Current Events

Ukraine’s commander of ground forces

13 Apr 2024 4 2

Hasan Alhasan

Inserted 2 weeks ago

“Iran may be trying to play on fears that it could obstruct shipping through the strait, a passageway of greater significance to global oil and gas supplies than the Red Sea. If Iran were to limit itself to seizing commercial vessels linked to Israel then it would minimise the risk of an all-out conflict but damage its own credibility.”

Analyst of the International Institute for Strategic Studies

13 Apr 2024 3 2

Robert Fatton

Inserted 2 weeks ago

“Will it [transitional ruling council] have the capacity to silence the guns of the armed men? How can it be installed safely, and how can it start governing in an environment of widespread insecurity?”

Professor of government and foreign affairs at the University of Virginia

12 Apr 2024 2 2

Nader Hashemi

Inserted 2 weeks ago

“Biden isn't looking for a Mideast war during an election year. The GOP [Republican Party] are another matter. If, however, Iran were to directly hit targets within Israel or an Israeli embassy somewhere in the world, then Biden would be under huge domestic pressure to respond militarily. If this should happen, we would be on the precipice of a wider regional war, and Netanyahu's plan for instigating this crisis will have come to fruition.”

Aje

Associate professor of Middle East and Islamic politics at Georgetown University

12 Apr 2024 9 3

Oleh Synehubov

Inserted 2 weeks ago

“We have a catastrophic shortage of air defence systems. Not only in the Kharkiv region, but throughout the entire country. Especially in the Kharkiv region.”

Governor of Kharkiv Oblast

12 Apr 2024 2 3

Filippo Grandi

Inserted 2 weeks ago

“Another refugee crisis from Gaza into Egypt, I can assure you, … would make the resolution of the Palestinian refugee question as a consequence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impossible.”

Aje

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

12 Apr 2024 3 1

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Attacks and hostilities have left Nasser Medical Complex, Al-Amal and Al-Khair hospitals non-functional. These facilities have no oxygen supply, water, electricity or sewage system. The team saw that the Nasser Medical Complex warehouse - which supplies many hospitals in the south - was burning, and severely damaged. It is estimated that fire has destroyed the majority of supplies, including a substantial amount of essential medicines and medical and trauma supplies provided by WHO and partners. The once robust health system in Gaza is broken. WHO and partners stand ready to support reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts, but we need a ceasefire. Nothing else can bring a lasting and humane outcome.”

Aje

Director-General of the World Health Organization

11 Apr 2024 5 1

Mason Richey

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Given his likely lame duck status, the temptation for Yoon will be to focus on foreign policy where he will still have statutory power.”

Professor at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul

11 Apr 2024 2 2

Kim Jong-un

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Now is the time to be more thoroughly prepared for a war than ever before.”

Leader of North Korea

11 Apr 2024 1 1

Samantha Power

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Food has not flowed in sufficient quantities to avoid this imminent famine in the south, and these conditions that are giving rise already to child deaths in the north.”

Aje

Director of the US Agency for International Development (USAID)

10 Apr 2024 3 1

Andrew Yeo

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“He [Yoon Suk-yeol] is unpopular as a result of the lack of real progress on domestic political and economic issues. Prices and inflation remain high, housing is expensive and political polarisation remains high.”

Professor of politics and director of Asian Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

10 Apr 2024 6 3

Phillips O’Brien

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“The Russians both seemed to draw as much Ukrainian air defence as possible to Kyiv, then spread the rest out around the country with a series of attacks. And then, when they had basically reduced Kharkiv's air defence to as small as possible, they launched a mass attack against Kharkiv's power.”

Professor of Strategic Studies at St Andrews University

10 Apr 2024 (approx) 7 2

Pedro Sánchez

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“The international community cannot help the Palestinian state if it does not recognise its existence.”

Prime Minister of Spain

10 Apr 2024 2 2

Joe Biden

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“I think what he's [Benjamin Netanyahu] doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach. So what I'm calling for is the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, a total access to all food and medicine going into the country. I've spoken to everyone from the Saudis to the Jordanians to the Egyptians. They're prepared to move this food in. There's no excuse to not provide for the medical and food needs of those people. It should be done now.”

