Mastodawn

Defense officials and lawmakers fear the next two years could provide Russia with the perfect chance to test the West’s commitment to NATO, according to three EU politicians with direct knowledge of the discussions...

#Putin #Trump #Russianaggression #Europe #NATO #EU
#BalticSea #Baltics #Borders #EuropeanDefense #USA
#Transatlanticrelations
#WarinUkraine #Putinswar #RussiaUkraineWar
https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-fears-valdimir-putin-window-opportunity-nato-test/

Europe’s nagging fear: Putin’s ‘window of opportunity’ is now

The next two years could provide Russia with the perfect chance to test the West’s commitment to NATO. But some governments, and the alliance itself, consider the threat overblown.

POLITICO

E-fels 2d ago

"... The Kremlin is not financing the war in Ukraine from some secret treasure chest—it is funding it by making ordinary Russians poorer: through food inflation, shrinking savings, pressure on private business, stalled construction, damaged export infrastructure, and a civilian economy slowly hollowed out to keep the military machine moving. This is a map of how authoritarian states make society pay without ever sending an honest bill."
#Russia #Russiaeconomy #Putinswar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oORw4Z3RzsM

The Invisible Tax: How Putin Forces Ordinary Russians to Pay for the War in Ukraine

YouTube

E-fels 3d ago

In an interview with RBC-Ukraine, former Chief of Staff at the German Ministry of Defense, Nico Lange, explains whether #Europe can defend itself without #Trump and why #Ukraine has become central to its security.
#Germany #EU #Russianaggression #RussiaUkraineWar #USA #Putinswar
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/interview/doing-everything-to-please-trump-didn-t-deliver-1777525002.html

'Doing everything to please Trump didn't deliver results and it won't.' Interview with German security expert Nico Lange

RBC-Ukraine

E-fels 3d ago

"... A phone call between Trump and Putin. Talk of ceasefires. Renewed pressure on Ukraine to accept terms. And alongside all of this, a phrase that keeps surfacing in certain conversations: “Ukraine, militarily, they’re defeated.”

That’s not an assessment. It’s a setup.

..."
#Trump #Putin #Putinswar
#Russia #RussiaUkraineWar #Russianinvasion #Ukraine
https://economicsofpower.substack.com/p/why-appeasement-fails?r=33vjov&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

Why Appeasement Fails

This week we’re hearing about negotiations again.

The Economics of Power

E-fels 5d ago

"... Western policy must stop waiting for a “post-war” Russia. Instead, it must build an architecture that treats Russian aggression not as a temporary state, but as a permanent condition of the regime’s survival. We can no longer negotiate our way out of Putin’s necessity for war; we can now only outlast the system. ..."
#Russia #Putin #Putinswar #Russianinvasion #RussiaUkraineWar #Russianaggression #Europe #EU
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/russia-will-never-agree-to-peace-in-ukraine

Russia Will Never Agree to Peace in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin’s regime structurally requires perpetual war in Ukraine. Understanding this changes everything about NATO strategy, European defense, and support for Kyiv.

The National Interest

E-fels Apr 26

"... More and more Ukraine and European states are being drawn together, as the US is both unreliable and too supportive of Putin's dictatorship. The fate of this "beautiful friendship" will determine the fate of Europe's future security. ..."
- Phillips OBrien‬

#Ukraine #Europe #RussiaUkraineWar #russianinvasion #USA #PutinsWar https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-update-182-a-beautiful-friendship?triedRedirect=true

Weekend Update #182: A Beautiful Friendship: Europe And Ukraine Are Getting Their Act Together

A Revealing Week In the Air War; The Machine War, More Ukrainian Thoughts

Phillips’s Newsletter

E-fels Apr 19

"... Russia's war against Ukraine has cost the Kremlin far more than they ever expected. Now, even Russian financial and economic experts are warning of the possibility of a bank crash. But the warning may be too late - there might not be anything Vladimir Putin can do about it. ..."
#Russia #Kremlin #UkraineRussiaWar #PutinsWar #Russianinvasion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x4xHKNPzCY