At a moment Washington under President Trump is busy issuing rare calls for restraint, de-escalation, and to enact a peace deal in Ukraine, a top NATO commander says the conflict needs more aggression by the Western military alliance directly against Russia.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of NATO’s Military Committee, has told Financial Times as part of a fresh report that NATO is currently mulling more proactive measures in response to Russia’s escalating hybrid warfare. The report cites an alleged rise in Russian-backed cyberattacks, sabotage operations and airspace violations over Europe – which NATO could mirror and more, as any potential “pre-emptive strike” on Russian targets would be justified.

“We are studying everything… On cyber, we are kind of reactive,” Dragone said. “Being more aggressive or being proactive instead of reactive is something that we are thinking about.”

That’s when he explained his view that a “pre-emptive strike” could under certain circumstances and context be classified as a defensive action. “It is further away from our normal way of thinking and behavior,” he conceded.

“Being more aggressive compared with the [aggressiveness] of our counterpart could be an option” – but he said that the questions that remain are: “legal framework, jurisdictional framework, who is going to do this?”

Multiple diplomats and officials from Eastern European and Baltic states are calling for this more proactive stance, or a less merely ‘reactive’ approach, to make Moscow feel real pain.

“If all we do is continue being reactive, we just invite Russia to keep trying, keep hurting us,” one Baltic diplomat was quoted in the FT as complaining.

“Hybrid warfare is asymmetric – it costs them little, and us a lot. We need to be more inventive,” the diplomat said.

And yet, there already have been years of covert sabotage operations in place, aimed at Russia and overseen by the West. These efforts, some which long ago were exposed in mainstream publications, are a large reason of why there’s been constant escalation of the Ukraine war. 

This has in turn resulted in escalation of nuclear rhetoric and threats between Russia and the West. But the temperature needs to be drastically turned down, but these latest comments by the chair of NATO’s Military Committee will only do the opposite.

Young men are continuing to pay the price on the battlefield, even as a peace process slowly and painfully plays out. Reuters has belatedly admitted and documented the immense losses suffered by Ukraine’s military:

Pavlo Broshkov had high hopes when he joined the Ukrainian army in March as a fresh-faced recruit eager to defend his country and earn a bumper bonus to buy a home for his wife and baby daughter.

Three months later, the 20-year-old lay broken and prone on the battlefield, his dreams in tatters.

Broshkov is among hundreds of 18 to 24-year-olds who have volunteered to fight on the front lines this year, lured by generous pay and perks in a national youth recruitment drive designed to breathe fresh life into Ukraine’s aged and exhausted armed forces of about one million.

Meanwhile, EU nations are finding any way possible to keep up the conflict instead of finding true compromise…

Macron:

In the weeks to come, the pressure on the Russian economy and the capacity of Russia to finance the war effort will drastically change. pic.twitter.com/JOmzDvdKxY

— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 1, 2025

The Kremlin has hit back against the aforementioned remarks of Adm. Dragone, with Kremlin spokesperson Maria Zakharova calling Dragone’s remarks “an extremely irresponsible step, indicating the readiness of the alliance to continue to move toward escalation.”

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

President Donald Trump said on Nov. 30 that the freeze on asylum decisions, which was imposed following the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, will likely be in place indefinitely.

His comments came after U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph B. Edlow announced that the agency has halted all asylum decisions until it can ensure that “every alien is vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.”

When asked about how long the administration intends to pause asylum decisions, Trump said the measure has “no time limit” and could extend for “a long time.”

“We don’t want those people. We have enough problems,” the president told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Trump said he was referring to “people from different countries that are not friendly to us,” and from “countries that are out of control themselves,” pointing to Somalia as one example.

When asked if there is a list of countries whose nationals would face asylum restrictions in the United States, Trump referred to the 19 nations labeled by his administration as “countries of identified concern.”

“I don’t think they are all third world, but in many cases they are third world. They are not good countries. They are very crime-ridden countries,” he added. “And we frankly, don’t need their people coming into our country telling us what to do.”

