Europe Watch

Drones, Discord, and the Shifting Front in Ukraine – War on the Rocks– warontherocks.com

pgnewser July 30, 2025 0

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Fresh from his latest research trip to Ukraine’s battlefields, Michael Kofman joins Ryan for an insightful discussion on the shifting dynamics at the front, the role of drones in Ukraine’s defensive strategy, and the adaptation of Ukrainian military command structures in real time. They explore the political turmoil gripping Ukraine, including contentious reforms targeting anti-corruption agencies, and delve into evolving Western efforts for supplying arms to Ukraine. Their conversation also tackles the implications of President Trump’s growing frustration with Putin and provides a clear-eyed assessment of Senator Graham’s proposed Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, and what it might mean (or, not mean) for the future of the conflict. Kofman goes into many of these issues further in his show, “The Russia Contingency,” so don’t miss out on becoming a member. Join at warontherocks.com/membership.

Trump Sets New Deadline Giving Russia Less Than Two Weeks to End War with Ukraine (VIDEO) | The Gateway Pundit– www.thegatewaypundit.com

pgnewser July 28, 2025 0

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President Donald Trump has set a new deadline of “ten or twelve” days for Russia to make a deal and end the war with Ukraine.

Trump has been pressuring Russia to cease hostilities or face economic repercussions, including tariffs on their key trading partners.

The deadline Trump set on July 14 was 50 days, but he said he has been “very disappointed” in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s lack of effort.

“I’m going to make a new deadline, of about 10, 10 or 12 days from today,” Trump said while speaking to reporters in Scotland alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “There’s no reason for waiting. It was 50 days. I wanted to be generous, but we just don’t see any progress being made.”

Britain’s Breaking Point: Farage Warns of Collapse as Reform Rises and Trump Leads by Example– warroom.org

pgnewser July 28, 2025 2

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In a charged and sobering conversation on Monday’s War Room, Nigel Farage joined Steve Bannon to issue a stark warning about the United Kingdom’s deteriorating state, highlighting societal decay, unchecked immigration, and a political class he described as “completely and utterly rotten.” Against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s second-term success—sealing the U.S. border and restructuring global trade—Farage positioned himself and the Reform UK movement as the last line of defense for Britain’s sovereignty, values, and safety.

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Trump downplays Macron’s move on Palestine while Rubio, GOP call it reckless– www.foxnews.com

pgnewser July 25, 2025 0

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President Donald Trump on Friday dismissed French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state — a notably gentler response than the sharp condemnation from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top Republicans, who blasted the move a day earlier.

“What he says doesn’t matter,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “He’s a very good guy. I like him, but that statement doesn’t carry weight.”

Macron took to X on Thursday to announce his intention for France to recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly next September.

Macron took to X on Thursday to announce France’s formal recognition of the Palestinian State at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

France to recognise Palestinian state in September– www.bbc.com

pgnewser July 25, 2025 0

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France will officially recognise a Palestinian state in September, President Emmanuel Macron has said, which will make it the first G7 nation to do so.

In a post on X, Macron said the formal announcement would be made at a session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“The urgent need today is for the war in Gaza to end and for the civilian population to be rescued. Peace is possible. We need an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and massive humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza,” he wrote.

Palestinian officials welcomed Macron’s decision, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the move “rewards terror” following Hamas’s 7 October 2023 attack in Israel.

The US “strongly rejects” Macron’s announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, calling the decision “reckless”.

The G7 is a group of major industrialised nations, which alongside France includes the US, the UK, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan.

In his Thursday post on X, Macron wrote: “True to its historic commitment to a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, I have decided that France will recognise the State of Palestine.

Zelensky appoints new prime minister in major government shakeup – World Socialist Web Site

pgnewser July 25, 2025 0

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Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky undertook the largest shakeup of top government officials since the NATO-backed proxy war between Ukraine and Russia began in February 2022. Zelensky has officially appointed a new prime minister along with reshuffling several other top cabinet positions. The primary aim of the government shakeup is to solidify Kiev’s ties with the US administration of Donald Trump. US imperialism is still Ukraine’s most important military backer.

