Annika Jagander

Career diplomat and former Swedish ambassador to some lovely countries. Now just a private citizen with an interest in the world.

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Q: How are European leaders recalculating their approach to Trump?

Applebaum: Meloni stood up and said: "I don't beg. Italy doesn't beg. This is a ridiculous way to treat your allies. And by the way — why are you accommodating your enemies so much?"

That reflects the view of many European leaders now.

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Macron: For the first time, the United States signed a text with us saying they are no longer neutral mediators.

They support Ukraine's territorial sovereignty alongside us, with military capability, energy support, and sanctions against Russia.

1/

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Bolton: Trump doesn't understand the concept of alliances. He thinks we defend Europe, they don't pay, we get nothing. In fact the US gets a lot out of NATO.

It's been a mistake of American politicians treating NATO membership as an act of charity by the United States. 1/

[NEXTA @nexta_tv]

Zelensky increasingly looks like the man holding the West’s future in his hands

Financial Times columnist Edward Luce argues that Volodymyr Zelensky has found himself in a unique position: simultaneously confronting Putin, facing pressure from Trump, and yet remaining one of the most recognizable and influential political figures in the world.

According to the author, Ukraine is playing an increasingly important role in shaping debates about the future of the EU, NATO, and European security. And with Europe’s largest and most battle-tested army, Kyiv now carries significant weight in those discussions.

While many Western politicians shift their positions according to polls and election cycles, Zelensky has spent the last four years defending the very values the West often claims to stand for.

[The New Yorker @NewYorker]

A new book by the Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan provides a vivid, rigorous, and unavoidably depressing chronicle of the first year of Donald Trump’s second term in the White House. “Regime Change” is packed with news that will stay news, David Remnick writes. It is particularly strong on the Administration’s colossal financial corruption, its heedless destruction of invaluable agencies such as U.S.A.I.D., and the sordid and unhinged nature of Trump and the culture over which he presides. Haberman and Swan contend that Trump ran in 2024 for one reason above all: “This was about staying out of prison.” Read Remnick on their “exceptional” book: https://t.co/JN3cm6pxD7

[Carl Bildt @carlbildt]

The ink is not yet on the paper, but the important deal on building the same submarine for the navies of 🇸🇪 and 🇵🇱 should soon be there. https://t.co/nZGJo8bMJo

[The New Yorker @NewYorker]

A new book by the Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan contends that Trump ran in 2024 for one reason above all: “This was about staying out of prison.” https://t.co/tiWqJrmDWc

[Mike Pompeo @mikepompeo]

The only acceptable end to this war is Russia's defeat. It's in our deep strategic interest to give Ukraine the support they need to win this war.

https://t.co/Er33cVsSLK

[Tetїana 🇺🇦 @TPSpindel]

“We’re not helping them. They’re helping us.”

By refusing to surrender, Ukrainians are defending more than their own freedom. They are defending the conditions that allow freedom to exist elsewhere: the rule of law, self-determination, and a world where aggression and nuclear blackmail do not prevail.

That is @TimothyDSnyder argument and why Ukraine’s fight matters far beyond Ukraine.

[Marko Mihkelson 🇪🇪🇺🇦🇪🇺 @markomihkelson]

Ten years ago today, Britain voted for Brexit.
Do we have evidence that Russia determined the outcome of the referendum? No.
But we do know a few things.
We know that Arron Banks, the biggest financial backer of Brexit, held multiple meetings with Russian diplomats during the referendum campaign. At the same time, discussions were taking place about potential Russian business opportunities, including interests in gold mining ventures.
We know that Russian-linked social media accounts and troll networks were active in the Brexit information space, amplifying divisive narratives around immigration, national identity, and opposition to the European Union.
And we know that Brexit aligned perfectly with the Kremlin's strategic interests: a weaker European Union, a United Kingdom removed from the EU decision-making table, and deeper political divisions across the West.
We also know something else.
The British government never properly investigated the full extent of potential Russian interference when it mattered most.
So, ten years on, the real question is not whether Russia "caused" Brexit.
The real question is why one of the most consequential geopolitical decisions in modern Western history was never thoroughly examined, despite the documented contacts between Brexit's largest donor and Russian officials, and despite the fact that the outcome was celebrated in Moscow as a strategic victory.
A decade later, many questions remain unanswered.

[Kate from Kharkiv @BohuslavskaKate]

ZELENSKYY: Ukraine has begun the process of bringing the war back to Russia.

Yesterday we struck oil refinery in Tyumen region, that’s already 2,070 km from our border.

We used brand-new drones with flight range of 2,500 km. They will soon be able to fly more than 3,000 km.

We will fly even further, beyond 3,000 km, because we know exactly where all Russian military plants, oil bases, gas storage facilities, and similar targets are located.

We need longer-range tools, and we are developing them right now. Of course, the number of our deep strikes into Russia will also increase every day.

[Tymofiy Mylovanov @Mylovanov]

Kasparov: Trump can criticize Xi Jinping, dismiss Kim Jong-un, push Erdogan aside.

He has never said one negative word about Putin. Never done a single thing that could hurt him. The question is not what Trump sees in Putin. The question is what Putin has on Trump. 1/

[Kate from Kharkiv @BohuslavskaKate]

APPLEBAUM: What Russians do is they put out not one lie, but million lies, or not one explanation, but one after another.

It's a propaganda technique. They just flood people with massive, contradictory stories, and sooner or later, people won't pay attention to anything at all.

And there's so much information all the time that people eventually just tune out, and they say, "I don't know what's true, I don't know what's not true, I don't believe anything, I'm not going to engage in this issue, I'm not going to get angry about it, I just don't want to know anything at all."

[Kate from Kharkiv @BohuslavskaKate]

SIKORSKI: I'd like to point out the difference in the targets that the two sides select. Russians hit an 11th-century monastery in Kyiv. And remember, in the 11th century, Moscow was still a forest. Ukrainians hit an oil refinery in Moscow, which is a legitimate military target.

[Anders Åslund @anders_aslund]

Trump is the greatest enemy of the US:
1. His unjustified claim to Greenland has effectively ended NATO.
2. His support of Putin has ended all claims to the US supporting democracy.
3. His end of all US international aid has ended US soft power.
4. His war on iran has presented the US as a global village fool.
5. His persistent insults of all friendly global leaders alienates all.
6. No US president has appointed more incompetent people.
7. Finally, a man who always lies can't have any credibility.

[Donald Tusk @donaldtusk]

Konflikt między Polską i Ukrainą cieszy Putina i szokuje naszych sojuszników. Zadaniem prezydentów Zelenskiego i Nawrockiego jest tonowanie emocji, a nie podsycanie napięcia. Linia frontu przebiega gdzie indziej.

[Carl Bildt @carlbildt]

Building our Europe is a question of overcoming the bitter divisions of the past. It was done by 🇩🇪🇫🇷 and others, and it must be done by 🇺🇦 🇵🇱 as well. The Kremlin 🇷🇺 is obviously jubilant over everything that divides our Europe. https://t.co/9XP6Pvsp7O

[Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum]

She is not wrong

[Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder]

This is a stunning strategic defeat and Trump is without parallel as a strategic loser.
https://t.co/kauAA7r3A6