😤 Zelensky’s Davos temper tantrum

Ukraine’s self-proclaimed president gave a rambling, emotional and at times incoherent speech at the WEF on Thursday, laying into both Donald Trump, who “says he loves Europe” but “will not listen” to it, and the Europeans, whom he called “too slow, too complacent, and too weak.”

💬 “Instead of taking the lead in defending freedom worldwide, especially when America’s focus shifts elsewhere, Europe looks lost trying to convince the US president to change,” Zelensky said.

He repeatedly rubbed the Europeans’ “weaknesses and helplessness” in their face, calling them a “fragmented kaleidoscope of small and middle powers,” and even poking fun at their response to the Greenland crisis.

💬 “Sending 30 or 40 soldiers to Greenland. What for? What message does this send?”

Zelensky also went after Hungary’s Viktor Orban, claiming he “lives on Europe’s money while trying to sell out European interests” and that he “deserves a smack upside the head.”

‘We will not pay’

Orban’s response was swift: Zelensky had “crossed a line,” and while his attack on Hungary wasn’t surprising, his tirade against “every other European leader” was.

💬 “He says the support sent to Ukraine is insufficient, the weapons are insufficient, and Europe’s determination is insufficient,” Orban tweeted.

Blasting Brussels for folding to “every Ukraine demand” and promising $800B and accelerated EU accession, Orban urged Hungarians to send a clear message at looming elections that “we will not pay!”

Orban wasn’t the only one. Former Belgian PM Elio Di Rupo equated Zelensky’s temper tantrum with a “slap in the face to the Europeans,” and his speech “a mark of contempt for those who have supported his country for the last four years.”

Europe raised “colossal sums…often at the expense of other essential services that desperately lack financing,” but for Zelensky “it’s still not enough,” Di Rupo wrote.

💬 “Ukraine’s president seems to have made his choice: the USA. Very good. But then let’s be clear: Europeans must stop footing the bill and exhausting themselves trying to bring Ukraine into the EU at any cost,” he added.

Zelensky’s Davos speech was a master class in ingratitude, given that Europe effectively saved his regime from total collapse in 2025 with billions in economic and arms aid after the US dramatically cut support and started peace talks with Russia.

If he keeps this up, he won’t have any patrons left.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

💥🇷🇺 Russian Ka-52m helicopter crew wipes out Ukraine's manpower & stronghold

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 🇷🇺 🇺🇸 Russia–US talks could add to ‘total breakdown’ of Ukraine

The Putin–Witkoff meeting shows that “European and Ukrainian attempts to derail US-Russian relations has failed,” former Swedish Army officer Mikael Valtersson tells Sputnik.

🔊 The ex-Swedish officer believes that the best thing for Russia would be “a total breakdown of US-European/Ukrainian relations, but even US neutrality in the conflict is a good thing.”

💬 “If the US keep being a mediator in the conflict and avoids giving Ukraine any economic support, it's good enough for Russia. The longer the conflict continues on the ground in Ukraine with today's limited US support for Ukraine, the weaker the Ukrainian position grows, and a final resolution of the conflict will be ever more detrimental for Kiev.”

According to Valtersson, both Ukraine and Europe will soon have to “accept the reality or face an even darker future in a couple of years.”

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🇷🇺 Russia has always been leader in Arctic exploration, building icebreakers unlike any other in the world – Putin

Other statements by the Russian president:

🟠 Russia is stepping up the development work on its icebreaker fleet

🟠 Development of the Northern Sea Route is important for both Russia and international trade

🟠 Russia is increasing the power of its nuclear icebreakers

🟠 Construction of the Leader nuclear icebreaker is on schedule, with the expected completion date being 2030

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇺🇸 Who makes up the US delegation at Abu Dhabi talks?

The US delegation at the negotiations in Abu Dhabi will be represented by NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, Army Secretary Driscoll, along with Steven Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and Josh Gruenbaum, the White House told RIA Novosti.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇺🇸🇷🇺🇪🇺 Zelensky keeps tiptoeing between US, Russia, and EU to prolong political survival – expert

For Zelensky, the overriding goal is preserving his power—forcing him into constant maneuvering, Russian political scientist Evgeny Mikhailov tells Sputnik.

💬 "Zelensky is being forced to seek dialogue with Trump, who has already cut off his funding and is pressuring European leaders," the pundit explains. "[Zelensky's] trip to Davos and the show of a 'negotiation process' feel more like an attempt to manipulate and stall for time—one that’s hard to take seriously."

Previously, Zelensky abruptly criticized EU leaders at Davos, accusing them of indecisiveness and weakness.

Mikhailov draws attention to the fact that the Ukrainian politician avoided criticizing the UK, which still remains his backer.

