The ECB has refused to backstop a €140 billion loan to Ukraine using frozen Russian funds, the FT has reported | The European Central Bank has refused to support a proposed €140 billion payout to Ukraine backed by frozen Russian assets held at Belgium’s Euroclear, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing officials familiar with the discussions.The ECB determined that the European Commission’s scheme falls outside its mandate, the newspaper reported. ● The EU has spent months trying to tap frozen Russian central bank reserves to back a €140 billion ($160 billion) “reparations loan” for Kiev. Belgium, where around $200 billion of the assets is held at the privately owned Euroclear clearing house, has repeatedly warned of potential litigation as well as financial risks if the EU goes through with the scheme. Under the European Commission’s plan, EU nations’ governments would provide state guarantees to share the repayment risk on the loan for Ukraine.

■ Corrupt Ukrainian officials could have bagged over $100 billion in Western aid (RT)

NATO is quietly redefining “defense” to include early action against ALLEGED hybrid warfare. | Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone an Italian admiral who currently serves as Chair of the NATO Military Committee since January 2025, said NATO could consider a “pre-emptive strike” as a defensive response to Russian hybrid attacks. ● He did this in an Interview with the London Financial Times. What did he mean "Russian hybrid attacks?" If Moscow keeps waging what NATO calls cyber sabotage, energy disruption, election interference and drone harassment, NATO might hit first. ● Russia didn’t even wait an hour before exploding over this comment. Maria Zakharova - the Kremlin’s spokeswoman, called the remark: “Extremely irresponsible…a deliberate move toward escalation.” She accused NATO of trying to sabotage any remaining diplomatic efforts around Ukraine, and warned the alliance to “understand the risks and consequences” - Kremlin code for: don’t test us.

■ Moscow responds to NATO pre-emptive strike threat (RT)
■ Russian diplomat advises NATO to rein in 'escalatory' talk about preemptive strikes (TASS)
✅ NATO’s Flirtation With Pre-Emptive Cyber Strikes (Andrew Korybko)

George Galloway has been elected to parliament seven times, and on many issues is one of the most conservative politicians in the U.K. But when he criticized the Ukraine war, he was detained by British police and had his property confiscated. He’s now in exile.