The readiness of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces have been tested during exercises
Russia has conducted testing of land, sea, and air elements of the country’s nuclear deterrence triad, according to video footage provided by the Defense Ministry in Moscow.
The drills were overseen by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
As part of the exercises, a land-based Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was launched from the Plesetsk state test cosmodrome in Northern Russia, towards a test site in Kamchatka, in the country’s Far East.
Video of the test shows launch preparations and the missile blasting off.
The exercise also included the launch of a sea-based Sineva ICBM from the Russian nuclear submarine Bryansk in the Barents Sea, as well as air-launched cruise missiles from TU-95 strategic bombers, the Defense Ministry said.
The drills included “practicing the procedure for authorizing the use of nuclear weapons,” Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov told Putin on Wednesday.
The exercises came just over a month after the Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2025 drills, which involved over 41 training grounds and 100,000 service members. They were attended by military observers from multiple nations, including the US.
The Kremlin reiterated at the time that the exercises were “not aimed against any state.”
Damascus has reportedly declared a group that helped it topple the previous government a security threat
The new Syrian authorities have reportedly launched a large-scale military campaign targeting the remaining foreign Jihadist forces in the northwestern province of Idlib. The effort is particularly focused on militants hailing from France, reports suggest. The government has declared the groups that once aided it in toppling former President Bashar Assad a security threat.
Clashes reportedly erupted as government forces stormed the so-called “French camp” in the city of Harem, western Idlib overnight, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR). Both sides allegedly suffered casualties in the standoff but the exact figure is unclear. At least two jihadists were arrested. The camp is run by foreign fighters led by a French national of Senegalese origin, Omar Omsen, according to the authorities.
⚡️🇸🇾🇫🇷 | Les combattants de la Sécurité générale sont clairement visibles à proximité du camp des Français.
Les djihadistes français ont affirmé leur intention de se défendre, déclarant que le public sera témoin de “la trahison d’al-Jolani” envers ses propres combattants.
The Syrian General Security Service stated its goal was to arrest Omsen and stabilize the situation in the area. A Telegram channel affiliated with the jihadists published a statement by their leader claiming that the government was acting in coordination with the US and an “international coalition” seeking to eliminate all foreign militants in Syria. He also reportedly threatened Damascus with Jihadi ire by citing support from other foreign militant groups.
The government of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is facing threats from the very same forces that helped it ascend to power last November, the Washington Post reported in May.
Le Monde reported in 2023 that almost 200 French nationals, including militants and their family members, fled to Idlib after the fall of Islamic State in 2019. The paper called them “diehard French jihadists” at the time.
According to WaPo’s May report, “hard-line Sunni Muslim militants” were involved in massacres of Alawites along the Syrian coast in March, killing at least 1,300 people. Some of them also turned their ire on al-Sharaa, particularly after his meeting with US President Donald Trump. The talks led to the lifting of sanctions imposed against Syria but reportedly made the interim president an “infidel” in the radicals’ eyes.
Behind Sanae Takaichi’s nationalist swagger lies a country still marching to US orders
When Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s first female prime minister, headlines hailed a “historic moment” – a symbol of progress and national renewal. A conservative firebrand molded in Shinzo Abe’s image, she vowed to “work, work, work” for Japan’s rebirth.
But behind the triumphant rhetoric of self-reliance lies a more complicated reality. Takaichi’s rise marks not Japan’s emancipation from postwar constraints, but the deepening of its strategic alignment with Washington’s Indo-Pacific design. Her Japan seeks sovereignty – yet moves within American lines.
As Tokyo arms itself, rewrites its constitution, and talks of “autonomy,” one question looms: how independent can a nation be when its path, priorities, and even its weapons are set in Washington?
Takaichi’s victory came after a turbulent stretch for Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), weakened by consecutive electoral losses that stripped it of its majority in both chambers of the Diet. In the party’s backrooms, her win was less a surprise than a compromise – the choice of a leader who could revive the Abe-era formula of conservative discipline, economic nationalism, and military assertiveness.
