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May 30, 2023 - Video shows what Indo-Pacific Command says is an "unnecessarily aggressive move" by a Chinese Shenyang J-16 multi-role strike aircraft. Read more

May 30, 2023 - NATO-led KFOR: 30 KFOR peace-keepers wounded during yesterday's attack in the municipality of Zvecan. Read more

May 29, 2023 - After South Korea notified Japan of an upcoming satellite launch, South Korea “strongly” warned against the launch, while Japan said that the country would shoot down any projectiles that threaten its territory. Read more

May 29, 2023 - Syrian state media reported that Israel targeted the Syrian capital of Damascus with airstrikes, citing a military source. Read more

May 28th, 2023 - Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called Poland "hostile" and addressed claims by Polish media, Russian and Belarusian officials that Poland is planning a coup in Belarus, and says that if this happens, Russia will step in and intervene. We have found that Russian state-run media has taken Polish media out of context. Read more

May 28, 2023 - The United States has carried out an airstrike in Somalia, and engaged insurgents in support of the Somalian government, according to a statement released by the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM). Read more

May 25th, 2023 - President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has said that Russia has begun its movement of tactical nuclear warheads into Belarus. Read more

May 24, 2023 - A Chinese hacker group named "Volt Typhoon" injected malware code into telecommunications infrastructure in Guam and other locations within the United States. Read more

May 23rd, 2023 - The Russian Ministry of Defense has claimed that it intercepted two United States B-1B strategic bombers flying over the Baltic Sea approaching the Russian border. Read more

May 17th, 2023 - The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked a Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). Read more

May 15th, 2023 - The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that it detected and intercepted two aircraft approaching the Russian border over the Baltic Sea and turned the military aircraft "away to its home airfield". Read more

May 14th, 2023 - The Alaskan Region of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected, tracked, positively identified and intercepted six Russian aircraft operating in and near the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on May 11, 2023. Read more

May 14, 2023 - A ceasefire agreement has been reached between Israel and Gaza in order to bring an end to the hostilities in the region. Washington released a statement sending their "condolences to the families of civilians who were killed and those who were injured in the violence". Read more

May 11, 2023 - Israel Defense Forces (IDF): "The IDF attacked a position for launching mortar bombs of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization". A total of 507 launches toward Israel from the Gaza Strip. Read more

May 9, 2023 - Sudanese Armed Forces statement: "A summary of today's situation: The operational situation is stable in all states of the country, except for some clashes with rebel militia groups in some parts of the capital. Read more

May 9, 2023 - Israel Defense Forces (IDF): "IDF warplanes attacked and thwarted a number of senior members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization". Read more

May 3rd, 2023 - The Energotom National Nuclear Power Company State Enterprise claims that Russia has "placed another batch of military equipment, weapons, and explosives in the premises of the turbine department of the 4th power unit of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant". Read more

May 2, 2023 - After the death of the leader of the Islamic Jihad, Hader Adnan in an Israeli prison, reportedly due to an 86 day hunger strike, three rockets were fired from Gaza, Islamic Jihad terrorist group raised alertness. Read more

April 28, 2023 - The attack reported by Britain's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on position 1531.838N 05213.688 18 nautical miles south of Nishtun, Yemen has been downgraded from "attack" to "incident" Read more

April 28, 2023 - Britain's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reported that a vessel has come under attack 18 nautical miles south of Nishtun, Yemen. Read more

April 22, 2023 - Although the Pentagon has deployed forces and is reported to be coming up with options to assist in an evacuation of U.S. citizens located in the African country of Sudan, the White House said on Friday that it has no plans for a country-wide pullout of Americans from the country at this time Read more

April 22, 2023 - Operation Inherent Resolve: "BAGHDAD - On the morning of April 22, 2023, a Coalition Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), in direct support of Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) operations, experienced a mechanical failure and crashed south of Kirkuk, Iraq. Read more

April 17th, 2023 - U.S. Central Command: "CENTCOM confirms an ISIS Senior Leader was killed in a helicopter raid in northern Syria this morning. Read more

April 17th, 2023 - Two residents of New York have been arrested for allegedly operating a Chinese "secret police station" in Chinatown, and are expected to appear before the Brooklyn federal court on Monday. Read more

April 17th, 2023 - CENTCOM: "US Central Command forces conducted a unilateral helicopter raid in northern Syria in the early morning of April 17th targeting a Senior ISIS Syria Leader and Operational Planner responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe. Read more

April 15, 2023 - April 15, 2023 - BEIJING - China has revised its rules for the recruitment of soldiers and expanded its draft, which includes the conscription of veterans and college students at the top of the draft list. Read more

April 13, 2023 - South Korea has issued a "strong complaint" through diplomatic channels after an intermediate or long-range ballistic missile launch by North Korea was detected which triggered a "shelter in place" alert to be declared by the Japanese government. Read more

April 10, 2023 - April 10, 2023 - Chinese government officials claimed that the PLA Southern Theater Command tracked a United States Navy destroyer USS Milius, saying that it "illegally trespassed" into waters near Meiji Reef (Mischief Reef). Read more

April 10, 2023 - 70 Chinese military aircraft and 11 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted on April 9-10th, 2023 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Four of the aircraft were J-15 carrier based fighter jets. Read more

April 9, 2023 - 71 Chinese military aircraft and 9 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan between April 8th and April 9th, 2023 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

April 9th, 2023 - Israel: The IDF is increasing its forces in Judea and Samaria, and alerts have been activated in Netor, and Avni Eitan, Israel. The IDF is now attacking locations where launches were carried out in Syria. Read more

April 7th, 2023 - IDF spokesperson (translated): The IDF attacked targets of the terrorist organization Hamas in southern Lebanon. Alerts activated in Israeli settlement locations. Read more

April 7th, 2023 - Rockets fired into Israel, mortar fire towards Metula, Israel from Lebanese border. Israel responds with attacks in Gaza Strip. Read more

April 4th, 2023 - US Central Command: "TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. Central Command forces conducted a unilateral strike in Syria today killing Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, an ISIS senior leader. Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri was responsible for planning ISIS attacks in Türkiye and Europe and developed the leadership structure for ISIS in Türkiye. Read more

April 4th, 2023 - US Central Command: TAMPA, Fla. – During the month of March 2023, U.S. Central Command, along with coalition and other partners, conducted a total of 37 D-ISIS operations, resulting in 9 ISIS operatives killed and 18 detained. Read more

April 2nd, 2023 - A statement by the Iranian Navy said that it warned a U.S. Navy Lockheed EP-3E land-based Multi-Intelligence reconnaissance aircraft away from its airspace. Read more

April 2nd, 2023 - A newly declassified report on Havana Syndrome by the director of national intelligence has been released that contradicts another recent report saying that it was very unlikely that the illness was caused by an energy weapon. Read more

April 2nd, 2023 - IDF fighter jets and helicopters were launched after an aircraft entered Israeli airspace from Syria. The aircraft was shot down by Israeli aircraft, according to the Israeli military. Read more

March 28, 2023 - North Korean state media reports Kim Jong Un guided the mounting of nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles on March 27th. The North's Academy of Defense Science conducted another test of underwater strategic weapon system from March 25th to 27th. Read more

March 27, 2023 - UPDATES (1) North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile, according to the Japanese Prime Minister's office. Read more

March 25th, 2023 - SYRIA - The death toll resulting from US airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias in Syria has risen to 19, according to the UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Read more

March 24, 2023 - PYONGYANG - North Korea has claimed that it tested a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone with the ability to create a radioactive wave, or "tsunami" capable of taking out naval strike groups and ports. Read more

March 24th, 2023 - Department of Defense: "The U.S. response to the attack on a coalition base in Syria that killed a U.S. contractor and wounded six others highlighted that the U.S. military will do what it must to protect its personnel. Read more

March 24th, 2023 - Central Command: On the morning of March 24th, at approximately 8:05 a.m. Syrian local time, 10 rockets targeted coalition forces at the Green Village in northeast Syria. Read more

March 24th, 2023 - AL-OMAR - A second U.S. base, Green Village in Syria located in the Al-Omar gas field in northeastern Syria was targeted by rockets after retaliatory strikes were carried out by the United States in response to another attack that killed an American contractor and wounded another contractor and four other service members. Read more

March 24th, 2023 - Central Command: "This evening, we responded to an attack on our forces that killed an American contractor and wounded our troops and another American contractor by striking facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Read more

March 22, 2023 - March 22, 2023 - North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles toward the East Sea on Wednesday from the Hamhung region of North Korea's east coast, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Read more

March 19, 2023 - North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday as the United States and South Korea carry out joint military drills. Read more

March 17, 2023 - The International Criminal Court (ICC) released a statement on Friday that it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, including the abduction of children from Ukraine during Russia's war on the country. Read more

March 16, 2023 - North Korean state media claims that the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test that the country carried out on Thursday was a Hwasong-17. Read more

March 16, 2023 - The Japanese Ministry of Defense now says that the missile launched by North Korea was a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and that the details are "currently under analysis". Read more

March 16, 2023 - Inspections carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have found that 2.5 tons of natural uranium are missing from an unnamed Libyan site that is not under the control of the Libyan government. Read more

March 15, 2023 - The Japanese Prime Minister's office released a statement that said that North Korea has launched a "suspected ballistic missile". The Japanese Ministry of Defense then released a statement confirming that a ballistic missile was launched from the west coast of North Korea, toward the east. Read more

March 15, 2023 - The Russian ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that Russia views the U.S. drone flight in the Black Sea as a "real provocation" and said that it was flying with its "transponders off" and "entered into the zone of the special military operation" which is the term Russia uses for its war in Ukraine. Read more

March 14, 2023 - Two Russian Su-27 aircraft conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept with a U.S. Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance unmanned MQ-9 aircraft that was operating within international airspace over the Black Sea today. Read more

March 14, 2023 - North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea a day after the United States and South Korea began carrying out a combined military exercise. Read more

March 14, 2023 - The United States and South Korea began carrying out another combined military exercise in the Indo-Pacific called "Freedom Shield" that was announced on March 2nd by the United States Forces Korea after North Korea launched two cruise missiles from a submarine the day before. Read more

March 13, 2023 - North Korea announced that they launched two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine underwater on Sunday. The missiles flew about 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) for about 125 minutes (7,563 to 7,575 seconds). Read more

March 09, 2023 - DOD: Russia Reportedly Supplying Enriched Plutonium to China: Various open-source outlets reported how Rosatom is providing highly enriched uranium for Chinese fast breeder reactors. Read more

March 09, 2023 - SEOUL - North Korea has fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Yellow Sea, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Read more

March 08, 2023 - A U.S. intelligence report on Wednesday reiterated earlier warnings, as well as a warning in the 2023 Annual Threat Assessment that North Korea is expected to carry out its seventh nuclear test. South Korea has said that it could be carried out at any time. Read more

March 06, 2023 - A statement released by the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the United States and South Korea are carrying out simulations of nuclear strikes and are planning a "surprise strike" against "major deep strategic [North Korean] bases". Read more

March 06, 2023 - BLACK SEA - Ukrainian Defense Forces have reported that there are currently 16 Russian vessels in the Black Sea, including four missile carriers. Read more

March 06, 2023 - The North Korean National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) said that it has made "steady progress" regarding the development of its satellite program, and has "succeeded" in developing a high-thrust engine carrier rocket in order to launch it into space. Read more

February 28, 2023 - Two years ago a Chinese-linked company purchased 51% of the land on the uninhabited Japanese Okinawan island of Yanaha located a little over 15 miles from the U.S. military's Iejima auxiliary airfield according to a report by Japanese news agency Yomiuri Shimbun citing officials in the village of Izena administering the island. Read more

February 26, 2023 - Kwon Jeong-geun, Director-General for US Affairs and North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement posted by North Korean state-run news agency KCNA that said if the US continued its "hostile and provocative practices" against North Korea, it could be regarded as a "declaration of war" against the country. Read more

February 26, 2023 - A Chinese J-11 fighter jet shadowed a U.S. P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft from a few hundred feet away and issued a warning to stop approaching or "pay full responsibility" while it was in international airspace. Read more

February 25, 2023 - Chinese fishing vessels have been linked to the severing of multiple Taiwanese undersea cables in February according to Chunghwa Telecom, a telecommunications firm that handles Taiwan's undersea cables. Read more

February 24, 2023 - Chinese state-affiliated media Global Times has responded to reports that the United States is expanding their troop presence in Taiwan by saying that it is "illegal" for the soldiers to go to Taiwan, and that the Chinese mainland "won't take any responsibility for their safety" and that they will be "wiped out" together with the "resisting Taiwan troops" if China takes "military action". Read more

February 24, 2023 - 37 Chinese military aircraft and 6 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on February 24th, 2023 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

February 24, 2023 - North Korea launched "four strategic" Arrow-2 type cruise missiles from the area of Kimchaek City, North Hamgyong Province to the East Sea of Korea, according to North Korean state news agency KCNA. Read more

February 24, 2023 - Though only 30 U.S. Soldiers were located in Taiwan one year ago, the United States is now sending 100 to 200 more soldiers to the island for training (potentially more than quadrupling the number) amidst increasing tensions with China. Read more

February 22, 2023 - Russia suspends the New START nuclear treaty, which is the only nuclear treaty in effect between the US and #Russia, saying that the U.S. is "weakening" the security of the Russian Federation. Read more

February 20, 2023 - Russian Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin will be reading out a message to the Russian Federal Assembly on February 21st in Gostiny Dvor that will focus on "the current situation" - the "special operation" and the "economy", as well as "the social sphere". Read more

February 20, 2023 - North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea in response to the joint "flight training" by the United States and South Korea the previous day. Read more

February 20, 2023 - International nuclear inspectors have detected 84% enriched uranium in Iran, "just below" the level needed to manufacture a nuclear weapon. Read more

February 19, 2023 - An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) launched by North Korea landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEC), near Hokkaido according to Japan's Prime Minister, and the NHK news agency. Read more

February 18, 2023 - CENTCOM: TAMPA, Fla. - "Last night, during a partnered U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) helicopter raid in northeastern Syria, an explosion on target resulted in four U.S. servicemembers and one working dog wounded". Read more

February 15, 2023 - Central Command (CENTCOM) has released a statement regarding a "D-ISIS" raid that was carried out on February 10th, 2023 in which an ISIS leader was killed. Read more

February 15, 2023 - The U.S. military had been tracking the first balloon that it shot down for about a week as it left China on a heading toward Guam and Hawaii, before making a sharp turn north towards Alaska. Read more

February 15, 2023 - United States Central Command reports shooting down Iranian-man unmanned aerial vehicle conducting a reconnaissance of Mission Support Site Conoco in Northeast Syria. Read more

February 13, 2023 - AFRICOM: A U.S. Airstrike has killed at least 12 al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia. The airstrike was carried out around 28 miles from northeast Mogadishu, according to U.S. Africa Command. Read more

February 13, 2023 - Statement by the Department of Defense on the "successful" shoot down of an "airborne object" flying at about 20,000 feet in altitude in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron in the state of Michigan. Read more

February 13, 2023 - WASHINGTON - The latest "object" that was shot down on Sunday over Lake Huron, which is located close to the Canadian border was "octagonal shape" with "no discernable payload". Read more

February 13, 2023 - The Michigan state representative Jack Bergman released a statement saying that he has been in contact with the Department of Defense, and that the U.S. military has "decommissioned" another "object" over Lake Huron. Read more

February 12, 2023 - NORAD And NORTHCOM Statement: "With the cooperation of the Federal Aviation Administration, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) implemented a temporary flight restriction airspace in central Montana on Feb. 11, 2023, to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORAD operations. Read more

February 12, 2023 - NORAD: “NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation.” Read more

February 12, 2023 - Representative Matt Rosendale statement: "Airspace is reopened – I will remain in contact with defense officials and share more information as it becomes available. Montanans deserve answers". Read more

February 12, 2023 - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a NOTAM over Havre, Montana, near the Canadian border, and declared the region “National Defense Airspace”. Read more

February 12, 2023 - NORAD shoots down an unidentified object violating Canadian airspace over the Yukon with an F-22. Read more

February 12, 2023 - NORAD Statement on Alaskan high-altitude airborne object Shootdown: "February 11, 2023 U.S. Northern Command Update on Recovery Operations At the direction of the President of the United States, fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Norther Command successfully took down a high altitude airborne object off the northern coast of Alaska. Read more

February 12, 2023 - NORAD is monitoring "what appear to be" one or two objects that "appear to be spy balloons" over Canada according to a report by the Canadian Global Television Network. Read more

February 11, 2023 - Department of Defense Press Secretary brigadier general Pat Ryder releases a statement regarding the object shot down over Alaska. Read more

February 11, 2023 - The U.S. just shot down an object that was flying around Alaska around one hour ago, according to John Kirby. Read more

February 11, 2023 - Brazil has declined the two Iranian warships from docking at Rio de Janeiro as the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula sa Silva prepared to visit Washington for a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. Read more

February 10, 2023 - Romania releases a statement regarding the Missile Launched By Russia, Crossing Into Moldova. Read more

February 10, 2023 - The Moldovan Ministry of Defense released the following statement on their official Facebook account regarding the "rocket" that flew over its territory and "strongly condemned" the "violation" of its airspace. Read more

February 10, 2023 - General Valery Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine put out a statement claiming that Russian missiles flew over Romania and Moldova during a missile strike on Ukraine, crossing into NATO-allied airspace. Read more

February 09, 2023 - Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder says that the Pentagon is aware of four previous balloons having gone over the United States, and that they are a part of a "larger Chinese surveillance balloon program". Read more

February 05, 2023 - After the United States Air Force carried out the operation to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon, efforts are underway to study and scrutinize both the balloon and its payload. Read more

February 05, 2023 - Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement regarding the "US claim" that it shot down a Chinese unmanned airship. Read more

February 04, 2023 - DoD: "An F-22 Raptor fighter from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon.The balloon fell approximately six miles off the coast in about 47 feet of water. No one was hurt". Read more

February 04, 2023 - Department of Defense: A U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the Chinese high altitude surveillance balloon over the water off the coast of South Carolina in U.S. airspace. Read more

February 04, 2023 - CIA Director William Burns said that Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered China's military to "be ready by 2027 to conduct a successful invasion" of the island of Taiwan. Read more

February 04, 2023 - Statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry regarding the balloon spotted above mainland United States. Read more

February 04, 2023 - A strategicist in surveillance balloons says that balloons are difficult to shoot down and that the one over the United States flying over U.S. military sites looks to have been equipped with an advanced AI guidance system. Read more

February 04, 2023 - EDITS (1) An explosion has been reported over Billings, Montana. The city of Billings, Montana says PD fire and airport have not been called to any incidents". Read more

February 04, 2023 - The Chinese "spy balloon" has altered its flight path and is now moving east at about 60,000 feet over the "central" United States, which demonstrates its ability to maneuver, according to a statement by the U.S. military Friday. Read more

February 03, 2023 - Canadian Ministry of Defense: "A high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected and its movements are being actively tracked by NORAD. Canadians are safe and Canada is taking steps to ensure the security of its airspace, including the monitoring of a potential second incident". Read more

February 03, 2023 - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE transcript of a background briefing regarding the high-altitude surveillance balloon spotted hovering over mainland United States, having come from Alaska, through Canada and into the northern United States from Canada. Read more

February 03, 2023 - NORAD: "NORAD and U.S. Northern Command statement on the high-altitude surveillance balloon. The United States government has detected and is tracking a high altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now. Read more

February 03, 2023 - UPDATED (1) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: "The United States Government has detected and is tracking a high altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now". Read more

February 02, 2023 - The U.S. government is currently tracking a balloon that has been in northern U.S. airspace for a few days now, and U.S. officials say they are confident it is a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon. Read more

February 01, 2023 - BAGHDAD - At least 8, some reports say 20 rockets were fired at a Turkish Zilkan military base in northern Iraq Wednesday. Two of the rockets that were fired landed on the inside of the base, wounding an Iraqi contractor. Read more

February 01, 2023 - 34 Chinese military aircraft and 9 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on February 1st, 2023 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

February 01, 2023 - A U.S. drone strike using blade-based AGM-114 R9X Hellfire missile is suspected to have killed three suspected al-Qaeda militants in Yemen’s Marib province. Read more

February 01, 2023 - The United States is preparing a $2.2 billion package worth of military aid to Ukraine, and is expected to contain longer-range rockets than the United States has previously been willing to give to Ukraine, as well as other weapons and ammunition. Read more

January 30, 2023 - An airstrike targeted a truck convoy on the Syria-Iraq border that consisted of 25 trucks crossing over the border from Iraq into Syria via a crossing that the Hezbollah currently controls. Read more

January 29, 2023 - Israel reported to be behind the attack on the Iranian weapons factory. The Pentagon has stated that no U.S. military forces were involved in strikes, despite claims by Saudi media that the United States Air Force was involved. Read more

January 29, 2023 - Netblocks Internet Observatory: "Confirmed: Network data show a disruption to internet connectivity in Iran with high impact to Mazandaran Province; authorities are attributing the incident to fiber optic cuts on the path between Babol and Sari". Read more

January 28, 2023 - An Admiral serving as the Chair of the NATO Military Committee says that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is ready for a direct confrontation with Russia. Read more

January 28, 2023 - General Mike Minihan, who heads the United States Air Force's Air Mobility Command has warned that he believes the United States will be at war with China in 2025. Read more

January 27, 2023 - ISRAEL - Two rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip into Israel. Both were intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system. Israel has carried out an airstrike within Gaza following the rocket launches. Read more

January 27, 2023 - DOD: "Today marks the conclusion of exercise Juniper Oak 23.2. This exercise was the largest U.S-Israel partnered exercise in history, said Deputy Pentagon Spokesperson Sabrina Singh, who held a news conference today. Read more

January 27, 2023 - Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy, Vice Adm. Gene Black, traveled to Japan to meet with his Japanese counterpart, Rear Adm. Nobuyuki Takenaka for a bilateral strategic dialogue at the Japanese Ministry of Defense in Tokyo. Read more

January 27, 2023 - US INDO-PACIFIC COMMAND: "KADENA AIR BASE, Japan -- U.S. Airmen and Sailors from Kadena Air Base teamed up in the skies near Okinawa with Japan Air Self Defense Force personnel during the latest iteration of the bilateral Southern Beach exercise. Read more

January 27, 2023 - US INDO-PACIFIC COMMAND: "PHILIPPINE SEA -- The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) fired a RIM-116 rolling airframe missile, during routine operations, while underway in the Philippine Sea, Jan. 24. Read more

January 27, 2023 - U.S. and Albanian defense leaders met today at the Pentagon to make a strong bilateral alliance even stronger. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - "Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with Defense Minister Niko Peleshi met as the two nations marked the 30th year of their nations' defense relationship. Read more

January 27, 2023 - Russian Foreign Minister has put out a warning and sent a note to members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that any shipments that contain military equipment will become a legitimate target for Russian Aerospace Forces. Read more

January 27, 2023 - Russia’s Ambassador to Germany Sergei Nechayev released a statement after the United States and Germany announced sending tanks to Ukraine that called the decision an "extremely dangerous decision" that "takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation". Read more

January 27, 2023 - The delivery of Western-made uranium shells to Ukraine will be regarded by Russia as "the use of dirty nuclear bombs" and said that the depleted uranium shells used for the Leopard 2 tanks lead to "contamination of the area" and outbreaks of cancer. Read more

January 27, 2023 - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: "The Department of Defense (DoD) announces the procurement of Abrams tanks for Ukraine via the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI). Read more

January 27, 2023 - RUSSIAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE: "The crew of Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Gorshkov's frigate, operating in areas of the western part of the Atlantic Ocean, conducted computer simulation exercises with hypersonic missile weapons. Read more

January 27, 2023 - Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman, and former president Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia may be nationalizing the property of people who are registered in the United States, European Union, and other "unfriendly" jurisdictions in the midst of new "anti-Russian" sanctions. Read more

January 27, 2023 - The aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) carrier strike group joined the joint US/Israel Juniper Oak drills in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea as the exercise wrapped up. Read more

January 26, 2023 - US Military: "CAMP NOVO SELO, Kosovo — Kosovo Force, Regional Command-East recently conducted exercise Cavalry Guardian, an emergency response training exercise, geared toward testing team cohesion, resilience under stress and job proficiency Read more

January 26, 2023 - US Army: "ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Almost 400 New York Army National Guard Soldiers will soon leave for a deployment to Kuwait. Read more

January 26, 2023 - The Department of the Army announced the preparation of Army units for potential deployment to backfill units currently in Europe. This potential deployment would not constitute a change to current force posture levels. Read more

January 26, 2023 - CENTRAL COMMAND: U.S. Central Command and the Israel Defense Forces carry out live-fire exercise Juniper Oak 23.2 in Israel and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Read more

January 26, 2023 - Former Special Agent In Charge Of The New York FBI Counterintelligence Division Charged With Violating U.S. Sanctions On Russia. A Russian Court and Government Interpreter Is Also Charged with Violating U.S. Sanctions on Russia. Read more

January 26, 2023 - The Norwegian Defense Chief Eirik Kristoffersen said in an interview with Norwegian channel TV2 that Russia has approached nearly 180,000 dead or wounded soldiers in Ukraine since the start of the war, to date. Read more

January 25, 2023 - Former Russian President and current Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that The United States is attempting to destroy Russia and that a new global military alliance may be emerging. Read more

January 25, 2023 - The United States says that they will be making an announcement to send around 30 Abrams tanks to Ukraine as soon as Wednesday, but it could take a few months to deliver the tanks. Read more

January 24, 2023 - A new Joint Resolution has been introduced by United States Representative Dan Crenshaw that would allow for the use of military force against Mexican drug cartels in order to fight against drug trafficking into the United States. Read more

January 23, 2023 - The Russian Bologoye strategic missile division in Tver dispatched the Yars mobile surface-to-surface nuclear missile systems to "combat patrol missions," according to the Russian MOD, which says that it is scheduled training. Read more

January 23, 2023 - U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE Michael Carpenter said that he expects broad support in the United States to for the Netherlands to transfer allied F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, in an interview with Lithuanian news agency Delfi. Read more

January 23, 2023 - The White House has declared the Russian private paramilitary organization PMC Wagner group as "transnational criminal organization". Read more

January 23, 2023 - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova said on Friday that the statements about supplying Ukraine with any weapons, including those that are able to hit Crimea will "inevitably" lead to "an escalation". Read more

January 23, 2023 - State Department: The United States is warning China against material and security assistance to Russia in Moscow’s war on Ukraine, laying out Washington’s red line ahead of U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing early next month. Read more

January 23, 2023 - Israel's state-owned IAI Aerospace Industries has announced its new "Point Blank" electro-optically guided missile, capable of being stored in a soldier's backpack. It can take off and land back into the operator's hand. Read more

January 23, 2023 - The FBI Director Christopher Wray stated Thursday that he is "deeply concerned" regarding the artificial intelligence program run by the Chinese government. Read more

January 22, 2023 - Central Command forces conducted a partnered helicopter and ground assault raid in eastern Syria. Read more

January 21, 2023 - The White House has declared the Russian private paramilitary organization PMC Wagner group as "transnational criminal organization". Read more

January 21, 2023 - TAMPA, Fla. – This morning, three one-way attack drones attacked the At Tanf Garrison in Syria. Two of the drones were shot down by Coalition Forces while one struck the compound, injuring two members of the Syrian Free Army partner force who received medical treatment. No US forces were injured. Read more

January 20, 2023 - Pentagon's spokeswoman Sabrina Singh just said if Ukraine decides to carry out a military operation in Crimea, the United States would "be with Ukraine for as long as it takes". Read more

January 20, 2023 - Forces TAMPA, Fla. - U.S. Central Command forces partnered with Syrian Democratic Forces to conduct a partnered helicopter assault in eastern Syria on Jan. 18 capturing an ISIS Syrian provincial media and security operative. Read more

January 19, 2023 - While speaking of Russia's war in Ukraine, Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that the "defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war". Read more

January 19, 2023 - U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Kevin Ryan: "If the Ukrainian military was having great success in the spring, and was chopping up the Russian military and was threatening to take back Crimea, then I think that the Russian military and leadership would use a nuclear weapon". Read more

January 19, 2023 - A report released by the New York Times claims that "several anonymous US officials" spoke to the paper and told them that Washington is warming up to the idea of aiding Ukraine in strikes on Ukraine. Read more

January 19, 2023 - Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan says that Saudi Arabia is "open to settling trade in other currencies" other than the US dollar. Read more

January 19, 2023 - Germany says that they will be allowing the export of its tanks to Ukraine on the condition that the United States also sends tanks to the country. If Germany decides to do so, other NATO-allied countries say they will follow suit. Read more

