Michael Weiss
banner
michaeldweiss.bsky.social
Michael Weiss
@michaeldweiss.bsky.social
Editor @insidereng, host @foreignoffpod, https://substack.com/@macspaunday, ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror: http://goo.gl/Jb6uEA. Next book on the GRU for @vikingbooks. [email protected]
My chat with the great @timothysnyder.bsky.social on Ukraine and the United States. Was meant to be 30 minutes and ended up going for an hour. open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p/o…
November 25, 2025 at 12:06 AM
Reposted by Michael Weiss
With the U.S. continuing to advance Russian interests over Ukraine’s, join @michaeldweiss.bsky.social and me on Thinking Live today, Nov. 24, at 2:00pm ET, as we break down what’s really happening.
snyder.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:59 PM
Tomorrow at 2pm EST I’ll be joining @timothysnyder.bsky.social on his Substack Live to discuss Ukraine, focusing on what we believe Americans need to know. Do join.
November 24, 2025 at 2:35 AM
On MS NOW tomorrow at 10am EST with Ana Cabrera to talk Ukraine.
November 24, 2025 at 2:12 AM
Reposted by Michael Weiss
Amidst the Putin-Witkoff nonsense on handing Ukraine to Moscow, clear reporting as always from @michaeldweiss.bsky.social
macspaunday.substack.com/p/he-got-thi...
“He Must Have Got This From K.”
How a Russian operative used the American media to force a risible “peace deal” into existence
macspaunday.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:46 PM
Reposted by Michael Weiss
“He must have got this from K.”: How a Russian operative used the American media to bring a risible “peace deal” into existence

The 28-point plan looks like a Russian information op, not a serious diplomatic effort, Michael Weiss @michaeldweiss.bsky.social argues.
“He must have got this from K.”: How a Russian operative used the American media to bring a risible “peace deal” into existence
Rhetoric around Russia’s war in Ukraine has once again shifted to discussions about a potential “diplomatic solution.” However, the “deal” on the table — a 28-point plan that contains many of Moscow’s...
theins.press
November 21, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Here is my read of the "peace plan" and how Kirill Dmitriev played the American media to force this thing into being -- with an incompetent White House scrambling to make it seem like this was somehow coordinated and well-planned. open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
“He Must Have Got This From K.”
How a Russian operative used the American media to force a risible “peace deal” into existence
open.substack.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Michael Weiss
“Zorin loses track of his lies … and the lies of his government, because he’s indifferent to both in pursuit of his own delusions of grandeur.”

@michaeldweiss.bsky.social covers the fictionalized career of Russian spy-diplomat Gen. Alexander Zorin.
The Accidental Revelations of a Russian Spy’s Memoir
Alexander Zorin’s desire to make himself larger than life inadvertently exposes Moscow’s lies about how the war in Syria was waged
newlinesmag.com
November 12, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by Michael Weiss
We know the familiar pattern: “Moscow still loves a loser: failed journalists, has-beens, also-rans, sex pests and disgruntled narcissists end up going to work for the Kremlin.”

More essential reading from @michaeldweiss.bsky.social.

