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Russia - Masque Of The Red Death Vladimir Putin has been hailed perhaps as the pivotal post cold war Russian leader. He has executed a skillful dog and pony show, convincing both the Bush and Blair administrations that the former Soviet Union was not only no longer a military threat to the West but was indeed now becoming a close ally. Obviously Russia's cooperation with the French and German UN delegation's intransigence in dealing with Iraq has done much to throw cold water on this heretofore-budding union. It's important to note that such a relationship offered hope, though ultimately unfounded,...

The United States is working with NATO partners to locate additional Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on May 20 during Senate testimony on the State Department's budget. Ukraine has consistently warned that its current air defense capacity is insufficient to counter the scale of Russia's intensified missile and drone attacks. "The U.S. is looking for Patriot batteries to be able to transfer from other NATO nations into Ukrainian hands," Rubio told lawmakers, adding that no country is willing to give up these systems, and the U.S. cannot produce them quickly enough. Kyiv...

Saturday's strike was not just a threat; it was a promise that reached the heart of Tehran. As dawn broke over Tehran on Saturday, it wasn’t the usual hum of a busy city greeting the morning. Instead, the reverberations of precision strikes echoed across Iran’s strategic landscape. You could almost picture the startled faces behind closed doors in Iran’s power centers, scrambling to understand how Israel managed to pull off an operation so audacious, so brazen, and, yet, so meticulously calculated. For more than three hours, Israel struck with unprecedented precision, unmasking a simple truth: Tehran, for all its bluster,...

IGAZA: IDF says it attacked Hamas terrorists in former school compound in Gaza City ■ LEBANON: Two drones that crossed into Israel from Lebanon intercepted over open areas■ Iran's parliament speaker says response to Israel 'is certain...IDF: Some 70 Hezbollah members killed in airstrikes; dozens of targets destroyed....RECAP: Israel destroyed air defense systems near oil refineries in Iran; According to a New York Times report, in Israel's retaliatory strike against Iran, Israeli planes first attacked air defense batteries and radars in Syria and Iraq. After clearing the path, Israeli planes flew in the direction of Iran, a distance of more...

Could this have involved weapons supplied by Russia?

Preliminary results of the most massive attack by the Russian Armed Forces on objects in Ukraine in recent times: ▪️At least five explosions were recorded in the area of ​​​​Zhulyany airport in Kyiv, where the positions of the American Patriot air defense system may be located ▪️A total of about 10 arrivals were recorded in Kyiv ▪️The strikes in Vinnytsia and Poltava hit the locations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units for rotation ▪️Emergency power outages began throughout Ukraine after the strikes ▪️Power grid facilities were hit in Poltava, Lutsk and Odessa ▪️There are arrivals at industrial and infrastructure facilities...

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department in Florida reported a 72-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly shooting down a Walmart delivery drone. Dennis Winn, 72, was arrested after he allegedly shot down a Walmart Delivery drone that was making mock deliveries in his neighborhood. According to Local 12 News, Winn fired shots at the drone because he believed it was watching him. Winn is being charged with”shooting at an aircraft, criminal mischief with damage over $1,000, and discharging a firearm on public or residential property.” Despite taking a bullet, the drone was able to fly back safely to Walmart, but...

A new high-tech laser weapon developed by the UK that is capable of shooting down enemy drones and missiles could be sent to Ukraine. The weapon, dubbed DragonFire, was originally slated for deployment by 2027, but Grant Shapps, the UK defense secretary, said he hoped to "speed up" production so it could be put to use on Ukraine's front line. Speaking to journalists on a visit to the Porton Down military research hub in Salisbury, England, Shapps said he would look to see if the pace can be increased even further "in order for Ukrainians perhaps to get their hands...

The response to the ongoing attack on Israel is underway. This is the first time that Iran has fired on Israel from its own territory proper, so that's a bad progression in the direction of more direct involvement. U.S. forces in the area have reportedly shot down "dozens" of drones targeting Israel. They've also reportedly taken out missiles, as well. US shoots down Dozens of Iranian Drones & … pic.twitter.com/2dwlOTHMmk— cagrown5 (@cagrown5) April 14, 2024The U.S. was also coordinating with Jordan and Egypt. Jordan reportedly also took out ones crossing their airspace. Fox's Jennifer Griffin suggested the first wave might...

President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with national television on April 6, called on international partners to provide Ukraine with modern air defense systems to defend against Russian attacks. Russian troops have intensified their attacks during the spring, mainly targeting energy and civilian infrastructure. According to Ukraine's Interior Ministry, Russia has conducted around 30,000 strikes on Ukrainian territory in 2024. As Moscow increased its attacks, the shortage of air defense systems in Ukraine became more tangible, particularly in the territories proximate to the front line. "I will not tell you how many Patriot systems we have. I can say that...

