Tootfinder

Ukraine will only halt attacks on Russian energy targets if the enemy does likewise and the US guarantees it,
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The announcement came after Donald Trump’s uncorroborated claim that both sides have agreed to such a ceasefire.
Neither Ukraine nor Russia had said so at time of writing.
The US president regularly claims to have brokered what turn out to be nonexistent or extremely shortlived deals between foreign adversaries or with his o…

Ukraine war briefing: No energy ceasefire until Russia stops, Zelenskyy confirms after Trump claim
Moscow would need to commit ‘honestly and on a long-term basis’ to ending the war before Kyiv would de-escalate. What we know on day 1,665

Russia arrested a Japanese journalist for the Hokkaido Shimbun newspaper on espionage charges on Russia's Sakhalin Island (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/russia-japan-sakhalin-island-journalist-arre…

So #Russia just lost the capacity to put stuff in space, apparently. Either immediately, or in the very near future.
Ukraine hit its main rocket factory in Samara.
In part, it's a shame. But it was inevitable, as the very same rockets that sent stuff to the ISS are putting military crap in orbit. So this factory is an obvious military target.

"Trump rewards Putin and betrays Ukraine with Russia diesel deal - The Latest" https://www.theguardian.com/news/video/2026/oct/12/trump-rewards-putin-and-betrays-ukraine-with-russia-diesel-deal-the-latest

Trump rewards Putin and betrays Ukraine with Russia diesel deal - The Latest
Donald Trump’s deal to buy Russian diesel has been met with fury from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said it was ‘a weak decision’ and would generate ‘billions’ in extra revenue for Putin’s war effort. Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s senior international correspondent, Luke Harding

Everyone Lost the War With Iran
Months of fighting revealed that multiple countries can impose costs,
but none can impose order.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/16/iran-war-trump-gulf-china-russia-israel-ceasefire-deal/

Everyone Lost the War With Iran
Months of fighting revealed that multiple countries can impose costs, but none can impose order.

Ukraine update from GGiorgio Provinciali: when dealing with Russia, the truth is always disturbingly complicated.
Share the friend link to bypass the paywall and help the world unravel the deception of Kremlin fuckery: https://

russia Is Building a Ukrainian Brigade. The Question Is Why It Needs One
Live from Ukraine 🇺🇦

Ukraine's drone attacks severely damaged three of Yandex's six data centers, disrupting Russia's tech ecosystem, centered on one vast, state-aligned company (Financial Times)

Oil and gas markets are becoming a little less gullible. Trump's story that high diesel prices are due to Ukraine's attacks on Russian 'diesel refineries' and his 'agreement' with Russia and Ukraine to stop attacking each other's energy infrastructure hardly made a dent in the oil price.

The US has deployed weapons in space, the US military has confirmed,
in an extraordinary public announcement that analysts warn will accelerate a high-risk arms race with Russia and China in Earth’s orbit.
The US secretary of the air force, Troy Meink, said Washington had active “on-orbit” weapons, meaning they had been deployed and were circling the globe.
It has been an open secret that the US, Russia and China are working on space weapons,
which could include signa…

US confirms for first time it has deployed weapons in space
Analysts warn of an acceleration in high-risk arms race with Russia and China in Earth’s orbit

🇯🇵 #Japan is mad because the default free world maps on the #EqualEarth website depict the Kuril Islands under Russian control.

Japan seeks change to new UN world map over Russia 'misconception'
The new ‘true-scale’ map shrinks Europe and North America while enlarging Africa – and depicts the disputed Kuril islands as ruled by Moscow

Het lijkt toch slimmer om een paar cruciale knooppunten te vernielen dan om massaal burgers te bestoken
Far-right bot accounts 'fall silent' as Ukraine strikes cripple Russian data centres
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics

"If Russia wins" is a very readable, short book, that describes a possible scenario. It illustrated for me how NATO and article 5 works and that is different then the public perceives it. Highly recommended summer read.
https://a.co/d/0fRQUNoi

Russia’s intelligence services are plotting to carry out
targeted killings in the United States and in European nations supporting Ukraine,
federal authorities said Tuesday as they announced charges against five people who remain at large.
An indictment unsealed in Manhattan federal court said a network of the intelligence services had
paid and attempted to pay individuals in the United States and in other countries
to surveil targets to be killed with plans to …

Russia plotting to kill Ukraine allies in US and Europe, FBI says
Intelligence services allegedly attempted to pay people to surveil and kill people perceived to be aligned with Ukraine

12 Senators—Half of Them Republican—Tell Trump to End Russia Diesel Deal Now
Six GOP senators joined together with their Democratic colleagues on Tuesday to rebuke Donald Trump’s recently announced diesel deal with Russia.
Senators Mitch McConnell, Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, Alan Armstrong, Lisa Murkowski, and John Cornyn
signed a letter along with six other Democrats
in opposition to the deal,
which waives sanctions on Russian diesel sold to the global marke…

12 Senators—Half of Them Republican—Tell Trump to End Russia Deal Now
“This deal ​is a gift to our adversary and a betrayal of our Allies,” the senators warned.

russia importing fuel from South Korea...
Ukraine attacs on russian petroleum infrastructure were effective
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/06/oil-tankers-south-korea-russia-ukraine-war

Fuel from South Korea being shipped to Russia as Ukraine war grinds on
Exclusive: Guardian analysis finds more than 150,000 tonnes of fuel was shipped to Russian ports in July and August, some using sanctioned tankers

"But a group of countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia and including India and China,...". The duplicity of their argument is obscene. Yes, developing countries are sadly under-represented in science overall, but NOT those 4. How many years has IPCC been active? (IPCC was established in 1988). And only now, when "Cop33 is scheduled to critique governments’ actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions...", these guys are concerned about inclusivity?
And yes, there nee…

IPCC is under pressure to delay publication of key global climate report
AR7 report was scheduled for 2028 in time for Cop33 summit but some petro-states and major developing countries want to postpone it

"But a group of countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Russia and including India and China,...". The duplicity of their argument is obscene. Yes, developing countries are sadly under-represented in science overall, but NOT those 4. How many years has IPCC been active? (IPCC was established in 1988). And only now, when "Cop33 is scheduled to critique governments’ actions to cut greenhouse gas emissions...", these guys are concerned about inclusivity?
And yes, there nee…

IPCC is under pressure to delay publication of key global climate report
AR7 report was scheduled for 2028 in time for Cop33 summit but some petro-states and major developing countries want to postpone it

As could be expected, data centres are becoming war targets. Yandex is an essential part of the Russian internet and also runs meal delivery and taxis.
There's undoubtedly grounds to label it as a military target, but - like with the refineries - it will help in making Russians feel the war too.

Third Yandex data center in Russia shut down following reported drone attack
On Oct. 10, Yandex updated its user agreement to include drone and missile attacks among circumstances of force majeure that could exempt the company from contractual obligations.

Russia wanted to cow Ukraine allies with railway drone attack, says top EU diplomat (Katie Westwood/Politico)
https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-wanted-frighten-western-countries-with-drone-attack-warsaw-bound-train-kaja-kallas/
http://www.memeorandum.com/260914/p28#a260914p28

Ukraine-Russia war live: Zelensky says Kyiv will resume strikes on Putin’s oil refineries and hits out at Trump | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-trump-putin-zelensky-musk-starlink-b3067112.html

Ukraine’s Vulnerability Grows
as Starlink Is Restricted
and Russia Escalates
A huge attack cut power to
600,000 people in Kyiv,
and a Pentagon-funded
satellite internet program
appeared to be curbed
without warning.
https://www.

Ukraine’s Vulnerability Grows as Starlink Is Restricted and Russia Escalates
A huge attack cut power to 600,000 people in Kyiv, and a Pentagon-funded satellite internet program appeared to be curbed without warning.

A campaign using manipulated videos of US celebrities, falsely branded with CNN logos, is targeting Democratic candidates and seems to be backed by the Kremlin (Brandy Zadrozny/MS NOW)
https://www.ms.now/news/russia-election-influencing-campaign-targeting-dem…

A Russian disinformation campaign is doctoring celebrity videos to meddle in the midterms
The Kremlin-backed operation, known as Matryoshka, has Hollywood actors telling voters to disavow the Democratic Party and vote Republican.

Ukraine update from Dylan Combelick: insight and analysis that can't be beat.
Share the friend link and help the world be a little less stupid: https://medium.com/@dylan_combellick/ukraine-update-august-14-990de33fc301?sk=16…

Ukraine Update August 14
2026 — Views from Russia

Ukrainian forces struck Russia's Savasleyka military airbase and a key Roscosmos facility in Samara Oblast
using domestically produced Flamingo missiles, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Aug. 15.
"The Savasleyka airfield, where the carriers of Russian missiles that strike our cities and villages are based, was also reached by our long-range sanctions," Zelensky said.
"It is about 700 kilometers from Ukraine," he added.
MiG-31K fighter…

Ukraine reportedly strikes Russian military airbase behind ballistic missile attacks as rockets target Samara
Ukrainian forces struck Russia's Savasleyka military airbase, which stores Mig-31 fighter jets capable of launching Kinzhal ballistic missiles, monitoring channels reported on Aug. 15.