She promised to “convert anxiety into optimism,” channeling public frustration with inflation, stagnation, and immigration into a renewed sense of purpose. The message was clear: Japan must stand proud again. Yet this “pride” is modeled on a blueprint Washington knows well – a Japan that is stronger, but in ways that serve the larger American strategy in Asia.
China was quick to notice. “Japan should reflect on its history and remember the lessons so that it would not repeat past mistakes of war,” said Lin Jian, spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry. The warning hinted at what Tokyo’s neighbors suspect: that Japan’s “new independence” may, in fact, be a return to old allegiances – this time under an American flag.
Arming the ally: Japan’s military “autonomy” built in America
Takaichi’s Japan speaks the language of self-reliance. At the heart of her agenda is a promise to restore Japan’s full right to defend itself – and, when necessary, to strike first. She has vowed to revise Article 9 of the Constitution, the clause that has bound the country to pacifism since World War II, to expand Japan’s right to “collective self-defense.”
In practical terms, that means moving beyond a purely defensive posture toward a strategy of deterrence – and even pre-emption. The shift began under Shinzo Abe but now accelerates at an unprecedented pace. Japan is acquiring and developing long-range strike capabilities, including US-made Tomahawk cruise missiles and AGM-158 JASSM systems, as well as its own Type-12 missile, whose range has been extended to nearly 1,000 kilometers. The Izumo-class helicopter destroyers are being converted to deploy F-35B stealth fighters, while new investments pour into cyber and space defense programs.
Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, front, arrives at her office in Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 21, 2025.
Reflecting these ambitions, Japan’s defense budget for fiscal year 2026 is projected at about ¥8.8 trillion (roughly $60 billion) – the largest in its history and a 4-5 percent increase over 2025. The goal is to reach 2 percent of GDP by 2027, meeting NATO’s benchmark for a “credible deterrent.” That target remains ambitious for an economy burdened by debt and social-spending pressures, yet it perfectly aligns with Washington’s calls for greater “burden sharing.”
As US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs John Noh put it, “Japan has long underemphasized spending for its own defense, especially given the threats posed by China and the DPRK.” His words carry more than polite encouragement; they define the expectation. The United States wants Japan not merely as an ally, but as a forward-operating partner whose rearmament fits seamlessly into the American strategic framework in Asia.
Critics at home and abroad question whether this militarization truly enhances Japan’s sovereignty – or binds it even tighter to the US arsenal. Columbia University’s Jeffrey D. Sachs argues, “The US acts as if Japan needs to be defended against China. Let’s have a look. During the past 1,000 years, how many times did China attempt to invade Japan? If you answered zero, you are correct.”
For now, Tokyo’s “autonomy” looks less like independence and more like alignment. The flags may differ, but the hardware – and the strategy – remain unmistakably American.
Debt, dollars, and dependency
If Japan’s new defense posture is the muscle of Takaichi’s project, its economic base is the brittle bone. The country enters this new “era of strength” weighed down by demographic decline, debt, and slow growth – a paradox for a nation that prides itself on discipline and efficiency.
In 2025, Japan’s economy remains trapped between inflationary pressure and stagnation. Real GDP growth is expected to hover between 0.4% and 0.7% through 2026, constrained by weak exports and flat domestic consumption. Trade tensions with the United States – Tokyo’s closest ally and toughest negotiator – have compounded the pressure. The recalibrated 2025 US–Japan trade agreement kept tariffs on automobiles as high as 25%, underscoring how alliance obligations can double as economic constraints.
Meanwhile, Japan’s poverty rate, at 15.4% according to the latest available data, is well above the OECD average of 11%. The Gini coefficient of 32.3 highlights the limits of redistribution in an aging society where inequality deepens even amid record employment. “The low birthrate and rapid aging of our population will create serious challenges for Japan,” warns Hiroshi Yoshikawa, professor of economics at Rissho University. “But to blame stagnation solely on demographics is a mistake. Rising poverty is the other face of our aging society.”
