Trump lifted CAATSA sanctions on Turkey to reopen F-35 sales, erasing the penalty Ankara earned by buying Russia's S-400 air defense system.

That decision tells every buyer of Russian arms that CAATSA is now a bargaining chip Washington plays selectively — Foreign Policy. 1/ Congress passed CAATSA in 2017 with bipartisan support, and Trump himself signed it into law during his first term.

It lets the president punish any government or company running major arms deals with Russia', from Rosoboronexport down to a single named buyer. 2/

German lobbyists and ex-politicians Ronald Pofalla and Matthias Platzeck are keeping a back channel to Putin’s circle.

Through meetings in Baku and Abu Dhabi, Moscow gets a private route into Germany’s SPD and CDU, — The Times. 1/ Last week, Pofalla and Platzeck met Putin associates in Baku. Russian participants included Valery Fadeyev, who heads Putin’s civil society council, and Viktor Zubkov, former deputy PM and Gazprom board chair. 2/

Europe Is Back in 1952. France and Germany are competing over weapons again — just when Europe needs them to build defense together against Russia, De Gruyter for FP. 1/ European countries still rely heavily on US defense firms: $68bn spent in 2024, compared with an average of $11bn between 2017 and 2021.

But Europe’s main internal problem is now the Franco-German rift. 2/

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces commander Madyar:

First, NATO should build a buffer zone along every border.

Call it a drone work zone, not a kill zone. From 0 to 5 km, enemy movement must become impossible under a drone shield.

1/ Madyar: Second: run a fiber-optic grid into that zone. It should connect UAV launch pads to command posts far from the front.

One operator should not fly one drone. From a command post, one operator must be able to launch 5, 10 or 15 drones on the front line.

2/

Graham’s “hellish sanctions” got less hellish.

The bill drops automatic 500% tariffs on buyers of Russian energy. The new version lets Trump set tariffs up to 100% and delay some sanctions for 180 days, Babel.

1/ India buys Russian oil and sells a $100 product to the US.

Under the old bill, the US importer would pay an extra $500 tariff.That $100 product would cost $600.

The White House opposed automatic sanctions and 500% tariffs on partner countries.

2/

Yevhen Khmara appointed acting Defence Minister of Ukraine. Here is what we know about him.

Khmara, 40, led the liberation of Snake Island, helped plan Operation “Spider Web,” and commanded one of the top 3 most effective units in the army — Special Operations Center “A”.

1/ At the start of the full-scale invasion, Khmara served in the liberation of Kyiv region and carried out combat missions in Donetsk.

On January 5, 2026, he was appointed acting head of the Ukrainian Security Service, replacing Vasyl Maliuk.

2/

Russia is firing missiles faster than its factories build them. In 19 days of July, it launched 20 Zircons out of the 30 it is expected to produce in all of 2026.

It spent two-thirds of the year's planned Zircon output already, drawing on its reserve — United24. 1/ Alongside those 20 Zircons, Russia fired 107 ballistic missiles between July 1 and 19, counted from daily reports by Ukraine's Air Force and regional air commands.

That ballistic total alone already surpassed what Russia's factories are estimated to build in a full month. 2/

Palantir CEO Karp: Without AI systems, Russia would have won.

Without these technologies, Europe would face rampant terror attacks, and pro-Putin parties would run Europe. Europe as we know it exists because these tools are already in use.

1/ Karp: I will not support any party that sympathizes with Putin or the CCP.

These parties are complex, but they include people I suspect would not like me very much.

2/

Chmut: Russia has no military genius. Its system fits the Russian dying in Donbas and commanders like him. Moscow waits for Ukraine to crack. Ukraine must crack Russia first.

Head of Ukraine’s top-funded defense charity “Come Back Alive,” Taras Chmut spoke to UkrPravda.

1/ Chmut: The Defense Ministry cannot make big changes without the Armed Forces. If the General Staff blocks them, nothing moves.

Fedorov had worked on drones, innovation, partners and procurement since 2022. Zelenskyy knew this fight existed when he appointed him.

2/

Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi: I was surprised to hear I had a conflict with Fedorov. I saw hard questions and different views as normal work in a major war.

Fedorov, if I offended you, I apologize. I can be tough, –– Militarnyi.

1/ Syrskyi: Ukraine is bigger than Fedorov, Syrskyi, or any of us. It will stand because it has an army, institutions and millions doing their jobs.

Turning the war into a fight between two names helps the enemy. Real work wins wars, not public drama.

2/

Europe’s biggest alumina plant sits in Ireland, and is tied to sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska, and sends much of its output to Russia.

