Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

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John Sipher @johnsipher.bsky.social · 7h

“If Americans had a more clear-eyed view of Putin, they would see a dictator who’s bet everything on a failed invasion, a country losing its sphere of influence, and an economy…cooling. A realistic view of his power would strip Putin of his biggest leverage: the perception of his invincibility.”

The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 9h

Russia’s leader isn’t nearly as strong as he’s made out to be, Andrew Ryvkin writes. “A realistic view of his power would strip Putin of his biggest leverage: the perception of his invincibility”:

Putin Is Not Winning

Underestimating the Russian leader is dangerous, but ascribing dark powers to him plays right into his hands.

bit.ly

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Institute for the Study of War @thestudyofwar.bsky.social · 21h

2/ European officials continue to note how Russia is intensifying its covert & overt attacks against Europe, supporting ISW’s assessment that Russia has entered “Phase Zero” — the informational & psychological condition-setting phase — of its campaign to prepare for a possible future NATO-Russia war

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Oleksa Drachewych @odrachewych.bsky.social · 18h

My forthcoming book, Replaying the Second World War: Soviet Parallels and Inspirations for Russian Atrocities in the Russo-Ukrainian War, 2014-25, has a Google books page. Hope to have a link to order and more soon: books.google.ca/books/about/...

Replaying the Second World War

Oleksa Drachewych argues that Russia's instrumentalization of its memory of WWII has played a significant role in leading Russian forces to commit similar atrocities in its war against Ukraine. This c...

books.google.ca

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Olivia Guest · Ολίβια Γκεστ @olivia.science · 4d

important on LLMs for academics:

1️⃣ LLMs are usefully seen as lossy content-addressable systems

2️⃣ we can't automatically detect plagiarism

3️⃣ LLMs automate plagiarism & paper mills

4️⃣ we must protect literature from pollution

5️⃣ LLM use is a CoI

6️⃣ prompts do not cause output in authorial sense

5 Ghostwriter in the Machine
A unique selling point of these systems is conversing and writing in a human-like way. This is imminently understandable, although wrong-headed, when one realises these are systems that
essentially function as lossy2
content-addressable memory: when
input is given, the output generated by the model is text that
stochastically matches the input text. The reason text at the output looks novel is because by design the AI product performs
an automated version of what is known as mosaic or patchwork
plagiarism (Baždarić, 2013) — due to the nature of input masking and next token prediction, the output essentially uses similar words in similar orders to what it has been exposed to. This
makes the automated flagging of plagiarism unlikely, which is
also true when students or colleagues perform this type of copypaste and then thesaurus trick, and true when so-called AI plagiarism detectors falsely claim to detect AI-produced text (Edwards, 2023a). This aspect of LLM-based AI products can be
seen as an automation of plagiarism and especially of the research paper mill (Guest, 2025; Guest, Suarez, et al., 2025; van
Rooij, 2022): the “churn[ing] out [of] fake or poor-quality journal papers” (Sanderson, 2024; Committee on Publication Ethics,

Either way, even if
the courts decide in the favour of companies, we should not allow
these companies with vested interests to write our papers (Fisher
et al., 2025), or to filter what we include in our papers. Because
it is not the case that we only operate based on legal precedents,
but also on our own ethical values and scientific integrity codes
(ALLEA, 2023; KNAW et al., 2018), and we have a direct duty to
protect, as with previous crises and in general, the literature from
pollution. In other words, the same issues as in previous sections
play out here, where essentially now every paper produced using
chatbot output must declare a conflict of interest, since the output text can be biased in subtle or direct ways by the company
who owns the bot (see Table 2).
Seen in the right light — AI products understood as contentaddressable systems — we see that framing the user, the academic
in this case, as the creator of the bot’s output is misplaced. The
input does not cause the output in an authorial sense, much like
input to a library search engine does not cause relevant articles
and books to be written (Guest, 2025). The respective authors
wrote those, not the search query!

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Euromaidan Press @euromaidanpress.bsky.social · 1d

euromaidanpress.com/2025/10/13/f...

From threat to target: How NATO’s hackathon is arming Ukraine against Russian KABs

For the first time, Ukrainian teams joined the NATO Innovation Challenge, testing systems that could turn Russian guided bombs into neutralized targets.

euromaidanpress.com

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ECFR @ecfr.eu · 3d

Vladimir Putin has finally said the quiet part out loud. For the first time since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he has explicitly blamed Europe for the war, writes @abarbashin.bsky.social @ecfreuropeansec.bsky.social
https://bit.ly/46PIkhV

Enemy number one: What Putin’s foreign policy speech says about Europe

At this year’s Valdai club, Vladimir Putin gave his most anti-EU speech yet, citing his determination to see new anti-establishment politicians to come to power and improve Europe’s relations with…

bit.ly

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Christopher Miller @christopherjm.ft.com · 4d

Hi from a candlelit apartment as power's out in Kyiv and emergency power outages have been introduced in most regions of the Ukraine...