January 18, 2023 - US forces intercepted a drone flying near Forward Operating Site Carroll, nearby Camp Carroll in Seongju County, which is equipped with a missile defense system. The incident happened about 130 miles from Seoul, in South Korea. Read more

January 18, 2023 - Cloudflare Wins CISA Contract for Registry and Authoritative Domain Name System (DNS) Services. CISA is an operational component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Read more

January 16, 2023 - The Chinese Navy held "confrontational drills" in the South China Sea, according to state media, including Global Times, which stated that the drills were carried out "when a US carrier strike group had entered the region".  Read more

January 16, 2023 - GEILENKIRCHEN, Germany - NATO prepares a deployment Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) surveillance planes to Bucharest, Romania.  Read more

January 16, 2023 - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin has put out a statement calling on the United States and Japan to "Abandon" their "Cold War" mentality and "ideological bias" against China. Read more

January 16, 2023 - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to disembowel himself after Kishida warned Russia any use of nuclear weapons would be an act of "hostility against humanity". Read more

January 16, 2023 - IAEA - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has put out a Statement saying it will be boosting its presence within Ukraine in order to aid in preventing a nuclear accident from occurring during ongoing battles between Russia and Ukraine. Read more

January 16, 2023 - Israel: Iran has enough enriched uranium to produce four nuclear bombers, according to the Israeli military's outgoing Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi. Read more

January 14, 2023 - UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged Challenger 2 tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine. These are obviously "offensive" weapons now being supplied to Ukraine by NATO-allied countries. Read more

January 14, 2023 - Indonesia says that one of its warships, as well as a patrol aircraft and a drone have been monitoring a Chinese coast guard vessel in their exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a zone rich with resources that both China and Indonesia claim as their own. Read more

January 14, 2023 - Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin stated on Wednesday that he "seriously doubts" that Chinese activities around the island of Taiwan mean that China is planning an imminent invasion of the island. Read more

January 14, 2023 - China is reportedly pressuring Argentina to allow the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to build a naval base in the Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego province within the country, allowing them a military base with close access to Antarctica. Read more

January 14, 2023 - The United States has begun sending a "large number" of tanks and other military vehicles to the port of Vlissingen in the Netherlands. on Wednesday, according to a report by Reuters, which has alarmed Russia. Read more

January 14, 2023 - The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 required the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to submit an annual report to Congress on unidentified aerial phenomena.  Read more

January 14, 2023 - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - "Last year, U.S. Central Command conducted 313 operations in Iraq and Syria as part of the mission to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS.  Read more

January 14, 2023 - The pipeline connecting Lithuania to Latvia has exploded. Although sabotage is not being ruled out, the pipeline operator said that he does not "see any malign cause" or any "potential impact from outside".   Read more

January 11, 2023 - UK MINISTRY OF DEFENSE - "HMS Portland is monitoring the Russian guided missile frigate Admiral Gorshkov and accompanying tanker Kama as they sail in international waters close to the UK.  Read more

January 11, 2023 - The British postal service company Royal mail says that it's facing a major disruption in international export services after a "cyber incident" occurred.  Read more

January 11, 2023 - Normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the United States following an overnight outage to the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system that provides safety information to flight crews. The ground stop has been lifted. Read more

January 11, 2023 - *Updates (2)* - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released an alert saying that it's working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System after it failed and caused an outage. Read more

January 09, 2023 - China's military has released a statement that it carried out military exercises around the island of Taiwan practicing land and sea assaults. The exercises are the second such exercises in the region, the first having been carried out in December. Read more

January 09, 2023 - 57 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on January 8-9th, 2023 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

January 09, 2023 - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday that NATO's Kosovo Force (KFOR) declined its request to send up to 1,000 police and military personnel into Kosovo in response to rising tensions between the Serbians and Kosovo authorities. Read more

January 09, 2023 - Two men, one of which is Iranian were arrested in Germany on suspicion of planning to carry out a terrorist attack with a bio-weapon. Read more

January 09, 2023 - Poland and Finland voiced support for supplying Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks after the two countries agreed to start sending heavy weaponry to the country to fight against the ongoing Russian war. Read more

January 09, 2023 - A drone was shot down over the Ain al-Asad Air Base that hosts U.S. Forces, according to Iraqi military sources on Sunday, after which the US-led military coalition said it had carried out "an operational exercise", contradicting reports by the Iraqi military that it may have been hostile. Read more

January 08, 2023 - The Ukrainian Defense Ministry says that Russia is planning to mobilize up to 500,000 more conscripts into its military in the middle of January, a larger mobilization than the previous 300,000 Russia called up in October, 2022. Read more

January 08, 2023 - General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff estimated that around 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have either died or been injured in the start of the fighting in Ukraine on February 24th, 2022. Read more

January 08, 2023 - The Japanese trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura is calling for the rebuilding of a "world order" in order to counter the rise of "authoritarian regimes". Read more

January 07, 2023 - After Israeli Prime Minister said that efforts were underway to revive the JCPOA nuclear deal, the Biden Administration put out a statement saying that claims that it was engaged in talks were "false". Read more

January 07, 2023 - A Russian hacker group called Cold River targeted three different nuclear research labs in the United States between the months of August and September of 2022. Read more

January 07, 2023 - The Norwegian Armed Forces has posted a statement saying that the Russian hypersonic missile boat, the frigate Admiral Gorshkov is sailing south, along the coast of Norway, in international waters. Read more

January 07, 2023 - Former Russian President Medvedev posted a message on the Twitter account to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow that Russia should send its Zircon hypersonic missiles close to the Potomac River, which flows through Washington D.C. Read more

January 06, 2023 - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says that he believes that a coming recession is the most likely outcome of the recent spate of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve to curb inflation. Read more

January 06, 2023 - The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon transited the Taiwan Strait on January 5th, according to the U.S. Pacific Fleet, which it says was a 'routine' transit. Read more

January 06, 2023 - Alan Greenspan warned that if China invades Taiwan it could trigger an economic "Black Swan" event that could affect economies worldwide. The number of Chinese aircraft spotted around the island of Taiwan has nearly doubled each consecutive year since 2020. Read more

January 05, 2023 - Russian state media reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a "Christmas truce" ceasefire for 36 hours from 12:00 on January 6th to 24:00 on January 7th. The offer was rejected by Ukraine, which said that it "should not be taken seriously". Read more

January 05, 2023 - China is running secret overseas police stations around the world, including unauthorized stations in the US, in order to surveil Chinese nationals in countries across the globe. Read more

January 05, 2023 - The British MI5 Security Service addressed threats to the UK posed by Iran, Russia, and China and is expected to declare the Iranian IRGC a terrorist organization in the coming weeks. Read more

January 05, 2023 - South Korea has begun considering sharing real-time radar information along with missile tracking data with Japan. The United States, South Korea and Japan have begun "technical discussions" which involve the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Read more

January 04, 2023 - CENTCOM: "Two rockets targeted coalition forces at Mission Support Site Conoco, northeast Syria, today at approximately 9am local time in Syria (1 am Eastern Standard Time). Read more

January 04, 2023 - The Iranian state-run news agency IRNA has reported that an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Copse officer has been assassinated in front of his residential home in Tehran after being hit by four bullets. Read more

January 03, 2023 - The number of Chinese aircraft spotted around the island of Taiwan has nearly doubled each consecutive year since 2020. Read more

January 03, 2023 - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has reported a rocket launch, but the rocket failed. No alert was activated "in accordance with standard operating procedures". Read more

January 03, 2023 - Israel carried out a missile strike on the Damascus International Airport, killing four people while boosting cooperation with the US, and preparing for an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities. Read more

January 03, 2023 - The Hamas terrorist organization has threatened explosive violence and said that if Israeli National Security Minister Ben Gvir visits the Temple Mount, the visit would lead to violence and a declaration of war. Read more

January 01, 2023 - The Japanese embassy released a statement expressing "outrage" after Russia's New Year's Eve attack on Ukraine that it says resulted in the death and injuries of civilians, which included a Japanese journalist. Read more

January 01, 2023 - *UPDATE (2)* Syrian state news agency SANA, has reported that explosions were heard near Damascus, and reported that there were "separate indications" of Syrian air defense systems having been activated. Read more

January 01, 2023 - North Korea fired another ballistic missile toward the east sea, according to a report by South Korean news agency Yonhap. The North also ordered an "exponential expansion" of its nuclear arsenal. Read more

December 31, 2022 - The Liaoning Chinese aircraft carrier approached the U.S. territory of Guam while carrying out drills in the West Pacific from December 17th to December 27th. Read more

December 31, 2022 - Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Israel after previously holding the office from 1996 to 1999 and 2009 to 2021. He says the new government's first task will be to prevent Iran from destroying Israel with an atomic bomb. Read more

December 31, 2022 - 9 Chinese military aircraft and 3 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on December 30-31st, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

December 31, 2022 - JAPANESE MOD - "North Korea launched three ballistic missiles toward the northeast from the suburbs of Pyongyang at 8:00 today. The details are currently under analysis, but it is estimated that they all fell near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula outside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Read more

December 31, 2022 - USINDOPACOM: "We are aware of the ballistic missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. Read more

December 30, 2022 - 9 Chinese military aircraft and 3 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on December 31st, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

December 30, 2022 - North Korea has fired three ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. Read more

December 30, 2022 - USINDOPACOM: "Navy J-11 fighter pilot performed an unsafe maneuver during and intercept of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 aircraft, which was lawfully conducting routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace." Read more

December 29, 2022 - The Belarusian Ministry of Defense say they intercepted and destroyed a Ukrainian S-300 anti-air missile on Thursday. Read more

December 28, 2022 - The Russian Foreign Ministry reportedly put out a statement to Russian State news agency TASS that Moscow hopes that Washington will show enough prudence and is wise enough to prevent the situation from escalating to the point of a direct confrontation. Read more

December 28, 2022 - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has put out a warning to the United States against carrying out a decapitation strike on Russian President Vladimir Putin. Read more

December 26, 2022 - The Serbian armed forces were put on the highest combat alert due to an order from Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, according to Serbian Defense Minister Milos Vucevic who spoke to the Serbian news agency Tanjug. Read more

December 26, 2022 - Ukraine called on the UN members states on Monday to remove Russia from the United Nations and to exclude it "as a whole" so that it no longer has the power veto UN Security Council resolutions. Read more

December 26, 2022 - Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that Russia is ready to resume the gas flow to Europe through the Yamal-Europe pipeline. Read more

December 26, 2022 - The Russian military says that it shot down a Ukrainian drone that it detected was on approach to the Engels Air Base located deep within Russian territory, and reported that three servicemen were killed due to the resulting falling debris from the wreckage. Read more

December 26, 2022 - The U.S. government is aware of information that unknown individuals are possibly plotting to attack Americans at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad sometime during the holidays. Read more

December 26, 2022 - The South Korean military says that it deployed fighter jets, helicopters "and other assets" in order to shoot down North Korean drones that it says crossed over the inter-Korean border on Monday "without South Korea's permission". Read more

December 26, 2022 - 71 Chinese military aircraft and 7 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on December 25-26th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

December 25, 2022 - The Chinese military said that they carried out "strike drills" around the island of Taiwan on Sunday in response to a "provocation" from both the United States and Taiwan. Read more

December 25, 2022 - 8 Chinese military aircraft and 3 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on December 24-25th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

December 23, 2022 - North Korea has fired two short-range missiles off its east coast, according to the South Korean military, days after U.S. and South Korea carried out joint military exercises involving nuclear-capable bombers and jets. Read more

December 22, 2022 - 39 Chinese military aircraft and PLAN vessels spotted around the island of Taiwan on December 21-22nd, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Rare occurrences: Z-9 ASW plane, Y-20 Aerial Refueling aircraft. Bombers were also spotted. Read more

December 21, 2022 - "Over the past 48 hours, US Central Command forces conducted three helicopter raids in eastern #Syria resulting in the detention of six ISIS operatives". Read more

December 20, 2022 - The Japanese Ministry of Defense reported that On December 19th, a Chinese Shupan-class survey ship entered into its territorial waters south of Yakushima. The MOD reported that this is the 9th time the Chinese navy has entered into Japan's territorial waters, and is a "cause for concern". Read more

December 19, 2022 - The United States has killed 15 al-Shabab militants in Somalia after carrying out airstrikes at the request of the Somalian government. Read more

December 18, 2022 - North Korea has launched two ballistic missiles off of its east coast, according to both the South Korean and Japanese Ministry of Defense. Indo-Pacific Command releases statement regarding the launch. Read more

December 15, 2022 - The Russian Embassy to the United States has condemned the possible shipment of long-range Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine by the US, saying that the move would be a provocative step. Read more

December 15, 2022 - Russia has loaded its RS-24 Yars intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) into a missile silo in the Kaluga Region in central Russia at the Kozelsk missile formation according to the Russian Defense Ministry. Read more

December 14, 2022 - The US is currently deciding on whether to send a Patriot long-range missile system to Ukraine, after receiving a request from Ukraine for more powerful and longer-range missile systems. Read more

December 14, 2022 - Poland To Deploy German Patriot Missile Systems On Border With Ukraine - Polish President Andrzej Duda announced on Monday that Poland will be working with Germany to deploy German Patriot missile systems on its border with Ukraine in the coming days. Read more

December 14, 2022 - On December 13th, China sent 18 nuclear-capable H-6 bombers around the island of Taiwan, which is highly unusual activity. It is the first time China has sent so many bombers at once. China is flying a higher number of aircraft around Taiwan recently. Check the ongoing report... Read more

December 14, 2022 - Ukraine has requested cluster bombs from the United States. Both Russia and Ukraine have used cluster munitions in the war, mostly in populated areas. Read more

December 13, 2022 - According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, a Norwegian P-3C Orion "Spy Plane" was intercepted by Russia over the Barents Sea. Read more

December 13, 2022 - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has threatened Greece with a missile strike on Athens. Both countries are members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. Read more

December 12, 2022 - 150 Indian soldiers and 300 Chinese soldiers are reported to have clashed at the Tawang Sector of Arunachal Pradesh, Northeastern India near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. Read more

December 12, 2022 - Belarusian army says that they have deployed tactical battalion groups on the borders between Belarus and the countries where NATO had deployed forces. Skies above Belarus Empty. Read more

December 12, 2022 - Shots were fired, and explosions were heard on the border between Serbia and Kosovo after a stun grenade was thrown. Serbia has asked NATO to deploy the Serbian army and police force. Read more

December 11, 2022 - U.S. Central Command has reported that it has conducted a successful helicopter raid against ISIS at 2:57 a.m. on December 11th, which killed two ISIS officials. Read more

December 10, 2022 - Turkey has carried out airstrikes in the Duhok province in northern Iraq, according Lebanese news agency Al-Mayadeen, targeting Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) elements in the region. Read more

December 09, 2022 - Russian President Vladimir Putin has put out a statement saying that any country that dares attack Russia with nuclear weapons will be wiped from the face of the earth, considers adding Russia to nuclear first strike strategy. Read more

December 09, 2022 - The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the $858 billion defense bill which effectively removes the vaccine mandate for U.S. military personnel. Read more

December 08, 2022 - 27 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on December 7-8th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

December 08, 2022 - Russian President Vladimir Putin said the strategic military operation in Ukraine is taking longer than expected and addressed the usage of nuclear weapons. Read more

December 06, 2022 - USCENTCOM - TAMPA, Fla. – "An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy patrol boat interacted in an unsafe and unprofessional manner as U.S. Navy ships transited the Strait of Hormuz, the evening of Dec. 5. Read more

December 06, 2022 - 20 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels spotted around the island of Taiwan on December 06th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

December 06, 2022 - Russia has deployed the Bastion coastal missile system on Kuril island of Paramushir, Russia which is an island also claimed by Japan, known by the Japanese as the Northern Territories. Read more

December 06, 2022 - North Korea has fired 90 rounds of multiple rocket launchers into the buffer zone between North and South Korea, as South Korea and the United States continue to carry out joint live-fire military drills near the border. Read more

December 06, 2022 - Russia claims that Ukraine hit two of its air bases located on Russian soil before Russia carried out a large-scale missile attack on Ukraine. Read more

December 05, 2022 - RAYTHEON - The United States is currently working with countries in the Middle East to move some of the U.S. air defense systems to Ukraine. Read more

December 05, 2022 - North Korea has fired around 130 artillery shells off its east and west coasts, some of which landed in the buffer zone between the North's border with the South, according to the South Korean military. Read more

December 03, 2022 - China's semiconductor exports are on the decline amidst the United States moving microchip manufacturing in-house, possibly making an invasion of Taiwan by China more appealing. Read more

November 30, 2022 - Five vehicles that were rented by U.S. President Joe Biden's Secret Service detail went up in flames while in a parking lot on Monday a day after the President went on vacation in Nantucket, Massachusetts for Thanksgiving. Read more

November 28, 2022 - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that the ultimate goal for North Korea is to possess the world's most powerful nuclear strategic force and eventually build the world's strongest army. Read more

November 28, 2022 - 9 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 27th and 28th, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 27, 2022 - 8 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 26th and 27th, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 26, 2022 - 11 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 25th-26th, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 25, 2022 - Two rockets targeted coalition forces at the US patrol base in al-Shaddadi, Syria, today at approximately 10:31 p.m. local time in Syria (4:31 p.m. EST). Read more

November 25, 2022 - Turkey has told Russia that it will be continuing to respond to attacks coming from northern Syria, after Russia requested that Turkey not upgrade the conflict in Syria into a full-scale offensive. Read more

November 25, 2022 - The Japanese Ministry of Defense has reported that fighters from the Japanese Air Self-Defense force (ASDF) were scrambled from November 22nd to 23rd due to "threat of territorial infringement" over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. Read more

November 25, 2022 - 6 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 25th, 2022 (by 6am), according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 25, 2022 - The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko attended a meeting of the CSTO Collective Security Council in Yerevan, Armenia and announced priorities for 2023. Read more

November 24, 2022 - WHITE HOUSE: "As Russia struggles on the battlefield, it is increasingly turning to horrific attacks against the Ukrainian people with punishing strikes damaging energy grid infrastructure, and deliberately doing so as winter approaches".  Read more

November 24, 2022 - 7 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 24th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 24, 2022 - The United States is expanding military presence in the Philippines in order to counter Chinese presence in the region, as well as speeding up the implementation of the 2014 defense pact between the two countries that had been stalled under the previous Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Read more

November 23, 2022 - US DEPARTMENT OF STATE: "The United States continues to support Ukraine with additional military assistance to help defend itself, including from the Kremlin’s relentless attacks on Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure. Read more

November 23, 2022 - Ukraine: Russia fired 70 cruise missiles into Ukraine on November 23rd, killing six people and injuring 36. The head of the Ukrainian police Ihor Klymenko said rockets hit 16 'objects' within Ukraine. Read more

November 23, 2022 - The Mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine has reported that Russia has hit the capital's infrastructure facilities. He later reported that there were explosions in various districts in Kyiv, hitting the "residential sector" and "critical facilities". Read more

November 23, 2022 - Iran has claimed that Israel killed an Iranian military officer with a roadside bomb in Damascus, Syria according to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) on Wednesday. Read more

November 23, 2022 - Iran has reached 60 percent uranium enrichment purity at its Fordow nuclear plant, according to the United Nations nuclear watchdog, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday. Read more

November 23, 2022 - 3 Chinese military aircraft, including one submarine hunting helicopter and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 22-23rd, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 22, 2022 - 17 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 21-22nd, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 21, 2022 - The South Korean military has put out a statement saying that they do not have any new information on the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that North Korea recently launched. The North claims that it was a Hwasong-17 missile, but thus far the South Korean military have not been able to verify the claim. Read more

November 20, 2022 - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has put out a new report that the shelling has now stopped, and there are no radiation leaks detected as a result of the explosions. Read more

November 20, 2022 - A 2.0 earthquake hit near North Korea's Pungye-ri nuclear test site, but was found to be likely a naturally occurring earthquake, and not that of nuclear testing, according to South Korea's weather agency. Read more

November 20, 2022 - The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been under Russian control has taken fire, causing explosions. Russia has blamed Ukrainian attacks for the explosions, claiming that Ukraine has carried out 12 strikes against the nuclear power plant. Read more

November 20, 2022 - Turkish air raids targeted 89 locations in Iraq and Syria, including the Iraqi locations of: Asos, Qandil, Hakurk, and Northern Syria locations of: Cizire, Tal Rifat, Kobani and Derik, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry. Read more

November 19, 2022 - The Swedish Security Service Reported on November 18th that gross sabotage on the Nord Stream gas pipelines have been confirmed. The Swedish Prosecution Authority said that traces of explosives have been found at the sites of the Nord Stream pipeline ruptures. Read more

November 19, 2022 - Syrian state news agency SANA is reporting that Israel carried out airstrikes on military positions after flying over the Mediterranean and targeting some military positions in the "central" and "coastal" regions of Syria, killing 4 soldiers. Read more

November 19, 2022 - A gas pipeline explosion occurred in Saint Petersburg, Russia (formerly known as Leningrad). Saint Petersburg Governor (Leningrad Oblast) Governor Alexander Drozdenko reported the explosion on his Telegram channel. Read more

November 19, 2022 - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the latest ICBM test, vowed that if enemies continue to pose threats, the North Korean government will react with nukes. Read more

November 19, 2022 - The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has Reported that two Russian fighter aircraft made an "unsafe and unprofessional" approach toward the Standing NATO Maritime Group (SNMG1) that was carrying out "routine operations" in the Baltic Sea. Read more

November 19, 2022 - 17 Chinese military aircraft, 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 18th/19th according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 18, 2022 - Event: U.S. Consulate General Erbil is monitoring credible open-source reports of potential Turkish military action in northern Syria and northern Iraq in the coming days. The U.S. government continues to strongly advise U.S. citizens to avoid these areas. Read more

November 18, 2022 - North Korea has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (#ICBM) that flew 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) at an altitude of 6,100 kilometers (3790 miles) at a speed of Mach 22. Read more

November 17, 2022 - The entire North Korean internet was taken offline over a period of two and a half hours, according to a cybersecurity researcher. Read more

November 17, 2022 - Pakistan has shut down its southwestern border with Afghanistan for an indefinite period, according to both officials and local media on Monday. Read more

November 17, 2022 - The South Korean military has reported that the North launched a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) towards its eastern waters after threatening to respond with 'fiercer military responses' to the United States as a result of efforts by the United States to increase military presence on and near the Korean Peninsula. Read more

November 16, 2022 - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that the missile strike in Poland only proves that the West is "approaching a world war," and that the West wants to "wage war on Russia by all means against Russia", and that talking about Russian missiles falling into Poland is a "provocation" with the intent on escalating the conflict. Read more

November 16, 2022 - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that although the missile that landed in Poland and killed two people was "likely caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile" that it was "not Ukraine's fault". Read more

November 16, 2022 - Reuters reported that U.S. President Joe Biden told the G7 and NATO partners that "a missile blast in Poland was caused by a Ukrainian air defense missile", according to a NATO source who reportedly spoke to Reuters. Read more

November 16, 2022 - Article 5 is not automatic, it needs to be agreed upon. It is unlikely alliance members will agree on article 5 if it was accidental, which thus far it looks to be. If it is found that it was intentional, however, the likelihood of article 5 will increase tremendously. Read more

November 16, 2022 - *Ongoing Report* POLAND - The Associated Press reported that a Russian-made missile crossed into the eastern part of Poland on Wednesday, striking a grain facility near the Ukrainian border on the Polish side and killing two people. Poland is a member of the NATO alliance. Investigations have not yet concluded who manufactured the missile. Read more

November 15, 2022 - CENTCOM: "On Nov 8, CENTCOM forces intercepted a stateless dhow [sailing vessels used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean] in the Gulf of Oman originating from Iran smuggling a massive volume of explosive material to Yemen. Read more

November 12, 2022 - British Ministry of Defense: "Russia's announced withdrawal from Kherson marks another strategic failure for them. In February, Russia failed to take any of its major objectives except Kherson. Now with that also being surrendered, ordinary people of Russia must surely ask themselves "What was it all for?". Read more

November 12, 2022 - 14 Chinese military aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 11th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 11, 2022 - 26 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 10th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 11, 2022 - US AFRICA COMMAND: "Federal Government of Somalia combats terrorists with support from U.S. forces: At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense strike against the al-Shabaab terrorists who were attacking the Somali forces." Read more

November 11, 2022 - Chinese President Xi Jinping announced on Tuesday that China will be increasing the training of its military and preparation for war as the nation's security is increasingly unstable and uncertain. Read more

November 11, 2022 - The commander of the U.S. Strategic Command has said that the war in Ukraine is just a warm up and that the United States must be prepared for much more, around the corner, because the big one is coming. Read more

November 09, 2022 - The Japanese and South Korean Ministry of Defense reported that North Korea launched a short-range (SRBM) ballistic missile from the Sukchon area in South Pyongang Province. Read more

November 09, 2022 - Syria/Iraq - Airstrikes have been reported on the border between Syria and Iraq. Iranian-backed militia has reportedly blamed the United States for the attacks, but U.S. officials rejected the claims, saying that it wasn't them, but has confirmed that airstrikes were carried out. Al-Mayadeen has claimed that Israel carried out the drone strike. Read more

November 08, 2022 - Russia has been lamenting the sale of Alaska to the United States 155 years ago. Russian State Duma said that Russia could reclaim Alaska. Read more

November 07, 2022 - 63 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 7th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 07, 2022 - 46 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 6th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 07, 2022 - The United States is able to respond quickly to a North Korean nuclear test if necessary, a spokesperson for the Pentagon said on Friday. Read more

November 07, 2022 - Ties between North Korea and both Russia and China have been deepening as Russia and China stand in the way of holding North Korea responsible for continued provocations at the U.N. Security Council. Read more

November 07, 2022 - On Saturday, November 5th the Iranian Revolutionary Guard tested a satellite launch vehicle that Washington has speculated could also launch nuclear warheads. Read more

November 07, 2022 - The United States and South Korea have finished conducting large-scale bilateral air exercises called "Vigilant Storm" that was held from October 31st, 2022 to November 4th, 2022. Read more

November 06, 2022 - DoD authorizes the Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $600 million to Ukraine. This authorization is the Biden Administration’s twenty-first drawdown since August 2021. Read more

November 06, 2022 - Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin spoke to Sky News and told them that Russia has "evidence" that the strategic forces in the UK was involved in the attack on Russia's Black Sea fleet, and claimed that he has proof, although as of yet no proof has surfaced. Read more

November 06, 2022 - China launched its third and last component for its Tiangong space station on October 31st, completing construction of the station. Read more

November 06, 2022 - Both Finland and Sweden say they will be deciding issues on nuclear weapons only after they are officially accepted into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but that they do not seek any opt-outs or preconditions for joining the alliance, they said at a press briefing in Helsinki. Read more

November 06, 2022 - The US military carried out onsite weapons inspections in Ukraine in order to make sure that weapons provided to Ukraine by the United States are not being diverted. Finnish news is reporting the weapons are ending up in the hands of criminals in European countries. Read more

November 06, 2022 - 9 Chinese military aircraft and 2 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 5th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 05, 2022 - 27 Chinese military aircraft and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on November 4th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

November 05, 2022 - SEOUL - North Korea fired four short-range missiles into the western sea on Saturday, according to the South Korean military. Read more

November 03, 2022 - November 3, 2022 - The FBI has put out a warning of a "broad threat" to synagogues in the state of New Jersey. Read more

November 03, 2022 - Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin spoke to Sky News and told them that Russia has "evidence" that the strategic forces in the UK was involved in the attack on Russia's Black Sea fleet, and claimed that he has proof. Read more

November 03, 2022 - North Korea launched at least four more ballistic missiles into the sea today, after launching at least 26 ballistic missiles including one ICBM the day before that triggered Japan's J-alert system and stopped trains from running in northern Japan. Read more

November 03, 2022 - North Korea launched at least 26 ballistic missiles and 100 shells over the last 24 hours, according to South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Japanese Coast Guard, including one suspected intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). One missile is reported to have flown over Japan, activating Japan's J-alert system. Read more

November 02, 2022 - Norway has reportedly raised its military alert level after unmanned aerial (UAV) drones were sighted over the last few weeks around Norway's oil and gas fields and airports, which has led to at least seven arrests of Russian citizens. Read more

November 02, 2022 - Nord Stream AG has completed "initial data gathering" on the section of the Nord Stream pipeline that was damaged and concluded that there are 'technogenic craters' with a depth of 3 to 5 meters on the seabed located under the damaged section of the pipeline. Read more

November 02, 2022 - North Korea launched at least 23 ballistic missiles and 100 shells over a 6-hour period of time, according to South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Japanese Coast Guard. Read more

