Important Takeaways:
- Ukrainian forces backed by Western munitions and technology struck a major Russian strategic bomber airfield on Thursday with drones, 435 miles from the Ukrainian front lines.
- The strike ignited a massive explosion and sent a huge blast of fire into the air at Engels-2 airbase in Russia.
- Videos posted by Reuters showed a huge blast spreading out from the airfield and wrecking nearby cottages.
- Russia reportedly called this the largest drone attack ever.
- According to Reuters, Russia’s defense ministry said air defenses had shot down 132 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions.
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Important Takeaways:
- The French government has drawn up a 20-page ‘survival manual’ to prepare its citizens for a potential invasion.
- Drawn up by the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security (SGDSN), the booklet contains 63 safety measures to follow in case of military threat or natural disasters, such as a nuclear leak or industrial accident.
- The French government has drawn up a 20-page ‘survival manual’ to prepare its citizens for a potential invasion.
- Drawn up by the General Secretariat for Defense and National Security (SGDSN), the booklet contains 63 safety measures to follow in case of military threat or natural disasters, such as a nuclear leak or industrial accident.
- French newspaper Le Figaro noted that the timing of the kit’s release “could easily suggest that the state is reaching to the unstable international situation.”
- But officials from the defense department say it is “absolutely not” intending to prepare its citizens for “the prospect of war – unlike in Sweden.”
- The Scandinavian country issued five million leaflets to its citizens last year, encouraging them to be prepared for the possibility of war, as well as natural disasters and cyber-attacks.
- It was an updated version of a leaflet that has been distributed five times since the Second World War, but it did not mention Russia, Ukraine or any other country by name.
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Important Takeaways:
- “Today I will have contact with President Trump,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Helsinki with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. “We will discuss the details of the next steps with him.”
- As Breitbart News reported, Trump and Putin spoke Tuesday and addressed a host of global issues including the current war in Ukraine.
- Trump took to Truth Social to relay that his and Putin’s conversation, which lasted more than two hours, “was a very good and productive one.”
- AP reports Zelensky countered that optimism by declaring Putin’s agreement to stop striking energy infrastructure was “very much at odds with reality” following a series of drone attacks across the country.
- “After Putin’s conversation with the U.S. President Donald Trump, where Putin said he was supposedly giving an order stopping strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure, there were 150 drones overnight, targeting energy infrastructure among other things,” Zelensky said at the news conference.
- “There were strikes against transport. Two hospitals were unfortunately hit. In other words, Putin’s words are very much at odds with reality.”
- The Ukraine leader said one of the most difficult issues in future negotiations would be the issue of territorial concessions.
- “For us, the red line is the recognition of the Ukrainian temporarily occupied territories as Russian. We will not go for it,” he said.
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Important Takeaways:
- President Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for at least 90 minutes Tuesday about ending the war in Ukraine, the White House said, noting that the two leaders agreed that “negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East.”
- The two leaders also agreed to a ceasefire against energy infrastructure, both sides said. Trump described the call as “very good and productive” on Truth Social.
- “Many elements of a Contract for Peace were discussed, including the fact that thousands of soldiers are being killed, and both President Putin and President Zelenskyy would like to see it end,” Trump wrote on social media. “That process is now in full force and effect, and we will, hopefully, for the sake of Humanity, get the job done!”
- “Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace,” the White House said in a statement after the call. “They also stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia. The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people.
- “This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts. The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace,” it continued. “These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East.”
- “The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts. They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel,” the White House also said. “The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved.”
- “We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together. But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,” he also said.
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Important Takeaways:
- Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko reportedly said that the Kremlin wants an “ironclad” guarantee that Ukraine will be prohibited from joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as the Trump administration works to broker a deal to end the fighting.
- “We will demand that ironclad security guarantees become part of this agreement,” Grushko was quoted by the Russian newspaper Izvestia as saying, according to Reuters. “Part of these guarantees should be the neutral status of Ukraine, the refusal of NATO countries to accept it into the alliance.”
