Alexander Mercouris and Alex Christoforou talk with Armando Mema about Alexander Stubb's unexpected call to Putin, Finland's turn from frontier state toward a bridge state, and Baltic tensions around Kaliningrad.
Timeline:
00:00:00 Introduction with Armando Mema
00:01:03 Stubb unexpectedly calls Putin
00:02:43 Years of criminalizing calls for dialogue
00:04:36 Was the call requested by Washington?
00:07:57 Baltic tensions, Kaliningrad and blockade assurances
00:10:31 Finland's nuclear law and the French umbrella
00:13:57 Elbridge Colby and the risk of being left alone
00:15:26 Stubb rewrites history: frontier or bridge state?
00:18:18 Shifting public opinion inside Finland
00:21:10 Finland's economic crisis and the ice hockey row
Putin's 90 minute call with Finland's Alexander Stubb and Norway's Jonas Gahr Støre went nowhere, and the Kremlin readout now demands unconditional acceptance of Russia's terms. In this episode we break down why Stubb is angling to become Europe's chief negotiator, why London spun a false Financial Times story, and why the push for a Ukraine ceasefire on current lines keeps hitting a wall. With Witkoff, Kushner and Dmitriev floating Arctic and energy deals, who is really stringing who along?
Timeline:
00:00:00 Putin's call with Stubb and Støre; Norway refutes the FT
00:01:16 UK sources working to block diplomacy
00:02:47 Frederiksen and EU hardliners furious over the call
00:03:47 Stubb and Støre refloat the old Donbas proposal
00:04:53 Putin demands unconditional acceptance of Russia's terms
00:06:06 Why the call happened; Finland's growing concerns
00:07:23 Stubb's bid to be Europe's chief negotiator
00:09:19 Is US intelligence backing Stubb?
00:11:17 Why Putin takes every call
00:12:12 Europe's nightmare: separate deals with Russia
00:15:57 The real goal: a ceasefire on current lines
00:18:57 Echoes of unconditional surrender
00:24:12 Why not von der Leyen or Kaja Kallas?
00:27:23 Arctic deals, energy talks and the sanctions reality
00:31:07 Who's stringing who along?
Ukraine's flagship missile programs are finished, and Alexander explains why the Flamingo cruise missile and the FP7 and FP9 ballistic missiles were really cancelled as Zelensky leaves Kiev ahead of a massive Russian strike. He also covers the Russian advance near Orekhov and Dobropolye, the growing campaign against the Dnieper bridges, the stalled Freya air defense project, and the striking phrase in the Kremlin readout of Putin's call with Stubb and Store. Is Putin now signaling a demand that goes far beyond Istanbul plus?
Timeline:
00:00:00 Intro
00:00:31 Putin hosts African leaders in Moscow
00:01:51 Zelensky leaves Kiev for the Netherlands and UK
00:04:56 Big Russian missile and drone strike expected
00:07:25 Firepoint ends the Flamingo cruise missile
00:16:26 Why the Flamingo program really collapsed
00:18:24 FP7 and FP9 ballistic missiles cancelled
00:22:11 The S300 missile and the Taurus theory
00:27:10 Ukraine now depends on drones alone
00:30:40 Russian advance speeding up despite autumn rains
00:31:53 Ukrainian defenses north of Orekhov collapse
00:32:42 Dobropolye, Leman and Sumy fronts
00:35:43 Russian buildup near Aleshki and Kherson
00:39:08 The Freya air defense project delayed
00:44:36 Russia targets substations and Dnieper bridges
00:49:08 Iskander accuracy and the Rassvet satellite theory
00:53:22 Norway debunks the FT on the Putin call
00:57:52 Ushakov shuts Europe out of Abu Dhabi
00:59:48 Putin's "without any conditions" readout
01:07:28 Gordon Hahn on tougher Russian demands
Douglas Macgregor tells Glenn Diesen that calls to Vladimir Putin by the leaders of Finland and Norway mark the start of the end of the Ukraine war, because Europe knows the Ukrainian state is on life support and will have to make its own arrangements with Russia. He says NATO has no leadership left, that no European state will attack into Ukraine, and that Donald Trump is not interested in organizing Europe.
Timeline:
00:00:00 Introduction to Current Global Conflicts
00:06:06 The State of NATO and European Leadership
00:12:01 The Implications for Europe and NATO
Alexander Mercouris says last night's Russian strike on Kiev used about 20 ballistic missiles and hit the South Bridge, a road and rail crossing he calls the main logistics link for Ukrainian forces east of the Dnieper. He says photos show a hole in the railway that is enough to close the bridge, and that Norway's prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finland's president Alexander Stubb then called Vladimir Putin to ask for a slowdown, which the Kremlin readout shows he refused.
