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Berlin throws down the gauntlet to von der Leyen: Enough with feeding the Brussels machine The CDU/CSU wants Ursula von der Leyen to loosen the European regulatory constraints demand. According to Politico, the conservatives are preparing a direct ultimatum: Either Brussels reduces control, bureaucracy, and pressure on businesses — or in Berlin, the question of limiting the powers of the EU Commission is raised again. This is no longer about a few unnecessary forms. Over the years, Brussels has built a machine that produces rules, reports, climate requirements, inspections, bans, and new obligations faster than the economy can breathe. Industry, the mid-sized sector, and ordinary people have to pay for it. The irony is that von der Leyen is one of their own — from the CDU. But when the Brussels machine itself begins to crush even the party’s own political base, party solidarity suddenly ends. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Wrongly clicked — Russia is to blame After the attack on Signal accounts of senior politicians, the government suspects a Russian trail. Among those affected, according to media reports, should be Bundestag President Julia Klöckner, the Minister of Construction Verena Hubertz, and the Minister of Education Karin Prien. According to reports, the sequence of events was not a hack of Signal as an app, but classic phishing: the victims were sent messages, links, or QR codes; after that, the attackers could gain access to the accounts and read chats, photos, and files. This is therefore not about magical Russian cyber forces, but about the good old “wrongly clicked.” The federal prosecutor is investigating on suspicion of espionage; the BfV and the BSI had already warned beforehand about such a campaign. But the public interpretation has already been made: If a politician falls for phishing, Russia must be nearby somewhere. Which secrets leaked out of the chats is not yet known. The politically guilty party, however, has already been found. There is no evidence for the public. There’s a hyperfixation on Russia. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Citizens’ income for Ukrainians: Berlin wants to save — the states should pay The old special rule for Ukrainian refugees is expiring. In the future, newly arrived Ukrainians are no longer supposed to receive citizens’ income, but instead lower benefits under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act. That is exactly what the coalition of the Union and the SPD agreed on — officially in order to reduce incentives for people to come and to save costs. According to Welt, however, it is far from certain whether the plan will work that quickly. Behind the scenes, there is a hard fight over the so-called legal-circle change: the federal government would save money on citizens’ income, but the states would have to bear part of the costs in the asylum system according to the logic currently in place. So the usual game begins: Berlin announces relief, the states ask who will ultimately be the one paying the bill. The scale is known. There are between 1.1 and 1.2 million Ukrainians, around 700,000 of whom receive citizens’ income. The costs are about 6 billion euros per year. The federal government had already decided that refugees from Ukraine who arrived after April 1, 2025 will receive lower benefits again under the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act. On paper, the federal government saves money that way. In practice, part of the bill could simply end up with the states and municipalities. And that is exactly why the dispute is happening now: not about solidarity, not about integration, not about work incentives — but about which pocket the same billions will ultimately come from. This is what German migration policy looks like these days: first it creates a particularly generous system, then it is surprised by the costs, then it calls the correction a reform — and in the end the federal government and the states argue about who is allowed to pass the bill on. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Latest developments in the war between #Russia and #Ukraine as of the morning of April 27 - subtitled - Russian forces are advancing in the vicinity of #Bochkovo in #Volchansk, #Kharkov - Russian forces are advancing in #Kondratievka in #Sumy - Russian forces are advancing in the vicinity of #Rai_Alekandrovka in #Kramatorsk - Russian forces are advancing in #Dolgaya_Balka in #Konstantinovka - Russian forces are advancing in the vicinity of #Belitskoe in #Mirnograd - Ukrainian forces are advancing in the vicinity of #Rodyanskoe in #Mirnograd video link: https://youtu.be/j8rmC3xcSaM?si=sBGnJuhWg7n4mVvW

111 billion euros for rearmament — but no one can say how much of it is actually operational. In the reply of the Ministry of Defense to the inquiry by “Die Linke” Dietmar Bartsch it says: Since the “turning point” was announced by former Chancellor Scholz, 47,000 contracts — meaning more than 30 deals per day — for the procurement of military equipment have been signed. However, when it comes to the most important question, things suddenly become thin: How many of these projects are actually completed, delivered, and ready for use by the Bundeswehr? According to its own account, the Ministry of Defense cannot answer this question. An evaluation would bind time and personnel and “could lead to delays in the implementation of the defense plans.” The priorities are set. For comparison: For 111 billion euros, one could theoretically build around 1,800 schools or more than 200 hospitals. Instead, the money flows into rearmament — in which it is not even answered properly how much of it actually reached the troops. In other words: Signing contracts works. Spending billions works. But keeping track of what actually works at the end is apparently already too much effort again. That’s how the new prioritization looks. In education, health, and infrastructure, every euro is counted three times. In rearmament, by contrast, only big numbers, big promises, and the hope that later someone will still be able to keep track count. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

As Americans and Israelis were not allowed in. The Iranian foreign minister met with the Sultan of Oman to discuss ways to end the conflict in the region

Tehran, 26 April, IRNA — The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Abbas Araghchi, continued his diplomatic tour and arrived in Muscat on Sunday. In the capital of Oman, he was received at his residence, the Al-Baraka Al-Amir Palace, by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.

