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Russia/Ukraine
Hard Numbers: Russia reportedly indoctrinating kidnapped Ukrainian children, Fed to discuss rate cuts amid political firestorm, Argentina’s Milei presents budget, & More
Protesters led by children march in London, United Kingdom, on June 1, 2025, demanding the release of Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia and an end to Russian aggression in Ukraine.
210: The Kremlin is holding Ukrainian children at 210 different sites across Russia, according to a Yale University report, and forcing them to have re-education sessions and military training. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has regularly cited the abductions as evidence that Moscow is committing genocide in Ukraine. Kyiv estimates that 20,000 children have been taken since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
€1 billion: Poland increased its cybersecurity budget from €600 million ($708m) to €1 billion ($1.18b) after Russian hackers targeted its hospitals and Warsaw’s water supply. The Polish foreign minister said the country faces 20-50 cyber threats to critical infrastructure each day, most of which it thwarts.
3: The US military hit a Venezuela drug boat on Monday, killing three people. The attack marks the second time this month that the US has hit a boat suspected of drug smuggling off the coast of Venezuela.
7: A political storm is clouding the US Federal Reserve as its seven governors meet over the next couple of days to decide whether to cut interest rates – the target range is currently 4.25%-4.5%. Among the seven decision-makers are Lisa Cook, whom President Donald Trump has tried to fire but remains in situ after a court win yesterday, and Stephen Miran, a Trump ally whom the Senate confirmed only yesterday.
1.5%: Argentine President Javier Milei presented his 2026 budget proposal Tuesday to the National Congress, with the aim of having a fiscal surplus of 1.5% next year. The budgets for each of the last two years have been rejected, so the government has instead extended and continued to use the one implemented in 2023. With the midterm election only six weeks away, the budget could have political ramifications for Milei.
Is the clean energy revolution finally here? Over the past few years, the world has experienced a sudden and overwhelming surge in renewable energy installation and generation, outpacing even the most optimistic predictions from experts. This week on the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer talks to with Bill McKibben, an environmentalist and author, about the stakes and scale of the global energy transformation. His new book, "Here Comes the Sun," argues renewables aren’t just a climate fix—they’re a political and economic opportunity.
Costs from solar and wind have dropped so dramatically in the last 36 months that they’re now the cheapest way to produce electricity worldwide. And energy independence has become a national security issue amid so much global instability. But while China and Europe are pushing ahead in the race to power the future, the Trump administration is doubling down on fossil fuels. What happens if the US puts the brakes on clean energy, just as the rest of the world hits the gas? Or rather... plugs in the solar battery? Do we risk being left in the dark?
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published
In this episode of GZERO Europe, Carl Bildt discusses Russia’s drone incursions into Poland.
Nineteen drones crossed into Polish airspace with some intercepted and shot down by warplanes. Bildt says the move by Russia was intentional and warns that “this is a clear act of aggression."
If tolerated, Bildt cautions it risks setting “a pattern where Russia step by step is going to up and increase this sort of direct, indirect attacks … not only against Ukraine… but also against NATO countries.”
In this Quick Take, Ian Bremmer analyzes how the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on with no sign of winding down any time soon.
Moscow has intensified strikes, hitting Ukraine’s most important government buildings. Ukraine, meanwhile, is expanding missile capabilities alongside growth in drone production.
Still, the front lines remain largely static.“Over time, the ability of the Ukrainians to continue to muster the fighting force…is deteriorating,” Ian warns. He add that it leaves Putin convinced “the longer they engage in this war, the less capable the Ukrainians will be… and that means that Russia's going to be in a better position to demand outcomes in terms that they want.”
The risk extends beyond Ukraine’s borders. With Trump’s Russia policy faltering and China offering Putin diplomatic support, Ian cautions the conflict is “increasingly not just a proxy war, but a direct hybrid war,” raising the danger of escalation in unpredictable ways.
What We’re Watching: Putin’s threat against foreign troops, Thailand has another new PM, Report emerges of failed US mission in North Korea
Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, on September 4, 2025.
Putin warns foreign troops in Ukraine would be “legitimate targets”
A day after France and 25 allies pledged to send a “reassurance force” to Ukraine once a ceasefire takes hold, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected the idea and warned any foreign troops would be fair game for Russian attacks. Paris insists the force would deter new aggression, not fight Russia directly, but Moscow sees it as escalation – insinuating that the troops could be a tripwire for World War III. Russia is trying to shape the terms of any future peace, even as its offensive grinds on.
