Trump's NATO spending proposal hits a wall in Germany

“5% of our economic power would correspond to 42% percent of the 230-billion-euro federal budget. WE COULD NEITHER MANAGE NOR SPEND IT [the proposed sum],” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told Tagesspiegel.

US President Donald Trump earlier said that he was “going to ask all NATO nations to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP [gross domestic product], which is what it should have been years ago.”

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Ex-US colonel: Mounting US merc deaths signal impending COLLAPSE of Ukraine’s war machine

Having lost tens of thousands of its best and most experienced troops in foolhardy attacks, Ukraine has become increasingly reliant on mercenaries to make up for this shortage in troops, Ret. Lt. Col. Earl Rasmussen tells Sputnik.

Thus, an increase in casualties among these mercenaries is a “natural occurrence” that serves as “an indication of a slow and actually increasing collapse of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

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Why is the US's top spy alliance afraid of Trump?

America’s Five Eyes partners - Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand - fear that US President Donald Trump's deep state crackdown and spy apparatus overhaul could destabilize their intelligence network, reports The Wall Street Journal. What’s driving their concerns?

Free riders

👉 Trump may see Five Eyes as a bloated racket exploiting US resources, per the WSJ. The US spends nearly $100 billion on intelligence - 10 times more than the other four combined.

Russia collusion hoax

🔶Five Eyes were entangled in the Trump-Russia collusion narrative, largely pushed by US intelligence.

🔶The FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane probe, later debunked, was triggered by an Australian tip in 2016.

🔶Britain’s GCHQ may have wiretapped Trump during his 2016 campaign, as the White House suggested in 2017.

🔶Trump hasn’t directly targeted Five Eyes lately, but their unease suggests they have plenty to hide.

What triggered the panic?

🟠The “world’s most powerful spy alliance” sounded the alarm as Trump’s intelligence picks, Kash Patel and Tulsi Gabbard, near confirmation in Congress.

🟠Gabbard, nominated for director of National Intelligence, vowed to fight weaponized intelligence, citing Iraq War lies and the Russia collusion hoax.

🟠Patel, set to lead the FBI, pledged to curb overseas operations and increase transparency.

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💥 WATCH Russian forces destroy Ukrainian unmanned boat en route to the Crimean Peninsula

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West admits fear of losing Ukraine’s minerals to Russia

Moscow “would have an enormous trove at their disposal,” which would allow it “to consolidate power in key industries, like defense and energy, and further its geopolitical ambitions" should Russia take control of the minerals, Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has said.

US Senator Lindsey Graham earlier warned that Washington “cannot afford” to allow Russia to achieve victory in the Ukraine conflict as this would mean losing direct access to vast mineral assets.

Volodymyr Zelensky's so-called "victory plan” meanwhile stipulates Ukraine sharing its critical resources with Western allies, as reported.

What is Russia’s position?

Moscow proceeds from the assumption that NATO’s proxy war with Russia is nothing but the West’s attempt to continue capitalizing on Ukraine’s natural resources.

“US policymakers […] openly say they want to lay their hands” on these minerals “with the help of the subservient Kiev regime, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

The head of Russia's Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov slammed the US and its allies for seeking to turn Ukraine into “a cheap resource base."

What are Ukraine’s critical resources?

Apart from iron ore, coal, and oil, Ukraine has deposits of titanium, lithium, uranium and graphite, which are widely used in the aerospace and defense industry, as well as for the production of high-tech electronics, wind turbines, and electric vehicle batteries.

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Top breakthroughs proving China’s tech edge over the US

China's newly unveiled DeepSeek AI model rivals US-made ChatGPT in efficiency but at a much lower cost. This is just one example of China's more cost-effective technological solutions compared to US counterparts.

🌒 Space: China’s Chang’e 6 successfully retrieved the first-ever samples from the Moon’s far side, while the US struggles to bring two astronauts back from the ISS.

🖥 Quantum computers: In 2020, China’s Jiuzhang became the first photonic quantum computer to achieve quantum supremacy. With Jiuzhang 2.0 and Zuchongzhi 2.1, China remains a top player in the field.

