RUNNING UPDATES ON THE CONFLICT IN UKRAINE - 28.02.2025
Including geopolitical issues affecting the balance of power in the ongoing end game war to establish our common future, a closely monitored prison planet or tolerance for diverse modes of governance.
HOW BIG A DEAL WILL RARE EARTHS BE FOR EITHER ZELENSKY OR TRUMP? SOMETHING THAT MAKES FORTUNES OR GARBAGE FORGOTTEN IMMEDIATELY?
USA | RUSSIA | CHINA | UKRAINE | EU | NATO
VLADIMIR PUTIN: Some Western elites will try to disrupt the dialogue between Russia and the U.S.
ALEXANDER MERCOURIS: Starmer Humiliated As Trump Outwits Him, No US Backstop For UK/French Troops; Zelensky Comes Fuming.
ALEX CHRISTOFOROU: Starmer US trip fails, humiliated by Trump. UK Zaluzhny plan. Kursk collapse. Podolyak, PUTIN trap.
THE DURAN: Terrible deal. Zelensky gives Ukraine resources to US.
THE DURAN: Starmer and Macron FAIL to trick Trump into war with Russia.
ALEXANDER MERCOURIS: Putin Xi Jinping phone call.
JOHN HELMER: Trump vs. Starmer: The EU Has LOST ITS MIND!
LT. COL. DANIEL DAVIS: What the U.S. Policy in the Ukraine Russia War Has Produced.
COLONEL JACQUES BAUD: Ending War Proposals: The HUGE DIVIDE.
LEVAN GUDADZE: Kursk Trap - Over 64,000 casualties of the Kyiv regime (from my second News Update on Patreon).
JAMARL THOMAS - ARNAUD DEVELAY: Shocking Details Of Zelensky's Surrender Bill To Trump On Minerals & The Snags That'll Crash It All.
PROFESSOR JOHN J. MEARSHEIMER: Does Trump Understand Russia?
SABBY SABS - PROFESSOR JEFFREY SACHS: "This War Is OVER!"
Zelensky Fired General - Purge. USA - Russia Talks. Minerals Deal. Starmer - Trump. Türkiye - EU…
KATIE HALPER - AARON MATÉ : POLITICAL TERROR: Ukrainian Historian on Zelensky.
EMIL COSMAN: Watch Putin smack the Baltic States. Russia won't apologize every year, move on, small sh*ts.
RUSSELL BRAND: TRUMP TURNS UP THE HEAT ON ZELENSKY!
MAX BLUMENTHAL - AARON MATÉ: Why are Western European leaders afraid of peace?
RACHEL BLEVINS: US, Russia Talk Restoring Ties As Trump Admin Sidesteps EU on Ukraine.
GLENN GREENWALD - ALEKSANDR DUGIN: Why Russia Expelled USAID. Aleksandr Dugin on Fighting Globalism.
GEOPOLITICAL TRENDS: France Stabs the US in the Back!
BORZZIKMAN: NATO Has Launched a Total Assault in The Baltic Region: RUSSIA's Response Was Extremely Tough.
USA - TRUMP | MUSK | DOGE | GABBARD
90% of USAID contracts to be cut – AP.
The White House reportedly plans to halt $60 billion in foreign assistance.
USAID assistance packages at Crowley Logistics in Miami, FL, US, August 26, 2011.
The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to cut more than 90% of US Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts and a total of $60 billion in overall foreign aid worldwide, AP reported on Thursday. The outlet cited an internal White House memo and filings in one of the federal lawsuits challenging the administration's plan.
Immediately upon assuming office, Trump suspended most US foreign assistance pending a three-month review to determine whether to continue or cease programs depending on their alignment with the new administration’s “America first” goals. USAID, Washington’s primary mechanism for funding political projects abroad, has found tens of billions dollars’ worth of approved grants frozen as a result.
NGOs and nonprofits formerly receiving grants and contracts from the agency have lodged multiple lawsuits against Trump and his administration, demanding the disbursement of already allocated funds.
Late on Wednesday, the US Supreme Court intervened in one of the cases, and temporarily blocked a ruling that demanded that the government release billions of dollars in grants and contracts by midnight, according to AP.
READ MORE: USAID blew millions on literal ‘pet projects’ in Ukraine – media
The administration plans to eliminate 90% of USAID contracts to the tune of $54 billion, AP reported, citing the memo and court filings. Nearly half of the State Department’s foreign aid grants also face the axe, to the tune of another $4.4 billion, according to the outlet.
The officials were “clearing significant waste stemming from decades of institutional drift,” the memo reportedly states. A further shakeup in how USAID and the State Department disbursed foreign aid was forthcoming “to use taxpayer dollars wisely to advance American interests,” it reportedly adds.
Trump and his newly appointed government efficiency czar Elon Musk have repeatedly accused USAID of misappropriating taxpayer money and rampant corruption.
The cuts are part of broader measures by the administration, and Musk’s recently formed Department of Government Efficiency, to cut down on ballooning government spending.
READ MORE: Regime change specialists NED announce suspension of funding
On Wednesday, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) confirmed that it also had its government funding frozen. Officially a US State Department-funded nonprofit for distributing grants to pro-democracy causes abroad, the NED has faced numerous allegations over the years of acting as a CIA cut-out for toppling foreign governments.
GARLAND NIXON - LARRY JOHNSON: FORMER CIA INTEL ANALYST - TULSI GABBARD CALLS OUT CNN SPY PROPAGANDA.
EMIL COSMAN: That's how War Profiteers will continue their racket through their politicians after Ukr War ends.
DUE DISSIDENCE: Trump Posts DERANGED Gaza Video, RESIGNATIONS at DOGE, GOP Touches THIRD RAIL With Medicaid Cuts.
CHIEF DENNIS FRITZ: Why Fire Generals and Admirals?
REDACTED: BOMBSHELL EPSTEIN SH*T SHOW JUST DROPPED ON WASHINGTON, WHAT IS THIS?
MAX BLUMENTHAL - AARON MATÉ: Deep fake state.
LENA PETROVA: 🚨 Truth about Trump's $4.5 Trillion Tax Bill: Increasing Debt & Cutting Social Spending (Medicaid).
TRUMP | BRICS
BRICS must end dollar’s dominance – Lula.
The economic group is determined to slash its reliance on the greenback despite the US president’s tariff threats, Brazil’s president has said.
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. © Getty Images/Anadolu via Getty Images
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said that the BRICS nations will not stop their de-dollarization efforts despite US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and will continue to seek options to move trade from the greenback.
Trump has issued numerous threats to BRICS since being elected last November. He has acknowledged that the bloc’s push to minimize dependence on the dollar in bilateral trade and promote national currencies undermines the dominance of the greenback, a tendency he seeks to resist.
Speaking at a meeting of the group’s sherpas on Thursday, Lula said that Brazil’s BRICS chairmanship this year will strengthen the bloc’s push for a multipolar world. The group – which recently expanded and now comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, and Egypt – has been boosting the use of national currencies in mutual trade.
“US President Donald Trump’s threats of tariffs won’t stop the group’s determination to seek alternative platforms for payments between member countries,” Lula said.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to cut trade with members of the group if they try “to destroy” the dollar.
READ MORE: ‘BRICS is dead’ if it messes with dollar – Trump
Earlier this month, he once again pledged to impose massive tariffs on all imports from BRICS countries if they proceed with plans to establish a common currency. The current BRICS members account for about 46% of the world’s population and over 36% of global GDP, according to various estimates.
Trump warned last week that “any BRICS state that even mentions the destruction of the dollar will be charged a 150% tariff.”
Speculation about a potential BRICS single currency has circulated in recent years. In 2023, Lula voiced support for the idea of a trading currency within the economic grouping, drawing parallels to the euro.
Although BRICS members have denied plans to establish a single currency, they have ramped up efforts to reduce reliance on Western currencies in bilateral trade in recent years.
The trend gained significant momentum after Russia was cut off from the Western financial system and had its foreign reserves frozen in 2022, as part of Ukraine-related sanctions.
BRICS states, including Russia, have claimed the US is weakening the dollar itself by politicizing it with sanctions.
US Won’t Be Able to Sweet Talk Russia Into Dropping Arctic Cooperation With China: Expert.
Sources have told US business media that Washington has identified the Arctic as a domain for cooperation with Moscow on everything from resource and energy exploration to new trade routes. Sputnik reached out to an expert to discuss the real motivation behind the US diplomatic outreach.
