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Russia Times
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[l] at 8/4/26 1:25pm
Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes failed to rattle the economy, resulting only in a rising civilian death count and intensified retaliation from Moscow In late June, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky announced a 40-day “operation of influence,” portraying it as a campaign of long-range drone strikes meant to force Russia to enter negotiations on Kiev’s terms. As of early August, the campaign in practice turned out turned out to be what Moscow has described as “terrorist attacks” on Russian oil refineries, residential buildings, logistics hubs and other critical infrastructure, resulting in the death of dozens of civilians. Russia’s answer has been to pummel Ukraine’s defense industry – including facilities producing drones and missiles instrumental to Zelensky’s much-maligned campaign – while continuing to grind forward on the battlefield. As the 40-day deadline passed on Tuesday, there was no sign Russia had budged an inch. Here’s how Zelensky’s campaign collapsed far from stated objectives. What did Zelensky try to accomplish? Zelensky approved the plan on June 25, describing it on social media as a combination of “long-range” and “medium-range sanctions” aimed at compelling Russia to end the hostilities.Over the following weeks, Ukrainian strikes focused on three main target sets: Russian oil refineries, logistics warehouses belonging to retailer Wildberries (often described as “Russia’s Amazon”), and a wave of strikes that killed civilians far from any front line. Ukrainian officials have said that they seek to make the war psychologically “sweep over” large segments of Russian society. Read more Death toll from Ukrainian drone attack on crowded Russian beach increases (VIDEO) The Ukrainian leader has repeatedly insisted on freezing the conflict along the current frontline before a final settlement can take place. Moscow, however, has objected to a ceasefire on the terms of Ukraine and its backers, arguing it would be used by Kiev to replenish its battered military and get more Western-supplied weapons. What impact have Ukraine’s strikes on oil infrastructure had? Ukrainian drones have hit refineries across several regions, including one major facility in Moscow, over the course of the campaign. The strikes did lead to temporary deficits, long lines at the pumps, caps on maximum fuel purchases for ordinary consumers, and logistics hurdles in several regions, particularly the Crimean Peninsula. In late June, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the strikes were designed “to undermine our confidence in ourselves and our capabilities” and to “create conditions for launching negotiations on terms favorable to our adversary.” He stressed that Russia “will not give them [Ukraine] that opportunity,” adding that the attacks had “no impact whatsoever on the situation at the front.” Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak said that the government had banned gasoline and diesel exports while strengthening air defenses around refineries, ensuring that plants operate at maximum capacity, and sending additional fuel to the hardest-hit regions. Read more Russian deputy PM names reason behind fuel shortages By late July, Novak said the market was “gradually stabilizing” as several refineries resumed operations and purchase limits were lifted in a number of regions. Has Ukraine targeted Russian civilians? Since Zelensky’s announcement, there have barely been any days without Ukrainian strikes killing civilians. According to Rodion Miroshnik, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s mission tracking Ukraine’s alleged war crimes, in the week of July 20–26 alone 492 people were affected, including 57 killed, seven of them children. In the most recent weekly count, Miroshnik reported 49 people killed, including four children, as well as 342 wounded. The campaign’s final days brought one of the deadliest strikes on civilians: on Monday, a Ukrainian drone came down on a beach near the resort city of Gelendzhik, southern Russia, killing at least eight civilians, with dozens of others injured. As part of the campaign, Ukrainian forces also started to attack Wildberries warehouses, hitting around a dozen facilities across Russia. At least eight people were killed, and dozens more were injured, with small sellers – mostly trading in clothes, toys and other purely civilian-use items – suffering large and often irrevocable financial losses. Read more Pet minister of Zelensky’s ‘bagman’ becomes Ukraine’s top spy Zelensky has confirmed that the attacks were deliberate, claiming the warehouses stored dual-use components, including drone parts and navigation equipment – something any large-scale retailer in the world sells. Moscow has insisted the retailer does not supply the Russian military. Wildberries’ losses are difficult to estimate, but they reportedly exceed $1 billion. Following the strikes, the retailer will launch several warehouses in neighboring Kazakhstan. How has Russia responded to Zelensky’s campaign? Russia responded with long-range drone and missile strikes on Ukrainian defense-related facilities, with a focus on those producing UAVs that were ultimately being used in Zelensky’s campaign, along with attacks on cargo vessels it said were carrying military shipments in the Black Sea. Moscow maintains it does not target civilians. On the ground, Russian forces kept advancing. According to TASS calculations, they liberated and took control of 32 settlements in July alone. The month’s biggest prize was Konstantinovka, a fortified stronghold in the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration that the troops fully secured in early July. Officials in Moscow estimated that Kiev had lost some 13,500 troops while defending the settlement. Later in July, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov announced that Russian forces were on the verge of liberating Krasny Liman, another key Donbass stronghold. Has Kiev commented on its 40-day failure? Zelensky himself has so far kept silent on the self-imposed 40-day deadline, but the head of his office, Kirill Budanov, argued that the calendar was beside the point. “Don’t get hung up on these numbers – 40, 50, 100, 15 days. What matters is the result,” he said. Read more Why Ukraine’s strikes on Russia’s Amazon reek of war crimes Budanov is the same Ukrainian official who on several occasions in 2022 and 2023 predicted that Ukraine would retake Crimea; Kiev’s attacks were ultimately bogged down in Russian defenses far from that objective. Zelensky himself recently admitted that Ukraine is unlikely to seize the peninsula, which overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in 2014 after a Western-backed coup in Kiev. How has Zelensky's 40-day campaign been assessed? Ukrainian outlet Strana.ua noted there were no signs Moscow was shifting its position after 40 days, while describing Russia’s de-facto naval blockade of Ukrainian ports – imposed in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian vessels in the Black and Azov seas – as one of the most serious problems the campaign created for Kiev. RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan wrote that the operation, “announced by Zelensky with such bravado 40 days ago,” had instead concluded with the liberation of Konstantinovka, the dismissal of half of Ukraine’s government, and Kiev appealing for an “air truce.” “Let’s remember them in peace,” she added, “when there is peace.” Leonid Slutsky, the chair of the State Duma’s international affairs committee, said Zelensky’s plan had backfired on Ukraine, only leading to intensifying retaliatory strikes. He warned that Kiev now risks facing its hardest winter yet – a “portal to hell,” he said, that Zelensky himself had opened. Read more The key to Donbass: Russia liberates Konstantinovka State Duma deputy Svetlana Zhurova said Zelensky’s attempt to pressure Russia’s civilian population through the plan had not produced the desired results. “He made this plan so that he’d be given money and weapons, and now he’ll have to report back to Western countries – but he has nothing to show for it,” she told Lenta.ru. Zelensky's 40-day tactics: did he turn the tide? Forty days and thousands of drones later, the only thing Zelensky can truly take credit for is dozens of dead Russian civilians, who had nothing to do with the conflict. While the strikes did lead to temporary and already easing fuel shortages in some regions, they failed to significantly affect the Russian economy or squeeze any concessions from Moscow. Meanwhile, Zelensky’s gamble also failed to contain the Russian forces’ advance in Donbass and elsewhere, as Moscow’s military continues to pummel both Ukraine’s defense industry and frontline positions.