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the pause after it stopped processing all immigration requests relating to Afghan nationals pending further review of security and vetting protocols.

For an immigrant to be eligible for asylum, the applicant must “have a fear of persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or their inclusion in a particular social group,” according to the Refugee Council USA.

The move came in the wake of the Nov. 26 shooting of two National Guard members, one killed and the other critically injured, near the White House, which authorities say was carried out by an Afghan national who entered the United States in September 2021 through Operation Allies Welcome, the Biden-era resettlement program launched after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Trump has denounced the shooting as an “act of hatred” and vowed to “permanently pause migration from all Third World countries” to allow for the U.S. system’s full recovery.

He said Nov. 27 that his administration would suspend all federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens, denaturalize immigrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any foreigners deemed to be “a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western civilization.”

“These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal autopen approval process,” Trump stated on Truth Social. “Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation.”

Jacki Thrapp contributed to this report.

Authored by Steve Watson via modernity.news,

Lucy Connolly, the mother jailed for 31 months over a single anti-mass immigration tweet int 2024, has revealed that her 13-year-old daughter Edie has been blocked from starting at a new school after the headteacher discovered her mother’s identity and conviction, citing that “racism doesn’t go down well” in their institution.

The devastating rejection, detailed in a GB News interview, sees Connolly, now free after over a year in prison, blast the decision as “outrageous discrimination” against her innocent child for her own political views.

If true, the development represents yet another another grim chapter in Britain’s speech gulag, where 10,000 were arrested last year for social media posts under vague hate speech laws.

NEW: Lucy Connolly reveals her 13-year-old daughter had her new school place rescinded when a headteacher realised Lucy was her mother.

She said: “They said racism doesn’t go down well at the school and my daughter being there would cause a ruckus.” pic.twitter.com/9mziPgltjt

— Ben Leo (@benleo444) December 1, 2025

Connolly told GB News “They said, ‘we’re going to be honest with you, the headteacher found out about who you were and put a block on the move and racism doesn’t go down well in their school’.”

The family had secured a six-week trial placement for Edie, desperate for stability after months of upheaval, but the discovery of Connolly’s August 2024 sentence for her tweet in the wake of the murder of three young girls in Southport by a second generation Rwandan migrant, led to an abrupt cancellation.

She claims that the headteacher of the school in question told the family the placement would be “too difficult” given the conviction.

“A headteacher at another local school deemed it fit to discriminate against my child because of my political views,” Connolly claimed.

Connolly fumed, “It’s outrageous. My daughter is being punished for my views. She’s innocent, and now she’s the one suffering,” adding “In what world is this ok?”

Connolly’s nightmare began in early August last year, when she was sentenced to 31 months for her tweet, which read “Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f***ing hotels full of the bastards for all I care.”

Judge Melbourne Inman KC called it “grossly offensive,” imposing the maximum under the Public Order Act for “stirring up racial hatred”—despite no direct threats and Connolly’s lack of priors as a childminder.

The punishment was clearly disproportionately severe and set a dangerous precedent, with the likes of former Prime Minister Liz Truss warning it would only fuel “radicalisation.”

Connolly’s fate can be contrasted with freed agitators like Labour councillor Ricky Jones, who incited a call to “cut their throats” against critics of mass migration, yet ultimately ended up with nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

Jones faced no custody while Connolly rotted, her appeal dismissed despite widespread outrage.

Edie Connolly’s school block is another instant of the human cost of Britain’s “speech gulag,” where 10,000 were arrested last year for “offensive” online content under the Communications Act and Online Safety Act.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Vaccine stocks slumped Monday after an explosive memo from FDA vaccine chief Vinay Prasad surfaced late Friday, signaling the agency is preparing to roll out tough restrictions on new vaccines for children. Prasad described a “profound revelation” linking Covid shots to at least ten deaths in children. 

By late morning, Vaccine makers dropped on the memo: Moderna -6%, BioNTech -4.3%, Novavax -4%, Vaxcyte -6.6%.

“This is a profound revelation,” Prasad wrote in the memo. “For the first time, the US FDA will acknowledge that COVID-19 vaccines have killed American children.”

He added, “It is horrifying to consider that the US vaccine regulation, including our actions, may have harmed more children than we saved. This requires humility and introspection.”

Wall Street analysts weighed in on the memo, and all agreed it introduces a new regulatory overhang for vaccine stocks.

Here’s what the research desks told clients:

William Blair, Myles R. Minter (rates the MRNA market perform)

• “Our interpretation of the memo is that CBER will focus its efforts on the younger 12- to 24-year-old male population for newly approved Covid-19 vaccines where the myocarditis risk is highest”

• If new regulatory restrictions were to be implemented in the higher myocarditis risk population, analysts see further headwinds toward Moderna’s declining Covid-19 franchise “alongside further negative sentiment that this memo and subsequent actions may generate”

• Analyst says Pfizer, BioNTech, Novavax and Sanofi could also be impacted

• “The memo also indicates several upcoming reforms to the CBER vaccine regulatory pathway, most notably the “demand” for pre- market randomized trials assessing clinical endpoints, not just immunogenicity, for most new vaccine products”

Mizuho, Salim Syed (rates PCVX outperform)

• Says the memo notes “pneumonia vaccine makers will have to show their products reduce pneumonia (at least in the post- market setting), and not merely generate antibody titers”

• However, “what investors are missing here is this is already in-line with the current standard” and poses no material change to Vaxcyte

Cantor, Carter Gould (rates PCVX overweight)

• Says not surprised to see selloff in PCVX shares “on the back of the return of perceived regulatory risk after a period of relative calm, particularly with key data weighted to late 2026”

• However, analyst  says there wasn’t much in the actual memo language on pneumococcal vaccines (PCVs) that’s concerning

• Reminds investors that “this all needs to continue to be viewed in the context of the likely timelines for VAX-31 adult and infants efforts against the backdrop of the time remaining in the current administration’s term”

• “We appreciate that there’s plenty within the memo that’s controversial or worrisome regarding Covid-19 vaccine policy, but the actual language on PCVs shows little evolution vs. prior guidance”

Leerink Partners, Mani Foroohar (rates MRNA underperform)

• Says the memo’s inflammatory tone highlights how agency policy/communications continue to contribute to vaccine skepticism and US vaccination rate decline

• “We view this as a continued negative for mRNA vaccine manufacturers in our coverage– especially as it relates to Moderna’s recently updated short-to-mid-term revenue guidance”

The memo comes months after the Trump administration signaled it would link Covid shots to children’s deaths. Remember, anyone who questioned the vaccines in the early days of the pandemic was demonized by Democrats and “trust the science” regime, which unleashed big-tech and state-sponsored censorship cartel against anyone asking questions.

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

An American retail worker earns 51.6 percent less than the amount required to afford a typical rental apartment, real estate brokerage Redfin said in a statement released on Nov. 26.

“The typical retail worker in America earns $34,436 per year,” the company said.

“A renter would need to earn $71,172 to afford the typical apartment, which costs $1,779 per month.”

This signifies a shortfall of $36,736 needed to afford an apartment, even though overall affordability has improved slightly in recent years.

In Cleveland, a typical retail worker earns 32.9 percent less than needed to afford a residence, the smallest shortfall among 40 metropolitan areas analyzed by the brokerage. This was followed by St. Louis, San Antonio, Kansas City, and Milwaukee. These places have some of the lowest rents in the country.

In contrast, the shortfall was highest in New York, where a retail worker earned 71 percent less. This was followed by Boston, San Jose, Miami, and San Diego. These locations rank among the most expensive rental locations.

Besides the rent struggle, the U.S. retail sector is also seeing large layoffs.

Retailers have announced 88,664 job cuts through October this year, a 145 percent jump compared to the same period last year, according to a Nov. 6 report by outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Incomes and Rent Growth

“As the cost of living has increased, so have the sacrifices renters must make to afford a place to live,” Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather said.

