The world's horror over MAGA challenges...& opportunities? Elections 2025: Australia, Singapore, Britain, Romania, Albania--Trump's overhang...For our paid: AI's 15 yr old HK prodigy plus Cartoons!
In this weekly feature for Andelman Unleashed, we continue to explore how the media of other nations are reporting and commenting on the United States, and how they are viewing the rest of the world.
To emphasize, we cover lots of ground….So, you may not want to read it all, but it's all here for you!
How others see America
The world recognizes its challenges…& opportunities?
This was a week of milestones. There was the 50th anniversary of the war in Vietnam as North Vietnamese troops rolled into Saigon and the last American helicopters lifted from the roof of the U.S. Embassy on April 30, 1975—an iconic tableau of defeat. Closer to home, but with echoes far more profound in every corner of the world was the 100 days of Trump's second administration. Or as Le Monde headlined….
With Trump, an uncertain and worried world
As Le Monde's lead editorial observed:
Trump, engineer of disorder
In his 100 days in power, the President of the United States has deeply damaged the image of his country, now plunged into a trade war against the rest of the world, unable to influence the ongoing conflicts and in chaos as institutions are mistreated and the law is trampled underfoot….
The Republican, who inherited a healthy economy from his predecessor, has plunged it into uncertainty through a trade war as radical as it is muddled, fueling fears of recession and renewed inflation. After making a complete about-turn on the Ukrainian issue by largely adopting Moscow's rhetoric, Washington appears incapable of influencing the course of a war that the president promised to stop within twenty-four hours. The American silence regarding the ongoing tragedy in Gaza, where Israel has unilaterally resumed a horrific war, is equally alarming….
By methodically attacking his allies and abruptly ending crucial international aid to the world's poorest countries, the President of the United States now inspires less respect than unease and concern. In record time, he has profoundly damaged the United States' image….
He does not hesitate to use intimidation and the tools of the federal government against perceived internal enemies, whether lawyers or universities. Congress accepts without question that the United States is now governed by decree, even though the president's party holds the majority in both chambers….
[His actions are] already producing an unpopularity that should serve as a warning signal to an administration and a Republican Party of astonishing servility.
Others were even less kind, especially Maciej Czarnecki in Poland's leading daily Wyborcza, commenting on Trump's, well, bulk?
Squeezed into his navy blue suit, which he didn't abandon recently in favor of black for Pope Francis' funeral, Trump called the beginning of his administration "the most successful 100 days of any administration in the history of our country."
The president chose Macomb County, Michigan, a state he won by 80,000 votes from Democrats in November as the stage for his 100th-day speech. His speech was intended to impose a narrative on the extremely controversial beginning of his presidency, which opponents believe is ruining the American state and its position in the world, and supporters believe has begun building a "golden era" for the US.
For an hour and a half, he listed what he considered his accomplishments. But he didn’t stop there: he repeatedly attacked, ridiculed, and insulted Joe Biden and other Democrats, judges, the media, pollsters, immigrants, often hurling invective and distorting basic facts.
"100 days of Trump: A weaker America, a weakened global economy," is how Singapore Strait's Times Washington correspondent Bhagyashree Garekar began her report:
This has been a honeymoon like no other.
The agenda pushed through by US President Donald Trump in the first 100 days since he assumed office on Jan 20 has been blinding in scale and scope. But his performance has faltered in the court of public opinion and sunk like a stone in the currents of global cohesion.
In his second term, the 78-year-old President has shrunk the idea of America, reducing the space it occupies in the world’s imagination. Under him, it is no longer the “shining city upon a hill” upheld as an example to the rest of the world.
Today, the exceptional nation is primarily an economy, competing in metrics like the balance of trade and tariffs. It is measuring its worth by the weight of commerce, as the idea of America descends from the lofty ideals of free trade to the everyday world of “fair” trade.