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[l] at 8/4/26 12:49pm
The US-led military bloc’s AWACS airborne force has proposed adding a little ‘air superiority’ to the Euro As the European Central Bank weighs how its new euro banknotes will look, NATO’s airborne surveillance unit has a novel suggestion: plaster the European notes with images of American military hardware. In a recent post on its Facebook page, NATO’s Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS) Force shared its vision for the upcoming series of Euro notes, a US-made Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft soaring over the fields and forests of Europe. On the €20 note, the E-3 is accompanied by what appear to be two American F-16s. “What if the new European banknotes had a little more…air superiority?” the NATO unit asked in a caption. The post was tongue-in-cheek, but the image of American air superiority over Europe is a fitting metaphor for an organization designed, in the words of its first secretary-general, to “keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down.” Coordinated NATO psy-op trying to tie NATO to the EU. Thank you for your attention in this matter. pic.twitter.com/5zb54Hd4l2— Mats Nilsson (@mazzenilsson) August 4, 2026 NATO’s Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) Force followed suit, posting a series of notes featuring an American RQ-4D Phoenix surveillance drone. The posts received mixed reactions online, with self-described ‘Eurasian sovereignist’ Mats Nilsson describing them as a “coordinated NATO psy-op trying to tie NATO to the EU.” Read more Why Western Europe needs a Russian threat “A Boeing on a EURO banknote?” one commenter replied to NATO AWACS on Instagram. “No, thank you. Please redesign with a Saab Globaleye. It’s at least half European.” Four Eurozone countries – Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, and Malta – are not members of NATO, while 15 of NATO’s 32 members do not use the euro. Whether they are interpreted as tongue-in-cheek trolling or an expression of Europe’s vassal status to the US, the notes have no chance of ever being printed. The European Central Bank is currently holding a public survey on its forthcoming euro banknotes, with variants showing historical figures – including Marie Curie, Leonardo da Vinci, and Ludwig van Beethoven – and native European birds making the shortlist. The survey closes in late September, and a winner will be chosen by the end of 2026. The notes will be printed and circulated in 2030 or 2031.

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[l] at 8/4/26 12:34pm
The bloc’s estimate for the damages has already been surpassed, yet is dwarfed by funding for Ukraine Wildfires in the EU have caused more than €3 billion ($3.46 billion) in damages so far this year, exceeding the European Commission’s average annual estimate, the Financial Times has reported. Almost half a million hectares have burned in the first two months of the fire season in France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Romania, the paper wrote on Tuesday. The €3.1 billion figure, which covers only the cost of restoring burned land and forests, “far outstrips European Commission estimates of a €2.5 billion average annual impact” for the whole bloc, it added. The losses in France alone could amount to between €10 billion and €15 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing data from Toronto-based ratings agency Morningstar DBRS. Read more Helicopters collide while battling wildfires (VIDEOS) Put into perspective, however, the estimated costs are modest compared with the scale of the EU’s other financial commitments, such as payments to Ukraine. In June, the European Commission disbursed €3.2 billion to Kiev as the first tranche of the bloc’s €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan for 2026-2027. READ MORE: EU sanctions on Russia obstruct fight against raging wildfires According to the European Commission, the EU and its member states have poured over €216.7 billion into Ukraine since the escalation of the conflict in 2022, including military aid, financial and humanitarian assistance, loans, and support for Ukrainian refugees in member states. The latest fires have also renewed debate over the impact of the EU’s sanctions against Russia. Spain has been unable to operate part of its fleet of Russian-made Kamov Ka-32 firefighting helicopters because EU sanctions have disrupted maintenance and access to spare parts. During the latest wildfire emergency, both Spain and France activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, requesting additional aircraft and firefighting crews from other EU countries and Türkiye.

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[l] at 8/4/26 11:59am
Kiev’s envoys have been told to pursue official and unofficial channels to find out if the war can be prolonged Vladimir Zelensky has ordered Ukraine’s diplomatic missions to closely monitor missile stockpiles in their host countries, making weapons production, financing, and political pressure their principal measures of success. Addressing more than 100 diplomats at their annual meeting in Kiev on Monday, Zelensky announced that each embassy would be judged by by the military resources obtained from its host country. ”An ambassador must know how many air-defense missiles there are in the country, where they work, and how to ensure that those missiles are not sitting in warehouses, but in our launchers here in Ukraine,” he said, adding that “You must bring weapons. This must be a KPI of our embassies.” The instruction could potentially place Ukrainian diplomats in a legally and politically sensitive position, as gathering detailed information on a host country’s weapons stockpiles could be viewed as intelligence activity rather than conventional diplomacy. Zelensky’s mandate extended beyond air-defense missiles. He also instructed envoys to secure missiles for other systems, weapons for combat aircraft, drone-production agreements, additional funding, and tougher sanctions against Russia, including in culture and sports. Since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Kiev has received vast quantities of weapons and tens of billions of euros from Western governments, but has repeatedly demanded more. Western military stockpiles have meanwhile come under growing pressure, with some governments reluctant to surrender systems they say are needed for their own defense. Zelensky’s orders also come as Ukrainian diplomats face accusations of interfering in the domestic politics of donor countries. Read more Ukrainian spies protecting arms smuggling – Russian diplomat Ukraine’s ambassador in Berlin, Aleksey Makeiev, was recently accused of election interference after denouncing Germany’s AfD, BSW, and Left parties, claiming they receive instructions from Moscow and urging voters to reject parties advocating renewed diplomacy with Russia. German opposition politician Sahra Wagenknecht accused Makeiev of openly meddling in German elections and said Kiev had “lost all sense of proportion” despite continuing to receive billions from German taxpayers. Moscow has repeatedly argued that Western weapons deliveries prolong the hostilities without changing their ultimate outcome. Russian officials have also warned that transferring increasingly sophisticated military technology to Kiev makes NATO countries direct participants in the conflict.