Thailand picks new PM, but crisis far from over
Thailand’s parliament has chosen Anutin Charnvirakul, a cannabis-crusading conservative, as its third prime minister in two years, after the Constitutional Court ousted Paetongtarn Shinawatra last week. Anutin’s small Bhumjaithai party secured power with backing from the progressive People’s Party, but only on condition that new elections be held within four months. Paetongtarn’s removal stemmed from a leaked call with Cambodian strongman Hun Sen over a border dispute, a scandal that fractured her coalition. Chronic political instability in Bangkok doesn’t just undermine democracy, it complicates relations with Cambodia, where lingering border tensions could flare without steady leadership.
Report emerges of aborted Trump-backed Navy SEAL mission in North Korea
In 2019, Donald Trump became the first sitting US president to step into North Korea, and appeared to have a relatively warm meeting with Kim Jong Un. Behind the scenes, though, he was greenlighting a Navy SEAL operation that same year to plant a wire on Kim, the New York Times reported on Friday. It was all part of the US’s decades-long effort to limit North Korea’s nuclear activity. The mission involved sending US troops onto North Korean soil, an incredibly risky move. When the troops arrived on the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, though, a North Korean boat was circling the area. The SEALs killed all the people on that ship, then aborted the mission.Hard Numbers: Russia fires hundreds of drone missiles into Ukraine, Caveats to Google’s legal win, Judge rules on Trump admin’s use of 18th-century law, & More
Firefighters work at the site of destroyed garages of an automotive enterprise hit during Russian drone and missile strikes, in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, on September 3, 2025.
526: Russia launched 526 drones at Ukraine overnight, as rates of drone and missile strikes have nearly doubled since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inconclusive meeting with US President Donald Trump last month. Moscow is advancing slowly on the battlefield while ignoring Trump’s peace deadlines.
$2 trillion: Google was breathing a sigh of relief yesterday after a US federal judge rejected the Justice Department’s request to split up parts of the $2-trillion-plus company, which would involve spinning off its Chrome browser and Android devices. While the decision was a victory for the tech firm, the judge also ordered Google to share its search data with competitors and banned it from penning deals that would make its products the default tools on mobile devices.
60: Thailand’s caretaker Pheu Thai government has requested royal approval to dissolve Parliament after the opposition-backed Anutin Charnvirakul gained key support to form a rival coalition. The move follows last week’s dismissal of Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra by the Constitutional Court. If the king allows Parliament to dissolve, it would trigger elections within 60 days.
200,000: The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has deported nearly 200,000 people this year, including some who were accused of gang ties and removed under the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. But on Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled this act can no longer be used to fast track removals, saying that mass migration isn’t an “invasion.” The case is likely headed to the Supreme Court, but this ruling may temporarily curb Trump’s expanded deportation powers.
$8.5 million: France’s billionaire Pinault family is facing a lawsuit after its company Ponant canceled a glamorous cruise – one that cost $8.5 million – that was supposed to take more than 150 Russian elites to the North Pole, according to the Financial Times. The Russian-owned travel company that booked the trip alleges that the French firm has only returned $5.8 million of the total cost. The reason the firm canceled: a Russian crypto entrepreneur who brokered payments between the two firms was arrested in the United States.
Hard Numbers: Russia strikes Kyiv’s residential areas, Shooting at Minneapolis school mass, Soccer giants dumped out of cup, US economy rolls on
Rescue and search operations continue in Kyiv, Ukraine, on August 28, 2025, following Russian strikes on the capital city overnight.
19: A series of Russian strikes in residential areas of Kyiv last night left at least 19 people dead, with one of the bombs hitting a European Union office. These weren’t the only attacks on Ukraine overnight: Russian artillery and drones killed another five Ukrainian civilians in the southern and eastern parts of the country. Two weeks since the Alaska summit, peace looks further away than ever.
2: A shooter murdered two children – a six-year-old and a 15-year-old – and injured another 17 when they unloaded their rifle yesterday during a school mass in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The 23-year-old perpetrator, who is now also dead, was a former student of the school. “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said after the horrific shooting.
13: Thirteen is unlucky for some: soccer giants Manchester United missed their 13th spot kick in last night’s penalty shootout against Grimsby Town, a team in the fourth tier of English football, to crash out of the League Cup last night. The financial disparity between the two clubs is enormous: United’s revenue last year was £620 million, while Grimsby’s was £5.72 million.
3.3%: The US economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.3% – up from an initial 3% estimate – led by a 5.7% jump in business investment. Consumer spending rose modestly, while rising exports added up to record gains.