A large fire broke out in eastern Moscow. Locals reported hearing an explosion before flames spread. Thick black smoke began drifting over nearby residential areas, while the exact cause of the blaze remains unclear. #Russia

Moscow. Drone attack continues right now. Our local correspondent reports air defense activity directly above him.

WarTranslated (Dmitri)@wartranslated.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The attack on Moscow and central/southern Russian regions continues with around 250 conventional drones, 10 jet-powered drones and 5 naval drones according to Russian sources, DroneBomber reports.

Enough to obliterate both of them.

‘Hungary, Europe!’ Spontaneous chant I just heard on streets of Budapest … Supermajority means Tisza really can dismantle the Orban system… and Orban has conceded… It will be a tough road ahead but truly hard to imagine a better result… I’ll be writing about it soon…

People in the Budapest Metro, Hungary, shouting: “Russians, go home!”

Jokes aside, this is an incredibly important day for freedom and democracy and, most importantly, for basic common sense and human dignity, in the spirit of 1989.

"Ironically enough, Crimea held a referendum to join Russia."

Thousands of opposition supporters fill central Budapest along Andrassy Avenue for over a kilometer behind Peter Magyar, as Orban's supporters gather at parliament. A poll gives Magyar's Tisza party a 20-point lead among decided voters, Bloomberg reported. #Europe

‼️ Shahed kamikaze drones launched by Iran toward Cyprus were partially manufactured in Russia using western components. Video footage shows a Russian-made “Kometa” satellite navigation module recovered from one of the Shahed drones used in the attack.

Putin is making Russia small again: ”Our model suggests that Russian casualties are now between 1.1m and 1.4m, of whom 230,000-430,000 are dead. That would mean one in 25 Russian men between the ages of 18 and 49 may have been killed or severely wounded since the start of the full-scale war.”

This really shows where America’s priorities are now, and how little it actually cares about Ukraine, its sovereignty, or its territorial integrity. Trump and his circle are focused only on media wins. The U.S. has completely lost its credibility as the so-called guardian of democracy and freedom.

1/ Far too many wargames and simulations of how Russia might move against a NATO neighbour treat the front-line states as a military vacuum, or an empty chessboard where it is only the moves of Russia and of slowly-arriving NATO reinforcements that count. But that's far from the truth.

You’re asking the wrong question @economist.com, focusing on personalities instead of what russia is This isn’t “vladimir putin’s tyranny.” It is THE tyranny You cannot separate moscow from the prison of nations it governs A state spanning 11 time zones is incompatible with the absence of tyranny

So now he is off to Slovakia and Hungary. A Vancian Europe

POLITICO Europe@politico.eu · 6mo ago

Speaking at #MSC26 today, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made no apology for the Trump administration’s at times harsh criticisms of Europe. But he took a conciliatory tone — stressing that the U.S. wants to cooperate with Europe to “revitalize an old friendship.”

A good article. #Brexit has been a colossal failure and it's time for the #British public to come to terms with that. As the author writes: "For the UK to finally move on, it must choose not to live in lies — especially the ones that fueled Brexit." www.politico.eu/article/time...

Time for a Brexit reckoning

In order to finally move one, Britain must face the abysmal failure this project has been.

politico.eu

Russia's fiscal situation is worse than expected: The consolidated budget had a deficit of nearly 4% of GDP in 2025. Regions are under pressure from increasing war costs. Social funds were forced to draw down their reserves after federal transfers were cut. Read: open.substack.com/pub/janisklu...

Russia’s consolidated budget deficit reached almost 4% of GDP in 2025

As Russian regions shoulder more war costs and social security funds are depleted, the consolidated budget balance has deteriorated far more than expected.

open.substack.com

This is just mental.

Dave Keating@davekeating.substack.com · 6mo ago

And the trend goes both ways, by the way. The US government is telling Americans to hate Europeans and Canadians. And many have dutifully changed their opinions.

The German army brigade in Lithuania is not under fire, but it is under hybrid attack. Soldiers report mysterious phone calls, and drones appear to be spying on manoeuvres. How should the Bundeswehr and NATO respond?

