President Trump and President Zelenskyy meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly for a bilateral meeting.

During the press availability, President Trump noted the war banter from the U.K leadership was “too nasty” and not productive toward any ceasefire deal between Ukraine and Russia. President Trump was asked about a potential U.S. diesel export ban and Trump said he supports it, but Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was reviewing the feasibility of it.

The question not ever raised, except by USTR Jamieson Greer yesterday, is: where do you store it?  We can stop exporting diesel, but we’d also have to stop producing it because there’s nowhere to store it – and limiting production only adds to increased prices.  Russia had that same problem (see previous article).  Trump was asked about Patriot Missiles for Ukraine, which he said were part of the discussion happening after the press availability. WATCH:

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There is a general rule that applies to geopolitical contexts surrounding 96 hours or four days.  The timing is the difference between an event happening Day one, the analysis of the event by nation states communicated to leadership, and the policy shift outcome in Day four.  The rule of 96 is consistent and it is worth understanding.

Four days ago, the EU oil disruption from Saudi Arabia’s East/West pipeline event was noticed. In the four days between event day and policy day (#4) the EU have been beating the drumbeat for war against Russia.  However, you will notice the shift in tone and policy now that we have reached day four.  Analysis has reached policy makers. You might say reality sets in.

Europe now recognizes a vulnerability that was not in their policy briefs 96 hours earlier.  Things change {SOURCE}, and the quiet stuff starts to become visible. Russia has been sending France oil/gas energy products, quietly. Macron needed the internal stabilization because he’s been up against a wall.  On top of all his other issues, Macron could not afford an energy crisis.

Simultaneously, despite what we have been told by Western media, the 5,000 strike drones into the Moscow region should again be taken in context.  Russia is an analog system in a digital world. Russia is exceptionally resilient and can repair and recover much faster than western analysts ever fathom.  Again, apply the ‘rule of 96.’

Russia is now overproducing diesel fuel. Wait, what(?) you might ask.  It’s true.  Russian strategic diesel fuel reserves are now full and overproducing 15% beyond storage capacity. {SOURCE} So, where is the excess capacity going?  To the “stans” in Central Asia, from there it ships to forward destinations. Turkey is a dependent beneficiary. Do you remember the strategic agreement between the USA and Kazakhstan? {Source}

Russia increased diesel supplies to Mongolia by 73.4% in August from July to 215,000 metric tons, while shipments to Kyrgyzstan surged 16.4 times to 72,000 tons and deliveries to Tajikistan rose 3.5 times to 56,000 tons. Russia also exported 28,000 tons of diesel to Kazakhstan after making no deliveries there in July. {source}

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joins CNBC ‘Squawk Box’ this morning to discuss his 12-hour meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.  Within the interview Bessent details the ‘U.S.-China AI Dialogue’, the calls for a slowdown in AI development and whether regulation is needed.

Secretary Bessent notes President Trump is not going to deliver liability immunity to AI frontier labs and existing legal frameworks within the U.S. will remain as protective pathways as development moves from AI labs into engineering outcomes.

This is the core of the issue. The investors that poured money into the AI labs, now support immunity from legal liability that doesn’t exist in any other sector other than Big Pharma. AI wants the same protection as Big Pharma, and President Trump is not going to allow the shift in responsibility from AI developers to government. WATCH:

Also below is the full debriefing from Secretary Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer that followed the Sunday meeting between the U.S. and Chinese counterparts.

As CTH has noted, the pace of these critical economic developments is going to speed up over the next several days and weeks.  It becomes increasingly important to stay tuned-in to the granular issues as they unfold in order to fully appreciate the landscape that surrounds us.   It can be challenging to absorb information as the pace increases, yet it is critical to remain aware so that each building block in the nationalist policy making remains in context.

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There has to be a purpose to this messaging, though I’m not exactly sure what it is.

President Trump again draws attention to the Ukraine-Russia war creating havoc on the global diesel market.  Trump notes that Russia has lost control of its diesel industry:

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The strange thing about this message is that Russia has taken measures exactly the opposite of this framework.

Back in July, when NATO began increased targeting of Russian refinery infrastructure, Russian President Vladimir Putin proactively signed a government order banning the export of Russian diesel fuel.  There have been no exports of Russian diesel since, with exceptions to the shipping industry and some humanitarian farm shipments.

Russia is the world’s second largest producer of diesel fuel and as soon as Putin made this announcement global prices of diesel began to rise. Russia then extended the bans, and the current export ban will run from Aug. 1 until Jan. 31, 2027.

Within the export controls there’s no doubt Russia is sending some diesel fuel to allied nations who are not part of the NATO attack alliance.  In essence, Putin is controlling who gets the Russian output and the “ban” on exports simply puts the Russian government in control of it.  This is what they call “intergovernmental agreements” which are not part of the ban itself.

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Days after President Trump asks Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries, Zelenskyy takes the attacks up a notch and brags about all of the different NATO country missile systems being used to attack Russian oil refineries.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X, “One of Russia’s key oil industry facilities and the aggressor’s logistics facility were hit. These are billions of dollars that sustain the war machine. The systems used included FP-1, RZ-100, MICH-2000, Palianytsia, Vendetta, Liutyi, Bars, Flamingo, Sichen, and Pelican.”

Everyone can see this game for what it is.

Everyone can see it.

After weeks of various European/NATO countries hyping pending attacks from Russia, Zelenskyy now begins to name the missile systems being provided by those countries to target Russia.  Zelenskyy and the EU-NATO group are intentionally trying to draw a Russian military response against the support the European countries are providing to Ukraine.

