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NATO rehearses Baltic amphibious landing near Kiel amid renewed focus on Kaliningrad and sea lanes
NATO troops have staged an amphibious landing exercise on Germany’s Baltic coast, close to the port city of Kiel, in a drill involving roughly 3,000 personnel and forming part of the wider Steadfast Dart 2026 programme. The beach-assault phase took…
BAE’s Surging Profits Reflect Europe’s New Reality
Britain’s largest defence contractor, BAE Systems, has announced a 12 per cent rise in full-year operating profit and a record order book worth £83.6 billion — numbers impressive in themselves, but far more revealing for what they say about the…
When numbers clash: why Ukraine war “advance rates” depend on the map
Claims that Russia’s rate of territorial advance has fallen to its lowest level in around ten months, alongside separate assessments that Ukraine has just logged its fastest gains since 2023, underline a recurring problem for audiences and policymakers alike: the…
Kremlin Calls Shadow Fleet Seizures ‘Piracy’ and Threatens Naval Response
The war in Ukraine has long since escaped the trenches of Donbas and the missile-scarred cities of the Black Sea coast. Sanctions, sabotage, cyber operations and energy coercion have transformed it into something broader: a systemic contest between Russia and…
Wagner-Linked Recruiters Said to Target Europeans for Attacks Inside EU
Russia’s military intelligence agency is using parts of the Wagner network to recruit Europeans for sabotage operations inside the EU and wider NATO area, according to western intelligence officials cited by the Financial Times. The recruitment is described as outsourced:…
The 48-Hour Problem: NATO’s Response Under Pressure in a Baltic Drill
In the days leading up to the Munich Security Conference on 13–15 February 2026, European media carried a run of scenario-based reporting on how a future security shock might unfold on NATO’s eastern flank. Several of the most widely circulated…
Europeans sense danger — yet still hesitate to act
Europeans have begun to feel something unfamiliar: vulnerability. For three generations the continent lived inside a strategic paradox. It possessed advanced economies, stable democracies and generous welfare systems, yet relied on a power across an ocean for its ultimate security.…
Munich: Rubio Reminds the West That Confidence, Not Apology, Keeps the Peace
The Munich Security Conference has long been a gathering devoted to reassurance. Diplomats reassure allies, allies reassure one another, and collectively the West reassures itself that stability can be preserved largely by good intentions and the careful management of tensions.…
The Sound of War: British Troops Gain Instant Fire Detection Capability
War, for all its technological flourish, still hinges on a primitive human limitation: you cannot react to what you cannot find. For centuries soldiers have fought enemies they could hear but not see — the crack of a rifle, the…
Rubio tells Europe a new geopolitical era is under way ahead of Munich address
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned European allies that they are entering a “new era in geopolitics” as he arrived in Europe ahead of a headline address at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, 14 February 2026. Speaking…