Now France is denying airspace…

1/ The US attempted to send several Iran-bound bombers to an Italian air base without prior authorisation and was refused permission by the Italian government while the aircraft were in flight. The news comes a day after Spain disclosed it was refusing US military overflights. ⬇️

“The Trump administration’s realist rhetoric is more justification than motivation,” writes @mikercarpenter.bsky.social. Instead of balancing power against its great-power rivals, the United States is “directing its most aggressive policies at democratic allies.”

Putin is making Russia small again: ”Our model suggests that Russian casualties are now between 1.1m and 1.4m, of whom 230,000-430,000 are dead. That would mean one in 25 Russian men between the ages of 18 and 49 may have been killed or severely wounded since the start of the full-scale war.”

NEW: In addition to MARINERA and HYPERION, three other tankers recently in Venezuelan waters — and previously hit by U.S. sanctions for shipping Iranian/Russian oil —are now officially flying the Russian flag. More: www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

☠️ The Economist: Russia lost 1% of its pre-war male population in Ukraine. In total, Russian losses in dead and wounded amounted to between 1 million and 1.35 million soldiers. Over the past three years, Russia has been able to occupy an additional 1.45% of Ukrainian territory.

Danish pilots keep reporting sightings of little green men aboard civilian vessels coming from Russia. Unfortunately the authorities don’t want to discuss these sightings. But a veteran pilot with decades of experience is willing to talk. Full story here: danwatch.dk/militaerunif...

Dutch intelligence suspends sharing arrangements with the US after concluding that high level intel was routinely being shared by the White House with their friends in the Kremlin. www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/n...

Trump posts AI video showing him literally dumping shit on America

🥴🤡Trump envoy Witkoff pressed the Ukrainian delegation on handing over Donetsk region to Russia during a meeting on Friday, - WP. He used the Kremlin's key argument that the region is predominantly Russian-speaking.

Speaking to TVP World about the current direction of US foreign policy.

Russian Navy tug ALEKSANDR FROLOV directed jamming towards a Danish helicopter and a patrol ship a few days ago. This was reported by NATO command Brunssum on X. The post was quickly deleted and NATO is now tight lipped. A FROLOV stayed around Fehmarn Belt for 9 days.

In efforts to end the #RussiaUkraineWar, talk is accelerating about a European “reassurance force” for Ukraine. Amb. @mikercarpenter.bsky.social on “its highly questionable viability”: www.justsecurity.org/119673/ukrai...

🚨 BREAKING: Russia has struck the EU delegation building in Kyiv. Read the developing story: ow.ly/N2RW50WNllP

🚨 New episode: Who is playing who? Trump, Putin and the Alaska 'Peace Summit' Will the leaders take a step towards a landmark peace deal, or will this go down as a diplomatic disaster? Listen now on Global Player or wherever you get your pods 🎧 @markurban.bsky.social @mpolymer1.bsky.social

“Earned on the battlefield”? Seriously?

Horrific www.euronews.com/2025/08/08/s...

Historians Politely Remind Nation To Check What's Happened In Past Before Making Any Big Decisions theonion.com/histori...

“Instead of prolonging the war by giving Ukraine too much military assistance, Kyiv’s foreign allies have prolonged it by giving too little, and often with significant delays,” argues @mikercarpenter.bsky.social.

Ukraine cannot win without “a fundamental shift in Western strategy, one that combines a large boost in military assistance with more robust economic measures to constrain Russia’s war economy,” argues @mikercarpenter.bsky.social.

My argument: how Ukraine can still win. www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/ukra...

Amazing. NYT has more confirmation that Trump's decision to bomb Iran was motivated in large part by the way the Israeli strikes were "playing" on Fox News, which drove him to want credit for it

Thank you so much for your support! Here’s a link to chip in: secure.actblue.com/donate/bb-bs...

I was on @cbcnews-rss.bsky.social today to discuss the Trump administration’s next steps on Iran. Whatever decision he takes, he will alienate a part of his base.

Ambassador Bridget Brink is an amazing and selfless public servant who has always stood for what’s right. I’ve had the privilege to work with her since 2007, when we first met. She is a true patriot and cares about what matters: improving the economy, fighting corruption, US national security.

Well that’s a way to start the meeting. Let’s talk about my bud Vlad and blame Obama for Russia not being part of this group anymore. 🤦🏽‍♂️ Good Lord. God Bless PM Mark Carney for his position standing there listening to this 💩 and not elbowing him in the throat. 🤦🏽‍♂️

🧵 My small country, Estonia, population 1.3 million sent 2003-2014 over 2500 soldiers. 9 were killed in the line of duty. 109 wounded, half of them so seriously they could no longer lead a normal life. In Iraq 2003-2009 we had more than 440 soldiers. 2 were killed. 18 seriously wounded. 1/n

Hi All, I released my weekend update a few hours ago, and the Ukrainians turned around and launched what is arguably the most successful operation of the war--so I updated it with all the information I could get. Russian strategic airpower received a mighty blow. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

Russia's demands were "detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed," a source in the Ukrainian delegation told Reuters.

This isn’t getting nearly enough attention. Estonian navy is stopped at intercepting a shadow fleet vessel because a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 violated Estonian air space. This reduces even the implausible deniability to 0, which Russia has been relying on with the shadow fleet.

Kirill Dmitriev is the Kremlin’s money man.

Not surprising but still unfortunate. www.defensenews.com/pentagon/202...

Check out my latest thoughts on Ukraine, China, tariffs, and transatlantic relations on the “Ukraine: The Latest” podcast. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/u...

I joined MSNBC earlier today to discuss the Black Sea ceasfire proposal and energy strike moratorium between Russia and Ukraine. www-msnbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.msnb...

SACEUR is and has always been essential to the unity of the NATO alliance and an embodiment of its transatlantic character. If this comes to pass, it will certainly be perceived (and rightly so) as a further step in the unraveling of the transatlantic relationship.

The Kremlin’s readout of today’s call between Putin and Trump says it wants to eliminate the “root causes” of the conflict. That means eliminating an independent Ukraine and reversing NATO enlargement in Central and Eastern Europe.

⚡️Ukraine appoints Andrii Hnatov as new chief of General Staff. Hnatov, who was formerly appointed as the deputy chief of the General Staff in February, will be replacing Anatolii Barhylevych, who took the role in February 2024.

Explaining again why we need to take Russia’s leaders at their word when they say they want the complete dismemberment of the Ukrainian state (or what they call the “Kyiv regime”).

Here’s the key question on Russia/Ukraine: does this administration want to use its leverage against Russia to secure a lasting diplomatic resolution, or does it want to use its leverage to compel Ukraine to accept an agreement without security guarantees? www.foxnews.com/video/636978...

NED has always enjoyed bipartisan consensus. It supports frontline democracy defenders and those who champion freedom of thought and speech. Let’s hope the consensus in support of these values holds.

Debt brake reform will be a game changer for Germany’s economy. The €500 billion infrastructure plan and planned increase in defense spending are a paradigm shift for Berlin, jumpstarting growth and augmenting defense capabilities at a critical time. www.reuters.com/world/europe...

Cutting off support for Ukraine applies leverage to the wrong country in this war. The US should be using its leverage with Russia to get a just and lasting peace. youtube.com/watch?v=o4dj...

In this interview I make clear why a “deal” on Ukraine is a long way off and why Europe will have to step up if it wants to preserve Ukrainian sovereignty and independence. www-repubblica-it.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.repu...