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Vladimir Putin has no intention of striking a peace deal with Ukraine and is more likely to instead escalate his war after Moscow’s parliamentary election in September, according to Russian opposition activist Garry Kasparov.

The dissident’s warning comes as Ukraine has stepped up attacks on Russian military logistics and energy infrastructure, a push that Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said has made Russia “weaker” — and Kyiv hopes could give it the upper hand at the negotiating table.

Yet Kasparov argues that mounting pressure makes Putin more likely to escalate than compromise, and that any settlement short of a Russian defeat would merely give Moscow time to regroup.

“Putin always escalated when he felt he was in trouble … the most natural escalation is the provocation,” said Kasparov, a former world chess champion who is now one of the Kremlin’s most prominent exiled critics.

Kasparov said he expects such a move could involve an incursion into a country on NATO’s eastern flank, such as Latvia or Estonia, intended to test whether other members of the alliance — and particularly the United States — would respond.

He pointed to recently proposed legal changes by the Russian government making it easier to mobilize troops by eliminating the medical examination previously required to draft soldiers as one indication that Moscow is preparing for further conflict.

“There’s not a single sign in Russian propaganda machine, in Russian government actions, in Putin’s speeches,” that the Kremlin is preparing for peace, he said, adding that all the signs point in one direction only: “War, war, war, war.”

Kasparov dismissed the argument that Russia lacks the resources to open another front. Moscow would not need to launch a full-scale invasion to undermine NATO’s credibility, he said, but could instead seize a small border town — potentially one with a Russian-speaking population — and wait to see how the alliance reacted.

If the U.S. then failed to help defend the country under attack, Kasparov said, Putin would have achieved his objective: “NATO is no longer there.”

His remarks come days after NATO chief Mark Rutte acknowledged “nobody” knows how to make Putin come to the negotiating table, as Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine grinds into its fifth year.

Europe’s role

Kasparov, considered one of the greatest chess players in history after becoming undisputed world champion at 22, is one of 10 Russian democratic opposition figures taking part in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces.

The initiative is intended to give exiled Russian democrats a voice in European institutions. Kasparov said one of its immediate aims is helping Russians who have fled the country secure legal status and valid documents once their Russian papers expire.

European governments should also promote a defection program for skilled Russians willing to break with the Kremlin, he argued.

“What is Putin’s weakest point? Brains. Computer experts, engineers, financiers … They don’t need social security support, they just need documents. So how about offering them a chance to change sides?” he said.

More broadly, he said Europe should abandon the idea that the war can be ended through compromise and commit fully to a Ukrainian victory.

“Our best hope is to separate Putin from the elites,” he said, arguing that Ukrainian strikes inside Russia are already putting pressure on the country’s power brokers. “Ukrainians are doing a very good job because every time they hit something, someone loses money.”

Kasparov said the EU should intensify sanctions and ban tourist visas for Russian citizens as part of that effort.

“We have to make sure Putin loses,” he said, “because the moment Putin loses the war, he goes down.”

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Several upgrades have been made to the original turbo-diesel of this Defender.

The exterior has also been transformed and is painted in Oak Green Metallic.

A Texan rancher originally commissioned this Defender and is now selling it.

This is Lange, a thoroughly re-engineered classic Land Rover Defender from Heldeburg, and it costs well over twice as much as a brand-new Defender OCTA that opens at $158,800 in the States. So what does all that money buy?

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Read: Helderburg’s Defender Costs As Much As A Used Ferrari SF90 And Still Runs A Diesel

Plenty of shops will restore and upgrade an old Defenders , usually swapping in a modern V8 and a fresh gearbox along the way. Heldeburg took the harder road with this one. Rather than tearing out the original 300Tdi turbo-diesel , the company kept it and reworked it for 42 percent more power, holding onto the mechanical character that makes an old Defender worth wanting in the first place.

According to the company, a Texas rancher first commissioned Lange as something to cover his land in. He ran it for a couple of years before stepping up to a larger Defender 130 from Helderburg, which is why the original is now up for grabs. The asking price is $348,720.

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What Else Is New?

Beyond upgrading the Land Rover’s engine, the company added a new performance brake system, modern power-assisted steering, a locking 4×4 differential, new suspension with upgraded shocks, sway bars, and stabilizers, promising to boost stability on the highway while still ensuring it has all the off-road chops you’d expect from a Defender.