Kyiv Mayor Klitschko warns another Russian attack expected in coming days, tells Kyivans stock up on water, food, charge power banks, gather warm clothes.

Віталій Кличко

У результаті масованої атаки ворога, який бив по обʼєктах критичної інфраструктури України, наразі запроваджені екстрені відключення електрики в більшості областей країни. Київ пережив одну з найскла...

t.me

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Una Bergmane @unabergmane.bsky.social · 5d

"(...)the narrative construction of Russia as a victim, draws attention from what Russia does, by way of creating a false image of a threat towards Russian territorial integrity and sovereignty"

Excellent analysis by @katri.bsky.social and @atolvin.bsky.social

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Reconstructing Kremlin strategic deception: the logic of disinformation narratives during the first phase of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Official Kremlin rhetoric about the ‘special military operation’ produces clashing, often contrasting interpretations of reality. This article applies perspectives from Soviet ideological language ...

www.tandfonline.com

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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 4d

Great new Europe Dispatch column by @alanderminna.bsky.social just appeared (all free). This week she discusses the challenges in implementing a Deterrence by Punishment policy towards Russia--though that of course does not mean it should not be tried. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

Easier Said Than Done: Hybrid Deterrence By Punishment

This week, Minna Ålander turns to the question of how to move from defensive reactions to Russian hybrid warfare to an effective deterrent. (Spoiler: not easy)

open.substack.com

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Peter Schrijver @psguu.bsky.social · 6d

From @katri.bsky.social and @atolvin.bsky.social

‘Kremlin strategic deception ultimately serves a key purpose: to legitimize Russian imperial expansion and de-legitimize Ukrainian resistance, allowing it to manipulate both foreign and domestic perceptions of the conflict’.

bitly.cx/9HgSR

Reconstructing Kremlin strategic deception: the logic of disinformation narratives during the first phase of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Official Kremlin rhetoric about the ‘special military operation’ produces clashing, often contrasting interpretations of reality. This article applies perspectives from Soviet ideological language ...

www.tandfonline.com

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Nessa Ní Chasaide @nessanichasaide.bsky.social · 6d

Fantastic paper. Data by sector, geography, investor entity & distributional impact (in terms of wealth, race, education).
@gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social's conclusion below: "taxing incremental 2022 US profits as excess could've doubled clean energy investments or paid each US household $1,715".

Gregor Semieniuk @gregorsemieniuk.bsky.social · 6d

🚨NEW PAPER🚨
We all know the 2022 energy price shock fueled the cost of living crisis. It also caused a profit bonanza for the very rich. We show the US reaped the largest profits ($377bn) of any country. 50% went to the richest 1%, only 1% to the bottom 50%. A🧵 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

River or sankey diagram showing the allocation of profits from global oil and gas companies to quantiles of the US wealth size distribution via financial system intermediaries, such as asset managers, and categories of ultimate beneficiaries, such as business owners, pension funds and shareholders in listed companies. The scale is hundreds of billions of US dollars, and ultimately 50.4% of profits reaching the US personal wealth distribution go to the richest 1% of households.

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Veiko Spolitis @veikospolitis.bsky.social · 5d

#Europe and #NATO, after several calls to wake up, are slowly yawning while sitting in bedside. Would they listen to Dave Massikotte thought? foreignaffairs.com/russia/how-r... via @foreignaffairs.com

How Russia Recovered

What the Kremlin is learning from the war in Ukraine.

foreignaffairs.com

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Katri Pynnöniemi @katri.bsky.social · 6d

Thanks a lot for reading, Keir!

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 6d

"Understanding [Russia's] long-term patterns of strategic deception is essential in order to effectively counter" them. Important long read from @katri.bsky.social and @atolvin.bsky.social breaking down how Russia shapes outcomes through narratives over decades.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Reconstructing Kremlin strategic deception: the logic of disinformation narratives during the first phase of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine

Official Kremlin rhetoric about the ‘special military operation’ produces clashing, often contrasting interpretations of reality. This article applies perspectives from Soviet ideological language ...

www.tandfonline.com

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Eugene McParland 🇺🇦 @eugenemcparland.bsky.social · 6d

Lawyers of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group spoke with many #Ukraine warriors released from enemy captivity who have passed through several russian places of detention.

khpg.org/en/1608815159

Uncle Vanya, Bison, San Sanych — who tortures Ukrainian prisoners of war?

