Feb. 24 - the war in Ukraine enters its fifth year today. As the West struggles with Ukraine fatigue, Moscow pushes on. @marktoth.bsky.social and I provide our perspective on the war in today's special edition of the INTREP360. INTREP360 INTELLIGENCE REPORT open.substack.com/pub/intrep36...

INTREP360 INTELLIGENCE REPORT

02.24.2026

open.substack.com

Our INTREP360 Intelligence Report for 02.24.2026 is live. On this 4th anniversary of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Col. @jonsweet.bsky.social, U.S. Army (ret.), took the lead for us in examining where the war is at from a military point of view. Link below.

➡️ Russia continues to try and set conditions for any ceasefire in Putin’s war against Ukraine. As Col. @jonsweet.bsky.social, U.S. Army (ret.) & I warn at @thehill.com, it’s crucial that Team Trump not give into them. Putin doesn’t want peace. He wants Ukraine. ↖️ thehill.com/opinion/nati...

➡️ Goals change in wars. Especially when you start to lose them as Russia is doing in Ukraine. Tomorrow, in a special piece for @thehill.com at 7AM EST, Col. @jonsweet.bsky.social, U.S. Army (ret.) & I argue what Putin now hopes to be his primary end state. He must be deterred. ↖️

➡️ Conquering Ukraine, for now, is beyond Putin’s reach. However, as Col. @jonsweet.bsky.social, U.S. Army (ret.) & I warn at @thehill.com, destroying NATO from within has become the new goal of his sputtering ‘special military operation.’ If done, he will return to Ukraine. Link below. ↖️

➡️ It’s not a coincidence that as Trump’s Ukraine ceasefire gained momentum that the Houthis announced they were going to resume attacks against Israeli shipping. At the @kyivpost.com, @jonsweet.bsky.social & I urge to recognize he is at war with Putin’s Axis of Evil. Link below. ↖️

➡️ Shout out to the @newyorkpost.bsky.social’s editorial board for citing my piece with Col. @jonsweet.bsky.social, U.S. Army (ret.) at @thehill.com — Putin’s real goal: Destroy NATO Grateful. Especially given the importance of this message re: Putin’s designs on NATO. ↖️ nypost.com/2025/03/17/o...

Lockdowns made us rude, MAGA vs. the ‘realists’ and other commentary

“If the world seems to you a little nastier and more confrontational than it was just a few years ago,” notes Reason’s J.D. Tuccille, “you’re not alone.”

nypost.com

➡️ Putin & Khamenei continue to use the Houthis to distract Team Trump from Ukraine & Iran’s nuclear weapons program. As Col. @jonsweet.bsky.social, U.S. Army (ret.) & I urge at @thehill.com, it’s time for Donald Trump to adopt Admiral James Stavridis’ plan. ↖️ thehill.com/policy/natio...

➡️ Team #Putin is playing Team #Trump for time in Saudi Arabia. As @jonsweet.bsky.social & I warn in a special piece at @thehill.com, #Russia isn’t interested in a ceasefire in Ukraine save where Moscow gains battlefield advantages. Meanwhile, Putin keeps killing Ukrainians. Link below. ↖️

➡️ @jonsweet.bsky.social & I are honored to have been picked up a 14th time by the Drudge Report for our piece that is running in @thehill.com. This time is especially meaningful as we highlighted an upcoming documentary entitled Faith Under Siege & the Bazylevych family. Links below. ↖️

➡️ In our latest for the @kyivpost.com, Col. @jonsweet.bsky.social, U.S. Army (ret.) & I take a deep dive into the fallacy of #Putin & the so-called ceasefire negotiations. Putin isn’t interest in peace or in pieces of #Ukraine. He wants it all. Link below. ↖️

"The fallacy now is that there is some sort of “ceasefire” in Ukraine – and that Russia is adhering to it while Zelensky continues to resist." @marktoth.bsky.social and I explain in the @kyivpost.com www.kyivpost.com/opinion/49605

➡️ Always honored — and humbled — by the @newyorkpost.bsky.social’s editorial board citing my work with @jonsweet.bsky.social. This time it was for our Europe’s thin red line in Ukraine piece at @thehill.com. ↖️ nypost.com/2025/03/07/o...

The West’s ‘thin red line’, Egypt’s ‘do-nothing’ Gaza plan and other commentary

“For now, Ukraine is ground zero in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against the West” — but, warn Mark Toth & Jonathan Sweet at The Hill, if Russia wins, whether “on the battlefield or a…

nypost.com

➡️ Grateful as well to Real Clear World for citing my latest w/ Col. @jonsweet.bsky.social, U.S. Army (Ret.) at @thehill.com — Europe’s thin red line in Ukraine. ↖️ www.realclearworld.com/2025/03/06/e...

Europe’s Thin Red Line in Ukraine

Europe is facing an existential crisis.

realclearworld.com

Privilege for @marktoth.bsky.social and I to join Daniel Tkiie on News Channel 24 and First Western TV in Ukraine to discuss the post-Oval Office meltdown and Europe's way ahead. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkYe...

Jon Sweet and Mark Toth on US military options in Ukraine

YouTube video by ПЕРШИЙ ЗАХІДНИЙ

youtube.com

➡️ @jonsweet.bsky.social & I were honored to be interviewed earlier by El Confidencial in Spain. It is in Spanish but you can translate in Google Chrome if need be. ↖️ www.elconfidencial.com/mundo/2025-0...

Trump and Putin need Zelenskyy to go, for reasons that align in certain respects and differ in others. Justice and security are getting in the way of 'the big deal'. They may use any means available to force Zelenskyy out. @marktoth.bsky.social - @jonsweet.bsky.social - youtu.be/wco3jpmidwU

Jon Sweet and Mark Toth - For Reasons that Partially Align, Trump & Putin Need Zelenskyy to be gone.

YouTube video by Silicon Curtain

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➡️ Always an honor to appear w/ @jonsweet.bsky.social on one of @siliconcurtain.bsky.social’s podcasts. If you are not familiar with Jonathan Fink’s work, check out his other podcasts. He has a huge array of impressive guests including retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges. ↖️

Silicon Curtain podcast@siliconcurtain.bsky.social · last yr.

Trump and Putin need Zelenskyy to go, for reasons that align in certain respects and differ in others. Justice and security are getting in the way of 'the big deal'. They may use any means available to force Zelenskyy out. @marktoth.bsky.social - @jonsweet.bsky.social - youtu.be/wco3jpmidwU

@marktoth.bsky.social and I had the honor to join Jonathan Fink again on the @siliconcurtain.bsky.social to discuss the 2nd and 3rd order effects of the Oval Office version of Tombstone's O.K. Corral last Friday. Is Zelensky in the way? www.youtube.com/watch?v=wco3...

Jon Sweet and Mark Toth - For Reasons that Partially Align, Trump & Putin Need Zelenskyy to be gone.

YouTube video by Silicon Curtain

youtube.com

➡️ Trump’s U.S. foreign policy has taken a sharp right turn. As @jonsweet.bsky.social & I note at @thehill.com, it’s arguably become mafia-like in its construct & execution. If so, a turf war looms. Putin as well is intent on being the Don of the Donbas. ↖️

"Washington is devolving into a mafioso world. This deal is the equivalent of Ukraine paying protection money." As Henry Hill said in Goodfellas: “F**k you, pay me.” @marktoth.bsky.social and I explain in @thehill.com thehill.com/opinion/nati...

@marktoth.bsky.social and I return to the No Delusion Zone with David Debatto to talk about the war in Ukraine. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dq92...

Will America Withdraw From NATO? #nato #trump #nodelusionzone

YouTube video by No Delusion Zone

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@marktoth.bsky.social and I join News Anchor and TV Host Daniel Tkiie at News Channel 24 and First Western Television in Ukraine to discuss Trump’s next steps in Ukraine. www.youtube.com/watch?v=qop7...

Jon Sweet and Mark Toth on Trump’s next steps on Ukraine

YouTube video by ПЕРШИЙ ЗАХІДНИЙ

youtube.com

"Putin still believes he can win. He just needs the U.S. and NATO to stop supplying weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.” @marktoth.bsky.social and I document in @thehill.com Vladimir Putin is trying to pull a snow job on Trump thehill.com/opinion/nati...

“Trump is utilizing Cold War tactics, expressing American willingness to outfight and outspend Putin.” @marktoth.bsky.social and I explain in the @newyorkpost.bsky.social nypost.com/2025/01/24/o...

Trump — the new sheriff in town — has a vulnerable Russia panicking

Moscow is in a tizzy: The denizens of the Russian capital did not see this version of President Donald Trump coming for Mad Vlad.

nypost.com

"The “root cause” of the war in Ukraine is Putin ... Trump’s message ... should be to leave Ukraine or risk losing your army and your country." @marktoth.bsky.social and I explain. What part of Putin’s capitulation demands don’t you understand? thehill.com/opinion/nati...

“It is Trump’s world now. The self-defeating passivity of the Biden Administration is gone … for better or worse, he is asserting himself on the global stage.” @marktoth.bsky.social and I explain in @thehill.com. thehill.com/opinion/nati...

@marktoth.bsky.social and I return to the @nodelusionzone.bsky.social show with host David Debatto to discuss Trump 2.0 and Russia, China, and Iran: Reality vs Campaign Rhetoric and few days before the inauguration. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RWY...

Trump 2.0 and Russia, China and Iran: Reality vs Campaign Rhetoric

YouTube video by No Delusion Zone

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Great to be back on @tvpworld.bsky.social "Ukraine this Week" with Don Arleth to discuss the Biden handover to Trump. But what will the strategies of 'weaken Russia' and 'just enough' transition to under the Trump Admin? We discuss. www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGVO...

Biden ‘hands over’ Ukraine to Trump | Ukraine This Week

YouTube video by TVP WORLD

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"Without sustainment [Russian] assaults grind to a halt. If the AFU severs that connective tissue, then the Russian forces in Ukraine will wither on the vine." @marktoth.bsky.social and I explain in the @kyivpost.com www.kyivpost.com/opinion/45699