President of the United States

09 Apr 2024 3 3

Xi Jinping

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“President Putin and I have agreed to continue to maintain close exchanges to ensure the smooth and steady development of China-Russia relations. The two sides should take the opportunity of celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties and the China-Russia Years of Culture to fully implement the important consensus reached by President Putin and me. China supports the Russian people in following a development path that suits their national conditions, and supports Russia in combating terrorism and maintaining social security and stability. China always attaches great importance to the development of China-Russia relations, and stands ready to strengthen bilateral communication with Russia and enhance multilateral strategic coordination in BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The two countries will show more responsibility, unite countries in the Global South in the spirit of equality, openness, transparency and inclusiveness, promote the reform of the global governance system, and vigorously lead the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.”

English

President of the People's Republic of China

09 Apr 2024 4 3

Cui Heng

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Some Western countries have always blamed China for its 'pro-Russia' stance, but actually we are just asking for a mechanism that can be accepted by all parties and can treat everyone equally. China's stance is based on the desire to stop the bloodshed, but the US' stance is to use the [Russia-Ukraine] conflict to weaken Russia as much as possible. The development of the crisis to some extent depends on the US presidential election later this year. If Donald Trump is elected, there will be a chance to break the deadlock, but if Joe Biden gets reelected, we might also see some changes, as Washington and its allies might not be able to afford the war anymore.”

Globaltimes

Scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation

09 Apr 2024 9 1

Li Haidong

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“China and Russia will not target any third party, but if hegemonic forces threaten China and Russia, or threaten world peace, China and Russia will stand together and fight to protect their own interests and safeguard world peace together.”

Globaltimes

Professor at the China Foreign Affairs University

09 Apr 2024 2 2

Yi Wang

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“China and Russia should always stay on the right course on major matters of principle. As permanent members of the UN Security Council and major emerging countries, China and Russia actively respond to the common aspirations and legitimate concerns of the people of all countries, advocate a new path of state-to-state relations featuring dialogue and partnership rather than confrontation and alliance, and actively promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.”

Globaltimes

State Councillor and China's foreign minister

09 Apr 2024 2 2

Josep Borrell

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Reckless drone attack against Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant increases risk of dangerous nuclear accident. Such attacks must stop. Full support for Director General Rapahel M Grossi and IAEA. Russia should withdraw from Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.”

Aje

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

09 Apr 2024 5 1

Tess Duncan

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“I visited four hospitals in the last five days, and I can tell you that every medical director has told me about the impact of the lack of resources and the lack of staff. They're running at four times capacity. Children are dying due to infections. Children are dying from malnutrition. There's just not enough staff and resources to go around. … That's why we have to rush this aid in, and that's why we need a ceasefire.”

Aje

UNICEF spokesperson

08 Apr 2024 4 2

Dmytro Kuleba

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“We are coordinating the next steps regarding the search and delivery of additional air-defense systems to Ukraine, primarily Patriot systems. I appreciate David's [David Cameron] active, results-oriented attitude.”

Foreign Minister of Ukraine

08 Apr 2024 6 3

Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Ukraine clearly lacks sufficient air-defense systems and this is evident to all of our partners. There are air-defense systems around the world that can help. Only political will is required to transfer them to Ukraine. Patriots' must now be in Ukraine, so there will be no need to use them on NATO's entire eastern flank in the future.”

President of Ukraine

07 Apr 2024 3 3

Oleksandr Syrskyi

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Highly motivated technology teams are relentlessly working to improve their products, which are already being used by our forces, and developing their start-ups based on the goal we set for them in order to enable us to achieve our tactical and strategic objectives. We're not just talking about surface- and air-based drones, but also robotised systems that can undertake tasks such as mine clearance, remotely controlled weapon stations, and other technologies that we will soon see being deployed. Our enemies are going to feel the impact. We should pay particular attention to remotely controlled weapon systems, which will soon be used in battle.”

Pravda

Ukraine’s commander of ground forces

07 Apr 2024 4 2

Li Qiang

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“U.S. should refrain from turning economic and trade issues into political or security issues and view the issue of production capacity from a market-oriented and global perspective. The development of China's clean energy sector, where overcapacity concerns are felt most acutely, will support the global energy transition.”

Chinese Premier

07 Apr 2024 4 2

Janet Yellen

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“While we have more to do, I believe that, over the past year, we have put our bilateral relationship on more stable footing. This has not meant ignoring our differences or avoiding tough conversations. It has meant understanding that we can only make progress if we directly and openly communicate with one another.”

United States Secretary of the Treasury

07 Apr 2024 2 2

Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“If they [Russia] keep hitting [Ukraine] every day the way they have for the last month, we might run out of missiles, and the partners know it.”

