Author: Michael

Recently, Moscow launched a deadly missile strike against a cargo ship near Odesa that killed ten people.

Not to be outdone, Ukraine has retaliated with its largest drone attack against Russia (involving 400 drones).

2S7 Malka Creative Commons Photo

Artillery from Ukraine War Creative Commons Image

The war is intensifying on both sides in what is clearly a race to destroy the other side’s economy, the true support strut for the war.

The Battlefield Expands Beyond the Frontlines
Indeed, both sides in the conflict are widening the list of targets they consider legitimate.

How the Ninth Night of Iran Strikes Unfolded: The United States launched a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran overnight into Monday, July 20, escalating a campaign that has yet to secure the Strait of Hormuz for commercial shipping. The strikes targeted Iranian military command centers, missile and drone launch sites, air defense systems, coastal surveillance systems, and maritime capabilities, according to U.S. Central Command.

Iran responded with fresh attacks against U.S. forces and Gulf states. Iranian forces also claimed strikes against U.S.

Soldiers at Fort Stewart, Georgia, will soon be able to use their meal cards at Subway, Starbucks, Burger King and QDOBA on base, according to Army officials.
On Aug. 3, the base will become the first Army installation to implement a new program that the service calls Flexible Eating and Expanded Dining Program, or FEED, Capt. Destinee Johnson, a spokesperson for the 3rd Infantry Division, told Task & Purpose. 
Soldiers will be able to use their Common Access Cards to buy pre-approved menu items at chain restaurants, Army Materiel Command officials said.

Writing in today’s Washington Post, columnist Max Boot gives an accurate – if not somewhat complimentary – criticism of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his firing of his young Defense Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov.

“Though Zelensky is an inspirational wartime leader, he is not infallible. Roughly once a year he makes a boneheaded decision. Almost exactly a year ago, Zelensky tried to curb the power of independent anti-corruption watchdogs, but Ukrainians’ protests forced him to pull back.

FILL ‘ER UP⛽️
Watch as allied forces

As the war in Ukraine continues to escalate, Ukraine launched another large-scale drone attack against Moscow. The attack, according to some sources, utilized around 400 attack drones and hit another major oil refinery and a warehouse belonging to a major online retailer, Wildberries. Additionally, Ukraine carried out attacks against other targets across Russia, including Engels air base, where a Tu-95 strategic bomber was struck and likely destroyed. Less than 24 hours later, however, Russia responded with one of its largest missile attacks against Kyiv since the start of the war.

Watching a series of videos posted in Russia on different platforms today, you see one person after another decrying the attacks made by Ukraine’s ubiquitous drone force on warehouses operated by the privately owned online retailer Wildberries.

Strikes hit the company’s massive complexes of buildings on Saturday 18 July and then again on Sunday the 19th, killing eight people and causing injury to more than 70 others.

For decades, the Defense Department and federal civilian agencies have structured their workforces around position descriptions, occupational series, grades and ranks. While these frameworks provide necessary structural consistency, they were engineered for a slower-moving bureaucratic era when roles and mission requirements changed gradually.
Damon Harvey is Senior Manager of Data Services at Workday, and Christina Dance is a Defense and Intelligence Advisor at Workday Government.
That pacing no longer matches reality.

If you ask Washington, the Strait of Hormuz is open. U.S. naval forces are offering transit support to commercial vessels and monitoring Iranian threats, striking coastal systems that could be used against shipping.

These things are technically true, but traffic data also shows that the strait remains effectively closed, with shipowners and crews hesitant to move millions of dollars’ worth of cargo through an active conflict zone.

U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mustin (DDG 89) steams in the Indian Ocean, July 2, 2026.

A United States ground invasion of Iran remains a possibility as the Trump administration has not ruled out deploying ground forces to seize strategic islands and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

While the U.S. is currently conducting an extended bombing and airstrike campaign, President Trump has explicitly declined to rule out sending American boots on the ground.

An F-15E Strike Eagle with the 4th Fighter Wing approaches a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 121st Air Refueling Wing to be refueled over the skies of North Carolina, Jan. 21, 2026.