Maximilian Hess

Poland captures a GRU agent on terrorist charges. Attacks in Poland, Lithuania and Germany were planned using drones with explosive materials

warszawa.wyborcza.pl/warszawa/0,0...

China paves way for renminbi fundraising by Russian energy giants Russian ‘panda bond’ sales would be first since 2017 and reflect deepening ties between Moscow and Beijing

Since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin has had 3 asks of Xi: military & political support for war, a deal on Power of Siberia 2, & unrestricted access to Chinese financial markets. In the last 10 days, he’s gotten close to clinching latter two on.ft.com/3JJUqBD

Kazakhstan denies arrest of foreign minister amid swirling rumors The news about the detention of Kazakhstan's minister of foreign affairs Murat Nurtleu is not true, the ministry says.

And now denied kz.kursiv.media/en/2025-09-0...

Задержаны Мурат Нуртлеу и Гаджи Гаджиев По данным «Орды», задержаны министр иностранных дел Мурат Нуртлеу, бизнесмен Гаджи Гаджиев и несколько высокопоставленных сотрудников КНБ.

Kazakhstan's foreign minister Murat Nurtleu detained alongside Dagestani-Kazakh businessman Gadzhi Gadzhiev orda.kz/zaderzhany-m... unclear if related but Gadzheiv was accused of involvement in journalist Aydos Sadykov's assassination in Ukraine last year rsf.org/en/journalis...

Rare to hear an EU official speak as candidly as Weyand here

“From the Commission’s perspective this was a strategic trade-off, not an economic policy ideal solution"

“There was a risk that the USA, in return, would question the security partnership. That is the realpolitik of the turning point"

Ukraine hits Russian cruise missile carrier near occupied Crimea, intelligence claims Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) hit a Russian Buyan-M-class small missile ship, a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles, near Russian-occupied Crimea in the Azov Sea on Aug. 28, HUR reported.

⚡️Ukraine hits Russian cruise missile carrier near occupied Crimea, intelligence claims.

Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) hit a Russian Buyan-M-class small missile ship, a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles, near Russian-occupied Crimea in the Azov Sea on Aug. 28, HUR reported.

The EU Delegation in Kyiv was damaged by today’s Russian strikes on civilian areas.

I strongly condemn these brutal attacks, a clear sign that Russia rejects peace & chooses terror.

Our full solidarity goes to EU staff, their families, & all Ukrainians enduring this aggression.

Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 Delivers First Cargo to China After Year-Long Wait, Signaling Possible Shift in Beijing’s Sanctions Stance A gas carrier in service of Russia’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project has docked at a Chinese terminal for the first time, ending more than a year of uncertainty for one of Moscow’s most ambitious ener...

China’s first confirmed purchase of LNG from Russia’s U.S.-sanctioned Arctic 2 LNG site shows Trump’s secondary sanctions threat is weakening in the face of his policy flip-flopping

gcaptain.com/russias-arct...

Doggo enjoying the Holland Park Opera’s practice sessions

U.S. Tariffs Ease With Canada, Mexico Shift America's effective tariff rate ticked down to 16% in July from 17% earlier in the month, Fitch Ratings said, thanks to a surge in tariff-free imports from Canada and Mexico under the USMCA trade pact...

"In June, 81% of 🇨🇦 exports qualified as USMCA-compliant, up from 56% month before. 🇲🇽 saw a similar move, with 77% of shipments clearing the bar versus just 42% in May. .. helped blunt ... tariffs that technically set rates at 35% for Canada and 25% for Mexco."

www.tradingview.com/news/gurufoc...

Almost every year I’ve attended, I’ve noticed at least 2/3rds of all artists exhibiting at the Venice Biennale are based in Berlin

Europe and Ukraine have to change their approach towards Trump or risk ceding more ground to Russia. Read more by @maxhess.bsky.social. buff.ly/0Mchs9j

Thanks for listening!

Idk what’s crazier, the CIA-KGB combined mortgage financing or the $40k upper east side two bedroom apartment

„Friedlicher Rückzug“: Hat Trumps Mann Putin falsch verstanden? Verwirrung um Ukraine-Friedensgipfel: Witkoff missinterpretiert Putins Forderungen.

Trump’s envoy - who has infamously & stupidly relied on the Kremlin’s translators for meetings with Putin - reportedly misunderstood Putin who wasn’t offering Russian withdrawals from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia but restating his maximalist demands. www.bild.de/politik/ausl...

If Trump agrees to this stupidity, it will be a devastating mistake. There is a zero percent chance Putin would follow through with the second phase.

Dozens of Russian Regional Officials Arrested on Corruption Suspicions in 2025 – Report - The Moscow Times A growing number of Russian regional officials are facing criminal investigations as authorities intensify a crackdown on alleged corruption across regional governments.

A large number of these investigations center on the construction of defensive fortifications in Russian regions bordering Ukraine.

Should be 100% secondary tariff *

Why Xi wants Trump and Putin to meet for war commemorations As China revises its attitudes to the Second World War it is also looking to reset its relationship with the US president and set up a summit with Russia

Xi set to invite Trump & Putin to meet in Beijing on September 3rd. Incidentally thats deadline day for Trump's 50 day threat for enacting 50% secondary tariff against Russia if no Ukraine deal. My previous max 5% chance Trump would follow through fast approaching 0%
www.thetimes.com/world/asia/a...

How (Not) To Finance International Lawsuits Risky Litigation Business

A new post from me on emerging structures of financing international litigation - and - in my opinion - what works, and what doesn't

conflictandcredit.substack.com/p/how-not-to...

Trump is interested in new Russia sanctions. But there’s a catch. As support builds behind a bipartisan bill, the White House is seeking changes that would expand the president's control.

The big thing to watch for in Trump’s demand for new waiver authority in the Russia sanctions bill working its way through Congress is if he looks for changes to how CAATSA protected previous sanctions from being withdrawn without Congress’ support

www.politico.com/news/2025/07...

Brownback’s “great Kansas tax cut experiment” in 2012 was a complete fiasco, ultimately overridden (over his veto) by the Republican legislature. Yet it did not lead to a widespread condemnation of the impossibility of conservative governance as such./2
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_...

The 1% decrease in Libya’s threatened tariff rate is the funniest example of how nonsensical Trump’s tariff numbers are.

Libya is divided by two rival governments & has no real trade negotiations with the US. 99% of Libyan exports to the US is crude oil, which is tariff exempt.

Only in Tbilisi

Russian Gold Mining Tycoon Barred From Leaving Country Amid Nationalization Efforts - The Moscow Times A Russian gold mining tycoon was blocked from leaving the country over the weekend as authorities moved to nationalize his company and investigate alleged corruption and financial misconduct.

Konstantin Strukov was reportedly preparing to fly to Turkey aboard his private $50 million Bombardier jet when federal aviation authorities halted his departure.

КОНТЕКСТ В Минобороны России сообщили о взятии под контроль населенных пунктов Бессаловка в Сумской области и Дачное в Днепропетровской области

Russia’s Ministry of Defence claims control of Dachne in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (southwest of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast). The first town in the oblast Russian forces claim to have occupied

t.me/kontext_chan...

Chancellor Merz:

Russia is already attacking us today.

The infrastructure, we have attacks, arson attacks, what has also happened in barracks here in recent days.

Almost all trails lead to Russia.

The neocons a generation on A mostly wrong movement got some things right

Janan Ganesh continues to be an incredibly insipid stain on the best newspaper out there www.ft.com/content/07c6...

5 years of gardening and dog raising hobbies led to this photo