Stubb: Ukraine is now on top militarily, politically and economically, stronger than at any time in this war.
Half of Ukraine’s drones that hit Russia reach their targets. Half of Russia’s oil-refining capacity is damaged. Russia loses 8 soldiers for every 1 Ukrainian.
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Stubb: For Lindsey, Ukraine was a victory for freedom, for the Europe-U.S. alliance, for NATO, for liberal democracy and for the free world.
He fought hard for his values, and Ukraine was one of the most important battles he fought.
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Stubb: Iran and Ukraine conflicts are linked. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are forging an alliance.
They feed the Russian and Iranian war machines. We must decide how to support Ukraine and help the U.S. stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
Kellogg: You do not need a Gulf War-style invasion. Hit strategic targets.
Take Kharg Island, 16 miles offshore and central to Iran’s economy. Hold it and say: end this, and we give it back. This is for our kids and grandkids. No nuclear Iran.
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Kellogg: Russia and China are probably helping Iran as much as they can. This is no longer a military fight.
It is a political fight, a gut-check moment: are we closing them out or not? Trump has put real effort into negotiations, but now the question is how to finish this.
Zelenskyy: It’s a pity Crimea is not back on the table, or NOT YET. Land matters: it is our territory, history and homes.
Saving people comes first. Ukraine is ready for a ceasefire and diplomacy. Putin wants 500,000 more soldiers this autumn while losing 30,000 a month.
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Zelenskyy: Putin said he would occupy Ukraine in two or three days.
Now Ukraine has built a great miltech industry: 500 companies with strong technologies and soldiers holding the front. Putin loses 30,000 soldiers a month. The initiative is no longer in Putin’s hands.
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Zelenskyy: War changes every three to six months. Ukraine built a modern miltech platform because drones that work today may fail in six months.
We must change faster than Putin. He has more people. We must save our people and use more technology, not more bodies.
Trump’s administration told Congress it will not finish spending $400mn in approved Ukraine aid until fiscal 2029, the year Trump leaves office.
Reuters: Kyiv is critically low on weapons needed to defend against Russian missile attacks. 1/
Pentagon letter: The funds would be obligated in fiscal 2026, but final delivery is estimated for the year ending Sept. 30, 2029.
Reuters source: Two months after the letter, the money still had not been disbursed or even put on contract. 2/
The $400mn plan includes $200mn for weapons, ammunition and explosives; $99.9mn for vehicles, spares and equipment; and $100mn for services such as transporting defense articles to Ukraine. 3/
Ukraine wants to end its reliance on the US-made Patriot and build a cheaper European system of its own, codenamed Freyja.
Kyiv wants a prototype ready by the first half of 2027, with Russian ballistic missiles now outpacing its dwindling supply of interceptors — Reuters. 1/
Ukraine depends almost entirely on US-made Patriots, the only weapon in its arsenal that reliably downs Russian ballistic missiles flying at several times the speed of sound.
Patriot supplies keep slipping on political volatility, low stocks, and a long production cycle. 2/
Russia has stepped up its ballistic strikes on the capital Kyiv and the southern port hub of Odesa this month, firing dozens of missiles at both cities.
Ukraine failed to intercept most of them because it ran short on interceptors, the exact gap Freyja is built to close. 3/