Sunday, November 24, 2024

PRINCESS DIANA

Taken in 1990, the throwback Thursday snap was posted on Instagram by Mr Giammetti - captioned: 'Summer is here TBT princess Diana on the TMblue 1990.'

In it, Diana looks as impossibly stylish as she always did; sporting a printed bikini, an over-sized purple shirt tied effortlessly in a knot above her stomach, and a pair of black sunglasses.

Effortless cool: Princess Diana has appeared in a rare candid photo, posted to Instagram for throwback Thursday, which was taken aboard fashion designer Valentino's yacht in 1990 (pictured)

The people's princess: The summery photo of Diana (pictured here in 1997) was shared by Giancarlo Giammetti, her former friend and the partner of Valentino, who frequently dressed her

The photo, taken on board the Valentino-owned T.M.Blue One yacht, also depicts pals Rosario Saxe-Coburg, wife to the Prince of Preslav, Bulgaria, and a young boy presumed to be Prince William as a child. The doe-eyed former princess was known to frequent the luxury yachts of her rich and famous friends, partly because they offered her relative freedom from the prying eyes of the paparazzi, who hounded her relentlessly for most of her adult life.

Mr Giametti was with Diana seven years later, on August 31 1997 - mere hours before the car crash that ended her life - as she languished on her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed's Jonikal yacht, which was anchored next to the T.M.Blue One.

'She knew the paparazzi were there, but she didn't care,' he later told Harpers Baazar, recalling that he invited her for lunch that fateful day.

Swimwear Savvy: A true summer style icon, Diana is pictured (left) in 1991 on vacation in Sardinia, (center) in the South of France in 1997, a month before her tragic death, and (right) also in France

Daydreaming: Diana (pictured in St. Kitts in 1993) is remembered as one of history's most iconic royals; revered for her compassion, style and charisma

Diana, dubbed 'the people's princess' in her native Britain, is remembered as one of history's most iconic royals. Mother to princes William, now 32, and Harry 29; she was revered for her compassion, style and charisma, and was the long-suffering target of intense media scrutiny.

She first entered the spotlight after marrying Prince Charles in 1981, but the couple were rocked when, in 1992, Charles was exposed as having an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles - now his wife. Charles and Diana split as a result, and divorced in 1996.

Diana struck up a romance with Egyptian mogul Dodi Fayed in 1997, but both their lives were tragically cut short later that year, when they were killed in the infamous Paris car crash.

Kate Middleton, wife to Prince William, today wears Diana's engagement ring as a tribute to the mother-in-law she never met.

Prince Charles and his bride Diana, Princess of Wales, march down the aisle of St. Paul's Cathedral at the end of their wedding ceremony on July 29, 1981 in London. (AP Photo) #

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer are shown on their wedding day at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on July 29, 1981. (AP Photo) #

Prince Charles and his new bride Diana, Princess of Wales, pose for a family portrait with other members of the royal family, in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace, on their wedding day July 29, 1981. (AP Photo) #

Prince Charles and his bride Diana, Princess of Wales, pose in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace for this picture made after their wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral today. Back row, left to right: Edward van Cutsem, Lord Nicholas Windsor, Sarah Jane Gaselee, Prince Edward, Prince Charles, The Princess of Wales, Prince Andrew and Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones. Front row, left to right: Catherine Cameron, seated, India Hicks, standing, and Clementine Hambro, seated. (AP Photo, BIPNA, Pool) #

Prince Charles and his bride Diana, Princess of Wales, are shown on their wedding day on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London, July 29, 1981. Children are unidentified. (AP Photo) #

Lady Diana Spencer arrives with her father, the Earl Spencer, at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on July 29, 1981, for her wedding ceremony. (AP Photo) #

Prince Charles and his bride Diana, Princess of Wales, march down the aisle of St. Paul's Cathedral at the end of their wedding ceremony on July 29, 1981 in London. The bride's maids and the groom's brothers Prince Andrew, top left, and Prince Edwards, top right, march behind them. (AP Photo) #

