Stubb: 35,000 Russian soldiers killed per month won't end this war. Economic strain won't end it either.
What ends it: the Russian population turning against it. Drones hit St. Petersburg and Moscow. Kids lose their summers in Crimea. Gas lines. Internet shutdowns.
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Stubb: Ukraine's long-range strikes took down 40% of Russia's oil refining capacity.
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Stubb: Ukraine needs more Patriots — over 100 civilian buildings hit just the other night, civilians dying.
Europeans and Americans need to work on this together.
Europe is preparing for the once-unthinkable — defending the continent against Russia with little or no US help.
NATO's plans from a year ago assumed the US would carry nearly 40% of the warfighting burden. This share now almost certain to shrink after year of lost trust in Trump, — FT. 1/
The shift is driven by a string of shocks.
Trump's threat to take Greenland by force, cancelled US troop deployments, a national security strategy hostile to Europe, and recriminations over the lack of European support for his war in Iran. 2/
Replacing US assets — intelligence, air defence, refuelling, reconnaissance — needs faster spending. Germany hits 3.5% of GDP by 2029, but France and the UK are off track at ~2.5% and 2.7%, and even Berlin lacks a long-term funding plan. 3/
EU’s 21st sanctions package could hit 90 more Russian banks, pushing banned lenders past 100 — over half of Russia’s internationally connected financial institutions.
A confidential European report warns of an explosive banking crisis, United24. 1/
Russia’s Economy Ministry cut GDP growth forecasts: 2026 to 0.4% from 1.3%, and 2027 to 1.4% from 2.8%.
The report says 10% of corporate loans look questionable; in 2025, bad retail loans at several large banks hit 15%. 2/
More than 500,000 Russians declared bankruptcy, up nearly one-third from the previous year.
State-sponsored programs pushed over 13mn Russians to hold at least 3 loans at once. Cash outside banks rose over 17% YoY to more than $243bn. 3/
Right now, Ukraine is changing the dynamics on the battlefield, thanks to the bravery, the dedication, and ingenuity of its armed forces — United24. 1/
Rutte spoke on July 6 at a press conference in Ankara, ahead of the 2026 summit and its latest support for Kyiv.
He tied Ukraine's front-line progress to its soldiers, naming their courage, commitment, and inventiveness as the qualities driving the shift against Moscow. 2/
Rutte made the same case on June 17 at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, telling allies Kyiv is proving Russia can be beaten.
Russia's offensive momentum has slowed, and Ukrainian commanders describe Moscow's forces as degraded and unable to mount major breakthroughs. 3/