“Driving a wedge between [Russia and China] would be quite difficult, since our relations are built on a fairly solid foundation, based on both mutual trust and our joint desire to take one another’s fundamental interests into account,” Russian Academy of Sciences professor Yana Leksyutina said, commenting on the Bloomberg story.
Russia-China cooperation is based on a wide range of aspects beyond Arctic issues, from a common approach to international challenges, to economics and trade, Leksyutina said.
While it remains to be seen what practical proposals the Trump administration offers, “if we move toward some kind of normalization in US-Russia relations, then of course the most promising area for us would be Arctic cooperation,” the professor said.
Meanwhile, the opportunities China got for enhanced Arctic cooperation with Russia after 2022 won't go anywhere, despite any Western pressure to limit the Asian nation's presence and close the "window" Beijing received from ramping up ties with Moscow.
NATO States' New Arctic Group is No Match for Russo-Chinese Cooperation - Military Veteran
EUROPE | BRITAIN
Trump refuses to guarantee backup for British military.
The UK is “ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air” in Ukraine, PM Keir Starmer has said.
US President Donald Trump meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, February 27, 2025
US President Donald Trump has said British troops “can take care of themselves” when asked whether the US military would support them if the UK deploys forces to Ukraine as part of a potential peace agreement with Russia.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Trump at the White House on Thursday, where they discussed a plan to reach what he called a “peace that is tough and fair.”
“I’m working closely with other European leaders on this, and I’m clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal, working together with our allies, because that is the only way that peace will last,” Starmer told reporters after the meeting.
Trump, however, sidestepped a question about whether the US would provide backup if the deployment led to clashes with Russian forces, telling journalists that the British “don’t need much help.”
“They can take care of themselves very well… It sounds like it’s evasive, but it’s not evasive. You know, the British have been incredible soldiers, incredible military, and they can take care of themselves,” Trump said at a photo op before the meeting. “If they need help, I’ll always be with the British, OK? I’ll always be with them – but they don’t need help.”
Starmer then hailed the US-UK relationship as the world’s “greatest alliance for prosperity and security,” adding that “whenever necessary, we’ve absolutely backed each other up.”
READ MORE: Russia opposes NATO troop deployment to Ukraine – Lavrov
“Could you take on Russia by yourselves?” Trump interrupted, turning to Starmer with a smile.
“Well…” the prime minister responded to a burst of laughter from the audience before Trump moved on to other questions.
The meeting came just days after French President Emmanuel Macron also reportedly failed to secure concrete US security guarantees for Ukraine during talks with Trump in Washington.
Trump previously said he discussed “some form of peacekeeping” with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and claimed that Putin had “no problem” with the idea. However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow had not been consulted on the matter.
READ MORE: Macron’s White House visit a failure – Politico
Lavrov said the idea of deploying foreign troops to Ukraine is being pushed by “the Europeans, primarily France and also the British,” suggesting that this is meant to “further heat up the conflict and stop any attempts to calm it down.”
Moscow has opposed the deployment of unauthorized peacekeepers to Ukraine, warning that without a UN mandate, they would be considered legitimate targets. Lavrov has said that any discussions about a peacekeeping force in Ukraine are “empty” and that the priority should be resolving the conflict’s underlying issues – including efforts to bring Kiev into NATO and the potential deployment of Western military infrastructure near Russia’s borders.
JAMARL THOMAS - SARA BILS: Moscow Wants Nothing More Than To Drag America To The Bargaining Table, The New Europe.
EU fueling turmoil as its influence wanes – Belgrade.
The bloc’s exclusion from the Ukraine talks shows it has “lost its superpower status,” Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has told RT.
Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin.
The EU is instigating regional conflicts and fueling turmoil in a bid to reclaim its diminished global influence, Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin has stated.
Vulin made the remarks in an interview with RT on Friday while commenting on the Ukraine conflict and the EU’s exclusion from the US-Russia peace talks. He also touched on the growing regional tensions.
“The EU has completely lost its position as a superpower,” he said, arguing that the bloc no longer has a place “at the table” with the US and Russia on key global issues such as the Ukraine conflict.
“How can you reclaim your position as a great power?” Vulin continued. “By trying to make some kind of turmoil, trying to create some kind of conflict that you can control, and that’s it.”
He pointed to recent anti-government protests in Serbia and the conviction of Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik by a court in Sarajevo as examples of the EU’s efforts to maintain its influence.