Prince Charles and his wife Diana, the Princess of Wales, walk down the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral in London July 29, 1981, after their marriage ceremony. (AP Photo/Press Association/Pool) #

Lady Diana Spencer waves to crowds of well-wishers from a horse-drawn carriage en route to St. Paul's Cathedral, London, where she will marry Britain's Prince Charles, heir to the throne, July 29, 1981. (AP Photo/Pool) #

Prince Charles motions to lend a hand to the former Lady Diana Spencer as they enter their carrriage outside St. Paul's Cathedral at the ed of their wedding ceremony in London, July 29, 1981. (AP Photo/Pool) #

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer are shown at their wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral on July 29, 1981, in London. (AP Photo) #

The formal wedding portrait of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, taken at Buckingham Palace on July 29, 1981, after their marriage at St. Paul's Cathedral, London. (AP Photo)

Prince Charles and his bride Diana, the new Princess of Wales, wearing a coral silk dress and matching hat, ride toward Waterloo Station in an open carriage on their way to their honeymoon at Broadlands, July 29, 1981. (AP Photo) #

The echoes of a royal wedding from an earlier era are difficult to ignore.

The backdrop is the same: the opulent red-and-gold decor of the grand Throne Room at Buckingham Palace. And the mischievous smiles on the faces of some of the bridesmaids and page boys – and endearingly bewildered expressions on the others – are strikingly similar.

But, 30 years after the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, the official wedding picture of Prince William and Kate Middleton also reflects the differences between the two couples' relationships.

Pen pals: Diana writes about her 'cosy nest', left, and the 'happiness William brought them'

Signing herself as ‘Miss Diana’, the letters provide a glimpse into the private life of the couple, whom she dubbed simply ‘Mr & Mrs Wales’. In a poignant echo, her son Prince William and his new bride are also said to call each other Mr and Mrs Wales in private.

Diana wrote about her ‘heavenly’ honeymoon in Balmoral and her plans to make Highgrove a ‘cosy nest’.

And she confided to a friend her nerves over a visit to Wales – one of her earliest royal duties – and, with William’s arrival, described the joy of becoming a mother.

But the image conjured by the hand-written letters is starkly at odds with Diana’s later claims that she was desperately unhappy. Years later, she would reveal she had thrown herself down stairs while pregnant with William, and had attempted suicide several times before 1986.

In 1986 she wrote to Mrs Hodge to thank her for sending a card to mark her fifth wedding anniversary.

‘The five years have flown by,’ she wrote. But she was later to confess to beginning an affair with Major James Hewitt in 1986, and Charles said he rekindled his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles in the same year.

Mrs Hodge, 69, said: ‘I know she was very much in love with Prince Charles and she just wanted to be loved in return.’

The letters are expected to sell for around £20,000 when they go up for auction in Colchester on June 21.

Lot item: The collection of letters will form part of a Royal Memorabilia auction

Mrs Hodge's collection will be sold by auctioneers Reeman Dansie in a Royal Memorabilia auction, which also includes letters Diana wrote to her late financial adviser Joseph Sanders thanking him for a pair of Chanel earrings.

Reeman Dansie Royal specialist James Grinter said: 'This is a charming collection of personal letters and cards written by Diana to Mrs Hodge after they worked together at the Young England kindergarten and went on to become close friends.

'The Princess' letters give a fascinating glimpse into her life in the early years of her marriage to Prince Charles and we are expecting a lot of interest from collectors from around the world.'

Mrs Hodge added: 'I was very privileged because my friendship with Diana continued after her wedding and we were in contact until her death in 1997.

'She was a very busy lady, but she took time to meet up in a coffee shop a couple of times and she also invited me to tea at Kensington Palace.

'I know she was very much in love with Prince Charles and she just wanted to be loved in return.

'And I know Diana would have been so proud when Prince William married Catherine and the fact he gave her his mother's own ring when they got engaged.'