Ukrainians returning from captivity will undoubtedly never forget those who turned their lives in imprisonment into hell. Everything is known about some of the torturers. Others hide behind a call sig...

khpg.org

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Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 7d

“The crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and those who participated in them is a decades long abdication of institutional and personal responsibility, brought to light by a handful of dedicated journalists and the breathtaking bravery of once isolated, ignored vulnerable women.”

slate.com/news-and-pol...

The National Failure at the Heart of the Jeffrey Epstein Story

It is a great challenge to pay sustained attention to any one of the onslaught of moral or legal indignities unfolding in this moment.

slate.com

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Robert Mackey @robertmackey.bsky.social · 7d

The Oregon Republican Party tried to help Donald Trump make the case for military intervention in Portland with an image of a fiery protest — but since Portland is calm, they had to fabricate one by merging old photos of police in Ecuador and protesters in Brazil www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Republicans post fake image of Oregon protest – using photos of South America

A federal judge had blocked Trump’s request to deploy California national guard to Portland

www.theguardian.com

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MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 8d

⚡️ In recent days, Russia has destroyed 2 transformer substations that powered Kharkiv. And looking at the dynamics of the attacks, it is already clear that the coming winter will be the most difficult for Kharkiv in all the years of the war, — the mayor of the city.

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Katri Pynnöniemi @katri.bsky.social · 9d

Galeottin kirjan rinnalla, suosittelen lukemaan kotimaisen klassikon: Pertti Luntisen: Venäjä sodassa, sota Venäjällä. Siitä on vaikea laittaa paremmaksi...

yle.fi/a/74-2018560...

Maailmankuulun brittitutkijan viesti Putinille: Historialla ei voi perustella nykyisyyttä

Professori Mark Galeottin mukaan Putin joutuu perustelemaan Ukrainan sotaa historialla, koska hän on pettänyt lupaukset elintason nostamisesta.

yle.fi

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Nicola @nicolataylor.bsky.social · 10d

“Russia has no interest in kinetic confrontation but is eager to weaken our collective ability to think, act and mount a defense.”

Andrew Chakhoyan 🇺🇦 @andrewchak.bsky.social · 10d

🇪🇺 keeps waiting for invasion, meanwhile, 🇷🇺 is already inside the house.
Not with conventional forces, but with: influence operations poisoning civil discourse, targeted assassinations, strategic corruption subverting politics, lawfare stalling 🇪🇺’s collective defense
open.substack.com/pub/chakhoya...

Three reasons Russia is poking NATO

Moscow can't beat the West on the battlefield. So it's waging a different kind of war.

open.substack.com

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Anders Östlund @andersostlund.bsky.social · 10d

Good by Sweden's Minister of Finance, who battle propaganda about Russian economy.
Main points:
* RU inflation about 20%
* Liquid part of RU welfare fund not enough for deficit
* Intl inst (IMF et al) and media should not use data from RU
* All RU data likely false.
www.dn.se/debatt/vara-...

DN Debatt. ”Våra underrättelser visar sanningen bakom Putins siffror”

DN Debatt. Finansministern: Internationella finansiella institutioner hjälper Ryssland att sprida propaganda.

www.dn.se

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UNITED24 Media @united24media.com · 12d

⚡️ Greenpeace says Russia deliberately cut off power to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, raising fears of a disaster.
united24media.com/latest-news/...

Russia Deliberately Cut Power to Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant, Greenpeace Finds

Greenpeace report concludes no military strikes near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, suggesting intentional disconnection from Ukraine's power grid.

united24media.com

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Kevin Rothrock @kevinrothrock.me · 12d

Putin read a poem earlier today in Valdai. It was the first third of Pushkin's "Borodino Anniversary," which he published in 1831 as part of his pro-imperialist opposition to Poland's "November Uprising." The poem celebrates Russia's defeat of Napoleon as a warning to future European intervention.

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Ulrike Franke @rikefranke.bsky.social · 12d

First time I’ve seen this reported in the press after rumours among experts: BILD reports/confirms there was a “mothership drone” over Germany which sent out smaller drones.
Which a) really points to a capable actor and
b) is concerning because it increases possible reach of these drones

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Janne M. Korhonen @jmkorhonen.fi · 25d

What makes citizens willing to defend their country?

At least in Sweden & Denmark, "uncritical patriotism" has a *significant NEGATIVE* effect... and seeing one's country as *culture* has a significant POSITIVE effect.

Very interesting results here.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Defending the national identity: exploring the links between a multidimensional national identity concept and the willingness to defend one’s country

How does national identity affect the willingness to defend one’s country? In this paper, we demonstrate that in order to answer this question, we must take into account the multidimensionality of ...

www.tandfonline.com

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