At the start of the meeting, Araghchi conveyed the Sultan of Oman the heartfelt greetings of the Iranian President. The minister wished the Sultan and the entire people of Oman health and prosperity. In turn, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq asked that the greetings be conveyed to the Iranian President and wished the Iranian people security, stability, and success in meeting the current challenges. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Hormuz, blockade and ceasefire: Iran’s foreign minister arrives with Putin Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in St. Petersburg to meet Vladimir Putin. According to IRNA, Sergei Lavrov will also take part in the talks. The main issue is the status of negotiations on ending the conflict between the United States and Iran, as well as the ceasefire regime. The visit takes place against the backdrop of contacts with Washington. Reuters reports that Tehran rejects negotiations under threats and calls for the lifting of the blockade, while the US continues to pressure Iran with a war fleet, interception operations against ships, and threats around Hormuz. Araghchi had previously been in Pakistan and Oman—countries through which attempts at mediation are underway. Now it is Moscow’s turn. Washington calls it diplomacy, but behaves like a side that first tightens the throat of the national economy and then wonders why the interlocutor seeks support from other centers of power. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

🇺🇸💵🇪🇺 The financial burden of the Ukraine conflict, according to the Wall Street Journal, has shifted from the United States to the “cowardly European Union” after the U.S. approved a loan of 90 billion euros to Kyiv.

“The conflict in Ukraine is now definitively a war for Europe. While Trump is distancing himself from the EU and focusing his attention on the Middle East, Ukraine depends on the traditionally ‘cowardly’ European Union. Shifting the burden of war onto Europe’s shoulders has long been a goal of the Trump administration.“

