Cuba’s Foreign Minister to Meet With Putin Amid Energy Crisis, Kremlin Says

 Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla will meet with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, coming as the communist-ruled island nation faces severe fuel shortages and blackouts due to an oil embargo imposed by the United States.

“The meeting holds special significance given the difficult period that friendly and brotherly Cuba is currently experiencing,” Peskov told reporters at a daily briefing, without specifying what issues would be discussed during the meeting.

Cuba is grappling with its worst energy crisis in years after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on any country that sells oil to it, ramping up his pressure campaign on the communist leadership to implement political and economic reforms.

Cuba, which imports around 60% of its energy supply, previously relied on oil shipments from Venezuela. Those orders were canceled after then-President Nicolás Maduro was captured in a U.S. military raid.

Russia’s Embassy in Havana said last week that Moscow planned to send oil and other petroleum products to Cuba as humanitarian aid.

Asked on Wednesday whether that move could harm Ukraine peace negotiations brokered by the United States, Peskov said he does not “believe these issues are interrelated.”

“Russia has consistently opposed the blockade of the island,” he told reporters. “We value our relationship with Cuba, and we intend to develop it further, certainly by providing the appropriate assistance to our friends during these difficult times.”

Cuba has been allied with Russia since its 1960s socialist revolution, relying on the Soviet Union for economic and political support for decades. The Kremlin has maintained close relations with the Caribbean island after the U.S.S.R. collapsed.

Cuba’s Foreign Minister to Meet With Putin Amid Energy Crisis, Kremlin Says - The Moscow Times

China is building submarines faster than ever, think tank says. Why that’s a problem for Washington

 China has ramped up its production of nuclear-powered submarines over the past five years to the point where it is launching subs faster than the United States, threatening to negate a sea-power advantage that has long belonged to Washington, a new think tank report says.

The buildup in the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s nuclear-powered sub force includes both ballistic-missile and attack subs, the report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) says.

During the years 2021 to 2025, China’s submarine building surpassed that of the US in both numbers of subs launched – 10 to 7 – and tonnage – 79,000 to 55,500, says the report, which looked at shipyard satellite imagery to draw estimates of China’s construction.

Beijing does not disclose fleet numbers.

It’s a stark turnaround from the 2016 to 2020 period, when China only added three subs (23,000 tons) to the US Navy’s seven (55,500 tons), according to the IISS analysis.

The numbers represent subs launched but not necessarily completed and added to the active-duty fleet, where the US still maintains a large advantage.

As of early 2025, China had 12 active nuclear-powered submarines, six ballistic-missile boats and six guided-missile or attack boats, according to the IISS’ “Military Balance 2025.” The US had 65 total subs, with 14 of those being ballistic-missile boats.

China also maintains a large conventionally powered sub fleet, with 46 boats, according to the “Military Balance.”

The US has zero conventionally powered subs which – unlike nuclear-powered subs – need to refuel regularly.

To accommodate its nuclear-powered sub fleet growth, Beijing has significantly expanded the Huludao yard of Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry Co. in northern China, according to the report, headlined “Boomtime at Bohai.”

It comes after a Congressional Research Service report to Congress last month said the US Navy is falling well behind its submarine-building goal of two Virginia-class attack boats per year, with US shipyards delivering only 1.1 to 1.2 subs a year since 2022.

The US is also building new Columbia-class ballistic-missile submarines, but that program is at least a year behind schedule, with first-in-the-class USS District of Columbia not expected to be delivered to the Navy until 2028, the admiral in charge of the program told Breaking Defense last week.

“The greater numbers in the water present a growing challenge to (the US and other Western) countries as they struggle to increase their own output,” the IISS report says.

The IISS report highlights two Type 094 ballistic-missile subs (SSBNs) that have been launched at the Huludao shipyard. With the ability to fire nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, the Type 094s add to Beijing’s growing nuclear triad of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and bombers, it says.

China is building submarines faster than ever, think tank says. Why that’s a problem for Washington | CNN

UK, German defense officials defend military buildup under Russian threats

 

'History teaches us that deterrence fails when adversaries sense disunity and weakness,' they asserted

The British and German Defense chiefs contend that military buildup is necessary to protect Europe from potential Russian aggression.

They pointed to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

"Moscow’s military buildup, combined with its willingness to wage war on our continent, as painfully evidenced in Ukraine, represents an increased risk that demands our collective attention," they declared in an opinion piece published by The Guardian.

