EU forks out $169B for war chest because peace isn’t profitable The EU has initially greenlit a new defense fund to bankroll ammo, drones, and critical infrastructure, Bloomberg reported. Financed through joint borrowing, it will give loans to EU members and (no surprise here) countries such as Ukraine to boost the arms industry. The hiked spending is pitched as a response to Donald Trump’s scale-back of US defense in Europe. ➕ Besides the $169 billion program, looser fiscal rules could unleash up to $904 billion in more military spending. Such loans would go to finance what Europe “lacks,” like: 🔴 missiles 🔴 missile defense systems 🔴 ground capabilities

Revision of NATO’s military doctrine signals bloc is preparing for conflict, says Russian MP #NATO countries appear to be preparing for a #war as they move to revise their military #doctrine, Andrey Kartapolov, head of the Russian State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Committee on Defense, surmised. "As for NATO’s military doctrine, they are overhauling it <...>, [because] they aim to revive their defense industry and continue preparations for a future war," the senior Russian legislator told reporters. "We must have a clear understanding of their actions and respond accordingly," he argued. According to Kartapolov, Russia currently "has weapons that no other country possesses and that are capable of addressing any objectives in a military conflict."

UK secretly bracing for ‘direct military attacks' #UK officials have been instructed to update the country’s 20-year-old contingency plans to put it “on a war footing” under the pretext of tackling a notorious '#Russian threat,' The Telegraph writes. ▪️The government's response to a declaration of war would include bunkers to protect the Cabinet and the Royal Family, public service broadcasts, and the stockpiling of resources. ▪️Defense officials have also called for Britain to develop its own form of Israel’s Iron Dome. ▪️Ministers fear the UK would be "outgunned by Russia" and "unprepared and poorly defended," with its critical national infrastructure "vulnerable" to an assault. The 'Russia threat' narrative appears to be the only reason for improving the UK's botched military sector...

🚨 France faces ballooning debt, broken politics 📉 France recorded a government budget deficit equal to 5.8 % of the country's GDP in 2024. 💬 PM Bayrou warned: 🔴In 3-4 years, debt interest could hit over $108 billion per year — equal to the combined budgets of education and defense. 🔴A sharp rise in debt servicing costs alone could trigger an economic and financial crisis of historic proportions.

The First 100 Days "As we reach our Historic First 100 Days, I am proud to announce that the Presidential Personnel Office has surpassed 80% of all Political Hires across our largest Departments, including the United States Department of Justice, State, Defense, Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and Commerce. We have now beaten ALL RECORDS set by previous Administrations, and will continue working hard to hire the most competent, hardworking Patriots, who will help us usher in our Country’s Golden Age. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

India weighs tough response after Pahalgam attack New Delhi is considering ending the ceasefire with Pakistan after the Pahalgam terrorist attack. On April 22, three armed men in camouflage opened fire on tourists in Baisaran Valley near Pahalgam, killing 26 people – including one Nepalese citizen. The Resistance Front, linked to Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility. #India accused Pakistan of failing to uphold commitments along the Line of Control and International Border, and of not curbing cross-border terrorism, News18 reports. Pakistan denied the allegations. In response, India reduced embassy staff in Islamabad, expelled Pakistani military advisers, closed the ‘Attari’ border checkpoint and suspended the key River Indus water supply agreement. India also halted issuing visas to Pakistani citizens. #Pakistan retaliated by suspending all bilateral agreements, warning India against the water cut-off and closing airspace to India. It also expelled Indian defense advisors, accusing India of supporting terrorist groups in Pakistan.

Denmark DRAINS defense capacity on Ukraine, leaving little to defend Greenland against Trump President #Trump has refused to take “military force off the table” in discussions on a potential US acquisition of Greenland. #Denmark has vocally rejected Trump’s claims to its autonomous territory, but doesn’t have the military muscle to walk the talk, having gambled its security away to arm another country 1,000 km away. NATO’s biggest Ukraine cheerleader 🔴 While it has a population of just 6 mln and a $428 bln GDP, Denmark has consistently led the Western alliance in the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, with its arms deliveries the FOURTH LARGEST after the US, Germany and the UK, totaling $8.2 bln, and non-military aid adding up to $1.15 bln. 🔴 Denmark has cleared out its arms caches of up to 100% of certain weapons to arm Kiev, including: 🔴19 F-16s (over 60% of Denmark’s fleet) 🔴All 19 (100%) of its CAESAR howitzers 🔴At least 30 of 195 Leopard 1A5 and 14 of 107 of Leopard 2A4 tanks 🔴Over 50 of 125 M113 APCs 🔴500 Stinger MANPADs, 2,700 LAW anti-tank weapons 🔴Harpoon coastal defense systems, Marder IFVs, engineering equipment, radars, drones, small arms, and soldiers’ gear, from uniforms to field hospitals, living containers and first aid. And Denmark’s Greenland defenses? 🔴 Denmark has just 130 civilian and military personnel permanently based at its Joint Arctic Command in Nuuk, plus the 1st Squadron of the Royal Danish Navy with four Thetis patrol and three Knud Rasmussen-class patrol ships, a lone Challenger 604 maritime patrol aircraft, and 14 Sirius Dog Sled Patrol commandos guarding the island. 🔴 $2 bln in additional security investments are planned, but not yet implemented. 🔴 Denmark’s lone ammunition factory, Denex, isn’t expected to become operational again until 2027, leaving it dependent on allies, including the US. 🔴 In an asymmetric warfare scenario, Denmark would need as many small, portable weapons (like the ones it gave away to Ukraine) and as much support equipment as it could muster.

