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John T Psaropoulos

@johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social
429 followers 292 following 236 posts

Independent journalist, Greece, Southeast Europe, East Mediterranean, Al Jazeera, Liberties, Hellenica johntpsaropoulos.substack.com www.aljazeera.com/author/john_psaro…

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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 8h
Russia suffered a new record for monthly casualties in 2026 of 46,230, close to Zelenskyy’s goal of 50,000. As Russia loses the ground war, its only answer is to pound Ukraine’s civilians. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/russia-tri...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Russia tries to freeze Ukraine but suffers record casualties and retreats
Moscow has suffered further losses of territory it had occupied, but is trying to freeze Ukraine out of the war
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Poland is stepping up its air defence posture following repeated incursions of its airspace by Russian drones. European countries are warning of a difficult winter ahead, including a possible large-scale Russian hybrid attack. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/poland-beg...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Poland begins preventive air defence as Russia threatens Ukraine’s neighbours
While Moscow’s ground forces are having their worst year of the war, Russia is putting its focus on air attacks and intimidation
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Judging by their latest weapons procurements and policy statements, the Greeks have clearly studied how Ukraine and Iran have kept two superpowers at bay with asymmetric war. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/what-greec...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
What Greece learned from Ukraine and Iran
Greece recently signed a high-profile deal to build Israeli air defence weapons. Its imitation of asymmetric weapons and tactics is less well-known
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Russia seems to be trying to cut off Ukraine from its allies by endangering the lives of officials travelling in and out of the country. But Russia continues to lose the ground war. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/russia-tar...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Russia targets Ukraine’s peaceful borders, as it struggles in its ground war
Russia strikes Ukraine’s border crossings to Poland and Moldova as its offensives peter out in Ukraine’s east
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Greece’s New Democracy government is trying to balance an expansion in renewable energy with a buildout of gas-fired generation. But the twin strategies pull in opposite directions. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/greece-wil...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Greece will use solar power to lower electricity prices
But it insists on expanding electricity from gas as well, so prices won’t fall as much as they might, and autonomy will be undermined
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Ukraine’s counteroffensives continue to roll back Russian-occupied territory, in contrast to the fawning diplomacy of Witkoff and Kushner, who appear to see the question of sovereignty and the survival of a nation as a business deal. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/us-diploma...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
US diplomacy under fire as Moscow escalates attacks on Ukrainian officials
The Witkoff-Kushner visit to Moscow was followed by Russian assassination attempts and attacks on Kyiv
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Greece’s conservatives have fired the starting gun on a general election with €2.2bn in tax cuts and benefits. Their sound economic management brought Greece back to respectability, but they failed to realise that tolerance for corruption is at an end. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/mitsotakis...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Mitsotakis heads for a third term, pursued by furies
Achievements in the economy over seven years are offset by transparency and rule-of-law failures
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Russia suffered 124,000 casualties this summer for a net gain of 158 sq km of Ukrainian land. That’s a 26 percent increase on spring casualties, for a 90 percent drop in performance compared to summer 2025. The direction of the war is clear. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/russian-ca...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Russian casualties soared this summer, yet Moscow struggled to advance
Ukraine inflicted 26 percent higher casualties in summer than spring, and limited Moscow’s territorial gains to a fraction of last year’s
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
After observing the Ukraine war, Greece is implementing a new defence doctrine. It is also re-equipping its armed forces with weapons it will be able to affordably replenish through domestic manufacturers, and which won’t be sold to its adversaries. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/the-reason...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
The reasons for the Greek-Israeli strategic partnership
Greece is replacing multilateralism with hand-picked bilateral defence relationships and implementing the lessons of the Ukraine war in a new defence doctrine
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Trump’s unwillingness to share Patriot technology with Ukraine has led to a complete change of strategy from air defence against individual ballistic missiles to offence against their means of production and launch - using European Storm Shadow/SCALP. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/ukraine-be...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Ukraine beefs up Donetsk defence, shifts air defence to offence
After repeated disappointments over US Patriot, Ukraine switches to attacking Russian ballistic production using European weapons
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
104 years ago this week, the Greeks launched their final offensive in the Asia Minor campaign, to seize Ankara and deal Kemal’s nationalists a knockout blow. It failed, and allowed Kemal to torch Smyrna and ethnically cleanse Asia Minor of Christians. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/the-great-...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
The Great Idea and the Catastrophe Part 2: Why did the Greek campaign in Asia Minor fail? Could it have succeeded?
105 years ago this week, Greece launched its final offensive in Asia Minor to seize Ankara and carve out an empire in the Near East. It very nearly succeeded.
