Ukraine is producing drone unicorns worth over $1 bn The founders will be extraordinarily wealthy. The soldiers who fought for those companies to exist may return to bombed factories and destroyed housing.
After WWII the US faced the same problem — Mitzie Purdue in KyivPost. 1/
Dmytro Kavun, president of Dignitas Ukraine, has spent two decades in cybersecurity and works closely with Ukraine’s defense-tech ecosystem.
He says several Ukrainian drone companies are on track to reach billion-dollar valuations. US investors are eager to buy. 2/
These companies built something remarkable. Engineers and startup founders with no military background coordinated with soldiers on the battlefield daily, sometimes hourly.
New technologies deployed in weeks, not the years it takes in the West. 3/
Pentagon circulated options to punish NATO allies over the Iran war — including suspending Spain from the alliance and reconsidering US support for UK control of the Falkland Islands.
The proposals are already discussed at senior levels, Reuters. 1/
The trigger: allies refused basing, overflight, and access rights for US operations.
Spain blocked use of its bases and airspace. US officials call this the “absolute baseline” obligation inside NATO. 2/
Suspending Spain would be mostly symbolic but politically significant.
The memo suggests removing “difficult” countries from key NATO roles to signal that alliance commitments are not optional. 3/
Tykhyi, spokesman of Ukraine's FM: Orban's defeat is a signal to other parties and movements that anti-Ukrainian rhetoric does not work.
We showed the whole world that Ukraine is not an obstacle to negotiations, — Suspilne. 1/
Tykhyi: Russia continues to insist, in ultimatum form, on maximalist and unrealistic demands, such as unilateral withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donetsk region.
For this language to change, much more pressure is needed — both economic and on the battlefield. 2/
Tykhyi: Every partner decision to increase pressure on Russia, to support Ukraine, every additional investment in our defense industry, every Ukrainian long-range strike on Ust-Luga, Primorsk and other Russian pain points strengthens our negotiating position. 3/
On his first-ever combat mission, a Ukrainian scout captured five Russian soldiers. He used the first POW to convince the other four to surrender from inside the bunker.
Scout callsign Vzhyk, had been a barista in Kyiv less than six months earlier — ArmyInform.
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Vzhyk: There was no fear. We planned everything. I knew if I gave in to emotions, mistakes would follow.
The first POW "Sem" climbed back into the bunker on Vzhyk's suggestion. Five minutes later all four came out. Sem handed over a Russian radio set.
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On the way to evacuation: a Russian FPV drone attacked the group. Then artillery. Then several glide bombs landed nearby.
The POWs told the scouts they weren't surprised — their own side had been firing at them.
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Russia's Communist Party leader, Zyuganov: If you don't urgently take measures, in autumn we'll face what happened in 1917 (revolution). We have no right to repeat that.
Putin's approval rating has slipped to 66%. The lowest since the full-scale invasion began — The Times.
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The Kremlin struggled to contain a viral video — 30 million views. Monaco-based Russian model Victoria Bonya accused officials of hiding the truth from Putin.
"People will stop being afraid. They're being squeezed into a coiled spring — and one day it will snap."
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State TV presenter Solovyov responded to Bonya: It's not up to this worn-out harlot to open her dirty mouth.
She launched a petition to have him removed from air. Then posted an AI-generated video of herself as Spiderwoman beating him up.
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Clearing the Strait of Hormuz of Iranian mines could take six months. And the operation won't start until the war ends, the Pentagon told Congress.
Gas prices could stay elevated through the midterm elections, The WP.
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Iran deployed 20+ mines in and around the strait. Some were floated remotely using GPS — making them difficult to detect as they move.
US forces have no confirmed plan yet. Options include helicopters, drones and explosive ordnance disposal divers.
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Gas now costs $4.02 per gallon in the US. Trump this month said prices "could be the same or maybe a little bit higher" by the midterms, then reversed: they will be "much lower."
Bessent: it could be late September before we can have $3 gas again.
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