Putin says Trump must go harder on Europe and Ukraine; must move faster; he promised 24 hours; won’t meet with Trump until Trump is ready for serious results; the cause of the war is NATO
Putin: I’m surprised by Trump’s restraint toward allies who behaved rudely 0/
Putin: The U.S. is working with European allies on Ukraine to reach solutions acceptable to both sides. It’s not an easy task.
When Trump was a candidate, he spoke about resolving the Ukraine crisis quickly. But after becoming president and receiving more information, his position changed. 1/
Putin: I haven’t seen Donald in a long time. We don’t have a close relationship, but during his presidency, we met and discussed U.S.-Russia relations. I’d gladly meet him again today.
I think he would too - it was clear from our phone call. But just meeting for coffee isn’t enough. Our teams need to prepare serious issues that matter to both Russia and the U.S. 2/
Putin: There are many issues where both the U.S. and Russia are involved.
Of course, Ukraine remains our top priority. 3/
Putin: It’s natural - Trump started receiving real information, and it changed his approach. That takes time. I want to meet, but the meeting must be prepared to bring real results. 4/
Putin: Trump was accused of ties to Russia, dragged through courts - nothing was proven because nothing happened.
Meanwhile, European leaders openly interfered in the U.S. election, even insulting a candidate. We had our sympathies but didn’t interfere. 5/
Putin: We don’t speculate on Euro-Atlantic relations, but Europe, as U.S. allies, is to blame for what’s happening.
They dragged him through courts, accused him of ties to Russia, while every European leader directly interfered in the U.S. election. 6X
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10 Ukrainian soldiers eliminated 2 NATO battalions in a half a day of training.
So, the myth of all-powerful NATO that can stop Russia is no more.
WSJ: NATO forces were horrible and wiped out in a 16,000-troop drill in Estonia. 1/
Exercise Hedgehog 2025 brought 12 NATO states together with Ukrainian battlefield drone teams.
In one scenario, a 10-person Ukrainian team acting as an adversary mock-destroyed 17 armored vehicles and carried out 30 additional strikes in half a day. 2/
Ukrainians eliminated 2 NATO battalions in a single day of the simulation. They were not able to fight anymore.
The NATO side “didn’t even get our drone teams.” 3/
$129 million a month. That is what Russia’s steel lobby wants to remove from the budget in tax relief.
Bloomberg: Moscow faces mounting corporate rescue demands as wartime spending strains state finances. 1/
A steel industry group asks to scrap the raw steel excise and iron ore extraction tax. The move would cost about $129M per month. Profits at top steelmakers have fallen, though they remain globally profitable with low debt. 2/
The Transport Ministry seeks 65 billion rubles for Russian Railways. The state monopoly had requested 200 billion rubles in emergency aid in late 2025 to sustain operations and investment under rising costs and heavy debt. 3/
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin: Russia’s war against Ukraine is criminal aggression, and Russians can love their country while supporting Ukraine’s defense. 1/
Buterin: Two arguments are used to justify the invasion — Russia’s right to block NATO expansion, and claims that Russian speakers in Crimea and Donbas needed protection. Neither explains launching a full-scale invasion in 2022. 2/
Buterin: NATO expanded because countries feared Russia after Moldova (1992), the two Chechen wars (1994–2000), and Georgia (2008). In 1991, 51% of Crimea and over 80% in Donbas voted for Ukrainian independence. 3/
The Moscow Times: After Russian frontline units lost access to Starlink, Ukrainian forces regained the village of Kosivtseve in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to a NATO official in Brussels. 1/
This month, SpaceX disconnected Starlink terminals near the front at Ukraine’s request after Kyiv reported Russian forces were using them to receive commands, coordinate assaults, and pilot drones. 2/
A senior NATO official said the cutoff placed Russian units in a “command and control predicament.”
Some Russian frontline elements had integrated Starlink into daily operations despite the service not officially operating in Russia. 3/
EU’s top court adviser says the Commission was wrong to release €10B to Hungary in Dec 2023.
If judges follow the opinion, Budapest may have to repay the money, Politico. 1/
The funds had been frozen over rule-of-law concerns.
The European Parliament argues the Commission unfroze them on the eve of a key EU summit — when leaders needed Viktor Orbán’s support on Ukraine aid. 2/
Advocate-General Tamara Ćapeta says the Commission “incorrectly” applied its own rule-of-law criteria.
She cites failures to properly assess judicial independence and Constitutional Court appointments in Hungary. 3/