As he carries out the most radical transformation ever attempted by an American president, Mr Trump has brought the global economy to the brink, destroying in a matter of weeks the decades-old trust in the US as a trade and investment partner.
On another level, he is shaking the very roots of American innovation and dulling the attractiveness of America for students and job seekers by policing universities and invalidating the visas of students for expressing political opinions.
And then, the cartoonists ….
From Ali Dilem in Algeria to Stellina Chen in Taiwan….
Finally, the retaliation….
French president Emmanuel Macron has leaped to seize an opportunity for the entire European content—and quite possibly far beyond, announcing he was going openly after American talent anxious to flee the new order across the Atlantic, as the Elysée Palace put it:
The President of the Republic will launch from the Sorbonne amphitheater, the unprecedented initiative "Choose Europe for Science," which aims to encourage researchers and public and private entrepreneurs from around the world to choose Europe and France as their place of practice.
This event, which he will close with Ms. Ursula VON DER LEYEN, President of the European Commission, will bring together the biggest names in European research, university presidents, heads of research institutes, businesses, and political leaders from across the continent. The objective: to strengthen the attractiveness of research in Europe and continue to attract the best talent.
True to his humanist values, the President of the Republic will pursue a vision in which research becomes a lever for independence, competitiveness, and sovereignty through the strengthening of free research, an innovation policy, attractiveness, and investment to address the major scientific and technological challenges of the future. As the world faces a period of instability and fragmentation, Europe and France are choosing science, openness, and cooperation to strengthen our independence.
Or carrot and stick?
This week, the European Commission will unveil, at least to the member states of the EU, its response to Trump's tariffs. Here's what the Financial Times learned in Brussels:
Brussels wants to increase purchases of US goods by €50bn to address the “problem” in the trade relationship, the EU’s top negotiator has said, adding that the bloc is making “certain progress” towards striking a deal.
But Maroš Šefčovič, the EU’s trade commissioner, suggested in an interview that the bloc would not accept Washington keeping in place 10% tariffs on its goods as a fair resolution to trade talks. Steep tariffs are due to be imposed on the EU and multiple countries in early July, leaving the bloc racing to avoid a full-blown transatlantic trade war. The US and EU had made progress through multiple rounds of in-person and telephone negotiations since President Donald Trump imposed, then paused, 20% tariffs on the bloc, Sefcovic said, adding that “his ambition” was still to strike a “balanced and fair” deal with the White House.
The veteran Slovak commissioner, who said he was in constant contact with negotiators from other countries also trying to strike a deal with Trump, said the EU was also willing to collaborate with the US to help address the impact of China’s export surge as a sweetener.
And one strong argument, as the FT's editorial board pointed out:
European capital markets have long been in the shadow of their US counterparts. This year, investors are suddenly seeing the continent in a much brighter light.
Donald Trump’s unpredictable policy agenda has also tilted portfolio allocations in Europe’s favour….Indeed, even though the US president’s tariffs will hurt the continent’s exporters, Europe is still outperforming America across several asset classes this year. With the rare spotlight it has among financiers, the EU has an opportunity to attract further capital and raise its global economic stature.
Capital is returning to Europe. The euro is at its strongest against the US dollar in three years. And in the four weeks to early March, regional equity funds attracted their highest inflows in close to a decade.
Oh & those trade wars?
Warren Buffett, perhaps the world's greatest investor, inoculated his precious Berkshire Hathaway most effectively against Trumptariffs before stepping down this weekend, as Solveig Godeluck of France's Les Echos reported from company headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska….
Greg Abel, who was already named successor a few years ago, will have the daunting task of steering a $1.16 trillion market capitalization behemoth to new records. Berkshire Hathaway's cash pile is at an all-time high of $348 billion, following the shrewd sales made just before Donald Trump's tariff chaos….
Berkshire Hathaway shares have risen 20% since the beginning of the year, when most other American companies were reeling from Donald Trump's trade war. Over the past year, they're up 35%.
