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Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed into law a bill formally withdrawing the country from the Ottawa Treaty, which bans the use of anti-personnel landmines, citing deteriorating regional security and increasing threats from Russia. The decision aligns Poland with several of its neighbours, including the three Baltic states – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – and Finland, which have also taken steps to exit the treaty in recent months. Asked about the decision in late June, Duda described it as a “rational step” in light of the “deteriorating security situation” linked in part to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The bill was...

Russian occupiers attempted to eliminate the leadership of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' unmanned units simultaneously. This likely occurred during a meeting in the Donetsk region, according to Robert Brovdi, call sign Madyar, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Unmanned Systems Forces. Madyar said that he held a working meeting with the commanders of the unmanned units Phoenix, K-2, Madyar's Birds, Rarog, and Achilles. He addressed the Russians, stating that we have assessed your attempt to stab us all at once yesterday. Madyar did not disclose any other details. Robert Brovdi, known as Madyar, became the new commander of the Ukrainian...

Ukrainian drones targeted St. Petersburg on Sunday, Russian authorities said, forcing the airport to close for five hours as Vladimir Putin marked Russia's Navy Day in the city, despite the earlier cancellation of its naval parade due to security concerns. St. Petersburg usually holds a large-scale, televised navy parade on Navy Day, which features a flotilla of warships and military vessels sailing down the Neva River and is attended by Putin. Last year, Russia suspected a Ukrainian plan to attack the city's parade, according to state television. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Sunday that this year's parade had been...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that his delegation will stress the importance of China pausing its purchases of Russian and Iranian oil in a meeting with Chinese officials next week in Sweden. Bessent said in a Fox Business interview that he believes the United States can move on to such issues concerning China, given that trade is now "in a good place." He made the remarks as senior U.S. and Chinese officials are set to meet Monday and Tuesday in Stockholm for a round of trade talks. "I think that the Russian war machine would grind to a...

Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger has indicated that the country is open to discussing possible NATO membership in response to growing international instability and Russia’s increasingly aggressive foreign policy. In an interview with Die Welt, Meinl-Reisinger said that Austria cannot rely solely on its traditional neutrality for protection. She emphasised that in today’s uncertain global security environment, the country’s safety depends on both investments in national defense and strong international partnerships, Caliber.Az reports.

Jack Poso 🇺🇸 @JackPosobiec JUST IN: EU cuts aid to Ukraine over corruption concerns From humanevents.com 9:23 PM · Jul 26, 2025

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s anticorruption policies have already provoked Ukraine’s first antigovernment protests since the Russian invasion in 2022. Now, it seems, they may cost the country a portion of its foreign aid from the European Union, in a clear rebuke from the bloc, once a staunch ally. The European Union said on Friday that it would withhold 1.5 billion euros, or $1.7 billion, from an overall fund of 4.5 billion euros whose disbursement is dependent on achieving good governance standards and that can’t be used for military purchases. The decision is not final, however, and the funding can be restored...

The National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine has long been a battleground in Ukrainian politics, where graft is rifeKYIV, Ukraine—Youthful protesters at the biggest demonstration here since Russia’s 2022 invasion were championing a cause that, at first glance, seemed unusual in a country known for its revolutions: the power of a law-enforcement agency.In a country that has spent more than three decades of its independence fighting the dual scourges of Russian aggression and crippling corruption, the establishment of the agency under U.S. pressure in 2015 was seen as a watershed that could boost Ukraine’s economy and accelerate its integration with the...

Officials in three of the five Russian regions bordering Ukraine have been accused of embezzling funds for border defenses. -snip- The border fortification embezzlement cases seem in part to be aimed at quelling anger among Russians in the border regions over Moscow’s failure to protect them from Ukrainian attacks, especially after Ukrainian forces occupied part of the Kursk region. The charges imply that the border with Ukraine would have been better protected had local officials not stolen the money for the defenses, claims that also deflect blame from the Kremlin. The legal actions attracted attention this month when Russia’s transportation...

Putin's summer offensive is stalling as Ukraine puts up a heroic defense leaving Russia resorting to teens to fill the ranks. Despite Putin’s promises, Russian 18-year-olds are being press ganged into the army straight out of school and sent into the meatgrinder on Ukraine’s battlefields. The Russian despot has made repeated promises to his people that no 18-year-olds will be called up to serve but evidence is emerging that at least 245 teens have been killed in Ukraine in the last couple of years. New government rules mean those fresh out of school can bypass military service and instead sign...

