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kevinrothrock.me
Russia watcher supreme. @meduza.io English-language managing editor. Ugly American based in Portland, Oregon. Signal: @KevinRothrock.01 / Find all my junk here: https://linktr.ee/kevinrothrock
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Putin and Trump spoke on the phone again today. Topics of conversation: the Iran–Israel war, the Russia–Ukraine war, and one monarch wishing the other a happy 79th birthday. ria.ru/20250614/raz...

parents, when chosing names, don't do this to your children

No one has been able to stop Putin. Only Trump remains, he might be able to.

Political assassinations in America. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Earlier this week, Meduza published an in-depth examination of Russian–Ukrainian drone warfare, reviewing its evolution and trajectory. That report is now available in English. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Zelensky says Ukraine is still working to initiate mass production of the "Sapsan" tactical ballistic missile, which reportedly had a successful test fire last summer, but he offered no timeframe or production goals. www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/ukr...

Washington reportedly says no way to a European push to lower the price cap on Russian oil sales (EU wants to go from $60/barrel to $45). Israel's attack on Iran is enough market shock already for the Americans, it seems. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

a beautiful thing

Ethicist Kwame Anthony Appiah tackles some very interesting ideas about translation in this @nybooks.com article. I translate for a living (not at the literary level, mind you), and it's fascinating to see the schools of thought. www.nybooks.com/articles/202...

it's a mystery how The Onion stays in business when this is the actual news headlines

phew, at last some instructions

Spent the past several days translating this long-read on the evolution and trajectory of Russian–Ukrainian drone warfare. The remarkable paradox is how all this wild, horrible, futuristic tech results in a war of attrition, a battle of wills. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

if you seek the ultimate proof that kids today are no good, look no further than my children, who this very morning didn’t believe me when i told them the most important holiday of the year is this coming sunday

A fine reminder today from @oregonian.com why local journalism is so vital. I know some former-correspondent bloggers work the legal system to unearth records like this, but it generally takes a newspaper’s resources to hold the authorities accountable like this. www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/0...

guys, ive decided to only have correct opinions from now on, so y’all can relax thanks

so, Russians who fled to Israel after February 2022 in protest against a madman waging war, how’s that working out for you?

A federal judge issued an order late Thursday blocking President Trump from deploying members of the California National Guard in Los Angeles and ordered the administration to return control of the forces to Gov. Gavin Newsom. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...

anybody know what Serbia’s up to this weekend?

Kseniia Petrova, the Russian scientist who spent four months in detention after failing to declare scientific samples she was carrying into the country, was freed on bail from federal custody on Thursday by a magistrate judge in Boston. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/12/s...

Senator Alex Padilla is one of the most decent people I know. This is outrageous, dictatorial, and shameful. Trump and his shock troops are out of control. This must end now.

what a world

so much disappointment to go around