Stolen from Westley Richard at johanno1.se for the points Ukraine proposes as a peace alternative to Trump’s colonization. The USA and RU probably won’t agree to this, but even this proposal is a total disaster for the EU – a total disaster.
If the EU doesn’t pull itself together immediately, we will be left holding the whole mess in our lap by autumn at the latest.
RU could, as soon as this is implemented, reinforce the border with UA with North Koreans and maybe some Chinese, and then take their ENTIRE army and position it against Europe.
Ukraine will never restart the war at its border once they stop.
And after this epic betrayal from Europe – why would they sacrifice lives for us in the future?
1.5 million RU soldiers on the border with the Baltics + 100,000 Belarusians – all are battle-hardened or have been trained by veterans from the 2025 war.
Europe simply isn’t ready for this yet, not a chance.
And Zapad 2025 is just a few months away…
The ONLY thing that can prevent this is if Ukraine advances in the war, but Trump is doing quite well at sabotaging it, and Europe is not managing to counteract it.
Ceasefire:
-The parties commit to a complete and unconditional ceasefire in the air, on land, and at sea.
-Both sides immediately begin negotiations on technical implementation, with the participation of the USA and European countries. This occurs in parallel with the preparations of the agenda and framework for a comprehensive peace agreement.
-Monitoring of the ceasefire shall be led by the USA with support from a third party.
-Russia must unconditionally return all deported and illegally relocated Ukrainian children. All prisoners of war shall be exchanged according to the principle of “all for all.” Russia must release all civilian detainees.
Security guarantees for Ukraine:
-Ukraine receives robust security guarantees, including from the USA (similar to Article 5), even if there is no consensus among allies on NATO membership.
-No restrictions shall apply to the Ukrainian defense forces.
-The guaranteeing states shall be an ad hoc group of European countries and other willing non-European countries. There shall be no restrictions on the presence, armament, or deployment of friendly foreign forces on Ukrainian territory.
-Ukraine continues its process for EU membership.
Territory:
-Territorial issues shall be discussed and resolved only after a complete and unconditional ceasefire has taken effect.
-Negotiations on territorial issues shall be based on the current front line.
-Ukraine regains control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with American assistance, as well as the Kakhovka Dam.
-Ukraine shall have free passage on the Dnieper River and control over the Kinburn Peninsula.
Economy:
-The USA and Ukraine enter into an agreement on economic cooperation and mineral resources.
-Ukraine shall be fully rebuilt and compensated economically, including with the help of frozen Russian state assets, which remain frozen until Russia compensates Ukraine for its damages.
-The US sanctions imposed on Russia since 2014 may be gradually eased once a sustainable peace is achieved, but they can be quickly reinstated in case of violations of the peace agreement (so-called “snapback”).
Russian psyops have now started around India – Pakistan 🧐
Everything is set, India is to finalize agreements, India is sending aircraft carriers, Russian psyops are underway, and JD Vance is in the area – all within a two-day window.
They are all involved in this in some way…
Then we have China, someone suggested, and it is already known that India chose the USA over China in the trade war and also imposed tariffs on China. China – India haven’t been the best of friends before.
The first shots have been fired, and this could escalate quickly if we’re unlucky 😶
India has planned this because after a terrorist attack in Kashmir, India leaves an agreement that guarantees 100% of the water to Pakistan’s agriculture.
It’s unclear how they will stop it, but with such a threat, isn’t Pakistan existentially threatened?
This is not a spontaneous knee-jerk reaction at all.
It’s worth noting that tensions are reaching boiling point in some places now, and I believe that the USA has largely contributed to the global escalation, including killing the Pope if one wants to be malicious.
When this spirals out of control, it’s hard to predict, but you all saw how little was needed to spark tensions between India and Pakistan.
In times of high tension, mistakes are made that lead to escalation, and at some point, when that is, you never know, it becomes impossible to control the situation.
And Russia is absolutely pushing for us to reach that point, even though everything has failed, and now the USA has also entered that race.
As has been said many times before – what China chooses to do will determine the level of this global conflict.
RU is also trying to close the bulge towards Konstantynivka below.
Now, you finally have the chance to show appreciation to MXT and his work on the website and the daily (well…) yellow posts – IT has installed a donation button on johanno1.se, if you look around a bit, you’ll see a QR code.
There is also a donation page for Ukraine on johanno1.se with links to Swedish Rescuers, drones 2 Ukraine, and other organizations we have learned over time are legitimate and safe to donate to.
On Substack – there is still a chance to follow and subscribe if it feels more right to go that route, which some have done.
https://bsky.app/profile/johanno1.bsky.social
Don't forget to donate, Ukraine's cause is ours! Support Ukraine!
NOTE: Those of you who do NOT want to allow automatic translation of your comments, please go to your profile page and set it.
Hover over your name at the top right, select edit profile, and you will then find the setting under the language settings heading.
Good morning!
Russian losses in Ukraine 2025-04-28:
SLAVA UKRAINI!
Unprotected attacks continue high. Lowest rear for a while.