However, “the good news is rents are no longer rising as fast as they were during the pandemic, so rental affordability has actually improved slightly in recent years,” Fairweather added.

The average rent in a primary city residence grew by almost 3.4 percent between September 2024 and 2025, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

A Nov. 19 report from real estate marketplace Zillow noted that U.S. incomes grew faster than asking rents this year amid a general slowdown in rent growth.

“Affordability is improving most significantly in markets where rents have fallen from year-ago levels, including Austin (where the typical asking rent is down 3.1 percent annually), Denver (-2.1 percent), San Antonio (-0.8 percent), and Phoenix (-0.7 percent),” the report said.

“Though incomes have understandably outpaced rents in markets where rent growth has turned negative, affordability improvements have even reached metros where rent growth remains strong.”

A monthly rental budget of $2,000 will net different types of properties based on the region, according to a Nov. 10 report from online rental marketplace Apartments.

“Renters in smaller cities like Memphis, Buffalo, and Indianapolis can afford three-bedroom apartments within a $2,000 budget, while in big cities like Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle, that same budget often only covers a studio,” it said.

Meanwhile, there have been proposals to freeze the amount that can be charged on rental properties.

Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist who won the New York City mayoral race this month, proposed a rent freeze during his campaign. Washington state, Oregon, and California have already implemented statewide rent control.

Supporters of rent-freeze policies argue that such measures are required to ease the burden on American families. However, critics warn that pursuing these policies could deter investment in the rental market, further exacerbating the issue in the long run.

A survey of The Epoch Times readers conducted on Oct. 29 found that most opposed rent-freeze measures and advocated pursuing market solutions.

Nearly 40 percent suggested that builders cut costs to reduce the housing shortage, which could then bring down rents.

President Donald Trump said on Nov. 30 that he has already decided on his pick to replace Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, adding that an announcement is forthcoming, but declining to identify his nominee.

“I know who I am going to pick, yeah,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on his way back from Florida to Washington on Sunday.

When asked whether he would nominate National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, the current frontrunner to replace Powell according to betting markets, Trump smiled and replied, “I’m not going to tell you, we’ll be announcing it.”

Hassett now has an 75% chance of getting the nomination according to prediction market Polymarket. Former Fed Gov. Kevin Warsh is at 12% with Fed Gov. Christopher Waller down to 8%.

Source: Polymarket

Earlier Sunday, Hassett, on CBS’ “Face The Nation,” said the market’s reaction to reports that Trump was close to a pick is a positive sign.

“Once it became clear that the president’s getting closer to make a decision, the markets really celebrated, interest rates went down, we had one of our best Treasury auctions ever,” Hassett said on Fox.

“I think that the market expects that there’s going to be a new person at the Fed, and they expect that President Trump’s going to pick a new one. And if he picks me, I’d be happy to serve.”

Hassett, who has strongly defended Trump’s economic policies, including tariffs and interest rates, said he would be happy to serve as Fed chief if Trump nominated him.

“I’m really honored to be amongst a group of really great candidates,” Hassett told CBS.

“I think that the American people could expect President Trump to pick somebody who’s going to help them, you know, have cheaper car loans and easier access to mortgages at lower rates.”

We do note that rates are higher this morning after Trump’s comments (and the yield curve is steeper – policy error), but there are a lot of moving parts after the long weekend (from mixed manufacturing data to a hawkish BoJ) impacting markets.

Market-implied odds have soared to fully price in a rate-cut in December…

Finally, we note that Hassett’s financial disclosure reveals at least a seven‑figure Coinbase stake and compensation for serving on the exchange’s Academic and Regulatory Advisory Council, placing him unusually close to the crypto industry for a potential Fed chair.​

Still, crypto has been burned before by reading too much into “crypto‑literate” resumes. Gary Gensler arrived at the Securities and Exchange Commission with MIT blockchain courses under his belt, but went on to preside over a wave of high‑profile enforcement actions, some of which critics branded as “Operation Chokepoint 2.0.”

