Anna Chernova

When they ask me why Russians *don’t* protest against war, the government, etc… (spoiler: they do) A former pro-Kremlin blogger who used to file complaints and denunciations against Navalny and his team, made a sudden u-turn and denounced Putin, the war, and what not. This act of protest did not last long. Today, he was reportedly taken to a psychiatric hospital.

@rusdemsoc Thanks!

@Anna_Journal Stay strong! We shall persevere. "Я переживу", словами Монеточки)

Exactly six years ago today, also on Friday the 13th, I walked into the CNN bureau in Moscow for the first time for what was meant to be a trial freelance shift. They gave me a few small tasks, the first one being to listen in and sum up the Kremlin’s daily conference call. By the end of the day, the bureau chief told me I’d passed and asked me to come back on Monday. Monday never happened; Moscow shut down for Covid that weekend. The job started remotely instead, and somehow never really stopped. Over the next six years, work would take me to an Arctic military station, to the Biden-Putin summit in Geneva, to the gates of Navalny’s prison in the Vladimir region, to our London headquarters, and eventually to Dubai. It’s hard to explain how I ended up here in the Middle East. But this morning, waking up to another air raid alert and after working out, I began the day as usual: monitoring the news, joining editorial calls. And, strangely enough, my day still starts with the Kremlin call. Journalism has a strange sense of continuity: the places change, the crises come one after another, while the work carries on. When the war broke out in 2022, the routine helped steady the mind. One day, I packed my whole life into two suitcases, boarded a plane, woke up in a different country, and the next day showed up in a new office on time. I had to do that twice. It helped me again four years later when the first barrage of missiles and drones arrived in Dubai – a place few imagined would ever see hostilities. In uncertain moments, I find grounding in what I know how to do best. The instinct is simple: find the information, verify and report it.

@ragipsoylu The art of taming and training the AI is underrated, as is the art of taming dogs

JUST IN: The “geopolitical analyst” mapping the collapse of world order might actually be mapping dog crates onto cargo planes. Meet Shanaka Anslem Perera. On X, he writes threads about Iran war, rise of China, nuclear deterrence, rare earth supply chains, and the collapse of the global financial system to an audience of more than 200,000 followers. The bio says: “Independent analyst. Money, geopolitics, AI, sovereignty.” The implied credentials: strategist. security thinker. civilizational cartographer. The actual origin story? A pet shipping company in Sri Lanka. In 2010, Perera says he encountered a British traveler in Colombo who couldn’t move his dog back to the UK. That moment led him to found an international pet relocation business, handling paperwork, veterinary clearances, and airline transport for animals. Door-to-door logistics. Customs forms. Kennels. Cargo holds. Today the same figure publishes sweeping analyses of Middle East alliances, the Iran war escalation ladder, US defense supply chains, and monetary systems — while also presenting himself online as CEO of a global pet relocation firm. No academic background in international relations. No military service. No government intelligence experience publicly documented. No experience in diplomacy other than resolving dog fights. Yet threads predicting systemic war, Iranian retaliation doctrine, and global financial collapse circulate across X with the cadence of intelligence briefings. This is the strange new architecture of the information age. Once, national security analysis came from war colleges, think tanks, or former officials. Now it can come from anyone with a thread and a compelling tone. The institutions that filtered expertise are weakening. Algorithms replace peer review. Audience replaces credentials. A pet relocation entrepreneur can become a geopolitical oracle overnight. And the internet doesn’t ask for diplomas. Only engagement. In the age of collapsing gatekeepers, the most powerful strategic doctrine may not be deterrence or containment. It’s virality. And somewhere between a thread about Iran’s escalation ladder and a prediction of civilizational collapse… another golden retriever is being cleared through customs.

Every journalist today

“Any time I want it to end, it will end,” Trump told Axios of the war in Iran. Any indication when that might be?… We would really appreciate it here

“Let’s hope they’re not sharing,” said special envoy Steve Witkoff. Russian officials told their American counterparts they were not sharing intelligence about the location of U.S. troops and aircraft with Iran.

Axios reports Ukraine offered the U.S. a cheap, combat-tested way to shoot down Iranian drones back in August, but the proposal stalled. Now, some officials say ignoring it was "a tactical error." Zelensky said the U.S. formally asked for anti-drone help on Thursday. axios.com/2026/03/10/us-…

Documenting the Middle Eastern war from Dubai. Day Two - Sunday, March 1st My mom wakes up around 7 am. So do the Iranian military with their neighbourly fire. I am wide awake anyway. If not the blasts, the UAE fighter jets flying around did not help with the sleep. There have been reports overnight of a strike and falling debris on the territory of Dubai International Airport, resulting in at least four staff injured. The iconic landmark Burj Al Arab was also hit by fragments of a downed drone. The smoke in both places seems to have been contained fairly quickly. @annajournal_/post/DVnx2Agk698?xmt=AQF01aTwNaihTzsRNhEIq1XU2PlK33YMe2NnroV3sxXM3A" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">threads.com/@annajournal_/…

About a week in, the days and events were already starting to blur in my memory. So I decided to start writing down what it feels like to live through the US–Israel war on Iran and Iran’s retaliation across the Middle East. This is how it started in Dubai @achernova/note/c-225257974?r=27z7if&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">substack.com/@achernova/not…

لقطات تظهر اعتراض وتدمير الدفاعات الجوية الإماراتية طائرات مسيّرة إيرانية حاولت استهداف الدولة. لا تهاون بأمن الوطن وسيادته... والقوات المسلحة الإماراتية جاهزة لردع أي تهديد. Footage showing the UAE’s air defences intercepting and destroying Iranian UAVs that attempted to target the country There is no compromise when it comes to the nation’s security and sovereignty. The UAE Armed Forces stand ready to deter any threat #وزارة_الدفاع #وزارة_الدفاع_الإماراتية #MOD #UAEMinistryOfDefence

“Empathy for the four million people from all walks of life who have chosen to build their lives in this unusual city? There was little. The overwhelming majority who stayed put, and showed up for work the next day, didn’t make the headlines.”

Update from Amb. Al Otaiba: Still Iran’s largest target, the UAE continues to successfully track & intercept Iranian missiles & drones. Of 1,250+ projectiles launched since Saturday, UAE air defenses have destroyed 92% of missiles & 93% of drones. (1/5)

We received signals from partners in the Middle East. There have been strikes by Iranian “shaheds” on civilians in those countries. They are seeking our expertise. We are open. If their representatives come, we will provide the expertise. Especially since there is also a request from Europeans and from the United States. Requests have come to us to share our experience with partners in the Middle East. Regarding weapons: we ourselves are at war. And I said, completely frankly, that we have a shortage of what they have. They have missiles for the Patriots, but hundreds or thousands of “shaheds” cannot be intercepted with Patriot missiles – it is too costly. Nothing is too much for the people, of course, but they simply do not have that many missiles. That is why they need interceptor drones, which we have. Meanwhile, we have a shortage of PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles. So, when it comes to technology or weapons exchange, I believe our country will be open to it. From an interview with Rai Italia (2/5).

The UAE has seen more Iranian attacks than all other targeted countries combined, officials say, a total of more than 1,000 incidents recorded since Saturday. Just since morning, the military has intercepted 3 ballistic missiles and 121 drones, with eight landing on its territory.

CNN: We have breaking news into CNN. A source in the Middle East telling CNN that the US consulate in Dubai was struck and now is on fire.

The U.S. consulate in Dubai right now.

Breaking news🚨The cat shot down the missile!!🚀🐱