1/ Donald Trump's aggressive tactics over Greenland are causing consternation among his far-right allies in Europe. With European publics overwhelmingly against surrendering Greenland, leading European far-rightists have come out in opposition to Trump's plans. ⬇️
2/ Bloomberg reports that Trump's designs have forced his ostensible allies to reconsider their support for him. Some may fear voters turning on them for their past support of Trump, much as Pierre Poilievre suffered in Canada in 2024.
3/ 🇩🇪 Alternative for Germany co-leader Alice Weidel says that Trump has acted no differently to Vladimir Putin in his actions in Venezuela and threats against Greenland. "Trump has violated a fundamental campaign promise — namely not to interfere in other countries," she says.
4/ 🇩🇪 The other AfD co-chair, Tino Chrupalla, has rejected Trump's "Wild West methods". His opposition is particularly notable as he is considered to be pro-Russian within the AfD.
5/ 🇫🇷 National Rally leader Jordan Bardella has denounced the US capture of Venezula's President Maduro as "a return to imperial ambitions" and a world in which "the law of the strongest trumps respect of international rules."
6/ He says that "by President Trump’s own admission" the intervention "paves the way for the economic interests of American oil companies," and calls his threat to seize Greenland "a direct challenge to the sovereignty of a European country."
7/ 🇸🇰 Milan Uhrik, leader of Slovakia's Republic party, has also denounced Trump's actions as violating international law. "Who has ever seen a commando from one country abduct the president of another? Where would we end up if international conflicts were resolved this way?"
8/ Although the recently published US National Security Strategy talks of supporting far-right forces to combat "civilizational erasure" in Europe, Trump's approach – particularly towards Greenland – is making it politically much harder for the far-right to ally with him.
9/ Far-right parties are likely to be worried that being on the wrong side of an anti-Trump wave, as happened to Canada's Pierre Poilievre, will severely damage their prospects. In Canada, Trump's threats led to a sudden Liberal revival and decisive victory in 2025. /end
1/ An immediate 'energy ceasefire' is reported to have been agreed between Russia and Ukraine in talks in Abu Dhabi, supposedly ending Russian strikes on Ukrainian power and heating infrastructure. Russian warbloggers are angry about the move. ⬇️
1/ Four years on, realisation appears to be dawning among Russian warbloggers that the war in Ukraine has achieved little more than capturing "an empty wasteland with a dispersed population." A bitter commentary highlights the futility of it all. ⬇️
It's when one of Russia's most prolific war correspondents, Yevgeny Poddubny, sits down and spouts this when asked directly, "What are the goals of the SVO [Special Military Operation]?"
3/ [Poddubny:] "The main goal of the SVO lies within us, within our society. We need to determine who we are, why we are here, and where we are going."
1/ Denmark was preparing to fight the United States over Greenland, according to Scandinavian news reports. Around 1,000 Danish troops and a frigate with anti-ship and anti-aircraft capabilities are being sent to Greenland, with standing orders to fight invading forces. ⬇️
2/ Prior to Donald Trump's apparent climbdown after the recent Davos summit, Denmark planned to send around 1,000 soldiers to Greenland during 2026. Around 300 have already arrived in Kangerlussuaq and Nuuk, supplemented by a French mountain infantry unit.
3/ Denmark has also deployed the frigate Peter Willemoes, which has advanced anti-aircraft and anti-ship capabilities, to patrol off western Greenland. The deployment will release ice-capable Thetis-class patrol vessels to operate nearer inshore.
1/ While Kyiv freezes under Russian bombardment, on the other side of the front line an occupied Ukrainian city of 100,000 is also freezing – this time due to Russian corruption and neglect. Russian warbloggers say that the situation is catastrophic. ⬇️
2/ Inhabitants of Alchevsk in the Luhansk region – which has been under Russian occupation since 2014 – have been writing in desperation to anyone who will listen to plead for help with a disastrous heating situation which they say has been ongoing since October 2025.
3/ Warblogger Sergei Kolyasnikov says that he is receiving "dozens of ... letters. Day after day" describing the problems being faced by residents, who say they are still being charged for heating that they are not receiving from the city's central heating system.
1/ Russian air defence soldiers complain that they are being paid as little as $133 a week and that the Russian government is failing to pay them bonuses promised for shooting down Ukrainian drones. Not surprisingly, this isn't helping morale. ⬇️
2/ 'Two Majors' writes:
"The enemy launches over a hundred drones daily into our regions. And not all of them are included in public statistics: many are shot down, for example, over the Zaporizhzhia region [of Ukraine]."
3/ "Therefore, an adequate solution to the problems of air defence personnel and mobile fire teams is an important and necessary task. We were told (some time ago):
1/ The Russian army has adopted infiltration tactics to slip past Ukrainian defences, dividing platoons into a handful of men who advance as far as they can, entrench, and await reinforcements. A Russian warblogger comments on this tactic's limitations. ⬇️
2/ This change of approach since 2024 has enabled Russia to advance slowly, though still generating heavy losses along the way. 'Archangel Spetsnaz' writes:
"Indeed, assault tactics have changed dramatically."
3/ "The wide range of detection and engagement systems and means has, figuratively speaking, "brought to its knees the old tactics," whereby company/battalion-sized offensives were carried out at the frontier.