Saturday, April 19, 2025

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US halts intelligence sharing with Ukraine – urges peace efforts

The war in Ukraine

Published 6 March 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The decision is expected to significantly reduce the effectiveness of the advanced weapon systems previously delivered to Kiev.

The United States has suspended all intelligence cooperation with Ukraine, US government officials confirm.

The decision is expected to have a major impact on the Ukrainian army’s ability to track Russian troop movements and select targets using advanced weapons systems.

According to analysts, US intelligence during the war has been crucial for Ukraine – especially in the early stages of the war. The fact that the US provided its allies with real-time information on enemy movements is considered to have been a strong contributing factor to Russia’s hopes of a quick victory.

The Nordic Times recently reported that the Trump administration is halting all military aid to Kiev until it is satisfied that President Volodymyr Zelensky has shown a willingness to work for a lasting peace – and this includes intelligence and information sharing.

The US ATACMS missile system and the HIMARS mobile rocket artillery system are two of the types of weapons that the Ukrainian army now expects to be much more limited in their use.

– We are pausing, assessing, looking at everything across our security relationship, confirmed National Security Advisor Mike Waltz yesterday.

Support could resume

However, according to Waltz, intelligence support to Ukraine could resume if Zelensky is deemed to be cooperative and engages in peace negotiations on the Trump administration’s terms.

– If we can nail down these negotiations and move towards these negotiations and, in fact, put some confidence building measures on the table, then the president will take a hard look at lifting this pause. We have to know that both sides are sincerely negotiating towards a partial, then permanent, peace, it said.

CIA director John Ratcliffe is also careful to point out that the intelligence freeze should be considered a “pause” and believes that aid will resume in the long run if Zelensky agrees to the US demands.

Opposition: “Unforgivable”

Ukrainian officials have declined to comment publicly on the announcement, but anonymous government sources confirm that they are no longer receiving coordinates from the US. As expected, Trump’s opponents and EU politicians are raging against the suspension, claiming that Trump is now snatching away necessary support from an ally in the fight against Russia.

The idea that we will now withhold life-saving intelligence from Ukrainians who are fighting and dying is unforgivable, thunders Connecticut Democrat Jim Hines.

It is also unclear how the US pause affects intelligence sharing between Ukraine and other Western countries, including the other members of the Five Eyes cooperation (US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand).

A spokesperson for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Dave Pares, refused to confirm whether the UK still shares US intelligence with Ukraine, but stressed that it remains committed to Kiev.

– We will do everything to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position across all aspects of our support, particularly around defense and security, and our position hasn’t changed.

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Comment: The military-industrial complex excels

The war in Ukraine

In the shadow of the war in Ukraine, the Swedish military-industrial complex is growing faster than ever. The question is no longer who benefits from the war – but why so few dare to talk about it.

Published 16 April 2025
– By Jenny Piper
Soldier with Saab Bofors Dynamics NLAW anti-tank missile.
{ $opinionDisclaimer }

A look at the ten largest Swedish companies on the Stockholm Stock Exchange reveals that the Wallenberg family is the majority owner in most of them, topping the list with its holding company Investor, valued at approximately SEK 860 billion (€77 billion).

newcomer to the list is the defense conglomerate Saab, which is now reaching new record levels on the stock exchange after rising over 2% and surpassing the historic industrial company Sandvik in market value.

It is interesting to note that before the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022, SAAB B had a market capitalization of just under SEK 30 billion (€2.7 billion) and that Sandvik SAND at the same time was worth about SEK 280 billion (€25 billion).

Three years and countless stock rallies later – this year alone the stock has surged nearly 90% – the picture looks completely different. Recently, the industrial giant was surpassed in market value, and as of today, Saab is worth SEK 239 billion compared to SEK 238 billion for Sandvik.

That people don’t understand that the entire Ukraine war, with ingredients like war-mongering, military buildup, “standing behind the Ukrainian people”, “fighting for freedom and democracy”, and so on, is merely a facade for the military-industrial complex – which uses Ukraine as a playground and exploits the Ukrainian people to the fullest to enrich itself without any interest in stopping the suffering it has helped create.

