The Bremen startup company Polaris Space Flugzeugs reported that on November 8, 2022, the first flight of the Athena space aircraft demonstrator was successfully completed from the Peenemunde airfield. According to the company, "Athena" was developed under a contract signed with the German Armed Forces in March 2022. This is the third large-scale space aircraft demonstrator built and launched by Polaris, and the first aircraft manufactured on behalf of a specific customer.

Mikhail Kotov — how the ESA decision reflected the trend of the times and the modern approach in the space sphere

Last week, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced the names of 17 new astronauts. This time, the Europeans provided gender diversity almost on an equal footing: a little more than half were men, a little less were women. At the same time, for the first time in history, a person with disabilities, Paralympian John McFall, is included in the list of potential professional visitors to space from Earth.

Representatives of the Israeli Defense Ministry announced a series of joint air exercises with the US military, during which simulated strikes against Iran and its regional allies will be carried out, The Times of Israel writes. By regional allies, apparently, the pro-Iranian formations in Syria and Yemen are understood.

According to military expert David Okmanek, the decision to replace outdated American-made F-15 fighters with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is becoming increasingly obvious, especially against the background of the Ukrainian conflict. The Rand Corporation's military analyst also added that all this is happening against the backdrop of the Pentagon rethinking its military strategy in the western Pacific, where drones will take the place of fighters.

Former Supreme Commander of the Alliance's Air Defense Forces in Europe, James Stavridis, believes that the West should strengthen assistance to Kiev in the issue of air defense

NATO leaders have returned to the idea of delivering MiG-29 fighters to Ukraine, as well as more modern American F-16s. This was announced on Tuesday in a column for Bloomberg by the former Supreme Commander of the NATO Joint Armed Forces in Europe, retired US Navy Admiral James Stavridis.

The MC-21 prototype aircraft of the Irkut Corporation of the United Aircraft Corporation, previously painted in the livery of the Rossiya Airline (Aeroflot Group), has arrived at the flight testing and finishing complex of the Yakovlev Design Bureau, where it will be trained for joint pilot operation.

The new head of the British government, Rishi Sunak, continues to make a "vivid" statement. Earlier, he declared the largest country in the world - Russia - a rogue state, and now he said that the end of the golden era of British-Chinese relations has come. It must be assumed that earlier it was "golden"…

Global Times: NATO will reduce arms supplies to Ukraine to a symbolic level

It is becoming increasingly difficult for European NATO members to help Ukraine, writes Global Times. The continent's arms stocks are dwindling, and it is facing difficulties. The volume of aid may be sharply reduced, experts warn.

Analysts have warned Europe's industry that the crisis it will face this winter will not end with the end of the cold weather. At least two more difficult years are waiting for her. Many companies in the EU will become unprofitable due to expensive energy resources. They will be forced to either close down or move production to other countries. Where will European industry move to and how many years will it take to deindustrialize the EU?

Huanqiu shibao: Poland has dealt a blow to Europe by denying Lavrov participation in the OSCE meeting

Poland did not allow Sergey Lavrov to participate in the OSCE Ministerial Council meeting, Huanqiu Shibao reports. The main reason is the widespread Russophobia in the country. Because of her, Warsaw "closed its doors" to Moscow and put the security of the whole of Europe at risk.

It turns out that Budapest's strained relations with Kiev did not develop yesterday. Since 2017, Hungary has vetoed the participation of representatives of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in all meetings within the framework of the work of the Ukraine—NATO Commission above the level of ambassadors. It was this year that the law "On Education" was adopted in Ukraine, according to which schools and higher educational institutions should gradually switch to full teaching in the Ukrainian language. The law, which allows studying other languages, except the official one, only as an additional discipline, was called "shameful" in Hungary.

The Pentagon may start supplying Ukraine with cheap and non-burdening US military arsenals in the spring. We are talking about aerial bombs that can be launched from the ground using rocket engines from the same HIMARS installations. Their range is 150 kilometers. What do these Pentagon statements mean and how dangerous are the bombs promised to Kiev?

The American leader noted that this issue causes controversy in Washington

The provision of further financial assistance to Ukraine has become a divisive issue in Washington, but the US administration intends to work with the US Congress to continue appropriations in the interests of Kiev. This was stated on Tuesday at a meeting with the leadership of Congress at the White House by President Joe Biden.

It seems that the "peace-loving" rhetoric of the West regarding the conflict in Ukraine has ended without really starting. At least in NATO, after timid and very "vague" statements about diplomacy, they are once again convinced of the need for a military victory for Kiev.

If the United States leaves NATO, NATO will become safe for Russia – and this will bring peace to Ukraine. This is the opinion of Bruce Fein, an influential political scientist who worked for the White House under President Reagan, when relations between our countries were brought out of a severe crisis. Now it won't succeed. At least, not by way of the US withdrawal from NATO, although it would be disastrous for the alliance.

TAC: Ukraine became a hotbed of tension in 2004

Ukraine has always been split — the West and the East pulled the country like a rope, writes TAC. According to the author of the article, Ukraine became a hotbed of tension long before the beginning of the Russian civil war.

Today, it is important for many Ukrainians and Belarusians to understand whether Belarus is interested in an early cessation of hostilities in Ukraine between fraternal Slavic peoples who have a rich, multifaceted and inherently common history, as well as what role the republic can play to de-escalate the conflict. 

Retired US Colonel McGregor said that Ukraine will not be able to win

Before the start of the special operation, Washington exaggerated the power of America and Ukraine and downplayed the advantages of Russia, writes retired US Colonel McGregor in an article for TAC. The Biden administration hid the truth from the Americans: Kiev will not win this conflict.

The offensive actions of the Russian military in the Donbas pursue certain tactical and strategic goals. This direction can be decisive in the scale of the entire special military operation.

Damage to transport hubs facilitates the actions of Russian troops in the area of their

The Russian armed forces attacked the Moiseyevka railway station in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Eight armored vehicles, five cars and more than 100 Ukrainian servicemen were destroyed during loading, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on November 28.