A Hassett-led Fed might be more open to experimentation and less reflexively hostile to bank‑crypto activity. Still, the institution’s mandate on financial stability means markets should not assume a one‑way bet on deregulation.​

Authored by Helen Partz via CoinTelegraph.com,

Michael Saylor’s Strategy, the world’s largest public Bitcoin holder, is creating a $1.44 billion US dollar reserve to support dividend payments on its preferred stock and interest on its outstanding debt.

Strategy on Monday announced the establishment of a US dollar reserve funded through proceeds from the sale of Class A common stock under its at-the-market offering program.

“Strategy’s current intention is to maintain a USD Reserve in an amount sufficient to fund at least twelve months of its dividends, and Strategy intends to strengthen the USD Reserve over time, with the goal of ultimately covering 24 months or more of its dividends,” the company said.

Alongside the launch of the reserve, Strategy disclosed an additional purchase of 130 Bitcoin for $11.7 million, bringing its total holdings to a symbolic value of 650,000 BTC, acquired for $48.38 billion.

$MSTR announces the formation of a $1.44 billion USD Reserve and an increase in its BTC Reserve to 650,000 $BTC. pic.twitter.com/e1tAhDUo9G

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) December 1, 2025

Notably, while MSTR has been in decline, the last few days have seen the preferreds bid…

The Strategy preferred now yields from 9% to nearly 13%, considerably above the 6% rate on preferred stock from major banks like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.

Primary means for funding dividends

According to the Strategy’s company update on Monday, its US dollar reserve will be the primary source of funding dividends paid to holders of its preferred stocks, debt and common equity.

The update details that the $1.44 billion reserve is 2.2% of Strategy’s enterprise value, 2.8% of equity value and 2.4% of Bitcoin value.

Strategy’s funding of the USD Reserve. Source: Strategy

“We believe this improves the quality and attractiveness of our preferreds, debt and common equity,” Strategy said, adding that it raised $1.44 billion in less than nine trading days by selling its common A stock MSTR.

What if we start adding green dots? pic.twitter.com/a19bD33KzD

— Michael Saylor (@saylor) November 30, 2025

USD reserve to complement BTC holdings

“Establishing a USD Reserve to complement our BTC Reserve marks the next step in our evolution,” Strategy founder Saylor said, adding that the new financial tool will better position the company to navigate short-term market volatility.

Strategy CEO and president Phong Le highlighted that the company’s latest BTC purchase — made in the past two weeks — brings its total holdings to 650,000 BTC, or about 3.1% of the 21 million BTC that will ever exist.

An excerpt from Strategy’s Form 8-K. Source: SEC

“In recognition of the important role we play in the broader Bitcoin ecosystem, and to further reinforce our commitment to our credit investors and shareholders, we have established a USD Reserve that currently covers 21 months of dividends,” Le noted.

Strategy lowers 2025 KPI targets

Alongside its reserve and 650,000 BTC holdings, Strategy has significantly lowered its KPI targets and corresponding assumptions for 2025 results.

According to the update, Strategy now expects its BTC yield to end the year between 22% and 26%, with a projected BTC price estimate of $85,000–$110,000 by Dec. 31.

Revised assumptions and corresponding results for 2025. Source: Strategy

The company has also significantly reduced its targeted BTC gains, cutting its previous expectation of $20 billion to a revised range of between $8.4 billion and $12.8 billion.

The revised target for operating income is between $7 billion and $9.5 billion, down from the originally projected $34 billion.

By Benjamin Picton, Senior Market Strategist at Rabobank

Major US indices closed high on Friday evening as trading resumed following the Thanksgiving holiday. The S&P500 was up 0.54%, the Dow up 0.61% and the NASDAQ up 0.65%, but US equity futures are pointed lower this morning and Asian equity markets are showing mixed performance. Bond yields are mostly higher. Yields on US 10s rose 2.1bps to 4.03% while yields on 2-year JGBs reached their highest level in 17 years after BOJ Governor Ueda hinted that he is seriously considering a rate hike this month.