Derek Huffman, a Texas father, relocated his family to Russia to escape “wokeness” and joined the Russian military in pursuit of citizenship. Promised a non-combat role, he was instead deployed to Ukraine’s frontlines. His wife says he’s untrained, overwhelmed, and unpaid. Huffman says he’ll “do whatever it takes” to return safely.

An RAF signals intelligence aircraft has been deployed over the Black Sea to monitor the movements of the Russian military across the region. The operation, conducted under the watchful eye of NATO and Russian air defence units, comes as the war in Ukraine shows no signs of abating in the near future. The plane being used is an RC-135W Rivet Joint, a modified Boeing aircraft, considered to be one of the most technologically sophisticated in the world. Equipped with an array of sensors, its sensors ‘soak up’ electronic emissions from communications, radar and other systems to build a picture of...

Ukrainian forces are holding back Russia’s concerted summer push to break through defenses along parts of the front line, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. “They are not advancing. It’s very tough for our guys out there. And it’s tough everywhere,” Zelenskyy told reporters on Thursday, in comments embargoed till Friday. “It’s also very hard for the Russians — and that’s good for us.” With the war now in its fourth year after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbor, the effort is draining resources on both sides, although Russia has more resources and people to sustain its fight. Ukraine is...

A previously unreported order by Elon Musk to cut satellite communications over a portion of Ukraine disrupted a counteroffensive by Kyiv in the autumn of 2022. Reuters investigated the billionaire's order and its implications for countries increasingly reliant on his Starlink internet service. KYIV - During a pivotal push by Ukraine to retake territory from Russia in late September 2022, Elon Musk gave an order that disrupted the counteroffensive and dented Kyiv’s trust in Starlink, the satellite internet service the billionaire provided early in the war to help Ukraine’s military maintain battlefield connectivity. According to three people familiar with the...

Activists on Wednesday called for more protests of a new law that they say weakens Ukraine’s anti-corruption watchdogs, following the first major anti-government demonstration in over three years of war. The legislation, which has also drawn rebukes from European Union officials and international rights groups, has put increased pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and endangered his public support at a critical phase of the war. Also on Wednesday, delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for a third round of talks in as many months. The talks appeared to have lasted less than an hour and yielded no breakthroughs....

Russia’s Su-35 “Super Flanker” is touted as the pinnacle of its 4th-generation fighters, a highly maneuverable jet meant to rival the best in the West. However, the aircraft is based on a Cold War design and suffers from a fatal flaw: its outdated radar system is comparable to 1980s U.S. tech and lacks key modern features.

Last week, we warned of a coming anti-democratic backslide. Now, we see it happening. A parliamentary vote, led by President Volodymyr Zelensky’s lawmakers, today took away the independence of Ukraine’s key anti-corruption bodies — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). Zelensky signed it into law the same day. Under the new law, the prosecutor general, a notoriously non-independent figure, will now oversee anti-corruption investigations — in a complete overturn of the system that was set up to be independent from other law enforcement bodies. In reality, it means that Zelensky’s office will be able to...

The goal of the upcoming Istanbul talks between Russia and Ukraine is to work through the draft memoranda exchanged during earlier stages, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, after confirming Moscow's delegation, again led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, had departed for Istanbul. The talks will "mainly focus on the draft memoranda exchanged during the second round," Peskov noted, calling them central to the peace proposal process. He added that reconciling these texts is essential groundwork before any high-level summit can be scheduled so that the leaders would not have to do the technically complex work themselves. Peskov also...

The Russian-controlled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine's east are teetering on the brink of a severe humanitarian crisis, with certain locales having been parched for four months straight. The dire water scarcity is attributed to rampant corruption and gross mismanagement by the Kremlin-backed leadership. Donetsk and Makiivka are bearing the brunt of the crisis, inciting residents' fears of potential disease outbreaks. In response, local officials have rolled out emergency water rationing for the nearly 1.3 million inhabitants of both cities. Andrey Chertkov, the interim head honcho of the self-proclaimed DPR government, cautioned citizens about the new tri-weekly water...

Ukraine will need at least $120 billion for defence spending next year, Ukrainian Defence Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday. Negotiations are ongoing with NATO and EU members as Ukraine seeks $60 billion in funding from partners, he added in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.