@… they also had a plan to nuke the mountain passes between Iran and Russia to prevent a Soviet invasion of Iran. The actual Iranians were never consulted, of course.
Documented in Maj, David Crist’s excellent book “The Twilight War”.

"#Germany blames #Russia for attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport"
By — Geir Moulson, Associated Press (AP)

Germany blames Russia for attempted drone attack at Leipzig airport
Moscow has been widely accused by Western officials of running a campaign of sabotage and disruption across Europe with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations.

Wir müssen uns bei der Ukraine erneut bedanken: die Angriffe auf Russlands Yandex Datencenter reduzieren in Deutschland die Bot-Angriffswelle der AfD und lähmt damit die elektornische Kriegführung gegen unser Land. Bot-Angriffe auf die Demokratie sind um 70% reduziert durch ein paar gezielte Treffer in Russland. Wer es bislang nicht wahrhaben wollte: Russland führt Krieg gegen Deutschland, "hybrid" ist er in vollem Gange und die Unterstützung für Staatsfeinde klar.

Russia's Yandex bot traffic nearly eliminated overnight after Ukraine drone strikes cripple multiple of 'Russia's Google' data centers — Ukraine intensifies bombing of Yandex data centers in response to Moscow’s strikes on Kyiv data centers
The world is getting a break from Russian bots thanks to Kyiv.

A profile of Tatyana Kim, founder of Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries, which has lost an estimated third of its warehouse space to Ukrainian attacks (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/08/world…

She Is Russia’s Richest Woman. Her Business Empire Is Going Up in Flames.
As Ukraine repeatedly strikes warehouses of the e-commerce site Wildberries, Tatyana Kim, its billionaire co-founder, faces her biggest test yet.

President Zelensky’s anger with the Trump administration burst into view on Thursday
when he said he would no longer abide by President Trump’s demand to stop striking Russian oil refineries.
It was a remarkably vocal expression by the Ukrainian leader of frustration with the United States, as Kyiv grapples with what it sees as a betrayal by Washington.

Zelensky Says Ukraine Will Resume Russian Refinery Strikes, Defying Trump
President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed overt frustration with the United States in an interview with The Financial Times. He had paused the strikes to comply with a demand from the United States.

A dose of realism.
Poland's Sikorski: Russia doesn’t have the forces to invade NATO.
https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/9/24/aje-onl-nf_russia-doesnt-have-theforces-to-invade-nato-240926

Sikorski: Russia doesn’t have the forces to invade NATO
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Polish FM Radoslaw Sikorski says Russia ‘doesn’t have the force to invade NATO.

RE: https://journa.host/@timkmak/117236349271272709
Russia won't attack NATO directly. It's trying to piss NATO off - though incursions, cyber attacks, drones, etc - so that NATO makes the first conventional attack against Russia, allowing Putin to cla…

That damn Ukraine and her damn interference in the elections
#politics #kek

In the 80s, during the Cold War, a drone attack with explosives on a plane would have caused crisis meetings in governments and the military, now it is just a small article on this frontpage in Germany. I don't think Russia has received the message we don't want to allow this...
We could just slide into war and will probably be surprised when people start dying outside Ukraine...
Russia is simply not deterred from doing more attacks.

"Russian 'shadow fleet' tanker leaking oil into Arabian Sea after explosion"
#Russia #Environment

Poland called out SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk for restricting access to Starlink satellite terminals across Ukraine.
Ukrainian soldiers have had their access to the internet restricted amid Donald Trump’s demands for a halt to long-range strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, according to reports.
The service provided by Elon Musk’s SpaceX provides broadband internet and has been used for government and military communications in the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“…

Poland blasts Musk for restricting Ukraine’s Starlink access: ‘Big man, are you playing politics again?’
‘We are watching you,’ said Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski amid outcry about restriction of the technology

Russia sanctions bill clears procedural House hurdle (Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing/Politico)
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/09/14/congress/russia-sanctions-bill-clears-procedural-house-hurdle-01076228
http://www.memeorandum.com/260914/p144#a260914p144

#GiftLink
Opinion | Russia Was Losing. Enter President Trump. - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/opinion/trump-russia-diesel-ukraine.html?unlocked_article_code=1.I1E.w-TL.1FJ2otbrZYfY&smid=url-share

Ukraine update from Giorgio Provinciali: US sanctions against Russia are meaningless as long as Europe continues to finance the war with oil and gas purchases.
Share the friend link to bypass the paywall and help fight ignorance and hypocrisy:

The Only Sanctions russia Cannot Evade · How Ukraine Enforces What the West Announces
Live from Ukraine 🇺🇦

A profile of Russia's A7, a payment network that helps Russia bypass Western sanctions, handling ~20% of payments in Russian foreign trade, or $100B annually (Alexander Osipovich/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.