November 01, 2022 - Saudi Arabia has reportedly shared intelligence with the United States and warned of an impending imminent Iranian attack targeting both Saudi Arabia and Iraq, including Erbil, Iraq where US forces are stationed. Read more

November 01, 2022 - North Korea on Monday called on the United States and South Korea to stop carrying out joint military exercises, calling the drills a provocation that might cause "more powerful follow-up measures" from the North in response. Read more

October 31, 2022 - Three PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 31st, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 31, 2022 - Both Poland and Finland may be interested in participating in NATO's nuclear sharing program, which would give both countries access to deploying nuclear weapons in their territory, and allow NATO to establish bases within their borders. Poland interested, Finland more reserved on the matter. Read more

October 30, 2022 - 8 Chinese aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 30th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 30, 2022 - The Pentagon said that although Russia is an "acute threat", China "is the only competitor out there with both the intent to reshape the international order, and increasingly the power to do so". Read more

October 29, 2022 - 25 Chinese military aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 29th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 29, 2022 - KYIV - The Russian Defense Ministry put out a statement on Saturday saying that they are suspending the grain deal brokered by the United Nations allowing grain to be exported out of Ukraine after accusing Britain of aiding Ukraine in attacking its vessels in the Black Sea with drones. Read more

October 29, 2022 - *UPDATES* The United States said during a closed meeting with NATO that it will be accelerating the deployment of an upgraded version of the B61-12 air-dropped thermonuclear "gravity bomb" to European bases in December, which is a few months earlier than was originally planned. Read more

October 29, 2022 - MOSCOW - Russia is claiming that the British Navy was involved in what the country calls a "terrorist attack" on the Nord Stream pipeline. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed on Saturday that the British Navy had a part in orchestrating and staging a sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline. The British Ministry of Defense released a statement saying that Russia is "resorting to peddling false claims of an epic scale". Read more

October 28, 2022 - 13 Chinese military aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 28th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 28, 2022 - US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on October 26th that the United States will be cooperating with South Korea and Japan in order to ensure Taiwan's self-defense. Read more

October 28, 2022 - SEOUL - The United States and South Korea have vowed that there would be an unparalleled response if North Korea carries out an expected 7th nuclear test, and have urged North Korea to refrain from provocations. Read more

October 28, 2022 - North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles from the location of the Tongchon, Kangwon province, according to the South Korean military. The US Indo-Pacific Command put out a statement saying that they are aware of the missile launches. Read more

October 27, 2022 - 20 Chinese military aircraft, 2 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 27th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 26, 2022 - 22 Chinese military aircraft, 3 PLAN vessels, 2 reconnaissance drones were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 26th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 26, 2022 - Intelligence update from the British Ministry of Defense for October 26th, 2022: "On 24 October 2022, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region announced that an explosive device had damaged the railway near the village of Novozybkovo, approximately 15km from the Russia-Belarus border. The line is the main rail link between Russia and southern Belarus. Read more

October 26, 2022 - Russian President Vladimir Putin monitored the launches of ballistic and cruise missiles on Wednesday as part of Russia's yearly "Grom" nuclear exercises, as NATO holds simultaneous nuclear exercises. Read more

October 26, 2022 - Due to U.S. forces conducting an airstrike against al-Shabaab terrorists in Somalia, the Africa regional alert has been set to 2. Read statement from Africa Command.. Read more

October 25, 2022 - Norwegian Police Security Service arrested a scientist in Tromsoe, Norway suspected of being a spy for a Russian intelligence service. The suspect was researching "hybrid threats" tied to "Arctic Norway", according to Deputy PST chief Hedvig Moe. Read more

October 25, 2022 - Iran claims that it has arrested 10 agents allegedly working for Israel in West Azerbaijan province as part of an espionage network, according to Iranian state news agency Fars. Israeli officials claim to have struck 90% of Iran's military operations in Syria, targeting a drone assembly factory near Damascus. Read more

October 25, 2022 - The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has put out a statement saying that emergency preparedness exercises of the Home Front Command will be taking place during the coming week. "alerts will be heard as part of practicing the emergency system in the localities and practicing behavior guidelines". Read more

October 25, 2022 - 16 Chinese military aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 25th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 25, 2022 - *New Information* - Russia has claimed that Ukraine is preparing a possible 'provocation' involving the use of a 'dirty bomb', while the US and Ukraine claim that this might be a pretext for a Russian 'false flag' operation. Read more

October 24, 2022 - 10 Chinese military aircraft, 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 24th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 24, 2022 - Russia has claimed that Ukraine is preparing a possible 'provocation' involving the use of a 'dirty bomb', while the United States and Ukraine claim that this might be a pretext for a Russian 'false flag' operation. Read more

October 24, 2022 - South Korea Fires Warning Shots At North Korean Vessel After NLL Intrusion: South Korea has fired warning shots at a North Korean vessel after the South accused the North of crossing the Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, which the South calls the "de facto maritime border, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap. Read more

October 23, 2022 - 9 Chinese military aircraft, 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 23rd, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 22, 2022 - The US Army's 101st Airborne Division which consists of about 4,700 soldiers has been deployed to Europe, on the border of Romania and Ukraine, for the first time since World War 2 (80 years ago). Read more

October 22, 2022 - 9 Chinese military aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 22nd, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 22, 2022 - The Ukrainian National Resistance Center has claimed that three Russian aircraft capable of equipping and launching hypersonic missiles were spotted over Minsk, Belarus on Sunday. Read more

October 22, 2022 - Iran has released an advisory to all of its citizens strongly advising them not to travel to Ukraine, and told Iranians currently living in the country to leave the country "for their own safety". Read more

October 21, 2022 - Syrian state media has claimed that Syria has shot down missiles fired by Israel at Damascus late on Friday. It said that they were intercepted and shot down in an area over Damascus close to Syria's shared border with Israel. Read more

October 21, 2022 - UKRAINE - Russia has declared martial law in the four regions that it has annexed in Ukraine, which include: Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia. Read more

October 21, 2022 - The Pentagon has confirmed that the B-1B supersonic bombers that arrived in Guam this week is a show of strength in order to deter "potential provocations," after North Korea carried out a series of ballistic missile tests, and fired into the buffer zone with the South. Read more

October 21, 2022 - According to the White House, Iranian troops were sent to Ukraine to help assist Russia in operating Iranian-made drones that Russia had reportedly purchased from the country. Read more

October 21, 2022 - "North Korea may be preparing to hold a large-scale event, as planes appeared to be parked in front of the Pyongyang International Airport terminal on Oct. 19th-20". Read more

October 20, 2022 - 20 Chinese military aircraft and 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 20th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 20, 2022 - "On October 19th, General Michael "Erik” Kurilla, commander of CENTCOM, conducted a visit aboard the USS West Virginia, a U.S. Navy Ohio-class nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine at an undisclosed location at sea in international waters in the Arabian Sea. Read more

October 20, 2022 - Russia has declared martial law in the four regions that it has annexed in Ukraine, which include: Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia. Read more

October 20, 2022 - The United States deployed four bombers from South Dakota to the Andersen AFB, in Guam ahead of North Korea's expected nuclear test, as well as recent provocations. Read more

October 20, 2022 - EUROPE - Expressen has used an underwater drone to film the damage to the ruptured Nordstream pipeline 262 feet below the ocean's surface. The following report is based on a translation of Expressen's findings. Read more

October 20, 2022 - 11 Chinese military aircraft and 2 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 19th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 19, 2022 - 11 Chinese military aircraft and 2 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 18th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 19, 2022 - SEOUL - North Korea has fired at least 250 artillery rounds into the buffer zone with South Korea on Tuesday from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday. Read more

October 18, 2022 - NORAD - Russian Tu-95 bombers capable of being equipped with nuclear weapons were intercepted on October 18th (local time) after "entering and operating within the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone". Read more

October 17, 2022 - Ongoing Report: Chinese military aircraft have been spotted every day of the month of August, September, and October since Pelosi's visit to the island on August 2nd, 2022. PLAN vessels have also been spotted around the island of Taiwan every day since August 6th. Read more

October 17, 2022 - 5 Chinese military aircraft, and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 16th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 17, 2022 - SEOUL - The office of President Yoon Suk-yeol has been on "24-hour standby" as North Korea is expected to carry out its seventh nuclear test "at any time," according to South Korean officials. The following is a situation overview on North and South Korea over the last 7 months. Read more

October 16, 2022 - The following countries have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine immediately: China, Egypt, Kazakhstan. There are alerts for other countries embassy's floating around social media, but many of those look to be older, previously issued embassy alerts. Read more

October 16, 2022 - Sun Yeli, a spokesperson for the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has reiterated China's stance that while China does not promise to renounce the use of force, they will do their best to achieve "peaceful reunification". Read more

October 16, 2022 - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Thursday that he is looking carefully at "extended deterrence" options as North Korea tests ballistic missiles that it says were intended to simulate a tactical nuclear weapon strike on South Korea. Read more

October 16, 2022 - Russia is transferring dual-equipped Iskander-M missile systems with conventional missiles to Belarus, and converting Belarusian SU-25 jets with the ability to carry nuclear weapons, but it is 'not planned' to equip Belarus with actual nuclear warheads. Read more

October 16, 2022 - On Thursday NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance will be giving Ukraine "hundreds of drone jammers" to counter the Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones that Russia is using. Read more

October 15, 2022 - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - "Today, the Department of Defense (DoD) announces the authorization of a Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $725 million to meet Ukraine's critical security and defense needs". Read more

October 15, 2022 - EUROPE - NATO put out a statement on Friday saying that it would be launching its annual nuclear exercises "Steadfast Noon". NATO also said that it will be monitoring Russia's own upcoming nuclear exercise very closely. Read more

October 15, 2022 - Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Meeting With Ministers of Defense for Finland and Sweden, Antti Kaikkonen and Peter Hultqvist. Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder provided the following readout.. Read more

October 15, 2022 - 23 Chinese military aircraft, 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 14th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 15, 2022 - South Korea put their military on high alert after the latest ballistic missile launch by the South. The move also followed North Korea sending aircraft near the shared border with the South and firing around 80 artillery shells. Read more

October 14, 2022 - JAPANESE MOD - At around 1:47 today, North Korea launched at least one ballistic missile toward the east from the suburbs of Pyongyang Read more

October 14, 2022 - UK Government: British Air Strikes Against Daesh: "The RAF are continuing to take the fight to Daesh in Iraq and Syria." Read more

October 14, 2022 - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - "I am pleased that the Governments of Israel and Lebanon have agreed to establish a permanent maritime boundary between their two countries." Read more

October 14, 2022 - FRANCE - During a live interview on France 2 Wednesday, France's President Emmanuel Macron said that if Russia chooses to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, France would not be responding with nuclear weapons. Read more

October 13, 2022 - 13 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 13th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 13, 2022 - *Updated* South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff has reported that North Korea has launched another ballistic missile toward its eastern waters and flown military aircraft toward the South Korean border. Read more

October 13, 2022 - SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch of two long-range strategic cruise missiles Thursday, according to the country's state media, saying that it was a test in order to confirm reliability and operation of nuclear-capable missiles. Read more

October 12, 2022 - The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution condemning Russia's annexation of the territories of Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine, as well as the DPR and LPR regions. Read more

October 12, 2022 - The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused Ukraine's military spy Chief of being a part of carrying out the attack on the Crimean Bridge. Russia has taken eight out of twelve suspects of the bombing into custody according to the FSB. Read more

October 12, 2022 - Department of Defense: "Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III meets with allies at NATO headquarters in Belgium this week to discuss the continued support for the defense of Ukraine, amid Russia's unprovoked invasion and recent attacks against civilian targets and infrastructure, according to a defense official. Read more

October 12, 2022 - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that Russia has ordered 2,400 Iranian-made Shahed drones from the Islamic Republic, and asked leaders of the G7 countries to give medium and long-range missile defense systems to protect against the them. Read more

October 12, 2022 - U.S. Department Of State: "Following years of mediation by the United States, the Governments of Israel and Lebanon today announced consensus on an historic agreement to establish a permanent maritime boundary between the two countries". Read more

October 12, 2022 - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE - The 16th annual Garuda Shield exercise started Aug. 3, this year expanding from a bilateral training event between the Indonesian and U.S. militaries to 14 participant nations Read more

October 12, 2022 - The United States has begun restricting visas from being issued to both current, and former members of the Taliban, as well as others over the repression of women and girls in Afghanistan, according to a statement by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday." Read more

October 12, 2022 - Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement earlier: "Our soldiers spotted a Hamas terrorist drone attempting to cross into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip a short while ago. Read more

October 12, 2022 - Taiwan's Ministry of Defense has reported that 15 Chinese military aircraft, 4 PLAN vessels were spotted in the "surrounding region" around the island of Taiwan on October 12th, 2022. Read more

October 12, 2022 - Statement by Ukrainian intelligence regarding the current situation at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant (translated). "All six units are disconnected at the ZNPP, the occupiers are forcing employees to sign contracts with Rosatom. Read more

October 12, 2022 - Ukraine claims that Russia has been transferring Shahed-136 kamikaze drones to Belarus territory Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported. Read more

October 12, 2022 - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un released a statement on the 77th anniversary of its ruling Worker's Party that said that the North's recent ballistic missile launches have been to simulate the use of tactical nuclear weapons for "hit and wipe out" potential. Read more

October 11, 2022 - NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg: "Stoltenberg: "hybrid and cyber attacks can trigger Article 5," and, "We are closely monitoring every incident that may constitute a hybrid or cyber attack against the NATO Allies and we are ready to take the necessary measures if needed." Read more

October 11, 2022 - 11 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 11th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 11, 2022 - Official spokesman for the Russian energy giant Gazprom Sergey Kupriyanov said Monday that a NATO mine destroyer, which is an explosive device was discovered near the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in 2015, according to the official Nord Stream company. Read more

October 11, 2022 - A drone strike in northeastern Syria led by the U.S.-led coalition was carried out on Monday, according to The Associated Press, which cited a Syrian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Read more

October 11, 2022 - *Updates* The President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has ordered Belarusian soldiers to deploy along with Russian forces near Ukraine as a response to what he called a clear threat from Ukraine and the West. Read more

October 11, 2022 - Germany's Foreign Ministry has reported that the German visa office located in Ukraine was damaged by rocket fire during Russia's attack on Kyiv in the morning. Read more

October 11, 2022 - Poland has put out an advisory recommending its citizens to leave Belarus territory as tensions increase between the two countries due to the conflict in Ukraine. Read more

October 11, 2022 - Poland is now checking the condition of its bomb shelters and taking inventory in light of recent developments, according to a Polish deputy minister Reuters reports. Read more

October 10, 2022 - U.S. Embassy In Ukraine: Security Alert. Event: Russia has launched attacks against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure as well as government facilities in Kyiv and elsewhere. Russia’s continued strikes in Ukraine pose a direct threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure. Read more

October 10, 2022 - 26 Chinese military aircraft, 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 10th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 10, 2022 - White House national security spokesman John Kirby addressed U.S. President Joe Biden's comments regarding the "prospect of Armageddon" on Sunday, saying that the President's statement reflects "the very high stakes that are in play”, in relation to Russian President Vladimir Putin's nuclear threats. Read more

October 10, 2022 - The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has claimed that Russia has lost 62,500 Russian soldiers from the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24th, 2022 to October 9th, 2022. Read more

October 10, 2022 - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected the military training of tactical nuclear weapon units, according to the country's state media KCNA. Read more

October 10, 2022 - Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin regarding the explosion on the Crimean bridge and said stated that the bombing, which he called a "terrorist attack" was staged by Ukrainian strategic services and that both the Ukrainian strategic services and citizens of Russia and foreign countries participated in the bombing. Read more

October 09, 2022 - The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has put out a statement saying that although recent shelling took out the power at Zaporizhzhya , Ukrainian engineers have restored the external power supply to the currently Russian-occupied nuclear power plant. Read more

October 09, 2022 - Armenia and Azerbaijan Trade Accusations Regarding Being Fired Upon By The OtherStatements from the Armenia and Azerbaijan Ministry of Defense pages (statements translated from original languages).. Read more

October 09, 2022 - 12 Chinese military aircraft (1 UAV), and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 9th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 09, 2022 - Ukrainian intelligence claims that Russia is attempting to draw Belarus into an open war with Ukraine. Read more

October 09, 2022 - TEHRAN - Two Iranian hackers from a group called "al-Tahara" hacked into the websites for two natural gas companies: Energean, and Israel Natural Gas Lines. Read more

October 09, 2022 - British Ministry of Defense Intelligence update for Ukraine, October 9th, 2022: "Early on 08 October 2022, an explosion damaged the Kerch Strait Bridge, the road and rail crossing which links Russian-occupied Crimea and the Krasnodar region of Russia. Read more

October 09, 2022 - Statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding alleged provocation by Belarus (accusations by Belarus that Ukraine was planning an attack on Belarus territory) Read more

October 09, 2022 - NORD STREAM PIPELINE - A U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane (P-8A Poseidon) was spotted flying across the Baltic Sea just hours after the Nord Stream pipeline began leaking into the ocean on September 26th, 2022. Read more

October 09, 2022 - Sergei Sorobikin, former commander of Russia in Syria has reportedly been appointed the new senior commander of Russia's "strategic military operation" in Ukraine. Read more

October 09, 2022 - There have been unverified rumors floating around Twitter stating that a Nord Stream sabotage investigator was found dead. We have not seen any evidence supporting these claims. If this can be verified, we'll post any information that we find on the matter. Read more

October 09, 2022 - According to the ASPR government website, The U.S. Government has purchased $290 million worth of Nplate, from Amgen USA Inc. "as part of long-standing, ongoing efforts to be better prepared to save lives following radiological and nuclear emergencies." Read more

October 09, 2022 - A U.S. Navy reconnaissance plane (P-8A Poseidon) was spotted flying across the Baltic Sea just hours after the Nord Stream pipeline began leaking into the ocean on September 26th, 2022. Read more

October 09, 2022 - Translated statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding alleged provocation by Belarus (accusations by Belarus that Ukraine was planning an attack on Belarus territory). Read more

October 09, 2022 - JAPANESE MOD (Translated from Japanese)- "North Korea launched two ballistic missiles toward the east from near the east coast of North Korea at 1:00 today. We are currently analyzing the details, but it is estimated that it fell in the Sea of ​​Japan.." Read more

October 09, 2022 - US Indo-Pacific Command Statement On North Korean Launches: We are aware of the two ballistic missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners. Read more

October 09, 2022 - North Korea has fired two more short-range missiles toward the East Sea on Sunday, according to the South Korean military. Read more

October 08, 2022 - RIA Novosti has reported that three people died in the bridge explosion, according to Russia's investigative committee. Read more

October 08, 2022 - 6 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 8th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 08, 2022 - A 12 mile long bridge linking Russia-annexed Crimea with Russia across the Kerch Strait has been severely damaged by a bomb. Read more

October 07, 2022 - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky put out a video address on Friday announcing that Ukraine has liberated 2,434 square kilometers (940 square miles), as well as 96 settlements in Ukraine's east in their recent offensive against Russian positions. Read more

October 07, 2022 - A U.N. Panel stated Friday that North Korea spent the first half of 2022 advancing its missile programs, and preparing for a possible nuclear test. Read more

October 07, 2022 - Posted by official International Atomic Energy Agency account (IAEA): "Yesterday, an industrial zone outside the #Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine was shelled, damaging the power transmission line that supplies power to the No. 6 reactor unit, which had to temporarily rely on emergency diesel generators for power." Read more

October 07, 2022 - CENTCOM statement: U.S. forces conducted a successful airstrike in northern Syria, killing both Abu-Hashum al-Umawi, a deputy Wali of Syria, and another senior ISIS official associated with him. Read more

October 07, 2022 - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko: Moscow and Minsk will think about the response to the nuclear threat in Poland. Read more

October 07, 2022 - U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday that the threat of nuclear Armageddon is at the highest level since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Read more

October 06, 2022 - U.S. strategic forces have reportedly carried out a helicopter raid in Assad-controlled territory in Syria, south of Qamishli in Northeast Syria overnight. Read more

October 06, 2022 - Swedish security service concluded its investigation on the four Nord stream pipeline leaks and stated: "There have been detonations at Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the Swedish economic zone, which have caused extensive damage to the gas pipelines." Read more

October 06, 2022 - 9 Chinese military aircraft, 4 PLAN vessels spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 6th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 06, 2022 - North Korea conducted firing drills with fighter jets and bombers on Thursday, flying aircraft near the South Korean border. Read more

October 05, 2022 - North Korea has reportedly fired another "unspecified" ballistic missile toward the East Sea, according to Japan's Coast Guard, the South Korean military and South Korea's news agency Yonhap, which is reporting multiple ballistic missiles. Read more

October 05, 2022 - After North Korea sent a missile flying over Japan, the US and South Korea held live-fire missile drills, during which one missile malfunctioned and crashed down inside the Air Force base in Gangneung. Read more

October 05, 2022 - After North Korea sent a missile flying over Japan, the United States has not only commenced joint live-fire missile drills with South Korea in the region, but is now sending nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan back to waters near the Korean Peninsula, according to officials at the U.S. Defense Department. Read more

October 05, 2022 - 33 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 5th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 05, 2022 - A malfunctioned Hyumoo-2 ballistic missile fired by South Korea crashed inside the ground of an air force base in Gangneung on Wednesday during live-fire missile drills with the United States Read more

October 3, 2022 - The Japanese government has issued a warning saying that North Korea appears to have launched at least one ballistic missile toward Japan Read more

October 3, 2022 - "In coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike against the al-Shabaab militant network in Somalia on October 1. The strike occurred near Jilib, about 370 kilometers southwest of Mogadishu. Read more

October 3, 2022 - If Russian President Vladimir Putin uses nuclear weapons, the US and its allies "would destroy Russia’s troops and equipment in Ukraine and will sink its Black Sea fleet," former CIA director and retired four-star general for the United States Army David Petraeus stated in an interview Sunday. Read more

October 3, 2022 - EUROPE - The Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea is no longer leaking, according to a Nord Stream 2 spokesman. Read more

October 03, 2022 - 14 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 3rd, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 02, 2022 - 22 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 2nd, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 01, 2022 - 8 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on October 1st, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

October 01, 2022 - North Korea has fired a four rounds of ballistic missiles in less than a week, according to the South Korean military. Read more

September 30, 2022 - North Korea has fired another two ballistic missiles, in their fourth round of missile tests in a week, according to the South Korean military. Read more

September 30, 2022 - White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says the US military in Europe is ready for "any contingency" and says that multiple reinforcements have been sent to bolster US forces in Europe. Read more

September 30, 2022 - The Israeli intelligence firm called ImageSat International (ISI) has spotted an "irregular presence" of Russian TU-160 and TU-95 strategic bomber aircraft at the Olenya Airbase, which is located close to Finland on the Kola Peninsula near Murmansk. Read more

September 30, 2022 - 8 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 30th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 30, 2022 - Ukraine has said that they are officially submitting an application for membership to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Read more

September 29, 2022 - North Korea has fired at least one more short-range ballistic missiles from the Sunchon region, according to the South Korean military. Read more

September 29, 2022 - Multiple reports that the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant was on fire and that power unit Number 6 was damaged. Energodar's official channel, and Russian state media says that these reports are false. Read more

September 29, 2022 - 11 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 11th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 29, 2022 - 31 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 28th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 28, 2022 - ERBIL, IRAQ - The United States has shot down an Iranian Mojer-6 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) headed in the direction of U.S. forces in Erbil, Iraq. Read more

September 27, 2022 - Poland has issued a new travel alert advising against any travel to the Russian Federation in connection with the war in Ukraine and the recognition of Poland by the authorities of the Russian Federation as an "unfriendly state". Read more

September 27, 2022 - German authorities say that a pressure drop of both the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines look to be a "targeted attack". Explosions have been recorded in the area before the leaks were detected. Read more

September 27, 2022 - Russian official Medvedev said that the United States would not intervene even if Russia uses the "most formidable weapon," and said the country has the right to use nuclear weapons "if necessary," and said that it is "certainly not a bluff". Read more

September 27, 2022 - 11 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 27th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 27, 2022 - 12 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 26th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 25, 2022 - 15 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 25th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 25, 2022 - Conflict With Nuclear Peer Possible, As Russia Uses Dangerous Nuclear Rhetoric. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg responded to Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a "partial mobilization", as well as Putin's threats to use "all means" at Russia's disposal to protect the country, saying that Putin's speech used "dangerous and reckless nuclear rhetoric". Read more

September 24, 2022 - North Korea has reportedly fired an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea, according to the South Korean military. Read more

September 23, 2022 - There is a rumor going around regarding a coup in China. We see no evidence of any coup in China. If we do see some solid evidence, we'll put out an update. Read more

September 22, 2022 - AFRICOM - At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike against al-Shabaab terrorists who were attacking Somali National Army forces near Buulobarde, Somalia, on Sept. 18. Read more

September 22, 2022 - Statement from Colonel Joe Buccino, CENTCOM communications director: "At approximately 12:25 am on Sept. 20th, seven ISIS fighters in two vehicles headed in the direction of the Internally Displaced Persons camp at al-Hol were interdicted by U.S. partnered Syrian Democratic Forces. Read more

September 21, 2022 - North Korean state media has reported that the country is not exporting weapons to Russia, and does not have any plans at all to do so. Read more

September 21, 2022 - MOSCOW - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has announced that Russia will be drafting 300,000 reservists, and says that mobilization is necessary in order to "consolidate" Ukrainian territory that the country has occupied. Read more

September 21, 2022 - 38 Chinese military aircraft, and 6 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 21st, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 20, 2022 - US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan says that President Putin appears to be on the brink of proceeding with plans to hold "sham referenda" in areas of Ukraine and potentially preparing for potential mobilization measures. Russia says, "there will be no general mobilization" but may be martial law. Read more

September 19, 2022 - The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has accused Russia of attempting to shell a second nuclear power plant in the Mykolaiv region. The defense ministry posted a video allegedly showing the shelling taking place. Read more

September 19, 2022 - 9 Chinese military aircraft, and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 19th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 19, 2022 - Biden on 60 Minutes: US would defend Taiwan if invaded by China. Officially, aside from comments made by U.S. President Joe Biden, the United States government hasn't made any declarations that they will be defending Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion. Read more

September 19, 2022 - CENTCOM - TAMPA, Fla. – "At approximately 7:05 pm in Syria on September 18th, a rocket attack targeting the Green Village base in northeast Syria failed to strike US or Coalition forces or equipment. Read more

September 18, 2022 - 8 Chinese military aircraft, and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 18th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 17, 2022 - After a ceasefire agreement was reached between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the countries Ministry of Defense is reporting no new activity, indicating that the ceasefire between the two countries is holding up thus far. Read more

September 17, 2022 - 20 Chinese military aircraft, and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 17th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 17, 2022 - Germany has taken control of three Russian oil refineries, it said on Friday, September 16th. Rosneft Deutschland GmbH and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH, it announced will be placed under Germany's Federal Network Agency. Read more

September 17, 2022 - CIA Deputy Director David Cohen said that although we should not underestimate Putin's adherence to his original plan to control Ukraine, the CIA has no concrete evidence that Russia is planning to use "weapons of mass destruction". Read more

September 16, 2022 - SYRIA - The Syrian Ministry of Defense has reported an airstrike "with missile bursts" from the northeastern direction of Lake Tiberias, targeting Damascus International Airport, and some points south of Damascus, with "some material losses". Read more

September 16, 2022 - Fighting has been reported between Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, in which both countries have blamed each other for violating the ceasefire agreement. Read more

September 16, 2022 - DoD authorizes the Presidential Drawdown of security assistance valued at up to $600 million to Ukraine. This authorization is the Biden Administration’s twenty-first drawdown since August 2021. Read more

September 16, 2022 - 43 Chinese military aircraft, and 5 PLAN vessels have been spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 16th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 15, 2022 - 26 Chinese military aircraft, and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 15th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 14, 2022 - WASHINGTON – Pentagon leaders held a top-secret conference at the Pentagon on September 6th, and 7th, to discuss China and Russia's potential to develop unique space weapons, giving to a publicly posted dossier. The meetings also centered around protecting the US-owned assets currently in orbit around the earth. Read more

September 14, 2022 - Ongoing Report: Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged fire, with each side's Ministry of Defense putting out a version of events that conflicts with the other's. The below statements from each respective Ministry of Defense has been translated to English. Updated September 14th, 2022. Read more

September 14, 2022 - 24 Chinese military aircraft, and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 14th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 13, 2022 - 11 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 13th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 13, 2022 - EUROPE - Azerbaijan and Armenia exchanged fire, with each side's Ministry of Defense putting out a version of events that conflicts with the other's. The below statements from each respective Ministry of Defense has been translated to English. Read more

