This morning I spoke with a Ukrainian whose home town is only 4km from the front. Half the population remains, including elderly, kids. People simple cannot afford to leave and have nowhere to go. She is an experienced English teacher now cleaning a doctor’s office, applying for permanent residency.

There is a lot of noise about Putin's ability to continue to wage war. @thebellio.bsky.social takes apart the real economic data, which shows signs of wobbling as non-performing loans rise. The Bell's new Substack, Inside the Rusian Economy, is free to subscribe (link in posts):

This kind of writing is often more impactful than news stories imho open.substack.com/pub/hearttoh...

Senior Ukrainians are accused of taking kickbacks from projects to defend energy plants in wartime, prompting a wave of public anger. on.ft.com/4oI5BtR

Darkness tanjamaier.substack.com/p/darkness

"Russia, as it has elsewhere in Ukraine, struck evacuees with drones. This indiscriminate killing of civilians in cars and on bicycles has come to be known in Ukraine as 'human safaris.' Systematic attacks on humanitarian convoys have made aid delivery impossible."

Таня, добрий день! Дякую Вам за підтримку, яка була дуже вчасно! Найкращі Вам побажання! cards-for-ukraine.at/donate

Alexandra Prokopenko: "Prominent political scientist Ekaterina Shulman and others were labeled as terrorists by the Kremlin. This can cause trouble even in the West. Moscow exploits this blind spot to punish dissent using the West’s own compliance system." carnegieendowment.org/russia-euras...

It was another horrific night in Kyiv. Vienna is closing its last remaining arrival center for Ukrainians on Dec 31. Russia continues to target Ukraine’s utilities meaning very likely ongoing, widespread electricity & heating cuts this winter. What is the plan, Europe?

⚡️'Russians are striking residential buildings' — 1 person killed, 24 injured in Kyiv amid massive missile, drone attack. Russia targeted the capital with cruise and ballistic missiles as well as hundreds of drones in a massive overnight attack that left apartments throughout the city in flames.

Добрый день Таня и ваша команда Огромное спасибо .карточку получила ..праздник на столе Береги вас Господи ваши семьи и нашу Украину cards-for-ukraine.at/donate

Щиро дякую за дану можливість! cards-for-ukraine.at/donate

the russia-ukraine war is nearly four years old. incremental gains for russia. increasing strain for ukraine. europe stays committed. putin digs in. @gzeromedia.com

I'm sorry for what I said when I was hungry tanjamaier.substack.com/p/im-sorry-f...

Kyiv tonight . Blackouts are back because of Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy systems. That’s Russia’s plan: to leave Ukraine with no power and no warmth when winter comes .

Liebe Tanya und liebes Team! Wir sind euch sehr dankbar für eure Hilfe und Unterstützung. cards-for-ukraine.at/donate

Heart-warming story of the day on.ft.com/47Kk7dz

This week, The Bell discusses the implications of Washington blocking a multi-billion Euro deal involving sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil, and a partial climbdown by the Russian government over its controversial tax hikes. Please follow our new Substack: thebellio.substack.com/p/lukoils-sa...

Sehr wichtige Maßnahme von Bildungsminister @chriswiederkehr.bsky.social: Er öffnet Schulen einen Ausweg aus den von Expert:innen scharf kritisierten separierten Deutschförderklassen. Danke dafür! orf.at/stories/3410...

Sehr guter Bericht 👇 "Wenn eine Artilleriegranate pfeift, bleibt vielleicht noch Zeit für einen Sprung in Deckung. Solche Reflexe lassen sich trainieren, aber einer FPV-Drohne ist das egal. Ihr Pilot verfolgt sein Ziel individuell..." www.faz.net/aktuell/feui...

Vienna: There’s a New Spy in Town www.kyivpost.com/post/63496 A Ukrainian SBU general suspected of passing information to Moscow has fled to Vienna. Now, Russian TV is using him for a propaganda film. Austrian authorities are keeping a low profile.

