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Michael Bociurkiw

@michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social
478 followers 117 following 1.7K posts

New York Times-published OpEd writer. Global affairs analyst. Author. Sr Fellow - Atlantic Council. Former spox at OSCE & UNICEF. Founder - World Briefing report on Substack

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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 2h
Your morning World Briefing from Odesa Ukraine. Full newsletter +insight video later today
substack.com
Michael Bociurkiw (@worldaffairspro)
☕ Morning update from Odesa Another brutal night. Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Uman, Odesa, and a wide sweep of the west: Ivano-Frankivsk, Lutsk, Lviv, Khmelnytskyi and Rivne. Kyiv's mayor says the capi...
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 4h
Ukrainian forces reportedly regained unrestricted access to Starshield on October 15, following in-motion speed restrictions on SpaceX’s Starshield communications network over Ukraine. - The Institute for the Study of War
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 4h
The White House ordered SpaceX's Starshield service for Ukraine's military slowed, US and Western officials tell Reuters. If this continues, with gaps in intel sharing and no allied backfill, Ukraine could face defeat. Kyiv is now in its most dangerous direct confrontation with the US.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 5h
Massive Russian strikes across Ukraine overnight: Kyiv, Uman, Odesa, plus Ivano-Frankivsk, Lutsk, Lviv, Khmelnytskyi & Rivne in the west. Kyiv without water and power, mayor says. Dozens hurt. Patriot stocks nearly gone: 10 left as of 7 Oct, now "only a couple," a Ukrainian official tells WaPo.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
"It makes that Oval Office dust-up look very minor." Zelensky resuming strikes on Russian energy targets may be "the most direct confrontation between Ukraine and the US," I told Times Radio. If US support and intel stay withheld, Ukraine faces a very tough time
youtu.be
Trump–Zelensky Tensions Boil Over As US Satellite Support Slashed | Michael Bociurkiw
YouTube video by Times Radio
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
From Odesa: parking $ goes home w/deputy mayor's family 🇺🇦 Also in today's World Briefing: 🇬🇧 MI5 names Russia Britain's No.1 threat ⛽ IEA warns of a diesel squeeze into 2027 🤖 AI "worms" eyeing your smart devices 🇯🇵 Russia arrests a Japanese reporter as a spy www.michaelbociurkiw.com/p/colder-tha...
michaelbociurkiw.com
Colder Than the Cold War
MI5 names Russia Britain’s biggest threat as Zelensky visits London seeking help
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Starlink restrictions affecting Ukraine's front line operations, Kyiv says. More analysis in my BBC News interview
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
From my @theglobeandmail.com OpEd: “For Ukraine, the timing could hardly be worse. The winter cold has come early, before central heating has been switched on, and Russia knows exactly which targets will make it hurt: the power plants & heating facilities www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: In Ukraine, the cold is coming – and that cruel chill goes for U.S. relations too
Donald Trump’s deal on sanctions gave Vladimir Putin a lifeline while undermining Kyiv. Canada should be alarmed, and do something about it
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Trump on his energy ceasefire: "They agreed because I said they agreed." Overnight, Russia hit several energy facilities in Kyiv. At least three dead, 21 injured. Zelensky earlier said for the second day in a row that there had been no advanced warning from western partners.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
BREAKING Russian forces struck Kyiv with ballistic missiles for a second night in a row. There was no prior warning from intelligence partners, officials said. The main target was the combined heat and power plant TEC-4, and there was a direct hit. A residential building was also damaged.
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Reposted by Michael Bociurkiw
Ukrainska Pravda 🇺🇦 @pravda.ua · 13/10/2026
🇪🇺 EU has paid Russia US$209bn for energy since March 2022
pravda.com.ua
EU has paid Russia US$209bn for energy since March 2022
European data shows the EU spent €197 billion (US$209 billion) on Russian fossil fuels since March 2022, while REPowerEU saved an estimated €278 billion.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
@npr.org reporting that Zelensky told them “the Trump administration has warned it could cut off intelligence sharing with Ukraine unless the Ukrainians stop long range drone strikes on Russian oil refineries.”