Speculating that geopolitically, Pakistan and Afghanistan could become extremely important for China if the triad India-USA-Russia becomes a reality. The Silk Road becomes a narrow corridor between India to the south and the Russian-controlled -stans to the north. Upon reaching Iran, the Silk Road opens up towards the Middle East/Europe and Africa. Some of the many follow-up questions to this scenario that can be asked include what will happen to the relationship between Russia and Iran? What will happen to the relationship between China and Europe? Do we want increased trade with China or do we choose higher tariffs and trade with the USA? China-Africa is established. Does Europe want to challenge China?
I am afraid that Europe would not choose to challenge China through, for example, sanctions or higher tariffs.
We are probably too dependent on them. When it comes to the USA, many of the American products we buy are made from parts from China so the prices of them will go up in addition to the direct tariffs.
In Sweden, we already import more from China, Germany, etc. than from the USA.
Of course, we would like to maintain exports, and we may be forced to import from the USA if we are to be able to export. The USA probably has a lot more advanced equipment that we cannot buy from China, so regardless we should not close the door to the USA either.
I guess that in Europe we will sit still in the boat and try to please both sides while pretending that we are tough by imposing just enough tariffs.
It certainly looks bleak.
Trump came out and said that he was pleased with the meeting with Zelenskyy in Rome and believes that he is ready to give up Crimea. If that is true, it means what I have written before, that Europe has not provided sufficient security guarantees to Ukraine, otherwise Zelenskyy would not have to make that sacrifice. Of course, we cannot trust what Trump says, he lies too often to be credible. We will have to wait and see.
When Ukraine first announced that North Korean soldiers were fighting in Russia, it was met with skepticism by many. Then, when the evidence was in place, it still led to exactly zero reactions from the West. This allows both Russia and North Korea to now openly confirm it while praising the North Korean soldiers. We have also seen Chinese soldiers in the war. The stage is now set for even greater involvement from China if they decide it would be most profitable.
At the same time, we in Europe are bickering about whether to send peacekeeping troops or not, and only if and when the firing stops. Even then, we cannot agree to deploy troops in Ukraine. Incredibly frustrating that we are so cowardly!!
👍
🔥👍
“Ryska Telegram-kanaler rapporterar en drönarattack mot Kremniy El mikroelektronikfabrik i Bryansk-regionen i Ryssland. Detta är den femte attacken mot Kremniy El sedan starten av den storskaliga kriget.”
https://bsky.app/profile/antongerashchenko.bsky.social/post/3lnu2s3y3wk2n
“Anläggningen producerar ett brett utbud av chips och komponenter som används bland annat i luftvärnssystemen Topol-M, Bulava, S-300 och S-400, luftvärnssystemet Pantsir, Iskander-robotar, radar- och elektroniska krigföringssystem, ryska drönare och ombordselektronik för stridsflygplan.”
“Kyiv’s Special Forces report raid on Russian positions in Kursk Oblast, dispute Moscow’s claim of recapture. During the operation, a unit from Russia’s 810th Marine Brigade was targeted and destroyed, the Ukrainian military claims.”
https://bsky.app/profile/kyivindependent.com/post/3lntzo6i6xs2r
https://kyivindependent.com/ukrainian-special-forces-raid-russian-positions-in-kursk-capture-2-soldiers-ukrianian-military-reports/
“Nirvana and Metallica music video director Samuel Bayer came to Ukraine to make a movie about the struggle of Ukrainians. As part of his visit, he visited the frontline and de-occupied regions and met with students of the Karpenko-Kary National University of Theater, Film and Television in Kyiv.”
“Varje stridsfordon måste vara utrustat med en katt”
https://bsky.app/profile/dim0kq.bsky.social/post/3lntku7ymu427
Update from 08:00 on 28.04.2025 about the Russian invasion
Escalation in Kramatorsk!
A total of 168↘️ (174, 156, 175, 168, 144, 165, 96, 127, 162, 143, 125, 111, 99) combat actions were registered during the past day.
#Kharkiv 6↗️
⏱️0, 0, 0, 4, 4, 0, 1, 2, 7, 1
#Kupyansk 3
⏱️4, 5, 4, 1, 3, 2, 1, 7, 11, 4
#Lyman 20💥
⏱️22, 19, 15, 20, 14, 25, 12, 14, 17, 20
#Siverskyi 2
⏱️3, 5, 8, 12, 3, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2
#Kramatorsk 16↗️💥
⏱️13, 8, 13, 1, 6, 4, 5, 7, 6, 8
#Toretsk 9↘️
⏱️29, 16, 17, 13, 23, 10, 18, 26, 11
#Pokrovsk 64💥💥💥
⏱️68, 44, 65, 56, 53, 61, 39, 54, 64
#Novopavlivka 13💥
⏱️13, 19, 10, 15, 17, 19, 5, 12, 9, 9
#Huliaipil 0
⏱️0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0
#Orikhivsk 1↘️
⏱️4, 4, 9, 3, 5, 3, 4, 3, 3, 1
#Prydniprovsky 1
⏱️1 , 1, 3, 1, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0
#Kursk 23💥
⏱️15, 30, 27, 26, 22, 21, 16, 20, 23, 21
In the Kharkiv sector, the enemy attacked AFU🇺🇦 positions six times in the areas of Vovchansk, Krasnyi Pershyi, and Mala Shapkivka.