September 12, 2022 - 7 Chinese military aircraft, and 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 12th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense, which included a BZK-005 reconnaissance drone. Read more

September 12, 2022 - Greece has fired on a Turkish vessel and said that it entered territorial waters. Turkey, on the other hand, says that the incident happened in international waters, and that Greece shot at it with 'harassment fire'. Read more

September 12, 2022 - UKRAINE - After the six-reactor Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor, the largest nuclear reactor in Europe, and one of the top 10 largest in the world had been disconnected from power for around a weeks time, it has now had its connection to Ukraine's power grid reestablished. Read more

September 12, 2022 - Additions to North Korea's nuclear force policy say that a nuclear attack could commence "automatically and immediately" if the leader Kim Jong Un is either killed or incapacitated by an attack. Read more

September 10, 2022 - After U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei on September 2nd, 2022, both Chinese military aircraft and PLAN vessels have been spotted around the island of Taiwan on a daily basis. Read more

September 10, 2022 - 43 Chinese military aircraft, and 9 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 10th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 10, 2022 - 12 Chinese military aircraft, 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around Taiwan on September 9th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 08, 2022 - TAIWAN - 45 Chinese military aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 8th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 08, 2022 - DOD - The Defense Department has put out a statement saying that the Biden administration has approved another assistance package valued at $675 million in "U.S. assistance to Ukraine", along with another $2 Billion in long-term military financing to "European countries threatened by Russia". Read more

September 08, 2022 - Gas supplies to Europe won't be resumed until the West lifts sanctions against Moscow, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who said that Western sanctions against Russia are to blame for the Nord Stream pipeline being taken offline. Read more

September 08, 2022 - MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he is "confident" that Russia hasn't lost a thing during Russia's ongoing conflict with Ukraine. Brief overview on what started the conflict in 2014. Brief conflict overview.. Read more

September 08, 2022 - The Pentagon has suspended deliveries of new Lockheed Martin's F-35 aircraft to the army after finding that a component of the jet uses an alloy made in China, which, according to a CNN report, and Interfax, violates federal defense procurement policies. Read more

September 08, 2022 - Japan's Ministry of Defense has released another update on Taiwan's defense strategy "to prevent an invasion by China at the furthest distance possible". Read more

September 08, 2022 - China has been increasingly aggressive about controlling the microchip industry and emboldened in its aggressive stance towards Taiwan since the U.S. pullout of Afghanistan, and the lack of direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict by the United States. Read more

September 08, 2022 - The Biden administration has announced plans to invest $50 billion in the US semiconductor industry, in order to "revitalize the domestic semiconductor industry and spur innovation while creating good-paying jobs in communities across the country," according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. Read more

September 08, 2022 - Russian energy giant Gazprom has said that it has signed a deal with China to pay for Russian gas in the Chinese yuan and Russian ruble, rather than paying with the U.S. dollar. Read more

September 07, 2022 - According to a newly declassified U.S. Intelligence, Russia could be purchasing millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea. The White House has indicated that Moscow looking to purchase arms from North Korea and claims that it is further evidence that Russia is desperate, and that its ammunition supplies are running low as its "strategic operation" on Ukraine passes its six and a half month mark. Read more

September 07, 2022 - PYONGYANG - North Korean state news agency, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has said that military drills by the United States and South Korea have increased the possibility of "nuclear war" on the "Korean Peninsula". Read more

September 07, 2022 - 12 Chinese military aircraft, and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 7th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Of the military aircraft, three were SU-30 multirole aircraft. Read more

September 06, 2022 - Eight Chinese military aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 6th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 05, 2022 - 17 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 5th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 04, 2022 - Seven Chinese military aircraft, one UAV, and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around Taiwan on September 4th, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 04, 2022 - Taiwan's Ministry of Defense has put out a statement saying that "unidentified drones" from PRC (People's Republic of China) have been reported "hovering over the barracks in Kinmen". Read more

September 04, 2022 - ZAPORIZHZHIA - One day after a visit by the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) team, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) was forced offline after an artillery shell fell between two reactors, damaging the main power line on Saturday morning, September 3rd. Read more

September 04, 2022 - RUSSIA - Siemens Energy corporation has put out a statement saying that an engine oil leak is no reason to stop the Nord Stream gas pipeline, and said that the leak should have been able to be sealed on site. Read more

September 03, 2022 - The U.S. was threatened by China with a delay of a new product launch from Nvidia if it did not stop with the tech export reduction, and stated that some products might have to leave Chinese manufacturing lines. Read more

September 03, 2022 - After a full month of straight Chinese incursions around the island of Taiwan following the visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on August 2nd, 2022, the Biden administration has announced a $1.1 Billion arms sale to Taipei, angering China. Read more

September 03, 2022 - Four Chinese military aircraft and 5 PLA vessels have been spotted in waters surrounding Taiwan on September 3rd, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 02, 2022 - 19 Chinese military aircraft, and 3 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 2nd, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 02, 2022 - The Taiwanese military have shot down an unidentified unmanned "civilian drone" near Kinmen, Taiwan on Thursday, September 1st. Japan's Ministry of Defense has also put out a statement, along with a map showing Taiwan's defensive strategy, meant to deter "Chinese aggression". The United States is also strengthening "alliance" with the Philippines. Read more

September 02, 2022 - UNITED STATES - Law enforcement agencies across the country are using a mysterious cellphone tracking tool that lies in an unregulated gray zone in regard to personal rights. Read more

September 01, 2022 - The Taiwanese military says they have shot down an unidentified unmanned "civilian drone" near Kinmen, Taiwan on Thursday, September 1st. Read more

September 01, 2022 - 53 Chinese military aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on September 1st, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

September 01, 2022 - The Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom said that if China successfully invades the island of Taiwan, the Taiwanese people may suffer a similar fate as the Uyghurs in western China’s Xinjiang region. Read more

August 31, 2022 - KYIV - On Wednesday, August 31st, The United Nations International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) dispatched its team to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), amid rising tensions between The Russian Federation and the sovereign state of Ukraine. Read more

August 31, 2022 - The crude oil tanker "Affinity V", which is 826 feet long, and 147 feet wide ran aground in the Suez Canal, backing up Maritime traffic, according to local media and analysis of the ship's location in vessel tracking software. It has been released and is now back on course. Read more

August 31, 2022 - Israel has allegedly fired several missiles at the Aleppo International Airport, with "several missiles, causing material damage". This, on the same day that U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, in order to "consult on global and regional security challenges, including threats posed by Iran". Read more

August 30, 2022 - The U.S. Navy prevented a support ship from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) from capturing an unmanned surface vessel operated by the U.S. 5th Fleet in the Arabian Gulf, Aug. 29-30. Read more

August 30, 2022 - BAGHDAD - Following the resignation of the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Monday, August 29th, followers who supported him, stormed the green zone with rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) and automatic rifle fire as Iraqi security forces fought back, sparking a major escalation in the political deadlock that has gripped the nation. Read more

August 30, 2022 - Location: Iraq (countrywide). Event: Ongoing demonstrations within and around the International Zone in Baghdad have turned violent and resulted in deaths and injuries. Read more

August 30, 2022 - Taiwan has fired live ammunition at a Chinese drone that had intruded over one of Taiwan's outer islands for the first time, on Tuesday, August 30th. Read more

August 30, 2022 - 783 Chinese military aircraft (spotted every day of the month so far), and 179 People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels have been spotted around the island of Taiwan every day since August 6th. Read more

August 29, 2022 - Amid renewed shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the UN's IAEA has decided to go ahead and visit the plant and has dispatched a team of nuclear strategicists. The facility, which has a total of six nuclear reactors, has already been taken completely offline during shelling the previous week, according to the IAEA website. Read more

August 29, 2022 - 759 Chinese military aircraft (spotted every day of the month so far), and 168 People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels have been spotted around the island of Taiwan every day since August 6th. Read more

August 29, 2022 - A security alert has been released by the U.S. Embassy in Montenegro, which is located near Kosovo. Event: A persistent and ongoing cyber-attack is in process in Montenegro. Read more

August 29, 2022 - 23 Chinese military aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels were spotted around Taiwan on August 28th, 2022, making the total military aircraft spotted this month around the island: 722, and vessels: 160. Read more

August 28, 2022 - The president of the BRICS International Forum, Purnima Anand told reporters on Thursday that both Russia and India no longer need the U.S. dollar, as they have turned to national currencies to conduct mutual settlements. Read more

August 28, 2022 - Final review and agreement of the U.N. Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which is its foundation for nuclear disarmament, was blocked by Russia due to its critical statements regarding Russia's invasion in nation of Ukraine. Read more

August 27, 2022 - After completing an international patrol mission on August 26th, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, Oliver Henry, was denied clearance for a pre-scheduled resupply port call from the Solomon Islands, a country that has been strengthening ties in the Pacific with China. Read more

August 27, 2022 - 21 Chinese military aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the surrounding region of Taiwan on August 27th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

August 26, 2022 - WASHINGTON - Senator Rob Portman of Ohio, along with the Senate Homeland Security Governmental Affairs Committee has stated that China is attempting to recruit individuals, which are already employed inside the Federal Reserve (FED), as agents of international espionage. Read more

August 26, 2022 - The United States Treasury Department has issued a letter that contains a threat of possible sanctions for Turkey's leading business organization on the grounds of Russian Collaboration. Read more

August 26, 2022 - 35 Chinese military aircraft and 8 PLAN vessels have been spotted in the 'surrounding region' around Taiwan on August 26th, 2022 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

August 25, 2022 - 653 Chinese military aircraft have been spotted around Taiwan every day so far for the month of August, and 139 People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels have been spotted around the island every day since August 6th. Read more

August 25, 2022 - Israel is reportedly striking targets located in Syria. Explosions have been reported in Tartus, and Syrian state media says that its air defenses are engaging "hostile targets" over the Masyaf region in northwestern Syria. Read more

August 25, 2022 - On Ukraine's Independence Day, Wednesday, August 24th, A Russian missile strike hit a civilian train station in the small town of Chaplyne, which is in the central Dnipropetrovsk region. Originally it was reported that 15 were deceased and 50 were wounded. The death toll has risen to 22. Read more

August 25, 2022 - CENTCOM: forces respond to attempted coordinated rocket attacks at Conoco, Green Village bases in northeast Syria. "U.S. forces responded today to rocket attacks at two sites in Syria, destroying three vehicles and equipment used to launch some of the rockets. Read more

August 24, 2022 - At U.S. President Biden’s direction, U.S. military forces conducted precision airstrikes in Deir ez-Zor Syria today. These precision strikes are intended to defend and protect U.S. forces from attacks like the ones on August 15 against U.S. personnel by Iran-backed groups. Read more

August 24, 2022 - Taiwan's Ministry of Defense has reported 13 Chinese military aircraft, and 4 PLAN vessels in the surrounding region of Taiwan on August 24th, 2022. Read more

August 23, 2022 - Gas flow from Nord Stream will be stopped for three days, from August 31st to September 2nd, according to Russian state news agency TASS, who says that the downtime is needed in order to repair the only fuel compressor unit that currently remains in operation. Read more

August 23, 2022 - Three foreign citizens, 2 from Russia and 1 from Ukraine, have been arrested while trying to enter an Albanian Military Plant, with 2 Albanian soldiers injured in the event. Read more

August 23, 2022 - KYIV - Wednesday, August 24th, will mark 31 years free from Soviet rule in Ukraine, but the date will come and go, without celebration, in fears of safety concerns, due to Russia's "strategic military operation." Read more

August 23, 2022 - 20 Chinese military aircraft and four PLAN vessels were spotted in waters surrounding Taiwan on August 23rd, 2022, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

August 22, 2022 - 15 Chinese military aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels have been spotted in the region surrounding the island of Taiwan, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

August 22, 2022 - 12 Chinese military aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted in the 'surrounding region' near the island of Taiwan on August 21st, 2022. Read more

August 22, 2022 - The US Embassy in North Macedonia put out a message saying, "Look up! Today at 2:30 pm there will be a low-altitude flyover of two B-52s in Skopje". Read more

August 22, 2022 - The U.S. State Department said on Thursday that they are deeply concerned about increasing tensions in Northeastern Syria regarding a suspected Turkish drone attack that killed four teenage girls and injured 11 other people who were playing volleyball at a girl's center in Hasakah, Syria. Read more

August 21, 2022 - The daughter of famous Russian public figure and political scientist Alexander Dugin was killed in a vehicle explosion near on a highway near Moscow according to authorities and Russian state media. Read more

August 21, 2022 - On August 18th US military B-52 nuclear-capable bombers returned to the 'RAF' Fairford US Air Force base in Gloucestershire, United Kingdom from the Minot Air Base in North Dakota. Read more

August 20, 2022 - Security Alert for the United States embassy in Mogadishu, Somalia in Africa. The U.S. Embassy in Somalia reminds U.S. citizens that terrorists continue to plot kidnappings, bombings, and other attacks in Somalia. Read more

August 20, 2022 - *Update* Ukraine's Mykolaiv Regional State Administration has put out a radiation exposure notice on its official Facebook page for the Ukrainian population outside of the NPP surveillance zone. Read more

August 20, 2022 - On August 18th, 2022 the Department of Defense released a statement on Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen Hicks visit U.S. to Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois; and Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. Read more

August 20, 2022 - The United States Department of Defense has released a statement regarding another major security assistance package to be sent to Ukraine valued at $775 million. Read more

August 20, 2022 - Ukraine's Mykolaiv Regional State Administration has put out a radiation exposure notice on its official Facebook page. Mykolaiv is located near the Black Sea in southern Ukraine. Read more

August 19, 2022 - 51 Chinese military aircraft and 6 vessels were spotted around Taiwan on August 18th, 2022. Taiwan responded by monitoring the situation, deploying aircraft in CAP, naval vessels and land-based missile systems, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Read more

August 19, 2022 - During a press briefing in Singapore, the U.S. Navy’s 7th Fleet stated that the amount of unsafe interceptions by Chinese aircraft has increased over the last few months. The United States had carried out wargames simulating an attack by China in 2021, but failed miserably. Read more

August 19, 2022 - CHINA - After post-Taiwan tensions, including live-fire exercises around Taiwan and Chinese missiles falling in Japan's economic exclusion zone (EEC), Akiba Takeo, Japan's National Security Secretariat, and Yang Jiechi, Senior Foreign Affairs Advisor, have met in northern China. Read more

August 18, 2022 - The Chinese Ministry of Defense has reported that their military is carrying out joint military exercises that are co-hosted by 12 countries, with 37 countries in total participating. Read more

August 17, 2022 - Gazprom, Russia's state-owned energy corporation says that gas prices in Europe could go over $4,000 per 1,000 cubic meters for the first time in history on Tuesday. Read more

August 17, 2022 - 21 Chinese military aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan August 17th, 2022. Five of the Chinese military aircraft included two SU-30 and one Y-8 antisubmarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. Read more

August 17, 2022 - Air Force Global Strike Command Airmen launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with a test re-entry vehicle from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California on August 16th. Read more

August 15, 2022 - 30 Chinese military aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels were spotted on the "east part of the median line" of the Taiwan Strait August 15th, 2022. Read more

August 14, 2022 - UNITED KINGDOM - There are major elections being held this fall around the world. In countries such as Australia, Israel, the UK, the United States, and Estonia, political campaigns are ongoing. Due to current price hikes on staple products and commodities, terms like recession and inflation are going around, but a new trend in UK campaigns has been mentioning The China Threat. Read more

August 14, 2022 - Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State, in an analytical statement of world events, states that the U.S. is "Teetering on the brink of war" with China and Russia and owns some responsibility for its manifestation. Read more

August 14, 2022 - A five-member delegation, led by Senator Ed Markey (D) of Massachusetts, meeting in Taiwan to discuss security, economical, and trade topics, according to the American Institute in Taiwan. Read more

August 14, 2022 - White House teleconference press release: On call with Kurt Campbell regarding China and Taiwan and the recent tensions that have arisen in the Taiwan Strait. Read more

August 14, 2022 - TAIWAN - The Foreign Ministry of Taiwan expressed with sincerity, its gratefulness to the United States for its constant presence around Taiwan and for taking specific action to safeguard the region and the Taiwan Strait. Read more

August 14, 2022 - CRIMEA - Approximately 24 Su-35 aircraft have been lost during the strategic military operation in Ukraine, resulting in the Russian Federation resurrecting old and outdated fighter jets, according to a social media post from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Read more

August 13, 2022 - China is sending bombers and fighter jets to Thailand for joint exercises with Thailand's military on Sunday, August 14th, 2022. Read more

August 13, 2022 - NEW YORK CITY - In another escalation due to rising tensions, 5 Chinese state-run global companies have announced their decision to de-list from the New York Stock Exchange. Read more

August 11, 2022 - From the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), For the last two days, there have been two known incursions into the Alaskan Air Defense Zone, a buffer zone that sits between the airspace of Alaska and international air space, by Russian surveillance aircraft, which were detected, identified, and tracked off the coast. Read more

August 11, 2022 - SOUTHERN UKRAINE - Caught in crossfire, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine, on the Dnieper River, near the town of Enerhodar, is being watched very closely by international eyes as the power plant receives heavy artillery rounds, causing fears of a Chernobyl-like nuclear incident. Read more

August 10, 2022 - On August 9th at 3:20 pm local time, a very powerful explosion shook Crimea, as the Saky Russian air base in the annexed region explodes into flames, marking a major escalation in the war in Ukraine. Plumes of smoke filled the sky, causing residents and tourists to flee the city as first responders raced towards the blast. Read more

August 09, 2022 - Russia stated on Monday, August 8th that they would no longer allow inspection of weapons under the New START Nuclear Arms Control Treaty for an unspecified time due to restrictions on travel implemented by the United States and the west. Read more

August 09, 2022 - The Chinese military has said that they would be continuing their live-fire military drills Monday, August 8th, 2022 in the waters and skies around the island of Taiwan, focusing on anti-submarine and air-to-ship strikes. Read more

August 08, 2022 - US ARMED FORCES long-range missile support strategicists have selected Northrop Grumman Corporation to attend to the next Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Weapons system process to shield the Continental US from nuclear long-range missile assaults. Read more

August 08, 2022 - The Group of Seven (G7) Foreign ministers released a joint statement regarding Taiwan calling an end to China's provocative exercises around the island of Taiwan, after which the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅) condemned the statement and called it scrap paper. Read more

August 07, 2022 - According to multiple Israeli sources around 935 rockets have been fired into Israel from the Gaza Strip. Rockets were also fired into Israel just minutes after the ceasefire deadline had been reached. Read more

August 07, 2022 - 66 Chinese military aircraft and 14 vessels were detected around Taiwan on August 7th, 2022. 22 of the aircraft had flown on the east part of the median line of the Taiwan Strait and the southwest ADIZ according to Taiwan's MOD. Read more

August 07, 2022 - 20 Chinese military aircraft and 14 Chinese vessels conducted an air-sea operation on the surrounding area of Taiwan on August 6th, 2022. Chinese state-run television also says that China will be carrying out regular drills from now on. Read more

August 07, 2022 - GAZA - Another airstrike has claimed the life of another PIJ Top Commander, Khaled Mansour, targeted at an apartment building in the crowded Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza, as the Israeli Defense Force continues their offensive against the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Read more

August 07, 2022 - SOCHI, RUSSIA - Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, met today to secure an end to the global food crisis and resume exporting Ukrainian grain. Read more

August 06, 2022 - TAIWAN - (From Taiwanese Translation) Taiwanese official Ou Yang Li-hsing, who was the vice president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and led missile production has died of a "sudden heart attack" at 57 years old in the hotel that he was saying in. Read more

August 05, 2022 - Rockets are now firing at Israel from Gaza. The IDF stated, "More sirens are now sounding in cities across central Israel. Read more

August 05, 2022 - The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs have announced a list of "countermeasures" in response to Nancy Pelosi's visit to the island of Taiwan. Read more

August 05, 2022 - Taiwan's Ministry of Defense has reported that 49 Chinese aircraft flew into the east part of the median line of the Taiwan Strait on August 5th, 2022. Read more

August 05, 2022 - *NEW UPDATES* Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have announced that they are currently carrying out strikes on the Gaza Strip after "direct threats" posed by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza. Read more

August 05, 2022 - Russia has kicked 14 Bulgarian diplomats from the country and declared them persona non grata, in what looks to be a response to Bulgaria expelling 70 Russian diplomats over the summer. Read more

August 05, 2022 - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after having visited the island of Taiwan visiting the heavily fortified Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) that sits between the North and South Korean border on her way to Seoul, the Capital of South Korea. Read more

August 04, 2022 - Chinese state-affiliated media announced live fire exercises in the Taiwan Strait. The Japanese Ministry of Defense reported that five Chinese missiles are 'presumed' to have landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Read more

August 04, 2022 - The U.S. Department of State has put out a worldwide travel alert, advising against traveling abroad after Sunday's drone strike where two R9X Hellfire missiles killed al-Qaeda leader, and Osama bin Laden successor, Ayman al-Zawahri. Read more

August 04, 2022 - White House Statement On Senate Ratification of the NATO Accession Protocols for Sweden and Finland. "Today, the Senate overwhelmingly endorsed our close partners Finland and Sweden joining NATO. This historic vote sends an important signal of the sustained, bipartisan U.S. commitment to NATO, and to ensuring our Alliance is prepared to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow"... Read more

August 04, 2022 - At the United Nations, Russia said that although the conflict in Ukraine does not require the use of nuclear weapons, Moscow might decide to resort to a nuclear response as a result of what it says is direct involvement in its conflict with Ukraine by the United States. Read more

August 03, 2022 - 27 Chinese military aircraft entered into the surrounding area of Taiwan on August 3rd, 2022, and 21 Chinese military aircraft violated Taiwan's ADIZ just one day before that, after Pelosi's visit to the island according to the country's MOD. Read more

August 03, 2022 - 21 Chinese military aircraft entered into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on August 2nd, 2022 after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi touched down in Taiwan. Read more

August 02, 2022 - U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was confirmed to have been on the aircraft heading toward the Island of Taiwan and has now landed safely. The U.S. air force had been authorized to open fire in case there was any interference from the Chinese on the plane that carried Pelosi. Read more

August 02, 2022 - There have been many reports, and sightings of Chinese military vehicles, equipment and tanks in the Chinese city of Xiamen and the province of Fujian, which sits straight across from the island of Taiwan. Read more

August 02, 2022 - According to Taiwan's official state news The Central News Agency (CNA) and the Xiamen Airlines website, China's Fujian region has announced August 2nd that airspace flow control will be implemented, and a "large number of flights have been canceled". Read more

August 02, 2022 - US Speaker Nancy Pelosi is set to travel to Taipei on Tuesday. Chinese military vessels and aircraft have been spotted carrying out tactical moves by touching the median line in the Taiwan Strait. Read more

August 02, 2022 - The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has carried out a successful drone strike in Afghanistan against al Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri. Read more

August 02, 2022 - The first shipment of grain left Odessa, Ukraine on Monday, August 1st, at 5:30 GMT, according to the Turkish Defense Ministry. Read more

August 01, 2022 - Satellite photos obtained from Planet Labs from the location of Lop Nur nuclear test site in China show what looks to be upgraded and expanded facilities, indicating that China may be preparing for nuclear tests for the first time in 26 years. Read more

August 01, 2022 - An Iranian IRGC-affiliated Telegram channel has posted a video openly declaring that Iran can move its peaceful nuclear program to a nuclear weapons program very quickly, and said that Iran's ballistic missiles are capable of turning New York into ruins. Read more

August 01, 2022 - As Pelosi is expected to arrive in the Asia Pacific, growing concerns come from other countries who are in support of China instead of the United States and an independent Taiwan. Read more

USINDOPACOM Statement on Unprofessional Intercept of U.S. Aircraft over South China Sea - Video shows what Indo-Pacific Command says is an "unnecessarily aggressive move" by a Chinese Shenyang J-16 multi-role strike aircraft. Read On Patreon | Read On Defcon Alerts.

Indo-Pacific Command: "SOUTH CHINA SEA –A People's Republic of China J-16 fighter pilot performed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver during the intercept of a U.S. Air Force RC-135 aircraft, May 26, 2023.

The PRC pilot flew directly in front of the nose of the RC-135, forcing the U.S. aircraft to fly through its wake turbulence. The RC-135 was conducting safe and routine operations over the South China Sea in international airspace, in accordance with international law.

The United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate – safely and responsibly – wherever international law allows, and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Joint Force will continue to fly in international airspace with due regard for the safety of all vessels and aircraft under international law. We expect all countries in the Indo-Pacific region to use international airspace safely and in accordance with international law".

KFOR Update On Zvecan Attacks May 30th, 2023 - NATO-led KFOR statement: “The number of peace-keepers wounded during yesterday's unprovoked violence in the municipality of Zvecan is 30. Read More On Defcon Alerts Platform.

11 soldiers from the Italian contingent and 19 from the Hungarian contingent sustained multiple injuries, including fractures and burns from improvised explosive incendiary devices.

North Korea Notifies Japan Of Satellite Launch, South Korea "Strongly Warns" Against It - PYONGYANG - After South Korea notified Japan of an upcoming satellite launch, South Korea “strongly” warned against the launch, while Japan said that the country would shoot down any projectiles that threaten its territory. Read On SJ (News) | Read On Patreon (Intel/Alerts).

Japan warns it will shoot down any projectiles that threaten its territory, says that it recognizes there is a possibility it could pass through Japanese airspace.

Syria Claims Israel Targeted Damascus With Air Strikes - DAMASCUS - Syrian state media reported that Israel targeted the Syrian capital of Damascus with airstrikes, citing a military source. Read On SJ (News) | Read On Patreon (Intel/Alerts).

While Israel rarely acknowledges strikes in Syria, it has admitted to carrying out hundreds of strikes in the past targeting militias in the region.

Russia Calls Poland "Hostile", Warns Of Intervention In Belarus In Event Of Coup - MOSCOW - Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called Poland "hostile" and addressed claims by Polish media, Russian and Belarusian officials that Poland is planning a coup in Belarus, and says that if this happens, Russia will step in and intervene. Read On SJ (News) | Read On Patreon (Intel/Alerts).

The claim that Poland plans to initiate a coup in Belarus originated from a Polish media outlet Polsat, which cited the former commander of the Land Forces General Waldemar Skrzypczak as saying "Let's prepare for an uprising in Belarus because it will happen. The point is that we do not oversleep this moment”.

Russian state-run media has taken Polish media out of context, claimed Poland intends to carry out a coup in Belarus. Read our news report on either our intel platform, or news platform for more information on this. [Links provided above to both].

U.S. Forces Engage Insurgents In Support Of The Federal Government of Somalia, Carries Out Airstrike - United States Africa Command: "In support of the Federal Government of Somalia and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia operations against al Shabaab, U.S. Africa Command conducted an airstrike against militants in the vicinity of the ATMIS forward operating base, FOB Bulo Marer on May 26." Read On SJ (News) | Read On Patreon (Intel/Alerts).

AFRICOM: "The command’s initial assessment is that no civilians were injured or killed. U.S. Africa Command takes great measures to prevent civilian casualties. Protecting civilians remains a vital part of the command’s operations to promote a more secure and stable Africa".

Belarusian President: Russian Tactical Nukes On On The Move To Belarus From Russia - MINSK - President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko has said that Russia has begun its movement of tactical nuclear warheads into Belarus, saying that the nuclear weapons are currently in transit to the country. Read On Substack | Read On Patreon.

Lukashenko spoke to reporters and said, "The movement of the nuclear weapons has already begun". He was then asked whether the nuclear weapons have already arrived in Belarus, and he replied, "Possibly. When I get back I will check".

Chinese "Web Shell" Malware From "Volt Typhoon" Hacker Group Detected In US Infrastructure In Guam And US - GUAM/US - A Chinese hacker group named "Volt Typhoon" injected malware code into telecommunications infrastructure in Guam and other locations within the United States. Read On Patreon | Read On Substack

Volt Typhoon targeted organizations involved in: communications, manufacturing, utility, transportation, construction, maritime, government, information technology, as well as education.

Russia: Two US B-1B Strategic Bombers Intercepted Over Black Sea Approaching Border - MOSCOW - The Russian Ministry of Defense has claimed that it intercepted two United States B-1B strategic bombers flying over the Baltic Sea approaching the Russian border. Sign Up For All Alerts And Intel

A statement released by the Russian Ministry of Defense said that Russia intercepted the bombers with Su-27 fighter jets in order to "prevent the violation of the Russian border".

Russian Ministry of Defense Statement

"On May 23, 2023, Russian airspace control measures detected two air targets approaching the state border of the Russian Federation over the Baltic Sea.

