EU, NATO & Zelensky Plotting Against Trump


Posted originally on Aug 10, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |

I am getting an increasing number of questions about how in the world our model forecasts war in advance and targets specific weeks like August 18th, 2025, a year in advance, and then Trump picks that Friday 15th for his peace conference with Putin in Alaska.  You NEVER make such a forecast using a single model. There is a battery of models, and in those arrays, there are 72 models. That top line we call the aggregate because that is the sum of all turning models that align for that target – it is NEVER just one. The computer is monitoring the entire world. You can see all the reports that Socrates is writing every day. There are not enough analysts in the world to cover so many instruments and statistics. On December 3rd, 2013, I formally posted that the tensions would erupt in Ukraine.

Ukraine Maybe The Most Important Country To Watch

Posted Dec 3, 2013 by Martin Armstrong

“We will have the Cycle of War ready shortly updating this development as this cycle turns next year as well and we can see the rising tensions are brewing everywhere. Ukraine may become the focal point with Russia smelling the blood of a weak Europe and United States. This is like the barbarians smelling the weakness of Rome and knew it was time to strike. Russia is all about restoring its national honor. The USA has weakened itself like Rome by fiscal mismanagement.”

1962 Cuban Missle Crisis

This is a model specificly between Russia and the United States. It starts with the 1962 target of the Cuban Missile Crisis set in motion by Nikita Khrushchev, who was overthrown on October 14, 1964, (1964.786) during a Politburo coup orchestrated by his political opponents, including Leonid Brezhnev and Alexei Kosygin, because of his reckless desire to spread communism to the world (We Will Bury You). That was 1.978 years from the Cuban Missile Crisis (721.97 days, 103.13 weeks, or about 24 months later).

May 2 2014 Odessa Trade Unions House

Here you can see this separate model targeted 2014.408, which was May 4th, 2014. This was the Odessa Genocide when Ukrainians killed Russians on the street and then burned them alive, and then ran into the Trade Union Building for shelter. This was what began the separation movement by the Russians in the Donbas because they were being hunted like animals, and the Western press had no problem with the resumption of Nazi Ethnic Cleansing because they were Russian. Neocons dominate the EU with personal hatred of Russians from generations before. They love to imprison people who just have words against migrants. Still, they have no problem advocating genocide of an entire ethnicity, following in the footsteps of Hitler all over again.

  • May 2: Deadly clashes in Odessa between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian groups resulted in over 40 deaths, mainly in a building fire.
  • May 11: Pro-Russian separatists held disputed independence referendums in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
  • May 25: Presidential elections were held in Ukraine, with Petro Poroshenko winning decisively. Separatist-controlled areas largely boycotted or disrupted voting.
ECM Ukraine 8.6 R

Direct talks between Ukraine and Russia took place in Istanbul, Türkiye, on May 15, 2025, precisely on the turning point, marking the first potential face-to-face negotiations since 2022. However, there is conflicting information about whether the meeting occurred as planned. My sources informed me that both Russian and Ukrainian delegations were present in Istanbul, with the Russian delegation led by Vladimir Medinsky and the Ukrainian delegation headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. The next major turning point is June 13th, 2026.

June 2026 Arrays

We are now starting to see a Panic Cycle forming at this next Major Target of June 2026. Keep in mind that this ECM is NOT included in the arrays. The more separate models we have, the better the correlation, and we can then rely on these forecasts with more confidence.

Russia also now occupies Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia, in the Eastern region, which Putin may ask for. So far, Ukraine’s leadership has opposed ceding any territory to Russia. Zelenskyy wrote on X, “Ukraine is not afraid of meetings and expects the same brave approach from the Russian side. It is time we ended the war.”

8 10 25 Ukraine_European_leaders_counter_Russian_cease_fire_plan_ahead_of_Trump

The NY Post wrote: “European officials rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s calls that Ukraine give up territories annexed during the war — instead demanding Saturday an immediate ceasefire from Moscow and NATO membership for Kyiv.” This merely confirms my sources that warn the EU, NATO, and Zelensky want war and they are conspiring to create a false flag to invoke Article % to embarrass Trump into sending troops to Ukraine to annihilate Russia completely. They want to conquer Russia entirely, and they seek to steal all its wealth so that the EU, desperate to survive, will become the next Roman Empire, subordinating the United States once again to a mere colony.