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[l] at 8/4/26 11:54am
Her attack on multipolarity mistakes a shift in global power for a plot, confusing structural change with hostile intent Laura Loomer’s recent condemnation of multipolarity marks one of the clearest attempts within the American Right to define the emerging new international order as an existential threat rather than an inevitable transformation. Her arguments deserve careful examination, not because they are unique, but because they reflect assumptions that have become increasingly common in debates about the future of global power. Loomer presents her first argument in the simplest possible terms. She claims that multipolarity exists to destroy American supremacy. According to her, Russia promotes the doctrine because it seeks the decline of the United States, while China, Iran, and other governments adopt the same language for the same reason. In her account, multipolarity is not a description of the international system but a political weapon aimed directly at Washington. The disappearance of American predominance therefore becomes the central objective of every state that speaks of a multipolar world. This argument mistakes consequence for intention. Multipolarity does not begin with hostility towards America. It begins with the observation that the distribution of power has already changed. China possesses industrial capacity on a scale unseen in modern history. India has become a continental power with global ambitions. Russia remains one of the world’s foremost military powers despite unprecedented sanctions. Regional actors such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Indonesia, and others increasingly pursue independent policies rather than automatic alignment with Washington. These developments did not emerge because someone wrote books about multipolarity. The books appeared because the balance of power was already shifting. The decline of unipolarity is therefore not a revolutionary program but a recognition of political reality. No empire has remained permanently dominant. History moves through changing distributions of power, and every generation mistakes its own arrangements for permanent truths until events prove otherwise. Read more Ukrainian neo-Nazi commander struggles to explain SS-style insignia to MAGA influencer (VIDEO) Loomer’s second argument portrays multipolarity as an alliance between Russia, China, Iran, Islamist movements, and other governments united by hatred of the West. She presents these actors as members of a single ideological front whose common purpose is the destruction of Western civilization. Under this interpretation, every state that speaks of multipolarity belongs to the same hostile camp regardless of its own interests or historical experience. This confuses coincidence with unity. The countries commonly associated with multipolarity frequently disagree on questions of territory, economics, religion, and regional influence. India maintains strategic rivalry with China while participating in organizations that include Beijing. Turkey remains a NATO member while purchasing Russian military equipment. Saudi Arabia cooperates with Washington while simultaneously expanding relations with Moscow and Beijing. Iran and Russia share interests in some regions but not in every sphere. Brazil follows its own priorities, while Indonesia pursues another course entirely. There exists no single ideological headquarters directing these governments towards one objective. What unites them is not identical beliefs but the desire to preserve greater freedom of action. Multipolarity does not require permanent friendship among its participants. It merely assumes that several independent centers of power exist simultaneously. Loomer’s third argument claims that multipolarity functions primarily as Russian propaganda. According to her, Moscow employs information campaigns, media personalities, and sympathetic commentators to persuade Western audiences that American leadership should end. The doctrine therefore appears as little more than a sophisticated psychological operation. Propaganda cannot manufacture geopolitical reality. It may exaggerate events or shape perceptions, but it cannot create factories, armies, populations, technological industries, or national interests. The emergence of several major powers has measurable economic and military foundations independent of any Russian information campaign. China did not become an industrial giant because of Russian messaging. India did not become the world’s most populous country through propaganda. American debt, political polarization, and industrial decline cannot be explained by foreign influence alone. Every great power produces narratives supporting its own interests. Washington has done so for generations, just as London, Paris, Moscow, and Beijing have done before it. To reduce structural transformation to propaganda mistakes symptoms for causes. Read more MAGA influencer who denied Ukraine has neo-Nazis interviews one Loomer’s fourth argument describes multipolarity as the greatest threat to Western civilization itself. She presents American predominance as the final guarantee of Western survival. Once that predominance disappears, she argues, the civilization that produced Europe and North America will inevitably collapse beneath hostile external forces. This assumes that civilization depends upon imperial management from a single capital. Yet Western civilization existed for centuries before the United States emerged as the world’s leading power. Classical Greece, Republican Rome, medieval Christendom, Renaissance Italy, imperial Spain, Bourbon France, Victorian Britain, and many other historical forms flourished under very different political arrangements. Civilizations possess cultural continuity independent of whichever state temporarily occupies first place. Indeed, empires often weaken the societies they lead by drawing them into endless military commitments, financial burdens, and ideological universalism. A civilization survives through confidence in its own traditions, institutions, and people rather than through permanent global supremacy. Loomer’s fifth argument attacks thinkers associated with multipolarity, especially Alexander Dugin. She argues that such figures openly desire the destruction of the United States and therefore reveal the true intentions of the entire doctrine. Since some advocates welcome the end of American predominance, she concludes that multipolarity itself must be directed against America as a nation. This moves from particular individuals to universal conclusions. Every major political tradition contains voices motivated by hostility towards rival powers. During the twentieth century, many American strategists openly sought the collapse of the Soviet Union. That did not mean every supporter of American leadership desired the destruction of the Russian people. Likewise, criticism of American global predominance does not necessarily imply hatred of America itself. Many advocates of multipolarity distinguish between the American nation and the international system established after the Cold War. They argue against universal political structures, not against the existence of the United States. Agreement or disagreement with that distinction remains a matter of political judgment, but it should not be erased. Read more Laura Loomer says there’s no Nazi problem in Ukraine. Here’s what she didn’t see Loomer’s sixth argument maintains that Western commentators sympathetic to multipolarity serve as useful instruments of hostile governments. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, she argues, they spread narratives that weaken national unity and encourage America’s enemies. Such reasoning risks replacing debate with suspicion. Political disagreement has always existed within free societies. Citizens may oppose intervention abroad, criticize alliances, question sanctions, or advocate different grand strategies without acting as foreign agents. Once every dissenting argument becomes evidence of hidden allegiance, public discussion gives way to accusations instead of analysis. Democratic societies depend upon distinguishing disagreement from disloyalty. Otherwise every political controversy becomes a search for traitors rather than an examination of competing ideas. The deepest weakness in Loomer’s argument lies elsewhere. She assumes that the preservation of peace depends upon one state remaining permanently supreme. History suggests the opposite. Concentrated power often tempts its holder to expand beyond necessity because few external restraints remain. A world containing several powerful civilizations does not eliminate conflict, but neither did unipolarity. The decades following the Cold War witnessed repeated military interventions, regime-change campaigns, sanctions, and expanding geopolitical confrontation despite the absence of any peer competitor. The central question is therefore not whether one prefers America, Russia, China, or any other power. The question is whether lasting order is more likely to emerge from permanent global predominance or from a balance among several enduring centers of civilization. Multipolarity answers the second question. Its critics answer the first. That disagreement concerns the structure of international politics itself rather than merely the ambitions of any single state. This article was first published on Constantin von Hoffmeister's blog Multipolar Press

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[l] at 8/4/26 10:42am
The attack near Gelendzhik killed at least seven people, including four children, as doctors treat dozens injured Locals have described scenes of panic and “women’s cries” when a Ukrainian drone struck a crowded beach near the Russian Black Sea resort of Gelendzhik on Monday, killing seven people and injuring dozens more. The attack on the village of Arkhipo Osipovka sent vacationers scrambling for cover. “People ran away. At first, they started screaming and began fleeing from there. I can still hear those women’s cries in my ears,” one man who witnessed the blast told RT. No one expected such an attack “on a beach with children,” a local woman said, calling the strike an act of “treachery.”  Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova Belova said on Tuesday that a fourth child had died from injuries. Regional authorities earlier reported that 58 people had been wounded, 21 of whom required hospitalization. Doctors in Krasnodar Region said victims were brought in with complex mine blast injuries, including four children, two of whom are in intensive care. “They are receiving all necessary assistance,” Elena Kleshchenko, chief physician of the Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital said, adding that initial treatment on the scene and in nearby towns had been “timely.” Acting deputy chief surgeon Aleksey Kovalenko at the Ochapovsky Regional Clinical Hospital said four of 14 adult patients “are in serious condition,” many of them with “combined trauma – shrapnel wounds plus burns.” The youngest patient is 19, while the oldest is 63, he added. READ MORE: Five killed in Ukrainian drone strike in Moscow Region – governor In Arkhipo Osipovka, locals and tourists have been laying flowers and toys in memory of the victims, creating makeshift memorials. “We came to leave a toy. Children died. Unfortunately, we witnessed all of this,” one man said. ”I have tears in my eyes. I am a pensioner, and I feel very sorry for the children and the people,” an elderly woman told RT. Kiev has intensified long-range attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure in recent months. Moscow has described the strikes as terrorist attacks deliberately targeting ordinary citizens. On Monday, another Ukrainian drone strike claimed the lives of at least five people and wounded at least ten others near the town of Chekhov in Moscow Region.