Kyiv wants the flow cut. Dublin fears sanctions could put nearly 900 local jobs at risk, — FT. 1/ The plant produces raw material for aluminium.

Questions now focus on how much of its output reaches Russia and whether it supports military production in Siberia. Ireland says it has no proof of that link. 2/

McFaul: Trump’s strategy was to appease Putin by making concessions without demanding anything in return.

He ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine and halted military and economic aid. Putin gave him nothing. Trump now seems to realize appeasement does not work. 1/ McFaul: Russia’s military has grown stronger, producing large numbers of drones and ballistic missiles.

The US and Europe, especially NATO’s eastern flank, must do more and coordinate joint defense commitments with Ukraine. 2/

Kasparov: Ukrainians are publicly holding President Zelenskyy accountable during wartime.

It is the pulse of a living democracy. Even under Russian missile attacks, Ukraine's whole society is fighting for freedom, statehood, and its future. 1/ Kasparov: Ukraine's strike on the Wildberries storages targeted Russia's military logistics.

I accept Ukraine's account that Chinese components at the site supplied missiles and drones. Civilian losses are tragic, but the target was the war supply chain. 2X

Kasparov: If Ukraine fought the way Putin does, Moscow would be covered in corpses.

Ukraine does not target civilians because it is a state fighting by civilized rules. Russia deliberately attacks Ukrainian cities and kills civilians; that contrast defines this war. 1/ Kasparov: Russia's missile attacks on Ukrainian cities are an intensification of Putin's war, not retaliation for a Ukrainian operation.

His objective remains the destruction of Ukraine as an independent state and the terrorizing of civilians until they capitulate. 2/

Kuleba: Stripping temporary protection from military-age Ukrainian men already in the EU would create a serious legal crisis.
They would lose legal status across the bloc and face a choice: return to Ukraine or leave the EU for a country where they could regularize their stay. 1/ Kuleba: The new restriction does not apply to Ukrainians already in the EU under temporary protection, even when they renew it.

It applies to military-age men seeking protection for the first time after leaving Ukraine. 2/

Ukraine stopped waiting for US Patriots. Zelenskyy and nine European leaders met in Paris on Monday and launched a coalition to build Ukraine's interceptor, FREYJA.

Fire Point says FREYJA runs cheaper and more scalable than the US Patriot — Rishi Iyengar, Foreign Policy. 1/ For years the West armed Ukraine. Now Ukrainian technology sits at the base, and Europe's defense giants bolt their systems onto it.

Fire Point signed with German radar maker Hensoldt last month and calls FREYJA the foundation for the first European missile defense shield. 2/

Trump is redirecting U.S. foreign aid toward MAGA-aligned projects in Europe and beyond.

The grants target EU tech rules, “censorship,” national sovereignty, conservative free speech groups and anti-communist messaging, — FT. 1/ One proposed grant would put $2M toward efforts to counter “censorship” linked to EU regulations, including the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act. 2/

Macron: France, Germany and the United Kingdom will develop complementary deep-strike capabilities.
France, Germany and Italy will also advance next-generation air defense to strengthen Europe’s conventional deterrence. 1/ Macron: France and Germany are expanding advanced deterrence cooperation to create strategic doubt among our adversaries. Closer nuclear coordination will also generate new conventional defense cooperation. 2/

Kellogg: The United States can break Iran’s economic leverage without a ground invasion.

By neutralizing Kharg Island, which handles most Iranian oil, and Iran’s positions controlling the Strait of Hormuz. 1/ Kellogg: American air strikes can isolate Iran’s battlefield, but air power alone will not achieve the objective.

Germany’s Blitz failed to break Britain; bombing can prepare the battlefield, but it cannot finish the job by itself. 2/

Kasparov: Putin used Russian money effectively to buy entire Western political parties and corrode the political class.

That system became a foundation strong enough to help his regime survive even under today’s pressure. 1/ Kasparov: More than half of French voters backed openly pro-Putin parties in the first round of the 2022 presidential election.

German AfD is most definitely bought by Russia. Or even were paid from the very beginning. 2X

The Insider recorded testimony from Ukrainian POWs freed in May 2026.

The torture they describe is institutional, a method with names for its techniques.

The "tapik" field telephone wired for shocks, the "water treatment," nine-hour interrogations. This is what it did to one finance officer. 1/ Oleksandr Ivanov, 33, from Kyiv. Chief of the financial service of the 3rd Marine Brigade. When Russia invaded, his brigade was trapped in Mariupol. He sent his men back to Mykolaiv and stayed. Captured in April 2022 during a breakout attempt. 2/