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Jamestown Foundation Issues Commentary to Eurasia Daily Monitor: Romania No Longer Turns Blind Eye to Russia's Airspace Violations
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Jamestown Foundation posted the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2025, in its Eurasia Daily Monitor:* * *
Romania No Longer Turns Blind Eye to Russia's Airspace Violations
By George Visan
Executive Summary:
* Russian violations of Romania's airspace test the country's will to defend itself and its support for Ukraine.
* Romania's decision makers are no longer willing to turn a blind eye to Russian incursions.
* The change in Romania's diplomatic tone, a new legal framework, and increased air defense capabilities suggest that a future incursion will not be tolerated.
Russia's ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Jamestown Foundation posted the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2025, in its Eurasia Daily Monitor: * * * Romania No Longer Turns Blind Eye to Russia's Airspace Violations By George Visan Executive Summary: * Russian violations of Romania's airspace test the country's will to defend itself and its support for Ukraine. * Romania's decision makers are no longer willing to turn a blind eye to Russian incursions. * The change in Romania's diplomatic tone, a new legal framework, and increased air defense capabilities suggest that a future incursion will not be tolerated. Russia'sfull-scale invasion of Ukraine has transformed Romania into an unintended victim of drone warfare. Russian and occasionally Ukrainian drones and aircraft have strayed into Romania's airspace. On November 17, a drone incident involved a Russian drone hitting a liquified-natural gas (LNG) carrier anchored in the Ukrainian Danube port of Izmail during a nighttime raid, which led Romanian authorities to evacuate two villages close to the river to protect the local population from a potential catastrophic explosion (Mediafax, November 17). Previously, a Russian drone crashed in the Danube Delta, on Romanian territory (MApN.ro, November 11).
Russia is using these repeated violations of Romanian airspace and sovereignty to avoid Ukrainian air defenses and test Bucharest's willingness to stand up for itself on the Eastern Flank and on the Black Sea. At stake are both Romania's credibility on the Eastern Flank before its allies and Russia, and public perception of the country's ability to defend itself. Romanian policymakers have slowly realized that Russian incursions must be stopped, which may involve the use of force.
The first incident involving a Russian drone straying into Romanian airspace occurred in March 2022, when an Orlan-10 drone landed in a farmer's field in the north of the country, somewhat far from the Ukrainian border (Hotnews.ro, March 14, 2022). Earlier that month, a large Ukrainian drone crossed for a brief time in Romanian airspace and, after flying unmolested through Hungarian airspace, crashed in a parking lot in Croatia (Libertatea, March 11, 2022).
The number of drone incursions has increased exponentially since Russia began its long-range drone campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure using Iranian-provided Shahed and Gerbera unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Since September 2023, Romania's airspace has been violated repeatedly by Russian drones and one-way attack munitions headed for Ukrainian targets. Russia's targeting of Ukrainian ports on the Danube and Romania's 650-kilometer (403-mile) long border with Ukraine facilitate such incidents.
Romania's proximity to Ukraine is only part of the explanation for the increase in airspace violations. The other reason is far more dangerous. The incursions are a part of a calculated hybrid campaign against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which aims to gauge reactions from potential targets and to gather intelligence on Romanian and NATO air defense capabilities in the Black Sea region. These incursions send a political message to Romania's decision-makers: "Stop supporting Ukraine, or else!" Russia uses these incursions as a wedge between regular Romanians, who do not want to get involved in the war, and their government, which has discreetly supported Ukraine since the beginning of the large-scale conflict.
Romania has been hesitant to down Russian drones for fear of escalation. Ukraine has publicly urged its neighbor to destroy the drones as well as cruise missiles that stray into Romanian airspace, not just intercept them (Europa Libera Romania, September 18, 2024). Bucharest's initial reluctance to shoot down Russian drones has been a calculated risk, as the country, along with other NATO allies, has wanted to prevent Moscow from using the potential shooting down of a drone or multiple drones as an excuse to claim that the Alliance is a co-belligerent with Ukraine against Russia.
That other allied countries have hesitated to take decisive action against similar incursions until recently has reinforced Romania's restrained position. Moreover, these incidents occurred in a sparsely populated area of the country, the Danube Delta, meaning that, although the drones were violating Romanian airspace, the danger to the population was generally low.
From a military perspective, Romania's reluctance to bring down Russian drones that have entered its airspace is justified. All of the drones that crashed on Romanian territory did not carry an explosive warhead, meaning that they were decoys used to gauge the reaction of the local air defense or to map safe paths for other attacks. Holding fire was therefore justified, as it could have revealed the positions of Romanian air defense assets or capabilities that Russia need not know exist.
Romania has not remained passive. Over the past two years it has increased investments in air defense assets, such as modernizing its low-level air defense artillery, acquiring Chiron and Mistral man portable missiles, procuring low-level air defense radars, counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS), strengthening NATO air police in the country, and asking its allies for assistance (SHAPE, October 17, 2023; Defense Romania, December 23, 2023; Bursa.ro, June 20, 2024; Presamil.ro, October 17, 2024; Europa Libera Romania, January 6; Economedia.ro, June 23; TVRInfo, September 12). An early warning system was put in place to alert the population living close to the Ukrainian border of the impending danger, and air defense shelters have been built in the localities along the Danube, close to the border (Hotnews.ro, September 13, 2022; Europa Libera Romania, October 23, 2024). The newest addition to Romania's arsenal for combating the drone threat is the Merops C-UAS, which is currently being tested (Associated Press; Digi24, November 6). Merops is likely to be used for downing Russian drones that stray into Romanian airspace through jamming to reduce the risks to the local population.
The days when the Romanian Air Force and ground-based air defenses held their fire and just intercepted Russian one-way attack drones are drawing to a close. Despite taking two years, a new law has been passed concerning the engagement and shooting down of aircraft that violate Romanian airspace during peacetime and pose a threat to people and infrastructure (Curs de Guvernare, October 22). On September 10, however, when a Romanian F-16 intercepted a Russian drone that entered Romanian airspace, Romania had to hold fire because the Shahed UAV was flying too low and too close to a populated area, a factor that prevented the drone from being safely downed (RFI, September 14). The pilot nevertheless had orders to intercept and bring down the drone, but the circumstances did not allow it. This incident shows the complex challenges of the drone threat confronting NATO countries.
The perception of Romania's actions in September has been negative. By "escorting" the drone into Ukrainian airspace, where it was probably shot down, Romania appeared to wash its hands of the threat and burden an already overwhelmed Ukrainian air defense with the task of protecting its airspace. Moreover, Romania's inaction contrasted with the shooting down of four Russian drones by Polish and NATO aircraft, after nineteen Shaheds strayed deeply into Polish airspace (RFI, September 11).
