Last week (September 11–17), Russian dictator Vladimir Putin met with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un, who supported the Kremlin in its “holy struggle” against “hegemonic forces.” However, the Russian Federation and the DPRK have not signed any agreements, at least officially. Also, the Russians once again stated that they were allegedly ready for peace talks, but did not forget about the ultimatums: Ukraine must agree to the occupation of part of its territories.  The Council of Europe adopted a declaration with the principles of transparent and effective functioning of the previously created International Register of Damage Caused by Russia's Aggression against Ukraine. Several EU members bordering the aggressor country banned vehicles with Russian license plates from entering their territory. On the other hand, Ukraine systematically attacks the Russian Black Sea Fleet with the sea drones. In total, the Defense Forces destroyed or damaged more than 20 Russian warships, including 5 last week. Among them, there is a large landing ship "Minsk" and the submarine "Rostov-on-Don".

Over 100 CSOs signed a statement about the impossibility of holding elections during the active phase of the war, and urge international partners to increase support for Ukraine to make sure the war ends in victory as soon as possible, and the democratic elections become feasible. 

Elections and full-scale war are incompatible. Holding elections during a full-scale war is extremely dangerous. It can lead to the loss of legitimacy for both the electoral process and elected bodies, potentially undermining the state as a whole. During a full-scale war, a state cannot guarantee an environment where electoral process participants can freely and fully express their views and will, where military and voters abroad can meaningfully participate, and where a competitive and vibrant political environment exists, especially against the backdrop of narrowing rights and freedoms under martial law.

Last week (September, 4–10), the negotiations took place between Presidents of Turkiye and Russia, where Vladimir Putin admitted Russia might resume the “grain deal” if his country’s demands are fulfilled. In particular, when sanctions are relaxed for Russia’s agricultural sector. On September, 9–10, in New Delhi (India), a G20 summit took place. As a result, the participants adopted a compromise statement about Ukraine. Armenia conducted joint military exercise with the USA, which caused a wrathful reaction from the Kremlin, the same as the fact that the US transferred to Ukraine the depleted uranium munitions. The Office of the President of Ukraine criticized the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, and qualified their opinions about the lack of sufficient evidence for the Russia-committed genocide in Ukraine a “political toothlessness” and “indirect encouragement of a criminal.”

Die Menschen, das human capital, sind das Wertvollste eines jeden Staates und die Ukraine wird sich auch nach dem Sieg über Russland nicht vollständig erholen können, wenn es niemanden gibt, der das Land wiederaufbaut und niemanden, für den es wiederaufgebaut werden muss. Wollen die Ukrainer:innen im Ausland zurückkehren? Welche Motivation haben sie und was treibt sie dazu, im Ausland zu bleiben?  Eine Umfrage des Netzwerks OPORA liefert Einblicke.

Having expanded our sphere of competence, we felt the need to transform our appearance, too.  The foremost purpose of our rebranding is to emphasize the experience and expertise we gained during many years of work, along with integration into contemporary life of our country and deep understanding of today's processes. 

Messaging service Telegram’s marketing strategy is to present itself as a platform for total freedom of speech in response to the moderation policies of other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Telegram professes to consider content moderation as a philosophical question of ethics and morale, as if any interference has the exclusive function of “disciplining” users. However, this philosophical issue has quite tangible consequences in practice. For example, the findings of an independent impact assessment of Facebook on human rights in Myanmar showed(opens in a new tab) that under-moderation of content in Myanmar language contributed(opens in a new tab) to the act of genocide against the Rohingya Muslims.