#USpol #russia #elections

RE: https://mastox.eu/@NBCNews/117394287253791382
"Russia says no plague found in contacts of Siberian lab worker who died."
Yeah, we're f***.
Never trust anything that ruSSia don't contradict.
/sarcasm, at least I hope

Donald Trump is trying to make America more like him.
But voters will soon get to deliver a verdict on the president’s efforts to redefine how the government he leads wields power at home and abroad.
Three flashpoints illustrate how his coercive and transactional instincts are changing the character of the country and how the rest of the world sees us.
🔸Ever since World War II, America has nurtured democracy.
But by allowing Russia to supply markets with diesel, Trump…

Russia deal, execution plans and deportations tell a defining tale about Trump and power
Hegseth’s plan livestream the death by firing squad of the Fort Hood mass shooter and other Trump administration moves court backlash.

Head of drone manufacturer critically injured in car bomb in Russia.
Assassination attempt demonstrates Ukraine’s ability to continue clandestine operations deep inside Russian territory.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug

RE: #Russia

Trump has terminated virtually all U.S. assistance to Ukraine,
with the exception of a relatively small amount legislated by Congress.
In doing so, he gave up some very high-value cards.
Zelenskyy almost certainly would have paid greater heed to Trump’s request to leave Russian oil refineries alone had the United States continued to provide the level of assistance that the Biden administration supplied in 2022-2024
($30-$40 billion a year)
or even a significant…

In the Russia-Ukraine War, Does Trump Know How to Play Cards?
President Trump is giving up influence with Ukraine's Zelenskyy while seriously underplaying his hand with Russia's Putin.

Trump's Deal With Russia Inflames War He Vowed to Swiftly End (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/us/politics/trump-russia-ukraine.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/261015/p134#a261015p134

Do mesmo realizador de "chegamos a Kiev em 3 dias", o novo sucesso de bilheteira:
https://observador.pt/2026/09/15/assessor-de-putin-avisa-se-polonia-entrasse-em-guerra-contra-a-russia-o-pais-deixaria-de-existir-em-dois-ou-tres-dias/

People are rightfully condemning the Trump administration's despicable deal for diesel with Russia.
The part I don't get is: Ukraine's drone attacks on Russian refineries have proven so successful Russia had to resort to importing fuel from India. So how are they going to produce the diesel to salvage their asset Trump's midterm prospects? I suspect the diesel will never be delivered and it's all a huge market manipulation.

Russia will not stop its hybrid attacks against Europe until the EU shows it is serious,
and calls Moscow's foreign military intelligence agency a terrorist organization,  
Lithuania's Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys told journalists
ahead of an Oct. 12 meeting of EU foreign ministers.
"We have to review GRU, Russia's military intelligence (agency),
which in their operations is already acting as a terrorist organization," Budrys said.

Lithuania calls on EU to designate Russia's foreign intelligence agency a terrorist organization
"Only when we increase our sanctions, when we show that we are serious, will we deny Russia the possibility to raise havoc in our capitals," Budrys said.

Data Insight: Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries, which owes Russian banks $10B in loans, has lost as much as $5B in inventory to Ukrainian attacks (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.c…

Treasury hits Russia's VTB Bank with new sanctions over Iran ties (Kevin Breuninger/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/14/treasury-bessent-russia-vtb-bank-iran-sanctions.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/260914/p121#a260914p121

What does this mean?
"We are not at war, but we are the daily target of hybrid warfare," said Interior Minister Dobrindt on Tuesday, after he blamed Russia for the failed attack.
It sounds like "We are not at war with Russia, but we are a war target for them."
Might sound like a rather comfortable position in Putin's ears.

Russia's hybrid attacks on Germany: When is it 'war'?
The German government is holding Russia responsible for an unsuccessful attack in Leipzig. Yet many feel that its response has been too mild.

When future students search online for “sellout,” “appeaser” or “traitor to his country’s core values,” pictures of Donald Trump and Neville Chamberlain
will come up first, side by side.
And deservedly so.
At least Chamberlain was trying, in what proved to be lethally misguided fashion, to avoid a world war.
Trump is trying to avoid losing a few seats in Congress
— and is likely to be no more successful in achieving his goal than Chamberlain was in achieving h…

Opinion | Trump’s Democracy-for-Diesel Deal Shames Us All
The president’s arrangement to import Russian diesel fuel is one more example of how he has sold out American democracy.