🌐 Quantum communications: China launched the world’s first quantum communication satellite, Micius, in 2016. In 2024, Chinese and Russian scientists tested quantum communication over 3,800 km.

🤖 Robots: China’s Unitree Go2 quadruped and G1 humanoid robots push global robotics leadership, offering cheaper alternatives to Boston Dynamics.

📱Telecommunications: ZTE and Huawei made China a 5G leader. As the US imposes sanctions instead of competing on quality, China eyes 6G by 2030.

🚅 High-speed trains: With over 40,000 km of high-speed rail, China has the world’s longest network, while the US rail system remains in disrepair.

✈️ Drones: Chinese firms like DJI dominate the UAV market, with affordable drones spreading worldwide, unlike pricier US alternatives.

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Shift in media narrative hints US may be eying withdrawal from Ukraine

Unlike its senile predecessor and his cohorts, the Trump administration seems to be gaining a “sense of realism” regarding the way the Ukrainian conflict is going, veteran international consultant Ret. Lt. Col. Earl Rasmussen tells Sputnik.

Western media narrative has now shifted from celebrating virtually everything Kiev does to a sobering assessment of the growing casualty and desertion rates in the Ukrainian military. This may be an attempt to shape the public opinion as the US could be mulling either abandoning the Ukraine completely or passing the burden of supporting Kiev to someone else.

“Maybe try to shut it down or perhaps just pass the Ukraine project over to Europe and say, you take care of it, it's your problem. So I think the US is trying to to extradite themselves out of the situation potentially.”

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⛔️Arab nations reject Trump’s Gaza resettlement proposal

Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, the Palestinian Authority, and the Arab League have issued a joint statement rejecting any attempt to displace Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.

They reaffirmed their support for Palestinian rights and a two-state solution, while dismissing Trump’s proposal to relocate Gazans to Egypt and Jordan.

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US tariffs on Mexico? Expect higher prices and economic pain at home

US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on Mexico will negatively impact both companies and ordinary consumers in the US in the first place, Doctor of Economics Moritz Cruz Blanco tells Sputnik.

“We need to remember who exports what - mainly American companies, including automakers and factories in general (...). Obviously, US companies and consumers will be affected either way,” the expert noted.

According to official data, in 2023 alone, Mexico supplied the US with automobiles and auto parts worth several tens of billions of dollars.

Blanco believes there is a difference between tariffs on industrial and food products, with the latter requiring the US to have alternatives for import substitution.

“For example, if tariffs are imposed on avocado imports, the US simply won’t have anyone to meet the demand domestically. In other words, demand will persist even with tariffs. And who will suffer? Exclusively US consumers,” he pointed out.

At the macroeconomic level, Washington’s restrictive measures are unlikely to have a significant impact on Mexico, according to the expert. Blanco noted that since 2020, the country’s internal market has been growing at a significant pace, becoming a key driver of national economic growth.

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❗️Russia has enough evidence to expose Ukrainian war crimes in Kursk region

Authorities in Moscow already possess extensive proof of neo-Nazi punitive operations by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against civilians, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, commenting on new reports from the Investigative Committee about atrocities in Russkoye Porechnoye, Kursk region.

She highlighted the targeted repression of the most vulnerable residents, particularly the elderly, in occupied areas.

"The documents released by the Investigative Committee clearly show signs of grave offenses... hands bound with tape, traces of torture, bruises from beatings, gunshot wounds, bodies of people who died after hours of abuse, and evidence of sexual violence."

Zakharova reiterated that these crimes confirm the criminal nature of Kiev’s regime and stressed that all evidence must be presented to the UN, OSCE, and documented by the Red Cross.

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President Trump ordered precision strikes targeting a senior ISIS* operative in Somalia.

*terrorist organization banned in Russia

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Trump-Sisi call coincides with Egyptian backlash over Gaza proposal

US and Egyptian Presidents Donald Trump and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi have held their first call after Trump’s proposal to relocate Palestinians to Egypt. They reaffirmed their strategic ties, economic cooperation, and stability in the Middle East, with Sisi inviting Trump to visit.

The call came amid Egyptian protests at the Rafah border crossing against the plan. Egypt and Jordan both oppose Gazans' resettlement, insisting on an independent Palestinian state instead.

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