Former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine & current Ambassador of Ukraine to UK, Valerii Zaluzhnyi:

It is not just the axis of evil trying to revise the world order. The US is destroying the world order.

Several US allies, including Israel and Saudi Arabia, are considering cutting back on the amount of intelligence they share with Washington in response to the Trump administration’s conciliatory approach to Russia.

Source: NBC

Trump’s envoy held talks with Hamas leaders and mediators from Egypt and Qatar, according to two Egyptian sources cited by Reuters. The discussions reportedly focused on Gaza’s post-war governance and potential administrative arrangements. Sources indicated that the talks ended on a positive note, suggesting a near transition to the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

Source: Reuters

Polish PM Tusk:

Europe as a whole is able to win every conflict with Russia. We are stronger.

Elon Musk's net worth has fallen by nearly $111 billion since December 2024 due to Tesla's share price decline.

Source: Forbes

Trump is planning to revoke temporary legal status for some 240,000 Ukrainians who found refuge in the United States because of the war.

Source: Reuters

Zelensky arrives in Brussels for EU leaders' summit

German Chancellor Scholz:

Germany is preparing to raise defense spending through change to basic law.

German Chancellor Scholz on Macron's nuclear offer:

We should not give up on the involvement of the US.

Polish PM Tusk:

Europe will rearm faster than Russia.

EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas:

Hungary’s obstruction of EU decisions on aid to Ukraine is becoming increasingly difficult for the bloc.

That’s why we have a new initiative to form a majority coalition, ensuring that a single country cannot block everyone.

Türkiye’s Baykar and Italy’s Leonardo Join Forces for Drones

Türkiye’s Baykar and Italy’s Leonardo have announced the creation of a joint venture aimed at producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

According to Leonardo and Baykar, the European UAV market is projected to reach $100 billion over the next decade.

The joint venture will be headquartered in Italy, with production facilities in both Italy and Türkiye to maximize efficiency and supply chain resilience.

The agreement strengthens Türkiye’s and Italy’s presence in the global defense industry, leveraging Baykar’s advanced UAV technologies—including the Bayraktar TB2 and AKINCI platforms—alongside Leonardo’s expertise in avionics, AI-driven technologies, and C4ISR systems.

Leonardo’s CEO, Roberto Cingolani:

Europe has a gap in unmanned technologies for various reasons, and in a complicated time like the one we are living in, it is fundamental to guarantee global security.

BIG: CIA has started dismissing recently hired officers, following government-wide reductions ordered by the Trump administration.

Many of these employees, hired within the past two years, were summoned to an off-site location and asked to surrender their credentials.

Source: NYT

Europe’s Dilemma: Welfare or Defense?

British journalist Janan Ganesh argues in the Financial Times that Europe must scale back welfare spending to fund a stronger military.

With rising security threats and uncertainty over U.S. defense commitments, Europe can no longer afford to neglect its military readiness.

Europe has three main options to finance defense:

1️⃣ Borrowing – Most EU nations already face high debt, making this politically and financially risky.

2️⃣ Raising Taxes – This could weaken Europe’s fragile economy, as seen in France’s backlash against Macron’s tax hikes.

3️⃣ Cutting Welfare – The most feasible option. Europe’s welfare system was built under post-WWII conditions, but with aging populations and rising pension costs, sustaining it while increasing defense spending is unsustainable.

Ganesh warns that Europe’s reliance on U.S. security allowed it to prioritize welfare for decades.

Now, with America’s commitment uncertain, Europe faces a critical choice: social spending or military strength.

Source: FT

BIG: French Armed Forces Minister says the military budget could increase to €90 billion annually, up from the current €50.5 billion.

Israeli attacks in Syria by Clash Report

Israel has carried out 84 raids in Syria since January 1.

• During this period, Israel conducted 19 airstrikes.
• Israeli army has established 9 military bases in Syria.
• Israeli army clashes with Syrian forces 8 times

Several Israeli Army units are also involved in occupying Syria.

Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK are no longer useful in Ukraine because Trump has blocked the sharing of US intelligence with allies. Storm Shadow missiles, like HIMARS, have been decommissioned.

Source: Daily Mail

French company Eutelsat is preparing to replace Starlink in Ukraine and is ready to deploy around 40,000 communication terminals.

Europe accelerates defense spending as US support wanes.

• The US and Europe need an additional €250 billion a year and 300,000 more troops.

• Europe should follow Poland's example and double defense spending to 3.5% of GDP to counter potential threats. In three years, Poland has increased its defense spending from 2% to nearly 5% of GDP.

• Germany has removed the constitutional debt brake for defense and the EU has proposed suspending budget rules to allow €800 billion in defense spending over four years (€650 billion national, €150 billion common).

Source: FT

NEW: European plan considers deploying a force of 120 fighter jets to secure the skies over Kiev and western Ukraine from Russian attacks.

Source: The Guardian

NEW: Britain removed 24 Syrian entities from its sanctions list and unfroze their assets, including the Central Bank of Syria, other banks and petroleum companies.

Source: Reuters