Author: Michael

Oil crisis coming soon?: It was bad news for the global economy last weekend when commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz once again slowed after fresh attacks on merchant vessels and new U.S. strikes on Iran. The exchange of fire, which risks the fragile memorandum of understanding (MOU) ceasefire, has once again rattled global markets and left commercial shipping companies concerned about the strait’s safety.

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A Japan-based Marine Corps unit officially used the Medium-Range Intercept Capability (MRIC) during a recent exercise, the service said Sunday, touting the integration of the mobile, surface-to-air system as a “significant step” in deterring China in the Pacific.
Troops from III Marine Expeditionary Force ran simulation drills with the MRIC at the Mason Live Fire Training Range Complex in Guam during exercise Valiant Shield, according to photos posted by the service, the eleventh iteration of a long-running series of multinational maneuvers focused on Pacific deterrence.

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Russia Continues Its Assault On The Donbas City Of Kostyantynivka: The Russian military has continued its assault on the strategic city of Kostyantynivka in the Donbas Oblast of eastern Ukraine, a key stronghold of Ukraine’s eastern “fortress belt.

The city has increasingly become a contested combat zone due to both heavy shelling and localized infantry infiltrations.

T-80 Tank Russian Army. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The city is important to Putin’s army because it is a primary gateway to the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk metropolitan area.

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Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign appears to have entered a new phase.

Ukrainian drones struck another major Russian refinery, while President Vladimir Putin is now publicly admitting that Russia is experiencing a fuel shortage—the clearest proof yet that Ukraine’s attacks are affecting Russia’s domestic economy.

Sukhoi Su-34 Heading Into the Sky. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

While Moscow maintains that the strikes are not affecting battlefield operations, the Kremlin is promising to repair refineries and improve air defenses—even as it rations fuel in certain regions.

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Ukraine’s long-range strike campaign against Russia is not only hitting the headlines and introducing Russian citizens to the economic consequences of the war – it’s also beginning to reshape the behavior of some of Moscow’s closest partners.

Overnight on June 28, Ukrainian forces launched a barrage of long-range missile and drone strikes against Russia, targeting two oil refineries hundreds of kilometers from the front lines.

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The Strait of Hormuz is without a doubt one of the world’s most important waterways. Nearly 20 percent of the world’s oil flows through there, another nearly 20 percent of the world’s natural gas, one-third of the world’s agricultural goods, and countless critical industrial inputs that make the modern world work every day.

Since US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started their regime change war of choice against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Strait has been closed.

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Oil prices are falling back to pre-Iran conflict levels despite ongoing geopolitical supply risks, as global demand softens and the market prices in rising exports from the Persian Gulf.

Traders are betting that diplomatic efforts—such as the recent U.S.-Iran ceasefire and increased tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—will avert a severe supply crunch.

President Donald J. Trump holds a cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room Wednesday, May 27, 2026.

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