Analysis: Fewer Cubans May Strike Back Against Trump
The number of Cuban refugees to the US has decreased sharply during Donald Trump's second term as US president, compared to how it was under his predecessor Joe Biden. Cubans who want to leave their homeland are instead choosing to flee to other countries – which could ultimately harm Trump in his fight against the communist regime, analysts Gil Guerra and Diana Roy write in Foreign Policy.
When the refugees end up in places like Brazil and Mexico, opposition to the Cuban regime may decrease in the US, they say. The reason is that the Cuban diaspora in exile, which Guerra and Roy describe as "enduring" and "a powerful factor in American politics", loses strength when the number of refugees decreases.
At the same time, Michael J Bustamante and Richard Herrero write in Foreign Affairs that the communist regime should reach an agreement with the US as soon as possible. Recently, the White House has tightened the screws on Cuba – including by imposing new sanctions on companies doing business with the country and prosecuting the country’s former president Raúl Castro.
But so far, the regime has not agreed to any American demands – including one to cut its security ties with Russia and China. Bustamante and Herrero believe that Cuba’s stubbornness can be partly explained by the internal power struggles that are taking place within the regime’s leadership, where neither side wants to appear weak in the face of the United States.
“But the Cuban people deserve a reasonable future. And the most logical thing the Cuban regime can do is, ironically, to negotiate with the power that is damaging their economy,” they write.
fredag 29 maj 2026
Trump's USA US-Cuba Relations
Change of power in Hungary
Hungary receives billions from the EU: “Winds of change”
The winds of change are blowing in Hungary. That is the message given by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen at a press conference together with the new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar. von der Leyen is so impressed that she is releasing over 100 billion kronor that had previously been frozen.
“It has only been a couple of weeks. But we can feel that the winds of change are blowing strongly in Hungary,” she writes on X.
The money has previously been frozen due to the policies of the former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been heavily criticized by the EU on several occasions. This has included shortcomings in the rule of law and concerns about corruption.
Hungarian police: No reason to stop Pride
Hungarian police say there are no grounds to ban this year's Pride in Budapest, writes AFP.
The LGBT parade was stopped last year after then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Fidesz party pushed through a law that allowed such events to be banned to "protect children".
The protests against the decision became the largest Pride parade in Hungary's history, with up to 200,000 participants.
Russian invasion
The world's response
Polish president wants to revoke Zelensky's award
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has chosen to name one of the country's special forces after a nationalist guerrilla army during World War II. Now the decision is receiving strong criticism from Poland, reports AFP.
The reason is that the army, which went by the name of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, murdered up to 100,000 Poles during the war with the aim of creating an "ethnically pure" Ukraine.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki is furious with Zelensky's decision. He now wants to revoke Poland's highest civilian award, the "Order of the White Eagle", which the Ukrainian president was awarded three years ago.
Change of power in Hungary
Magyar: Hungary will not send weapons to Ukraine
Hungary will not send any weapons or military equipment to Ukraine, writes the new Prime Minister Péter Magyar on Facebook.
The message was given in a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Thursday. Magyar adds that Hungary “will once again be a reliable partner in the world’s most powerful defense alliance”.
Magyar has signaled a more pro-Ukrainian stance than his predecessor Viktor Orbán, who was the EU’s most pro-Kremlin leader and painted Ukraine and President Zelensky as a threat to Hungary.
“Ukraine is the victim and has every right to defend its territorial integrity,” Magyar said last week, according to RBC-Ukraine.
Hungarian voters, however, are skeptical about helping Ukraine. In an opinion poll a few days before the April elections, only one in four said Hungary should support the country economically, writes DW.
It will be a big problem for Ukraine's Gripen
The effect of Gripen in Ukraine is mainly determined by two things:
Which weapons are sent with it – and how quickly the stocks can be replenished.
The latter is the big problem.
For all the talk about drones as the solution to all military problems, it is telling that the frontline nation of modern war – literally and figuratively – places such importance on traditional combat aircraft.
Before 2030, Ukraine will buy and begin receiving deliveries of 20 Gripen Es, the latest version – a big step forward, especially in sensors and electronic warfare systems.
But even the 16 Gripen in version C/D, which Sweden will start sending next year, are modern and effective planes. The Swedish Air Force received its latest vehicle in 2015, and they have been continuously updated.
The Gripen can be delivered with Meteor, a world-leading long-range fighter.
Together with the radar reconnaissance plane Asc 890 that Sweden has already decided to send, the Gripen could, if it happens, make life really dangerous for Russians who even bother to enter Ukrainian airspace.
The Swedish planes will likely push Russian aircraft even further away from Ukraine's borders, and reduce the pressure from their glide bombs. They will also be able to be used against drones and cruise missiles.
However, no one should expect miracles.
This is a purchase that will have an effect in the long term, not immediately.
Gripen will become another tool in Ukraine's military toolbox rather than a "game changer".
At the same time, keeping a plane in the air is a huge, silent operation that most people probably don't think about.
The challenges ahead are many: Setting up supply chains for spare parts, training pilots and technicians, and developing basing and combat control.
But the biggest problem is probably the weapons.
Short-range American fighter missiles such as AMRAAM exist, and are produced in the thousands.
But the real muscles of the Gripen are European: the long-range Meteor and the Taurus 350 KEPD cruise missile.
There are bigger concerns here.
All European missiles are few in number and suffer from high prices and long delivery times.
Take Taurus.
It is to be integrated on the Gripen C/D before 2028 and is a very potent weapon against ground targets.
It has a stated range of 500 kilometers, carries 480 kilograms of explosives and has a tandem warhead to punch holes in hard targets, such as bunkers and fortified buildings.
But production has been almost non-existent for at least the past decade.
Of Germany's 600 ordered missiles, only 150 are said to be active, and the production line for the updated Taurus Neo variant is not expected to start until 2029.
The ability to strike deep is a European Achilles' heel, and it will also affect Ukraine.
In addition to the Taurus, there is the Storm Shadow/Scalp cruise missile, which Britain and France have already sent. But production only restarted this summer, and it was then 15 years since the last order was placed.
European weapons that reach further than around the 500-kilometer mark are scarce.
The exception is the French Navy's Missile de Croisière Navale (MdCN), which has a range of over 1,000 kilometers, but a land-based version is not expected to be available before 2029.
Something similar to the American Tomahawk, which has a range of around 2,500 kilometers, does not exist.
Buying from the United States may not be possible either, even if we wanted to.
The 850 Tomahawk missiles that the United States has fired at Iran will take 10 years to replace at the current production rate.
Perhaps it is Ukraine, with its successful attacks deep into Russia, that will eventually build our ability to fight in depth, rather than the other way around.
De svenska planen kommer
sannolikt trycka bort ryskt flyg ännu längre från Ukrainas gränser, och
minska trycket från deras glidbomber. De kommer också att kunna
användas mot drönare och kryssningsrobotar.
Ingen bör dock förvänta sig underverk.
Det här är ett köp som ger effekt på lång sikt, inte omedelbart.
Gripen kommer snarare än ”game changer” att bli ytterligare ett redskap i Ukrainas militära verktygslåda.
Samtidigt är det en enorm operation i det tysta att hålla ett plan i luften, som de flesta nog inte tänker på.
Utmaningarna som väntar är många: Att sätta upp leveranskedjor för reservdelar, utbilda piloter och tekniker och att utveckla basering och stridsledning.
Men det största problemet är nog vapnen.
Zelensky honors 1940s guerrilla – Poland is furious
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has named a military unit after the controversial nationalist guerrilla UPA, which is accused of mass murder of Poles during World War II.
Loud protests are coming from Warsaw.
Polish President Karol Nawrocki tells the media that he is outraged, and threatens to withdraw the country's highest award, the Order of the White Eagle, which was previously awarded to Zelensky.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk also protests, calling the decision "offensive".
According to Polish estimates, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) killed around 100,000 civilian Poles in what is now western Ukraine during World War II, which Poland sees as genocide.
The group, with links to Nazi Germany, is however praised by Ukrainian nationalists for its role in the fight for an independent Ukrainian state in battles with the Soviet Union.
On TV, Putin Announces New World Order As US 'Loses' Iran War, Xi Scares Trump Over Taiwan?| Russia
Hindustan Times
On Cam: Russia’s Last Warning For Europe After Trump Angers Putin; After Oreshnik Terror, Nuclear…?
Hindustan Times
Watch: Russia Installs Deadly Missile Systems On Moscow Rooftops To Hunt Ukrainian Drones From Sky
Hindustan Times