Daniel Ofman
@ofmandaniel.bsky.social
Producer @npr.org. Previously: @TheWorld.org @prx.org @wgbh.org
https://theworld.org/contributors/daniel-ofman
https://theworld.org/contributors/daniel-ofman
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
1/ How Statelets Die? I look at this question through the story of Nagorno-Karabakh - once one of the most “successful” de facto entities in the post-Soviet space, and today something no one even wants to remember. Link here: defactostates.ut.ee/how-statelet...
How Statelets Die: Lessons from Nagorno-Karabakh – De facto states research unit
defactostates.ut.ee
December 2, 2025 at 5:14 AM
1/ How Statelets Die? I look at this question through the story of Nagorno-Karabakh - once one of the most “successful” de facto entities in the post-Soviet space, and today something no one even wants to remember. Link here: defactostates.ut.ee/how-statelet...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Today’s Russian papers on chances of a peace deal: “Don't count on Russia making noticeable concessions.” But: “If proposals are acceptable to Russia, one could talk of a summit in Budapest.” Meanwhile, Russia’s “economic malaise betrayed by rise in wage arrears." #ReadingRussia
What today's Russian papers are saying about the prospects for a Ukraine peace deal
YouTube video by Steve Rosenberg
youtu.be
December 1, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Today’s Russian papers on chances of a peace deal: “Don't count on Russia making noticeable concessions.” But: “If proposals are acceptable to Russia, one could talk of a summit in Budapest.” Meanwhile, Russia’s “economic malaise betrayed by rise in wage arrears." #ReadingRussia
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Monday morning re-up: thoughts on the current Ukraine negotiations including the whole 'trust' issue, and then how to draw a line between medieval Russians leaving milk and bread for the domovoi household spirit and modern Russian strategic culture...
In Moscow's Shadows 226: Monsters in the Woods
A few points on the peace process, from Trump's 'businessified' approach to geopolitics to the departures of Yermak and Kozak. Then, folklore as a parable for Russian strategic culture. Honestly.
www.buzzsprout.com/1026985/epis...
A few points on the peace process, from Trump's 'businessified' approach to geopolitics to the departures of Yermak and Kozak. Then, folklore as a parable for Russian strategic culture. Honestly.
www.buzzsprout.com/1026985/epis...
In Moscow's Shadows 226: Monsters in the Woods - In Moscow's Shadows
There's not all that much to say about the Ukraine peace negotiations as delegations head to the USA and Russia, but I cover a few issues, from Trump's 'businessified' approach to geopolitics to the d...
www.buzzsprout.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Monday morning re-up: thoughts on the current Ukraine negotiations including the whole 'trust' issue, and then how to draw a line between medieval Russians leaving milk and bread for the domovoi household spirit and modern Russian strategic culture...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
FIFA awarding a "peace prize" to Trump would be so absolutely on-brand, a truly genius innovation.
November 5, 2025 at 8:30 PM
FIFA awarding a "peace prize" to Trump would be so absolutely on-brand, a truly genius innovation.
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Of all the interviews I've done about MOTHERLAND, this one was my favorite. Thank you, @kevinrothrock.me !
On the latest episode of The Naked Pravda, I spoke to @juliaioffe.bsky.social (!) about her new book, "Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy," now available at bookstores everywhere.
meduza.io/en/episodes/...
meduza.io/en/episodes/...
Julia Ioffe’s ‘Motherland’ — Meduza
Journalist Julia Ioffe returns to The Naked Pravda to discuss her new book, Motherland: A Feminist History of Modern Russia, from Revolution to Autocracy, which was recently listed as a finalist for t...
meduza.io
October 29, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Of all the interviews I've done about MOTHERLAND, this one was my favorite. Thank you, @kevinrothrock.me !