President of Ukraine

06 Apr 2024 2 2

Kateryna Stepanenko

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Ukraine can't exploit the high levels of attrition that Russian units suffer. Russian forces lost at least three mechanized divisions of manpower and equipment in the campaign for Avdiivka, and Ukraine was unable to counterattack around Avdiivka and exploit the conditions of Russian exhaustion. Ukraine has no choice but to dig in and try to anticipate to the best of its ability where, when, and at what intensity Russian forces will attack next.”

Cnn

Russia Deputy Team Lead and Analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington

06 Apr 2024 6 3

Matthew Schmidt

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Russia is pushing ill-manned, ill-equipped local offensives anywhere it can. But ill-manned with enough bodies might be good enough.”

Cnn

Associate professor and national security expert at the University of New Haven in Connecticut

06 Apr 2024 2 3

Andriy Yusov

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“They [Russian troops] are ready to pay bribes, which is happening on a massive scale, injure themselves or simply run away to avoid the frontline, as the chances of survival there and the number of losses…remain sky-high for Russians.”

Cnn

Ukrainian Defense Intelligence representative

06 Apr 2024 (approx) 4 3

Janet Yellen

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“China is too large to export its way to rapid growth and would benefit by reducing excess industrial capacity which is pressuring other economies. Overcapacity isn't a new problem, but it has intensified, and we're seeing emerging risks in new sectors.”

United States Secretary of the Treasury

05 Apr 2024 4 3

Jeremy Konyndyk

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Without a ceasefire, it will not be possible for aid groups to put together the kind of anti-famine operation that Gaza now requires. You can't do that solely off the backs of trucks. You need the space to operate safely, to run malnutrition treatment centres, to restore the health system, to rebuild water systems and to distribute food at large scale.”

Aje

President of Refugees International

05 Apr 2024 6 3

Erin Gore

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Their apologies for the outrageous killing of our colleagues represent cold comfort. It's cold comfort for the victims' families and WCK's global family. Israel needs to take concrete steps to assure the safety of humanitarian aid workers. Our operations remain suspended.”

Theguardian

World Central Kitchen’s chief executive

05 Apr 2024 3 1

António Guterres

Inserted 3 weeks ago

“Six months on, we are at the brink: of mass starvation; of regional conflagration; of a total loss of faith in global standards and norms. It's time to step back from that brink - to silence the guns - to ease the horrible suffering - and to stop a potential famine before it is too late.”

Aje

Secretary-general of the United Nations

05 Apr 2024 4 2

Guy Goodwin-Gill

Inserted 4 weeks ago

“There is a serious risk of genocide, as the International Court of Justice has found. If the UK, with that knowledge in mind, carries on exporting arms to Israel, there is a risk that those arms will be used in the conduct of aggressive activities and in the conduct of genocide. It's the risk that is important and the risk must be taken into account now.”

Aje

Emeritus professor for international refugee law at the University of Oxford

04 Apr 2024 3 3

Dmytro Kuleba

Inserted 4 weeks ago

“Germany, as the leader of the air defence coalition operating within the Ramstein-format group, will immediately initiate an analysis of all available Patriot systems and batteries and other air defence systems, not only among allies, but also in the world. And what can be done, what combinations can be employed to ensure that these batteries are delivered to Ukraine.”

Pravda

Foreign Minister of Ukraine

04 Apr 2024 2 3

Elliott Abrams

Inserted 4 weeks ago

“I think Iran does not want a big Israel-Hezbollah war right now, so any response will not come in the form of a big Hezbollah action. They have many other ways to respond ... for example by trying to blow up an Israeli embassy.”

Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations U.S. think tank

03 Apr 2024 3 1

Jens Stoltenberg

Inserted 4 weeks ago

“We must ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine for the long haul so that we rely less on the voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments, less on short-term offers and more on multiyear pledges. The reason why we do this is the situation on the battlefield in Ukraine. It is serious. We see how Russia is pushing, and we see how they try to win this war by just waiting us out.”

Secretary General of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

03 Apr 2024 4 3

Bassam Abu Abdallah

Inserted 1 month ago

“Before Monday there were rules of engagement, but now it's an all-out war between Israel and the resistance axis. It is now clear that the trend is towards escalation. We could start to see increased attacks against US bases in Syria, Iraq or elsewhere.”

