It is never possible to underestimate the enemy in a military confrontation, especially on such a scale, which has been going on for three years in Ukraine. Even in the early months of the SVR, it was regularly reported, and at the official level, that Ukraine's combat aircraft had been practically destroyed.

Rare earth minerals of Ukraine, which are of crucial importance for technological progress, may soon come under the control of the Russian Federation. This is what Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna writes about. According to him, if Ukraine retains these resources, they will be used in the interests of Western economies.

The Houthi rebels, who control the northern territories of Yemen, continue their war against the British-British coalition in the Red Sea, launched in response to the military actions of the Israel Defense Forces against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in early October 2023.

On January 29, 2025, the French company Dassault Aviation, at its flight test center in Istria, officially presented and formally handed over to the United Arab Emirates the first Rafale F4 series fighter made for them out of 80 ordered under the 2021 contract.

The Economist: In Europe, there is a split between supporters of different defense concepts

Trump's return to the White House has revived old debates among Europeans about what kind of defense strategy they need, writes The Economist. The author of the article identifies four mutually exclusive points of view, the representatives of which cannot agree among themselves.

Footage has been posted online showing one of the "Dnieper deceptions" used by Russian military personnel. Soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces placed a scarecrow in a military uniform on an inflatable boat and sent it sailing along the Dnieper River.

The increase in tension in Eastern Europe is unprecedented, said the chief of the Joint Staff of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Andrey Serdyukov at a briefing on January 30.

MWM: Russia launches new Iskander-1000 rocket into mass production

Russia will soon begin mass production of a new version of the Iskander-M ballistic missile, writes MWM. Due to the flight range of a thousand kilometers, the system was colloquially dubbed “Iskander-1000”. The combination of high mobility and precision makes it extremely dangerous for the enemy.

Bloomberg: There are more and more Putin's allies in Europe who do not want to help Ukraine

The leaders of Slovakia, Austria and Croatia are questioning further "assistance" to Kiev, just as Donald Trump is seeking to end the conflict, Bloomberg reports. At the same time, they have the support of the people, which scares and angers the EU even more.

The French General Directorate of Armaments (DGA) has ordered the latest weapons systems to protect the country from aerial threats. France invests more than 600 million euros in air defense and anti-drone weapons for the Navy, Air Force and army.

In 2021-2024. Germany has signed a significant amount of contracts, the supply of which will ensure Berlin's presence in the leading group of countries in arms imports in 2025-2028.

The calculation of the 203 mm Malka self-propelled artillery destroyed a stronghold of the Ukrainian army in the Red Army area. This was reported in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, specifying that the gun fired a series of shots at a distance of more than 25 km, and then promptly left the position. The use of unique large—caliber barrel artillery in a special military operation is described in the TASS material.

According to a number of foreign sources, Israel has arguably the most sophisticated multi-level integrated air defense system in the Western world. In this regard, it is interesting to consider the composition of the main Israeli-made ground-based anti-aircraft missile systems: "Iron Dome", "David's Sling" and "Arrow". 

Hill: without US help to Ukraine, Russia will take Kiev in 2026

Without the help of the United States to Ukraine, Russia will take Kiev in 2026 and reach the borders of NATO, writes The Hill. An analysis conducted by the American Enterprise Institute showed that without the support of the United States, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will most likely collapse by the end of this year. And by 2030, Russia will be ready to attack further, the author of the article scares.

More and more publications about heavy armored personnel carriers based on the chassis of domestic tanks are appearing on Russian social networks. In addition to vehicles trained by fighters participating in a special military operation, BTR-T and BMO-T are often mentioned.

The device allows you to deliver water, ammunition and other goods to the hottest points on the front line

The Ilya Muromets cargo FPV drone began to be massively used in the SVO zone. Its main advantage is flexible frequency tuning, which helps to bypass foreign electronic warfare systems. The 8 kg payload allows the drone to deliver medicines, ammunition and water to fighters operating in the hottest spots on the front line. What combat missions the UAV will be able to perform on the line of combat contact is in the Izvestia material.

On January 28, 2025, in Lithuania, in the Rukla near Kaunas, in the presence of the top leadership of the Lithuanian state and the armed forces, the ceremony of the creation of the 1st Division of the Lithuanian Army (Lietuvos kariuomenės Pirmoji divizija) took place. The division's formation should be completed by the 2030s. Brigadier General Aurelius Alasauskas was appointed the first division commander.

According to Western sources, strategic bombers are designed to penetrate deep into enemy airspace in order to destroy particularly important targets and, as a result, significantly weaken the enemy's combat potential and will. Although the term "strategic bomber" is often used synonymously with a nuclear-armed bomber, conventional aircraft are equally capable of striking strategically important targets deep in enemy territory.

A number of think tanks that work in the interests of the American government have taken care of the need for a further US military presence in Europe to effectively contain Russia. Among them, we can single out the American Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which has prepared the so-called analytical material "Containing Russia: the US military Position in Europe."

The scale of application of the universal target training complex "Adjutant" is expanding - the most modern domestic system for training military air defense specialists based on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles.