The key question remains how Europe will respond. Will Europeans grant Ukraine an interest-free loan on Russian assets so it can survive, or hand it over to the Americans with the U.S. getting a chunk of it, for some reason publicsphere.news/p/how-will-e...

And we're back at Ukraine didn't say "thank you" enough.

The big question: How will Europeans react to the Trump-Russia deal for Ukraine? publicsphere.news/p/how-will-e...

Washington Post: U.S. pushing Ukraine to sign deal by Thanksgiving or lose support // what support? www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...

For a handful of reasons it can be really hard to report well on advancing domestic US government surveillance. This by @byrontau.bsky.social is so well done.

Counterintuitive take: the more appalling these peace plans are for Ukraine, the better it is for Kyiv as it can say to the Europeans that they need to stand firm.

Ternopil is about as far as Paris is from Berlin, but for many Europeans, it's much further from the mind -- and it shouldn't be. bsky.app/profile/wart...

fwiw, the Trump Administration has already completely turned off the funding for Ukraine, so it doesn't have leverage over Kyiv. The real question is how the Europeans react.

A reminder that seven years ago almost to the day, the CIA determined that Mohammed Bin Salman ordered the killing of @washingtonpost.com journalist Jamal Khashoggi. I hired and worked with Jamal for a year. www.washingtonpost.com/world/nation...

A lot of news yesterday, but this @JasonDeParle scoop deserves your attention: The administration plans to slash support for long-term housing programs by two thirds, shifting funding stream to 2-year sobriety & treatment programs. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/u...

Full video from my interview with @phillipspobrien.bsky.social yesterday, on his new book "War and Power: Who Wins Wars -- And Why." youtu.be/g6dvLYGY1h0

"Putin 'hasn’t done anything to me,' Tino Chrupalla, the co-leader of the AfD, said on German public television. 'I don’t see any danger to Germany from Russia at the moment.'" www.politico.eu/article/germ...

I noticed this too. I thought, was Epstein somehow charming and charismatic in person? He seemed like the opposite.

Looking forward to the conversation today with @phillipspobrien.bsky.social on his new book, “War and Power: Who Wins Wars — And Why” as well as the latest on Ukraine. Join at 1pm EST / 7PM CEST on the Substack app.

Budget experts reveal that nearly 40% of the increased debt load isn't being used for defense and infrastructure -- as drones keep being spotted near European airports and rail transit remains ever delayed. www.ft.com/content/3d1c...

On Wednesday at 1pm ET/7pm CEST on Substack Live, I will be chatting with @phillipspobrien.bsky.social about his new book, “War and Power: Who Wins Wars ― and Why” as well as the war in Ukraine, which he covers in his newsletter here -> phillipspobrien.substack.com

Wild story about Trump officials using mafia-like threats to get small countries to back off an international agreement to cut pollution from cargo ships www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/c...

Courtesy of the world’s richest man who just got a trillion-dollar pay package from his feckless board: www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

Russia, closing in on taking its first city in...2.5 years www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/w...

Chatted with @mcfaulmike.bsky.social yesterday about his new book on China and Russia. Here's a clip from our conversation and a link to the full video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWch...

Looking forward to chatting with @mcfaulmike.bsky.social tomorrow on Substack Live at 12pmET/6pm Europe. (Download the Substack app to follow.)

The Trump Administration is floating military action against Venezuela and Nigeria, which don't actually threaten the U.S., while dialing back support for Ukraine and Taiwan, which face aggression from U.S. adversaries.

It's possible that Trump may have been trolled into making a huge change in policy by a nothingburger by Putin, if so, that's dangerous. publicsphere.news/p/trump-goes...

Heartbreaking quotes from Ukrainians still in Kherson: "To be honest, I am no longer a normal person, but somebody has to do these jobs, so the country will survive.” twogrumpyoldmenonukraine.substack.com/p/talking-to...

