Sign in

Leonid Ragozin

@leonidragozin.bsky.social
889 followers 83 following 185 posts

Nationality: journalist. Made in the BBC, now freelancer. Reporting what you need to know, not what you want to hear. Co-author of En Eiropeisk Tragedie, a book about the roots of Russo-Ukrainian conflict. Also, many Lonely Planet titles.

PostsRepliesMedia
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Opting out of war is going to be literally a life and death decision for Zelensky, but waging it for another year or two is hardly a brighter prospect. My take on the failure of Zelensky’s 40-day “influence campaign” for @ajenglish.bsky.social www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
aljazeera.com
Ukraine’s 40-day campaign has not brought the war closer to an end
Kyiv is facing a brutal Russian response as its air defence missile stocks dwindle.
000
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Zelensky and his new chief of staff Budanov are increasingly talking in different voices. Rather than advocating a forever war, the latter appears to be preparing society to tough impact when peace is reached, with an emphasis on national unity. My latest for BNE: www.intellinews.com/ragozin-buda...
intellinews.com
RAGOZIN: Budanov, Ukraine’s president-in-waiting
 While president Volodymyr Zelenskiy maintains a show of defiance, Ukraine is being steered towards a difficult postwar period by the new ...
231
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
Orban’s defeat is a Pyrrhic victory for Brussels and the EU mainstream, a dose of copium that allows inept and visionless leaders to forget for a moment that they are also on a trajectory towards failure and their own political demise. My latest for @aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
aljazeera.com
Orban was defeated in Hungary, but Orbanism lives on
Viktor Orban’s stepping stone – the EU’s own illiberal tendencies and militarism - is still very much present.
330
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
A striking feature of the Russo-Ukrainian war is the discrepancy between Kremlin’s real expectations of it and how these are interpreted by the Western media and expert community. My latest for @aljazeera.com www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
aljazeera.com
Four years into the Ukraine war, Moscow sees vindication, not failure
What many in the West viewed as a strategic blunder is increasingly seen in Moscow as a costly but necessary gamble.
021
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
The democratic transition of Venezuelan oil into Trump’s pocket will be closely monitored by European officials.
1102
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 10/08/2025
A long love and hate letter to my social class that I wrote for the Ideas Letter. Tough love mostly. Russian intelligentsia combines the aspects of perpetual subversiveness and extreme servility.>> www.theideasletter.org/essay/flight...
theideasletter.org
Flights of the Intelligentsia - The Ideas Letter
Ragozin reflects on the contradictions of the Russian intelligentsia, a class he describes as marked by a millenarian and apocalyptic worldview, Western idealism, and self-loathing. Placing Putin’s in...
220
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Trump has spoken to Putin and he is going to talk to Zelensky. Official statements are almost irrelevant at the moment. We won’t know the nature of the ongoing bargain until it results in a deal or fails. The former is more likely, I think, but maybe not right now.
120
Reposted by Leonid Ragozin
Pavel Podvig @russianforces.org · 18/06/2025
Merz's 'dirty work' remark is appalling (as is the apparent quiet approval by other Europeans). It's like people openly admit that this whole 'rules-based thing' is just a pretense.
4175
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
How one can be a Putinoid while hating Putin and Russia? Well, the pro-Israeli camp today shows exactly how - by supporting a war of aggression unleashed under a false pretext. By denying what Amnesty International & Human Rights Watch describe as genocide. >>
130
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
Netanyahu says the war will be long. Israeli army’s chief of staff says it won’t be only comprised of victories and that the Iranian response will be unprecedented. The far right coalition in Israel didn’t collapse and secured itself another six months of unchallenged rule. (1)
111
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Now that Trump is boasting about his China deal, what’s the likelihood of him slapping 500% tariff on China as per Lindsay Graham’s Ukraine bill? The latter has always been a non-starter, but many in Ukraine still believe it’s feasible.
030
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
A hilariously biased and openly racist view on Russia, based on a Polish book from the 1930s, which however reflects - to a large extent - the current paradigm adopted by Western mainstream that still fancies itself to be “liberal”. (1) news.err.ee/1609718379/h...
news.err.ee
Harri Tiido: On the nature of Russian power
Harri Tiido takes a look at Wlodzimierz Baczkowski's view of Russia. The Polish author concludes that in order to stop Russia's destructive influence, the country needs to be rendered utterly powerles...
130
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
This is a crazy, dangerous statement and a blatant lie - Russia is not at war with Britain. But having said that, Fiona Hill will have to do everything to prove her words to be true. This is how self-fulfilling prophecies have worked since the start of this conflict in 2014. (1)
140
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
Ukrainian milblogger Bohdan Myroshnykov points out that the Russians haven’t waged massive attacks against Ukrainian energy infrastructure for five months. That was the most tangible result of Trump’s involvement in mediation. (1)
200
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Kellogg says the attack on Russian airbases is a path to escalation. Hegseth chooses not to attend Rammstein meeting, even by videolink. It doesn’t seem like the Ukranian triple attack on airbases, trains and Kerch bridge is delivering the desired result of swaying Trump’s administration. (1)
113
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 30/04/2025
Being targeted by the lowlife of psy-ops world is a regular occurrence, but someone claiming that I worked for Channel One’s Vremya (or any Russian government media at all, for that matter) is a new. Did I also collaborate with Gestapo and crucify Jesus? What a jerk.