FILE PHOTO. A homeless man sleeps in a park in Tokyo, Japan.
Takaichi’s government plans to offset stagnation with expanded welfare spending, tax incentives, and childcare subsidies – measures aimed at keeping women and the elderly in the workforce. But these policies risk fueling inflation and widening the fiscal crater: Japan’s public debt already exceeds 250% of GDP, the highest among advanced economies. The Bank of Japan, while hinting at gradual rate hikes, still maintains ultra-low interest rates — a precarious balance between sustaining growth and containing price pressures.
The same pragmatism defines Japan’s energy strategy. Under the 2025 US–Japan Framework Agreement, Tokyo has committed to long-term purchases of American energy resources worth roughly $7 billion annually. Despite public commitments to renewable energy, Takaichi favors a diversified mix – including fossil fuels and nuclear power – to guarantee reliability amid geopolitical uncertainty. Energy security, once a national concern, is now another strand in the web of US–Japan interdependence.
In the end, Japan’s economic “autonomy” looks much like its defense: financed, supplied, and quietly guided by Washington. Every new yen spent on sovereignty seems to buy a little more dependence.
Behind Takaichi’s rallying cry for national renewal lies a quieter crisis: Japan is running out of people. The nation’s population is shrinking faster than any other in the developed world, and the workforce is aging beyond repair. Factories, care homes, and construction sites face chronic labor shortages, yet immigration – the most obvious remedy – remains politically radioactive.
Migrants account for barely 2% of Japan’s population, one of the lowest ratios among advanced economies. Takaichi, in keeping with her nationalist platform, is expected to tighten controls further. During her campaign, she mocked unruly foreign tourists – “They kick and punch local deer and dangle on torii gates like monkey bars,” she said – a throwaway line that captured a deeper unease: Japan’s discomfort with outsiders.
That sentiment resonates with voters but clashes with economic reality. Japan cannot sustain its growth ambitions, let alone its expanded defense industry, without an influx of human capital. The contradiction is striking. As Takaichi builds a fortress economy and calls for a stronger military, the very manpower needed to realize those goals is disappearing.
Other right-wing governments in the West have learned to navigate this paradox. Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, for instance, has softened her anti-migration stance while quietly maintaining inflows of foreign workers to keep the economy running. Japan, by contrast, continues to equate demographic purity with national strength – even as that purity becomes an existential weakness.
Sohei Kamiya, secretary general of the ultranationalist Sanseitō Party, put it bluntly: “Why do foreigners come first when the Japanese are struggling to make ends meet and suffering from fear?” His words echo a common sentiment but ignore the arithmetic: without migrants, Japan’s ambitions – economic or geopolitical – may simply be impossible to sustain.
Japan’s Party of Do It Yourself leader Sohei Kamiya attends an election campaign event in Tokyo, Japan, July 3, 2025.
Takaichi’s Japan wants to lead in the Pacific and stand tall beside Washington. But a fortress with no people is just an empty shell.
Washington’s grip on Tokyo’s security blueprint
If Japan’s new defense policy looks bold on paper, its architecture remains unmistakably American. More than seventy years after the end of the US occupation, roughly 54,000 American troops are still stationed across the archipelago – a permanent reminder of who ultimately anchors Japan’s security. Bases in Okinawa, Yokosuka, and Misawa form the backbone of the US–Japan alliance under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, covering everything from missile defense to cyber and space warfare.
In February 2025, then–Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with President Donald Trump in Washington to reaffirm the allies’ commitment to a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.” The joint declaration promised greater deterrence, deeper interoperability, and, crucially, full US defense coverage under Article V of the treaty – extending even to the contested Senkaku Islands, a few rocky islets northwest of Taiwan. The symbolism was clear: Japan’s sovereignty, once surrendered in war, now depended on the American shield.
