💡 SPOTLIGHT

With Ukraine in need, Republicans join Trump on the wrong side of History

With the rejection of the aid plan for Ukraine, Eastern Europe fears that Trump's isolationist policy will mark the end of U.S. protection from the Putin regime. News from Ukraine of President Zelensky replacing his head of armed forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, together with the difficult situation on the battlefield, are generating a lot of tension in Ukraine — and in the wider Europe.

The cri du cœur came yesterday from Donald Tusk, the Polish prime minister and former president of the European Council. He took to X (formerly Twitter) to address the Republican senators who on Wednesday rejected a package that included aid to war-torn Ukraine. He told them: "Ronald Reagan, who helped millions of us to win back our freedom and independence, must be turning in his grave today. Shame on you!”

Reagan, known for his economic liberalism, is revered in Eastern Europe above all for having stood up to the USSR during the Cold War, and for having declared to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on June 12, 1987, in Berlin: "Tear down this wall!” Two years later, the Berlin Wall fell and Eastern European countries regained their freedom.

Reagan was an old-fashioned Republican, the antithesis of Donald Trump and of the isolationist party he shaped in his image. A party that is ready, today, to sacrifice Ukraine's fate both for domestic political reasons and fascination with Putin's authoritarian model. Just look at how yesterday's interview with the Russian President by ultra-conservative journalist Tucker Carlson is being publicized by the Trumpian ranks!

There is both surprise and bitterness in the Polish prime minister's statement, which is shared by all those who have experienced Soviet domination: they have developed an unshakeable faith in U.S. protection.

A few months ago, the leader of a Baltic state whom I pressed with questions, along with other journalists, about Europe's strategic autonomy, replied, annoyed: "My job is first and foremost to make sure that the Americans stay in Europe to protect us." You can imagine his dismay when the possible next resident of the White House is ready to let go of Ukraine.

The Europeans are determined: "Europe will be there if the Americans fail in Ukraine", a senior French official recently said. But it will take more than voluntarism.

The European Union has made a great leap forward in supporting Ukraine in the last two years. But it is still a long way from replacing the United States. For example, the Europeans have been unable to meet their commitment on shells, which will be delivered with a delay of almost one year.

The result is a serious imbalance on the ground, as Russia has truly become a war economy. In Avdiivka, a town where serious fighting is taking place, the Russians are firing five times as many artillery shells as the Ukrainians, who are ceding ground. This will certainly be at the heart of Monday's "Weimar Triangle" meeting in Paris between France, Germany, and Poland.

The sluggish international climate, uncertainties over weapons, and fatigue on the ground, including President Zelensky's decision yesterday to replace his head of armed forces, the very popular General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, are weighing on Ukrainian morale and creating tensions. The news from Washington certainly doesn't help.

— Pierre Haski / France Inter

🌎 7 THINGS TO KNOW RIGHT NOW

• Israel intensifies airstrikes in Gaza after Biden’s “over the top” criticism: Israeli forces have launched new air strikes on Gaza on Friday, hours after U.S. President Joe Biden called the country’s military response on the Palestinian territory “over the top.” The White House also warned it would not back a military offensive into the southern city of Rafah without due consideration for the refugees there. Follow Worldcrunch’s coverage of the war in the Middle East here.

• Zelensky sacks commander-in-chief Zaluzhnyi, Putin says defeat is “impossible”: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky as the country’s new army chief, replacing General Valerii Zaluzhnyi in a dramatic military shakeup nearly two years into Russia's invasion. This follows speculation about a rift between the president and Zaluzhnyi, who had been Ukraine’s commander-in-chief since the conflict began. Senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev called Russia-born Syrsky a “traitor” and said his appointment would not change the outcome of the war. Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin defended his decision to invade Ukraine in February 2022 in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and said it would be “impossible” for the West to inflict “a strategic defeat to Russia.”

• Pakistan election on knife edge, Imran Khan’s supporters in the lead: Votes are being counted after Thursday’s general election in Pakistan, with independent candidates backed by imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan in the lead by over 100 seats. The election, whose results were stalled by unusual delays, has been overshadowed by sporadic violence and a cell phone service shutdown.

• Brazil’s ex-president Bolsonaro surrenders passport amid probe into attempted coup: Brazilian former president Jair Bolsonaro surrendered his passport on Thursday as police are investigating him and several of his top allies for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2022 election, which saw the victory of President Lula.

