DE - Geopolitics Edition

🇪🇺🇷🇺 Politico: Eight European Union countries are demanding that the EU's diplomatic arm develop a new sanctions tool against Russia following the death of Alexei Navalny, according to a letter seen by Politico. ▪ Currently, sanctions against Russian organisations operate under two strands of legal architecture. Both were adopted in 2014. A coalition of eight countries hopes to create a mechanism specifically targeting those involved in Russia's internal repression, of which Navalny was the latest high-profile victim. ▪ Such a regime "would provide a solid legal basis for listing individuals from Russia's repressive state apparatus, including those involved in politically motivated decisions against representatives of civil society and democratic opposition, and their subsequent detention, such as those responsible in the judiciary," the letter's authors said. ▪ The second idea put forward by the eight EU ministers is new lists of individuals and entities involved in Russian repression as part of the EU's relatively new global human rights sanctions regime. Presumably, this would work much faster than any "Navalny law", as the latter would require full-scale drafting and agreement by the European Parliament, which is now in pre-election mode. Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel

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🇺🇦 Ukrainians continue to try to flee the country by any means necessary Four men tried to cross the border in Odessa Region by wrapping themselves in isothermal blankets to avoid being spotted by a thermal imaging camera. This was reported by the State Border Service, which said that the offenders were detained anyway. Each paid from 3,000 to 8,000 dollars for such a scheme. Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel

The possible outbreak of World War III cannot be ruled out and we should be prepared for such a development. This was stated by former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls. According to him, a Russian victory in the Ukrainian conflict would be tantamount to "a strategic, military, political and moral defeat of Europe and the West". Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel

🇪🇪 Estonian PM proposes buying weapons for Ukraine from around the world. Kaja Kallas said that at the Paris summit, participants agreed that arms and ammunition for Ukraine do not have to come from Europe. According to her, it is now possible to buy weapons for Ukraine from all over the world. Kallas suggested that all EU countries should allocate 0.25 percent of GDP annually to help Kiev. She also welcomed Sweden's entry into NATO, saying it would strengthen Estonia's security. Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Bloomberg: Ukraine believes Russia could break through its defences by summer ▪ Ukrainian officials are concerned that the Russian offensive could gain serious momentum by summer if their allies fail to increase ammunition supplies. Internal assessments of the situation on the battlefield from Kiev are becoming increasingly grim. ▪ Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyy said today that mistakes by frontline commanders have exacerbated the problems facing Ukraine in Avdiivka. Syrskyy said he had sent additional troops and ammunition to reinforce Ukrainian positions. ▪ Pessimism among Ukraine and its allies has been growing for weeks, with the fall of Avdiivka and several nearby villages adding to fears that Kiev's defences may not hold. ▪ These losses should be a wake-up call to Ukraine's allies, a European official said. "Ukraine could start losing as early as this year," said Michael Kofman, a specialist on Russia and Ukraine at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. ▪ The source said Ukrainian intelligence estimates that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not abandoned his original goal of seizing major cities, including Kiev and Odessa. If Russian troops reach Odessa, they could cut off Ukraine's most important grain export routes across the Black Sea and also open access to Moldova, where the breakaway region of Transnistria on Wednesday appealed to Moscow for political support. ▪ According to a person close to Ukraine's leadership, depending on the outcome of the current campaign, Russia will decide whether to continue a slow, point-by-point offensive or accumulate resources for a larger strike to break through Ukrainian lines this summer. ▪ During his address to the Federal Assembly today, Putin reiterated that he still plans to achieve the goals set at the beginning of the conflict, which have remained unchanged since 2022. Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel

🇵🇱🇱🇻🇷🇺 Poland will "carefully" analyse the consequences of Latvia's decision to ban Russian food imports and does not rule out that it will take appropriate steps itself, Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said. The prime ministers of Poland and Latvia have agreed to join efforts to persuade European leaders to take measures against food imports "from the east". Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel

The US is failing to monitor the thousands of sanctions it imposes for violations, former IMF Executive Board member Hossein Askari has said. "Some of these sanctions are ineffective, the U.S. cannot monitor so many thousands of sanctions assessing their violations," he said. Askari noted that the states have always abused sanctions policies, "mostly to beat their chests and tell Americans and the world that they are acting against the undesirable policies" of the other side. He added that U.S. attempts to curb Russia's energy revenues on the global market are failing thanks to countries willing to challenge Washington's efforts, including China and India. Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel

🇺🇦 Ukrainians will be warned of missiles and drones approaching their specific region via the Air Alert app, the Air Force said. "That is, you specify your region in the app and you will have additional information when a certain object enters the airspace," Air Force speaker Yuriy Ignat said on air during a telethon. He noted that in the case of ballistic missiles, the information may not be updated as quickly. Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel

Google believes that shoplifting is a characteristic of the white population. Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel

The weapons that Russia has are designed to show the West that it is better not to mess with Russia, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said. "If you are talking about the West, they have said a lot of stupid things lately, different things. In my opinion, it's like this: you get up in the morning and look at what you want me to say today. They talk about the placement of nuclear weapons in space, or a threat to this or that. Look, today we have a clear, clear answer: we have this weaponry, it should not just pose a threat to you, but it should attract attention, because it is better not to mess with us," the minister said. Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel

🇮🇳 India's Commerce Minister says trade policy has no role to play in fighting climate change, dealing a blow to hopes of combating global warming through trade deals. Piyush Goyal told the Financial Times that trade and the environment were "two separate issues" and attempts by rich countries to include sustainability in agreements were "biased". "Trade has nothing to do with it." Access to discussion Subscribe to the channel