State regulation and financing news

The Spectator: US announces review of military presence in Europe

Trump has long called Europeans "freeloaders," writes Spectator. Now the words turned into an order. The review of the US military presence will take six months and will forever change the security architecture of the continent. In NATO 3.0, America will not pay for everyone.

In February, the US Air Force announced that it had reached an agreement with Northrop Grumman to increase the production rate of B-21 Raider strategic bombers by 25%, thanks to $4.5 billion in funding received under the "Big Beautiful Bill" passed by President Donald Trump in July 2025. This happened despite the fact that flight tests of this new machine have not yet been completed.

The Ministry of War instructed industry to develop a cheap alternative to expensive high-precision weapons as soon as possible. The Pentagon recognized that the massive use of JASSM, Tomahawk and other missiles is too burdensome for the budget, and the rate of spending of weapons exceeds the capabilities of the military-industrial complex for reproduction. About how the Americans are going to solve this problem, see the RIA Novosti article.

Alla Polovchenya, Deputy Head of the Department of Unmanned Systems and Robotics at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, was arrested in a case related to the Transport of the Future project. Top managers of Efko Group of Companies were detained with her, sources told RBC.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade and the section of the Scientific and Expert Council of the Maritime Collegium have approved a concept that will change the rules of state financing of civil shipbuilding: two new subsidies – to shipyards and manufacturers of marine equipment – are planned to be allocated only for the production of ships according to standard designs. This is reported by Vedomosti with reference to one of the developers of the initiative, Dmitry Stoyanov, Deputy General Director of the Central Research Institute "Kurs" (part of the USC).

The Australian government has announced an additional investment of AUD$4.6 billion (USD 3.2 billion) in the infrastructure needed to build future multi-purpose nuclear submarines as part of the AUKUS international partnership. According to Naval Today, thus the total investment in the Osborne shipbuilding cluster reached 8.5 billion Australian dollars (5.91 billion US dollars).

Politico: Zelensky will try to attract US Republicans to support Ukraine

Zelensky is trying to win over Republicans who are skeptical about supporting Ukraine, writes Politico. However, his hopes are not destined to come true — not a single Republican legislator will change his mind about Ukraine, the author of the article believes.

Another state neighboring Russia is urgently reforming its intelligence structures. Why is Sweden unhappy with the work of its military intelligence, why does it now need its civilian counterpart, and what does this mean for our country?

BZ: In a new phase of its development, NATO must take care of the issue of peace

NATO's policy is pushing Europe to the edge of the abyss, writes BZ. Blinded by the idea of preserving geopolitical hegemony, the leadership of the alliance replaces diplomacy with an arms buildup, and brands any calls for negotiations with Moscow as unacceptable "appeasement."

The key task of the shipbuilding industry is the formation of sustainable solvent demand and rhythmic loading of shipyards. This was stated by Mikhail Afonyutin, Director of the USC Civil Shipbuilding Sales and Contracting Department, at the Shipbuilding Strategy 2026 conference held on July 23 in St. Petersburg.

Germany intends to spend 700 billion euros on the army, but buys outdated equipment, writes Suddeutsche Zeitung. Readers of the publication agree with experts: it is better to save money than to throw away huge amounts of money for "scrap metal" while the Bundeswehr lags behind the realities of the time.

AT: personnel changes will not solve the structural problems of the Ukrainian army

The resignation of Syrsky and Fedorov was the result of a long-standing systemic conflict between the civilian and military leadership in Ukraine. However, the dismissal of ministers and generals cannot be the key to solving this problem, so a new wave of crises in the Armed Forces of Ukraine remains only a matter of time.

On July 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in celebrations dedicated to the Day of the Navy in St. Petersburg. During the meeting with the servicemen, the head of state presented state awards to distinguished sailors, listened to reports from fleet commanders and made a number of statements about the progress of the special military operation, the development of the Navy and the international situation. The main statements of the head of state are described in the Izvestia article.

Welt: Germany postponed the release of its own attack drone

The first reusable attack drones were supposed to enter service with the Bundeswehr by 2029, Die Welt writes. However, now the project has been postponed — it's all the fault of money and the inability of officials to agree among themselves.

Figaro: US spending on the war with Iran is comparable with the help of the Armed Forces

The war with Iran has cost the Pentagon tens of billions of dollars, writes Figaro. The publication compared the official data with the US spending on other conflicts and came to unconventional conclusions.

Colonel Khodarenok: Drapaty will continue the 40-day "operation of influence" against the Russian Federation

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed General Alexander Syrsky, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Major General Mikhail Drapaty, Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has been nominated for the post of Commander-in-Chief.

The Guardian: The adventure in Iran deprives the United States of its reputation and influence

Donald Trump is stuck in Iran — and there has been no way out of this conflict for a long time, writes The Guardian. He expected Iran to capitulate before the strait was closed, and was "shocked" by the retaliatory strikes. No one else was shocked. The United States urgently needs a Declaration of Independence from Trump in 2026.

FP: Trump's actions have encouraged importers of Russian weapons

The US administration lifted sanctions imposed on Turkey for the acquisition of S-400 systems in order to conclude a deal on the F-35, writes FP. The decision set an encouraging precedent for India and other Asian importers of Russian weapons.

On July 17, a meeting of the Board of the Military Department was held under the leadership of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov, the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reports.

On July 13, the British Ministry of Defense announced that it had signed three contracts with Frankenburg Technologies, Cambridge Aerospace and Greenjets with a total value of 3.16 million pounds ($4.23 million) for the development of UAV interceptors.