Zelenskyy is naming the missile systems as part of that antagonistic effort, and his NATO allies do it on the last day of the Russian elections.  Specifically timed and coordinated for maximum propaganda use.

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Promethean Action’s Barbara Boyd recaps some of last week’s geopolitical events and activities of both President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.  Good video for those catching up.

President Trump reacts to Mark Carney’s push to align Canada with the EU, calling it “laughable” and warning that if it’s hostile the U.S. could impose heavy tariffs or even halt trade with Europe. The episode argues the administration is securing the southern border through Marco Rubio’s Latin America trip and “Operation Shield of the Americas,” linking Peru’s participation and Keiko Fujimori’s election to an intensified campaign against cartels, drug production and trafficking, and Chinese influence.

Boyd’s recap frames Carney as a longtime opponent of U.S. interests, citing his Bank of England role, “green” credit agenda, and support for Ukraine, and claims Canada-EU plans target Arctic control and the U.S. northern defense line. It ends with Trump announcing a permanent U.S. presence in Greenland and warning Canada to curb fentanyl labs and criminal networks. WATCH:

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European defense industries have been expanding the production of missiles and drones for use in Ukraine. For years, Moscow has watched and seemingly tolerated the use of British, German and Polish military warehouses to manufacture drones and weapons which are then used to target Russia and kill Russian civilians.

It is these targets which Europe has placed on high alert, while simultaneously mixing in false flag alerts and events to scare the European population and rally them for increased spending and expanded conflict.  However, a large part of the European citizenry can see the EU operations clearly (see recent German examples).

Against this backdrop, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers the following remarks (transcript):

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, colleagues,

Today, we will talk about the new draft State Armament Programme and the defence industry development programme. They will become the backbone for designing and serial production of modern weapons systems and hardware for our army and other defence and law enforcement agencies for them to be ready for a rapid and effective response to potential external threats.

As you know, such threats are not abating. NATO is “swelling” and expanding and has now extended its reach to other regions of the world. Certain European leaders are openly declaring that they are preparing for war with Russia. In my view, they are merely trying to salvage their plummeting approval ratings by concealing the failures of their economic and social policies. This approach is clearly ineffective – it does not produce results.

Instead of listening to their citizens – who have made it abundantly clear through elections that they do not want war with Russia – these leaders continue to escalate tensions. They are exploiting the situation in Ukraine to exacerbate the crisis, using the Ukrainian people as cannon fodder.

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Toward Latin America there are multiple options, but it’s likely a significant U.S. military footprint is destined for Greenland.  If you read President Trump’s earlier announcement you might note:

…”We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many. We will work with the people of Greenland in its development and construction.”

This announcement comes directly after President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a review of NATO forces in Europe with the expressed intention of drawing down the U.S. footprint. The Pentagon announced a six-month review of US forces in Europe in June, directing US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, the head of US European Command, to assess future force requirements.

According to media, “The proposed reduction could involve around 25,000 troops, which is roughly one-third of the approximately 80,000 US service members currently stationed in Europe. Some officials involved in the discussions have indicated that the figure could be considerably higher, potentially reaching 40,000, or about half of the American military presence on the continent, according to NBC News.”

Germany is the largest American military hub on the continent, with around 36,000 US troops. Italy hosts about 12,000 US troops and several major air bases. Spain, meanwhile, provides important air and naval facilities in the country’s south.  These would be the bases most likely to see significant withdrawal.  All three nations are a hot mess of political manipulation, economic turmoil, internal friction and opposition to the U.S. national security framework.

Revisit President Trump and Marco Rubio’s National Security Strategy:

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Readers here have significant knowledge of how the overall western intelligence apparatus works to control the activity of their respective governments. Factually, the intelligence apparatus never really changes with each election within each of the respective nations that makes up the “Five Eyes” assembly.

The U.K, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States make up the intelligence control group.  Together with the U.K., four of the five eyes are British Commonwealth nations, so it doesn’t seem odd to see the intelligence assembly follow the geopolitical shift underway.

Great Britain has previously outlined how despite their Brexit the institutional intelligence remained connected to the European Union.  With Canada now taking on “Associate Member” status within the EU, Carney is just bringing them into alignment.  Now, reports are surfacing that Australia and New Zealand are also open to remaining attached to their British cousins.

(AUSTRALIA) – The Albanese government is open to considering associate member status with the European Union despite threats issued by US President Donald Trump.

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola put the idea on the table following an address by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney where he welcomed the possibility of becoming an “associate member” of the Union.

Ms Metsola said Australia and New Zealand were among the countries “with which we want to deepen our relationship”. Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Matt Thistlethwaite told News24 the government would “consider” the proposal. (read more)

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As the story is told, a 40-year-old British intelligence officer named Major Paul Wilks was killed in an “automobile accident” while traveling in Ukraine. The British media frame the incident as a car crash “away from the front lines” of the conflict.

One has to wonder how many British intelligence military officers are just innocuously traveling around Ukraine.  Who knows, maybe it’s just a great place for a holiday. However, common sense would seem to indicate that Major Wilks was probably not on vacation.

Sky News – […] Remembered as a “man of great intellect”, Major Wilks was deployed on multiple tours, including to Afghanistan, and was recognised with two Operational Service Medals. And he was awarded the Long Service and Good Conduct Medal in May.

He was commissioned from Sandhurst in 2012 and joined the Intelligence Corps, where he remained throughout his career. (source)

In related news:

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Thursday that Russia is planning hybrid strikes with drones or rockets on European countries supporting Ukraine, among them Poland.

Russia will pretend the attacks are “accidental” in order to “paralyze or at least weaken the motivation of NATO countries” to rush to the defense of the member state coming under attack, Tusk said in a speech to the Polish parliament.

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