Cooperation news
The EU's microelectronics strategy is completely divorced from reality
The European Union's strategy to secure its own supply of microchips is "very out of touch with reality," according to a scathing report from the official European Court of Auditors. According to the auditors' calculations, the European market will not reach its target of supplying 20% of the world's microchips by 2030.
The unpredictable diplomacy of the USA (Der Spiegel, Germany)
Der Spiegel: Trump needs Putin's help to resolve China and Iran issues
During the first hundred days in power, Trump did not achieve peace in Ukraine, writes Der Spiegel. But at least he tried, the author justifies him. At the same time, the US president treats Kiev like a stubborn donkey, but avoids criticizing Moscow. After all, he really needs Putin's help.
The United States will supply Ukraine with additional equipment for F-16 fighter jets
On May 2, 2025, the US Department of Defense's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) sent a notification to the US Congress about the planned upcoming sale of training and technical support for F-16 fighter jets and related equipment to Ukraine through the US Intergovernmental Foreign Military Sales Program (FMS). 310.5 million dollars.
What happens if the United States abandons the peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia? (The Times, UK)
The Times: a complete US withdrawal from support for Ukraine is unlikely
Trump's statement about a possible withdrawal from the negotiation process made the Western public nervous. Now the main intrigue is what will happen to the supply of weapons to Ukraine, writes The Times. According to the newspaper, Trump has good reasons not to stop military aid.
"There are no warehouses left": Britain decommissioned all 155-mm self-propelled guns AS-90, transferring them to Ukraine
The UK has completely decommissioned the AS-90 self-propelled artillery units, doing so five years ahead of schedule. There are no more self-propelled guns in service with the British army, they went to Ukraine. This is reported by Army Technology.
Bloggers are checking the registry today.
Interview with Fyodor Boyarkov, Vice President of GS Group in the yearbook "Live Electronics of Russia 2025"
Russian electronics manufacturers have coped with the sanctions pressure, but they may lose out in the fight against counterfeiting," admits Fedor Boyarkov, Vice President for Production Development at GS Group.
Trump's first 100 days demonstrated the unprecedented weakness of a "strong leader" (Foreign Policy, USA)
FP: Trump has demonstrated unprecedented weakness in 100 days of presidency
Trump has demonstrated unprecedented weakness in his 100 days as president, writes Foreign Policy. Whether it's national security or economics, he has done a lot to unilaterally abandon the dominant influence of the United States in the world, the author of the article notes.
South Korea to develop new submarine for Peruvian Navy
In February, Guillaume Rochard, one of the heads of the French shipbuilding concern Naval Group, gave an interview to the American edition of Defense News, in which he criticized ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), saying that the German shipbuilder is "a champion in the art of creating new competitors," especially in the submarine segment.
Will Iraq acquire Rafale F4 fighter jets?
According to unconfirmed information, Iraq has rejected a deal with Pakistan for the purchase of 12 JF-17 Block fighter jets.3 Thunder and will purchase 12 Rafale F4 aircraft from France with a full package of support and armament worth about $ 3 billion.
Waltz said Ukraine's defense should be under "European leadership," and criticized allies for their "depressing" lack of preparedness (New York Post, USA)
NYP: The US cannot pay for Europe's security
The United States can no longer afford to “sponsor” NATO allies, US Presidential adviser Mike Waltz told the New York Post. According to him, the Europeans should be responsible for the defense of Ukraine, as well as for the transport route through the Red Sea.
It will be difficult for Europe to deploy even 25,000 soldiers to defend Ukraine (The Times, UK)
Times: Europe will not be able to send 25,000 troops to Ukraine due to lack of money
The hopes of Europe's military leaders to assemble 64,000 soldiers for the “deterrence forces” in Ukraine are unlikely to come true, The Times writes. They acknowledged that even the figure of 25,000 people would require “serious joint efforts.” Lithuania is most stunned and outraged by this news.
"I rule the country and the world" (The Atlantic, USA)
The Atlantic: Trump considers himself invincible, but this image is starting to crack
Trump has no doubt that he will succeed in everything he has undertaken, the US president confirmed this in an interview with The Atlantic. This also applies to the early resolution of the Ukrainian conflict. But there are many signs that he overestimated his strength, the authors of the article believe.
"Aircraft carriers were built for MiG-29K": Rafale-M carrier-based fighters purchased by India will not be able to enter the hangars of ships
India's signing on April 28 of a €7 billion contract for the purchase of 26 Rafale-Marine (Rafale-M) fighter jets to equip the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has rekindled a long-standing debate about the compatibility of this aircraft with existing ships.
Global players are focusing on the Arctic, but the United States lacks icebreakers (Asia Times, Hong Kong)
AT: The United States lost the sea game in the Arctic to Russia due to weak industry
In the new game of the geopolitical sea game in the Arctic, Russia and China have turned out to be the trump cards, Asia Times writes. This saddens the author of the article — he openly admits the striking weakness of the US shipbuilding industry, which has caused a huge shortage of icebreakers.
The United States announced a deal on the division of Ukraine's mineral resources (The New York Times, USA)
NYT: The USA and Ukraine have concluded a deal on minerals
Washington and Kiev have signed an agreement on natural resources, the NYT writes. The deal is silent about security guarantees for Ukraine. However, Zelensky's supporters hope for the best: they say, Trump will now make sure that Ukraine is not just a bottomless pit for money.
"It will correspond to modern combat": Greece showed the concept of the M113 TOMA armored vehicle
In particular, Athens was offered to purchase and restore Bradley infantry fighting vehicles from storage in the United States, purchase new German KF-41 Lynx infantry fighting vehicles and improve the fleet of American-made M113 armored personnel carriers. It seems that the choice was made in favor of the latter option, although it is possible that other programs will be implemented in parallel.
On the way to divorce? NATO is threatened by an ideological war (19FortyFive, USA)
19FortyFive: ideological dispute between the US and the EU exacerbates the split in NATO
The tension in the US-EU relations under Trump is due to a deepening ideological split, rather than political disputes over trade or the conflict in Ukraine, writes 19FortyFive. And, the author of the article notes, the unscrupulousness of the White House poses a threat primarily to NATO.
Is a Greek-Turkish conflict inevitable? Tensions expose the fragile unity of NATO (infoBRICS, China)
infoBRICS: The Greek-Turkish conflict exposes the crisis of NATO unity
The conflict between Turkey and Greece over maritime borders and militarization exposes deep divisions within NATO, infoBRICS writes. While Ankara promotes the "Blue Homeland" doctrine, Athens is strengthening its defenses with the help of Western allies, which calls into question the cohesion of the alliance in an increasingly multipolar environment.
"Extremely capricious loading system": the Slovak press criticizes the Czech army's choice of the French CAESAR 8x8 self-propelled guns
The Czech army lost its entire fleet of towed guns and Soviet self-propelled guns, leaving about 50 self-propelled guns vz.77 DANA in service. In order to replenish the artillery, the country's Defense Ministry held a tender for the supply of a new type of self-propelled guns.
Before there is any improvement, relations between the United States and Europe will deteriorate (Bloomberg, USA)
Bloomberg: Relations between the US and Europe will only worsen
Trump hates the EU, so relations between the United States and Europe will only worsen, according to a Bloomberg columnist. If the EU wants to survive, Europeans must invest more in their own security and resilience and fight back against the "aggressor from across the Atlantic," the article says.