Another change occurred in Romania's diplomatic tone concerning Russian airspace violations, which has stiffened. Usually, after such incidents, the Russian ambassador would be summoned to the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he would be presented with a diplomatic protest. The ambassador would usually dismiss the incident as a provocation or a hoax in a statement to the press and on social media. After a Russian drone incident from November 11, however, the Russian ambassador was presented with pictures and remnants of the UAV recovered from the crash site by Romanian authorities (Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, November 14). Furthermore, Romania threatened the Russian Federation with sanctions if a similar incident were to be repeated. The type of sanctions envisioned by Bucharest for Moscow's repeated airspace violations has not been specified.
Romania has gradually realized that holding fire against Russian incursions sends the wrong message to the Kremlin and its allies. The next drone that crashes in Romanian territory may not land in an uninhabited area. The stiffening of the diplomatic tone and the increase in C-UAS capabilities suggest that the subsequent drone incursion in Romanian airspace will not go unpunished. The challenge remains how to avoid collateral damage and civilian casualties.
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George Visan is an associate researcher at the Romania Energy Center (ROEC).
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Original text here: https://jamestown.org/romania-no-longer-turns-blind-eye-to-russias-airspace-violations/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Jamestown Foundation Issues Commentary to Eurasia Daily Monitor: Putin Puts Ethnic Russians at Center of Nationality Policy
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Jamestown Foundation posted the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2025, in its Eurasia Daily Monitor:* * *
Putin Puts Ethnic Russians at Center of Nationality Policy
By Paul Goble
Executive Summary:
* Russian President Vladimir Putin has put ethnic Russians at the center of Moscow's nationality policy, demanding that non-Russians in his country identify as members of a civic Russian nation defined exclusively in terms of the ethnic Russian one.
* Such a change will encourage radical Russian nationalist groups, who will conclude that the Kremlin is now fully on their ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Jamestown Foundation posted the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2025, in its Eurasia Daily Monitor: * * * Putin Puts Ethnic Russians at Center of Nationality Policy By Paul Goble Executive Summary: * Russian President Vladimir Putin has put ethnic Russians at the center of Moscow's nationality policy, demanding that non-Russians in his country identify as members of a civic Russian nation defined exclusively in terms of the ethnic Russian one. * Such a change will encourage radical Russian nationalist groups, who will conclude that the Kremlin is now fully on theirside, and anger non-Russians, who will see this as threatening their futures as anything more than folkloric groups.
* A new era of tension and classes between the two will be set--a situation Putin will be able to manage only by increasing repression and will ultimately threaten both ethnic Russians and non-Russians alike.
Moscow's formal nationality policy has, up to now, focused on the non-Russians living within the borders of Russia rather than on the ethnic Russian majority. Some ethnic Russian nationalists have long complained about this policy, even when the Russian government pursued intensive linguistic Russianization and cultural and political Russification campaigns (see EDM, June 24). Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, has changed this long-held policy. In the new nationality strategy paper he signed on November 25, which sets out his goals for the next decade, Putin has put ethnic Russians at the center of the country's nationality policy (Government of Russia, November 25). The new strategy demands that non-Russians identify as civic Russians, a group Putin defines exclusively in terms of ethnic Russian values (Readovka; Vzglyad; Meduza, November 26). On the one hand, this will please many ethnic Russian nationalist groups and encourage them to become even more aggressive (see EDM, October 15, 2024). On the other hand, it will anger many non-Russians, who will view this as a further attack on their national institutions, leaving their cultures as little more than folkloric groups (The Moscow Times, May 11). This sets the stage for a new era of tension and clashes between the two groups, one that will ultimately threaten both ethnic Russians and non-Russians alike. Putin will be able to manage this tension only by increasing repression, and in the short term, he will need to create a new bureaucratic structure to manage the situation.
Putin's new nationality policy replaces a very different doctrinal paper he first issued in 2012, and that has been amended twice since then. Key provisions of the new strategy include:
* The share of the population identifying as non-ethnic Russians is to rise to "more than 95 percent" by 2036. This identity must reflect "the common cultural code based on the preservation and development of ethnic Russian culture and the Russian language," as is only proper for the state-forming nation.
* Instead of spending almost all the money it devotes to nationality issues on non-Russians, Moscow will now spend a minimum of 50 percent on the cultural needs of ethnic Russians.
* The Russian government will develop new programs to counter Russophobic propaganda among non-Russians emanating from hostile forces abroad. Commentators on the document, however, recommend that the primary source of non-Russian challenges to Moscow come from domestic non-Russian elites and populations (Vzglyad, November 26 [1], [2]).
* Moscow will also increase its efforts to reverse the formation of ethnic enclaves in Russian cities that have arisen because of immigration. (On this problem, see Window on Eurasia, August 16.)
* Moscow will work to integrate the newly acquired regions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine's Donbass and Crimea based on Russian values and seek to unify Russian emigration to help Russia at home.
According to the new strategy paper, these policies and others related to them will "reduce the number of conflicts on an ethno-national basis" by uniting all the country's peoples around the ethnic Russian nation. The reverse, however, is more likely to be true. Unsurprisingly, Russian commentators are celebrating these changes, with one even suggesting they will prevent a repeat of the 1991 collapse (Vzglyad, November 26). Another further said that the Kremlin has put an end to "the non-Russian" Russia that the Soviets imposed on the country (Vzglyad, November 26). Many non-Russians are certainly alarmed by this major shift in Moscow's thinking, a change that goes far beyond what Putin has sought before (see EDM, November 6).
As history shows, such Russian strategy documents often do not lead to all the specific policy changes they suggest. Instead, the Kremlin has taken steps that reflect its response to specific challenges as they emerge. This policy statement is important, rather, because it signals just how far Putin is prepared to go to mollify the Russian nationalist groups affiliated with his regime. The policy also shows how willing he is to continue his attacks on the non-Russian republics and cultures that he has worked to undermine in relation to predominantly ethnic Russian oblasts and krais (see EDM, September 18; Window on Eurasia, November 6). By issuing this policy statement, Putin will likely spark an even more intense effort by Russian nationalists to Russify the country by expelling migrants and suppressing non-Russian languages and institutions. That trend, in turn, is going to be met by non-Russians who oppose these policies and are likely to become even more radical in their positions and even more ready to listen to those who believe that only the dismantling of the Russian empire will save them (Window on Eurasia, October 12).
With his new strategy document, Putin has exacerbated both trends, whatever his intent, and he will almost certainly have to employ more repression to prevent them from becoming threats to his personalist rule. While the full impact of his new approach is unlikely to be felt immediately, one change is almost certain to take place soon. Moscow will have to revamp its institutional arrangements for managing nationality policy. That has never been an easy task (Window on Eurasia, April 4). Putin abolished the post-Soviet ministry for nationality affairs in 2001, only to set up a Federal Agency for Nationality Affairs (FADN) in 2015. The FADN, however, has overseen issues only related to the non-Russian nationalities and has generally avoided working on ethnic Russian issues. If the Putin regime is to have a structure overseeing nationality policy where ethnic Russians are at the center, FADN will either have to be revamped and expanded or, more likely, disbanded and replaced. One indication of this is the recent announcement that Moscow plans to create a new government commission on nationality policy (Natsional'niy Aktsent, November 24).
The structure of the new commission is still uncertain, and it is possible that Putin may try to do without setting up a new official agency, and instead return to a nationalities policy process similar to the one he used between 2001 and 2015. The Kremlin made all the decisions during that period, aware that nationality issues are so intertwined with the others that if Moscow were to set up a ministry strong enough to deal with them all, it could create a monster that might threaten the current leadership. By adding the ethnic Russians to the mix of nationality policy, however, Putin has compounded these problems on his own, something ethnic Russians and non-Russians alike will be watching.
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Paul Goble is a longtime specialist on ethnic and religious questions in Eurasia.
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Original text here: https://jamestown.org/putin-puts-ethnic-russians-at-center-of-nationality-policy/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Jamestown Foundation Issues Commentary to Eurasia Daily Monitor: Belarusian Oreshnik Deployment Planned for December
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Jamestown Foundation posted the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2025, in its Eurasia Daily Monitor:* * *
Belarusian Oreshnik Deployment Planned for December
By Alexander Taranov
Executive Summary:
* Minsk and Moscow are completing the infrastructure to place Russia's new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) system on combat duty in Belarus in December, presenting it as a joint Union State deterrent against alleged Western militarization.
* Belarusian officials claim defensive intent, but the Oreshnik system's offensive deployment patterns, combat ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Jamestown Foundation posted the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2025, in its Eurasia Daily Monitor: * * * Belarusian Oreshnik Deployment Planned for December By Alexander Taranov Executive Summary: * Minsk and Moscow are completing the infrastructure to place Russia's new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) system on combat duty in Belarus in December, presenting it as a joint Union State deterrent against alleged Western militarization. * Belarusian officials claim defensive intent, but the Oreshnik system's offensive deployment patterns, combatduty patrolling regime, and command-and-control arrangements indicate otherwise.
* Russia may be preparing for an escalation scenario against Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), where the Kremlin retains authorization and operational authority over Oreshnik.
* Belarus would primarily serve as a launch platform with shared political responsibility for Oreshnik deployment and would likely be a first retaliatory target.
* Deployment may create a need for enhanced missile defense in Eastern Europe and Ukraine and for the deployment of counter-strike assets capable of hitting the Belarusian Oreshnik units during their launch-preparation phase.
On October 31, Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka confirmed plans to deploy the Russian Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) system in Belarus in December. Lukashenka warned the West that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could jointly use the weapon if necessary (BelTA, October 31). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk say the deployment of Oreshnik in Belarus creates new missile threats--both conventional and nuclear--for all of Europe, given Oreshnik IRBMs' 5,500-kilometer (3,418-mile) range (Reformation, October 26; Focus, October 31).
On October 28, at the third Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security, Lukashenka framed the Belarusian Oreshnik deployment as a response to regional escalation and emerging threats. According to Lukashenka, these threats include perceived attempts by Western neighbors to build military superiority on Belarus's borders, U.S. withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and plans by several European states to host medium-range missile systems. Lukashenka went on to claim that Belarus would suspend Oreshnik placement and discussion if Western rhetoric about escalation stops, but just three days later confirmed the system's imminent deployment (President of Belarus, October 28; BelTA, October 31).
Various Belarusian officials and analysts have commented on this issue. Belarusian Security Council Deputy State Secretary Alyaksandr Nevyarousky said the stationing of Russian weapons, including Oreshnik, on Belarusian territory is a deterrent amid "escalating militarization" by neighboring states (BelTA, November 4). Nevyarousky claims that military cooperation with Moscow is defensive in nature and not preparation for aggression. In his view, it is intended to form a defensive shield to avert potential threats. Nevyarousky pointed to substantial Western defense spending--sometimes at domestic social cost--citing Estonia's large arms acquisitions from South Korea, Latvia's agreement with Rheinmetall to build a 155 mm ammunition plant, and Germany's 45th Tank Brigade stationed near the Belarusian border in Lithuania. Nevyarousky also said that he sees recent Baltic military exercises, infrastructure upgrades, and intensified reconnaissance activity along Belarusian borders as offensive measures (BelTA, November 4).
Former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces and current Member of the Belarusian House of Representatives, Nikalai Buzin, characterized Russian tactical nuclear weapons and the deployment of the Oreshnik system as elements of strategic deterrence that enable Belarus to secure its safety without overburdening the economy or entering a costly arms race. He claimed these systems would be employed only if an adversary crossed Belarusian borders or committed hostile acts against the state (BelTA, November 8). Military expert and former head of the State Border Committee Press Center, Alyaksandr Tsishchenka, describes Oreshnik as a counterbalance to the West, which has deprived Belarus of diplomatic leverage (BelTA, November 1).
Belarusian military analyst Alyaksandr Alesin believes the Oreshnik system is a strong deterrent for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which he says is increasingly aggressive toward Belarus and Russia. He catalogues Oreshnik's key characteristics, noting the missile is considerably lighter than the Yars strategic missile system and reportedly carries a "package" of independently propelled and guided warheads--each with its own engine and guidance--effectively multiplying strike potential, meaning a single launch could be equivalent to six missiles with 36 submunitions in total (BelTA, September 6). Former chief of the Belarusian military intelligence agency and current deputy chair of the Permanent Commission on National Security of the House of Representatives, retired Major General Ruslan Kasygin, argues that Oreshnik and other tactical nuclear weapon capabilities are not intended for offensive use as Western commentators claim (Belarus Segondya, August 8).
Lukashenka confirmed that the Oreshnik system is mobile and will patrol designated areas to strike when "required" (see EDM, March 13; BelTA, November 10). Security Council State Secretary Alyaksandr Valfovich confirmed in March that deployment sites had already been prepared (BelTA, March 23).
In July, the chief of the General Staff of the Belarusian Armed Forces, First Deputy Minister of Defense Pavel Muraveika, stated that all logistical issues related to the development of units equipped with the Oreshnik system had been resolved. He noted that Belarus has personnel ready to master and employ this system and to cooperate with their Russian counterparts operating units armed with this weapon on Belarusian territory (Belarus Segodnya, July 10).
Official Minsk presents the Oreshnik system as a product of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, and its deployment in Belarus is envisaged by the recently adopted Union State security guarantees agreement (see EDM, February 12, June 26). According to Valfovich, the Oreshnik system is jointly produced. The Belarusian defense industry manufactures the main chassis, while the strike components are produced in Russia. The full-scale mock-up of the chassis was first spotted driving through the streets of Minsk in March and later displayed in Lukashenka's office as a compact model in October (Telegram/@Nevolf, March 21). The Belarusian Minsk Wheeled Tractor Plant (MZKT) produces the chassis, designated MZKT-79291. MZKT supplies all of Russia's ground-based strategic missile systems, as well as several other missile complexes, including the Iskander operational tactical missile system. The MZKT-79291 chassis was initially developed in the early 2010s for the RS-26 Rubezh missile system. In Russia, the Rubezh was officially classified as a "light" intercontinental ballistic missile, while in the West it was considered a violation of the now-defunct INF Treaty and categorized as a medium-range missile (Defence-ua.com, October 1).
