Belgium’s Euroclear holds around $200 billion in Moscow’s sovereign funds, which were frozen in 2022
Around 67% of Belgians oppose the EU scheme to use frozen Russian central bank assets to back a ‘reparations loan’ to prop up Ukraine, according to a recent poll conducted by Ipsos and Belgian news outlets published on Monday.
The bulk of sovereign Russian assets frozen in the West are held in the Belgian clearinghouse Euroclear. Prime Minister Bart De Wever has steadfastly opposed EU moves to “steal” the funds, citing disproportionate legal risks to Belgium, despite mounting pressure from the European Commission.
EU leaders were set to vote on using the assets to back a controversial €90 billion ($106 billion) ‘reparations loan’ to help cover Ukraine’s floundering budget, which faces an estimated $160 billion shortfall over the next two years.
However, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the EU leadership “backed down” and that “Russian assets will not be on the table” at Thursday’s European Council meeting. The council “pushes joint loans, but we will not let our families foot the bill for Ukraine’s war,” he wrote on X on Wednesday.
Last week, the EU tightened its grip on the frozen Russian assets by invoking Article 122, an economic emergency treaty clause, to bypass the need for a unanimous decision amid opposition from a number of member nations.
By using the mechanism, the bloc stripped “Hungary of its rights,” Orban said at the time.
Belgium, Slovakia, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, and the Czech Republic joined Hungary to oppose raiding the Russian assets to finance Ukraine.
Last week, the Russian central bank sued Euroclear in a Moscow court, accusing it of the “inability to manage monetary assets and securities” entrusted to it. The firm estimates that it holds nearly $19 billion in client assets in Russia, which could become targets for legal retaliatory measures.
The US president has explained the motive behind the blockade on the Latin American state
US President Donald Trump has said Washington is seeking to reclaim oil, land, and other assets from Venezuela, arguing that previous administrations had allowed Caracas to strip America of its economic interests in the country.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Trump said Venezuela took “oil rights” and other assets that he claimed belonged to the US, prompting his decision to impose a naval blockade on the Latin American state.
“They took our oil rights. We had a lot of oil there,” Trump said. “They threw our companies out, and we want it back.”
Trump accused previous administrations of weakness, which enabled Venezuela to seize control of assets once held by American companies. “They took it away because we had a president that maybe wasn’t watching,” he said. “But they’re not going to do that. We want it back.”
Venezuela nationalized its oil industry in 1976, creating state-owned company PDVSA and ending direct foreign ownership of oil reserves, while still allowing international companies to operate under service contracts.
Under President Hugo Chavez in 2007, the government took majority control of large oil projects. Several Western energy companies, including ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, exited the country after refusing the new terms and later pursued arbitration claims.
The standoff comes amid an expanded US military presence in the Caribbean. Since September, US forces have conducted strikes against alleged drug traffickers operating at sea, killing more than 90 people in operations targeting what Washington describes as cartel-linked vessels. Trump has also threatened to extend strikes onto Venezuelan territory, accusing Caracas of harboring “narcoterrorists” – allegations the Venezuelan government has denied.
On Tuesday, Trump announced “a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela… until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the oil, land, and other assets that they previously stole from us.”
Caracas has condemned the blockade as illegal and in violation of international law, free trade, and freedom of navigation. The Venezuelan government dismissed Trump’s claims, insisting that its oil and mineral resources are sovereign property. “Venezuela will never again be a colony of an empire or any foreign power,” Vice President Delcy Rodríguez said.
The issue will not be discussed at this week’s summit, according to the Hungarian PM
The EU will not discuss plans to seize Russian assets during Thursday’s summit in Brussels, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced on Wednesday, calling it a “victory.”
The bloc has temporarily immobilized roughly $230 billion in Russian central bank assets by invoking Article 122, an emergency treaty clause that allows approval by a qualified majority rather than unanimity despite objections from some member states, including Hungary and Slovakia. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed using the funds to back a so-called ‘reparations loan’ to Ukraine – a plan that was expected to be discussed at EU leader’s gathering on Thursday.
