Nina Kuryata

3 days ago | observer.co.uk | Nina Kuryata |Fred Harter

Donald Trump and Europe were on the same page on Saturday when Keir Starmer’s ‘coalition of the willing’ urged Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire with Ukraine. By Sunday, the US president was “starting to doubt” whether a deal would happen at all. So what? Trump is losing interest and exhibit A is the Pentagon. His defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, is planning the biggest shake-up of the military for a generation. But this is not just to build a “leaner, more lethal force”.

1 week ago | observer.co.uk | Alexi Mostrous |Nina Kuryata |Catherine Neilan

Experts say the government needs to prepare for possible attacks on infrastructure after a string of operations in Europe linked to Russia On the morning in March after a huge substation fire shut down Europe’s busiest airport, Russia’s former president posted a message to his 1.4 million followers on X. “I’m looking forward to Russia being blamed for the Heathrow fire,” he wrote. “What are you waiting for, Starmer?”Dmitry Medvedev’s sarcasm was apposite.

4 weeks ago | tortoisemedia.com | Nina Kuryata

Denmark plans to send unarmed troops to Ukraine to learn how to use attack drones. The idea came to the country’s army chief, Major General Peter Boysen, after he watched a training session with a reconnaissance regiment using advanced attack drones similar to those used in Ukraine. “In my 42 years of service in the armed forces, I have never seen events develop so quickly,” he told Denmark’s TV2 channel.

1 month ago | tortoisemedia.com | Nina Kuryata

Spare a thought for Bridget Brink as she thinks about what to do next having resigned last week as US ambassador to Ukraine because of what the FT calls policy disagreements with Donald Trump. She’s a career diplomat reportedly pressured by administration officials who “questioned her willingness” to support their Ukraine strategy – to end the war as soon as possible and to normalise US relations with Russia.

1 month ago | tortoisemedia.com | Nina Kuryata

Far from seeking a ceasefire, he’s waging hybrid war on all of Europe Last Friday, Steve Witkoff made his third trip to Moscow as Donald Trump’s envoy in search of progress towards an end to Russia’s war on Ukraine, and Trump evinced frustration that there isn’t any. So what? He shouldn’t be surprised. There is little evidence Putin wants to stop fighting and plenty that he wants to carry on. Almost as troubling is the evidence that he’s already engaged in a hybrid war on Europe as a whole. Hot war.