According to satellite imagery, approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Minsk, in the Slutsk district near the village of Pavlovka, construction is underway at a site likely designed to host the Oreshnik system. The area has a long military history. From late 1959 until 1993, the location housed the 306th Strategic Missile Regiment of Slutsk. In 1960, the 1057th Repair and Maintenance Base was established to provide "nuclear-technical support" for the regiment. Initially, the missile base hosted ground-launched medium-range R-12 (SS-4) missiles with a range of up to 2,100 kilometers (1,305 miles), followed in 1981 by the mobile RSD-10M Pioneer (SS-20) systems with a range of 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles). From 1989, the regiment was rearmed with strategic Topol (SS-25) mobile ground-based missiles capable of reaching 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles).
Construction at the site near Pavlovka began in June 2024 without an announcement, covering over two square kilometers (0.77 square miles). The facility consists of four main sections, all connected by new roads. In 2025, Minsk cleared one square kilometer of forest, built 13 ammunition storage buildings with defensive walls, erected three 100-meter-long (328-feet-long) hangars, and laid foundations for multiple other structures. The northern site on former farmland now hosts eight building frames resembling hangars. On the eastern section, a 150-meter (492-feet) building frame and earthworks are under construction. The southeastern site, located on the highest hill in the Slutsk district, continues earthworks and road construction, possibly indicating future placement of air defense systems (Radio Svaboda, September 10). Oreshnik unit crews will be operating in Belarus, frequently changing routes and positions, using facilities such as the one near Pavlovka as resupply bases.
In late 2024, Lukashenka claimed that he would jointly make decisions for Oreshnik use with Putin, and Belarus would exclusively define the target list (Kommersant, December 10, 2024). Combat duty, however, is the core activity of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces (RVSN), designed to keep forces and equipment ready to execute nuclear missile strikes under any conditions. RSVN ensures nuclear deterrence and, if directed by Putin, the delivery of strategic strikes (Voennaya Mysl, 2023, 5, 137-146). Target identification and use authorization is ultimately Putin's, not Lukashenka's, prerogative.
A reference to the Regional Troops Grouping (RTG) of Russia and Belarus suggests that the Oreshnik missile unit will be operating under the operational command and control of the RTG Joint Command (Interfax, March 31). The situation with the Oreshnik system is, in practice, similar to the U.S. deliveries of Tomahawk missiles to partner countries. The partner country may operate the weapon, but U.S. specialists exclusively configure all flight missions and routes for them. Without coordination with Moscow, Minsk will not be able to use these missiles independently, and Russian military personnel will program the flight mission data into the guidance module of the Oreshnik IRBMs, leaving Belarus with a secondary logistical role (Telegram/@Milioptimist, October 28). Russian officials have shown no objection to Lukashenka's statements because they place part of the responsibility for the system's potential employment against Ukraine or NATO on the Belarusian leadership (see EDM, February 3). In such a crisis scenario, Belarus, not Russia, would become the first natural target for a retaliatory strike (see EDM, April 30, 2024).
Lukashenka says that by the end of 2025, Russia will deliver several missiles for the Oreshnik system to Belarus (Interfax, March 14). According to Ukrainian intelligence, as of the end of October, Russia has accumulated six Oreshnik IRBMs, with a planned production rate of six units per year (RBC-Ukraine, October 31). Given the mention of several chassis and missiles, at least one Russian RVSN missile battalion--two to three launchers, plus one mobile command post--will deploy to Belarus for combat duty, with more units coming later.
The Belarusian leadership claims that the placement of the Oreshnik system in Belarus is purely defensive and a deterrent. The forward deployment of such strike systems close to a potential theater of operations, however, typically indicates preparations for offensive action. The U.S./NATO missile-defense echelons in Eastern Europe are capable of intercepting Oreshnik IRBMs during the early phases of their trajectory if launched from Belarusian territory. This means that, in a conflict scenario, the effective use of Oreshnik would first require disabling those sites through a massive combined missile and drone strike and/or tactical nuclear weapons (see EDM, March 13). If Russia and Belarus genuinely anticipate an attack from NATO, such systems would be among the first targets, which makes it more logical to deploy them deeper inside Russian territory with echeloned air and missile defenses. In opposition to official statements that only aggression against Belarus or Russia could trigger use of the Oreshnik system, updated bilateral security frameworks, which contain broad mutual security assistance language, could be used to justify preemptive use of Oreshnik on the basis of Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine or potential conflicts with NATO (see EDM, February 12, June 26).The risk of direct military conflict on the NATO eastern flank necessitates reinforcing the missile-defense posture in Eastern Europe. NATO could consider adding to the facilities in Redzikowo, Poland, and Deveselu, Romania; establishing a missile-defense site in Ukraine; and positioning strike assets near Belarus capable of disrupting Oreshnik IRBMs launches during the pre-firing phase (see EDM, February 3). This approach mirrors the actions of Ukrainian intelligence services in July 2024, when they successfully destroyed an Oreshnik launcher at the Kapustin Yar range before it could conduct a launch (Telegram/@DIUkraine, October 31).
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Alexander Taranov is an expert on Russian military and nuclear affairs.
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Original text here: https://jamestown.org/belarusian-oreshnik-deployment-planned-for-december/
[Category: ThinkTank]
InfluenceWatch Podcast 387: Goodbye, Arabella; Hello...Arabella?
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Capital Research Center issued the following InfluenceWatch wrapup on Dec. 2, 2025:* * *
InfluenceWatch Podcast #387: Goodbye, Arabella; Hello...Arabella?
By Sarah Lee, Parker Thayer, Robert Stilson and Michael Watson
Arabella Advisors, we hardly knew ye. The once obscure, multi-billion dollar, private-equity-owned machine of leftist funding has gone the way of the dinosaurs. Or has it?
