The sudden chorus of Europeans crying about Russia’s supposed airspace violations comes at a convenient time
Until now, US President Donald Trump has shown no real interest in the Ukraine conflict, beyond wanting to put it to bed in time to collect his Nobel Peace Prize. Now, suddenly, he’s publicly adopting the position that Ukraine could not only “take back their country” from Russia on the battlefield, but also “maybe even go further than that.”
Does he really believe that? Not likely. But there’s money to be made in peddling American weapons to NATO countries, notably in Europe, under the pretext. Guess he figures that if this isn’t going to be wrapped up before the peace award deadline, then he may as well just take the war profits as a consolation prize. As long as America doesn’t have to get its hands dirty, since the EU’s continental geniuses keep saying how keen they are to do all the dirty work.
But European NATO seems to have found a new scheme that could drag Trump deeper into the whole mess. Because have you ever heard so much whining about supposedly offside aircraft than in the past month?
“The Kremlin needs a clear stop sign. A clear message to Russia that every military border violation will be answered with military means, up to and including the shooting down of Russian fighter jets over NATO territory,”said German parliamentarian Jürgen Hardt.
A stop sign. For air traffic violations. Like when your town decides to put in a roundabout at a problematic intersection. Or, you know, just starts straight up shooting at cars. Same thing really, this German lawmaker apparently figures. And so do Czech, Estonian, Polish, and Lithuanian leaders, apparently – all suddenly entertaining the possibility of shooting down stuff in the air that goes offside.
What a weird thing to simultaneously agree on. It’s like they’re all in the same group chat or something. We’re talking here about Estonia accusing 3 Russian MiG-31 jets of deliberately slipping into Estonian NATO airspace for a whopping 12 minutes. Less time than you spend waiting in line at fast food joints these days or scrolling TikTok. So you know what that means. Armageddon.
“This was a very serious violation of the NATO airspace. We are talking about 12 minutes of violation. Last time we saw it just before Estonia joined NATO, it was 2003,”said the Estonian defense minister. Oh no, the second time in 22 years! Practically a trend. Almost as often as neon leg warmers have come back since the ‘80s.
“But now the global situation is totally different, the regional situation is different,” he continued. “Just a couple of days before we saw a full-scale attack against Poland with 19 drones. And if you put it all in the pattern, so Russia is turning on the heat, Russia is testing more NATO.”
So apparently it’s the Cuban Missile Crisis all over again. Such a massively big deal that US President Donald Trump, when asked about it at first, literally said, “Yeah, we don’t like it.” Look, I just left a longer and more passionate online review for a disappointing face cream that I bought on Amazon.
When pressed on whether the US would defend Poland and the Baltics, Trump promised, “Yes, I would.” Sounds like every friend who swears they’ll help you move but ghosts when it’s time to wrestle IKEA furniture.
But here comes the NATO chorus, right on cue, to belt out its usual hits about Russian escalation:
“This is a very serious breach, it is potentially a serious escalation. NATO’s eastern flank is taken very, very seriously,”said British deputy prime minister David Lammy.
“Recent violations of the Union’s airspace, including yesterday’s outrageous violation of Estonian airspace by Russian MiGs, underline the need and urgency for Europe to take responsibility for its own security,”said EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
“This is yet another example of reckless Russian behavior,”added NATO spokesperson Allison Hart.
Wow, so many adjectives. Serious! Outrageous! Reckless! NATO must have a “Word of the Day” calendar that they’re just dying to show off.
So this is the third alleged Moscow airspace incident in a month – first Poland and Romania with drones, then Estonia with jets. Assuming the jets and drones did cross the border, it’s curious that no one has yet produced verifiable evidence for the claim. Russia says that Estonian jets were at least 3 km off their territory and is still asking to see the receipts – but who really cares about facts when outrage has already been served? Not the NATO Secretary General, apparently.
Whether or not the acts were deliberate, “it was anyway reckless. It was a bunch of Russian drones, even if they were not intent to go into Poland, if that will be the outcome of this… And of course, if it was the intent, there’s even more serious. But in both cases, it is reckless,” Mark Rutte said. “Eastern Sentry will add flexibility and strength to our posture and make clear that, as a defensive alliance, we are always ready to defend,” he added.
