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Olga Nesterova

Olga Nesterova

Olga Nesterova is a journalist and founder of ONEST Network, a reader-supported platform covering U.S. and global affairs. A former White House correspondent and UN diplomat, she focuses on international security and geopolitical strategy.

Diplomatic Note: Carney in New York, BlackRock in Japan, and the Quiet Race for Capital

Diplomatic Notes

Diplomatic Note: Carney in New York, BlackRock in Japan, and the Quiet Race for Capital

By Olga Nesterova • 1 min read

The New Indo-Pacific Message: America Is Turning Allies Into Buyers — Photo: Pentagon Press Office

Explained

The New Indo-Pacific Message: America Is Turning Allies Into Buyers

Washington says it is strengthening allies against China. But its new message is turning security into a marketplace — and opening a door Beijing knows how to use.

By Olga Nesterova • 9 min read

Five Stories, Two Rubrics — and One Bigger Point

Daily Brief

Five Stories, Two Rubrics — and One Bigger Point

Today’s Friday livestream is about the same pattern showing up again and again: the world is not short on warnings. It is short on leaders willing to act before those warnings become emergencies. We are talking about five major stories today: a new political rupture between Poland and Ukraine,

By Olga Nesterova • 7 min read

When Amazon Holds the Money

Explained

When Amazon Holds the Money

How a change in Amazon's payout system is squeezing small businesses — and raising questions far beyond seller reserves

By Olga Nesterova • 6 min read

May 28: Canada Rises, China Expands, Ukraine Rearms

Daily Brief

May 28: Canada Rises, China Expands, Ukraine Rearms

KEY DEVELOPMENTS 1. Ukraine is getting Gripens. Ukraine and Sweden launched a major defense agreement that includes the potential purchase of up to 20 Gripen E/F fighter jets and the future transfer of 16 Gripen C/D aircraft. Sweden also announced its largest military aid package to Ukraine to

By Olga Nesterova • 3 min read

Trump on a $250 Bill Is Not Just Strange. It Runs Into the Law.

News

Trump on a $250 Bill Is Not Just Strange. It Runs Into the Law.

Trump administration officials have reportedly pushed the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to prepare designs for a new $250 bill featuring Donald Trump’s portrait for America’s 250th anniversary. There is one immediate problem: current federal law prohibits living people from appearing on U.S. currency. Treasury Secretary Scott

By Olga Nesterova • 1 min read

Pentagon’s $9.7 Billion Microsoft-Dell Deal: Follow the Infrastructure, Then Follow the Money

News

Pentagon’s $9.7 Billion Microsoft-Dell Deal: Follow the Infrastructure, Then Follow the Money

The Department of Defense awarded Dell Federal Systems a five-year agreement valued at about $9.7 billion to provide Microsoft software licenses, cloud subscriptions, secure communications, collaboration tools, and productivity technologies across the military, intelligence community, and Coast Guard. Officially, this is about modernization: Microsoft 365, cloud access, zero-trust infrastructure,

By Olga Nesterova • 1 min read

China Is No Longer an Abstraction — While the U.S. Leaves Diplomatic Chairs Empty

News

China Is No Longer an Abstraction — While the U.S. Leaves Diplomatic Chairs Empty

China is no longer experienced only through headlines about tariffs, Taiwan, or military competition. It is increasingly experienced through logistics networks, payment systems, AI tools, scholarships, e-commerce platforms, industrial supply chains, cyber infrastructure, and digital ecosystems woven into daily life around the world. That is the core takeaway from a

By Olga Nesterova • 2 min read

Russian Missiles Still Run on Foreign Parts — Deputy Head of the Office of the President, Advisor – Commissioner of the President for Sanctions Policy held a meeting with ambassadors of European countries. Photo: Zelenskyy Office

News

Russian Missiles Still Run on Foreign Parts

Ukraine showed European ambassadors components from Russian Zircon, Kalibr, and Kh-101 missiles, as well as Geran-2 drones used in Russia’s May 24 attack. The finding is blunt: Russia’s war machine is still getting access to foreign-made technology. According to Ukraine’s presidential office, some components came from Switzerland,

By Olga Nesterova • 1 min read

Carney in New York — Canada Is No Longer Waiting for Permission — Prime Minister Carney speaking at the Economic Club of New York, May 28, 2026 | Photo: ECNY via Carney X

Explained

Carney in New York — Canada Is No Longer Waiting for Permission

ONEST reports from Mark Carney’s Economic Club of New York address, where Canada’s prime minister outlined a sharper global strategy on energy, defense, critical minerals, AI, trade, China, Ukraine, and sovereignty.

By Olga Nesterova • 4 min read

Ukraine’s Gripen Deal Changes the Air War — But Not Overnight — Swedish Saab JAS 39 Gripen escort President Zelenskyy’s aircraft | Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy X

News

Ukraine’s Gripen Deal Changes the Air War — But Not Overnight

Ukraine and Sweden have moved from political promise to defense architecture. In Uppsala, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson initiated a major agreement for Ukraine to acquire up to 20 new Gripen E/F fighter jets, financed with €2.5 billion from the EU-backed Ukraine Support Loan.

By Olga Nesterova • 1 min read

May 27: Hormuz Talks, Canada’s Defense Pivot, Digital Sovereignty, and Washington’s Secrecy Push

Daily Brief

May 27: Hormuz Talks, Canada’s Defense Pivot, Digital Sovereignty, and Washington’s Secrecy Push

KEY DEVELOPMENTS 1. The U.S.-Iran Hormuz talks are not settled. Iranian state media reported a possible framework to reopen commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, lift the U.S. naval blockade, withdraw U.S. forces, and potentially formalize the deal through a UN Security Council resolution. The

By Olga Nesterova • 2 min read