Arabella, an organization we here at CRC worked diligently to help bring into the light, has in fact, after being rather publicly and unceremoniously dumped by the Gates Foundation ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Capital Research Center issued the following InfluenceWatch wrapup on Dec. 2, 2025: * * * InfluenceWatch Podcast #387: Goodbye, Arabella; Hello...Arabella? By Sarah Lee, Parker Thayer, Robert Stilson and Michael Watson Arabella Advisors, we hardly knew ye. The once obscure, multi-billion dollar, private-equity-owned machine of leftist funding has gone the way of the dinosaurs. Or has it? Arabella, an organization we here at CRC worked diligently to help bring into the light, has in fact, after being rather publicly and unceremoniously dumped by the Gates Foundationin June, simply split, been restructured, been sold, and/or rebranded, depending on your perspective. The two new entities born of Arabella's demise are Sunflower Services, a public benefit corporation, and Vital Impact, a philanthropic consulting firm that most resembles the former dark money machine. The three 501(c)(3) workhorse nonprofits housed under the former Arabella, who often served as fiscal sponsors for other nonprofits and from which the funding flowed - New Venture Fund, Hopewell Fund, and Windward Fund - are now investors in the aforementioned Sunflower Services and have vowed to continue the work of helping leftist nonprofits accomplish their goals on everything from DEI, to abortion, to social justice. But there are many questions remaining, with perhaps the most interesting: what happens to Arabella's most political entities, the 501(c)(4)s, notably the notorious Sixteen Thirty Fund? And what prompted them to make this momentous change?
* Chronicle of Philanthropy: Arabella Advisors Dissolves After Years of GOP-Led Investigations (https://www.philanthropy.com/news/arabella-advisors-dissolves-after-years-of-gop-led-investigations/)
* Capital Research Center: Bill Gates to Stop Grantmaking via Arabella Advisors (https://capitalresearch.org/article/bill-gates-to-stop-grantmaking-via-arabella-advisors/)
* Encounter Books: Arabella (https://www.encounterbooks.com/books/arabella/?srsltid=AfmBOor1MRk5HLMHanSl9eTKtQmLN2UZYMuDmyKWDZnCKTbqglHK0xCc)
* The Hill: Bill Gates may have just set off the death of far-left-tainted philanthropy (https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/5522092-bill-gates-may-have-just-set-off-the-death-of-far-left-tainted-philanthropy/)
* Daily Signal: What, Exactly, Just Happened to the Left's Dark Money Behemoth Arabella Advisors? (https://www.dailysignal.com/2025/11/23/what-exactly-just-happened-lefts-dark-money-behemoth-arabella-advisors/)
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Sarah Lee
Sarah Lee was born and raised in Atlanta, Ga., but found herself drawn to Washington, DC, the birthplace of her mother, after completing a master's degree in public administration from the University of Georgia in 2010.
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Parker Thayer
Parker Thayer is an Investigative Researcher at Capital Research Center. A native of Michigan, he recently graduated from Hillsdale College.
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Robert Stilson
Robert runs several of CRC's specialized projects. Originally from Indiana, he has a B.A. from Hanover College and a J.D. from University of Richmond School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude.
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Michael Watson
Michael is Research Director for Capital Research Center and serves as the managing editor for InfluenceWatch.
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View link to podcast here: https://capitalresearch.org/article/influencewatch-podcast-387-goodbye-arabella-hello-arabella/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Hudson Institute Issues Commentary to Religion Unplugged: Quebec's Bill 9 Would Outlaw Public Prayer, Expand Restrictions on Religious Expression
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- Hudson Institute, a research organization that says it promotes leadership for a secure, free and prosperous future, issued the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2025, to Religion Unplugged:* * *
Quebec's Bill 9 Would Outlaw Public Prayer, Expand Restrictions on Religious Expression
By Paul Marshall
(ANALYSIS) Until the 1960s, Quebec was the most religious part of North America. Now it is home to an aggressive secularist government that on Nov. 27 introduced a proposed law, Bill 9, that would outlaw public prayer.
When the British defeated the French in 1759 to take control ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- Hudson Institute, a research organization that says it promotes leadership for a secure, free and prosperous future, issued the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2025, to Religion Unplugged: * * * Quebec's Bill 9 Would Outlaw Public Prayer, Expand Restrictions on Religious Expression By Paul Marshall (ANALYSIS) Until the 1960s, Quebec was the most religious part of North America. Now it is home to an aggressive secularist government that on Nov. 27 introduced a proposed law, Bill 9, that would outlaw public prayer. When the British defeated the French in 1759 to take controlof what is now Canada, they left largely French-speaking Quebec to manage its internal affairs. This meant that most of the Province's institutions continued to be run by the Catholic Church.
The 1789 Revolution that dethroned the Church in France had little effect on the other side of the Atlantic and, consequently, Quebec continued many of the clerical traditions of pre-revolutionary France.
While bishops and archbishops held no formal political office, they were powerful public figures whose influence the government ignored at its peril. The public schools in the province were explicitly Catholic, although the government also funded a separate Protestant system. Hospitals and other social agencies were run largely by the church.
For several centuries, religious minorities faced discrimination and, until the 1960s, Jehovah's Witnesses were still being arrested for their refusal to salute the flag and for their efforts to spread their religion.
This ascendency of religion changed with stunning speed in the 1960's in what has become known as the "Quiet Revolution." Rapid secularization and changing legislation eroded the Catholic Church's pervasive influence over public life, including its control of education and social services. The Catholic and Protestant school systems were reshaped as French and English schools.
Despite these changes, many Quebec governments have not been satisfied merely with virtual disestablishment but have also moved aggressively to completely remove religious expression from public space.
In 2019, it passed Bill 21 forbidding public employees in positions of authority, such as judges, police, and teachers, from wearing religious symbols such as a hijab, kippah, or turban, while at work. It says it plans to extend these prohibitions.
Bill 21 violated the "fundamental freedoms" provided in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteed in Canada's 1982 Constitution. However, that Constitution, unlike the U.S., but like Israel and the U.K., also has a provision that can counter and circumscribe these rights.
This is the "notwithstanding clause," which allows the federal Parliament or a provincial legislature to pass laws notwithstanding the fact that they undercut some Charter rights.
Each law must state that it will apply notwithstanding, and this clause's reach is limited because it must be renewed by the relevant legislature every five years or else it lapses.
Quebec has used this clause frequently and the current governing Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) has stated that it intends to invoke it again to make Bill 9 law.
Jean-Francois Roberge, Quebec's secularism minister, has said the controversial new provisions in Bill 9 were only the latest steps in working towards full secularization. He has criticized previous accommodations by post-secondary institutions, including having prayer rooms, and told reporters that the schools "are not temples or churches or those kinds of places."
Apparently, in a strikingly sectarian fashion that contradicts almost every religion in the world, Roberge thinks that religion is something confined to particular spaces at particular times.
Bill 9 would extend the ban on wearing religious symbols to staff in subsidized daycares, forbid students and staff from wearing face coverings from daycare through university, and bar "collective religious practices" such as prayer in public spaces, such as parks, without prior authorization from municipalities.
It would also phase out public subsidies for religious private schools that select their students or staff based on their religious affiliation, or that teach religious content. This would be done over a period of three years.
Finally, it would also limit the exclusive offering of religion-based menus, like kosher and halal meals, in public institutions. Such meals can be an option, but there must be alternatives provided.