World Press Freedom Day
Of course, so much is about Trump, but also about so many who have taken comfort in so very many of his campaigns. Indeed, Saturday May 3, is the day when those who celebrate a free press celebrate and the vastly expanding universe of those who would repress this essential pillar of democracy prepare their attacks. Sadly, the former seems to be on the wane and the latter to be surging. That is the conclusion of Reporters Without Borders [or Reporters Sans Frontiers/RSF] whose "RSF World Press Freedom Index now stands at an unprecedented critical low." At least some of that they attribute to:
….ownership concentration, pressure from advertisers and financial backers, and public aid that is restricted, absent or allocated in an opaque manner. The data measured by the Index's economic indicator clearly shows that today’s news media are caught between preserving their editorial independence and ensuring their economic survival.
Worse, news outlets are shutting down due to economic hardship in nearly a third of countries globally. This is the case in the United States (57th, down 2 places) Tunisia (129th, down 11 places) and Argentina (87th, down 21 places).
The situation in Palestine (163rd) is disastrous. In Gaza, the Israeli army has destroyed newsrooms, killed nearly 200 journalists and imposed a total blockade on the strip for over 18 months. In Haiti (112th, down 18 places), the lack of political stability has also plunged the media economy into chaos.
Even relatively well-ranked countries such as South Africa (27th) and New Zealand (16th) are not immune to such challenges.
Thirty-four countries stand out for the mass closures of their media outlets, which has led to the exile of journalists in recent years. This is especially true in Nicaragua (172nd, down 9 places), Belarus (166th), Iran (176th), Myanmar (169th), Sudan (156th), Azerbaijan (167th) and Afghanistan (175th), where economic difficulties compound the effects of political pressure.
President Donald Trump’s second term has already intensified this trend as false economic pretexts are used to bring the press into line. This led to the abrupt end to funding for the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), which affected several newsrooms — including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty — and, as a result, over 400 million citizens worldwide were suddenly deprived of access to reliable information. Similarly, the freeze on funding for the US Agency for International Development (USAID) halted US international aid, throwing hundreds of news outlets into a critical state of economic instability and forcing some to shut down—particularly in Ukraine (62nd).
During our Unleashed Conversation on Friday, our celebrity guest, David Shipler, author of The Interpreter, who served as Jerusalem bureau chief of The New York Times among several remarkable postings, discussed some of the perils of reporting from that region.
The full zoom of his celebrity appearance on our Unleashed Conversation zoom is below the fold for all our paid subscribers
Coming attraction!
Ever thought of joining the ranks of Online creators—even Substackers? Here's your chance to learn a whole lot more about options and opportunities. Tuesday at 6 pm EDT, David Andelman will be moderating an exciting panel on "Alternative Media Options" under the auspices of the Overseas Press Club of Americaand alongside panelists:
Laura Bassett, who has reported on reproductive rights abroad, and after being laid off as the EIC of Jezebel, started Nightcap, a now-popular Substack on politics.
Jane Ferguson, who describes herself as "a recovering war reporter," with 14 years in the Middle East, is founder and CEO ofNoosphere, a monetization platform for journalists.
Adriana Teresa Letorney is co-founder of Visura.co, a global platform for visual journalists and storytellers to connect with a global network and license their images directly to buyers.
A "'Trump effect' thwarted [Australian opposition leader] Peter Dutton," was the way the BBC 'sTiffanie Turnbull reported the election tsunami for the incumbent Labor regime….
Labor's Anthony Albanese has defied the so-called "incumbency curse" to be re-elected Australia's prime minister in a landslide. Albanese's centre-left government will dramatically increase its majority after the conservative Liberal-National coalition suffered a thumping defeat nationwide.
"Today, the Australian people have voted for Australian values: for fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all; for the strength to show courage in adversity and kindness to those in need," Albanese said.