“They must show that they’re capable of doing something like that,” Vulin said.
Reflecting on the EU’s sidelining in peace negotiations, he added: “You see what happens when you are not free. You don’t have your own politics … Someone else tells you what you should do.”
The Serbian deputy prime minister also criticized Western support for Ukraine, calling it “kind of strange” that the “so-called democratic governments are pro-war.”
He recalled a recent remark by US President Donald Trump that the conflict between Moscow and Kiev should have been avoided in the first place.
Trump has blamed Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky for failing to resolve the hostilities, saying he had years to do so and adding that he “should’ve never started it.”
According to Vulin, Russia and the US should work toward an agreement to restore peace, but he questioned the EU’s role in ending the conflict.
He also accused the West of “hypocrisy” over sanctions, suggesting the EU might face a dilemma if Trump moves forward with plans to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.
READ MORE: Bosnian Serb leader sentenced to prison
European politicians, particularly French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, were strongly against Trump during the US election campaign but are now travelling to the White House.
“They called him all these different names – idiot, fascist, corrupt, et cetera, et cetera. Putin puppet and who, God knows who else,” he said, questioning their current approach and describing it as “clash of ideology.”
Trump, Vulin added, is capable of telling them: “Try to clean up your own mess. You do that.”
Prosecuted Romanian presidential candidate asks Trump for help.
The US president should intervene to stop the assault on democracy launched by the Romanian “deep state,” Calin Georgescu has said.
Calin Georgescu
Calin Georgescu, the winner of the first round of last year’s annulled presidential election in Romania, has asked US President Donald Trump for help. The politician is facing criminal charges at home, which he has called part of a political persecution campaign against him.
“I definitely ask President Trump to take care about the situation,” Georgescu told an American blogger, Mario Nawfal, in an interview published on X on Thursday. On Wednesday, Georgescu was arrested by the police as he was about to file to run for the presidency again. He was released later the same day.
According to the Romanian authorities, Georgescu faces a total of six charges, including “anti-constitutional acts” and misreporting his finances. He was barred by a court order from leaving the country, appearing on TV, or posting anything on social media.
Speaking to Nawfal on Thursday, the politician denounced the criminal case against him as an assault on democracy that runs counter to the will of the Romanian people. Georgescu came out of ahead in the first round of the presidential election in November in a surprise victory. The Constitutional Court then annulled the results shortly before the second round of voting, citing “irregularities” in the politician’s campaign amid unproven claims of Russian interference in the electoral process.
Read more: Musk slams Romania’s arrest of presidential candidate
According to Georgescu, the persecution campaign against him had “exposed” the Romanian “deep state” and its “corruption.” The politician claimed that Romania had been thrown back to the 1950s when it was ruled by a Communist regime.
“The deep state is so strong in this particular [kind] of activity,” Georgescu said, referring to his arrest on Wednesday. He also vowed to “fight for our freedom and for our democracy” and called on the US to support him in this fight.
Read more: Vance slams EU leaders for ‘running in fear’
According to Georgescu, the US should support him in order to preserve its own image as a beacon of democracy. If democracy is defeated “in one country” in a “coup d’etat” that would mean a failure for the US as well, the politician stated.
Washington has so far not commented on Georgescu’s appeal.
US officials have previously criticized the actions of Bucharest for annulling the results of the November election. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month, Vice President J.D. Vance suggested that some “old entrenched interests” in Romania were using “ugly, Soviet-era words like misinformation and disinformation” to secure their own interests and prevent a politician with “an alternative viewpoint” from coming to power.
Elon Musk slammed the politician’s arrest on Wednesday by calling the move “messed up.”
Georgescu is known for his skepticism towards Western influence over the country’s policies and criticizing both NATO and the EU. During his campaign, he also vowed to halt Romania’s military aid to Kiev if elected.
JAMARL THOMAS: Daniel Lazare Explains Unprecedented Arrest Of NATO Skeptic Romanian Candidate Calin Georgescu.
SEBASTIAN SAS: Calin Georgescu Has EXPOSED The DeepState's Tactics In Europe.
GLENN GREENWALD: CPAC DIVIDED Over Germany's AfD?: Former Polish PM on His Disagreements with the Party.
MIDDLE EAST
HUSSEIN ASKARY: Iraq: The Unending AGONY Of A Modern-Day Colony.
