Cultuurfilosoof Jelle van Baardwijk is niet de enige academicus die empathie voor Poetin koestert. Zeker vier andere professoren zitten op die lijn; allen etaleren dedain voor empirische kennis, schrijft columnist Hubert Smeets.

Column | Academici die lak hebben aan de feiten

Nu de Russische culturicide op Oekraïne escaleert, achten academici de tijd rijp het op een na grootste land in Europa te offeren aan het ”gepercipieerde gevoel van onveiligheid van de Russen”, zoals cultuurfilosoof Jelle van Baardewijk het recent bij Goedenavond Nederland (WNL) formuleerde. Van Baardewijk – universitair hoofddocent bedrijfsethiek aan Nyenrode – is niet de enige die empathie voor…

nrc.nl

Best response to this nonsense is probably no response. Europe shd also accelerate efforts to reduce reliance on the increasingly erratic & unreliable US; & find legal ways to block US funding of far right parties & organisations in Europe, designed to undermine European values & create 'EuroMAGA'.

EUwatch 🇪🇺@euwatch.live · 47m ago

European allies push back against Pentagon’s “loyalty test” questionnaire

Klein maar fijn groepje academici/publieksintellectuelen keert zich veelvuldig tegen zelfbeschikkingsrecht Oekraïne. Maar in hun argumentatie hebben ze niet zelden lak aan (historische) empirie en verheimelijken ze onwelgevallige feiten. Recente column 👇 www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2026/...

Ukrainian intelligence estimates Russia can produce over 200 cruise and ballistic missiles a month. Its stocks include 600+ Oniks, 450+ Kalibr, 400 S-400 missiles, around 130 Iskander-M, 120+ Zircon, up to 100 Kh-101, plus around 50 Kinzhal and 50 North Korean missiles. #Ukraine

“Too many leaders still act as if the old order can somehow be salvaged or even perfected,” writes Mark Leonard. “The United States’ allies, in particular, simply do not understand yet that Washington has withdrawn its support from the old order and from them.”

The Abandoned Order

Learning to live in a post-American world.

foreignaffairs.com

According to the draft budget, the German government plans to increase military aid to Ukraine to a record level in 2027 militarnyi.com/en/news/germ...

Germany Plans to Increase Aid to Ukraine by More Than €744 Million

Separately, Germany’s Ministry of Defense plans to allocate €538 million to the Enable and Enhance Ukraine initiative. The German Foreign Office is expected

militarnyi.com

Buzzkill: How to defend Europe against drones: ecfr.eu/publication/...

Buzzkill: How to defend Europe against drones – European Council on Foreign Relations

Drone warfare in Europe is no longer tomorrow’s problem. The continent is under attack by drones today, and the threat is not isolated in the east.

ecfr.eu

The Russian intelligence operation was planned and directed by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) over an extended period. It involved collecting information about decision-making processes in Sweden to give Russian intelligence an opportunity to influence controversial issues.

A new Pentagon questionnaire sent to America's 31 NATO allies puts fealty above common interests, divides the allies among themselves, weakens collective defense, and ultimately could destroy NATO. open.substack.com/pub/ivodaald...

This is How NATO Dies

A new Pentagon questionnaire sent to America's 31 NATO allies puts fealty above common interests, divides the allies among themselves, weakens collective defense, and ultimately could destroy NATO.

open.substack.com

🇪🇺 🇷🇺 Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden will stop recognizing Russian non-biometric passports starting October 1, 2026, the European Commission announced. meduza.io/en/news/2026... #russia

Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg to stop recognizing Russian non-biometric passports — Meduza

Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Sweden will stop recognizing Russian non-biometric passports starting October 1, 2026, the European Commission announced.

meduza.io

The U.S. and its allies could be at risk for a Russia-China multifront attack, Simon Shuster reports. He asked a range of military experts and strategists what the West would do in such a situation and found that the responses rang surprisingly hollow.

NATO’s Nightmare

The U.S. and Europe have no clear plan for a joint attack from Russia and China.

bit.ly

The end of USA as a global power ...

Phillips OBrien@phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 3d ago

Latest piece. With the withdrawal of the last US aircraft carrier from the Western Pacific, the overall degradation of the US military, and the US now openly attacking its former allies, we need to face a stunning reality: An "age" is ending. phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/is-the-ame...

At this point, it can only be a matter of time before democratic countries start leaving the non-proliferation regime. This is unsustainable. But who will make the first move?

Andy Scollick@andyscollick.bsky.social · 3d ago

Conclusion? South Korea needs its own independent nuclear deterrent, fast.

AI and the New Fog of War samf.substack.com/p/ai-and-the...