Aje

Director of the Damascus Centre for Strategic Research

02 Apr 2024 7 1

Ali Vaez

Inserted 1 month ago

“By targeting an Iranian diplomatic facility, Israel has crossed a line. Iran's dilemma is that failure to respond could signal weakness to Israel, but retaliation risks a harsher US or Israeli action.”

Aje

International Crisis Group’s Iran Project Director and Senior Adviser to the President

02 Apr 2024 2 1

Dorsa Jabbari

Inserted 1 month ago

“If Iran doesn't respond strongly enough, many here believe it will be seen as a sign of weakness, not only to Israel and the United States, but also to a number of its proxies in the region. If Iran does react strongly, it could risk a full-out confrontation with the US. It's really a tricky moment. The rhetoric coming from Iranian officials, as well as the supreme leader, indicates there will be a strong response.”

Al Jazeera’s journalist reporting from Tehran

02 Apr 2024 2 1

Ali Khamenei

Inserted 1 month ago

“The evil Zionist regime will be punished at the hands of our brave men. We will make them regret this crime and the other ones.”

Iran’s Supreme Leader

02 Apr 2024 4 2

Antony Blinken

Inserted 1 month ago

“It is absolutely essential to get Ukrainians what they continue to need to defend themselves, particularly when it comes to munitions and air defences. It's another reason why the supplementary budget request that President [Joe] Biden has made to [the US] Congress must be fulfilled as quickly as possible.”

Aje

U.S. Secretary of State

02 Apr 2024 4 2

Sergei Shoigu

Inserted 1 month ago

“Since the start of the year, 403 square kilometres [156 square miles] … have come under our control. Russian armed forces continue to push Ukrainian units westwards. Russian forces had captured five settlements, four in Donetsk and one in Zaporizhia, over the last month.”

Aje

Russian Defence Minister

02 Apr 2024 3 2

Leif-Eric Easley

Inserted 1 month ago

“The Kim regime prioritizes advancing its military capabilities and doesn't care to stay quiet during the South Korean legislative election campaign. But firing an intermediate-range missile lacks the shock value of a full-range ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] launch or a nuclear test, so it's unlikely to swing any National Assembly seats. Although Pyongyang's weapons development remains a major concern, Seoul is currently focused on health care reform, economic policies, and domestic political scandals.”

Professor at Ewha University in Seoul

01 Apr 2024 6 4

Wolfango Piccoli

Inserted 1 month ago

“I think it's mainly about the economy and in particular the inflation...story. I think voters decided to punish Erdogan for these reasons.”

Co-president of the Teneo consultancy firm

01 Apr 2024 2 2

Benjamin Netanyahu

Inserted 1 month ago

“Calls for elections now during the war, a moment before victory, will paralyze Israel for at least six months; in my estimate, for eight months. They will paralyze the negotiations for the release of our hostages and in the end will lead to ending the war before achieving its goals, and the first to commend this will be Hamas, and that says it all.”

Prime Minister of Israel

31 Mar 2024 3 3

Peter Hawkins

Inserted 1 month ago

“Lack of food today, tomorrow, is not a big problem. It's the cumulative impact that is a big problem, because that's where destitution starts to settle in. The bigger concern is that the international community had not yet responded to 2024 food aid needs. And every day that they delay, every day it will get worse.”

UNICEF representative to Yemen

31 Mar 2024 2 1

John Bolton

Inserted 1 month ago

“Trump, when he has an idea, comes back to it again and again, then gets distracted, forgets, but eventually comes back to it and acts on it. That's why leaving Nato is a real possibility. A lot of people think it's just a negotiating tool, but I don't think so.”

Theguardian

Former US National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019

30 Mar 2024 2 3

Romain Le Cour

Inserted 1 month ago

“It is honestly outrageous to see a country and a city under total and absolute lockdown at war for a month, and there is absolutely no sign of shortage of weapons or ammunition. The weapons keep coming in, it's a never-ending story. We have to take care of the arms trafficking in Haiti, it's extremely urgent.”

Thehill

Senior expert at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

30 Mar 2024 2 2

Bernie Sanders

Inserted 1 month ago

“The US cannot beg Netanyahu to stop bombing civilians one day and the next send him thousands more 2,000-pound bombs that can level entire city blocks. We must end our complicity: No more bombs to Israel.”