Yulia Svyrydenko, 39, was confirmed as the country’s new prime minister on Thursday and will replace former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who has served as prime minister since 2020. Shmyhal will remain part of the Zelensky government as the newly appointed defense minister.

Svyrydenko previously served as first deputy prime minister and minister of economic development and trade. She played the leading role in negotiating the “critical minerals deal” this past spring between Ukraine and the Trump administration that saw Ukraine hand over vast sections of its economy to US imperialism in exchange for continued military aid in the war against Russia.

“She was the key and the only person leading these negotiations. She managed to prevent them from unraveling,” said Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former economy minister who previously worked with Svyrydenko.

Ukraine’s security service arrests anti-corruption agents over alleged Kremlin ties – MSN–

pgnewser July 25, 2025 0

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Ukraine’s SBU state security service launched a series of raids on the country’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) as part of an investigation into allegations that officials within the agency have been cooperating with Russia.

The SBU said on Monday that it had arrested two officials working for NABU, one a suspected Russian spy and the other over alleged business ties to Russia.

Poland’s Tusk reshuffles cabinet, promotes Sikorski to deputy PM – Reuters

pgnewser July 25, 2025 0

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Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday in a bid to regain momentum amid falling approval ratings and potential clashes with the new, opposition-backed nationalist president.
Since Karol Nawrocki’s victory over Tusk’s liberal ally Rafal Trzaskowski in June’s presidential election, dissension within the ruling pro-European coalition has grown, raising doubt about its future under a veto-wielding head of state.

German court acquits satirist over social media post following Trump assassination attempt – MSN

pgnewser July 25, 2025 0

German court acquits satirist over social media post following Trump assassination attempt – MSN
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A German court on Wednesday acquitted a satirist who was charged with having approved of an assassination attempt against Donald Trump during last year’s U.S. election campaign in a social media post and disturbed the public peace.

In a quickly deleted post under his alias “El Hotzo” on X in July last year, Sebastian Hotz drew a parallel between Trump and “the last bus” and wrote “unfortunately just missed.” In a follow-up post, he wrote: “I find it absolutely fantastic when fascists die.”

Slovak state gas firm eyes full Russian supply – Bloomberg — RT World News– www.rt.com

pgnewser July 25, 2025 0

Ukraine Russia war latest: Ukrainian military loses first French Mirage fighter jet in crash ahead of peace talks– www.independent.co.uk

pgnewser July 25, 2025 0

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Russian soldiers needing medical care returned by Ukraine

Two Russian soldiers in need of medical care were handed over by Ukrainian authorities yesterday to be returned home, the Russian defence ministry said.

A ministry statement on Telegram said the two servicemen were handed over and taken to Belarus, one of Moscow’s closest allies, on Russia’s western border. They were receiving treatment in Belarus and would soon return to Russia, it said.

The statement said the action was undertaken on the basis of agreements reached at the second of two direct meetings aimed at ending the conflict last month between Russian and Ukrainian representatives.

The two meetings in Istanbul resulted in agreements to return prisoners of war and remains of fallen soldiers, but made little progress towards an end to the more than three-year-old conflict.

Ukrainians Turn on Zelensky as He Prepares to Cancel Anti-Corruptions Investigator Group

pgnewser July 25, 2025 0

Protests in Ukraine as Zelensky signs bill targeting anti-corruption bodies– www.bbc.com
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President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a bill that critics say weakens the independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies, sparking protests in several cities and drawing international criticism.

Critics say the new law undermines the authority of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sapo) – placing them under the control of the prosecutor general.

In an address on Wednesday, Zelensky said both agencies would still “work” but needed to be cleared of “Russian influence”.

After the bill passed, hundreds of people gathered in Kyiv for the biggest anti-government protest since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Demonstrations were also seen in the cities of Lviv, Dnipro and Odesa.

“We chose Europe, not autocracy,” said a poster held by one demonstrator. “My father did not die for this,” said another.

Ukraine’s chief prosecutor, Zelensky loyalist Ruslan Kravchenko, will now be able to reassign corruption probes to potentially more pliant investigators, and even to close them.