Text to Trump Assassociate

I do have contact with people close to Trump who I at least trust are NOT Neocons, which I cannot say for everyone surrounding him. Will they get Trump to listen? Probably not. The frustrating part is I tend to get called in when they F-up everything that I warned would take place, and then they expect me to be like Merlin the Sorcerer, wave my magic wand, and it’s all gone.

Merkel_Minsk_Buy_Time_to Prepare for wart

If the EU had honored the peace deal that they signed and allowed the Donbas to vote and separate as took place in Chechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, which both split along ethnic lines, this war would NEVER have taken place. The EU has conspired from day one to sacrifice the Ukrainian people on the NEOCON altar of hatred for Russians who are no longer communists, and their hated leader, Stalin, was not even a Russian. He was from Georgia.

NATO Article 5

It was all the cross-treaties that compelled nations to join World War I. NATO was established to result in the very same mistake that caused that war, and they are licking their lips, drooling over the thought of finally defeating and obliterating their enemy Russia, even though communism fell all by itself.

NATO’s intervention in Bosnia in 1995 was part of Operation Deliberate Force, a sustained air campaign conducted from August 30 to September 20, 1995, to pressure Bosnian Serb forces to comply with UN resolutions and end the siege of Sarajevo. NATO has routinely sought to bomb Serbia because it has been pro-Russian.

NATO entered Kosovo on June 12th, 1999 (1999.446), following the end of the Kosovo War. This marked the beginning of the Kosovo Force (KFOR), a NATO-led pretend international peacekeeping mission. NATO’s Air Campaign (March–June 1999) was conducted over a 78-day (1999.660) bombing campaign (Operation Allied Force) against Yugoslavia (then including Serbia and Montenegro) to stop the repression of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. They had no problem bombing Serbs because they were pro-Russia. This is why NATO never came to the rescue of the Russians in the Donbas when it was the Ukrainians carrying out the same genocide as Hitler, because the target was Russians—the first 51.6-year wave from the start of NATO ended on November 14th, 2000. Since there was grave concern that NATO was intervening in the Yugoslav War against pro-Russians when there were no NATO members, this forced the EU to establish a 60,000-strong rapid reaction force for peacekeeping and crisis management, marking a step toward greater European defense autonomy outside of NATO, so the US could not object.

NATO ECM A

NATO pushed to get Finland and Sweden, which had always been neutral, to surrender that neutrality and join NATO, thereby placing the Swedes under Article 5 to supply troops for NATO at the expense of their people and nation. NATO is using the precedent of Bosnia and Kosovo, where there was no NATO membership, to argue that they can now invade any country they desire using a humanitarian excuse.

ALL of my sources are saying that no matter what Trump agrees to with Putin, they will not honor it. Letting Russia retain the Donbas is what the dishonest EU signed as the Minsk Agreement and NEVER intended to allow peace at any time. The EU is crumbling from within. It will fragment and is being starkly divided as many see it as a UNDEMOCRATIC dictatorship where the Parliament is elected, but he has NO POWER even to make laws. It is a facade to pretend the people have a say when they do not.

EU Shirt Exit

The EU will split and may become a relic of history and a failed globalist-dictatorship experiment by 2030. When it was formed, the promise was no dictatorship without 100% consensus. But Hungary is fighting back against this pro-WWIII drive and for the migrants. The EU seeks to strip Hungary of its vote to ensure the EU will remain a dictatorship. They say you can vote your way into Socialism, but you must shoot your way out. In this case, the German people were not even allowed to vote to join the Euro, as some others. Kohl did not allow the people to vote in any referendum to join the Eurozone. Other countries that did not allow their people to vote in a referendum specifically on adopting the euro are:

Chance of War Increases in Sept, Genius Act War Bonds, Neo Cons Surrounding Trump w/ Martin Armstrong


Posted originally on Aug 10, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

Marcus Vetter on War


Posted originally on Aug 10, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

A German INTERVIEW of Marcus Vetter on War

Berlin Marcus Armstrong

If you look back today: What has become of Angela Merkel’s statement “We can do this”? Has this vision been fulfilled or has it fractured?