Ukraine update from Dylan Combelick: confronting ignorance with truth and receipts.
Share the friend link and make MAGA cry: https://medium.com/@dylan_combellick/ukraine-update-august-13-94c354ca9f2d?sk=e8d8d905962ef9134d14b0c4c8…

Ukraine Update August 13
2026 — China Shows Russia How It's Done — We’re Really Sh-ing Ourselves

Anne Applebaum:
"Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia."
#ukraine #russia

The fascist Vox, Tory PP and those dreadful rightwing Catalan nationalists, Junts, blocked long overdue reforms that would have protected tenants, because of course, property owners must be free to ramp up rents, evict at will, all in the pursuit of profits.

Spain’s Sšnchez calls snap election amid national housing crisis – Europe live

Spain’s Sánchez to hold press conference amid speculation over early election – Europe live
PM may call a vote to address national housing crisis after parliament rejected two of his government’s emergency relief measures

Elon Musk has just shown why Trump and the US are now the enemy within | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/elon-musk-starlink-trump-russia-ukraine-war-b3067115.html

Ukrainian defense tech company Fire Point's first ballistic missile will be ready this fall,
its CEO told POLITICO
— a crucial development if Kyiv hopes to survive the growing ferocity of Russian missile attacks.
Iryna Terekh, who is also Fire Point's chief technology officer,
said it is working on its tactical short-range FP-7 ballistic missile.
With a 200-kilometer range and carrying a 150-kilogram warhead,
the missile can hit ground targets

Ukraine’s new ballistic missile puts Putin within reach
Kyiv is developing its own domestic ballistics as Russia’s missile threat grows.

Russia and Ukraine trade strikes as Trump 'energy ceasefire' collapses (Andrew Roth/The Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/15/us-effort-to-get-russia-ukraine-energy-ceasefire-collapses
http://www.memeorandum.com/261015/p44#a261015p44

U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham confirmed Kremlin involvement in his country's 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union,
the Observer newspaper reported on Oct. 11.
Burnham asked about Kremlin involvement when he became prime minister in July, reports the Observer,
where he said he was given
"the clear answer that, yes, there was."

Russia behind Britain's Brexit vote, UK prime minister admits for first time
"These things are important now to put clearly on the record and, I believe, help voters in Germany and France understand that some of this politics is instigated via our enemies, namely Russia," media reports Burnham saying.

Ukrainian attacks on warehouses of Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries are affecting tens of thousands of small businesses that rely on the platform (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/ukrainian-attacks-wildberries-strike-heart…

Trump says Ukraine and Russia agreed not to hit energy targets (Kevin Breuninger/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/14/trump-ukraine-russia-energy-oil-iran.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/260914/p68#a260914p68

Ukraine intensifies bombing of Yandex data centers in response to Moscow’s strikes on Kyiv data centers
Russia's Yandex bot traffic was nearly eliminated overnight
after Ukraine drone strikes cripple multiple of 'Russia's Google' data centers

Russia's Yandex bot traffic nearly eliminated overnight after Ukraine drone strikes cripple multiple of 'Russia's Google' data centers — Ukraine intensifies bombing of Yandex data centers in response to Moscow’s strikes on Kyiv data centers
The world is getting a break from Russian bots thanks to Kyiv.

A Russian plot to kill a Ukrainian American citizen in Warsaw was thwarted by Poland before it could be carried out,
the Polish prime minister said Thursday,
marking the first time in decades that a Western leader has publicly accused Moscow of plotting to kill a U.S. citizen.
Western officials have previously warned that Russia has stepped up a campaign of targeted killings since President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine,
saying they have disrupted several p…

What's at Stake for Putin in Russia's Wartime Election? (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-15/what-s-at-stake-for-putin-in-russia-s-duma-election
http://www.memeorandum.com/260915/p10#a260915p10

Yandex says a drone strike shut down a third data center, disrupting 80 services like Yandex Cloud and YandexGPT; users report banking and taxi app outages (Tymur Dubovyk/Kyiv Post)
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/86708

Drones Hit Yandex Data Center in Vladimir, Russia, Disrupting Over 80 Services
The third strike on Yandex servers in four days idled a 50-MW hub, disabling cloud systems, YandexGPT, and retail apps.