U.K. Sanctions 135 Oil Tankers in Russia’s Shadow Fleet– www.themoscowtimes.com

pgnewser July 22, 2025 0

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Britain on Monday slapped sanctions on 135 oil tankers in Russia’s shadow fleet in a bid to disrupt the flow of money helping Moscow fund the war in Ukraine.

A shipping services company and an oil trading firm were also sanctioned as part of the crackdown on a fleet “responsible for illicitly carrying $24 billion worth of cargo since the start of 2024,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Security analysts say the fleet of aging vessels is used by Russia to circumvent international sanctions that ban it from selling oil.

Hundreds of vessels have now been sanctioned by the European Union and the U.K. since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“New sanctions will further dismantle Putin’s shadow fleet and drain Russia’s war chest of its critical oil revenues,” Foreign Minister David Lammy said Monday.

The action came just days after “the U.K. and EU lowered the crude oil price cap further disrupting the flow of oil money into Putin’s war chest,” the ministry statement added.

EU says Ukraine’s blocks on anti-graft bodies ‘a serious step back’– www.france24.com

pgnewser July 22, 2025 0

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The EU on Tuesday said Ukrainian lawmakers were responsible for “a serious step back” as they voted to remove the independence of two anti-corruption agencies. Opponents say the new rules neuter the agencies ability to investigate those close to the upper echelons of politics by placing them under the command of a Prosecutor General, directly appointed by the president.

Zelenskyy renews offer to meet with Putin as latest peace talks loom – National– globalnews.ca

pgnewser July 22, 2025 0

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday renewed his offer to meet with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, but hopes of progress were low as delegations prepared to hold another round of talks.

Russian forces, meanwhile, pounded four Ukrainian cities in nighttime attacks that officials said killed a child.

Putin has spurned Zelenskyy’s previous offers of a face-to-face meeting to end Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II. But the Ukrainian leader insists that lower-level delegations like the ones expected for talks in Istanbul on Wednesday don’t have the political heft to stop the fighting. The sides remain far apart on how to end the war begun by Russia’s full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

“Ukraine never wanted this war, and it is Russia that must end the war that it itself started,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post.

John Brennan Refuses To Be Intimidated By Trump Threats– www.politicususa.com

pgnewser July 22, 2025 0

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As the mainstream media crumbles, PoliticusUSA can stand tall thanks to your support. Please consider supporting us by becoming a subscriber.

The best way to fight back against an imperial president who is determined to rewrite history through bullying threats and intimidation is not to yield.

Former CIA Director John Brennan is one of four former intelligence officials who have been referred to the DOJ for prosecution because they wrote reports and signed letters about Russia interfering in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump.

On MSNBC’s Deadline: White House, Brennan defended the intelligence:

 Anybody who looks at the intelligence assessment and the work that was done will see that it was very carefully worded, meticulously done, and it stands up to scrutiny and to the test of time. As you pointed out, there have been numerous reviews about it, and it didn’t say any of the things that tools Gabbard alleges it said or didn’t say.

And I, I really do encourage people to read it because it was very clear in terms of what it said that the Russians were using at President Putin’s direction influenced operations to try to denigrate Hillary Clinton, try to increase the prospects for Donald Trump’s selection, and also just to undermine the integrity of our election system.

And again, those were the primary judgements. Again, they are ones that certainly I and others who were involved continue to stand behind.

James Comey And John Brennan Will Be Convicted By History– thefederalist.com

pgnewser July 22, 2025 0

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The Justice Department recently acknowledged that it is conducting a criminal investigation of both former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey. The current CIA director, John Ratcliffe, made a criminal referral to the DOJ concerning Brennan. Many believe that referral involves perjury on Brennan’s part when testifying before Congress or during Special Counsel John Durham’s inquiry.

The precise criminal offenses concerning Comey are not clear at this point. But there was certainly plenty of malfeasance and misfeasance by both these agency heads starting with the inception of the Russia collusion fiasco.

