Maria Popova
@popovaprof.bsky.social
Polisci prof at McGill 🇨🇦⚜️
Democracy, rule of law, (anti)corruption in Eastern Europe 🇺🇦 🇧🇬 🇪🇺; post-Communism; Russo-Ukrainian war and its impact on European democracies; #UkraineIsEurope #DefendDemocracy
https://linktr.ee/popovaprof
Democracy, rule of law, (anti)corruption in Eastern Europe 🇺🇦 🇧🇬 🇪🇺; post-Communism; Russo-Ukrainian war and its impact on European democracies; #UkraineIsEurope #DefendDemocracy
https://linktr.ee/popovaprof
Ru's primary/immediate goal in these negotiations is not territory but leaving Ukraine without credible security guarantees. This would allow Ru to keep alive its hope of conquering Ukraine later and turning it into the "little Ru" colony/vassal that Ru imagines is still possible and desires deeply.
November 24, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Ru's primary/immediate goal in these negotiations is not territory but leaving Ukraine without credible security guarantees. This would allow Ru to keep alive its hope of conquering Ukraine later and turning it into the "little Ru" colony/vassal that Ru imagines is still possible and desires deeply.
Anyone who claims Ru seeks compromise when it pursues diplomacy is either uninformed/naive about Ru or simply pro-Russian. It's that stark.
November 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Anyone who claims Ru seeks compromise when it pursues diplomacy is either uninformed/naive about Ru or simply pro-Russian. It's that stark.
They're not even fully keen on the 28 plan they wrote themselves. It needs to be worked out in more detail he says, i.e. "make Ukrainian capitulation complete, as we demanded in Alaska". This is how Ru ...erm... negotiates. No compromise; trying to achieve its elusive military victory diplomatically
Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov says the European "counter-proposal" peace plan is "not constructive and not acceptable to Russia."
November 24, 2025 at 2:55 PM
They're not even fully keen on the 28 plan they wrote themselves. It needs to be worked out in more detail he says, i.e. "make Ukrainian capitulation complete, as we demanded in Alaska". This is how Ru ...erm... negotiates. No compromise; trying to achieve its elusive military victory diplomatically
Reposted by Maria Popova
And here we are, right on time!
Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov says the European "counter-proposal" peace plan is "not constructive and not acceptable to Russia."
November 24, 2025 at 2:49 PM
And here we are, right on time!
Keep in mind that these talks now in Geneva do not include russia and therefore are quite meaningless. The moment something reasonable emerges out of them, Ru will cry out that it opposes it vehemently. They've been largely silent the past few days for a reason.
November 24, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Keep in mind that these talks now in Geneva do not include russia and therefore are quite meaningless. The moment something reasonable emerges out of them, Ru will cry out that it opposes it vehemently. They've been largely silent the past few days for a reason.
Reposted by Maria Popova
Yes, and there is one more dimension that is incredibly insulting: the various "anti-nazi" clauses mean, in fact, "anti-nation". How will it be possible to memorialize the war and its victims under the Russian ultimatum, a.k.a. the Trump peace plan?
The amnesty is perhaps the most offensive part of the unworkable Trump proposal.
⚡️ Ukraine is investigating a staggering 178,000 Russian war crimes as Trump’s peace plan raises fears it could grant amnesty to Russian troops.
November 24, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Yes, and there is one more dimension that is incredibly insulting: the various "anti-nazi" clauses mean, in fact, "anti-nation". How will it be possible to memorialize the war and its victims under the Russian ultimatum, a.k.a. the Trump peace plan?
The amnesty is perhaps the most offensive part of the unworkable Trump proposal.
⚡️ Ukraine is investigating a staggering 178,000 Russian war crimes as Trump’s peace plan raises fears it could grant amnesty to Russian troops.
Ukraine Probes 178,000 Russian War Crimes as US Peace Plan Sparks Amnesty Fears
Investigations into 178,000 alleged war crimes by Russian forces are ongoing in Ukraine amid discussions on a contentious US peace strategy.
united24media.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:20 PM
The amnesty is perhaps the most offensive part of the unworkable Trump proposal.
Reposted by Maria Popova
I don't repost videos or screenshots of POW executions, but this is such an important point.
russia r*pes, c*strates, and b*heads Ukrainian POWs on camera. Any "peace" plan that ignores or normalizes that is absolutely worthless.
russia r*pes, c*strates, and b*heads Ukrainian POWs on camera. Any "peace" plan that ignores or normalizes that is absolutely worthless.
