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Anders Åslund

@andersaslund.bsky.social
35K followers 2.2K following 3K posts

Economist & author, specializing in the economics of Eastern Europe, especially Russia & Ukraine.

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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"Ukraine's Drone Forces Hit 300 Russian Shadow Fleet Tankers in 3 Months" This is how Ukraine - and the West - must deal with the Russian shadow fleet. The Russian shadow fleet and its oil should be ceased to pay Russian unpaid debts in arbitration verdicts. www.kyivpost.com/post/85121?u...
kyivpost.com
Ukraine Claims 300 Hits on Russian Shadow Fleet Tankers in 3 Months
Apart from Russian refineries, Ukraine also began hitting vessels ferrying Russian oil en masse in the summer of 2026.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
To voter for the republicans (=Trump) in the mid-terms can only be interpreted as a sign of stupidity or immorality or both.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Many new Ukrainian missiles: "President Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukrainian forces used multiple Ukrainian-made long-range weapons during the operation, including FP-1, RZ-100, MICH-2000, Palianytsia, Vendetta, Liutyi, Bars, Flamingo, Sichen and the previously little-known Pelican." (UBN)
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Is there any US republican who is so dumb that he or she has not understood two things: 1. Trump owns the GOP. 2. Trump supports Putin. To vote for the GOP anywhere means to support Putin.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
"US preparing 'massive' potash deal with Belarus, Trump says. Trump said that the deal would be more advantageous than buying the fertilizer from Canada." Of course, Trump prefers Lukashenko's dictatorship over Canada's democracy. Shamer on all his US supporters! kyivindependent.com/us-preparing...
kyivindependent.com
US preparing 'massive' potash deal with Belarus, Trump says
Trump said that the deal would be more advantageous than buying the fertilizer from Canada.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
KI: "69% of Russian soldiers on Zaporizhzhia front line have criminal records, Ukrainian military says. According to internal analysis conducted by the military, 31% of Russia's overall force had signed up to avoid criminal charges, and 24% were in the military to improve their financial situation."
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Kyiv Independent: "Russia 'lost control' of its oil refining industry due to Ukraine's attacks, Trump says. A large number of Russian "refineries have been blown up and are, at least temporarily, out of commission," Trump said, urging an end to the fighting." Trump defends Russia but not the US.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Kyiv Independent: "Russia's total oil refining capacity down 45% due to long-range strikes, Ukrainian military says. The assessment comes a day after major strikes on the Moscow Oil Refinery by Ukrainian drones and missiles." Trust Trump to work for Putin. kyivindependent.com/russias-tota...
kyivindependent.com
Russia's total oil refining capacity down 45% due to long-range strikes, Ukrainian military says
The assessment comes a day after major strikes on the Moscow Oil Refinery by Ukrainian drones and missiles.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Anne Applebaum: "The Trump administration has just announced a new “deal” with Greenland. It seems to be more or less the same deal that the U.S. has had with Greenland since 1951...Denmark...agreed to give the US the right to build military bases on Greenland, in the context of the NATO treaty."
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Elections almost always hold surprises, and yesterday’s Swedish election was no exception. 1. The opposition likely won, though by an incredibly narrow margin. 2. The two major losers were the Social Democrats and the Sweden Democrats. /1
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Val är nästan alltid överraskande, vilket även gäller gårdagens svenska val. 1. Oppositionen vann sannolikt, men oerhört knappt. 2. De två stora förlorarna var socialdemokraterna och sverigedemokraterna. /1
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Once again, Trump supports Putin against Ukraine, calling on Ukraine to stop its successful bombing of Russian oil refineries. Ukraine has taken out about 30% of Russia's refinery capacity. If increased to 50%, Putin might accept calls for an energy ceasefire, but Trump works for Putin's victory.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
"Canada has poached 48 US-based senior academics to join its top universities, in a sign of an exodus from elite higher education institutions that have come under attack by President Donald Trump’s administration." www.ft.com/content/8cc4...
ft.com
Home - Financial Times
News, analysis and opinion from the Financial Times on the latest in markets, economics and politics
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Why is SCOTUS still considered a court?
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Increasingly, I hear people here in Washington talk about our country as "idiocracy", presumably referring to that film. Sounds appropriate.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
The new US sanctions on Iran seem to deliver more noise than impact. If the sanctions were to be effective, they would have focused on Chinese imports of oil, but they appear to touch them only marginally. This is no D-Day. mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#in...
mail.google.com
Gmail
Gmail is email that’s intuitive, efficient, and useful. 15 GB of storage, less spam, and mobile access.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
My article in Kyiv Post today arguing that it is vital for the Ukrainian economy that the Black Sea is being reopened for shipping. That is also true of grain supplies to the world. www.kyivpost.com/opinion/82649
kyivpost.com
Open the Black Sea for Shipping!