Vermont Senator

29 Mar 2024 3 3

Felix Ndahinda

Inserted 1 month ago

“I don't see this [granting the mandate to combat M23 rebels to a force comprising southern African nations, SADECO] as a stabilising intervention, at most, it will postpone the issue because there is no one military solution. Structural weaknesses in governance, lack of state presence in remote regions and interethnic rivalries, are among causes that the state is failing to address. In the last 30 years, different interventions have been addressing partial symptoms of the problem rather than looking at the full picture - till that is not done, you can only postpone, but not resolve, the issue.”

Researcher on conflict in the Great Lakes Region

29 Mar 2024 5 1

Annalena Baerbock

Inserted 1 month ago

“He [Putin] makes it more than clear that he is beyond the reach of rational arguments and the values of humanity. And he definitely doesn't want to negotiate. If Putin wins in Ukraine, our security and international order will be at risk. Ukraine's support is our own guarantee of security.”

Aje

Foreign Minister of Germany

29 Mar 2024 4 2

Fumio Kishida

Inserted 1 month ago

“Realizing a fruitful relationship between Japan and North Korea is aligned with the interests of both sides.”

Aa

Japanese Prime Minister

28 Mar 2024 1 1

Andrei Soldatov

Inserted 1 month ago

“The problem is to actually be able to prevent terrorist attacks, you need to have a really good and efficient system of intelligence sharing and intelligence gathering. Trust is needed inside the home agency and with agencies of other countries, as is good coordination. That's where you have problems.”

Expert on Russian intelligence

28 Mar 2024 3 1

Dmitry Peskov

Inserted 1 month ago

“All war crimes [committed] by the Kyiv regime are thoroughly documented. We were well aware of these crimes. And, of course, we will make sure that those behind these crimes are duly punished.”

Aje

Kremlin spokesman

28 Mar 2024 1 1

Timothy Snyder

Inserted 1 month ago

“The terrorists' car was stopped near Bryansk, which is in western Russia, and so vaguely near Ukraine, which means that the four Tajiks in a Renault were intending to cross the Ukrainian border, which means that they had Ukrainian backers, which means that it was a Ukrainian operation, which means that the Americans were behind it. The reasoning here leaves something to be desired. And the series of associations rests on no factual basis.”

Levin Professor of History at Yale

28 Mar 2024 5 1

Bintou Keita

Inserted 1 month ago

“One Congolese person out of four faces hunger and malnutrition. More than 7.1 million people have been displaced in the country. That is 800,000 people more since my last briefing three months ago. The armed group [M23] is making significant advances and expanding its territory to unprecedented levels.”

Head of the UN’s DRC peacekeeping mission MONUSCO

27 Mar 2024 3 1

Vladimir Putin

Inserted 1 month ago

“We have no aggressive intentions towards these states. The idea that we will attack some other country - Poland, the Baltic States, and the Czechs are also being scared - is complete nonsense. It's just drivel. If they supply F-16s, and they are talking about this and are apparently training pilots, this will not change the situation on the battlefield. And we will destroy the aircraft just as we destroy today tanks, armoured vehicles and other equipment, including multiple rocket launchers. Of course, if they will be used from airfields in third countries, they become for us legitimate targets, wherever they might be located.”

President of Russia

27 Mar 2024 5 4

Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Inserted 1 month ago

“Bolstering Ukraine's air defence and expediting the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine are vital tasks. There are no rational explanations for why Patriots, which are plentiful around the world, are still not covering the skies of Kharkiv and other cities.”

President of Ukraine

27 Mar 2024 4 3

Ana Piquer

Inserted 1 month ago

“Reducing gang violence by replacing it with state violence cannot be a success. The Salvadoran government had adopted disproportionate measures, denying, minimising and concealing human rights violations. Bukele had created a false illusion that he had found the magic formula to solve the very complex problems of violence and criminality in a seemingly simple way. The international community must respond in a robust, articulate and forceful manner, condemning any model of public security that is based on human rights violations.”

Amnesty’s Americas director

27 Mar 2024 6 3

Xi Jinping

Inserted 1 month ago

“China is building a first-class business environment that is market oriented. In traditional areas like trade and new ones such as climate change and artificial intelligence, China and the United States should become boosters for each other's development, not obstructions on each other.”

President of the People's Republic of China

27 Mar 2024 5 2

Benjamin Netanyahu

Inserted 1 month ago

“I thought the US decision in the Security Council was a very, very bad move. The worst part about it was that it encouraged Hamas to take a hard line and to believe that international pressure will prevent Israel from freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas. It [the cancellation of a planned visit to Washington by Israeli top aides] was a message first and foremost to Hamas: 'Don't bet on this pressure, it's not going to work'. I hope they got the message.”

