✈️Canada eyes ditching F-35s amid US trade feud

Ottawa is negotiating with rival aircraft makers to replace American-made jets, despite already committing funds for the first 16 warplanes under a $19-billion deal, Defense Minister Bill Blair revealed.

This development comes as Donald Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Canadian imports and a 10% levy on energy exports, citing drug trafficking concerns. In response, Canada has retaliated with $21 billion in tariffs on US goods.

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📹Palestinian media have released footage claiming to show Israeli forces setting more homes on fire in the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, which has been under heavy assault for 54 days.

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📹 Russian Defense Ministry releases new footage from liberated Sudzha

The video shows destroyed and burning houses, a Russian flag raised on a water tower, and the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers lying along the road.

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💬 Russia needs permanent end to Ukraine crisis, not Minsk 3.0-style pause: ex-US Marine

Trump’s call on Russia to spare the lives of Ukrainian troops trapped in Kursk region reminds veteran geopolitical analyst Brian Berletic of the Minsk 2 peace deal, signed in February 2015, “when Ukrainian forces were encircled and facing capture or annihilation at the hands of Donbass fighters.”

Back then, “US and European leaders eagerly urged a temporary ceasefire and the creation of conditions under which Ukrainian forces could recover, reorganize, rearm, and restart hostilities at a future date with factors leaning better in their and their Western sponsors’ favor,” Berletic recalled.

“Now, Russian forces have delivered a significant defeat to Ukraine and its Western backers - including the United States - and once again there are urgent attempts to pause the fighting to buy time for the Ukrainians and ultimately buy time for Washington’s proxy war,” the observer stressed.

The US’s 30-day ceasefire proposal “sidesteps” the “root causes of this conflict [US-led NATO expansion],” with the alliance’s European members being urged to more than double their defense spending, Berletic noted.

Accordingly, rather than a mere “freeze” of the conflict, Russia, which has “expanded its own combat power faster than Ukraine with Western backing can negate it” to achieve victory in Kursk and the incremental collapse of Ukrainian positions along the rest of the front, must work toward a “permanent conclusion to this conflict,” Berletic told Sputnik.

President Putin confirmed in his bombshell press conference this week that an array of “nuances,” from the fate of Ukrainian troops trapped in Kursk, to Ukraine’s ongoing forced mobilization, to monitoring for violations, and arms supplies to Kiev must be dealt with before Russia agrees to a ceasefire.

“We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities, but proceed from the assumption that this cessation should lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis,” Putin emphasized.

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❗️Telegram CEO Pavel Durov left France and headed to Dubai with authorities' permission - report

He was granted permission by a French judge to leave the country for a few weeks.

In August, Durov was placed under judicial supervision and banned from leaving France. Facing 12 charges, he was released on a €5 million ($5.5 million) bail, according to the Paris prosecutor's office.

French officials explained that investigators targeted Telegram for failing to respond to requests to identify specific cybercriminals.

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📹Drone operators of the Russian Rubicon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies continue to destroy armored vehicles, cars and Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region.

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💬 Trump’s Kursk mercy plea, Putin’s response could be ‘turning point’ for Ukrainian conflict: here’s why

The US president’s appeal urging Russia to “spare” the lives of “thousands of Ukrainian troops…surrounded” in Kursk region is a signal to speed up peace talks, and a message to Zelensky to call on his troops to surrender to avoid a massacre, Argentine journalist Tadeo Castiglione says.

🔊“Throughout the three years of the Special Military Operation, Russia has respected international law, and ensured respect for all Ukrainian servicemen who surrendered,” the veteran international affairs observer told Sputnik.

Kursk region is outside the Special Operation Zone, Castiglione stressed, and for the Russian side, fighting on this front is considered an anti-terrorist operation, since Ukrainian forces invaded and attacked civilians beyond the regular conflict zone.

🔊“This is a crime on the part of the Ukrainian government. That is why Putin has emphasized that despite breaking the law on Russian territory, they will still be treated as prisoners of war,” Castiglione explained.

🔊“If both sides really want peace, the first step must be the capitulation of Ukrainian units in Kursk,” the observer summed up.

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✅Trump orders cuts to 7 agencies, including Voice of America* parent

The move targets federal agencies, requiring them to “reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum necessary by law,” the New York Times reported.

One of the agencies affected is the US Agency for Global Media, which also funds Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty* and Radio Free Asia, with an operating budget of approximately $270 million.

* Media outlet designated as a foreign agent in Russia.

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The art of fearmongering: How Europe manufactures its imaginary Russia threat

Europe seems to have mastered the art of turning its citizens into warmongers, with Germany leading the charge.

