In his quest to secure a place in history among #russia’s greatest rulers, #putin has long since passed the point of no return. He will not deviate from this #messianic goal for the sake of #sanctions relief or minor #territorial concessions. www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrain...

#putin is betting the #US will talk itself into believing #Ukraine cannot succeed. The past four years show the opposite. It is up to #Washington to match #Ukraine’s resolve with the clarity this moment demands. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

The economists say #russia’s position is weaker than ever because the #Kremlin has burned through most of the #cash #reserves and the borrowed money that fueled its #wartime spending surge — and greater problems lie ahead. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

#russia’s #crude exports hit the highest in over 2 ½ years, but delays in offloading cargoes saw another jump in #oil held on #tankers, with a build-up of vessels anchored off the coasts of #India and #China. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Ringo #Mühlmann, an #AfD politician, has repeatedly asked to disclose details on subjects such as local #drone #defenses and #arms transports to #Ukraine. This information, his political opponents say, could be of great interest to #russian intelligence. www.politico.eu/article/germ...

We will not see a russian president who is willing to kneel in Bucha. The problem is not putin, but the society that created him – Portnikov #Bucha #history #Portnikov #putin #repentance #russia #Tribune #Ukraine #war uatribune.com/en/we-will-n...

The #Ukrainian company #Qirim #Tech has announced the creation of sectional #airless #wheels for #military vehicles. The wheels provide maximum cross-country ability on any soil, from marshland and sand to rocky surfaces and arable land. militarnyi.com/en/news/ukra...

#russia’s flagship #Urals crude #oil slumped to about $34 a barrel. The grade in the Baltic Sea slumped to $34.82 a barrel on Friday, while in the Black Sea it fell to $33.17. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

After #Witkoff finished his sixth round of meetings with #putin, a #russian company sent him home with 11 pounds of red #caviar. In fact, it was a mid-tier brand of roe that the company now wants to market as “#Trumpovka.” www.wsj.com/world/putin-...

An iconic rendition of the #Ukrainian carol “#Shchedryk” by #Leontovych, known globally as “Carol of the Bells,” was performed at one of #DTEK’s heavily damaged thermal power plants. This performance serves as an appeal from DTEK Energy to international partners for support.

#russia’s leadership has flailed for excuses for its #invasion, tossing idea after idea into the ether to see what might succeed. Such #narrative confusion has stemmed, in large part, from #russia’s overall #failures in #Ukraine. www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-seri...

The recent publication of the #Trump administration’s new National Security Strategy showed that unilateral #disarmament is now official policy. Because this National Security Strategy is not really a strategy document. It is a #suicide note - #Applebaum www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

A growing number of people in the #UK support deploying #European #troops to #Ukraine in the event of a #peace deal than they did two months ago, new polling shows. While trust in vladimir #putin to respect any #ceasefire stands at just 19%. news.sky.com/story/ukrain...

Most #Czechs believe that the new government of Andrej #Babiš should continue to help #Ukraine. 57% of the population is in favor of #humanitarian #aid, but only 29% support #military assistance. www.novinky.cz/clanek/domac...

Pokrovsk, the city behind "Carol of the Bells", is fighting for its life - Jess Daly #CaroloftheBells #Leontovych #Pokrovsk #russia #Shchedryk #Tribune #Ukraine #war uatribune.com/en/pokrovsk-...

#US #Democrats released more than 60 photos from Jeffrey #Epstein’s estate. A #Ukrainian passport, with some information redacted, is seen in the undated picture released. edition.cnn.com/2025/12/18/p...

#Belgian politicians and senior #finance executives have been subject to a campaign of #intimidation orchestrated by #russian intelligence aimed at persuading the country to #block the use of €185bn assets for #Ukraine #EU #war www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

The EU sanctions an additional 41 vessels of the russian shadow fleet #EU #russia #sanctions #shadowfleet #Ukraine #war uatribune.com/en/eu-sancti...

#russia will be paying for its #invasion of #Ukraine for years to come even if the fighting ended tomorrow, as the government plugs a widening gap in the #military #budget with increasingly costly #borrowing. #war www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The term “business as usual,” popularized by Winston #Churchill, once meant to maintain the order in a country at #war. But now it means doing #business while disregarding the morale-eroding changes in the behavior of those you are dealing with. uatribune.com/en/strong-bu...

#Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis #Budrys has said that the #Soviet #Union's #impunity, and that of its successor state #russia, for the occupation of the #Baltic states in the 1940s is one of the reasons behind #putin's actions. www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/202...

#moscow's agents are posing as " #Ukrainian #Nazis ", spraying anti-russian #graffiti, and plastering #Vienna with stickers. Their goal: to erode trust in #Ukraine. www.profil.at/investigativ...

FIDE mandates the return of russian and Belarusian youth players to competitions #Belarus #chess #FIDE #russia #Ukraine #war uatribune.com/en/fide-mand...

