OPERATIONS
Share
Trump’s Belarus overture risks confusing NATO at a fraught moment
U.S. military officers’ surprise appearance at Zapad-2025 in Belarus has jarred allies already managing drone incursions and a large Russian–Belarusian drill on NATO’s doorstep. The visit may have been designed as observation under OSCE rules, but its timing and optics…
Poland’s Sikorski questions value of “security guarantees” for Ukraine, urges focus on funding and arms
Poland’s foreign minister, Radosław Sikorski, has questioned the usefulness of proposed “security guarantees” for Ukraine, arguing that such pledges would lack credibility without states willing to fight Russia if deterrence failed. Speaking at the Yalta European Strategy (YES) annual meeting…
NATO’s ‘Eastern Sentry’ begins as French Rafales arrive in Poland
Brussels/Warsaw — 13 September 2025. NATO has launched Operation Eastern Sentry to reinforce the Alliance’s eastern flank following this week’s drone incursions into Polish airspace. The move brings additional allied air and naval assets to the region and introduces a…
Belarus and Russia begin ‘Zapad-2025’ drills as Poland shuts Belarus border and Latvia restricts airspace
Belarus and Russia on Friday launched their joint strategic exercise “Zapad-2025”, a four-day series of drills running from 12 to 16 September across training grounds in both countries, with additional activity at sea. Minsk and Moscow say the exercise is…
Jets scramble, policy hesitates: Alliance response to Poland incursions underwhelms
Poland and its allies scrambled fighter aircraft overnight on 10–11 September after nineteen unmanned aerial systems — launched during a large Russian strike on Ukraine — violated Polish airspace. Polish F-16s, supported by Dutch and Italian jets, shot down several…
Paris to host ‘coalition of the willing’ talks on Ukraine security guarantees this Thursday
France will host a meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” on Thursday, 4 September, to review plans for security guarantees for Ukraine, the Élysée has confirmed. The session will be co-chaired by President Emmanuel Macron and the UK…
NATO warships in Putin’s backyard: Alliance patrols Arctic to counter Russian threat
The Arctic, long a frozen frontier on the margins of geopolitics, is now the setting for one of NATO’s most telling demonstrations of resolve. As Standing Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) patrols near Russian territory, the Alliance has underlined a message…
India and Japan: A Defence Partnership Coming of Age
There was a time when relations between India and Japan were couched in the polite, almost ceremonial language of shared values and trade ties. Today, however, the two democracies are moving decisively into terrain that matters rather more in the…
Ukraine’s 93rd Brigade deploys ground robots in Dobropillia sector operation
Ukraine’s 93rd Separate Mechanised Brigade “Kholodnyi Yar” has released footage of an operation near Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast in which remotely operated ground systems equipped with machine guns were used to clear Russian positions. The brigade reported that the systems…
Israel to call up 60,000 reservists for Gaza City operation after Katz approves IDF plan
Israel is to call up about 60,000 reservists in stages over the coming months to support an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation to capture Gaza City, after Defence Minister Israel Katz approved the army’s plans. Initial mobilisation orders are to…