updated 20 Jul 2026, 09:35 MDT

After our 11/15/22 emergency meeting on the Ukraine War we committed to providing near-daily updates of what we think are some of the most valuable news and analyses for fellow activists. This is that selection. If you find this page helpful please forward it to your friends and contacts. Beginning Nov 16, 2023 we will be updating this page on a semiweekly basis. Stopping this war is of critical, emergency importance. Please do whatever you can.

Unless otherwise noted, the italicized comments below are Greg Mello's.

Highly recommended resource: Judge Andrew Napolitano's video podcast on YouTube.

Highly recommended: Jeffery Sachs: Two Centuries of Russophobia & Rejection of Peace, Consortium News, Dec 24, 2025
Russophobia: Propaganda in International Politics, Glenn Diesen, 2022.
Provoked, How Washington Started the New Cold War with Russia and the Catastrophe in Ukraine, Scott Horton, 2024.

Russia Ukraine War Master Class: Prof. Glenn Diesen, Prof. John Mearsheimer, Ambassador Chas Freeman, Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Aug 2024

July 20, 2026

Featured • Jack Matlock: The Cuban Missile Crisis & NATO's War in Ukraine, Glenn Diesen, Jul 18, 2026
Superb, precious.

Featured • Roger Waters calls out West for banning RT, RT, Jul 17, 2026

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters has lambasted Western governments for pushing for war with Russia and banning RT in order to freely disseminate the warmongering “propaganda of the ruling class.” Appearing on Tucker Carlson’s podcast, published on Friday, Waters expressed dismay that “some people in the governments of the United States of America, and the UK, and the European Union are making blood-curdling, bloodthirsty noises about” a potential military conflict with Russia. The Pink Floyd co-founder noted that EU nations, including Germany, are rapidly increasing their military spending and funneling taxpayers’ money “into a big piggy bank in order to fight the Russians.”

“The Russians don’t want to invade Europe. What are they talking about?” he said, arguing that certain interest groups may be paying Western politicians to promote warmongering narratives and thereby justify outsized military expenditure. Instead of antagonizing Moscow and silencing voices that challenge Western “propaganda,” the musician-turned-activist said that “we have to be cooperating with the Russians.” “It sort of breaks my heart that I can’t watch RT anymore. ‘Cause it’s banned. You can’t watch Russia Today,” he said, recounting how the Russian broadcaster was taken off the air across much of the West following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022.

“So we live in a very difficult time where it may be, unless you, with your audience – or me with my tiny voice – can join with our brothers and sisters and pull together the ordinary working people all over the globe, and we can make the voice of the choir so loud that we can drown out the propaganda of the ruling class,” he said. Waters has long been a critic of Western military support for Ukraine, telling RIA Novosti last November that officials in the UK and the EU “don’t make any pretense that they care about” ordinary Ukrainians. Their endgame is to use the “corrupt Nazis” in Kiev, who will then “help them strip the country of all its assets and stuff the money into their pockets,” the musician said at the time.

Moscow hopes that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will give an unbiased assessment of the attack on the Darkhovin Nuclear Power Plant in Iran, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

"We assume that the IAEA leadership has taken note of what happened and will provide an impartial assessment of the incident, including from the perspective of the direct damage caused to the Agency’s verification activities, which have once again been undermined in the most brazen and inexcusable manner," she said in a commentary posted on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Telegram channel.

According to Zakharova, any attempts to "use this situation to hype up imaginary threats, allegedly linked to Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, are nothing more than a banal pretext for unacceptable plans to unleash yet another bloodshed in Iran, which will inevitably have negative consequences not only for the already destabilized Middle East, but also for the entire world."

"The exercise of the legitimate right of non-nuclear states, including Iran, to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, as committed to paper in the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - TASS), must not be called into question or subjected to external pressure," she continued. "We expect that the agency, whose authority and reputation have been put at stake by those who are targeting and striking nuclear facilities in Iran, will take immediate and concrete steps to end such lawlessnes."

Ukraine could suffer defeat in the conflict with Russia, as the military command structure is growing increasingly rigid and ineffective, Brigadier General Sergey Sobko warns. His remarks were echoed earlier by former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov, who was controversially relieved of his post by Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky earlier this week – which triggered mass protests across Ukraine. In a post on Facebook on Friday, Sobko, the chief of staff of the 11th Army Corps, wrote that the Ukrainian military is in urgent need of reform, “otherwise we may be defeated.”

UAVs earlier hit an online retailer’s logistics center in the area, killing one and injuring dozens.

Ukraine has launched nearly 1,900 drones towards Moscow Region over the past week, with most shot down on the approach to the capital, Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has said, releasing a map detailing the UAV raids. His comments came after Kiev hit two retailer’s logistics centers across the country, killing eight people in total.

In a post on Telegram on Saturday, Sobyanin said 1,892 drones had been sent toward Moscow Region – some 450km from the frontline – between July 11 and 18. “Most were neutralized by air defenses on distant approaches,” he said, adding that only 207 were destroyed closer to Moscow.

Earlier in the morning, the mayor said that more than 370 drones had approached the capital and surrounding region since Friday evening, with 64 shot down closer to Moscow.

His remarks came after a Ukrainian drone raid that hit two Wildberries logistics hubs in Kotovsk, Tambov Region, and Elektrostal, near Moscow. The attack on the warehouse in Tambov killed seven night-shift employees, with 25 others injured. Local governor Evgeny Pervyshov said that Ukrainian drones had been deliberately equipped with shrapnel to inflict maximum casualties among civilians.

July 17, 2026

 • What's Really Going On? UK Government Announces Mass Stockpile Order, Wargames, Steve Watson, ZeroHedge, Jul 17, 2026

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones stated "The government will do all it can and we are well prepared - but we can all play our part to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. This campaign will help the public to take small but important steps to be prepared in case of emergencies and disruption - be that severe weather or a cyber-attack, which can impact access to power, water, or phone signal."

Armed Forces minister Louise Sandher-Jones was more explicit about the external threat: "Russia is not only a threat to NATO's eastern flank. It is a direct threat to the UK homeland and these exercises, together with important measures like updating our 'War Books', will help prepare us to meet that threat, as well as showing the British public how seriously we are taking it."

The Cabinet Office has updated the National Risk Register with new scenarios including cyber attacks on data, water and police systems, digital resilience failures modelled on the 2024 CrowdStrike outage, and foreign interference in democracy.

All information about launches or preparations for launches comes to us from our partners. None of us know, and we shouldn't know, how they obtain this information, but it doesn't take a genius to understand that the primary source of information is satellite monitoring of launch sites and a system for recording launch events. [Ukraine's Serhiy Flash]

Starting early this week, the Coalition of the Willing – a bloc of countries that support Ukraine – met in Paris to discuss providing additional aid to Kiev. French President Emmanuel Macron announced that member states would hold war games in states bordering Ukraine.

The French leader asserted the purpose of the drills was to prepare troops for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine once a ceasefire is reached with Russia.

Ukrainian media has in follow-up reported on the impending war games as follows:

1,500 British and French troops will deploy to Poland in September for the first joint exercises of the Coalition of the Willing, Poland's Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Bejda said on TVP Info. The maneuvers will focus on moving troops and equipment at scale—transport and logistics, not combat.

"We are preparing for operations connected with the transfer and transport of forces. We want to show that we know how to do this," Bejda said.

However, Moscow says any peace agreement with Kiev must include a commitment from Ukraine not to host foreign forces. Additionally, the Kremlin has ruled out a short-term ceasefire, and wants all negotiations focused on a peace deal to end the conflict permanently.

July 16, 2026

Featured • Ukraine Intensifies Attacks On Russian Tankers In The Black Sea, Charles Kennedy of OilPrice.com, ZeroHedge, Jul 16, 2026

After striking 116 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet in the Sea of Azov in recent weeks, Ukraine’s military is turning its sights on ships in the Black Sea, hitting in drone attacks as many as 20 vessels overnight on Wednesday.

