Russia and China are issuing renewed warnings against the Trump Admin’s plans for a space-based missile defense shield called the “Golden Dome” that would weaponize outer space like never before.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the U.S. of taking a “reckless approach” that “directly undermines the foundations of strategic stability,” and pointed to the joint statement released by Moscow and Beijing earlier this month that criticized the U.S. declaration of space as a “warfighting domain.”

Meanwhile, Washington is continuing to increase tensions with both Russia and China here on earth, amid reports that the U.S. has around 500 troops in Taiwan.

Source links: https://pnqk.me/xckttx

Russia launched another night of its largest drone and missile attacks, which Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted were “aimed at military facilities, and on military targets,” in retaliation for the hundreds of Ukrainian drones intercepted by Russian air defenses that targeted “civilian infrastructure.”

Trump has ignored the Ukrainian drone attacks, and instead focused on Putin, accusing the Russian President of “playing with fire,” and saying, “if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD.”

Former U.S. Diplomat and Geopolitical Analyst, Jim Jatras, noted that even with the latest escalation in attacks, “it seems the Russians are killing off the muscle of the Ukrainian regime. They’re not targeting the brains or the arteries,” — especially given the Russian Defense Ministry’s revelation that Putin’s helicopter was caught in the “epicenter” of a massive Ukrainian drone attack while he was visiting the Kursk Region last week.

Source links: https://pnqk.me/d7uyby

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is warning that Tehran will hold both the U.S. and Israel responsible, if Israel attempts to carry out an attack on Iranian nuclear sites. This, amid reports that Israel is planning such an attack if nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran fall apart.

Prof. Seyed Mohammad Marandi, of the University of Tehran, noted that because Israel is completely dependent on the West, “if there is a strike, that would mean that the Americans are involved. And the Americans would have to be ready for the consequences.”

Source links: https://pnqk.me/dimndy

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now warning that Syria could be weeks away from “potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions,” as the West rushes to prop up the Al-Qaeda regime in Damascus led by Abu Mohammed al-Julani, amid growing discontent and divide in Syria.

Patrick Henningsen, Host of the 21st Century Wire, noted that while the Trump Admin is engaging in plenty of talks, we have yet to see the positive results he promised on the campaign trail. And the results we are seeing, in cases such as Syria and Gaza, have been mass death and destruction for the civilians on the ground.

Source links: https://pnqk.me/hsx8by

We are now four months into Trump’s second term, and while his administration is engaging in talks from Russia to Iran, we’re still not seeing meaningful action in a number of areas that include: ending the war in Ukraine (as the U.S. continues to supply weapons to Kiev) or bringing peace to the Middle East (as Israel continues its U.S.-fueled bombardment and blockade of the Palestinians)

Ret. U.S. Army Col. Douglas Macgregor noted that the U.S. is headed for crisis, both at home amid recession fears, and abroad amid reports that Israel is preparing to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities, and Trump doesn’t seem to be in control of his own administration.

Source links: https://pnqk.me/3ynbyd

The EU just approved its 17th package of sanctions against Russia, and even the French foreign minister admitted that the last 16 haven’t managed to “suffocate” the Russian economy, and this one probably won’t either.

This, as European leaders reportedly surprised that Trump wasn’t able to convince Putin agree to a full ceasefire over the phone—and instead, the only thing he got out of the 2-hour call was Putin agreeing to continue direct talks with Kiev, which already began last week.

While the Trump Admin isn’t ending its support for the war in Ukraine, it’s also continuing its support for Israel’s genocidal bombardment and blockade of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. While Israel agreed to allow a small trickle of aid in after weeks warnings about famine and mass starvation, Israeli officials have revealed it’s only so that they can keep bombing Gaza, with the ultimate goal of forcing the Palestinians off of their land as part of “Trump’s plan.”

Source links: https://pnqk.me/g2wbcw

Trump declared that "Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War," following a two-hour phone call with Putin.

The Russian president, in his statement, said that “Russia supports a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine conflict,” and that, “we must simply identify the most effective path toward peace.” (A task that is going to be much harder than Trump may realize)

While Trump is still trying to act like a third-party mediator, claiming that only Moscow and Kiev can negotiate a deal, he should be paying more attention to the fact that Putin keeps bringing up addressing “the root causes of the conflict” i.e. the NATO involved in Ukraine that continues to pose a threat to Russia.

Source links: https://pnqk.me/pko7gg

All eyes are on Turkey, as Russia and Ukraine sent teams for talks… they just arrived in different cities. Now, the Russian delegation in Istanbul is giving Kiev one more chance to attend talks at 10:00 on Friday, after Zelensky and his team arrived in Ankara on Thursday and complained about the fact that Putin wasn’t in attendance.

International Relations and Security Analyst Mark Sleboda noted that this is yet another reminder that this week’s talks were never about the approval of a full ceasefire or an end to the war. Moscow, Kiev and Washington still have months of talks ahead of them, and the Russian Government has made it clear that while it’s willing to talk, it has a long list of concerns. And the ongoing negotiations won’t stop Russia on the battlefield.

Source links: https://pnqk.me/a5484u

President Trump ended his visit to Saudi Arabia by meeting with Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, a founding member of Al-Qaeda in Syria, who now has the title of “interim president” in Damascus. Trump urged Jolani to join the Abraham Accords and normalize ties with Israel.

Vijay Prashad, Director of the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research, noted that Trump’s announcement that he plans to drop all U.S. sanctions on Syria is just another part of the ploy for the U.S. and Israel to gain control of the government in Damascus, because while the U.S. can’t conquer, it can destroy. And it has used destruction as a weapon across the region.

We also discussed the latest in the India-Pakistan conflict, and what’s at stake for Thursday’s Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul.

Source links: https://pnqk.me/jmig1q

India and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire, after last week’s deadly conflict saw an important combat test for Chinese weaponry, with Pakistan employing the Chengdu J-10C Vigorous Dragon fighter jet, which used air-to-air missiles to bring down at least two of India’s French-made Dassault Rafale fighter jets.

Carl Zha, a geopolitical analyst and Host of the Silk & Steel Podcast, noted that not only is the Chinese weaponry significantly cheaper than its Western counterparts (which will attract more customers without the strings that come attached to weapons purchases from the U.S.), but Chengdu has already moved on to the J-20 Mighty Dragon stealth fighter jet.

Source links: https://pnqk.me/bolims