• Swiss police kill ax-wielding hostage-taker on train: Police in Switzerland have shot dead a man wielding an ax and knife who had taken 15 passengers hostage on a train near Yverdon, in the west of the country, on Thursday night. The perpetrator, whose motive remains unclear, has been identified as a Farsi and English-speaking 32-year-old Iranian asylum seeker.

• Clashes over mosque demolition in India leave five dead: At least five people were killed and dozens injured as violence erupted during protests in Haldwani, a town in the northern state of Uttarakhand, after authorities demolished a mosque and a religious school. This prompted protests by local Muslims who said they have been unfairly targeted because of their religion. Authorities said the buildings had been built without permission.

• Bad news for chocolate lovers: Global cocoa prices have surged more than $1,000 since the start of the year to reach an all-time high of $5,874 per metric ton, as the El Niño weather phenomenon is causing drier temperatures in West Africa, hurting crops. Could global warming make chocolate vanish for good? Read about it in this recent Ethic article, translated from Spanish by Worldcrunch.

🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Edward Enninful, the first man and first Black person to serve as editor of British Vogue, bid farewell to the fashion magazine with a “legendary” cover. It features the likes of tennis star Serena Williams, supermodels Naomi Campbell and Iman, TV producer and talk show host Oprah Winfrey, and fashion designer Victoria Beckham … In total, 40 women are portrayed, each of them having appeared on previous covers during Enninful’s six-and-a-half-years as editor. The group photo — not a collage of individual portraits, but a scheduling feat — was shot by U.S. photographer Steven Meisel at a New York studio. Enninful’s successor, journalist Chioma Nnadi, will have her debut cover in March, becoming the first Black woman to lead the illustrious magazine.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

How socialist Bolivia is trying to cash in on lithium, to the benefit of China

Bolivia believes lithium is the new “white gold,” for its role in fueling new technologies. Distrusting Western investments and technology, it's counting on collaborations with Russia and China. But there will be problems at home that could block it all, reports Sergio Herrera Deza in Latin American business magazine America Economia.

⛏️🇧🇴 Lithium is the new mineral of the future, for its utility in sectors ranging from energy reactors to the millions of electric cars set to dominate the mobility market. It has in turn boosted the global standing of producer countries, notably in Latin America, and given them a privileged negotiating seat with industrial powers keen to assure their lithium supplies. Bolivia is one country with abundant supplies and possibly the world's biggest deposit in the Uyuni salt flat or Salar de Uyuni in the department of Potosí. Its reserves last July were estimated at around 23 million tons.

🤝 The country's socialist government, headed by President Luis Arce, has made it clear that he prefers to do business with countries opposed to the United States and its allies, notably China and Russia. Arce hopes these trading partners will provide it with cash and innovative technologies for the extraction and production facilities it needs to become a mass-scale lithium supplier.

⚠️ The Chinese regime's interest in Bolivian lithium is no accident. Analysts say China needs energy far beyond its present consumption of oil, even if it is itself the world's third biggest producer of lithium. Bolivia is an attractive trading partner, especially as it shares China's multipolar perspectives on running the world. Yet, Bolivia should not become entirely dependent on Russian and Chinese firms and shut out the West. Its precarious economy, forex shortages, rising public debt and higher risk rating should all prompt greater pragmatism.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO

➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED

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#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

$2 billion

According to the Financial Times, AI startup OpenAI crossed the $2 billion revenue threshold. The Microsoft-backed tech company, riding on the popularity of its powerful ChatGPT conversational bot, believes it can more than double this figure next year, as more and more customers aim to use generative AI tools in the workplace.

📣 VERBATIM

“My memory is fine.”

— U.S. President Joe Biden defended himself in response to a special counsel investigation that accused him of mishandling classified information and having memory limitations. The inquiry, led by Special Counsel Robert Hur, found that Biden wilfully retained and disclosed classified files. The president criticized the prejudicial language in the 345-page report and asserted his qualification for the presidency despite concerns about his age. He blamed his staff for failing to warn him about the sensitive documents, and was not charged by the counsel.

📸 PHOTO DU JOUR

Posing in front of Lunar New Year decorations during a lantern show in Kathmandu, Nepal. The event, celebrated by billions of people across the world, kicks off tomorrow and marks the start of the Year of the Dragon. — Photo: Sulav Shrestha/Xinhua/ZUMA

👉  MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH  

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• When The Police Torture Of A Straight Man Shows How Vile Anti-Gay Hatred Is In Russia — VAZHNYYE ISTORII/IMPORTANT STORIES

• Germany To India, A Debunking Of The "People's Party" Sham Of Right-Wing Populists— THE WIRE

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