Author: Michael

For three straight days, Russia has been striking Ukrainian gas facilities in Kharkiv Oblast belonging to Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-run oil and gas operator, Ukrayinska Pravda reported, citing Telegram posts from the company. Those posts included video of the aftermath of one of the blasts.

The first of those attacks, a “large-scale drone attack” on July 17, represented the 250th attack on Naftogaz’s facilities since the start of the war, the report said.

Tu-160M Bombers from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The military campaign between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran has entered a terrifying new phase, in which the Strait of Hormuz (SoH) is now the primary theater of conflict.

Whereas at the start of the war, Washington was concerned over the potential threat that an Iranian nuclear weapons capability posed, as well as the desire to overthrow the Islamic Republic and replace it with something friendlier to US and Israeli interests, everything now appears to center on whether the Americans can restore the 140 ships per day traffic that once defined the SoH before the war.

Both sides in the Ukraine War have experienced rapid, radical technological developments of the kind that would have been impossible without the conflict erupting in 2022. Today, that war has entered a new phase entirely.

After years of relying heavily on relatively slow, propeller-driven Shahed attack drones (courtesy of Iran), Moscow is now deploying large numbers of jet-powered variants.

U.S. Army Pvt.

The U.S. war with Iran has had political, economic, and military implications that spread far beyond the Middle East. We asked five experts to assess how the war with Iran has affected U.S. bilateral relations with key countries that illustrate some of the global ramifications: South Korea, India, Ukraine, France, and the United Kingdom.Read more below.  Jenny Town Senior Fellow at the Stimson Center and the Director of 38 NorthSouth Korea has resisted aiding U.S.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says intelligence shared at NATO indicates that China privately urged Russia not to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

China’s request was reportedly delivered after Russian nuclear rhetoric spiked in response to Ukraine’s expanding and persistent long-range drone campaign.

Poland has issued warnings that Russia may conduct false flag operations by launching a swarm of captured Ukrainian drones into Polish and NATO airspace.

According to RMF24, Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski confirmed that intelligence indicates Russia has captured a significant number of Ukrainian drones.

An AH-64 “Apache” attack helicopter assigned to 1st Battalion, 211th Aviation Regiment, flies overhead during Training Exercise Hydra on Utah Test and Training Range, Utah, May 7, 2025.

The top wing commander in the Wyoming Air National Guard and a senior group commander were fired from their positions July 17 by the state’s commanding general, state officials said.
Col. Brian Diehl was relieved as the commander of the 153rd Airlift Wing, the state’s only flying wing. Col. Lawrence Sullivan was fired at the same time from command of the 153rd Operations Group, which directly oversees the daily flight operations for the Wyoming Air National Guard.
As is typical in relief announcements across the U.S.

After months of Ukrainian strikes on fuel refineries, Russia is currently experiencing an ongoing fuel shortage. Repeated attacks have caused a deficit in the country’s supply of usable gasoline, resulting in long queues at local gas stations as authorities impose strict limits on how much fuel motorists can purchase. This has had wide ripple effects on the economy as taxis, truckers, food delivery services, and more struggle with shortages. The problem facing the Kremlin is the decrease in fuel refining capabilities following Ukrainian strikes.

The Two Chokepoints Strategy: Iran Expands the Energy War Beyond Hormuz – For months, the world’s attention has been fixated on the Strait of Hormuz (SoH). Roughly one-fifth of globally traded oil normally passes through this waterway that separates Iran from Oman. Since the United States (and Israel) initiated the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, though, that waterway has been shut down.

Russians Strike Neutral Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Romania: A Liberian-flagged LPG tanker bound for Ukraine was struck in international waters off the Romanian coast, Romanian President Nicușor Dan posted on X on July 21.

Romanian emergency rescue personnel were launched to rescue the crew from the stricken vessel and brought to shore.

Tu-22M Backfire Bomber from Russia. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

The vessel was en route to the port of Reni in Ukraine, located on the Danube River next to the border with Romania.