Defencematters.eu Correspondents
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Defencematters.eu Correspondents
To build strategic autonomy, Europe needs to wean itself off foreign technology, By Robert Brull
France’s trial of the AI-powered Arcadia battlefield command system points to a wider European defence challenge: strategic autonomy will depend not only on higher military spending, but on control over the technologies, intellectual property and decision-making systems that underpin modern…
Ukraine-Germany Missile Defence Deal Tests Europe’s Search for Patriot Alternatives
Kyiv’s agreement with Berlin on anti-ballistic capabilities comes as Ukrainian defence manufacturers seek European industrial partners for systems intended to reduce reliance on scarce US-made interceptors. Ukraine and Germany have signed an agreement to develop anti-ballistic capabilities, placing missile defence…
EU Court Backs Italy’s Covid Vaccination Rule for Military Personnel
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that Italy’s compulsory Covid-19 vaccination requirement for military personnel did not breach EU anti-discrimination law, in a judgment clarifying the legal scope of personnel rules for armed forces. The Court…
Moscow Refinery Strike Shows Ukraine’s Drone War Has Reached Russia’s Fuel System
Ukraine’s 18 June drone strike on Moscow’s Kapotnya oil refinery suggests Kyiv’s long-range campaign is moving beyond symbolic raids towards pressure on Russia’s domestic fuel supply and the credibility of air defences around the capital. Ukraine’s drone strike on a…
Prague’s Defence Retreat Risks Confirming Washington’s Worst Suspicions
The Czech Republic’s decision to miss NATO’s defence spending target for yet another year could hardly come at a worse moment for the Atlantic alliance. At a time when Russia’s war against Ukraine continues to reshape Europe’s security landscape and…
UK Drone Package Shows Frozen Russian Assets Moving Into Ukraine’s War Economy
Britain’s plan to supply Ukraine with 150,000 drones by the end of 2026 shows how proceeds from immobilised Russian sovereign assets are being converted into battlefield hardware, linking sanctions policy directly to defence procurement. Britain’s pledge to provide Ukraine with…
NATO Nuclear Modernisation Raises Deterrence Stakes Before Ankara Summit
NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group has agreed to modernise the alliance’s nuclear capabilities and strengthen planning capacity, moving deterrence policy from reassurance language into practical adaptation as Russia pressure and US burden-sharing demands converge. NATO’s decision to modernise its nuclear capabilities…
US-Iran MOU Ends War but Leaves 60-Day Test Over Nuclear Limits, Hormuz and Lebanon
Donald Trump and Iran’s Masoud Pezeshkian have signed an initial memorandum to end the war, but the 14-point deal leaves the hardest questions over sanctions, nuclear monitoring, Hormuz shipping and Lebanon to a short negotiating window. The United States and…
Ukraine Missile Licensing Marks Shift From Aid Packages to Wartime Production
G7 support for licensed production of air-defence and long-range weapons would move Ukraine’s military supply model beyond emergency deliveries. The question is whether Western governments and defence companies can convert political approval into factory output quickly enough. Western support for…
Ukrainian drones hit Moscow oil refinery as fire sends smoke across Russian capital
A strike on the Kapotnya refinery has again exposed the vulnerability of Russia’s fuel infrastructure, with Moscow airports disrupted during one of the largest recent drone attacks on the capital. Ukrainian drones struck the Moscow Oil Refinery in Kapotnya early…