Su-27 fighter jet of the Baltic Fleet air defence forces on duty was taken into the air to prevent the violation of the Russian border.

The crew of the Russian fighter classified the aerial targets as two B-1B strategic bombers of the US Air Force and occupied the designated airborne duty zone.

After the removal of the foreign combat aircraft from the state border of the Russian Federation, the Russian fighter returned to the airfield of departure.

The flight of the Russian fighter was carried out in strict compliance with international airspace regulations.

There was no violation of the Russian Federation state border.

The National Defence Management Center".

NORAD detects Russian aircraft operating in Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone - Northern American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD): "COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked a Russian military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on May 15, 2023. (Intel delayed, governments don't always release information to public right away). Sign Up For All Alerts

The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace.

This flight occurred as several planned large-scale military training exercises are ongoing in and around Alaska. This Russian activity in the Alaska ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat.

An ADIZ begins where sovereign airspace ends and is a defined stretch of international airspace that requires the ready identification, location and control of all aircraft in the interest of national security.

NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars and fighter aircraft to track and identify aircraft and inform appropriate actions.

NORAD remains ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America."

Russia Claims It Intercepted German And French Aircraft Approaching Its Border - MOSCOW - The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that it detected and intercepted two aircraft approaching the Russian border over the Baltic Sea and turned the military aircraft "away to its home airfield". See All Alerts

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that one of the aircraft was German and one French.

Russian Ministry of Defense statement: "On 15 May 2023, Russian airspace control systems detected two aerial targets approaching the State border of the Russian Federation over the Baltic Sea. The crew of the Russian fighter jet identified the aerial targets as an R-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft of the German Navy and an Atlantique-2 maritime patrol aircraft of the French Navy".

Russian Ministry of Defense: National Center for State Defense Control of the Russian Federation: "On 15 May 2023, Russian airspace control systems detected two aerial targets approaching the State border of the Russian Federation over the Baltic Sea.

A Su-27 fighter jet of the Baltic Fleet scrambled to identify the aerial targets and prevent violations of the State border of the Russian Federation.

The crew of the Russian fighter jet identified the aerial targets as an R-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft of the German Navy and an Atlantique-2 maritime patrol aircraft of the French Navy.

After turning the foreign military aircraft away from the State Border of the Russian Federation, the Russian fighter returned safely to its home airfield. There was no violation of the state border of the Russian Federation.

The flight of the Russian fighter aircraft was carried out in strict compliance with the international rules for the use of airspace over international waters without crossing any air routes or coming dangerously close to an aircraft of a foreign State."

NORAD Intercepts Six Russian Aircraft In And Near Alaska's ADIZ - NORTH AMERICAN AEROSPACE DEFENSE COMMAND - COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The Alaskan Region of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected, tracked, positively identified and intercepted six Russian aircraft operating in and near the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on May 11, 2023. See All Alerts

Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. These flights occurred as several planned large-scale U.S. military training exercises are ongoing within Alaska.

The Russian aircraft were TU-95 bombers, IL-78 tankers and SU-35 fighter aircraft. NORAD aircraft, including F-16 fighters, F-22 fighters, KC-135 Stratotankers, and E-3 AWACS, conducted the mission.

This Russian activity in the North American ADIZ occurs regularly and is not seen as a threat. NORAD tracks and positively identifies all military aircraft that enter the ADIZ, routinely monitors aircraft movements and as necessary, escorts them from the ADIZ.

Since Russia resumed out of area Long Range Aviation activity in 2007, NORAD has seen a yearly average of approximately six to seven intercepts of Russian military aircraft in the ADIZ.

These numbers have varied each year from as high as 15 to as low as zero. NORAD employs a layered defense network of satellites, ground-based radars, airborne radar and fighter aircraft to track and identify aircraft and inform appropriate actions.

We remain ready to employ a number of response options in defense of North America and Arctic sovereignty.

Ceasefire Agreement Reached Between Israel And Gaza - ISRAEL - A ceasefire agreement has been reached between Israel and Gaza in order to bring an end to the hostilities in the region. Washington released a statement sending their "condolences to the families of civilians who were killed and those who were injured in the violence". Read More Alerts

The U.S. State Department said that the United States will "continue our efforts to improve quality of life for Palestinians and we urge the swift delivery of fuel and other critical supplies into Gaza".

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Statement (translated)

IDF spokesperson: "Update regarding instructions for the home front: "In accordance with the assessment of the situation in the IDF, it was decided to gradually remove the restrictions. These instructions may change subject to and in accordance with the assessment of the situation.

As a first step, at 6:00 a.m. (Sun), the restrictions will be lifted in the settlements that belong to the West Negev, Central Negev, West Lakish and Lakish guideline areas.

At 12:00 the restrictions will be lifted in localities that belong to the guidelines area surrounding Gaza. The IDF wishes to obey the directives of the Home Front Command."

IDF spokesperson: "At the end of the assessment of the situation in the IDF, it was decided to open all road blockades in the area surrounding Gaza starting at 06:00".

State Department Statement Welcoming Ceasefire Agreement in Israel and Gaza

US State Department: "The United States welcomes the agreement today for a ceasefire to bring an end to the hostilities in Israel and Gaza. We express our condolences to the families of civilians who were killed and those who were injured in the violence.

The United States commends Egypt’s crucial role in mediating the ceasefire agreement, which will prevent the further loss of civilian lives. We also recognize Qatar’s robust efforts to de-escalate the situation and end the hostilities, as well as the international community’s support for the ceasefire. Our team worked tirelessly in cooperation with our partners to support these efforts.

The United States reaffirms our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, as reflected in our ongoing support for Iron Dome and other Israeli missile defense systems.

We will remain engaged with our partners to promote calm in the weeks and months ahead. We also will continue our efforts to improve quality of life for Palestinians and we urge the swift delivery of fuel and other critical supplies into Gaza.

The United States believes that Israelis and Palestinians both deserve to live safely and securely and to enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and democracy."

IDF Continues To Launch Mortar And Rocket Launching Positions In Gaza Strip - Israel Defense Forces (IDF): Operation "Shield and Arrow" - IDF spokesperson: "The IDF attacked a position for launching mortar bombs of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization". Read More Alerts

IDF Statement: "An IDF aircraft recently attacked a mortar bomb launching position of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the northern Gaza Strip."

IDF Statement: "A total of 507 launches. Of these, 368 crossed into Israel and 110 failed. About 1 out of 5 launched fell in the Gaza Strip. About 154 interceptions were made. About 147 targets were attacked."

IDF Said The Operation Against Islamic Jihad In Gaza Strip "Achieved", But Not Without Civilian Deaths

JERUSALEM - A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spoke to Fox News and said that the "operation" against Islamic Jihad forces in the Gaza Strip was "achieved" and was successful.

Israeli Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, "We targeted Islamic Jihad terrorist members, specifically the ones that were unstabilizing the area. We have killed them in the [first] minutes of the operation. They're all dead".

He added, "The goals of this operation have been achieved in the first early seconds of the operation. We are targeting Islamic Jihad and they have paid a big price on their actions, and they will keep on paying the price for their actions".

"Islamic Jihad is a terrorist organization founded 100% by Iran. Iran is a negative actor in the region, but we have targeted Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip in this operation because of the stability of the area".

In total, 15 people were killed in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday through a number of airstrikes on the region, including Khalil Bahitini, the commanding officer of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror organization’s Northern Gaza Division; Jahed Ahnam, the secretary of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad military council; and Tareq Izzeldeen, the Islamic Jihad's intermediary between its the Gaza Strip and West Bank, according to the report.

Although the strikes resulted in terrorist casualties, they also resulted in civilian casualties, due to the fact that the terrorists "act in very crowded civilian populations," such as the highly-populated Gaza Strip.

Hagari told Fox News that "Gaza is one of the crowded urban areas in the world, and it makes it harder. But we keep on doing it the best accurate way that we can and the best moral way that we can. But we have to protect our own civilians".

Terrorist organizations located within the Gaza Strip are known to both hide, and operate out of densely populated areas, as well as civilian facilities such as schools and hospitals to limit the Israeli military's ability to target their locations without also taking out civilians in the process.

"we have no other way to fight against terror, especially Islamic jihad that is hiding and hiding with women and children and is acting around popular population areas," he added.

The attached video shows a case where the IDF identified children in the vicinity of Israeli strikes, after which the aircraft ceased its fire once it identified children within the attack zone.

"There's a boy outside here, 40 meters - stop stop," reads a translated transcript of the video dialogue.

An IDF statement said regarding the video, "The moment an IAF pilot cancels a strike against Islamic Jihad terrorists because of the presence of children near the target".

Another statement by the IDF said, "During an attack on targets of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the last day by IDF aircraft, two children who were not involved in the attack range were identified. Following the identification, the plane stopped the attack".

Hagari said that until there is a "formal" ceasefire declared, Israel will respond to any attacks originating from the Gaza Strip.

"Until there's a formal declaration of a cease-fire. It's not formal," he said.

Sudanese Armed Forces: Operational Situation "Stable" In All States Of Country Except Some Clashes With Rebel Militia Groups In "Some Parts Of The Capital" - Sudanese Armed Forces statement: "A summary of today's situation: The operational situation is stable in all states of the country, except for some clashes with rebel militia groups in some parts of the capital. Read More Alerts

Our forces clashed with a group of rebel militias in a maritime area and destroyed four armed vehicles and the enemy fled.

The rebel militia is still going on looting banks and shops, and stealing citizens' property in their headquarters amid residential neighborhoods in the capital.

Rebels today stormed a container customs station in Supa and looted a large number of its contents. Also the UNICEF warehouses were looted

Your armed forces are monitoring movements of rebel militia groups and our forces are fully prepared to deal with whatever plans the insurgents intend to make.

We urge our citizens to stay away from clash areas and avoid approaching any unknown metal objects until technical teams arrive to deal with them.

Armed forces affirms its bound by conflict rules and international humanitarian law and condemns continued violations by rebel militias.

The armed forces renew the call of rebel militia members to stop prolonging in the failed rebellion plot, to benefit from the pardon of the Commander-in-Chief and to inform the nearest military unit, and points to readiness to facilitate the deportation of foreign mercenaries to their countries in case of extradition.

- Office of the Spokesman of the Armed Forces"

IDF: Warplanes Attacked, Thwarted Islamic Jihad Terrorist Organization, Continues To Attack Targets In Gaza Strip - Israel Defense Forces (IDF): "IDF warplanes attacked and thwarted a number of senior members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization". Read More

The Israel Defense Forces continue to attack more Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization targets in the Gaza Strip.

IDF spokesperson: "The IDF is currently attacking additional terrorist targets of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip".

Israeli Home Front Command: Due to the security situation, the Home Front Command established the following guidelines

Israeli Home Front Command: "Due to the security situation, the Home Front Command established the following guidelines effective tuesday, May 9, 2023, at 02:30, until wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 18:00:Gaza Envelope, Western Lachish, Western Negev, and some of the towns in Lachish - Limited Activity

Educational Activities - do not hold educational activities. Gatherings and Services - can be held with a limit of up to 10 people outdoors and up to 100 people indoors.

The beaches are closed to the public. Workplaces - it is possible to carry out an activity in a place from which a standard protected space can be reached within the time available to reach shelter. The rest of the country - Full Activity

There are no restrictions on holding educational activities, activities at workplaces and gatherings and services.Each and every one of us must make sure that we are prepared and know how to act to protect our lives and the lives of our loved ones.

Upon receiving an alert, you must enter the protected space and stay there for 10 minutes. You must continue to follow the guidelines published by the Home Front Command in the official distribution channels."

Israeli IDF: The IDF and Shin Bet thwarted three senior members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization - Israel Defense Forces (IDF): IDF warplanes attacked and thwarted a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, Khalil Bahitini, who is responsible for the rocket fire into the area surrounding Gaza in the last month. Read More

IDF warplanes attacked and thwarted a number of senior members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization - Khalil Bahitini, Tarek Ezz Al-Din and Jihad A'nam.

In a joint operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet, the commander of the northern Gaza Strip was foiled by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization responsible for the rocket fire into Otef last month

Khalil Bahitini is the senior operational commander of the organization and the commander of the northern Gaza Strip region. In addition, Bahitini was responsible for approving and carrying out All of the terrorist activities from the area of ​​the northern Gaza Strip. Behitini was engaged in directing and planning attacks in the rear of the State of Israel and planned to shoot at Israeli territory in the near future.

Bhaitini, 44 years old, a resident of Gaza City, began his activities in the GAP organization in the late 1990s and over the years was involved in many terrorist acts against Israel - including promoting suicide attacks, explosives, rocket fire and directing terrorist activity in Israel.

After the defeat of Taysir Jabari in August 2022 as part of the 'Dawn' operation, Behitini stepped in as his replacement. Bahitini is a member of the GAP military council in the Gaza Strip and has direct and active contact with senior officials in the GAP political bureau.

Its failure is added to the attack on the heads of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist organization in recent years - Baha'i Abu-Alata, Taysir Jabri and Khaled Mansour, this as part of an attack on the GAP organization in the Gaza Strip.

The IDF and Shin Bet will continue to act in order to preserve the insurance of the residents of the State of Israel

Israel: IDF Striking Islamic Jihad Targets In Gaza - Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a statement: "The IDF is now attacking targets of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip". Read More

IDF spokesperson (image/statement translated): "In accordance with the assessment of the situation, the Home Front Command instructs the residents of the surrounding settlements of the Gaza Strip to stay near a protected area.

Special instructions on the home front within a range of 40 km from the Gaza Strip are published on the national emergency portal, the instructions are valid from Tuesday, 05.09.2023 at 02:30 until Wednesday, 05.10.2023 at 18:00".

Additional statement: "Following a situational assessment, the Home Front Command is instructing civilians in the area surrounding Gaza to remain in the vicinity of a designated shelter until Wednesday."

Israeli IDF: Changes in the traffic arrangements on the roads encircling Gaza

IDF spokesperson: "Defense Minister Yoav Galant confirmed a special situation on the home front; In light of the assessment of the situation - changes in the traffic arrangements on the roads surrounding Gaza

In light of the assessment of the situation, it was decided to close roads and sites, and to switch to traveling on alternative roads in the areas near the perimeter fence in the Gaza Strip".

Changes in the traffic arrangements on the roads encircling Gaza (translated)

IDF: "In light of the assessment of the situation, it was decided to close roads and sites, and to switch to traveling on alternative roads in the areas near the perimeter fence in the Gaza Strip.

The areas that will be blocked are all the agricultural access roads west of road 232. In addition, the following branches will also be closed: Road number 4 - from the Zikim junction to Netiv Hatara. Road number 34 - from the Yad Mordechai intersection to the Nir Am intersection. Road number 232 - in sections from Melslim to Saad and Menir Yitzhak to Kerem Shalom.

will also be closed - Mbari road to the south until the connection with road 232, road 25 Mased to the west, road number 2428 Monir Oz to road 2410 and road 242 to the Gama junction and to the Hisufim junction.

Access to Kibbutz Zikim will be possible on the road south of road 3411, access to Moshav Nativ Hathara will be possible on the road from road 3411 to road 4, access to Kibbutz Yad Mordechai will be possible on the road from road 3411 heading south to near Mordechai, access to Kibbutz Nahal Oz will be possible on a bypass road from road 25, access to kibbutz Nir Oz will be possible via a bypass road leaving from Highway 2410, access to Kibbutz Kerem Shalom will be possible via the eastern road to Highway 232 from Nir Yitzhak to Kerem Shalom, access to Kibbutz Sofa and Kibbutz Hulit will be possible via the western road to Highway 232 from Nir Yitzhak.

Also, entry to Givat "Kobi" ("The Four Monuments") in Sderot, to the "Black Arrow" monument, to Givat Ha'Pemoni in the name of the late Asaf Siboni, to Givat Nazmit and to Givat "The Lonely Horseman" will be prohibited.

In addition, it was decided to close Zikim Beach to visitors and to stop train traffic between Ashkelon and Sderot.

It will be emphasized that the space will be closed to traffic in order to maintain the safety of the residents."

Energoatom: Russia continues To Turn The Temporarily Occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP Into A Military Base - The Energotom National Nuclear Power Company State Enterprise claims that Russia has "placed another batch of military equipment, weapons, and explosives in the premises of the turbine department of the 4th power unit of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant". See All Alerts

It also reported, "the storage of military equipment with ammunition, weapons and explosives in other production premises of the ZNPP, in particular in repair and mechanical workshops and on the roofs of power units".

The statement added, "We will remind you that earlier the occupiers placed such "treasures" in the engine rooms of the first, and later the second power units of the station".

Ukraine Claims Russia Placed Explosives On Turbine Section Of ZNPP Nuclear Power Plant - The State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine has claimed that Russia loaded explosives "in the premise" of the turbine section of the power unit number 4 in the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) See All Alerts

The Ukrainian agency also said, "We will remind that at the end of July 2022, the Russian military placed heavy military equipment with ammunition, as well as weapons and explosives, in the engine room of power unit No. 1 of the ZANP," and added, "At the beginning of August 2022, information was received regarding the placement of military equipment also in the engine room of power unit No. 2 of the ZNPP".

The agency added that, "Also, through unofficial channels, the State Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission receives information about the storage of equipment, weapons and explosives in other production premises of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, including in repair and mechanical workshops and on the roofs of power units".

"We emphasize once again that in the event of an emergency situation at the ZNPP with a potentially possible release of radioactive substances into the environment, the consequences will be felt not only by Ukraine - they will have a cross-border nature," the statement added.

The Regulatory Inspectorate called on the international community for a "consolidated and decisive response to the actions of the aggressor country, the application of tough sanctions against Russian nuclear industry enterprises and persons affiliated with them".

They added, "We emphasize that the Russian Federation should be deprived of all rights and privileges in the IAEA and other international institutions in the field of nuclear energy use".

After Senior Jihad Member Dies In Israeli Prison, Rockets Fired From Gaza, Jihad Group Raises Alertness - JERUSALEM - After the death of the leader of the Islamic Jihad, Hader Adnan in an Israeli prison, reportedly due to an 86 day hunger strike, three rockets were fired from Gaza, and the Islamic Jihad terrorist group raised the "alertness in the ranks of the organization," according to a translated report from the national Israeli broadcaster KAN. Read More Alerts

The Israeli broadcaster said that red alert alarms were heard on Tuesday morning in the area of Kibbutz Sa'ad in the Gaza Strip, hours after the death of the Israeli prisoner was announced.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Had Reported that "three launches from Gaza towards Israel were identified, which fell in an open area. No interceptors were launched according to policy".

KAN reported that Hader Adnan had been one of the leaders of the Islamic Jihad in Judea and Samaria, and that he had undergone a hunger strike that lasted 86 days after an "indictment was filed against Adnan for terrorist offenses". The report said that the prisoner refused medical treatment.

A spokesman for the Islamic Jihad commented on Adnan's death on the Palestinian website "Sawa" where he said, "His death will be a lesson for generations, we will not leave this path as long as Palestine remains under occupation".

The Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh claimed that Adnan's death was a "premeditated assassination".

An IDF Spokesman also said regarding another incident, "A mortar launch was detected earlier today from the Gaza Strip that fell within the area of the perimeter fence in Israeli territory. No policy alert was triggered."

Updated Report On Vessel Reported Under Fire Off Nishtun, Yemen - YEMEN - The attack reported by Britain's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) on position 1531.838N 05213.688 18 nautical miles south of Nishtun, Yemen has been downgraded from "attack" to "incident", with the situation "ongoing". Read More Alerts

A report by AP news said that authorities reported that a yacht opened fire on the Yemeni Coast Guard on Friday after mistaking them for pirates, which led to a gun battle.

British Maritime Trade Operations Reports Vessel Has Come Under Fire - Britain's Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reported that a vessel has come under attack at the location 1531.838N 05213.688 (18 nautical miles south of Nishtun, Yemen) and that shots were fired at the vessel. Read More Alerts

The statement added that there were three boats with 3 to 4 people on board each vessel (POB) but did not indicate who was responsible for the attack taking place.

White House Says No Plans To Evacuate Americans In Sudan - Although the Pentagon has deployed forces and is reported to be coming up with options to assist in an evacuation of U.S. citizens located in the African country of Sudan, the White House said on Friday that it has no plans for a country-wide pullout of Americans from the country at this time Read More Alerts

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the troop movement by the United States military in the region are "to ensure that we provide as many options as possible, if we are called on to do something. We haven’t been called on to do anything yet".

A report by Military.com says that there are around 16,000 U.S. citizens registered with the United States Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, but the State Department says that the number is likely not accurate due to the fact that there is not any requirement for citizens to become registered, or to notify the U.S. Embassy in the country when they decide to leave.

White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said while in Washington that "It’s absolutely imperative that U.S. citizens in Sudan make their own arrangements to stay safe in these difficult circumstances".

He added that, "Americans should have no expectation of a U.S. government coordinated evacuation at this time. And we expect that that’s going to remain the case".

The report says that a small number of American troops have entered into the country of Djibouti in order to position forces and equipment to aid in a potential evacuation, citing an official who said that the Army is tapping soldiers for the task.

It also said that American troops are being transported to Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti. Planning for an evacuation began after a U.S. convoy was attacked in Khartoum by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, as reported by the U.S. State Department.

On Friday, the White House said that no decision had yet been made to carry out any evacuation from the country.

State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel spoke to reporters and said, “A decision has not been made, but I would push back on the notion that we are acting too late,”

“We have been clear-eyed about how American citizens should not travel to Sudan for months now,” Patel said, and indicated that the State Department had released a Level 4: “Do Not Travel” advisory for Sudan.

"We have not parsed our words or been ignorant or naive about the delicate and fragile security situation in Sudan," he added.

Sudanese Army Facilitates International Evacuation Efforts

SUDAN - The Sudanese military has agreed to both facilitate and secure an evacuation for citizens from the United States, United Kingdom, China, and France "in the coming hours," according to a statement by the Sudanese military as the Sudanese army continues to battle the paramilitary faction Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The statement by the Sudanese military said that nationals from Britain, the United States, France, and China, which include diplomats will be evacuated by air on board military transport aircraft from Sudan's capital Khartoum.

Saudi Arabia has released a statement saying it had evacuated 150 people from Sudan on Saturday, which included diplomats and international officials who were evacuated to the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah.

91 of those evacuated by Saudi Arabia were Saudi Arabian citizens, and 66 others were from other countries, such as Pakistan, Qatar, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In addition, the government of the United Kingdom says that they are preparing for a "number of contingencies" and said that they were "doing everything possible to support British nationals and diplomatic staff in Khartoum".

Saudi Foreign Ministry On Evacuation Of Its Citizens From Sudan

Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces the start of the arrangement for the evacuation of Saudi citizens and several nationals of brotherly and friendly countries from the Republic of Sudan to the Kingdom".

"In the implementation of the directives of the Kingdom's Leadership, we are pleased to announce the safe arrival of the evacuated citizens of the Kingdom from Sudan and several nationals of brotherly & friendly countries, including diplomats & international officials".

Coalition Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Crashes Outside Kirkuk - Operation Inherent Resolve: "BAGHDAD - On the morning of April 22, 2023, a Coalition Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), in direct support of Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) operations, experienced a mechanical failure and crashed south of Kirkuk, Iraq. Read More Alerts

The ISF quickly secured the crash site, while Coalition service members cleared the area with a controlled detonation. There were no injuries and no damage to civilian infrastructure.

Coalition UAVs provide vital intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities to the ISF, enabling Defeat-ISIS operations throughout the region.

Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve advises, assists, and enables partner forces in Iraq and Syria to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS."

CENTCOM Confirms ISIS Senior Leader Killed In Helicopter Raid In Northern Syria This Morning - U.S. Central Command: "CENTCOM confirms an ISIS Senior Leader was killed in a helicopter raid in northern Syria this morning. Read More Alerts

CENTCOM Confirms ISIS Senior Leader killed in a Helicopter Raid in Northern Syria Early this morning, April 17, U.S. Central Command forces killed Abd-al-Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali, a senior ISIS Syria leader and operational planner responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe.

This was the ISIS leader who was killed in a unilateral helicopter raid in northern Syria today that was announced this morning. Abd-al-Hadi Mahmud al-Haji Ali was the primary target of the raid.

Two other ISIS operatives were killed in the raid. This operation was launched after intelligence revealed an ISIS plot to kidnap officials abroad as leverage for ISIS initiatives.

"We know ISIS retains the desire to strike beyond the Middle East, said Col. Joe Buccino, a CENTCOM spokesperson. "We are therefore committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS."

2 New York Residents Allegedly Operating "Secret Police Station" Arrested - NEW YORK - Two residents of New York have been arrested for allegedly operating a Chinese "secret police station" in Chinatown, and are expected to appear before the Brooklyn federal court on Monday. See More On this

The two New York residents, Chen Jinping, who is 59 and Liu Jianwang, who is 61 have been arrested and face charges for conspiring to act as an agent for the Chinese government without notifying authorities, as well as for obstructing justice, according to a Brooklyn federal prosecutor.

Earlier this year, the FBI reported that China is running secret overseas police stations around the world, including unauthorized stations in the US, in order to surveil Chinese nationals in countries across the globe, according to reports by the FBI, a former U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor, and a human rights group.

The human rights group Safeguard Defenders had also released an investigative report on the Chinese overseas police stations before the FBI released their own statement on it. At the time the report was written there were 110 such locations known to exist in over 53 countries worldwide.

Breon Peace, who is the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn released a statement on the arrest of the two New Yorkers that said, "This prosecution reveals the Chinese government's flagrant violation of our nation's sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the middle of New York City".

Helicopter Raid in Northern Syria Targets Senior ISIS Leader - CENTCOM: "US Central Command forces conducted a unilateral helicopter raid in northern Syria in the early morning of April 17th targeting a Senior ISIS Syria Leader and Operational Planner responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe. See More On this

The raid resulted in the probable death of the targeted individual. Two other armed individuals were killed on the target.

Extensive planning went into this operation to ensure its successful execution. No US troops were wounded. No US helicopters were damaged. We assess no civilians were killed or injured.

"Though degraded, ISIS remains able to conduct operations within the region with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East," said General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, CENTCOM Commander.

"We will continue the relentless campaign against ISIS." "This operation reaffirms CENTCOM's steadfast commitment to the region and the enduring defeat of ISIS," said Joe Buccino, a CENTCOM spokesman. "We will provide additional details soon."

China Revises Rules For Military Recruitment, Expanding Draft - BEIJING - China has revised its rules for the recruitment of soldiers and expanded its draft, which includes the conscription of veterans and college students at the top of the draft list in the event of a wartime situation in order to optimize conscription procedures, a move that could be seen as possible preparation for a conflict. See More

South Korea Issues "Strong Complaint" Over Intermediate Or Long-Range Missile Launch By North Korea - SEOUL - *Developing* South Korea has issued a "strong complaint" through diplomatic channels after an intermediate or long-range ballistic missile launch by North Korea was detected which triggered a "shelter in place" alert to be declared by the Japanese government. See All Alerts

The South Korean military said that the missile was either an intermediate or long-range missile launched from near Pyongyang that flew for "around 1,000 kilometers" [about 621 miles] before landing in the Sea of Japan, west of the Japanese islands.

As the missile was falling it triggered an alert for the residents living in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that a single "intermediate- or longer-range ballistic missile” was launched at a "vertical angle" from the "Pyongyang area" at around 7:23 in the morning local time.

The Japanese government released a "correction" statement to the evacuation order that they had declared at around 8:20 in the morning which said that the missile did not appear to pose a danger to Japanese citizens. The Japanese evacuation that was in place has been lifted.

The United States released an alert to U.S. citizens living in Japan as the missile was falling that said, "ALERT: The Japanese government is warning that North Korea appears to have launched at least one ballistic missile. The government is urging everyone in Hokkaido to seek shelter. Follow local media for guidance".

China Tracks US Navy Destroyer Near Mischief Reef, Claims It "Illegally Trespassed" - BEIJING - Chinese government officials claimed that the PLA Southern Theater Command tracked a United States Navy destroyer USS Milius, saying that it "illegally trespassed" into waters near Meiji Reef (Mischief Reef) in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea on Monday. Mischief Reef is disputed territory claimed by China, Vietnam and Taiwan. See All Alerts

A statement by Chinese government offiicial Zhang Meifang said, "PLA Southern Theater Command organized naval and air forces to track and monitor the US Navy destroyer USS Milius when it illegally trespassed into waters near China's Meiji Reef in the Nansha Islands in the South China Sea on Monday: spokesperson".

The U.S. 7th Fleet also released a statement that said, "On April 10, the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Milius (DDG 69) asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law".