The Swedish establishment works in symbiosis with Brussels to bring us down, but the Swedish people are so incredibly indoctrinated that I fear there is no salvation for this country, where citizens willingly line up to praise the war profiteers and help contribute to the collapse instead of acting against the abuse of power.

 

Jenny Piper

All Jenny Piper's articles can be found on her blog.

US envoy proposes territorial solution for Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published 14 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The war in Ukraine has now been going on for over three years (stock photo).

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff opens the door for Russia to retain control of four Ukrainian regions in exchange for a ceasefire, Reuters reports. The proposal is criticized both in Kiev and in Washington.

Witkoff met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on April 8 in St Petersburg. The meeting, which lasted more than four hours, is part of the ongoing negotiations on a possible peace settlement in the now three-year-long conflict.

According to Reuters sources, Mr. Witkoff proposed that Russia retain Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson – areas under Russian control since 2022 – as a way to pave the way for a ceasefire.

The proposal was presented to US President Donald Trump after talks between Witkoff and Russian negotiator Kirill Dmitriev in Washington. According to Reuters, Witkoff stressed that control over the territories is already de facto Russian.

Ukraine rejects

Ukraine has categorically rejected the idea of ceding territory. President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly reiterated the country’s line that territorial integrity is non-negotiable.

Several European governments are taking the same line, stressing that any peace agreement must be based on international law.

In Washington, Mr. Witkoff’s initiative is divisive. The second US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is skeptical about the proposal and considers it unrealistic.

– Ukraine would never agree to unilaterally cede total ownership of the territories to Russia, Kellogg said, according to sources.

Unclear US line

President Trump has not yet taken an official position on Witkoff’s proposal. The administration is still working to coordinate its strategy, according to two Western diplomats. The US line is described as unclear, raising questions among allies.

Within Congress, several Republican members have reacted with concern. Contacts have been made with National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to discuss alternative negotiating paths.

In parallel, talks between the US, Russia and Ukraine continue, but without any concrete results. Both sides are standing by their demands, while Ukraine’s Western allies recently met in Brussels to coordinate continued support.

According to the Kyiv Independent, Russia controls about 20% of Ukraine, which puts Moscow in a strong negotiating position for a possible peace agreement.

UK and Norway to deliver hundreds of thousands of drones to Ukraine

The war in Ukraine

Published 13 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff

The UK and Norway have launched a new support package for Ukraine worth £450 million, including drones, radar systems and funds for repairs. At the same time, Germany is launching a coalition to strengthen Ukraine’s electromagnetic warfare.

The British and Norwegian funds were presented at a meeting in Brussels of the Ramstein Group – a coalition of countries coordinating military assistance to Ukraine.

The package includes radar systems, funding to repair previously delivered equipment and, according to British data, a large number of drones, potentially in the hundreds of thousands, from both British and Ukrainian manufacturers.

–We cannot jeopardise peace by forgetting the war, which is why today’s major package will surge support to Ukraine’s frontline fight, UK Defense Secretary John Healey said in a statement.

Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, also unveiled a new coalition of support at the meeting, focusing on electromagnetic warfare as a counter to increasingly advanced Russian drone attacks and communications jamming.

Drones key component

Drones have become a key component on the battlefield, both for reconnaissance and direct attacks, while electromagnetic systems protect against hostile technology.

This coalition focuses on electromagnetic warfare – an increasingly important field that encompasses securing our own communications, conducting reconnaissance, disrupting enemy communications, and defending against drones, said Boris Pistorius.

The US defense representative participated digitally in the meeting, and according to John Healey, they highlighted Europe’s efforts since the start of the war. He stressed that the meeting in Brussels shows a continued unity among Western countries, but also an urgency to meet Ukraine’s increasingly urgent needs.

Next steps could include further deliveries of advanced technology, as the Ramstein Group plans new discussions on how to scale up support for the winter.

Comment: The division in Ukraine – and the hate rhetoric here at home

The war in Ukraine

While Swedish media spin on narratives of Russian propaganda and Trump's alleged evil, dramatic shifts are taking place on the ground in Ukraine. However, Colombian mercenaries, increased divisions and a society on the brink of civil war barely make headlines at all.

Published 10 April 2025
– By Jenny Piper
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.
{ $opinionDisclaimer }

The news flow is currently not very informative but revolves around the chatter about the stock market slump that mainly affected multinationals in Big Tech, Big Pharma, investment banks, energy companies and the defense industry. In addition, Swedish mass media offers the bickering about Trump’s tariffs, Ukraine’s alleged new successes in a war that they have in practice already lost, and the usual Swedish hate rhetoric against Trump and Putin that they feed the population around the clock.

This afternoon, for example, they are making a big deal out of Zelensky’s claim that Chinese soldiers have been captured, but they omit to report that the Ukrainian military has struck Russian energy facilities in the Kursk and Zaporizhzhya regions twice in the past 24 hours, and that Colombian mercenaries have been brought into the Kursk region.

The Ukrainian publication Zerkalo Nedeli writes that the commander of the 47th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Hamlet Avagyan, confirmed the presence of mercenaries from Colombia in the assault company in the Kursk region and that another 200 people from Colombia are expected to arrive in April.

The Colombian ambassador in Moscow admitted in an interview with RIA that they do not have exact data on the number of Colombian mercenaries taking part in the fighting, but it is known that up to 80 people have died at the front.

“An acute psychosis”

Considering how many months the MSM spent reporting on the alleged North Koreans fighting on Russia’s side, it would have been appropriate to inform about this as well – but as usual, it is dismissed as “Russian propaganda”, while all claims coming from the Ukrainian regime for some unfathomable reason never get the label of disinformation.

It is also interesting to note that Ukrainian political scientist Konstantin Bondarenko, in a video published on Telegram for the publication Politnavigator, states that Ukrainian society is deeply divided, with mutual hostility growing between different groups of the population while socio-political tensions are rising – bringing the country not far from civil conflict.

According to Bondarenko, sociological research shows very serious fragmentation of Ukrainian society. The current state of affairs can be described as an acute psychosis, with the risks of tensions escalating into open civil confrontations becoming increasingly likely.

There is a very serious antagonism between groups of people. And if earlier there was a division into East, West, Russian-speaking, Ukrainian-speaking and so on, now they begin to hate those who are fighting at the front line, those who are in the background, those who stayed, those who left… Civilians or military and even deserters. That is, there are many such moments that can be added to an already military split.

Ukrainian society is ready to deny rights to compatriots who did not go to war and to consider these as second-class people. I think that in reality we are now witnessing an acute psychosis that exists in society. They will look for an enemy among their own kind – in the government, in a neighbor who doesn’t speak the right way, who goes to the wrong church, etc. And this is an extremely difficult situation, because it is lined with civil wars, civil conflicts”.

Resignation demands on Zelensky

So what is really happening behind the scenes now that the focus is elsewhere? The US and Russia are probably busy making deals behind the EU’s/NATO’s back, and more countries are signing tariff agreements with the US. It will be interesting to see if they reach an agreement on Ukraine in May, as previously speculated – which would be a win for all involved.

Zelensky probably needs to step down first, as he continues to cause problems – something Finnish university professor Tuomas Malinen wrote about on X, where he argues that US President Donald Trump should demand that Zelensky surrender and resign for the sake of peace.

Today, American investor David Sachs – appointed by US President Donald Trump to be responsible for AI and cryptocurrency policy – wrote a post on X in which he said that Ukraine is robbing the United States and that Washington should “cut loose” Kiev if Zelensky does not sign an agreement.

Unfortunately, there is a lack of similar public statements in Sweden, where someone really needed to put their foot down – because here only those with the “right” opinion are heard in the media noise.

 

Jenny Piper

All Jenny Piper's articles can be found on her blog.

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