Aje

Prime Minister of Israel

27 Mar 2024 5 3

Lloyd Austin

Inserted 1 month ago

“Gaza is suffering a humanitarian catastrophe, and the situation is getting even worse. And we need immediate increases in assistance to avert famine, and our work to open a temporary humanitarian corridor by sea will help, but the key is still expanding aid deliveries by land.”

US Secretary of Defense

26 Mar 2024 6 4

Alexander Lukashenko

Inserted 1 month ago

“They [terrorists] could not enter Belarus in any way. They understood that. And so they turned around and went to the section of the Ukrainian-Russian border. As soon as the heads of state received information from special services that the car transporting the terrorists was moving towards Bryansk, an agreement was reached that Belarus would block its section of the alleged criminal movement, while Russia would block its own.”

Pravda

President of Belarus

26 Mar 2024 4 1

James Bays

Inserted 1 month ago

“I think what is slowly developing is global isolation and condemnation for Israel, it's developing into a situation where it could become a pariah state. Go back to apartheid in South Africa - that country was eventually suspended from the United Nations, for 20 years it wasn't even let to take part in UN activities. And I think it's that sort of isolation and global disdain that Israel might be facing, and it's exactly that that this weekend the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Prime Minister Netanyahu of when he talked about the possible Rafah offensive.”

Aje

Al Jazeera’s diplomatic editor

26 Mar 2024 5 2

Daniel Hoffman

Inserted 1 month ago

“You can't do everything. You dial up the pressure on the locals and sometimes you don't get the intelligence you need on a potential terrorist attack. That's where they failed. It's possible they're overextended dealing with the war in Ukraine and dealing with political opposition. This one slipped through the cracks.”

Former senior CIA operations officer who served as the agency’s Moscow station chief

25 Mar 2024 2 1

Leonid Ragozin

Inserted 1 month ago

“So will Russians blame Putin for failing to avert the tragedy? Collective psychology is notoriously unpredictable. Some may, but it is unlikely that anything would come of it. Even without this attack, it has been clear to the Russian population that the period of stability, security and economic growth that Putin has been lauded for is long over. War is literally at the door with Ukrainian forces conducting incursions into Russian territory, sending drones to strike oil refineries and destroying Russian battleships in the Black Sea.”

Freelance journalist based in Riga

25 Mar 2024 8 3

Vladimir Putin

Inserted 1 month ago

“We know that the crime was committed by the hands of radical Islamists, whose ideology the Islamic world itself has been fighting for centuries. This atrocity may be just a link in a whole series of attempts by those who have been at war with our country since 2014 with the hands of the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime. Of course, it is necessary to answer the question, 'Why after committing the crime the terrorists tried to go to Ukraine?' Who was waiting for them there?”

President of Russia

25 Mar 2024 3 2

Robert Muggah

Inserted 1 month ago

“Haiti's borders are porous to all manner of contraband, including illegal firearms and ammunition. A combination of political and economic elite, gangs and private security companies are procuring weapons from a variety of sources and bringing them into the country on clandestine flights, packed into shipping freight, and carried by mules across the land border. With criminal gangs controlling key access and distribution points across the country - including ports, warehouses, and roads - they are able to move product with impunity.”

Co-founder of the Igarape Institute, a Brazil-based think tank

25 Mar 2024 5 3

Bezalel Smotrich

Inserted 1 month ago

“Our relationship with the US has always been one of partners, but not of a patron state. This is not the first time that an Israeli government has been required to make decisions contrary to the US government's position. Israel will not stop its war on Gaza until Hamas is destroyed and all of its captives held there are returned.”

Aje

Finance Minister of Israel

25 Mar 2024 6 3

Gilad Erdan

Inserted 1 month ago

“It is harmful to these efforts because it gives Hamas terrorists hope to get a ceasefire without releasing the hostages. All members of the council … should have voted against this shameless resolution. The resolution says that taking civilians is in violation of international law. Yet on the other hand, despite the fact that you know Hamas won't listen to your calls and release the hostages, you demand a ceasefire. Take a moment and think about this moral contradiction.”

Aje

Israel Ambassador to the United Nations

25 Mar 2024 3 2

Amar Bendjama

Inserted 1 month ago

“I would like to thank all the council members for their flexibility and the constructive way that allowed us today to adopt this long-awaited resolution. [A] resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in order to put an end to the massacres that unfortunately are still ongoing over the five months. This bloodbath has continued for far too long.”