AI and the New Fog of War

I have been involved in two projects looking at the impact of AI on contemporary conflict.

samf.substack.com

Brave new world, where the US president touts his friendship with a brutal dictator and ditches a democratic ally

Forbes@forbes.com · 3d ago

The president echoed Pyongyang’s complaints about the drill, saying they are totally “inappropriate and hostile,” towards an “unthreatening and respectful” North Korea

Calling North Korea "unthreatening and respectful" when they send missiles, shells, and troops to kill Ukrainians is a special kind of lunacy.

Hoe noem je eigenlijk een coup, als de coup gepleegd wordt door de regering zelf jegens de constitutie en de rechtsstaat?

Marc Elias@marcelias.bsky.social · 4d ago

🚨BREAKING: The attorney general says it’s a “possibility” that he will go to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary, for the Trump administration’s crusade to take control of state voter rolls. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

These are the indicative estimates of Russia’s combat losses as of Aug.17, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Over Ruslands oorlog tegen Oekraïne 👇

Analyse: 'Iraanse oorlog slaat enorme deuk in Amerika’s financiën, slagkracht en militaire reputatie – en dat heeft gevolgen voor Europa' www.volkskrant.nl/buitenland/i...

Iraanse oorlog slaat enorme deuk in Amerika’s financiën, slagkracht en militaire reputatie – en dat heeft gevolgen voor Europa

Een half jaar nadat de VS een oorlog tegen Iran begonnen, probeert Amerikaans marinepersoneel overboord te springen en wordt Trump uit de Air Force One gesmokkeld uit angst voor Iran. Tot nu toe is ge...

volkskrant.nl

A Spanish F-18 patrolling over Romania shot down an unknown drone overnight. Romanian FM says this is the third drone shot down in three weeks after illegally entering their airspace.

Nato members failed in defence planning...numbers have been known since before 2022 and yet the investments to expand Patriot production have not been made..complacency is devastating for Ukraine..risks Europe being bereft of defences in the future. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Patriot missiles have been a godsend for Ukraine against Putin, but they’re running out. Kyiv needs help and fast | Jack Watling

Europe and Nato have known for years that interceptor production can’t keep up with demand and now disaster looms, says Jack Watling, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute

theguardian.com

🇪🇺🇺🇦 European countries increased their support for Ukraine in May and June to about €11 billion, - Kiel Institute Of this amount, 4.3 billion euros were allocated to military aid, and another 6.7 billion to financial and humanitarian support.

Read it and weep. open.substack.com/pub/amerikan...

They Saw it Coming

How American military planners anticipated failure in Iran

open.substack.com

APPLEBAUM: United States, which used to be leader of democratic world, now plays neutral, ambiguous role at best. You can hear that Trump sympathizes with the autocrats. He instinctively prefers Putin to European democracies.

Exactly. Was it safe for that plane to fly or was it not? Very strange indeed that it took off full of people if there was suspicion it would be a target of a terrorist attack.

Seth Abramson@sethabramson.bsky.social · last wk.

Here’s a NYT image of the President of the United States fleeing Turkey *inside an airport catering cart* as he leaves members of his own staff and the entire White House traveling press pool to die in a warned-of Iranian military attack over Turkey Impeach this m*therfucker now

Satellite analysis indicates at least 7 vessels were likely hit at Novorossiysk: Admiral Makarov, Admiral Essen, a Project 266M minesweeper, experimental vessel Viktor Cherokov, a Project 22160 patrol ship, intelligence ship Priazovye and an unidentified dry cargo vessel. #Ukraine

NOELREPORTS@noelreports.com · last wk.

❗DniproOsint satellite analysis of the August 12 Novorossiysk strike shows hits on the NKHP grain terminal, naval base and Sheskharis oil terminal. Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen were likely damaged near their Kalibr launchers, while several other Russian vessels also appear hit. #Ukraine

The article is about Russia systematically using drones to probe air defenses in Europe, looking for weaknesses to exploit. ​Why they call actual attacks "hybrid," though, is beyond me. Maybe if they just called them attacks, they’d actually have to do something about it. 🤷‍♀️

In July, it was discovered that Iran had hacked SS7 to identify the location of U.S. troops, directly informing kinetic strikes. How has Iran's cyber activity evolved to a more concerted, recalibrated approach, aligned with its wartime objectives? Read: https://bit.ly/4hQBLCS

How Tehran’s Use of Cyber Operations in the U.S.-Iran Conflict Has Evolved

Iran’s cyber apparatus has firmly regeared in direct support and alignment with Iran’s war effort against the United States, Israel, and regional rivals, and is using cyber operations to shape the ope...

bit.ly

‼️❄️ Before winter, Russia stockpiled 6,200+ "Geran" drones, — GUR Massive combined strikes can involve 600–1,000 drones, while during the buildup period, Russian Armed Forces launch approximately 150–200 drones in a single attack.