Comey described, in his book, the sole origin of the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign as a report “from an allied ambassador” of a conversation in London between a Trump adviser and “a Russian agent.” That was his characterization of George Papadopoulos’ meeting with Joseph Mifsud, who told the Trump aide the Russians had “dirt” on Hillary Clinton. Comey has piously huffed that it would have been “dereliction” not to proceed with an investigation. But to proceed with an intrusive investigation on so little was abuse.

A secondhand rumor should never be enough to justify opening an investigation of any American, much less a presidential candidate. This off-hand conversation initiated an investigation that dogged the presidency. Like directors before him, Comey should have said, “We need more proba

KALLAS COMPLAINS: Top EU Diplomat Gripes That US Is Not Paying for New Weapons for Ukraine, Thinks 50-Day Ultimatum for Russia ‘Is Too Long’ | The Gateway Pundit– www.thegatewaypundit.com

pgnewser July 17, 2025 0

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EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas wants the US to help pay for the weapons for Ukraine.

The new NATO initiative to arm Ukraine rubs Kallas wrong.

Not everyone is thrilled by the new plan devised by US president Donald J. Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte to send weapons to Ukraine.

The novel initiative will see NATO countries (Europeans and Canada) to cede equipment to Ukraine, and buy back from the US to replenish their arsenals.

This plan sees Trump shifting the financial burden of the war to the warmongering EU powers that want to keep it going.

‘We have spent about $350 billion on the Russia-Ukraine war. And we would like it to end.’

Donald J. Trump

Trump says Ukraine should not target Moscow | Russia-Ukraine war News– www.aljazeera.com

pgnewser July 17, 2025 0

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US president’s remarks follow report saying he encouraged Kyiv to step up strikes inside Russian territory.

United States President Donald Trump has said Ukraine should not target Moscow after he reportedly asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if Kyiv could strike the Russian capital if he provided long-range weaponry.

Trump made the comments after The Financial Times on Tuesday reported that the US president had encouraged Zelenskyy to step up strikes deep inside Russian territory during their phone call on July 4.

The report, which cited two unnamed people familiar with the discussion, said Trump had also asked his Ukrainian counterpart whether he could hit Moscow and St Petersburg if supplied with weapons with enough range.

In response to a question on Tuesday about whether Zelenskyy should target Moscow, Trump told reporters at the White House that he should not.

Trump also told reporters that “we’re not looking” at providing Kyiv with longer-range missiles.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt appeared to confirm the discussion in a statement provided to multiple media outlets, but said it had been taken out of context.

NATO Pays ‘100%’ for Ukraine › American Greatness– amgreatness.com

pgnewser July 17, 2025 0

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Though endlessly critical of his predecessor, President Trump has adopted a Ukraine strategy similar to that of former President Joe Biden: Arm the Ukrainians to the teeth and threaten Russian President Vladimir Putin with even more sanctions if he does not agree to a peace deal.

Some of Trump’s closest domestic allies are already warning that the “expanded American role in the Ukraine War” will be “quite shocking” to the America First voters who returned him to the Oval Office.

But the same president who vowed to end the war in 24 hours has lost patience with Putin after six months. “He’s fooled a lot of people,” Trump said of the Russian leader. “He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden. He didn’t fool me.” Seated in the Oval Office next to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the president offered a glimpse into the negotiation process and his seemingly shifting mood on the war.

“I felt we had a deal about four times,” Trump admitted. “But it just kept going on and on.”

So Trump will sell weapons to NATO to supply Ukraine, and if Russia does not yield in 50 days, Trump promises another 100% tariff on all Russian goods.

Russia economy meltdown as property market collapses | World | News– www.express.co.uk

pgnewser July 17, 2025

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Russia’s economy is facing fresh turmoil as its once-buoyant property market plunges into crisis, with sales of new apartments collapsing by nearly 39% over the past year, according to new government data. From July 2024 to June 2025, just 458,727 apartments were sold across the country, representing a staggering 38.7% drop in the number of transactions compared to the previous 12 months.

The total area of property sold fell by 37.2%, down to 21.9 million square metres, according to a report by the state-owned housing firm Dom.RF. The figures are echoed by real estate platform Cian, which recorded a 39% decline in property deals year-on-year, down to 477,000 units.

The dramatic decline has been linked to the abolition of Russia’s preferential mortgage program on July 1, 2024.

