …

American Voters Now View Ukraine as Favorably as France, Germany and Japan  —  American voters' perceived friends and adversaries  —  As recently as a year ago, many Americans did not know what to make of Ukraine — if they knew anything about it at all.  One-third of voters couldn't say whether …

POLITICO Playbook: Trump descends on S.C. — and splits its Republican Party  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  PALMETTO STATE INTRIGUE — As President DONALD TRUMP heads to his latest political event this evening — a rally in Florence, S.C. — POLITICO's lead GOP politics reporter, Alex Isenstadt …

Putin's pre-war moves against U.S. tech giants laid groundwork for crackdown on free expression … Russian agents came to the home of Google's top executive in Moscow to deliver a frightening ultimatum last September: take down an app that had drawn the ire of Russian President Vladimir Putin within 24 hours or be taken to prison.

Using a New Cyber Tool, Westerners Have Been Texting Russians About the War in Ukraine  —  Website developed by hackers is new initiative in West's battle to counter Russia's propaganda campaign  —  People around the world are using a new website to circumvent the Kremlin's propaganda machine …

Russia threatens to attack western weapons shipments to Ukraine  —  Warning raises risk of direct confrontation between Moscow and Nato  —  Russia has warned that it will fire on western armaments shipments to Kyiv, raising the risk of a direct military confrontation between Moscow and Nato during the war in Ukraine.

Ukraine at ‘turning point’, Zelenskiy says as Russians regroup near Kyiv … Ukraine was at a turning point in the war with Russian forces appearing to be regroup for a possible assault on Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as the United States imposed new sanctions on senior Kremlin officials and Russian oligarchs.

Bennett advises Zelensky to surrender to Russia, Zelensky refuses  —  Vladimir Putin made an offer to end the Russian war with Ukraine, but the offer includes many Ukrainian sacrifices.  —  Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksy that he recommends Ukraine …

That Russian Business You're Boycotting Isn't Actually Russian  —  The consumer activism that makes a vodka C.E.O. say: 'Do you know we're Latvian?'  —  They poured the liquid out — blueberry-flavored, orange-flavored and the original, face-puckering unflavored version …

A Trump vs. Kemp proxy war deepens in Georgia after new endorsement  —  Donald Trump dipped deep down into Georgia's ballot to endorse a little-known GOP candidate for insurance commissioner who only entered the race against an incumbent backed by Gov. Brian Kemp this week.

Yacht justice: A new front in the war drags Russia's oligarchs into the spotlight … From the hillsides above Barcelona, the superyacht looked like a building.  The titanic vessel, christened Dilbar in 2016, was often docked at Port Vell, dwarfing the Barcelona aquarium next door …

Oleg Deripaska hints at legal action over UK's brutal sanctions on Russian oligarchs as he claims there is ‘not a single fact’ to support them  — Oleg Deripaska suggested UK's sanctioning of oligarchs may lead to court action  — He claimed there is ‘not a single fact in support’ of the crippling set of sanctions

House Democrats Push Biden to Build a Better Midterm Message  —  House Democrats have been pressing the president to come up with a bumper-sticker-worthy slogan.  The White House says it's sharpening its message.  —  WASHINGTON — After offering her customary lavish praise of President Biden …

Justice Thomas slams cancel culture, ‘packing’ Supreme Court  —  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said he's concerned efforts to politicize the court or add additional justices may erode the institution's credibility, speaking Friday in Utah at an event hosted …

Kinzinger: My ‘biggest regret’ was voting against first Trump impeachment  —  Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Friday expressed regret for failing to vote to impeach former President Trump the first time over his dealings with Ukraine in light of the recent Russian invasion.

Texas Court Halts Abuse Inquiries Into Parents of Transgender Children  —  A judge said the governor's order to consider medically accepted treatments for transgender youth as abuse had been improperly adopted and violated the State Constitution.  —  HOUSTON — Investigations of parents …