Luke Johnson

Another story impossible to imagine in any other administration: the president's son goes hunting with a Russian criminal who is part of Putin's security entourage

Great to speak with @markleongoldberg.bsky.social about the Trump pivot to Russia today. We discussed whether the midterm elections might change anything w/Ukraine, and why “following the money” is a good strategy to see where the Trump Adm. goes on Russia. publicsphere.news/p/what-happe...

Trump's second term legacy isn't ICE, DOGE, or Greenland. I argue that the organizing principle has been self-enrichment. open.substack.com/pub/publicsp...

👀"At one point, Guilfoyle called Matthew Boyle, Washington bureau chief of conservative media outlet Breitbart News, for help to lobby administration officials on her behalf, according to people familiar with the matter." www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

"On Oct. 13, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s “partners” did not warn about a ballistic missile attack on Kyiv, which began before air-raid sirens sounded. The U.S. has warned Ukraine of past incoming attacks through intelligence sharing." publicsphere.news/p/trump-is-t...

Why is Trump trying to get Ukraine to surrender? Kyiv isn't losing. substack.com/home/post/p-...

"Trump granted Putin a reprieve from sanctions for nothing: no withdrawal of troops from occupied Ukraine, no cease-fire, and no agreement to stop striking Ukraine’s power and heating infrastructure." publicsphere.news/p/ukrainian-...

My latest substack is here: "Trump granted Putin a reprieve from sanctions for nothing: no withdrawal of troops from occupied Ukraine, no cease-fire, and no agreement to stop striking Ukraine’s power and heating infrastructure." publicsphere.news/p/ukrainian-...

In both cases, the images are apocalyptic. Such daily violence goes beyond what the mind can comprehend. The Russian side’s disregard for human life is blatant and, for those of us living under the daily threat of attack, terrifying. 3/

who among us hasn’t asked someone to wire 100k to their AmEx account in a way that wouldn’t leave a paper trail? www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

I wish I were surprised. It was a turning point in Russia's turn towards autocracy, in that an investigative journalist was murdered with very few consequences.

Ukrainians hit the largest oil depot in Moscow this morning in a massive drone attack meduza.io/en/news/2026...

New newsletter: is the multibillion-dollar oil deal brought up by Putin in the Kremlin a 'win-win' for Kushner and Witkoff? publicsphere.news/p/was-this-t...

JUST POSTED: Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have pushed a multibillion oil deal with Russia as part of peace talks that will bring profits to their family business partners. A new front for Trump-era conflicts of interest. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/u...

It appears that the National Guard shot and killed an unarmed man (in the back). www.bbc.com/news/article...

Trump invited Putin to the G-20 in balmy Miami this December. Meanwhile, Putin plans to freeze Ukrainians by cutting off 90% of the power supply in big cities and targeting water and sewage plants. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/w...

This is state barbarism.

Too funny. Also Jack Smith looks kinda like Dr. Robby from The Pitt

Important conversation with @emmanuellechaze.com on the humanitarian catastrophe in #Oleshky publicsphere.news/p/q-and-a-59...

Please do join in about 90 minutes at open.substack.com/live-stream/...?

Barbaric. an attack on a civilian target in the very center of Kyiv with people climbing out of windows to avoid being burned alive.

So, in Russian-occupied Oleshky, people are boiling soup from grass and eating dogs; there are reports of people starving to death. Russia is completely blocking people from leaving the city and preventing humanitarian aid from getting in. Today it became known that Ukrainian drones...

Trump's leverage in the world has greatly diminished. My weekly NL: publicsphere.news/p/the-incred...

Call me naive but what is the U.S. government doing funding political ads?

the pattern in these cases is when openAI doesn't get what it wants from open sources, it hacks into the system to get the information. dystopian. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/t...

Zelensky says Kyiv receives interceptors from partners *one or two at a time,* reliant on direct, personal negotiations with national leaders. He argues that only the US could help on a large scale and has asked Trump for more, despite shortages that are only getting worse. t.me/RBC_ua_news/...

I was on this trip to Georgia in 2024 and we met with the very brave organizers of Tbilisi Pride. Tugba should be freed immediately. She was arrested for simply interviewing them for a news story.

In his mind, Trump’s comparison of calls for greater AI regulation to global warming is clear: he thinks both are conspiracies designed to hinder U.S. economic growth. www.bbc.com/news/article...

just another Watergate, every day.

I wasn't going to write a 9/11 anniversary piece, but late yesterday, I realized that the military adventurism abroad and security state at home that was created after has reached its apex in Trump's 2nd term. publicsphere.news/p/how-the-us...

Today is the 4th anniversary of the liberation of Izium. Back then, authorities uncovered mass graves where Russia had buried 447 bodies: mostly civilians, 215 women, 194 men & 5 children, as well as 22 Ukrainian soldiers. A sight I will never forget. That was my report👇 www.dw.com/en/ukraine-w...

I predict that the Witkoff-Kushner trip to Kyiv will never happen. It is like Lucy and the football. kyivindependent.com/trump-envoys...

My latest on the Leipzig attacks and Berlin's response: "For Germany and Europe, time is running out to respond to these Russian attacks before the frog is boiled and they become the new normal." publicsphere.news/p/boiling-th...

This is reporting of the Visual Investigations team (@malachy.bsky.social + editors) and NYT international and DC colleagues: Farnaz Fassihi, Erika Solomon, @johnismay.bsky.social, Sanam Mahoozi, Adam Rasgon, Leily Nikounazar and Josh Holder. Gift link to article: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/v...

Notable that Germany eventually pointed the finger at Russia. However, most of these responses -- closing Bonn consulate / Berlin cultural center -- are too minor or too vague, like harsher action against Russia's shadow fleet. www.bbc.com/news/article...

It's not Putin "plans to" escalate. He's already escalating with daytime jet-powered Shahed attacks on Kyiv, attempts at sabotaging Ukrainian cargo in NATO territory, sending drones into Romania www.economist.com/europe/2026/...

Reupping my interview published at the end of the week with historian Timothy Ryback about how Hitler dismantled a democracy in 53 days. His message is that in 1933 and now, elections have consequences. publicsphere.news/p/q-and-a-ho...

Here's my interview with historian Timothy Ryback about his new book, "53 Days: How Hitler Dismantled a Democracy.” We discussed how the 1933 election has a comparison with the upcoming midterm elections and this past spring's elections that unseated Viktor Orban. publicsphere.news/p/q-and-a-ho...

attention: free speech absolutists www.nytimes.com/2026/08/26/u...

Color me skeptical that John Ratcliffe's reported warning to Moscow not to attack NATO countries is very effective, when his boss, Donald Trump, has consistently cast doubt on whether the US would actually come to the defense of its NATO allies.

It isn't publicly known why CIA Director John Ratcliffe made a surprise visit to Moscow. However, it is worrying because former CIA Director Bill Burns made a similar visit in late 2021 warning Putin against launching a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. www.wsj.com/world/cia-di...

Trump believes that weaker nations will capitulate to him because the U.S. is stronger. International affairs doesn't work like that, and Canada and Iran are showing the limits of this approach. publicsphere.news/p/in-canada-...