Brent crude is up 1.20% in early trade following news that Ukrainian drones had struck two Russian ‘Shadow Fleet’ tankers bound for the Novorossiysk oil terminal in the Black Sea. The terminal itself was later struck by Ukrainian drones, prompting a halt in operations, while Moldova reported incursions of Russian drones into its own airspace in an apparent continuation of Russia’s ‘grey-zone’ tactics that has seen Russian drones violate the airspace of Poland, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Romania and the Baltic states in recent months.

NATO allies have stationed fighter jets in Poland under Operation Eastern Sentry that can be scrambled to shoot down Russian drones, but this is a high cost response to the very cheap probing of NATO’s defences that is being conducted by the Kremlin. This as the Wall Street Journal reports that ‘Russia Gains the Upper Hand in Drone Battle, Once Ukraine’s Forte’ and quotes a Ukrainian drone unit commander who says that Russia is receiving superior supply chain support from China than Ukraine is receiving from the United States and Europe combined.

Ukrainian officials met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Florida to progress talks to end the Russo-Ukrainian war. The Ukrainian delegation was missing erstwhile Zelenskyy Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, who has resigned his position following anti-corruption raids on his home relating to investigations over illegal kickbacks in Ukraine’s energy sector. Rubio told journalists after the meeting that progress had been made but that there was still more work to be done.

Witkoff is set to travel to Moscow today to meet with President Putin to progress a deal. Yermak’s departure may have placed Zelenskyy further on the back foot in the bargaining process as his image is tarnished by whiffs of corruption at the heart of his government. President Trump speculated as much aboard Air Force One, where he told journalists that he thought there was a “good chance” of a deal to end the war being signed, but that the Ukrainian corruption scandal was “not helpful”.

While negotiations over the fate of Ukraine continue, another risk event for energy markets continues to unfold in Venezuela. President Trump took to Truth Social over the weekend to declare “THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.” This comes following the largest US deployment of military assets to the region in decades and series of missile strikes on small boats thought to be engaged in drug smuggling.

The purpose of US pressure on Venezuela has very likely now expanded from enforcement action against drug trafficking to efforts toward regime change (see here for RaboResearch’s further thoughts). Donald Trump told journalists aboard Air Force Once that he had been in contact with Venezuelan President Maduro over the phone, but didn’t disclose details of the conversation. He had previously indicated that the US would soon begin land strikes in Venezuela. “If we can save lives, if we can do things the easy way that’s fine. If we have to do it the hard way, that’s fine too.”

As we reported earlier, the important Miami meeting wherein American and Ukrainian delegations hammered out a revised ceasefire draft for some five hours on Sunday did not have European participation. But this is where the real deal-making is taking place. Trump envoy Steve Witkoff is en route to Moscow, where he’s expected to meet with President Putin on Tuesday, in order to present where things stand on the peace plan.

The Miami meeting reportedly focused on where the new de facto border would be in the east, after the 19-point plan featured significant territorial concessions in the Donbass and Crimea. As for Europe, is still touting a “coalition of the willing” which are vowing ongoing military support to the Zelensky government.

At this moment, France and the United Kingdom especially are continuing to push for the deployment of troops from NATO-member states to Ukraine as part of their version of peace settlement, despite this being very obviously unacceptable to Moscow. 

Last week Politico reported that when US Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined a discussion involving the coalition of the willing via phone call, he made clear to all that the White House wants a peace agreement in place before committing to any long-term security guarantees for Kiev.

But UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer tried to push back, arguing that a “multinational force” would be essential for ensuring Ukraine’s future security.

Bloomberg then followed with a report saying that UK officials have already selected the military units they plan to deploy, based on several reconnaissance trips to Ukraine.

France’s President Emmanuel Macron proposed that such troops could operate in the capital area or western regions of the country, far from the front lines. But this would flagrantly cross all Russia’s red lines. NATO troops on its doorstep was key Putin’s decision-making in launching the ‘special military operation’ in the first place.