The proposed law will apply to every religion, but is principally in reaction to some Muslim practices. Roberge has alluded to recent protests, including groups praying at pro-Palestinian demonstrations: "It's shocking to see people blocking traffic, taking possession of the public space without a permit, without warning, and then turning our streets, our parks, our public squares into places of worship."
As the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has stated: "State secularism means the separation of religion from government institutions and the neutrality of the state towards religions. ... This does not give the government license to suppress manifestations of religion in public spaces."
Anais Bussieres McNicoll, the Director of the CCLA's "Fundamental Freedoms Program," added, "Public spaces belong to everyone. ... The freedom to express one's thoughts, opinions and beliefs in public, including through prayer, is a cornerstone of any democratic society."
Read in Religion Unplugged (https://religionunplugged.com/news/quebec-bill-9-outlaw-public-prayer-expand-restrictions-on-religious-expression).
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Paul Marshall is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom.
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Original text here: https://www.hudson.org/religious-freedom/quebecs-bill-9-would-outlaw-public-prayer-expand-restrictions-religious-paul-marshall
[Category: ThinkTank]
Capital Research Center: Skillman Foundation's Fixation on Funding Racial Grievance and the Education Blob
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Capital Research Center posted the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2025:* * *
The Skillman Foundation's fixation on funding racial grievance and the education blob
One of America's worst performing school districts needs outside-the-box solutions. But a big foundation with the resources to deliver reform is subsidizing the status quo.
By Tom Gantert
Only in the world of DEI can a black woman make nearly $600,000 annually while serving a destitute city, dress up in a William Shakespeare costume for a promotion while proclaiming, "I am a genius" and decrying the hardships ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Capital Research Center posted the following commentary on Dec. 2, 2025: * * * The Skillman Foundation's fixation on funding racial grievance and the education blob One of America's worst performing school districts needs outside-the-box solutions. But a big foundation with the resources to deliver reform is subsidizing the status quo. By Tom Gantert Only in the world of DEI can a black woman make nearly $600,000 annually while serving a destitute city, dress up in a William Shakespeare costume for a promotion while proclaiming, "I am a genius" and decrying the hardshipsshe endures due to her race.
That's our introduction to Angelique Power, the president of the $568 million nonprofit Skillman Foundation. With its deep pockets ($21.9 million in revenue reported for 2023 and $394.9 million in net assets) Skillman has emerged as a power broker in the diversity, equity, and inclusion/social justice movement with Power leading the charge.
In September, Power was promoting her participation in a campaign called "Shakespeare in Detroit."
"Black women proclaiming our genius," Power stated in a social media post of the photo of her dressed up in a Shakespearean wardrobe. "It was both hard to do and necessary to remember in spite of our own doubts - in the face of the rhetoric we face daily."
Part of that "rhetoric" she faces was the Detroit News naming her as the Michiganian of the Year in June. Or in 2021 the Chicago Tribune article calling Power "a rock star" when announcing she was leaving for the Skillman Foundation. Or in June when Crain's Detroit Business named her as one of the "Notable Leaders In Philanthropy In 2025."
In a YouTube video, Power says, "Well, first of all, I want to say that asking a black woman about her genius still seems radical in 2025."
It should be noted that Power is the third black CEO of the Skillman Foundation. The first was Carol Goss, who took over 21 years ago. Yet, one of Power's first acts was to implement a "racial equity audit" on the Skillman Foundation.
Funding the status quo
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These groups, with these people, are not offering new ideas, nor are they ignored voices. They are the status-quo that steered Michigan's K-12 system into crisis.
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Skillman's calling card in 2025 is molding education with the DEI initiatives it funds to shape an "equitable education system." On its website, Skillman claims, "It's time to reimagine how decisions are made -- expanding the table to ensure those who know our schools best are truly heard and included."
To this end, Power paraded three Detroit area schoolchildren onto a September 8 podcast on WJR, calling them "truthtellers." The ruse was that those teenagers would really have a say in spending the $20 billion Michigan government now spends on K-12 instruction.
There's an old joke that "status quo" is Latin for "the mess we're in." This should be the motto for Skillman's grantmaking. Follow the Skillman money, and you find that it is going to the same cast of characters that have steered Michigan's public education system generally, and Detroit specifically, into the mess Skillman claims to be fixing. As an example: nearly 9 out of 10 third graders in Detroit Public Schools are not proficient in reading.
One grantee, 482Forward, received $1 million from Skillman in 2024. The nonprofit is run by Jamila Martin, a former SEIU organizer, and Molly Sweeney, who worked for Excellent Schools Detroit, an education group that advocated for more public-school funding.
(Note: Unless stipulated otherwise, all grants referenced are from January 2024 or later.)
Skillman granted Launch Michigan $200,000 in 2024. The Skillman website claims Launch Michigan "members are committed to working across political and ideological lines to uphold a common agenda aimed at building a strong, thriving public education system for all Michigan students."
Launch Michigan's president and CEO is Venessa Keesler, who spent 10 years as a top administrator with the Michigan Department of Education. The vice chair of the board is Chandra Madaffari, president of the Michigan Education Association--the state's largest teachers union.
These groups, with these people, are not offering new ideas, nor are they ignored voices. They are the status-quo that steered Michigan's K-12 system into crisis.
In a February 2022 interview with Crain's, Power was asked about the "system change" she was trying to enact.
"We have been working closely with Launch Michigan, and they have been doing some really thoughtful work around the teacher shortage," Power said. "So that's like a direct line of trying to listen, but also try to sit in coalition with others that are putting points, really bold ideas, around fellowships. How do we bring new people into the teaching pipeline? How do we incentivize teachers to stay?"
But Power has been listening to and funding the people whose agenda for decades has been to cry over teacher shortages . . . even when they do not exist.
In 2024-25, Michigan had more full-time teaching positions than at any point since 2010. The Detroit Public Schools Community District had 3,021 full-time teaching positions in 2016-17. In 2024-25, the district had 3,533 full-time teachers.
Where's the shortage?
Losing the race
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A cynic might observe that shipping five-figure blank checks to the upper management of K-12 systems is a nifty way to get your agenda adopted.
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While education is the main Skillman focus, race is the umbrella that many grants fall under.
Prior to joining Skillman, Power was president of the Field Foundation. The Chicago Tribune reported in 2021 that Power was "noted" for transforming the Field's funding structure to focus on racial equity. The Field Foundation currently describes itself as a "private, independent foundation that supports community power building."
Power wrote in April that the "Skillman Foundation is race explicit--not race exclusive." In practice, this means Skillman funds groups that blame racism or injustice for the failures of nearly any social institution.
482Forward, one of the biggest recipients of Skillman funding, has an "anti-oppression" platform that makes this claim:
We know that in the U.S. many individuals and classes of people have been denied quality education based on their identity. In particular, we recognize the significant impact of racism on our society and schools. Racist and oppressive policies have played and continue to play a substantial role in shaping our education systems.
