🇺🇸📝🕊🇺🇦 — 🇬🇧 The Telegraph | Revealed: Trump’s confidential plan to put Ukraine in a stranglehold | Panic in Kyiv as US president demands higher share of GDP than Germany’s First World War reparations | February 17, 2025:

"Donald Trump’s demand for a $500bn (£400bn) “payback” from Ukraine goes far beyond US control over the country’s critical minerals. It covers everything from ports and infrastructure to oil and gas, and the larger resource base of the country.

The terms of the contract that landed at Volodymyr Zelensky’s office a week ago amount to the US economic colonisation of Ukraine, in legal perpetuity. It implies a burden of reparations that cannot possibly be achieved. The document has caused consternation and panic in Kyiv.

The Telegraph has obtained a draft of the pre-decisional contract, marked “Privileged & Confidential’ and dated Feb 7 2025. It states that the US and Ukraine should form a joint investment fund to ensure that “hostile parties to the conflict do not benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine”.

The agreement covers the “economic value associated with resources of Ukraine”, including “mineral resources, oil and gas resources, ports, other infrastructure (as agreed)”, leaving it unclear what else might be encompassed. “This agreement shall be governed by New York law, without regard to conflict of laws principles,” it states.
The US will take 50pc of recurring revenues received by Ukraine from extraction of resources, and 50pc of the financial value of “all new licences issued to third parties” for the future monetisation of resources. There will be “a lien on such revenues” in favour of the US. “That clause means ‘pay us first, and then feed your children’,” said one source close to the negotiations."

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🇺🇸⚡️🔫‼️🇲🇽 — 📰 ZeroHedge | US Special Forces Deploy To Mexico For "Training" Mission Following Spy Plane SIGINT Operations | February 18, 2025:

"After two weeks of US Air Force RC-135V/W Rivet Joint reconnaissance aircraft conducting multiple signals intelligence (SIGINT) operations along the US-Mexico border and in international waters off southern Baja California—areas controlled by heavily armed drug cartels—the Mexican Senate Commission has approved the deployment of US Special Forces operators to the country for "training missions."

SOFREP's Guy D. McCardle reports that the Mexican Senate Commission has already approved the US Army's 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Green Berets to conduct training exercises at a naval facility i" Campeche, a Mexican port city on the Gulf of Mexico. 

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🇧🇷💬💥🌐 — Diplomatic crisis: Brazil’s possible accession to OPEC+ (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Allies) has caused divisions within the government. While the Ministry of Mines and Energy, led by Alexandre Silveira (PSD), advocates for immediate entry, the Itamaraty (Foreign Ministry) wants to postpone the decision until 2026, citing concerns about the country's environmental image

❗️ The main concern of Brazilian diplomacy is that joining the oil cartel could undermine Brazil’s position as a leader in the energy transition, especially ahead of COP30, which will be held in November 2025 in Belém (PA).

⁉️ On the other hand, Silveira argues that joining OPEC+ would allow Brazil to influence the group toward adopting more sustainable practices, promoting biofuels as an alternative to oil. The minister also believes that accession would strengthen Brazil in trade negotiations, particularly in response to tariffs imposed by Donald Trump's administration on Brazilian products.

➡️ The invitation for Brazil to join OPEC+ was extended to President Lula (PT) during COP28 in November 2023. The proposal generated strong reactions and shifted focus away from Brazil’s environmental agenda at the event, displeasing several European leaders. To formalize accession, all that is required is approval from the presidential office, but Itamaraty fears that this decision could harm Brazil politically on the international stage at a time when it seeks to solidify its leadership in environmental matters.

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🌐🤝💰 Google Eyes Bitcoin: 'Will Lower Entry Barriers'


Google is collaborating with the Bitcoin ecosystem and working to lower entry barriers to make it more accessible for Web2 users.

Google plans to improve Bitcoin wallets to match Web2 experiences and aims to provide services enabling easier Bitcoin transactions through Google accounts.

The introduction of Bitcoin ETFs serves as collateral assets for financial institutions and was mentioned as a positive factor promoting cryptocurrency adoption in traditional finance.

https://bloomingbit.io/en/feed/news/83489

@FelipeChannel

🇮🇱📱 - Israel has doubled down on its use of Microsoft and OpenAI services to track suspects.

U.S. tech companies have quietly enabled Israel to track and eliminate more alleged militants in Gaza and Lebanon, with a sharp rise in artificial intelligence and computing services accelerating these operations.

- Associated Press

🇺🇸🇲🇽 CIA flying covert drone missions into Mexico to spy on drug cartels

The CIA under President Donald Trump has been covertly flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to spy on drug cartels, current and former officials familiar with the matter told CNN, part of Trump’s dramatic reorientation of national security assets to the US southern border.

The missions, which have not been previously reported, come as the Trump administration moves to treat transnational drug cartels as terrorist organizations — a designation it has yet to officially make.