Coalition leader Peter Dutton, who lost his own seat of 24 years, said he accepted "full responsibility" for his party's loss and apologised to his MPs….
Labor has seen swings towards them right across the country—a rare feat for a second-term government in Australia. Albanese becomes the first prime minister to win back-to-back elections in over 20 years….
Incidentally, in Australian elections, every eligible voter is required under the law to cast his or her ballot. London's Guardian tied Labor's victory more closely to Trump:
Trump’s victory had emboldened conservatives in the [opposition] Coalition and rightwing minor parties. Along with sections of the Australia media, they pushed for a version of Trump’s unapologetic politics here.
Sensing a shift to the right across the electorate, Peter Dutton and the Coalition finalised policies to slash the federal public service and root out “woke” ideology in schools and social policy….Instead, Australians were eager to reward a focus on the mainstream.
In fact, the final results left the incumbent center-left government in even better position in the next parliament than in the new parliament:
Versus the outgoing parliament:
As for Aussies themselves, here's how David Crowe, chief political correspondent of The Sydney Morning Herald saw it:
US President Donald Trump overshadowed the election with every edict from the White House, not least his April 2 decision to impose tariffs on Australia and other countries, throwing global growth into doubt and markets into freefall.
But the campaign drama cannot hide the danger signs for the future. It is not just that Trump is proving that Australia can no longer rely on its great ally—it is that he ushers in an era of economic turmoil and strategic danger.
In Melbourne, The Age acknowledged the enormity of Trump's malevolent influence:
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese triumphed Saturday in national elections, crushing his conservative rival in a contest swayed by economic upheaval and Donald Trump. Albanese's slow-but-steady leadership resonated at a time of global tumult, analysts said, with voters deserting hard-nosed opposition leader Peter Dutton in droves.
Not only was Albanese's Labor Party on track for an unexpectedly large parliamentary majority, but former police officer Dutton endured the rare humiliation of losing his own seat….
"Today the Australian people have voted for Australian values. For fairness, aspiration and opportunity for all," Labor leader Albanese told a raucous crowd in his victory speech.
US President Trump cast a long shadow over the six-week election campaign, sparking keen global interest in whether his tariff-induced economic chaos would influence the result….Dutton's policy to slash the public service rankled many as similar cuts, led by Elon Musk, brought chaos in the United States.
Pre-vote polls showed Dutton leaking support because of Trump, who he praised this year as a "big thinker" with "gravitas" on the global stage.
"I mean, Donald Trump is as mad as a cut snake, and we all know that," said voter Alan Whitman, 59, before casting his ballot on Saturday.
Incidentally, as The Guardian's Josh Butler noted:
The re-elected prime minister said he had spoken to the leaders of Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, France and the UK, and looked forward to calls with the presidents of Indonesia and Ukraine.
Still no word from Trump, who's been out playing golf in Florida.
Singapore slings….
In a test of the ruling power's monopoly, the People's Action Party maintained its vise-like hold over the wealthy city-state that is still considered to have a democratic system. A stunning 92% of all registered voters cast their ballots in a nation where voting is not mandated by law.
As the local Straits Times observed:
SINGAPORE - Singaporeans have returned the PAP to power with 65.57% of the popular vote, a commanding swing from its 61.24% share in the last general election. Voters overwhelmingly endorsed the ruling party, which secured 87 of 97 seats in an election that took place against a backdrop of global uncertainty and trade wars….They gave Prime Minister Lawrence Wong the clear mandate that he had sought, in his first electoral contest as head of government and leader of the PAP.
Mr Donald Trump’s chaotic presidency has wreaked havoc on global governance since he took office—but this week, three incumbent governments [Australia, Singapore, Canada] are quietly grateful for how he focused their voters’ minds.
Singapore’s PAP, led by Prime Minister Wong, pitched himself and his lieutenants as the steady hands needed for uncertain times. Voters listened intently….The message—that now is not the time for political experimentation—resonated powerfully in election results best characterised as total dominance for the PAP.
