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Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
European leaders wanted to assess Putin’s mental state before negotiations
One of the aims of a phone call between Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Putin was to assess his psychological state.
Politico reports this, citing European sources.
According to Støre, the Kremlin leader behaved “rationally” and “professionally”, but the conversation did not convince him that Russia was ready for peace.
However, this was the official statement to the press. We can only guess what actually happened during the call.
According to the Financial Times, instead of discussing peace in Ukraine, Putin spent a long time telling Stubb and Støre about the “root causes of the conflict” and the medieval history of the Slavs.
Three sources told the publication that the leaders did not interrupt him, trying to understand whether he was ready for dialogue with Europe.
Stubb later publicly denied this account, but his statement may have been an attempt to maintain contact with the Kremlin leader.
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
The "Peace for All" Foundation has released a report on the persecution of anti-war clergy, drawing parallels between the current actions of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and "Sergianism."
Priest Valerian Dunin-Barkovsky, head of the "Peace for All" Foundation, prepared the report for the General Assembly of the Russian Orthodox Church's Archdiocese of Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe. The document details the persecution of clergy members who have spoken out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine or refused to participate in providing a religious justification for it.
Attached to the report is a list of 31 clergy members who have faced ecclesiastical sanctions for their anti-war stance. Among them are Ioann Koval, who replaced the word “victory” with “peace” in the “Prayer for Holy Rus’”; Alexey Uminsky, who refused to recite this prayer; and Andrey Kudrin, who instead offered a prayer for the reconciliation of warring parties. The author emphasizes that many of the decisions to penalize clergy were either initiated or personally approved by Patriarch Kirill.
Dunin-Barkovsky compares the current situation to the events of 1927–1931, a period when the church leadership, headed by Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky), collaborated with the Soviet authorities. He highlights the double standards of the Moscow Patriarchate: while priests are punished for refusing to pray for a military victory, the blessing of weapons, the justification of killing, and even the direct participation of clergy in combat operations do not hinder them from continuing their ministry.
"We cannot remain indifferent when a call for peace becomes grounds for ecclesiastical sanctions, and Holy Scripture is used to justify killing," writes Dunin-Barkovsky. He calls on the Archdiocese to provide a clear assessment of the church’s justification for the war and the persecution of peacemakers.
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
Former CIA Director David Petraeus:
With Budanov now heading the Presidential Office, Zelenskyy has someone close to him who deeply understands the military situation and ongoing operations.
I know Budanov well. He is very direct in his assessments. We first spoke by video when he was near the russian border, commanding one of the first operations on russian territory.
Petraeus in an interview with SpyCast:
Ukraine has the largest and most innovative army in Europe. It is doing what NATO armies would otherwise have to do themselves if russia achieved its objectives in Ukraine. Moldova would be next, and possibly Lithuania after that.
During my recent visit to Ukraine, a russian jet-powered drone struck the locomotive of a train on the track next to ours. The passengers on trains leaving Ukraine are mostly women and children. It was terrifying for them.
Russia has suffered 1.5 million killed and wounded, more than the United States suffered during the entire Second World War. Last month alone, Ukraine estimated approximately 46,000 russian casualties, while russia recruited only around 30,000 soldiers.
New recruits receive very little training. Ukrainian forces have captured russian soldiers who had been in the army for less than two weeks. They are practically cannon fodder.
Ukraine has struck every russian oil refinery within 3,000 kilometers of its border, many of them multiple times. Russian oil production has fallen below 9 million barrels per day for the first time since 2009.
Russians now use smartphone apps to find gas stations that still have fuel. The National Welfare Fund has been redirected toward the military-industrial complex and is expected to run out by the end of the year.
It is time for Europe and the United States to seize frozen russian reserves and provide them to Ukraine.
We tend to assume that Ukrainians are far ahead in military innovation, just as we assume the United States leads in artificial intelligence. But when you look closely, the gap is not always that large. In some areas, the russians have developed capabilities before the Ukrainians.
China, North Korea, and Iran are carefully studying what is happening in Ukraine.
The West needs to learn from Ukraine much faster. Simply buying drones for existing tank units is not enough. We need to fundamentally rethink our military structures because many traditional Western weapons systems would no longer survive on the Ukrainian battlefield. And we need to do this immediately.
The Ukrainian people have demonstrated extraordinary resilience. They have been absolutely unbreakable despite enormous pressure. But they are also exhausted, and another difficult winter lies ahead.
