Hodges: We are lucky Ukrainians are not against us and want to be on our side I spoke with seven of their soldiers, these are some killers
One was a 25-year-old woman, a drone operator. They have real capability. The US and UK will have to reach their innovation and adaption. 1/
Hodges: NATO would be better the day the Ukrainian flag is raised in Brussels. Just as we got better when the Swedish and Finnish flags were raised.
Ukraine brings a strong, resilient society, a robust defense industry, and hundreds of thousands of experienced soldiers. 2/
Hodges: Ukrainians have identified a theory of victory: destroy Russia’s oil and gas infrastructure and its ability to export energy to China, India, Turkey, and others.
Long-range precision strikes against key refinery components can change the equation. 3/
Hodges: Rubio's speech at MSC echoed what Vance said earlier, just in a less mean and vulgar tone. The message was the same.
But Europe may begin to stand more on its own. Americans could regret pushing allies away from dependence on the US. 4X
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A mine tore off his foot. He tightened a tourniquet and crawled six hours under FPV drones to stay alive.
This is “Keks,” a fighter from Ukraine’s 144th Special Operations Center. — Ukrainska Pravda 1/
At 05:00 he moved out with three comrades. High grass covered the trail. He stepped on a Soviet-designed “petal” mine.
The blast shredded his foot. He tried to run, collapsed twice, then dragged himself to a tree for cover. 2/
A teammate on his first combat mission tightened the tourniquet.
Keks handed over his machine gun, gave orders, and told the group to move ahead while he crawled behind them. FPVs hunted overhead. Mortars struck nearby. 3/
Estonia FM Tsahkna: The story “Estonia is one of the most vulnerable countries” is fake news. We prepare for a Russian probable invasion and the deterrence is really strong. NATO is stronger than ever. If Russia is coming to our territories, we will bring the war to Russia. 1/
Tsahkna: For 20 years we have been saying Europe must do more and have more self-confidence. Our relation with US is very strong but not anymore unconditional. Let’s use this pressure to wake up Europe. The new vision must be let’s unite Europe. 2/
Tsahkna: There was no support for idea to start talking with Kremlin on Thursday informal meeting of European leaders. We must put more pressure on Russia not to talk with them. 3/
Sen. Tillis: Putin is a liar and a murderer. He should be expelled from Ukraine.
I’ll accept a peace deal if Zelenskyy wants one, but we must not appease adversaries. Europe must step up. NATO isn’t in decline; claims it is are alarmist.
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Sen. Tillis: NATO is the most important alliance in history.
But a $2 trillion defense shortfall over two decades weakened readiness — and limited how much more we could scale up to support Ukraine and modernize its weapons. Congress strongly backs the alliance.
Myroslav, defected Russian soldier: The best motivation in the Russian army is fear.
It's intimidation, it's proving yourself to be much more powerful than you actually are "I've been through a bunch of assaults, killed so many". Killing is their main motivation. 1/
Myroslav: There was a conversation about civilians and prisoners of war. If they get caught, just kill them.
Why do you need this burden? You need to take them there and carry them. It’s an additional risk to interrogate them and remove them. 2/
Myroslav: The Russian army's staff are assholes. I'm far removed from the concepts of the criminal code, but you can really feel it there.
So, let's say you say something, and tomorrow everyone knows it. And they need exactly these kinds of jerks. 3/