NATO Opens Ankara Summit With Arms Push
NATO opened its Ankara summit on July 7 with a defence-industry showcase meant to show European allies and Canada are ramping up production, as U.S. President Donald Trump arrived after renewed criticism of the alliance, Reuters reported. Secretary General Mark Rutte called for a defence-industry “revolution,” warning allies they “don’t have the luxury of time”: “The hum of machinery must…
From Kyiv to Damascus: Europe’s New Interconnected Security Agenda
Europe’s Security Agenda Widens The NATO summit opening in Ankara this week is formally focused on defence spending, industrial production and continued support for Ukraine. Yet the week's wider diplomacy – from French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Damascus to planned meetings between U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa – illustrates a broader…
Kostyantynivka Wasn’t Taken. That Was Never Really the Point
Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump on July 4 that Russian forces had seized Kostyantynivka. They had not. The gap between…
Israel Approves 13 New West Bank Settlements, Advancing Long-Delayed Binyamin Expansion
Israel's Security Cabinet approved a plan on July 2 to convert 13 existing outposts into independent settlements in the central…
Houthi Assault, Unclaimed Ship Attack Follow Saudi Coalition’s Naming of Hodeidah as Strike Target
Yemen's Houthi movement launched its deadliest ground assault in years near Hodeidah on July 5, and an unclaimed attack on…
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Blasts Rock Damascus During President Macron Visit
Two improvised explosive devices detonated in central Damascus on Tuesday as French President Emmanuel Macron met Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, wounding at least 18 people, including four police officers, according to Syria's Interior Ministry. Macron was unharmed, and no group immediately claimed responsibility. The explosions occurred near the Four Seasons…
Azerbaijan’s assets hit by Russian attack on Ukraine
Azerbaijan summoned Russian Ambassador Mikhail Yevdokimov on July 6 and handed him a protest note over a July 5 drone strike on a fuel station belonging to SOCAR, the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic, in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, Reuters reported. The Foreign Ministry said the recurrence of such attacks…
China’s Pacific Missile Test Alarms Region
A Chinese navy nuclear-powered submarine test-fired a long-range ballistic missile carrying a dummy warhead into the Pacific on July 6, drawing concern from Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan as regional governments tracked wider Chinese and Russian naval activity across the Indo-Pacific, Reuters reported. China’s Xinhua news agency said the…
Ukraine Launches Large-Scale Drone Incursion Against Moscow
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said more than 430 drones flew toward the Moscow region overnight from July 6 to July 7, in what TASS calculations described as one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital area in two years, Kyiv Post reported. Sobyanin said most drones were intercepted on…
Macron Backs Syria’s New Government Despite Blasts
Two bombs exploded near Emmanuel Macron’s hotel in Damascus on July 7 as the French president met Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa at the presidential palace, wounding at least 18 people, according to multiple outlets including NPR and Reuters. Syria’s Interior Ministry said the devices – one in a parked car,…
Russia Scrambles Su-57 to Hunt Ukrainian Drones Over Omsk
A Russian Su-57 fighter was photographed over Omsk during a Ukrainian drone strike on the city's oil refinery, Russia's largest, on July 6, according to the Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+, a claim not yet independently corroborated by wire services or Russian officials. The same channel reported that Russia also scrambled…
Hamas Gives Up Gaza’s Civil Administration, Not Necessarily Political Power
Hamas has agreed to relinquish its role as Gaza's civilian administrator for the first time since seizing the territory in 2007. But the move does not resolve the question that has blocked every major post-war plan for Gaza: who will ultimately control the force inside the enclave. The group announced…
At Least 330 Children Killed or Injured in Sudan in 2026 as Drone Attacks Intensify
At least 330 children were killed or injured across Sudan during the first six months of 2026, UNICEF said on Monday, warning that a surge in drone attacks – particularly in North Kordofan – is driving an increasingly deadly toll on civilians. UNICEF said the figure reflects verified child casualties…
Drone Warfare Lessons from Ukraine Spread Across Global Conflict Zones
Drone warfare did not arrive as a single breakthrough. Over roughly four years, it built up stage by stage, each step a direct answer to the one before it. Reconnaissance, then first strikes It began with drones built to loiter quietly, a gasoline engine for transit, and an electric motor…
Vance Says Russian Gains Are Now ‘Close to Zero’ as NATO Summit Nears
US Vice President JD Vance said Russia’s ability to make further gains through offensive operations in Ukraine has become “vanishingly small” and “close to zero,” crediting Kyiv’s use of drones and surveillance technology with helping create conditions to end the war, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing an interview with The Sunday…