Orban wrote on X that “the Brusselians had backed down” and that the Russian assets “will not be on the table” at the summit, calling it a “victory” for his PatriotsEU bloc.
”The Commission now pushes joint loans, but we will not let our families foot the bill for Ukraine’s war. Not on our watch,” he said.
A victory for the @PatriotsEU: the Brusselians backed down, Russian assets will not be on the table at tomorrow’s #EUCO. The Commission now pushes joint loans, but we will not let our families foot the bill for Ukraine’s war. Not on our watch. pic.twitter.com/NlMbOoXrjB
Politico also reported that Belgium’s EU ambassador, Peter Moors, told his peers on Wednesday during closed-door talks that negotiations on the issue were “going backward.”
Orban has previously accused EU officials of “raping European law in broad daylight” by invoking the clause to sidestep Hungary’s potential veto, adding that Budapest would take the matter to the bloc’s top court.
Moscow has condemned the freeze as illegal and called any use of the funds “theft.” Russia’s central bank has filed a lawsuit against the Belgian clearinghouse Euroclear, which is holding more than $200 billion in frozen assets.
The EU claims the freeze is in line with international law, but Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever warned that using the money to back a loan to Kiev would undermine trust in the EU financial system and expose Belgium to legal risks.
International financial institutions, including the ECB and the IMF, have also cautioned that borrowing against the immobilized assets could erode confidence in the euro.
Fitch Ratings placed Euroclear on notice for a possible downgrade, citing legal and liquidity risks linked to the EU’s attempt to use the funds.
The foundation has awarded the Peace Prize to a laureate lobbying for a new US war, the WikiLeaks co-founder argues
WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange has filed a criminal complaint against the Nobel Foundation, accusing it of misusing Nobel Peace Prize funds by awarding them to Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, who has publicly called on the US to attack her own country.
The complaint, dated Wednesday and submitted to Sweden’s Economic Crime Authority and War Crimes Unit, where the Nobel Foundation is based, argues that Alfred Nobel’s will legally restricts Peace Prize funds to purposes that promote peace and bars their use to advance war or foreign military intervention.
Disbursing prize money to Machado violates that mandate and could constitute a crime under Swedish law, Assange contends, while warning that the Nobel Peace Prize could be used as an “instrument of war.”
The complaint cites a series of public statements in which Machado endorsed potential US military intervention in Venezuela, while defending Washington’s use of force amid its heavy military buildup in the Caribbean. Assange pointed out that she had justified US strikes on boats off Venezuela’s coast, which have killed 95 people to date. The US maintains it is targeting “narco-terrorists,” while the UN has condemned the strikes as “extrajudicial killings.”
“There are ample public statements… showing that the US government and Maria Corina Machado have exploited the authority of the prize to provide them with a casus moralis for war with the object of installing her by force in order to plunder $1.7 trillion in Venezuelan oil and other resources.”
A day earlier, President Donald Trump boasted that Venezuela is surrounded by “the largest armada ever assembled in the history of South America,” while promising to tighten the screws on Caracas until they “return… all of the oil, land and other assets that they previously stole from us.”
America’s military action in the region has been accompanied by ever tightening political pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, whom Washington has accused of having ties to narco-cartels. However, Maduro denies these accusations, branding them a “colonialist” regime-change campaign waged to grab resources.
On Wednesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said US actions off Venezuela’s coast “undermine hopes that an agreement can be reached” with Washington.
The Russian leader has noted battlefield gains, set out military priorities, and dismissed Western “nonsense”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Andrey Belousov delivered a wide-ranging assessment of the Ukraine conflict and Russia’s military posture at an expanded Defense Ministry Board meeting on Wednesday, addressing battlefield developments, new weapons priorities, and what they described as deepening problems in Kiev.