The magnitude of victory bears no resemblance to some forecasts that this election would mark a watershed moment in Singapore’s political evolution, with voters embracing the opposition’s argument that stronger parliamentary representation serves the national interest.
Instead, we witness PM Wong, for whom this vote constituted a referendum on his leadership style and Forward Singapore agenda, securing a mandate comparable with the 69.9% achieved in 2015—when national mourning following founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s passing briefly unified the electorate.
Romania … rinse & repeat?
In a far corner of the European Union, Romania's re-run of a presidential election has perhaps the largest stakes of any this weekend and a close eye is being kept on it in Brussels at EU headquarters and no doubt in TrumpWorld across the Atlantic. As Andelman Unleashed chronicled last November, the first effort to elect a new president was not well received, as The Guardian in London pointed out at the time:
The nation’s supreme court expunged him for the ballot in Sunday’s re-run, but that has hardly prevented a clone from stepping in and again taking the lead as România Liberă newspaper reported:
According to the exit poll conducted by Avangarde and published at 9:00 PM, immediately after the end of voting in the country and in the diaspora , AUR candidate George Simion is at the top of the rankings with a score of 30% in the first round of the 2025 presidential elections.
In the next places, tied, are Crin Antonescu, supported by the PSD-PNL-UDMR alliance ("Romania Forward"), and Nicușor Dan, an independent candidate, both obtaining 23% of the voting options.
Former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who also entered the race as an independent, is credited with 15% of the vote. Elena Lasconi, who remained on the ballot as a USR representative, although the party officially withdrew its support, obtained 4%. Other candidates together accumulate 5% of the vote.
Last year, had a second round been held, the Simion clone would have faced off with Elena Lasconi. This time, she is out of the running:
And indeed The Guardian this time has portrayed Simion quite directly as “an ultranationalist who opposes military aid to Ukraine, has fiercely criticised the EU’s leadership and describes himself as a ‘natural ally’ of Donald Trump.” He has also pledged a leading role in his government, even the prime minister slot for Georgescu, whose candidacy last year was shown to have been abetted by substantial Russian money and influence.
But for the background and stakes, we turn to our distinguished Brussels-based authors David Carretta and Christian Spillmann of La Matinale Européenne who observed:
Presidential Election in Romania: Test of Resilience to Foreign Interference
Will Romania elect a far-right nationalist president? It's possible and likely. George Simion, 38, leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), a party in the eurosceptic European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) group in the European Parliament, is leading the voting intentions for Sunday's first round and could win the second round on May 18. He admires Donald Trump and is close to his US Vice President, JD Vance. The prospect of his coming to power is causing palpitations in the European Union….His defeat would be a setback for European nationalist parties and the US administration.
Simion is leading the race. The latest polls credit him with over 30% of voting intentions, but the outcome of the second round is far from certain. Everything will depend on his rival and his ability to mobilize pro-European voters to block him. Two men are emerging in the race: Bucharest Mayor Nicușor Dan, founder of the centrist Union to Save Romania (USR), who is running as an independent against the other USR candidate, Elena Lasconi, and Crin Antonescu, husband of former Romanian European Commissioner Adina Vălean, supported by the ruling parties, PSD, PNL, and UDMR. A third candidate, a former minister, Victor Ponta, has been left behind. Dan and Antonescu are credited with 20% of voting intentions in the first round, and according to the polls, either of them can beat Simion. The diaspora vote and undecided voters will make the difference. 43% of them admitted not knowing who to vote for in the last survey carried out April 25-27.
Romania is a semi-presidential republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Both the government and the president hold executive functions, but it is the president who represents Romania in the European Council.
The biggest question remaining: Is Simion’s 30% a ceiling he will carry into the runoff, much as has been the case for France’s far-right Marine Le Pen. Or a floor that will lead to his election as president and wild shift to the right in this NATO and EU member.