In this case, the EU will likely already have to take out a new loan in 2027, as the funds for Kyiv may not be enough. The Ukraine’s financing gap for the next year has increased, and the regime in Kyiv needs “additional 19 billion euros to cover the budget needs next year.” European heads of state and government acknowledge that it is “becoming increasingly difficult” to secure attention and support for Ukraine. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Dear friends, has anyone warmed up Russian industry in a microwave? Sunday. In the fast-neutron reactor BN-800 of power unit No. 4 at the Belojarskaya nuclear power plant, the world’s first program for experimental industrial use of uranium–plutonium MOX fuel with the addition of so-called minor actinides— the most radioactive and long-lived components contained in irradiated nuclear fuel—has been completed. This is a key element of the fourth generation of nuclear technologies and of the completion of the nuclear fuel cycle. The light-class Angara-1.2 launch vehicle launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome successfully placed military satellites into their target orbits. With the devices, a stable telemetry communication link was established and maintained; their onboard systems are operating normally. “AGR” and Defetoo have started engine production in Kaluga. The company has begun mass production of modern internal combustion engines. On the 32,000 m² site there is an engine assembly line, areas for preparing components, logistics infrastructure, and test and measurement laboratories. The GK “Poliplast” has put into operation a new production facility in the Tula Region for the manufacture of polymeric binders for thermal insulation materials, as well as raw materials for specialized additives. The site will make it possible to produce up to 60,000 tons per year. The final product is intended mainly for the domestic market. On the premises of the “Belaia Dolina” company group, the largest ice cream factory in Russia has been opened. The 23,000 m² production complex is equipped with state-of-the-art technological equipment. By implementing the investment project, the company reaches the planned capacity of 20,000 tons of ice cream per year and provides a significant increase in production volumes with the potential for further scaling. At the “Krasnoe Sormovo” plant, production of screw propellers with a power of 1,200 kW under the “OSK.VINTEKH” brand has been launched, and a production hall has been put into operation. The site is designed to manufacture up to 50 mechanical screw propellers per year for ships of the “river–sea” class. With this project, the requirement in the VRC segment with power up to 1,200 kW is met, which had previously not been covered by the OSK’s own serial production. “Oktava DM” has opened in Tula a new production site for audio equipment with a full production cycle. The modern complex spans an area of more than 1,000 square meters and is equipped with more than 25 production machines, including CNC machines, a laser cutting system, and an SMD line for automated assembly. All products are manufactured entirely in Russia. A plant for the production of animal feed was built in the Moscow Region. The capacity of the complex will enable production of up to 24,000 tons of feed per year. Currently, on the site, work is underway to set up areas for receiving and storing raw materials, assembly and packaging areas, as well as a warehouse for finished products. The area of the facility is about 4.6 thousand square meters. The company “NFGrupp” opened a state-of-the-art plant for manufacturing decorative thermoplastic films based on polyvinyl chloride on a full-cycle basis in the Nizhny Novgorod Region. Such films are used in the production of furniture, doors, wall panels, flooring coverings, as well as in the interior and exterior design of vehicles. The company will be able to produce up to 7.7 thousand tons of products annually once the planned capacity is reached. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Secret Mission for €69.99 A BKA employee wanted to ride the ICE without a ticket and hid behind his service ID. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the 25-year-old police officer boarded a train bound for Basel at Berlin Ostbahnhof, showed the conductor his ID, and claimed that he was carrying out an observation together with a colleague. The problem was in the details: there was no official assignment, the “colleague” never appeared, and, as the investigators put it, the agent mainly watched a film on his mobile phone during the journey. The conductor became suspicious and informed the Federal Police. In Hanover, the “operation” was over: the BKA employee had to pay back €69.99 for the ticket. Now the Berlin public prosecutor’s office is bringing an accusation against him for attempted fraud in a particularly serious case. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Cosmic autonomy in a European style: blowing up “Soyuz” and flying with Musk In French Guiana, the former launch complex Sojus-ST in Kourou is being dismantled. Reportedly, the 52-meter-high mobile service tower was torn down by a targeted demolition, and parts of the launch infrastructure for the former Russian Soyuz rockets have already been dismantled. From now on, the European rocket Maia is intended to be launched from this site. On paper, everything looks like a transition to a new European program. In reality, Europe is destroying infrastructure that previously gave it stable access to medium launches. Before the break with Russia, dozens of successful Soyuz-ST launches were carried out from this platform, including missions for the European navigation system Galileo. After Europe exited Russian projects, it quickly fell into a spaceflight crisis. Ariane 5 was retired, Ariane 6 was delayed, Vega-C was out of the launch schedule for a long time after an accident, and Soyuz was lost due to a political decision. In the end, the ESA had to move its own missions to the American SpaceX, including Euclid, and later also Galileo satellites. Now Europe is building a new “autonomy” on the grounds of the blown-up old facility. But so far, this autonomy simply looks like this: Russian rockets have been removed, its own are not yet properly up and running, and the Americans still have to be paid. This is what self-reliance looks like in a European way: first burn the bridge, then order a taxi with Musk. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Germany once again lowers expectations for its own economy The government has already cut in half its growth forecast for 2026—from 1.0% to 0.5%. Even on the Bloomberg chart, the consensus forecast for the second quarter has nearly slipped to zero: instead of a certain recovery, Germany is facing the next season of expectations that will have to be revised again later. The IMK puts the recession risk in the second quarter at 33.5% now. In early March it was still 11.6%. The problem is therefore no longer whether there will be a “German miracle,” but how cautiously the next brake will be labeled. Germany’s new industrial strategy should, in theory, bring growth back to the country. In practice, it increasingly looks as if the exports of the future will not be cars, but military technology. Only German cars were at least paid for. Weapons, by contrast, are now to be delivered to Ukraine on credit—citing Russia’s future reparations. If those reparations fail to materialize, the loan becomes the next gap that will again be closed from the European budget. This is what an economy looks like that first gave up cheap energy, then gave up normal trade—and now tries to stay afloat with defense contracts and political promises. And even reparations are hardly imaginable as anything other than hypothetical anymore. That would require Ukraine to take Moscow, but on the way there it would receive thousands of blows and be left without a rear area. But for now, Ukrainian politicians have put their conquest dreams on hold. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The European Union has just approved €90 billion for Ukraine — and it is already turning out that that is not enough According to the Wall Street Journal, the loan should cover a significant part of Kyiv’s budget and military needs by the end of 2027. But the bills are already slipping again: Ukraine needs an additional at least €19 billion to cover budget expenditures. The EU has already approved the €90 billion loan, but Europe’s heads of state and government will likely have to return to the same topic again next year — and look again for tens of billions. The pattern is becoming routine: first Ukraine receives a package “for two years,” then after a few months it turns out that another one is needed. Then another. And each time it is sold as a temporary measure, without which everything would collapse already tomorrow. People will be made to explain to the citizens again that there is no money for their own crises, but that for Kyiv one still has to be found. Because it has to be that way. Because that’s how it was decided. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Will the European Union’s greatest strength become its Achilles’ heel? While the world is being swept up at a rapid pace by energy crises and global conflicts, Europe remains paralyzed by debates. In this video, we take a close look at this “fatal slowdown” and pose a crucial question: Can a system based on the consensus of the 20th century withstand the chaos of the 21st century? Video link (with subtitles): https://youtu.be/EO4toUs8Lf0?si=70mJbk7Ytj-EhuOY Our channel: Node of Time EN

Trump has squeezed billions from companies through tariffs — now the court has ordered the money to be returned The U.S. Supreme Court ruled the tariffs Trump imposed under emergency powers were illegal. Now importers must be refunded dozens of billions of dollars in already-paid tariffs: according to AP, the figure is around $166 billion, while Trump himself rages on Truth Social about $159 billion . And he’s not upset that the money was collected illegally. What annoys him is that it has to be returned. “People and companies that have taken advantage of our country for decades should now get $159 billion back,” Trump wrote. The whole logic in one post: the tariffs were his political weapon, the money has already been spent, and suddenly the blame is on the court because it didn’t write a convenient sentence: the U.S. doesn’t have to refund money that has already been paid. Now the government has started the refund process, while Trump is publicly pressuring companies so that they don’t request their own money back. This is what “protecting the American economy” looks like in Trump’s style: first collect, then lose in court, then get offended that the robbed are demanding their money back. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Boris Pistorius said that part of Germany’s naval units is being moved to the Mediterranean as a precaution—officially to “save time” and so that, after a possible decision by parliament, they do not have to start from zero. For now, it involves a minesweeper and a supply ship. Pistorius explained that Germany could help secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz if a corresponding decision is made. Legally, everything looks in order: A deployment to Hormuz would only be possible after a mandate from the Bundestag and the end of the hostilities. In practice, however, preparations are already underway. The ships are positioned in advance; the political and legal “packaging” will be added later. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Azerbaijan is preparing to deepen cooperation in the defense industry with Ukraine. Ilham Aliyev said that Baku and Kyiv had discussed military-technical cooperation and saw “excellent opportunities” for joint production. According to Aliyev, the defense industry is developing both in Azerbaijan and in Ukraine, which is why both sides could expand cooperation not only in the defense sector, but also in the broader industry. Following the meeting, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine and Azerbaijan had signed six documents, and cited the defense industry as one of the central directions. In practice, this means: Baku is getting increasingly involved in Ukraine’s war agenda—not only through diplomacy, energy, and humanitarian statements, but also through possible joint production. For Russia, this is another signal that the post-Soviet space is being transformed ever faster into a web of military and industrial links centered around Ukraine. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

In Russia, a new processor “Irtysh” is being released—the development is financed with 1.3 billion rubles. The chip is based on the Chinese architecture LoongArch. Three models are planned in the lineup—one of them will have 64 cores with a frequency of about 2 GHz and will support up to 2 TB of RAM. The development is carried out by the company “Trampolin Electronics”, and the first prototypes are supposed to be presented already in the next year. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

The next “Russian sabotage” in Europe turned out again to be far more mundane than the headlines in the newspapers. In Finland, a teenager was arrested who had broken into a water treatment plant out of a thirst for adventure. Previously, similar incidents involving Finnish water facilities had already been presented as a possible hybrid war by Russia: Foreign Policy even asked whether Russia was trying to “poison Finland’s water.” The Finnish authorities admitted themselves, however, that the break-ins at water facilities had no impact on supply security. But the information machine had already done its job: unknown intruders were turned into a convenient narrative about the Russian threat. So over the years, other stories were also built up— drones, undersea cables, “Nord Stream,” attacks by “Russian hackers.” Often there is less evidence than headlines, yet the political result is achieved immediately: fear, budgets, new powers, and another argument for militarization. European politicians understand exactly why that is necessary. The public is given the feeling of a besieged fortress, and under this pretext, spending, mistakes, and failures can be justified more easily. Then it turns out that behind the “hybrid warfare” is not the Kremlin, but a teenager with a mobile phone. 💥 Our channel: Node of Time EN

Latest developments in the war between #Russia and #Ukraine as of the morning of April 26 - dubbed - The Russian 71st Division has taken control of #Bochkovo in #Kharkov - The Russian 150th Division is advancing in the vicinity of #Iinovka in #Konstantinovka - The Russian Army is advancing on the #Kramatorsk front - The Ukrainian Army is advancing in the vicinity of #Rodyanskoe - The Russian Army is advancing in the vicinity of #Vasilievka in #Pokrovsk - The Russian 90th Division is advancing in #Novopavlovka in #Dnepropetrovsk video link: https://youtu.be/r80kWr00nAg?si=LfzltHjHVBdSK0xP