UK Ramps Up Ukraine Training as Europe’s War Hawks Push ‘Security Guarantees’
Sputnik – 24.08.2025
The British-led Operation Interflex, a multinational military initiative to train and support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has now been extended to at least 2026, Bloomberg reports.
Over 50,000 Ukrainian recruits have already received both combat and leadership training in the UK.
A further element of the plan involves a so-called US backstop, providing intelligence, border surveillance, weapons, and potentially air defenses, Bloomberg says.
Meanwhile, a UK and France-led “Coalition of the Willing” plans to station European forces in Ukraine as European war hawks push “security guarantees” tied to a potential peace deal.
Russia insists that any security guarantees for Ukraine must reference the 2022 Istanbul talks, and discussions about a security framework without Russia lead nowhere.
In essence, Europe is proposing foreign intervention on part of Ukrainian territory, which is absolutely unacceptable for Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed.
Russian Air Defense Shot Down Ukrainian Drone Near Kursk NPP, Radiation Unchanged
Sputnik – 24.08.2025
Russian air defense shot down a Ukrainian drone near the Kursk nuclear power plant, the downed drone damaged an auxiliary transformer, the press service of the Kursk NPP said.
“On August 24 at 0:26 Moscow time [21:26 GMT Saturday], near the Kursk NPP, an air defense shot down a combat unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Ukrainian armed forces. When it fell, the device detonated, as a result of which the auxiliary transformer was damaged,” the NPP said on Telegram.
As the plant clarified, the local fire had been extinguished, as a result of which the third unit had been unloaded by 50%. There were no casualties.
“Currently, the third power unit is in operation at the Kursk NPP. The fourth power unit is undergoing scheduled maintenance. The first and second power units are in operation without generation,” the plant’s press service added.
The radiation background at the industrial site of the Kursk NPP and the adjacent territory has not changed and corresponds to natural values, the press service concluded.
Russia requests UN Security Council meeting on Nord Stream sabotage
RT | August 24, 2025
Russia has requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting following the arrest of a Ukrainian man allegedly involved in the Nord Stream pipeline sabotage.
In September 2022, explosions disabled three of the four lines carrying Russian gas to Germany through the Baltic Sea. Moscow has repeatedly accused Germany and neighboring countries of delaying the investigation and excluding Russia from the probe.
“We will highlight the delays in the German investigation and the absence of transparency,” Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyansky wrote on Telegram. He added that the meeting is scheduled for Tuesday.
On Thursday, Italian police detained a Ukrainian citizen, later identified in the media as former military officer Sergey Kuznetsov. Prosecutors allege he coordinated a team that rented a yacht and planted explosives on the pipelines using commercial diving gear.
German investigators reportedly believe a small group of Ukrainians was behind the attack, a claim Moscow dismissed as “ridiculous.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the US likely orchestrated the sabotage. Last year, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service claimed it had “credible information” that US and British agents were involved in the plot.
Europe lacks strategy to break snapback ‘deadlock’: Russia envoy
Press TV – August 23, 2025
A senior Russian diplomat says the European troika—Britain, France, and Germany—lack a clear strategy to break the “deadlock” they are poised to create if they follow through on their threat to invoke the “snapback” mechanism against Iran.
Russia’s permanent envoy to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, made the remarks in a post on his X account on Saturday.
He proposed to put aside legal and procedural issues which definitely do not give the E3 the right to trigger the snapback mechanism and to address the issue from a purely political viewpoint.
The Russian diplomat asked whether the trio has an exit strategy and a vision of how to find a way out of the deadlock they are going to create.
“The answers to these questions seem to be negative,” Ulyanov emphasized.
Snapback would bring into force six previous Iran-related Security Council resolutions adopted between 2006 and 2010. It would reinstate the expired UN arms embargo that barred countries from supplying, selling, or transferring most military equipment to Iran and prohibited Tehran from exporting any weapons.
It would also impose export controls, travel bans, asset freezes, and other restrictions on individuals, entities, and banks.
In a Friday phone conversation with the EU high representative for foreign and security policy and his British, French, and German counterparts, whose countries are the European signatories to the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that triggering the snapback would have consequences.
The top Iranian negotiator once again emphasized that the European countries lack the legal and moral authority to resort to the mechanism.
