Russia is conducting an unprecedented campaign of disruption across Europe. NATO allies shouldn’t mirror the Kremlin but pose more strategic dilemmas eg snap exercises, faster collective attribution& using Russian frozen assets.My take for @politico.eu @victorjack.bsky.social @laukaya.bsky.social

This is the time for the EU to finally agree to use the 185 bn euro in frozen Russian assets to arm Ukraine. It’s the biggest card that Europeans hold. The time is now.

Europe is wrestling with crumbling bridges, narrow tunnels and red tape as it plans how to move an army eastward to countries bordering Russia or Ukraine. Currently, the journey would take roughly 45 days, but the aim is to reduce it to five – or even three on.ft.com/3X2sFri

As US pulls back, NATO flexes its muscles in Romania. A large-scale military exercise on Europe’s eastern flank, dubbed Dacian Fall, aimed to deter a Russian aggression. With takes from @oanalungescu.bsky.social and Anca Agachi. www.politico.eu/article/unit...

The 1994 Budapest memorandum with security guarantees for Ukraine was blatantly breached by Russia twice. In 2014 with Crimea’s illegal annexation & in 2022 with the full-scale invasion of 🇺🇦 Nobody should trust a word of what Putin says in Budapest - he’s just playing for time.

⚡️Germany pledges over $2.3 billion in new military aid for Ukraine, including Patriot and IRIS-T air defense systems. The package will also include precision-guided weapons and ammunition.

As Russia tests NATO air defenses, the alliance must give its top military commander the flexibility he needs. Good preview of today’s meeting of defense ministers in @politico.eu by @victorjack.bsky.social including my take on need for greater clarity in rules of engagement.

Trump to meet Zelenskyy in Washington on Friday on.ft.com/3J95bNF

An inspiring choice for the Nobel Peace Prize!

Russia paid for Orthodox priests from #Moldova to make pilgrimages to Moscow. In exchange, they had to set up social media accounts warning about the dangers of closer European integration. @reuters.com investigation about how Kremlin is trying to influence Sunday’s key #election in Moldova 🇲🇩

NATO has responded to Russia’s incursion in Estonia’s airspace. But as Moscow’s recklessness grows, NATO must deploy more air defense & give SACEUR Gen Grynkewich maximum flexibility. My take for @Carnegieeurope along with some great colleagues. Thanks @rmomtaz.bsky.social for the timely question!

How is NATO balancing deterrence and defense in responding to Russia’s repeated airspace violations? Read this @politico.eu article by @laukaya.bsky.social with my take ✈️ @rusi.bsky.social www.politico.eu/article/nato...

Russia is conducting an intense disinformation campaign to sway Moldova’s parliamentary elections on Sept. 28, flooding social media with fake posts, videos & websites & using increasingly effective AI tools, in a template for future interference. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/b...

“The Chinese nation is a great nation that does not fear violence,” warns Xi Jinping at massive military parade, standing with the Russian & North Korean dictators. A clear signal of how China aims to shape the world order & why US attempts to prise Putin away from Xi are naive. on.ft.com/3HT68cs

The ban on @rusi.bsky.social operating in Russia is a backward step not meant to silence RUSI but domestic debate about the Russian government, as Director General Ellehuus says.Proud to be associated with the world’s oldest defence think-tank & its work, including on Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine

The leaders of France, Germany and Poland are converging today on tiny Moldova to urge voters to keep turning away from Russia and support their country’s pro-EU government.

💥 US offers to provide European-led Ukraine peace force with intelligence & surveillance capacities, command & control assets & air defence components in major shift for Trump & big win for Nato, officials briefed on negotiations with Washington tell me & @christopherjm.ft.com on.ft.com/4mKuhko

🚨 BREAKING: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is convening an emergency virtual summit on Wednesday with European leaders, US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 🔗 ow.ly/66SM50WCOGG

Merz has managed to convene a virtual summit with Trump, Zelensky and others on Wednesday - a small victory for German diplomacy after Merz & Trump spoke last night, but let's see what emerges.

The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine 🇺🇦 Read the statement by President Macron 🇫🇷 PM Meloni 🇮🇹 PM Starmer 🇬🇧 European Commission President @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu 🇪🇺 President @alexstubb.bsky.social 🇫🇮 ahead of President Trump’s planned meeting with Putin in Alaska.

Keith Kellogg, United States Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, arrived in Kyiv this morning.

Significant visit to Washington by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte ahead of President Trump’s expected announcement of a major plan facilitating weapon sales to NATO allies for transfer to Ukraine. After speaking to Trump last week Rutte said he’s working with allies to get 🇺🇦 the help they need

“You are our dagger in Europe and we will be sharpening you carefully.” The chilling message of a Russian handler to a British drug dealer behind sabotage attacks in the U.K., exposing how Moscow uses criminal gangs to destabilise Europe & its support for Ukraine. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/w...

Welcome news that the US Department of Defense is sending “additional defensive weapons” to Ukraine. Putin’s continued unjustified attacks show he has zero interest in peace. The only way to ensure peace is to support Ukraine.

The UK will host a meeting of the so-called coalition of the willing, a loose partnership of Western countries pledging support for Ukraine, on the sidelines of a French-British summit on Thursday.

