Today we found ourselves in the rare position of leading with good news. Moldova—tiny, fragile, long in Moscow’s shadow—has delivered a surprise: voters rejected Russia’s hybrid warfare and handed a solid majority to the pro-EU camp of President Maia Sandu. This is nothing short of an existential declaration.
But even this victory carries a caveat: will the European Union seize the moment? Moldova is small enough to absorb without the usual decades of wrangling. Yet the EU, forever hesitant, dithers. Russia is already innovating new tricks: bomb threats against diaspora polling stations in Italy, Spain, Romania, even the U.S. Moscow knows the diaspora leans West, so the goal is to frighten them into silence. It is a playbook worth remembering for our own elections.
From there, our conversation turned to Trump’s sudden insistence that Ukraine might win back all its lost territory. Generals doubt it. NATO doubts it. The only certainty is that when Trump says something—however ignorant, inconsistent, or self-serving—the world must pay attention. Was he nudged by King Charles, as rumor has it? Possibly. Does it mean NATO arms might flow more freely? Perhaps. But for Ukraine truly to win, Putin must agree to lose, and nothing in his history suggests that is likely.
This segued into the more surprising: signs of a Syrian regime trying to present itself as… reasonable. Damascus now invited a Jewish delegation, appoints unveiled women to government, and projects moderation. Skepticism towar Ahmed al-Sharaa is healthy—but it is remarkable enough to note.
Then back to Gaza, where Trump’s 21-point plan has entered the debate. It is said to have Blair’s fingerprints, and in essence it demands Hamas disarm while offering a technocratic transition backed by Arab states. If Netanyahu accepted it, the burden would shift squarely onto Hamas. That, of course, is why Netanyahu hesitates—because his coalition relies on prolonging the war. We may know more after the White House meeting in a few hours.
Finally, Venezuela. Here the Trump White House seems ready to escalate from posturing to strikes. The logic is murky — narcotics interdiction? Rubio’s pet crusade? — but the risks of another Iraq-style misadventure are glaring. Washington still hasn’t learned that regime change is the easy part; the morning after is what destroys us.
So: Moldova celebrates, Ukraine hangs on, Syria flirts with rehabilitation, Gaza waits on a plan, and Venezuela braces for attack. In each case, we are reminded how precarious the world order feels. But if Moldova’s voters can stare down Russian intimidation, maybe the rest of us can resist despair.
