Cumbrian lad, down South, selling a few cars.
Calvert, England
Joined November 2009
- Tweets36.9K
- Following4.3K
- Followers1K
- Likes136K
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
Imagine the first week after a ceasefire in Ukraine. The signatures are dry. The cameras have gone home. European leaders are congratulating one another.
Then a drone hits a Ukrainian power station.
Moscow denies responsibility. Kyiv produces evidence. European governments demand consultations.
Who investigates? Who decides? And what happens before the next drone arrives?
That is the moment when you discover whether the negotiators designed a peace agreement or merely arranged a ceasefire ceremony.
The real test of peace is not the handshake. It is the first violation.
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
The GRU hacked into Jared Kushner's iPhone. Dutch military intelligence (MIVD) then recruited a GRU spy who gave them access to the hacked phone. What MIVD discovered was that Kushner had access to two bank accounts --one Azerbaijani, the other Israeli --where Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Emirati ruler Mohammed bin Zayed deposited money. It sounds like a slightly far-fetched episode of "Slow Horses," but it's real. And it proves just how eye-poppingly corrupt this administration was and continues to be as its "special envoy" decides the fate of tens of millions in Europe in the Middle East. Simply incredible reporting by Matthew Cole, drawn from his new book on Kushner. vanityfair.com/story/jared-k…
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
Witkoff to Putin: “You talk so much about my president, President Trump, being a humanitarian -- you are a humanitarian also, sir, and I salute that.”
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
Eighteen Ukrainian soldiers died fighting for the U.S. in Iraq. Many more Ukrainian pilots and contractors died in Afghanistan.
Zero American soldiers fought for Ukraine.
.@POTUS: "We've given a lot to Ukraine. They've given nothing to us. Remember that."
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
My latest @TheStudyofWar report. Ukraine has regained the operational initiative on most key battlefield directions. Russia’s summer offensive has failed. Russia’s fall offensive is likely to fail as well.
- Ukraine’s 2026 battlefield progress is not transient or accidental — it is a result of Ukraine’s military maturation.
- The design of Russia’s ballistic missile and jet-powered drone campaign against Ukraine, alongside its growing kinetic attacks against NATO, aims to drive Ukraine and its allies into a reactive stance and distract them from seizing a hard-won opportunity to hold the strategic initiative against Russia.
- The Kremlin’s offer to supply diesel to global markets is a cognitive warfare effort that aims to disrupt the momentum of the effective pressure campaign against Russia’s energy sector.
- Ukraine’s partners must learn what is arguably the most important lesson from this war – recognizing (and denying) the Kremlin’s strategy of disrupting Ukraine’s and its partners’ initiative. Ukraine’s partners must help accelerate the scaling of countermeasures to Russian jet-powered drones. Ukraine’s partners must also proactively resource Ukraine’s battlefield momentum. European funding needs to support Ukraine’s military leadership’s ability to plan operations well into the next year in order to sustain and grow the effects of Ukraine’s 2026 progress in its ground war. The US and Europe must also resource Ukraine’s deep strike campaign against Russia’s defense industrial and energy sectors.
-The Kremlin is vigilant about Ukraine and its partners holding the initiative and seeks to deter and disrupt it at all costs. The US and Europe can either deny the Kremlin’s strategy or risk a greater war with greater escalation risks.
SPECIAL REPORT: The United States and Europe risk squandering the best opportunity since 2022 to alter Russia’s trajectory toward a longer and larger war. Ukraine currently has the best chance of seizing the strategic initiative against Russia since December 2022, while simultaneously facing the greatest risk to its momentum.
Russia’s ballistic missile and jet-powered drone campaign against Ukraine, alongside its growing kinetic attacks against NATO states, aims to drive Ukraine and its allies into a reactive stance and distract them from seizing a hard-won opportunity to hold the strategic initiative against Russia.
The Kremlin’s offer to supply diesel to global markets is a cognitive warfare effort that aims to disrupt the momentum of the effective pressure campaign against Russia’s energy sector.
The Kremlin is vigilant about Ukraine and its partners holding the initiative and seeks to deter and disrupt it at all costs.
The United States and Europe can either deny the Kremlin’s strategy or risk a greater war with greater escalation risks.
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
As Trump betrays Ukraine, everyone should remember that Ukraine supported the U.S. in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. Army reports that more than 5,000 Ukrainian troops served in Iraq over successive rotations. Ukrainian blood was spilled to support the U.S.
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
This is Tommy. Tommy had a question about my allegiances. Listen to the end to hear about his.
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
People need to understand that the only reason Trump backed down on SpaceX and Starshield so quickly is that he got push back right away, politically and from Ukraine. He is a bully and a coward. Stop criticising Zelensky for standing up to him.
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
Just so you understand the scale of betrayal: first, our "partners" didn't warn Ukraine about the incoming ballistic missiles, so the air raid alert wasn't activated before impact, robbing people of their chance to survive.
Then, Starlink was restricted to stop working at speeds above 100 mph. This renders useless, first and foremost, our interceptor drones. It doesn't limit our ability to attack inside Russia, it limits our ability to stop another apartment building or school full of civilians from being hit.
Wow, just wow.
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
Fastest rate of UK economic growth for almost four years at 2.1% YoY and a sprightly 0.7% QoQ to the end of August. Construction still firmly in the doldrums (-1.8% YoY) but services, manufacturing, investment & trade all showing decent Q3 momentum.
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
Volodymyr Zelensky is the towering giant of our time, a true statesman and leader of his nation.
Donald Trump is a moral pygmy, the worst, most destructive, politician America has ever produced.
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
When all this is over, @realDonaldTrump will be remembered as the greatest traitor to America in its history.
Children in school will learn of his treachery as a warning to future generations. People will spit on the ground when they hear his name. His works will be torn down, one and all.
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
CHAMPIONS AT LAST!
A very special cover for this week's Motorsport News as Evans and Martin achieve the dream in Italy.
Pick up the latest issue today.
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
Joining the greats ❤️
Elfyn Evans becomes the first Welsh driver to be crowned FIA World Rally Champion 🏴
#WRC
Fran Bleasdale retweeted
Three courses. 48 Hours. One of Scotland’s most remote golfing outposts.
Out on the Kintyre Peninsula, the journey feels every bit a part of the experience. Wild coastline, open landscapes and links that feel far removed from the usual golfing trail.
🔗 vist.ly/5ksxa