The MQ-9 drones used for the missions are not currently armed. But they can be equipped with payloads to carry out precision strikes. The US regularly uses them to target suspected terrorists in Syria, Iraq and Somalia.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/18/politics/cia-drone-missions-mexico-drug-cartels/index.html

🇺🇸🛂 The Trump administration has paused immigration applications from Latin American and Ukrainian migrants under Biden-era programs, citing fraud and security concerns.

🔗 AF Post

🇺🇸💸 $4.7 Trillion in payments by the US Treasury are basically untraceable

🔗 Alex Jones

🇺🇸🇺🇦 Trump says Zelenskyy “should have never started” the war with Russia

🔗 FactPost

🔫©📈🤝🇪🇺 — 📰 ZeroHedge | Defense Stocks Soar As EU Leaders Plan To "Substantially Increase" Weapon Spending | February 17, 2025:

"European defense stocks surged on Monday following last week's Munich Security Conference, where global leaders, ministers, and top policymakers discussed the urgent need to increase defense spending across the continent as a deterrent against an increasingly emboldened Russia. 

On Friday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told the audience at the annual three-day meeting, "I can announce that I will propose to activate the escape clause for defense investments. This will allow member states to substantially increase their defense expenditure." 

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) mandates that European countries allocate about 2% of their GDP to defense spending. However, many member states have failed to meet this target. New commitments over the weekend signaled that military expenditures will rise, fueling EU defense stocks on Monday. "

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🇬🇧👨🏻‍🦳💬❕🇺🇸🔫 — 🇬🇧 The Guardian | US ‘backstop’ vital to deter future Russian attacks on Ukraine, says Starmer | British prime minister says force would need protections such as air cover that only US can provide | February 17, 2025:

"Keir Starmer has urged Donald Trump to provide a US “backstop” to a European peacekeeping force in Ukraine, saying it is the only way to deter Russia from attacking the country again.

The UK prime minister’s appeal to Trump came after an emergency summit in Paris that heard widespread calls by European leaders for a large boost in defence spending.

Some leaders at the summit – especially the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who is one week from an election – wanted to block off any discussion on a European force to help enforce a ceasefire in Ukraine.

But Starmer, after committing on Sunday to the principle of sending British troops, pressed ahead with the issue – and went further by insisting such a force was only feasible with US support.

Speaking after the three-hour summit, he said: “Europe must play its role, and I’m prepared to consider committing British forces on the ground alongside others, if there is a lasting peace agreement, but there must be a US backstop, because a US security guarantee is the only way to effectively deter Russia from attacking Ukraine again.”

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🇷🇺💬🇺🇸❗️🗳🇺🇦 — 🎤 Fox News | US, Russian officials propose peace plan, lay 'groundwork for cooperation' in Riyadh | Russian officials are pushing for new elections in Ukraine | February 18, 2025:

"U.S. and Russian officials held diplomatic talks in Saudi Arabia without any Ukrainian officials present on Tuesday.

The groups, led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, are seeking terms for a peace agreement in Ukraine as well as negotiating a potential meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. They have proposed a framework that could involve a ceasefire, elections in Ukraine followed by the signing of a peace agreement.

State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce also confirmed that Rubio's team agreed to "lay the groundwork for cooperation" with Russia on various issues in addition to Ukraine. They also agreed to appoint "high-level teams" to begin working on a path to ending the conflict in Ukraine.

Reports from multiple foreign diplomatic sources say forcing Ukraine to hold new elections could be a key part of a peace deal. Both the U.S. and Russia believe Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a low chance of winning re-election, the sources say.

"Putin assesses the probability of electing a puppet president as quite high and is also convinced that any candidate other than the current President of Ukraine will be more flexible and ready for negotiations and concessions," the diplomatic sources said in a readout of the meeting."

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😵‍💫❗️🇺🇸🤝🇷🇺 — 📰 Bloomberg | Zelenskiy Excluded as US Discusses Ukraine Fate With Russia | February 18, 2025:

"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy unexpectedly canceled his visit to Saudi Arabia after he was shut out of talks there between the US and Russia on the future of his country.

Zelenskiy’s trip was due to follow Tuesday’s meetings in Riyadh, where US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat down with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss an end to the war — though without the participation of anybody from Kyiv. Those conversations have fueled concerns about US President Donald Trump’s rapprochement with Russia and his readiness to push for a deal over Ukraine’s head.

That’s left Zelenskiy out in the cold. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian president was in Turkey as part of a regional tour to drum up international support. He’d been scheduled to travel onwards to Saudi Arabia, hoping for a readout on the US-Russia talks from Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Late on Tuesday, he changed his mind against going."

📰🥴 — #VÆ: Conflict between headlines in the current version of this article against its counterpart in its Telegram thumb version says it all in the regards of what its writer intended to pass as an actual news.

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