Wagner Gone Wild: Russian “coup” causes media stir as Russia’s top PMC goes rogue, only to reportedly stand down
UPDATE: According to a statement posted to Twitter on behalf of Wagner head Yevgeny Pigozhin, “We are very glad that at the moment we have managed to avoid bloodshed. We should not shoot at each other, we should destroy the Armed Forces of Ukraine and liberate the native Russian... Read more
Elon Musk angers Ukraine by claiming SpaceX can no longer afford to provide Starlink services, asks Pentagon to pick up the tab
Elon Musk and SpaceX will no longer be able to fund Starlink internet in the Ukraine, citing a deteriorating relationship with Kyiv. The company claims it cannot push any more resources to assist the Ukrainian war effort at a rate approaching pro bono status, and has looked to the... Read more
European news site posts Sam Hyde as alleged Crimea Bridge bomber
He can’t keep getting away with it. From mass shootings to acts of terror and suspicious destructions of critical bridges in faraway lands, comedian Sam Hyde seems to have more reach than most comic book supervillains- at least if you ask media outlets. In what has become a litmus... Read more
Ukrainian troops reportedly using tracking systems, deception to infiltrate Russian lines
The Ukrainian military is reportedly using tracking systems and deception tactics to defeat their Russian adversaries, in what has become one of the most mainstream proxy wars of modern history. The information came from Roman Saponkov, a Russian military reporter on Telegram, who learned that a recent defeat to... Read more
Florida’s governor passes executive order to combat foreign espionage, influence in the Sunshine State
The governor of Florida has announced new proposals to combat Chinese espionage near American military installations in the Sunshine State, as well as measures taken to resist social engineering by Chinese Communist Party-affiliated apps such as TikTok. Governor Ron DeSantis signed Executive Order 22-216, a wide-sweeping EO that attacks... Read more
German foreign minister vows to support Ukraine war effort, “no matter what my German voters think”
Germany’s foreign minister has decided that she will support the war in Ukraine- regardless of what Germans want or how it may impact their quality of life. In what seems to be a case of taking support of the “current thing” way too far, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said... Read more
Can Russia’s Pantsir Air-Defense System Handle Drone Swarms?
In November 2018, Viktor Murakhovsky, a writer for the Russian publication Arsenal of the Fatherland, posted a comment regarding the performance of Russia’s Pantsir S-1 air-defense system. “In Syria, it turned out that the Pantsir was practically incapable of detecting low-speed and small-sized targets, which include military UAVs. At... Read more
A Mach-10 Missile Won’t Save Russia’s Stealth Fighter
The Russian air force will arm its Su-57 stealth fighters with a hypersonic missile, state media reported on Dec. 6, 2018. But with the Kremlin having deferred final development and full-scale production of the Su-57, the plan could result in no more than a token hypersonic strike force, if... Read more
Why Eastern European Soldiers Wear Ski Masks
In April 2018 I interviewed five Ukrainian soldiers who were fighting against Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. “Why do Russian and Ukrainian soldiers always wear balaclavas?” I jokingly asked one young soldier, who called himself Myhalych. “I mean no disrespect, Sergeant O’Donnell, but that is a... Read more
Russia Weaponizes Its Coast Guard
The recent standoff between Ukraine and Russia in the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov has put the often-ignored Russian coast guard into the spotlight. Expletive-laden videos in Russian show a coast guard cutter ramming a Ukrainian tug, probably incurring damage in the process. The Russian coast guard is... Read more