China’s mission to the United Nations on Wednesday declared the country’s firm opposition to threats by European parties to the 2015 nuclear deal to activate the snapback mechanism within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
The mission at the UN headquarters in New York distributed an explanatory note to the Security Council, stating that the difficult situation in implementing the JCPOA and Resolution 2231 is not the result of Iran’s actions but the disruption of the JCPOA’s implementation by the United States and the three European countries.
China and Russia’s backing plays a critical role in Iran’s diplomatic efforts to counter the snapback threat. Both countries are permanent members of the UN Security Council and have veto power over resolutions, including those related to Iran’s nuclear program.
NATO Sharpens Its War Wallet: Doubles Down On Ukraine Aid
Sputnik – 23.08.2025
Russia states that supplying arms to Ukraine hinders peace efforts and drags NATO allies into the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that any shipments containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia.
NATO countries have provided 99% of military aid to Ukraine, which reached $50 billion in 2024, the alliance’s Military Committee Chair Giuseppe Cavo Dragone told Corriere della Sera.
As of January 1, 2025, the alliance had already funneled $33 billion and plans to boost funding for the Ukraine regime even more, he said.
He mentioned three packages of around $580 million each. The first was funded by the Netherlands, the second by Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. The third was paid by Germany.
While Russia and the US at their recent summit thrashed out a roadmap to achieve an end to the Ukraine conflict, the NATO hawk said they intend to continue military aid and even increase it.
On August 15, Putin and US President Donald Trump met in Anchorage, Alaska, for three-on-three talks that lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes. In addition to the presidents, Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and presidential aide Yuri Ushakov, and the US by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff. On August 18, Trump hosted Volodymyr Zelensky and EU leaders for talks at the White House.
Russia rejects accusations of ‘fracturing’ Ukraine talks with US
RT | August 23, 2025
The Russian Foreign Ministry has pushed back against Western media reports claiming Moscow undermined Ukraine peace talks with the US by insisting it must take part in discussions about security guarantees for Kiev.
On Friday, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about the principles of “indivisible security” in Europe have “effectively fractured Russia’s talks with the US,” while describing Moscow’s stance as “an attempt to stall the [settlement] process.” The Wall Street Journal similarly accused Lavrov of “toss[ing] all sorts of obstacles” in the way of possible high-level talks between Moscow and Kiev.
The ministry responded that Russia has followed a consistent policy on the conditions needed both to resolve the Ukraine conflict and to build a stable European security framework.
The ministry recalled that following the Alaska summit with US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted that a sustainable peace in Ukraine could be achieved only if “all root causes of the crisis are eliminated, all of Russia’s legitimate concerns taken into account, and a just balance in security in Europe and worldwide restored.”
He added at the time that Moscow “was ready to work on ensuring security for Ukraine.”
Later, Lavrov, responding to a question about the possible deployment of Western troops to Ukraine – which has been a red line for Moscow – noted that Russia “will firmly and strictly ensure our legitimate interests.” “Any serious discussion of security issues without Russia is a utopia.. [and] a road to nowhere,” he added.
“So how can anyone consider Lavrov’s words as ‘undermining’ the settlement process? On the contrary, Russia’s position is marked by consistency, and the minister’s statements confirm the points repeatedly voiced by President Putin on the Ukraine crisis,” the ministry noted.
Russia has repeatedly said that the Ukraine conflict can only be settled if Kiev commits to neutrality, demilitarization, denazification, and recognizes the new territorial reality on the ground.
Zelensky Rejected All of Trump’s Proposals for Ukraine Settlement, Says Lavrov
Sputnik – 22.08.2025
Volodymyr Zelensky said ‘no’ to all of US President Donald Trump’s proposals for resolving the conflict in Ukraine, which the US considers necessary, at a meeting in Washington, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov:
“President Trump suggested, after Anchorage several points which we share, and on some of them, we agreed to be to show some flexibility. When President Trump brought those issues to the meeting in Washington with Zelensky present together with his European sponsors, he clearly indicated… that there are several principles which Washington believes must be accepted, including no NATO membership, including the discussion of territorial issues. And Zelensky said no to everything. He even said no to, as I said, to canceling legislation prohibiting the Russian language. How can we meet with a person who is pretending to be a leader?”
At the Alaska summit Russia agreed to demonstrate flexibility on a number of issues raised by US President Donald Trump, Lavrov added.
A meeting between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky has not been planned, but the Russian leader is ready to meet him when the summit agenda will be ready, which is currently inexistent, Lavrov said.
“There is no meeting planned… Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky, when the agenda would be ready for for a summit, and this agenda is not ready at all,” Lavrov told NBC.
End of the Line for Diplomacy with Ukraine – John Mearsheimer, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen
The Duran | August 21, 2025
Russia: European states ‘snapback’ activation push fundamentally illegal
Press TV – August 21, 2025
A senior Russian diplomat has roundly rejected the UK, France, and Germany’s push to invoke the so-called “snapback” mechanism inside the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that has endorsed a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world countries, including the trio.
Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian Federation’s permanent envoy to international organizations in Vienna, made the remarks in a post on X, former Twitter, on Wednesday.
He reminded that the countries, themselves, had been in clear violation of the resolution for long, and were, therefore, legally barred from activating the mechanism that returns the Security Council’s sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
“There is a serious obstacle on the way of implementing this threat,” he warned, while calling the European drive an effort at “blackmailing” the Islamic Republic.
The European states “are themselves in violation of Res.2231 and the JCPOA,” the official said.
He was referring to the nuclear agreement by the abbreviation of its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“The doctrine of good faith in international law precludes a party from claiming rights under an agreement while simultaneously failing to fulfill its own obligations thereunder,” he added.
“In other words, an attempt by E3 to trigger snapback, despite their own non-compliance would contradict the fundamental principles of international law.”
The countries have threatened to invoke the mechanism by the end of August in response to, what they have called, Iran’s contravention of the JCPOA.
Apart from Russia, China, another permanent Security Council member, has vociferously opposed the prospect.
Beijing has reminded that the European countries, themselves, were the parties that had initially started trying to throw the deal into trouble with their outright non-commitment to the accord.
The tripartite states returned their own economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic, accusing Tehran of trying to divert its peaceful nuclear energy program towards “military purposes.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has, however, found no evidence that could verify the allegations, despite subjecting Iran to its most rigorous inspections in history.
Iranian officials and international observers have, meanwhile, repeatedly underscored the illegal nature of recourse to the “snapback.” They have also reminded the Islamic Republic’s resilience in the face of Western sanctions, noting that the country had already managed to successfully bypass Western sanctions of far more intensity than the ones that could be imposed following potential activation of the mechanism.
India, Russia set $100bn trade target despite US pushback
The Indian external affairs minister is in Moscow for three days of talks focusing on economic cooperation
The Cradle | August 21, 2025
India and Russia plan to increase their annual trade to $100 billion over the next five years – an increase of 50 percent – despite US opposition to the growing cooperation between New Delhi and Moscow, a top Indian minister announced on 21 August.
During the first day of a three-day visit to Moscow on Wednesday, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar emphasized the need for India and Russia to broaden their trade ties, foster additional joint ventures between their companies, and hold more frequent meetings to resolve issues such as payment systems.
Russia ranks as India’s fourth-largest trade partner, while India holds the position of Russia’s second-largest.
“We are all acutely aware that we are meeting in the backdrop of a complex geopolitical situation. Our leaders remain closely and regularly engaged,” he said while speaking at the India–Russia Business Forum in the Russian capital.
Jaishankar added that rising global uncertainty puts the emphasis back on “dependable and steady partners.”
Economic uncertainty has come from recent actions taken by US President Donald Trump to punish India for its ongoing purchases of Russian oil.
New Delhi’s purchases of Russian crude skyrocketed after the start of the war with Ukraine in 2022. After its oil exports to Europe collapsed in the wake of the war, Russia turned to India, offering steep discounts.
In response, Trump has imposed a 25 percent tariff on Indian goods, saying the oil purchases help fund Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “war machine.” Trump has threatened to raise tariffs on India further, to 50 percent, a rate high enough to ensure Indian exports to the US will not be competitive.
In response, India has said it has the right to buy oil from the cheapest source, calling the tariffs “unreasonable.”