Under Takaichi, that dynamic is unlikely to change. Tokyo will continue to host the world’s most expensive forward base of US power while paying an ever-larger share of the bill. Washington has pressed Japan to spend up to 5% of its GDP on defense – more than double its current trajectory – as part of a broader push for “burden sharing.” The phrase sounds cooperative, but in practice it means underwriting America’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
Even as Japan develops its own strike capabilities and modernizes its forces, its logistics, intelligence, and weapons supply chains remain tied to US command structures. In many respects, Japan’s “self-defense forces” operate as an extension of the US Navy and Air Force – integrated, interoperable, and strategically dependent.
This dynamic generates a quiet tension in Tokyo: the stronger Japan becomes militarily, the more it seems bound to Washington’s orbit.
Yet for now, Takaichi shows no sign of questioning the balance. Her government will likely expand joint drills with Australia and the Philippines, further tightening the lattice of alliances designed to contain China – a network conceived, funded, and directed from the other side of the Pacific.
Between the Dragon and the Eagle
For all of Takaichi’s talk about sovereignty, Japan’s freedom to maneuver is tightly constrained by its place between two giants – China and the United States. The numbers tell the story. In 2024, trade between Japan and China totaled about $292.6 billion, roughly one-fifth of Japan’s entire volume. China remains Japan’s largest trading partner, accounting for 17.6% of exports and 22.5% of imports. The United States, meanwhile, is Japan’s largest export destination and one of its main import suppliers.
In short, Japan profits from China while arming against it – largely at Washington’s urging.
Lawmakers in Japan’s lower house applaud Sanae Takaichi, center, after her election as prime minister, Tokyo, Japan, Oct. 21, 2025
The contradiction is glaring but familiar: much like Europe’s dependence on Russian energy even as it backed sanctions against Moscow, Japan’s economic survival hinges on the very power it is being encouraged to contain.
Columbia University’s Jeffrey D. Sachs captured the irony: “Japan and Korea do not need the US to defend themselves. They are wealthy and can certainly provide their own defense. Far more importantly, diplomacy can ensure peace in Northeast Asia far more effectively – and far less expensively – than US troops.”
But Washington’s calculus runs differently. For the US, a militarized Japan is not a problem to solve but an asset to maintain – a critical node in the Indo-Pacific containment chain. For Tokyo, breaking free from that role would mean risking access to the Chinese market and possibly provoking its key ally.
Takaichi insists Japan will chart its own course. Yet every decision – from defense procurement to energy contracts and trade policy – moves within boundaries set by others. In the rivalry between the Dragon and the Eagle, Japan’s sovereignty often feels more like a space to be negotiated than a power to be exercised.
Sovereignty by permission
Takaichi presents herself as the leader who will restore Japan’s pride – the heir to Shinzo Abe’s vision of a “normal nation” unshackled from postwar constraints. Yet the Japan she leads is less independent than ever. Its security is underwritten by the United States, its economy tethered to both Washington and Beijing, its demographics eroding the very foundation of self-sufficiency it celebrates.
The rhetoric of autonomy conceals a system of managed dependence: American bases on Japanese soil, American missiles in Japanese silos, American gas in Japanese pipelines. Even the push for “strategic self-reliance” advances along American lines, calibrated to serve the Indo-Pacific architecture drawn up in Washington.
Shinzo Abe dreamed of restoring Japan’s sovereignty; Sanae Takaichi inherits the simulation of it. Her government talks of strength and independence, but the coordinates of Japan’s power still lie thousands of miles away.
In a turbulent century of shifting alliances and fading empires, Japan’s new era begins with an old truth: under the banner of independence, it remains a nation sovereign only by permission.