It continued by saying, "At the conclusion of the operation, USS Milius exited the excessive claim area and continued operations in the South China Sea. This freedom of navigation operation (“FONOP”) upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea. USS Milius demonstrated that Mischief Reef, a low-tide elevation in it its natural state, is not entitled to a territorial sea under international law".

70 Chinese Military Aircraft, 11 PLAN Vessels Spotted April 9-10th, 2023 - 70 Chinese military aircraft and 11 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted on April 9-10th, 2023 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. Four of the aircraft were J-15 carrier based fighter jets. See All Alerts

Of the military aircraft spotted, eight were SU-30 multirole aircraft, eight were J-16 fighter jets, six were J-10 fighter jets, four were J-15 carrier based fighter jets, one TB-001 reconnaissance (RECCE) UCAV drone, one was a Y-9 electronic warfare (EW) aircraft, one was a Y-8 antisubmarine warfare (ASW) aircraft, one was a CH-4 reconnaissance (RECCE) UCAV drone, and one was a KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.

35 of the detected aircraft (35 of the detected aircraft(SU-30*8, J-11*4, J-10*6, J-16*8, TB-001 UCAV, Y-9EW, Y-8 ASW, J-15*4, CH-4 UCAV, KJ-500 AEW&C) crossed over the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered into Taiwan's southwest and southeast Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ).

Taiwan tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels and land based missile systems in order to respond to the Chinese activities around the island.

The statement by Taiwan's Ministry of Defense read, "70 PLA aircraft and 11 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities".

A second statement by the MOD said, "35 of the detected aircraft(SU-30*8, J-11*4, J-10*6, J-16*8, TB-001 UCAV, Y-9EW, Y-8 ASW, J-15*4, CH-4 UCAV, KJ-500 AEW&C) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest and southeast ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated".

71 Chinese Military Aircraft, 9 PLAN Vessels Spotted Around Taiwan April 8-9th, 2023 - 71 Chinese military aircraft and 9 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan between April 8th and April 9th, 2023 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense. See All Alerts

Of the military aircraft spotted, 16 were J-10 fighter jets, 10 were J-16 fighter jets, 8 were SU-30 multirole aircraft, 4 were J-11 fighter jets, 2 were H-6K Strategic Bombers, one was a Y-9 electronic warfare (EW) aircraft, one was a TB-001 reconnaissance (RECCE) UCAV drone, one was a Y-8 antisubmarine warfare (ASW) aircraft, one was a Y-20 Aerial Refueling aircraft, and one was a KJ-500 airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.

45 of the military aircraft that was spotted (SU-30*8, J-11*4, J-10*16, J-16*10, TB-001 UCAV, Y-9EW, Y-8 ASW, H-6K*2, Y-20, KJ-500) crossed over the median line of the Taiwan Strait and enterd into Taiwan's southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

Taiwan tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels and land based missile systems in order to respond to the Chinese activities around the island.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense released a statement that said, "71 PLA aircraft and 9 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities".

A second statement by the MOD said, "45 of the detected aircraft(SU-30*8, J-11*4, J-10*16, J-16*10, TB-001 UCAV, Y-9EW, Y-8 ASW, H-6K*2, Y-20, KJ-500) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated".

IDF Increases Forces In Judea And Samaria, Alerts Activated In Netor, Avni Eitan, Israel, Israel Attacks Syrian Locations Where Launches Carried Out - Israel: The IDF is increasing its forces in Judea and Samaria, and alerts have been activated in Netor, and Avni Eitan, Israel. The IDF is now attacking locations where launches were carried out in Syria. Read More Alerts

IDF statements On Recent Actions

- The IDF increases forces in the Central Command. In accordance with the instructions of the Minister of Defense and the assessment of the situation in the IDF, it was decided to reinforce additional forces in the Judea and Samaria Division, in the Seam area and in the Bekaa and Valleys Brigade. The forces will increase starting tomorrow (Sunday).

Also, in coordination with the Israel Police, the IDF will increase in the area of Tel Aviv district only according to need.

- Initial report: An alert was activated in the Home Front Command application in open areas near Moshav Mitzer. The details are under review.

Further to the report, three launches were detected from Syrian territory towards Israel, one of them crossed into Israeli territory and fell in an open area in the southern Golan Heights. No interceptors were launched according to policy.

- Further to the report, three launches from Syrian territory towards Israel were detected, two of which crossed into Israeli territory, one was intercepted by air defense fighters and the other fell in an open area.

- The IDF is now attacking the firing range from Syria. Artillery forces of the IDF are now firing at the area from which the firing was carried out from Syria, following the launches into Israeli territory that were carried out earlier.

IDF: IDF Attacks Lebanon, Gaza Strip - IDF spokesperson (translated): The IDF attacked targets of the terrorist organization Hamas in southern Lebanon. Read More Alerts

The IDF attacked infrastructure targets and targets of the terrorist organization Hamas to operate from Lebanon and considers the state of Lebanon responsible for all fire on its territory.

The IDF is now attacking the Gaza Strip.

Alert activated in the settlement of Yad, Israel.

IDF: Mortar Fire Towards Metula From Lebanese Border - IDF spokesperson (translated): A report was received of mortar fire towards the Metula area from the Lebanese border, after searches in the area, casualties were found. Read More Alerts

IDF is reporting they are "now attacking Gaza Strip".

Israel: The IDF attacked two terrorist tunnel routes and two weapons production sites of the terrorist organization Hamas - IDF spokesperson (translated): "Fighter jets attacked a short time ago the route of a terrorist tunnel coming out of the Beit Hanun area and the route of another tunnel coming out of the Khan Yunis area, which was attacked during the "Guardian of the Walls" operation, since then efforts to restore it have been identified. Read More Alerts

"The two tunnels did not cross into Israeli territory and did not pose a threat to Israeli residents."

"In addition, two sites for the production of weapons used by the terrorist organization Hamas in the north and center of the Gaza Strip were attacked."

"The attack was carried out in response to Hamas' security violations in recent days."

"The terrorist organization Hamas bears responsibility for what happened and is the one who will pay the price for the security violations against the State of Israel".

More Alerts (translated): "Initial report: An alert was activated in the city of Sderot and in the settlements of Iv and Nir Am. The details are under review

Initial report: An alert was activated in the settlements of Sderot, Ivs and Nir Am. The details are under review

Initial report: An alert has been activated in the settlements of Karmia and Nativ Hathara. The details are under review.

Initial Report: An alert has been activated in Nirim, the details are under review.

The IDF attacked a heavy machine gun in the north of the Gaza Strip. The IDF attacked tonight using a remotely manned aircraft from a heavy machine gun, from which projectiles were fired at IDF aircraft and Israeli territory."

IDF: 34 Rockets Fired From Lebanon Into Israel, 25 Rockets Intercepted By Israel - Israel Defense Forces: "An initial inquiry identified 34 rockets that were fired from Lebanon into Israel. 25 rockets were intercepted by the IDF Aerial Defense Array, while 5 landed in Israeli territory. 4 additional launches are under review." Read More Alerts

Translated Statement By IDF: out of 34 launches from Lebanese territory were intercepted.

"Further to the reports of alerts being activated in the Western Galilee area, after a preliminary investigation, 34 launches from Lebanese territory to Israeli territory were identified.

25 of the launches were intercepted by the air defense fighters, five launches fell on Israeli territory, and as for four more launches - information on their location is under investigation. These are non-final data, more details below. There are no special instructions for the home front."

IDF: Seven Air-To-Ground Rockets Fired, 5 Towards Israel, 2 Towards Sea In Gaza Strip - JERUSALEM - Reports from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) regarding alerts being activated in Israel and seven air-to-ground rockets being fired towards the state of Israel on April 6th, 2023. Read More Alerts

Five rockets were fired toward Israel, two were fired toward the Sea in the Gaza Strip. Two of the rockets "exploded in the air". No interceptors were activated, according to the statements by the IDF

Five rockets were fired toward Israel, two were fired toward the Sea in the Gaza Strip. Two of the rockets "exploded in the air". No interceptors were activated, according to the statements by the IDF.

IDF statement on the launches: "five launches from the Gaza Strip into Israel were detected. Four were intercepted by air defense fighters. Also, following the report of an alert being activated in the area surrounding Gaza, four additional launches from the Gaza Strip into Israel were identified that fell in an open area. No interceptors were launched according to policy".

CENTCOM Month in Review, March 2023: The Fight Against ISIS in Iraq and Syria - US Central Command: TAMPA, Fla. – During the month of March 2023, U.S. Central Command, along with coalition and other partners, conducted a total of 37 D-ISIS operations, resulting in 9 ISIS operatives killed and 18 detained. Read More Alerts

The following is a breakdown of D-ISIS operations for March 2023 by country:

In Iraq: 28 partnered operations, 0 U.S. only operations, 7 ISIS operatives killed, 7 ISIS operatives detained.

In Syria: 9 partnered operations. 0 U.S. only operations. 2 ISIS operatives killed, 11 ISIS operatives detained.

These operations targeted ISIS members responsible for planning attacks inside Iraq and Syria, including plans for attacks on ISIS detention facilities in Syria. At least 8 detained ISIS militants were involved in those plans.

These operations were conducted under the authority of the CENTCOM commander who retains authority for operations against ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and under the command of Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve. Our local partners play a critical role in this fight. Their competence, professionalism, and dedication to the enduring defeat of ISIS allow continued pressure against the terror group.

In Iraq, CENTCOM troops advise, assist and enable Iraqi Security Forces, including the Kurdish Peshmerga, who lead our shared fight against ISIS in Iraq.

In Syria, CENTCOM partners with the Syrian Democratic Forces to continue the fight against ISIS.

“The fight against ISIS continues,” said Col. Joe Buccino, a CENTCOM spokesperson. “Though its capability is degraded, ISIS retains the ability to direct and inspire attacks in the region and abroad.”

CENTCOM: Strike Kills ISIS Leader in Syria - US Central Command: "TAMPA, Fla. – U.S. Central Command forces conducted a unilateral strike in Syria today killing Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri, an ISIS senior leader. Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri was responsible for planning ISIS attacks in Türkiye and Europe and developed the leadership structure for ISIS in Türkiye. Read More Alerts

“ISIS continues to represent a threat to the region and beyond,” said Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, the CENTCOM commander. “Though degraded, the group remains able to conduct operations within the region with a desire to strike beyond the Middle East.”

No civilians were killed or injured in this strike.

The death of Khalid ‘Aydd Ahmad al-Jabouri will temporarily disrupt the organization’s ability to plot external attacks. CENTCOM’s operations against ISIS, alongside partner forces in Iraq and Syria, continues. CENTCOM remains committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS."

Iran Claims It Warned Off US Navy Aircraft Near Gulf Of Oman - DUBAI - A statement by the Iranian Navy said that it warned a U.S. Navy Lockheed EP-3E land-based Multi-Intelligence reconnaissance aircraft away from its airspace. Read More Alerts

The statement given by the Iranian Navy said, "After the warning, the plane was prevented from entering the country's skies without authorization".

A report by Tasnim, the semi-official news agency in Iran said that Iranian naval forces detected the aircraft over the Sea of Oman and "forced it to avoid the country's airspace after issuing a warning," citing the Iranian Navy.

Tasnim said that the U.S. reconnaissance aircraft "heeded the warning" and stayed away from the Iranian Aerial border, returning to the "international routes".

A report by Reuters said that the opening line of the Tasnim report said that the aircraft "crossed into Iranian airspace" but then contradicted itself later in the report by saying it had not entered Iranian skies after the warning.

I reviewed the Tasnim report and there is no such line in the current report regarding the incident, which could mean that Tasnim altered their report after Reuters had reviewed it.

Newly Declassified Report On Havana Syndrome Contradicts Another Recent Report On The Illness - WASHINGTON - A newly declassified report on Havana Syndrome by the director of national intelligence has been released that contradicts another recent report saying that it was very unlikely that the illness was caused by an energy weapon. The new report said an energy weapon remains a plausible explanation. This Report And More | Read Declassified Report

IDF Helicopters, Fighter Jets Shoot Down Aircraft Entering Its Airspace From Syria - JERUSALEM - Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) fighter jets and helicopters were launched after an aircraft entered Israeli airspace from Syria. The aircraft was shot down by Israeli aircraft, according to the Israeli military. Read More Alerts

The aircraft was shot down after being tracked by the IDF fighter jets and helicopters, according to the statement. The statement by the Israeli Defense Forces was as follows (translated):

IDF Statement: "IDF helicopters and fighter jets were launched following an unidentified aircraft that apparently entered Israeli territory from the direction of Syria. The vehicle was under surveillance by the Air Force's control unit, was shot down in an open area and did not pose a danger at any stage. No warning was activated according to policy. The details of the incident are under investigation".

North Korean Statement: Leader Guides Mounting Nuclear Warheads on Ballistic Missiles, Underwater Strategic Weapon System Test Held - North Korean state media reports Kim Jong Un guided the mounting of nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles on March 27th. The North's Academy of Defense Science conducted another test of underwater strategic weapon system from March 25 to 27. See All Alerts

North Korean state media KCNA: "Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), guided the work for mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles on March 27".

North Korean state media statement regarding underwater strategic weapon system test: "The Academy of Defence Science of the DPRK [North Korea] conducted another test of underwater strategic weapon system from March 25 to 27.

The underwater nuclear attack drone "Haeil-1", deployed for the test in Wonsan Bay on the afternoon of March 25, reached the target point in the waters off Hwadae County of North Hamgyong Province on the morning of March 27 after cruising along an jagged and oval course simulating the distance of the 600 kilometers in the East Sea of Korea for 41 hours and 27 minutes and correctly set off the test warhead underwater.

Through the test, all tactical and technical specifications and underwater navigational and technical indices were correctly estimated and the reliability and safety of the weapon system were verified."

North Korea Launches 2 Short-Range Ballistic Missile Into The East Sea - PYONGYANG - Initial Report: North Korea has launched 2 short-range ballistic missiles, according to the South Korean military. The Japanese Prime Minister's office also reported a launch from the North. See All Alerts

Both missiles are believed to have fallen outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) according to Japan's Ministry of Defense.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that a ballistic missile was launched by the North "into the East Sea", according to a report by South Korean news agency Yonhap.

The two ballistic missiles were launched from near the west coast of North Korea and fell outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone, according to a statement by the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

The missiles flew at an irregular trajectory and were launched at around 7:47 am and 7:57 am with the analysis by the Japanese military still ongoing.

Each missile reached a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers (31 miles) and flew a distance of around 350 kilometers (217 miles).

The Defense Ministry said that this is the 8th time that North Korea has launched a ballistic missile this month, and the 11th time this year, including the cruise missiles announced by both North Korea and South Korea.

Japanese Prime Minister's Office Statement

PM’s instructions (07:50): 1. Dedicate maximum effort to gather & analyze information, & provide the public speedy & adequate information. 2. Ensure the safety of aircraft, vessels, & other assets. 3. Take all possible measures for precaution, incl. readiness for contingencies.

Retaliatory Strikes In Syria Against Iranian-Backed Militias Result In 19 Deaths - SYRIA - The death toll resulting from US airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias in Syria has risen to 19, according to the UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Read More Alerts

The SOHR said that air raids killed three Syrian soldiers and 11 Syrians working for Iran-backed militias, five non-Syrian fighters aligned with the government.

Four of the killed are reported by the war monitor as having identities that "remain unknown".

The war monitor reported that the airstrikes "Were executed by US fighter jets and unidentified aircraft on positions of Iranian-backed militias in Deir Ezzor in the early hours of Friday".

After the first response to the attack that killed a U.S. contractor and wounded six others, a series of retaliatory strikes occurred which resulted in another United States service member being wounded, officials said.

The SOHR said that after the attacks, Iranian-backed militias in "Al-Mayadeen, Al-Bokamal and Deir Ezzor cities amassed their troops and were put on high alert, in preparation for new attacks".

North Korea Claims It Tested Underwater Nuclear Capable "Tsunami" Drone - PYONGYANG - North Korea has claimed that it tested a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone with the ability to create a radioactive wave, or "tsunami" capable of taking out naval strike groups and ports. See All Alerts

A translated statement released by North Korean state news agency KCNA said that the test was due to the "intentional, persistent and provocative" joint "war drills" between the United States and South Korea around the Korean Peninsula, which it says has driven the "military and political situation" of the region to an "irreversibly dangerous point".

The statement added that the "dangerous nature" of the "confrontational hysteria" of the United States and South Korea is "unprecedented in history", and reiterated its stance that the joint exercise is actually a drill for "occupying" North Korea.

It went on to say that the exercises being carried out are in defiance of the "repeated stern warnings by the DPRK [North Korean] government, army and its people.

It also said that the "war scenario" being played out in the joint exercise are based on the deployment of "huge nuclear strategic assets" which "urgently require" that North Korea make its entire armed forces gird themselves for an "all out war" and bolster up its nuclear force.

In response, the statement said, The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is "energetically" bolstering its war deterrence for "self-defense" in order to strengthen the country's "defense posture" in every way and "promptly counter" and "thoroughly control and manage" any nuclear war threats and challenges "by the enemy".

The WPK organized a combined tactical drill simulating a nuclear counterattack, it continued, and commanded drills from March 21st to March 23rd, 2023 to serve "as a demonstration" of its military attack capability to "alert the enemy" of an actual nuclear crisis and verify the reliability of its nuclear force for "self-defense".

It then said that a new underwater attack weapon system test was carried out from March 21st to March 23rd with a weapon that the country's "scientific research institute" has been developing since 2012.

It said that the "secret" weapon it tested is an "underwater nuclear strategic attack weapon system based on a new operational concept, studying warfare in the new era and defining the orientation of the development of the self-defense capabilities to outpace the military and technical superiority of the imperialist aggressor forces".

"The mission of the underwater nuclear strategic weapon is to stealthily infiltrate into operational waters and make a super-scale radioactive tsunami through underwater explosion to destroy naval striker groups and major operational ports of the enemy," the statement read.

"This nuclear underwater attack drone can be deployed at any coast and port or towed by a surface ship for operation," it added.

The statement went on to say, "The underwater nuclear attack drone, which was deployed for a drill off the coast of Riwon County of South Hamgyong Province on Tuesday, reached the target point in the waters off Hongwon Bay set as a mock enemy port with its test warhead detonating underwater on Thursday afternoon after cruising along an oval and pattern-8 course at an underwater depth of 80 to 150 meters in the East Sea of Korea for 59 hours and 12 minutes".

It said on March 22nd, a launching drill was carried out where the strategic cruise missile was tipped with a test warhead simulating a nuclear warhead.

"Two "Hwasal-1"-type strategic cruise missiles and two "Hwasal-2"-type strategic cruise missiles, launched in Jakdo-dong, Hungnam District, Hamhung City, South Hamgyong Province, accurately hit the target set in the East Sea of Korea after flying on their programmed 1 500km- and 1 800km-long oval and pattern-8 orbits for 7 557 to 7 567 seconds and 9 118 to 9 129 seconds respectively," the statement said.

U.S. Responds to Attack That Killed U.S. Contractor in Syria - DOD: "The U.S. response to the attack on a coalition base in Syria that killed a U.S. contractor and wounded six others highlighted that the U.S. military will do what it must to protect its personnel. Read More Alerts

Iranian-backed militias in Syria were responsible for the drone attack on the coalition base near Hasakah in northeastern Syria. The coalition base houses personnel working to ensure the lasting defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, at the direction of President Joe Biden, authorized U.S. Central Command forces to conduct precision strikes into eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder during a news conference today. "The airstrikes were conducted in response to yesterday's attack, as well as a series of recent attacks against coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the IRGC," he said.

F-15E fighters assigned in Centcom launched the attack at approximately 2:40 a.m. local time. "We're continuing to assess the outcome of the strikes," Ryder said. "Initial indications are that the facilities were destroyed. These precision strikes were intended to protect and defend U.S. personnel, and the U.S. took proportionate and deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation and minimize casualties."

This morning, Iranian-backed groups launched 10 rockets that targeted coalition forces at the Green Village in northeast Syria. The attack resulted in no injuries to U.S. or coalition personnel and no damage to U.S. equipment or facilities, Ryder said.

"Our current assessment is that this these rocket attacks were conducted by IRGC-affiliated groups, that this rocket attack was done in an effort to retaliate for last night's attacks," the press secretary said. "Again, they did not cause any damage at the coalition facility. As far as any type of future action, I'm not going to talk about or preview potential future operations other than to say we will always reserve the right to respond appropriately if our forces are threatened."

Iran is a source of instability all around the region. Ryder noted Iranian proxies operate in Yemen, the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf, and Lebanon. The Iranians have been supplying the drones that Russia is using to attack innocents in Ukraine, he said.

"The United States and our coalition allies and partners … are focused on trying to ensure stability, security in these regions," Ryder said. "And that will continue to be our focus. We do not seek a wider conflict. With that said, if our people are threatened, we will continue to respond appropriately and proportionately."

CENTCOM Statement On Rocket Attack on Green Village, Northeast Syria - TAMPA, Fla. – On the morning of March 24th, at approximately 8:05 a.m. Syrian local time, 10 rockets targeted coalition forces at the Green Village in northeast Syria. Read More Alerts

The attack resulted in no injuries to U.S. or coalition personnel and no damage to U.S. equipment or facilities.

One of the rockets missed the facility by almost five kilometers, striking a civilian house, causing significant damage and causing minor injuries to two women and two children.

“This kind of indiscriminate rocket attack places not only our forces and coalition forces at risk, but also jeopardizes the local civilian population as well as the security and stability of Syria and the entire region,” said Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command.

“As President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing,” continued Buccino.

Second US Base Hit In Syria After US Retaliatory Strikes - AL-OMAR - A second U.S. base, Green Village in Syria located in the Al-Omar gas field in northeastern Syria was targeted by rockets after retaliatory strikes were carried out by the United States in response to another attack that killed an American contractor and wounded another contractor and four other service members. Read More Alerts

In the latest attack, the rockets were fired at the Green Village base but did not result in any casualties according to Major John Moore, who is a spokesperson for the United States Central Command (CENTCOM).

ABC News reporter Luis Martinez reported that 10 rockets were fired at the Green Village base.

The retaliatory strikes by the United States before the second attack on a US base were carried out after a drone strike by militant groups affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), according to a statement by the Pentagon.

The drone strike occurred at a US coalition base coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria at about 1:38 p.m. local time Thursday.

The statement by Central Command said "Our troops remain in Syria to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS, which benefits the security and stability of not only Syria, but the entire region".

CENTCOM: Attack On Forces Killed American Contractor In Syria, Wounded Troops And Another Contractor - Central Command: "This evening, we responded to an attack on our forces that killed an American contractor and wounded our troops and another American contractor by striking facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. Read More Alerts

"We will always take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing. We are postured for scalable options in the face of any additional Iranian attacks.

"The thoughts and prayers of US Central Command are with the Family of our contractor killed and with our wounded servicemembers and contractor.

"Our troops remain in Syria to ensure the enduring defeat of ISIS, which benefits the security and stability of not only Syria, but the entire region."

DOD: Attack On Forces Killed American Contractor In Syria, Wounded Troops And Another Contractor - Department of Defense:" Earlier today, a U.S. contractor was killed and five U.S. service members and one additional U.S. contractor were wounded after a one-way unmanned aerial vehicle struck a maintenance facility on a Coalition base near Hasakah in northeast Syria at approximately 1:38 p.m. local time. Read More Alerts

The intelligence community assess the UAV to be of Iranian origin.

"At the direction of President Biden, I authorized U.S. Central Command forces to conduct precision airstrikes tonight in eastern Syria against facilities used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC)," said Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III. "The airstrikes were conducted in response to today’s attack as well as a series of recent attacks against Coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the IRGC."

These precision strikes are intended to protect and defend U.S. personnel. The United States took proportionate and deliberate action intended to limit the risk of escalation and minimize casualties.

"As President Biden has made clear, we will take all necessary measures to defend our people and will always respond at a time and place of our choosing," said Secretary Austin. "No group will strike our troops with impunity."

"Our thoughts are with the family and colleagues of the contractor who was killed and with those who were wounded in the attack earlier today," said the Secretary.

Two of the wounded service members were treated on site, while three additional service members and the U.S. contractor were medically evacuated to Coalition medical facilities in Iraq."

North Korea Fires Multiple Cruise Missiles Toward East Sea - North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles toward the East Sea on Wednesday from the Hamhung region of North Korea's east coast, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). See All Alerts

The missile firing comes as the United States and South Korea continue the 11-day long Freedom Shield joint military exercise that North Korea claims is preparation for an invasion on the North.

In a press release regarding the Warrior Shield exercise, the JCS said, "Under the firm combined defense posture, our military will successfully wrap up the FS and continue to carry out the ongoing Warrior Shield in a high-intensity manner".

Japan: North Korea Has Launched A Short-Range Ballistic Missile - The Japanese Prime Minister's Office has reported that North Korea launched a suspected ballistic missile on Sunday as the United States and South Korea carry out joint military drills that North Korea claims is a rehearsal for an invasion on the country. See More Alerts

The South Korean military has confirmed that a ballistic missile was fired from North Korea toward the East Sea.

South Korean news agency Yonhap has cited the South Korean military as stating that the missile flew around 800 kilometers (497 miles).

North Korean state news agency KCNA released a statement entitled: "March 18 Revolution" on March 19th that said, "The untiring efforts and devotion of the respected General Secretary Kim Jong Un, who energetically led the development of Juche-oriented strategic weapons under the uplifted banner of the great line of simultaneously developing the two fronts, brought about the "March 18 revolution" - the accomplishment of the historic great cause of completing the state nuclear forces".

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International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrant For Vladimir Putin And Maria Lvova-Belova - ICC - The International Criminal Court (ICC) released a statement on Friday that it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, including the abduction of children from Ukraine during Russia's war on the country. See More Alerts

The statement by Prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan KC said that the ICC issued arrested warrants for both Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children's Rights "in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation".

The statement said the arrest warrants were issued "on the basis of evidence and analyzed by my Office pursuant to its independent investigations".

It went on to say that "the Pre-Trial Chamber has confirmed that there are reasonable grounds to believe that President Putin and Ms Lvova-Belova bear criminal responsibility for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, contrary to article 8(2)(a)(vii) and article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute".

In response to the announcements of the arrest warrants, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and considers any decisions that the court makes null and void.

AP news cited Adil Ahmad Haque, who is "an expert" with international law as saying, "So Putin might go to China, Syria, Iran, his ... few allies, but he just won’t travel to the rest of the world and won’t travel to ICC member states who he believes would ... arrest him".

North Korea Claims Thursday's ICBM Test Was A Hwasong-17 - North Korean state media claims that the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test that the country carried out on Thursday was a Hwasong-17. Photos of the launch posted by KCNA show the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's daughter with him watching the test launch. See All Alerts

The state media also claimed that the missile launch was a direct response to the "provocative and invasive large-scale drills by the United States and South Korea" that began this week.

South Korea: North Korea Fired Long-Range ICBM - SEOUL - The Japanese Ministry of Defense now says that the missile launched by North Korea was a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and that the details are "currently under analysis". See All Alerts

The South Korean military has released their own assessment on the missile fired by North Korea, saying that it was a long-range ballistic missile and was fired toward the East Sea, which was fired just hours before leaders of South Korea and Japan were set to meet in order to discuss the regional threat posed by North Korea.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that it detected the missile as launching from the Sunan area in Pyongyang at 7:10 in the morning.

The JCS put out a statement that said, "While strengthening its monitoring and vigilance, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States".

The South Korean military said that the long-range missile flew at a lofted angle for about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) according to a report by South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Yonhap put out a statement that said, "There will be a price to pay for North Korea's provocation... Intensive ROK-US joint training," and in another article said that the South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol warned North Korea of consequences for the provocations.

IAEA: 2.5 Tons Of Uranium Missing From Libyan Nuclear Site - LIBYA - Inspections carried out by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have found that 2.5 tons of natural uranium are missing from an unnamed Libyan site that is not under the control of the Libyan government. See All Alerts & News

The IAEA chief Rafael Grossi released a confidential statement to member states that Reuters reports to have seen that talk of the findings of an inspection that was originally planned for the previous year, but "had to be postponed because of the security situation in the region," according to the Reuters report.

The postponed inspection was finally carried out on Tuesday, according to the IAEA statement, which was one page long according to Reuters.

The statement said that inspectors, "found that 10 drums containing approximately 2.5 tons of natural uranium in the form of UOC (uranium ore concentrate) previously declared by (Libya) ... as being stored at that location were not present at the location".

The IAEA said that they would be carrying out "further activities" in order to determine how and why the uranium was taken from the site, but the statement reportedly did not state what site the uranium had been taken from.

"The loss of knowledge about the present location of nuclear material may present a radiological risk, as well as nuclear security concerns," the statement said.

