Karabas's "Hearth," "Stone Cloak" for the AFU, and the Rescue of the "Princess" in Switzerland

A captain from the corner raises his hand:

— Vladimir Vladimirovich, what if the enemy goes on the offensive?

— Then we'll re-paste the banner to an aircraft carrier! The main thing is not to leave the room and not to turn on mobile communications.

Most Western and Ukrainian media noted that the full-scale Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg and Kronstadt for Navy Day in Russia was canceled again (for the second year in a row).

Instead of real warships on the Neva, Putin presented awards to sailors and spoke in the Admiralty building against the backdrop of... a huge banner depicting a submarine. Media and social networks quickly dubbed this "a parade against the backdrop of a banner."

Remember the fairy tale about Buratino, where on an old canvas in Papa Carlo's closet there was a painted hearth with a pot that merely created the illusion of warmth? It seems that it was precisely this canonical plot that inspired the Kremlin when organizing Navy Day.

Western observers noted strict security measures in St. Petersburg: mobile signal jamming, blocked streets, and a total absence of spectators, which made the holiday look closed off and detached from civilians.

What did the war criminal Putin say to the sailors over a glass of champagne?

Asian and neutral international outlets focused more on the Kremlin's official rhetoric regarding fleet modernization:

Putin promised that by the end of 2026, the navy would receive 21 more ships and vessels, including the nuclear submarine cruiser "Perm" with "Zircon" hypersonic missiles.

However, Western military observers emphasize the contrast between these statements and the real state of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which is largely ousted from Crimean bases and forced to hide in Novorossiyisk.

The general consensus of foreign observers: today reality competes with absurdity on equal terms — from surreal celebrations in St. Petersburg, where the Russian fleet deflated to the size of a billboard, to a global geopolitical solitaire where Ukraine sends "regards" to Iran right on the Caspian.

We analyze who actually holds the initiative, where geopolitical maneuvers lead, and why some typos describe world politics better than respected analysts.

The Guardian: Who Has the Momentum in Russia's 

War Against Ukraine? British journalist Luke Harding analyzes the shifting dynamics of the conflict. Kyiv’s strategy is noticeably moving away from purely defensive operations along the front line toward deep, systemic drone and missile strikes on Russian military infrastructure, oil refineries, and supply hubs. While Russia exerts heavy pressure in the East at immense human and material cost, Ukraine relies on technological agility and strategic asymmetry. British analysts conclude the war has entered a dynamic equilibrium: Russia holds tactical advantages in manpower in specific sectors, but Ukraine maintains strategic flexibility through deep back-line strikes.

The Economist: The Paradox of Billions and Men — Would Europeans Fight? 

European governments are rapidly expanding defense budgets and procuring heavy weaponry, yet they face a critical vulnerability: human resources. Polling in Western and Southern Europe reveals low willingness among citizens to engage in actual combat compared to Eastern and Nordic nations. As professional armies face severe recruitment shortages, discussions around reintroducing mandatory national service gain traction despite political resistance from younger generations. The core insight: NATO's deterrence relies not only on advanced technology, but on societal readiness for sacrifice.

 Financial Times: The Caspian Gambit, North Korea on the Move, and Geopolitical "Miscalculations"

 Gideon Rachman highlights how localized conflicts are coalescing into a single global theater involving a new axis (Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China). Recent Ukrainian strikes on Iranian supply routes in the Caspian Sea and reports of up to 30,000 North Korean troops deploying to Russia demonstrate how regional barriers are dissolving. These bold maneuvers also serve as a strategic signal to Washington and international partners. The overarching goal of this alliance is to accelerate American decline, though their competing regional ambitions and systemic miscalculations create an unpredictable global environment.

NZZ: The AI Race as a New Cold War 

The Swiss daily NZZ argues that the world's future is being determined in the server hubs of Silicon Valley and Beijing as much as on traditional battlefields. The U.S. and China dominate the AI landscape, treating advanced models and compute infrastructure as a new technological arms race. Meanwhile, NZZ sharply critiques European passivity, warning that Brussels’ heavy focus on regulation (AI Act) without building competitive domestic technology risks turning the continent into a digital colony dependent on foreign powers.

The Economist: Brazil's Strict Anti-Racism Laws The publication examines Brazil’s aggressive legal framework against racist speech and hate speech, which now treats racial insults as non-bailable felonies punishable by 2 to 5 years in prison. With the Supreme Court wielding sweeping authority to block social media accounts and prosecute speech, Brazil has become a global test case balancing the protection of marginalized groups against potential overreach and freedom of expression.

NZZ: The Gulnara Karimova Case and the Swiss Prosecution's Setback 

Switzerland’s Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona has dismissed the criminal proceedings against Gulnara Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan's former president. Despite years of investigations into vast money-laundering schemes, procedural obstacles and statue-of-limitations issues led to the case's dismissal. This ruling puts hundreds of millions of Swiss-chf frozen assets back into legal contention and deals a significant reputational blow to Switzerland's anti-kleptocracy enforcement efforts.

Read more in the Ukrainian edition....