Three attacks took place in the Kupyansk sector yesterday. AFU🇺🇦 halted the enemy’s assaults in the areas of Nova Kruhlyakivka, Petropavlivka, and Zahryzove.
The enemy attacked 20 times in the Lyman sector. They attempted to break through our defense lines near the settlements of Nadiya, Nove, Ridkodub, Kolodyazi, Yampolivka, Myrne, and towards Novyi Myr.
In the Siversky sector, the Ukrainian armed forces stopped two offensives from the militants towards Verkhnekamianske.
In the Kramatorsk sector, 16 firefights were registered yesterday near Chasovyi Yar, Andriivka, Kurdyumivka, and in the areas of Mayske, Stupochky, and Bila Hora.
In the Toretsk sector, the enemy carried out nine attacks in the areas of Ozaryanivka, Dachne, Diliyivka, Shcherbynivka, and Toretsk.
In the Pokrovsk sector, AFU🇺🇦 stopped 64 attacks from the aggressor near the settlements of Yelizavetivka, Lysivka, Kotlyne, Udachne, Novosergiivka, Kotlyarivka, Stara Mykolaivka, Nova Poltavka, Troitske Novooleksandrivka, Novopavlivka, Bohdanivka, Andriivka, Bahatyr, Nadiivka, and towards Oleksiivka, Pokrovsk, and Malynivka.
In the Novopavlivka sector, the enemy conducted 13 attacks near Kostiantynopil, Pryvilne, Vilne Pole, and towards Odradne yesterday.
In the Orikhivsk sector, occupiers attempted to advance once in the Lobkove area.
In the Prydniprovskyi sector, the enemy made a futile attempt to advance.
No combat actions were registered in the Huliaipol sector.
In the Volyn and Polissya sectors, no signs of hostile offensive groups were detected.
The Ukrainian defense forces continue to hold back the invaders in the Kursk sector. Yesterday, the enemy carried out seven air strikes, released 13 drones, and fired 302 times, including 9 times from multiple rocket launchers. Ukrainian defenders stopped 23 of the invaders’ attacks.
Thank you! 👍
The increase in Kramatorsk continues. Kharkiv went from 0 to 6 and Pokrovsk remains at a high level.
Yes RU is trying to straighten out the bulge towards Konstantynivka. And wants to reach Pokrovsk. But UA probably has formidable defensive ramparts. What do UA’s defense lines look like? I am speculating. Barbed wire, minefields with various types of mines, drones for reconnaissance and attack, EW units. Autonomous machine guns. Ground drones. Some anti-aircraft defense. Attack aircraft when necessary. Not easy for RU to advance but UA cannot simply switch from defense to offense either. Yes, I am pondering.
Considering how much they have invested in Pokrovsk and still not succeeded, I believe, like you, that it will not be easy for Russia to close that pocket.
Sorry, this is completely irrelevant but I thought it was a bit funny.
“The Gothenburg diocese punishes two priests in the Ale municipality after they drank beer and listened to rock music outside a parish hall in Nödinge, reports P4 Gothenburg.
One of the priests tells P4 that on the day in question, he had a sad conversation with his colleague, who had just buried a close friend. They then decided to have pizza and drink a couple of beers. After a while, they were joined by the rock band Svartbjörns kompani.
– They came in with some kind of trailer. On the trailer, they had a smoke machine with some kind of styrofoam death skull.
The incident was reported by a person on their way to the cemetery. Dean Stefan Hiller says that the behavior has damaged the trust in the role of priests.”
https://omni.se/sorgesamtal-blev-olkvall-praster-straffas-av-kyrkan/a/5EqzP6
Here is a live recording with the band, where the mentioned styrofoam death skull can be seen on stage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjFKzK49z0g
Fun fact, Lemmy’s (Motörhead) first band was originally called “Rev Black and the Rockin’ Vicars” but was renamed to “The Rockin’ Vickers” because having rocking priests made it a bit difficult to get gigs.
Maybe those priests can start a band if their priestly career is on the decline? 😀
Despite the styrofoam skull, it takes quite a lot of drinks for them to turn out well.
Well, you have a point there. 😀
The priests had perhaps drunk enough 🥴
Rebel priests 🤣🤣
The Chinese state planning authority, the National Development and Reform Commission, remains optimistic about achieving the goal of 5 percent growth this year. This is despite the trade war with the USA.
The Commission’s Vice Chairman, Zhao Chenxin, stated at a press conference that the country can manage without agricultural and energy imports from the USA.
The export to the USA consists of 2.8% of GDP and they are not likely to lose their entire export even with tariffs at 145%. It’s not possible to move production so quickly, and the uncertainty about which tariffs will apply to different countries makes companies less willing to relocate. If the manufacturing cost in China is a small part and the majority of the price to the customer consists of development, logistics within the USA, and follow-up costs, then imports will not decrease drastically either. The current drastic decrease is due to American companies filling their inventories ahead of Trump’s tariff announcements. In a few months, they will have to refill them again.
Well, for larger companies with bigger margins, it doesn’t hit as hard since the purchase price is not such a big part of the whole. It’s probably much worse for small businesses that rely on cheap imports and only sell the products without processing. There, tariffs will have a big impact when prices have increased by 150%.