Here are the key takeaways from their remarks:
Russia’s battlefield claims and “strategic initiative”
In 2025, Russian forces have liberated more than 300 populated areas, including major cities and fortified territories, Putin said, noting that the Russian army “has gained and continues to hold the strategic initiative along the entire line of contact.”
Belousov echoed that assessment, saying the army “confidently maintains the strategic initiative” and is conducting “active offensive operations in virtually all directions.” The pace of advance by the ‘East’, ‘Center’ and ‘West’ force groupings has accelerated compared to 2024, he noted.
The defense minister also cited the latest battlefield claims, saying Russian forces had taken control of Krasny Liman and Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), which he described as a “symbol of resistance of both the Ukrainian army and its Western backers.” He also said that the capture of Kupyansk would expand a “security buffer zone” in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region and reduce the threat of shelling of the Lugansk People’s Republic. Russian forces had liberated 24 settlements and 400 square kilometers in Russia’s Zaporozhye and Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk regions since November, according to Belousov.
Putin also praised North Korean soldiers who have fought alongside Russian forces in the Kursk Region.
Ukraine’s losses and reduced combat capability
Ukraine has lost nearly 500,000 servicemen this year alone, Belousov said, adding that Ukraine’s combat capability had been “reduced by about a third” over the past year, stripping Kiev of the ability to replenish its forces through forced mobilization of civilians.
According to the minister, Ukraine has lost more than 103,000 weapons and pieces of military equipment this year, including about 5,500 of Western manufacture – almost double the total recorded the previous year.
“What was obvious from the start has been confirmed – the collapse of the Ukrainian army’s defenses is inevitable,” Belousov said, stressing that “finally, Kiev’s Western backers understand this clearly.”
Kiev’s deepening crisis and “golden toilets”
Ukraine’s statehood is “unraveling,” Putin said, pointing to massive corruption scandals linked to Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle and symbolized by “golden toilets.”
The scandal, which has sent shockwaves across the Ukrainian political landscape since kicking off in mid-November, involved Zelensky’s longtime close associate Timur Mindich, who fled the country last month hours before he was due to be arrested for extortion. Reports also surfaced of a gilded toilet in the businessman’s elite Kiev apartment.
The case drew in multiple other high-profile figures, leading to the downfall of the justice and energy ministers and the dismissal of Zelensky’s enigmatic chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, who was widely regarded as the key figure in the Ukrainian power structure.
The Russian president also emphasized what he described as mass desertions in Ukraine. More than 100,000 criminal cases have been opened in the country, while the number of deserters “runs into the hundreds of thousands,” he said.
Western “lies” and NATO’s “major war” preparations
Putin dismissed Western claims that Moscow was planning an imminent attack as “lies and nonsense,” saying such statements are being made “quite deliberately” to raise hysteria in Europe.
“I have repeatedly stated that this is a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense about some imaginary Russian threat to European countries,” Putin said.
He accused NATO countries of “preparing for a major war” by building up and modernizing offensive forces, while “brainwashing” their populations with claims that a clash with Russia is inevitable. Putin said that NATO’s efforts to supply Ukraine with large-scale military aid are “continuing uninterrupted,” adding that NATO countries are “actively building up and modernizing offensive forces, while creating and deploying new types of weapons, including in outer space.”
Belousov said NATO’s actions, including bolstering military spending and force levels, deploying medium-range missile systems, and streamlining logistics for rapid troop movement to Eastern Europe, indicate that preparations for a confrontation with Russia are underway. “The alliance’s plans have set the early 2030s as the deadline for their readiness for such action… We are not threatening, but we are being threatened,” he said.
NATO is working on a so-called “military Schengen” to speed up transfers of equipment and personnel to Eastern European borders, Belousov stated, adding that the US-led military bloc has increased the range of its nuclear warheads, while its budget is set to grow by more than 1.5 times.
Oreshnik missile systems and deterrence priorities
Russia’s newly developed medium-range Oreshnik missile system will be placed on combat duty before the end of the year, Putin said, naming it as one of the weapons meant to “ensure Russia’s strategic parity, security, and global positions for decades to come.”