It must be recalled that the original US-drafted 28-point peace plan, which leaked to the press and more recently was condensed down to 19 points, included an explicit prohibition on deploying NATO troops to Ukraine.

The European-proposed counter-plan, which was also quickly leaked to the media, greatly softened that stance and laid out that instead of a blanket ban, NATO would not “permanently station troops under its command in Ukraine in peacetime.”

At a moment Trump’s peace plan advances, and with Witkoff on his way to meet with President Putin, hawks in Europe are growing even more hawkish:

⚡️BREAKING: NATO may carry out a preemptive strike against Russia

For the first time, the alliance is discussing the possibility of a preemptive strike on Russia in response to its hybrid attacks. Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, the head of NATO’s Military Committee, told… pic.twitter.com/57RgfyNZpn

— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) December 1, 2025

Such intentionally vague language leaves open the possibility of NATO troop rotations into Ukraine. The Kremlin has time and again said it would not tolerate this, and such a move would lead to direct war with the West.

Europe’s plan also seeks to leave open a Ukrainian path to NATO, but this is also a sticking point which the US plan leaves out, given it would of course be dead on arrival if presented to Putin.

Both sides kept their comments somewhat vague after the US and Ukrainian delegations met in Miami on Sunday to discuss a potential outline for a peace deal to end the war with Russia. One of the Ukrainian delegates called it “intense but not negative.” Axios wrote, “After an hour in a wider format, the meeting narrowed to three officials from each side — with the line of territorial control virtually the only issue discussed, according to the two Ukrainian officials.”

The American side which was led Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited simply that there’s “more work to be done,” including more direct engagement with Russia, also as Steve Witkoff is set to travel to Moscow this week to meet with President Vladimir Putin. Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, also attended the talks, despite not actually having an official position in the Trump administration. Axios reports some of the details gleaned thus far as follows:

Negotiations between the U.S. and Ukraine on Sunday focused on where the de facto border with Russia would be drawn under a peace deal, two Ukrainian officials tell Axios. They described the five-hour meeting as “difficult” and “intense,” but productive.

Rubio said in the immediate aftermath of the meeting, “We had another very productive session, building off Geneva, building off the events of this week. As I told you earlier this morning, our goal here is to end the war, but it’s more than just to end the war. We don’t just want to end the war. We also want to help Ukraine be safe forever, so never again will they face another invasion.”

This presumably is a reference to security guarantees, which were outlined in the Trump-proposed plan and likened to Article 5-like protections, something which Moscow is likely to reject if it does actually invite the possibility of future NATO military intervention. 

Rubio is still only emphasizing laying the “groundwork” at this late stage. “And so this is comprehensive, what we’re working on here today. It’s not just about the terms that end fighting. It’s about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity. I thought we started laying the groundwork for that, most certainly in Geneva,” he described.

As for the degree to which the Zelensky government is actually on board, Rubio acknowledged, “I think there is a shared vision here that this is not just about ending the war, which is very important. It is about securing Ukraine’s future, a future that we hope will be more prosperous than it’s ever been.”

Amid the typical vagueness present in such post-meeting comments, Rubio did note that progress was made. “I think additional progress was made, and we continue to be realistic about how difficult this is, but optimistic, particularly given the fact that as we’ve made progress,” he said. But a key question remains the degree to which the Ukrainians finally expressed willingness to make territorial concessions in the Donbass and Crimea.

The Ukrainian delegation was led by Rustem Umerov, the secretary of the Ukrainian National Security Council, after Andriy Yermak, who was until Friday Zelensky’s top aide and chief negotiator, resigned – or rather was pressured out -following a police raid on his home by anti-corruption investigators. He has since dramatically announce that he has gone to the front lines. Some say he is hiding from investigators, which can’t reach him in a military zone.

Umerov began his post-meeting remarks, “Once again, we are grateful to American people, American leadership and great team with State Secretary Rubio, Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner for their tremendous work with us. Our objective is prosperous, strong Ukraine. We were discussing about the future of Ukraine.”