Ukrainian forces struck 17 Russia-linked oil tankers, 2 gas carriers, and one tugboat early on July 15, drone unit commander Robert Brovdi said on Telegram today, adding that an official report with video evidence would follow later in the day.

“The first round of the naval battle is over,” the commander wrote, referring to the Sea of Azov, where Ukraine had focused its drone attack efforts in the past few weeks, alongside targeting refineries deep into Russian territory.

“Now, the Black Sea,” Brovdi said, hinting that Ukraine’s campaign to strike oil and gas vessels is expanding to the Black Sea, a key export route for crude and fuels from the south of Russia.

Ukraine has ramped up drone attacks against Russian shipping in the Sea of Azov and Taganrog Bay. Ukrainian officials reported striking 15 vessels in a single overnight operation on July 14, bringing their total to over 105 targeted ships within an eight-day window. These strikes have been targeting tankers and cargo ships suspected of belonging to Russia’s "shadow fleet" or transporting looted Ukrainian grain and fuel supplies.

Zhikovich is one of two Ukrainian spies who confessed to liquidating Anastasia Berezovskaya, the main suspect in last month’s bomb attack on exiled Ukrainian millionaire Vadim Ermolaev in Monaco. Russian security services identified him as an active military intelligence operative and shed light on his other attempted terrorist plots.

“My superior said that there would be casualties, civilian casualties. And my president – that green bastard – wants civilian casualties,” Zhikovich can be heard saying to an unidentified interlocutor in one of the recordings, referring to Zelensky, whose last name has a semantic association with the word ‘green’ in Russian and Ukrainian.

Zhikovich attempted but failed to commit at least 20 terrorist acts in Russia in recent years. In another recording, Zhikovich stated that his agency was preparing an unprecedented attack against the Crimean bridge after one attempt already failed.

“Believe me, this is going to be a massive event, and the whole world will be talking about it. What we’ve got going on here is really something huge. Crocus will look like nothing by comparison, I’m telling you!” he said.

The 2024 Moscow Crocus City Hall massacre was the deadliest terrorist attack in Russia in over two decades, claiming the lives of 151 people and wounding another 609. The Russian Investigative Committee concluded that the attack carried out by a regional offshoot of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) was organized on behalf of Ukraine.

Non-nuclear members of the bloc are demonstrating eagerness to host nukes on their territory as Paris touts a new initiative.

European NATO members are increasingly calling for a new nuclear strategy amid a military buildup frenzy under the pretext of the alleged ‘Russian threat’. The bloc’s members claim that spreading nuclear weapons across the continent will make them safer. Moscow has warned that this could lead to a catastrophic escalation.

A dozen NATO members, including those bordering Russia, have expressed a desire in recent months to either host nuclear weapons or take part in nuclear-sharing initiatives to varying degrees.

France has proposed the ‘forward deterrence initiative’, which would allow it to deploy its nuclear weapons to other European nations. Washington is also reportedly considering placing its nuclear weapons in more NATO countries, going beyond the bloc’s controversial nuclear sharing program.

READ MORE: US mulls placing nukes in more NATO countries – FT

European officials, including those from nations that already host US nuclear weapons or are willing to host them, say a direct confrontation between Russia and the bloc is possible within several years, leaving open the question about where this new ‘deterrence’ strategy could lead.

‘We have to be feared’

In March, French President Emmanuel Macron suggested a new nuclear-sharing framework focused on European NATO members, calling it the ‘forward nuclear deterrence strategy’.

READ MORE: France to expand nuclear arsenal – Macron

The scheme would allow “circumstantial deployments” of French nuclear weapons to other European states for joint exercises and short-term missions, among other things.

The president also announced that France would no longer disclose the size of its arsenal to ensure that its adversaries fear its potential, adding that “to be free, we have to be feared.” He also stated that France plans to increase its nuclear arsenal, which is currently just under 300 warheads, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Macron’s vision of security included the idea that “if we had to use our arsenal, no state, however powerful, could shield itself from it, and no state, however vast, would recover from it.”

Europe cannot play a meaningful role in resolving the Ukraine conflict while trying to exclude Russia from the process, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, calling the bloc’s position a “dead end.” Peskov was responding to remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who argued that any future “security guarantees” for Kiev should be determined by Ukraine and its Western backers without Russia’s participation. “Such statements demonstrate that the position taken by the Europeans is a dead end. If they insist on it, they will have no role in the settlement process,” Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Merz made the comments at a ‘Coalition of the Willing’ summit in Paris on Monday, where he pledged that Germany and Ukraine’s other Western supporters would continue supplying military aid to Kiev after any future ceasefire. The group brings together several EU nations, as well as the UK, Norway, Iceland, and Türkiye. It has been discussing post-conflict security arrangements for Ukraine, including proposals to deploy a multinational force, despite Russia’s repeated rejection of foreign troops near its borders.

At last week’s NATO summit in Ankara, member states agreed to provide Ukraine with more than €70 billion ($80 billion) in military assistance this year and next. Germany pledged the largest national contribution. Germany has been the EU’s biggest supporter of Ukraine since the escalation of the conflict in February 2022, providing around €55.5 billion in military aid, according to government data. German media have also reported that Berlin will finance the purchase of 50,000 attack drones for the Ukrainian military.

The latest pledges come as Ukraine has intensified drone strikes on Russian energy infrastructure and residential areas in recent months amid continued setbacks on the battlefield, launching several hundred UAVs a day on average. Moscow has also reported a growing number of FPV drone attacks, including AI-guided models, targeting passenger buses and private vehicles.

The Kremlin has repeatedly said that any lasting peace settlement must address the root causes of the conflict, including Ukraine’s neutrality, demilitarization, protection of Russian speakers, and recognition of the territorial realities on the ground. Russian officials have also argued that Britain, France, and Germany undermined previous peace efforts, including the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements and the 2022 Istanbul draft deal. Moscow has warned that any deployment of Western troops to Ukraine would be treated as foreign intervention.

Fedorov has made the big mistake to think that the war should be about winning against Russia. But, as former Commander in Chief Valleri Zalazhny just recently again warned, its is not Russia which is losing the war.

For the higher military and the civilian structures around Zelenski the only purpose of the war has long been their personal enrichment.

Fedorov did not conform with their attitude.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has promised the Kiev regime “safe and secure production sites” for drones on the territory of the European Union for strikes against Russia. On a visit to Kiev, she signed an agreement of intent with Vladimir Zelensky on the production of drones for Ukraine in the European Union, similar to the documents that Ukraine signed with various NATO countries at the bloc’s summit in Ankara. Von der Leyen also promised “huge technological and industrial capacity” in Europe.

In April, the Russian Defense Ministry released the names and addresses of enterprises in Europe that produce drones for strikes against Russia, warning that the European public should know where the real threats to their security come from. Von der Leyen was awarded the Ukrainian Order of Europe, which she called a “great privilege.”

July 14, 2026

Featured • Europe is Teetering on the Brink, Peter Haenseler, SONAR21, Jul 14, 2026
Hansaeler does an excellent job of explaining "Putin's patience" and why it persists in the face of all the NATO provocations.

 • Ukrainian drone attack on strategic enterprise foiled – FSB (VIDEO), RT, Jul 14, 2026
A bit fascinating how this worked, on both sides. Major FSB success.