Yeah who cares if the violations actually happened, technically speaking. NATO is triggered. Bigly. And that’s what really matters here. These alleged incidents may or may not have happened, but outrage definitely DID happen. All these NATO guys losing it. Probably freaking out in ALL CAPS in their group chat asking whether they should scramble the jets.
Oh wait, what’s this Eastern Sentry thing that Rutte’s talking about? A NATO Operation is already in play? You don’t say! And look at that, Royal Air Force Еyphoon jets are already flying over Poland, according to the British defense ministry. Where would they be without all this hysteria? Back home, probably. And how inconvenient would that be when the Brits and French are trying to get air cover and troops in place “for Ukraine” in the event of some kind of ceasefire, they say.
What a convenient way to try to get the US Air Force involved when Trump has been snoozing on this issue. Will he bite? Not yet, at least. Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Secretary of War, reported that he’s “in close consultation” with NATO’s “Supreme Allied Commander for Europe.” Translation: still Europe’s problem. Unless they can find just the right pretext…
Why not just settle all this by drawing white “do not cross” lines in the sky like kids do with chalk on a playground? The mentality that we’re dealing with here is about on par. But then again, where would all the war profits be in that?
Tech rivalry without safeguards “could threaten humanity’s existence,” deputy UN envoy Dmitry Polyansky has warned
The rapid development of artificial intelligence and intensifying global rivalry in the field pose an existential threat to humanity, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, has warned.
Speaking at a UN Security Council briefing on AI on Wednesday, Polyansky called for safeguards and regulations as more countries push forward with the technology.
”An AI race – the ambition to outpace geopolitical rivals by rapidly developing a technology that is not fully understood or controlled, without sufficient AI safety measures for all stakeholders – could, much like an arms race, endanger humanity’s very existence,” he said. “These technologies pose significant risks and are becoming a new factor that could affect the stability of the entire system of international relations.”
Polyansky warned that AI tools could sway public opinion and election results by spreading news and fake information on social media, as well as disrupting critical infrastructure.
Polyansky said it is premature to raise the issue at the Security Council, but urged debate in inclusive forums, adding that Russia would support a UN-led role in AI governance.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed the concerns at the briefing, warning that while AI can help tackle food insecurity, de-mining, and conflict prevention, “without guardrails, it can also be weaponized.” He noted that the General Assembly created two new AI bodies last month – a global forum and an expert panel – to coordinate governance and cooperation.
ChatGPT’s debut three years ago sparked an AI boom, with investors pouring billions into the sector. Public filings show Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet spent tens of billions of dollars this year and plan to invest over $400 billion by 2026. Experts warn the surge could lead to a bubble and trigger a financial crisis, while others say the technology itself poses existential risks – from engineered pandemics to rogue AIs – without strict safeguards.
Bosch intends to terminate a “five-digit number” of employees in a bid to trim costs, Handelsblatt has reported
Leading German automotive supplier Bosch is set to slash a “five-digit number” of jobs as part of a major cost-cutting exercise, Handelsblatt reported on Thursday, citing anonymous industry sources.
Germany and other EU members have seen their industries lose ground globally after switching from inexpensive Russian oil and gas imports to costlier alternatives following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.
Earlier this month, Bosch HR director Stefan Grosch revealed that the company’s mobility division, which produces fuel injectors and driver-assistance software among other items, was staring at an annual shortfall of approximately €2.5 billion ($2.95 billion).
In an email statement to the press, Bosch said it would be “cutting costs across the board – from materials and logistics to capital spending and jobs.”
In its report on Thursday, Handelsblatt noted the German company had already axed 4,500 jobs last year in its largest division at home.
In late July, BMW reported a 29%-year-on-year-drop in first-half profits. The German auto giant attributed the poor showing to the import duties on cars and vehicle parts imposed by US President Donald Trump in April as well as intense “competitive pressure,” particularly from China.
Fellow German automaker Volkswagen saw its after-tax earnings slump by 36% in the second quarter of the year, with Mercedes posting yet worse results.
In June, the German Press Agency (dpa) estimated that Germany’s industrial sector had lost more than 100,000 jobs over the past year.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last month acknowledged that the country was “not just in a period of economic weakness, we are in a structural crisis of our economy,” caused by a loss of competitiveness.