United Kingdom Chief of Defense Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton and German Chief of Defense Carsten Breuer made an argument for peace through strength.

"History teaches us that deterrence fails when adversaries sense disunity and weakness. If Russia perceives Europe in this way, it may be emboldened to extend its aggression beyond Ukraine. Indeed, we know that Moscow’s intentions range wider than the current conflict," they wrote.

They asserted that the continent must have a strong defense industry.

"Ukraine shows us that industrial bases are key to sustaining and ultimately winning any major war. The increased defence spending under way across our countries proves that we are taking this seriously, as we cannot deter if we cannot produce. Our industries must be capable of sustained output – manufacturing the ammunition, systems and platforms our forces require at the pace modern conflict demands," they asserted.

"There is a moral dimension to this endeavour. Rearmament is not warmongering; it is the responsible action of nations determined to protect their people and preserve peace. Strength deters aggression. Weakness invites it," they wrote.

Defense chiefs for UK and Germany make case for strenghening European military | Fox News

China pledges aid to Ukraine as US officials warn Beijing is quietly fueling Russia’s war

NATO Ambassador Matthew Whitaker accuses Beijing of enabling Russia while China offers Ukraine new humanitarian energy assistance

China offered new humanitarian energy assistance to Ukraine — even as a senior U.S. official said Beijing has the power to stop Russia’s invasion and has chosen not to.

"China could call Vladimir Putin and end this war tomorrow and cut off his dual-purpose technologies that they’re selling," U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said during a Friday panel on U.S. foreign policy at the Munich Security Conference, moderated by Bloomberg.

"China could stop buying Russian oil and gas," he added. "You know, this war is being completely enabled by China."

Whitaker’s remarks came as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on the sidelines of the conference and pledged what both sides described as humanitarian energy assistance to help Ukraine cope with ongoing Russian strikes on its power infrastructure.

Sybiha said on social media that he was grateful for China’s decision to provide an additional energy aid package. Readouts from both Kyiv, Ukraine, and Beijing described the meeting as focused on peace efforts, bilateral ties and support for Ukraine’s energy system, which repeatedly has been targeted by Russian missile and drone attacks.

China has not publicly disclosed the size or scope of the aid package.

Beijing repeatedly has said it seeks a "constructive" role in ending the crisis and maintains that it is not a party to the conflict. Chinese officials have denied supplying lethal military assistance to Moscow and argue they support dialogue and a political settlement.

U.S. officials, however, increasingly frame China as Russia’s most important external enabler.

Whitaker said in Munich that China is providing "crucial support" for Russia’s aggression. Russia relies heavily on China for critical parts and components used in drones and other war equipment, Western officials say, even as Beijing publicly distances itself from direct weapons transfers.

China offers Ukraine aid while accused of enabling Russia war effort | Fox News

Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi makes new appeal to Trump to weaken ayatollah's regime as killing continues

 

Reza Pahlavi says minimum 36,000 people killed in first two days of protests as anti-government demonstrations continue

Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called for "humanitarian intervention" in his country and urgent international measures against Iran’s ruling regime amid protests and reported mass casualties.

Pahlavi appealed to President Donald Trump after Trump said regime change in Iran "would be the best thing that could happen."

The prince listed several measures the U.S. could take to weaken the ayatollah, including neutralizing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), cracking down on "ghost tankers" that secretly transport sanctioned oil and provide revenue to the regime, expelling diplomats or holding them to account for criminal behavior, freezing assets of oligarchs, supporting protesters with internet access and asking for the unconditional release of all political prisoners in Iran.

"These are specific measures... that the world can [take to] put more pressure on the regime, but it will also show much more support to the Iranian people," Pahlavi said on "Sunday Morning Futures."

He hoped those provisions would "expedite the process" of "getting rid of this regime."

"And finally, Iranians can have an opportunity to speak for themselves."

Pahlavi is positioning himself as a transitional leader for a post-regime Iran. He said he would serve to "galvanize and unify... the secular democratic opposition" with the ultimate goal of facilitating "a democratic process that will be completely transparent and under international observation" that would allow Iranians to decide the future of their country.

is comments come as Iran is roiled by anti-government demonstrations and regime retaliation against them. Pahlavi said a minimum of 36,000 people were killed by police in the first two days of protests, though it remains difficult to collect accurate data.

Russian Military Reports Largest Wave of Ukrainian Drone Attacks Since Early January

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that its air defense systems destroyed more than 150 Ukrainian drones overnight, marking one of the largest such attacks since the start of the year as officials from the two warring countries gather for a new round of peace talks in Switzerland.

The Russian military said 79 drones were downed over the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, with 38 others destroyed over annexed Crimea and 18 over the Krasnodar region. It was the largest wave of Ukrainian drone attacks since Jan. 1, when the Defense Ministry reported downing 168 unmanned aircraft.

Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Kremlin-installed governor of the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, said a 9-year-old boy was hospitalized with minor injuries. He reported damage to vehicles, apartments, private homes and gas pipes as a result of drone strikes.

In the nearby Krasnodar region, authorities said Ukrainian attacks caused a fire at the small Ilsky Oil Refinery. The site includes six processing units with a total capacity of 6.6 million metric tons per year.

Ukraine’s military claimed the refinery, owned by the Kuban Oil and Gas Company, is involved in supplying the Russian military.

Iran partially shuts Strait of Hormuz as US, Iran hold nuclear talks

GENEVA, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Iran's supreme leader warned on Tuesday that U.S. attempts to depose his government would fail, as Washington and Tehran began indirect talks in Geneva on their long-running nuclear dispute amid a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East.

Just a few hours after the negotiations began, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported that parts of the strategic Strait of Hormuz will close for a few hours due to "security precautions" while Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards conduct military drills in the world's most vital oil export route.

Tehran has in the past threatened to shut down the strait to commercial shipping if it is attacked, a move that would choke off a fifth of global oil flows and drive up crude prices.

The U.S., which joined Israel in bombing Iran's nuclear facilities in June, has deployed a battle force to the region and U.S. President Donald Trump has said "regime change" in Iran may be the best thing that can happen.

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are taking part in the negotiations, which are being mediated by Oman, a source briefed on the matter told Reuters, alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. 

Donald Trump said that he would be involved "indirectly" in the Geneva talks and that he believed Tehran wanted to make a deal.

"I don't think they want the consequences of not making a deal," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Monday. "We could have had a deal instead of sending the B-2s in to knock out their nuclear potential. And we had to send the B-2s."

EVEN THE STRONGEST CAN BE 'SLAPPED'

Just after the talks started, Iranian media cited Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying Washington could not force out his government. The republic has been ruled by clerics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"The U.S. President says their army is the world's strongest, but the strongest army in the world can sometimes be slapped so hard it cannot get up," he said, in comments published by Iranian media.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday the success of the Geneva talks hinged on the U.S. not making unrealistic demands and on its seriousness on lifting crippling economic sanctions on Iran.

U.S. B-2 BOMBERS STRUCK NUCLEAR TARGETS

Tehran and Washington were scheduled to hold a sixth round of talks in June last year when Washington's ally Israel launched a bombing campaign against Iran, and was then joined by U.S. B-2 bombers that struck nuclear targets. Tehran has since said it has halted uranium enrichment activity.

ran's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran's views on the nuclear issue, the lifting of sanctions and a framework for any understanding have been conveyed to the U.S. side.

The meeting took place at the residence of the Omani ambassador to the U.N. amid a heavy security presence. Some cars with Iranian diplomatic license plates were visible outside.

The U.S. military is preparing for the possibility of weeks of operations against Iran if Trump orders an attack, two U.S. officials told Reuters.

IRAN-U.S. NUCLEAR TALKS UNDER SHADOW OF PROTESTS AND WAR

Washington and its close ally Israel believe Iran aspires to build a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel's existence. Iran says its nuclear programme is purely peaceful, even though it has enriched uranium far beyond the purity needed for power generation, and close to what is required for a bomb.

Since the June strikes, Iran's Islamic rulers have been weakened by street protests, put down at a cost of thousands of lives, against a cost-of-living crisis driven in part by international sanctions that have strangled Iran's oil income.

Iran has joined the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which guarantees countries the right to pursue civilian nuclear power in return for requiring them to forgo atomic weapons and cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

Israel, which has not signed the NPT, neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weaponry, under a decades-old ambiguity policy designed to deter surrounding enemies.

Scholars believe it does, having acquired the first bomb in 1966. Israeli journalists, circumscribed by military censorship, often refer cryptically to such capabilities or cite foreign media reporting on them.

Washington has sought to expand the scope of talks to non-nuclear issues such as Iran's missile stockpile. Tehran says it is willing only to discuss curbs on its nuclear programme - in exchange for sanctions relief - and that it will not give up uranium enrichment completely or discuss its missile programme.

Iran partially shuts Strait of Hormuz as US, Iran hold nuclear talks