Happy: William and Kate surrounded by, clockwise bottom right, The Hon. Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Miss Eliza Lopes, Miss Grace van Cutsem, Lady Louise Windsor, Master Tom Pettifer, Master William Lowther-Pinkerton

TALKING brightly of nest-building and the joy of time alone with her husband, these are the letters of an apparently blissful bride.

Yet as was to become all too clear, Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles was riddled with tensions from the start.

Despite this, the previously unpublished personal correspondence reveals the Princess of Wales was, in those early years at least, able to keep up appearances.

Enlarge

On sale: Mrs Hodge's collection will be sold by Colchester auctioneers Reeman Dansie

Lot number 9: Lady Diana Spencer handwritten letter to Mrs Hodge, dated July 29th 1986

In her letters – which are littered with exclamation marks and the odd spelling mistake – Diana wrote of the pride she felt about her ‘two little men’, her young sons William and Harry. One note is daubed with inky smudges, which Diana said were William’s fingerprints.

The correspondence was revealed for the first time yesterday as it was put up for sale by its recipient, retired school principal Margaret Hodge.

The two women became friends when they worked together at the Young England kindergarten in Pimlico, London, before Diana’s marriage. It was a friendship that continued until the Princess of Wales’s death in 1997.

Flashback: Picture of Lady Diana in 1981, as a teaching assistant at the Young England nursery in Pimlico, London

with teacher

and close friend Margaret Hodge

Scotland Yard said they were assessing the credibility of new information relating to the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed including an allegation that they were murdered by a member of the British military.

It said it was 'scoping' the information, which surfaced in the second court martial of Sergeant Danny Nightingale, the SAS sniper convicted of illegally stashing a pistol and 338 bullets in his bedroom.

The allegation was contained in a letter from the parents-in-law of Soldier N, Sgt Nightingale's former housemate, which was sent to the SAS's commanding officer in September 2011.

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Police have said they are 'assessing' information it has recently received in relation to the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed

It is understood the information was passed to the Metropolitan Police through the Royal Military Police.

The letter says Soldier N claimed the SAS 'was behind Princess Diana's death' and it had been 'covered up', the Sunday People has reported.

The letter said: 'He (soldier N) also told her (his wife) that it was XXX who arranged Princess Diana's death and that has been covered up.'

A statement issued by Scotland Yard said: 'The Metropolitan Police Service is scoping information that has recently been received in relation to the deaths and assessing its relevance and credibility. 'The assessment will be carried out by officers from the specialist crime and operations command.

'This is not a re-investigation and does not come under Operation Paget.'

Police said they are not prepared to discuss the matter further, while a royal spokeswoman said there will be no comment on the matter from Prince William or Prince Harry, or from Clarence House.

Police said the deaths of Diana and Mr Al Fayed were 'thoroughly investigated' and examined by an inquest led by Lord Justice Scott Baker at the Royal Court of Justice in 2007 to 2008

Diana, Dodi and chauffeur Henri Paul died after their Mercedes crashed in the tunnel, which left the Ritz Hotel on the morning of August 31 1997.

The hearing into the deaths of Diana and Dodi lasted more than 90 days with evidence from around 250 witnesses.

The inquests concluded on April 7, 2008, with a jury returning a verdict that the 'People's Princess' and her boyfriend were unlawfully killed.

After the hearing, Metropolitan Police said they had spent £8 million on services arising from the inquest and the Operation Paget investigation from 2004 to 2006.

Diana, Mr Al Fayed (pictured) and chauffeur Henri Paul died after their Mercedes crashed in a tunnel in Paris on the morning of August 31, 1997

That money includes the cost of the legal team which represented the force's commissioner at the inquest, police protection for the inquest jury and paying for the Paget inquiry, reported to have cost £3.6 million.

Former Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens's Paget investigation was launched in 2004 at the request of Michael Burgess, the Royal Coroner, who was then overseeing the future Diana inquest.

The former top policeman published his report in December 2006, rejecting the murder claims voiced by some, including Dodi's father Mohamed al Fayed.