Aje

Permanent Representative of Algeria to the United Nations

25 Mar 2024 5 1

Dmitry Peskov

Inserted 1 month ago

“The investigation is underway. So far, no versions have been put forward at all. Unfortunately, our world shows that no city, no country can be completely immune from the threat of terrorism. Special services worked tirelessly to defend Russia. The fight against terrorism is an ongoing process that requires full-scale international cooperation. But you can see that now in this most acute confrontational period, such cooperation is not being fully carried out in any way.”

Kremlin spokesman

25 Mar 2024 1 1

Andras Toth-Czifra

Inserted 1 month ago

“Russian security personnel have been trained to look at specific, politically important 'threats,'. Due to resource/time/manpower constraints this means that they have less capacity to look at and prevent actual threats.”

Fellow with the Eurasia Program at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute

24 Mar 2024 (approx) 1 1

Patrick Bury

Inserted 1 month ago

“Zelenskyy himself said that Russia has won the winter, and I think the momentum has shifted to the Russian forces on the ground at least. Adviivka is proof of that. The big question now is whether there is something brewing in probably the month of May once the mud starts to dry in that area of Ukraine. So we will have to wait and see. The Russians will be doing their absolute best to camouflage any kind of troop build-up if a spring offensive is on the cards.”

Efence and security analyst at the University of Bath

24 Mar 2024 3 1

Riccardo Valle

Inserted 1 month ago

“The success by the Afghan Taliban didn't change the degree of threat that the Islamic State Khorasan posed in Afghanistan. It simply forced the Islamic State to shift its military tactics.”

Director of research at the Khorasan Diary, a research platform based in Islamabad

24 Mar 2024 4 1

Asfandyar Mir

Inserted 1 month ago

“ISIS-K has long been motivated by the logic of outbidding in its attacks. It seeks to outperform rival jihadis by carrying out more audacious attacks to distinguish its jihadi brand and assert leadership of the global jihadi vanguard.”

Senior expert on South Asia security at the U.S. Institute of Peace

24 Mar 2024 5 1

Alexander Vershbow

Inserted 1 month ago

“It seems kind of unbelievable that Russian security services missed this. Clearly, it was an intelligence failure for this to happen in such a prominent venue right on the beltway of Moscow, and to have such a serious death toll despite those small number of terrorists that appear to have actually perpetrated the act. The Russians may choose to link this [terrorist attack] to their war against the collective West and hold the U.S. and its Ukrainian proxies - as they might call them - ultimately responsible. I wouldn't be at all surprised. If they decide to emphasize the U.S. and Ukraine link, then I think we can anticipate very harsh measures at home in the wake of this intelligence failure.”

Former U.S. envoy to Moscow, analyst at the Atlantic Council

23 Mar 2024 5 2

Vladimir Putin

Inserted 1 month ago

“We are counting here on cooperation with all countries that genuinely share our pain and are ready, in their deeds, to truly unite our efforts in the fight against the common enemy of international terrorism. The main thing now is to prevent those who were behind this bloody massacre from committing new crimes.”

President of Russia

23 Mar 2024 2 2

Colin Clarke

Inserted 1 month ago

“ISIS-K has been fixated on Russia for the past two years. ISIS-K accuses the Kremlin of having Muslim blood in its hands, referencing Moscow's interventions in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria.”

Senior research fellow at the US-based Soufan Centre

23 Mar 2024 4 2

António Guterres

Inserted 1 month ago

“Here from this crossing, we see the heartbreak and heartlessness of it all. A long line of blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates, the long shadow of starvation on the other. That is more than tragic. It is a moral outrage.”

Secretary-general of the United Nations

23 Mar 2024 4 2

Vladimir Putin

Inserted 1 month ago

“They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border. All the perpetrators, organisers and those who ordered this crime will be justly and inevitably punished. Whoever they are, whoever is guiding them. We will identify and punish everyone who stands behind the terrorists, who prepared this atrocity, this strike against Russia, against our people.”

President of Russia

23 Mar 2024 3 1

Nikolay Mitrokhin

Inserted 1 month ago

“The Friday attack showed complete impotence of Russia's special services, national guard and the entire law enforcement system. Where are the helicopters for speedy deployment to critical sites in the metropolitan conditions of Moscow? Where are the armed vehicles? Where are these pumped-up stern guys from [promotional] videos? We know where they are - burned down with their vehicles on the roads of the Kyiv region, sitting in underground holes near Donetsk or patrolling the Luhansk region … not where the real danger is but there the crazy president decided to wage a war.”

