The Insider in English

29/08/2025

▪️German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has reached the 100-day milestone of his tenure in very weak political form. Sixty-seven percent of respondents are dissatisfied with the work of the CDU leader, and the ruling party has ceded first place in the polls to the far-right Alternative for Germany.

This result is significantly worse than the first 100 days of both Olaf Scholz and Angela Merkel. Experts believe the problem is not Merz himself, but the fact that Germany as a whole is in a deep political, economic, institutional, and moral crisis.

Moreover, the social divide may prove more dangerous than the economic problems, and the consequences are likely to be felt as early as 2026 in elections at various levels.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has reached the 100-day milestone of his tenure in very weak political form. Sixty-seven percent of respondents are dissatisfied with the work of the CDU leader, and the ruling party has ceded first place in the polls to the far-right Alternative for Germany. This re...

26/08/2025

Since the early days of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army has depended on volunteers to source many items of basic kit — from uniforms and warm socks to thermal imagers and drones. In recent months, however, even the most driven among those collecting aid for “participants in the special military operation” increasingly speak of disappointment and fatigue. The Russian population is weary of the war, and many are pinning their hopes on a quick truce. In Russia’s border regions, the Russian troops are seen as no less of a threat than the Ukrainians, since they place military facilities in residential areas. The Insider spoke with volunteers who, since 2022, have been buying equipment, gear, and other aid for the army.

Since the early days of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army has depended on volunteers to source many items of basic kit — from uniforms and warm socks to thermal imagers and drones. In recent months, however, even the most driven among those collecting aid for “participants in ...

22/08/2025

Less than total chaos: Trump’s hectic Russia diplomacy has improved Western unity.

Trump is fast-tracking preparations for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, Europeans are holding consultations on a daily basis, the Russian commander-in-chief is calling other heads of state to brief them on his talks with his U.S. counterpart, and even the Pope has urged that August 22 be declared a day of prayer for peace in Ukraine. After their abortive get together in Alaska, it seemed that Putin had once again succeeded in manipulating Trump, notes Ukrainian analyst Georgiy Chizhov, head of the Center for Reform Assistance.

But as negotiations unfold, Trump is leaning closer to Europe, and U.S. policy has become far less accommodating toward Russia than it was just six months ago.

Trump is fast-tracking preparations for a meeting between Putin and Zelensky, Europeans are holding consultations on a daily basis, the Russian commander-in-chief is calling other heads of state to brief them on his talks with his U.S. counterpart, and even the Pope has urged that August 22 be decla...

18/08/2025

Chianti from Medvedev, Montepulciano by Yakunin, and Merlot à la Mikhalkov: A brief guide to the Italian vineyards of Putin’s inner circle.

Members of the Kremlin elite — including Vladimir Putin’s former KGB colleagues, his political allies, and his business partners from among the Malyshev and Tambov criminal groups — still own luxurious vineyards in Italy. Despite openly supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine and profiting from state corruption, many of them have not been placed under international sanctions. Meanwhile, their vineyards have received over €1 million in European Union subsidies over the past decade.

Members of the Kremlin elite — including Vladimir Putin’s former KGB colleagues, his political allies, and his business partners from among the Malyshev and Tambov criminal groups — still own luxurious vineyards in Italy. Despite openly supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine and profiting f...

15/08/2025

The war has reshaped everyday life in Russia.

Prices have surged, wages have grown, and contract soldiers on the front are earning sums the regions had never seen before. Yet the divide between the country’s most developed regions and its poorest is only expanding. Comparing life across Russia is also becoming harder, as official statistics are increasingly hidden from public view. The Insider has sifted through what data remains available and found stark imbalances in economic growth, quality of life, and household prosperity. Regional inequality has already become a key factor driving economic and social tensions.

The war has reshaped everyday life in Russia. Prices have surged, wages have grown, and contract soldiers on the front are earning sums the regions had never seen before. Yet the divide between the country’s most developed regions and its poorest is only expanding. Comparing life across Russia is ...

11/08/2025

“Everyone wants me to pick a fight with my cousin”: Nate Vance on war, family politics, and the fight for Ukraine

In the conversation with The Insider, Nate Vance stressed that he wants what is best — both for America and for Ukraine.

Having spent nearly three years on the ground in the latter, he can speak with authority about the types of foreign assistance that can benefit the Ukrainian war effort the most, and about the greater national security threat that Vladimir Putin’s Russia poses to the administration in Washington.

A few thousand foreign military volunteers are still on the ground in Ukraine, fighting to defend the democratic state against Russian aggression. Before his cousin was sworn in as Vice President of the United States, retired Marine Nate Vance was one of them. Although Vance and his famous relative,...

11/08/2025

‼️📹 How Russia recycles its war prisoners

Back from Ukrainian captivity, thousands of Russian soldiers are placed under surveillance — then pushed back into assault units. Many never make it home.

▶️ Full investigation here:

In May and June, more than 1000 Russian POWs were repatriated as part of prisoner exchanges with Ukraine. Many had spent over a year in captivity, dreaming o...

29/07/2025

❗️ The Kremlin’s laundromat: Billionaire Moldovan fraudster Vladimir Plahotniuc repeatedly flew to Moscow for secret high-level talks

The oligarch, recently arrested in Greece, used a fake passport to visit Russia and meet Kremlin official Dmitry Kozak.

Billionaire Vladimir Plahotniuc, who was recently arrested in Greece in connection with the “Moldovan laundromat” case, regularly visited Moscow using a passport that bears a false name, flight records and copies of documents that are available to The Insider show. Additionally, according to wir...

22/07/2025

“They tied me to a chair with duct tape and started torturing me with electricity”: Testimonies of Ukrainian women abducted by Russia

As part of peace talks in 2025, Russia and Ukraine carried out two large-scale prisoner exchanges. However, Ukrainian civilians convicted in Russia on charges of “espionage” or “treason” are rarely included on the exchange lists, even as hundreds of people continue to go missing in Russian-o...

22/07/2025

‼️Russia is recruiting schoolchildren to make drones used against Ukrainian civilians under the guise of "education."

In this video, The Insider documents several shocking testimonies from children involved in drone production.

Watch the full investigation on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lsHBJRyCzNo?si=GXZ4vKqBs9rByXEo

01/07/2025

The ideology of modern Iran not only denies Israel’s right to exist — it openly demonizes the Jewish state.

Antisemitic rhetoric has become so intrinsic to official Tehran that it’s easy to imagine the two countries have always been adversaries. In reality, the hatred toward Israel stems from propaganda that began to be actively promoted following Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Back then, the aim was not to wipe Israel off the map, but to create among the Iranian population the impression that the regime was protecting them against an external enemy.

The ideology of modern Iran not only denies Israel’s right to exist — it openly demonizes the Jewish state. Antisemitic rhetoric has become so intrinsic to official Tehran that it’s easy to imagine the two countries have always been adversaries. In reality, the hatred toward Israel stems from ...