Extraordinary reporting from Emily Baumgaertner Nunn on the malignant criminal network that turns girls in foster care into prostitutes on L.A.'s Figueroa Street -- and why the police can't stop it. Everyone should read this. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/26/m...

ICYMI: The White House's manipulation of memory to justify present actions echoes Russia, Turkey and Hungary publicsphere.news/p/the-east-w...

Pretty bleak start to the week with SNAP and other nutrition programs running out at the end of the week and more workers not getting paychecks. Other countries would find this barbaric. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

NEW post on the "I'm rubber, your glue" style of argumentation that the Trump Administration is using to defend demolishing the East Wing publicsphere.news/p/the-east-w...

Always great to read a foreign correspondent's perspective on the US: Americans would rarely write like this. www.ft.com/content/1377...

I don't quite agree with this framing: a lot depends on if the Trump sanctions are enforced AND the decision on the frozen assets was punted until December. But there's a great desire in European capitals to be seen as in lockstep with the US www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/w...

I found this very satisfying: “We do need support, but nobody’s playing the cards given by America. Nobody gives a flying fuck about JD Vance’s opinion.”-- Artem Chapeye @ljohnson.bsky.social

Putin bombed a kindergarten full of children today. Fortunately, none of the 48 children inside were killed, injured, or harmed.

I was in Chernihiv last year, and I was very impressed by the people I met. This seems like white noise at this point, but it's against international law to target civilian infrastructure www.bbc.com/news/article...

Sitting president asks taxpayers for $230m payment to himself www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...

Infuriating quote from President Trump: “Both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing.” The Ukrainians are home. A home that’s been invaded by Russia.

Seems like the Kremlin already got what it wanted with Trump taking Tomahawk missiles off the table after his call with Putin. Why bother with a roundabout flight to the one EU country that will have you when it's mission accomplished? www.bbc.com/news/article...

The West has been asleep at the switch on China's rare earth chokehold for over a decade, about how long it takes to develop a supply. And after blowing up trade rules itself, the Trump Admin is now demanding they be followed. davekeating.substack.com/p/the-g7-has... via @davekeating.substack.com

Wild story... www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...

Shoutout to whoever was like the news sucks, let’s spice it up by doing a jewel heist at the Louvre

Even in these deals, if they're finalized, the U.S. isn't funding them: the Trump Administration has zeroed out aid packages to Kyiv.

According to the FT, Trump threw a tantrum during his meeting with Zelenskyy Friday www.ft.com/content/7960...

A quick writeup on yesterday's entirely predictable turn of events publicsphere.news/p/putin-is-t...

Last month in Kyiv, I met up with the writer Artem Chapeye, a pacifist who joined the army in 2022 remains there. His decision exemplifies how Ukrainians are taking matters into their own hands, no matter what Western leaders do. @newrepublic.com newrepublic.com/article/2018...

Looks like Putin buttered up Trump for ending the Israel-Gaza War, and got another 1 on 1 meeting with him, which according to Trump's Truth Social post doesn't include Zelenskyy. Meanwhile, Putin's troops are still in Ukraine, and he is (again) trying to bomb Ukraine's electrical grid before winter

🚀⚠️ Russia launched the largest number of Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine since the start of a full-scale war — 26 missiles — The Insider Previously, the record for a single strike was 14 missiles. Modernized missiles were used, and none of them were shot down.

Reporters walked out of the Pentagon on Wednesday after news outlets refused to sign new press rules laid out by Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense. The new rules raise the prospect of punishment for simply requesting information on matters of public interest. Read more: nyti.ms/48sfl6q

“The Defense Department has confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...your AfD supporters" www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

Back from vacation and up with a new post on how ahead of #NoKings rallies, Republicans are trying to discredit the protesters as "paid," taking a page from the Eastern European playbook of discrediting opposition. publicsphere.news/p/ahead-of-n...

Russia launched over 3,100 drones, 92 missiles, and nearly 1,360 aerial bombs against Ukraine in the past week - Zelenskyy