Valerie Morkevičius
@vmorkevicius.bsky.social
Assoc Prof Political Science @ColgateUniv. Author of Realist Ethics: https://bit.ly/RealistEthics Ramblings here from a just war perspective on #security & #infowar. Personal views only.
What Rubio pretends not to understand is that “ending a war” isn’t inherently a moral good.
How a war end matters.
The two sides here are not equal. /1
How a war end matters.
The two sides here are not equal. /1
Rubio on Ukraine:
"Usually when a President tries to engage himself in peacemaking, in ending wars, that's applauded. This is one of the few times, when people criticize a President trying to end a war."
The criticism isn't about ending the war; it’s about demanding Ukraine’s surrender in a
"Usually when a President tries to engage himself in peacemaking, in ending wars, that's applauded. This is one of the few times, when people criticize a President trying to end a war."
The criticism isn't about ending the war; it’s about demanding Ukraine’s surrender in a
February 17, 2026 at 8:08 AM
What Rubio pretends not to understand is that “ending a war” isn’t inherently a moral good.
How a war end matters.
The two sides here are not equal. /1
How a war end matters.
The two sides here are not equal. /1
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
#Tbilisi Now: Students at Ilia State University have blocked Chavchavadze Avenue to protest a Georgian Dream initiative introducing university quotas that would assign certain disciplines to specific institutions while eliminating them at others.
February 12, 2026 at 5:41 PM
#Tbilisi Now: Students at Ilia State University have blocked Chavchavadze Avenue to protest a Georgian Dream initiative introducing university quotas that would assign certain disciplines to specific institutions while eliminating them at others.
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
Georgian Dream has reassigned which academic fields each state university is allowed to teach.
Ilia State University — one of Georgia’s largest universities and the only openly critical state university — will lose a significant share of its academic programs.
Ilia State University — one of Georgia’s largest universities and the only openly critical state university — will lose a significant share of its academic programs.
February 12, 2026 at 12:56 PM
Georgian Dream has reassigned which academic fields each state university is allowed to teach.
Ilia State University — one of Georgia’s largest universities and the only openly critical state university — will lose a significant share of its academic programs.
Ilia State University — one of Georgia’s largest universities and the only openly critical state university — will lose a significant share of its academic programs.
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
Meanwhile,
Ukrposhta ⬇️
Ukrposhta ⬇️
February 12, 2026 at 12:21 PM
Meanwhile,
Ukrposhta ⬇️
Ukrposhta ⬇️
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
New in PN: The death of the CIA Factbook and Trump's war on usefulness
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
The death of the CIA Factbook and Trump's war on usefulness
Wherever government does something helpful, the regime wants to kill it.
www.publicnotice.co
February 10, 2026 at 12:37 PM
New in PN: The death of the CIA Factbook and Trump's war on usefulness
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
"There’s nothing partisan about the CIA World Factbook, so it’s hard to imagine how allowing people to use it could impede the MAGA agenda. Unless, that is, you realize the Factbook had to go *precisely because it was useful.*"
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
Greetings from Kyiv.
I hadn’t been to Sophia Square for over a month.
The last time, there was a Christmas tree here.
Standing there today, I felt it deeply:
we survived this winter.
We did it.
I hadn’t been to Sophia Square for over a month.
The last time, there was a Christmas tree here.
Standing there today, I felt it deeply:
we survived this winter.
We did it.
February 10, 2026 at 10:32 AM
Greetings from Kyiv.
I hadn’t been to Sophia Square for over a month.
The last time, there was a Christmas tree here.
Standing there today, I felt it deeply:
we survived this winter.
We did it.
I hadn’t been to Sophia Square for over a month.
The last time, there was a Christmas tree here.
Standing there today, I felt it deeply:
we survived this winter.
We did it.
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
This diagram is in Polish, but fairly easy to understand.
The upper section is U.S. assistance for Ukraine during the Biden and Trump admin
The lower is russian drone and missile attacks during the same time frame
Tell me more about how Trump's negotiations are working.
The upper section is U.S. assistance for Ukraine during the Biden and Trump admin
The lower is russian drone and missile attacks during the same time frame
Tell me more about how Trump's negotiations are working.
