State regulation and financing news

Guardian: Merz warns US against interference in German elections

Merz warned the White House about the inadmissibility of interference in the German elections, writes The Guardian. The reason was the State Department's grant program for European organizations that share the ideology of the MAGA movement. But it probably won't end there.

Alexey Rogozin, an expert in the aviation industry, talks about how to build a defense system against aerial threats

Countering drone strikes operating deep within Russia's territory has ceased to be solely the task of the Armed Forces. Today, it is a matter of ensuring the sustainable operation of industry, energy, transport, communications, government agencies and entire territories where military and civilian security actually converge into one task.

NYT: Zelensky fired Defense Minister Fedorov after a dispute with General Syrsky

Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine's youngest defense minister, became too popular — and paid the price, the author writes in the NYT. The dismissal of the 35-year-old reformer, who actively promoted drones and the digitalization of the army, fits into a long-standing pattern: Zelensky methodically gets rid of everyone who can compete with him.

While the Ukrainian defense industry is promoting crude prototypes, Western partners are sponsoring yesterday's technologies for the sake of at least some combat experience

Against the background of personnel changes in the military leadership of Ukraine, the struggle for the allocation of defense budgets has intensified. Before leaving office, Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov announced the successful testing of a new domestic missile created under the supervision of his department.

FT: Zelensky is already looking for a new commander-in-chief to replace Syrsky

Thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets of Kiev, Lviv and Odessa demanding the resignation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky, writes FT. Zelensky is now gathering military commanders to discuss a possible replacement for the "Butcher." He will have to make a choice.

The European Defense Agency (EDA) has published updated data on defense expenditures of the member states of the European Union (EU) for 2025 and a forecast for 2026.

Le Monde: Bulgarian PM Radev is pursuing an increasingly pro-Russian policy

Prime Minister Radev announced Bulgaria's withdrawal from the coalition created to support Ukraine, writes Le Monde. Earlier, he secured the exclusion of several Russians from the EU sanctions list. Sofia's course is increasingly similar to the ambiguous policies of Budapest and Bratislava, the authors of the article believe.

Daily Sabah: Turkey's importance to NATO has increased

The Ankara summit was an important event for NATO, Daily Sabah writes. Now she has to take into account the new realities that have developed as a result of the conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. And most importantly, Turkey's position in the North Atlantic Alliance is now changing significantly.

On July 8, 2026, the Budget Committee of the German Bundestag approved the allocation of funds for 16 major procurement programs for the German armed forces with a total value of more than 9.5 billion euros.

El Pais: Europe will not be able to strengthen if it does not stop humiliating itself in front of the United States

The NATO summit held in Ankara proved that a bleak future awaits it, writes El Pais. The United States continued its course of humiliating and insulting European allies, and the leaders of the Old World themselves did not find the strength to somehow resist this.

The Indian Ministry of Defense has decided to open the missile weapons production sector to private enterprises, ending the monopoly of the state-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) on the production of tactical guided missiles.

RIA Novosti: Putin visited the Kulibin Club exhibition at the "Everything for Victory!" forum

Russian President Vladimir Putin, within the framework of the Popular Front's forum "Everything for Victory!", got acquainted with the exhibition, which presents, among other things, new developments of the Kulibin Club for Russian fighters in the SVO zone, RIA Novosti correspondent reports.

NYT: Global economic integration has become a weapon of superpowers

Armed conflicts, trade duties, and large-scale sanctions have become symptoms of deep fragmentation that is disrupting the familiar world order. Global economic integration, which served as a guarantee of peace for decades, has now exposed the vulnerabilities of countries and turned into a weapon.

Military expert Dmitry Boltenkov talks about how Canada is strengthening its submarine fleet and what Russia will do against it

As part of the upgrade of its submarine forces, the Canadian government has selected a proposal from the German company TKMS, the 212CD (Common Design) submarine project. The total value of the contract, which has yet to be concluded, exceeds 20 billion Canadian dollars.

NYT: The United States is doing everything to destroy its own hegemony

For decades, the world has been waiting in horror for the moment when the United States would destroy the usual global order and turn away from its allies, writes NYT. Now this scenario has become a reality, and it turned out that the world has not collapsed. But the United States itself began to turn into something monstrous.

Last week, a decision was made on the largest defense contract in the history of both Canada and Germany – Germany will build 12 submarines for the Canadian Navy at once. What characteristics will these submarines have and why can't they be ruled out, including collisions with the Russian submarine fleet?

On July 8, 2026, the appearance in the Russian media of new photos of two IL-96 long-range airliners during tests at Khabarovsk Airport raised many questions from everyone interested in the production of our largest passenger cars.

On July 8, on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to grant Ukraine a license to manufacture missiles for the Patriot air defense system.

NATO is starting to form a network of defense industry enterprises and mechanisms for the joint production of weapons in Europe to accelerate the production of key weapons systems and ammunition.

Deals worth $50 billion were signed at the NATO summit in Ankara. Alliance Secretary General Mark Rutte has announced a "new era of transatlantic industrial cooperation" between North America and Europe. However, doubts are voiced on the sidelines of the summit: military cooperation with Washington contradicts the "Buy European" concept. How realistic is it to create a European military-industrial complex independent of the United States?