Japan: North Korea Launched Ballistic Missile - JAPAN - Initial Report: The Japanese Prime Minister's office released a statement that said that North Korea has launched a "suspected ballistic missile". The Japanese Ministry of Defense then released a statement confirming that a ballistic missile was launched from the west coast of North Korea, toward the east. See All Alerts & News

The Japanese Ministry of Defense statement estimated that the missile will fall outside of Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), about 550 kilometers (342 miles) east of the Korean Peninsula at around 8:18 local time.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense released the following statement regarding the launch (message has been translated):[Translation] "At around 7:09 today, a single ballistic missile was launched from the west coast of North Korea toward the east. As it is currently in flight, it may change in the future, but at this time, it is estimated that it will fall outside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), about 550 km east of the Korean Peninsula, at around 8:18".

The office also released the following Prime Minister's instructions:

1. Dedicate maximum effort to gather & analyze information, & provide the public speedy & adequate information. 2. Ensure the safety of aircraft, vessels, & other assets. 3. Take all possible measures for precaution, incl. readiness for contingencies.

Russia: We View US Drone's Black Sea Flight As Provocation And It Had No Business Being Near Russia - MOSCOW - The Russian ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said that Russia views the U.S. drone flight in the Black Sea as a "real provocation" and said that it was flying with its "transponders off" and "entered into the zone of the special military operation" which is the term Russia uses for its war in Ukraine. Get All Alerts

Antonov spoke to reporters after speaking to the U.S. Department of State, after being summoned regarding the incident, saying that the United States "provoked" Russia to "take a certain action" so that the US could accuse Moscow and Russia's military of being "non-professional".

"The aircraft was flying with its transponders off, and it entered the zone of the special military operation. It [the information about the zone] was made public via international channels. We, Russia, have warned everyone about it. I think this was a real provocation," he said.

He also added, "We consider this incident a provocation".

Russian aircraft collides into US unmanned system in international waters - "Two Russian Su-27 aircraft conducted an unsafe and unprofessional intercept with a U.S. Air Force Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance unmanned MQ-9 aircraft that was operating within international airspace over the Black Sea today. See All Alerts

At approximately 7:03 AM (CET), one of the Russian Su-27 aircraft struck the propeller of the MQ-9, causing U.S. forces to have to bring the MQ-9 down in international waters. Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner. This incident demonstrates a lack of competence in addition to being unsafe and unprofessional.

“Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. James B. Hecker, commander, U.S. Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa. “In fact, this unsafe and unprofessional act by the Russians nearly caused both aircraft to crash.”

“U.S. and Allied aircraft will continue to operate in international airspace and we call on the Russians to conduct themselves professionally and safely,” Hecker added.

This incident follows a pattern of dangerous actions by Russian pilots while interacting with U.S. and Allied aircraft over international airspace, including over the Black Sea. These aggressive actions by Russian aircrew are dangerous and could lead to miscalculation and unintended escalation.

U.S. Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa routinely fly aircraft throughout Europe over sovereign territory and throughout international airspace in coordination with applicable host nation and international laws. In order to bolster collective European defense and security, these missions support Allied, partner, and U.S. national objectives."

North Korea Fires 2 Short-Range Ballistic Missile Toward East Sea - SOUL - North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea a day after the United States and South Korea began carrying out a combined military exercise, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. Subscribe To All Alerts And Intel

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that the short-range ballistic missiles were launched from the Jangyon region in the Hwanghae Province between 7:41 in the morning to 7:51 in the morning.

In a text message sent to South Korean reporters, the JCS said, "While strengthening its monitoring and vigilance in preparation against the possibility of additional launches, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States".

US And South Korea Carry Out Combined Exercise After North Fires Two Cruise Missiles From Submarine - SEOUL - The United States and South Korea began carrying out another combined military exercise in the Indo-Pacific called "Freedom Shield" that was announced on March 2nd by the United States Forces Korea after North Korea launched two cruise missiles from a submarine the day before. Subscribe To All Alerts And Intel

The statement from United States Forces Korea posted early in March said that Freedom Shield was set to begin on March 13th, 2023, and would be conducted "over an 11-day period" which will involve integrating elements of "live exercises" with "constructive simulations".

South Korean news agency Yonhap cited Seoul officials as saying that the simulations will consist of "realistic scenarios reflective of the North's evolving nuclear and missile threats" in the region, and is to "proceed with the concurrent field training exercise, called the Warrior Shield".

A statement released by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of staff said, "The combined exercise is a defensive one based on a combined operational plan designed to defend the ROK from potential North Korean aggression".

Regarding Warrior Shield, the statement by US Forces Korea said, "In addition to FS23, several combined field training exercises (FTX), collectively called Warrior Shield FTX, will also be taking place around the Korean Peninsula".

The purpose of the Warrior Shield training, according to the statement, is to "further enhance the ROK and U.S. militaries’ cooperation through air, land, sea, space, cyber and special operations, and improve upon tactics, techniques and procedures".

U.S. strategic bombers and ROK fighters conduct combined air training

USAG Humphreys, Republic of Korea - U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys - The Republic of Korea Air Force and the United States Air Force conducted a combined air training event with the redeployment of the U.S. Air Force B-52H Stratofortress over the Korean Peninsula today.

In the latest U.S.-ROK combined air training event, ROK Air Force F-15s and F-16s escorted the U.S. B-52 strategic bomber as it entered the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone and conducted combined flight operations.

The training offered the alliance an opportunity to improve interoperability between the ROK and the U.S. by demonstrating a combined defense capability and providing extended deterrence in the defense of the Korean Peninsula.

The U.S. remains committed to peace and prosperity through the region to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific, and our commitment to the defense of the Republic of Korea remains ironclad.

U.S. strategic bombers and ROK fighters conduct combined air training

(FS23) March 13, 2023. The word 'Freedom' in the name refers to the strong will in protecting freedom as an immutable value of the ROK-U.S. Alliance, and 'Shield' symbolizes the defensive nature of the exercise.

The exercise will be conducted over an 11-day period and will integrate elements of "live exercises" with constructive simulations.

Participating units will include personnel from the ROK Military, United States Forces Korea (USFK), United Nations Command (UNC), and subordinate component commands under CFC, along with augmented, civilian personnel and representatives of the United Nations sending states.

The exercise will include but not be limited to lessons learned from current and ongoing conflicts to increase the units’ combat readiness and combined defense posture, as well as strengthen the security and stability on the Korean peninsula and across Northeast Asia.

In addition to FS23, several combined field training exercises (FTX), collectively called Warrior Shield FTX, will also be taking place around the Korean Peninsula. The name Warrior Shield stands for the ROK-US Alliance's ability and resolution to solidify their combined defense posture to defend the ROK.

The purpose of the training for Warrior Shield FTX is to further enhance the ROK and U.S. militaries’ cooperation through air, land, sea, space, cyber and special operations, and improve upon tactics, techniques, and procedures.

The ROK-U.S. Alliance remains at a high level of readiness and continues to maintain a robust combined defense posture. All professional militaries train using routine and continuously executed events to maintain proficiency, credibility, and trust.

Freedom Shield 23 is the latest example of that training and the ironclad commitment to support and defend the ROK sovereignty from any threat or adversary.

North Korea Launched Two Strategic Cruise Missiles From Submarine - PYONGYANG - North Korea announced that they launched two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine underwater on Sunday. The missiles flew about 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) for about 125 minutes (7,563 to 7,575 seconds). See All Alerts

According to a translated version of the article by Voice of Korea, the submarine that launched the missile was called "August 24 Hero Warship" and was mobilized for a drill before launching two strategic cruise missiles "at the waters off the Kyongpho Bay off the East Sea of Korea".

A translated report by South Korean news agency Yonhap said: "N. Korea says it fired two 'strategic cruise missiles' from submarine Sunday," along a "figure-8 shaped flight orbit simulating the distance of 1,500 kilometers set on the East Sea of Korea and hit the target".

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff released a statement on Monday that said it had detected the missile launch from a North Korean submarine near the country's eastern port city of Sinpo on Sunday.

South Korean and United States intelligence agencies are analyzing the details of the missile launch, according to South Korean authorities.

Voice of Korea said that the drill "confirmed the reliability of the weapon system" and "inspected and judged the operational posture of the underwater-to-ground attack of the submarine units," and said that the submarine launch "served its purpose".

DOD: Russia Reportedly Supplying Enriched Plutonium to China - Department of Defense: Various open-source outlets reported how Rosatom is providing highly enriched uranium for Chinese fast breeder reactors, said a U.S official during a posture hearing today at the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces. See All Alerts

North Korea Fires Short-range Ballistic Missile Toward Yellow Sea - SEOUL - North Korea has fired a short-range ballistic missile toward the Yellow Sea, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). See All Alerts

The JCS said that they detected that a short-range missile was launched from North Korea's port city of Nampo at 6:20 pm local time.

In a text message sent to reporters, the JCS said, "While strengthening its monitoring and vigilance, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States".

US Intelligence Repeats Warning That North Korea Likely To Conduct Nuclear Test - A U.S. intelligence report on Wednesday reiterated earlier warnings, as well as a warning in the 2023 Annual Threat Assessment that North Korea is expected to carry out its seventh nuclear test. South Korea has said that it could be carried out at any time. See All Alerts

The report, which was released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said, "Kim almost certainly views nuclear weapons and ICBMs as the ultimate guarantor of his autocratic rule and has no intention of abandoning those programs, believing that over time he will gain international acceptance as a nuclear power".

It added that "North Korea is using its nuclear-capable missile program to try to establish strategic dominance over South Korea and U.S. forces in the region by pursuing missiles probably aimed at defeating missile defenses on the peninsula and the region and issuing threats to militarily respond to any perceived attacks against its sovereignty".

North Korea Claims US, South Korea Simulating Nuclear Strikes So It Can Strike Its Bases - PYONGYANG - A statement released by the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs claimed that the United States and South Korea are carrying out simulations of nuclear strikes and are planning a "surprise strike" against "major deep strategic [North Korean] bases". See All Alerts

The statement said: "Recently, the United States and south Korea are heating up the situation on the Korean peninsula to an extremely dangerous level with threatening rhetoric and military demonstrations against the DPRK.

"According to reports, on the 3rd, the United States and South Korea mobilized various strategic equipment that they claim to be superior, such as the strategic bomber "B-1B" and unmanned combat aircraft "MQ-9 Reaper", and conducted the fourth joint air strike over the West Sea of ​​Korea this year. training was extended.

Prior to this, the US and the south Korean military department held a “exercise on the operation of extended deterrence measures” simulating the use of nuclear weapons against the DPRK and even announced a press release mentioning the “end of the regime” in the DPRK.

Even now, the US does not hide the fact that it is carrying out special operations training for the purpose of a surprise strike against major deep strategic bases in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in alliance with south Korea."

Ukraine: Currently 16 Russian Vessels In Black Sea - BLACK SEA - Ukrainian Defense Forces have reported that there are currently 16 Russian vessels in the Black Sea, including four missile carriers. See All Alerts

Natalya Gumenyuk, who is the spokeswoman for the Joint Coordinating Press Center of the Defense Forces of the South of Ukraine was cited by Ukrainian Interfax as saying that the number of missiles in the Black Sea are a powerful potential and that there could be a strike at "any moment".

"The enemy ship grouping consists of 16 ships, among which 4 missile carriers remain: 2 surface and 2 underwater. This means that more than 20 Caliber missiles can be ready for a salvo," Gumenyuk was cited as saying.

"As a rule, the readiness of such a number of launch vehicles on combat duty, including underwater ones, indicates preparation for a missile attack. What it will be depends on the tactics chosen by the enemy command. They have already understood that massive missile attacks give not the result they expect. These are high costs and low returns. Therefore, most likely they will use targeted missile attacks," she added.

"Missile launches can be at any moment"

North Korea: Development of Satellites Propelled in DPRK - PYONGYANG - On March 6th, the North Korean National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) said that it has made "steady progress" regarding the development of its satellite program, and has "succeeded" in developing a high-thrust engine carrier rocket in order to launch it into space. See All Alerts

The statement released by North Korean state news agency KCNA said, "The DPRK has made steady progress in the work to put the satellite on a multi-functional and high-performance basis and improve its reliability. It succeeded in developing high-thrust engine for carrier rocket and thus provided a sure guarantee for launching various kinds of satellites into relevant orbits."

It added, "The work to introduce the space sci-tech achievements into various fields including agriculture, fishery, meteorological observation, communication, natural resources exploration, land management and disaster prevention is getting brisk to give a strong impetus to the comprehensive development of socialist construction."

"All these successes foretell the bright future of the DPRK's space development."

Chinese Linked Company Purchases 51% Of Japanese Island - JAPAN - Two years ago a Chinese-linked company purchased 51% of the land on the uninhabited Japanese Okinawan island of Yanaha located a little over 15 miles from the U.S. military's Iejima auxiliary airfield according to a report by Japanese news agency Yomiuri Shimbun citing officials in the village of Izena administering the island. See All Alerts

North Korean MFA: If US Continues "Hostile" And "Provocative" Practices, It Could Be Regarded As Declaration Of War - PYONGYANG - [North Korean statements translated] Kwon Jeong-geun, Director-General for US Affairs and North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement posted by North Korean state-run news agency KCNA that said if the US continued its "hostile and provocative practices" against North Korea, it could be regarded as a "declaration of war" against the country. See All Alerts

Chinese Jet Shadows US P-8 Poseidon, Gives Warning - SOUTH CHINA SEA - A Chinese J-11 fighter jet shadowed a U.S. P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft from a few hundred feet away and issued a warning to stop approaching or "pay full responsibility" while it was in international airspace, a near-daily occurrence now, according to U.S. officials. See All Alerts

Chinese Vessels Sever Multiple Undersea Cables Linking Taiwan To Malaysia - TAIWAN - Chinese fishing vessels have been linked to the severing of multiple Taiwanese undersea cables in February according to Chunghwa Telecom, a telecommunications firm that handles Taiwan's undersea cables. See All Alerts

Over the past five years, damage to cables between Taiwan and the Matsu islands has been reported over 20 times. It should be noted that it is not known whether the cables are being severed by the Chinese vessels by accident, or deliberately.

Deputy head of Taiwan’s National Communications Commission Wong Po-tsung (翁柏宗) said that on February 2nd, one cable was reported to have been severed by a Chinese fishing vessel. On February 8th damage to the Taima 3 submarine cable was reported to have been linked to a Chinese cargo ship identified by MMSI.

Chunghwa Telecom has filed incident reports with the Taiwanese Coast Guard Administration, according to Central News Agency (CNA) Taiwan.

This is the second time in the last year that two Taiwanese undersea cables were severed at the same time. Last year another incident occurred which resulted in multiple damaged cables.

Vessels are expected to arrive at the location to repair the damaged cables but aren't expected to begin repairs until April 20th, which is the earliest possible date to begin repairs, which will cost between $329,000 and $658,000. See All Alerts

Chinese State Media Responds To News US Expanding Troop Presence In Taiwan - BEIJING - Chinese state-affiliated media Global Times has responded to reports that the United States is expanding their troop presence in Taiwan by saying that it is "illegal" for the soldiers to go to Taiwan, and that the Chinese mainland "won't take any responsibility for their safety" and that they will be "wiped out" together with the "resisting Taiwan troops" if China takes "military action". See All Alerts

Global Times commentator Hu Xijin 胡锡进 said, "It’s illegal for these US soldiers to go to Taiwan,and Chinese mainland won’t take any responsibility for their safety. If we take military action when necessary,they’ll be wiped out together with the resisting Taiwan troops.They can also be eliminated first as the invading army."

37 Chinese Military Aircraft, 6 PLAN Vessels Spotted Around Taiwan On February 24th, 2023 - 37 Chinese military aircraft and 6 PLA Navy (PLAN) vessels were spotted around the island of Taiwan on February 24th, 2023 according to Taiwan's Ministry of Defense.

Of the Chinese military aircraft spotted, four were J-16 fighter jets, two were J-11 fighter jets, two were J-10 fighter jets, one was a TB-001 reconnaissance (RECCE) UCAV drone, one was a CH-4 reconnaissance (RECCE) UCAV drone, one was a Y-8 antisubmarine warfare (ASW) aircraft and one was a BZK-005 reconnaissance (RECCE) UAV drone.

12 of the detected military aircraft crossed over the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered into Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

Taiwan tasked CAP aircraft, issued radio warnings and deployed air defense missile systems in order to monitor the activities of the Chinese forces.

Taiwan's Ministry of Defense released the following statement: "37 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 6 a.m.(UTC+8) today. R.O.C. Armed Forces have monitored the situation and tasked CAP aircraft, Navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to respond these activities".

The MOD added, "12 of the detected aircraft (J-11*2, J-10*2, TB-001 UCAV RECCE, J-16*4, CH-4 UCAV RECCE, Y-8 ASW, BZK-005 UAV RECCE) had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s southwest ADIZ, flight paths as illustrated".

North Korea Strategic Cruise Missile Firing Exercise - PYONGYANG - North Korea launched "four strategic" Arrow-2 type cruise missiles from the area of Kimchaek City, North Hamgyong Province to the East Sea of Korea, according to North Korean state news agency KCNA. Get More Alerts (And Earlier)

"A strategic cruise missile firing exercise was conducted at dawn on February 23," KCNA reported, adding that "the launch training successfully achieved its purpose".

The news agency reported that the four strategic cruise missiles flew in an "elliptical and 8 shaped flight trajectory" for 10.2 seconds, "simulating the distance line set in the EAst Sea of Korea".

"The Republic's nuclear combat force, which is strengthening its lethal nuclear counterattack capability against the hostile forces in every way, clearly demonstrated once again the state of war," KCNA stated. Read Full Statement

US Sending 200 Additional Soldiers To Taiwan - TAIPEI - Though only 30 U.S. Soldiers were located in Taiwan one year ago, the United States is now sending 100 to 200 more soldiers to the island for training (potentially more than quadrupling the number) amidst increasing tensions with China. Get More Alerts (And Earlier)

The additional soldiers will be added to the smaller training program that has already existed on the island consisting of personnel from the U.S. National Guard, U.S. Marines, and Special Operations.

In addition, the Michigan National Guard will be training Taiwanese soldiers, which will include some training within the United States.

Tensions have been on the increase in the region as China sends military aircraft into the country's air defense identification zone (ADIZ) on a near daily basis since U.S. officials such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island on August 2nd, 2022.

In addition, there are now reports that Chinese vessels are Severing Undersea Cables linking Taiwan to Malaysia. Australian General: China Would Take Out Taiwanese Cables On Ocean Floor At Start Of Invasion

Russia Suspends START Nuclear Treaty With United States - MOSCOW - The Russian Foreign Ministry has released a statement declaring that the START nuclear treaty, which is the only nuclear treaty in effect between the United States and Russia, suspended, saying that the U.S. is "weakening" the security of the Russian Federation, and causing a political and economic "suffocation" of Russia.Subscribe To All Alerts

The Foreign Ministry said however,, "At the same time, in order to maintain a sufficient degree of predictability and stability in the nuclear missile sphere, Russia intends to adhere to a responsible approach and will continue to strictly comply with the quantitative restrictions on strategic offensive arms stipulated by it within the life cycle of the Treaty".

"In addition, the Russian side will continue to participate in the exchange of notifications with the American side on launches of ICBMs and SLBMs on the basis of the relevant agreement between the USSR and the USA in 1988."

"The decision to suspend the START may be reversible. To do this, Washington must show political will, make conscientious efforts for a general de-escalation and create conditions for the resumption of the full functioning of the Treaty and, accordingly, comprehensively ensuring its viability. We urge the American side to do just that. Until then, any steps we take towards Washington in the context of START are absolutely out of the question".

Putin To Give Message To Federal Assembly On February 21st - [Posted in Patreon 4 days ago] MOSCOW - Russian Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Putin will be reading out a message to the Russian Federal Assembly on February 21st in Gostiny Dvor that will focus on "the current situation" - the "special operation" and the "economy", as well as "the social sphere". Get Alerts Early

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti [From translation] reported that the streets in the Gostiny Dvor "will be blocked" in the center of Moscow "on the day of the announcement of the message of Russian President Vladimir Putin".

The Telegram channel of the Moscow Department of Transport said: "On the twenty-first of February, from 00.01 until the end of the event, sections from Novaya Square to Red Square, from Kitaigorodsky Proyezd to Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge and from Ilyinka Street to Varvarka Street in the area of ​​house 5 on Red Square will be unavailable for travel. Parking in the area will also be unavailable ceilings".

Novosti reported that Putin's message will be covering "security and defense", the economy in the "new military-political realities", and address what Moscow calls "gangster methods" to seize the hydrocarbon market and establish a "political and economic protectorate" overall of Europe.

RIA Novosti cited the first deputy head of the international committee of the Federation Council, FSB General Vladimir Dzhabarov as saying that the "first issue could be" to increase defense capabilities and, "The fight against terrorists, the fight against saboteurs, against agents of foreign special services".

Slutsky said that Putin's speech will "set priorities" that will "leave no hope for our enemies to defeat Russia, weaken or try to subdue it to its neo-colonial dictate."

Alexei Didenko, deputy head of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) faction in the Russian Duma said, "Surely the president will focus on the work of the military-industrial complex, which is now functioning on a forced basis, on combat capabilities and the latest weapons technologies".

The Russian news agency said that "Almost all parliamentarians" are also assuming that Putin will speak on the economy, sanctions, and "overcoming pressure from the West in one way or another".

South Korea: North Fired Two Short-Range Ballistic Missiles In East Sea - SEOUL - South Korean news agency Yonhap has reported (translated) that North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea in response to the joint "flight training" by the United States and South Korea the previous day. Get Alerts Earlier

North Korea has claimed that the SRBM is a 600mm super-large multiple rocket launcher capable of a nuclear attack and threatens to devastate the enemy's operational airfield with four projectiles.

North Korean news agency KCNA stated, "The corresponding radiation artillery division of the long-range artillery unit of the Western Front of the Korean People's Army conducted a radiation firing drill at 7:00 in the morning of the 20th." , and fired two projectiles into the East Sea".

KCNA said that the rocket launcher is, "the latest multiple-shot precision attack weapon system of our military, and is a tactical nuclear strike tool that boasts formidable power enough to allocate 1 to 4 shots per enemy's operational airfield."

“At the presentation ceremony held at the end of December of last year, the Academy of Defense Sciences and the Nuclear Weapons Research Institute expressed a firm view that, against the power of multiple rocket launchers, the explosive power of four rounds could devastate the enemy’s operational airfield to paralyze it."

"Through today's shooting exercise using super-large multiple rocket launchers, a means of tactical nuclear attack, the Korean People's Army's thorough deterrence readiness and will to respond to the combined air force capabilities of the United States and South Korea, which pride themselves on air supremacy, were fully demonstrated."

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said that it had "captured" two short-range ballistic missiles that had been launched into the East Sea from around Sukcheon, South Pyongan Province at around 7:00 am to 7:11 am local time.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, ""Our military is maintaining a full readiness posture while closely cooperating with the United States while strengthening surveillance and vigilance".

Yonhap said that the "super-large" launcher is a weapon that belongs to the category of short-range ballistic missiles because it "has a guidance function" and flies in a trajectory similar to that of a ballistic missile.

Nuclear Inspectors Detect 84% Purity Enriched Uranium In Iran - TEHRAN - International nuclear inspectors have detected 84% enriched uranium in Iran, "just below" the level needed to manufacture a nuclear weapon. Get All Alerts

Iran had told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that its centrifuges were only configured to reach a purity of 60%, conflicting with the recent findings.

The level of enriched uranium needed to manufacture a nuclear warhead is around 90% enrichment purity.

In January of 2023, Israeli military's outgoing Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi had said that Iran had enough enriched uranium to produce four nuclear bombs.

In November of 2022, the IAEA said that Iran had reached 60% uranium enrichment purity at its Fordow nuclear plant.

In July of 2022, an IRGC affiliated Telegram channel had posted a video declaring that Iran can move its "peaceful nuclear program to a nuclear weapons program" very quickly, and said that Iran's ballistic missiles are capable of "turning New York into hellish ruins".

North Korean ICBM Lands In Japan's EEC, Near Hokkaido - JAPAN - An Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) launched by North Korea landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEC), near Hokkaido according to Japan's Prime Minister, and the NHK news agency. For Live Alerts

Japanese officials say the North Korean missile was launched towards the east at 5:21 pm on Saturday, and landed in the ocean at about 6:27 pm west of Oshima-oshima in Hokkaido.

USINDOPACOM Statement on DPRK Missile Launch

"We are aware of the DPRK’s ballistic missile launch and are consulting closely with the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan, as well as other regional allies and partners.

The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to refrain from any further unlawful and destabilizing acts.

While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory, or to our allies, we will continue to monitor the situation.

The U.S. commitments to the defense of the ROK and Japan remain ironclad."

CENTCOM: ISIS Senior Leader Killed and Four U.S. Servicemembers Wounded in Helicopter Raid in Northeastern Syria - CENTRAL COMMAND: "TAMPA, Fla. - Last night, during a partnered U.S. and Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) helicopter raid in northeastern Syria, an explosion on target resulted in four U.S. servicemembers and one working dog wounded. The targeted ISIS senior leader, Hamza al- Homsi, was killed. The U.S. servicemembers and working dog are receiving treatment in a U.S. medical facility in Iraq."Get All Alerts & News

A second statement said, "ISIS Senior Leader Killed and Four U.S. Servicemembers Wounded in Helicopter Raid in Northeastern Syria".

Central Command Carries Out D-ISIS Raid On February 10th, 2023 - Central Command (CENTCOM) has released a statement regarding a "D-ISIS" raid that was carried out on February 10th, 2023 in which an ISIS leader was killed. Get Alerts Early

CENTCOM Statement: "A partnered D-ISIS raid on Feb 10th resulted in the seizure of multiple weapons, ammo, and a suicide belt. We can confirm Ibrahim Al Qahtani, an ISIS official associated with planning ISIS detention center attacks, was killed in the raid. 10,000+ ISIS detainees are held in Syria".

Central Command: US Forces Shoot Down Iranian-Manufactured UAV In Syria - US CENTRAL COMMAND: "On February 14th, at approximately 2:30 PM local time, US forces in Syria engaged and shot down an Iranian-manufactured UAV attempting to conduct reconnaissance of Mission Support Site Conoco, a patrol base in northeast Syria." See Photos & Get All Alerts

US Airstrike Kills 12 al-Shabaab Fighters In Somalia - AFRICOM: A U.S. Airstrike has killed at least 12 al-Shabaab fighters in Somalia. The airstrike was carried out around 28 miles from northeast Mogadishu, according to U.S. Africa Command. Sign up for Live News Alerts.

The Statement By AFRICOM said, "At the request of the Federal Government of Somalia and in support of Somali National Army engagements against al-Shabaab, U.S. Africa Command conducted a collective self-defense strike Feb 10, 2023.

“The initial assessment is the strike killed 12 al Shabaab fighters. Given the remote location of the operation, the command assesses that no civilians were injured or killed," the statement added.

It also said that the airstrike was carried out at the request of the Federal Government of Somalia, and in support of the Somali National Army.

General Michael Langley, the AFRICOM commander said, "U.S. Africa Command provides support to the Somali government to address terrorist threats, but we are only part of the U.S. efforts there".

He added, “Our Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development colleagues have programs that help build resilience through education and training; develop agricultural diversity; improve markets and trade; and strengthen democracy and good governance".

Live Pentagon Update On Latest Objects Shot Down Over United States - Watch Live Pentagon update on the latest objects shot down over North America by the United States Air Force. Watch Now.

DoD Statement On Shoot-Down Of Airborne Object Over Lake Huron, Michigan - The following is a statement by the Department of Defense on the "successful" shoot down of an "airborne object" flying at about 20,000 feet in altitude in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron in the state of Michigan.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: "Today at 2:42 p.m., at the direction of President Biden, and based on the recommendations of Secretary Austin and military leadership, an F-16 fired an AIM9x to successfully shoot down an airborne object flying at approximately 20,000 feet altitude in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron in the State of Michigan. Its path and altitude raised concerns, including that it could be a hazard to civil aviation.

The location chosen for this shoot down afforded us the opportunity to avoid impact to people on the ground while improving chances for debris recovery. There are no indications of any civilians hurt or otherwise affected.

North American Aerospace Defense Command detected the object Sunday morning and has maintained visual and radar tracking of it. Based on its flight path and data we can reasonably connect this object to the radar signal picked up over Montana, which flew in proximity to sensitive DOD sites.

We did not assess it to be a kinetic military threat to anything on the ground, but assess it was a safety flight hazard and a threat due to its potential surveillance capabilities. Our team will now work to recover the object in an effort to learn more."