Following Trump’s threats, India’s state refiners began last week to buy large volumes of non-Russian crude. Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp. have purchased oil from multiple alternate suppliers in recent weeks, including suppliers in the US, Brazil, and Gulf states, for October delivery.
Private Indian refiners are expected to continue purchasing Russian oil per the long-term contracts they have previously signed.
Earlier this month, India halted plans to purchase US weapons and military aircraft in response to President Trump’s tariffs on New Delhi’s exports.
“India had been planning to send Defense Minister Rajnath Singh to Washington in the coming weeks for an announcement on some of the purchases, but that trip has been cancelled,” two sources speaking with Reuters said.
In February this year, Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans for the procurement and joint production of Stryker combat vehicles made by General Dynamics Land Systems and Javelin anti-tank missiles made by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
The sources told Reuters that India’s defense minister was also planning to announce the purchase of six Boeing P-8I reconnaissance aircraft and support systems for the Indian Navy during the trip to Washington, which has now been canceled.
Ukraine ‘doesn’t need’ China – Zelensky
RT | August 21, 2025
Ukraine does not need security guarantees from China because Beijing failed to prevent or stop the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Vladimir Zelensky has said.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Ukrainian leader commented on potential security guarantees Kiev could receive from its partners once the hostilities with Russia are over. He noted, however, that he does not want to see China as one of the guarantors upholding peace.
“First, China did not help us stop this war from the very beginning,” Zelensky said, adding that Beijing “did nothing” to prevent the secession of Crimea, which overwhelmingly voted to join Russia in a public referendum in 2014. He went on to accuse China of sitting back when the conflict escalated in 2022.
“That is why we do not need guarantors who did not help Ukraine then, when it was truly necessary after February 24 [2022],” he said.
His remarks came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that Moscow supported robust security guarantees for Ukraine while not ruling out that they could be provided by members of the UN Security Council, including Western countries, as well as China. He stressed, however, that these guarantees should be “equal” and never be aimed against Russia.
China has positioned itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict and has refused to join sanctions against Russia. It has called on both sides to hold peace talks while suggesting that one of the reasons for hostilities has been NATO expansion. In 2023, Beijing released a 12-point memorandum calling for a ceasefire, resumption of peace talks, protection of civilians, nuclear safety, and an end to unilateral sanctions.
Following the summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Alaska last week, China said it “supports all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the [Ukraine] crisis,” adding that it “is glad to see Russia and the United States maintaining contact, [and] improving relations.”
Kiev to replace soldiers with robots – top general
RT | August 21, 2025
Ukraine plans to rely on robotic systems to offset persistent manpower shortages on the battlefield, commander-in-chief Aleksandr Syrsky has said.
His comments come amid reports of a deepening crisis in Ukraine’s armed forces and a recently leaked report suggesting Kiev has lost nearly 2 million servicemen since 2022.
In an interview with RBC-Ukraine on Monday, Syrsky admitted that the situation at the front line is “really complicated” as Russia continues its strategic offensive. The general pointed to the Pokrovsk axis in northern Donetsk Region as the most difficult section of the front, noting that Moscow’s forces have conducted nearly 50 assaults there each day.
Syrsky acknowledged that Ukraine has far fewer mobilization resources than Russia and argued that one way of compensating is to rely on weapons that can be operated without personnel or controlled remotely. He claimed Kiev plans to deploy 15,000 ground robotic platforms this year in order to minimize human losses.
Ukrainian commanders have repeatedly reported persistent manpower shortages. Kiev’s general mobilization, which requires all able-bodied men aged 25 to 60 to serve, has failed to make up for battlefield losses. Desertions have also continued to mount, with officials stating that nearly 400,000 servicemen have abandoned their units, many of whom have no intention of returning.
The Telegraph reported last week that at least 650,000 Ukrainian men of fighting age have fled the country since the escalation of the conflict in 2022.
On Wednesday, several media outlets cited a leaked digital card index of Ukraine’s armed forces, allegedly obtained by Russian hackers, which claimed Kiev has lost over 1.7 million troops killed and missing since 2022.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev of sacrificing its people as “cannon fodder” to advance the interests of the West, characterizing the Ukraine conflict as a proxy war against Russia.