open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
How Russian Spies Infiltrate U.S. Institutions
Read a 1988 KGB textbook on how to recruit agents working for the U.S. government abroad.
open.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:28 AM
New: We've translated in full a 1988 KGB training manual on how to infiltrate U.S. government facilities in the Middle East and North Africa. Something of a Russian growth industry these days, you might say. open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
How Russian Spies Infiltrate U.S. Institutions
Read a 1988 KGB textbook on how to recruit agents working for the U.S. government abroad.
open.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Michael Weiss
My friend @michaeldweiss.bsky.social weighs in on the recent New York City mayoral election and...whew open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
On New York Exceptionalism
Zohran Mamdani’s election has been turned into a broader comment on American politics. But it’s as local as it gets.
open.substack.com
November 9, 2025 at 5:11 AM
Everyone loves or hates New York now. No thanks, says this New Yorker: open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
On New York Exceptionalism
Zohran Mamdani’s election has been turned into a broader comment on American politics. But it’s as local as it gets.
open.substack.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:20 PM
New on Foreign Office, I talked to two of my favorite missile junkies, Fabian Hoffmann and Colby Badhwar, about Tomahawks, Flamingos, Ukraine's deep strike needs, Alabuga, and "A House of Dynamite": open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
November 4, 2025 at 5:15 PM
New: Meet the Unit 29155 operative who became such a well-known international judo champ in his cover life, the GRU decided to erase his real identity: theins.ru/en/inv/286477
A champion like no other: The curious life of a Unit 29155 operative
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s military Intelligence, the GRU, has dramatically stepped up its activities across Europe — from assassinations and acts of sabotage...
theins.ru
November 4, 2025 at 1:00 PM
A new GRU investigation dropping tomorrow. And later this week: a translated KGB trainining manual about infiltrating U.S. institutions. Oh, and cruise missile talk with two special guests. Subscribe to and follow Foreign Office: open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
November 4, 2025 at 2:46 AM
Reposted by Michael Weiss
New: I acquired the private memoir of Gen. Alexander Zorin, a senior GRU officer who was Putin's envoy to Syria and is now leading POW exchanges with Ukraine.
newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...
The Accidental Revelations of a Russian Spy’s Memoir
Alexander Zorin’s desire to make himself larger than life inadvertently exposes Moscow’s lies about how the war in Syria was waged
newlinesmag.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Sat down with Ed Bogan, a 24-year veteran of CIA and (maybe) former acting CoS Kyiv to discuss his and his aunt’s trip to Uzhhorod, the war, America’s role in it, and states of exception: open.substack.com/pub/macspaun...
October 31, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Life achievement unlocked.
October 31, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Reposted by Michael Weiss
A new Russian film fictionalizes the adventures of the spy-diplomat Gen. Alexander Zorin. His memoir and the film’s draft scripts reveal Russian lies about its military operations in Syria, writes @michaeldweiss.bsky.social for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
The Accidental Revelations of a Russian Spy’s Memoir
Alexander Zorin’s desire to make himself larger than life inadvertently exposes Moscow’s lies about how the war in Syria was waged
newlinesmag.com
October 29, 2025 at 3:00 PM
New: I acquired the private memoir of Gen. Alexander Zorin, a senior GRU officer who was Putin's envoy to Syria and is now leading POW exchanges with Ukraine.
newlinesmag.com/reportage/th...
The Accidental Revelations of a Russian Spy’s Memoir
Alexander Zorin’s desire to make himself larger than life inadvertently exposes Moscow’s lies about how the war in Syria was waged
newlinesmag.com
October 28, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Tomorrow a story I've worked on for over a year drops at @newlinesmag.bsky.social. It's GRU-related, but it's also unlike anything I've ever investigated or written. I don't know of anything remotely like it in the annals of GRU espionage.
October 28, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Humphrey unbound.
October 26, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Will be on @morningjoe-msnbc.bsky.social tomorrow at 6 am-ish to discuss sanctions, Trump, Putin, deep strikes, and Donetsk.
a man in a tie sits at a table with a bottle of beer on it
ALT: a man in a tie sits at a table with a bottle of beer on it
media.tenor.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:16 AM
Now out from behind paywall.
Spoke to Ambassador Dan Fried, a veteran sanctions architect under multiple administrations, about the latest sanctions on Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, what they mean and what they don't mean. substack.com/@macspaunday...
So Trump Finally Sanctioned Russia... Now What?
Michael talks to Ambassador Dan Fried about U.S. sanctions on Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Spoke to Ambassador Dan Fried, a veteran sanctions architect under multiple administrations, about the latest sanctions on Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, what they mean and what they don't mean. substack.com/@macspaunday...
So Trump Finally Sanctioned Russia... Now What?
Michael talks to Ambassador Dan Fried about U.S. sanctions on Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
substack.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:13 PM