Ireland to Reject EU Demands to Impose Hate Speech Restrictions: Report– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser July 9, 2025 0

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The Irish government is reportedly set to reject demands from the European Union to implement hate speech legislation after Dublin abandoned plans to do so last year.

In September of last year, the Irish government scrapped plans to criminalise so-called hate speech in its Criminal Justice Bill, which would have allowed the state to send someone to prison for up to five years for “incitement to hatred against persons on account of their protected characteristics”.

The move to abandon the controversial section of the bill came as Justice Minister Helen McEntee admitted that it did “not have a consensus” among the Irish population.

In response, the European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, warned that Dublin may face legal action from Brussels for failing to meet the bloc’s stringent speech standards.

The commission said in May that Ireland “still fails to transpose the provisions related to criminalising the public incitement to violence or hatred against a group or a member of such group based on certain characteristics, as well as the conducts of condoning, denial and gross trivialisation of international crimes and the Holocaust”.

 

The BBC Did It Again – PJ Media– pjmedia.com

pgnewser July 9, 2025 0

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… On the one side, you had the Normans, led by their Duke, William. Normans — aka Northmen — were partially Franco-fied Vikings, invited to settle in France in 911 at the behest of the West Frankish king, Charles the Simple.

On the other side, you had the English — descended from Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from northern Germany — led by the just-crowned King Harold Godwinson.

OK, so now you can give your flip answer. Here’s mine: those armies were whiter than an all-albino Osmonds tribute band.

But not to the BBC, whose new miniseries — “King and Conqueror” — features “a diverse group of actors” telling the story of Harold and William’s fight for the English throne.

“Adding diversity to a high medieval period setting follows the BBC’s ‘colour-blind’ casting of non-white stars as Tudor courtiers in another upcoming historical drama,” according to The Telegraph.

That isn’t color-blind casting — it’s historical revisionism, full stop. They’re remaking history to suit a particular agenda. It’s the same agenda introduced by Tony Blair’s New Labour government a quarter century ago to remake the British electorate.

Today’s report also goes right back to a conversation with my wife last week.

Ukraine says it struck a Russian air base as Russia sent hundreds of drones into Ukraine– japantoday.com

pgnewser July 9, 2025 0

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Ukraine said it struck a Russian air base on Saturday, while Russia continued to pound Ukraine with hundreds of drones overnight as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than 3-year-old war.

Ukraine’s military General Staff said that Ukrainian forces had struck the Borisoglebsk air base in Russia’s Voronezh region, describing it as the home base of Russia’s Su-34, Su-35S and Su-30SM fighter jets.

Writing on Facebook, the General Staff said it hit a depot containing glide bombs, a training aircraft and “possibly other aircraft.”

Russian officials did not immediately comment on the attack.

Russia fires over 100 drones at Ukraine as Kremlin dismisses transport chief after travel chaos– abcnews.go.com

pgnewser July 9, 2025 0

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KYIV, Ukraine — Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said Monday, as the Kremlin dismissed the country’s transport chief after a weekend of travel chaos when Russian airports grounded hundreds of flights due to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks.

At least 10 civilians were killed and 38 injured, including three children, in Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said.

Russia recently has intensified its aerial strikes on civilian areas after more than three years of war. Over the past week, Russia launched some 1,270 drones, 39 missiles and almost 1,000 powerful glide bombs at Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday.

Russia’s bigger army is also trying hard to break through at some points along the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620 miles) front line, where Ukrainian forces are severely stretched.

UN Condemns Russia’s Largest Drone Assault on Ukraine– www.themoscowtimes.com

pgnewser July 9, 2025 0

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UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres condemned Saturday Russia’s biggest drone and missile attack yet in the three-year war in Ukraine.

“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the latest series of large-scale drone and missile attacks by the Russian Federation,” Guterres said in a statement referring to the assault Friday and also calling for a full, immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

Hours-long Russian bombardments sent Ukrainians scurrying for shelters across the country.

AFP journalists in Kyiv heard drones buzzing over the capital and explosions ringing out throughout the night as Ukrainian air defense systems fended off the attack.