You absolutely must watch Zelensky’s interview with Stephen Bartlett. On camera, we see a man who is deeply weary—at times on the verge of collapse—someone who has spent nearly five years living under the constant, direct pressure of war. From the very first minutes, his exhaustion is palpable. When asked the standard question, "How are you?", he replies that he sleeps very little, spending his nights on the phone with military commanders, trying to shift the few remaining air-defense assets from one region to another. He shares two particularly poignant stories. The first concerns a missile that struck a playground in a matter of seconds; parents watched, through their windows, as their own children were torn apart before their eyes. The second involves presenting posthumous honors to the families of fallen soldiers: "You hand a medal to a father—you feel the strength in his hand—and he asks, in a hushed voice, 'May we have a hug?' In that moment, I simply cease to exist. Those people are gone, and the survivors will never be the same again." When the host tries to take him back in time—showing him old photographs from Kryvyi Rih, images from his university years in the KVN comedy troupe, his voice work for *Paddington*, or scenes from the series *Servant of the People*—Zelensky looks on with indifference, as if these things belonged to someone else’s life. He also recalls February 2022, devoid of any heroic rhetoric. He describes how, for the first twenty days, he was driven purely by adrenaline—rushing from office to office, making endless phone calls, and scrambling to organize supplies of food and water for Kyiv. The full weight of his fear, and the stark realization of what had truly transpired, only hit him three weeks later, when mass graves containing the bodies of hundreds of residents were discovered in Bucha. It is precisely through the example of Bucha that he explains why he is so deeply irritated by those who advise him to reach a quick agreement with everyone: "Imagine if a mass grave were discovered in the United States or Great Britain containing 500 people who had been tortured, their hands bound. How could one simply forgive all that?" The rest of the conversation centers on the stalemate in which the Ukrainians—and everyone else—find themselves. Zelensky explains the reasons for the war in simple terms: Moscow is attempting to forcibly rebuild the Soviet empire, a project that would be definitively shattered by Ukraine’s move toward Europe. Yet, when he speaks about the present, his words reveal a profound sense of frustration. Nearly a fifth of the territory is occupied, the east of the country is under heavy bombardment, cities are left without electricity, and people are dying every single day. Meanwhile, any discussion of a ceasefire would require Kyiv to withdraw from its fortified positions—with no guarantee that the offensive wouldn't simply resume within a year. Finally, the conversation turns to the subject of Trump and the attacks on oil facilities. Trump has publicly criticized Zelensky for striking Russian refineries, fearing that such actions could lead to a sharp rise in diesel prices for American farmers ahead of the elections. It is here that it becomes clear just how much this attitude hurts Zelensky: his country is in flames, Moscow has rejected his proposal for a mutual halt to attacks on energy infrastructure, and the Americans are sending Patriot missiles—paid for by Europe—to the Middle East—yet he is the one being blamed for fuel prices in the United States. The entire conversation leaves a rather bleak impression. A man trapped between the daily deaths in his own country and the pragmatic negotiations of allies—who have their own elections and political calculations to consider—can no longer distance himself from it all. Look at it. Ayan Sharipbayev

Two days. That’s how long the energy ceasefire lasted before Russia struck Ukraine’s power grid again, leaving 600,000 people without power, according to former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Sunak says Putin wants to freeze Ukrainians this winter and break their will. He sets out three steps for the West: 🔹 Keep the pressure on. Sanctions relief should be the reward for peace, “not a down payment on it.” 🔹 Make Putin pay. Put the $300 billion in frozen Russian assets to work for Ukraine. 🔹 Address China. Sanction the firms supplying Chinese engines for Russian drones, and press Xi to rein Moscow in.

Another Putin ally has fallen in Europe! After more than a decade of dominating Serbian politics, Aleksandar Vučić has conceded defeat in parliamentary elections to a student-led opposition movement. This is a major political earthquake in Europe. Vučić maintained close ties with Putin, refused to impose sanctions on russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and tried to balance relations between Moscow and the West. But after nearly two years of student-led protests against corruption and authoritarianism, Serbian voters have delivered a stunning rejection of his ruling party. According to preliminary projections, the opposition is expected to secure 135–140 seats in the 250-seat parliament. And here is what makes this victory particularly remarkable: It was students who helped bring down a political establishment that had dominated Serbia for more than a decade. First, Viktor Orbán lost power in Hungary. Now Vučić’s party has lost in Serbia. Two European leaders who maintained close relationships with Putin have suffered historic electoral defeats in the same year. Of course, this does not guarantee that Serbia will suddenly become pro-Ukrainian. But it creates an opportunity for a different relationship with Europe and a different approach toward russia. Putin is losing political allies in Europe. And that is good news for Ukraine. Congratulations to the people of Serbia!

“Support for Ukraine is not an alternative to peace, it is what makes peace possible. Because if the aggressor can aim for the surrender of his opponent, why should he negotiate? Surrender is not peace. It is conquest..." - Giorgia Meloni- PM of Italy Very well said.. Great woman 🫡

Three important observations from the recent Pew poll: 1. Americans see Russia (-70%) more negatively than not only Saudi Arabia (-55%), but even China (-54%), universally considered to be the chief US adversary. 2. Americans' attitude towards UK (+54%) is less warm than to Italy (+59%) and even to Japan (+65%). 3. Trump's policies towards Canada (confrontation) and Russia (appeasement) are diametrically opposite ones compare to predominant attitudes of Americans towards these two countries(+63% and -70%, respectively). pewresearch.org/global/2026/…

Dr. Alice Jill Edwards: “The UN had done so little to help them... I felt ashamed. I am still outraged that UN special rapporteurs Francesca Albanese and Reem Alsalem never formally documented these horrors. Instead, both have continued to issue a stream of what I regard as one-sided and vitriolic reports, and hard-to-justify excuses for their lack of attention. That, families and returned hostages have told me, only added to their anguish.”

- Olena Zelenska 🇺🇦: "If Ukrainian soldiers, despite fierce resistance against the enemy and the loss of their comrades, haven't got tired of liberating Ukrainian land, and if Ukrainians, despite their grief and tears, haven't got tired of defending their children and their future, how can people somewhere in a safe country get tired of reading the news?" "Please do not get used to this war, because if everyone gets used to it, this war will never end." ............ Don't stop supporting Ukraine, they need our help 🫂🇺🇦❤️

Steffen Schwarzkopf:@S_Schwarzkopf writing in The Telegraph spells out the atrocities being committed by Putin in the Ukraine: “`That leaves Putin with only one strategy: scorched earth. He cannot capture the Donetsk region, but he can destroy it. House by house, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.’ The Russians employed the same strategy in nearby Bakhmut, then under the command of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group. The city, once home to 80,000 people, was decimated before it fell in May 2023…Normal life in Kramatorsk has become impossible. Businesses have shut down, petrol stations have been destroyed and electricity and water supplies have been severely disrupted. Every trip to one of the few supermarkets still open, albeit barricaded, could be someone’s last. There is a constant buzz of Russian drones. Those residents who remain – nobody can say with any certainty how many there are, perhaps 25,000, perhaps 30,000 – know that every time they step outside, a Russian drone operator sitting in front of a screen a few miles away could decide whether they live or die. No house, no building, is safe anymore.”