The Russo-Ukrainian War is heating up in the Black Sea this summer. The Ukrainian economy is at risk.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
My article for Project Syndicate today arguying that Putin has run out of options. Whatever he does, spend more or mobilize soldiers, will make his situation worse.. www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/r...
project-syndicate.org
Putin Has Run Out of Moves
Anders Åslund argues that the Russian leader’s only options will leave him in a worse position.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
My interview with TVP World on August 16 about Andrei Klepach's brave speech about Russia not being able to win a war of attrition against Ukraine and Russia's structural degeneration. youtu.be/PliyjPgX_vE
youtu.be
Russia is running out of money. Can Putin still win? | Anders Åslund
YouTube video by TALKING WITH TVP WORLD
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
I am surprised that Americans appear to care so little about corruption in the USA. Trump's ending of the Corporate Transparency Act of 2021 is truly disastrous. His own business dealings would end his term in any other democratic country.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
No surprise, VEB's chief economist Andrey Klepach has just been sacked. In an eminent analysis, he concluded that Russia could not win a war of attrition against Ukraine and that Russia was likely to end up in a social crisis as in 1917. news.liga.net/en/war/news/...
news.liga.net
In Russia, a state corporation's chief economist was fired after predicting Russia's defeat in the war
Andrei Klepach stated that the Kremlin would not win a protracted war of attrition against the West
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
As long as Trump is US president, the whole world knows that the ideal of the US is mendacity & cruelty.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Europe (the EU including the UK & Norway) needs to rethink the war in Ukraine. Europe must aim to defeat Russia. Russia has now spread the real war to Europe. Europe must respond accordingly. The US is out or on Putin's side. Europe! Stand up for Ukraine!
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Ukrainian rapper, Albert Vasiliev, intended target of alleged Russian assassination plot in Poland, media reports. He is also a US citizen. kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-ra...
kyivindependent.com
Ukrainian rapper intended target of alleged Russian assassination plot in Poland, media reports
Albert Vasiliev, also known as Kyivstoner, is a blogger, actor, rapper, and a former member of the Griby band. Russia previously accused him of orchestrating a drone attack in Moscow Oblast in coopera...
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Reuters: "Ukraine has sent Russia an offer suggesting they both halt attacks ‌on civilian targets in the Black Sea, a source said, after mounting strikes on vessels and ports there raised fears over global food supplies." Russia said no immediately: meduza.io/en/news/2026...
meduza.io
Russia’s Foreign Ministry rejects truce with Ukraine in Black Sea — Meduza
Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated it “sees no grounds” for a mutual truce with Ukraine in the Black Sea.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
My interview today with Ian Masters about Putin's apparent attempt to opt for the destruction of Ukraine after he has realized that he cannot conquer it. bsky.app/profile/ianm...
bsky.app
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
DTEK Oil & Gas reported that one of its gas production facilities in the Poltava region was attacked by Russian forces and halted operations as a result. (DTEK)
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Ukraine: "Metinvest’s JV Zaporizhstal halted steel production following a Russian ballistic missile strike on the company’s production facilities. The attack killed seven and injured 21 workers as well as damaged energy infrastructure, coking facilities, and blast-furnace ..." (Dragon Capital)
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
The mid-term elections should be about: 1. US government spokesmen from the president down must stop lying and start telling the truth. 2. The corruption and active support for corruption by the president must be stopped. 3. Trump's mindless war against Iran must be stopped with minimal cost. /1
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Since July 9, Russia's bombings av Ukrainian shipping around Odesa have ended shipping from Ukraine of agricultural goods, steel & iron ore, forcing the production of steel & iron ore to stop. Farming is loss-making without shipping. This is an economic disaster. kyivindependent.com/ukraine-face...
kyivindependent.com
Ukraine faces race against time as Russia chokes Black Sea ports
Smoke billowing over the Black Sea is now an everyday sight in Odesa Oblast as Russia continues to strike ports and vessels in Ukrainian waters. But it’s on land that the impact of Russia’s campaign i...
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
My interview with TVP World on August 9 on the current shipping problems in Odesa. youtu.be/Me47B4nIBNA
youtu.be
Putin tightens grip on Europe's breadbasket | Anders Åslund
YouTube video by TALKING WITH TVP WORLD
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
How can anybody support Trump given all that we know about him? Are there really that many morally rotten Americans?
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
Incredible that some Americans still believe that Trump supports Ukraine contrary to all evidence. Why has Trump stopped all financing & arms supplies to Ukraine? Why has ignorant Putin-lover Witkoff gone to Moscow to see Putin 8 times, but never to Ukraine? /1
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
The US war on Iran is presumably the most stupid war in US history: 1. Trump started it for no good reason, whether to detract from the Epstein files or because he was carried away by Netanyahu. It was a lose-lose war & remains so. /1
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Chrystia Freeland: "Inside the United States, the pressing question is whether the country will remain a democracy. That matters to the rest of us, too" "Mr. Trump has made his view plain. His Washington doesn’t have allies. It has only satraps, enemies and equals..." www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | ‘You Aren’t Going to Like What Comes After America’
Remember when ‘blame Canada’ was a joke?