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[l] at 8/4/26 9:02am
Financial losses due more than doubled to $484 million in 2025, according to the agency Artificial intelligence played a role in more than half of the cybercrime cases examined across Africa in 2025, as criminal groups increasingly turned to the technology to automate attacks, produce convincing deepfakes, and expand large-scale fraud operations, Interpol said on Monday. The African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026, which draws on intelligence from law enforcement agencies in 36 African countries, found that AI featured in 55% of cybercrime cases examined in 2025. At the same time, reported financial losses linked to cybercrime more than doubled from $192 million in 2024 to $484 million in 2025. The report said the increase reflected the growing role of AI-facilitated scams, credential harvesting, and automated social engineering campaigns. Interpol said AI has lowered the barrier to entry for cybercriminals, enabling even relatively inexperienced offenders to launch sophisticated attacks. According to the report, criminals are increasingly using AI to generate convincing deepfake videos and voice recordings, create synthetic identities for financial fraud, and craft highly personalized phishing campaigns. Read more South Africa withdraws AI policy over fake sources The report estimated around 600,000 sextortion cases across Africa in 2025, with South Africa accounting for 30% and Kenya 13%. It also found that 72% of surveyed countries reported the presence of scam centres, most of them in Southern and West Africa. Governments across Africa are moving to strengthen their defenses. Earlier this year, Kenya announced plans to amend its cybercrime legislation to address AI-driven threats. South Africa has also warned that AI-powered attacks and deepfakes are creating new security challenges, while Senegal launched an online reporting platform to improve the response to online offenses affecting children. “Cybercrime has emerged as one of the most significant criminal threats to the region,” Interpol Cybercrime Director Neal Jetton said. “AI is automating every stage of a cyberattack from reconnaissance and phishing to extortion and evasion.”  READ MORE: Global South cyber forum to focus on ‘non-Western’ models – organizers Interpol said 17 African countries enacted or updated cybercrime legislation in 2025, while four agency-led operations resulted in more than 1,500 arrests and the recovery of assets worth over $100 million.

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[l] at 8/4/26 8:50am
The 102-year-old recipient of one of the country’s highest decorations served in the Nazi German Latvian Legion during World War II A former member of an ethnic-Lavtian branch of Nazi Germany’s Waffen-SS was buried with military honors in the Baltic country on Wednesday. Laimons Ezergailis, who died at the age of 102, served in the 15th Waffen Grenadier Division, a formation that was established on Adolf Hitler’s orders in 1943 and incorporated dozens of soldiers from notorious killing units . The urn with Ezergailis’ ashes was buried at the Lestene military cemetery, a memorial site dedicated to Latvian Legionnaires. Ezergailis held the Order of Viesturs, one of the country’s highest state decorations and its highest military honor. The Latvian Legion remains controversial because it fought under German command as part of the Waffen-SS, which was declared a criminal organization at the Nuremberg Trials. Latvian authorities argue that the Legion fought to prevent the return of Soviet rule rather than in support of the National Socialist ideology, noting that many of its members were conscripted. Russia rejects that interpretation, and has accused Latvia of rehabilitating Nazi collaborators through official honors and annual commemorations. READ MORE: Nazis honored in EU country’s capital Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) released declassified documents last year alleging that Latvian Waffen-SS formations committed atrocities against civilians during World War II. Based on Soviet counterintelligence records, the files say collaborationist units later incorporated into the Latvian Legion murdered at least 30,000 people and participated in mass executions, including the killing of more than 10,000 Jews in Riga’s Bikernieki Forest in 1941.

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[l] at 8/4/26 8:36am
Sahra Wagenknecht has accused Kiev’s ambassador of meddling after he denounced several opposition parties Veteran German opposition politician Sahra Wagenknecht has accused Ukraine’s ambassador in Berlin of openly interfering in the country’s politics after he denounced several opposition parties and urged voters to reject them. In an interview with Welt, Aleksey Makeiev claimed that parties on both the German right and left receive instructions from Moscow “every morning.” Asked whether he meant the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Left Party (Die Linke), and Wagenknecht’s BSW, the diplomat called on voters to examine “an alternative for which country” they were supporting. “As a European, I want the democrats to win, not the autocrats,” Makeiev said, despite prefacing his remarks by insisting that an ambassador should not interfere in Germany’s domestic affairs. Wagenknecht responded by accusing Makeiev of having “lost all sense of proportion.” “He probably believes that if Ukraine can blow up the Germans’ most important energy supply line without any consequences, then it is also allowed to openly meddle in our elections,” she wrote on X. German politician, BSW party founder Sahra Wagenknecht, © Getty Images / Peter Gercke/picture alliance The politician was referring to the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, which carried Russian gas to Germany. German prosecutors have alleged that the sabotage was carried out by a Ukrainian team using a small rented yacht. Moscow has argued, however, that such a sophisticated operation could not have been carried out without Western assistance. Read more Germany has reached a new low in election rigging Wagenknecht described Makeiev’s comments as an “outrageous affront,” noting that German taxpayers are expected to provide Kiev with billions more in aid this year. “That money is also paid by the voters of the parties he has condemned,” she said, accusing the federal government of treating Ukraine as more important than its own citizens. Germany has provided Ukraine with tens of billions of euros since the escalation of the conflict in 2022. However, its own economy has been reeling from the consequences of rejecting cheap Russian gas, leading to declining industrial output and manufacturers bleeding jobs. Both Wagenknecht’s BSW and the AfD have opposed continued military support for Kiev and have advocated for renewed diplomacy with Moscow. The AfD is currently leading national opinion polls and is expected to make major gains in upcoming regional elections in eastern Germany. Read more Germany’s Merz refuses to disclose intel on Nord Stream sabotage – media The surge comes as Chancellor Friedrich Merz faces record-low approval ratings, with some 84% of Germans reportedly dissatisfied with his performance. Support for his Christian Democratic Union party has also fallen behind AfD. Despite the AfD’s growing popularity, senior politicians have maintained efforts to ban it, with officials in Lower Saxony already having blocked several AfD candidates from standing in local elections on the basis of domestic intelligence assessments, without any court rulings. Opposition figures have accused the establishment of election rigging and trying to suppress the country’s largest political force by manipulating the electoral process before voters can deliver an AfD breakthrough.

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[l] at 8/4/26 8:19am
Dhaka is evaluating the plan and will move forward if it benefits the people, according to Shama Obaed Islam Bangladesh has expressed its openness to cooperating with the US on nuclear power, even as it resists ratifying a reciprocal trade deal signed with Washington by the country’s previous interim government, which constrains its ability to conduct foreign policy and trade.  “We are positive,” Bangladeshi junior foreign minister Shama Obaed Islam said on Monday. However, she added: “If any agreement with the US is beneficial for our bilateral relations and is in the interest of Bangladesh and its economy, we will proceed. If not, we will reconsider.” US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor made the nuclear proposal to Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman during a visit to Dhaka last week. His visit was seen as an attempt to pressure the country to ratify and comply with the Agreement to Reciprocal Trade (ART) signed in February, just before the country’s elections.  The interim government agreed to buy 14 Boeing aircraft for about $3.7 billion following pressure from the Trump administration to boost its exports to Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s bilateral trade with the US was about $12 billion in 2024, primarily driven by the South Asian country’s apparel and textile exports. However, the Trump administration also tacked on provisions that restricted Dhaka’s freedom to do business with nations labeled as “non-market economies,” which covers its longstanding partners Russia and China.  Under the ART, higher tariffs will snap into place if Dhaka enters into any new bilateral free trade agreement or preferential economic agreement with a non-market country. It also restricts Bangladesh from buying any new nuclear reactors, fuel rods, or enriched uranium from a country that jeopardizes US interests.  Gor’s nuclear cooperation proposal comes months after Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman inaugurated the commissioning process of the country’s first nuclear power plant – built and financed by Russia. Read more Bangladesh FM praises Russia-built nuclear plant as ‘monument of cooperation’ The $12.8 billion Rooppur facility, built by Russian energy giant Rosatom, is Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant and the most expensive infrastructure project in the South Asian country’s history. The 2,400 MW plant is nearing commercial power generation even as the US sanctions on Russia are making payments difficult for Dhaka. China is Bangladesh’s largest trading partner, with $22 billion in bilateral trade annually.  The government is not feeling “pressured” about the ART, Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman told the media after meeting Gor. “We will never strengthen relations with one country at the expense of another,” he said, according to local media reports. “We seek to strengthen our relations with all countries while protecting and advancing Bangladesh’s national interests.” Gor’s proposal is being reviewed by Bangladesh’s science and technology ministry.