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Ukraine continues its long-range strikes on the Russian economy and military industry. By one count, only 28 percent of Russian petrol stations can now supply fuel. A leading state economist who foresaw social unrest was promptly fired for saying so. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/ukraines-c...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Ukraine’s civilian death toll rises, but Russia fears social unrest
Russia continues to punish Ukraine’s unarmed population as Ukraine decimates its refineries and factories
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
World War One did not end on 11.11.1918. That was merely the end of it on the Western Front. In the east, Russia fought a civil war, and Greece tried to carve out an empire in Anatolia. It led to the Treaty of Lausanne, which created the Turkish state. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/the-great-...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
The Great Idea and the Catastrophe Part 1: Why did Venizelos claim western Anatolia?
The Catastrophe was Greece’s failed campaign after World War One to carve out an empire in the Near East. It led to the Treaty of Lausanne, which created the Turkish state.
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Ukraine reclaimed almost all of occupied Dnipropetrovsk in a concerted operation ending on August 12. Russia is responding by pressing its advantage in ballistic and hypersonic missiles against Ukraine’s military production and morale. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/ukraine-ta...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Ukraine takes back Dnipropetrovsk. Russia goes ballistic
Russia is losing ground, but counting on breaking Ukrainian morale with hypersonic and ballistic missiles
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Greek 20th century history is largely a story of faction and self-harm, but in October 1940 the Greeks united under the government of the day, whether they had supported it or not, to deal the Axis its first defeat of World War Two. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/how-greece...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
How Greece inflicted the first Axis defeat in 1940
Italy had visions of rebuilding the Roman Empire. Greece pushed back, lifting Allied morale at a time when Britain stood alone
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Ukraine has claimed record Russian losses of 43,000 in July, as it works towards a monthly goal of 50,000. Russia also performed poorly on the battlefield, gaining 1.2 sq km a day. It is reacting by increasing use of glide bombs and ballistics. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/ukraine-co...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Ukraine counts record Russian casualties of 43,000 in July
Zelenskyy’s 40-day air campaign renewed, after devastating energy supply in occupied Crimea, refineries in Russia, logistics on frontlines
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
In 1946, Greek shipowners bought 100 war surplus Liberty Ships, setting in motion an investment that rode the wave of reconstruction to become the world’s most successful merchant fleet. In part two, captains describe how they competed to carry the heaviest cargo. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Launching the greatest fleet (Part 2)
How American war surplus helped created the world’s most successful merchant fleet
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Russia claimed to be advancing chiefly in Ukraine’s regions of Sumy, Kharkiv and Donetsk during the past week, as Ukraine installed a new political leadership at the defence ministry and a new military leadership in the General Staff. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Russia appears to infiltrate its first ‘fortress city’ as Ukraine changes guard
Concerning reports emerged from the front that Russia has infiltrated most of Kostyantynivka as it tries to regain the offensive
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
In 1946, Greek shipowners purchased 100 Liberty Ships from American war surplus. Riding the wave of reconstruction spending, the Greeks would use these ships, and hundreds more, to build the most successful merchant fleet in the world. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Launching the greatest fleet (Part 1)
How American war surplus helped build the world’s most successful merchant fleet
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Ukraine replaced its top military and political defence personnel even as its armed forces arguably achieved their best performance in three years. The unprecedented shakeup seems to have come amid a debate about unmanned versus traditional warfare. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine beheads its military as its performance begins to soar
An unprecedented simultaneous replacement of the top defence and military brass comes amid a debate over strategy
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Trump is trying to engineer a Turkish comeback to the F-35 programme, but Ankara faces challenges in offloading its S-400s, November’s mid-term elections, and commitments to Israel, Hellenic American Leadership Council's Endy Zemenides tells Hellenica. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Turkey builds up pressure for the F-35, but still faces hurdles
Offloading Russian S-400s and winning trust in Congress are still difficult propositions, Hellenic American Leadership Council director Endy Zemenides tells Hellenica
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Ukraine has caused a state of emergency on the Crimean peninsula by preventing Russia from providing it with oil and electricity, fulfilling a promise to make it unusable as Russia’s forward base of operations. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine ‘cuts off’ Crimea from Russia, plunging it into an energy crisis
Ukraine is ramping up short, medium and long-range drone production to bring Russia’s war to a standstill
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
