This week on Rational Security: Ukraine's battlefield momentum, whether Rubio's "the war is over" on Iran holds any water, and the appointment of Bill Pulte as acting DNI. @sranderson.bsky.social, @lapatina.bsky.social, @tylermcbrien.com & @atabatabai.bsky.social: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttav...

Teaching my toddler before bedtime where her home, Ukraine, is on the map minutes after packing a fresh emergency bag because we will get bombed tonight. Our lives are absurd.

This week, we’re Mildly Alarmed about nukes ! @frhoffmann.bsky.social gives an intro into nukes and deterrence, after which @kaeggen.bsky.social discusses Russian nuclear threats and I of course wanted to talk about French nuclear doctrine. @lapatina.bsky.social brings in the Ukrainian perspective.

Listen to it on: ▶️ YouTube youtu.be/iX5x1vIRLxg ▶️ Spotify open.spotify.com/episode/3kxk... ▶️ Apple Podcasts podcasts.apple.com/se/podcast/m...

The second episode of Mildly Alarmed is out ! In which we discuss European security from various perspectives, @frhoffmann.bsky.social outs himself as a Europtimist and I have an electricity blackout to keep things interesting. Also featuring the best @lapatina.bsky.social & @kaeggen.bsky.social

It’s interesting how many people—both in Russia and in exile—who didn’t give a shit about the regime’s environmental damage across the country are now suddenly concerned about pollution from burning oil facilities during the war.

New podcast alert 🥳 We are launching a new podcast called Mildly alarmed! Each week, @alanderminna.bsky.social, @frhoffmann.bsky.social, @lapatina.bsky.social and I break down European security - what’s happening, why it matters, and what to watch next. First episode on Ukraine is out now 👇

Because the world urgently needed another podcast, we got you covered: The Mildly Alarmed, a podcast on European security, featuring yours truly, @lapatina.bsky.social, @kaeggen.bsky.social & @frhoffmann.bsky.social is out ! In the first episode, we discuss the current state of affairs in Ukraine

👀🍿

I hope you had a more productive weekend than J.D. Vance did.

On Lawfare Daily, @lapatina.bsky.social talked to an expert on Russian foreign policy @hannanotte.bsky.social, about the relationship between Iran and Russia, and how far their cooperation can go in the context of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. youtu.be/6sDuC9Zcsp8

Core Kyiv experience—walking your child over to daycare to the sound of air defence over your head.

If you want to help you can PayPal me at [email protected] or Venmo me @benjaminwittes. (Venmo is better, as transactions fees are lower). This is not an organizational effort. So there's no tax deduction. This is just me spending my money. If you don't trust me to spend yours, don't send it

One family at a time. Kate's grandmother is one of 22 individuals, families or institutions @lapatina.bsky.social, @jimmyrushton.bsky.social and I have delivered batteries to. Here are the latest numbers:

it's really, really nuts that our scrappy lil' non-profit media website employs more people in Kyiv than the Washington Post. Also follow @lapatina.bsky.social she is awesome and smart and so brave

In Ukraine, when a funeral procession with a fallen soldier goes by, everyone stops whatever they are doing to stand silently. Traffic stops. Public transportation stops. Conversation stops. In Lviv, people take this tradition a step further. Most people the procession passes take a knee.

The Washington Post—for which I wrote editorials for nearly a decade—has closed its Kyiv bureau. @lawfaremedia.org has not—and we will not. We now employ more people in Kyiv than the Washington Post. Let me tell you about what we have done in Ukraine over the past year and why we are not leaving

Texting with @lapatina.bsky.social about how many giant batteries we have managed to buy and distribute to families in Kyiv to keep people warm be like.

On Lawfare Daily, @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org spoke to @lapatina.bsky.social and Eric Ciaramella about the last week's machinations surrounding a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal and whether the United States is abandoning Ukraine. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

This happened over the weekend. I want you to watch it. I want you to understand that wiping it out has been a major Russian imperial objective for literally centuries—under the Tsars, under the Soviets, and now. youtu.be/5XSBK81UeYU?...