ABBY MARTIN: Tanks in the West Bank & the West’s crackdown on Palestine solidarity.
BREAKTHROUGH NEWS: Israel Threatens to Torpedo Ceasefire and Continue its Slaughter of Gaza.
NON-ENGLISH NEWS
LIU SIVAYA: NO PUEDO DE LA RABIA QUE ME PRODUCE ESTA SITUACIÓN.
Zelenski u Vašingtonu ⚔ Prodaja Ukrajinskih Resursa ⚔ Misterija u Torecku ⚔ Rusi Zauzeli 5 Sela. 28.2.2025
Faut-Il des Garanties de Sécurité❓Situation À Suja Proche De Défaite💥Rapports Militaires 27.02.2025
यूक्रेन का आखिरी प्रहार। टोरेत्स्क बना शमशान। रूस से डर कर ज़ेलेंस्की पाहुचे अमेरिका
MAPPING CHANNEL UPDATES
Cold War II❄️Russians Break Through Ukrainian Defense in Sudzha & Komar⚔️💥Military Summary 2025.2.28
Ukrainian Defenses In Kursk Oblast On The Verge Of Complete Collapse.
Ukrainian Toretsk Offensive Continues | RUAF Capture 8sqkm Near Velyka Novosilka.
Zelensky’s Handover Completed🤝✅Ukrainians Counterattack Near Toretsk⚔️Military Summary For 2025.2.28
Huge Opportunity - Western Narrative & Strategy Completely Change | Reality vs Reported | Map Update.
Masterplan. Russia Perfectly Trapped Ukraine In Kursk. Several Villages Have Fallen. Ukraine’s Deal.
[ Ukraine Frontline Changes ] Defense line gone at V.Novosilka Front...
Russia CAN WIPE OUT the Northern Flank of KURSK FRONT like this! - Battlefield Analysis.
[ Ukraine SITREP ] Russian Zaporizhzhia Offensive? Ukraine's Toretsk Gamble. Kursk & Dvorichna Front.
Russian Offensive In Velyka Novosilka | Febraury Month | Complete Detailed Map.
GROK SHOTS
RUSSIA / BELARUS - EXPATS IN RUSSIA
Russian National Anthem (performed by Anastasia Perkhun).
TRAVELLING WITH RUSSELL: I Went to Russia's Largest HOBBY & CRAFT Shopping Mall.
Никогда мы не будем братьями (Ответ украинке). Глеб Корнилов.
NATIONAL ANTHEM OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION.
“ВСТАНЕМ” - SHAMAN (до слёз, ВОВ, СВО).
VICTORY BELONGS TO RUSSIA: IT IS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
Each day that passes makes a conclusive Russian victory in the Donbass and beyond more certain. As Russia bolsters her forces, and weaponry, those of Ukraine decrease. Russian forces gain ready access to rest and recuperation as troop numbers increase. The increasingly exhausted and demoralised Ukrainian troops have an ever decreasing prospect of such respite. This situation is likely to bring them to complete breakdown as Russia unleashes the firepower of the more modern and advanced weaponry that is arriving with the newly mobilised Russian troops.
The various Ukrainian offensives are now weak when confronted by the reinforced Russian lines. A few futile efforts achieve quite miserable results before fire reigns down on the Ukrainian troops and they are forced back to their starting positions.
And now, all this being said, we have arrived at the wet, and later, freezing conditions where these pathetic Ukrainian forces will be subject to myriad forms of abject misery with death and injury all around them while they lie sodden or frozen, abandoned to their fate by Kiev.
The pitiable young and old of Ukraine have been frogmarched to their deaths as cannon-fodder while the bestial elites of the collective West urge their "president" to add more to their number there at the gates of Hell and their doom. We must feel for the majority of them as they are not the Nazis we revile, in most part they are decent men, fathers, sons, brothers, husband and uncles, who no doubt saw through the coup of 2014 for what it was. But sadly, their fate seems sealed.
Nothing will stop Russia now. Every factor favours them. Victory will be Russia's. In Donbass and beyond and in due course across the world.
Victory belongs to Russia: It is now only a matter of time.
HOW BIG A DEAL WILL RARE EARTHS BE FOR EITHER ZELENSKY OR TRUMP? SOMETHING THAT MAKES FORTUNES OR GARBAGE FORGOTTEN IMMEDIATELY?