Leaders of the eight “eastern flank” countries – that’s the #Nordics, the #Baltics, #Bulgaria, #Poland and #Romania – have warned that #russia “remains #threat today, tomorrow, and for foreseeable future www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

#EU member states are discussing a raft of new measures against the shadow fleet to further clamp down on #russia’s circumvention of #oil #sanctions, according to #Estonian Prime Minister Kristen #Michal. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

#Trump sued the #BBC for at least $10 billion over an edit in a documentary last year that gave the impression he’d made a direct call for #violence in a speech leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the #US #Capitol by his supporters. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

There is more than a little irony in the fact that #Ukrainians are bleeding and dying for #Western #democracy and the #EU at a time when so many are losing faith in both. But they are. And they have shown that they can win — Chrystia #Freeland www.project-syndicate.org/magazine/wes...

#Belgium shoots down #EU offer to unblock #russian #assets stalemate The #concessions are not enough for Bart De #Wever’s government #Ukraine #russia #war #Europe www.politico.eu/article/belg...

#russia conducts a #military operation in the #Baltic #Sea to protect the country's #shadow #fleet - #Swedish Navy www.svt.se/nyheter/inri...

The whole of the #UK - not just its #armed #forces - needs to step up to deter the #threat posed by #russia of a wider #war in #Europe, #Britain's military chief will say. news.sky.com/story/everyo...

#Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich #Merz compared #russian #putin to #Hitler in a speech Saturday evening, warning that the #kremlin leader’s ambitions won’t stop with #Ukraine. www.politico.eu/article/merz...

#russian state #oil and #gas #revenue in December is likely to almost halve from a year earlier to $5.17 billion as a result of lower #crude prices and a stronger rouble, Reuters calculations showed on Friday. www.reuters.com/business/ene...

#Germany has accused #russia of a #cyber-#attack on air traffic control in August 2024 and attempted #electoral #interference in February this year www.bbc.com/news/article...

A #French #banker with close ties to #russia who works inside #Euroclear has allegedly threatened its #CEO, amid knife-edge #EU talks on the #Belgian firm's handling of frozen #kremlin #assets. euobserver.com/eu-and-the-w...

#Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De #Wever says using #frozen #russian #assets to fund #Ukraine's #defense will be a "tall order". But he left the door open to action if Belgium is supported by its #European #allies and share the risks. news.sky.com/story/ukrain...

The #EU agreed on Friday to indefinitely freeze #russian central bank #assets held in #Europe, removing a big obstacle to using the cash to help #Ukraine #defend itself against #russia. www.reuters.com/business/fin...

#putin’s #propaganda and his relentless #drone and #missile #attacks are largely aimed at convincing #Europe and #America that supporting #Ukraine is futile. #war www.economist.com/europe/2025/...

Leaked document reveals how #Trump wants to "make Europe great again". According to Defense One,#Austria, #Hungary, #Italy, and #Poland are listed as countries the #US should pull away from the #EU. www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/...

International Olympic Committee wants russia, Belarus youth to return to international competitions #Belarus #IOC #russia #Ukraine #war uatribune.com/en/internati...

russian oil exports declined in November, dragging export revenues to their lowest since russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — IEA #exports #oil #russia #Ukraine #war uatribune.com/en/russian-o...

#Trump’s barrage of #attacks on the #EU is forcing its leaders to confront the unthinkable: a future in which #America is no longer their primary #security #guarantor and #Europe has to organize its own #defense far sooner than anyone imagined. www.politico.eu/article/dona...

You want to calculate what Ukraine “costs”? Fine. Let’s calculate what the guarantors of the Budapest Memorandum owe Ukraine — Tribune #BudapestMemorandum #russia #Tribune #Ukraine #US #war uatribune.com/en/you-want-...

Trump decides to speak for Ukrainians and suggests that 82% of people in Ukraine "demand a settlement" of war #russia #Trump #Ukraine #US #war uatribune.com/en/trump-dec...

Pentagon was ready for Trump's decision to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, there's not a constraint on supply — former US Ambassador #Pentagon #putin #russia #Taylor #Tomahawk #Trump #Ukraine #US #war uatribune.com/en/pentagon-...

In #Ukraine, the state itself is investigating the government, the cabinet, even the president’s closest advisers. By contrast, it is impossible to imagine Kash #Patel’s #FBI investigating anyone in #Trump’s White House — Anne #Applebaum www.theatlantic.com/internationa...

#Britain joined #EU efforts on Monday to put #financial #pressure on #moscow, as #European leaders declared “positive progress” in planning to use frozen #russian sovereign #assets to support #Ukraine’s reconstruction. www.ft.com/content/2351...

The #European Commission has lost access to its control panel for buying and tracking #ads on Elon #Musk’s X — after #fining the social media platform €120 million for violating #EU #transparency rules. www.politico.eu/article/x-ax...

Secret visits to #moscow by #China’s #military expose deep defense cooperation #Chinese military personnel and employees of #arms manufacturers continue to cooperate with the #russian #arms industry, violating international #sanctions kyivindependent.com/investigatio...

The original 28-point plan for #Ukraine represents #Europe’s worst nightmare. And if a spurious “peace” is imposed, #Germany, the #UK, #France and their other #European allies, will know they’re out on their own — John #Kampfner www.politico.eu/article/euro...

#France is under mounting pressure to help finance #Ukraine by using €18bn of #russian sovereign #assets largely immobilized at private banks whose identities #Paris has kept under wraps for more than two years. www.ft.com/content/fe30...