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Daily Beast: "Putin Gets Spectacularly Ambushed on Live TV After Leaving His Bunker" We must not overestimate Putin's remaining staying power. www.yahoo.com/news/world/a...
yahoo.com
Putin Gets Spectacularly Ambushed on Live TV After Leaving His Bunker
Vladimir Putin ventured out in public for the first time in months and walked smack dab into an ambush during a televised meeting that went off the rails. Fresh off a tightly controlled publicity stun...
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
@FT: "Brazil has denied visas for two senior US envoys over fears they intended to interfere in upcoming elections..." US foreign policy has become the spreading of lies under Trump. What a disaster! www.ft.com/content/fa78...
ft.com
Brazil denies visas to US officials over alleged election interference
Government claims Trump envoys sought to cast doubt over integrity of voting system to aid ally Flávio Bolsonaro
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
@FT "Why the world trusts China more than America" Today, the US is one man: Donald Trump. We all know that Trump = the US always lies. Therefore, nobody can trust the US as long as Trump is US president. Why don't republicans understand anything so simple?
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
My recent article in the Kyiv Post: "The Ankara NATO Summit: A Minor Respite for NATO" No major achievement was reached, while no immediate disaster occurred. www.kyivpost.com/opinion/80364
kyivpost.com
Ankara Summit: Can NATO Confront Its Trump Problem?
Trump’s Ankara appearance shook NATO’s unity to the core, whatever the final communiqué says. It’s time now for Europe to build its own defense with Ukraine’s military among the best it has.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
The democrats should make Trump's corruption the main theme of the midterms. Every day, the party as such should come out and specify a major Trump corruption case. There are so many. Present one in detail every day!
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Incredible that the extreme rightwingers on the US supreme court think they could transform SCOTUS to a purely political body without encountering any relevant counterreaction. They appear to be completely detached from all reality.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Gideon Rachman: "Rampant crime, poverty and weak institutions make Latin America susceptible to Trumpism. But in the more prosperous and established democracies of Europe, the Maga message is falling flat." www.ft.com/content/2304...
ft.com
Trump’s plan for Europe is falling apart
The US president has a genius for alienating existing and potential allies
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
The Wall Street Journal criticizes JD Vance: "Equally naive and misinformed is his view that the government can revive a more traditional American culture with trade protection and industrial policy and by retreating from the world." THAT IS TRUMP'S VIEW. Say so! www.wsj.com/opinion/jd-v...
wsj.com
Opinion | JD Vance and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
His ‘understanding’ with Iran is in tatters, and Trump has diverged from him on arming Ukraine.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
It is just unreal to read the NATO Ankara Summit Declaration. Nothing is true. 1. "We...reaffirm our ironclad commitment to our collective defence under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty". Trump disputes that all the time, so it lacks credibility. /1
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Russia's giant size is no longer strategic depth, but an enormous weakness. Long transportation is needed & can be attacked anywhere. Russia can only defend a few spots. Ukraine has invalidated Russia's whole strategy since the Napoleonic wars. kyivindependent.com/will-ukraine...
kyivindependent.com
Will Ukraine's 'long-range sanctions' decide the war?
The Russian drone and missile attacks on Kyiv in early July 2026 were the largest such state terrorist attacks to date against civilian infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital. Yet, these acts by the ...
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Trump's interference in FIFA's decision making shows that the US under Trump is unable to host a major international competition. Trump does not respect any rule of law. The rest of the world needs to figure out the consequences.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
"Fifa will allow Folarin Balogun, the star striker of the US men’s national team, to play its knockout World Cup match against Belgium on Monday after a complaint from Donald Trump to football’s governing body." Trump disqualifies the US (as expected). www.ft.com/content/a858...
ft.com
Fifa reverses suspension of star US striker after call from Trump
Belgium cries foul after governing body clears Folarin Balogun to play World Cup match
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
"Alexander Volfovich, State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus, advised Belarusian citizens to refrain from traveling to Russia, particularly to border areas, citing security risks." www.kyivpost.com/post/79490?u...
kyivpost.com
Belarus Advises Against Travel to Russia; Ukraine Denies Strike on Bus
The State Security Council of Belarus advised citizens to avoid traveling to Russia following reports of a drone striking a passenger bus in the Bryansk region.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Note that the pro-Putin Trump administration never condemns Russia's terror bombing of Ukrainian civilians, churches, hospitals and schools. Trump supports Putin.
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Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
The most ridiculous claim today: Henry Olsen: "Europeans typically do not understand how deeply Americans of all parties care about free elections and democracy." Give us a break! The US, especially the GOP, is not very democratic: /1
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