130
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
When Remchukov writes in the NG that Putin is ready to stop the war on the current frontline, he speaks for himself. It’s not a signal from the Kremlin. He says many out-of-the-box things by the standards of systemic intellectual in today’s Russia. All the time. (1)
120
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Upbeat about his talks with Putin, Trump’s envoy Witkoff drifts away from his president’s unconditional ceasefire demand towards Putin’s demand of a comprehensive peace based on Istanbul framework plus occupied territory formula. www.foxnews.com/video/637149...
foxnews.com
Steve Witkoff details 'compelling' meeting with Putin, advisors in St. Petersburg | Fox News Video
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff tells ‘Hannity’ about his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg and the status of US-Iran nuclear talks.
121
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Lots of performative stuff in Zelensky’s CBS interview, but at one point he says something of substance - that the conflict will be resolved diplomatically because Ukraine can’t de-occupy the occupied areas. Interestingly, he mentions bilateral - that is unmediated - negotiations as a possibility.
000
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Putin is not fighting for territory (or for erasing Ukraine’s statehood). He is fighting for a thick red line limiting NATO expansion and for Russia’s non-subordinate status in relations with the West. He might be getting what he wants. @al-jazeera-english.bsky.social aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/…
aljazeera.com
744
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Ukraine’s Supreme Court rules that illegally mobilised men cannot be discharged from service because mobilisation is “irreversible”. t.me/stranaua/189...
110
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Ukraine’s bridgehead in Kursk region is now encompassing 110 sq. km. That’s almost equal to the Russian bridgehead in Vovchansk (102 sq. km) without the nearby intrusion north of Lyptsy (86 sq. km).
210
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station emerges as a realistically attainable concession the US and Ukraine are trying extract from Putin, judging by Trump’s and Zelensky’s statements. Russian position on that is unclear. (1)
110
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
The realistically attainable framework of peace agreement in Ukraine is clear to all participants. It will be much harder to sell it to Ukrainians, as well as Western audiences, who have been fed with unrealistic expectations for three years. My latest for BNE: www.bne.eu/ragozin-what...
bne.eu
RAGOZIN: What did we die for?
In the morning on March 11, the Guardian ran an article by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. It stated that a ...
2642
Reposted by Leonid Ragozin
Steve Rosenberg @bbcstever.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
I asked Russia's foreign minister if Moscow still opposes idea of European peacekeepers in Ukraine. Sergei Lavrov replied "We see no room for compromise...this would mean no longer hybrid involvement, but the direct, official, unconcealed participation of Nato countries in war against Russia."
4425864
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
What the flurry of diplomatic activity and heated rhetoric over Ukraine conceals is damage control and the ensuing blame game. What else to expect from a political culture, in which messaging trumps substance. My latest for @al-jazeera-english.bsky.social www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
aljazeera.com
The blame game over the debacle in Ukraine has started
Trump, Zelenskyy and the Europeans are desperately trying to deliver the bitter truth to the public and evade blame.
121
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
If you are extremely shocked by how the conflict in Ukraine is culminating, then perhaps your echo chamber shields you from crucial facts and creates multiple blind zones. (1)
331
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
Other signals, apart from virtue signalling: “Despite pledges of support for Ukraine, some European leaders have signalled to Kyiv that they would rather see them repair their ties with Washington than move on completely without the US.” www.euractiv.com/section/poli...
euractiv.com
Europe inches towards Ukraine peace plan, but only baby steps away from US - Euractiv
Europe “must do the heavy lifting” but the “effort must have strong US backing”, UK's Starmer said.
000
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
It didn’t have to end like this for Ukraine. It could have ended with lofty words, shy smiles, pats on the back and gentle nudges towards negotiations table. (1)
111
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
Reviving my dormant Substack with this post about Trump’s paradox. What if this perceived political baddie stops a brutal conflict which his supposedly virtuous opponents helped to foment? Editors wishing me to develop it into a longer piece are welcome. t.co/K9mCxpza6m
032
Reposted by Leonid Ragozin
NonZero @nonzeronews.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
NEW: Trump has often argued the war in Ukraine “would never have started” if he’d been president at the time. @leonidragozin.bsky.social explains why that may well be right:
buff.ly
How Biden Helped Bring War to Ukraine
Three years after Russia’s invasion, it’s time for the US to revisit the roots of the crisis.