Featured Video
How The Nordic Countries Turned From Peace To War
or go to
Aletho News Archives – Video-Images
From the Archives
How Europe’s New Political Class Began Rejecting Reality
By Glenn Diesen | October 26, 2024
Russia considers NATO’s incursion into Ukraine to be an existential threat, and NATO has openly stated its intention to make Ukraine a member state after the war. Without a political settlement that restores Ukraine’s neutrality, Russia will therefore likely annex the strategic territories it cannot accept ending up under NATO control and then turn what remains of Ukraine into a dysfunctional rump state. As the war is being lost, the rational policy for the Europeans would therefore be to offer an agreement based on ending NATO’s eastward expansion to save Ukrainian lives, territory and the nation itself. Yet, no European leader has been able to even suggest such a solution publicly. Why? … continue
Blog Roll
Recent Comments
loongtip on The War On Free Speech In Aust… seversonebcfb985d9 on Scott Ritter Hiding the Domina… Richard Ong on Europe Economic Panic Kate on Bird Flu Outbreak 40 Miles Fro… loongtip on US announces Gaza ‘Board of Pe… Richard Jones on Peaceful Finland? Think Twice:… Richard Jones on Bird Flu Outbreak 40 Miles Fro… loongtip on Bird Flu Outbreak 40 Miles Fro… loongtip on Scott Ritter says he was … loongtip on Eilat port faces worst crisis… loongtip on British minister dreams of kid… loongtip on Kiev awards major mining proje…
Aletho News- Why EU ‘Has No Alternative’ But to Return to Russian Gas Imports Sooner Than Later
- NATO without America: Europe’s trial run ends in a reality check
- US’ European Vassals Taught Bitter Lesson With Greenland Crisis
- Glenn Diesen: How the Nordic Countries abandoned the Pursuit of Peace and went Confrontational
- The New Scientist Misses the Science on ‘Sinking Pacific Islands’
- New study shows that toxic gas can form in cows’ stomach when being fed Bovaer with certain feed
- ‘Israel’ continues to block US firms from acquiring Iron Dome code
- The Changing Face of Regime Change
- Truth as first casualty: Deconstructing disinformation campaign on Iran riots death toll
- Russia Adds Almost 500Mln Tonnes in Commercial Oil Reserves in 2025
- If Americans Knew
- Trump has created a monster: Gaza Board of Peace – Not a ceasefire Day 101
- As world leaders squabble over controlling Gaza, another baby freezes to death – Not a ceasefire Day 100
- Trump “Board of Peace” for Gaza is stacked with Israel supporters – Not a ceasefire Day 99
- Iran Does Not Hate Americans… But It Has Legitimate Reasons to Do So
- How an Israeli Firm Spreads Lies and Chaos Around the World
- ADL ‘Helping’ Ted Cruz and Ben Shapiro ‘Take Down’ Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes, CEO Suggests
- Israel is Destroying Hope for the Future: Reproductive Violence in Gaza
- J Street is the new AIPAC in the Democratic Party
- The fate of Gaza’s disappeared remains unknown
- The U.S. has announced ‘Phase 2’ of the Gaza ceasefire. Here’s why it doesn’t matter for Palestinians.
- No Tricks Zone
- New Study: Brazil’s Relative Sea Level Was 2+ Meters Higher And SSTs 3-4°C Warmer 6000 Years Ago
- Philosopher Schopenhauer: Climate Science Certainty Stems From Stupidity, Ignorance
- New Study: Species Extinction Rates Declining Since 1980 – ‘Climate Change Is Not An Important Threat’
- Denmark Places Climate Protection Above Animal Welfare, Poisoning And Culling Cows
- New Study: Greenland Was 3-7°C Warmer And Far Less Glaciated Than Today 6000-8000 Years Ago
- German Media Report That Current Frigid Weather Can Be Explained By Arctic Warming!
- Berlin Blackout Shows Germany’s $5 Trillion Green Scheme Is “Left-Green Ideological Pipe Dream”
- Modeling Error In Estimating How Clouds Affect Climate Is 8700% Larger Than Alleged CO2 Forcing
- Berlin’s Terror-Blackout Enters 4th Day As Tens Of Thousands Suffer In Cold Without Heat!
- Expect Soon Another PIK Paper Claiming Warming Leads To Cold Snaps Over Europe
Aletho News 