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[l] at 8/4/26 8:00am
The breach puts 100,000 members of the force “at serious risk,” an affected official has told the paper The data of more than 100,000 UK police officers and staff has appeared on the dark web after hackers breached a key law enforcement database, The Times has reported. The leak came just days after the cybercriminals published over half a million pieces of sensitive information from the British Education Ministry. The perpetrators were able to gain access to the Police National Legal Database (PNLD), which is used by members of law enforcement in England and Wales, The Times said in an article on Sunday. Police sources told the paper that some 114,000 PNLD subscribers, mostly officers, had their names and contact details uploaded online. The hackers also exposed data from 2,615 Crown Prosecution Service employees, 617 Home Office personnel, 588 National Crime Agency staff, and 402 workers of the British Defense Ministry, they added. The email addresses of some 21,000 members of the public who visited the Ask the Police website were also released as part of the leak, according to the article. Read more Autonomous AI agent attacks major model hub No passwords or security credentials appear to have been compromised so far, The Times said. A group called ExfilSquad is believed to be behind the latest breaches, the paper noted. Its members allegedly do not follow any ideology, but engage in cybercrime in order to profiteer at the expense of their victims, it added. An online statement by the group urged those affected by the hack to “be smart and just pay” to see their data taken down from the dark web. “The payment we request of you is simply a rounding error compared to the litigation costs of your data leaking,” it claimed. One of the officials whose details were released told The Times that “for private information to be leaked about me is very disconcerting and puts officers at serious risk.” Read more Moscow shoots down NATO hacking accusations The chairwoman of the Police Federation, Tiff Lynch, said that the hack “raises serious concerns for officer and staff safety.” The police should be “properly funded to ensure the strongest possible cyber security protections are in place to safeguard sensitive personal data,” she insisted. A 10 Downing Street spokesperson said the British government has “dedicated capabilities to respond to cyber incidents, and it would be inappropriate to comment on a live investigation.”  Sensitive UK police data has appeared online on a number of occasions in recent years. In 2023, the data of thousands of Metropolitan and Greater Manchester police (GMP) officers was compromised in a ransomware attack that targeted an IT firm servicing both forces. The leak happened just weeks after the details of some 10,000 Northern Ireland police employees were published online after being accidentally included in a response to a freedom of information request.

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[l] at 8/4/26 7:32am
The mass crossing may have been a test of Spain’s ability to retain the strategic enclave, the British journalist has suggested The mass migrant crossing into Spain’s enclave of Ceuta in North Africa may have been part of a coordinated US-Israeli campaign to challenge Madrid’s control of the Strait of Gibraltar, British journalist and RT contributor Martin Jay has suggested. An estimated 60,000 migrants, mostly young men, swam from Morocco and crossed into Ceuta on Thursday and Friday in an unprecedented influx that triggered a security crisis in the city. Around 48,000 had voluntarily returned by Friday evening, according to the Spanish Interior Ministry. Speaking to RT, Jay described the influx as a possible test by Rabat to determine how Spain and the enclave’s residents would react to an attempt to claim it for Morocco. “Perhaps they were trying to test the waters to see what would happen. Could the 84,000 Spanish residents there pack up and leave? Would that be a possibility? Could Morocco just simply take that territory, which they consider to be theirs?” Jay suggested. Read more Ceuta migrant surge deepens political divide in Spain Morocco has long claimed Ceuta and the nearby enclave of Melilla as its territory, viewing continued Spanish control as a legacy of European colonialism. The two enclaves have repeatedly become flashpoints in diplomatic rows between the two countries, with Morocco widely believed to have intentionally sparked a similar migrant influx in 2021 to pressure Madrid. Jay also argued that Israeli support for Rabat could eventually give the West and its allies greater control over the strategically vital Strait of Gibraltar. The allegation echoes claims by Iran that Washington and West Jerusalem helped coordinate the latest migrant surge to punish Spain for its Middle East policies. Neither country has acknowledged involvement. Watch the RT interview below:

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[l] at 8/4/26 7:07am
For Western Europe’s uneasy coalition, proxy war, arms buildup and trans-Atlantic dependence have become glue The outlines of a new Western collective are beginning to emerge and at its center is Western Europe, for which the Russian threat has become a source of unity in a period of upheaval and uncertainty. To avoid direct confrontation, Ukraine is being enlisted as a willing proxy, while a common military-industrial system is being built around supporting it, above all through the production of drones. The long-term argument is that this will also strengthen Western Europe’s own defense capabilities, and assistance to Ukraine can therefore be presented to the public not as money spent on someone else, but as an investment in their own security. Across the Atlantic stands a powerful patron that’s reducing its direct involvement without withdrawing entirely, but the United States remains prepared to provide support when necessary, increasingly on a fee-for-service basis. At the same time, Washington is using conflicts in the Old World to test its own military and technological approaches. Read more Why Western Europe needs a Russian threat Strong transatlantic ties also preserve America’s ability to influence Western Europe and, when required, draw it into the wider confrontation with Washington’s principal rival, China, and at the very least, they help prevent Brussels and London from moving closer to Beijing. This arrangement is unstable, but there’s little point in expecting a permanent structure to emerge because the world has entered a phase in which almost everything is temporary. Military confrontation with Russia is an essential part of this model and without it, the political logic holding Western Europe together begins to weaken, so governments will therefore try to preserve the current situation for as long as possible. Talk of negotiations with Russia should not be taken too seriously because from the European perspective, the only acceptable discussion is one in which Moscow abandons its objectives. The US has less invested in maintaining this state of affairs, but it also suffers little inconvenience from it, since it’s no longer bearing the principal costs. The Ukrainian leadership, whether the current rulers or any plausible successor, is unlikely to change course, because it’s got nowhere to retreat. More importantly, the role of ‘spearhead against Russia’ is Kiev’s only realistic route into the Western system, given that more conventional paths to full membership in the Western community are closed to a country in its present position. Read more Why Western Europe needs the Ukraine conflict to continue There is, however, one important variable in the possibility of political change in Western Europe’s leading states, where the growing success of forces long labelled far-right in France, Germany and Britain creates the risk of serious domestic upheaval. If a new generation of such politicians comes to power, it could alter the meaning of Western unity, though it’s not yet clear in what direction. In any case, internal political conflict would distract these states from external priorities. History shows that a united West is neither permanent nor stable, and even if an impression of permanence was created by the Cold War, that period was exceptional. No one can yet say what form the Western community will take after the present transformation of the international system and demographic changes within Western societies add another layer of uncertainty. But during this transitional period, the united West, and above all a united Western Europe, will attempt to preserve itself through confrontation with Russia, and that reality must always be kept in mind. This article is Part 3 in Fyodor Lukyanov’s series analyzing the impact of the perceived threat of Russia and the Ukraine conflict on the cohesion of the collective West. Read Part 1 here, and Part 2 here.