Russia is now losing 1,200-1,500 soldiers *per day* in its failing invasion of Ukraine. Mobilisation is expected after the Russian 'elections' next week. Thousands of men are fleeing the country already.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/09/09/8052538/

Kash Patel vows to carry out 'Russia's bidding in plain sight' in new letter: legal expert - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/kash-patel-russia-2677699760/

Bipartisan House group urges Trump to enforce Russia sanctions, scrap diesel deal (Jalen Beckford/Politico)
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/10/15/congress/house-lawmakers-trump-russia-diesel-deal-01120231
http://www.memeorandum.com/261015/p49#a261015p49

CIA director John Ratcliffe is preparing to take a bigger role in US negotiations with Russia and Ukraine, US officials have told their European counterparts, in a bid to jump-start moribund diplomatic efforts to end the four-and-a-half-year-long war.
The move comes as the White House is considering paring back the involvement of US special envoy Steve Witkoff and president Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have been leading the talks with Moscow and Kyiv, according to five …

US spy chief prepares for greater role in Russia-Ukraine talks
CIA director John Ratcliffe will be involved in shuttle diplomacy between Moscow and Kyiv

It's good to realize that if/when Russia should decide to attack NATO-countries with drones or missiles, support from the US will probably be none or limited. Because of Trump being a Putin ally but also because the US has a shortage in missiles and munitions....
Our protection is ofcourse NATO and article 5. I am however not convinced that the US will want to follow that route after limited drone attacks from Russia for example. It's not an "automatic" process.

Wary of Trump, Europe Seeks Role in Any Russia-Ukraine Talks (Steven Erlanger/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/world/europe/wary-of-trump-europe-seeks-role-in-any-russia-ukraine-talks.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5lA.yJ1V.kMafMTDt1RBH&smid=url-share
http://www.memeorandum.com/260815/p18#a260815p18

Opinion by Eric Schmidt
the former CEO and chairman of Google and chair of the Special Competitive Studies Project.
Ukraine’s way of fighting war can’t match what’s coming
Russia is mobilizing for total war.
It is considering another vast call-up of troops,
which Ukraine expects to happen this fall,
and is building the industrial capacity to produce weapons in extraordinary quantities.
Ukraine cannot match such enormous capacity on its own.
This…

Ukraine’s way of fighting war can’t match what’s coming
Russia is shifting its strategy to erase Kyiv’s battlefield advantages.

Ahead of Kash Patel's Field Trip to Russia, He Promises Not to Investigate Russian Attempts to Frame Democrats - emptywheel
https://emptywheel.net/2026/08/12/ahead-of-kash-patels-field-trip-to-russia-he-promises-not-to-investigate-russian-attempts-to-frame-democrats/

Papa Johns, Propaganda and Putin: How a MAGA Influencer With Ties to Russia Became Trump's Arctic Adviser (Heather Vogell/ProPublica)
https://www.propublica.org/article/thomas-dans-arctic-research-commission-trump-russia-propaganda
http://www.memeorandum.com/260915/p34#a260915p34

So the Trump family doesn't mind confirming how corrupt they are...
#trump #corrupt #russia

Up to 50,000 North Korean soldiers will be deployed in Russia, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said,
while calling on South Korea to provide support for Ukraine’s air defence.
It is an increase from the estimated 30,000 announced by the Ukrainian president in July.
Kyiv had found some North Korean missiles in Ukraine’s territory, he said. “It is absolutely clear that ⁠North Korea will continue to build its experience in modern warfare, receive licences from Russia, and receive…

Ukraine war briefing: North Korea sending 50,000 troops to Russia – Zelenskyy
Kim Jong-un’s regime has already provided thousands of soldiers, as well as missiles and artillery; Turkey readies arms package for Ukraine. What we know on day 1,629

Another disaster on the account of our fossil fuel use.: Oil spill from grounded tanker off Oman expands sharply, satellite images show
https://apnews.com/article/oil-tanker-russia-oman-marine-spill-environment-b163bc0540786085f5a6e5…

Satellite images reveal large oil spill off Oman from grounded ship
An oil spill from a grounded sanctioned tanker off Oman is expanding dramatically, reaching shorelines and spreading far out to sea. Greenpeace Germany says satellite images show the spill now covers about 150 square kilometers, or 58 square miles. It's a significant increase from last week's 20 square kilometers. The spill affects part of a marine protected area. The Caroline Bezengi tanker has been grounded since June. It is estimated to have been carrying over 800,000 barrels of crude oil. T…

The diesel deal disrupts four years of western financial pressure on Moscow and leaves Kyiv’s allies in Europe and Nato scrambling to adapt their sanctions plan.
The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said the diesel deal “provides Moscow with more revenues to wage war”.
“This is not the time to ease pressure on Russia, and Europe won’t,” she said on Saturday.
“On Monday, EU foreign ministers intend to approve the biggest set of sanctions listings targeting Russia’s war machi…

Trump says Ukraine needs a new leader after diesel deal with Russia
US president suggests Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not done enough to end war

Ukraine ratchets up its attacks on warehouses of Russian e-commerce giant Wildberries, signaling a new phase in the war as it seeks to hamper Russia's economy (Sam Meredith/CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/23/ukraine-russia-war-wildberries-drones-amazo…

Russia’s Amazon-style retail giant Wildberries is now in Ukraine’s crosshairs. Here's why
Ukraine has ratcheted up its attacks on Russia's Amazon-style retail giant Wildberries, signaling a new phase in the war.

Seems legit, what with the contract soldier call-up: "Ukrainian president also says Russia will use its parliamentary election next month as a pretext to declare a new mobilisation."
Zelenskyy says Ukraine has sent proposals to US to end war with Russia | News | Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/12/zelenskyy-says-ukraine-has-sent-proposals-to-us-to-end-war-with-russia?traffic_source=rss

I am afraid most people in Europe are unaware how large the risk is that the war in Ukraine will escalate further and that europeans countries become militarily more involved....with all the risks associated with it.
#Ukraine #Russia

Russia is hitting Kyiv’s bridges, hoping to make the capital unlivable by winter

The Ukrainian capital’s left and right banks are connected by eight bridges
— and Russia has been targeting both its North and South bridges in recent days
https://www.

Russia is hitting Kyiv’s bridges, hoping to make the capital unlivable by winter
The Ukrainian capital’s left and right banks are connected by eight bridges — and Russia has been targeting both its North and South bridges in recent days.

Sources: US and Russian diplomats worked to weaken an AI weapons pact at the UN this month, removing a requirement that humans review AI-generated targets, more (Pranshu Verma/Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/

U.S., Russia stripped human oversight from global AI weapons pact
The two nations weakened a range of safeguards in a landmark U.N. effort to try to regulate the use of lethal autonomous weaponry. The global negotiations earlier this month marked the furthest progress yet toward a potential treaty.

Trump calls on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel fuel, citing a global shortage (Associated Press)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/09/13/russia-ukraine-war-drones-odesa-refinery-border-crossing/a29a5f10-af6a-11f1-92c2-5c918f4a6127_story.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/260914/p22#a260914p22

Drones struck a data center owned by Russia's Yandex in the town of Sasovo, marking the first major attack on a Russian data hub since the Ukraine war began (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/world/drones-hit-yandex-data-centre-f…

While President Trump is focused on Iran,
a propitious moment to be the peacemaker in the Russia-Ukraine war could be slipping away.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine have been clear in recent months that they want the United States to re-engage and start intensive negotiations to bring the fighting to an end.
They will not wait forever.
Putin continues to speak approvingly of Trump,
but some senior officials, as wel…

Opinion | Trump’s Chance for Peace in Ukraine Is Real. But It Won’t Last.
There’s a narrow chance for a Russia-Ukraine peace deal before things go south.

Crimea has been a bridgehead for Russia since it seized the territory from Ukraine in 2014.
But the peninsula is now looking vulnerable.
Ukraine has stepped up its drone campaign, targeting strategic infrastructure including electrical substations, bridges, oil depots and airfields.
Drones are also severing the roads, railways and waterways that connect Crimea to Russia.
Isolating the peninsula completely would give Ukraine a strong hand in any future negotiations…

Ukraine's refusal to give up territory to Russia stalls peace deal, Trump envoy says (Tim Zadorozhnyy/The Kyiv Independent)
https://kyivindependent.com/ukraines-refusal-to-give-up-territory-to-russia-stalls-peace-deal-trump-envoy-says/
http://www.memeorandum.com/260913/p4#a260913p4

The Latest Spot for a Trump Tower: An Ex-Soviet Republic Moving Closer to Russia (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/the-latest-spot-for-a-trump-tower-an-ex-soviet-republic-moving-closer-to-russia-adb04f38
http://www.memeorandum.com/260913/p8#a260913p8

Growing geopolitical competition is accompanying environmental disruption.
Countries including Russia, China, and the United States are investing in the Arctic
and consolidating their interests in strategic access, resource exploitation, and alliance-building.
 
The consequences of this emerging Arctic Anthropocene are truly global
—from rising sea levels due to melting glaciers
to tensions between great powers determined to protect their territory and resou…

Unfrozen
A vital account of the state of the Arctic today—emphasising the twin dangers of climate change and geopolitical competition   Nowhere is the dual threat ...