He also brought up the unlimited-range Burevestnik cruise missile and the underwater Poseidon drone, saying both have reached development milestones this year. “We will keep working on those systems, tuning and improving them, but we already have them,” Putin said.
Putin said missile systems, drones, and robotics are being delivered to Russian troops “on a continuous basis,” adding that, in 2025, the Navy has received new submarines, as well as 19 surface ships and auxiliary vessels. Improving strategic nuclear forces remains a priority “as before,” the president said, adding that they will continue to play the main role in deterring aggressors and maintaining the global balance of power.
Belousov agreed that ensuring credible deterrence against aggression is a key priority, listing the commissioning of a new Borey-A-class strategic nuclear submarine, the deployment of two additional Tu-160M strategic bombers, and the rearmament of Strategic Missile Troops units with Yars systems as examples of how this is being done.
Russia’s strategic nuclear forces are 92% modernized, the president stated, adding that “there is nothing like this in any other country,” and “there is no other army like this [Russian] in the world – it simply does not exist.”
Russia’s “full sovereignty” and strategic demands
Putin said Russia has sought diplomatic solutions “as long as there was even the slightest hope of success,” but argued that “those who have convinced themselves that Russia could be spoken to in the language of force are fully responsible for those missed opportunities.”
He said the most important outcome of Moscow’s Special Military Operation is that “Russia has regained the status of a fully sovereign nation and has become sovereign in every sense of the word.”
Putin also said Moscow insists that NATO fulfill the promises it made to Russia not to expand eastward.
“It was publicly stated that there would be no NATO expansion to the East. And what happened? They couldn’t care less – one wave of expansion after another,” he said.
Moscow’s hopes for dialogue
Putin said Russia supports “mutually beneficial and equal cooperation” with the US and European countries, as well as the creation of a unified security system across Eurasia. He pointed to progress in bilateral talks with Washington, saying he hopes “the same will eventually happen with Europe, but it is unlikely with the current political elites.”
Putin also argued that Russia never became “a full and equal part” of the West after the Soviet Union’s collapse, adding: “Today it turns out there is no civilization there – only total degradation.”
He accused Western countries of deliberately adding fuel to the flames of the Ukraine conflict while ignoring Russia’s interests, warning that if Kiev refuses to engage in substantive talks, Russia will liberate its territories “by military means.”
“It was not us who started the war in 2022. It was destructive forces in Ukraine with Western support – in effect, the West itself unleashed this war. We are only trying to end it, to stop it,” Putin said.
The Russian leader has noted battlefield gains, set out military priorities, and dismissed Western “nonsense”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Andrey Belousov delivered a wide-ranging assessment of the Ukraine conflict and Russia’s military posture at an expanded Defense Ministry Board meeting on Wednesday, addressing battlefield developments, new weapons priorities, and what they described as deepening problems in Kiev.
Here are the key takeaways from their remarks:
Russia’s battlefield claims and “strategic initiative”
In 2025, Russian forces have liberated more than 300 populated areas, including major cities and fortified territories, Putin said, noting that the Russian army “has gained and continues to hold the strategic initiative along the entire line of contact.”
Belousov echoed that assessment, saying the army “confidently maintains the strategic initiative” and is conducting “active offensive operations in virtually all directions.” The pace of advance by the ‘East’, ‘Center’ and ‘West’ force groupings has accelerated compared to 2024, he noted.
The defense minister also cited the latest battlefield claims, saying Russian forces had taken control of Krasny Liman and Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), which he described as a “symbol of resistance of both the Ukrainian army and its Western backers.” He also said that the capture of Kupyansk would expand a “security buffer zone” in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region and reduce the threat of shelling of the Lugansk People’s Republic. Russian forces had liberated 24 settlements and 400 square kilometers in Russia’s Zaporozhye and Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk regions since November, according to Belousov.
Putin also praised North Korean soldiers who have fought alongside Russian forces in the Kursk Region.