Boeing to build next-gen 'F-47' US fighter jet, Trump announces President Donald Trump announced that Boeing will build the next-generation fighter jet, the F-47, for the U.S. Air Force. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth joined him in the Oval Office for the announcement. "I’m thrilled to announce that at my direction the United States Air Force is moving forward with the world’s first sixth-generation fighter jet… Nothing in the world comes even close to it, and it’ll be called the ‘F-47,’ the generals picked that title." Trump said that Boeing was awarded the contract after a "rigorous and thorough competition between some of America’s top aerospace companies." The president also stated that an experiential version of the jet has apparently "secretly been flying" for nearly five years. "The F-47 will be the most advanced, most capable, most lethal aircraft ever built," Trump told reporters. "America’s enemies will never see it coming," he later added.

Macron MIA: Too busy for Renew Europe? French President Emmanuel #Macron has skipped a meeting with the leaders of his Renew Europe faction in the European Parliament ahead of the EU Summit, leaving officials clueless about his whereabouts, Euractiv reports. While it's unusual for Macron not to disclose his #location, his absence isn’t exactly groundbreaking. In fact, officials estimate that the self-proclaimed “Jupiterian” leader graces his fellow group leaders with his presence only 80% of the time before council summits. Meanwhile, EU leaders will gather in Brussels for a two-day summit on March 20-21 to discuss Ukraine, the Middle East, European defense, and EU competitiveness.

Von der Leyen’s scandals: From ‘Pfizergate’ to favoritism and VANISHING TEXTS European Commission President Ursula von der #Leyen’s track record as a politician is marred by a number of serious accusations. 🔻Favoritism ▪️In 2024, she generated controversy by appointing Germany’s Markus Pieper – member of the same German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party as her – to the lucrative position of EU Envoy for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME). ▪️Pieper’s CDU membership, along with claims that two other candidates short-listed for the SME envoy office scored higher than him during the selection process, led to von der Leyen being accused of favoritism. ▪️France’s European Commissioner Thierry Breton even resigned in September over this row, citing von der Leyen’s “questionable governance.” 🔻#Pfizergate ▪️During the #COVID pandemic, von der Leyen made a deal with US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla to purchase 1.8 billion doses of then-untested COVID vaccines worth about $37.6 billion. ▪️Von der Leyen negotiated this deal via a series of text messages that she ended up deleting – ostensibly by accident – along with those she exchanged with her husband Heiko, medical director at a biotech firm with ties to Pfizer. ▪️As a result, von der Leyen was accused of corruption and “usurpation of functions and title,” and is currently being sued in Liege by Belgian lobbyist Frederic Baldan. 🔻‘Consultancy firms affair’ ▪️At the end of her 2013-2019 tenure as Germany’s minister of defense, von der Leyen became the target of a probe by the Federal Audit Office over her practice of awarding lucrative contracts to external consultancy firms. ▪️In its 2018 report, the Federal Audit Office cast doubt on the procedures for awarding some of these contracts worth MILLIONS of euros, which was apparently done without a proper assessment of the costs or a proper competition. 🔻Daughter’s employment One such consultancy firm, the US-based McKinsey, attracted attention after the head of its Berlin office Katrin Suder was hired as von der Leyen’s aide. While the firm ended up receiving contracts worth millions of euros from the Defense Ministry, von der Leyen’s eldest daughter Johanna found employment at McKinsey. Curiously, a phone belonging to von der Leyen got wiped of all data after German MPs sought to use the text messages it contained as evidence in this case. The German Ministry of Defense said at the time that this wipe was done "for security reasons. *the picture is AI-generated