- Grushko reportedly made no mention of the 30-day cease-fire proposal, which was accepted by Ukraine with U.S. negotiators in Saudi Arabia last week. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that any agreement must first meet crucial conditions.
- U.S. special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff told CNN on Sunday that Trump and Putin are expected to speak on the phone this week. Witkoff himself described having a “positive” and “solution-based” meeting with Putin in Moscow last week.
- Grushko reportedly reiterated in the interview with Izvestia that Russia remains strictly opposed to the deployment of European troops to Ukraine, as Britain, France and Australia have signaled being open to sending a NATO “peacekeeping” force to the country.
- “It does not matter under what label NATO contingents were to be deployed on Ukrainian territory: be it the European Union, NATO, or in a national capacity,” Grushko said, according to Reuters. “If they appear there, it means that they are deployed in the conflict zone with all the consequences for these contingents as parties to the conflict.”
- French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, was quoted as telling several French media outlets on Saturday that the intention is to “deploy a few thousand men per nation, at key points, to carry out training programs” and “show our support over the long term.”
- “If Ukraine asks allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or not,” Macron reportedly said.
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Important Takeaways:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin met with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, in Moscow on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said…
- Following their talks in Jeddah on Tuesday, Washington and Kiev published a joint statement in which Ukraine agreed to a proposed 30-day ceasefire with Russia, while the US announced the resumption of military aid and intelligence sharing with Kiev.
- Speaking to journalists on Friday, Peskov confirmed Witkoff’s visit, stating that the US representative had met with Putin to deliver “additional details” to the Russian leader. Putin also gave the envoy “information and additional signals for President Trump,” Peskov said.
- During a press conference on Thursday, Putin stated that Russia “absolutely supports” the idea of resolving the Ukraine conflict through peaceful means and is ready to discuss Trump’s ceasefire proposal. The Russian president suggested that dialogue could include a personal conversation with the US leader.
- However, he stressed that all the details of a ceasefire must first be clarified, noting that Moscow is not interested in a short-term solution and instead wants to reach a lasting resolution of the conflict.
- Putin cited a system of “control and verification” to monitor any truce as well as Kiev’s potential attempts to use the pause in hostilities to rearm and reinforce its troops on the front line. He also noted the importance of clarifying the status and fate of Ukrainian troops currently encircled in Russia’s Kursk Region, where Kiev launched an incursion last year.
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Important Takeaways:
- A delegation of United States diplomats arrived in Moscow on Thursday morning for talks on agreeing a ceasefire in the Ukraine War, with a possible call between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin to follow.
- America’s Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff flew into Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Thursday morning, having travelled from Doha, Qatar by way of European airspace…
- To this point Russia has been relatively circumspect on the ceasefire, saying only after it was agreed in principle by the U.S. and Ukraine that they would wait for further details from Washington to study before commenting further. The two nations had agreed to work towards peace at talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, a decision that saw the Trump administration resume military and intelligence support to the Kyiv government.
- Who will be representing the Russian side in negotiations today has not been stated by the Kremlin but it has been briefed Witkoff and the American delegation may speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is also suggested, but not confirmed, that a telephone call between President Trump and President Putin may take place later today.
- Meanwhile, Russia states it continues to retake its own territory in the Kursk Oblast from Ukraine’s counter invasion, a bid to grasp a bargaining chip which appears to be falling apart at the very moment it is most needed. Western intelligence community-adjacent media has stated Ukrainian troops have withdrawn in large numbers to escape being totally encircled and massacred, and Russian state media asserts most of what Ukraine once held has now been recaptured.
- On Wednesday, the U.S. said on peace the ball is now in Russia’s court, and the White House urged Moscow to sign.
- Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “This is the closest we have been to peace in this war”. President Trump has warned there would be consequences for Russia if they refuse to go along with his plan, having stated: “That would be very bad for Russia… I don’t want to do that because I want to get peace”.
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Important Takeaways:
- Ukraine reportedly launched at least 337 drones into Russia on Tuesday in the largest-yet drone attack of the Moscow-Kyiv conflict, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
- It came just before US and Ukrainian delegations were scheduled to meet for negotiation discussions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday.
