(C) Meduza This story was originally published by Meduza and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . The Real Russia. Today. Thursday, May 2, 2024 — Meduza [1] [] Date: 2024-05-03 Over the past few weeks, many in the think-tank community have argued about the negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in the first two months of the full-scale invasion, following an article published on April 16 in Foreign Affairs, titled “The Talks That Could Have Ended the War in Ukraine: A Hidden History of Diplomacy That Came Up Short — but Holds Lessons for Future Negotiations,” by Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation, and Sergey Radchenko, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Europe. In their article, Charap and Radchenko acknowledge that today’s prospects for negotiations “appear dim and relations between the parties are nearly nonexistent,” but they argue that the “mutual willingness” of both Putin and Zelensky in March and April 2022 “to consider far-reaching concessions to end the war” suggest that these two leaders “might well surprise everyone again in the future.” Charap and Radchenko joined The Naked Pravda to talk about this largely forgotten diplomacy, as well as the reactions to their research and what it might reveal in the years ahead. In the aftermath of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, over 14 million people — nearly one-third of Ukraine’s pre-war population — were forced to flee their homes. For many of those hoping to someday return, however, Moscow’s war of aggression has left them without a home to go back to. In addition to homes now under Russian occupation, approximately 250,000 buildings in Ukraine (the majority of which were residential) have been completely destroyed. Meduza spoke to four Ukrainian families who once dreamed of the day they could finally return home. Today, all that remains of their homes can fit in the palm of their hands: their keys. We got The Beet. Don’t miss Meduza’s weekly newsletter (separate from the one you’re reading here)! 🛂 The post-concert-hall crackdown expands: Russia denying entry to thousands from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, not just Tajikistan, lawyer says Russia denying entry to thousands from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, not just Tajikistan, lawyer says 🏅 Social distancing recommendations regarding ‘aggressor-state athletes’: Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee and Youth and Sports Ministry are advising Ukrainian athletes at the Paris Summer Games to avoid “direct contact” with Russian and Belarusian competitors (who will participate as “individual neutral athletes”), including joint interviews, interactions on social media, and group photos and videos. These recommendations apply even during award ceremonies, though Ukrainian officials acknowledge that exceptions must be made where required by the competition’s rules. Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee says its advice also applies to anyone who “supports the policies” of Russia and Belarus and “could be used for propaganda purposes.” Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee and Youth and Sports Ministry are advising Ukrainian athletes at the Paris Summer Games to avoid “direct contact” with Russian and Belarusian competitors (who will participate as “individual neutral athletes”), including joint interviews, interactions on social media, and group photos and videos. These recommendations apply even during award ceremonies, though Ukrainian officials acknowledge that exceptions must be made where required by the competition’s rules. Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee says its advice also applies to anyone who “supports the policies” of Russia and Belarus and “could be used for propaganda purposes.” 🏀 NYT interviews Brittney Griner: In a long-form interview with The New York Times, WNBA star Brittney Griner “revealed her humiliation and friendships in Russian prison and her path to recovery.” In the article, Griner describes the tormenting, unsanitary conditions of her 10-month imprisonment in Russia and how she leaned on the Bible and befriended fellow inmates while incarcerated. Since returning to the U.S. in December 2022, she’s faced criticism from conservatives who question her patriotism, and she says she continues to grapple with PTSD and fears that “she could be a valuable target for another hostage situation.” In a long-form interview with The New York Times, WNBA star Brittney Griner “revealed her humiliation and friendships in Russian prison and her path to recovery.” In the article, Griner describes the tormenting, unsanitary conditions of her 10-month imprisonment in Russia and how she leaned on the Bible and befriended fellow inmates while incarcerated. Since returning to the U.S. in December 2022, she’s faced criticism from conservatives who question her patriotism, and she says she continues to grapple with PTSD and fears that “she could be a valuable target for another hostage situation.” 💥 Forensics on Ukraine’s October 2022 Crimean Bridge attack: The newspaper Kommersant reported the results of a forensic examination of the bomb used to damage the Crimean Bridge in October 2022. According to the analysis, the improvised explosive device employed solid rocket fuel instead of industrial explosives, packing the equivalent of ten tons of TNT. The explosive material was reportedly concealed under a layer of polyethylene film and hidden in 22 pallets. Russian investigators concluded that it originated in Odesa and reached Russia through circuitous shipments through Bulgaria, Armenia, and Georgia. A hidden GPS tracker apparently acted as the trigger when the shipment finally crossed over the Crimean bridge, killing the delivery driver. In August 2023, Ukrainian State Security Service head Vasyl Maliuk took personal credit for planning the bombing and claimed that his agency had developed the means to deactivate the bridge’s GPS jammers. The newspaper Kommersant reported the results of a forensic examination of the bomb used to damage the Crimean Bridge in October 2022. According to the analysis, the improvised explosive device employed solid rocket fuel instead of industrial explosives, packing the equivalent of ten tons of TNT. The explosive material was reportedly concealed under a layer of polyethylene film and hidden in 22 pallets. Russian investigators concluded that it originated in Odesa and reached Russia through circuitous shipments through Bulgaria, Armenia, and Georgia. A hidden GPS tracker apparently acted as the trigger when the shipment finally crossed over the Crimean bridge, killing the delivery driver. In August 2023, Ukrainian State Security Service head Vasyl Maliuk took personal credit for planning the bombing and claimed that his agency had developed the means to deactivate the bridge’s GPS jammers. 🇦🇹 A Viennese lender’s costly divestment: Raiffeisen Bank International is preparing to order a 65% reduction of its loan book in Russia, where it operates the largest foreign-owned bank. That would mean cutting loan volumes in the country to about 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion). CEO Johann Strobl said in a call with analysts on Thursday that the European Central Bank wants the wind-down to start in the third quarter, partly even earlier. In the first quarter of 2024, about half of Raiffeisen Bank’s net income came from operations in Russia and Belarus. Raiffeisen Bank International is preparing to order a 65% reduction of its loan book in Russia, where it operates the largest foreign-owned bank. That would mean cutting loan volumes in the country to about 2.2 billion euros ($2.4 billion). CEO Johann Strobl said in a call with analysts on Thursday that the European Central Bank wants the wind-down to start in the third quarter, partly even earlier. In the first quarter of 2024, about half of Raiffeisen Bank’s net income came from operations in Russia and Belarus. 🚕 You talkin’ to me? The governor of Russia’s Kursk region has banned migrant laborers from working as taxi drivers. More than a dozen other regions across the country have imposed employment restrictions on migrant workers in the aftermath of the Moscow concert hall terrorist attack, whose primary suspects are all Tajikistani nationals. The governor of Russia’s Kursk region has banned migrant laborers from working as taxi drivers. More than a dozen other regions across the country have imposed employment restrictions on migrant workers in the aftermath of the Moscow concert hall terrorist attack, whose primary suspects are all Tajikistani nationals. 🪖 The battlefield through a Russian inmate-recruit’s eyes: Journalists at BBC Russia spoke to a former inmate jailed for drug trafficking who served in Ukraine for a month before contracting pneumonia. He later fled to France, where he’s requested asylum. The former inmate-recruit told BBC Russia that all 105 soldiers in his “Storm V” unit are now dead. He said neither Russian nor Ukrainian military commanders seem to value the lives of their troops, but Ukrainians appear to be more motivated (and better equipped than Russian inmate-recruits at least), and their commanders are willing to order retreats. No country can be free without independent media. In January 2023, the Russian authorities outlawed Meduza, banning our work in the country our colleagues call home. 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