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Whether Monday’s failure was technical, Russian tactics, or a political signal from Washington, the effect on Kyiv is the same: a capital of three million, with an already diminishing population, left wondering whether its early-warning system can still be trusted. open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
No Warning: Kyiv Hit Blind as Washington Bargains With Moscow
Combined Monday–Tuesday edition: Ballistic missiles reach the capital unseen, Trump’s diesel deal draws fire, drones sink ships off Bulgaria, Ukraine targets Russia’s Yandex
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
BREAKING: Missiles just hit Kyiv with no air raid alert, a Kyiv TV host tells me. Another resident: "God, it's a nightmare here right now. I can't even leave the subway station." Early estimates: ~6, possibly S-400s. Locals speculate U.S. intel is being withheld. Unconfirmed.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Winter is knocking early. Temps in western Ukraine are falling to near zero, and the energy infrastructure Russia has spent weeks pounding is about to be tested. Spoke to CBCNews about what's at stake 👇
www.cbc.ca/player/play/... #warsawforum #wsf2026
cbc.ca
CBC News speaks with Michael Bociurkiw, Sr. Fellow at Atlantic Council, on Ukraine-Russia energy ceasefire update
Get the latest on CBCNews.ca, the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Zelensky at the Warsaw Security Forum: elections in Ukraine are "completely impossible" while attacks come day and night. Ceasefire first, then he'd ask parliament to change the law so a vote can happen "very quickly." The catch: experts tell me preparations would take at least a year.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Bociurkiw noted a further contradiction in the U.S. handing a financial boon to Russia, given it is “providing intelligence and targeting information to Iran to strike U.S. assets in the Middle East.” “The framing is beyond belief,” he added. www.nbcnews.com/world/ukrain...
nbcnews.com
Ukraine rattled as Trump eases Russia oil sanctions, says Zelenskyy should be replaced
The decision to ease sanctions is an abrupt reversal, just weeks after Trump signed a bill in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham to punish other countries for buying sanctioned Russian oil.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Trump says Russia and Ukraine have agreed to an "energy ceasefire." Kyiv says it's ready if Moscow is. The Kremlin's only response so far: strikes on Ukrainian power plants. Meanwhile, Washington is threatening Kyiv's arms pipeline to stop refinery strikes. open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
Oil Chiefs Flee Riyadh as Houthi Missiles Hit the Kingdom’s Front Door
Riyadh’s airport attack empties an oil summit and squeezes Europe–Asia air routes. Plus: the US leans on Kyiv.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Houthi missiles kill 12 at Riyadh's airport, and the heads of Exxon, Shell, BP and TotalEnergies skip the kingdom's oil summit. Plus: Washington threatens Kyiv's arms pipeline over Russian refineries, and Europe's air corridor to Asia narrows. open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
Oil Chiefs Flee Riyadh as Houthi Missiles Hit the Kingdom’s Front Door
Riyadh’s airport attack empties an oil summit and squeezes Europe–Asia air routes. Plus: the US leans on Kyiv.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
After attack on Riyadh's airport, Saudi authorities "temporarily suspended" operations for safety checks. US embassy urges citizens to avoid the airport; Australia's tells its community to shelter in place. Several airlines avoiding Saudi airspace. Mideast air corridors will be further constrained
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
“I think this is significant in the sense that, for the first time ever since this full-scale invasion happened, Ukraine now runs the risk of entering into direct confrontation with the United States,” said Michael Bociurkiw www.nbcnews.com/world/ukrain...
nbcnews.com
Ukraine rattled as Trump eases Russia oil sanctions, says Zelenskyy should be replaced
The decision to ease sanctions is an abrupt reversal, just weeks after Trump signed a bill in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham to punish other countries for buying sanctioned Russian oil.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Russia's war bloggers are treating Trump's diesel deal less as an oil sale than as a crack in the sanctions wall. Their biggest hope is that it opens a channel for Western parts to fix the refineries Ukraine has been hitting.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Just when it seemed it couldn't get worse for Ukraine, it did. Trump phoned Putin in middle of Miami talks & agreed to lift sanctions on Russian diesel. Now he's echoing Moscow's demand for a new Ukrainian president. My latest World Briefing+ dispatch, from Odesa: open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
From Betrayal to Echoing the Kremlin
World Briefing Plus: Trump’s Putin call wrecked the Miami talks. Now he’s repeating Moscow’s demand for a new Ukrainian president. My dispatch from Odesa.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Disgusting. This was predictable: Donald Trump has said he thinks "it's time for Ukraine to get a new president" as he responded to Volodymyr Zelensky's criticism of the US diesel deal with Russia. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
'Time for Ukraine to get new president,' says Trump after Zelensky condemns diesel deal
Ukraine's leader had said the deal with Russia to release diesel into the US would help Moscow fund the war.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
"Buffoonery on an epic scale." I told Zain Asher on @cnn.com that the Witkoff-Kushner talks have produced zero results. It boggles the mind that Zelensky keeps going back to the Americans, even more so now that Trump has cut a side deal with Putin on Russian diesel behind Kyiv's back.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Trump's diesel deal with Putin: Treasury is now licensing Russian diesel sales until April. If Zelensky keeps his pledge to burn Russian refineries, Kyiv would be hitting supply Washington wants. That's a US-Ukraine collision course. Could intel sharing be cut again, like March 2025?