A far-right leader who has won an important state election in Germany has
thanked Elon Musk for his support,
as voices in Europe warn the result is a serious moment for the continent.
No far-right party has led or formed a government in Germany since the defeat of nazism at the end of the second world war.
Ulrich Siegmund, the Alternative für Deutschland’s lead candidate, thanked Musk on X
after the tech billionaire said “Well done!” in German to the AfD co-fou…

First Thing: German far-right leader thanks Elon Musk after landmark election win praised by Russia
The populist, far-right, anti-immigration AfD won the vote in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt

A new, bipartisan bill could allow Trump to drop 100 percent tariffs on virtually any country he likes,
for as long as he likes,
and with pretty much bulletproof legal authority to do so;
Which means even the Supreme Court couldn’t bail out Congress (or the rest of us) next time.
This is all happening through the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act,
which is rapidly moving through Congress with broad bipartisan support.
It is expected to clear the S…

Senate Voting to Give Trump a Tariff Nuke
A bill supposedly aimed at Russia is really an unprecedented new tariff power grab—yet prominent Democrats are backing it.

An intercepted Russian document details their plan to cause the Ukrainian energy system to collapse through methodical attacks.
The plan, a copy of which The New York Times obtained,
describes a campaign of strikes using up to 1,000 missiles, drones and bombs.
They would target a wide range of facilities, including electrical substations, hydroelectric and thermal power plants, and boiler houses.
Most alarming, the document says that Russia intends to force Ukraine’s …

Russia Is Planning Its Most Powerful Blow Yet to Try to Freeze Ukraine
Ukraine showed European partners what it said were intercepted Russian plans to cut off major cities from power, heat and water this winter.

Russia and North Korea Are Scrambling Trump’s Alliance Strategy
Pyongyang’s military is sharpening itself on Ukrainian battlefields.
What does that mean for U.S. defense coordination?
https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/08/28/n

Russia and North Korea Are Scrambling Trump’s Alliance Strategy
Pyongyang’s military is sharpening itself on Ukrainian battlefields. What does that mean for U.S. defense coordination?

“We live a double life. During the day, I deal with paperwork. At night, I shoot down drones,”
said Oleksandr, a lawyer, standing beside his truck-mounted machine gun in a field outside Kyiv.
“It’s a strange duality. With time you get used to it.”
But warfare in Ukraine evolves at extraordinary speed
and units such as Mriya are struggling to keep up.
Since the summer, Russia has increasingly deployed jet-powered drones that crews say can travel at about 600km/h …

‘A life-or-death race’: the volunteers protecting Kyiv’s skies from new jet-powered drones
Russia’s latest weapons have left Ukraine’s civilian air defence teams frantically trying to adapt as winter approaches

Russia attended the G20 summit in North Carolina Monday,
marking the first time that the nation has participated in the global economics meeting since it invaded Ukraine four years ago.
Russia’s finance minister,
Anton Siluanov, attended alongside representatives of the Russian Central Bank -- at the invitation of Donald Trump.
But the diplomat’s presence was not welcomed by all—European leaders spent much of the morning scorning Siluanov.
German vice chancellor…

Russia Joins G20 Summit After Trump Invite—Sparking Massive Backlash
Our European allies were shocked after Russia’s finance minister attended the summit being held in North Carolina.

On July 31, President Volodymyr Zelensky disclosed estimates revealing that Russian forces had suffered around 1.6 million military casualties since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, including approximately 700,000 killed.
https://kyivindependent.com/general…

General Staff: Russia has lost 1,480,750 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
The figure includes 1,450 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

The Levada Center, an independent Russian pollster, found in an April poll that 62% of respondents favored moving to peace talks, while only 27% said military operations should continue.
Although the poll was conducted before the most recent Ukrainian drone strikes, it appears to reflect a growing sense of fatigue and weariness in the Russian capital, where the war is slowly coming home.

Ukraine’s deadly strikes are bringing the war home to Russians, and discontent is bubbling up
Residents in Russia’s largest cities have largely been sheltered from the daily realities of the war with Ukraine. But Kyiv’s long-range attacks are changing that.

Vladimir Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff,
pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of interest.
The connections between Witkoff and Kushner to players in the Lukoil deal illustrate why Trump’s friends and family members should not be top foreign policy advisers.
“This is an alarming and very concerning set of entanglements,”
said Ms. Chen, who has worked as a corporate compliance law…

U.S.-Russia Talks on Ukraine Now Involve an Oil Deal Tied to Trump Allies
President Vladimir V. Putin brought up a sale of Russian energy assets with President Trump’s envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, pushing a deal that raises new questions about conflicts of interest.