EXCLUSIVE: One Saturday afternoon in October, my phone lit up with a notification. I glanced down at the message. “Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began. So began my text exchange with the woman who is prosecuting the president's perceived political enemies. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...

I’m holding my first Q&A Zoom call with my supporters in 1,5 hours at 10 EST. Subscribe to my newsletter and join me to discuss Zelensky’s attack on anti-corruption institutions and more 👇🏼

In a analysis of how the Russian vision for the end of the war compares to the Ukrainian peace framework @lapatina.bsky.social writes, "examining the two documents, side by side, offers a vivid illustration of why President Trump’s notion that some deal was there for the reaching seems so fanciful."

Close ports in northern 🇳🇴 for 🇷🇺 fishing trawlers! Now. Today.

"Initiative alone is not victory. What matters is not just what Russia has gained, but also what it has lost in exchange." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...

Come work with the best team🤝🏼

In my latest essay, I think about narrowly escaping death twice this week yoursukrainian.substack.com/p/things-im-...

I literally just had to grab my child and run from the bed towards the building staircase because of the sound of an approaching drone. Russia is attacking Kyiv nearly every night

Aaaand the air raid is on. The drones are hovering over Kyiv

Another night of doing things I wish I never had to do — packing up snacks, blankets, and baby clothes before heading to the shelter in a few hours, scrolling the updates about the dozens of drones heading towards my city. I will never comprehend how this became a regular part of our lives

Exciting!

Everything we know about Ukraine's astonishing operation on June 1 yoursukrainian.substack.com/p/what-we-kn...

Drone-videos show at least four Tu-95MS bombers in fire on the apron of Olenya air base south of Murmansk. Full coverage of what we known so far in this news-update by the Barents Observer.

Wake Up Honey! The Russian Planes Are On Fire! Live at 9:45 with @lapatina.bsky.social and @frhoffmann.bsky.social! open.substack.com/live-stream/...

No no you don’t get it, for people in Ukraine, this is the mutiny level of ecstatic

Going live in 1,5 hour to discuss the massive 🇺🇦 operation against four Russian airbases, including in Siberia

The little things that count big time in making Ukraine a solid part of Europe: Swedish grocery stores are making it easier for Ukrainian suppliers to sell to Sweden and will highlight Ukrainian products so that consumers can easily find them and support Ukraine by buying Ukrainian 🇸🇪🤝🇺🇦

You may not care about America, its politics, or DOGE, but you *have to* read this piece by my colleague @annabower.bsky.social ASAP www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...

Unfortunately, after two nights in a shelter, I was too exhausted to write anything coherent about the news. So instead, I wrote about what my family does during Russian attacks: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Live from a really swank bomb shelter in Kyiv with @lapatina.bsky.social: open.substack.com/pub/benjamin...

While we in the west are having academic debates about who has not done what when and what should have been done 3 or 10 years ago, our dear colleague @lapatina.bsky.social and her little baby girl are spending the nights in air raid shelters in Kyiv (again).

Listening to the Nordic chiefs of defence at the Kirkenes conference, this is exactly what they say: support for Ukraine will continue and increase, but more importantly support is transformed into cooperation with Ukraine to mutual benefit.

Donald Trump was confident he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine in a matter of days, but a short-term ceasefire remains elusive. On Lawfare Daily, @lapatina.bsky.social spoke to @mykolabielieskov.bsky.social about what can force Russia to stop the war. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...

🚨 DC friends 🚨 Join me and the ESCALATION crew at the International Spy Museum on Weds, APRIL 23 for a wide-ranging conversation on all things U.S.-Ukraine with @lapatina.bsky.social, @sashaingber.bsky.social, Emily Horne, & Kipling V. Kahler (free) registration: www.spymuseum.org/calendar/esc...

So it seems I can actually stop bombing Ukraine.

Putin just announced a day-long Easter ceasefire. Starts at 18:00 Kyiv time, ends 00:00 on Sunday.

I spoke Russian for 22 years and there isn’t an inch of my body that doesn’t hate Russia.