Russia- and eastern 🇺🇦-watcher, editor at @liberalemoderne. Past @OSCE SMM, @MoscowTimes, @warstudies; 📧 [email protected] @niktwick elsewhere
Berlin, Deutschland
Joined January 2009
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Good Politico report that cites @freedomhouse's latest freedom in the world report, partially compiled by yours truly: freedomhouse.org/country/rus…
Discriminatory policies are permeating every aspect of residents’ lives in Russian-occupied territories.
Many wonder what, if anything, Ukrainian will remain.
🔗 link: politico.eu/article/ukraine-…
Worth listening to.
After a long hiatus, The Naked Pravda is back. I spoke to Moscow Times journalists Brawley Benson and Mack Tubridy about Russia’s treason case against reporter Yuki Imai and the curious lack of public outcry in Japan. meduza.io/en/episodes/2026/1…
Nikolaus von Twickel 🇪🇺 retweeted
The delivery window is reportedly "fourth quarter of 2030 to the fourth quarter of 2033." cnn.com/2026/10/30/politics/…
As a Catholic, I tend to prefer Luther to the horrors of Halloween.
Today is Reformation Day. m.youtube.com/watch?v=9oESZ8…. A good day to have a beer if you’re Lutheran, you will understand Katie Luther helps with the family income as a brewer
Nikolaus von Twickel 🇪🇺 retweeted
People are criticizing 🇺🇦 Ombudsman Lubinets for travelling through Russian territory but I think he is handeling this mission gracefully: Look at him with the trysub on his cap annoying all the Russian media (and Russian counterpart Lantratova) by calmly speaking Ukrainian!
Humanitarian Mission in Oleshky: Delivering Humanitarian Aid to Everyone in Need
ℹ️ We are currently in Armiansk, working alongside Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova and coordinating further steps within the framework of this mission. Journalists from three countries have also joined us to cover the mission.
Everything has now been prepared to a high standard. We are delivering humanitarian aid to the residents of Oleshky. Our main task is to ensure that this assistance reaches every person in need. Particular attention is being paid to older people, persons with disabilities, and anyone who is unable to care for themselves due to their health condition or other circumstances.
Twenty-five buses with a total capacity of 750 passengers have been prepared, along with ambulances for people with limited mobility.
❗️Another equally important priority is ensuring that civilians have the opportunity to leave the city. Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will be given the opportunity to do so safely. At the same time, those who decide to remain will be able to stay and will receive all the necessary humanitarian assistance.
At this stage, it is equally important that both sides observe the ceasefire.
I would also like to express my special gratitude to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We continue our work.
I thank Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova for her cooperation in carrying out this mission.
☝️Special thanks to U.S. @FLOTUS for her mediation and coordination efforts.
Our work is ongoing. I will keep you informed about further steps and results.
Nikolaus von Twickel 🇪🇺 retweeted
Trump's diplomats have no time for victims of political repression. Why would they? There's no profit in it.
Foreign diplomats lay flowers at Solovetsky Stone in Moscow, no US representatives among them
Ahead of the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Political Repression, diplomats of various ranks from Sweden, Czechia, the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, France, and other countries visited the Solovetsky Stone, a monument to the victims of political repression in the Soviet Union, in Moscow, as per independent media outlet RusNews.
Representatives from the embassies laid flowers at the memorial and then departed, without speaking to journalists. No diplomats from the US joined their colleagues.
📷 | Ostorozhno, Novosti
Nikolaus von Twickel 🇪🇺 retweeted
The Russian bookstore chain Chitai-Gorod has spent around 100 million rubles removing books that do not comply with Russia’s new censorship laws. The company has spent tens of millions more on labeling books containing references to drugs, the chain’s CEO, Alexander Brychkin, told RBC.
“We can’t just throw these books in the trash. They are toxic waste. So they have to be destroyed, and we have to pay for that too,” Brychkin added.
According to him, a significant share of the costs comes from the fact that the books cannot be returned to suppliers. Instead, the company has to write them off as losses and pay for their destruction. The books are sent through industrial shredders, and the process is recorded on camera. Additional costs include removing the books from shelves, transporting them to warehouses, and processing them.
Millions of books in the nowadays Russia are “toxic waste”
Nikolaus von Twickel 🇪🇺 retweeted
Nach Amerikas Ausfall wird Deutschland als Führungsmacht in Europa immer wichtiger. Kann die Bundesregierung dieser Verantwortung gerecht werden? Darüber diskutieren wir mit Politikern und Experten bei "Russland und der Westen". Zum Bericht:
russlandverstehen.eu/de/russ…
Nikolaus von Twickel 🇪🇺 retweeted
Today is Returning the Names, when people read aloud the names of those killed by state terror. These 81 people died in present-day Russia as a result of political repression, 69 of them after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We remember.