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[l] at 8/4/26 6:55am
Washington has reportedly sent Uganda an ultimatum to withdraw and also approached Benin The US has pressured several African states to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC), including by threatening consequences for governments that refuse, Le Monde reported on Tuesday. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio formally launched the campaign last month, declaring that Washington would dismantle the ICC “brick by brick, if necessary.” He said countries benefiting from cooperation with US law enforcement, the military, or Washington’s “security umbrella” should reject the court’s authority over American officials and service members. The US is not an ICC member and intensified its campaign after the court issued arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Washington has imposed sanctions on several ICC officials. Uganda received a letter from Washington on July 24 containing “an ultimatum telling us to leave [the court] or face consequences,” an unnamed Ugandan source told the French newspaper. Kampala has so far resisted the demand, the source added. READ MORE: Another state quits ICC Benin was also approached through calls, visits, and letters, according to an African Union source cited by Le Monde. The West African state has not announced plans to withdraw. The pressure on Chad was publicly documented before its withdrawal. At Washington’s request, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Frank W. Garcia Jr. called Chadian Foreign Minister Abdoulaye Sabre Fadoul on July 23, according to Chad’s Foreign Ministry. During the call, Garcia raised US concerns about the ICC and asked the Central African state to reconsider its membership in the Rome Statute. Chad said the request would be examined by the relevant authorities. Four days after the call, Chad formally notified the UN of its withdrawal. The US Bureau of African Affairs welcomed the decision, praising N’Djamena for joining countries “reclaiming their sovereignty from this flawed institution.” Read more Hypocrisy in The Hague: Why is it so easy for the International Criminal Court to charge Russians, but not Israelis? Fadoul has denied that the withdrawal was made at Washington’s request. N’Djamena accused the court of “double standards” and an excessive focus on Africa, noting that six of the seven defendants currently in ICC custody are being prosecuted over situations on the continent. Venezuela and Chad announced their withdrawals in July, following Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, which jointly denounced the court as an “instrument of neocolonial repression.” Their departure takes effect one year after formal notification and does not remove the ICC’s jurisdiction over crimes committed while they were members. Established under the Rome Statute in 1998 and operational since 2002, the ICC says it serves as a court of last resort for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It has 125 member states, while other major non-members include Russia, China, Israel, and India.

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[l] at 8/4/26 6:43am
Malicious actors will use new tools to identify the smallest software flaws, the maker of high-security Bitcoin wallets has warned The theft of at least $89 million in cryptocurrency that was supposedly safely stored in high-security hardware wallets has prompted the producer to warn that a “new AI paradigm” is redefining cybersecurity. Hardware wallets are physical devices that store the private keys needed to access cryptocurrency and have long been considered safer than leaving digital assets on exchanges. Last week, however, users of some Coldcard wallets saw their funds drained by unidentified perpetrators in a series of attacks. The theft was unusual because the attackers managed to determine users’ keys after discovering that the wallets’ algorithm did not generate sufficiently random numbers. The devices themselves were not hacked and were not connected to the Internet, as is typical with so-called cold storage. Read more Anthropic says Claude AI models launched three unintended cyberattacks Cryptocurrencies function through distributed ledgers that record transactions, while secret cryptographic keys are used to verify that a transfer was authorized by the legitimate owner. “We believe this is a sober reality of the new AI paradigm,” Rodolfo Novak, CEO of the Canadian company Coinkite Inc., wrote Friday in a message apologizing for the flaw in Coldcard devices. “AI-assisted code review can now find latent bugs at a speed that is outpacing even the industry’s most seasoned experts,” he added. “If your firmware is open-source or has ever been public, assume it’s already being read by attackers and defenders alike.” Coinkite issued its first warning to customers on Thursday, urging them to spread the word that users needed to update the affected firmware, originally released in March 2021, and move their Bitcoin to new accounts protected by newly generated seeds. Please treat this as urgent. Migrate your funds. Follow the advisory for your model, upgrade your device, generate a new seed, and carefully move your funds.Help spread the word, especially to people who are less online and may not see this update.The threat is still ongoing. https://t.co/cbJxJles8x— COLDCARD (@COLDCARDwallet) August 4, 2026 By Sunday, digital financial platform Galaxy said it had identified three separate waves of attacks against Coldcard users, resulting in the theft of 1,367.05 BTC, worth about $88.6 million at the time. On Monday, it warned of a likely fourth attack and estimated that the losses could rise to 2,055 BTC, valued at roughly $130 million. The incident demonstrated that hardware wallets carry risks of their own and are not necessarily safer than centralized cryptocurrency storage services. Some industry observers remain hopeful that the transparent nature of blockchain transactions will make it more difficult for the thieves to convert the stolen assets into cash. Listen… Coldcard hackers:You may have acquired roughly 1,500 BTC.But spending it is a completely different challenge.Every transaction will be watched.Every movement will be analyzed.Every attempt to cash out will attract attention.Bitcoin remembers.If your goal was…— Shagun ? (@shaguncrypto) August 2, 2026 “If your goal was wealth there may still be one path that leaves everyone better off,” one such commentator urged. “Return the funds. Accept a negotiated security bounty with CoinKite.”

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[l] at 8/4/26 4:46am
Iran has rejected claims of diplomatic progress and pledged to respond to US pressure A cargo ship was reportedly hit in the Strait of Hormuz by an “unknown projectile” overnight. The incident occurred after US President Donald Trump declared that he was giving Iran its “last chance before decapitation” to sign a deal on his terms. Control over the strait, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes, has become the focal point of the conflict since Washington launched its war against Iran in late February. Tehran has rejected Trump’s claims that his efforts to extract concessions through a naval blockade of Iranian ports and threats of overwhelming military action are leading to progress towards a diplomatic solution. The incident occurred off the coast of Oman in the narrow waterway, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) monitoring agency reported late on Monday. Reuters later identified the ship as the Liberia-flagged dry bulk ship Minoan Pioneer, citing industry sources. A sailor is reportedly missing after a hit on the engine room, which prompted a full evacuation of the crew. Separate reports from Kuwait said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked a US military base in the north of the country overnight. Tehran has not claimed responsibility for either incident. Initial reports of an Iranian attack in northern Kuwait. pic.twitter.com/kun7ttfTaI— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) August 3, 2026 Earlier on Monday, Trump said his latest decision to call off attacks on Iran over the weekend was intended to give Tehran an opportunity “to sign a good document.” “I want to give them every last chance before decapitation,” he said after journalists at the White House pointed out that it was at least the fifth time he had said he was canceling military operations to facilitate negotiations. Read more Trump teases Iran talks as Truth Social starts selling fast access to his posts Trump also ruled out allowing the war to end with Iran imposing charges on commercial traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz. “I’m not going to let him charge. Anybody’s going to charge, we’ll charge. We have total control,” he asserted. Tehran reiterated Monday that it would continue responding to the US blockade. Mohsen Rezaei, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, rejected Trump’s claims that talks were ongoing. “The negotiations are at a deadlock and Trump must break this deadlock,” the Iranian official told journalists. He added that if the US escalates hostilities, Iran will “expand the war beyond the Persian Gulf.” Tehran insists that no ship may pass through the Strait of Hormuz without its permission. It has also said that the route must be open to either all nations, including Iran, or none. The Iranian military has also attacked American military assets across the Middle East while severely restricting traffic through the strait, creating pressure on the global economy.

