Escaping Putin’s shadow

Countries fear a return of Russian domination [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Welcome to Balance of Power, bringing you the latest in global politics. If you haven’t yet, sign up [here](. The battle between Russia and the West for influence in a host of countries that Moscow regards as its backyard is intensifying alongside the war in Ukraine. Riot police in Georgia [last night clashed with protesters]( opposing a planned government law targeting foreign funding of non-governmental organizations. The ruling Georgian Dream party’s billionaire founder railed against the West as a “global war party” intent on pushing Georgia into conflict with Russia. The country’s president has sided with the protesters in labeling it a “Russian law,” similar to “foreign agent” legislation used by Vladimir Putin to crush his domestic opponents. The US and the European Union agree, warning the legislation will undermine Georgia’s chances of EU membership. Russia is ramping up pressure on Armenia after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held security talks with the US and the EU last month. It threatened “devastating consequences” if Armenia, which hosts Moscow’s only foreign military base in the region, abandons a Russia-led defense alliance and turns to the West. Meanwhile, Moldova [is warning]( about Kremlin attempts to sabotage its democracy as the pro-Western President Maia Sandu seeks reelection this year and the country sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania holds a referendum on joining the EU. Pro-Russian opposition groups gathered in Moscow last month to form an anti-European alliance. It’s all taking place as Ukraine starts receiving billions of dollars in new weapons from its US and European allies, aiming to recapture the initiative against Russia on the battlefield after months of delay in delivering munitions. Countries formerly under Moscow’s control during the Soviet Union all fear the return of Russian domination if Putin wins in Ukraine. In the struggle going on across the region, they’re desperate to escape Russia’s shadow now while Putin’s still distracted by the war. – Anthony Halpin Riot police clash with protesters today in Tbilisi. Photographer: Giorgi Arjevanidze/Getty Images Global Must Reads Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government is [sinking deeper into crisis](, just as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives in Israel to try to push forward cease-fire negotiations in Gaza. A major Tel Aviv newspaper offered a front-page summary of his challenge with the headline: “Who’s in charge here?” How bad are things for UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak? His Conservatives are predicted to lose heavily in local elections across England tomorrow but his critics are focused on the fate of two of his mayoral candidates in the West Midlands and Tees Valley. If they lose, as one pollster put it, [“all bets are off”]( and talk of replacing him as leader will pick up steam again. The US and the Philippines are discussing ways to stop China from dominating nickel processing in Indonesia, the top supplier of the critical mineral that’s crucial for electric vehicle batteries and President Joe Biden’s push for a green energy transition. [One idea being considered]( is for the Philippines to supply the raw metal material, for the US to provide the financing and a third country such as Japan or South Korea to offer the technology required for smelting and refining. Canada’s opposition leader was ejected from parliament after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “wacko.” Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, currently the favorite to win the next election, [refused to withdraw the insult](. The incident is a preview of the next election campaign and how poisonous the political climate has become, not just in the US. Yemen is nearing a licensing deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide satellite internet service to the war-torn country, according to a senior government official. If the deal works out, [Yemen would join countries]( like Israel and Jordan who are among very few to have approved the use of Starlink in the Middle East. A Bloomberg investigation found that Yemen was among numerous jurisdictions where Starlink terminals were in use despite the company having no explicit license to operate. The US Senate approved legislation banning the import of enriched uranium from Russia, sending the measure to the White House for [a formal sign off](. China’s new climate chief plans to visit the US in May for formal talks with his American counterpart, [seeking to bolster]( one of the few bright spots in relations between the rival superpowers. New York City police officers entered Columbia University’s campus late yesterday and carried out arrests of students who had barricaded themselves in a building, in just one of dozens of [pro-Palestinian demonstrations]( rippling across the US. Washington Dispatch Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene plans to hold a press conference on Capitol Hill today regarding [a pledge]( by House Democrats to prevent any attempt by her or other hardline Republicans to depose Speaker Mike Johnson. Whether or not Greene announces she will force a vote on removing Johnson, a fellow conservative Republican, her revolt had begun to run out of steam even before Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other Democratic leaders made their announcement yesterday. With an ouster ballot now certain to fail, Greene suggested she might advance one anyway. “Mike Johnson is officially the Democrat Speaker of the House,” she said on the X social media platform. In an earlier post, she wrote: “I’m a big believer in recorded votes.” Johnson told reporters that he hadn’t asked Democrats for help before quickly moving on to other issues, including “a House-wide effort to crack down on antisemitism on college campuses.” Johnson enraged Greene and other Republicans over his willingness to work with Democrats on the approval of a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. One Thing to Watch Today: The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing on the February cyberattack against Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth Group Inc., which snarled billions of dollars of payments and saw hackers make off with patient medical data. [Sign up for the Washington Edition newsletter]( for more from the US capital and watch Balance of Power at 1 and 5 p.m. ET weekdays on Bloomberg Television. Chart of the Day What happens when a company becomes so big that its market value exceeds that of the gross domestic product of its own country? [It’s a tantalizing question]( and one facing Novo Nordisk, the maker of a blockbuster weight-loss drug that has catapulted this once-small and quirky Danish healthcare phenomenon into Europe’s most valuable company. There is a cautionary Nordic tale in all this: The rise and fall of Nokia in Finland in the 1990s. At its peak, the phonemaker accounted for 4% of Finnish GDP but then it all came crashing down. And Finally India has opened the doors for its space startups to attempt their first orbital launch later this year, riding on the government’s $1.5 billion space budget and Narendra Modi’s ambitions. That impending milestone may serve the prime minister at the voting booth, but do the country’s private space players have a real shot at catching up to the likes of SpaceX? [Menaka Doshi]( investigates. WATCH: Menaka Doshi speaks with Skyroot Aerospace about India’s ambitions in space. 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