Russia at war, at the Olympics, and on the field: 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 Russia’s airstrikes, and once more rescue workers are digging through concrete and broken glass with their bare hands. At 3:17 a.m., a team from the local emergency service managed to pull a tiny baby alive out of 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 blast. 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 again and again. I’ve been following this conflict closely, and let me be blunt: this winter is going to be the harshest yet.
What’s happening with Russia’s national football team and the Olympics?
While the bombs are falling, Russia’s national football 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 in the near future is absolutely zero. It’s a huge contrast to the days when Shchennikov and company filled stadiums with red, white, and blue.
And what about Russia at the Olympics? The situation there is just as muddy. Sports federations are keeping the door ajar, but only for neutral athletes with no flag or anthem. Imagine running the 100-metre final – and then not even being allowed to point to your own nation. For most Russian athletes, it feels like second-class participation, but for some, it’s the only path to the top. The question is whether sport can ever be separated from politics when Russia’s military machine is thundering across Eastern Europe.
- Dead and wounded after the latest drone strike on a residential block in the Kharkiv region.
- Power cuts affect over 200,000 households – water and heating are next in line.
- Russia’s national football team now only plays friendly matches against countries like Iran and Syria.
- Russia at the Olympics in Paris 2024: only 15 neutral participants – a historic low.
Catherine the Great of Russia – an empress in wartime
When you talk about Russia’s historical dreams of power, Catherine the Great of Russia always comes up. The German princess who became an absolute empress expanded the empire south and west with both wisdom and an iron fist. She modernised 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 impossible to ignore. Once again there is a leader in the Kremlin who wants to restore greatness and influence – just with drones instead of cavalry. The difference is that Catherine never had to explain to her subjects why young soldiers came home in zinc coffins. Today, images from the front flow directly into our living rooms, and no one 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 how Russia’s new war feels 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, showing that power always comes at a price.