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Ukraine's President Volodymr Zelensky has condemned Donald Trump's announcement of a deal to import Russian diesel into the US. Zelensky called it a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin that amounts to "an investment in a war that must be ended, not prolonged". www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Trump announces deal for Russian diesel as Zelensky calls it a 'gift to Putin'
Ukraine's president sharply criticised the move, calling it an "investment in war that must be ended, not prolonged".
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Reposted by Michael Bociurkiw
The Kyiv Independent @kyivindependent.com · 09/10/2026
⚡️BREAKING: Trump says Russia agreed to supply millions of tons of diesel to US, global markets. "Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Oct. 9.
kyivindependent.com
Trump says Russia agreed to supply millions of tons of diesel to US, global markets
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Oct. 9 that Russia had agreed to supply millions of tons of diesel fuel to the U.S. and global markets following a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
A Nobel for justice, sanctions by nightfall. Trump goes after the ICC hours after Navi Pillay's win, while Kyiv's negotiators sit in Miami with Trump's envoys. Plus: a Ukrainian reporter held as a "spy" in Vienna. Today's World Briefing open.substack.com/pub/worldbri... #NobelPeacePrize
open.substack.com
A Nobel for Justice, Sanctions by Nightfall
Hours after Navi Pillay won the Peace Prize, Washington moved to cripple the International Criminal Court that Ukraine depends on, while Kyiv’s negotiators sat down with Trump’s envoys in Miami.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Vienna hosts the OSCE and its @oscemediafreedom.bsky.social Two Ukrainian journalists were detained and one injured on their doorstep. Ukraine is a participating State. So is Austria. As a former OSCE spokesperson, I expect swift, unequivocal condemnation and a demand for answers.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Alarming: Ukrainska Pravda investigations chief Mykhailo Tkach has been released after being detained in Vienna, but his newsroom still can't reach him. Cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko was injured during the detention. Neither journalist's legal status is known. Austria owes answers. @bmeia.gv.at
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Back in Odesa after several weeks away, I find a battered city and a once-bustling international port shockingly quiet. Meanwhile, the war continues to spread far beyond Ukraine's borders. open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
The Port That Feeds the World Falls Silent
Back in Odesa after several weeks away, I find a battered city and a once-bustling international port shockingly quiet. Meanwhile, the war continues to spread far beyond Ukraine's borders.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Vienna is a familiar refuge for Ukrainians fleeing cases at home. Oligarch Dmytro Firtash has lived there since his 2014 arrest, his US extradition stalled for years. Tkach's own reporting found Kravchenko registered in Vienna, noting Austria doesn't extradite suspects to Ukraine.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
BREAKING: Ukrainska Pravda's head of investigations Mykhailo Tkach has been detained in Vienna while tracking fugitive ex-Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. UP calls it unlawful and says colleague Yaroslav Bondarenko's whereabouts are unknown. Kyiv's embassy is seeking consular access.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Back in Odesa, taking its pulse: one side Chornomorets Stadium, one of the port city’s landmark structures, badly damaged in Russian strikes. On the other - world port Odesa, visibly more battered than when I last saw & worryingly silent. Meanwhile the war spreads open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
The Port That Feeds the World Falls Silent
Back in Odesa after several weeks away, I find a battered city and a once-bustling international port shockingly quiet. Meanwhile, the war continues to spread far beyond Ukraine's borders.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
World Briefing: Black Sea Edition “I’ll be blunt: I am more worried now than at any point since the full-scale invasion began…” open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
Spend Now or Pay Later: Europe Is Running Out of Time
The US isn’t coming. Europe isn’t ready. And Russia’s war is spreading faster than anyone in London or Brussels seems willing to admit.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Anwar Ibrahim, the reformer? In 2023 he told the UN that Malaysia was "horrified" by the Myanmar junta's violence. This year Malaysia has sent about 10,000 people back to Myanmar, ignoring UN warnings. Now he's preparing to welcome Min Aung Hlaing, the general behind the Rohingya genocide.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
🌎 World Briefing has reached #36 on Substack’s Rising in News chart! A huge thank you to everyone who reads, shares, recommends, and supports our independent journalism. Next stop: the Top 25? The world is our newsroom. Subscribe here: open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
