NEW: RU law enforcement and the MoD may have coerced at least 20,000 Central Asian migrants to fight in Ukraine within the Russian military. Russian Force Generation and Technological Adaptations Update, August 13, 2025: isw.pub/ForceGenUpda... Other Key Takeaways ⬇️ 🧵 (1/7)

As Putin wages war on Ukraine, he intensifies his repression of the Russian people. Banning private messaging apps & forcing Russians to use MAX will increase surveillance while further limiting their access to information about the outside world.

Russia is pushing a “super app” messenger for all citizens — including so it can ban WhatsApp and reduce reliance on Telegram. What could possibly go wrong? My 5-minute breakdown on Australian Broadcasting Corporation: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

On August 1, 1975, 35 countries signed the Helsinki Final Act, enshrining respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity & human rights as a basis for relations among states. Today, bipartisan Commission leadership reaffirmed their commitment to these principles. 🧵(1/3)

Russia continues to launch combined missile and drone attacks on mostly civilian targets in Ukraine in order to terrorize the civilian population. 🧵 (1/2)

Georgian Dream is attempting to hide their corruption and crimes against the Georgian people by cracking down on free press. They have tried to silence journalist Mzia Amaglobeli who has been in pre-trial detention since January on politically motivated charges. 🧵(1/2)

UPCOMING BRIEFING—Intercepting Terror: Strengthening Ukrainian Air Defense 📅July 24 🕑2pm 🏛️Cannon 210 Join our expert panel to discuss challenges Ukraine faces in defending against Russia's aerial attacks on cities and what allies can do to help stop the nightly assaults.

Russian and Ukrainian drones use cellphone internet networks to operate, so shutdowns are one way authorities try to counter the attacks, said @katstepanenko.bsky.social, a Russia analyst at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War.

Ukraine is fighting not only for its own survival, but for freedom and security around the world. Join us this Thursday for a hearing to discuss the regional risks of a bad deal in Ukraine. For more information and to stream live, please visit: www.csce.gov/press-releas...

These are types of bombers that Russia has been using to launch KH-101 cruise missiles at civilian areas across Ukraine, including in the attack that destroyed Ukraine’s largest children’s hospital last summer. Huge strategic win + countless innocent Ukrainian lives saved. 🇺🇦

Boggles my mind that Viktoria was just two years older than me when she was killed. She sacrificed everything to travel in & out of Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine to show the world the daily terrors of life under Russian occupation. Will be in my thoughts Shabbat, also World Press Freedom Day. 💔

Just out on @POLITICOEurope: My op-ed on how some of the EU’s most influential members are setting a dangerous precedent when it comes to media freedom. It’s time to call out the provocateurs www.politico.eu/article/eu-a...

Myths and facts about Russia's war on Ukraine:

Today, the bipartisan leadership of the US Helsinki Commission issued a statement responding to Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik's destabilizing and secessionist actions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

that major league baseball isn't called "major league baseballs" is a perpetuation of the one-baseball myth, one easily dispelled in the age of streaming. one can now simultaneously watch two games, in different cities, played with different baseballs. mlb does not use one ball and hasn't since 1997

Ben Macintyre on Gordievsky: “…I got to know Gordievsky well, spending more than 100 hours in his overheated living room. His neighbours had no idea that the bearded, diminutive man living next door, under an assumed name, had averted World War Three” www.thetimes.com/world/europe...

The Serbian authorities denied having used a sonic weapon against protesters, even blaming protesters for it:

The Kremlin is likely preparing to intensify a narrative that accuses Ukrainian forces of war crimes in Kursk in an attempt to discredit the Ukrainian military, erode Western support for Ukraine, and spoil or delay straightforward discussions about the 30-day ceasefire that Trump proposed to Putin.

MORE: Putin is offering an alternative ceasefire agreement that is contrary to the intentions and goals of the US-Ukrainian ceasefire proposal. It would grant Russia greatly disproportionate advantages and set conditions for the Kremlin to renew hostilities on terms extremely favorable to Russia.

Putin's "postwar goal is to leave Ukraine in a weakened state that isn’t aligned with the West and is ripe for his next imperial assault. He wants to own or dominate Ukraine, full stop." www.wsj.com/opinion/russ...