Britain…rise of the right?
We have tended not to devote a lot of space to local elections around the world, but Britain has been compelled by results in this past week's council elections that may have marked the resurgence of quite a frightening individual on the European scene. Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK Party, places himself somewhere on the more extreme edge of Marine Le Pen's National Rally in France or the neo-Nazi Alternative für Deutschland in Germany. So, here's how the BBC saw the British council votes:
Nigel Farage has hailed Reform UK's gains as "unprecedented" and "the end of two-party politics". The party has taken control of 10 local councils, won two mayoral races and added a fifth MP to its ranks. Many of these wins came at the expense of the Labour and Conservative parties, which have both sought to explain the results.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer conceded that people were not yet feeling the benefits of a Labour government, while Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch pledged to make her party a "credible" alternative once again.
Or as The Telegraph of London put it:
None of this seems to be heading in a particularly positive direction for the Starmer government, especially with critical tariff talks with Trump looming.
O Canada ….
Election fallout continues. Prime Minister Mark Carney is settling into his role as a fully-elected prime minister, even with prospects of dealing with a slightly less than majority hold over his parliament. Coming now, his first big test as he heads to Washington and a full-blown confrontation with the man who would be his nation's ruler—Donald Trump. But in Carney's hip pocket, he'll now be carrying quite a nice little gift from His Majesty the King, as Ottawa correspondent Ryan Tumilty reported in the Toronto Star:
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney put down a king in his high-stakes negotiations with U.S. President Donald Trump, announcing King Charles will read his new government’s first throne speech later this month.
“We will have the privilege of welcoming His Majesty King Charles III, who will deliver Canada’s speech from the throne on May 27,” Carney said.
The speech from the throne is typically delivered by the Governor General, the King’s representative in Canada. The last time a monarch delivered the throne speech in Canada was in 1977.
[ what it might look like: ]
[Trump] has repeatedly challenged Canada’s sovereignty since his election last year, imposing tariffs on Canadian imports and suggesting Canada should become his country’s 51st state. Carney said the King’s presence will serve as a clear reminder that Canada will never be a part of the United States.
“I made the request of his majesty, and he has accepted. He will open Parliament with the speech from the throne and that clearly underscores the sovereignty of our country,” he said.
Trump is known to be a fan of the royal family. During a visit to the U.S. in February, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer presented him with an invitation from the King to a state dinner in the U.K.
Only twice before has a ruling British monarch traveled to Canada to deliver this speech—Queen Elizbeth II in 1957 and 1977.
And then, Albania..
…Where Trump and elusive membership in the European Union loom on the horizon of a critical election just a week from now…as Politico Europe observed:
A growing rift between Brussels and Washington threatens to overshadow Albania's efforts to join the European Union as it faces a critical election. Public and private messages from allies of U.S. President Donald Trump about the country's future trajectory, and its plans to implement key economic reforms as part of its EU membership application lodged in 2009, are cause for worry…
Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has governed Albania since 2013, has made EU membership by 2030 a key part of his campaign ahead of parliamentary elections on May 11. The flamboyant center-left politician has even unveiled a mocked-up Albanian EU passport and promised that citizens will have the right to travel, study and work across the continent….
Meanwhile, the conservative Democratic Party of Albania, the largest opposition group standing against Rama's government, hired former Trump campaign manager Chris LaCivita in February to lead its political strategy. The party has led protests claiming that the vote would be neither free nor fair because of Rama's influence on the country's institutions, while video platform TikTok has been banned by the government ahead of the poll.
LaCivita said last month that Europeans were "stupid" and accused Rama of being a "puppet of George Soros," invoking a popular far-right conspiracy about the billionaire Jewish financier.
Special for the Paid !
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How others view the World
The UN on the ropes?!