Commenting on the economic woes witnessed across multiple EU member states, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described it in April as “the true cost of the EU’s anti-Russian agenda.”
Last February, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the German government was “destroying their auto industry.”
The former French president spearheaded a war that destroyed the African country
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy has been sentenced to five years in prison after a Paris court found him guilty of criminal conspiracy after campaign funding from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. It is the first time in modern French history that a former head of state has been imprisoned.
Judges ruled on Thursday that Sarkozy, president of France from 2007 to 2012, benefited from secret payments from Gaddafi for his 2007 presidential campaign and ordered him to begin serving his sentence even if he appeals.
The case began in 2011, amid the brutal war that destroyed Libya, when Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam claimed his father had given about €50 million ($54.3 million) to Sarkozy’s campaign.
The then-French president was at the forefront of the NATO-backed regime-change war in Libya that led to Gadaffi’s brutal murder in October 2011. Unleashed after Sarkozy appeared in Benghazi to support emergent rebel groups, the war deployed thousands of Jihadists into the country, imposed a no-fly zone over it, destroyed its economy to this day, and opened an immigrant ‘corridor of misery’ into southern Europe.
In 2012, Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine alleged he had delivered €5 million from Tripoli to Paris in 2006, though he later withdrew the claim. French police opened a formal probe in 2013.
Prosecutors alleged while he was French interior minister, Sarkozy made a deal with Gaddafi for campaign funds in exchange for facilitating Libya’s reintegration into international politics. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was also involved in the project.
The court convicted Sarkozy, who dismissed the charges as a politically motivated “plot” by the “Gaddafi clan” led by “liars and crooks,” of conspiracy, but acquitted him of passive corruption, illegal campaign financing and concealment of embezzlement.
The court ruled that the conspiracy occurred between 2005 and 2007, before he gained presidential immunity.
In December 2024, France’s highest court upheld a corruption and influence-peddling conviction from 2021 against Sarkozy and ordered him to wear an electronic tag for a year. He was also sentenced for illegal campaign financing tied to his failed 2012 re-election bid, serving the term under house arrest.
Earlier in 2025, he was stripped of the Legion of Honor.
The Ukrainian leader has told Axios he would call an election in the event of a truce with Russia, amid concerns he’s becoming authoritarian
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has said he is ready to step down once the hostilities with Russia end. The statement, made in an interview with Axios on Thursday, comes as questions mount over his legitimacy and accusations that Ukraine’s leadership is becoming increasingly authoritarian.
Zelensky’s presidential term officially expired in May 2024, but he has refused to resign or call a new election under martial law. Russia insists that this means the Ukrainian leader no longer has a mandate to govern.
Asked by Axios if he would call an election in the event of a temporary truce, Zelensky said yes.
He also suggested that he would not run again in the event of the truce.
”It’s not my goal – elections. My goal is to finish the war,” he said.
Critics at home have accused Zelensky of consolidating power, weakening parliamentary oversight, and sidelining independent voices, including former top military commander Valery Zaluzhny. Now serving as Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Zaluzhny has been named as a potential rival, with The Guardian reporting in August that he is preparing to challenge Zelensky in a future presidential race.
International media has echoed these concerns. In July, the Financial Times wrote that Zelensky and his aides were using extraordinary powers under martial law to “sideline critics, muzzle civil society leaders and consolidate control.”
Moscow has also warned that Kiev is displaying increasing authoritarian tendencies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently argued that Kiev’s leadership is clinging to power by prolonging martial law and preventing elections. Russian officials contend that any peace agreement signed under Zelensky could later be invalidated, citing the expiration of his term and the suspension of democratic processes.
The US president has said Secret Service is looking into equipment mishaps during his visit on Tuesday
US President Donald Trump has claimed his address to the UN General Assembly this week was disrupted by deliberate sabotage and called for an investigation into the “sinister events.”
During Tuesday’s speech, in which he sharply criticized the UN for inefficiency, Trump encountered a series of technical problems. An escalator stopped while he was riding it, his teleprompter malfunctioned before he started his speech, and the first lady and other attendees reportedly could not hear him because of issues with the chamber’s sound system.