November 24, 2025 at 4:22 AM
I don't repost videos or screenshots of POW executions, but this is such an important point.
russia r*pes, c*strates, and b*heads Ukrainian POWs on camera. Any "peace" plan that ignores or normalizes that is absolutely worthless.
russia r*pes, c*strates, and b*heads Ukrainian POWs on camera. Any "peace" plan that ignores or normalizes that is absolutely worthless.
Reposted by Maria Popova
One plan. Six pillars of international law demolished.
Trump's Ukraine plan requires the US to violate 71 international commitments, @EerikNKross has calculated.
It systematically contradicts the legal order America built over 80 years—from the Geneva Conventions to NATO's founding treaty:
Trump's Ukraine plan requires the US to violate 71 international commitments, @EerikNKross has calculated.
It systematically contradicts the legal order America built over 80 years—from the Geneva Conventions to NATO's founding treaty:
November 23, 2025 at 11:08 PM
One plan. Six pillars of international law demolished.
Trump's Ukraine plan requires the US to violate 71 international commitments, @EerikNKross has calculated.
It systematically contradicts the legal order America built over 80 years—from the Geneva Conventions to NATO's founding treaty:
Trump's Ukraine plan requires the US to violate 71 international commitments, @EerikNKross has calculated.
It systematically contradicts the legal order America built over 80 years—from the Geneva Conventions to NATO's founding treaty:
Reposted by Maria Popova
Yalta, Helsinki, Budapest, Minsk - there is a long Western tradition of being weak in negotiations with the Kremlin.
We should stop signing treaties that favor Moscow and were written in the Kremlin.
We should stop signing treaties that favor Moscow and were written in the Kremlin.
November 23, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Yalta, Helsinki, Budapest, Minsk - there is a long Western tradition of being weak in negotiations with the Kremlin.
We should stop signing treaties that favor Moscow and were written in the Kremlin.
We should stop signing treaties that favor Moscow and were written in the Kremlin.
Reposted by Maria Popova
Worth noting that when the intent is rhetoric annihilation of the Ukrainian nation, as it clearly was based on what Putin has repeatedly said, that fits the definition of genocide. Real genocide.
November 24, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Worth noting that when the intent is rhetoric annihilation of the Ukrainian nation, as it clearly was based on what Putin has repeatedly said, that fits the definition of genocide. Real genocide.
"This plan can be the basis of the final settlement" can mean wildly different things. To Ukraine, it means working out the details to realistically deter a 3rd Ru invasion. To Ru, it means twisting each provision to end Ukrainian sovereignty. That's why the plan won't work to end the war.
November 24, 2025 at 1:40 AM
"This plan can be the basis of the final settlement" can mean wildly different things. To Ukraine, it means working out the details to realistically deter a 3rd Ru invasion. To Ru, it means twisting each provision to end Ukrainian sovereignty. That's why the plan won't work to end the war.
Ru's goal is the annihilation of the Ukrainian nation.
😡 Russia is taking children from the Donetsk region to Sakhalin for assimilation and "integration", - CNS
Children are being shown "Sakhalin mentality", integration classes are being held in local educational institutions and introduced to life on the islands.
Children are being shown "Sakhalin mentality", integration classes are being held in local educational institutions and introduced to life on the islands.
November 23, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Ru's goal is the annihilation of the Ukrainian nation.
It's pronounced as something in-between Keeth-lee and Keef-lee. Absolutely wild for me to see a reference to this place-- I stayed there for a week in 1990 (or 1991, not sure) as a Bulgarian teen on exchange in England/Northern Ireland.
A wildcard contender in the 'what does GH in English spelling stand for?' game.
November 23, 2025 at 10:52 PM
It's pronounced as something in-between Keeth-lee and Keef-lee. Absolutely wild for me to see a reference to this place-- I stayed there for a week in 1990 (or 1991, not sure) as a Bulgarian teen on exchange in England/Northern Ireland.
Reposted by Maria Popova
Could #Canada be the Next #Ukraine? #Russia is Our Neighbour, Too: @popovaprof.bsky.social & Anastasia Leshchyshyn
bit.ly/480DPTO #Trump #Putinswar
bit.ly/480DPTO #Trump #Putinswar
Could Canada be the Next Ukraine? Russia is Our Neighbour, Too - Policy Magazine
When Canadians think about our neighbours, we generally think only of one: the United States. But we also have a neighbour to the North: Russia, whose
bit.ly
November 23, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Could #Canada be the Next #Ukraine? #Russia is Our Neighbour, Too: @popovaprof.bsky.social & Anastasia Leshchyshyn
bit.ly/480DPTO #Trump #Putinswar
bit.ly/480DPTO #Trump #Putinswar
Now this plan does recognize reality on the ground (immediate ceasefire along the contact line) while preserving Ukrainian sovereignty. The US should join its actual, long-standing allies and start pressuring Russia to agree to this. apple.news/Azlz3efy5Qqi...