No front line: Russia's hybrid pressure on German army in Lithuania

The German army brigade in Lithuania is not under fire, but it is under hybrid attack. Soldiers report mysterious phone calls, and drones appear to be spying on manoeuvres. How should the Bundeswehr and NATO respond?

l.euronews.com

Announced today the new 🇩🇰Danish coastal anti-ship missile batteries with Naval Strike Missiles will be located at Korsør Naval Base and the first battery will be developed from 2026. It will have 100 all ranks incl. national service conscripts. www.fmn.dk/da/nyheder/2...

Hans Tino Hansen@hanstino.bsky.social · 8mo ago

As announced today 🇩🇰Denmark acquires the Naval Strike Missile Coastal Defence System (NSM CDS) from 🇳🇴Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace with first deliveries in 2026. A welcome return to an old capacity as outlined below.

Russia & China should stop pushing Iran into a war it cannot win against a nuclear superpower. It should stop oppressing its citizens, disarm and choose a leader Donald approves of. Apparently that's how this works.

Yanis Varoufakis@yanisvaroufakis.bsky.social · 6mo ago

As the US Imperial fleet is gathering menacingly in the Persian Gulf, it is time for us to call out Trump: HANDS OFF IRAN Mr TRUMP. Iranians are the only ones who must decide how Iran is governed. www.theguardian.com/news/video/2...

There are many good reasons why the Nordic-Baltic region and UK should go for its own “speed” in Europe and in what is left of NATO.

EU Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius 🇱🇹 today announced: "I will go on a 'missile tour'. Asking industry: how many missiles can you build? What are the bottlenecks in supply chains? And use this missile mapping to ramp up defence efforts." ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Speech by Commissioner Kubilius at the EDA Annual Conference

From opportunity to delivery. How to make our defence investment surge a success for our defence readiness. \nPeople used to say – 30 years ago – that the European Union was only an economic giant. Bu...

ec.europa.eu

In #Canada: "General Jennie Carignan, Chief of the Defence Staff, has already announced her intention to create a 400,000-plus-strong reserve force of volunteers. The officials said they could be armed or asked to provide disruptions if the U.S. becomes an occupying power."

Military models Canadian response to hypothetical American invasion

Armed Forces envision insurgency tactics like those used by Afghan mujahedeen, sources say. But officials and experts stress a U.S. operation is unlikely, and the scenarios are conceptual

theglobeandmail.com

We have now witnessed a farewell to NATO as we know it and are moving fast to a NATO at different speeds with a coalition of the willing at the core. This core has to acquire the lacking strategic enablers and nuclear weapons & ballistic missile. Rather yesterday than tomorrow.

Not very active nowadays. Have a lot of work. Trying to destroy Russian IFVs and tanks in their shelters. We know that Russians planned to attack our positions with IFVs and with the help of air recon and SIGINT we have found & targeted 4 tanks and 7 IFVs

Trump is effectively imposing sanctions on Denmark for deploying troops *in its own territory*. Imagine if China sanctioned the US for deploying troops to Alaska. What conclusion would we draw then?

WarTranslated (Dmitri)@wartranslated.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Trump slaps allies with Greenland tariffs. From Feb 1, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, UK, Netherlands, and Finland face 10% on all exports. June 1, it jumps to 25%.

Which economy is more productive - Germany or the US? It seems the answer would be clear, but it's not. The mood in Germany is so deeply negative, even aggressively pessimistic, that I thought we had fallen behind by a lot. But here are the facts - they surprised me as well:

Putin wanted a multipolar world. Trump has given it to him. And we're going to all witness how unstable, violent and chaotic that world is.

Julia Davis@juliadavisnews.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Meanwhile in Russia: Vladimir Solovyov was quite unhappy about the first 10 days of 2026. Referring to Trump's rhetoric about Greenland and Venezuela, Solovyov urged Russia to start more "special military operations" to secure its sphere of influence. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTT4...