Dear CCI Friends,
There is a glut of significant news on the deteriorating situation in Europe this week – all of it depressing. What impresses us the most is the disconnect we see between the rhetoric coming from the EU-NATO leaders, what the Russian officials say, what our trusted analysts have to say and what we at CCI know from contact with friends.
One such friend, Fred Weir, Moscow correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor for decades, sat down for an interview with Glenn Diesen recently. Please see his sober, sane take on the current situation from an historical perspective that begins with the lead-up to the end of the Soviet Union.
Fred Weir: Russia And NATO On A Collision Course
https://glenndiesen.substack.com/p/fred-weir-nato-and-russia-on-a-collision
Alastair Crooke offers, as always, invaluable insight on the current clamor for war within the EU. One must be left speechless at the spectacle of EU ‘leaders’ dressed in military fatigues for a group photo signaling what, their readiness to pick up weapons and march on Russia?
Alastair Crooke: “What exactly is this hysteria gripping European technocrats?”
https://conflictsforum.substack.com/p/the-faulty-premises-underlying-europeans
We know of the censorship issue in Europe and still find it hard to believe it happens so blatantly in the ‘liberal’ West. Iuliia Mendel is a Ukrainian journalist and former press secretary for President Zelenskyy and she knows about censorship in Europe, too – up close and very personal.
Iuliia Mendel: They Tried To Ban My Speech
“Why Zelenskyy is so afraid of Ukrainians talking about peace.”
https://iuliiamendel.substack.com/p/they-tried-to-ban-my-speech-i-gave
There is a lot to take in here, folks. We look forward to hearing your views on it all.
Best regards,
The Directors
The Center for Citizen Initiatives