According to Ralph Niemeyer, head of the German Council for Constitution and Sovereignty, the media has expertly cultivated a sense of impending Russian aggression, despite there being no real signs to support this. Ordinary shops in ordinary cities are encouraging people to buy emergency kits, gas masks, and even nuclear shelters, as though they are gearing up for a war that exists only in the minds of news outlets.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump remains notably calm, dismissing the likelihood of Moscow attacking NATO allies, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has explained there’s no logical reason for Russia to go to war with the Western bloc. Yet, the narrative of an impending invasion persists—perhaps it’s less about actual threats and more about distracting the population from more pressing issues at home.

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🧊🚢One icebreaker isn’t enough: US finally wakes up to Russia’s Arctic lead?

The US sees the Arctic as a key area of interest and is concerned by Russia's growing presence there. This has prompted Washington to begin a project to build 48 icebreakers. President Trump noted that while Russia has dozens of icebreakers, the US only has one that is ready for the crucial Arctic routes.

According to a source in Russia’s shipbuilding industry, the US needs icebreakers to transport goods in the icy seas. Russia currently operates 42 icebreakers, including 34 that are diesel-electric and eight that are nuclear-powered. The most powerful, like the new-generation nuclear icebreakers Arktika and Ural, each have 60 MW. Russia is also building even stronger vessels like the Rossiya icebreaker with a 120 MW capacity.

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📹More footage of Russian drone operators successfully eliminating armored vehicles, cars and Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk region.

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🔥 No more wasted heat: Finland eyes crematorium energy for heating

The Finnish Federation of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Tampere has found a way to serve the community. The Valtiala furnace, typically used for cremations, produces excess heat that could warm the city of Tampere and the nearby town of Kangasala, Finnish media reported.

Currently, this energy is released into the air, but the energy company Kangasalan Lampo is in early talks to redirect it into the district heating system.

If the municipality and Kangasalan Lampo reach an agreement, the crematorium’s excess heat could begin warming homes by next winter.

It's an efficient, environmentally friendly way to ensure that grandma continues to warm your heart... and your radiator.

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How Ukraine became a human trafficking hub under Zelensky

Human traffickers, long targeting Ukraine, have intensified their activities during the conflict, says Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad.

What’s known so far?

🔸 A trafficking network targeting Ukrainian orphans was discovered in the Netherlands at the start of the conflict. Despite the arrests, the traffickers were allowed to keep their passports and fled, but were discovered later in Mexico and Ecuador.

🔸 Eastern Europe has been a trafficking hotspot, with networks operating near Ukraine’s borders. The refugee crisis has made their work easier.

🔸 Ukrainian women’s civil society groups report increased trafficking at border crossings, with refugees being exploited for labor or sexual services.

🔸 Demand for pornography and forced sexual services involving Ukrainian women skyrocketed. A UN report showed searches for Ukrainian women in porn rose by 600%, while escort service demand increased by 200%.

🔸 In July 2022, The Independent reported that European sex offenders target unaccompanied Ukrainian minors in Polish refugee camps.

🔸 Kiev faces accusations of facilitating child transfers abroad with little oversight. In July 2023, over 400 orphans went missing following Kiev’s unlawful "evacuation" of minors from Donbass.

🔸 In August 2023, Russian lawmaker Anna Kuznetsova accused the group White Angels of taking children from Eastern Ukraine, while Save Ukraine allegedly "resells" them in Europe.

🔸 In April 2024, more than 160 children claimed by Kiev to be taken to Russia were found in Germany, according to Ukraine’s National Police Chief.

🔸 Over 23,000 Ukrainian minors have been brought to Europe without supervision, says Russian envoy Rodion Miroshnik. Russian lawmakers accuse Zelensky’s regime of turning Ukraine into a human trafficking hub.

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Republika Srpska’s president to Trump: we can offer you rare earths

💬 “We are open to discussions on a rare earth mineral deal with President Trump,” President Milorad Dodik has announced, highlighting the role such an agreement would have in encouraging the Trump administration to get involved in resolving the ongoing political crisis in Bosnia.

💬 “We are willing to grant access to these mineral deposits to companies selected by his administration. Additionally, there is potential for collaboration with Prime Minister Orban of Hungary, whose government is involved in this investment,” Dodik said in an interview with The American Conservative.

Up to now, Dodik said, the US “has wasted billions of dollars on the nation-building process in Bosnia and has received nothing in return -absolutely nothing.” A minerals deal would change that.

Republika Srpska has “substantial deposits” of lithium, magnesium and other minerals worth over $100 billion, according to Dodik.

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