Nikolaus von Twickel 🇪🇺 retweeted
As dozens of African leaders flock to Moscow for the Russia-Africa Summit, young Africans are still being recruited to fight, and die, in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Nikolaus von Twickel 🇪🇺 retweeted
Russia sending condolences for the train catastrophe in Spain and at the same time creating a new train catastrophe in Ukraine.
❗️Today, Russian forces struck a railway station platform in Dnipro, where a train carrying civilians was present. According to preliminary reports, 13 people have been killed and many others injured. Emergency services are working at the scene, providing assistance to those affected. These attacks are yet another horrific example of ongoing crimes against Ukraine and its people. My condolences to the families of those killed. I wish the injured a speedy recovery.
Die "Moskauer Deutsche Zeitung" (MDZ) stellt ihr Erscheinen ein, nachdem ihr Verlag zum "ausländischen Agenten" erklärt wurde. In einem russ. Medienbericht wird wird offenbar MDZ-Gründer Heinrich Martens mit @Andric1961 in Verbindung gebracht....
"Московская немецкая газета" (Moskauer Deutsche Zeitung, MDZ) объявила о прекращении работы. Ранее ее издателя объявили в России "иноагентом", а саму газету обвинили в связи с журналистом FAZ, который задал Зеленскому вопрос об "убийстве русских солдат" t.me/dwglavnoe/70014
Nikolaus von Twickel 🇪🇺 retweeted
Im Rückblick vielleicht doch ein Glücksfall, dass Armin Laschet damals an der falschen Stelle gelacht hat.
Recommended reading.
Diplomacy by Amateurs
The FT has published a story about a private channel to Putin in 2022–23 that supposedly could have ended the war. The plan was unworkable from the start, and Putin could never have accepted it. What deserves attention is how the channel opened: with White House assurances to Putin that the US did not seek regime change and posed no threat to him. Moscow gave nothing in return. This is the self-deterrence that has shaped Western policy since the start of the war, and I explain in my new piece why it has to end.
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The replies, the replies!
Caros compatriotas,
Estamos em Moscovo, a convite do Presidente da Federação da Rússia, Vladimir Putin, para participar na 3.ª Cimeira Rússia–África. Esta presença reflecte a importância que atribuímos ao diálogo, à cooperação e ao fortalecimento das relações entre Moçambique, a Federação da Rússia e os países africanos.
À margem desta agenda, participámos hoje na 8.ª Cimeira do Fórum dos Países Exportadores de Gás, onde defendemos que os recursos energéticos devem gerar desenvolvimento para os nossos povos e fortalecer a cooperação entre as nações.
#Vamostrabalhar
"Russia's position stays exactly where it was. Moscow still wants Washington to force its terms on Kyiv, and now on Europe as well."
Yuri Ushakov is an old-school diplomat. He spent a decade as Russia's ambassador in Washington and has been Putin's foreign policy aide since 2012. He chooses his words with care.
Western media quote him as saying "we need to talk with Europe" and read it as Moscow reaching out to Europe. However, there is a catch. There is no "we" in the original. Here is what he actually said.
He was asked why Washington can't simply dictate peace terms to Kyiv. Ushakov answered that after Anchorage it looked like Washington could. It didn't work, because Europe backs Kyiv. So it is necessary to talk "not only with Kyiv, but also with Europe."
Any Russian speaker understands who this impersonal "it is necessary" is addressed to. Moscow is not talking to Kyiv right now. Washington is. And Washington's "talking" to Kyiv means pressure. Ushakov's message to Washington: you pressure Kyiv, now pressure Europe too, or you won't get Kyiv to accept the terms.
He put it in an impersonal form so Washington doesn't feel it is taking orders from Moscow. That is how professional diplomats speak.
So Russia's position stays exactly where it was. Moscow still wants Washington to force its terms on Kyiv, and now on Europe as well.
Nikolaus von Twickel 🇪🇺 retweeted
It's not surprising that Putin would waste their time given that he appears to have no interest in any genuine talks, but it's a sign of how isolated and detached from reality he is that he didn't think this would just make him look ridiculous.
NEW: Vladimir Putin spent most of his call with the leaders of Finland and Norway ranting about Slavic history, underscoring Europe's tough task backing Ukraine in peace talks.
The planned 20-minute call dragged on for 90. A ceasefire barely came up:
ft.com/content/a384acd1-c90c…