July 13, 2026

Featured • Kiev Today, Peter Haenseler, SONAR21, Jul 13, 2026
The U.S. leaders egging on Ukraine and providing support for this regime care nothing about the people of Ukraine. They never have, except as cannon fodder. The many NGOs supporting Ukraine or failing to at least try to understand all perspectives in this war are engaged in a kind of malpractice. Russophobia, or more accurately Russophrenia, is a mental disease that can have, and is having, severe consequences. For example, without Russiagate, would Trump be sitting in the White House today? Most likely not. At worst, a possible second term would have ended in 2025. Russophobia crippled and corrupted the Democrat Party in ways that were obvious to many, vitiating enthusiasm for the Party and generating enough support for Trump on the margins to put him into office again. By taking the low road of illegal collaboration with the intel and law enforcement agencies, with Russophobia as the red thread connecting it all, Democrats didn't renew themselves after their defeat to Trump in 2016, and remain crippled and geriatric today. Where is the opposition to the war in Europe? Where is the insistence that it must be ended? Trump ran on that plank, but without a peace movement of any kind he found he could discard it in favor of his friends in the military-industrial complex, who are if anything politically reliable and rewarding.

 • ‘Sober up’ – Polish PM tells Ukraine, RT, Jul 11, 2026

Kiev needs to “sober up” to prevent further escalation in the row with Warsaw over the glorification of Ukrainian Nazi collaborators, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said. Tensions between the neighboring countries, which have been close allies during the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, escalated last month after Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky named one of his country’s commando units after “heroes of the UPA (Ukrainian Insurgent Army).”

Speaking on Friday, the eve of the National Day of Remembrance, when Poland honors the victims of UPA, Tusk insisted that Kiev must recognize the crimes committed by the UPA if it hopes to mend ties with Warsaw. “I can once again appeal to all decent, wise, responsible Ukrainians. Remember, this great European community is based on the truth and the truth is an absolutely necessary foundation of reconciliation, and that’s why I hope that everyone on the other side, but also everyone here in Poland, will sober up to restrain these exaggerated emotions,” he said.

Poland has commemorated the anniversary of the Volhynia massacre, a large-scale ethnic cleansing operation perpetrated by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators during World War II and a hot-button topic that sparked a recent diplomatic clash between Warsaw and Kiev.

Multiple events were held across Poland on Saturday to honor the victims of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), the armed wing of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN). The commemoration is tied to events of July 11, 1943, also known as Bloody Sunday, which marked the height of the massacre when nearly 100 Polish-populated towns across Volhynia were attacked. According to Polish estimates, at least 100,000 ethnic Poles were killed between 1943 and 1944 in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia regions, which are now largely part of modern Ukraine.

The commemorations were attended by top Polish officials, with President Karol Nawrocki making an appearance at a ceremony in the village of Radruz, one of the targets of the OUN-UPA militants. “We are here so that the reality of today’s and tomorrow’s world can be heard. Because we will not accept forgetting the 120,000 Poles, civilians, women, and children brutally murdered by Ukrainian nationalists,” Nawrocki stated.

July 12, 2026

 • Trump’s ‘cruel gift’: Why Patriot license will be useless for Ukraine, RT, Jul 10, 2026

President Donald Trump has told Vladimir Zelensky that the US is willing to grant Ukraine a license to produce Patriot missile interceptors – one of the few weapons in Kiev’s foreign-sourced arsenal capable of shooting down state-of-the art Russian missiles. “We’ll give them the right to make Patriots,” Trump said, seated beside Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, on Wednesday. “This way he can’t complain that we’re not giving him enough. I said, ‘Make them yourself,’” Trump added. He called the undertaking complex but voiced hope that Kiev would work it out quickly.

While significant on paper, the pledge sparked a lot of skepticism among defense analysts who pointed to numerous technical, legal, and security hurdles, while dismissing it as a mostly symbolic gesture or even a political trap for Zelensky. Here is why a Patriot license offer seems to be dead in the water.

July 11, 2026

 • Russia no longer believes West wants Ukraine peace talks – Lavrov, RT, Jul 10, 2026

Moscow no longer believes the West is genuinely interested in negotiating an end to the Ukraine conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Speaking at a news conference with Mozambican Foreign Minister Maria Manuela Lucas in Maputo, Lavrov accused the West of “imitating a willingness to negotiate while openly issuing ultimatums to Russia.” He argued that although the West has been calling for talks, it has spent more than a decade undermining every attempt to reach a peaceful resolution between Russia and Ukraine.

“In 2022, Russia and Ukraine had already reached a negotiated settlement. It was undermined by the very same West, openly and publicly,” Lavrov said. “We will no longer believe the West when it claims to want negotiated solutions. Our reserve of goodwill and hope has been exhausted once and for all.” Russia insists that the conflict has its roots in the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev and subsequent attempts by the new Ukrainian government to suppress the rebellion in Donbass by force. Ukraine later failed to implement the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements, which were intended to reintegrate the breakaway regions into Ukraine by granting them broad autonomy through comprehensive political reform.

July 9, 2026

Featured • Trump Says He Supports Ukraine’s Long-Range Attacks Inside Russia, Will Allow Ukraine To Produce Patriot Missiles, Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com, Jul 8, 2026

President Trump heaped praise on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara on Wednesday, expressed support for Ukraine’s long-range attacks inside Russia, and said he would allow Ukraine to produce Patriot missile interceptors.

When asked about Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries, the president said, “It’s an escalation, but it’s also an escalation that could help lead to an end.”

Ukraine’s long-range drone attacks rely on intelligence provided by the US, and Ukrainian officials told The Financial Times this week that the Ukrainian military was able to strike multiple Russian oil refineries recently because US intelligence has allowed it to find the optimal flight path for its drones to get through Russia’s air defenses.

On top of Ukraine’s success in striking Russian oil refineries, there has also been a significant spike in Russian civilian casualties in Ukraine’s drone attacks. Russian officials have cited the civilian deaths when justifying Russia’s ramped-up bombardments of Ukrainian cities, which have led to an increase in Ukrainian civilian casualties.

Discussing the Patriot missiles, Trump told Zelensky, “We’re going to give a license to you to make Patriot missiles. That’s pretty cool. This way, you can’t complain that we’re not giving them enough. I said, ‘Make them yourself.’ We haven’t informed the company of that yet, but that’ll work out all right.”

Trump’s approval of Ukraine manufacturing Patriots marks another escalation of US support for Ukraine, and Russia will almost certainly attempt to target any Patriot factories that are established on Ukrainian territory.

Overall, Trump spoke very highly of Zelensky, a reversal from the start of his administration when the two clashed during a contentious Oval Office meeting. “We’ve actually developed a good relationship. It’s hard to believe,” Trump said, adding that Zelensky has “done an amazing job” and “been very effective” in the war.

Read that again: NATO has apparently decided that Russia can no longer be defeated militarily or even economically. The only way they now deem it’s possible to bring Russia to the negotiating table is by inflicting pain on the civilian population, which they believe will rebound onto the political elite, putting pressure on Putin to end the war. This appears to always be the final equation for the Empire—its last favored standby.

The problem is, as we discussed recently, the Russian population is far more hip to the true contours of global events than the propagandized Western populaces. Russians know they are fighting an existential war led by the West with the goal to destroy Russia completely. As such, Russian people are not being in some way “radicalized” against their own government, at least not in the ways the West thinks.

Here even the Western propaganda organ Meduza reports that a Russian driver affected by the recent fuel shortages expressed anger at the government, but not for the expected reasons:

...This says it all: “He blames the Russian authorities for the fuel crisis—not because they started the war with Ukraine, but because he thinks they’re being “too soft” on Kiev.”

This is the widespread view of most Russians.

...We can deduce that Trump wants to operate under maximal plausible deniability in order to bring leverage onto Putin and Russia while still being able to play coy and pretend the US is not fully involved.