Economic Justice Alliance of Michigan received $50,000 from Skillman in 2024. EJAM claims that issues such as paid sick leave, voting rights, and climate justice are all under the economic justice umbrella.
We the People of Detroit received $50,000 from Skillman in 2024. The nongovernmental organization claims that shutting off water to Detroit citizens who don't pay their water bills illustrates "the racial inequities" of city policies that are "systematic and structural forms of racism."
The Detroit People's Platform received $50,000 from Skillman in 2024. It claims racism "has historically plagued our transit policy." It defends that claim by saying the city has not properly funded its transit system.
Doling out this money makes Skillman the grandest of puppeteers, pulling all the strings trying to influence more taxpayer spending on Detroit's education. The blueprint for success is simple, yet costly. Skillman funds the research, and the media to publicize the research, and the educators to carry it out.
Here are some examples:
Finance the research: In 2024, Skillman granted $150,000 to the Citizens Research Council of Michigan's Detroit bureau. In 2025, the Citizens Research Council released a report that discussed the benefits of the city implementing an entertainment tax, e.g. taxing patrons who come to town for professional sporting events by increasing the price of their tickets.
The report stated:
In Detroit, policymakers may want to allocate revenue to specific city services, including infrastructure, transportation, public safety, and potentially education services (e.g., arts and recreation). For example, in Columbus, Portland and Seattle, the revenue has historically been utilized to support arts education and recreation programs in public school systems and non-profit organizations.
Sarah Winchell Lenhoff, a Wayne State University professor, received $50,000 from Skillman. She is the former director of policy and research at The Education Trust-Midwest, a nonprofit that publishes research promoting funding increases for traditional public schools. As such, Lenhoff's work parrots the talking points of the K-12 status quo that constantly advocates for more money.
Wayne State University, where Lenhoff is now a professor, also received a $245,552 research grant from Skillman in 2024.
Skillman also gave $100,000 to the Education Trust and $350,000 to the Michigan League for Public Policy. Both are left-leaning organizations that have a long history advocating for more taxpayer spending on public schools.
Finance the media: The impact of mainstream newspapers is eroding, but Skillman is far more modern with its journalism philanthropy.
Skillman has funded with $75,000 The Center for Michigan, operator of Bridge, a news website designed to replace the Detroit Free Press and MLive as the go-to source for liberal news. (The name is a reference to the Mackinac Bridge that separates Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.)
Civic News Company received $100,000 from Skillman in 2024. Civic News funds Chalkbeat, a chain of progressive news sites that promote the school districts they cover. Skillman designated its money for Chalkbeat's Detroit bureau.
Skillman has also tapped into the radio market. Skillman president Angelique Power has a monthly radio show on WJR-760, Detroit's major 50,000-watt AM radio station. Sponsored by Skillman, the program is called "Our State of Education."
Finance the educators: The Skillman Foundation Visionary Award is a "no strings attached" $50,000 grant to individuals. A cynic might observe that shipping five-figure blank checks to the upper management of K-12 systems is a nifty way to get your agenda adopted. Examples of past "Visionary Award" recipients have included Nikolai Vitti, the superintendent of the Detroit Public Schools Community District (the state's largest K-12 system), and Juan Jose Martinez, president of the Cesar Chavez Academy charter school, the largest charter school in the city of Detroit.
Dead-enders for DEI
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Can this vacuous public relations blather get any worse? Yes, yes it can.
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After he became president for the second time, Donald Trump began dismantling federal support for the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement that Skillman had embraced.
But Skillman's president is a DEI dead-ender who won't give it up.
"This administration is mandating we remove language many of us have held dear," Power wrote in April 2025. "It has set off such alarm bells and internal debates - what do we do, what do we sacrifice in doing so, what do we keep, what do we risk in keeping it?"
The language she refers to--the descriptions used to identify DEI initiatives--is often incomprehensible jargon. A careful reader wading through it will be left without a clear idea of what the program is meant to accomplish.
For example, Power has talked about the concept of "centering youth" ... "especially black and brown youth in terms of lifting their voice and centering their power."
Problems in education aren't due to a lack of good ideas, Power said in her podcast on WJR. "Often it is because they don't work together and don't break down conversations into real talk," Power said.
Centering power? Real talk? Can this vacuous public relations blather get any worse?
Yes, yes it can.
One of Power's guests on the Skillman-sponsored WJR radio program was john a. powell, director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley. powell prefers that his name be spelled in lowercase letters - spellcheck be damned - "in the belief that we should be part of the universe, not over it, as capitals signify."
Maybe Skillman should fund "grammar justice."
Some Skillman grantees use talking points that sound as if they came right out of the Democratic National Committee.
In 2023, Skillman granted $130,000 to Mothering Justice, a nonprofit "dedicated to advancing policies that center the needs of mothers, particularly Black and Brown moms, to ensure families thrive."
The same year, Mothering Justice was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed against the Michigan Attorney General. That lawsuit led eventually to the Michigan Supreme Court imposing mandatory paid sick leave for all workers on private companies as well as hiking minimum wage.
Skillman also gave to well established progressive organizations in 2025: $56,000 to the Tides Foundation and $50,000 to the ACLU-Michigan.
But not all Skillman grants are saturated in race and corporate PR babble.
In 1962, one of the first donations from the Skillman Foundation went to Torch Drive, a precursor to the United Way. In 1963, Rose Skillman, founder of the eponymous foundation, gave $600,000 through her three-year-old nonprofit to help construct a new "Children's Hospital of Michigan" in Detroit (that's $6.3 million in 2025 dollars).
Today, Skillman still has truly philanthropic moments, albeit now overshadowed by the obsession with racial politics.
Skillman's 2024 grantees included the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, the Detroit Police Athletic League, Special Olympics Michigan, YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit, and the United Way for Southeastern Michigan.
K-12 in Detroit
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Skillman has the resources to help bust up the status quo, yet it is forever "listening to the people" that made the mess in the first place.
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And the Skillman Foundation has had its fingerprints all over the Detroit Public Schools Community District. In 2016, the state of Michigan approved a $760 million plan to bail out the Detroit Public Schools. The end result of the process was a reorganization and rebrand of the district, which has since become the Detroit Public Schools Community District.
That same year, a group of Detroit public school students filed a lawsuit against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Education, claiming the state had failed to provide a basic level of education. The settlement brought $94.4 million in 2025 to the Detroit Public Schools Community District.
And then in 2021 the Detroit Public Schools Community District received $1.3 billion in federal pandemic aid.
Does this sound like a school district that is flush with money?
Not according to Detroit superintendent Nikolai Vitti.