Qatar and the US have warned that a new due-diligence directive risks raising energy costs and disrupting deliveries
Qatar and the United States have warned that the EU’s green agenda could pose an “existential threat” to the bloc’s energy security and industrial competitiveness.
In an open letter to Brussels, reported by several outlets on Wednesday, the two countries’ energy ministers – Qatar’s Saad bin Sherida Al Kaabi and US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright – warned that the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) could make gas and LNG supplies less affordable and reliable.
The US provided the bloc with 45% of its LNG in 2024. Earlier this year, Qatar, which provided the EU with 12% of its LNG in 2024, threatened to suspend all LNG exports to the bloc if Brussels proceeds with its green agenda.
Expected to take effect in 2027, the CSDDD will allow member states to fine companies up to 5% of their global turnover if their supply chains cause environmental damage or violate human rights.
The directive will “seriously undermine the ability of the American, Qatari, and broader international energy community to maintain and expand partnerships and operations within the EU,” the document reads, as cited by the Qatar News Agency.
The rules come “at a critical moment,” as the bloc seeks to replace Russian energy, noted the Financial Times. Since the start of the Ukraine-related sanctions campaign in 2022, the EU has shifted from Russian pipeline gas to LNG imports, mainly from the US and Qatar.
The EU’s two largest economies, France and Germany, have also opposed the proposal.
The rules, set for debate by EU legislators later this week, could also jeopardize the trade deal signed in July between Brussels and US President Donald Trump, under which the bloc committed to buying $750 billion of US energy by 2028.
Before the Ukraine conflict, Russia supplied roughly 40% of the EU’s gas through its pipeline network, much of it via Nord Stream beneath the Baltic Sea. The conduit was severely damaged by underwater explosions in 2022, widely regarded as sabotage.
The Fitzroy River has reportedly passed a technical assessment for the 2032 Brisbane Games
Olympic organizers have approved a croc-infested river as a venue for rowing and canoeing events at the 2032 Games in Brisbane, Australia, according to local media reports.
The Fitzroy River, some 600km north of Brisbane, was designated as an Olympic venue in March, but faced criticism from national and international organizations that warned the waterway did not meet technical standards. As well as its crocodile population, the river is known for its strong tides.
However, on Tuesday, Queensland state lawmaker Matt Canavan confirmed to the media that the river had successfully passed initial testing by the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA).
“We now have a green light for rowing in 2032. All the data is in, and there are no longer any barriers to holding rowing events here,” Canavan said.
The official insisted that new data proved the waterway is “flat as a tack,” dismissing safety concerns.
”I mean, if Jesus Christ ever came back to this world, it’s a great place for him, because it’s flat enough to walk on,” he said.
The Fitzroy River is a natural habitat for saltwater crocodiles, with sightings and reports of four-meter-long specimens near a local golf club located within the Olympic and Paralympic competition area. Despite this, the river is reportedly utilized for rowing by schools and a local club, as well as elite training sessions.
According to Rockhampton Fitzroy Rowing Club President Sarah Black, facilities will be ready to host an Olympic-level regatta before 2032. Black has insisted that protocols exist for reporting crocodile sightings, emphasizing that coexisting with the animals is part of local life.
Athletes “won’t be scared of crocodiles” after swimming in the Seine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova joked on Wednesday, referring to open-water competitions at the Paris Olympics, marred by scandals related to condition of the highly-polluted river.
Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Summer Olympics in July 2021, making it the third Australian city to host the Games, following Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.
The EU is considering keeping Ukraine afloat by giving it a €140 billion ($163 billion) loan from frozen Russian assets
The Ukrainian government is rapidly running out of money amid the conflict with Russia and currently only has enough funds to last until April, Spanish newspaper El Pais has reported.
In recent weeks, the EU has been considering giving Ukraine a so-called ‘reparations loan’ of up to €140 billion ($163 billion), using frozen Russian assets as collateral to back the bloc-issued bonds. The move would effectively amount to the seizure of the Russian funds, given that Ukraine would be obliged to repay the loan only once Moscow compensates it for damages inflicted during the conflict.