“This wasn’t a coincidence, this was triple sabotage at the UN,” Trump wrote on Wednesday on Truth Social. “All security tapes at the escalator should be saved, especially the emergency stop button. The Secret Service is involved.”
The glitches and Trump’s earlier criticisms of the UN drew media attention. Politico said in its newsletter that the headquarters building in New York City is indeed “falling into disrepair” a decade after its last renovation.
The outlet added, however, that the problems may have stemmed from Trump’s own team. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said Trump’s videographer apparently triggered the escalator’s emergency stop by accident. The faulty teleprompter, Politico reported, was provided by Trump’s staff.
Trump said he has sent a copy of his complaint to Guterres and demanded “an immediate investigation.”
The US leader is believed to be “building an off ramp” for himself by providing encouragement to Kiev
European officials believe US President Donald Trump is scaling back Washington’s role in the Ukraine conflict and preparing to put the blame for a potential Ukrainian defeat on NATO allies, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
In a surprise move this week, Trump said Kiev could achieve its territorial aims against Russia and wished “good luck” to Ukraine and its European supporters.
“This is the start of a blame game,” one European official told the newspaper. Another said Trump is “building the off ramp” so he can pin the conflict’s outcome on others. A third described Trump’s good-luck wish as “tantamount to a handover note,” according to the FT.
Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Kislitsa told the outlet that Trump’s rhetorical shift reflected new intelligence, internal White House deliberations, and European pressure in recent weeks. Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has claimed that “Trump and America will be with us to the end of the war.”
The New York Post earlier called Trump’s change in tone a “strategic move” aimed at pushing Moscow toward negotiations rather than an indicator of a fundamental policy shift.
Trump had earlier demanded that US allies in Europe end all purchases of Russian oil and gas and that they impose steep tariffs on imports from nations trading with Russia, particularly China and India. Hungary has said it will continue buying Russian crude. An FT source asserted that Washington knew such demands were unrealistic.
Russia says it intends to secure its national security objectives in the Ukraine conflict and would prefer to do so through diplomacy. Moscow has accused Kiev of refusing to negotiate in good faith.
Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that Kiev agreed to resume direct talks with Moscow this year partly to avoid appearing to oppose Trump’s mediation efforts.
Tremors have been felt in the capital Caracas and across several states as far as neighboring Colombia
At least ten powerful earthquakes struck northwest Venezuela on Wednesday and early Thursday, sending tremors across the South American country as far as the capital Caracas.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research (Funvisis) said several tremors exceeded magnitude 5.8, including two that came in over 6.
The epicenter was near Mene Grande in the oil-rich state of Zulia, about 600km (370 miles) west of Caracas. The strongest, at magnitude 6.3, struck at 5:21 pm local time.
At least 21 aftershocks have been recorded in the past seven hours. Local seismologists are monitoring ongoing activity in the region.
No casualties have been reported, but videos and photos shared online showed cracked walls in high-rises and damaged roads.
Un fuerte sismo de magnitud 6.2 sacudió #Venezuela, con epicentro en Mene Grande.
The tremors were felt most strongly in the country’s western states, in particular the city of Maracaibo, where residents evacuated buildings as cracks appeared.
🇻🇪 | Momento del sismo de magnitud 6.1 registrado en Venezuela con epicentro en el estado Zulia. pic.twitter.com/o3h3Qm6VdK
Zulia Governor Luis Caldera said there was damage to some hospitals and to the iconic Santa Barbara Church, with footage posted online showing that a cross had fallen from one of its domes.
Un vídeo de una cámara de seguridad en Maracaibo, captó el momento del fuerte sismo de 6.4 que sacudió anoche en Venezuela. Una vivienda colapsó, pero afortunadamente no había nadie en su interior. #Temblorpic.twitter.com/11y7Pr9mrg
The earthquake was also felt in Caracas, where buildings shook and many residents left their apartments, local media reported.
⚠️🚨 ÚLTIMA HORA:⁰Se han sentido temblores en diversos estados de Venezuela.⁰El más fuerte, de 7.2, ocurrió esta madrugada. 📍 Zulia: así se vivió el sismo.⁰📍 Trujillo: miren este edificio… estremecedor. 🇻🇪 Mientras el país tiembla, Maduro sigue gobernando por decreto.… pic.twitter.com/FfJGiftjQW
”No human losses have been recorded, and President Nicolas Maduro has deployed a risk system throughout the country from the Command Post,” she said late on Wednesday.