Skillman president Angelique Power wrote this of her first meeting with Vitti in March 2022:
I asked him what he would put forth as critical pieces of education systems change. Equitable funding, hands down, number one, he said. Vitti spoke of how Michigan isn't even in the realm of equal funding, much less equitable funding where students who require the most support receive the most resources. He spoke of issues with the local millage required to get to state funding and how the wealthier suburbs generate so much more to support their schools. He said DPSCD can't invest in buildings the way they need to, nor can they pay the much higher salaries needed, and the trauma that children come into classrooms with due to living in poverty is not being addressed. Wraparound services are needed desperately.
Vitti is a skilled, competent administrator who has stopped the exodus of students from his district, balanced the budget (an inconceivable notion to his predecessors, although Vitti has done it with unprecedented state and federal funding) and his tenure has been absent the corruption that preceded him. He has managed slight improvements in reading, math, and student attendance.
Still, in 2024-25, 61 percent of Detroit students were labeled as "chronically absent," meaning they missed a minimum of 18 days of class days in a school year.
And Vitti's district is still the worst public school district in the country when it comes to standardized test results, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress bi-annual The Nation's Report Card. Detroit has been last among the largest public schools in education performance since it first entered that rating system in 2009.
With that pandemic funding raining down in 2021, the Skillman Foundation predicted big things for Detroit students:
The stimulus funds create real opportunities to address students' and schools' immediate needs AND to redefine and rebuild how children and families are supported. They lay the ground for an equitable recovery. A way up for all Americans, and in particular, our children.
Now that most of that money has been vaporized (2026 is the last year federal pandemic money can be spent), what does the Detroit Public Schools Community District have to show for it?
According to state data, there was very little improvement. In 2018-19, a year before pandemic hit, 89.2 percent of the district's black students in were not proficient in English Language Arts (i.e.: they were not learning to read). In 2024-25, that percentage dropped to 87.9 percent. Is that truly progress?
What did Skillman's president have to say about this dismal outcome?
More vacuous gobbledygook.
In a September opinion piece for the Detroit News, Angelique Power wrote:
It's about making Michigan's education system strong, consistent and modern for the long haul. That requires listening to the people who know schools best and putting their solutions into practice.
In other words, Skillman is listening, yet again, to Michigan's progressive educational complex: the teacher unions, school executives, administrators, and all the cottage industries that attach themselves to the state's multi-billion-dollar education blob. Skillman has the resources to help bust up the status quo, yet it is forever "listening to the people" that made the mess in the first place.
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Tom Gantert is a former USA Today reporter who has worked in the media for five decades, including the daily newspapers Jackson Citizen Patriot, Ann Arbor News and Lansing State Journal.
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[Category: ThinkTank]
CEPR Urges Patience and Restraint as Honduras Awaits Official Election Results; Rejects US Interference
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Center for Economic and Policy Research issued the following news release:* * *
CEPR Urges Patience and Restraint as Honduras Awaits Official Election Results; Rejects US Interference
The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) urged patience and restraint-including from President Trump and US government officials-as Honduras's electoral authority continues to count votes from the November 30 general election. Preliminary results announced yesterday showed a very close finish between presidential candidate Nasry Asfura of the hard-right National Party and center-right ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 -- The Center for Economic and Policy Research issued the following news release: * * * CEPR Urges Patience and Restraint as Honduras Awaits Official Election Results; Rejects US Interference The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) urged patience and restraint-including from President Trump and US government officials-as Honduras's electoral authority continues to count votes from the November 30 general election. Preliminary results announced yesterday showed a very close finish between presidential candidate Nasry Asfura of the hard-right National Party and center-rightSalvador Nasralla of the Liberal Party.
"The statements of President Trump, including that Honduras would harm relations with the United States if they chose a different candidate than the one he prefers, are an intervention that violates the Charter of the Organization of the American States, which the US has signed," CEPR Co-Director Mark Weisbrot said. "Other statements from US officials such as Congresswoman Maria Salazar, who praised the military coup that overthrew the democratically elected President of Honduras, Mel Zelaya, in 2009, and in recent weeks has questioned the credibility of this election, are also destabilizing and violate international norms."
President Trump intervened again yesterday in Honduras's electoral processes by pressuring, in a Truth Social post, for the electoral authorities not to "change the results" and for the National Electoral Commission [sic] to "finish counting the Votes." Prior to Trump's post, the National Electoral Council (CNE) announced results from its preliminary results system, the TREP, showing that with 57 percent of the preliminary results counted there was a "technical tie" between Asfura (39.91 percent) and Nasralla (39.89 percent), separated by just over 500 votes.
Prior to election day, Trump issued a statement endorsing Asfura and denouncing his opponents Nasralla and governing party candidate Rixi Moncada, so his reference to "changing the results," and a reference to the CNE "abruptly stopp[ing] counting at midnight on November 30th" have widely been interpreted as a call for Asfura to be declared the winner. In the pre-election post, Trump also wrote: "I cannot work with Moncada and the Communists, and Nasralla is not a reliable partner for Freedom, and cannot be trusted," and also made it clear that if Asfura did not win, the US would be at odds with the government of Honduras, a country highly dependent on US trade and remittances.
In the same message, Trump announced he would be pardoning former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was serving a 45-year prison sentence after a US court found him guilty of involvement in major drug trafficking to the US. Asfura is from the same party as Hernandez, who was released from prison yesterday. During his two contested mandates (2014-2022), Hernandez was linked to corruption scandals and widespread human rights abuses perpetrated by state security forces. His 2017 reelection was widely seen as fraudulent, and the Organization of American States published a statistical analysis concluding that Hernandez did not win the election legitimately.
The TREP provides an unofficial, preliminary quick count of election results. Under Honduran law, the CNE has 30 days to count and verify election results. The CNE president has called for calm and patience given the tightness of the race. The CNE also acknowledged technical problems with its results transmission software, something CEPR observers warned about on election day.
Ahead of voting on November 30, CEPR cautioned: "Premature declarations of victory based on potentially unrepresentative TREP results-or efforts to pressure the CNE into making such announcements-risk delegitimizing the final results and provoking unrest and violence. It is essential to remember that TREP results are preliminary and non-binding."
Prior to Trump's post, the State Department had called for "continued patience while waiting for the CNE's official results," noting: "The results are preliminary and the process needs to continue until finalized."
"Trump has already interfered, undoubtedly with some impact on Honduras's elections, with his endorsement of Asfura, his denunciations of Nasralla and Moncada, and his threat to take actions that would be seen as likely to cause economic harm to Honduras and its people, if another candidate were to win," Weisbrot said. "Republican Members of Congress, some of whom then traveled to Honduras as 'election observers,' also made public statements that would be expected to undermine the credibility of the election and its results. US officials and other foreign actors should cease their interference and allow the Honduran electoral authorities to carry out their duties and respect the will of Honduran voters."
CEPR had observers on the ground during Honduras's November 30 elections.
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Original text here: https://cepr.net/newsroom/cepr-urges-patience-and-restraint-as-honduras-awaits-official-election-results-rejects-us-interference/
[Category: ThinkTank]