The Latest Breaking News from Christoph Bluth

Ukraine recap: Putin’s nuclear sabre-rattling becomes more ominous

In recent months, Vladimir Putin and his proxies have been foreshadowing a change in Russia’s nuclear doctrine. This is the set of rules that spells out when and how his country might resort to the use of its nuclear arsenal, which is currently the largest in the world. Most recently…

The Conversation · Sep 26, 2024

Ukraine recap: western aid now boosting defensive morale as battle for Kharkiv continues

The latest reports emerging from the frontlines in Ukraine are that the artillery ammunition the defending troops have been waiting for all these months is finally beginning to filter through to them. But it’s not enough, says the authoritative US thinktank, the Institute for the Study of War. The ISW…

The Conversation · Jun 6, 2024

Gaza Update: ceasefire holds for now, but array of armed Hamas allies could threaten this fragile truce

So far, the ceasefire between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas, originally set at four days and since extended twice as more hostages and prisoners are exchanged, remains in place. There have been concerns that isolated incidents of violence, including one in Jerusalem where three Israeli civilians were gunned…

The Conversation · Nov 30, 2023

Will tensions between North and South Korea get even worse?

South Korea called for joint nuclear exercises with the US on Monday, following another round of North Korean ballistic missile tests that capped a record-breaking 2022. Will tensions between the two Koreas escalate to the breaking point in 2023?

France 24 · Jan 3, 2023

Ukraine recap: bad news from the battlefield for Putin, renewed nuclear threats from Russia

Vladimir Putin had barely finished his speech last Friday welcoming four new regions into Mother Russia, when his mouthpiece, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov admitted that they didn’t actually know where the borders of these regions were. “We will clarify everything today,” he said, when quizzed as to whether Russia…

The Conversation · Oct 6, 2022

Ukraine recap: Putin remains popular at home, unlike his puppet rulers in occupied regions

Once it became clear – which it did, early on in this conflict – that Ukraine’s defenders would not wilt before the onslaught of Vladimir Putin’s war machine, analysts predicted a long and drawn-out war of attrition, particularly in the east of the country where Russia already controlled a fair…

The Conversation · Sep 8, 2022

Ukraine recap: why Turkey wants to block Sweden and Finland joining Nato

Over the last week, further details emerged of Finland and Sweden’s intention to join Nato, until on Tuesday the nations formally submitted the paperwork. Nato’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg called it “a historic moment” and it certainly marks a momentous shift away from neutrality for those two countries.

The Conversation · May 19, 2022