The latest FT piece likewise quotes Ukrainian officials with saying that American intelligence assistance has been helping Kiev plot the best paths for its drones into deep Russian territory, skirting Russian AD and EW systems:

https://archive.ph/4Vdzu

Recently it was revealed that Ukrainian Flamingo missiles have simply been utilizing major Russian river systems to bypass detection, as all the strikes from the heavy Flamingo have occurred along the Volga river:

...Why doesn’t Russia “attack Europe” in response? There are many possible reasons, but one of the more likely ones is that Russia is confident of its ability to finish off Ukraine without needing to escalate toward WWIII. The Russian MOD’s internal figures presumably see Ukraine collapsing long before Russia is immiserated to the point of needing some “desperate” nuclear strike or attack against NATO.

But that’s just an educated guess—you can share your own views.

On the eve of this week’s NATO summit in Ankara, Türkiye, the bloc released a report titled ‘Defense Expenditure of NATO Countries (2014-2025)’.

On the surface, the report shows a staggering increase in the level of defense spending by several NATO members over the course of the previous decade, with Lithuania leading the way with an increase of some 777%. In aggregate, NATO members, in seeking to meet the 2% GDP threshold for defense spending set by the US a decade ago, has seen a $1.364 trillion increase in the money invested in the militaries of the respective members over the past decade.

That’s a lot of money.

Two questions emerge from this data: First (and foremost), has this increase led to any qualitative or quantitative advantage on the part of NATO over Russia? And second, can NATO members sustain this kind of growth in defense expenditures over the course of the next decade?

President Volodymyr Zelensky is in full court press mode while being present in Ankara for the annual NATO summit, amid Western leaders including President Trump. He has predictably renewed his argument for Ukraine to join the North Atlantic alliance, while also touting some momentum on the battlefield as Russia comes under repeat long-range drone attacks. Zelensky thanked leaders “who have clearly stated Ukraine belongs in NATO, because NATO with Ukraine is the alliance for the future” – and then posed in Tuesday remarks, “I have a question for you. Do you really believe it? Do you really believe it would be right to leave outside NATO, a country and a people with this level of defensive capability?”

He argued further: “If we already have these capabilities, if Ukrainians already know how to fight like this, then it does make sense for these capabilities to become a part of the alliance’s collective defense that would make all of us stronger.” Ukraine has been boasting of its premier drone capabilities, which it says is now clearly proven on the battlefield, but has also admitted that Ukraine needs assistance matching Russia’s ballistic capabilities. Zelensky said “Europe urgently needs its own capability to produce anti-ballistic systems and the missiles they require.”

He added: “The one thing we still need to do here in Europe is build a strong defense against Russia’s ballistic missiles. It’s a big challenge… this is Russia’s last major advantage.” It’s interesting that Zelensky is arguing that his country should become a full-fledged NATO member based on already in effect being militarily integrated. This was one of the Kremlin’s very rationales for launching the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine in the first place. Also interesting is that Moscow is now referencing it as a ‘war’ on a much more official level…

Peskov via Russian state media sources:”Russia still has as a main front-and-center demand that Ukraine definitively and permanently reject aspirations to join NATO. Moscow also still requires full political recognition over the four eastern annexed oblasts, as well as Crimea. Western officials have still been reluctant to fully back some kind of rapid NATO membership track for Ukraine, knowing it would take the Ukraine crisis from more of a proxy war situation strait into WW3-style direct war between Russia and NATO.”

A Polish member of the European Parliament has publicly torn up a flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – whose fighters massacred up to 100,000 ethnic Poles in one of World War II’s worst atrocities – during a debate on Kiev’s bid to join the EU. On Tuesday, Ewa Zajaczkowska-Hernik, a member of the right-wing Patriots for Europe Group and a history teacher by training, delivered a scathing indictment of Ukraine’s glorification of the UPA. The speech came against the backdrop of a weeks-long diplomatic spat between Warsaw and Kiev triggered by Vladimir Zelensky’s decision to name a special forces unit ‘Heroes of the UPA’.

Polish President Karol Nawrocki called Zelensky’s decision “outrageous” and stripped the Ukrainian leader of the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honor, with several senior Ukrainian officials responding by handing back their Polish awards. The UPA, the armed wing of Stepan Bandera’s Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II and carried out systematic mass killings of ethnic minorities, with one of the most notorious episodes taking place in Volhynia in 1943-1944. While Poland recognizes the killings as a genocide, Ukraine has rejected the term, with Bandera often being propagated as a national hero by Kiev.

Zajaczkowska-Hernik focused her speech on the UPA war crimes record, stressing that a country worshipping such an organization does not belong in the EU. “Over 360 ways to kill civilians. Sawing people alive, disemboweling pregnant women, impaling children on pitchforks”, she said, adding that Ukrainian nationalists killed not only Jews and Poles but also local Ukrainians.

“If Germany had named a unit after the SS heroes and erected monuments to Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, or Eichmann, would you invite them to the [European] Union? No. You would call them neo-Nazis. And rightly so. There is no moral difference between honoring the SS and honoring the UPA.”

July 8, 2026

Featured • Support of Kiev by Europe and US direct participation in war against Russia — Kremlin, TASS, Jul 7, 2026

Weapons supplies, sending military advisers and transmitting satellite intelligence to Kiev by European countries and the United States are direct participation in the war with Russia, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, in an interview with the Swiss magazine Die Weltwoche.

"They are sending weapons, they are supplying with ammunition the Kiev regime. They are supplying the Kiev regime with their military advisors. They are supplying Kiev regime with satellite surveillance results. So, they actually give their satellites in a total disposal of the Kiev regime. They target the weapons, Ukrainian weapons, with their satellites. They are using their artificial intelligence, AI. In order to facilitate the military activities of the Kiev regime. If it's not a direct involvement, what's that?" said Peskov.

He said that because of this, the conflict has ceased to be a special military operation.

"So, having Russia on one side and having the Kiev regime plus a number of European countries. And plus the United States that is supplying millions of tons of weapons to Ukraine. What is it? It's not an operation anymore, it's a war. It's a full-scale war.".

NATO countries will produce US Abrams tanks, ATACMS missiles, Stinger man-portable air defense systems and other weapons complexes in Europe, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said at the Defense Industry Forum on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

Rutte welcomed the decision by major US defense companies to sign a new military-industrial initiative with leading European defense industry players. The initiative will allow NATO to produce key US weapons in Europe, including Abrams tanks, AMRAAM and ATACMS missiles, and Stinger systems, he said. The alliance will manufacture weapons on both sides of the Atlantic without excessive additional investment by creating a network of factories available to NATO’s defense industry and innovation infrastructure.

July 7, 2026

Featured • Two and a Half Centuries of War – A Timeline, Consortium News, Jul 6, 2026
Essential.

Featured • Ukrainian Authorities Panic as Patriots Run Out Amidst Russian Ballistic Frenzy, Simplicius, Jul 6, 2026

A recent update from Kiev Post reported that Lockheed Martin announced its inability to guarantee favorable timelines for the production of these necessary missiles:

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/77956

US missile manufacturer Lockheed Martin has warned that it cannot guarantee delivery timelines for key Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missiles despite plans to sharply increase production. According to the FT, the company is expanding output to 2,000 missiles annually by 2033, but supply constraints and prioritization decisions remain unresolved. The shortage is already affecting US allies and Ukraine, which rely heavily on Patriot systems to counter ballistic missile threats.

The report notes that Lockheed intends to raise annual Pac-3 production from ~650 to 2,000 missiles by 2033. Consider how tiny that is: 650 per year is a measly 54 per month—that’s for the entire world. Ukraine alone needs far more than that per month, particularly when you take into account that, doctrinally, multiple interceptors have to be fired at each threat, particularly a ballistic threat. Minimum two are necessary, and sometimes as many as four or even six Patriots per Iskander.

Even when production increases to an “ideal” 2,000 per year by 2033, this still amounts to merely ~166 per month for the entire world, including the US itself. And the article implies that this ideal may never be realized because many problems still remain unresolved.