Lord Stevens's investigation found that Diana was not murdered by British spies nor by the Duke of Edinburgh and she was not pregnant nor engaged to boyfriend Dodi.

Operation Paget concluded, just like the French investigation in 1999, that driver Henri Paul was drunk and driving at excessive speed.

The investigation dismissed the endless conspiracy theories sparked by the fatal accident.

Mr Paul had an alcohol level of around 1.74 grams per litre at the time of the crash - about twice the British drink-drive limit.

The black type S280 Mercedes was being driven through the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris at around 61 to 63mph - twice the speed limit for that section of road.

Lord Stevens said allegations that Diana was murdered were 'unfounded' and that he found nothing to justify further inquiries with members of the Royal Family.

A spokesman for Mr al Fayed yesterday said he had no comment to make, but said he will be 'interested in seeing the outcome', adding that he trusts the Met will investigate the information 'with vigour'.

The Ministry of Defence said tonight it was not commenting on the matter.

Police assessing new information into Princess Diana's death

The jury in the 2008 inquest concluded its verdict as 'unlawful killing, grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes', the Met said

Timeline of events leading to the Diana report

Princess Diana and Dodi al Fayed wait at the rear service exit of the Ritz Hotel in Paris on August 31, 1997

August 31, 1997 - Diana, Dodi and their chauffeur Henri Paul die when their S280 Mercedes crashes in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris after leaving the Ritz Hotel. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones is badly injured but survives. A number of photographers and a press motorcyclist are held for questioning.

September 1, 1997 - Analysis of blood samples indicate Paul was drunk.

September 2, 1997 - French prosecutors open an official inquiry headed by Judge Herve Stephan. And Dodi's father Mohamed al Fayed files a civil action in Paris and asks for a widening of the inquiry to include possible charges of violation of privacy against Dodi and Diana.

September 6, 1997 - Diana's funeral is held at Westminster Abbey, watched by millions around the world. Her son Princes William and Harry walk through the streets behind her coffin.

September 17, 1997 - Examination of debris found at the scene of the crash suggests the involvement of a white Fiat Uno. Identity checks are carried out on 40,000 Fiat Uno owners, but it is never found.

March 1998 - Mr al Fayed tells investigators he believes the crash was part of a plot to kill Diana by MI6

July 1999 - A French appeals court rejects a request by Mr al Fayed for further official inquiries into the crash.

September 1999 - Judge Herve Stephan’s reports finds that that Diana and Dodi were killed because their chauffeur, Henri Paul, was driving at high speed under the influence of drink and anti-depressant drugs. The photographers and press motorcyclist are formally cleared of manslaughter charges. Mr al Fayed announces he will appeal.

July 2000 - Mr al Fayed loses his High Court battle for joint, or concurrent, inquests into the deaths of Diana and Dodi.

In July 1999 a French appeals court rejected a request by Mohammed al Fayed for further inquiries into the crash

November 2001 - Mr al Fayed loses a £100,000 claim for damages over what he had called a ‘flawed’ part of the inquiry into Diana's death.

October 2003 - Three photographers who snapped pictures of Diana and Dodi at the crash scene go on trial in Paris accused of invading the couple's privacy. They are cleared a month later.

November 2003 - A privacy violation civil case, brought by Mr Fayed against three of the photographers who were following the Princess's car on the night she died,

Lord Stevens released his report after three years of investigation - it concludes the couple and their chauffeur died in a traffic accident in a Paris underpass in August 1997

January 6, 2004 – Separate inquests into Diana and Dodi’s deaths are finally opened and adjourned. On the same day, the Daily Mirror publishes a letter from Diana to her butler Paul Burrell 10 months before her death in which she claimed her former husband, the Prince of Wales, was plotting to kill her in a crash.

January 7, 2004 - Former royal coroner John Burton, who was present at the princess's autopsy, says she was not pregnant when she died. The Scotland Yard inquiry - codenamed Operation Paget - is stepped up.