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[l] at 8/4/26 4:28am
India and Uzbekistan agree to expand their strategic partnership with cooperation in areas including critical minerals, mining and defense India is looking to expand cooperation in mining and critical minerals with Uzbekistan as the two countries, with historical connections that ran through the ancient Silk Road trade routes, deepen their strategic partnership. New Delhi has been looking to secure its supply of critical minerals amid the trade tensions that have disrupted supply chains globally. Rare earths and rare-earth magnets are critical components in green energy transition, going into everything from wind turbines to electric vehicles. China currently dominates much of the rare earth trade and rare-earth magnet production in the world. India has expanded its search for reliable rare-earth supplies recently, with state-owned miner IREL seeking samples from Myanmar – which produces half of the world’s supply – and a deposit owned by Russia’s Rosneft in Siberia. Uzbekistan foreign minister Bakhtiyor Saidov, who is on a four-day visit to New Delhi, said during a meeting with his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar: “The special instruction to me personally and to my whole delegation is to visit your country to prepare (for) the upcoming visit of Prime Minister [Narendra Modi] to Uzbekistan.” ? PM Modis Next Stop: Uzbekistan??? Foreign Minister says his four-day India visit is aimed at preparing for Prime Minister Narendra Modis upcoming trip to Uzbekistan, underscoring the growing momentum in bilateral ties. https://t.co/UmYTxxguBy pic.twitter.com/SK73hn120s— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 4, 2026 Saidov called India his country’s reliable and “most important strategic and trade partner in South Asia.” India has strategic partnerships with Uzbekistan and other Central Asian nations – all former Soviet republics – as they face common challenges like terrorism and drug trafficking.  Read more India and Myanmar to deepen rare-earths cooperation India’s trade minister Piyush Goyal on Monday invited businesses from both countries to expand cooperation through “co-investment, co-manufacturing, and innovation.” Bilateral trade between India and Uzbekistan is only around $1.5 billion, but both countries want to double it in three years. “Uzbekistan presents opportunities for Indian investment in mining, while cooperation in textiles can benefit from Uzbekistan’s cotton production strengths and India’s expertise in manufacturing, design and global markets,” Goyal said.   Indian President Droupadi Murmu, while meeting with Saidov, noted the two countries’ “shared heritage in architecture, language, cuisine, music, and religious traditions.” The two countries also share robust educational and professional exchange ties, with more than 16,000 Indian students currently pursuing higher studies in Uzbekistan. “They act as a bridge between the two countries and foster mutual understanding and strong people-to-people ties,” the Indian president said.

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[l] at 8/4/26 4:08am
Madrid has accused Rabat of allowing the migrant influx, while a Moroccan government source said a Spanish court ruling helped fuel the mass crossings Spain and Morocco have traded blame over last week’s deadly mass crossings into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta, with Madrid accusing Rabat of allowing the migrant influx and a Moroccan government source arguing that a Spanish court ruling helped trigger the crisis. On Monday, Ceuta regional president Juan Jesus Vivas accused Morocco of having “encouraged and permitted” the influx. Spanish media have also reported that the country’s intelligence services believe Rabat allowed and subsequently exploited the crossings, although they do not believe it planned them. At a briefing in Rabat later the same day, the Moroccan government source said a July 8 Spanish court ruling restricting the immediate return of migrants reaching Ceuta and Melilla by sea had weakened a key deterrent against irregular migration. The official said trafficking networks exploited the ruling and amplified it through social media, arguing that Spain could not expect Morocco to compensate for legal decisions that weakened its own migration controls by preventing migrants from reaching Spanish territory. “We are neither Europe’s policeman nor its caretaker; we are a sovereign partner, not a subcontractor,” the source said, calling for the rules governing migration cooperation to be revised, according to the state news agency MAP. Read more Why did nearly 60,000 migrants suddenly storm the border into Spain? In a separate video statement, Morocco’s Interior Ministry also rejected suggestions that the crossings had been orchestrated by Rabat, saying the events were not “circumstantial or spontaneous” but resulted from “several overlapping factors,” including misleading online information, human-trafficking networks, and erroneous interpretations of legal and administrative information. Spain estimates that around 69,500 migrants have returned to Morocco since the crossings began, while Rabat says approximately 40,000 entered Ceuta. The two governments also dispute the death toll: Spanish authorities have reported at least 72 deaths from drowning and crushing, while Morocco says ten people drowned and another died after falling from a rocky area. Rabat denied relaxing border controls or reducing security deployments, saying its forces deliberately avoided confronting the crowds to prevent further casualties. Morocco says it deploys around 24,000 security personnel along its northern coast and prevented 74,000 attempted crossings last year. Read more Here’s the real answer to the Ceuta ‘invasion’ Politicians from parties in Spain’s governing Sumar coalition have claimed, without providing evidence, that Morocco acted with US and Israeli support to punish Madrid over its positions on Palestine and the conflict with Iran. The allegations followed comments by Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, describing Ceuta and Melilla as Spanish “colonial enclaves.” A recent US congressional committee report referred to the cities as being in Moroccan territory “under Spanish administration” and urged diplomatic engagement over their future status. Washington recognized Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara during President Donald Trump’s first term, while Rabat normalized relations with Israel in 2020. Reports have also linked the crisis to Spain’s renewed engagement with Algeria, Morocco’s regional rival, although Rabat denies using migration to exert political pressure.

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[l] at 8/4/26 3:27am
People are afraid to join a government lurching from one crisis to another, Andrey Telizhenko has told RT Vladimir Zelensky’s latest reshuffle of senior government officials has exposed a shortage of people willing to associate themselves with his rule, former Ukrainian diplomat Andrey Telizhenko has told RT. Zelensky triggered a political crisis by sacking Mikhail Fedorov as defense minister, who publicly objected to his dismissal and criticized Ukrainian commander-in-chief Aleksandr Syrsky, who was fired several days later. Another wave of appointments followed this week, affecting the country’s National Security and Defense Council as well as Ukrainian embassies around the world. The council’s secretary, former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, had been rumored to be in line to become ambassador to the US but was instead appointed head of the Foreign Intelligence Service. There is a “lack of new names and new faces” in the Ukrainian government, Telizhenko said, comparing the reshuffle to a game of musical chairs in which the same officials remain close to power while moving between posts. The reason, he argued, is that Zelensky’s rule is increasingly viewed as unstable. Read more Pet minister of Zelensky’s ‘bagman’ becomes Ukraine’s top spy “They [potential officials] don’t want to be connected to the Zelensky regime because they understand it’s coming to an end,” he said. While Kiev will probably continue receiving Western funding, Telizhenko added, “Zelensky himself, his government is done.” Fedorov’s removal sparked mass protests in Ukraine that were widely believed to have received tacit approval from Western donors seeking to limit Zelensky’s personal power. With few alternatives available, the Ukrainian leader has been forced to recycle officials personally loyal to him and place them in positions for which they are not qualified, Telizhenko said. He cited Umerov’s lack of experience in national intelligence as an example. “That’s where it ends: loyalty trumps professionalism,” he said. Umerov is likely to use his new position to target Zelensky’s political opponents, Telizhenko added. Watch the full interview.