A separate WSJ report last month tackled what the issues are, precisely:

https://www.wsj.com/world/why-does-it-take-years-to-get-a-patriot-missile-from-factory-to-front-line-3e5874c5

This particular piece states that the 2,000 per year target isn’t expected to be reached until the end of the 2030s. The challenges are many:

Lockheed is facing a litany of challenges to hit its target, from component bottlenecks to tight markets for local labor. A Lockheed spokeswoman said the company is working with the government and its suppliers to “eliminate bottlenecks and shorten lead times wherever possible, while still maintaining the rigorous performance and safety standards required.”

July 6, 2026

Featured • Why Can’t the Russian’s Defeat Ukraine?, Larry C. Johnson, SONAR21, Jul 6, 2026
An excellent military review. I do not share Larry's conclusion, however. Russia is not just fighting Ukraine. It is fighting NATO, which is just getting started. In January I predicted that the Ukrainian government would fall by the end of this year. I am less certain of that now, given the support of all kinds coming from NATO. The entire goal of the Ukraine gambit, which began at least 20 years ago, has been to force Russia to cede sovereignty -- in effect, to suffer strategic defeat. That could happen.

Featured • NATO’s new mission is not deterrence, but Russia’s defeat, Dmitry Trenin, RT, Jul 6, 2026

Long sulky as a result of Russia’s advances on the Ukraine battlefield, the European politicians and media outlets are now triumphant, hoping that long-range drones they have helped Ukraine to produce and send to their targets across Russia are the wonder weapon of this war. They are seeking to strengthen their punch by similarly providing Kiev with long-range cruise missiles and then ballistic missiles. These weapons, it is hoped, will seal the fate of Russia, once and for all.

This, however, will not happen. The fundamental flaw of European thinking is their belief that Russia would rather accept defeat, degradation and disintegration than use the arsenal which it currently possesses. This arsenal is not limited to nuclear weapons, although point may be reached when they will have to be used. The Kremlin, so far, has been exceedingly restrained in using its more powerful conventional capabilities, or engaging some high-value, high-visibility targets. There are many explanations for such restraint, but it is foolhardy – actually, fatal – to believe that either the Russian leadership or the Russian people would ever surrender to NATO.

The European NATO leaders’ enormous deficit of modern strategic culture – unsurprising after the eight decades of having delegated their security to the United States – and their blind Russophobia, a result of deep-seated vintage European racism and the real or perceived grudges against Russia piled over the last five centuries, have put Europe on a direct collision course with Russia. NATO 3.0 means war. Should it actually come to that, there will be no more NATO.

Russia has announced that one key measure that will be taken in response to Ukraine’s ramped-up drone attacks on Russian territory, including last month’s major strikes on the Moscow area, is the significant expansion of the border ‘buffer zone’ between the waring countries. “A security buffer zone on the Russian-Ukrainian border is conditioned by the aggressive nature of the Kiev regime and the Russian military is engaged in this process systematically reaching the appropriate progress,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.

In essence this is the Kremlin saying that Russian forces plan to permanently take over territory deeper into Ukraine. “Based on the aggressive nature of the Kiev regime and in order to insure the safety of our citizens, we are setting up a security zone, or the so-called, buffer zone,” Peskov continued. “This buffer zone is being created systematically. We do register significant results regarding the terms of our troops’ advancing.” “There area should be no in no one doubts that it would will be serve to extend the necessary area ensuring our security,” he added.

If everything turns out differently, such as if deterrence isn’t restored by Russia after a large-scale Ukrainian attack against Belarus or no such attack occurs and the conflict drags on, then Trump’s “war of attrition” might really get going and begin systematically destroying all Russian targets one-by-one. Former top Russian spy Andrey Bezrukov recently admitted that “we were not prepared” for Starlink aiding strikes against critical infrastructure and advised maximally protecting all targets without delay.

That’s difficult to do with a country as large as Russia is, so if Trump “escalates to de-escalate” in a way that radically scales Ukraine’s strategic drone attacks, then Russia might be at a disadvantage where time would no longer be on its side like previously assumed by many in Moscow. Ukraine’s logistics are nowadays under NATO’s nuclear umbrella, so unless Russia risks World War III by striking them and gambling that no one (let alone the US) will retaliate, then it might face “death by a thousand cuts”.

The only reprieve, other than obliterating Ukraine to neutralize the NATO threats emanating from there once and for all per the special operation’s goal, would be for Russia to sell stakes in its natural resource and other critical industries to the US as a “security guarantee”. Knowing Trump, he’d likely demand that they be sold for pennies on the dollar and possibly include controlling shares, which would essentially cede Russia’s sovereignty. That’s why Russia must defeat Ukraine before his “war of attrition” really gets going.

The large-scale aerial raid targeted over 20 regions of the country, including Moscow and Crimea.

Ukraine launched another large-scale drone attack against Russia overnight, the Russian Defense Ministry has said. More than 600 UAVs were brought down by air defenses across the country.

The incoming drones were blown up or suppressed via electronic warfare in more than 20 regions, the ministry has said in a statement.

The Russian Defense Ministry said it hit military-industrial enterprises and fuel and energy facilities in and around the Ukrainian capital.

The Ukrainian capital and its suburbs were hit by a combined missile and drone strike early Monday morning, in what the Russian Defense Ministry called a response to terrorist attacks by Vladimir Zelensky’s government.

The first wave of blasts in Kiev was heard at around 1:30 AM local time, followed by more explosions in multiple waves until 5 AM. Videos shared on social media showed numerous powerful blasts around the Ukrainian capital, some followed by secondary detonations, suggesting that a weapons depot, production facility, or air-defense system had been hit.

Russia and the United States bear a “special responsibility” for maintaining global security, President Vladimir Putin has said while congratulating his counterpart Donald Trump on the 250th anniversary of American independence. In a letter published by the Kremlin on Saturday, Putin wished Trump and his family “health, well-being and success,” and the American people “happiness and prosperity,” while describing the signing of the US Declaration of Independence as “an important milestone in world history.”

US President Donald Trump called his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the Ukraine conflict, the situation around Iran, and the prospects for restoring bilateral ties, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov has said. The conversation took place on Saturday, as the United States marked the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. According to Ushakov, Putin personally congratulated Trump and the American people on reaching the milestone, after sending a formal message to the White House a day earlier. The call lasted one hour and 25 minutes, Ushakov said, describing it as “businesslike and highly constructive.”

Putin briefed Trump on what Ushakov described as the real situation on the ground in Ukraine, saying Russian forces were advancing along the entire line of contact and taking “one settlement after another.” Putin described the liberation of Konstantinovka, a key Ukrainian stronghold, as an important step toward establishing full control over the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The Kremlin aide said Moscow expects the remaining fortified areas still held by Kiev’s forces to be taken as well.

Putin reiterated Moscow’s preference for a political and diplomatic settlement, provided that Russia’s core positions are taken into account. At the same time, he accused Kiev and its European backers of seeking to prolong and escalate the conflict, including through “terrorism against civilians.” Trump, according to Ushakov, again confirmed his readiness to help bring the hostilities to an end and seek a peaceful settlement. He also argued that ending the Ukraine conflict as soon as possible could unlock “enormous prospects” for mutually beneficial cooperation between Russia and the US, the Kremlin aide said.

July 5, 2026

Featured • People Are Able to Handle the Truth!, Peter Haenseler, SONAR21, Jul 5, 2026

President Putin is thus banking on a military solution in Ukraine and waiting for an energy crisis to unfold in Europe, where many flights are already being canceled under flimsy pretexts.

The concerted media coverage in the West claiming that the tide has turned in Ukraine finds not the slightest confirmation in the reality on the ground in Ukraine. The fuel shortage in Russia is also being exaggerated. In some regions, fuel is being rationed at gas stations. However, this is in no way sufficient to change Russia’s course of action.