We shouldn’t be afraid, we should be prepared - the recurring theme of this great visual story of how NATO countries from Finland 🇫🇮 to Poland 🇵🇱 are strengthening their defences to deter any Russian attack. @richardmilne.ft.com @financialtimes.com

Does meeting NATO’s new target of 5% of GDP on defense enable Europe to confront the Russian threat? My take for @carnegieendowment.org Strategic Europe, skilfully edited by @rmomtaz.bsky.social. carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...

NATO’s Trump flattery buys time but dodges tough questions. Read @reuters.com analysis of how the summit in the The Hague went smoothly - and what may come next, including my take. @liliebayer.bsky.social @andrewramsaygray.bsky.social www.reuters.com/business/aer...

BREAKING The Hague summit declaration of NATO leaders: recommitment to Article 5, new commitment to investing 5% of GDP on defense, continued support to Ukraine, Russia described as a “long-term threat.” www.nato.int/cps/en/natoh...

At NATO’s high-stakes summit in The Hague, allies will set a new target to invest 5% of GDP in defense, hoping it will buy time to fill big capability gaps, please Trump & deter Putin. My commentary for @rusi.bsky.social www.rusi.org/explore-our-...

Wonderful and surprising news out of Belarus, as Lukashenko sets free 14 political prisoners in a deal brokered by Trump’s special envoy Keith Kellogg.

“The whole of Ukraine is ours… wherever a Russian soldiers steps foot, that’s ours.” Putin’s imperialist ambitions to control Ukraine remain unchanged, despite all peace efforts. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/20/w...

The #NATO summit in The Hague can mark “a quantum leap” in collective defence & also give 🇺🇸 President Trump a win. Despite a last-minute hurdle from Spain, leaders should agree to invest 5% of GDP on #defense - but on what, exactly? Read this from me & other great @epc-official.bsky.social experts

Are we closer to a European army? Talk of a new military force is reappearing as the continent feels more vulnerable to Russia & unsure about US commitment to NATO. Timely discussion on the “The Inquiry” on BBC World Service, where I was one of 4 expert witnesses. @rusi.bsky.social

Great insights as ever from @oanalungescu.bsky.social on the threats (seen and unseen) from Russia and what needs to be done and crucially when! podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

NEW NATO allies are considering including contributions to Ukraine’s defense in the new 5% of GDP defense spending target, according to the draft commmuniqué for the summit in The Hague later this month. Currently only contributions through NATO trust funds counted www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

“We’re all on the eastern flank now,” says NATO SecGen Rutte at @chathamhouse.org, arguing that Russia could be able to use force against NATO in 5 years. That’s why, he stresses, alliance leaders must agree to invest 5% of GDP on defense & boost industrial production m.youtube.com/watch?v=7GKa...

NATO needs a 400% increase in air & missile capability, Secretary General Rutte will say in a speech at @chathamhouse.org. “Wishful thinking will not keep us safe,” he’ll warn ahead of a summit where the alliance is likely to increase its defense spending target to 5% of GDP

Another day, another email from Russia's fake news factory. If you want an insight into where Russia's strategic interests are at the moment, we've received a dozen emails like this about the President of Moldova since April 21st, and none before. Seems someone got their orders in April.

Germany’s 45th Armoured Brigade, the country’s 1st permanent deployment abroad since WWII, is part of NATO’s deterrence and defence on the eastern flank. This would have been unthinkable before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine & is a direct response to it.

The EU is stepping in to fund RFE/RL after the Trump administration pulled the plug. RFE/RL provides regular, detailed and accurate coverage of regions, including the Caucasus and the Balkans, that are sometimes overlooked

What did Nicușor Dan’s 9-year old daughter tell him when he said he would run for President of Romania? find out in this @politico.com portrait of the common sense candidate who bucked the trend of populism. @timross1.bsky.social @andreipopoviciu.bsky.social www.politico.eu/article/nicu...

Russia continues to refuse to agree to a full ceasefire in Ukraine; Ukraine will not withdraw troops from the territories it controls, President Volodymyr Zelensky said; and more.

Nicușor Dan has been elected President. Romania has decided to continue its steady course as part of the Euro-Atlantic family, to go forward not backwards. Jubilant crowds in central Bucharest chant, “Russia, Russia, don’t forget, Romania is not yours!” 🇷🇴 🗳️

The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, is the 1st international leader to congratulate Nicușor Dan on his election as President of Romania. About 1 million Moldovans also hold Romanian passports & their votes played a key role in this stunning victory 🇷🇴 🇲🇩

BREAKING Two exit polls show a clear win for pro-Western Nicușor Dan over ultranationalist George Simion in Romania’s presidential elections.

NEW Secretary General Mark Rutte confirms that NATO leaders will issue a defense investment plan (not just a pledge) at next month’s summit in The Hague including both core defense capabilities & infrastructure/resilience.He didn’t confirm figures but they’re likely to be 3.5%+1.5%=5% of GDP by 2032

High stakes in Romania’s presidential election on Sunday. While independent Nicușor Dan wld hold the country’s pro-Western course, ultranationalist George Simion wld be a disruptive figure at the EU & NATO, especially on support for Ukraine. My take in @politico.eu www.politico.eu/article/geor...

Polish officials say a massive fire that destroyed a large shopping center in Warsaw last year was the result of arson ordered by Russian intelligence services.

Russia’s orthodox church is converting Americans to the Kremlin’s view of the world. Some converts have hundreds of thousands of followers online & push narratives that Russia is the world’s last bastion of “true”Christianity. Hear @lucyaash.bsky.social podcast from Texas 🇺🇸