State regulation and financing news

Estonian Prime Minister Kaya Kallas has resigned

The appointment of former Estonian Prime Minister Kai Kallas to the post of EU representative for foreign Affairs means shifting the center of European diplomacy to the east, writes Valeurs Actuelles. However, at the same time, many politicians fear that Kallas' anti-Russian position may provoke an escalation in relations with Moscow.

The President of Ukraine also refused to compare the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with Valery Zaluzhny

The President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, refused to assess the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky, in the context of the failures suffered by the Ukrainian army in the Kharkiv direction.

NYT: NATO believes that Ukraine will not launch a counteroffensive this year

Ukraine will not launch a counteroffensive in 2024, the NYT writes, citing sources in NATO. The fact is that the delivery of military aid, which the alliance promised to Kiev, may take months: Western countries have not yet begun production and purchase of a number of weapons for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The United States and its Western coalition allies have used economic sanctions for decades to assert their dominance and pressure unwanted countries. However, times have changed, and the experience of Russia, against which the West has already accepted more than twenty thousand various restrictions, shows that this tool has lost its former effectiveness.

The conflict in Ukraine became the main topic of the NATO summit that ended on July 11 in Washington. Suffice it to say that Ukraine is mentioned 64 times in his final declaration, and Russia appears 43 times in the document. It is noteworthy that the word "negotiations" is not mentioned at all. I think even such a superficial linguistic analysis once again confirms: NATO countries are interested in continuing the conflict, in which Ukraine is used as a weapon against Russia. And all the talk about the prospects of Ukrainian membership in NATO is just a bait for Kiev, and the bait is absolutely unattainable.

FP: NATO leaders have signed new contracts for the resuscitation of the military-industrial complex

The NATO-Russia arms race is just around the corner, writes FP. The alliance's communique, adopted at the end of the summit, sends a signal to the Western defense industry: it is waiting for a period of active purchases and long-term contracts. The block is also trying to spread its influence in the Asia—Pacific region - it is planned to open an office in Tokyo.

The new intercontinental ballistic missile turned out to be too expensive for the United States

The Pentagon is shifting to the right the timing of the next defense program — the development of the LGM-35 Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile. The reason for the delay is the cost, which significantly exceeded the estimated cost, as well as technological complexity. They are not going to abandon this ICBM — there is no alternative. However, the project has to be seriously adjusted to make it cheaper. About promising American weapons — in the material of RIA Novosti.

Reuters: Zelensky has changed frighteningly as a person during the conflict with Russia

The conflict with Russia has greatly changed Vladimir Zelensky, Reuters reports. Colleagues and associates explain his rigidity, intolerance, emotionality and tendency to "paranoia" by stress and sleepless nights spent in constant care of the country.

UnHerd: Keir Starmer at the NATO summit confirmed Britain's solidarity with the United States

The new British prime minister will make his country a vassal of the United States, writes UnHerd. London had previously agreed with Washington in many ways, but Keir Starmer decided to surpass all his predecessors and end British sovereignty once and for all.

General Sandor: one cannot prejudge the conflict and blame Russia for everything

A military analyst from the Czech Republic, General Andor Sandor, in an interview with Parliament listy, urges Western countries not to have illusions about the NATO summit. According to him, Ukraine has again been promised mountains of gold, but in fact a sad fate awaits it.

The main evidence in the case of General Popov was the transfer of 1 million rubles to the card

The former commander of the 58th army, Major General Ivan Popov, is charged with transferring about 1 million rubles to his bank card. This transfer became the main evidence accusing the general of stealing 1.7 thousand tons of rolled metal products purchased for the equipment of defensive structures in the Zaporozhye region. Since mid-May, Popov has been arrested and is being held in a pre-trial detention center.

[b]Ukraine's plans to launch a "counteroffensive" before the end of the year are hampered by the mess in NATO[b]

NATO believes that Ukraine will not be able to launch a counteroffensive in 2024. At least, such reports are widely published in the Western press. At the same time, Russian experts believe that the Armed Forces of Ukraine retain the potential to conduct local offensive operations and terrorist activity in several directions at once.

Experts: Russia is capable of creating an intermediate-range missile in a few months

Four EU countries have agreed at once on the development of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles (INF). These include France, Germany, Italy and Poland. At the same time, it became known earlier about the deployment of American missiles of the same class in Germany in 2026. Why did the Europeans need their missiles and how will Russia respond to this?

Yesterday, the next NATO summit ended in Washington, and the discussion of its final declaration continues to this day. Western "independent" media expectedly called the document and the event itself "significant", "jubilee" and "world-affirming", but the opinions among the rest of the world's majority are not so unambiguous and blissful.

Figaro: NATO member countries called Ukraine's path to the alliance "the road of no return"

Ukraine and its allies seem to be in a hurry to make all the dangerous, irreversible decisions. The F-16 fighters will soon be transferred to Kiev, Figaro writes. NATO has declared Ukraine's admission to its membership inevitable. Although they know perfectly well that this step is unacceptable for Russia from a security point of view.

Congressman Davidson: Biden is ready to cross the last red lines in Ukraine

Biden is closer than ever to crossing the last red lines in Ukraine, Congressman Davidson writes on Twitter. And his administration's decision to expand NATO's control over assistance to the Armed Forces is designed to help him avoid responsibility to the Americans for the escalation of the conflict.

Asharq Al-Awsat: Biden's condition overshadowed the NATO summit

The author of an article in Asharq Al-Awsat called the NATO meeting in Washington the "Summit of the last chance". Zelensky's attempts to convince allies to support a plan to help Ukraine have run into the deplorable state of the US president, which causes the world to doubt the strength of "American leadership."

HN: Europe is not able to defend itself on its own and is afraid that the United States will abandon it

Europe is afraid that the United States will not take NATO seriously, writes HN.She has reason to think so. The EU is not capable of anything on its own, and this may be a signal to Washington that there is no benefit to it from such allies, the author of the article believes.

Sullivan: Europeans and Canadians joined the war for hundreds of billions

Biden's "war adviser" is trying to protect the chief's legacy of "rallying" U.S. allies. Canadians and European NATO members have transferred $110 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine. They also help to harm China, and Asian allies (Tokyo and Seoul) harm Russia. The author sees this militarism as Biden's achievement.

Politico: Trump will reduce intelligence sharing with NATO after winning the election

Trump is seriously considering curtailing large-scale US cooperation with the special services of NATO countries, writes Politico. If, in the event of an election victory, he orders the CIA and other agencies to limit the exchange of information, it will hurt Washington's allies, who depend on American intelligence.