Baxter enjoyed a decades-spanning career on radio, TV and film, and was famous for impersonating famous people including Queen Elizabeth II

...
Born in Glasgow in 1926, Baxter was best known for helming TV sketch series including The Stanley Baxter Show and The Stanley Baxter Picture Show.

Baxter began his career as a child actor in the BBC series Children’s Hour, and was a part of the Combined Services Entertainment unit, providing live entertainment for troops during the second world war.

Success in radio in the postwar period led to theatre and pantomime work, and in 1959 Baxter relocated to London where his career would span stage work, radio sitcoms and TV roles, notably featuring his impressions of famous figures including the pope and Queen Elizabeth II.

Film roles included Crooks Anonymous, with Leslie Phillips, and The Thief and the Cobbler, notable for having remained unfinished for 29 years.

www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/dec/12/actor-and-comedian-stanley-baxter-dies-aged-99

They Droned Back

Young journalists expose Russian-linked vessels circling off the Dutch and German coast

Seven German journalism students tracked Russian-crewed freighters lurking off the Dutch and German coast—and connected them to drone swarms over military bases.
...
On the night of May 16, 2025, two ships were sitting in suspicious positions. The HAV Dolphin—flagged in Antigua & Barbuda—had been circling in Germany’s Kiel Bay for ten days. Not delivering cargo. Just loitering, 25 kilometers from defense shipyards where drone swarms had been spotted on three separate days.

Meanwhile, 115 kilometers away off the Dutch island of Schiermonnikoog, her sister ship the HAV Snapper had sailed out and parked in open water. It positioned itself exactly two hours before seven drones appeared over a Russian freighter being escorted by German police through the North Sea. It stayed there for four days and made silly circles.

That Russian freighter, the Lauga—formerly named “Ivan Shchepetov”—had visited Syria’s Tartus port the previous summer. Russia’s only Mediterranean naval base. Where Russian submarines dock.

Coincidence? That’s what the students from the Axel Springer Academy decided to find out. What followed was a five-week investigation involving leaked classified documents, tens of thousands of ship tracking data points, a 2,500-kilometer car chase across three countries, and—in a delicious bit of turnabout—their own drone flight over one of the suspect vessels.

https://www.digitaldigging.org/p/they-droned-back

Doug Klain
@DougKlain

After weeks of backroom negotiations, Congress is poised to pass a defense spending bill filled with some rather good provisions to assist Ukraine and put up obstacles to the Trump admin's attempts to divert Ukraine aid or cut off intel support.

Here's what's in the bill 👇🧵

Doug Klain
@DougKlain

Just read through the new National Defense Authorization Act text to see what provisions are in for Ukraine. I’ll have a thread up later with the full breakdown but TL;DR is Congress is poised to pass some rather good legislation to assist Ukraine.

First, here's the text itself. I'll be citing some of the key sections related to Ukraine below.

After the House and Senate passed their own versions, a conference committee worked over recent weeks to reconcile the differences—this is the result.

https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20251208/RCP_xml%5B2%5D.pdf



Sec. 1241: The new National Security Strategy may not view Russia as a major threat to US interests, but Congress sure does. This requires the administration to submit a formal assessment of the threat Russia poses to the United States and its allies.



Sec. 1242: Regardless of any US peace proposals, Congress is extending its prohibition on the use of funds for the recognition of Russian sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian territory, in keeping with decades of policy and helping to deter Russia from future aggression.

Sec. 1243: Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI)

Here's where we're going to get into the weeds on the only military assistance to Ukraine mentioned. As a reminder, the US has zeroed out almost all assistance to Ukraine under the Trump admin.



First, reminder on how the US (used to) militarily aid Ukraine:

Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA)=direct transfers of arms from US stocks.

Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI)=issuing contracts to build new arms for Ukraine.



The Trump administration likely has billions in remaining PDA and USAI authorities, but has not used them this year (this NDAA also mandates reporting on exactly how much remains).

This bill authorizes $400m to USAI for this year and next, and allows it to be used until 2029.

Remember in June when the Pentagon seized 20k anti-drone interceptors built for Ukraine?

Sec. 1243(7) creates new requirements to make that more difficult, and requires the Pentagon to ensure whatever is seized is ultimately replaced for Ukraine.

Trump administration redirects 20,000 anti-drone missiles meant for Ukraine, Zelensky confirms
"We counted on this project — 20,000 missiles. Anti-Shahed missiles. It was not expensive, but it's a special technology," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
https://kyivindependent.com/trump-redirects-20-000-anti-drone-missiles-meant-for-ukraine-zelensky-confirms/

Here’s an important point to note: The Trump administration doesn’t want to provide arms to Ukraine without getting paid to do so. Congress is reasserting that it is indeed in the US interest to arm Ukraine. The American public also agrees, according to recent polls.



Repeatedly this year, the Trump admin has threatened to end intelligence support for Ukraine. Sec. 1244 creates new oversight mechanisms requiring Congress to be notified immediately if that happens, signaling there would be serious backlash to such a move.



Sec. 1245: Oversight of US arms sales for Ukraine.

Here's a lengthy but important section. The Trump admin replaced military assistance with arms sales to Europe, largely through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL). But few have understood how it's working.

Congress is creating new reporting requirements to understand exactly how the admin is using PURL, what it's sending, and to ensure that it isn't double-dipping by getting reimbursed by Europe for arms already paid for by Congress under USAI.

A key goal here is to make sure congressionally appropriated funds to arm Ukraine are being used as intended—essentially, it doesn't want the Trump admin forcing Ukraine or allies to reimburse the US for weapons it already sent or pledged to send.

Sec. 8363: The Abducted Ukrainian Children Recovery and Accountability Act from @ChuckGrassley and @amyklobuchar.

Here's a big win: the Senate passed this legislation to support operations to return Ukrainian kids stolen by Russia, and it made it into the final NDAA.

So what to make of all this?

First, this is the first and likely only legislation passed by Congress to support Ukraine in 2025.

Second, it's hard to force the admin to arm Ukraine. That USAI money isn't mandatory spending. But the NDAA does minimize potential harm.

It's also remarkable to step back and realize just how much US support for Ukraine has ended. It's unlikely it will ever return to levels seen under the last administration as long as Trump is in office, and this legislation does not guarantee new arms to Ukraine.



This NDAA is also better than what either the Senate or House originally passed on their own, and hard work clearly went in to finding ways to continue supporting Ukraine despite an admin that isn't interested in doing so.

Votes to pass this NDAA are expected in the coming days.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1998089651681435759.html

Doug Klain
@DougKlain

After weeks of backroom negotiations, Congress is poised to pass a defense spending bill filled with some rather good provisions to assist Ukraine and put up obstacles to the Trump admin's attempts to divert Ukraine aid or cut off intel support.

Here's what's in the bill 👇🧵

Doug Klain
@DougKlain

Just read through the new National Defense Authorization Act text to see what provisions are in for Ukraine. I’ll have a thread up later with the full breakdown but TL;DR is Congress is poised to pass some rather good legislation to assist Ukraine.

First, here's the text itself. I'll be citing some of the key sections related to Ukraine below.

After the House and Senate passed their own versions, a conference committee worked over recent weeks to reconcile the differences—this is the result.

https://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20251208/RCP_xml%5B2%5D.pdf



Sec. 1241: The new National Security Strategy may not view Russia as a major threat to US interests, but Congress sure does. This requires the administration to submit a formal assessment of the threat Russia poses to the United States and its allies.



Sec. 1242: Regardless of any US peace proposals, Congress is extending its prohibition on the use of funds for the recognition of Russian sovereignty over occupied Ukrainian territory, in keeping with decades of policy and helping to deter Russia from future aggression.

Sec. 1243: Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI)

Here's where we're going to get into the weeds on the only military assistance to Ukraine mentioned. As a reminder, the US has zeroed out almost all assistance to Ukraine under the Trump admin.



First, reminder on how the US (used to) militarily aid Ukraine:

Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA)=direct transfers of arms from US stocks.

Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI)=issuing contracts to build new arms for Ukraine.



The Trump administration likely has billions in remaining PDA and USAI authorities, but has not used them this year (this NDAA also mandates reporting on exactly how much remains).

This bill authorizes $400m to USAI for this year and next, and allows it to be used until 2029.

Remember in June when the Pentagon seized 20k anti-drone interceptors built for Ukraine?

Sec. 1243(7) creates new requirements to make that more difficult, and requires the Pentagon to ensure whatever is seized is ultimately replaced for Ukraine.

Trump administration redirects 20,000 anti-drone missiles meant for Ukraine, Zelensky confirms
"We counted on this project — 20,000 missiles. Anti-Shahed missiles. It was not expensive, but it's a special technology," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
https://kyivindependent.com/trump-redirects-20-000-anti-drone-missiles-meant-for-ukraine-zelensky-confirms/

Here’s an important point to note: The Trump administration doesn’t want to provide arms to Ukraine without getting paid to do so. Congress is reasserting that it is indeed in the US interest to arm Ukraine. The American public also agrees, according to recent polls.



Repeatedly this year, the Trump admin has threatened to end intelligence support for Ukraine. Sec. 1244 creates new oversight mechanisms requiring Congress to be notified immediately if that happens, signaling there would be serious backlash to such a move.



Sec. 1245: Oversight of US arms sales for Ukraine.

Here's a lengthy but important section. The Trump admin replaced military assistance with arms sales to Europe, largely through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL). But few have understood how it's working.

Congress is creating new reporting requirements to understand exactly how the admin is using PURL, what it's sending, and to ensure that it isn't double-dipping by getting reimbursed by Europe for arms already paid for by Congress under USAI.

A key goal here is to make sure congressionally appropriated funds to arm Ukraine are being used as intended—essentially, it doesn't want the Trump admin forcing Ukraine or allies to reimburse the US for weapons it already sent or pledged to send.

Sec. 8363: The Abducted Ukrainian Children Recovery and Accountability Act from @ChuckGrassley and @amyklobuchar.

Here's a big win: the Senate passed this legislation to support operations to return Ukrainian kids stolen by Russia, and it made it into the final NDAA.

So what to make of all this?

First, this is the first and likely only legislation passed by Congress to support Ukraine in 2025.

Second, it's hard to force the admin to arm Ukraine. That USAI money isn't mandatory spending. But the NDAA does minimize potential harm.

It's also remarkable to step back and realize just how much US support for Ukraine has ended. It's unlikely it will ever return to levels seen under the last administration as long as Trump is in office, and this legislation does not guarantee new arms to Ukraine.



This NDAA is also better than what either the Senate or House originally passed on their own, and hard work clearly went in to finding ways to continue supporting Ukraine despite an admin that isn't interested in doing so.

Votes to pass this NDAA are expected in the coming days.

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1998089651681435759.html

Bill locks in long-term support for Ukraine, mandates troop levels in Europe, and codifies the Baltic Security Initiative as US strategy hardens against Russia.

WASHINGTON DC – In a year when even routine defense policy has been pulled into the gravitational force of US politics, the National Defense Authorization Act – or NDAA – has morphed from a must-pass annual ritual into a sprawling manifesto.
...

Europe strategy

The FY26 NDAA not only enshrines the Baltic Security Initiative as a mandatory Pentagon program but also tightens Congress’s grip on US force posture in Europe in ways rarely seen outside a crisis.

The bill directs the Secretary of Defense and US European Command to “deepen security cooperation” with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – transforming a patchwork of assistance efforts into a statutory mission to implement NATO’s Strategic Concept and deter Russian aggression.
...
And Congress didn’t stop there. In a sweeping assertion of authority over Pentagon basing decisions, the NDAA prohibits reducing US forces in Europe below 76,000 for more than 45 days, blocks EUCOM from returning or divesting real estate, and bars the removal of major equipment from the theater.
...

Global look at Moscow’s rebuild

...
Lawmakers want real-time assessments of whether the Kremlin can rebuild beyond its 2022 force levels, how sanctions are actually biting, and what Moscow has learned – tactically and doctrinally – from its war in Ukraine.
...
The message is clear: In Congress’s eyes, US strategy can no longer treat Russia as a purely European problem.

Domestic politics never far away

...
If the NDAA reaches Trump’s desk largely intact, Congress will have baked a Europe-first strategy into US law, constrained the Pentagon’s flexibility for years, and rewritten the playbook for competition with Russia and China – all while advancing the GOP’s domestic agenda inside the military.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/65767

Bill locks in long-term support for Ukraine, mandates troop levels in Europe, and codifies the Baltic Security Initiative as US strategy hardens against Russia.

WASHINGTON DC – In a year when even routine defense policy has been pulled into the gravitational force of US politics, the National Defense Authorization Act – or NDAA – has morphed from a must-pass annual ritual into a sprawling manifesto.
...

Europe strategy

The FY26 NDAA not only enshrines the Baltic Security Initiative as a mandatory Pentagon program but also tightens Congress’s grip on US force posture in Europe in ways rarely seen outside a crisis.

The bill directs the Secretary of Defense and US European Command to “deepen security cooperation” with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – transforming a patchwork of assistance efforts into a statutory mission to implement NATO’s Strategic Concept and deter Russian aggression.
...
And Congress didn’t stop there. In a sweeping assertion of authority over Pentagon basing decisions, the NDAA prohibits reducing US forces in Europe below 76,000 for more than 45 days, blocks EUCOM from returning or divesting real estate, and bars the removal of major equipment from the theater.
...

Global look at Moscow’s rebuild

...
Lawmakers want real-time assessments of whether the Kremlin can rebuild beyond its 2022 force levels, how sanctions are actually biting, and what Moscow has learned – tactically and doctrinally – from its war in Ukraine.
...
The message is clear: In Congress’s eyes, US strategy can no longer treat Russia as a purely European problem.

Domestic politics never far away

...
If the NDAA reaches Trump’s desk largely intact, Congress will have baked a Europe-first strategy into US law, constrained the Pentagon’s flexibility for years, and rewritten the playbook for competition with Russia and China – all while advancing the GOP’s domestic agenda inside the military.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/65767

Shchedryk, shchedryk, shchedrivochka,
A swallow has flown,

It began to twitter,
And call the master:

“Come out, come out, O Master,
Take a look at the sheep pen,

There the ewes have given birth,
And the lambkins have been born,

All your goods are great,
And you will be rich

Though not money, it is chaff —
You have a dark-eyebrowed wife

Shchedryk, shchedryk, shchedrivochka,
A swallow has flown.

Shchedryk, shchedryk, shchedrivochka,
A swallow has flown,

It began to twitter,
And call the master:

“Come out, come out, O Master,
Take a look at the sheep pen,

There the ewes have given birth,
And the lambkins have been born,

All your goods are great,
And you will be rich

Though not money, it is chaff —
You have a dark-eyebrowed wife

Shchedryk, shchedryk, shchedrivochka,
A swallow has flown.

Top US official berates Europe over cutting American industry out of defense buildup

BRUSSELS — U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau on Wednesday slammed European NATO allies for prioritizing their own defense industry over American arms suppliers, according to three NATO diplomats.

The intervention came during Wednesday's meeting of NATO foreign ministers — which was skipped by Landau's boss Marco Rubio.

Landau, a longtime NATO skeptic who spoke first at the closed-door meeting, told ministers not to “bully” his country’s defense firms out of participating in Europe’s rearmament.
...
A U.S. State Department official said: "Deputy Secretary Landau delivered two key messages. One is the is the need for Europe to turn its defense spending commitments into capabilities. The second is that protectionist and exclusionary policies that bully American companies out of the market undermines our collective defense."

https://www.politico.eu/article/christopher-landau-top-us-official-berates-europe-nato-cut-industry-defense-buildup/