033
Reposted by Leonid Ragozin
Terence Wood @terencewoodnz.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Interesting analysis on @nonzeronews.bsky.social from @leonidragozin.bsky.social . The primary culprit in the invasion of Ukraine is Vladimir Putin. Trump will likely make matters worse. But Biden's hawkish instincts didn't help either: www.nonzero.org/p/how-biden-...
nonzero.org
How Biden Helped Bring War to Ukraine
Three years after Russia’s invasion, it’s time for the US to revisit the roots of the crisis.
001
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
Like anyone offers him NATO membership if he steps down.
020
Reposted by Leonid Ragozin
Ukrainska Pravda 🇺🇦 @pravda.ua · 23/02/2025
⚡️ Zelenskyy: I am ready to step down as president for peace or in return for NATO membership
pravda.com.ua
Zelenskyy: I am ready to step down as president for peace or in return for NATO membership
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that he is prepared to step down as president if it leads to peace in Ukraine or in exchange for NATO membership for Ukraine.
3128376
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments at NATO HQ marks a remarkable shift from delusion to realism. (1 of 9)
142
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
UP’s Rada source quotes Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov as saying during parliamentary hearings that Ukrainian statehood could collapse if peace is not reached by summer. Quite a journey from the same man promising Ukrainian troops in Crimea by summer 2023.
060
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Trump is a wildcard, but there is a chance that his presidency could result not just in peace for Ukraine but in reversing the 30 years of catastrophically erroneous policy of excluding Russia from Europe that led to the rise of Putin and his aggression in Ukraine. www.aljazeera.com/opinions/202...
aljazeera.com
Biden’s Ukraine disaster was decades in the making
US securocrats pushed for expansionist policies in the 1990s that set the West and Russia on a path of confrontation.
161
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Russian nazis fighting on the Ukrainian side mocking Russian nazis fighting on the Russian side for siding with the Chechens is *all you need to know* about this conflict.
030
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Oops, this war is about NATO after all
012
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
The Russian TG channel Two Majors posts an advert for recruits in Samara. The package for those willing to fight in Ukraine includes: - A one-off payment of R4m (€38K) at the time of signing the contract - Forgiving debts of up to R10m (€94K) - Monthly pay of R260K (€2,460) >>>
130
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Also Boris Johnson
011
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
In which a Ukrainian army spokeswoman, Natalia Kindrativ, says over half a million of Ukrainians are on the wanted list for draft dodging.
010
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Some elite kids in Kyiv have been deliberately creating traffic jams and driving dangerously in luxury vehicles while shooting it all on video. In one of the videos, they played “I am Russian” - a song by Shaman, the nazi-styled pop icon propagating Putin’s aggression. www.unian.net/incidents/v-...
unian.net
В Киеве "мажоры" мешали движению и слушали песню "Я русский": полиция уже ищет их (видео)
Полицейские обещают разобраться, что на самом деле происходило на скандальных видео.
110
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
Here’s an essay I’ve penned for the Ideas newsletter about the mendacious Manichaean vision of Russo-Ukrainian conflict which only benefits those who want it to be a forever war. www.theideasletter.org/essay/darkne...
theideasletter.org
Darkness on the Edge of Ukraine - The Ideas Letter
In late September, while President Volodymyr Zelensky was presenting his “victory plan” for Ukraine in Washington, 53-year-old Serhiy Kanalosh was dying in a hospital after four days spent at a…
551
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Cryptic statement by Zelensky (he was asked whether he will run for the second term): “I don’t know how this war will end. If I manage to do more than I can, I will look at it [re-election] more positively.”
030
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
Russian cargo ship Ursa Major owned by a defence industry company has sunk as a result of an explosion in the engine room off the Spanish coast. Two crew members are missing and 14 have been rescued. www.rbc.ru/society/24/1...
rbc.ru
МИД назвал причину затопления российского судна в Средиземном море
Двое россиян после взрыва пропали без вести, остальные 14 спасены, их доставили в испанский порт. Сухогруз вез во Владивосток люки для ледоколов и портовые краны
120
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Interesting piece by Zelensky’s former press secretary Yulia Mendel arguing that Ukraine’s best chance is immediate ceasefire and that Kyiv should take initiative and launch talks with Putin before others do over its head. tomorrowsaffairs.com/if-ukraine-d...
tomorrowsaffairs.com
If Ukraine does not take the initiative towards peace, others will take the reins on its behalf
The prospect of long-lasting tranquillity, no matter how alluring, seems unlikely to materialise quickly or endure for long
440
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Countries the US president-elect has pissed-off/intimidated so far: - Canada - Panama - Greenland To be continued…
140
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Outspoken MP Mariana Bezuhla said earlier today that the employees of Deep State, Ukraine’s best war mapping service, are facing military draft. She framed it as an attempt by commander-in-chief Syrsky to shut down their project. Now Deep State appears to confirm the news.
110
Leonid Ragozin @leonidragozin.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Everyone you don’t like is a communist in America. Or Russian agent.
110