Leaked: Europe’s rival peace plan for Ukraine in full — The Telegraph
Draft from Continent’s leaders has several key differences to Trump proposals, including deployment of foreign troops
apple.news
November 23, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Now this plan does recognize reality on the ground (immediate ceasefire along the contact line) while preserving Ukrainian sovereignty. The US should join its actual, long-standing allies and start pressuring Russia to agree to this. apple.news/Azlz3efy5Qqi...
The Trump admin is like a hapless student who can't decide whether to say they plagiarized or wrote the terrible essay they submitted. It's a lose-lose situation, really.
Russia-Ukraine war: US insists it authored peace plan
Russia-Ukraine war: US insists it authored peace plan
It comes after a group of senators said they were told by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the draft did not reflect Washington's position.
www.bbc.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:31 AM
The Trump admin is like a hapless student who can't decide whether to say they plagiarized or wrote the terrible essay they submitted. It's a lose-lose situation, really.
Good. Hopefully, this isn't just damage control by Rubio.
Republican Senator Mike Rounds said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a call to senators, confirmed the so-called 28-point “peace plan” was actually a Russian wishlist and is “not the administration’s position”. Nor is there any threat to cut off weapons or intelligence to Ukraine.
November 22, 2025 at 11:42 PM
Good. Hopefully, this isn't just damage control by Rubio.
Reposted by Maria Popova
Left-wing vs right-wing populism in one picture.
This couldn't have been more perfect. Ignoring tradeoffs and blaming the main outgroup as the solution to every societal problem.
This couldn't have been more perfect. Ignoring tradeoffs and blaming the main outgroup as the solution to every societal problem.
November 22, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Left-wing vs right-wing populism in one picture.
This couldn't have been more perfect. Ignoring tradeoffs and blaming the main outgroup as the solution to every societal problem.
This couldn't have been more perfect. Ignoring tradeoffs and blaming the main outgroup as the solution to every societal problem.
Reposted by Maria Popova
President Zelenskyy says Ukraine's team will meet with delegates from the US, UK, France + Germany in Switzerland tomorrow.
They hope to rewrite the DimWit "surrender plan", but first get the deadline extended beyond Thursday.
They hope to rewrite the DimWit "surrender plan", but first get the deadline extended beyond Thursday.
November 22, 2025 at 6:16 PM
President Zelenskyy says Ukraine's team will meet with delegates from the US, UK, France + Germany in Switzerland tomorrow.
They hope to rewrite the DimWit "surrender plan", but first get the deadline extended beyond Thursday.
They hope to rewrite the DimWit "surrender plan", but first get the deadline extended beyond Thursday.
Keep in mind that Trump stopped intelligence sharing w Ukraine and reversed course. Also, it'd be absurd to refuse to sell American weapons to Ukraine through Europe. He's bluffing. His leverage and commitment to applying it to punish Ukraine if it politely declines the "deal" aren't convincing.
November 22, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Keep in mind that Trump stopped intelligence sharing w Ukraine and reversed course. Also, it'd be absurd to refuse to sell American weapons to Ukraine through Europe. He's bluffing. His leverage and commitment to applying it to punish Ukraine if it politely declines the "deal" aren't convincing.
Reposted by Maria Popova
🇺🇦❌ Verkhovna Rada does not support the US plan. We are not ready to accept these conditions, — People's Deputy Nagornyak.
November 22, 2025 at 2:11 PM
🇺🇦❌ Verkhovna Rada does not support the US plan. We are not ready to accept these conditions, — People's Deputy Nagornyak.
Reposted by Maria Popova
Lost in the discussion of what Ukraine can and cannot be forced into today is the fact that time isn't obviously either on Ukraine or on Ru's side. Ru's disregard for the life of its citizens will eventually catch up and cause constraints.
November 22, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Lost in the discussion of what Ukraine can and cannot be forced into today is the fact that time isn't obviously either on Ukraine or on Ru's side. Ru's disregard for the life of its citizens will eventually catch up and cause constraints.
Reposted by Maria Popova
European leaders’ joint statement cleverly kicks Trump’s pro-Putin Ukraine plan way down the road. It needs “additional work”.
November 22, 2025 at 1:52 PM
European leaders’ joint statement cleverly kicks Trump’s pro-Putin Ukraine plan way down the road. It needs “additional work”.