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Summary and Key Points: For centuries, Russia’s enormous size has been its greatest defense, swallowing armies from Napoleon to Hitler. Ukrainian drones are now flipping that strength into a weakness.

-Ukraine’s domestic Firepoint FP1 and RS1 Bars kamikaze drones, paired with British Storm Shadow cruise missiles, have shut down six of Russia’s ten oil refineries, cost Moscow more than one trillion rubles in refinery damage, destroyed 250 Russian air defense units in April alone, and forced Moscow to close civilian airspace below 5,100 meters starting June 1.

T-72 Russian Tank.

Summary and Key Points: Russia’s State Duma passed legislation on May 27 authorizing Sberbank, the central bank, and other financial institutions to install electronic warfare systems and arm employees to shoot down Ukrainian drones threatening their facilities.

-The same day, a British-made Storm Shadow cruise missile struck the Russian central bank’s office in Sevastopol, Crimea, setting the building on fire.

-Royal United Services Institute researcher Thomas Withington said the law shows that “military-level drone defense capabilities in Russia are failing.

A new poll from Russia’s independent Levada Center is being widely cited online as evidence that Russians are finally turning against the war in Ukraine and, by extension, against President Vladimir Putin himself. But the actual findings are considerably more complicated.

The survey, conducted between February 18 and February 25 across 137 localities in 50 Russian regions, found that two-thirds of Russians now support peace negotiations with Ukraine, while support for continuing the war has fallen to 24%, the lowest level recorded since Levada began tracking the issue.

Summary and Key Points: Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz without firing a single shot. By threatening cargo ships with drones, missiles, sea mines, swift boats, and midget submarines, Tehran has created a fear-based blockade — global insurance companies are now raising premiums and refusing to pay claims, and shipping firms are avoiding the strait entirely. Iran is also demanding that Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon pay licensing fees on their undersea internet cables, with exclusive repair rights given to Iranian firms.

The Pentagon’s latest set of Navy promotions, advancing more than 20 Navy captains to one-star admiral, included zero women, reinvigorating a debate about the barriers women face in their climb to the highest rungs of the military.
Last week, the Pentagon released a list of 22 appointments by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of Navy captains to rear admiral, lower half, which are one-star flag officers at the O-7 paygrade.
Promotion from captain to admiral is the first of the flag ranks among the naval officer corps, and is the most selective for officers in the Navy.

U.S. Special Operations Command’s Joint Acquisition Task Force and the SOFWERX innovation hub are looking to partner with industry to develop a proving ground for autonomous systems. 
Officials have selected NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi — a location used by special operations forces for training — as the site for the effort, according to a special notice posted on a government contracting website.

Vladimir Putin and his military are struggling. The army may be losing around 30,000 troops a month. Russian forces cannot maintain the initiative and are back on their heels. Ukraine is making great use of long-range one-way drones that continually sting Russia. Volodymyr Zelensky is also deploying excellent new homegrown ballistic and cruise missiles, such as the FP-5 Flamingo.

Russia Has Violated the Principles of Warfare

Ukraine Switchblade Drone. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

T-64 Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Can Ukraine Prevail and Win the War Against Russia? The Russian invasion of Ukraine has dragged on for more than four years, and it appears, at least outwardly, that neither side is capable of winning the war strictly in a military sense. Most analysts believe that without Western support, Ukraine would lose the war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to paint the “special military operation” as going to plan, but it has been anything but.

The Space Force’s acquisition arm has tapped SpaceX to expedite development of a proliferated low-Earth orbit constellation that’s expected to serve as the foundation of the Pentagon’s future space-based communications architecture.
The $2.29 billion Other Transaction Authority agreement announced by the service Tuesday evening is for the Space Data Network (SDN) Backbone. Per the contract, SpaceX is required to deliver a “fully operational prototype” by the end of 2027, according to a Space Systems Command press release.

Vladimir Putin and his senior military leadership did not believe they were starting a multi-year war in Ukraine when they attacked back in February, 2022. And to be honest, at the time, I agreed. Things did not look good for Kyiv, and I was very careful the night of the invasion to be supportive of Ukraine when I went on TV or radio when the news broke. I felt like Kyiv would be taken, and I said so on hit after hit on Fox News, but that Ukraine did have a chance to save their country if they fought an asymmetric war and made Putin pay a heavy price for every inch of land Russia took.