Unfortunately, in my view, today this vision lies completely in ruins. It was the last stand of a truly humanistic approach, one that deeply divided Germany. Those who viewed the statement critically were often unfairly labeled as “right-wing” by those who applauded it. But a societal challenge of such magnitude can only be mastered together, because the truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle. Both sides had a point, and should have approached the motto “We can do this” with much more prudence and solidarity. Today, we are faced with a social landscape in shambles. A large part of society supports an unprecedented rearmament of Europe. Those who warn against it are often silenced. War rhetoric is now coming from parties that once had a pacifist orientation. The world is upside down and hardly recognizable anymore.

In your films you often talk about reconciliation, identity, and social change. What stories should be told today to rethink integration and social cohesion?

We should tell the same kinds of stories. Stories that show the cycle of violence can be broken. On an individual level, people are still open to such stories and can still be moved by them. At the same time, they are influenced by seemingly convincing arguments – for example, that a Russian war of aggression can only be decided on the battlefield and that one can only respond to it with strength. Other opinions are no longer truly allowed in the media. In my view, this is fundamentally wrong. War itself is the greatest war crime, as Ben Ferencz – once the youngest prosecutor in the Nuremberg Trials – put it. And he was right. In war, there is no morality, no humanity. Truth is the first casualty of any war. Through propaganda slogans we are conditioned to believe that strength is the only answer, because otherwise the enemy will overrun us.

When Hermann Göring was asked in Nuremberg how they had managed to unite all of Germany for a war of aggression, he said: “Of course, the people don’t want war… But… the people can always be driven to the bidding of the leaders. That’s easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and for endangering the country. It works the same in every country.”

It is very hard for me to endure the current developments. We are ready to take increasingly extreme positions. Some want to raze Gaza to the ground and root out evil entirely, others place all the blame solely on Israel and are just as extreme in their rhetoric. There are only a few left who are willing to build bridges.

That is why I have re-edited a trilogy of films I shot in Palestine and Israel between 2008 and 2012, and expanded it with a fourth film about the International Criminal Court. This last one – WAR AND JUSTICE – is a profoundly pacifist film. When people see it, they are often willing to rethink their stance on war.

THE HEART OF JENIN tells the story of Palestinian father Ismael Khatib from Jenin, whose son was killed by Israeli soldiers and who, despite his deep grief, decided to donate his son’s organs to Israeli children as a gesture of peace.

https://www.war-and-justice.de

CINEMA JENIN – THE STORY OF A DREAM tells how hundreds of volunteers from all over the world came to Jenin to join Ismael Khatib – from The Heart of Jenin – in restoring an old cinema that had been closed during the First Intifada. Cinema Jenin opened in the summer of 2011 and was operated as a cinema for 5 years before being demolished in December 2016 and replaced by a shopping mall.

AFTER THE SILENCE tells the story of Israeli Yael Armanet, who lost her husband in a suicide bombing carried out by a Palestinian from Jenin. Inspired by Ismael Khatib’s gesture, she sets out to visit the family of the attacker in Jenin to find answers to what happened. The film was made possible and co-produced by the Palestinian cinema Cinema Jenin.

Trump Meets Putin for the Panic Cycle


Posted originally on Aug 8, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

Behind Curtain War Cycle

COMMENT: Mr. Armstrong, we understand your frustration, and that reveals that you are genuine, not fake. I think you need to be commended for appearing on Russia Today, explaining that Trump is not a neocon, and your dinner with him shows you his character. Explaining that on RT coming from you, who your own country treated without any restraint and against not just American law, but international law. I was informed that you even met with the International Criminal Court, and they wanted to take your case, but the United States is not a member. They had no jurisdiction to charge those involved in a violation of international law.

When you appear on Russian TV, you are highly regarded because it is well known that you are independent and are not swayed by propaganda. You have made a difference. You are more respected than any other analyst. Because you said Trump truly wants peace, we believed you. Your government and media try to ignore you because they know you are independent and correct. Please (пожалуйста) do not get frustrated. You have made a difference far beyond what you know, including your followers who are all around the world.

спасибо за смелость

anonymous

Trump to meet Putin 8 15 25

REPLY: Thank you. I am glad people listen outside the USA. I am so sorry that those in Moscow cannot attend our WEC in person. I have suggested that we hold them in Cancun, Mexico, so that everyone can attend. My clients have made a difference worldwide. We are all of the same mindset and fully understand that we are all in this together. There is no US vs Them based on borders, race, religion, or gender. In our own company, we have every race, religion, and gender. We all respect each other, and we all get along based on character. It can be accomplished if we make an effort to understand and listen to one another. I am so glad Trump will meet with Putin in Alaska on the 15th, despite opposition by Zelensky, NATO, and the EU – (the Ides of August).

DJIND W Array 8 4 25

What I have discovered is for humanity. The more we can demonstrate the reliability of the forecasts, the greater the potential to reduce the amplitude of the worst events to come. For months, the computer has been projected for August and the week of the 18th. Trump’s choice of Friday, the 15th, demonstrates what I believe the model projects as the pressure point, and that is why people are compelled to act when the computer targets a specific date.

Socrates Apology

I believe we all have a purpose and a specific destiny. I feel I have been placed in so many situations around the world for a purpose. I have seen the world through everyone’s eyes. If I can pass that on, then I have fulfilled my destiny. What I have done, I have been compelled to do. I am fortunate that even what they did expanded my understanding of the system. It was part of my education. I named my computer Socrates, because he was considered the wisest man in Greece, according to the Oracle of Delphi. It was his Apology that was etched into my soul. If you do not fear death, you take all their power away from them.

Socrates Last Words
Enstein on death

Einstein has also greatly influenced me. He didn’t mean all moments are happening right now in a chaotic jumble. What he meant was that they all exist within the unchanging structure of spacetime. Our perception of sequence is local and frame-dependent. I see the cycles of the universe in my mind’s eye. In analysis, we are plagued by the linear analysis that sees only a sequence, never the cycle.

Linear vs Cyclical Analaysis

Interview: Martin Armstrong EXPOSES the Hidden Cycles – Part 2


Posted originally on Aug 9, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

Kerry Lutz’s book, which compiles over 13 years’ worth of interviews with Martin Armstrong, is still available on Amazon.

KerryLutzBook

60% of Germans Refuse to Play War Games


Posted originally on Aug 8, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

GermanyUkraineWarPropogandaRecruitment

The people do not wish to play the neocons’ war games. Germany has been discussing reintroducing mandatory military service since the war began—a war that was never Germany’s battle but always the obligation and responsibility of the German people. I reported in May that over half of Brits would not fight for their country in the event of an attack. A new survey by German broadcaster RND revealed that nearly 60% of Germans would refuse to go into battle.

Only 16% of respondents said they would “definitely fight,” and another 22% reported they “probably” would. This is precisely why Germany has been considering a mandatory conscription for all adults over the age of 18. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said he is “convinced” that Germany “needs a form of military conscription.” Since the West has effectively eliminated genders or the need for a family structure, they plan to draft both men and women. Anyone fit to fight will be sent off to die.

Russia Threaten Germany

Pistorius has been urging Germany to amass 260,000 active-duty troops, whom he believes should begin training immediately. Germany has a goal of gathering an army of 203,000 troops at a minimum, but the current force is a bit over 180,000. The military also plans to increase its reserve forces from 60,000 to 200,000, citing the need for immediate mobilization if the conflict escalates. Mandatory conscription may be introduced in 2026, which would align with our models precisely.

German politicians speaking out against the war are being silenced. The government has been preparing the European public for the inevitable. Everyone currently living in Europe knows how intensely the media has been discussing Europe’s alleged duty to prevent Russian aggression. “Will you fight for Germany? None of us wants war, but we already have to prepare for it. How ready are we really?” German magazine Stern states on its March 2025 cover.

The people always lose in times of war. Those on the ground firing missiles at one another are on the same side—the people—while the neocons sit in their safe high towers, unaffected by the destruction they unleashed.

Bank of England Cuts Interest Rates


Posted originally on Aug 8, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

Bank of England Royal Exchange

The Bank of England has cut its base interest rate to 4%, even as it warns of rising inflation. “We’ve cut interest rates today, but it was a finely balanced decision. Interest rates are still on a downward path, but any future cuts will need to be made gradually and carefully,” Governor Andrew Bailey stated.

The nine-member panel of the Monetary Policy Committee voted to lower rates by 0.25 percentage points, but failed to reach a unanimous vote with four members wishing to pause and another voting for a cut. The committee initially began with a 0.5 percentage point vote before reducing it to 0.25, marking the first time the MPC has needed a second vote—no one knows what they are doing.

The bank lowered rates but admitted that headline inflation is expected to hit 4% in September, up from the initial 3.75% estimate. Households are already spending one-tenth of their income on food, yet the bank expects food inflation to spike to 5.5% this year.

The central bank attempted to blame grocery store employee wages for price increases. “Furthermore, overall labour costs of supermarkets are likely to have been disproportionately affected by the lower threshold at which employers start paying NICs… these material increases in labour costs are likely to have pushed up food prices.” Every nation is facing a sharp upturn in food prices and store employees are not the culprit. The bank also acknowledged that unemployment has risen for five consecutive months, with unemployment reaching a four-year high in May 2025 at 4.7%.

The central bank cannot fight inflation as consumer demand is not driving price increases. Russian sanctions, net zero insanity, regulation, taxes, and an overall decline in public confidence have led Britain to decline. Let us not forget the looming sovereign debt crisis that every central bank is attempting to ignore publicly. Starmer is steering the nation directly into war, which never benefits the people and will become the primary culprit of inflation in time. The central bank cannot control fiscal policy; it cannot control inflation—all it can do is pretend to have a grasp on the situation to quell panic.

William Barr Involved in Illegal Visa Scheme


Posted originally on Aug 8, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

Former Attorney General Bill Barr shouted from his high horse that NO ONE WAS ABOVE THE LAW after the events of January 6, thereafter attempting to prosecute Trump for RICO charges. Barr himself failed to realize that he was not above the law–Project Veritas has revealed he was operating an illegal visa scheme for foreign billionaires.

Patrícia Lelis, a former journalist at Howard Stirk Holdings (HSH), admitted she was involved in the scheme orchestrated by political commentator Armstrong Williams and Barr. Intelligence agencies attempted to pin the crime on Lelis, who later revealed to Project Veritas the true nature of the scheme.

Wealthy foreigners wishing to secure visas and bypass the immigration process would reach out to Williams or Barr, offering hundreds of thousands if not millions in exchange for E-2 visas. These visas were created under the premise that the foreigners were creating businesses in the US. Not only did these people never work for the companies on record, but the companies never existed in the first place.

Lelis claims she reported directly to Democratic New York assembly member Clyde Vanel. Williams and Barr demanded that Lelis use her personal bank accounts to launder the money. While Armstrong may have been the mastermind, Barr’s reputation and connections helped them to expedite the visa process.

Barr William Attorney General

Project Veritas attempted to visit the headquarters of Reis Cosmetics, a company created through this scheme, only to find a vacant building. Lelis grew weary of the increasing amount of money she was expected to launder, and reported the crime to the FBI. Instead of investigating, the FBI attempted to pin the entire operation on Lelis.

Text messages sent on burner phones confirm Lelis’s claims. “It is far more easy to defraud the immigration system and the government more than the people think,” she stated. “And I have proof of that because that’s what Armstrong and Bill Barr does.” The US government does not check if people are truly operating or working for companies once the visa process is approved. A leak in the system has been revealed.

The government will need to independently verify the claims that were brought to the public sphere on August 7. These are substantial crimes—visa fraud, conspiracy to commit visa fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and false statements or obstruction of justice. Lelis may also bring civil charges against the men who began to threaten her when she refused to participate.

Barr has committed blatant RICO violations through his criminal activity. Barr accused Trump of violating RICO laws, all while he was running an underground visa scheme to help wealthy foreigners gain illegal entry into the United States.

US Treasury to Print $500 Bills?


Posted originally on Aug 7, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

500dollarbillUSD

Rumors are circulating that the United States may begin to print $500 bills. The US Bureau of Engraving and Printing began printing $500 bills in 1861 until 1945, formally discontinuing them in 1969 when Nixon moved to close the gold window. The US Treasury has since required banks to send all $500 bills back to them to be destroyed, as the government claimed higher-denominated notes paved the way for criminal activity.

Collectors know that the US Treasury issued $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, and even $100,000 notes once upon a time. The $100,000 bill featured President Woodrow Wilson and was issued as a gold certificate from 1934 to 1935. That particular bill was not publicly circulated. No citizen needed to use such currency in day-to-day transactions. The $10,000 note was primarily used for transactions between domestic Federal Reserve Banks, as digitalization had not yet occurred, and they needed an efficient way to move capital.

The rumors about the $500 bill’s revival are not wholly unfounded. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) introduced a bill in 2024 to reintroduce the $500 bill, replacing William McKinley’s image with Donald Trump’s. This was more than political pandering; besides, Congress would certainly never approve of a note featuring Donald Trump’s image. However, the government could be enticed to reintroduce higher-denominated notes due to INFLATION. This is precisely why the penny will be discontinued, as it represents absolutely nothing and is a reminder that our currency is becoming increasingly devalued.

10000dollarbillUSD

A new $500 bill would mirror historical currency debasement as we saw in Rome under Diocletian, for example, which comes before a collapse. Printing higher-denomination notes is not just a reflection of price increases, but a sign that the people are losing trust in the value of the USD. Now, even the highest-denominated cash note will not get one far, paving the way for digitization as cash becomes an inconvenient burden. If the US were not eager to digitize banking, we would undoubtedly see higher-denominated notes in circulation once again to mask the effects that inflation has had on the value of the dollar.

America has never canceled its currency, and all of these notes are still deemed legal tender, although they are far more valuable to collectors than their face value. The Federal Reserve does not currently have plans to print the $500 bill despite rumors. The goal is to move the nation to digital currency, and cash is becoming increasingly worthless in transactions. Still, providing a limited-edition $500 note would not be unheard of in today’s economic landscape.

Four EU Nations Announce $1 Billion Arms Deal with US


Posted originally on Aug 7, 2025 by Martin Armstrong |  

PatriotMissile

The European Union pivoted its stance on US defense as soon as the funds began to flow to Ukraine again. Although leaders like Macron and Merz previously warned against relying on the US for aerospace and defense, four EU nations have announced a $1 billion arms deal with the US through a new initiative devised by the US and NATO.

“It’s either that or leave Ukraine without weapons,” one NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity as they aren’t authorized to speak on the record, told RFE/RL in regard to purchasing from the US. “I think on the European side there is a hard realization that this has to happen in some fashion or another.” This comes after the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an alliance of 50 nations, held a virtual meeting at the end of July to decide how they would continue funding the proxy war.

The Dutch government agreed to spend around $576 million on US Patriot missile defense systems for Ukraine. Sweden, Denmark, and Norway plan to spend another $500 million on American defense collectively. “By supporting Ukraine with determination, we are increasing the pressure on Russia to negotiate,” Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans posted on X. “The more Russia dominates Ukraine, the greater the danger to the Netherlands and our NATO allies,” he said. Continually arming the opponent is not going to open the door to peace negotiations. It only alerts Russia that it must continue fighting for the foreseeable future, as this war is NOT against Ukraine but against the entire NATO alliance.

Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson said his nation plans to offer $275 million toward the deal. “Ukraine is not only fighting for its own security, but also for our security,” Jonson declared. Of course, all of this spending of public funds is being done under the premise of national security. European governments are lying to their people. They know Russia has no plans or desire to invade Europe, as there is nothing to gain by doing so.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister, praised the northern European nations for their willingness to invest. “Since the earliest days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have been steadfast in their support for Ukraine. I commend these allies for their quick efforts to get this initiative off the ground,” Rutte said in a statement. As a reminder, all NATO members must up their spending to 5% of GDP, although they previously could not even meet the 2% target.

Santa Claus Mask

These deals will now go through the Priority Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), created by NATO and the US. Basically, Ukraine writes a list for Santa, or in this case, the US, listing its most requested weapons of choice. NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) then approves of the wish list and tells US manufacturers to deliver Ukraine anything it desires. The Netherlands’ half-billion-dollar purchase was the first gift basket to go through this program.

PURL plans to send $10 billion worth of American-manufactured arms to Ukraine. But the US is not Santa, and there are no elves creating weapons. Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are increasing their production of Patriot missiles, following Rutte’s suggestion that NATO nations will supply Ukraine with at least 17. NATO nations are required to pay upfront for their gifts to Ukraine to bypass the typical US arms sales process. The taxpayers did not vote to send $10 billion to Ukraine, but NATO and EU nations are beholden to unelected bureaucrats who dictate the rules.