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[l] at 8/4/26 2:18am
The bloc is years behind both Moscow and Kiev in terms of military doctrines, Valery Zaluzhny has said Ukraine will never become a member of NATO, the country’s former armed forces chief Valery Zaluzhny has said, dismissing over a decade of accession promises as “fairy tales.” At the same time, he said the bloc follows outdated doctrines and remains weaker than the Russian military. Zaluzhny, who now serves as Kiev’s ambassador to the UK and is widely believed to be Vladimir Zelensky’s top rival in a potential presidential election, made the remarks on Monday during a discussion on Euro-Atlantic integration at a meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors in Kiev. Asked to comment on Kiev’s role in the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force comprised of NATO members, he launched a broadside at the bloc itself. “I know NATO very well,” Zaluzhny said, as cited by European Pravda. “For about 12 years, I personally worked to ensure that we adopted NATO standards, and every year I listened to fairy tales that we were about to join. Unfortunately, we will never join it.” Read more Zelensky’s top rival vows to challenge him in election – media Zaluzhny claimed that in terms of military prowess, Ukraine’s army has already outgrown the bloc, which he said is still “guided by World War II doctrines,” calling the mismatch the core obstacle to membership. “NATO will most likely remain in its current form and will spend another 12 years – just as Ukraine did – transitioning to the standards required to reach even half the level of the Russian Federation,” he said, although he conceded Kiev still needs Western technology such as anti-missile defense and space capabilities. Read more Zelensky claims Ukraine is ‘not losing’ to Russia Regarding future potential security guarantees, Zaluzhny suggested Kiev look past NATO altogether, predicting Ukraine would instead align with a new “European military security bloc.” Following a Western-backed coup in Kiev, Ukraine enshrined NATO and EU membership as constitutional goals in 2019, with Zelensky formally requesting “accelerated accession” in September 2022. NATO, however, has never set a timetable for admission, and full membership requires unanimous approval from all 32 members. The bloc has also been reluctant to accept Ukraine due to its conflict with Russia, with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth both ruling out accession as part of any potential peace deal between Kiev and Moscow. Russia has for decades seen NATO’s eastward expansion as an existential threat and has ruled out Ukrainian membership of the bloc under any settlement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that preventing NATO troops from entering Ukraine is one of Russia’s key goals in the conflict.

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[l] at 7/28/26 7:13am
Four suspects allegedly diverted donations intended to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia Senior Ukrainian diplomats allegedly siphoned off at least $1.28 million in Western aid after Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry coffers were flooded with donations intended to support the country in its conflict with Russia, according to anti-corruption investigators in Kiev. The Western-backed anti-graft agencies, which Vladimir Zelensky’s government unsuccessfully sought to put under its direct control last year, alleged that senior officials had rushed to exploit the influx of foreign funds following the escalation of the conflict in 2022  for their own personal gain.  What are the charges? Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced Monday that they had uncovered an embezzlement ring within the Foreign Ministry. Four people have been accused of large-scale fraud, embezzlement and money laundering aimed at stealing foreign funds. Read more IMF approves new Ukraine cash tranche despite anti-corruption ‘slippage’ Who are the alleged thieves? Investigators did not name the suspects but identified them by their public positions and alleged roles in the scheme. They include the suspected ringleader, whom NABU described as the ministry’s state secretary from 2020 to 2024, named in multiple media outlets as Aleksandr Bankov; his former deputy, who remains a diplomat; a ministry aide who headed an NGO allegedly complicit in the scheme; and the non-profit’s accountant. The state secretary is responsible for ensuring the proper functioning of the Foreign Ministry and holds broad powers, ranging from reviewing the legality of ministerial activities to appointing and dismissing personnel and managing official communications with foreign entities.  How did the aid embezzlement work? The suspects allegedly transferred some of the money provided by foreign donors into the account of the NGO headed by one of the alleged participants. Communications obtained by NABU indicated that $1.28 million had been diverted by March 2022. Read more Ukrainian defense plant sold off to fund luxury car fleet – prosecutors The funds were then gradually concealed through fictitious contracts and cashed out with the help of criminal groups specializing in money laundering, NABU reported. The agency said it had obtained the group’s secret records detailing the financial transactions. Bankov also allegedly helped convince Western officials that their money had been used for its intended purpose. The cover story devised by the group in July 2022 claimed that the funds had paid for the work of 150 IT specialists carrying out cyberattacks against Russia, NABU said. In private communications, the suspects allegedly described the explanation as “bullsh*t,” according to transcripts released by investigators. Who is Bankov? Bankov’s public biography depicts him as a run-of-the-mill post-Soviet diplomatic worker. A polyglot and trained philologist, he entered government service in 2006 shortly after graduating from a university and steadily rose through the ranks. Before becoming state secretary in 2020, Bankov served for three years as Kiev’s ambassador to Romania. During his tenure, he caused outrage in neighboring Moldova by saying that, from the Ukrainian perspective, the Moldovan language did not exist. The remark was interpreted as a tacit dismissal of Moldovan sovereignty. Read more Who is the ‘mystery partner’ in ex-Zelensky aide’s alleged money laundering scheme? A year before leaving the Foreign Ministry, Bankov was awarded Ukraine’s highest diplomatic rank, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary. Is this an isolated incident? The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has faced numerous controversies, although most have involved accusations that its diplomats use moral blackmail and bullying to prod other countries into supporting Kiev’s cause. Other NABU investigations, however, have uncovered extensive suspected corruption involving senior officials in the Defense Ministry, Energy Ministry and other government bodies with access to large financial flows. Charges filed last November against businessman Timur Mindich, a longtime associate of Vladimir Zelensky, triggered a major political crisis that remains unresolved. The Foreign Ministry became embroiled in a separate scandal earlier this year after former Ambassador to Cyprus Sergey Nezhinsky accused Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrey Sibiga of allowing organized crime to infiltrate the department. During a parliamentary hearing, Nezhinsky said he submitted his resignation after being pressured to appoint as a consul a person he believed to be a crime boss. The diplomat also claimed that he had been warned about a possible plot to assassinate him. Read more Zelensky feared ex-defense minister’s political rise – media The ministry dismissed Nezhinsky as a disgruntled former employee who had been fired for incompetence and accused him of slander. How does Kiev fight corruption? Vigorously, if Ukrainian officials are to be believed. Skeptics, however, point to Zelensky’s attempt to reign in NABU and SAPO as evidence of his actual intentions. The aborted reform, adopted in July 2025, would have placed the two largely independent agencies under the direct authority of the prosecutor general, who is appointed by Zelensky. At the time, the agencies were investigating Aleksey Chernyshov, a close Zelensky ally who has since been identified as a key suspect in the Mindich case. The Ukrainian leader was forced to reverse the amendments after Western donors threatened to freeze aid. Zelensky himself remains shielded from prosecution by his leadership role: he continues to exercise presidential power despite his term expiring in 2024. Read more Ukrainian parliament picks new PM linked to ‘Zelensky’s wallet’ Mindich One NABU money laundering investigation examined a luxury property development near Kiev involving Mindich, Chernyshov, Zelensky’s former chief of staff Andrey Yermak and a fourth partner whom media reports alleged was Zelensky himself. Earlier this month, Zelensky ordered his latest government reshuffle, including the replacement of the sixth defense minister appointed during his rule. The move sparked mass protests resembling those that followed the attempt to curb NABU and SAPO. Zelensky subsequently replaced the country’s top general, who had been accused by recently dismissed Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov of being an ineffective military commander. Some Ukrainian political observers have argued that the anti-corruption investigations are part of a Western effort to dismantle the system of personal power Zelensky built using emergency authorities assumed during the conflict with Russia and alleged corruption networks within the government.

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