New World Briefing from Moldova: Russia struck Palanca, and a Moldovan border guard was reportedly wounded on Moldovan soil, possibly a first. Poland is moving Patriots toward its border and Berlin warns of trouble in the Baltics. Pressure on every flank open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
Palanca Under Fire: Russia Tests Europe's Edges, From Moldova to the Baltics
Reporting from Moldova on today's Russian strike on Palanca, as Poland rushes Patriots to its border, Berlin warns of trouble in the Baltics, and Kyiv residents head west before winter.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
BREAKING: A massive Russian attack on Kharkiv has killed at least 6 people and injured 59, officials say. Emergency crews are still searching the rubble of residential buildings in Ukraine's second-largest city. 📸 State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Kharkiv region
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
If the projectile is confirmed Russian, it's the first documented case since 2022 of a third country's officer hurt on home soil by spillover from Russia's war on Ukraine.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Update: the wounded border guard appears to be Moldovan, not Ukrainian. As far as we can tell, that's a first: a Moldovan officer hurt in a Russian strike on a crossing shared with Ukraine. The war is spilling over faster than expected. Is Moldova, not the Baltics, Moscow's next front? Or both?
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Breaking: A projectile hit Palanca, the main Moldova–Ukraine border crossing, in a Russian attack this morning. A GAL bus was damaged and a police officer injured. The crossing is closed. I landed in Chișinău at 3am, was to have booked a GAL bus to Odesa via Palanca around that time. I stayed put.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Madam Governor, Madam Secretary-General, Madam Director-General? Tennessee is set to elect its first woman governor. A woman leads the race to run the UN. Three of six @who.int contenders for DG are women. Rare good news, from Nashville to New York to Geneva. open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
Madam Governor, Madam Secretary-General, Madam Director-General?
Tennessee is set to elect its first female governor, a woman leads the race to run the UN, and three of six WHO contenders are women. But are they inheriting institutions in crisis?
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Mayor Klitschko reports a strike on the road surface of Kyiv's Northern Bridge, one of the main crossings over the Dnipro. The attack came while German Chancellor Merz is in the capital for talks with President Zelensky. #Ukraine #Kyiv
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies: we are taking a serious economic entanglement. More in World Briefing Plus (VIDEO) open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
Canada Fractures, Kyiv Burns, and the Kremlin Cashes In
World Briefing Plus: The week that was and the week ahead: Quebec's PQ wave, Alberta's referendum, the US rupture, and Ukraine's darkening autumn, from UNGA to the road back to Odesa
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Kyiv is becoming a frontline city, the destruction is massive & more people telling me they’re leaving. All of this is happening as the financial ties between Trump’s transactional circle & the Kremlin come to light, at the very moment Ukraine needs Washington most open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
Canada Fractures, Kyiv Burns, and the Kremlin Cashes In
World Briefing Plus: The week that was and the week ahead: Quebec's PQ wave, Alberta's referendum, the US rupture, and Ukraine's darkening autumn, from UNGA to the road back to Odesa
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Chișinău's Intl Airport evacuated for the second day in a row after another bomb threat. Check-in is suspended and Interior Ministry teams are searching the terminal. Yesterday's threat was a hoax, but with Russian drones repeatedly crossing into Moldovan airspace, the pattern is hard to ignore.
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Kyiv residents have a new phrase for their capital: "frontline city." Nonstop air-raid alerts. A second major bridge hit, forcing thousands to cross the Dnipro on foot. An intercepted Russian plan to cut Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa's power and heat by 90%. open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
Winter Is Coming for Ukraine — and Then for Europe
Moscow has a plan to freeze Ukraine's cities. Europe, and Canada, should expect the consequences
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Michael Bociurkiw @michaelbociurkiw.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Ukrainians have started using a new phrase for their capital: frontline city. Kyiv sits far from the nearest trenches, but after countless hours of continuous air-raid alerts and explosions, that is how residents now describe it in videos posted overnight open.substack.com/pub/worldbri...
open.substack.com
Winter Is Coming for Ukraine — and Then for Europe
Moscow has a plan to freeze Ukraine's cities. Europe, and Canada, should expect the consequences
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