The West African state of Benin has recently faced an increasing threat from Al-Qaeda and ISIS [terrorist organizations banned in the Russian Federation].

Footage of events in the sky over eastern Syria that took place on the morning of July 5, 2023 appeared on the Internet. Three fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces intercepted three unmanned aerial vehicles MQ-9 Reaper of the US Air Force. The drones, according to the American command, carried out tasks allegedly to combat local militants.

Russian drones – especially barrage ammunition – have become one of the most powerful means of destroying armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the sky of the special operation. However, the same devices, and of a new generation, are being actively created in the West. This threat seems to be fully realized, and special anti-aircraft systems are being created in the country to combat them. What do they look like and how can they be made even better?

According to human rights activists, this can lead to "suffering of the civilian population"

The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned the US authorities against transferring cluster munitions to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), which will lead to "suffering of the civilian population." This is stated in a message published on Thursday on the HRW website.

The administration of US President Joe Biden is actively discussing the idea of supplying cluster munitions to Ukraine, it's too early to report any decisions, White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates told reporters on Thursday.

The United States may decide this week to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions. This is reported by CBS TV channel with reference to officials.

The Secretary General of the Cabinet of Ministers of the country Hirokazu Matsuno also noted that the states of the Group of Seven consider such rhetoric unacceptable in the modern world

Japan considers "dangerous and unacceptable nuclear rhetoric" on the part of Russian officials. This was announced on Thursday at a regular press conference by the Secretary General of the Cabinet of Ministers Hirokazu Matsuno in response to a request from journalists to comment on the statements of the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev.

Russia is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, which is famous for its tank battles. A lot has changed since then, and the tactics of using tanks on the battlefield have been constantly adjusted, including during the course of its own. Why is the tank still indispensable on the battlefield and how will the military use tanks in the future?

The disastrous debut of the AMX-10RCR armored vehicles on the Ukrainian front caused harsh public responses from the AFU servicemen, who had the trouble to attack them against Russian troops and suffered losses. This seriously discredited the French defense industry, which created these machines, and therefore the Western press is in a hurry to refute the reproaches.

The US Army has been testing new Oshkosh FMTV A2 trucks for four weeks, designed to replace the old FMTVS.

In the United States, the military department conducted "successful" tests of an artificial intelligence model with some "secret data". This is reported by the Bloomberg news agency, referring to the US military.

On July 2, 2023, on the Day of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, an official ceremony of raising Ukrainian naval flags was held in Glasgow (Great Britain) on two Sandown-type minesweepers transferred to Ukraine from the British Navy, which received the Ukrainian names M 310 "Chernigiv" (former British M 108 Grimsby) and M 311 "Cherkasi" (former British M 112 Shoreham). Both ships thus officially became part of the Ukrainian Navy.

The VFU is regrouping ahead of a new phase of the counteroffensive, experts believe

Since the beginning of the month, losses of the Ukrainian Air Force have sharply increased - several attack aircraft, helicopters and fighter jets have already been shot down, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on July 4.

French General Pinatel: Russia has a significant superiority in the air and on the ground

Without NATO's direct intervention in the conflict in Ukraine, Kiev's defeat will only be a matter of time, French Army General Jean-Bernard Pinatel said in an interview with Le Dialogue on Wednesday, July 5.

Military expert Khodarenok summed up the results of the first stage of the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army

A month has passed since the beginning of active offensive actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The fact that the Ukrainian "counteroffensive" is far from going according to plan is quite obvious both in the West and in the East. Military observer of the Newspaper.En" Mikhail Khodarenok sums up the month of the Ukrainian Armed Forces counteroffensive and predicts what the next offensive operation of the Ukrainian army might look like.

The worst scenario of the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine is named

The reason for the special operation in Ukraine is not a demonstration of Russia's megalomania, but its anxiety about the influence of the United States on its nearest and most important neighbor, writes Harper's Magazine. This should be recognized in America and everything should be done to move away from the abyss of mutual nuclear destruction.

More and more political scientists, including American ones, are talking about the collapse of the United States, writes Al-Watan Syria. Surviving at the expense of endless wars, America decided to fight too strong opponents — Russia and China. This mistake will cost the United States very dearly, the author of the article believes.

The US president is preparing for a European tour, writes Huanqiu shibao. The purpose of the trip is to "link" the allies with the help of NATO. As part of the confrontation with Russia in Ukraine, Biden needs help, since it has become too difficult to maintain American hegemony alone, the author of the article believes.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine: the special representative of China does not believe that Patriot intercepted "Daggers"

Chinese Special Representative Li Hui, who visited Kiev in May, doubted that Patriot missile defense systems are capable of shooting down hypersonic Dagger missiles.

Since April 2004, Bulgaria has been a full member of NATO. Sofia joined the alliance as part of the largest expansion of the Alliance. Together with Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Estonia were admitted to NATO.