There are only two nuclear powers in Europe: France and the United Kingdom. Their combined strength is less than the arsenals of Russia and the USA, but fully sufficient to inflict unacceptable damage on an adversary. While Russian aggression in Ukraine continues and US commitments within NATO do not appear reliable, the stance of leading European countries on nuclear deterrence takes on particular significance.

#Analytics #Entente #UnitedKingdom #militarycooperation #war #west #KirStarmer #coalitionofthewilling #NATO #Russia #Ukraine #France #EmmanuelMacron #nucleardisarmament

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U.S. President Donald Trump finally announced his «surprise for Russia.» The most important thing – there is no threat of 500% tariffs on countries buying Russian oil without helping Ukraine. There is a 100% tariff on trade with Russia – and even that with a delay. On this news, the Moscow Exchange index happily soared. But in reality, there is nothing to celebrate.

#VladimirPutin #war #East #DonaldTrump #EuropeanUnion #west #NATO #oil #sanctions #USA #Ukraine

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Recruitment of foreign youth has always been part of the KGB’s work abroad. But never before have Soviet special services had such fantastic opportunities as those now available to the Russian ones—when the Russian-speaking diaspora numbers in the tens of millions.

#agentsofinfluence #AndreyBelyeninov #East #diplomacy #west #softpower #education #aftertheUSSR #legalfund #Putin #Russianspecialservices #Russia #RussianWorldFoundation #Emigration

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It is clear that the main strategic direction of the EU (in alliance with the United Kingdom) today must primarily focus on achieving autonomy in the field of security. This means arms production, training capable armies, and creating new command centers, either within NATO or alongside it – while simultaneously maintaining political and economic stability in Europe. Altogether, this represents a complex challenge, as European citizens wish to continue living peacefully, enjoying numerous social guarantees without giving up their accustomed way of life.

#Analytics #VladimirPutin #war #DonaldTrump #EuropeanUnion #west #Israel #Iran #MarkRutte #Russia #USA #tradewar #Ukraine #FriedrichMerz #EmmanuelMacron

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When PSG's plane landed in Paris after their Champions League victory, all the cameras of the welcoming journalists captured the huge inscription QATAR in large letters on its side. No one really hides that the football club is an important part of the «soft power» of the small but wealthy and ambitious Arab state.

#InvestmentsinQatarisports #MiddleEast #MuslimBrotherhood #EuropeanParliament #west #Qatar #ChampionsLeague #lobbying #softpower #RomanAbramovich #sport #France #football #SoccerWorldCup

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The Trump administration has launched a new operation to deport illegal immigrants. Now they are being arrested right in front of court buildings where they come for their case hearings. Cases are closed retroactively, and the arrested individuals enter the so-called «expedited deportation» process. However, in practice, this primarily means the deportation of political refugees who have officially applied for asylum with U.S. authorities.

#analytics #emigration #west

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«The Event That Changed the World» — under this straightforward slogan, Christopher Nolan’s «Dunkirk» was released in 2017. The film is dedicated not to the most hyped event of World War II in mass culture but to the evacuation of Allied troops from the French town of the same name on the English Channel coast, also known as Operation Dynamo. Amid the triumphant French campaign for the Third Reich, the Allies achieved the incredible — they evacuated hundreds of thousands of their encircled soldiers from the continent to Britain, enabling the kingdom to continue the war. Against the backdrop of successful blitzkriegs, such a Nazi oversight seemed unbelievable.

#story #war #west

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The events of the past week have shown that the negotiation process is gradually shifting from a «deadlock» to a «stalemate.» At least, that’s what the latest sharp statements by US President Donald Trump towards Russian President Vladimir Putin suggest. How will the process develop further? We discussed this with Igor Gretsky, an expert at the International Centre for Defence and Security (Estonia) and a political scientist.

#interview #war #west

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The Civil War in the USA is a significant watershed not only for America's past but for the entire world. This conflict was the last war of the Modern Era and the first of contemporary history. It began with volunteer militias whose commanders emulated Frederick the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte, and ended with mass professional armies fully prepared for the meat grinders of World War I. Ironclads, submarines, repeating firearms, field trenches, and the telegraph—all were first used in the war of 1861–1865. The political consequences of the American conflict were no less important.

#story #war #west

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At the time of the robbery, all the criminals were pensioners or just about to retire. In the French press, they were nicknamed Papys Braqueur – literally «Grandpa Robbers,» though a better translation into English would be «Old Men Bandits.» As one of them explained, their pensions barely covered living expenses. So they decided not to wait for state charity and to secure a comfortable retirement on their own. ‍

#society #west

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The latest EU sanctions package took a long time to adopt. Firstly, due to the usual resistance from Hungary, which is always against restrictions on Russian oil and gas that it itself uses. Secondly, EU officials faced a tricky task: not to anger Donald Trump with too harsh sanctions—he could accuse the EU of sabotaging his «magnificent deal» with Russia—and to signal to Vladimir Putin that making peace would be cheaper than continuing the war. ‍

#economy #vostok #war #west

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Who today could take responsibility both for continuing support of Ukraine, for rearming Europe, and for organizing a more autonomous security system? Obviously, in the absence of competencies within the EU in defense policy, this mission should be taken on by the leading European countries — in fact, these are the countries of the Weimar Triangle. The first signs of agreement between them, shown in the May visits and negotiations, inspire cautious hope. There are no other contenders for such a role anyway.‍

#Analytics #security #WeimarTriangle #VladimirZelensky #war #EastEurope #Germany #DonaldTusk #EuropeanUnion #west #integration #NATO #Poland #weaponsproduction #sanctionsagainstRussia #Ukraine #France #FriedrichMerz #EmmanuelMacron

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The behind-the-scenes diplomatic battle between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia has ended. The moral victory is once again with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but there will be no peace in the coming weeks, and possibly months.

#conflict #vostok #war #west

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Protecting Christians in America and worldwide was one of Trump's campaign promises. Now it is important for him to demonstrate to voters his closeness to the head of the Catholic Church. However, one should not expect a successful symbiosis of secular and spiritual power in the case of the first American pope and the 47th American president. ‍

#conflict #culture #west

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Let's put aside the «professionalism» of the Russian special services, who couldn't even identify a valuable asset and simply disposed of him in yet another offensive on the Ukrainian front. Nevertheless, this situation itself is quite telling. Of course, not every left-wing radical agrees to fight on Russia's side, but Michael Gloss's case as a whole illustrates rather problematic trends in Western society (and not only Western).‍

#conflict #society #vostok #war #west

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Events of recent years have forced Europe to rethink its security concept. It is not just about the current contradictory activity of President Trump and his entourage, from which numerous claims against Europeans arise, including the most surprising ones. These disagreements did not start yesterday – not even during Trump's first term. The Obama and Biden administrations did not spare the traditional rhetoric about transatlantic solidarity, but in reality pursued the same line of distancing from old allies. The US position on supporting Ukraine from the first days of the war, when Trump was still far from the White House, left a strange and ambiguous feeling that occurs when true goals do not coincide with declared ones. In general, the revision of transatlantic relations has been going on for a long time, but today it has sharply touched on such a sensitive issue as Europe's security and NATO's prospects.‍

#analytics #war #west

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The Cold War between the USSR and the USA was a unique conflict in human history. On both sides, it was waged not so much by the military as by intelligence agents, diplomats, weapons designers, and even journalists, athletes, and cultural figures. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the flight of a single aircraft could be comparable to the actions of a large military formation in a conventional war.

#biography #story #conflict #policy #vostok #west

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