The Bell (en.thebell.io), the leading independent media covering Russia's economy, has joined Substack! We will be publishing, for a limited period of time, our English-language newsletters in full. Please join us & subscribe (it's free)! thebellio.substack.com

Is Russia's labor market cooling? The Bell's expert authors Alexandra Prokopenko and Alexandr Kolyandr take a closer look at the figures (free to read): en.thebell.io/is-russias-l...

Today I spoke with a Ukrainian who just got back from visiting her mom in Kyiv. “People here (in Europe) don’t understand it’s worse now (in Ukraine) than it ever was before.” open.substack.com/pub/countero...

It's less dramatic than the headline implies www.foreignaffairs.com/russia/slow-...

My inbox yesterday. Thank you! cards-for-ukraine.at

Taking stock tanjamaier.substack.com/p/taking-sto...

This week, Cards for Ukraine and @mariozechner.at sent out 300+ €50 supermarket gift cards to Ukrainian families now living in Austria thanks to the generosity of our donors. Real people, not corporations! My inbox this week is filled with words of thanks and grocery 📷 🫶

outcome of trump and xi's talks? a truce, not a reset. us–china relations still defined by distrust, decoupling, and ai competition. @gzeromedia.com

An excellent discussion on sanctions enforcement especially secondary & why the U.S. didn’t touch Lukoil and Rosneft until now podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

I've missed seeing the supermarket posts of Ukrainian refugees in Austria, buying food on 50€ vouchers donated through Cards for Ukraine 🥰🥰🥰 The situation is in many ways easier than it used to be - more people working, less people coming all at once - but difficulties esp for the elderly remain.

I was talking with a woman yesterday who just got back from Kyiv and heard a (to my ears, anyway) bonkers rumor about potential Putin successor, next generation. This is a fascinating look into who yields influence now within “the family”: www.economist.com/1843/2025/10...

Дякую вилике !) по цій картці скупилися на всю родину cards-for-ukraine.at

Geht wieder los. Dabk euch.

Into the fog tanjamaier.substack.com/p/into-the-fog

from 2024 the reminder

Haven’t done this in ages and it feels so good! 🫶 Iykyk:

Alle Bestellungen, Rechnungen, Zahlungsbelege findet ihr wie immer hier: drive.google.com/drive/folder... 100% transparent, zero overhead. Weil sich das so gehört, find ich. Damit haben wir jetzt auch die €300.000 Euro Marke durchbrochen. Org.

Dank der Unterstützung durch euch und einer unverhofften Großspende hab ich grad ein Paket von Hofer bekommen. 308 Lebensmittelgutscheine a €50. Gehen raus an 🇺🇦 Familien in 🇦🇹. cards-for-ukraine.at Dank euch!

Story today about China in Bloomberg and a new commitment by Communist party there to turn China into a global leader in technology/chips/AI. Check back in 5 years. You can be pretty sure they'll have accomplished it.

The US is imposing sanctions on Russia’s two biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, aiming to “degrade” Putin’s war chest and support Trump’s effort to end the war in Ukraine. The move marks the first time the Trump administration has imposed direct costs on Moscow over its full-scale invasion.

Finally www.cnn.com/2025/10/22/p...

Another hellish night in Ukraine. The air force said Russia launched 28 ballistic and cruise missiles and 405 drones predominantly aimed at critical infrastructure. But at least seven people were killed by strikes on residential building. on.ft.com/47l1SLk

We must learn to discount everything this WH says (much as the markets have already learned) to be fair if I were Zelensky I probably wouldn’t step foot in Hungary either, although in this case it’s simply Putin isn’t ready to negotiate. Time is on his side. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...

Austria is closing all arrival centers for Ukrainians meaning those who come now have two choices: pay for their own private accommodation or be homeless. kurier.at/chronik/oest...

The best summary I’ve read so far of what might happen in Budapest mailchi.mp/thebell/hava...

Notes from DC tanjamaier.substack.com/p/notes-from...

Trump told Zelenskyy he was losing the war, warning: “If [Putin] wants it, he will destroy you” The US president threw Ukraine’s battlefield maps to one side & said he was “sick” of seeing the frontline again & again Scoop w @christopherjm.ft.com @maxseddon.bsky.social & @a-mackinnon.bsky.social