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
“Three people familiar with the operation said Washington was closely involved in all stages of planning. A US official said Ukraine selected the targets for long-range strikes and Washington then provided intelligence on the sites vulnerabilities.” on.ft.com/4nJJxyt
Ukraine hit Russian energy sites with US help
Trump administration supported Kyiv’s operations since summer in co-ordinated push to weaken Moscow
on.ft.com
October 12, 2025 at 4:29 AM
“Three people familiar with the operation said Washington was closely involved in all stages of planning. A US official said Ukraine selected the targets for long-range strikes and Washington then provided intelligence on the sites vulnerabilities.” on.ft.com/4nJJxyt
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
The United States government currently employs an admiral named Brad Cooper and a DHS official named Chris Pratt
October 10, 2025 at 4:54 PM
The United States government currently employs an admiral named Brad Cooper and a DHS official named Chris Pratt
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Russia pinned medals on his chest and gave him citizenship, but Timur Praliyev's homeland of Kazakhstan just sentenced him to five years in prison for fighting in Ukraine as a mercenary with Wagner Group. orda.kz/pytalsja-sbe...
Пытался сбежать в США: бывшего «вагнеровца» из Казахстана отправили в колонию на пять лет
Суд в Алматы вынес приговор Тимуру Пралиеву — бывшему наёмнику ЧВК «Вагнер», который участвовал в российском вторжении в Украину и был задержан, когда пытался нелегально попасть в США
orda.kz
October 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Russia pinned medals on his chest and gave him citizenship, but Timur Praliyev's homeland of Kazakhstan just sentenced him to five years in prison for fighting in Ukraine as a mercenary with Wagner Group. orda.kz/pytalsja-sbe...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
NY Post - Paramount Skydance is poised to name Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News in the coming days. nypost.com/2025/10/02/media/p...
Exclusive | Bari Weiss to be named editor in chief of CBS News as part of major Paramount Skydance shakeup: sources
Weiss will report directly to Paramount Skydance Chief Executive David Ellison as she helps set the editorial direction at the third-place CBS News, a source close to the situation said.
nypost.com
October 2, 2025 at 7:44 PM
NY Post - Paramount Skydance is poised to name Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS News in the coming days. nypost.com/2025/10/02/media/p...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Fortunately, I had better things to do over the past weekend, so this completely flew past me. How grotesque.
www.bbc.com/news/videos/...
www.bbc.com/news/videos/...
Vietnamese singer Duc Phuc wins Russia’s Intervision song contest
Vietnam was among 23 countries competing in a glitzy Russian song contest, revived three years after Russia was banned from Eurovision.
www.bbc.com
September 23, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Fortunately, I had better things to do over the past weekend, so this completely flew past me. How grotesque.
www.bbc.com/news/videos/...
www.bbc.com/news/videos/...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Tug of war profiteers: Russia’s military industry is decimating the country’s civilian workforce
As Russia’s defense sector and its civilian economy are locked in a wage race with one another, the state is forced to spend more on staffing the military.
As Russia’s defense sector and its civilian economy are locked in a wage race with one another, the state is forced to spend more on staffing the military.
Tug of war profiteers: Russia’s military industry is decimating the country’s civilian workforce
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, payments to soldiers have increased dramatically — not because the state has more money, but because it has become harder to lure men to the fron...
theins.press
September 23, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Tug of war profiteers: Russia’s military industry is decimating the country’s civilian workforce
As Russia’s defense sector and its civilian economy are locked in a wage race with one another, the state is forced to spend more on staffing the military.
As Russia’s defense sector and its civilian economy are locked in a wage race with one another, the state is forced to spend more on staffing the military.
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Just published, my piece on the U.S. Armenia-Azerbaijan deal and its prospects. There is a lot of hard work still to be done, I argue, but the shared coincidence of interests that neither country wants Russia as a guarantor has been transformative. www.foreignaffairs.com/armenia/unli...