July 6, 2004 - The Diana memorial fountain opens in Hyde Park.

August 2004 - A French court orders a new investigation into the alleged falsification of alcohol and drug tests on Henri Paul, his parents have always rejected the original post-mortem examination's findings.

May 2005 - Detectives are said to have quizzed Britain's two most senior spy chiefs John Scarlett, the head of MI6, and Eliza Manningham-Buller, the MI5 director general.

July 2005 - The wrecked Mercedes is brought to Britain for forensic examination..

December 2005 - The Prince of Wales is finally questioned by Lord Stevens, signalling that the investigation is drawing to a close. He is said to have been asked if he ever plotted to assassinate the Princess.

July 2006 - Royal coroner Michael Burgess quits the inquests, blaming a ‘heavy and constant’ workload. He is later replaced by Britain’s top female judge Lady Butler- Sloss

December 2006 - Lord Stevens finally releases his report after three years of investigation – it finds that there was no conspiracy to murder the Princess lover and no cover-up afterwards. Instead it concludes that the couple and their chauffeur Henri Paul died in a simple traffic accident in a Paris underpass in August 1997. Lord Stevens stressed that if the Princess had been wearing a seatbelt she might have survived the crash.

It is the luxury Spanish villa where the young Diana Spencer spent summers and now the so-called 'Mallorcan Castle' is for sale.

And despite its staggering £30million price tag, Madonna is said to be interested in buying the luxury bolthole.

The grand villa is where the young Diana enjoyed summers before marrying Prince Charles and the Material Girl is reported to be interested even though she is yet to see the property.

But the wealthy owner who snaps up the villa will also get a private cave and a pontoon for 30metre yachts included.

The 1,400 square metre property includes a sauna, gym, piano lounge and billiards room.

Guest houses, a swimming pool, gardens and terraces also feature in 6,000 square metres of land.

The Puerto de Andratx property, 20 minutes from Palma, is the most expensive in Mallorca.

Neighbouring properties have previously sold for £21,500 per square metre.

Other former guests include ex-German chancellor Christian Wulff.

Grand design: The property known as Castilla Mallorca - Mallorca Castle in English- is on sale for a whopping £30million

Celebrity bolthole: Princess Diana (R) used to spend her summers at Castillo Mallorca and Madonna is reportedly interested in buying the property

Pool with a view: The property overlooks the sea and comes with gardens and terraces as well as its own cave and a yacht pontoon

Precarious setting: With sea views on both sides of the property, and a staircase straight down into the water, the luxury villa is billed as the most expensive on the Balearic island

Royal hat trick: Princess Diana, Prince Charles and former Spanish Queen Sofía spent a summer holidaying on the Balearic Island, where Diana also spend many childhood summers

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Dine in style: Guests can enjoy stunning views of the Mallorcan coastline from the villa's open-air dining room

Room with a view: The villa's many bedrooms are decorated to a high standard and, of course, offer sweeping views of the coast

Hefty price tag: The Puerto de Andratx property - which is located 20 minutes from Palma - is the most expensive in Mallorca

On the waterfront: The luxury villa covers 1,400 square metres and its location is second to none

Saturday, November 23, 2024

ON THE BRINK OF WWIII

Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov said that the Russian military must be prepared for a possible military confrontation with NATO in the next decade.Belousov, referring to NATO's July decisions and the doctrines of the United States and other NATO countries, stressed that Russia must prepare for the possibility of a direct confrontation with NATO in Europe. Belousov cited the US plans to modernize its nuclear forces, the opening of a missile defense base in Poland and the deployment of medium-range missiles in Germany as reasons for this preparation.

FOOTSTEPS TO WWIII

Germany is preparing plans for the deployment of 800,000 NATO troops in the wake of Russian nuclear threats. “Operation Deutschland” proposes to protect critical infrastructure and prepare citizens. Russia has asked North Korea for troop support, while the US authorization of long-range missiles to Ukraine has provoked a strong reaction from Russia. While Germany declared that it would not bow to Putin's threats, Ukrainian leader Zelenski emphasized that the US support should continue. Europe is preparing for a possible war amid rising tensions.

NATO is preparing for World War III by outlining its defense strategy. This includes ensuring Europe's security in light of growing tensions with Russia, which continues to escalate with nuclear threats. Ukraine's role in this context is vital to strengthen NATO's commitment to deter further Russian aggression and ensure that support for Ukraine remains strong in the face of these threats

Nordic citizens are preparing for potential conflict by creating survival guides in response to escalating tensions in Europe. Amid Russia's aggression in Ukraine and increasing military threats, countries like Sweden and Finland are taking proactive steps to ensure the safety of their populations. This includes stockpiling resources and educating citizens on emergency protocols. The broader concern is that instability could spread further, making defense readiness critical. This aligns with a growing commitment from European nations to support Ukraine against Russian expansionism.

Poland has deployed F-16 fighter jets in response to Russia's recent missile attacks on Ukraine. The Polish Army's Operational Command is closely monitoring the situation, ensuring airspace security. Poland, which has previously faced missile incursions from Russia during attacks on Ukraine, is prepared for immediate action to protect its airspace. The July security agreement between Ukraine and Poland also allows Poland to intercept Russian missiles targeting Ukraine's airspace. This collaboration strengthens regional security and underscores Poland's commitment to Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression.

In response to escalating tensions with Russia, NATO is preparing to mobilize 800,000 troops, with Germany taking the lead in this strategic initiative. The move comes after Russia's continuous missile strikes on Ukraine and growing nuclear threats. NATO's efforts, which include strengthening defense measures across Europe, demonstrate the alliance's commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and regional stability. Poland, in particular, has ramped up security, deploying F-16 fighter jets for surveillance, ensuring that Russian aggression does not spill over into NATO territories. This proactive defense underscores NATO's unified stance against Russia’s aggression. As Russia intensifies its military operations, NATO's focus on strengthening defense readiness signals the alliance's unwavering support for Ukraine. The coordinated response from European nations is crucial in deterring further Russian threats and maintaining the balance of power in Europe.

IF WAR BETWEEN NATO AND RUSSIA DETONATE WHO WOULD LOSE NATO’s secretary general warns that a ‘full blown war’ with Russia is ‘a real possibility.’

“If things go wrong, they can go horribly wrong,” Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview published on Friday.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, speaking in Oslo on Thursday.

NATO’s secretary general warned on Friday that Russia’s war in Ukraine could expand into a wider war with the Atlantic alliance.

The official, Jens Stoltenberg, repeatedly cautioned in news media interviews this week against underestimating the situation in Ukraine and emphasized the wider threat President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could pose to Europe.

“If things go wrong, they can go horribly wrong,” Mr. Stoltenberg said in an interview released on Friday with the Norwegian journalist Anne Lindmo, in which he added that there was “no doubt” a full-blown war against NATO was a “real possibility.”

“I understand everyone who is tired of supporting Ukraine. I understand everyone who thinks that food prices and the electricity bills are far too high,” he said. “But we have to pay a much higher price if our freedom and peace are threatened through Putin winning in Ukraine.”

Mr. Stoltenberg’s comments came two days after he said that Russia was intentionally stalling the war in order to prepare a renewed onslaught against Ukrainian forces next year.

“What we see now is that Russia is actually attempting to have some kind of ‘freeze’ of this war, at least for a short period of time, so they can regroup, repair, recover, and then try to launch a bigger offensive next spring,” he told The Financial Times on Wednesday.

The NATO chief emphasized the importance of continued military support for Ukraine, saying that Russia had shown no sign of willingness to engage in peace talks that would respect Ukraine’s sovereignty. But he declined to answer when pressed on whether NATO’s member nations should agree to provide more advanced, long-range offensive weaponry — something NATO allies, including the United States, have avoided to keep from inviting a direct confrontation with Russia.

The U.S. State Department reiterated after drone strikes hit Russian military bases this week that it was neither enabling nor encouraging Ukraine to strike beyond its borders.