Research Fellow at Bremen University

23 Mar 2024 1 1

Alisher Ilkhamov

Inserted 1 month ago

“Very probably, Russian special services knew about [the attack] beforehand, and, possibly, they directed it pursuing political goals - to possibly discredit Ukraine, justify a new wave of mobilisation and tighten the screws in general. One just has to ask a question - who will benefit? I'm somewhat doubtful that ISIL has any serious interests in Russia. Putin, on the other hand, does gain from the attack. To become a victim of ISIL is to trigger sympathies worldwide. This is some sort of a public relations [trick] to improve [Russia's] international reputation. So, there's a whole bunch of benefits for Putin's regime. Of course, that cost the lives of his citizens - that he spits on.”

Head of Central Asia Due Diligence, a think tank in London

23 Mar 2024 4 1

Dmitry Kolezev

Inserted 1 month ago

“The intelligence services are focused on political investigation and intimidation of citizens. They do not fulfill their direct responsibility to protect society from real threats. The March 22 attack at the Crocus City Hall looks like a grandiose failure on the part of the state. Fantastic amounts of money are spent on 'security,' but in reality, this security is not provided.”

Russian political observer

22 Mar 2024 4 2

Egna Sidumo

Inserted 1 month ago

“More and more fighters of different nationalities - mainly Congolese, Ugandans, and Tanzanians, but also Kenyans and South Africans - are streaming into Cabo Delgado. There is only one solution: an increased international cooperation between security forces.”

Northafricapost

Mozambican security expert

22 Mar 2024 7 2

Antony Blinken

Inserted 1 month ago

“On the resolution, which got very strong support, but then was cynically vetoed by Russia and China, I think we were trying to show the international community a sense of urgency about getting a ceasefire.”

U.S. Secretary of State

22 Mar 2024 5 2

Benjamin Netanyahu

Inserted 1 month ago

“I told him [Antony Blinken] that I hope we will do it with the support of the US, but if we have to - we will do it alone [sending troops into the southern Gaza city of Rafah].”

Prime Minister of Israel

22 Mar 2024 5 2

Charles Michel

Inserted 1 month ago

“We are not intimidated by Russia. And we think this is fair, that the revenues of those foreign assets will be used for Ukraine because they are victim of this aggression launched by Russia.”

Aje

President of the European Council

22 Mar 2024 5 5

Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett

Inserted 1 month ago

“To whom is the demand for compliance with obligations under international law [addressed to?] … Who is preventing the use of all available routes to the Gaza Strip? Who does not respect deconfliction and notification mechanisms? We know the answers to these questions … Why then were the relevant demands in this resolution not clearly addressed to the occupying power, not even once?”

Aje

Permanent Representative of Guyana to the United Nations

22 Mar 2024 4 2

Dmitry Peskov

Inserted 1 month ago

“We are at war. Indeed, it started as a special military operation but as soon as a clique was formed and the collective West joined in on Ukraine's side, it turned into war for us. I am convinced of that. Everyone should understand this to summon up inner strength.”

Kremlin spokesman

22 Mar 2024 4 3

Gabrielius Landsbergis

Inserted 1 month ago

“We choked the weapons supply, we failed to provide enough air defence, and now we ask Ukrainians to sit on their hands while cruise missiles land on their families. Such mistakes are setting the course of the entire century. And there is no justification for any of this.”

Aje

Lithuania's foreign minister

22 Mar 2024 7 2

Josep Borrell

Inserted 1 month ago

“Russia continues its brutal attacks against Ukraine's population with overnight drone and missile bombing of energy infrastructures, killing and wounding dozens, jeopardizing the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. This must stop! All responsible will be held to account.”

Aje

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

22 Mar 2024 3 3

Sergei Shoigu

Inserted 1 month ago

“After the start of operation of the new facilities, the volume of production actually increased by almost 2.5 times. If we talk about the manufacture of artillery ammunition, the volume of production of components for this ammunition has been increased almost 22 times; 75 percent of components are being restored.”

Aje

Russian Defence Minister

21 Mar 2024 2 2

Volodymyr Zelenskiy

Inserted 1 month ago

“Every day and every night there is such terror. The world's unity can stop it when it helps us with air defence systems. Now we need this defence here in Ukraine.”