- Russia set the previous drone-attack record a little over two weeks ago, when it launched 267 drones at Ukraine in a single night on Feb. 23.
- Ukrainian officials have yet to comment on the Russian report.
- If true, it could represent a show of strength by Kyiv ahead of its talks with the US in Saudi Arabia.
- Ukrainians have been losing significant ground in the region over the past week, losses that experts say were hastened by the US decision to halt intelligence sharing.
- Another 91 were downed in the Moscow region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 70 drones were taken down en route to the Russian capital.
- It comes after Russia has upped its missile and drone attacks on Ukraine since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous Oval Office meeting with President Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Feb. 28.
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Important Takeaways:
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has slammed Europe’s “cowardice” to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin as his nation looks to arm itself with nuclear weapons to avoid the same fate as Ukraine.
- Tusk said the current situation in Europe, which is scrambling to react to President Trump’s decision to halt military aid and intelligence to Ukraine, would not have happened if the union took harsher actions against Russia.
- “Our deficit has been the lack of the will to act, having no confidence, and sometimes even cowardice,” Tusk told his parliament on Friday, adding that Moscow would have been rendered “helpless against a united Europe.”
- The premier has called on Europe to accept that US aid may not be returning to Ukraine under the Trump administration, and that it’s up to them to act now before it’s too late.
- To that effect, Tusk said his nation must be ready to fight in the event of a Russian invasion, with Poland currently in serious talks to gain some of France’s nuclear arsenal for protection.
- “Poland must pursue the most advanced capabilities, including nuclear and modern unconventional weapons,” Tusk said in a statement. “This is a serious race — a race for security, not for war.”
- Tusk added that Poland will be building an armed force of more than 500,000 soldiers as he called for a plan to make sure every man in the nation undergoes military training.
- Poland’s army currently stands at more than 200,000 fighters, making it the third-largest in NATO after the US and Turkey.
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Important Takeaways:
- The European Union will free up $840 billion in funding to funnel into defense across the bloc, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday.
- Dubbed “Rearm Europe,” the remarks from the European Commission’s president came hours after President Donald Trump suspended all U.S. military aid to Ukraine, widening the gulf between Washington and Kyiv and going against the fresh commitments of support from Europe for Ukraine in recent days.
- “I do not need to describe the grave nature of the threats that we face, or the devastating consequences that we will have to endure if those threats would come to pass,” von der Leyen told reporters.
- The European Commission head said she had written a letter to the leaders of the European governments to outline a “set of proposals” to “rearm Europe.”
- It details “how to use all the financial levers at our disposal in order to help member states to quickly and significantly increase expenditures in defense capabilities, urgently now, but also over [a] longer period of time, over this decade,” von der Leyen said.
- As part of the proposal, countries in the bloc will have access to loans of up to €150 billion, or just shy of $158 billion, for defense investment. The plan will also mean activating what is known as an “escape clause” for EU countries in a set of rules that currently govern how member states manage their public finances.
- …European nations are scrambling to work out how to plug huge gaps in its military capabilities that the U.S. has traditionally filled.
- Efforts to rearm will focus on air defense missiles, artillery ammunition and the systems to fire them, as well as drones and counter-drone warfare and other areas of the military, von der Leyen said.
- NATO states have less than 5 percent of the necessary air defense capabilities to protect central and Eastern Europe from large-scale attack, the Financial Times reported in May 2024.
- European officials have previously told Newsweek that air defense capacity is currently a fraction of what it should be, and a major worry.
- As Washington rewrites its relationship with the continent, there are deep and pressing concerns about whether the various leaders across the continent can come up with a coherent strategy to protect NATO’s continental countries, without U.S. involvement. European officials publicly and privately agree that defense spending must dramatically increase, but are split on how quickly this can happen, and by just how much.
- The new plan will mean member states can “massively step up their support to Ukraine,” von der Leyen remarked on Tuesday, which she translated to “immediate military equipment for Ukraine.”
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