An Unlikely Road to Peace in the South Caucasus
How common cause against Russia enabled an American deal.
www.foreignaffairs.com
September 22, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Just published, my piece on the U.S. Armenia-Azerbaijan deal and its prospects. There is a lot of hard work still to be done, I argue, but the shared coincidence of interests that neither country wants Russia as a guarantor has been transformative. www.foreignaffairs.com/armenia/unli...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
on.ft.com/3HKFEtK Russia launches record mass drone attack on Ukraine
Russia launches record mass drone attack on Ukraine
Moscow’s forces fire 805 drones in one night, striking government building in Kyiv
on.ft.com
September 7, 2025 at 10:44 PM
on.ft.com/3HKFEtK Russia launches record mass drone attack on Ukraine
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Bad Bunny's most recent album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, explores the colonial relationship between Puerto Rico and the US. Students at Yale are now diving into the lyrics in a new class: “Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics." My latest for @theworld.org theworld.org/stories/2025...
September 4, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Bad Bunny's most recent album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, explores the colonial relationship between Puerto Rico and the US. Students at Yale are now diving into the lyrics in a new class: “Bad Bunny: Musical Aesthetics and Politics." My latest for @theworld.org theworld.org/stories/2025...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
New on Substack: a summary of the issues around Russia's upcoming regional and local votes and why these votes are interesting even under the current circumstances.
minczifra.substack.com/p/on-russias...
minczifra.substack.com/p/on-russias...
On Russia's upcoming elections and why they matter
A couple of thoughts about the upcoming week in Russia.
minczifra.substack.com
September 3, 2025 at 6:59 PM
New on Substack: a summary of the issues around Russia's upcoming regional and local votes and why these votes are interesting even under the current circumstances.
minczifra.substack.com/p/on-russias...
minczifra.substack.com/p/on-russias...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
“The Indian leader bristled. He told Mr. Trump that U.S. involvement had nothing to do with the recent cease-fire. It had been settled directly between India and Pakistan.”
The Nobel Prize and a Testy Phone Call: How the Trump-Modi Relationship Unraveled
www.nytimes.com
August 30, 2025 at 6:24 AM
“The Indian leader bristled. He told Mr. Trump that U.S. involvement had nothing to do with the recent cease-fire. It had been settled directly between India and Pakistan.”
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Another morale hit: For the 1st time, Russia reportedly seized villages in Urkaine's Dnipropetrovsk region. The NYT calls it "a minor but symbolic gain that gives the Kremlin another bargaining chip" as Russia tries to exert pressure along that stretch of the front. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/w...
Russian Troops Gain a Toehold in Another Ukrainian Region
www.nytimes.com
August 27, 2025 at 2:18 AM
Another morale hit: For the 1st time, Russia reportedly seized villages in Urkaine's Dnipropetrovsk region. The NYT calls it "a minor but symbolic gain that gives the Kremlin another bargaining chip" as Russia tries to exert pressure along that stretch of the front. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/w...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
"Yevgeny Prigozhin looked 'doomed' after his failed mutiny and told his mother he expected to die in the days before his private plane crash," reports @pjotrsauer.bsky.social, summarizing Violetta Prigozhin's interview with Fontanka. The authorities still haven't told her what happened to her son.
Prigozhin knew he was ‘doomed’ after failed rebellion, says mother
Violetta Prigozhina, 85, says she warned her son not to defy Putin’s authority before he was killed in a plane crash
www.theguardian.com
August 22, 2025 at 9:28 PM
"Yevgeny Prigozhin looked 'doomed' after his failed mutiny and told his mother he expected to die in the days before his private plane crash," reports @pjotrsauer.bsky.social, summarizing Violetta Prigozhin's interview with Fontanka. The authorities still haven't told her what happened to her son.
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Russia launched massive strikes in Ukraine last night, including on an American company called Flex.
www.npr.org/2025/08/21/g...
www.npr.org/2025/08/21/g...