🆕 Check out Nina Kuriata's newest article - Odesa’s true identity: countering Russian propaganda and imperialist myths 🔗Read it here: demsecinstitute.org?p=1240

Russia is once again amending and expanding its Foreign Agents Law, which has been updated roughly every two years since its introduction in 2012. Unsurprisingly, each amendment has become more repressive and brutal, targeting an increasingly broad range of groups. 1/3

Thank you, Ukraine.

For more, please visit: www.csce.gov/statements/b...

Today, the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. Helsinki Commission Senator Roger Wicker, Representative Joe Wilson, @whitehouse.senate.gov & @repcohen.bsky.social issued the following statement marking the solemn anniversary of Russia’s unprovoked, criminal invasion of Ukraine:

Today, Representative Marc Veasey addressed European parliamentarians assembled for the OSCE PA Winter Meeting. His message: Ukraine is not Putin's final target. If he is not stopped in Ukraine, he will continue his broader effort to resurrect the Russian empire.

When pressed by reporters about assertion that putin wants peace, Wicker dismissed the idea, stating, "What we can trust the russians to do is.. anything to their advantage" "Putin has violated every tenant of international law and should be indicted and prosecuted and jailed, possibly executed."

SPOT ON!!! @www.csce.gov Chair Senator Wicker when asked if putin can be trusted in Ukraine talks: 👇🏻 “No. Putin is a war criminal who should be in jail for the rest of his life, if not executed.”

One year ago, Alexei Navalny was murdered in prison for his years of work exposing the corruption and violence of Putin and his cronies. 🧵1/2

Authorities in both democracies and autocracies have collaborated with perpetrator states to detain, deport, or extradite targeted dissidents. Detention is the most common tactic of direct, physical #transnationalrepression, accounting for 503 cases (41%) in our database.

Lots of really great work from my team at the @dfrlab.bsky.social this week. Some of the highlights:

BBC article on the situation in Georgia and the hunger strike of Mzia Amaghlobeli. #TerrorinGeorgia

Neo-Nazi leader found guilty of plotting to attack Maryland power grid

Happy birthday to the absolute king, and also, that radar never said 107 MPH

The international community choosing the anniversary of Soviet soldiers liberating Auschwitz to commemorate the Holocaust has always felt awfully self-soothing and self-congratulatory to me. 1/2

there's literally no point of the ADL if this is what it does

The Battle Hymn of the Republic first appeared in the Atlantic in February 1862. Just saying. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...

To the Hague

This is such a bizarre piece. "It's not sabotage" say anonymous sources Finlands former head of military intelligence says it is, as does an expert at Janes. Sounds more like no government wants to deal with the implications so they down play it. But anonymously of course. Do better, WaPo.

🇺🇦 Last week, @repcohen.bsky.social & Rep. Joe Wilson reintroduced a resolution recognizing Russia's actions in Ukraine as genocide. It describes the ways in which 🇷🇺 war crimes constitute genocide, including indiscriminate killing of civilians & forcible transfer of millions of Ukrainians.

A team of rivals empowers a president | @davidpriess.bsky.social & @kschake.bsky.social engelsbergideas.com/notebook/a-t...

Erica Resende argues that the term “post-Soviet” frames Central-Eastern Europe as an “area of influence of a defunct political entity” and allows Russian President Vladimir Putin to legitimize his imperialistic plans.

Today is Freedom Defenders' Day in Lithuania! 34 years ago, Lithuanians stood up to Soviet forces sent to forcibly stop Lithuania from asserting its independence. When protestors attempted to block Soviet tanks from seizing Lithuania’s TV station, soldiers opened fire, killing 14. 🧵1/4

David Rubenstein, Medal of Honor recipient.

On Lawfare Daily, @nkorpett.bsky.social talked to Brian Hoxie, the director of the Forced Labor Division at U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Trade, which is the office charged with enforcing the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act to get an update on the law.

SCOOP: Treasury’s sanctions office hacked by Chinese government, officials say. OFAC and the secretary's office targeted, reflecting Beijing's desire to acquire intelligence on its most significant geopolitical rival. The hack was enabled by compromising a Treasury contractor. shorturl.at/wtxg6

A massive, massive toast to this tonight

Big news 🚨 Bidzina Ivanishvili has been sanctioned by the US And sanctioned financially, not just a visa ban