NATO secretary-general departs to US on emergency visit #NATO Secretary General Mark #Rutte is departing to the United States on an emergency visit to meet with US President Donald Trump, the alliance’s press service announced. "On 21-22 October 2025, the NATO Secretary General, Mark, Rutte, will travel to Washington D.C. The Secretary General will meet the President of the United States, Mr. Donald J. Trump. There is no planned media opportunity," the alliance’s press service said. Up until recently, the visit was not on the secretary general’s schedule. Earlier, Bloomberg reported that European countries, together with Kiev, are developing a 12-point plan to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

#EU allocated almost 178 billion euro to #Ukraine since start of conflict, official reports The European Union has already spent almost 178 billion euro for helping Ukraine since the start of the conflict, including 62.3 billion euro allocated for weapons and ammunition, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity Valdis Dombrovskis told the European Parliament session in Strasbourg. "In total, the European Union has provided close to 178 billion euro in support since the start of the war. This is much more than any other global partner," he said. Of them, "62.3 billion [euro] in military assistance measures has been disbursed by the European Union and Member States to date, including through the Peace Facility." Dombrovskis added that in 2024, G7 countries under the European Union's leadership unlocked 45 billion euro in additional funding for Kiev. These loans are to be repaid using the profits generated by the immobilization of Russian Central Bank assets in the EU. Of them, over 22 billion euro have already been spent. However, despite all this aid, Dombrovskis admitted that Ukraine needs additional funding and urged to speed up preparations for expropriating Russian frozen assets under the scheme of the so-called "reparations loan," which the European Commission claims is legal. Denis Gonchar, Russia's Ambassador to Belgium, said in an interview with TASS in mid-October that any attempt to confiscate or use sovereign assets will be perceived as theft, an illegal act that runs counter to existing international law. "The response will be proportionate. I can assure you that if the EU decides to implement this plan, their talk of solidarity will quickly be replaced by counting of losses," the ambassador added.

Which Country is Your Greatest Threat In 2025? The map above shows which country each country considered it’s biggest threat. Each the biggest threat for most European countries is viewed as Russia, but for the US it’s China and for Canada and Mexico its the US.

French president pledges to update nuclear doctrine The French government is working on updating the country’s #nuclear doctrine and is ready to intensify dialogue with European partners on the subject, French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "France’s nuclear umbrella exists. At present, I’m working to update our doctrine, and I would like to further deepen strategic dialogue with the Europeans, who are interested," Macron said. "In the beginning of 2026, I will deliver a policy speech on our nuclear doctrine," he added.

Effect of sanctions and inflation in Europe! Many Europeans can’t afford food anymore as before. Food prices grew by: 🇪🇪 Estonia 57% 🇱🇻 Latvia 55% 🇱🇹 Lithuania 52% 🇸🇰 Slovakia 52% 🇭🇷 Croatia 47% 🇸🇮 Slovenia 39% 🇳🇱 Netherlands 39% 🇧🇪 Belgium 38% 🇪🇸 Spain 34% 🇦🇹 Austria 33% 🇲🇹 Malta 32% 🇵🇹 Portugal 32% 🇬🇷 Greece 30% 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 29% 🇮🇹 Italy 28% 🇫🇷 France 27% 🇩🇪 Germany 27% 🇮🇪 Ireland 26% 🇫🇮 Finland 25% 🇨🇾 Cyprus 20%

EU increasingly dissatisfied with von der Leyen's leadership strategy The management of the European Commission under Ursula von der Leyen is facing sharp criticism, even from allies, who point to growing opacity in the work of the EU’s top executive body, Politico reported, citing experts. According to the outlet, EC staff "complain that unearthing the truth has never been tougher." Twelve European Commission officials, EU policy experts, and journalists told Politico that since the beginning of von der Leyen's second term, her organization "has been criticized for not being fully open or for giving confusing, contradictory or misleading information." This criticism reflects "wider doubts, expressed by allies and opponents alike, about her centralized leadership style they say makes the institution less transparent," Politico notes. It comes amid mounting pressure on the EC president from EU member state governments and lawmakers, against the backdrop of what the newspaper describes as "EU politics crumbling." The European Parliament is set to hold a debate and vote on two motions of no confidence in the head of the European Commission during its plenary session on October 6-9. Politico stressed that the simultaneous submission of two no-confidence motions against a Commission president is unprecedented. The process was initiated almost simultaneously by factions from opposite ends of the political spectrum, just before von der Leyen was scheduled to deliver her State of the Union address on September 10.