Likely just where Donald Trump would like to see it. And The Economist is sounding the alarm:
On May 5th the UN will brief members on a previously unreported $600m (17%) cut to its $3.7bn budget aimed at avoiding default this year….A combination of deadbeat members and mad budget rules have led to a liquidity crisis. Now, a leaked White House memo proposing that America stop paying its mandatory contributions threatens a financial crash in the citadel of peace and security….
America and China each contribute about 20% of the UN’s annual budget and both have become unreliable….During the first Trump administration tardiness was compounded by America not paying in full. China has also begun paying late. Last year its money arrived on December 27th, four days before the end of the financial year. Only North Korea paid later…
President Donald Trump has wielded an axe to parts of the international system. After taking office he froze funding for international bodies and has sought to abolish America’s aid agency, USAID. He also ordered officials to review America’s participation in all international organisations, including the UN. The results of the review are due in the middle of July. Speculation is rife among UN diplomats over whether Mr Trump will choose savage cuts or, as some recent reports suggest, refuse to pay at all. Mr Ramanathan says the latter scenario would leave his budget in deep trouble.
Article 19 of the UN charter says that a country that skips two years’ worth of payments will lose its vote in the General Assembly (but not its veto on the Security Council, if it has one). America’s total arrears are about $3bn, still shy of its $4.5bn two-year limit. If Mr Trump does not pony up, America will fall foul of the rules in next year’s budget and have its vote stripped in 2027.
Does he really care?
Stasis, or worse, in Ukraine
Playing for time or playing for keeps, Putin continues to dance around the prospects for peace in Ukraine, as the Institute for the Study of War observed:
Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation Head Lieutenant Andriy Kovalenko stated that any joint ceasefire should be comprehensive and last for at least 30 days with the possibility for renewal. Kovalenko noted that shorter ceasefires with vague terms and a lack of monitoring mechanisms afford Russian forces the opportunity to seize on tactical pauses to better prepare ahead of a future summer offensive in Ukraine.
Russia is very likely to continue its pattern of leveraging short-term ceasefires to flood the information space with unsubstantiated claims of Ukrainian ceasefire violations in an effort to discredit Ukraine and to create tactical or operational pauses to conduct troop rotations, resupply units, and prepare for future offensive operations, as evidenced by the Easter and long-range energy infrastructure strikes ceasefires. Russia's continued rejection of Ukrainian and US ceasefire proposals of any reasonable length with necessary monitoring mechanisms showcases Russia's disinterest in peace in Ukraine in the near term.
Meanwhile, a quietly stunning development that the ISW uncovered:
The Trump administration appears to have finalized its first military equipment sale to Ukraine. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) [disclosed] that the US State Department approved and notified the US Congress of a possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of equipment and maintenance services for Ukraine’s F-16s worth an estimated $310.5 million. The DSCA reported that the sale will include aircraft modifications and upgrades; personnel training related to operation, maintenance, and sustainment support; spare parts, consumables, and accessories; repair and return support; ground handling equipment; classified and unclassified software delivery and support; classified and unclassified publications and technical documents; studies and surveys; and US Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services.
Not to mention some other ominous notes from ISW:
Senior Kremlin officials continue to set informational conditions that could support military operations against Lithuania (and other NATO states) by advancing narratives that deny the sovereignty of Lithuania and other former Soviet states.
Russian forces recently advanced near Lyman, Siversk, Novopavlivka, Kurakhove, and Velyka Novosilka.
[Full disclosure: Unleashed's maternal forebears hail from Lithuania.]
What’s new on ‘paid’?
And now, for our most highly valued, but lightly paid members, we'll conclude with a 15-year-old in Hong Kong at the Harrow International School who questions whether computers—or AI—could have 'feelings'.…Not to mention a link to the Unleashed Conversation zoom last Friday with David Shipler. And we'll wind up with a bonus gallery from cartoonists around the world riffing on the Pope, Trump and tutti quanti.
—Editing by Pamela Title
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