Venezuelan President Maduro:

Yesterday their mask fell. This was not about asylums, gangs, or drugs—it was about oil.

A civilian commercial vessel carrying 1.9 million barrels of Venezuelan oil to international markets was attacked, seized, and robbed in international waters near the Caribbean.

The crew was kidnapped and remains missing. This act amounts to criminal naval piracy.

Venezuela strongly condemns it and will pursue all legal and diplomatic measures to protect its ships and guarantee the free trade of its oil.

Venezuelan President Maduro:

No war for oil. No blood for oil.

This is not just our message—70% of the American people oppose this violence and reject the militaristic and extremist escalation in the Caribbean.

LATEST: U.S. Sharply Expands Military Presence Near Venezuela

The U.S. has deployed major naval and air forces to the Caribbean near Venezuela under Operation Southern Spear.

READ MORE

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan:

Israel has been active in Syria, and the SDF’s unwilling stance suggests a connection.

This is not a decision the YPG can make alone. Now, however, signals from Israel are emerging, and the YPG is failing to take the necessary steps.

We hope these issues will be resolved peacefully. Being drawn into others’ games or taking external signals is harmful.

Clashes are in no one’s interest, as civilians suffer most. We hope the YPG and PKK fulfill their responsibilities.

We hope there will be no new war.

Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan:

Europe, together with Ukraine, must support Ukraine in making very difficult decisions.

Some choices—especially regarding territories—are extremely painful, but may be necessary to prevent greater losses, achieve the lesser of two evils, and secure future guarantees.

China Flies Massive Drone Carrier Jiutian for First Time

Jiutian may be able to deploy up to 100 loitering munitions or small drones from its fuselage, alongside carrying payloads on eight external hardpoints.

READ MORE

Israel is bombing Lebanon again.

Ukraine is prepared to accept a demilitarized zone in the Donbas as a major concession to help end the war.

According to Ukrainian negotiator Mikhail Podolyak, both Ukrainian and Russian forces would pull back from the current front line, with the zone monitored by an international force, ideally including the United States.

Source: Le Monde

Putin met with Iranian President Pezeshkian in Ashgabat.

WATCH: The TAYFUN ballistic missile, developed by ROKETSAN, has successfully hit its target in its latest test firing, marking another milestone for Türkiye’s defense capabilities.

NEW: Following a successful Ukrainian defense forces operation, Russian forces was blocked in Kupiansk and the entire northwestern outskirts of the city were cleared, according to Ukraine's DeepState.

ISW’s Map Manipulation Turns Ukraine War Into a Polymarket Cash Machine

A brief, unauthorized edit to a Ukraine war map by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) appears to have triggered a massive payout on Polymarket, a prediction gambling platform, raising questions about the vulnerability of both war mapping and betting markets.

On November 15, Polymarket users bet over $1.3 million on whether Russian forces would capture the eastern Ukrainian town of Myrnohrad. Russia did not take the town, but shortly before the market closed, ISW’s interactive map was altered to show Russian control of a key intersection.

Polymarket relied on that map to resolve the bet, handing longshot gamblers returns of up to 33,000%. By the next morning, the edit was gone.

ISW later acknowledged the change was unauthorized, removed a geospatial researcher believed to be responsible, and condemned the use of its maps for gambling.

The incident has fueled outrage among Polymarket users and renewed concerns that lightly regulated prediction markets can be manipulated by insiders with access to trusted data, turning war into a high-stakes casino.

Source: Responsible Statecraft

NOW: Putin and Turkish President Erdogan meet in Ashgabat.

ICC prosecutor Karim Khan says the UK threatened to defund the court and withdraw from its founding treaty if it pursued arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu.

In a court filing, Khan says a UK official warned him in April 2024 that warrants against Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant would be “disproportionate.”

Source: The Guardian

Sudan: The UK has imposed sanctions on senior RSF commanders, including Hemedti’s brother Abdul Rahim Dagalo, over alleged involvement in mass killings, systematic sexual violence and attacks on civilians.

War Dog or Champion of War: Meet With Michal Strnad

Michal Strnad is the youngest Czech billionaire and one of the most polarizing figures to emerge from Europe’s new era of war-driven rearmament.

As the owner and chief power behind Czechoslovak Group (CSG), Strnad inherited a family business born out of the rubble of the Cold War—scrap metal yards, surplus Soviet tanks, and forgotten military stockpiles—and turned it into a sprawling defense conglomerate supplying ammunition, armored vehicles, and military systems across NATO and beyond.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Strnad’s business entered overdrive.

Europe’s sudden ammunition shortages, urgent tank refurbishments, and rapid militarization created historic demand—and CSG was uniquely positioned to meet it.

Revenues surged, order books ballooned, and Strnad’s personal fortune skyrocketed, growing by billions in just a few years.

By his early 30s, he had become not only the youngest billionaire in Czech history but one of the richest people in the country.

Supporters describe him as an industrial savior: a businessman who revived iconic Czech manufacturers like Tatra, preserved thousands of jobs, and helped arm Ukraine against Russian aggression.

Critics see something darker. To them, Strnad represents the modern “War Dog”—a man whose wealth expanded precisely because war returned to Europe, whose balance sheet benefited from battlefield consumption, and whose rise illustrates how conflict reshapes fortunes as much as borders.

This perception has followed him closely. Czech politicians have accused him of war profiteering, activists have questioned arms flows and political ties, and U.S. lawmakers scrutinized his expansion into American ammunition production.

Strnad rejects the label outright, arguing that defense production is not exploitation but survival—that sovereignty, deterrence, and independence have a price.

Yet his story sits uncomfortably at the intersection of patriotism, profit, and perpetual conflict.

In a Europe preparing for long-term confrontation, Michal Strnad is both a product of war—and one of its biggest financial winners.

The Office of Zelensky emphasized that Podolyak was speaking about theoretical models that could be discussed, but Ukraine has not made any decisions.

They say that French media misinterpreted his words.

Ukrainian drones targeted a Russian An-26 aircraft and two radar systems in Crimea.

Zelensky arrived in Kupiansk.