John T Psaropoulos

Europe becoming arms powerhouse despite increased imports, says SIPRI Europe’s imports mainly driven by Ukraine’s needs, but the EU is surging in arms manufacturing and exports, report says.

On europe’s surging arms manufacturing and exports, with thanks to SIPRI’s Katarina Djokic, Anne Applebaum and General Ben Hodges. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/...

Trump and Putin pose as peacemakers in each other’s war as Ukraine gains ground Ukraine won back some of its territory this year for the first time since 2023, while Russian losses are rising

Ukraine won back 257 sq km of its own territory this year - its first successful clawback since 2023, as Russia staggered under mounting losses. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...

What drives Trump’s war, and how Greece and Cyprus fit in Trump may have complex reasons for attacking Iran. Greece and Cyprus have simple ones for their own posture

After Iran’s strikes, Greece is rehearsing technology, hardware and its alliance with Cyprus as part of its plans to operate a Shield of Achilles across the Aegean and east Mediterranean. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...

Ukraine is “definitely not losing” the war, but will allies help it win? asks Zelenskyy Ukraine made limited territorial gains as the war crossed its fourth anniversary and Kyiv celebrated continued independence

Ukraine made limited territorial gains as the war crossed its fourth anniversary and Kyiv celebrated European solidarity. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/ukraine-is...

The Ukraine War in numbers: People, territory, money Whatever success Russia had in conquering Ukraine came in the first month of its full-scale war. Its progress has been broadly downhill since then.

After four years of war, the world’s second-largest military seems to face mounting odds of defeating Ukraine. Russia’s most meaningful gains were made in the first month. Since then, its progress has been mostly downhill. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...

Ukraine’s patience with US peace effort begins to fray as Russia avoids pressure The US is putting too much pressure on Kyiv and not enough on Moscow, says Ukraine’s Zelenskyy after another inconclusive round of talks

Ukraine expressed its frustration with its ongoing peace talks with Russia and the US this week, saying US pressure was too one-sided against it.

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Mitsotakis pursues the physics of a deal with Turkey Greece’s policy of conciliation tries to lay the conditions for agreements on territorial water, maritime space and reunification of Cyprus

Mitsotakis has tried the path of confrontation with Turkey and found it ineffective. Since 2023 he has tried conciliation and found it is yielding interim dividends, if not final solutions. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...

Russia faces high casualties, broken communications and a total oil ban Frustrated by setbacks on the ground in Ukraine and peace terms it doesn’t like, Russia has unleashed air assaults on civilians

Russia continues to not win its war in Ukraine, and its problems with casualties, money and its technology gap with the West are mounting. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...

In the world crisis, Greece taps Israel for weapons autonomy Greece is navigating the Transatlantic estrangement with deft seamanship, but now seeks to develop its defence industrial base far from the US

Greece is navigating the Transatlantic estrangement with deft seamanship, but now seeks to develop its defence industrial base far from the US. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...

Ukraine pulls the plug on Russian Starlink, beefs up drone defence Ukraine responded to renewed Russian strikes on energy infrastructure and logistics far from frontlines

Ukraine has evolved its aerial defences in response to relentless Russian strikes and innovations. Now it wants its allies to put more economic pressure on the aggressor.
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New Democracy’s three immigration goals Greece aims for greater control over internal legal processes, border security, and the corralling of right-wing voters

New Democracy is trying to control internal legal migration processes, reassure its allies by securing its borders, and retain the hard-right vote. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...

Zelenskyy seeks 50,000 Russian fatalities a month to win the Ukraine war Ukrainian forces are almost two thirds of the way there, with 35,000 dead or irrecoverably wounded enemy soldiers in December

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to increase his armed forces’ lethality as part of a strategy to disarm Moscow and turn a deadlocked negotiating table.
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No doubt that’s the plan…

Greece’s potential under the India-Mercosur trade deals Greece can become a net exporter of goods and services, helping to service its debt and create jobs

Greece’s exports to India and Mercosur could rise tenfold, boosting GDP by a point, say experts. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...

Russia leaves half of Ukraine without power Absent battlefield successes, Moscow is exercising energy leverage against Kyiv to win territorial concessions

Absent any significant military successes on the ground, Russia has decimated Ukraine’s electricity grid to force territorial concessions at the negotiating table. Ukraine is standing firm, backed by Europe.
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Great power confrontation returns to Eleusis US-backed ONEX has plans to overtake Chinese state-owned COSCO in trade, shipbuilding and energy

Great power confrontation is on full display not just in Ukraine, Venezuela, Iran and Davos, but also in the Gulf of Eleusis, 15km west of Athens, where Greek-owned, US-backed ONEX has plans to overtake Chinese state-owned COSCO in trade, shipbuilding and energy. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...

Russia creates energy crisis to kill Ukraine ceasefire deal Moscow responded to agreements on security guarantees with a hail of drones and missiles

Moscow responds to agreements on a security guarantees with a hail of drones and missiles.
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I can’t help noticing that Trump’s posts on Truthsocial are interlaced with ads for hair loss, gum disease, diabetes and impotence.

Audit the parties Greece’s major political parties are opaque organisations purporting to bring transparency to public life. That is why they fail.

Greece’s major political parties are opaque organisations purporting to bring transparency to public life. That is why they fail.
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Russian war fatalities are rising to unsustainable levels, says Ukraine Russian mortality rates reportedly rose from 26,000 in October to almost 35,000 in December – compared to monthly recruitment of 33,600

Russian mortality rates on the frontlines are rising to levels that cannot be sustained by the current method of voluntary recruitment, Ukrainian figures suggest.

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Thank you. Onward. Dear Friends,

Thank you for 2025. There’s much to do in 2026.

Welcome to 2026. Fasten your seat belts. Absent an EU foreign policy, Trump and Putin are still taking all the geopolitical initiatives in Europe’s wider strategic space.

Absent an EU foreign policy, Trump and Putin are still taking all the geopolitical initiatives in Europe’s wider strategic space.

Kremlin inflates conquests as US and Ukraine present peace plan Moscow spuriously claims it controls Ukrainian towns as part of an information operation to influence peace talks

Moscow spuriously claims it controls Ukrainian towns as part of an information operation to influence peace talks
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The good news for the environment in 2025 Yes, there are marginally worsening emissions and a still-warming planet, but structural changes are underway that may check our death march

2025 was a turning point when solar and wind power began to elbow fossil fuels out of the electricity market after 23 years of record growth, and electricity is fast elbowing fossil fuels out of transport, heating and cooling. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...

Doing this soon!:

Moscow’s narratives wobble as Ukraine takes back Kupiansk, holds Pokrovsk Moscow is struggling to back up claims it has seized Kupiansk and Pokrovsk, and to deny a submarine was struck in Novorossiysk

Ukrainian military successes and Russian narratives clashed this week, as Moscow’s assertion of inevitable victory flew in the face of facts on the ground.

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Ukraine surrounds Russians in Kupiansk, fights on in Pokrvsk, as Putin pursues capitulation Russian claims to have seized Pokrovsk and Kupiansk were propaganda designed to force it to capitulate, says Ukraine

Reports of Ukraine’s capitulation in Kupiansk and Pokrovsk have been greatly exaggerated by Moscow, it turns out. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/ukraine-su...

Why Trump’s plan for Ukraine alarms the Greeks And why the Greeks are reacting by furiously courting US investment interests

Trump’s eagerness to recognise Ukrainian occupied land as Russian in defiance of international law sets a bad precedent for Cyprus and the Aegean. johntpsaropoulos.substack.com/p/why-trumps...

Ukraine fights for key cities as Russia rejects another peace proposal Putin confidently threatens Odesa, Mykolaiv, says Russia is ready for a war with Europe

Russia rejected the latest US peace proposal for Ukraine and declared victory in battles over key Ukrainian cities – claims Ukraine dismissed as propaganda - while Putin confidently threatened Odesa and Mykolaiv, and said Russia is ready for a war with Europe. open.substack.com/pub/johntpsa...