2-5 "Some in the Brazilian delegation said the presence of the Ukrainian leader [at the G7] was a “trap” to force a meeting, while others complained they only learned about the visit when Lula was already in Japan, the officials said"
3-5 "Many in the Brazilian delegation were nervous that Zelenskiy would be included in the so-called family photo of summit leaders on Saturday, the officials said, and felt relief when he didn’t show up. Japan had said earlier there would be no press availability for Zelenskiy."
4-5 The cowardice of Brazil here is truly shameful. And we see it's the entire Lula team. Lula himself, his advisers, his staff.
5-5 In what world, dear Brazil, is it OK for your leader to be *afraid* of meeting or being photographed with the leader of a nation that defends itself lawfully, that 50 other nations help every day, and that your leader claims (falsely?) he wishes would find peace?
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1-7 "Russia’s Deputy Science Minister Pyotr Kucherenko has died months after a prominent journalist recalled him criticizing the invasion of Ukraine in private conversations."
2-7 "Kucherenko, 46, fell seriously ill on board a flight returning from Cuba on Saturday, Russia’s Science and Higher Education Ministry said Sunday."
3-7 "Roman Super, an award-winning independent journalist and documentary filmmaker, said he had spoken with Kucherenko in the minister’s office “a few days” before the journalist left Russia in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine last year."
- "Shared and unwavering commitment to stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia's brutal war of aggression and war crimes"
2-6
- "need for a just peace that respects Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, both core principles of the UN Charter"
3-6
- "Russia started this war. And Russia could end it *today* by withdrawing its troops [to] Ukraine's internationally recognized borders and ceasing its assault"
1-11
Ukrainians can learn to operate the F-16 much faster than anyone imagined.
This is a crucial data point that should encourage all of us to move forward with:
- Full training
- Pledges for aircraft
- Pledges for spare parts, maintenance services, technical staff
2-11
The information obtained confirms a pattern we've seen repeatedly: Ukrainian personnel are remarkably fast learners who beat our own expectations - which are peace-time expectations at a peace-time pace.
Of course, our Ukrainian friends have no time to lose.
3-11
It seems that, as regards combat aircraft, we're in a situation not wholly unlike previous ceilings to our military assistance, from "Western-made tanks" to longer-range fires.
1-8 Dangerous thinking in the White House that must be challenged
"The options discussed within the Biden administration for a long-term “freeze” include where to set potential lines that Ukraine and Russia would agree not to cross"
2-8 We've been arming Ukraine so it liberates more territory. We have no idea how it'll go. Sending out signals for a Korea solution is problematic. Not that it's inconceivable to think of such a scenario *among others*, but planning for it & revealing that in the press is wrong.
3-8 I think the real window for a Korea solution has passed. It could have been used to *avert* this war, I wrote as much in January 2022 as a last-ditch idea, recommending US troops in Ukraine as a deterrent and to build a DMZ.
1-24
An extremist US woman, Randi Lucile Nord, 35, has confessed to painting Nazi symbols on a synagogue, along with the word "Azov", as part of a deliberate plan to undermine U.S. support for Ukraine.
She was radicalised during a 2-year stay in Serbia.
2-24
"The suspect is accused in Royal Oak of spray painting a swastika and the word “Azov” on the front of the Woodward Avenue Shul, 25595 Woodward Ave."
Note: Royal Oak is an inner suburb of Detroit, Michigan.
3-24
"When Nord was arraigned on charges in Royal Oak on May 3, police said she spent two years in Serbia, where she apparently had become radicalized, and returned to the U.S. in early March."
1-14
This is not so, @herandrews - and as a European who knows NATO, and also as someone with some familiarity with Mexico, here's why.
America and China (or Russia) are not symmetrical cases at all. America has Allies. China & Russia, largely, do not.
2-14
The U.S. has many Allies. Under Treaties with full mutual defence clauses: 31 states in Europe, 5 in Asia. Plus other close relations with many other states.
No major power is as favoured as the US.
Countries flee Russia's orbit - and come knocking at NATO's door.
3-14
It has been a major aim of rival powers, the USSR/Russia and China in particular, to try to make Americans believe that smaller states are all the same, that they have no agency, and that anything they do is dictated by the powerful.