After rendering overland supply routes unusable, Ukraine is targeting tankers Russia is using to resupply Crimea, as fuel on the peninsula dries up. Inside Russia, Ukraine strikes more refineries. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine chokes off fuel to Crimea, Russian consumers, targeting military supplies
Ukraine’s unmanned systems have cut overland routes and begun to target Russian shadow tankers
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
The Byzantines once defeated an armada launched from Kievan Rus with Greek fire. Today, Ukraine holds many of the secrets of naval defence. Will Greece and Ukraine co-operate on a drone deal, or will Moscow intimidate Athens? open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine, and the importance of Greek fire
The Byzantines once defeated an armada launched from Kievan Rus with Greek fire. Today, Ukraine holds the secrets of naval defence
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Ehud Olmert on Benjamin Netanyahu: “He has no vision, he has an appetite, and his appetite is to have more territories and to be in power forever." open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ehud Olmert sees Israel, Palestine, Greece, Cyprus in a regional ‘trust of friendly nations’
The Israeli former prime minister told Hellenica Israel is on a "dangerous" and "irresponsible" path under Netanyahu due to “crazy” and “Messianic” parties
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Ukraine is extending its fire control over Crimea, causing petrol bans and power cuts, and is now striking Russia’s satellite communications. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine decimates Russian logistics, bringing chaos to Crimea
Kyiv has circumvented air defences to target oil supplies, power stations, weapons convoys and bridges, starving the Russian frontline
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Russia’s war in Ukraine is increasingly a direct conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, as both cities suffer strikes designed to unseat Putin or Zelenskyy. In practical and political terms, Kyiv appears to be winning. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Turkey seems to want to return to the transactional world of 1914, where it may seek adventure and the restoration of Ottoman glory. Another generation of Turkish politicians once had that dream. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
The failed promises made to Greece’s adversaries
As Europe descended into the Great War, Macedonia, Thrace and the Aegean were promised to actors who had no business there
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Ukraine says it reclaimed a net 100 sq km of its territory in May as it pounded Russian logistics, vowing to “create conditions under which it will be extremely difficult for military personnel and defence industry workers to remain in Crimea.” open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine reclaims territory in May as it doubles strikes on Russian logistics
Ukraine says it will soon be “extremely difficult for Russian military and defence workers to remain in Crimea”
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 07/06/2026
Ukraine’s ability to impede the flow of Russian supplies and personnel to the frontlines has spread in recent days, from the southern regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson to the eastern front, and forced the Russian army to a standstill. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine brings Russian army to a standstill, leaving ballistics as Putin’s ‘last argument’
Battlefield observers have reassessed Russia’s performance since December, and found it can contest territory but cannot hold it
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
Russia is up to 86,000 deaths on the battlefield this year for 104 sq km of Ukraine. It’s drawing down gold reserves, having exhausted ready cash. Putin’s answer is to target Kyiv. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Russian rate of losses in Ukraine almost triples in one year
Territorially, Russia is at a standstill in 2026, assessments of its ground war reveal
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Ukraine continues to kill more soldiers than Russia can recruit and to prevent Russian oil exports, causing Moscow deficits of men and money. Growing desperate, Moscow is putting pressure on Belarus to enter the war. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Faltering in Ukraine, Russia explores a Belarus front and exercises its nukes
Russia’s economy also continues to suffer from Ukrainian strikes on oil infrastructure, which have reduced exports and income
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Greece is waiting to see a reputed Turkish bill enshrining all its claims in the Aegean and east Mediterranean, but its mere prospect has opened up an old disagreement on whether Turkey is bent on conquest, or can be reasoned with. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Greece considers responses to Blue Homeland law
Officially Greece is waiting for the bill to show itself. In the meantime, an old rift has opened up again on how to deal with Turkey
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Moscow threatened to unleash hellfire on Kyiv if its World War Two Victory Day Parade were attacked. Kyiv respected the ceasefire. Then Moscow attacked Kyiv anyway. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Russia pounds Kyiv as its war machine grinds to a near-standstill
Ukraine has prevented Russian arms and fuel from reaching the frontline in a successful interdiction campaign
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Reposted by John T Psaropoulos
A. E. Stallings @aestallings.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
"R*ssia is not winning":
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Greece has given the impression that it stumbled into collusion with Israel in an operation against the Global Sumud Flotilla which, at least psychologically, weakened its own sovereignty and Europe’s. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Is Israel conditioning Greece?
