Pete Shmigel

Sydney

Writer, 'Contours' author, bike recycler, ex CEO & political advisor, mental health advocate, Board member, Ukraine specialist, @KyivPost contributor.

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Articles

Performative diplomacy?

1 month ago | spectator.com.au | Pete Shmigel

Australia’s greatest ever political strategist, Mark Textor, recently said to me: ‘People say that Donald Trump is erratic and unpredictable. That’s wrong. In fact, he does the same thing in every situation: disrupt and then deal.’Textor, who at one point was advising the Prime Ministers of four countries at once, is unsurprisingly and very much on to something.
Trump’s Made for Social Media Soap Opera

1 month ago | kyivpost.com | Pete Shmigel

Australia’s greatest ever political strategist, Mark Textor, recently said to me: “People say that Donald Trump is erratic and unpredictable. That’s wrong. In fact, he does the same thing in every situation: disrupt and then deal.” Textor, who at one point was advising the prime ministers of four countries at once, is unsurprisingly and very much on to something.
Why Trump’s Withdrawal Benefits Ukraine

1 month ago | kyivpost.com | Pete Shmigel

While counterintuitive, the withdrawal by President Donald Trump of the United States from peace negotiations – and even from materially supporting Ukraine – may be beneficial to Ukraine and its allies. That is a conclusion many senior decision-makers and policy analysts in Ukraine have come to and it has several reasons.
Why Trump’s withdrawal benefits Ukraine

1 month ago | spectator.com.au | Pete Shmigel

While counter-intuitive, the withdrawal by President Donald Trump of the United States from peace negotiations – and even from materially supporting Ukraine – may be beneficial to Ukraine and its allies. That is a conclusion many senior decision-makers and policy analysts in Ukraine have come to and it has several reasons.
Wild Horses

2 months ago | kyivpost.com | Pete Shmigel

Valya reached for the pocket of her parka and the little sculpture of the wild horse. She ran her fingers along its shape – across its face, forehead, crest, shoulders, back, hindquarters, and four legs – and took reassurance from its presence. Behind her seat in the truck travelling westward, there were all the other works of the Great Artist.
Animals

Feb 22, 2025 | kyivpost.com | Pete Shmigel

Their bunker was three stories below ground level in what was, before the war, a downtown car park. When people drove to their cars to their jobs and then to their kids’ soccer practice; when there was a normal. The windowless space was half a football field long and tightly packed with rows of IKEA desks, lines of laptops, joy sticks in various shapes and sizes, spare electronic components, small pliers and screwdrivers, green motherboards half dismantled, headphones, and tangles of cables.
Is Zelensky a Dictator? Fact Sheet on Ukrainian Elections

Feb 20, 2025 | flipboard.com | Pete Shmigel

5 hours ago'We've lost a partner and a friend': Ukrainians somber as U.S. partnership disintegratesUkrainians “couldn’t cope without American weapons and support,” Yuliya Antonyuk, a 42-year-old real estate agent, told NBC News.
Is Zelensky a Dictator? Fact Sheet on Ukrainian Elections

Feb 20, 2025 | kyivpost.com | Pete Shmigel

Ukraine has had democratically elected governments and presidents since its establishment of independence in 1991. Since independence, there have been seven presidential elections. Since 1994, following the adoption of Ukraine’s current Constitution, there has been a presidential election every five years. At each of those elections, Ukraine has elected a different person as president – except for 1999, when incumbent Leonid Kuchma won a second term.
Evac

Jan 16, 2025 | peteshmigel.medium.com | Pete Shmigel

Pete Shmigel·Follow6 min read·--The old man disappeared into a back room of the small house. “Where the fuck have you gone,” screamed Anatoli from the front door where he was watching the street and the paddocks at the village’s edge. He couldn’t see the shells yet, but he could hear the orcs’ arty working. It was only inevitable that fury would follow sound and the village would start getting nailed as the enemy adjusted targets. “Come on, dyadya!” he yelled.
Ukraine Beyond Trump

Nov 24, 2024 | kyivpost.com | Pete Shmigel

The debate about the war on Ukraine is focused on the ascendancy of Donald J. Trump and its implications. There is currently much speculation about scenarios for Ukraine. That Trump, who has refused to commit to Ukraine’s victory, will somehow cut a ceasefire deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in which some amount of Ukrainian territory is ceded to Russia. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.