Venezuela sits on several fault lines between the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates. About 80% of its population lives in seismic zones. The country has been hit by five major earthquakes in the past century, including a magnitude 7.2 off the northern coast in 2018. The last deadly quake in Venezuela occurred in the town of Cariaco in 1997, killing 73 people.
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski reportedly discussed offering protection to Ukrainian national Vladimir Z
Poland was ready to grant asylum to a suspect in the Nord Stream bombing, the newspaper Rzeczpospolita has reported, citing sources.
The two Nord Stream pipelines, built to carry Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, were damaged in a sabotage attack in September 2022. German prosecutors attributed the explosions to a small group of Ukrainian nationals.
Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski repeatedly said in conversations that he was prepared to grant asylum in Poland to one suspect, identified as Vladimir Z., and even honor him with a state decoration, the paper wrote on Thursday.
Vladimir Z., described as a diving instructor, had reportedly been living near Warsaw. After German prosecutors issued a European arrest warrant for him, the Polish authorities did not detain him, and he later fled to Ukraine.
German officials questioned why Poland failed to act and the escape strained relations between the two countries. The Polish authorities argued that nothing has been proven against Vladimir Z., reportedly telling their counterparts, “Why should we detain him? For us, he’s a hero.”
Warsaw has been one of Kiev’s staunchest backers since 2022, supplying weapons and pressing the EU and NATO to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow. Polish officials, including Sikorski, were also opposed to Nord Stream in the first place, which bypassed Poland as a transit country and deprived it of gas revenues.
The German investigation has already led to the arrest of another suspect, former military officer Sergey Kuznetsov, detained in Italy in August. Prosecutors allege he coordinated a team that rented a yacht and planted explosives on the pipelines using commercial diving gear.
Moscow has rejected Berlin’s version, dismissing the claim that a small group of Ukrainians carried out the sabotage as “ridiculous.” After Kuznetsov’s arrest, Russia called for an urgent UN Security Council meeting, accusing German officials of a lack of transparency and frequent leaks to the press.
Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said the German authorities were trying to cover up the true circumstances by blaming a private “scapegoat.” President Vladimir Putin suggested the US likely orchestrated the sabotage, while Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service claimed it had “credible information” that US and British agents were involved.
The US leader has called Russia a ‘paper tiger’ that can be defeated by Kiev
US President Donald Trump’s sudden shift in tone on the Ukraine conflict – asserting this week that Kiev can achieve its territorial goals against Russia – is an attempt to push Moscow toward negotiations, the New York Post reported on Wednesday, citing White House sources.
For months, Trump and his administration had argued that Ukraine would need to relinquish some of its territorial claims to secure a US-brokered peace deal. However, his week he reversed course, dismissing Russia as a “paper tiger” that Kiev can defeat and claiming his view is based on “getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia military and economic situation.”
The Post described the comments as a “dramatic pronouncement,” reportedly prompted by “new US intelligence that shows the Kremlin is spiraling toward economic ruin and battlefield defeat.” The newspaper said Trump’s assessment of Ukraine’s ability to retake territory was intended as a “strategic move” to draw Russia to the negotiating table. It provided no details on the intelligence behind the claim.
Unlike his predecessor, Joe Biden, Trump has resisted sending large amounts of direct US military aid to Ukraine and has instead urged European NATO members to buy American weapons for Kiev’s forces.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky interpreted Trump’s statement as a commitment that “America will be with us to the end of the war.” Opposition MP Aleksey Goncharenko, however, argued Zelensky was misreading the message and warned it could prompt a costly new offensive. Trump, he said, was effectively telling Ukraine and the EU: “You deal with it. I hope you can do it. Good luck!”
Trump has long had a contentious relationship with the US intelligence community, at times disregarding its assessments when they conflicted with his policies. In June, he brushed aside testimony from Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, after using the opposite claim to justify support for US and Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities.
Responding to Trump’s comments this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has traditionally been seen as a bear rather than a tiger, and that there is “no such thing as a paper bear.”