Very occasionally, I have the opportunity to speak with someone who lives in Kyiv. According to this person, the situation is catastrophic, and over 90% of the population is against Zelensky. When I asked why the people weren’t rising up, the source replied that people were so intimidated by the terror of the security and intelligence services that the communication necessary for an uprising was impossible. Ukraine, which is portrayed by the West as a shining example of democracy, seems to be a time bomb whose ticking goes unheard out of fear.

My concerns that a war between Europe and Russia might break out—even though Europe has virtually no military power—have never been greater. President Putin will not be the one to take the first step toward a Third World War. Only he knows how much longer he will tolerate the West’s systematic provocations and how he will respond to them.

July 4, 2026

Featured • Putin issues warning to Kiev and its ‘instigators’ (VIDEO), RT, Jul 3, 2026

 • Russia Planning Provocation Against Poland To Test NATO Resolve, US Reportedly Warned, ZeroHedge, Jul 4, 2026
NATO appears to be preparing a false flag operation in order justify something they plan to do. The goal to inflict strategic defeat on Russia, change its government, neutralize its resistance to the domination of Eurasia, and gain access to its resources and markets remains unchanged.

July 3, 2026

Featured • The War in Ukraine Arrives at a Crucial Juncture, James Carden, Antiwar.com, Jul 2, 2026

...For Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, there would seem to be a number of motives at play — none of which portend an end to the conflict, now in its fifth year. For one thing, Zelensky has seen a dip in the robust support he once had from Washington under Trump II. He seems convinced that such shows of force will shore up what remains of his support among Democratic war hawks, as well as among his European collaborators such as the German Chancellor Frederich Merz and the now-departing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Yet Zelensky’s stepped-up drone war, far from being, as some US analysts suggest, a show of strength, may be the beginning of the end for the budding despot, the desperate last gasp of a wartime leader with an economy in ruins, a shrinking population, and a generation of young men irretrievably lost. Putting Zelensky’s drone war into proper perspective may require recalling how ultimately ineffective the flurry of Nazi Germany’s V2 missile attacks on London and the Japanese Kamikaze attacks on the US Navy were during the final year of the Second World War.

The mood among ‘official’ Moscow has, as might be expected in light of these developments, grown darker than usual. In addition to the unprecedented drone attacks on Moscow, Russia has suffered an estimated 1.2 million war casualties, including approximately 325,000 dead. And while there are growing signs of war weariness and disgust with Putin’s regime among pro-Western elements in Moscow and St. Petersburg, there are voices close to the Kremlin that are, in a manner not terribly dissimilar to our own neoconservatives whenever Israel attacked, baying for blood.

Sergei Karaganov, an academic who heads the Kremlin’s Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, has repeatedly called for Russia to strike Europe with nuclear weapons in order to “restore deterrence.” For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov promised that Russia would retaliate for the refinery attack on a “mass scale.” Lavrov also warned that the current “state of affairs poses serious threats to global security. A direct confrontation between NATO and Russia could rapidly escalate into an exchange of nuclear strikes, with catastrophic consequences.” Lavrov’s comments were originally meant for publication in POLITICO Europe, but the outlet, owned by the shamelessly pro-war Axel Springer group, pulled the piece at the last minute. Heaven forbid we hear from the “enemy” directly.

That said, with Donald Trump distracted by more pressing matters of state such as the deteriorating condition of the Reflecting Pool and his duties as host of the Great American State Fair (his promise to end this war now, as with so many other promises, forgotten) few, if any, remaining world leaders outside of Pope Leo XIV have called for a cessation of hostilities in between Russia and Ukraine and her sponsors in Washington and Brussels.

With Moscow married to its narrative, and Kiev married to its, now would seem the time for diplomacy – to assist Moscow and Kiev seek, as Kissinger once put it, a “common interest for different purposes.” Yet the war drags on. And its potential to suck both Europe and the United States into a far more disastrous conflagration grows as both parties to the conflict become increasingly desperate for a breakthrough.

...Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign against Russia has achieved genuine operational results — the refinery strikes are documented, the damage to Russian fuel supply is real, and Putin’s public admission of a domestic fuel crisis confirms this. But the scale and human cost of what Ukraine is absorbing vastly exceeds what Russia is absorbing.

Ukraine’s problems from Russia’s drone campaign are existential pressures on a society that is already absorbing 30,000–34,000 military casualties per month. In short, Russia’s drone force is larger, is producing at greater scale, is hitting more targets successfully, and is inflicting more damage on its adversary. Yet, to hammer home the point again, the NY Times wants you to believe that Russia is suffering double the casualties of Ukraine.

...Finally, let’s turn to MediaZona. According to data collected through cross-referenced open sources — i.e., obituaries, civil death certificates, geo-located graves, social media announcements, regional media reports, funeral notices, and cemetery records — the Russian KIA, confirmed by name, is 227,700 as of June 19, 2026. This is the running total of individual Russian military deaths that Mediazona, BBC News Russian, and a team of volunteers have confirmed.

The West continues to lie about Russian losses while blithely ignoring Ukraine’s staggering losses… Ukrainian KIA are estimated to be in excess of 1.5 million. And they died for what? Sacrificed to Western hegemonic ambitions.

The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on July 1 that its air defenses intercepted a “long-range operational-tactical missile,” sparking speculations about a failed operational test of a ballistic missile currently in development by Ukraine.

"Air defense systems shot down seven guided aerial bombs, one long-range operational-tactical missile, and 602 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles,” the ministry said in its daily briefing, which covers the last 24 hours.

The ministry didn’t provide any details on the type of the missile, how it was intercepted, or where exactly. Nevertheless, the announcement appears to be linked to a successful high altitude interception that was reported in the Moscow region just a day earlier.

The interception took place far outside the capital, with several Russian news channel on Telegram reporting at the time that an S-300 or S-400 long-range air defense systems took down a ballistic missile. Photos showing the aftermath of the interception were also shared. There were no reports of casualties.

Ukrainian media, from its side, speculated that the ballistic missile intercepted over Moscow was the FP-9 currently in development by Fire Point.

The company, which first unveiled the missile last year, claims that it has a range of 855 kilometers, a speed of 2,200 meters per second, and a warhead weighing up to 800 kilogram. It also said that the missile can reach an altitude of 70 kilometers and has an accuracy of 20 meters.

Last week, Ukrainian media reported that the FP-9 was undergoing the final phase of engine trails ahead of its first operational tests.

Denys Shtilerman, co-founder and chief designer of Fire Point, even openly stated in an interview that the intention was to carry out the first test launches against Moscow.

The suspected missile test represents a major escalation by Ukraine. At the same time, the incident demonstrated that air defenses in Moscow are more than capable of dealing with such a threat. In any case, what happened will likely trigger a response by Russia.

Last year, the Russian military and intelligence succeeded in stalling a Ukrainian project to mass produce the Sapsan, a tactical ballistic missile with a range of 700 kilometers and a warhead weighing 480 kg.

The Defense Ministry in Moscow has confirmed a large-scale raid on oil facilities and military-related targets.

The Ukrainian capital and several other cities across the country were hit by a combined drone and missile strike early on Thursday morning, in what the Russian Defense Ministry called a response to terrorist attacks by Vladimir Zelensky’s government.

The first wave of blasts in Kiev was heard around 2 AM local time, followed by more explosions in multiple waves until 4 AM. Mayor Vitaly Klitschko urged residents to seek shelter as the capital’s air defenses engaged incoming targets.

The Russian Defense Ministry said the strike, with “high-precision long-range weapons,” targeted “military industry enterprises and facilities and the fuel and energy facilities in the city of Kiev and the Kiev region, as well as military airfields and other infrastructure in Dnepropetrovsk, Poltava, Cherkasy, and Chernigov regions.”