Russian airstrikes hit a U.S. factory in western Ukraine
Two Russian cruise missiles hit a U.S. electronics plant in the far west of Ukraine. The strike was part of an overnight barrage of more than 600 drones and missiles.
www.npr.org
August 21, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Russia launched massive strikes in Ukraine last night, including on an American company called Flex.
www.npr.org/2025/08/21/g...
www.npr.org/2025/08/21/g...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
FT reports that Putin is demanding a resolution to the Ukraine war's "root causes," including a rollback of NATO's eastward expansion. It sounds like he's sticking to the terms presented to the US and NATO before the Feb 2022 invasion. A refresher:
August 16, 2025 at 3:02 PM
FT reports that Putin is demanding a resolution to the Ukraine war's "root causes," including a rollback of NATO's eastward expansion. It sounds like he's sticking to the terms presented to the US and NATO before the Feb 2022 invasion. A refresher:
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Documents with sensitive details about the meeting between President Trump and Russian President Putin were left behind on a public hotel printer.
Government papers found in an Alaskan hotel reveal new details of Trump-Putin summit
Documents with sensitive details about the meeting between President Trump and Russian President Putin were left behind on a public hotel printer.
n.pr
August 16, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Documents with sensitive details about the meeting between President Trump and Russian President Putin were left behind on a public hotel printer.
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
A lot of the Russian Internet news lately has focused on the Kremlin’s efforts to herd WhatsApp and Telegram users to the state-sponsored “MAX” substitute, but don’t sleep on this story from Nizhny Novgorod about experiments with a *total shutdown* of mobile data service. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Russia goes offline Mobile Internet blackouts in the Nizhny Novgorod region leave residents questioning officials’ explanations and fearing lasting restrictions — Meduza
In the spring of 2025, mobile Internet providers began disabling service in regions across Russia. The authorities argue that the measures are necessary to protect civilians and strategically importan...
meduza.io
August 14, 2025 at 9:44 PM
A lot of the Russian Internet news lately has focused on the Kremlin’s efforts to herd WhatsApp and Telegram users to the state-sponsored “MAX” substitute, but don’t sleep on this story from Nizhny Novgorod about experiments with a *total shutdown* of mobile data service. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
Insightful conversation here with Fiona Hill, a Russia expert who served on the National Security Council during Trump's first term. LISTEN: theworld.org/segments/202...
Trump 'can't hand Ukraine on a platter' to Putin, says former top advisor - The World from PRX
Fiona Hill advised US President Donald Trump on Russia during his first term and is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. She’s also one of the few people to have been in a room with Trum...
theworld.org
August 14, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Insightful conversation here with Fiona Hill, a Russia expert who served on the National Security Council during Trump's first term. LISTEN: theworld.org/segments/202...
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
MORE: Ukrainian and European officials reportedly presented a counterproposal to US officials on August 9 as European officials continue to issue statements of support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. isw.pub/UkrWar080925
for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. isw.pub/UkrWar080925
August 10, 2025 at 1:24 AM
MORE: Ukrainian and European officials reportedly presented a counterproposal to US officials on August 9 as European officials continue to issue statements of support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. isw.pub/UkrWar080925
for an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. isw.pub/UkrWar080925
Reposted by Daniel Ofman
WSJ - European powers and Ukraine have responded to Putin’s cease-fire plan with a counterproposal that they say must serve as a framework so that coming talks between President Trump and the Russian leader can gain traction. www.wsj.com/world/ukrain...
Ukraine and Europe Counter Putin’s Cease-Fire Proposal
The alternative blueprint to end the war comes after Russia demanded major territorial concessions and President Trump said he would meet with Vladimir Putin next week.
www.wsj.com
August 10, 2025 at 1:47 AM
WSJ - European powers and Ukraine have responded to Putin’s cease-fire plan with a counterproposal that they say must serve as a framework so that coming talks between President Trump and the Russian leader can gain traction. www.wsj.com/world/ukrain...