Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a press encounter with President Trump at the 2026 NATO Summit in Ankara Daily Brief NATO Day Two: Billions for Ukraine, an Alliance Rearming — and a New War Escalating Beside It NATO’s Ankara summit ended with a firm declaration of collective defense, major new weapons commitments and a two-year military support pledge for Ukraine. But the summit’s final hours were dominated by a different conflict: renewed American and Iranian strikes, the apparent collapse of their ceasefire framework and By Olga Nesterova • 5 min read
Daily Brief Middle East Brief: Hormuz Erupts Again as Washington Reopens the Iran War The United States has launched a new wave of strikes against Iranian targets after three merchant ships were attacked near the Strait of Hormuz, reopening a conflict Washington had presented only weeks ago as moving toward a negotiated settlement. The strikes targeted Iranian air defense systems, maritime targeting infrastructure, and By Olga Nesterova • 5 min read
PM Mark Carney walks with President Erdogan at the NATO Summit in Ankara | Photo: shared by Carney on X Daily Brief NATO Summit Day One: Trump Questions the Alliance as Allies Build Around Ukraine The first day in Ankara has produced two sharply different visions of NATO: one focused on rebuilding the alliance to confront an increasingly coordinated group of adversaries, and another questioning why the United States should remain so deeply invested in European security at all. By Olga Nesterova • 14 min read
Daily Brief Pre-NATO Summit Brief: China Tests the Pacific, Russia Tests the Alliance On the eve of the NATO summit in Ankara, the headline issue was supposed to be Ukraine. The first day of the summit is heavily built around Ukraine — from bilateral meetings, including Prime Minister Mark Carney’s meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to foreign ministers’ discussions and broader allied coordination. By Olga Nesterova • 4 min read
"The Patrouille de France flying over the Statue of Liberty. What a symbol. 250 years of shared history." | Photo shared by President Macron on X Daily Brief America Turns 250, Russia Strikes Kyiv, and Canada Deepens Its Indo-Pacific Push Good evening. The United States is preparing to celebrate its 250th birthday this weekend with major events across Washington, New York and cities throughout the country. But the festivities are arriving alongside extreme heat, extensive security operations and — particularly in New York — an extraordinary concentration of major events. Here is By Olga Nesterova • 11 min read
Daily Brief Daily Brief: Canada Day, Russia Strikes Kyiv, Britain Rearms and Venezuela’s Earthquake Toll Rises Happy Canada Day! 🇨🇦 Happy Canada Day to our Canadian readers, subscribers and supporters! Canada has been part of ONEST’s international community from the beginning, and Canadian institutions, diplomats, officials and readers continue to play an important role in our reporting. Thank you for reading, sharing our work and supporting By Olga Nesterova • 15 min read
Daily Brief ONEST Brief: Iran’s Fragile Deal, China’s Expanding AI Power and Europe’s Shadow Fleet Crackdown The United States and Gulf states publicly rallied behind the preliminary agreement with Iran today, even as Tehran asserted control over shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz and questions grew over what Washington has actually secured. Here is what happened today. Rubio Seeks Gulf Support for the Iran Agreement By Olga Nesterova • 8 min read
President Donald Trump meets NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House, June 24, 2026 | Screenshot from official White House livestream. Daily Brief ONEST Brief: Hormuz Opens Carefully, Europe Prepares for NATO, and the Iran Deal Meets Reality Hormuz Is Moving Again, But the Dispute Is Shifting Oman has established a temporary shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with the International Maritime Organization. The move comes as maritime traffic begins cautiously returning. Three previously stranded supertankers passed through the Strait on Tuesday, while seven empty By Olga Nesterova • 6 min read
Daily Brief ONEST Brief: NATO Tensions, Iran’s Regional Outreach, and Europe’s New East-West Corridor Trump’s dispute with Italy expands ahead of a tense NATO meeting, Iran promotes a new regional security architecture, the EU invests in routes bypassing Russia, and Ukraine presses allies for firm air defense delivery dates. Meloni Tries to Close the Dispute as NATO Defends Europe’s Role Italian Prime By Olga Nesterova • 9 min read
Daily Brief ONEST Brief: Iran Talks Move Markets, Starmer Steps Down, and Europe Opens the Door to the Taliban The United States and Iran left Switzerland without a final agreement, but Washington is already presenting the talks as a diplomatic victory. Britain is preparing for its seventh prime minister in a decade. And Europe’s new focus on deportations has brought Taliban officials to Brussels for the first EU- By Olga Nesterova • 10 min read
Image: White House livestream | Screenshot by ONEST Daily Brief The Switzerland Talks Descend Into Threats, Snubs and Contradictions The United States and Iran arrived in Switzerland for talks intended to move their memorandum of understanding toward implementation. Instead, the Lake Lucerne Summit exposed how little the parties appear to agree on — including whether negotiations are still functioning, whether the Strait of Hormuz is open, what the agreement requires By Olga Nesterova • 8 min read
Daily Brief ONEST Brief: Canada Rewrites the Law, China Consolidates Power, and the Middle East Truce Falters June 19, 2026 Canada enacted major criminal justice and election-security reforms, China consolidated political control while preparing its economy for prolonged geopolitical pressure, and renewed fighting in Lebanon disrupted the first steps toward implementing the U.S.–Iran memorandum. Ukraine, meanwhile, pressed Europe to turn political support into EU By Olga Nesterova • 13 min read
