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 Ukrainian city has been jolted awake by Russian airstrikes, and once more, rescue workers are digging through concrete and broken glass with bare hands. At 3:17 a.m., a local emergency team managed to pull a tiny baby alive from the rubble. A moment of pure relief in the middle of all the horror. Because while the war between Russia and Ukraine approaches 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 run 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 that has to rebuild from scratch over and over. I’ve followed this conflict closely, and let me be blunt: this winter will be the toughest yet.
What’s happening with Russia’s national football team and the Olympics?
While the bombs fall, Russia’s national football team is fighting on a completely different pitch – the diplomatic one. The team has been kicked out of almost all international tournaments, and the chance of seeing Russian stars at a European Championship or World Cup finals anytime soon is 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 is just as murky. Sports federations are leaving the door ajar, but only for neutral athletes with no flag or anthem. Imagine running the 100‑metre final – and you’re not even allowed to point at your own nation. 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 attack on an apartment block in the Kharkiv region.
- Power cuts affect more than 200,000 households – water and heating are next in line.
- Russia’s national football 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 autocratic empress expanded the empire south and west with both shrewdness 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 hard to miss. Once again, there’s a leader in the Kremlin who wants to restore greatness and influence – only 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 line stream directly into our living rooms, and no one can close their eyes to the consequences of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
The rescue worker 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 cutting out, a single penalty kick that never gets taken. And a historical echo from Catherine’s time, showing that power always comes at a price.