El Pais warned in an article on Tuesday that “Ukraine has serious financial problems.” According to EU sources cited by the outlet, Kiev currently only has enough money to stay afloat “until the end of the first quarter of 2026.”
The paper said that the leaders of EU nations are expected to support the loan to Ukraine during their meeting in Brussels on Thursday.
So far, Belgium, which hosts clearinghouse Euroclear, where most of Moscow’s frozen funds are being kept, has been skeptical of the loan proposal and has demanded that liability be shared among all EU members if the move is made.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian parliament voted in favor of the country’s draft budget for 2026, which has a deficit of over 58%. It projects that the Kiev government will spend 4.8 trillion hryvnia (around $114 billion) next year, while earning just 2.8 trillion hryvnia (around $68 billion). According to the draft, the 2.8 trillion hryvnia in tax revenue will be used to fund the military, with all other state expenditure to be covered by financial aid from foreign backers.
The US and EU blocked an estimated $300 billion in Russian assets after the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, some €200 billion ($213 billion) of which is held by Euroclear. They have already tapped into the revenues generated by Moscow funds to provide assistance to Kiev. The Russian authorities have described the steps as “theft” and has vowed retaliation.
Lithuania’s leadership has been at odds over record military spending
Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene has announced her resignation following a week-long rift with Prime Minister Inga Ruginiene over the country’s military budget.
The dispute reportedly stemmed from an off-the-record meeting on October 14 where Defense Ministry staff encouraged journalists to pressure the government to raise its budget allocation to 5% of Lithuania’s GDP, as demanded by NATO.
The prime minister slammed the meeting as “sabotage” and declared she had lost confidence in the defense minister.
Sakaliene said on Facebook on Wednesday she was stepping down due to “different fundamental views,” after repeated clashes with Ruginiene about the 2026 defense budget.
“Just a month ago, I had hoped we could work together, but unfortunately, we cannot,” Sakaliene wrote.
This week, the Baltic nation’s government endorsed a record defense budget of €4.79 billion ($5.6 billion), equal to 5.38% of GDP, and in line with NATO’s drive to boost military spending. The draft will be debated before final parliamentary approval later this year.
Under pressure from US President Donald Trump, European NATO members have promised to increase their military budgets to 5% of GDP. EU governments have also announced large-scale military investments, citing an alleged threat posed by Russia – a claim Moscow denies.
The Kremlin has dismissed allegations of hostile intent toward Western nations as “nonsense” and fearmongering, and has condemned what it calls the West’s “reckless militarization.”
Lithuania, along with its Baltic neighbors Latvia and Estonia, has taken a particularly hardline stance toward Moscow since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022.
Any European country that refuses to grant the Russian president’s plane passage doesn’t want peace, Peter Szijjarto has said
Hungary will not enforce the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin if he visits the country for talks with US President Donald Trump, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday.
Putin and Trump agreed last week to meet in Budapest to discuss possible steps toward a peace deal in Ukraine. The plan has drawn criticism from Brussels and Kiev, neither of which were invited, with some Western officials arguing that the Russian leader should not be allowed to travel due to the ICC warrant.
The ICC issued a warrant for Putin in 2023 over alleged deportations of Ukrainian children. Moscow, which does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction, has dismissed the charges as politically motivated. Earlier this year, Kiev came up with a list of 339 children that were supposedly evacuated by Moscow. Russian officials, however, have said there was not “a single kidnapped child” on the list and that most of the children were actually either adults or had already ended up in Europe.
Szijjarto noted in an interview with CNN that when Putin visited the US back in August to meet Trump, he was not arrested. “If he comes to Hungary, he’s not going to be arrested either,” the minister said.
Hungary has recently begun withdrawing from the ICC, although the formal process has not yet been completed.
Szijjarto further stressed that any European countries attempting to hinder Putin’s transit to Hungary would be demonstrating that “they do not want peace.”
His comments come after multiple EU officials expressed dissatisfaction with plans for the Putin-Trump summit to take place in Hungary. The bloc’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said it was “not nice” that Putin will visit an EU country despite the ICC warrant.
Poland has indicated that it could even intercept the Russian leader’s plane if it enters Polish airspace. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Warsaw’s comments suggest it is “prepared to resort to terrorism.”
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kiev and its Western European backers of refusing to negotiate in good faith and seeking to undermine peace efforts in order to prolong the conflict.
The personnel will crew Ukrainian naval vessels kept abroad under foreign protection
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has ordered the deployment of troops to Türkiye and the United Kingdom to operate Ukrainian naval ships currently based in the two countries.
The decision, first announced in September, required parliamentary approval before coming into effect after Zelensky signed it on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s once-formidable naval force, inherited from the Soviet Union, has suffered years of neglect and losses in its conflict with Russia. The current fleet largely consists of smaller ships donated by foreign backers, many of which are docked outside Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky’s directive sends 106 personnel to Türkiye to man the Hetman Ivan Mazepa, an Ada-class corvette that was laid down in 2021. Once its ongoing trials are complete, it is expected to become the flagship of Ukraine’s navy.
An additional 540 sailors and 20 command officers will be deployed to the UK to crew five minehunter vessels previously transferred from the British, Dutch, and Belgian navies.
The decree indicates that Ukrainian crews will undergo training before assuming full operational control of the ships. The government estimates the immediate cost of the deployment at $3.2 million.
Kiev remains heavily dependent on Western financial and military assistance to sustain its government operations and war effort.
Moscow maintains that no amount of foreign aid can alter the outcome of the conflict, pointing to Ukraine’s severe manpower shortages due to widespread desertion and draft evasion.
Some 2,000 unique 18th-century coins have disappeared from the Denis Diderot Museum, mere days after a jewelry heist at the Louvre
Another museum in France has suffered a break-in, Franceinfo reported on Wednesday. A day after a high-profile jewelry heist at the Louvre, nearly 2,000 prized coins were reportedly stolen from the Denis Diderot House of Enlightenment in the northeastern town of Langres.
The case adds to a series of major museum thefts in the country in recent months, prompting an outcry from opposition politicians over the government’s handling of cultural heritage security.
The gold and silver coins were reported stolen on Monday morning after museum staff discovered a broken front door and a shattered display case. The hoard reportedly included 1,633 silver and 319 gold coins from the 18th and 19th centuries, with an estimated value of around €90,000 ($104,000). The stolen items were part of the museum’s “treasure” collection, unearthed by construction workers during building renovations in 2011.
According to the local mayor’s office, as cited by the news outlet, the break-in appeared premeditated and targeted, with only selected valuables taken while other objects were left untouched. Local authorities have reportedly tasked a private security company with providing overnight surveillance of the site while the security system at the temporarily closed museum is being upgraded.
The Langres incident follows two other major museum thefts in France this month. On October 16, gold nuggets worth €1.5 million were stolen from the National Museum of Natural History in Paris. On October 19, eight pieces of Napoleonic-era jewelry were taken in a daylight break-in at the Louvre.
The Louvre heist triggered sharp criticism of museum leadership. Director Laurence Des Cars faced accusations of prioritizing diversity over security experience in her staffing decisions.
Marion Marechal, a European Parliament member and niece of Marine Le Pen, said France had become the “laughingstock of the world” following the “ridiculous theft,” calling for the immediate resignation of Des Cars and the museum’s security chief Dominique Buffin, whom she claimed had been appointed as part of a feminization policy.
Jordan Bardella, the president of National Rally, branded the heist at the world’s most visited museum an “intolerable humiliation,” calling it reflective of “the decay of the state.”