Greece’s role in rescuing passengers of the Global Sumud Flotilla has come under criticism as collusion
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
Ukraine has begun to reap the benefits of years’ worth of good decisions - preserving its soldiers’ lives by inventing a new kind of warfare; becoming more weapons-autonomous; and building itself into the centre of an alliance and defence industrial network. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Russia is not winning
But it has so far intimidated Ukraine’s allies into a policy of not-winning, too
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Greek solar and wind power are advancing, but not at the pace officials once imagined would help decarbonise Europe, because state bureaucracy and infrastructure delays held back an industry champing at the bit. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Greece is at the forefront of clean electricity, says Ember
Renewable electricity has surged in recent years, says the think tank. It is now stumbling on regulatory problems and a recalcitrant state
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 18/04/2026
Russia is renewing its threats against Europe following devastating strikes on its oil infrastructure, suggesting Ukraine is hitting its mark. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine’s long-range strikes prompt a new Russian threat against Europe
Ukraine penetrated Russian airspace with unprecedented numbers of drones to deny Russia windfall oil profits
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Orban’s ouster from mainstream European politics began with a Greek bid to eject his Fidesz party from the broad tent of the centre-right. Greece’s stand against collaboration with the far-right comes from its own experience with Golden Dawn. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
How Greece evicted Hungary from the political centre
Kyriakos Mitsotakis started the process that banished Fidesz to the far-right fringe, beating rather than joining it
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Russian casualties are mounting, its recruitment is falling and its territorial acquisitions are dwindling, recently released figures reveal. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Russia suffers record losses, manpower shortages, as Ukraine ups drone production
Russian casualties are mounting, its recruitment is falling and its territorial acquisitions are dwindling, recently released figures reveal
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
My latest in the IISS magazine Survival on how the US pushed back against a €1bn Chinese investment in Piraeus. US-backed ONEX Shipyards is producing some of the first Greek newbuildings in decades at Elefsis Shipyards. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
tandfonline.com
China, Greece and Port Geopolitics
Greece’s position on the southeast corner of Europe has attracted great-power competition. In 2016, under pressure to privatise assets due to the global financial crisis, the Greek government sold ...
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Russia is unable to protect its oil export terminals from a Ukrainian onslaught. It has lost two thirds of its rate of advance in 18 months, dissipating the initiative it took in 2024, and may be approaching the point of standstill or retreat in 2026. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/ukraine-sl...
johntpsaropoulos.substack.com
Ukraine slows Russian advance, liberates land, devastates Russian war chest
Ukraine has marked significant victories on the battlefield thanks to burgeoning drone production, and is building up industrial capacity further
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Russia intensified ground assaults on March 17-20 in an apparent effort to launch a spring offensive. Ukraine held the line, and in response to the prospect of higher oil revenues, destroyed an estimated 40 percent of Russian export capacity. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine fends off increased Russian attacks, strikes Russian oil revenue
Russia may have launched an attempted spring offensive, but made no significant gains so far; Ukraine has responded by devastating its oil export terminals
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Greece will spend €307mn to lower household energy costs stemming from the Gulf war, and is pushing for an EU subsidy to save heavy industry, suspending climate concerns. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Greece subsidises Gulf war’s energy cost
Greece will spend €307mn to lower household energy costs in April and May, and is pushing for an EU subsidy to save heavy industry, suspending climate concerns
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
Ukraine may have reclaimed 400 sq km of its territory this year, and is shooting down record numbers of Russian drones. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine sends advisors to Gulf as it counterattacks Russian forces in the south
Ukraine may have reclaimed 400 sq km of its territory this year, and is shooting down record numbers of Russian drones
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Greece is now protecting three countries in addition to itself from Iranian retaliation and reaping the benefits of rearmament, but it is walking a tightrope among conflicting pressures. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
From protégé to protector, Greece navigates a multipolar world
Greece has lent its lance to more friends and allies than ever before, but it is playing a balancing game among conflicting external influences
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Having abandoned Ukraine, the US now seeks its help to protect its allies in the Gulf from Iranian retaliation. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Ukraine finds new role as protector of the US and its allies in Gulf war
Having abandoned Ukraine, the US has sought its support in defence from Iranian drones
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Through a deft act of statesmanship, Greece has shrouded its strategic partnership with Israel and stood up for EU solidarity and defence autonomy. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...
open.substack.com
Greece wins kudos for its defence of Cyprus and the EU
Mitsotakis’ bold initiative to send forces to Cyprus has triggered a virtuous cycle among Europeans and paid political dividends
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John T Psaropoulos @johntpsaropoulos.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
On europe’s surging arms manufacturing and exports, with thanks to SIPRI’s Katarina Djokic, Anne Applebaum and General Ben Hodges. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/...
aljazeera.com
Europe becoming arms powerhouse despite increased imports, says SIPRI
Europe’s imports mainly driven by Ukraine’s needs, but the EU is surging in arms manufacturing and exports, report says.
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