The Russian military later released a detailed list of targets. Among them was a plant producing guidance systems for Ukrainian drones and missiles, a factory producing long-range drones and loitering munitions, a plant involved in upgrading Ukrainian armor and producing military optics, an electronic warfare equipment producer, a drone parts depot, a fuel depot, and several gas facilities that the statement said provided energy supplies for weapons manufacturing.

...Moscow has pledged to conduct “systematic and consistent strikes” on Ukraine’s military installations, drone manufacturing sites, command posts, and “decision-making centers” in retaliation for deadly “terrorist attacks.”

In recent weeks, Ukraine has stepped up long-range drone raids deep into Russian territory, often hitting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. On Tuesday, a six-month-old baby was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in Moscow Region. Last week, 12 people were injured in a strike on a WWII museum in Rostov Region.

Last month, Kiev launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow, hitting an oil refinery in the capital and injuring 17 people, including two children.

With respect to growing tensions between Russia and NATO, a Russian military ship, which was escorting a sanctioned tanker, collided with a German coast guard vessel in the Baltic Sea on Tuesday, according to the Finnish newspaper Iltalehti. Collided is probably a translation exaggeration… The two vessels did not actually physically come in contact.

The Kira K tanker, which is under sanctions, was transporting oil through the Fehmarn Sound strait. A German coast guard ship, the Bayeruth, began approaching it.

However, the Russian corvette “Sobrazitelny” approached from the east at high speed and announced: “This is the Russian military ship 531, stay away from the Kira K.”

After this, the German vessel retreated, and the tanker continued its journey towards the Danish Straits.

I think it is only a matter of time before incidents like this escalate into a full shooting war between Russia and the NATO states.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said Thursday that there was “practically unanimous” support among party leaders for ending the country’s ban on nuclear weapons.

“Opinions were practically unanimous. Almost all parliamentary faction leaders expressed the view that Article 137 has become obsolete and should not merely be amended but removed,” Nauseda told reporters, referring to the section of Lithuania’s constitution that bans nuclear weapons and foreign military bases.

Speaking after meeting with parliamentary faction leaders, Nauseda indicated that the legislature would soon look to amend the legislation. Vilnius, a staunch ally of Ukraine, has previously indicated interest in hosting U.S. nuclear weapons as it looks for deterrents against neighboring Russia.

Lithuania joined NATO in 2004, and Nauseda said the country’s parliamentary leaders did not want to be in a “gray zone” within the military alliance as one of the only countries that continues to ban nuclear weapons. Finland repealed a similar ban last June.

“Today, 35 years later, the situation is different. As NATO members, we have the right, the duty, and the desire to be full and equal members of NATO. The primary means of deterrence is nuclear deterrence,” said Juozas Olekas, the speaker of Lithuania’s parliament.

The Financial Times previously reported that the U.S. had discussed deploying nuclear warheads to countries on NATO’s eastern flank. U.S. nuclear weapons are currently stored on military bases in the U.K., Germany, Italy, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands.

July 1, 2026

Featured • Kremlin Confirms Rare Talks To Import Gasoline Amid Drone Strike Mayhem, ZeroHedge, Jul 1, 2026

Russia has confirmed its government is currently in negotiations with other countries to purchase gasoline while desperately seeking to stabilize its domestic market after months drone mayhem out of Ukraine.

"Discussions are actively being held," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press briefing Tuesday, though without specifying which countries. "If agreements can be reached at acceptable price points, then [imports] will move forward," he added.

The development is surprising given that Russia remains the world's second-largest crude oil exporter and third-largest supplier of refined petroleum products - and yet it is now facing the somewhat humiliating prospect of importing gasoline.

Last week, Reuters dropped a bombshell citing industry insiders who revealed that Moscow has been in backroom talks to import a staggering 50,000 metric tons of AI-92 grade gasoline from neighboring Kazakhstan. India has also been mentioned in reports.

...A state of emergency for all citizens was also declared in Crimea last week - with fuel only being provided to military and state entities at this point.

Putin further acknowledged in his recent comments that small, slow-moving drones have proven a problem for Russia's anti-air defense systems, which were conventionally designed to intercept large fast projectiles like missiles or warplanes.

This has been big on Russians' minds, as this month they beheld unprecedented scenes of massive smoke plumes overtaking Moscow's skyline, as a key refinery there burned.

NATO is openly helping Ukraine acquire weapons capable of reaching strategic targets deep inside Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. The latest joint arms development tender shows that the US-led bloc is actively integrating Ukraine into its structures, moving dangerously close to an open confrontation with Moscow, she warned. Zakharova was referring to a €250,000 ($285,656) bidding contract announced in mid-June by NATO’s Allied Command Transformation (ACT) – one of the bloc’s two strategic commands – in cooperation with the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center (JATEC). Created in February 2025, JATEC describes itself as “the first joint NATO-Ukraine organization in the NATO Command Structure.”

Although the contract does not mention Russia directly, it contains a clear reference to enhancing Ukraine’s long-range strike capabilities with “solutions” capable of “persistent airport denial.” The project gives priority to various unmanned systems or loitering munitions capable of flying in signal-denied, electronic-warfare-contested environments and effectively striking runways, fuel reserves, and ground support facilities. The tender stipulates that any solutions must be ready for combat deployment within 12 months and should not require extensive training for operators, with submissions due by late July.

The contract shows that NATO is accelerating Ukraine’s integration into its command structures and military-industrial complex, Zakharova said on Monday. The bloc “is steadily losing what remains of its rationality and drifting into an increasingly high-risk zone” in an effort to turn Ukraine into a “testing ground” for emerging military technologies, she added. However, NATO strategists are “clearly underestimating” the risk of further escalation of the Ukraine conflict into a direct confrontation with Moscow, the spokeswoman said. “With their recklessly aggressive actions, the Ukrainian-NATO partnership is giving the Russian military additional grounds to pay heightened attention to any enterprises involved in the development and production of weapons used against our country.”

The development comes amid broader European militarization, with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte consistently urging member states to adopt a “wartime mindset.” Senior UK and German defense officials recently urged citizens to accept “difficult choices” on military spending as NATO states move to hit targets of 5% of GDP. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius claimed last year that Russia could attack a NATO member “as early as 2028,” insisting on the need for a costly military buildup.

