It would appear that the loss of the Star-link connection’s by Russia and the loss of good troops has enabled Ukraine to actually make gains on the battlefield….
The Russia offensive is NOT what Putin is being told it is…..
In addition?
US and Israeli attacks have included Iran drone production sites which should cut the amount of drones Iran sends to Russian for Ukraine attacks…
German Chancellor tells Trump that Ukraine should NOT be doing ‘Land for Peace’ in negotiations …
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The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, in Washington for talks with Donald Trump, said he stressed that Ukraine should not have to accept further territorial concessions during his conversation with the US president. He said he also underscored the need for continued support for Ukraine, which last week marked the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion. “We all want to see this war coming to an end as soon as possible. But Ukraine has to preserve its territory and their security interests,” Merz said at the start of his third visit to the Oval Office. He told reporters he thought Trump had understood the point after he showed him a map of the war-torn country.
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Trump ensured Merz that negotiating a deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine remained “very high” on his priority list, and said he believed the US had plenty of munitions to fight Iran and sell them to Europe for use in Ukraine.
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Merz also urged Trump to put pressure on Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine. “Russia is playing for time here, and in doing so is also acting against the will of the American president. In today’s talks, I called for increasing the pressure on Moscow,” the German chancellor told reporters. The US, Russia and Ukraine are taking part in trilateral talks aimed at securing a peace deal. Merz, however, said only a pact supported by Europe could be lasting. “We are not prepared to accept an agreement that is negotiated over our heads,” he said.
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A suspected Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker seized by Belgium is being held on a €10m ($12m) bond, after inspections revealed infractions, Brussels said on Tuesday. The Ethera, which Belgium alleges is part of a flotilla of ageing vessels Moscow uses to avoid western sanctions, was seized by Belgian special forces in the North Sea on Sunday. Investigations carried out after it was brought to the port of Zeebrugge confirmed it had been sailing under a false Guinean flag, the Belgian government said. In total inspectors found 45 infractions, including technical defects, leading to the ship being impounded, it added. The tanker’s Russian captain and its 20-strong crew were ordered to remain on board. “The ship will only leave the port once it is compliant and the deposit has been paid,” said Belgium’s mobility minister, Jean-Luc Crucke. Russia has previously described the seizure of its tankers and other vessels carrying its cargoes as acts of piracy.
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The US has deployed a low-cost combat drone in Iran modelled on the Iranian Shahed, as it pushes to accelerate weapons programmes because the Ukraine war. The Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (Lucas) drone was deployed just eight months after its Pentagon unveiling. Defence officials said the compressed timeline reflected lessons learned from observing drone warfare in Ukraine, where both sides have employed thousands of low-cost unmanned systems.
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The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, discussed the Druzhba pipeline, which is at the centre of a dispute with Hungary and Slovakiaand has held up approval of a €90bn EU loan to Kyiv. A commission spokesperson said the two leaders had discussed the matter during a call but could not share any details of the conversation. Earlier von der Leyen said on X that they had discussed topics including the loan, sanctions on Russia and “the wider impact of the developments in the Middle East on energy prices, on energy security and on availability of badly needed defence materials”….
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ISW...Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 3, 2026
- The United States and Israel are striking Iran’s drone and missile facilities to reduce the pressure on missile and drone interceptors – a capability the United States is denying Ukraine by refusing to provide Tomahawk cruise missiles.
- Russian officials continue to condemn the US-Israeli strike campaign against Iran, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to support the United States.
- Ukrainian forces liberated more territory than they lost in mid to late February 2026 for the first time since the Summer 2023 counteroffensive.
- The Russian military command continues to operate in an alternate reality, setting wildly unrealistic deadlines that do not match Russia’s actual battlefield capabilities.
- Russia has failed to achieve the objectives of its Winter 2025-2026 long-range missile and drone campaign against Ukrainian energy and civilian infrastructure.
- Insider reports continue to indicate that the Kremlin is expecting the war to continue until at least the September 2026 State Duma elections.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Novopavlivka. Russian forces recently advanced near Slovyansk.
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Is the Ukraine a fogotten place for Trump?
Europeans struggling to cope with Donald Trump’s inflammatory interventions may be about to discover there’s one thing worse: Not being the object of his attention anymore.
As Trump’s ongoing operation against Iran takes priority with Pentagon planners and the White House, European officials fear he will lose interest in ending Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, now into its fifth year.
The practical impact if the U.S. becomes embroiled in a drawn-out conflict in the Middle East could be even more severe than the political effect: Ukraine may be starved of the American-made weapons it needs to resist daily Russian missile attacks — because U.S. forces are using so many of them against Iran.
“Everyone understands that for us, this is our life — the appropriate weapons,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters on Monday. “If there are long-term hostilities in the Middle East, this will certainly affect the supply. I am sure of this.”
Trump said on Monday that the U.S and Israel-led war on Iran could last four to five weeks, but that he is prepared for it to go longer. Some analysts have warned it has the potential to spiral into a broader conflict that may be hard for America to exit. …
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Daily Kos Grunt Report for Today…
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Note
Less Iran oil will mean Russian oil , that gets past the sanctioned stops will be worth MORE money for Russia…
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