KYIV: Ukraine could run out of air defense missiles if Russia keeps up its intense long-range bombing campaign, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in remarks aired on Saturday. The Ukrainian leader’s starkest warning to date of the deteriorating situation faced by his country’s air defenses follows weeks of Russian strikes on the energy system, towns and cities using a broad arsenal of missiles and drones. “If they keep hitting (Ukraine) every day the way they have for the last month, we might run out of missiles, and the partners know it,” he said in an interview that aired on Ukrainian television.

Ukraine has doubled down on demands for U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, pressing for vital, sophisticated assets to shield its cities at a moment of deepening concern over the future of military aid destined for Ukraine. "Give us the damn Patriots," Kyiv's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, told Politico in an interview published on Monday. Ukraine is thought to have a handful of Patriot batteries, considered the gold-standard of air defenses. The exact number and locations are not known, but Ukraine is believed to have batteries stationed around major cities, like Kyiv, as well as close to the front lines. According...

A court on Tuesday sentenced a former senior officer in the National Guard to six years in a prison colony after convicting him of buying equipment unable to protect the bridge which links southern Russia to Crimea, the TASS state news agency reported. TASS said that Colonel Sergei Volkov had purchased two radar-based air defence systems for 395 million roubles ($4.5 million) which were meant to be able to bring down Ukrainian attack drones by suppressing their signal. A military court in Moscow had determined that the equipment - which was also meant to protect a gas pipeline running from...

I have no idea why the DOJ is putting out a press release about this. It seems more like the sort of thing to never mention again. A U.S. Navy service member was sentenced today to 27 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,500 fine for transmitting sensitive U.S. military information to an intelligence officer from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in exchange for bribery payments. According to court documents, Petty Officer Wenheng Zhao, 26, aka Thomas Zhao, of Monterey Park, California, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to one count of conspiring with the intelligence officer and...

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is encouraging U.S. allies to “dig deep” and provide more air defense systems for Ukraine, saying that the munitions could be critical to stop Russian missile barrages. “Air defense is saving lives,” Austin said at a meeting of NATO and allied military leaders in Germany. “So I urge this group to continue to dig deep on ground-based air defense for Ukraine. We must continue to push hard to provide Ukraine with air-defense systems and interceptors.” Tuesday marked the 15th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, made up of military leaders from more than 50 nations...

Ukraine says it has destroyed a sophisticated Russian air defence system in occupied Crimea. Kyiv's security service (SBU) and navy carried out the attack on a Russian facility near Yevpatoriya using cruise missiles and drones, a Ukrainian intelligence source told the BBC. Video footage on social media showed a fire and smoke near the city, in the west of the Russian-occupied peninsula. Moscow has yet to directly comment on the claim. (snip) According to the BBC's intelligence source, the Ukrainian operation used drones to take out radar equipment, then cruise missiles to hit air defence missile launchers. "After disabling the...

Things may be heating up in Taiwan as the Ministry of Defense is expressing concerns about over a dozen Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels that approached near Taiwan early on Saturday morning, according to a report from Fox News.That prompted the island defense to put fighter jets in the air and activate its missile defense system.“11 PLA aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m. today,” its government said, prompting officials to send naval vessels of their own and ready land-based missile systems “to respond to these activities.”The PLA also had forces near Taiwan on...

Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would “consider” his request for air-defense systems, the Ukrainian leader told reporters on Wednesday. “We had a normal, substantive conversation, because the list of subjects was provided by our side,” Zelenksky said, referring to a phone call between the two men following Israel’s national election earlier this month.

CORRECTION: Ukraine has not yet received the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS). A previous version of this story contained incorrect information on the delivery of the system due to errors in the CBS transcript of its interview with Zelensky. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is thanking the United States for the advanced air defense systems it has sent to his country to aid in its war with Russia, but he also is pressing for more, according to an interview aired Sunday. Zelensky on CBS’s “Face the Nation” thanked Washington for the shipments of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and other...

The United States will provide Slovakia with one Patriot air defense system after it transferred its S-300 air defense system to Ukraine.“I want to thank the Slovakian government for providing an S-300 air defense system to Ukraine,” President Joe Biden said on Friday in a statement. “To enable this transfer and ensure the continued security of Slovakia, the United States will reposition a U.S. Patriot missile system to Slovakia.”The Pentagon confirmed that Slovakia is supplying its S-300 air defense system to Ukraine.However, the deployment of the Patriot system is temporary and the two countries are still working on a permanent...