The Pentagon has continued providing other forms of security assistance to Kyiv, and on Friday announced a new aid package valued at up to $275 million that includes additional HIMARS ammunition, air defense equipment and approximately 150 generators for Ukraine’s worsening winter.

A war between Vladimir Putin's Russia and NATO would end with Moscow's “inevitable defeat,” Poland’s Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said Thursday.

"It is not we, the West, who should fear a clash with Putin, but the other way around,” Sikorski said during a speech to the Sejm, the lower house of Poland's parliament. “It is worth reminding about this, not to increase the sense of threat in the Russians, because NATO is a defensive pact, but to show that an attack by Russia on any of the members of the Alliance would end in its [Russia's] inevitable defeat.”

Sikorski, who was laying out Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s vision for the new government's foreign policy, said Russia’s military and economic potential “pales in comparison to that of the West,” as NATO has three times as many military personnel, three times the aerial resources and four times as many ships as Russia.

"Putin's only hope is our lack of determination," he warned.

Western allies and top military officials have become increasingly worried about a potential spillover of violence from Putin’s ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine — as the Russian leader continues to issue veiled nuclear threats toward the West and stashes atomic weapons in Belarus, which borders NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

Sikorski returned to his post as foreign minister after Tusk's success in last October's election, booting out Poland's nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) party after eight years in power. Since then, Tusk’s center-right administration has been trying to undo years of PiS policy, vowing to restore democratic standards in the country and improve relations with Brussels.

Vladimir Putin continues to issue veiled nuclear threats toward the West and stashes atomic weapons in Belarus. | Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images

Tusk recently warned that Europe is in a “pre-war era” but still has a “long way to go” before it's ready to face the threat ahead. And recently, Polish President Andrzej Duda said Poland is “ready” to host nuclear weapons on its territory if NATO decides to reinforce its eastern flank.

On Thursday, Sikorski criticized the former government’s foreign policy, calling it "a series of misguided ideological assumptions, bad ideas, wrong decisions and omissions.” It led to financial losses, a “loss of credibility and prestige,” the deterioration of foreign relations and pushed Poland “to the margins of the most important debates in the European Union, as well as in NATO."

While the previous government chose a “path of confrontation,” the new one will have different priorities, Sikorski said, looking ahead to Poland taking over the rotating presidency of the EU in the first half of 2025.

“Poland's development and security must be based on two pillars: transatlantic cooperation — maintained independently of the decisions of American voters — and European integration,” he said, alluding to the possibility of Republican contender and NATO-skeptic Donald Trump returning to the White House and the potential impact on the transatlantic military alliance.

Poland is fast turning into a defense heavyweight, and the world's 14th largest military spender, after raising its expenditure a whopping 75 percent between 2022 and 2023 to $31.6 billion, according to data released this week by the

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

On the morning of September 25, at 8:44 AM, the CCP’s Rocket Force launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of carrying a nuclear warhead into the Pacific Ocean. Later, China’s Ministry of National Defense announced the successful launch of an ICBM carrying a training dummy warhead, which accurately landed in a designated area. They emphasized that this launch was part of annual military training and was not aimed at any specific country or target.
Japan's military quickly assessed the situation, stating that after the missile launch, it split into two parts in the waters around Luzon Island, with the warhead eventually falling in the open sea near Hawaii.

As Russia opens a new front in its war on Ukraine and the 75th NATO Summit approaches in early July, national security analysts debated whether the military alliance should widen its role in the conflict during a talk Friday at Harvard Kennedy School.

The war is at “a really critical moment,” said the event’s moderator, David E. Sanger ’82, the White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times. Ukraine suffered damage over the last several months as it waited for Congress to approve a $60.8 billion aid package in late April. The Russians have regained territory in Eastern Ukraine, he continued, and while they’ve endured significant casualties, their fighting force remains large and strong and has gotten better at using drones and other forms of electronic warfare.