Those with small margins (let’s say they have a 20% markup on the price) may not even be able to afford to import as they have to pay upfront and then sell.
Taking out loans probably doesn’t feel so attractive either when they don’t know if they can sell their products for significantly higher prices.
The comment also partly dealt with the fact that China will manage even if they stop buying from the USA, those who have been supplying to China probably don’t think it’s so successful.
Convinced that it will be noticeable in the long run if there is no solution.
Of course, it varies.
It should hit hardest for Aliexpress, Shein, TEMU, and all small intermediaries selling through Amazon.
I wonder what Jeff thinks about this.
A bit off-topic, but the battle over green steel continues. When I opened Expressen’s online edition in the morning, there was a large advertisement from Vattenfall at the very top about fossil-free steel. I thought that maybe the message had started to reach the moralizing layers of society. But no. Feminism and sustainability do not give up easily.
They probably don’t want to be worse than Skellefteå Kraft, which invested heavily in Northvolt.
More washed pension money
“There are over 290,000 solar power installations connected to the electricity grid, where each individual part can be vulnerable to cyber attacks. This creates a security risk for the system, writes DN after speaking with an expert.”
🤮
“Russian President Vladimir Putin personally thanks North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un for the country’s assistance in the war against Ukraine. In a statement from the Kremlin, Putin praises the soldiers’ “feat” in the Russian Kursk region.
“Our Korean friends acted out of a sense of solidarity, justice, and genuine comradeship. We greatly appreciate this and are sincerely grateful to Kim Jong-Un, the entire leadership, and the North Korean people,” reads Putin’s statement.”
Russia has destroyed the memorial of the Battle of Tali-Ihantala by grinding away the text on the stone.
“The Battle of Tali-Ihantala in June-July 1944 was the largest in Nordic history in modern times. After two weeks of fighting, the Finnish forces managed to stop 150,000 Soviet soldiers despite being three times fewer in number.
A monument commemorating the battle was unveiled in July 1999 north of the Russian city of Vyborg, which had previously belonged to Finland.
Russia announced a month ago that the text on the memorial stone would be erased as “illegal”.”
https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/varlden/ryssland-har-forstort–finskt-krigsminnesmarke/
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/norrbotten/minnesmarke-over-krigsfangar
https://www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/6160982
Have we been naive?
Unfortunately, in 2013 we were probably that. I don’t think that would have gone down well today. Why should we have a Russian memorial in Sweden?
“-For us Russians, it is very important to celebrate Victory Day on May 9th and that is why we want a memorial here in Karlsvik”
I hope no one living nearby has a roundabout at hand and does something stupid! 😱
“Scandal in Russian figure skating: ‘Disgusting’
Figure skater Veronika Zjilina, 17, caused hysteria already at the age of 12.
But behind the accolades, there was darkness.
Now – five years later – she accuses her former coach, Sergei Rozanov, of sexual harassment.”
https://www.expressen.se/sport/skandal-inom-rysk-konstakning-in-pa-mentalsjukhus-/
“Vladimir Putin has claimed that control has been regained over the Russian Kursk region.
But both Russian military and Russian war-friendly Telegram accounts report that the fighting in Kursk continues, writes German DW.”
https://www.expressen.se/nyheter/varlden/ryska-rapporterna–gar-emot-putins-ord/
“A clear majority of the countries in Africa would likely prefer Russia if they were forced to choose sides in the Ukraine war, writes The Economist.
There are several explanations. Historically, the Soviet Union supported several African liberation movements against colonial rulers. At the same time, Russia’s “soft power” is increasing in southern Africa, including through several targeted propaganda efforts and through the Russian Orthodox Church. The “hard power” is also evident: Russia has long been Africa’s largest arms supplier.”
It takes guts to call Wagner a soft power 😬
The truth is that Wagner has maintained order when Islamists have rampaged and raped and mutilated ordinary peaceful people. It is a natural human reaction. Similar to how we might express approval, for example, if China bombed the Kremlin to rubble and hung Putin on a lamppost.
Rare earth metals have become a valuable currency around the world – they are at the center of the green transition. The EU and the government want to speed up the process at an increasingly faster pace. Something that the armed forces consider a potential threat to Sweden’s security.
The Per Geijer deposit in Kiruna is one of the largest known deposits in all of Europe. According to the state-owned LKAB, there are over two million tons of rare earth metal oxides in the ground.
Metals that can be used in, among other things, electric cars.
The government and the EU argue that this could help reduce China’s grip on the green transition. In March, the EU fast-tracked 47 projects in Europe working with critical minerals. Three of these are in Sweden.
However, the rapid pace of newly established companies and mines could pose a potential threat to Sweden’s security.
– Swedish assets of natural resources and natural resources in general have historically been a cause of conflicts, says Claes Christensson, intelligence and security chief of the Northern military region.
The projects selected in Norrbotten include LKAB but also the Australian company Talga AB, which will be mining graphite outside Vittangi.
Permits for mining are normally a lengthy process of around ten years, but the fast-track means it is shortened to just over two years.
https://www.svt.se/nyheter/lokalt/norrbotten/hoga-tempot-pa-den-grona-omstallningen-potentiellt-sakerhetshot-mot-sverige
Is this really the official stance of the Armed Forces or is it an activist expressing their personal opinions?
