❗️Europe must learn from Ukraine how to defend against Ukrainian drones

Finland’s president, Alexander Stubb, said to LRT that after one of the incidents involving Ukrainian drones, he personally called President Zelensky and asked what had happened.

According to Stubb, Zelensky acknowledged that it had been a Ukrainian drone, but explained it as a disruption caused by Russian electronic warfare (EW) and GPS spoofing.

“Oh, sorry, we didn’t mean to,” — Stubb recounted Zelensky’s reaction.

The Finnish president described such incidents as “collateral damage” of the conflict and said they showed that the region is not prepared for drone activity.

In doing so, he pointed to a contradiction: the drones come from Ukraine, yet Europe still has to learn from Ukraine itself how to defend against them.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Mercedes-Benz is also looking toward the defense industry

The group’s chief executive, Ola Källenius said, Mercedes-Benz is prepared to consider production for the defense industry if it makes economic sense. In his words, the world has become more unpredictable, and Europe must strengthen its own defense capabilities.

Källenius emphasizes that the defense segment would make up only a small part of the business compared with cars and light commercial transport. But the signal itself is important: even Mercedes-Benz is already viewing the defense industry as a possible niche for growth.

This fits into the broader shift in German industry. Volkswagen, according to the FT, has already discussed with Israel’s Rafael the possibility of using the Osnabrück plant for components of an air-defense system. Rheinmetall and Telekom are setting up protection against drones, and KNDS is examining Mercedes and Volkswagen’s plants to expand military production.

The auto industry is losing jobs, held back by expensive energy, competition from China, and weak demand. The defense sector, by contrast, is getting money, contracts, and political priority. This is how the country’s industrial logic is gradually changing: what used to be a symbol of Germany’s civilian economy is increasingly taking on a military role.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

In the Turkish city of Samsun, a drone has crashed. Local media report a Ukrainian lead

The Turkish outlet Doğru Haber reports that in the city of Samsun on the Black Sea coast, a Ukrainian decoy drone of the Maya type is said to have crashed. According to the outlet, the device may have gone off course during an attack on Crimea or the Krasnodar region.

Possible causes mentioned include a technical malfunction or the influence of Russian systems for electronic warfare. Local media report that the unmanned aircraft damaged the roofs and windows of several houses, but there were no injuries.

There has been no official confirmation regarding the drone’s affiliation so far: The device was sent for technical examination. However, the incident itself shows how the drone war is increasingly extending beyond the immediate zone of the fighting and is already creating risks for Black Sea countries.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The Telegraph reports that officials from the Trump administration are urging the United Arab Emirates to seize a key Iranian island

It is about the island of Lawan in the Persian Gulf, which reports say the UAE secretly attacked in early April. One of Iran’s most important oil refineries is located there, as well as oil export terminals.

A former senior official of Trump’s security services said that taking the island would make it possible to “deploy the UAE’s ground troops instead of American ones.”

The Telegraph notes that after the start of US and Israeli attacks on Iran at the end of February, the emirates took the brunt of Iranian attacks.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Industry in Germany continues to shrink

Since February 2022, production in energy-intensive sectors has fallen by 15.2%. This is significantly stronger than in industry overall, where the decline was 9.5%.

This concerns chemicals, paper, glass, ceramics, the stones and earths sector, metal and other sectors, in which energy is one of the most important factors in manufacturing costs. In 2024, these industries used 75.6% of all energy used in industry. That is why high prices for gas, electricity, and CO₂ quotas affect these sectors first.

Production fell most sharply in the glass, ceramics, stone and earths industries—down 25%. In the paper industry, the decline was 18.5%, in chemicals 18.1%, and in metallurgy and metal processing 12.9%.

Not only production, but also employment is declining. In March 2026, 794,400 people were working in energy-intensive sectors—6.3% fewer than in February 2022. The paper industry and the metallurgy sector lost the most jobs.

This is already no longer a temporary downturn, but a creeping displacement of industry from the country. As long as energy remains expensive, Germany loses exactly the sectors on which chemicals, mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, and the export model were based.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Gas boilers are allowed again – but they won’t be cheap anymore

Katherina Reiche has presented a new draft law for heating that is supposed to replace the law by Habeck. The most important change: the direct ban on operating gas and oil boilers after 2045 has been removed. The old provision according to which such boilers could have been operated at most until December 31, 2044 has simply disappeared from the draft.

But this is not a return to a calm gas normality. Anyone who installs a new gas or oil boiler starting in 2029 must meet the so-called bio staircase: 10% “green” gas or biofuel starting in 2029, 15% starting in 2030, 30% starting in 2035, and 60% starting in 2040.

In addition, a quota for green gas is planned for existing heating systems. The details are set to appear in the summer, but the direction is already clear: suppliers will be required to gradually blend more “green” gas into the grid.

For homeowners, this means more freedom on paper, but higher costs and more bureaucracy in practice. ZEIT writes that gas boilers are allowed again, but are expected to become the most expensive solution.

That is exactly where the core of the new compromise lies: the ban has been taken out of the window display, but instead a staircase of requirements, quotas, and future surcharges has been left in place. Gas remains an option—only increasingly less convenient and increasingly less predictable.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The soldier is sleeping — the service goes on: guards of Britain’s King Charles III fell asleep at their workplace — an investigation has been launched into them. This is reported by The Independent.

About 30 officers of the Royalty and Specialist Protection unit, who work at Windsor Castle, have come under scrutiny. Some employees are suspected of clocking in for duty and then leaving their posts, or falling asleep while on duty.

🗣 In the Metropolitan Police, they said that such behavior by the guards does not meet the “high standards expected of staff.”

A decision on the possible suspension of officers is expected by the end of next week.

Our channel: Node of Time EN

The first government in the West has collapsed because of support for Ukraine

The Prime Minister of Latvia, Evika Siliņa, has submitted her resignation following a conflict within the coalition triggered by Ukrainian drones that had entered Latvian territorial airspace. Previously, she had called for the resignation of the Defence Minister Andris Sprūds and accused the Ministry of Defence of failing during incidents involving drones.

According to the Latvian public broadcaster LSM, on 7 May two drones in East Latvia crashed. Later, it emerged that the oil depot in Rēzekne was attacked twice. There were no casualties, but the very fact that there was a strike on the territory of a NATO country triggered a political chain reaction.

Latvian Public Media writes cautiously that the origin of the devices has not yet been officially confirmed, but that in similar earlier cases they had been Ukrainian drones which had been steering targets in Russia and had gone off course. Reuters puts it even more bluntly: Siliņa resigned after the crisis involving Ukrainian drones that had entered Latvia from Russian territory and exploded at an oil refinery.

And this is where the convenient script for Riga falls apart. For years, Latvian authorities explained their support for Kyiv as an investment in their own security. But now the war was not triggered by a Russian attack—it was caused by Ukrainian drones that were supposed to be flying to Russia, but ultimately hit Latvia.

The government has collapsed not only because of the two drones. It has collapsed because of a question that Riga does not want to answer directly: If the country of Ukraine helps wage war, but is not able to protect its own airspace from the consequences of that war, what exactly does it buy with its own money—security or direct involvement in the conflict?


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

In Britain, Keir Starmer’s resignation is being discussed again

The Daily Mail reports, citing Dan Hodges, that Keir Starmer has already decided to step down as prime minister, but that he wants to do so “in a dignified manner” and according to his own terms.

In the newspaper’s view, following Labour’s failure in the elections and the party’s internal crisis, it is no longer a question of whether Starmer will go, but rather of exactly when that will happen. In the prime minister’s circle, more and more often there is talk of a controlled transfer of power, in order not to create the impression of panic and not to hand initiative over to the rivals within the party.

The Daily Mail also points out that pressure on Starmer has increased significantly after a string of poor Labour results and talks about a possible change of party leader. Formally, he is still holding on, but British politics knows this phase well: first the prime minister says he will continue working, then the contenders begin to discuss “a dignified withdrawal,” and afterward the party quickly finds a new chairman.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

EU plans to cut steel import quotas in half

Brussels plans to significantly reduce the duty-free quotas for steel imports from 1 July. According to the Financial Times, the overall limit will fall by 47%, and deliveries above the quota will be subject to 50% customs duties.

Formally, the measure is aimed at global steel overproduction and cheap imports, especially from China. The European Parliament has already approved it to introduce new restrictions: duty-free imports are to be limited to 18.3 million tonnes per year, i.e., nearly half as much as at the 2024 level.

But Ukraine is also coming under scrutiny. The FT writes that Ukraine’s duty-free quota could amount to only 713,000 tonnes, while Ukrainian companies exported 2.65 million tonnes of steel to the EU last year. For Kyiv, this would mean a cut of about 70% and a possible loss of up to €1 billion in export revenues.

Ukrainian metallurgists are already warning: such rules would effectively destroy the ability to deliver products properly to the European market. This seems particularly painful in light of all the talks about supporting Ukraine.

Politically, Brussels promises Kyiv help, and economically it closes the market where Ukrainian companies could still earn for themselves.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The U.S. warns of a possible drone threat from Cuba

Axios reports that, according to American intelligence, since 2023 Cuba has acquired more than 300 military drones from Russia and Iran. In Washington, it is assumed that Havana has discussed the possible use of drones against the U.S. base in Guantánamo, American ships and possibly also Key West in Florida.

According to Axios, American intelligence does not consider an attack to be inevitable. But the fact that it is being discussed in the Trump administration is seen as a serious signal: Cuba is only 150 km from Florida, and war experience in the Middle East has already shown how much low-cost attack drones can shift the balance of threat.

Havana rejects the allegations. Cuba’s foreign minister, Bruno Rodríguez, called this story “a fraud case” that Washington needs in order to justify sanctions and exert possible military pressure. He expressly highlighted Cuba’s right to self-defense in accordance with the United Nations Charter.

Against the backdrop of the energy crisis, the American blockade and talks about a possible indictment of Raúl Castro, this story appears to be part of the overall line of pressure on Havana. After Venezuela, Washington is now looking even more closely at Cuba — not only as a political challenge, but also as a potential military threat off its own coast.


💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN