I think the leaked US plan is real, and Russia is playing along for now.
In my opinion, they are giving Ukraine (and Europe) a final chance for a reasonable deal. If they reject, Russia will lock in and fight for total victory, and the US may stop sending weapons.
Eh, it has just expired anyway, but I think it was a reasonable success. Efforts were clearly made to reduce the fighting, but it’s not surprising that there were some violations.
Both sides now want to paint the other as having seriously violated the truce to win favor with the Trump regime.
I wonder if this ceasefire was indeed coordinated between Russia and the US (per the leaked peace plan) to determine if the ultra-nationalist elements in Ukraine are even capable of being restrained.
Little Marco was talking about potentially “moving on” from the Ukraine peace process “within days” just yesterday.
This is a pretty common feature of traditional roguelikes. Try Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup.
Yeah, I’m a little worried libs will use this as an off-ramp to stop caring about him.
"I came to El Salvador to see him, and I saw him, so 
"
What do we think Russia’s response will be when Germany gives Taurus missiles to Ukraine?
Another Oreshnik strike? Perhaps on the Rheinmetall plants in Ukraine?
I’m pretty sure they just want to protect their oil money. That’s literally the only thing they care about.
Though maybe that motivation can still work in the Resistance’s favor in this case.
The “358” missile they use to shoot down drones is presumably very cheap and AFAIK can be launched individually from simple rails. It’s also passively guided, so suppressing it with electronic warfare or air strikes is not very practical.
The timing might be a coincidence, but it feels like it’s intended to take the wind out of Skyblivion’s sails.
I hate Bethesda, so I hope this flops tbh.
This is another policy that I’m sure Blue MAGA is secretly happy with. I expect no serious opposition to this, and for Democrats to quietly keep the policy (or at least not legislate against it) next time they are in power.
I do think this was a botched strike, which was possibly too risky to begin with, but no warring country is ever going to admit wrongdoing in a situation like this.
The core problem IMO is the fundamentally corporate desire to make every player have the same homogeneous experience. Games need more Metroidvania and Immersive Sim elements.
Call it cope, but I believe Russia has been stockpiling vehicles, missiles, and fresh troops for a war-ending campaign in early 2026. If no deal is reached by then.
As far as Iran, I honestly have no clue. They obviously can’t trust a single word from the US or Israel, but I’m sure Russia/China don’t want them to get nukes either.
Google has blurred the Starykostyantyniv Air Base in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, Ukraine. This airfield was attacked by Kalibr cruise missiles in the recent missile attack and has been a prime target for other missile attacks and drones. It is also believed to house F-16s.
“Blurred” makes it sound somewhat innocent, but if you look at it on Google Maps, it’s clearly a thorough censorship job with deliberately chosen areas to “blur” (probably cut out, replaced with old imagery, and blurred).
Very interesting. I saw these claims on Telegram yesterday, but initially refrained from posting them due to skepticism:
The U.S. informed Ansarallah (i.e. the Houthis) that it is willing to stop the bombing campaign on Yemen, if the group promises not to attack American navy ships
https://t.me/Middle_East_Spectator/17198
After using Yemen as a testing ground for bunker busting bombs intended to be used on Iran, the U.S. military is reportedly ‘doubtful’ and ‘unconvinced’ that it could pull off a successful military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities
The U.S. military says it is unsure whether a strike on Iran would achieve the intended strategic objective, stating that the Iranian sites are ‘much deeper’ and more protected than Yemen’s underground bases, and that recent airstrikes on Yemeni missile infrastructure turned out ‘ineffective at best, useless at worst’. – CENTCOM Sources
The US transferred an entire Patriot SAM battalion (24-36 launchers) from INDOPACOM (near China) to CENTCOM (Middle East).
I know this is to protect against retaliation if they strike Iran, but coupled with other events it kinda feels like they are also encouraging China to move on Taiwan.
I guess they’re betting on some kind of deal being reached? That there’s no way the US can keep this going forever?
People love when their leaders actually use their power to create tangible change, even if it’s bad.
Russia will demand at least partial demilitarization of Ukraine and/or withdrawal of their military from the land east of the Dnieper river. It would be a tough pill for Ukraine to swallow, but it’s not impossible that they accept.