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 • Vandals destroy peace sign at long-time New Mexico peace group for 6th time, press release, Aug 18, 2025
 • Bulletin 360:Five Russian strategic airfields attacked, planes destroyed; possible Putin assassination attempt, terrorist attack on Russian passenger train, call Congress and the President, Jun 1, 2025
 • Peace in Ukraine - How Do We Get There?, LASG virtual discussion with Scott Ritter and Dr. Dmitri Trenin, Jan 15, 2025
 • "Peace in Ukraine -- How Do We Get There?" A discussion in Los Alamos with Scott Ritter and Dmitri Trenin, Jan 7, 2025
 • Stop the War in Ukraine While We Can, Greg Mello, LASG Vlog, Jun 24, 2024
 • What were up to, and reflections on some opportunities and dangers at hand, Greg Mello, VFP Webinar, Jun 20, 2024
 • Can U.S. seize the moment for peace?, Greg Mello, Santa Fe New Mexican, Jun 16, 2024
 • Bulletin 346: Momentous events, and two op-eds, Jun 16, 2024
 • Press backgrounder: U.S. Considers Expanding Its Nuclear Arsenal, Jun 10, 2024
 • Bulletin 345: Ukraine strikes Russian early-warning radar against nuclear attack, May 25, 2024
 • "Russophobia, the Ukraine war, and nuclear weapons," LASG presentation, Peter Kuznick, Steven Starr, & Greg Mello discuss the dangerous phenomenon of "Russophobia" in the West in the context of the potentially widening war in Ukraine, with its attendant nuclear dangers, video, Apr 16, 2024
 •Bulletin 342: Russophobia, the Ukraine war, and nuclear weapons," panel discussion in Santa Fe Tuesday April 16, 6 pm / Pit production: myths and contradictions, Apr 10, 2024
 • LASG friends ltr: "Russophobia, the Ukraine war, and nuclear weapons" -- panel discussion Tuesday April 16, 6 pm, St. John's United Methodist Church, Santa Fe, Apr 8, 2024
 • Bulletin 341: Pit seminar materials available; Russophobia seminar postponed; big jump in FY24 warhead spending as arms race takes hold; Ukraine losing war sparking panic in West, Mar 4, 2024
 • Bulletin 340: "Year in Pits;" Zoom update & discussion on pits 2/27; rich opportunities in the land of nuclear (dis)enchantment; end the Ukraine carnage and genocide in Gaza, Feb 22, 2024
 • The Real Purpose In Making The Bomb Was To Subdue The Soviets. Now Its Happening Again, On A Vast Scale. Why? July 22 At Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos Reporter, Jul 19, 2023
 • LASG friends ltr: Ukraine over the tipping point; more on July 22 event in Los Alamos; comment on generic "nuclear disarmament," Jul 12, 2023
 • Bulletin 330: "'The real purpose in making the bomb was to subdue the Soviets.'* Now it's happening again, on a vast scale. WHY?" A conversation with acclaimed historian Peter Kuznick and Greg Mello in Los Alamos, July 22, Jul 7, 2023
 • Ukraine War Makes it Harder to be a Nuclear Dove | Our Land, Laura Paskus, New Mexico in Focus, Jun 30, 2023
 • Bulletin 329: Russia rules out nuclear disarmament negotiations; second week of Ukrainian offenses fail; what will US and NATO do? Build 60 projects in LANL's Pajarito Corridor?, Jun 17, 2023
 • LASG friends ltr (06/15/2023) Pit production zoom today; halt military "aid" to Ukraine, which just kills more Ukrainians, accept peace
 • Ukraine; Biden's Manicheism; the U.S. cannot even conduct a nuclear arms race, let alone win one, LASG friends ltr, Mar 16, 2023
 • Ukraine protest and updates, pit production delays and cost increases in NNSA's new budget, LASG friends ltr, Mar 14, 2023
 • Antiwar rally 2 pm Saturday in Albuquerque; LANL pits delayed, endorse the "Call for Sanity"; Ukraine update; the Nordstream investigation (and likely impeachment) "imperative" LASG friends ltr, Mar 11, 2023
 • Ukraine losses mount toward critical point; ANSWER rally against the war is now 2 pm (not 1 pm), March 18, Albuquerque; nearly half U.S. citizens believe WWIII is near, LASG friends ltr, Mar 7, 2023
 • Ukraine news and views; antiwar rally March 18; pending guest editorial; pit production precis, LASG friends ltr, Mar 3, 2023
 • Bulletin 325: Understanding the Nordstream sabotage and punishing those responsible, Feb 18, 2023
 • Ukraine news with comments and excerpts; bookmark for future reference if desired,LASG friends ltr, Feb 8, 2023
 • Bulletin 324: Opposition to Ukraine war gains visibility in New Mexico and via our web site, more broadly, Feb 6, 2023
 • Anti-nuclear activist opposes helping Ukraine, encourages peace, Santa Fe New Mexican, Feb 5, 2023
 • Bulletin 323: "Nuclear Hotseat" interview / Ukraine war updates, Feb 4, 2023
 • Bulletin 322: Right and Left To Join in D.C. Protest: Not One More Penny for War in Ukraine / Bulletin of Atomic Scientists resets clock, blames Russia, Jan 25, 2023
 • $10 Trillion for Nuclear War: Racing to the Nuclear Cliff, The Socialist Program with Brian Becker, Jan 10, 2023
 • Bulletin 321: Last day for 2022 donations! / A few quick updates, Dec 31, 2022
 • Bulletin 320: Neocon humiliation -- or nuclear exchange / The centrality of war resistance in moral politics / 3 days left for 1:1 donation match!, Dec 29, 2022
 • Bulletin 319: Ukraine; NDAA: omnibus appropriations bill; fundraising --thank you; some matching funds still available, Dec 21, 2022
 • Stop the war now, Jean Nichols, The Taos News, Dec 19, 2022
 • Bulletin 318: Speak out now against further U.S. escalation in Ukraine; daily updates for your use, Dec 14, 2022
 • Agenda for tonight's emergency Ukraine meeting in Albuquerque, and by Zoom, Nov 15, 2022
 • Bulletin 314: Reminder re next week's antiwar, disarmament, & nuclear safety events: come if you can or tune in, outreach needed; pit interview on KNME tonight 7 pm; fundraising drive continues; erratum, Nov 11, 2022
 • Bulletin 313: Important meeting about Ukraine next week; DNFSB hearing in Santa Fe; more, Nov 7, 2022
 • Biden Administration releases aggressive nuclear strategy envisioning "first use" of nuclear weapons in wars like Ukraine, press release, Oct 27, 2022
 • Bulletin 310: Speak up! We urge you to take up the call for peace in Ukraine, Sep 25, 2022
 • Pope Francis: "World War III has been declared." We agree. Stop LANL's pit factory; Stop the U.S. war against Russia, presentation, Jun 15, 2022
 • Bulletin 301: Oppose the war! Demand and create accountability for lawmakers who fund and promote more war in Ukraine, May 16, 2022
 • Grave dangers loom in Ukraine war votes and escalations; opportunities open for journalists and citizens; We urge news media to widen debate, pose questions, create accountability, press release, May 16, 2022
 • LASG friends ltr: Thursday evening public discussion in Albuquerque: Ukraine, propaganda, progressives supporting Nazis and war, May 10, 2022
 • Escalation in Ukraine: The Nuclear War Danger is Real, Brian Becker & Greg Mello discuss the U.S. policy of waging proxy war on Russia, BreakThrough News, May 4, 2022
 • Bulletin 299: Emergency call to action: stop Biden's proposed $33 billion war escalation, Apr 28, 2022
 • Bulletin 298: Talk on pits & renewed U.S. nuclear weapons production Tuesday evening 4/26/22; antiwar billboard; what you can do, Apr 25, 2022
 • The core debate, Searchlight New Mexico, Mar 23, 2022
 • Bulletin 294: Please consider forwarding this fine statement from UNAC re Ukraine, Mar 23, 2022
 • Nuclear expert speaks on the dangers of war between the US and Russia, World Socialist Website, Mar 15, 2022
 •  A proposed solution to the Ukraine war, Greg Mello, Current Concerns, Mar 7, 2022
 • A Proposed Solution to the Ukraine War, Consortium News, Greg Mello, Mar 7, 2022
 • Bulletin 293: Ukraine conflict: If you want a ceasefire (as we do), stop firing, Mar 5, 2022
 • Bulletin 292: Statement on the Ukraine conflict and war with Russia, Mar 1, 2022
 • "What can we in New Mexico do?," LASG letter, Feb 23, 2022
 • Bulletin 288: US nuclear weapons since 2020: continuity and change, Dec 7, 2021 (see discussion of US, NATO, and Russia)
 • Nuclear experts speak on the dangers of war between the US and Russia, World Socialist Web Site, Apr 15, 2017
 • US Leaders Reject “Nuclear Winter” Studies, Ignore Existential Danger of Nuclear War. Turn a Blind Eye towards Armageddon, Steven Starr, Global Research, Nov 1, 2016
 • The Ukraine Conflict: What's Behind It? Why Is It Important?, Sep 26, 2015
 • Bulletin 200: Warhead budget bloat; U.S.-caused Ukraine catastrophe at the brink; hello peak oil, Feb 8, 2015