The exterior is finished in Oak Green Metallic and is said to be in immaculate condition. Helderburg also added a full matte-black roll cage to the exterior. This isn’t just for aesthetics either. The cage runs through the bodywork and mounts up to the frame, so occupants should be kept safe if the Defender ever rolls while out on the open road or while off-roading. Similarly, there’s a strong steel bumper with red tow hooks, new headlights, and a black grille.

The cabin is also far removed from this Defender’s former self . In addition to featuring a modern infotainment system, it includes a new three-spoke, wood-rimmed steering wheel and has been trimmed in a stunning combination of black and brown quilted leather. With bench seats in the third row, it can carry up to eight people.

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It all started with an email. Someone was reminding me about the fast-approaching National AI Day. I never finished the email but quickly wondered, "National AI Day, is that really a thing?" It is, and I found the man responsible for it.

"We have about 30,000 applications a year for new national days. From that, we have a committee of people look at them," said National Day Calendar.com founder Marlo Anderson when I reached him by phone just two days before the big July 16th event .

National AI Day, though, did not follow that traditional route when it was designated a day on their calendar in 2025. Anderson told me he does a lot of AI work with the business and has been using AI for 20 years, so he did something slightly unusual.

"We just figured having an AI day would be appropriate," he said and admitted he did the designating.

It is not the normal process, though Anderson believes, but could not specifically recall, that people had suggested the day in the past.

You made this list

It is a big deal to get added. After all, National Day Calendar only adds a handful each year and, as Anderson admitted, some already believe they have too many "National Days" (he noted that he might be among that cohort, too).

Still, Anderson, who founded National Calendar Day in 2013, believes AI warranted it. He explained that it's already responsible for much of the "mundane process" work they do, including uploading the National Day Calendar's daily videos to a platform called Video Elephant. They were uploading 100 clips as he spoke to me. Doing it by hand would take two weeks. With AI, "just one day or two."

If we have an agentic AI that can handle that workload for us, we should probably do it.

National Day Calendar Founder Marlo Anderson

As for which AI platforms Anderson uses, he seems to spread it around, telling me that Claude is used for app development and website maintenance, ChatGPT Voice for brainstorming projects, and Gemini in National Day Calendar offices in North Dakota.

Anderson is a firm believer in the power and potential of AI for both his own work and as an agent for good in the world. Locally, he told me, "If we have an agentic AI that can handle that workload for us, we should probably do it."

National Anti-AI Day

National Day Calendar Founder Marlo Anderson (Image credit: National Day Calendar / Marlo Anderson) When I asked abotu the AI backlash — a recent study found 40% of surveyed peopel are limiting use of AI — Anderson told me, "We talk about it all the time," but added, "We get backlash on National Cheese Sandwich Day and French Fry Day," which is to say, he's not sure if the backlash is any greater than for other oddball National Days.

More seriously, Anderson is well aware of the debate about AI's impact on the environment but is also convinced the positives far outweigh the negatives.

"I also understand there’s a lot of benefit," like the ability to find medical cures. They're making, he told me, "remarkable progress right now" in medicine.

He then spun out an analogy about horses and cars. A million hours ago (in 1912), most people were still riding horses and, it turns out, they were pretty dangerous, too. Early cars, with the lack of traffic infrastructure, weren't much better, but "most people would agree a car is a better way to travel," he said, adding that we're currently "at the same crossroads with Artificial Intelligence."

Ultimately, Anderson's decision to create National AI Day was rooted in its current impact.

20 years from now, no one will know or talk about goat yoga, but 20 years from now, they will be talking about AI.

Marlo Anderson

In 2025, "the conversation had heightened to a point where probably everyone knows about AI, at least in the US. Everyone is probably using it, whether they know it or not," he told me.

It's also about AI's long-term prospects.

When goat yoga was a big thing, Anderson explained, they had a lot of requests to make it a day. "There's no day because we assumed it would be a fad [he was quick to add he’s sure it’s wonderful]. 20 years from now, no one will know or talk about goat yoga, but 20 years from now, they will be talking about AI."

So happy National AI Day. Feel free to celebrate on July 16 by using it, deriding it, or ignoring it altogether.