“This is not a war about territory, it’s a war about the future of Ukraine,” said Ivo Daalder, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and now president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. “The way to defeat Russia is for Russia to be denied the opportunity to determine Ukraine’s future.”

Even as the U.S. announces a $400 million military aid package to deliver weapons, artillery, and other munitions to Ukraine, Daalder said he is “deeply worried about where we are.” He fears the stalemate on the battlefield that began in November 2022 could give way to an advantage for Russia because U.S. weapons and aid are arriving “too late,” and Ukraine’s military mobilization has been “woefully inadequate.”

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has said that every European country that borders Russia and wants to be safe must be a member of both the EU and Nato. One nation that now has what Ukraine wants is Finland, the most recent addition to the western alliance. The war in Ukraine, and Nato membership, has shifted the mindset in Finland which has an 800-mile border with Russia. The once neutral country is now fortifying its territory with miles and miles of barbed wire.

We joined military drills on Nato’s newest frontier.The average age of Ukraine’s fighting force is 43 years old, a “stunning” figure, he said, and Ukraine is being outpaced by Russia in its efforts to conscript fresh, younger fighters to relieve troops that have been fighting for more than two years.

“This is not a war about territory, it’s a war about the future of Ukraine.”
Ivo Daalder

Many European Union countries continue to provide support to Ukraine, and some, like Lithuania, are considering sending their own troops to fight. Whether other NATO allies and the U.S. ought to do the same, given the stakes, will be a topic of serious debate at the upcoming summit in Washington, D.C. French President Emmanuel Macrón, the leadership of the Baltic states, and possibly Polish President Andrzej Duda are expected to address the wisdom of direct military support.

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Still, the U.S. remains a “hugely important actor” in the direction this conflict will take in the coming months, according to Karen Donfried, former assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs in the Biden administration and a Belfer Center fellow. The EU can’t replace the role that the U.S. is playing in Ukraine, she said. “Were it not for the weapons we’re providing Ukraine, they would not still be in this fight.”

The question NATO allies need to be asking themselves right now, said Daalder, is how important is Ukraine “not failing” to future European security? “And so far, we have said, it’s not important enough” to do everything we possibly can, like committing troops and more air defense.

Though still supportive of the war, the Ukrainian people have been worn down by it.
Stephen Hadley

Ukraine needs to do several things to turn the tide, said Stephen Hadley, a former assistant to President George W. Bush on national security affairs and deputy national security adviser under Condoleezza Rice. First, Ukraine must increase its capacity to defend territory and “dig in” to defend areas it still controls; improve its air defense to better protect the country’s energy infrastructure and people; build up a defense industry so it’s not as reliant on the West; continue to go after Russian logistics; and challenge Russian control of Crimea, like Ukraine did with control of the Black Sea, in a bid to prompt Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to the negotiating table.

Though still supportive of the war, the Ukrainian people have been worn down by it, said Hadley. President Volodymyr Zelensky faces “some very difficult decisions” about if, or how, to wind down the war if there’s an opportunity to strike a deal while Russia still controls large areas of Ukraine. NATO allies can offer help with that quandary, Hadley said.

Meanwhile, a newly re-elected Putin feels very confident right now and Russia will do “everything in its power” to ensure that it has the upper hand by the time the NATO summit begins, said Donfried. “He thinks he’s winning.”

Estonia is preparing for conflict with Russia, because if Putin wins in Ukraine, they could be next. [Every school student in the country is learning about defence and every man aged between 18 and 29 is conscripted to serve for up to a year in the military. Estonia is urging Nato to do more - because Russia's standing army is bigger than the country’s entire population, and war could be coming.None of the panelists expect Ukraine and Russia to enter into a negotiated settlement in the next 12 to 18 months.

“Most wars don’t actually end in negotiation. Most wars end in victory, exhaustion, or stalemate,” said Daalder. “And so, we’re much better off not focusing on how do we get them to the table … and talk about, how do you stabilize the situation for long enough to alter what is, in fact, happening and needs to happen to alter the political situation between Russia and Ukraine?”