Sounds like a strange statement. Surely natural resources have always been a potential reason for war, but here I get the feeling that SVT simply asked for a statement and that he therefore feels he has to say something, even if it feels a bit forced.
He talks about incoming labor and that Russia uses it as a hybrid activity to conduct foreign intelligence gathering through proxies.
“Another part of the transition concerns the establishment of companies. That’s good, but we need to know which companies are establishing themselves and what their purpose is.”
Applies to all activities in the country and not just mines, right?
Agree – it seems like the statement has been taken out of context, or that it is, as you say, a response to an extremely biased question. Bringing up that Russia can use incoming labor for its purposes is only good, it shows that there is now an awareness of how Russia operates.
‘Probably broke all records’ — NASAMS downs 11 Russian cruise missiles in less than 2 minutes, Ukraine’s Air Force claims. NASAMS have been in service with Ukrainian forces since November 2022.
https://kyivindependent.com/nasams-downs-11-russian-cruise-missiles-in-less-than-2-minutes-air-force-says
Beautiful!
Pop some popcorn, good people!
Daily data for container traffic from China to the US is collapsing
https://www.apolloacademy.com/trade-between-china-and-the-us-collapsing/
Chinese freight ship traffic to busiest U.S. ports, Los Angeles, Long Beach, sees steep drop
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/22/busiest-us-ports-see-big-drop-in-chinese-freight-vessel-traffic.html
In the great country in the west, they do not understand the domino effect of these tariffs.
The first to be affected are likely the ports and transportation companies, but not long after, it will have a broad impact on all importers. If the tariffs remain, the effects are expected to be really noticeable within a couple of months, then we will probably see a large number of bankruptcies from all the small businesses that rely on imports from China and that have nothing left to sell and have run out of money.
A lot of popcorn it will be… https://x.com/SpencerHakimian/status/1916817733821382840
https://bsky.app/profile/united24media.com/post/3lnsa2ot3vp2a
“Cleaning up the Russian infantry and armored vehicles remaining after the assault using drones from the “Force of Freedom” battalion of the 4th NGU brigade.”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lnugr4klbs2o
“Senator John Neely Kennedy om Putin: “Han bröt varje löfte som gavs till Trump. Han vill behålla det territorium han har tagit och stoppa Ukraina från att gå med i NATO. Han tror att vi fruktar honom. Putin har lurat Trump vid varje sväng.””
Det stämmer onekligen 👍🏻.
It certainly is true 👍🏻.
“Trump’s demands for Ukrainian territorial concessions go too far, Germany’s defense minister says. Germany will continue to support Ukraine with military aid even if the U.S. cuts back its assistance, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.”
“On the Kinburn Spit, the Ukrainian Navy destroyed a Russian military vehicle and a dugout with personnel.”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lnueo7ve7s2o
If the mineral agreement is correct, it may start to make more sense.
“The subsoil agreement with the U.S. will not include aid already provided,” says Shmyhal. “We’ve clearly defined our red lines – the agreement must align with Ukraine’s Constitution and European obligations, and be ratified by Parliament.””
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3lnuemmq7kc2i
“On Russian Telegram: Ultimate Fighting Championship is returning to Russia. UFC is definitely returning to Russia — Dana White confirmed the words of the RDIF director at a press conference, Kommersant reported. The head of the promotion noted that he intends to conduct business “as always”.
https://bsky.app/profile/beefeaterfella.bsky.social/post/3lnue3eyeak22“
TOP 10 Military Spenders in 2024, – SIPRI
1️⃣🇺🇸 USA — $997 billion
2️⃣🇨🇳 China — $314 billion
3️⃣🇷🇺 Russia — $149 billion
4️⃣🇩🇪 Germany — $88.5 billion
5️⃣🇮🇳 India — $86.1 billion
6️⃣🇬🇧 UK — $81.8 billion
7️⃣🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia — $80.3 billion
8️⃣🇺🇦 Ukraine — $64.7 billion
9️⃣🇫🇷 France — $64.7 billion
🔟🇯🇵 Japan — $55.3 billion
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lnuh3rhsyc2o
Look pitiful from a European perspective, I think. The three major European countries (UK, DE, and FR) should together match the USA. But they are thus below one third of the USA’s budget.
UK + FR + DE combined GDP does indeed correspond to one third of the USA’s.
1 United States (U.S) $30.507 trillion
2 China $19.231 trillion
3 Germany $4.744 trillion
4 India $4.187 trillion
5 Japan $4.186 trillion
6 United Kingdom (U.K.) $3.839 trillion
7 France $3.211 trillion
The EU has almost as large a GDP as the USA.
Therefore, I think that the EU countries should spend as much on defense as the USA.
If we then add the United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, and of course Ukraine, we should together far exceed the USA.
Unfortunately, it’s probably not quite like that…
“The Russian Armed Forces are expanding military bases in Petrozavodsk and other areas near the border with Finland, and are also planning to transfer additional troops to the border with European countries, – WSJ
Russia is already building new warehouses and housing for the military, laying a new railway along the border with 🇪🇪Estonia, 🇫🇮Finland and 🇳🇴Norway, and expanding existing railway lines in this region.”
