Who’s Winning Putin’s War?
Four-and-a-half years in, the front line has barely moved. But the war’s centre of gravity has shifted skyward and seaward. This month alone, Ukrainian drones struck the Tatarstan city of Nizhnekamsk, over a thousand kilometres from the border, killing more than a dozen and setting an oil refinery ablaze. It was among the deadliest single strikes on Russian soil since the invasion began, part of Kyiv’s sustained campaign to bleed Moscow’s fuel supply and expose the fragility of its air defences. Russia’s response has been to intensify what the UN now calls one of the deadliest stretches for Ukrainian civilians since the war’s early months, with ballistic missiles pounding Kyiv and other cities faster than depleted Patriot stocks can intercept them. The Black Sea has become its own theatre of attrition. Russia has effectively revived a blockade by other means, striking grain carriers and Odesa’s port infrastructure until insurers and shipowners stopped calling. Ukraine has answered in kind, hitting Russian grain terminals at Novorossiysk and vessels tied to Moscow’s own export trade. Neither side is winning, but both are inflicting real economic pain. Nobody can tell if that translates into future leverage or simply more suffering. As Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov says, Putin can destroy Ukraine but he can no longer conquer it.
No One Listens to the Megaphone
Truth Social is the victim of irony. The platform's most famous user posts prolifically, moves markets with a single message, and dominates headlines. Yet fewer people are visiting to read him. Monthly visitor numbers have fallen by roughly a third compared with last year, even as rivals like X and Threads see traffic climb. The gap between Trump’s rhetorical omnipresence and his platform’s shrinking audience perhaps suggests a structural problem. Part of the explanation lies in how his words now circulate. Screenshots and summaries spread instantly on other networks and news outlets, meaning most people encounter his views second-hand. There is little incentive to visit a site with limited features and a smaller social ecosystem when the content reaches you anyway. The business consequences are harder to ignore. Trump Media’s parent company continues to post heavy losses, worsened by a slump in its crypto holdings. Its advertising revenue remains negligible. The recent decision to sell trading firms early access to presidential posts looks less like innovation and more like an attempt to monetise influence that the platform has failed to convert into sustained engagement. A loud voice does not guarantee a loyal audience.
The Human Fridge
As Japan wilts under repeated 38°C heat alerts, two firms, vending-machine maker SDRS and industrial supplier Trusco Nakayama, have unveiled the Do Hiemon, a stainless-steel cabin dubbed the “human fridge”. Users sit inside as jets of air chilled to around 5°C blast the head, neck and shoulders; makers say noticeable relief comes within five minutes, with a 10-minute session easing heat-exhaustion symptoms. Priced near 1.5 million yen, it targets outdoor and factory workers rather than households, with interest reportedly coming from as far as Germany and the US. It joins a growing arsenal—fan-jackets, neck coolers—as Japan’s summers turn more brutal.