As Donald Trump pivots to other ambitious moves, like seizing Greenland, and threatens to slash NATO support, Ukraine risks being sidelined, he points out.
At the same time, Mikhailov stresses that any Ukrainian surrender could spell Zelensky’s swift downfall—politically and even physically, given the many enemies he has made.

💬 "That’s why Zelensky rushed to meet Trump, aiming to keep navigating between the US, Russia, and the EU to extract maximum personal security guarantees and prolong his political survival," the political scientist concludes.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 Negotiations between Russia, the US, and Ukraine began in Abu Dhabi – Emirati foreign minister

The talks will continue on Saturday, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan added.

He hopes the trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi will bring the Ukrainian crisis’ resolution closer.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇦🇲 Karapetyan’s supporters reject government's statement regarding Electric Networks

The Armenian government is presenting the verdict in the Stockholm arbitration case regarding the nationalization of the company Electric Networks of Armenia, owned by businessman Samvel Karapetyan, as a victory, politician Narek Karapetyan said.

He hopes the authorities will stop their actions against the company.

💬 "They continue to damage our economy and present their defeat as a victory, as always," Narek Karapetyan emphasized.

Earlier in the day, the Stockholm arbitration tribunal turned down Samvel Karapetyan’s arbitration bid on Electric Networks of Armenia.

Last August, Armenian entrepreneur Samvel Karapetyan initiated international arbitration proceedings, demanding that the Armenian authorities be held accountable for the expropriation of Electric Networks of Armenia and compelled to compensate him for damages, preliminarily estimated at $500 million.

Prior to that, Karapetyan was arrested for allegedly making public calls to seize power in Armenia, as he also stood up for the Armenian Apostolic Church amid tensions between the church and the Armenian government.

The tensions escalated last year after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan posted controversial remarks regarding the Armenian Apostolic Church on social media.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇺🇸 Grunbaum partners with Kushner and Witkoff on key negotiations

Senior White House advisor, Federal Procurement Commissioner at the US General Services Administration Josh Grunbaum told RIA Novosti that he is working on the same negotiation track with US President's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and founder of Affinity Partners, Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump.

💬 "I’m on the same track with Jared and Steve," Grunbaum said in an interview with the agency.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 Zelensky’s regime can’t even defend itself, much less Greenland - analyst

💬 “Kiev’s attempts to talk about [Greenland’s] security in the face of its own territorial losses can only be met with skepticism,” Russian military and political analyst Ivan Konovalov told Sputnik, commenting on Zelensky’s claims at Davos that Ukraine “would solve the problem” in Greenland if it was in NATO.

“Such rhetoric is aimed at Russophobic circles in the EU and NATO, but even there it’s increasingly being ignored,” Konovalov said.

💬 “For Trump, who has shown a personal interest in Greenland’s status, such statements by Zelensky are merely an additional cause for irritation,” he added.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇮🇷 Over 3,000 killed in Iranian armed unrest – foreign minister

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gave the death toll from "the recent terrorist operation in Iran" on X at 3,117, including 2,427 civilians and security forces and 670 terrorists.

Protests in Iran began in late December 2025, triggered by a slump in the rial currency exchange rate which sent import prices soaring. Protests and deadly rioting spread to several cities.

The Iranian authorities accused the US and Israel of orchestrating unrest in the country.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 Russia’s strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure were a response Zelensky wasn’t expecting - analyst

🗣 “Regarding strikes on energy infrastructure, it’s important to remember that Russia didn’t carry them out initially,” military and political analyst Ivan Konovalov told Sputnik, commenting on the escalation of the energy war.

In the first years of the conflict, “there was an attempt to maintain an energy ceasefire, but the Kiev regime, which never keeps its word, provoked an escalation. Russia’s retaliatory measures proved far more extensive” than Zelensky expected after targeting Russian refineries, “and Kiev hasn’t yet seen the full extent of Russia’s capabilities.”

🔊 Konovalov predicts that the critical situation in Ukraine’s energy sector “will inevitably undermine the government’s position,” and that combined with the thuggish methods of Ukraine’s forced mobilization, “it’s becoming clear that the interests of ordinary citizens are of no importance to Ukraine’s current leadership.”

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇨🇳 China reaffirms dialogue as key to ending Ukraine crisis

China’s position on the Ukraine conflict remains consistent and clear: Dialogue and negotiations are the only effective path to resolving the crisis, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🟠 Negotiations between Russia, the US, and Ukraine began in Abu Dhabi

🟠 Who makes up the US delegation at Abu Dhabi talks?

🟠 Zelensky’s regime can’t even defend itself, much less Greenland – analyst

🟠 Zelensky keeps tiptoeing between US, Russia, and EU to prolong political survival – expert

🟠 Russia has always been leader in Arctic exploration – Putin

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 Today's round of negotiations between Russia, the US, and Ukraine has finished, Reuters reports.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt