Tootfinder

2/2 Reflection on #citizenship:
I do not treat the concept of “#democracy" lightly. I was born into the aftermath of centuries of totalitarian oppression that ended suddenly, leaving the nascent Ukrainian state of the late 90s and early 2000s floundering in the turbulent whirlpool of hopes and fears felt by millions of people who were finally allowed to ponder: how to build a free democratic state in the place of Soviet and imperial ruins?
I was taught the words "democracy", "citizen", "freedom", "voting", “liberty" (and more) by people who, less than two decades prior, weren't allowed to leave the borders of their country. I was told about self-determination by people whose political choices were ridiculed, punished, and eviscerated form most of their lives. The duty of governing ourselves felt to us ephemeral - a nice fantasy, akin to a fairytale or a utopia from fictional works.
And then I saw those same people fight with their bodies and souls once the previously unfathomable democracy was threatened. Protests in 2004, then again in 2014, then the unthinkable war against foreign invasion in 2022. Democracy no longer felt abstract or silly. It became as tangible as saying "I love you".
I write of Ukraine as I reflect on becoming a citizen of another country because the history and values of my adopted United States feel as real as the skin on my legs, the significance of its legacy lays as heavy as the weight of my waist-long hair, and the desire to uphold the freedoms of its Constitution burns my throat as harshly as dehydration after a long day in the sun.
People have asked me why I even want to join this country, when the present moment is shrouded in impenetrable darkness. And I answer: because I've felt the warmth of a newly lit fire of freedom breaking through shadows that for centuries looked like solid walls. I have seen kindness, and solidarity heal the fear and hate of oppression. I've seen liberty emerge from nothing but the human soul.
I am not a religious person, but I have faith. Faith in the ideals at the foundation of the American project. Faint but powerful recognition that "we the people" now includes me.
I love #America. And I hope to keep loving my home for the rest of my life.

Evolution of wartime discourse on Telegram: A comparative study of Ukrainian and Russian policymakers' communication before and after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Mykola Makhortykh, Aytalina Kulichkina, Kateryna Maikovska
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.11746

Evolution of wartime discourse on Telegram: A comparative study of Ukrainian and Russian policymakers' communication before and after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine
This study examines elite-driven political communication on Telegram during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, the first large-scale European war in the social media era. Using a unique dataset of Telegram public posts from Ukrainian and Russian policymakers (2019-2024), we analyze changes in communication volume, thematic content, and actor engagement following Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion. Our findings show a sharp increase in Telegram activity after the invasion, particularly among ruling…

Dealroom: 230 European defense tech startups have launched since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with VC funding reaching $1.5B this year, mostly for drone tech (Sylvia Pfeifer/Financial Times)
https://www.ft.com/content/6c247bbe-0181-472f-8369-581e2fd4f19b

Momentum is building to tap more of Russia’s central bank reserves
— immobilized after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine
— to help fund Kyiv's war effort.
As the U.S. moved to wash its hands of Ukraine’s fate,
the gradual realization Russia’s war would not end any time soon
and that Kyiv would continue to need large amounts of external funding
has spurred European initiative to unlock the cash tied up in Russia’s frozen assets.

The EU's ambitious plan for frozen Russian assets, explained
Momentum is building to tap more of Russia’s central bank reserves — immobilized after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — to help fund Kyiv's war effort. As the U.S. moved to wash its hands of Ukraine’s fate, the gradual realization Russia’s war would not end any time soon and that Kyiv would continue to need large amounts of external funding has spurred European initiative to unlock the cash tied up in Russia’s frozen assets. And Kyiv will need all the money it can get. Recent …

"The Thanos Team strongly condemns Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine."
what do you think "The Thanos Team" refers to here

From high above Eastern Europe, NATO's airborne surveillance crews
operating the alliance's E-3 Sentry planes
have tracked Russia's evolving air war since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In the early days, aircrews watched Russian warplanes fly bombing runs toward the front lines.
Now, aircraft are rarely crossing into Ukrainian airspace, having largely been replaced by standoff missile strikes and drone attacks
as both sides rely m…

How NATO surveillance jet saw Russian air war against Ukraine change
As the front lines froze, and air defenses got better, Russia and Ukraine pivoted away from close bombing runs to standoff attacks.

Chatbots Are Pushing Sanctioned Russian Propaganda
https://www.wired.com/story/chatbots-are-pushing-sanctioned-russian-propaganda/

Chatbots Are Pushing Sanctioned Russian Propaganda
ChatGPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Grok are serving users propaganda from Russian-backed media when asked about the invasion of Ukraine, new research finds.

While Venezuela is not a democratic example like Ukraine, the echoes of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as Trump moves US military assets toward the Venezuelan coast are certainly there.
"Maduro spoke to the Venezuelan people on Monday, asking them to prepare for an invasion.
"In the face of this maximum military pressure, we have declared maximum preparedness for the defence of Venezuela," Maduro said of the deployment, which he characterized as "an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat."
He deployed troops along the coast and at the border with Colombia. He also urged Venezuelans to enlist in a civilian militia.”
#Trump #Venezuela #Russia #Empire #War
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/venezuela-us-attack-military-drug-cartels-1.7624235

Ukrainian Wartime Astronomy and its Prospects
Danilo Albergaria, Kateryna Frantseva, Pedro Russo, Svitlana Babiichuk, Oksana Berezhna, Sofiia Denyshchenko, Daria Dobrycheva, Vadym Kaydash, Olena Kompaniiets, Oleksander Konovalenko, Yurii Kulinich, Igor Lukyanyk, Vladyslava Marsakova, Bohdan Novosyadlyj, Elena Panko, Volodymyr Reshetnyk, Ivan Slyusarev, Iurii Sushch, Ganna Tolstanova, Iryna Vavilova, Liubov Yankiv-Vitkovska, Yaroslav Yatskiv, Vyacheslav Zakharenko

Ukrainian Wartime Astronomy and its Prospects
The Russian invasion of Ukraine damaged or compromised astronomical facilities and has prompted the displacement of researchers. A plan to restore Ukrainian astronomy, rooted in a deeper integration with the international community, is now being developed.

Momentum is building on both sides of the Atlantic to give Ukraine the approximately $300 billion in Russian state assets frozen by Western countries after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has now endorsed the idea, removing a long-standing obstacle.
But another one remains:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to retaliate by confiscating the remaining Western investment in Russia.

Western countries are no…

Putin is eyeing Western business assets. Here’s how to stop him.
When Fidel Castro tried the same thing in the 1990s, Congress answered with the Libertad Act.

Germany charges man over cyberattack on Rosneft subsidiary https://therecord.media/germany-charges-cyberattack-rosneft

The Pentagon has for months been blocking Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike inside Russia, U.S. officials said,
limiting Kyiv from employing a powerful weapon in its fight against Moscow’s invasion.
A high-level Defense Department approval procedure, which hasn’t been announced, has prevented Ukraine from firing any U.S.-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, deep into Russia