I just watched priests trying to save crucifixes from a burning monastery. This is what russia is destroying. The Kyiv Lavra is one of the holiest Orthodox sites on earth. A UNESCO World Heritage site. Moscow calls itself “Christian civilisation.” It’s literally barbarism.

People love calling the US ‘the world’s biggest imperialist’. But if you look at actual history, tsarist, Soviet, and Putin-era, no modern state has redrawn borders by force as consistently as Russia. From the Caucasus to Eastern Europe to Ukraine, the pattern is the same: expansion, domination, control. x.com/compose/articles/edit/…

Europe is not the U.S. domestic geopolitical playground I have to admit: reading this reporting Foreign Policy, left me genuinely surprised and deeply disappointed in the current U.S. administration. For decades, the transatlantic relationship has been built on mutual respect, shared democratic values, and a clear understanding that the United States does not interfere in the domestic politics of its closest allies. What this article describes is something very different. According to the reporting, the State Department is preparing to use federal grant money “aimed in part at reshaping European domestic politics,” overseen by a 27‑year‑old political appointee who has been meeting with figures from Marine Le Pen to AfD and Viktor Orbán’s network . Even if the administration insists it will not fund political parties directly, the article makes clear that money can be routed through think tanks and NGOs that effectively act as proxies. In other words, indirect political influence is still political influence. This represents a dramatic shift in U.S. foreign policy, not toward adversaries, but toward allied democracies. It is hard to overstate how unusual this is. The United States has historically promoted democracy in authoritarian states, not attempted to steer the ideological direction of EU member states. And the article itself warns that such efforts could “further strain already tense relations” and risk legitimizing views that were previously considered fringe in Europe. I find it troubling that an administration would choose to export its own domestic culture‑war agenda into the political systems of its allies. Europe is not a domestic US geopolitical playground. These are sovereign democracies with their own political dynamics, their own institutions, and their own voters. Attempting to shape their internal debates, and especially through targeted funding, crosses a line that previous U.S. governments have respected. It’s disappointing, it’s destabilizing, and it undermines the trust that has held the transatlantic partnership together for generations. Allies deserve better than this. And actions like this will not be swept under the rug but will sow discord for generations. #ForeignPolicy #USPolitics #Europe #Democracy #Geopolitics #TransatlanticRelations