Ukraine’s losses and reduced combat capability
Ukraine has lost nearly 500,000 servicemen this year alone, Belousov said, adding that Ukraine’s combat capability had been “reduced by about a third” over the past year, stripping Kiev of the ability to replenish its forces through forced mobilization of civilians.
According to the minister, Ukraine has lost more than 103,000 weapons and pieces of military equipment this year, including about 5,500 of Western manufacture – almost double the total recorded the previous year.
“What was obvious from the start has been confirmed – the collapse of the Ukrainian army’s defenses is inevitable,” Belousov said, stressing that “finally, Kiev’s Western backers understand this clearly.”
Kiev’s deepening crisis and “golden toilets”
Ukraine’s statehood is “unraveling,” Putin said, pointing to massive corruption scandals linked to Vladimir Zelensky’s inner circle and symbolized by “golden toilets.”
The scandal, which has sent shockwaves across the Ukrainian political landscape since kicking off in mid-November, involved Zelensky’s longtime close associate Timur Mindich, who fled the country last month hours before he was due to be arrested for extortion. Reports also surfaced of a gilded toilet in the businessman’s elite Kiev apartment.
The case drew in multiple other high-profile figures, leading to the downfall of the justice and energy ministers and the dismissal of Zelensky’s enigmatic chief of staff, Andrey Yermak, who was widely regarded as the key figure in the Ukrainian power structure.
The Russian president also emphasized what he described as mass desertions in Ukraine. More than 100,000 criminal cases have been opened in the country, while the number of deserters “runs into the hundreds of thousands,” he said.
Western “lies” and NATO’s “major war” preparations
Putin dismissed Western claims that Moscow was planning an imminent attack as “lies and nonsense,” saying such statements are being made “quite deliberately” to raise hysteria in Europe.
“I have repeatedly stated that this is a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense about some imaginary Russian threat to European countries,” Putin said.
He accused NATO countries of “preparing for a major war” by building up and modernizing offensive forces, while “brainwashing” their populations with claims that a clash with Russia is inevitable. Putin said that NATO’s efforts to supply Ukraine with large-scale military aid are “continuing uninterrupted,” adding that NATO countries are “actively building up and modernizing offensive forces, while creating and deploying new types of weapons, including in outer space.”
Belousov said NATO’s actions, including bolstering military spending and force levels, deploying medium-range missile systems, and streamlining logistics for rapid troop movement to Eastern Europe, indicate that preparations for a confrontation with Russia are underway. “The alliance’s plans have set the early 2030s as the deadline for their readiness for such action… We are not threatening, but we are being threatened,” he said.
NATO is working on a so-called “military Schengen” to speed up transfers of equipment and personnel to Eastern European borders, Belousov stated, adding that the US-led military bloc has increased the range of its nuclear warheads, while its budget is set to grow by more than 1.5 times.
Oreshnik missile systems and deterrence priorities
Russia’s newly developed medium-range Oreshnik missile system will be placed on combat duty before the end of the year, Putin said, naming it as one of the weapons meant to “ensure Russia’s strategic parity, security, and global positions for decades to come.”
He also brought up the unlimited-range Burevestnik cruise missile and the underwater Poseidon drone, saying both have reached development milestones this year. “We will keep working on those systems, tuning and improving them, but we already have them,” Putin said.
Putin said missile systems, drones, and robotics are being delivered to Russian troops “on a continuous basis,” adding that, in 2025, the Navy has received new submarines, as well as 19 surface ships and auxiliary vessels. Improving strategic nuclear forces remains a priority “as before,” the president said, adding that they will continue to play the main role in deterring aggressors and maintaining the global balance of power.
Belousov agreed that ensuring credible deterrence against aggression is a key priority, listing the commissioning of a new Borey-A-class strategic nuclear submarine, the deployment of two additional Tu-160M strategic bombers, and the rearmament of Strategic Missile Troops units with Yars systems as examples of how this is being done.