Towards Finland, it will be the second-rate and units in training.
They can always ask their ancestors who are buried along the border from earlier, how it went last time….
The Accent Man’s latest (from last night).
“Ukrainian Bombs Rip Through Strategic Russian Base, Producing up to 9,000 Drones/Month!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tr9_gR1_6w
Jake Bore’s latest:
“All Bad News for Russia Today”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIQsxNFmWYg
I’m sorry, but I can’t access external links. Please copy and paste the text here for me to translate.
“Russia is preparing a new army near NATO borders, with intel suggesting they’re gearing up for conflict. Bases in Petrozavodsk are being expanded, new military facilities built, and railways upgraded along borders with Finland, Estonia, and Norway.”
(See also my post at 11:36)
Fits well into Johan’s September scenario.
Sure thing 😎
The USA’s President Donald Trump is planning to sign an executive order on Monday that gives the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security the task of identifying the cities and states that are not complying with federal migration laws. Last week, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from withholding federal funds from more than a dozen cities and states that have refused to cooperate with Trump’s tough immigration policy.
Here we go again, favorite in rerun!
Trump ready to bail out farmers amid trade war squeeze, Rollins says
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/27/farm-tariffs-bailout-trump-china
Excuse the expression, but those damn MAGA farmers already received subsidies during the last term, maybe even under Biden. Now they have voted for Trump AGAIN and are going to receive subsidies AGAIN!
Oooops!
“Large parts of Spain and Portugal are currently without power, according to Spanish media. Parts of France are also affected. The outage is affecting communications, airports, and transportation networks. The national railway company Renfe states that all trains are at a standstill, and in the capital Madrid, subway traffic is paralyzed.”
https://omni.se/a/kwjjRX
🧐
Finland also power outage?
They actually have a few power outages, but no more than usual. Right now, 290 customers are without electricity, mainly due to planned maintenance.
Apparently, the manufacturing industry has also been affected. After an hour, they have started to restore power in some smaller areas, but they still don’t know the cause of the problem.
My guess is that it’s the large proportion of solar panels that has destabilized the grid. Spain has around 25% solar power in its grid, and a large part of this is on private rooftops.
If you have a really sunny day like today, and some of the conventional power is down, the grid operator doesn’t have control over the voltage level in the grid, and then the voltage can rise too high, causing the relays to trip.
Furthermore, it may be that more power is being produced than the grid is built to transmit, which leads to further voltage increases at certain bottlenecks.
If, in addition, a lot of solar power hasn’t been taken into account when making selectivity plans for the transmission grid, it will trip breakers in the wrong places and then it will collapse like a house of cards.
Now there is talk of a possible cyberattack, and sure, that would certainly be possible, but I lean towards it being “natural causes.”
Had the same thought, especially after the Portuguese internet company’s hint that the error had been localized to the Spanish backbone network and was believed to be linked to atmospheric disturbances.
What a little jokester Putin is when he messes around with ceasefires that he himself doesn’t follow.
“Vladimir Putin declares a 72-hour ceasefire in Ukraine between 8 and 10 May. The period coincides with the so-called Victory Day, which is celebrated in memory of the end of World War II.
“All military operations are suspended during this period,” writes the Kremlin.
It is expected that Ukraine will agree to this.”
https://omni.se/putin-utlyser-vapenvila-mellan-8-och-11-maj/a/B0XX0e
From the state television:
Power is beginning to be restored in the northern and southern parts of the Iberian Peninsula, says the operator Red Electrica.
Spanish airports have experienced “some disruptions,” reports Reuters.
The Spanish government is to hold a crisis meeting about the situation.
Parts of France are also said to be affected.
Spanish airports had indeed sold the backup generators
How the h*ll did my answer end up here and not where it was supposed to be?
Good question, but I don’t have a real answer.
The text editor receives an ID that should match the ID of the comment being commented on (so it knows where to save it).
It’s possible that it might actually mess things up in some situations. For example, it could happen if someone else manages to save a comment on the same post before you have finished, causing the numbering to change in the meantime or something like that.
Although, I think the error should occur more often in that case.
Sometimes when scrolling, it gets messy if you have big thumbs.
It’s more likely to be SBS than an error here.
Ok, then I don’t have to troubleshoot the site.
The power outage is actually a cyber attack 😬
We all know it’s Russia or China, but that our power grid was this vulnerable…
Test run for the fall?
Now you’re running a bit too fast on the ball again. 😀
It is still unknown what the reason is, but a cyberattack is a possibility that has not been ruled out.
I will wait until you yourself come to the conclusion that it was a cyberattack and present it as breaking news 😎
😂
The power company itself writes the following on X:
“➡️ Plans for restoring the power supply have been activated in collaboration with industrial companies after the power outage on the Iberian Peninsula.
➡️ The causes are being analyzed and all resources are being invested to address the issue.
We will continue to report.”
Then they have updated with:
“➡️ We are starting to restore power in the northern and southern parts of the peninsula, which is crucial for gradually addressing the power supply.
➡️ It is a process that involves a gradual activation of the transmission network as the power groups are connected.
We continue to work on restoring the supply.”
Translated from Elomundo:
System crash
There are many reasons why an energy zero can occur. One of them is that there may be a peak in demand that the system cannot cover, although this is not common, as Red Electrica constantly compensates the grid to keep it balanced and activates or deactivates (surplus production can also bring down the system) production sources depending on the needs. In this way, they can also disconnect electro-intensive industries to prevent them from burdening the system.
https://www.elmundo.es/economia/2025/04/28/680f5d2221efa099318b4582.html
Our is around 20 in the area – no heating or cooling yet.
Not the right time for peaks in demand.
How do you think Finland fits into this?
I haven’t decided if Finland was wrong or not 😀
I have no idea how Finland fits in with power outages in Spain and Portugal, it probably takes a Johan No.1 to put it all together! 😂
Of course, it doesn’t add up, so how can it happen in four countries simultaneously?
Which four countries?
Spain, Portugal, a small part of France are the ones affected, right?
Finland hasn’t had any significant power outages to speak of?
Or do you have any information about that?
🧐
I was right about Finland but they didn’t have a power outage 👍
Had someone stolen their sisu?
Not the right time for consumption peaks, but the right time for production stops of uncontrollable production….. If more is produced than what is used, things happen both with voltage and frequency, if the grid is weak, the voltage rises, if there is a lack of “inertia” they can fall out of phase.
Here is an article in English from Fingrid, in case anyone else here is in the electricity industry.
https://www.fingridlehti.fi/en/working-with-the-energy-sector-to-maintain-stability-in-a-converter-dominated-power-system/
Was I no wind at the moment have I imagined?
“Rostov 🔥”
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lnulf772hs2o
Those who have purchased the F35 have signed an agreement allowing the USA extensive rights to dictate how they can be used 😬
What luck, I was so close to buying a handful!
Sounds good for Gripen!
Should be able to become happy days for SAAB 👍🏻.
NK has ordered troops to RU.
RU can soon release units and send them to the Baltics.
Five minutes to twelve…
Will address defense along the northern front.
Ceasefire is life-threatening now
Fits a little too well this…
Oh, this is what Z proved to T in their conversation in the Vatican, I am completely convinced of that. (I keep almost writing Vatnikanen.)
Now T knows that Putin is a bigger liar than himself, and we hope that is not acceptable.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s true.
Seems like in some way a light has been turned on in the orangery, we can only hope that it leads to something positive for Ukraine.
😂
“President Donald Trump calls the American press ‘corrupt’ after several opinion polls have shown a significant decrease in support for him.
Trump mentions polls published by the New York Times and ABC/Washington Post, and writes that their samples have been biased since only 37 and 34 percent of those surveyed are Trump supporters.
‘(The designated media) are truly the enemies of the people,’ Trump writes on Truth Social, and calls the polls ‘fake news’.”
https://omni.se/trump-rasar-mot-medier-efter-daliga-valjarbetyg-folkets-fiender/a/alEEq5
😂👍🏻
Addition to the cyberattack in Spain and Portugal is that BankID was down a few days ago in an IT attack.
Joking aside above – I think there have been power outages in Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland as well?
We’ll see what comes up during the day/evening?
Extreme temperature variations in the inland areas of Spain caused the power outage on the Iberian Peninsula. The problem may take up to a week to fully resolve, according to Portugal’s national grid operator REN, as reported by Reuters. The temperature variations caused “abnormal vibrations” in the high-voltage power lines, described as a rare atmospheric phenomenon. “These vibrations caused synchronization errors between the power systems, leading to subsequent disruptions in the interconnected European grid,” REN wrote.
In Madrid, it was freezing cold at 11 degrees at night and a whole 24 degrees today.
I have googled a bit about this phenomenon and only found expansion and contraction of the power lines?
Anyway – quickly figured out the cause in just a few hours 👍
That sounds strange to me, working in the industry. When it’s very hot, the lines sag, when it’s cold, they sag less. But the idea that it would create vibrations sounds odd. The conductivity changes slightly at different temperatures, so it could cause voltage variations.
Vibrations sound more like a lack of “inertia”, that is, too little resistance to rapid frequency changes, and the resulting stability issues and frequency oscillations.
Sounds almost like an excuse 🧐
Or was it neither wind nor sun at night that crashed the entire power grid in Spain?
The wind was blowing in the wrong direction and the turbines spun backwards, sucking back the flow that was on its way out 🤨.
🤣🤣
😂
Maybe it was a black hole that paid a visit and sucked up all the sunlight from the solar panels, so they started drawing power instead of generating it?
Now half of Belgium is also in darkness 😲
👀🇺🇸 “The first time I had two things to do — run the country and survive. And this time I run the country and the world… I’m having a lot of fun, considering what I’m doing. You know, what I’m doing is a very serious business,” — Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic.
https://bsky.app/profile/theukrainianreview.bsky.social/post/3lnv6tk6opk2r
One does get a little bit worried 😲
Finds – Portugal and Spain completely blacked out and France and Belgium partially blacked out. This is what Google says from verifiable sources.
Then there are Twitter rumors about – Germany, the Netherlands, and Finland but nothing that is verified at all.
Spain has no idea what caused this yet according to the BBC.
IF it’s an unstable power grid due to uncontrollable energy, we certainly don’t need Russia, right 😀
A cyberattack that exploited vulnerabilities and triggered a chain reaction is actually my bet.
My second bet is that this was a dress rehearsal because Europe won’t be able to protect anything until autumn.
We have electricity in the Caribbean, I can inform you – you don’t need to worry about me anymore.
“…Belgien påverkas inte…” 🧐.
https://www.brusselstimes.com/1554495/power-outage-across-portugal-and-spain
I have no electricity, do everything with a “pig”.
http://smhs.com.dinstudio.se/files/Ra_200_xx.JPG
The BBC, which reported on Belgium, is such a credible source 😀
Wait until the smoke clears, it will be worse than we think now.
Excuse me, it wasn’t BBC…
Encountered issues with electricity here in the western part of Finland, there were some isolated interruptions in the north and east earlier today, but a large part were planned outages, nothing unusual.
Sweden exports 5.8 GW and the price in SE4 is 69 öre, it was actually at minus 4 öre this afternoon.
Sweden almost always exports electricity, but most of it is produced in Norrland. Looking at electricity areas 3 and 4, they import about 900MW more per area than they export. Price variations have probably increased in line with the expansion of wind power.
The price variations have increased mainly when nuclear power plants were shut down in southern Sweden, wind power was expanded in northern Sweden, and the transmission to Denmark was increased. When the price areas were introduced, the difference was at most a couple of öre.
Now Italy has problems.
Just for your information, the people we know in Portugal have gone dark.
Russia starts in the “wrong” direction and invades Portugal to work its way in?
Is the Russian fleet / shadow fleet lurking near Lisbon?
“The European Union endorses an even more ambitious plan. Specifically, the vision is to have a union from Lisbon to Vladivostok, as envisioned by the Supreme Leader Vladimir Putin many years ago. To recognize the leading role of Russia in forming the union, the European Union aligns its legislation and practices with Russia’s (e.g., highest bribes win cases in courts, police can use brute force at will, people can move only with an approval from the authorities, parliaments are abolished to save money).”
From the following scenario/analysis by Yuriy Gorodnichenko, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Vox Ukraine, and Ilona Sologoub, Scientific Editor at Vox Ukraine, feels current:
From Lisbon to Vladivostok: Russian version
https://voxukraine.org/en/from-lisbon-to-vladivostok-russian-version
🤣 it would shake up those lazy Portuguese people real good
Portugal did not want the F35, did they?
Since the beginning of the day, 133 acts of aggression have taken place, AFRF🇷🇺 has carried out 80 air strikes against AFU🇺🇦 troops’ positions and populated areas, with 112 guided air bombs, 1103 kamikaze drone attacks, and 4296 artillery shells.
Most attacks 52/133 – 40% since the beginning of the day in Pokrovsk: During the day, in the Pokrovsk sector, AFRF🇷🇺 carried out 52 raids. Fifteen firefights are still ongoing.
According to preliminary estimates, Ukrainian forces have neutralized 124 occupiers in Ponrovsk, 63 of them irreversibly. AFU🇺🇦 also destroyed four vehicles, a motorcycle, and three unmanned aerial vehicles.
In light of the evening report’s relatively low losses in Pokrovsk (which usually correspond to the sector’s share of attacks in the report), it appears that there will be a lower number of personnel losses in tomorrow’s report. Perhaps falling below 1000, which has not been common in the last half-year/year. On the other hand, fifteen firefights are still ongoing.
👍
Finally! 💥🔥👍
“Several Russian channels report of a raging fire in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar region, in Russia, which was caused by a long-range Neptun missile. Multiple videos are showing a fire at the local oil depot.”
https://bsky.app/profile/tendar.bsky.social/post/3lnvlsmdnhs2j
“Ryska Telegram-kanaler rapporterar om en stor brand i området Novorossiysk, Krasnodarregionen i Ryssland.
Lokala nyheter rapporterade om en “dieseltankbrand i industriområdet”. Att döma av brandens storlek var inte tanken liten.
Inga kommentarer från lokala myndigheter ännu.”
https://bsky.app/profile/antongerashchenko.bsky.social/post/3lnvkcsrpws2l
Interesting day to say the least and it will surely be more lively now that we are in May and it should be within the RU window to start the wave of sabotage?
Do you know why Putin wants a ceasefire on May 9th?
So that UA doesn’t rain on the parade 🤣
Apparently, the whole of Europe was seconds away from being blacked out today – the effect or whatever it’s called was right on the edge 😳
India buys Rafale from France/Dassault. Maybe what Vance tried to stop?
https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-signs-74-billion-deal-with-france-buy-26-rafale-fighter-jets-2025-04-28/
Aha – I haven’t thought about that, but you’re right! Check out this link where Vance is trying to sell the F35. https://x.com/Mylovanov/status/1914835996299976800
I thought India was going to buy the F35?
Vance thought so too!
🤣🤣
Trump slowed down those 50 Abrams that the Australians want to send 🤢
The question is whether you need enemies when you have friends like Spain – apparently 100% renewable there a few days before everything went out
You must decide who you dislike the most!
Is it Russia’s fault for causing trouble through cyber attacks, or is it the environmentalists and their solar panels? 😂