I stayed up way too late last night and didn't wake up until 12:00 this afternoon. Working with two resistance groups in the United States, and the only time I have to do it, because of the time difference, is late at night. I try hard to get to bed by midnight, but more often than not it ends up being 1:00 or 2:00 before I go to sleep. Being involved with the groups has curtailed studying Spanish very much these last four or five months.
Meanwhile Ukraine:
Good news--The EU's Court of Justice on Sept. 9 dismissed a legal challenge filed by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban intended to prevent money linked to frozen Russian assets from being spent on the EU's military aid to Ukraine.
EU countries agreed in EU 2024 to bankroll some military assistance for Ukraine using the interest generated on Russian government assets that have been "frozen" within the EU since Moscow launched its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The current Hungarian prime minister, Peter Magyar, has not spoken about the case but has adopted a more constructive approach to relations with the EU since taking office in May.
While Magyar has repeatedly ruled out his country providing direct military assistance to Ukraine, he has affirmed Kyiv's right to defend itself and signaled Budapest would not obstruct assistance from other EU members. Source: Kyiv Independent
NOT o good news. Former CIA Chief of Station Sean Wiswesser says NATO’s deterrence is too weak and warns that the Baltic states could be Russia’s next target. “I believe the Baltics are next, unfortunately,” he tells Kyiv Post special correspondent Jason Jay Smart. He points to the Suwalki Gap as one place where Moscow could attempt a limited move that forces NATO to decide whether Article 5 will actually be enforced, without first launching another full-scale invasion.
Wiswesser says the danger is growing because Russia is already testing the West while rebuilding its military faster than many analysts expected. Moscow still regards the United States as its main adversary, while sabotage, cyberattacks, drone incidents and covert operations are already reaching European countries. The next challenge to NATO could be intentionally limited and difficult to classify, giving governments less time to agree on what happened and how far they are prepared to go in response.
That is why Wiswesser keeps coming back to deterrence. “Real deterrence is, unfortunately, risking war to prevent war,” he says. He calls for long-range weapons for Ukraine, including German Taurus missiles and F-16 ERAMs, greater pressure on Russia’s oil and gas sector, and the seizure of frozen Russian state assets in Europe. Warnings matter only if Moscow believes ignoring them will incur a concrete cost. Source: Kyiv Post