Russia’s strategic nuclear forces are 92% modernized, the president stated, adding that “there is nothing like this in any other country,” and “there is no other army like this [Russian] in the world – it simply does not exist.”
Russia’s “full sovereignty” and strategic demands
Putin said Russia has sought diplomatic solutions “as long as there was even the slightest hope of success,” but argued that “those who have convinced themselves that Russia could be spoken to in the language of force are fully responsible for those missed opportunities.”
He said the most important outcome of Moscow’s Special Military Operation is that “Russia has regained the status of a fully sovereign nation and has become sovereign in every sense of the word.”
Putin also said Moscow insists that NATO fulfill the promises it made to Russia not to expand eastward.
“It was publicly stated that there would be no NATO expansion to the East. And what happened? They couldn’t care less – one wave of expansion after another,” he said.
Moscow’s hopes for dialogue
Putin said Russia supports “mutually beneficial and equal cooperation” with the US and European countries, as well as the creation of a unified security system across Eurasia. He pointed to progress in bilateral talks with Washington, saying he hopes “the same will eventually happen with Europe, but it is unlikely with the current political elites.”
Putin also argued that Russia never became “a full and equal part” of the West after the Soviet Union’s collapse, adding: “Today it turns out there is no civilization there – only total degradation.”
He accused Western countries of deliberately adding fuel to the flames of the Ukraine conflict while ignoring Russia’s interests, warning that if Kiev refuses to engage in substantive talks, Russia will liberate its territories “by military means.”
“It was not us who started the war in 2022. It was destructive forces in Ukraine with Western support – in effect, the West itself unleashed this war. We are only trying to end it, to stop it,” Putin said.
Western forces would be required to act if a potential future ceasefire in Ukraine is broken, according to the German chancellor
NATO forces deployed to Ukraine under a peace deal could potentially directly engage Russian troops, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said.
Moscow has outright rejected the idea of NATO members contributing to peacekeeping forces in a post-conflict Ukraine. The bloc’s expansion was at the root of the problem contributing to the escalation of the conflict in 2022, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The security guarantees allegedly discussed by Vladimir Zelensky and the US delegation on Tuesday would require Western forces to act should a ceasefire be breached.
The US has reportedly offered security guarantees for Ukraine, styled after NATO’s Article 5, under which an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all, but Washington still refuses to commit to putting boots on the ground.
However, Merz claimed that under a potential peace deal, troops from guarantor states would occupy a demilitarized zone separating Russian and Ukrainian forces. If a ceasefire was breached, they would “very specifically” respond to Russian “incursions and attacks.”
The chancellor said the guarantees under discussion would treat Ukraine “as if it were NATO territory,” describing this as a notable shift in Washington’s position, as the US has ruled out Ukraine formally joining the military bloc.
Previous ceasefire arrangements in Ukraine, like the 2014 Minsk agreements, failed despite EU countries acting as guarantors. Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Francois Hollande have admitted the Minsk accords were never intended to produce a lasting settlement and were exploited to buy time for Ukraine to strengthen its military.
Merz’s remarks come as several European leaders, including France’s Emmanuel Macron, have been floating the idea of deploying Western forces in Ukraine for months, while calling for increased militarization in response to what they describe as a Russian threat.
Moscow has consistently dismissed claims that it poses a threat to the EU or NATO, warning any foreign troops deployed during hostilities will be treated as legitimate military targets.
The White House cited security concerns arising from the countries’ chronic deficiencies vetting travelers
US President Donald Trump has expanded America’s travel ban list, adding eight more countries, including Syria and the Palestinian Authority. The new restrictions are set to take effect on January 1.
The move is part of a broader effort to tighten entry restrictions for foreign nationals whose countries have “chronic vetting deficiencies” that make it difficult for US authorities to determine whether the travelers are admissible, the White House said in a proclamation on Tuesday.
Such gaps could be exploited to “threaten United States national security,” it said.