Source: SpyCast
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
🇺🇸 BREAKING: US Democrats are reportedly preparing a new $15 BILLION aid package for Ukraine, according to FT!
The proposal includes tougher sanctions on russia, more Patriot interceptor missiles, support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, and stricter oversight of Starlink.
For Ukraine, this could mean more protection for our cities and civilians🇺🇦
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
🇨🇳 🇺🇸 Imagine China invades the United States. Chinese troops occupy Alaska. Chinese missiles destroy American cities, power stations and hospitals. Beijing complains that Washington has been behaving provocatively by refusing to surrender.
President Donald Trump appears on television, desperately appealing to Europe for help.
Europe’s response?
“Donald, shut up. You don’t have the cards. You’re in a very bad position. You should be grateful we’re even talking to you.”
Then a Chinese missile strikes an elementary school in Washington. Dozens of American children are killed.
A European leader is asked whether Beijing should be held responsible.
“Look, it’s terrible. Absolutely terrible. But we must remember that people are dying on both sides. Chinese soldiers are being killed by American troops, too. We cannot simply blame China because some American children have died. We need to understand the legitimate security concerns of both countries.”
Meanwhile, reports emerge that 50,000 American children have been forcibly taken by Chinese occupation forces. Children from Ohio, Kentucky, Kansas and Texas have been transported to China, separated from their parents and placed with Chinese families.
Europe urges everyone to remain calm.
“Frankly, some of these children have been placed with better Chinese families. Very respectable people. Lovely homes. We mustn’t allow emotional arguments about children to derail the peace process.”
Trump demands their immediate return.
European leaders roll their eyes.
“Honestly, the man is exhausting. Every time we speak to Trump, it’s the same bloody thing. Anti-aircraft missiles, air defence systems, ammunition, weapons, weapons, weapons. Can’t he just shut up for five minutes? We’re trying to negotiate peace here.”
Meanwhile, Europe demands that Washington immediately stop attacking Chinese oil refineries and military infrastructure.
“American strikes are escalating the conflict and threatening global energy prices. Beijing needs reassurance that its infrastructure will be protected.”
China continues systematically destroying America’s electricity grid, bridges and railway networks.
Europe calls for restraint. From America, naturally.
European envoys then fly to Beijing to negotiate lucrative deals involving gas from occupied Alaska and a magnificent new North American security architecture.
“We must address China’s legitimate security concerns. Perhaps America could withdraw its troops from certain states and reconsider its military alliances. After all, Beijing has genuine concerns about American military forces operating so close to Chinese positions.”
The Chinese positions are in Texas.
Trump protests that nobody has asked the Americans what they think.
“Donald, we’re negotiating peace. Please stop being difficult. China’s security concerns are just as legitimate as yours.”
Eventually, Brussels announces a historic agreement with Beijing determining the future of North America.
The Americans are invited to applaud.
Now, if this sounds like foreign policy devised by a committee of spectacularly incompetent estate agents attempting to sell a house while its owners are being murdered upstairs, congratulations. Your brain is functioning.
In modern American diplomacy, the country invading its neighbour deserves security guarantees, commercial opportunities and understanding.
And the children?
Well, there are always two sides to every story.
The moral collapse of a government.
Stay connected, follow @Microinteracti1
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
One of the more exciting parts of this election - among many - is the return of a religious left.
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
The Patriarch of Jerusalem has expressed his admiration for Putin—a man who is destroying Orthodox churches and killing Orthodox believers.
On November 5, Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, who presented him with the Order of Friendship for his efforts to strengthen ties with Russia. The Patriarch of Jerusalem referred to Putin as a "defender of the Orthodox faith" and stated: "I personally admire you and pray for your health every day."
During the meeting, Theophilos also touched on the peace negotiations. He expressed a willingness to help foster peace along Russia’s "western borders." Notably, the Patriarch did not explicitly mention Ukraine or the Russian invasion. In the published portion of the conversation, Putin offered no comment on this initiative.
It is worth noting that, over the course of nearly five years of Putin’s "defense" of Orthodoxy in Ukraine, 807 religious buildings have been destroyed or damaged, according to estimates by the project "Religion on Fire." More than half of these—432 sites—belong to communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, while another 83 belong to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Furthermore, it is primarily Orthodox believers—both in Ukraine and within Russia itself—who are suffering and dying as a result of the war unleashed by Putin.
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
Russia Designates Anti-War Organization of Lutheran Pastors as "Undesirable"
The Russian Ministry of Justice has added the "Anti-war Pastoral Initiative"—an organization based in Estonia—to its list of "undesirable organizations." The group consists of Russian-speaking Lutheran clergy who oppose Russian aggression in Ukraine and provide spiritual support to Ukrainian refugees, military personnel, and believers who face persecution for their anti-war stance.
According to a publication by the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church, members of the initiative include Pavel Zayakin (Tallinn), Vladimir Batukhin and Andrei Bratchenko (Narva), Vladimir Blaginin and Antti Savolainen (Helsinki), and Ruslan Zinn (Wolfsburg). One of the group’s leaders, Pavel Zayakin, was forced to leave Russia in 2022 due to political persecution. In 2025, Russian authorities designated him a "foreign agent."
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
We have intel that Russia is preparing a new massive attack on our country – primarily targeting energy and logistics. The assumption is basically that tomorrow the world will be watching the American midterms, and what is happening here in Ukraine, along with our difficulties with air defense and Patriot missiles, will be overlooked.
We need signals from the world to Russia that will make them feel that terror is no good, that it will bring no gains, and that as long as this war continues, their oil will burn, and they will not be able to make money doing business with the world. We must not play games with Russia’s oil or gas revenues. We must put pressure on Russia in such a way that it has no alternative but to end this war. America can do this.
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
🚨 BREAKING: Ukraine is bracing for a potentially massive russian attack tonight.
Zelenskyy warns that russia is preparing strikes primarily targeting Ukraine’s energy and transport infrastructure.
Ukrainian monitoring channels report preparations involving up to 600 drones, 11 strategic bombers, approximately 50 ballistic missiles, and 16 Kalibr cruise missiles.
These figures are preliminary and unconfirmed.
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
My fellow Americans: Say no to Putin. Say no to our betrayal of Ukraine. Say no to corruption, to lawlessness, to indecency. To Caesarism. To a daily torrent of lies. In short, make America great again.
"At the altar, I say words I did not write, on a calendar I did not choose, in a rite designed to protect the congregation from my personality." More: thedispatch.com/newsletter/d…
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
Every Danish wind turbine combined: 21.6 TWh in the last 12 months
One nuclear plant in Sweden: 23.3 TWh
And nuclear runs 24/7. Wind doesn't
One big reason Denmark has some of the most expensive electricity in the world
teapawt.net/BjornLomborg/status/21…
Denmark spent decades building nearly 5,000 wind turbines
Together, they produced 21.6 TWh in the last 12 months
One nuclear plant in Sweden made 23.3 TWh
Oh, and nuclear runs 24/7 — wind doesn’t
There's one big reason Denmark has some of the most expensive electricity in the world
transparency.entsoe.eu/gener…
api.energidataservice.dk/dat…
eia.gov/electricity/monthly/…
iaea.org/publications/16059
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
Russian forces continue to destroy Christian churches in Ukraine—most notably, Orthodox ones.
In Antonivka, which is part of the city of Kherson, the Church of St. Anthony of the Caves—part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—has been virtually destroyed. On October 28, Georgy Gulyaev, a priest of the Kherson Eparchy, released photographs showing the aftermath of Russian shelling. Part of the roof has collapsed, metal structures are twisted, and the facade is scorched and riddled with shrapnel. The interior has also sustained severe damage: the ceiling, murals, and finishes are ruined, while the floor is covered in debris and standing water.
Another Ukrainian Orthodox Church site was damaged on October 26 in the settlement of Zolochiv, in the Kharkiv region, where the Church of the Ascension had its windows shattered by Russian shelling.
Additionally, on October 28, a Russian airstrike on the center of Sloviansk, in the Donetsk region, damaged the Church of St. Andrew the First-Called, which belongs to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
Furthermore, on October 27, a Russian strike damaged the home of Archpriest Serhiy Smoryho, rector of the Kyiv parish of the Great Martyr Barbara—a congregation under the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR-A), led by Metropolitan Agafangel. This jurisdiction is independent of the Moscow Patriarchate. A Russian munition landed near the priest’s home; a fire broke out in an adjacent building, and the blast shattered all the windows in Smoryho’s house. None of his family members were injured.
Russia continues to destroy Christianity in Ukraine: shelling in Kramatorsk has damaged two Orthodox churches and a Caritas Catholic center.
On October 25, Russian attacks in the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk damaged the Orthodox churches of the Intercession of the Theotokos and Saint Nicholas. At the former, the central dome and roof were damaged, windows and doors were blown out, shrapnel struck the Royal Doors in the right-hand side chapel, and the church grounds were also damaged. The Church of Saint Nicholas was struck by a drone, leaving a hole approximately one meter in diameter in the roof.
Additionally, on October 17, a strike by guided aerial bombs damaged the local office of the Catholic charity organization Caritas. The building’s facade, walls, interior spaces, and metal roof were damaged, and an explosion crater formed nearby. On the same day, a Russian munition struck an adjacent nine-story residential building.
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
Trump suspended sweeping sanctions against Russia on October 16. Two weeks later, he declared: “Stupid people wanted me to put sanctions on Russia.”
This is Putin’s greatest achievement. He has persuaded an American president to do things that would once have been unthinkable for any occupant of the White House.
And that is precisely Putin’s tactic. He doesn’t merely want concessions. He wants Trump to make them publicly, to defend them enthusiastically, and to ridicule Americans.
Every such performance sends a message to the world: look what I can make the President of the United States do.
Putin is demonstrating dominance.
And with every performance, Putin humiliates not just Trump, but the entire United States.
The Republican Party has become the Russia First Party.
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
Yuri Sipko, a 74-year-old Russian Baptist pastor who was sentenced in absentia on October 28 to five years in a general-regime penal colony for allegedly spreading "fake news" about the Russian army, responded to the court’s decision:
"I have been given a prison term for just a few words: 'The Russian army, with all its might, has descended upon Ukraine, destroying people, cities, and villages—subjecting residents to the fear of death and forcing millions of Ukrainians to seek refuge all over the world.' Apparently, this is considered 'fake news'! But just look! What is the Russian army doing today? How many people have lost their lives since then?
Nearly five years have passed; look at what has become of Ukraine’s once-thriving cities, its forests, and the fields of a land that was once flourishing. They have been reduced to scorched earth; cities lie in ruins, fields are sown with landmines, roads and bridges are destroyed—and every single day and night, missiles, bombs, artillery, and drones continue to extinguish life in Ukraine.
Yet, this reality is labeled 'fake news,' and for speaking such words, one is handed a criminal sentence!
I accept this with thanksgiving to the Lord!"
In Russia, a former vice president of the Baptist World Alliance has been sentenced to 5 years in a penal colony for condemning the war against Ukraine.
On October 28, a Moscow court sentenced 74-year-old Baptist pastor Yuri Sipko—a former vice president of the Baptist World Alliance and former president of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists—to five years in a penal colony, in absentia. He was convicted on dissemination of "fake news" about the Russian army. Prosecutors had requested a six-year prison term.
The criminal prosecution stems from Sipko’s participation in an online broadcast in March 2022, when the pastor openly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, describing it as an act of aggression that has led to the loss of human life and the destruction of Ukrainian cities, hospitals, and schools.
"They have turned the Ukrainian land—a flourishing, fragrant land—into a graveyard of human evil," Sipko said.
News of the criminal case emerged in August 2023. That same year, the pastor left Russia. He was subsequently placed on a wanted list, and in May 2024, he was added to the official registry of "extremists and terrorists" and ordered to be arrested in absentia.
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
If you had told me, short years ago, that the GOP would become the party of the Kremlin, tariffs, governmental ownership of companies, and homoeroticism …
Fr Gregory Jensen retweeted
Today, another Russian smear campaign is trying to pretend that Ukraine, or Zelenskyy personally, rejected a good "peace deal" in Istanbul in 2022.
The "peace plan" in question included strict limitations on the Ukrainian armed forces, rendering them harmless and defenseless. No alliances were allowed. It also included security guarantees, but with a funny kicker: Russia demanded that triggering these security guarantees required the unanimous agreement of all guarantor states, including Russia itself.
In other words, Ukraine was supposed to disarm almost completely, after which Russia could attack again and just block Ukraine from receiving any military aid. Comfy, right?
The "peace deal" proposed in Istanbul was, in fact, a "disarm and let Russia slaughter us" deal. The full details are public by now. Research it yourself and don't fall for the propaganda.