Power, Protest and the Physics of Change

A 4 parter on Putin & Ukraine; Breakdown in Madagascar; the rising demands of Gen Z; and a new game-changing (Chinese) battlefield technology

Good morning, good afternoon or good evening wherever you are today. I hope you’re having a great weekend….

I thought for today’s post that I’d do four short chunks about things I’ve been thinking about over the last few days - rather than a long post.

---

First, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his hopes for Tomahawks.

The Ukrainian leader’s visit to Washington ended with less than he had hoped for.

His main objective had been to secure long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles to strike Russian positions deep behind the front lines. Instead, he left empty-handed, at least for now.

That might seem bad for Kyiv, especially at a moment when Ukrainian forces are struggling to sustain momentum on multiple fronts.

In the press conference that followed, Donald Trump said that ‘both Ukraine and Russia should declare victory and let history decide,’ a line that many in Washington read as a sign he is more interested in bringing the war to a close than in seeing Ukraine press its advantage.

Zelenskyy put a brave face on it, telling reporters that ‘President Trump has a big chance now to finish this war’; but it seemed to most that his visit did not yield the breakthrough he wanted.

I read things differently.