Russia at War, at the Olympics, and on the Pitch: From Drone Strikes to Catherine’s Legacy

It’s night, the darkness is thick, and then the drones roar overhead. Again. Another city in Ukraine has been jolted awake by Russian airstrikes, and once again rescue crews are digging through concrete and broken glass with their bare hands. At 3:17 a.m., a local emergency team managed to pull a tiny baby alive from the ruins. A moment of pure relief in the middle of all the horror. Because as the war between Russia and Ukraine edges toward yet another grim milestone, it’s often those small, trembling seconds that tell the real story.

At the same time, massive power outages are reported in several regions. Hospitals are running on generators, water pumps have stopped, and in the dark, families sit listening for the next explosion. Russia officially claims one of its mines was attacked – but no matter who fired first, the consequences are the same: dead civilians, bombed-out apartment blocks, and a population forced to rebuild from scratch, over and over. I’ve followed this conflict closely, and let me be blunt: this winter is going to be the toughest yet.

What’s happening with Russia’s national soccer team and the Olympics?

While the bombs are falling, Russia’s national soccer team is fighting on a completely different pitch – the diplomatic one. The team has been kicked out of nearly all international tournaments, and the chance of seeing Russian stars at a European Championship or World Cup anytime soon is exactly zero. It’s a huge contrast to the days when Shchennikov and company packed stadiums in red, white, and blue.

And what about Russia at the Olympics? The situation there is just as muddy. Sports federations are leaving the door slightly ajar, but only for neutral athletes with no flag or anthem. Picture running the 100‑metre final – and then not even being allowed to point to your own country. For most Russian competitors, it feels like second‑class participation, but for some, it’s the only route to the top. The question is whether sport can ever be separated from politics when Russia’s military machine is rumbling across Eastern Europe.

• Dead and wounded after the latest drone strike on an apartment block in the Kharkiv region.
• Power outages affecting more than 200,000 households – water and heat are next in line.
• Russia’s national soccer team now only plays friendlies against countries like Iran and Syria.
• Russia at the Olympics in Paris 2024: just 15 neutral athletes – an all‑time low.

Catherine II of Russia – an empress at war

Whenever you talk about Russia’s historic dreams of power, Catherine II of Russia always comes up. The German princess who became an absolute empress expanded the empire south and west with both cunning and an iron fist. She modernized St. Petersburg, corresponded with Voltaire, and gave her name to one of the most brilliant eras in Russian history. But she also waged bloody wars against the Ottoman Empire and carved up Poland.

The comparison with today’s Russia is hard to ignore. Once again, there’s a leader in the Kremlin who wants to restore greatness and influence – only now with drones instead of cavalry. The difference is that Catherine never had to explain to her subjects why young soldiers were coming home in zinc coffins. Today, images from the front lines stream directly into our living rooms, and nobody can close their eyes to the consequences of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The rescuer who dug out that little baby is named Oleksandr. He’s done it ten times before. Afterwards, he said: “I’m not whole. I’m just a man who can’t sleep until I’ve searched for the living.” That’s what Russia’s new war feels like on the ground. Not like geopolitical chess, but like an endless night filled with small, trembling flickers of light – a baby’s cry, a generator shutting down, a single penalty kick that never gets taken. And a historical echo from Catherine’s time, reminding us that power always comes at a price.