Is it possible that NATO forces could become directly involved in the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine?
Until recently, such a question seemed very hypothetical given the high risks of escalation of the military confrontation between the US-led bloc and Russia into a large-scale armed conflict. But this scenario should be taken seriously now, writes Ivan Timofeev, programme director of the Valdai Club
“A significant escalation factor that would amplify the risk of a direct clash between Russia and NATO, could be the appearance of military contingents form bloc members on the territory of Ukraine. The prospect of such a scenario has already been mentioned by some Western politicians, although their view has not been supported by the US and isn’t an official NATO position.”
“Each of these scenarios involves a direct clash between Russian and NATO forces. Such a situation would inevitably raise the question of deeper bloc involvement and, in the longer term, the transfer of military conflict to other areas of contact with Russia, including the Baltic region. At this stage, it will be even more difficult to stop the escalation. The more losses both sides suffer, the more the maelstrom of hostilities will grow and the closer they will come to the threshold of using nuclear weapons. And there will be no winners.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/599286-russia-nato-ukraine-conflict/
🇺🇸💬🇮🇷❌🇮🇷 — 🧐 ISW on 𝕏:
"MORE: Ghalibaf publicly defended negotiations on Iranian state television on April 18, arguing that diplomacy with the United States, alongside military power, is necessary to secure Iran’s objectives. Ghalibaf also reportedly criticized hardline officials, including Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) member Saeed Jalili and hardline parliamentarian Amirhossein Sabeti, for their opposition to negotiations during a meeting with advisers, but his criticisms were likely implicitly directed at Vahidi.
US officials separately told Axios on April 20 that the US negotiating delegation thought it was “negotiating with the right people“ in Islamabad on April 11 and 12 but that the IRGC effectively told the Iranian negotiating delegation upon their return to Tehran that they ”don’t speak for” the IRGC. Senior regime officials, including former IRGC Intelligence Organization Chief Hossein Taeb, reportedly called the Iranian ...
🚫🌾 The coming global food crisis — Financial Times
Hunger and even famine are foreseeable consequences of the war on Iran. Now the world must act to shield the poorest from effects that will continue long after the fighting stops
Few 20th-century transformations did more to remake the world than the “Green Revolution”. From the 1950s onwards, new high-yielding crop varieties, synthetic fertilisers, chemical pesticides and large-scale irrigation drove a sharp increase in the output of staple crops such as wheat and rice. In its more celebratory accounts, this transformation pushed back famine and helped support rapid population growth across much of Asia and Latin America. India, one of the key centres of the Green Revolution, more than doubled wheat production between the mid-1960s and early 1970s.
As numerous critics have noted, the Green Revolution also came with enormous ecological and social costs. But one of its less discussed consequences was the link it established ...
U.S. DEPRESSION RATE STAYS NEAR RECORD HIGH
A GALLUP SURVEY FINDS 19.1% OF U.S. ADULTS REPORT CURRENT DEPRESSION IN EARLY 2026—ABOUT 51 MILLION PEOPLE—NEAR HISTORIC HIGHS AND UP SHARPLY FROM 2015.
RATES SURGED AFTER 2019, BRIEFLY EASED IN 2024, THEN ROSE AGAIN. LIFETIME DIAGNOSES HAVE ALSO CLIMBED TO 29.5%.
THE INCREASE IS MOST PRONOUNCED AMONG YOUNGER ADULTS (18–29), WHERE DEPRESSION HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED TO 28%, AND AMONG LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, NOW AT 37.4%.
LONELINESS REMAINS A KEY DRIVER: THOSE FEELING LONELY ARE FAR MORE LIKELY TO REPORT DEPRESSION (33% VS. 13%). BOTH ARE STRONGLY LINKED TO LOWER LIFE SATISFACTION AND DECLINING OVERALL MENTAL WELLBEING IN THE U.S. ...