The expanded travel ban bars entry to citizens of Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, Syria, Laos, and Sierra Leone, as well as people traveling on Palestinian Authority-issued documents.
Syria was added to the list days after two US soldiers and a civilian were killed in the country by a suspected Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) gunman. The ban came despite Trump’s rapprochement with the new government in Damascus, which came to power last year after jihadist groups toppled long-time president Bashar Assad.
According to the proclamation, the decision will not apply to those who have already been granted asylum in the US.
The updated US travel ban follows an earlier proclamation in June 2025 that restricted entry for nationals from 19 countries on national security grounds.
Trump has recently criticized immigrants from Somalia, one of the countries on the list, after the emergence of a fraud scandal involving the Somali diaspora in Minnesota. “We’re gonna go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country,” he said last month, urging the Africans to go home.
In early December, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she urged Trump to impose “a full travel ban on every damn country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.”
Her comments followed the arrest of an Afghan asylum seeker who was charged with first-degree murder after shooting two members of the US National Guard in Washington last month, one of whom later died in a local hospital.
The suspect allegedly shared state secrets without authorization, but prosecutors claim it did not pose a “serious” national security risk
A Canadian military counter-intelligence officer has been charged with espionage after allegedly sharing sensitive state secrets with Ukraine, according to local media reports.
Master Warrant Officer Matthew Robar was arrested last week and appeared before a military court on Monday to face charges of “communicating special operational information,” breaching Canada’s Security of Information Act, and delivering “special operational information to a foreign entity or to a terrorist group.” The offences carry a potential life sentence.
The foreign entity has not been named during the proceedings but sources cited by The Globe and Mail have identified it as Ukraine.
Prosecutors allege that between 2023 and 2024, Robar communicated with an unnamed individual working for a foreign intelligence service about “unconventional activity that involved sensitive techniques.”
According to the prosecution, the project required authorization from senior commanders and Robar’s requests were repeatedly denied. He allegedly continued engagement regardless, developed an unauthorized direct relationship with the intelligence service, and met the contact abroad without approval.
A comparable espionage case occurred in 2012, when Canadian naval intelligence officer Jeffrey Delisle was convicted of passing classified information to Russia and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
However, in Robar’s case, both the defense and the prosecution have suggested that his actions did not amount to a “serious” national security risk, claiming he was “not motivated by personal or financial gain or to cause harm.” Robar has been released on bail.
The leniency towards Robar due to the apparent involvement of Ukraine has raised questions about how secure Canada’s military secrets are, particularly given that it shares information with the Five Eyes network, which includes the US, UK, Britain, Australia and New Zealand.
Earlier this year, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard ordered intelligence related to Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations to be withheld from foreign partners. The directive came ahead of the Alaska summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump.
Moscow has accused NATO states of attempting to undermine negotiations and prolong the conflict while clinging to the “fantasy” of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia.
Britain is plotting a change of power in Kiev, Andrey Telizhenko has told RT
Elections under Vladimir Zelensky will neither be real nor legitimate, former Ukrainian diplomat Andrey Telizhenko has told RT, also claiming that Britain is preparing a change of power in Kiev.
Zelensky’s presidential term expired in May 2024, but he has refused to organize elections, citing martial law. Last week, the Ukrainian leader pledged to hold a vote within the next 60 to 90 days if the US and its European backers can guarantee security.
Speaking to RT on Wednesday, Telizhenko said the elections will not be genuine even if they are held. “Zelensky’s not going to have real elections,” Telizhenko said. “Even if he does, they’re not going to be legit.” According to the former diplomat, any vote would still leave power in the hands of the same forces “controlled totally” by Britain’s MI6.
Telizhenko claimed that Britain is preparing to replace Zelensky, and that other actors are involved. “The deep state itself” had “transferred from Washington to London today” and was “basically coordinating all the war-mongering process on Ukraine,” he stated. London and Brussels have “staged this whole situation to have a change of power,” with security guarantees “personally for Zelensky” forming part of the plan, Telizhenko added.