February 9, 2026 at 4:06 PM
This diagram is in Polish, but fairly easy to understand.
The upper section is U.S. assistance for Ukraine during the Biden and Trump admin
The lower is russian drone and missile attacks during the same time frame
Tell me more about how Trump's negotiations are working.
The upper section is U.S. assistance for Ukraine during the Biden and Trump admin
The lower is russian drone and missile attacks during the same time frame
Tell me more about how Trump's negotiations are working.
Sighs in Gen-X.
Super Bowl ads are a welcome reminder that elder Millennials are now The Demographic.
February 9, 2026 at 1:37 AM
Sighs in Gen-X.
The past terrifies authoritarians.
The historian and Gulag archivist, Yuri Dmitriev, remains in prison in Russia
www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...
www.lemonde.fr/idees/articl...
« La libération de l’historien Iouri Dmitriev est particulièrement urgente, c’est une question de survie ! »
TRIBUNE. L’un des plus anciens prisonniers politiques de Vladimir Poutine est détenu en raison de son travail sur l’histoire de la terreur stalinienne, au sein de l’association russe Memorial. Dans un...
www.lemonde.fr
February 6, 2026 at 11:19 PM
The past terrifies authoritarians.
This.
Another US lethal strike on a boat, this one in the eastern Pacific. Total attacks now up to 38, killing at least 128.
As with previous boat bombings, in violation of US law and international treaties, without any causus beli, when the US wasn’t attacked, and hasn’t even advanced stated goals.
As with previous boat bombings, in violation of US law and international treaties, without any causus beli, when the US wasn’t attacked, and hasn’t even advanced stated goals.
February 6, 2026 at 11:10 PM
This.
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
The Trump administration continues to hack away at the soft power branch that US hegemony sits on. Alienating America's most loyal European ally is as self-destructive as it gets.
February 6, 2026 at 10:58 PM
The Trump administration continues to hack away at the soft power branch that US hegemony sits on. Alienating America's most loyal European ally is as self-destructive as it gets.
A little good news in a grim world.
Since last night, Russian "Z-war correspondents" complain that Russia's Starlink satellite terminals are turned off.
SpaceX and Ukrainian Defense Ministry worked out a solution that would allow to keep Ukrainian Starlinks active, and Russia's turned off.
SpaceX and Ukrainian Defense Ministry worked out a solution that would allow to keep Ukrainian Starlinks active, and Russia's turned off.
February 5, 2026 at 6:57 PM
A little good news in a grim world.
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
More than 1 million residents of Kyiv's left bank continue facing the most adverse conditions in the city, with many living without electricity or heating during the toughest weeks of the year.
With radiators gone cold for weeks, Ukrainians are forced to get creative to stay warm in their homes.
With radiators gone cold for weeks, Ukrainians are forced to get creative to stay warm in their homes.
'We are all used to this' — Inside one of Kyiv’s hardest-hit buildings this winter
Upon entering Daria’s apartment in a large complex in Rusanivka on Kyiv’s left bank, a faint smell of gas lingers in the cold, dim rooms. After Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure cut ...
kyivindependent.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:30 PM
More than 1 million residents of Kyiv's left bank continue facing the most adverse conditions in the city, with many living without electricity or heating during the toughest weeks of the year.
With radiators gone cold for weeks, Ukrainians are forced to get creative to stay warm in their homes.
With radiators gone cold for weeks, Ukrainians are forced to get creative to stay warm in their homes.
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
If every newspaper talked about how hard Putin was playing Trump, Ukraine would have everything it needed to win.
The man is terrible, but we could at least use his insecurities for the common good.
The man is terrible, but we could at least use his insecurities for the common good.
Bastards have sharply intensified Starlink-enabled drone attacks on Ukrainian logistics. Over the past 24 hours, dozens of strikes have been recorded, including attacks on civilian buses.
Russian forces have focused their main efforts on targeting logistical facilities in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Russian forces have focused their main efforts on targeting logistical facilities in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
January 30, 2026 at 12:44 PM
If every newspaper talked about how hard Putin was playing Trump, Ukraine would have everything it needed to win.
The man is terrible, but we could at least use his insecurities for the common good.
The man is terrible, but we could at least use his insecurities for the common good.
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
Everyone freezing on the East Coast or in the Midwest remember: Kyiv has the same weather, except that hundreds of thousands of people don't have electricity, heating or running water
January 24, 2026 at 4:22 PM
Everyone freezing on the East Coast or in the Midwest remember: Kyiv has the same weather, except that hundreds of thousands of people don't have electricity, heating or running water
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
you probably heard the story about Russia taking Ukrainian kids to North Korea for re-education
I want to share with you the investigation of my colleagues from Suspilne who broke the story first
#UkrainianView
suspilne.media/1217884-russ...
I want to share with you the investigation of my colleagues from Suspilne who broke the story first
#UkrainianView
suspilne.media/1217884-russ...
How Russia send kids from occupied part of Ukraine to a summer camp in DPRK
In 2024-2025, at least two children from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine were brought to the Songdowon camp in North Korea for “re-education”. Here's more on who organized this and wha...
suspilne.media
January 21, 2026 at 12:30 PM
you probably heard the story about Russia taking Ukrainian kids to North Korea for re-education
I want to share with you the investigation of my colleagues from Suspilne who broke the story first
#UkrainianView
suspilne.media/1217884-russ...
I want to share with you the investigation of my colleagues from Suspilne who broke the story first
#UkrainianView
suspilne.media/1217884-russ...
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
As JD Vance starts trying to play "nice Gestapo" to Steven Miller's "mean Gestapo," it's worth emphasizing that what's happening in Minnesota is a direct descendant of Vance's knowingly false racist demagoguery during the campaign. "Somalis are low-IQ thieves" is "Haitians are eating your pets."
1/
1/
January 24, 2026 at 5:59 PM
As JD Vance starts trying to play "nice Gestapo" to Steven Miller's "mean Gestapo," it's worth emphasizing that what's happening in Minnesota is a direct descendant of Vance's knowingly false racist demagoguery during the campaign. "Somalis are low-IQ thieves" is "Haitians are eating your pets."
1/
1/
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
🇬🇪Georgia and Georgian Dream is emerging as a key enabler of Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet.
New reporting by Finland’s YLE reveals how Georgia-registered companies are keeping Russian oil tankers operational despite EU sanctions.
1/11
New reporting by Finland’s YLE reveals how Georgia-registered companies are keeping Russian oil tankers operational despite EU sanctions.
1/11
January 23, 2026 at 7:26 PM
🇬🇪Georgia and Georgian Dream is emerging as a key enabler of Russia’s sanctioned shadow fleet.
New reporting by Finland’s YLE reveals how Georgia-registered companies are keeping Russian oil tankers operational despite EU sanctions.
1/11
New reporting by Finland’s YLE reveals how Georgia-registered companies are keeping Russian oil tankers operational despite EU sanctions.
1/11
I suspect a lot of people in Iran, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza would like a word...
Trump to the Board of Peace: "We have peace in the Middle East. Nobody thought that was possible. We've settled 8 wars, and I believe another one is coming pretty soon. And you know what that is. The one that I thought was gonna be a easy one."
January 22, 2026 at 1:10 PM
I suspect a lot of people in Iran, Syria, Yemen, and Gaza would like a word...
Reposted by Valerie Morkevičius
Are you feeling helpless in the face of incredible political uncertainty? Are you angry with what's happening in America right now and want to channel that energy? Here's some ways you can make a difference right now:
1. Volunteer or donate for an election campaign.
Local elections matter too!
1. Volunteer or donate for an election campaign.
Local elections matter too!
January 20, 2026 at 4:36 PM
Are you feeling helpless in the face of incredible political uncertainty? Are you angry with what's happening in America right now and want to channel that energy? Here's some ways you can make a difference right now:
1. Volunteer or donate for an election campaign.
Local elections matter too!
1. Volunteer or donate for an election campaign.
Local elections matter too!
Yet more evidence of Russian war crimes.
This is Kherson police clearing anti-personnel mines that Russian forces scattered on a hospital grounds.
Basic equipment, controlled explosions, in a city that's been under fire every day since liberation.
📹Kherson Oblast Police
Basic equipment, controlled explosions, in a city that's been under fire every day since liberation.
📹Kherson Oblast Police
January 20, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Yet more evidence of Russian war crimes.