For the first time in more than 30 years, Iran is buying new fighter jets. Well, not new, but new to them. In addition to some fourth-generation Su-35s, Iran is buying some Mi-28 attack helicopters from Russia and training aircraft as well. The deal was first announced a year ago, but Mehdi Farahi, Iran’s deputy…

Winter weather is walloping the Black Sea region, including Ukraine, occupied Crimea and southern Russia. The powerful storm Bettina is creating blizzard conditions inland while pounding coastlines with huge waves and hurricane force winds. The storm is serious, no doubt, but it could be just what Ukraine needs to end the so-called stalemate with Russia.…

Russians call it “Rasputitsa,” or the Season of Bad Roads. In Ukraine it’s known as “Bezdorizhzhia,” or Roadlessness. They both refer to the same thing: it’s mud season in Ukraine. Days of steady rainfall turn every unpaved road, field and tree line into a quagmire of muck in which most anything will get stuck. Thankfully,…

In an unannounced trip, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Kyiv on Monday, Nov. 20, to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and two other ranking officials. It marks the second time Austin has visited Ukraine since the Russian invasion nearly two years ago. According to a Department of Defense press release, Austin’s meeting with…

A federal court issues a ruling concerning the Voting Rights Act in a case that could end up at the Supreme Court. And the CDC is warning consumers about a listeria outbreak in fruit which has led to at least one death. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. U.S. appeals court makes ruling on…

Ukraine’s Security Services (SBU) said its snipers are “rewriting the rules of global sniping.” A recently published video is making the rounds on Ukrainian and Russian social media channels showing the proof. The video shows the point of view of a Ukrainian sniper targeting Russian troops at a distance of 3,800 meters — over two…

Ukraine’s counteroffensive may be moving slower than expected, but that doesn’t mean Ukrainians aren’t pressing the attack. Over the last month, the Armed Forces of Ukraine ferried troops and armored vehicles across the Dnipro River, south of Kherson. Now, it looks like Ukraine established a beachhead on the east bank of the river, which could…

Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhny, said the war with Russia is at a stalemate. Zaluzhny wrote in an essay published in The Economist saying that in order to win, his troops need more advanced weapons systems to overcome the miles of minefields crippling Ukraine’s counteroffensive. Systems needed are like the U.S.-made M1150 Assault Breacher Vehicle.…

Drone boats launching lethal loitering munitions at sea. Containerized missiles strapped to the deck of stealthy ships. The United States Navy is looking at innovative designs like these to better compete with near-peer adversaries like China. At the end of October, Task Force 59, under orders from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), conducted…

The war in Ukraine is at a stalemate. Neither side has made any significant territorial gains in months, and Ukraine’s top military commander said there will “most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough.” It’s been five months since Ukraine launched its counteroffensive. Despite successful attacks on Russian supply lines, weapons depots, command posts, missile…