Ukraine Turned the Sea of Azov Into Russia’s Economic Front
The Sea of Azov is no longer a secure Russian rear area – and for the first time since Moscow seized control of its coastline, the disruption is hitting Russia's export economy as well as its military logistics.Over nine days ending July 14, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said their sea and aerial drones struck 116 Russian-linked vessels operating in the Sea of Azov, most of them fuel tankers supplying occupied Crimea. Commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi said the campaign unfolded in stages, with the total rising from 90 vessels on July 12 to 105 a day later before reaching 116 by the end of what Kyiv described as the first phase of the operation. Ukraine's figures have not been independently verified, but Russian regional officials have acknowledged repeated drone attacks on ports and waterways in the Rostov region, while commercial traffic through the Sea of Azov appears to have fallen sharply.According…
Syria Intercepts Weapons Shipment Allegedly Bound for Hezbollah
Syrian customs authorities said Thursday they intercepted a shipment of advanced weapons concealed inside an oil tanker at the al-Tanf border crossing with Iraq, describing it as one of the largest arms seizures since the fall of Bashar al-Assad's government.According to Syrian officials, inspectors discovered long-range missiles, guided anti-tank weapons and drones hidden inside the tanker, which was reportedly traveling toward the Baniyas refinery on Syria's Mediterranean coast. Authorities said preliminary investigations indicate the shipment was intended for Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, though they did not identify the smugglers or disclose where the weapons originated. Hezbollah had not publicly commented at the time of publication.The interception came less than two weeks after Syrian and Iraqi border-security officials met on July 6 to strengthen cooperation against cross-border smuggling networks. It also followed President Ahmed al-Sharaa's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump during the NATO summit in Ankara, where Trump again urged…
More Than 500 Rohingya Feared Dead Fleeing Myanmar’s War
More than 500 Rohingya are feared dead after two boats carrying people fleeing the conflict in Myanmar capsized in the Bay of Bengal, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said in a joint statement on Thursday. Neither incident has been officially confirmed. One boat, carrying an estimated 250 people, lost contact shortly after departing Myanmar's Rakhine State in late June. A second vessel, with around 280 people aboard, is believed to have sunk off Myanmar's Ayeyarwady coast on July 8.Myanmar's Ministry of Home Affairs declined to comment, while spokespeople for the country's president and the Ayeyarwady regional government did not respond to requests for comment, according to the Associated Press.The disaster cannot be separated from Myanmar's wider conflict. Fighting between the military junta and the Arakan Army, an ethnic Rakhine armed group, has intensified since a ceasefire collapsed in November 2023, according to Human…
Blockade Bites as US Strikes Gulf Island
US Central Command struck Greater Tunb Island on July 15, targeting cruise missile storage and launch sites along with coastal defense systems in a 90-minute wave, according to AP. Iran seized the island along with Abu Musa and Lesser Tunb from what would become the UAE in 1971, and the UAE has sought their return. Some analysts cited in the AP report suggested that US control of the islands could translate into control of the strait itself.The strike came as the US naval blockade, reinstated July 14, passed its first full day. Within 17 hours, Central Command said it had redirected two commercial vessels attempting to run the blockade, adding it "remains vigilant and prepared to ensure full compliance." A separate strike hit a barracks for Iran's 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Sistan and Baluchestan province, killing at least seven and wounding more than 260 people nationwide, Iranian officials said.Iran's…
El Obeid Exposes Sudan’s Missing Peace Strategy
El Obeid, the capital of Sudan's North Kordofan state, is home to approximately half a million people, including more than 100,000 displaced by the civil war. It links Darfur, held by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to army-controlled central and eastern Sudan, and has faced intensifying RSF pressure in recent weeks. Control of El Obeid would give either side a major advantage over the corridor linking RSF-held Darfur with army-controlled central and eastern Sudan.The escalation comes amid a concentrated diplomatic week: the G7 called for a halt to attacks on the city and a wider arms embargo, the European Union banned Sudanese gold and Washington circulated a ceasefire framework. Each instrument is real, but none yet reaches the decentralized war economy that sustains both belligerents. A genuinely national political dialogue remains a distant goal.The war's vocabulary obscures part of the problem. The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) are the army-led de…
Morocco Joins Gaza Stabilization Force as Peace Stalls
Morocco signed an agreement in Rabat on July 15 to join the planned International Stabilization Force (ISF) for Gaza — a postwar security framework taking shape while the peace it is meant to support remains unsettled.The signing was attended by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, senior defence officials, Board of Peace envoy for Gaza Nickolay Mladenov and the force's commander, Moroccan state media reported, according to Reuters.Rabat plans to contribute senior officers, police and gendarmerie personnel and a military field hospital, joining Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo and Albania among five nations committed to the US-backed force. None had deployed as of July 15. Officials familiar with Board of Peace planning told The Times of Israel that Morocco is slated to deploy first, securing a projected humanitarian pilot zone in southern Gaza.The UN Security Council authorized the ISF in November 2025 to protect civilians, support demilitarization and accompany a gradual Israeli withdrawal. Many…