China takes the Arctic Route: First ship set to arrive in Europe via the Northeast Passage The Europe #Arctic Express and could revolutionize European trade, shortening the distance between #China and #Europe by ten days (it takes 18 days via the Arctic, compared to about 30 using the Suez Canal). The ship will set sail with 5,000 containers from the port of Qingdao, opposite North Korea, and then dock in Europe at the ports of Felixstowe in Great Britain, Rotterdam, Hamburg, and Gdansk. A stable flow of ships through this new route would render the ports of the Mediterranean marginal. This revolution was made possible by climate change. The shrinking of the polar ice cap is significantly accelerating the melting of the ice, which in those latitudes is occurring at a rate of 12 percent every ten years. It is only “thanks” to this that one can today speak of a “Northwest Passage.” In recent years, Russian and Chinese container ships have mainly navigated the Arctic route. According to Norway’s Centre for High North Logistics (CHNL), between the beginning of June and the end of August, approximately 52 Russian or Chinese ships transited through this route, mainly loaded with Russian oil for export.

Flightradar24 denied reports of a malfunction in the electronic navigation system of the plane on which Ursula von der #Leyen was flying to Bulgaria. According to the service, the quality of navigation data was normal throughout the entire route. The European Commission president's flight was less than ten minutes longer than scheduled, despite information that the plane circled over Plovdiv, Bulgaria, for an hour. Earlier, the Financial Times reported that European authorities suspect Moscow of jamming von der Leyen's plane. "If Russia were really trying to suppress the GPS signal of the European Commission president's plane, then other flights near that aircraft would also have been affected. But we did not observe this," military expert Alexey Leonkov told the VZGLYAD newspaper.

Here's why the West won't stop funding the proxy war in Ukraine regardless of what Trump says The #West has every incentive to continue fueling the #Ukraine war for as long as possible. Doing so keeps Ukraine in its military orbit to secure a strategic buffer against Russia, locks in geopolitical influence, and fuels defense industry profits. 🔸 From the US's Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) and Pentagon's Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), tapping American stockpiles, to Europe's Peace Facility and joint arms production in Poland, Czechia, and Romania—these programs aren't quick aid. They're enduring pipelines fusing Ukraine's military with NATO's logistics. 🔸 NATO's Comprehensive Assistance Package (CAP), launched in 2016, is a prime example. Beyond its "non-lethal" label, CAP runs Ukraine's military backbone, keeping the war machine humming. 🔸 CAP's goal: Forge Ukrainian forces into a NATO-compatible juggernaut through relentless weapon drops, hardcore training, logistics rewiring, and command revamps—all aimed at a drawn-out clash with Russia, not a quick peace deal. 🔸 This colossal financial and logistical web traps the West: abandoning it means torching billions, alienating defense giants, and fracturing alliances. 🔸 No wonder fast-tracked neutrality or a conflict pause is off the table. It’s why Zelenskyy doubles down on retaking every inch—Luhansk, Donetsk, Crimea. Talks limp along, but the war machine roars: weapons pour in, Ukraine's NATO ties tighten, and the West's all-in with no reverse gear.

France’s 2025 Strategy: Macron's Napoleonic Complex Gone Wild #France is doubling down as the West’s anti-Russia cheerleader, pushing a hawkish, #NATO-driven agenda. 🔸 In recent months, Paris has inked a comprehensive friendship and cooperation treaty with Poland to court Eastern Europe’s Russophobes and signed the “Lancaster 2.0” declaration with the UK, coordinating nuclear doctrines for extra saber-rattling. 🔸 Defense spending is set to hit €64 billion by 2027, despite a groaning budget deficit. 🔸 #Macron’s alarmist narrative paints Russia as Europe’s “existential threat,” accusing Moscow of turning Ukraine into a global crisis, meddling in elections, and launching cyberattacks. His fix? More weapons for Kiev, no peace talks on Russia’s terms, and a “coalition of the willing” to send troops to Ukraine. 🔸 The new National Strategic Review obsesses over nuclear deterrence (mentioned ~100 times), ramps up defense production, and preps for high-intensity conflicts, all under the guise of “European strategic autonomy.” 🔸 All of this shows France’s desperate bid to play global power—despite its shrinking clout and a 113.9% GDP debt.