He continued, without tipping his cards, “We worked. We already had a successful meeting in Geneva, and today, we continue this success. So at the moment, this meeting was productive and successful.”

So territorial concessions and security guarantees remain the central sticking points, with many analysts saying now that Umerov is running point, and with Yermak pushed aside, President Trump’s vision for bringing an end to the war could be more easily accomplished.

At this moment, US officials say Witkoff is expected to submit updated documents in his upcoming meeting with President Putin that incorporate the latest talks and revisions that were made with Kiev and European leaders.

🇺🇸🇺🇦 Looks like the meeting between the US and the Ukraine didn’t go too well.

According to sources, the US wants Ukraine to hold elections as soon as possible and enforces it has to give up territories.

Witkoff will now be heading to Moscow to meet President Putin. pic.twitter.com/naITjcZke6

— Spetsnaℤ 007 🇷🇺 (@Alex_Oloyede2) November 30, 2025

Still, the Ukrainian side didn’t look happy based on the few photographs of the meeting’s start which emerged. The Trump administration is definitely in the driver’s seat, and Europe is not even at the table. This is likely become they know the clock is ticking on the battlefield, where as Moon of Alabama has noted, “The Ukrainian army is collapsing. Pokrovsk had been enveloped and occupied a week ago. But Zelenski and others kept claimed that the Ukrainian was winning that battle.” The geopolitical analysis source continues:

As the army breaks down and its soldiers flee from their positions (in Russian) other cities, like Huleipole and Siversk, will soon fall too.

There is no way for Ukraine to win the war. The longer the war takes the more will be lost for Ukraine.

The utter delusion behind the rejection of Trump’s 28 point plan was demonstrated by the European High Representative for Foreign Affairs Katja Kallas: “We still need to get from a situation where Russia pretends to negotiate to a situation where they need to negotiate.”

Moon of Alabama quips rhetorically: “Sure. And how are going to get there? After 19 rounds of EU sanction on Russia the 20th package will certainly take care of it?”

Below are more of the latest Monday morning headlines and developments via Newsquawk…

* * *

• Russia’s Kremlin said that Russian President Putin is due to meet US envoy Witkoff on Tuesday. On the Russia-Ukraine peace development, the Kremlin adds that they are not going to engage in megaphone diplomacy.
• Ukrainian President Zelensky said a delegation headed by the security council chief travelled to the US for talks, while it was also reported that Zelensky is to visit French President Macron in Paris on Monday.
• US and Ukraine negotiations on Sunday focused on where the de facto border with Russia would be drawn under a peace deal, while the five-hour meeting was said to be difficult and intense, but productive, according to two Ukrainian officials cited by Axios.
• US Secretary of State Rubio said the meeting with Ukrainians was very productive but noted there is more work to be done, while he added that they have been in touch to varying degrees with the Russian side.
• Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister said there was a good start to US peace talks with a warm atmosphere conducive to a potential progressive outcome.
• Ukraine’s military hit Russia’s Afipsky oil refinery, while it was also reported that Ukrainian sea drones struck two Gambia-flagged tankers off the Turkish coast on Friday, which were said to be part of a Russian shadow fleet used to bypass Western sanctions.
• Russian forces carried out a massive strike on Ukrainian military-industrial and energy facilities.
• Russia’s Foreign Minister said following a Ukrainian drone attack on the CPC Black Sea terminal, that the civilian energy infrastructure that was attacked plays an important role in ensuring global energy security and has never been subject to any restrictions or limitations, while they strongly condemned the ‘terrorist attacks’ on CPC and oil tankers.
• NATO is considering being “more aggressive” in responding to Russia’s cyber-attacks, sabotage and airspace violations, according to its most senior military officer, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, cited by FT.
• NATO is reportedly preparing for the scenario of confronting Russia with limited US support, according to a report by Bloomberg citing a wargame in Transylvania that showed European soldiers defending the continent largely without US support as President Trump reduces US deployments in Europe.

Little public optimism for a quick peace by close of this year: