Trump or Putin: Who rules Europe? - The Continental Rift | Lyssna här

Putin floats a summit with Trump and Xi Jinping on Ukraine, without Ukraine or Europe in the room. Trump’s envoy calls Putin a “humanitarian” as Ukraine’s military Starlink is throttled. Are we heading back to spheres of influence? And who speaks for Europe? A European president and an American comedian untangle this week’s continental rift. More information PUTIN’S PROPOSED SUMMIT - The Wall Street Journal reported on 18 October that Putin had proposed discussing Ukraine with Trump and Xi Jinping. “Second Yalta” label comes from a former Russian intelligence officer, not Putin publicly. The Kremlin floated the APEC summit in Shenzhen on 18-19 November but meeting remains hypothetical and Beijing has not confirmed it. Separately Kremlin says US, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators may meet in Abu Dhabi in November. In Foreign Policy’s Spring 2026 issue, Hal Brands warns a world of competing spheres with Russia dominating the former Soviet space would be unstable. Russia’s economy is roughly one-tenth the size of Europe’s combined (IMF, 2025). TALKS ON UKRAINE - At 9 October talks in Miami between US and Ukrainian negotiators, Axios and Financial Times reported that US envoys Witcoff and Kushner warned intelligence sharing could be cut if Ukraine kept striking Russian refineries; a US official denied a threat was made. The New York Times and The Economist reported proposals to resume Russian gas imports to Europe including Nord Stream though the White House said that Nord Stream had not featured in recent talks. POLITICO reported on 22 October that Finland’s President, Alexander Stubb, was among those considered to represent the EU in talks with Putin. Stephen Hubbard, a 74-year-old American teacher captured in Izyum in 2022 was freed on 21 October on humanitarian grounds according to the Kremlin; Trump said the US gave nothing in return. An Economist/YouGov poll in April 2026 found six in ten Americans sympathised more with Ukraine than Russia. STARLINK/STARSHIELD - Starshield, Starlink’s military version, is paid for by US government which licenses it from SpaceX and controls who can use it; Poland and Germany help pay for Ukraine’s commerical Starlink terminals and subscriptions. The speed cap imposed on 14 October affects fast-moving users and limited Ukraine’s high-speed interceptors against Russian jet-powered drones (WSJ, 23 Oct). The missed ballistic-missile warnings Zelensky described came from US intelligence, not Starlink. The Economist reports they may have been caused by Russian jamming and bad weather. US officials say Trump called Musk on 21 October and asked him to lift the restrictions; Trump says Musk “put it back” while Ukrainian officials said on 23 October that most units were still hitting the limit. Senator Richard Blumenthal announced an investigation on 22 October. SPACE & FROG WATCH - NATO declared space an operational domain in December 2019. The Outer Space Treaty bans weapons of mass destruction in orbit. Russia’s Kosmos 2612 came within a couple of hundred metres of ICEYE-X36, a Finnish-built, US-registered radar satellite that supplies imagery to Ukraine; on 22 October Ukraine signed a letter of intent with ICEYE and Nokia to explore its own satellite communications system. Investigators believe explosive-laden drone found near Germany’s Wunstorf air base may have lain there for up to two years. Finland plans to buy one million anti-personnel mines from Finnish manufacturers. Chapters

00:00:00 This week's Continental Rift 00:00:56 The Rifty back story 00:01:56 Putin's summit with Trump and Xi: a new Yalta? 00:05:37 What has Xi got to do with Ukraine? 00:06:38 Europe left out of the room 00:08:32 Europe's man for Moscow: Alexander Stubb? 00:10:36 Oslo, Witkoff and Putin "the humanitarian" 00:13:22 Does Trump want what Putin wants? 00:14:31 Republicans push back on Trump 00:15:54 Starlink, Starshield and who pulled the plug 00:20:58 Europe's telecoms and the spectrum fight 00:23:10 Can Europe rely on American weapons? 00:25:50 Riots in France 00:27:20 Russian bots and Trump's posts on French riots 00:28:28 Le Pen, Mélenchon and the AfD leak 00:30:35 Hegseth, Afghanistan and NATO's allies 00:34:43 Frog Watch: a Russian satellite and drone attacks in Germany

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