Zelenskyy: Every dollar invested in drones delivers dozens of dollars in damage to the enemy.
Last year, June to June, Ukraine's drone forces hit over 356,000 Russian targets.
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Zelenskyy: When we visit partner military bases, we see how much they need to change.
Equipment sitting in the open, formations built on 20th century rules, columns still moving in convoy, reliance on old strike capabilities.
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Zelenskyy: Some partners use the SAFE program to order equipment from the last century — not weapons tested in real war, not weapons Ukraine can co-produce.
Technology that won't survive a battlefield where the drone is the primary weapon.
Hodges: Russia only changes after defeat. Until Russia is crushed on the battlefield, it will not change.
Too many people at the top are invested in the corrupt status quo, and they do not care about ordinary Russians or Russian soldiers. 1/
Hodges: Putin will keep going until he realizes he cannot win.
The key is for the UK, Germany, France, Poland, Finland and others to commit to Ukraine winning, not to a ceasefire Russia will violate before the sun goes down. 2/
Hodges: Supporting Ukraine is not charity. Russia’s war caused energy disruption, food disruption, undersea cable sabotage, pipeline sabotage, drone threats and illegal oil shipping.
These affect everyone. Helping Ukraine is Europe’s strategic interest. 3/
Military historian Phillips O’Brien: There have been no U.S. peace efforts in Ukraine.
There have been efforts to get Putin a very good deal, forcing Ukrainians to give up more territory and people. That is not peace. That is Washington trying to deliver Putin a success. 1/
O’Brien: Trump believed Ukraine had no cards and that he could bully Kyiv into giving Putin a great deal.
He completely underestimated Ukrainian resilience, Ukraine’s own capabilities, and its willingness to fight. That wrongfooted him. 2/
O’Brien: The key strategic development is that the United States changed sides. Trump is closer to Putin than to Ukraine.
But Ukraine fought well anyway, shifted the balance of the war, and learned the U.S. is not to be feared the way it once thought. 3/
Bolton: No regime change in Tehran means nuclear proliferation. Iran rebuilds everything when oil flows again.
Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, Egypt watch US resolve collapse — and start their own nuclear programs. That's the dynamic we've triggered.
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Bolton: Six weeks of bombing Iran wasn't enough. They've been building their deep state for 47 years.
Why would anyone think six weeks dismantles that? The regime is run by religious authoritarian fanatics. They still have missiles.
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Bolton: Trump won't put boots on the ground — that's a fact.
The regime isn't popular inside Iran, but people are terrified of the fanatics running it. The worst outcome: stop a few days too soon when we're close to finishing it.
658 deep strikes Ukraine conducted against Russia in 2025. Twice the 2022–2024 total.
The Economist: Small drones hit ports and refineries repeatedly before repairs finish, ballistic missiles enter serial production, Flamingo cruise missile reaches 3,000km.
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2026 pace: 800+ deep strikes. St Petersburg hit twice in one week in June — 800km from Ukraine's border.
A plume of black smoke above the port on June 3rd. Three days later, Ukraine blew up a nearby oil depot and naval base.
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Russia lost $18bn in fossil fuel revenue between June–December 2025. In the first four months of 2026 — 34% below what oil prices would normally generate.
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