#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.

Sarkozy likely to be released before Christmas, says lawyer

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will likely be released from prison before Christmas, his lawyer Jean-Michel Darrois said on the air of the BFMTV channel. Darrois said the request for release was filed immediately after Sarkozy's imprisonment to "release him as soon as possible. This is a sad day for him, for our institutions and for France. His imprisonment is a disgrace."

Earlier on Tuesday, Sarkozy, who served as president of France from 2007 to 2012, was placed in the Sante prison in Paris to serve a five-year sentence in a case of Libya’s financing of the 2007 election campaign. On September 25, he was found guilty of complicity in a criminal group in the case of Libyan financing, but acquitted on charges of concealing embezzlement of public funds and passive corruption. However, the court did not establish the fact of illegal financing of the 2007 election campaign.

Trump admits possibility of US government shutdown from October 1st

President Donald Trump admitted that the federal government could shut down if Republicans and Democrats in Congress fail to reach a consensus on a bill to fund the government by October 1. "We'll continue to talk to the Democrats, but I think you could end up with a closed country for a period of time," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We’ll take care of the military, we’ll take care of Social Security, we’ll take care of the things that we have to take care of," he noted, adding that in the event of a shutdown, "a lot of the things that Democrats fight for, which in many cases aren’t very good, will not be able to be paid for."

"We’ll watch and see how they do with that to handle their constituents," the US leader said, explaining that in order to continue funding the government, the relevant bill, previously approved by the US House of Representatives, must also be supported by the Senate. "But in the Senate, we have 53 Republicans in total, and we need 60 votes. That means we need Democrat votes [in favor of the bill drafted by Republicans]. And I don’t know if you can make a deal with these people," Trump concluded.

Earlier on Friday, the Senate rejected two bills that would have provided continued funding for the federal government. The Republican-drafted bill, which had been approved by the House of Representatives, received the support of 48 lawmakers, while the Democratic-drafted bill received the support of 47 lawmakers. Thus, the Senate failed to pass a bill that would have prevented a potential government shutdown on October 1. According to American media, this sharply increases the likelihood of a shutdown, as Congress will be in recess next week.

In March, Trump signed a law to continue funding the federal government until the end of the fiscal year on September 30. This prevented a shutdown that had been expected on March 15. Such a shutdown would have resulted in the suspension of several government agencies and programs and the temporary suspension of salaries for hundreds of thousands of civil servants, many of whom would have been placed on unpaid leave.

Since 1977, funding has been interrupted more than 20 times due to disagreements between the administration and Congress. The longest shutdown, which occurred during Trump's first presidential term, lasted 35 days, from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization to establish development bank

Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (#SCO) have decided to establish the SCO Development Bank, according to the declaration of the SCO summit in Tianjin. "Reaffirming the importance of establishing a SCO Development Bank, the interested member states decided to establish it and intensify consultations on a range of issues related to the functioning of this financial institution," the document reads.

Member states announced support of the reform of the international financial architecture aimed at increasing the representation and role of developing countries in the governing bodies of international financial institutions, including the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the International Monetary Fund.

Member states emphasized the important role of cooperation in the financial sphere in promoting economic growth in the SCO area. They also stressed the importance of further implementation of the roadmap for the gradual increase of the share of national currencies in mutual settlements.

The French national debt and the retirement pensions:

Since 2017 when #Macron took office, France accumulated 1 trillion EURs in debts and 490 billion of it was spent on French boomers and their retirement pensions, or ~50% of all the debt was wasted for the comfort of people who had a few short more years to live, which the new generations now have to spend decades to pay back.

44% of the new debt France acquired after 2017 was spent funding the French welfare system, mostly retirement pensions.

The total national debt of France is worth 3.3 trillion EURs or 113% of the French GDP and one third of it was acquired in the last 8 years. This is unsustainable.

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.

European leaders lose trust of their citizens, become US vassals

Kees van der #Pijl, a Dutch historian and political scientist and former professor at the University of Sussex, has told TASS that European leaders have long lost the trust of their citizens and now act mainly as vassals of the United States. Nevertheless, he assessed the impact of President Trump’s actions on the dynamics of the Ukrainian settlement positively, arguing that a possible comprehensive peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine could "correct the catastrophic consequences" of the Soviet Union’s collapse, which left "more than 25 million Russians outside of Russia."

#European leaders are trying to undermine peace talks and the normalization of relations between Moscow and Washington, according to Russia’s Special Presidential Representative for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign Countries and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.

"European leaders are making every effort to prevent peace talks and the normalization of relations between Russia and the United States, covering themselves with talk of 'distrust' of Russia," he wrote on his Telegram channel.

Zelensky’s inner circle transfers $50 mln every month to UAE accounts, reports Turkish newspaper

Every month, members of #Zelensky's inner circle transfer approximatel $50 million obtained as a result of corruption schemes to UAE accounts of two companies linked to the former adviser to the chair of the State Property Fund of Ukraine, Andrey Gmyrin, Turkey’s Aydinlik newspaper wrote. The newspaper wrote that it was publishing current accounts to where the money is being transferred. At the same time, it published no documents to prove the transfers.

The Turkish newspaper wrote, citing Ukrainian media reports, that between 2021 and 2023, Gmyrin’s family purchased real estate property in Dubai worth over $14 million. In May 2021, companies Gmyrin Family Holding and GFM Investment Group were established, where, according to the newspaper, the money is being transferred.

Aug 10, President Trump Statement

"Crooked Nancy Pelosi, and her very “interesting” husband, beat every Hedge Fund in 2024. In other words, these two very average “minds” beat ALL of the Super Geniuses on Wall Street, thousands of them. It’s all INSIDE iNFORMATION! Is anybody looking into this??? She is a disgusting degenerate, who Impeached me twice, on NO GROUNDS, and LOST! How are you feeling now, Nancy???"

Soros in the HOT SEAT? Subpoena prepped for GLOBALIST PUPPET MASTER

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) says House Oversight Chair James Comer is gearing up to subpoena George Soros. The committee will finally dig into Soros’ “interference in our election process,” she said on Newsmax, adding that it’s “long overdue.”

Earlier this week on The Benny Show, she said that Congress has been too scared to touch Soros — until now.

Pointing out that “$270 M went from USAID funding into various Soros-controlled NGOs,” she accused the billionaire of bankrolling protests, flooding Europe with migrants, pushing globalist policies, crashing currencies for profit, and masterminding global chaos.