Latest Object Shot Down Was "Octagonal" In Shape - WASHINGTON - The latest "object" that was shot down on Sunday over Lake Huron, which is located close to the Canadian border was "octagonal shape" with "no discernable payload", Reuters cited a senior official as saying.

The report also said that the United States had "no indication" that the object shot down over Lake Huron posed a military threat, or that it had any surveillance capabilities to speak of.

Although some reports say three objects have been shot down over North America, Reuters reports that four objects have actually been downed in total.

U.S. Military Decommissioned Another "Object" Over Lake Huron - LAKE HURON - The Michigan state representative Jack Bergman released a statement saying that he has been in contact with the Department of Defense, and that the U.S. military has "decommissioned" another "object" over Lake Huron. Read Full Article

Michigan Representative Jack Bergman: "I’ve been in contact with DOD regarding operations across the Great Lakes region today. The US military has decommissioned another “object” over Lake Huron. I appreciate the decisive action by our fighter pilots. The American people deserve far more answers than we have."

FAA - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reopened airspace over Lake Michigan after declaring "potential contact" with an unidentified object over the region, which NORAD declared a "radar anomaly" and deployed fighter jets to investigate.

The FAA reported that it had closed the airspace over Lake Michigan so that they could examine the "potential contact" and later determined that it posed no threat.

The FAA announced on Sunday, "Pilots who do not adhere to the following [procedure] may be intercepted, detained and interview by law enforcement or security personnel".

In another statement to Fox News Digital, the FAA said, "The FAA briefly closed some airspace over Lake Michigan to support Department of Defense activities. The airspace has been reopened".

Montana Representative Matt Rosendale released a statement that said, "I am in constant communication with NORCOM and they have just advised me that they have confidence there IS an object and it WAS NOT an anomaly. I am waiting now to receive visual confirmation. Our nation’s security is my priority".

NOTAM Activated Over Canada Due To "Active Air Defense Operation - CANADA - A NOTAM has been activated over Toronto, Canada to to an "active air defense operation".

Official NORAD Statement: About Temporary Flight Restriction In Montana - NORAD And NORTHCOM Statement: "With the cooperation of the Federal Aviation Administration, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) implemented a temporary flight restriction airspace in central Montana on Feb. 11, 2023, to ensure the safety of air traffic in the area during NORAD operations.

The restriction has been lifted. NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate.

Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation."

NORAD: Detected Radar Anomaly, Sent Fighter Aircraft To Investigate - National Security Reporter Natasha Bertrand: "This appears to have been a false alarm: New NORAD statement says “NORAD detected a radar anomaly and sent fighter aircraft to investigate. Those aircraft did not identify any object to correlate to the radar hits. NORAD will continue to monitor the situation.”

Representative Rosendale: Airspace Above Montana Reopened- Representative Matt Rosendale statement: "Airspace is reopened – I will remain in contact with defense officials and share more information as it becomes available. Montanans deserve answers". FAA Notice And Map

FAA Issues NOTAM over Havre, Montana Near Canadian Border - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a NOTAM over Havre, Montana, near the Canadian border, and declared the region “National Defense Airspace”. FAA Notice And Map

NORAD shoots down an unidentified object violating Canadian airspace over the Yukon with an F-22. - NORAD shoots down an unidentified object violating Canadian airspace over the Yukon with an F-22. Tweet 2

NORAD Statement on Alaskan high-altitude airborne object Shootdown: - NORAD: "February 11, 2023 U.S. Northern Command Update on Recovery Operations At the direction of the President of the United States, fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Norther Command successfully took down a high altitude airborne object off the northern coast of Alaska at 1:45 pm Eastern Standard Time Feb. 10 within U.S. sovereign airspace over U.S. territorial water. Tweet 2

Recovery operations continue today near Deadhorse, Alaska. U.S. Northern Command's Alaska Command and the Alaska National Guard, in close coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement, are conducting search and recovery activities.

Arctic weather conditions, including wind chill, snow, and limited daylight, are a factor in this operation, and personnel will adjust recovery operations to maintain safety. Recovery activities are occurring on sea ice.

We have no further details at this time about the object, including its capabilities, purpose, or origin.

U.S. Northern Command also continues to conduct recovery operations off the coast of South Carolina following the takedown of the high-altitude surveillance balloon on Feb. 4. U.S. Northern Command's U.S. Navy component continues to conduct survey and recovery activities, and the U.S. Coast Guard continues to support site security.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation continues to assist recovery on site and take custody of debris arriving at on-shore locations. Sea states Feb. 10 permitted dive and underwater unmanned vehicle (UUV) activities and the retrieval of additional debris from the sea floor.

The public may see U.S. Navy vessels moving to and from the site as they conduct offload and resupply activities. Operations will continue as weather permits."

Norad Tracks One Or Two More High-Altitude Objects Over Northern Canada - North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is monitoring "what appear to be" one or two objects over Canada according to a report by the Canadian Global Television Network. National security reporter Natasha Bertrand reported a high-altitude airborne object over Northern Canada. Tweet 1 | Tweet 2

Global News reported that "three security sources" told them of one or two more potential spy balloons exist, but the news agency said that they have no information on where the objects are located, or whether any decision has been made whether or not to shoot them down.

The "high-altitude" object that was taken down on Friday over the Atlantic Ocean in Alaska by the U.S. Air Force did not enter Canadian airspace, the country's Defense Minister Anita Anand said Friday in a statement.

Global News journalist Mercedes Stephenson posted a statement that said, "exclusive reporting that they have spotted another potential spy balloon. This time over Canada. The command says NORAD aircraft are in the area. “we have positively identified a high-altitude airborne object over Northern Canada”#BREAKING NORAD [email protected]".

DoD Releases Statement About Object Shot Down Over Alaska - Department of Defense Press Secretary brigadier general Pat Ryder released a statement regarding the object shot down over Alaska, as well as further details about the balloon shot down on February 4th.

He said that the object was the size of a "small car" and not similar in "size or shape to the high-altitude surveillance balloon that was taken down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4th".

"Debris that's been recovered so far is being loaded on to vessels taken ashore, cataloged, and then moved onwards to labs for subsequent analysis. And while I won't go into specifics due to classification reasons, I can say that we have located a significant amount of debris so far that will prove helpful to our further understanding of this balloon and its surveillance capabilities," Ryder said

"We have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose or origin," Ryder added.

Statement By DoD Press Secretary

"At the direction of the President of the United States fighter aircraft assigned to the U.S. Northern Command successfully took down a high-altitude airborne object off the northern coast of Alaska at 1:45pm Eastern Standard Time today within U.S. sovereign airspace over U.S. territorial water.

On February 9th, North American Aerospace Command detected an object on ground radar and further investigated and identified the object using fighter aircraft.

The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight. U.S. Northern command is beginning recovery operations now.

U.S. Northern Command's Alaska Command coordinated the operation with assistance from the Alaska international guard, Federal Aviation Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

We have no further details about the object at this time, including any description of its capabilities, purpose or origin.

The object was about the size of a small car so not similar in size or shape to the high-altitude surveillance balloon that was taken down off the coast of South Carolina on February 4th".

Another Object Posing A "Reasonable Threat" Shot Out Of The Sky Over Alaska - WHITE HOUSE - The U.S. just shot down an object that was flying around Alaska around one hour ago, according to John Kirby. White House Video Statement

Kirby said, "a high altitude object over Alaska air space...within the last hour" that we had been tracking for "the last 24 hours," and stated, "the object posed a reasonable threat".

"I can confirm that the Department of Defense was tracking a high altitude object over Alaska airspace in the last 24 hours out. The object was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet and posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight. Out of an abundance of caution and the recommendation of the Pentagon, President Biden ordered the military to down the object. And they did. And it came in inside our territorial waters," Kirby stated.

Kirby also said, "The way it was described to me was roughly the size of a small car as opposed to a payload that was like two or three buses sized," Kirby said.

"We do not know who owns it, whether it's state owned or corporate owned or privately owned".

Brazil Declines Iranian Warships From Docking At Its Port - RIO DE JANEIRO - Brazil has declined the two Iranian warships from docking at Rio de Janeiro as the Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula sa Silva prepared to visit Washington for a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden. Location Maps

The Iranian Navy had begun to operate in South American waters as two Iranian warships had the intention to dock at the port in the seaside city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a stay of one week, on a mission to the Panama Canal.

The refusal to allow the Iranian warships to dock at the port has been seen as a gesture by Brazil seeking closer ties with the United States.

The Financial Post cited a Brazilian military source as saying, “It’s true that there was a veto (from the government). The Iranian ships could not come during this period".

January 29th, 2023: Iranian Navy Begins Operations In South American Waters

TEHRAN - The Iranian Navy has begun to operate in South American waters as two Iranian warships sought to dock at the port in the seaside city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a stay of one week, on a mission to the Panama Canal.

Although there were initial reports that the Iranian vessels had docked at the port, reports came in later that they had not yet been allowed to dock, and that their docking was delayed by Brazil.

According to a Report by the Tehran Times and Fars News, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said, "Today, we have a great opportunity in the sea area for the development of the country, and we can turn this gift from an economic capacity into a civilizational capacity by using the maritime capacity properly. Today, the use of the sea is a geopolitical advantage for us, and those who do not have this capacity are suffering from geopolitical suffocation.”

He said that the Iranian Navy is planning on expanding its scope of operations.

“So far, we have been present in all the strategic straits of the world and we have not been present in only two straits, in one of which we will be present this year and we are planning to be present in the Panama Canal,” he said.

He added, "The actions taken today in the Navy would not have been possible without the support of the elite society, knowledge-based companies, and the Ministry of Defense. Today, this capacity is at the service of the country's progress".

“We started seafaring much earlier than the Europeans, and this maritime civilization can be revived. Today we need to strengthen our maritime presence and today we can say that there is no problem in the scientific field to grow in this field. But most of this capacity is used in the military field and other sectors should also make more efforts in this field."

“Today, if my comrades are approaching the shores of the American continent, they are showing signs of the authority of dear Iran. As a showcase for the dear people of our country, we appeared in the Pacific Ocean for the first time. Of course, along this route, Australia and the French created threats for us and tried to violate the laws they had approved to cross their coasts. But we answered them with authority and according to the law.”

He also said that Iran now has command centers in the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans.

“We have formed three oceanic commands, including the Indian Ocean Command, the Pacific Ocean Command, and the Atlantic Ocean Command. Today we are present in the Indian and Atlantic oceans and soon we will be present in the Pacific Ocean. The equipment that will join the Navy in the future is in line with the mission of these three commands,”

The two vessels that docked at the Brazilian port were the Iranian frigate Dena and the warship IRIS Makran,.

The IRIS Makran is Iran's only forward base ship of the Iranian Navy. It was converted from being an oil tanker and is Iran's largest warship.

Makran had been on its way to Venezuela in 2021 carrying seven missile boats onboard but was denied entry by Venezuela after intense diplomatic pressure at the time.

The Dena is a Moudge-class frigate, which according to Wikipedia has:

1 × 76 mm Fajr-27 naval gun, 1 × 40 mm Fath-40 AAA or 1x 30mm Kamand CIWS, 2 × 20 mm cannons Oerlikon, 2 × 12.7 mm heavy machine guns, 4 × Mehrab SAM surface-to-air missiles, 4 × Noor or Qader anti-ship missiles, 2 × triple 324 mm torpedoes

On January 11th, 2023 Iranian Rear Admiral Shahram Irani said, "So far, we have been present in all the strategic straits of the world. This year we are planning to be present in the Panama Canal.”

Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year strategic cooperation agreement in January 2022.

January 12th Transcript Of Ned Price Addressing Claims By Iran Of Visiting Panama Canal

QUESTION: the Islamic Republic of Iran is sending warships to the Panama Canal. Do you have any reactions to that? Do you find it provocative?

MR PRICE: We are aware of this claim by Iran’s navy. We continue to monitor Iran’s attempts or at least its statements of its intent to develop a military presence in the Western Hemisphere.

QUESTION: And also one more about exporting arms to Russia. There are reports that Iran has delayed the delivery of arms to Russia, including ballistic missiles and launchers. Are you aware of these delays and these reports, and what’s your assessment?

MR PRICE: Our overarching assessment has not changed. Iran is and remains Russia’s most important source of security assistance. This is a burgeoning partnership between Russia and Iran that has deepened in recent months but even over the longer time horizon. We’ve released significant detail regarding the provision of UAV technology from Iran to Russia. We have also detailed our concerns that Russia may also seek ballistic missiles, and ballistic missile technology, that Iran has.

We are watching very carefully. We continue to speak out against the provision of these wares, knowing that this technology, despite what we might hear from Tehran or from Moscow, is intended to do one thing: it is intended to kill Ukrainians; it is intended to inflict damage on the country of Ukraine, targeting in many cases civilian infrastructure.

Romanian Statement On Missile Launched By Russia, Crossing Into Moldova- Romania releases a statement regarding the Missile Launched By Russia, Crossing Into Moldova.

Romanian Ministry Of National Defense: "The Romanian Air Forces’ air surveillance system detected on Friday, February 10th, an aerial target launched by a Russian Federation’s ship, navigating in the Black Sea, nearby the Crimea Peninsula. The target is most likely a cruise missile, which flew over the air space of Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova and reentered the Ukrainian air space without ever infringing Romania’s air space.

The closest point of the aerial target’s trajectory from the Romanian air space was recorded by the radar systems to be at almost 35 kilometers North-East from the border.

The Romanian authorities have applied all standard procedures since the moment the target was detected until the complete clarification of this situation. Furthermore, at 10.38 a.m., two Romanian Air Forces’ MiG-21 LanceR Aircraft of the NATO-led Air Policing Service, which were executing a flight exercise at that moment, were redirected to the Northern area of Romania in order to increase the reaction options.

After approximately two minutes, the situation was clarified and the two aircraft resumed their initial mission.

The Romanian Air Forces are permanently monitoring, in cooperation with the Allied forces, the national air space and the immediate surrounding area."

Moldovan MOD Strongly Condemns Violation Of Its Airspace - MOLDOVA - The Moldovan Ministry of Defense released the following statement on their official Facebook account regarding the "rocket" that flew over its territory and "strongly condemned" the "violation" of its airspace.

Moldovan Ministry of Defense (translation): "In the context of the information about the rocket flying over the airspace of the Republic of Moldova, the Ministry of Defense communicates the following:

The responsible structures within the institution detected, at 10:18, a rocket, that crossed the airspace of the Republic of Moldova, above the locality of Mocra in the Transnistrian region and later over the locality of Cosauti in the Soroca district, with the direction to Ukraine.

We mention that the Ministry of Defense, in collaboration with the responsible structures in the country, closely monitors the situation in the region, and strongly condemns the violation of the airspace of the Republic of Moldova."

The statement comes after Ukraine claimed that Russian missiles flew into NATO-allied territory.

Ukraine Claims Russian Missile Crossed Into NATO-Allied Airspace - General Valery Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine put out a statement claiming that Russian missiles flew over Romania and Moldova during a missile strike on Ukraine, crossing into NATO-allied airspace. See Images

The General's statement said, "Today, Feb 10, at 10:18 a.m., two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles crossed the state border of [Ukraine] with [Moldova] At 10:33 a.m., these missiles crossed the airspace of [Romania]. After that, the missiles again entered the airspace of [Ukraine] at the crossing point of the borders of the three states".

Pentagon: Chinese Balloons Part Of Larger Surveillance Program By China - Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder says that the Pentagon is aware of four previous balloons having gone over the United States, and that they are a part of a "larger Chinese surveillance balloon program".

Pentagon: Chinese Balloons Part Of Larger Surveillance Program By China [Video Transcript]

USNORTHCOM continues their recovery operations in support of the recent takedown of the Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon. Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Pentagon Press Secretary: [Only Statements About Balloon Added]:

GENERAL RYDER: "As of today, recovery operations of the balloon and the payload continue without issue. Sea states Tuesday permitted divers and explosives ordnance technicians to conduct underwater salvage and recovery, and underwater survey activities continue using unmanned underwater vehicles. The USS Carter Hall remains in the vicinity of the debris field and is leading the recovery efforts. US Coast Guard cutters continue to provide security, and the FBI and NCIS agents continue their work cataloguing debris and transporting it for further processing.

Again, we remind members of the public, if you come across debris, please do not handle it, but call your local law enforcement to facilitate safe recovery. Additional information on recovery operations will be forthcoming.

QUESTION: Thank you. To go back to the balloon, does the Pentagon know with certainty now that the balloon actually came from China, i.e., it was launched from China? And if so, where?

And then the DOD has said that there have been at least three other balloon incidents during the previous administration and one other incident during this administration. Can you tell us a little bit about how you were able to discern that these balloons were the same, and they were also Chinese spy balloons?

GENERAL RYDER: GEN. RYDER: Sure. So let me address your second questions - well, your second question first. So again, I'm not able to go into the intelligence. As you highlight, we are aware that there have been four previous balloons that have gone over U.S. territory. This is what we assess as part of a larger Chinese surveillance balloon program. You've heard us talk in the past about the fact that this is a program that's been operated for several years. What we do know is that in some cases whereas some of these balloons previously had not been identified, subsequent analysis, subsequent intelligence analysis did enable us to indicate that these were Chinese balloons.

In terms of where they're coming from, I can't go into the specific location other than to say China, and the last thing I'll say is that this last week provided the United States with a unique opportunity to learn a lot more about the Chinese surveillance balloon program, all information that will help us to continue to strengthen our ability to track these kinds of objects.

QUESTION: Thank you. As you said, as it's part of a wider surveillance program, if four previous ones had transited the U.S., have there been others that maybe got near international U.S. military installations, but didn't actually cross U.S. soil?

GENERAL RYDER: Yeah, so again, for classification reasons, I'm not going to be able to go into a lot of details other than these four are the ones that we assess went over U.S. soil. And I'm not going to go over specifically what they tracked other than what we've acknowledged publicly -- that we know that they were looking to surveil strategic sites, to include some of our strategic bases in the continental United States.

And so when you look at the scope of this program and the fact that we know that these balloons have been spotted, and what we now can subsequently assess to be Chinese balloons operating over at least five continents in regions like Latin America, South America, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Europe, again, it demonstrates why, for the Department of Defense, that China remains the pacing challenge, and something that we'll continue to stay focused on. Thank you.

QUESTION: Thanks, Pat. Do these Chinese surveillance balloons somehow explain the UAP, some of the unidentified aerial phenomena that were reported in that report to Congress? Have you gone back to look? And are some of those UAP incidents perhaps those Chinese surveillance balloons? And also, did you start tracking this balloon when it left China on July 21st? Were you tracking it all over -- the way over the Pacific Ocean, or did you just start tracking it when it got close to Alaska?

GENERAL RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Jennifer. So your first question, that's really a question best addressed by the Director of National Intelligence, that puts that report together. I will say, broadly speaking, that when it comes to our assessment of objects in air and space, you know, that's going to always be ongoing work, right?

So any time there's something that's unidentified, by default, we will track that information, and when new information can become available that we can apply, certainly we're going to do that, but to answer your direct question, the DNI would be the best folks to address that portion.

In terms of when we started tracking this, again, I'm not going to get into those kinds of specifics, other than to say we did see it approaching U.S. airspace. NORAD, NORTHCOM tracked it for the duration. Again, as it entered U.S. airspace, NORAD determined that it did not pose a physical or military threat, and in accordance with their procedures, monitored it.

When it did come over the continental United States, we began to develop options on how to take it down and address this threat, with the idea being that we wanted to wait until it was over water so that we could mitigate any potential civilian harm or property damage, and importantly, as I highlighted, use this as an opportunity to, again, better understand the Chinese surveillance balloon program and apply that information to increase our ability to track these kinds of objects. Thanks.

QUESTION: Can you clarify when the Chinese balloon -- the last surveillance balloon that went down near Hawaii went down? There are reports that it was four months ago and there's another report that it was in June. When did it go down?

GENERAL RYDER: Yeah, I've seen those press reports. Again, I'm not going to have any information to provide on the previous balloon flights that were out there. But again, appreciate your understanding on that.

QUESTION: Thank you. Could you just, in layman's terms, explains why there has been this -- what the General called "awareness gaps," why the U.S. was not able to detect these kinds of balloons previously?

And then given that, is there a kind of intelligence failure here? Did the military and the intelligence somehow fail to understand or grasp this threat or is it a failure of imagination? And how's that being addressed?

GENERAL RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Dan. So to answer your last question there right up front, no, it was not an intelligence failure. You know, as we learn more about this type of capability and really, what General VanHerck was referring to was previously having a domain awareness gap -- but we've learned a lot about these balloons, we've learned a lot how to track them, as evidenced by the fact that, again, we were tracking it as it approached U.S. airspace. And so we're confident that what we've learned about this program enables us to be able to monitor and be on the lookout for these kinds of capabilities.

And when you think about the wide array of activities that we monitor globally, but most importantly when it comes to defense of the homeland along our coasts and our skies, by being able to identify the characteristics of things like this or other potential threats, it all gets put into a broader library, so to speak, of information that our analysts can monitor, track, and detect, and then respond appropriately.

QUESTION: And then in terms of this global program, are the balloons that are spotted elsewhere in the world essentially similar to the one that was flying across the U.S.? And is there reason to believe that those balloons were flying near or over U.S. military bases abroad in those countries?

GENERAL RYDER: Yeah, so beyond the fact that they share the common characteristic of being surveillance balloons, right, intelligence collection assets that the PRC is employing, the only other thing I'd say is that we do know there's variation in the various sizes and capabilities of balloon, but beyond that, I'm not going to go into specifics. In other words yeah, I'll just leave it at that.

In terms of what they're monitoring and what their flight paths are going to be, I'm not going to go into that level of information, but needless to say again it calls into question why China, the PRC, feel that it's okay to violate sovereign airspace of nations in a way that is inappropriate and unacceptable -- so combining this capability with the other intelligence assets that they have at their disposal.

And so again, as I highlighted earlier, this just demonstrates why the PRC continues to remain our pacing challenge and I think that they have a lot of explaining to do when it comes to conducting these types of programs and violating nations' airspace and sovereignty. Thank you.

QUESTION: First, did you guys assess that this was a fleet after this balloon was spotted or from what you've determined in previous UAP investigations?

And with that, are you planning to declassify any information about those 163 reports of balloon and balloon-like entities so that we could understand better how they compare and don't compare?

GENERAL RYDER: Yeah, so on your second question, I'd refer you to the DNI. Clearly, within the realms of operations security and protecting intelligence sources and methods, we are trying our best to provide the public with as much information as we can on this program, recognizing that we don't want to do anything that's going to compromise our sources and methods.

In terms of your question about assessments on the overall surveillance balloon fleet, yes, we were tracking this before this particular incident. As I mentioned, our awareness and understanding of this capability has increased over the last couple of years.

You know, as General VanHerck highlighted, this wasn't information that we necessarily had previously, but again, our analysts have been able to, over time, put the pieces together and learn a lot more about this program.

And the last thing I'd say on that, again, is this was a unique opportunity for us to observe this balloon and its characteristics very closely as it traveled over the United States, and needless to say -- and I won't go into details -- we gained a lot of information on this and I believe we'll continue to gain more information on this.

QUESTION: Following up on -- following up on Tara's question, I thought you said, about the other four previous ones, that they were over strategic sites.

GENERAL RYDER: Again, I'm not going to -- they were over sites that would be of interest to the Chinese but I'm not going to go into the specifics, David. Thank you.

QUESTION: Just a quick follow-up and then a separate question. You said a moment ago the awareness and understanding of the situation has increased. When did the U.S. come to the conclusion that these were in fact surveillance balloon? Because it seems like that was an incredibly recent conclusion, based on the understanding of the situation.

And then just a short time ago in a House Intel briefing, Representative Stewart said the balloon may be the Chinese testing the American people to see their reaction, while General Philip Breedlove suggests that it was the enemy conditioning the U.S. population. Does the Pentagon believe that was China was conditioning or testing the U.S. with these balloons in some way?

GENERAL RYDER: Yes, thanks, Oren. So, you'd really need to talk to China about what its motivations were. Again, the facts are that they sent a surveillance balloon into sovereign U.S. airspace. We responded quickly and appropriately, monitored it, tracked it and took it down as soon as it was safe to do so. And I'll just leave it at that.

GENERAL RYDER: I don't have a specific date to provide you in terms of when the intelligence community developed this other than to say it's been in the last couple of years that we've been able to do the analysis and look at these objects and determine which has built the body of knowledge available to us. So again, as I mentioned, as this object approached U.S. airspace, NORAD NORTHCOM knew what it was and tracked it.

QUESTION: Thank you. You mentioned these four previous incidents. Was this the first time that the U.S. military had the capability of shooting down one of these balloons or was this a consideration in any of those previous incidences as well? And I also have a question on Ukraine.

GENERAL RYDER: Yes. So, we always maintain a variety of options on how best to respond. So, in terms of being able to shoot down any object that violates or threatens the United States, or our airspace, or our people, certainly, that is an option that's available to us. But in each case we took what we consider appropriate action. So, just leave it that.

If anything enters into our airspace whether we know what it is or not, we will monitor and we'll take appropriate action. Luis’ question was, did you have the capability to take down a balloon? Yes. We maintain the capability to take down balloons.

QUESTION: Well, kind of. It was more like, were there discussion about shooting it down --

GENERAL RYDER: Yes, I'm not going to get into those discussions.

QUESTION: Thank you for taking my question. Also wanted to touch on the hearing on the Hill this morning, the former EUCOM commander calling the delay in shooting down the balloon a miscalculation and that it could be China trying to condition the U.S. to miscalculate in the future. Was this a miscalculation? And how confident are we that we'll be able to detect these kinds of balloons in the future?

GENERAL RYDER: GEN. RYDER: Yes, so I think we are very confident that we'll be able to detect these kinds of capabilities, as evidenced by the continuing body of knowledge that we've been able to build up on this. But, obviously, that is something that our intelligence community will continue to work very closely on for this and any other potential threats.

In terms of how others may characterize it, I'm going to allow them to speak for themselves. Again, we detected this balloon, tracked it very closely. When it went into the continental United States we evaluated options on how best to bring it down. As you know, once it was safe to do so, we brought it down over water and we continue to collect the debris to be able to exploit for further intelligence.

QUESTION: And if I could ask, what did China think that they could get at 60,000 feet that they couldn't get with a satellite? What do you think they were collecting?

GENERAL RYDER: Again, that's a question that's best addressed by China. Obviously, at a high altitude you're operating above civilian air traffic. As you've heard us say before, the collection capabilities of this balloon were not of more advantage to other capabilities that we know they maintain. But regardless, we took steps to mitigate the potential collection of information. But as I also mentioned, we learned a lot about this balloon program.

And you know, the last thing I'd say on that is that I would not be surprised that the PRC starts to reevaluate its dirigible collection program. Thank you.

QUESTION: Thank you, General. Just first clarification, because I'm confused. With the previous four balloons, did you say they were not detected, but later intelligence assessment got your awareness? Would -- did this happen -- is this true, and did this happen with this administration, that assessment, or with the previous administration?

GENERAL RYDER: So what we know is that over the last several years, to include time during the previous administration, subsequent analysis determined that objects that had traversed over the United States, although not for the duration of this fifth balloon, were ultimately determined to be PRC surveillance balloons.

QUESTION: And the four previous balloons, they all happened during the last administration?

GENERAL RYDER: Three during the last administration, one during the Biden admin -- at the beginning of the Biden administration.

QUESTION: Well, this is the second balloon during the Biden administration?

GENERAL RYDER: Correct

QUESTION: Okay. And then did the technology you're able now to collect from the debris, did this lead you to think that this is actually part of a spy program, or are you leaving any room for maybe, no, actually, this was for civilian purposes?

GENERAL RYDER: I can assure you this was not for civilian purposes. We are 100 percent clear about that.

QUESTION: And are you willing in the future to share information with the public that confirms this assessment?

GENERAL RYDER: Well, what do you mean?

QUESTION: I mean, we have two narratives here, right? You referred us to the PRC before. The PRC maintains this is for civilian purposes strictly. The DOD and the administration is maintaining, no, this is actually spy balloon for military purposes, although it has no value added to what they have in terms of more than 400 satellites. So we have, as a press corps, we have two narratives here, competing narratives.

GENERAL RYDER: Okay. So I'll give you the facts. Again, based on what we know and have observed about this balloon, it is a surveillance balloon. It was an intelligence-collection capability. You know, a question that I would ask myself is if, in fact, it was a civilian balloon, a weather balloon, and it was approaching a sovereign nation, about to enter their airspace, a responsible nation would have put out some kind of public statement saying, "Hey, heads up. This is heading your way. We just want to let you know." The PRC did not do that. They didn't respond until after they were called out. I'll just leave it at that.

QUESTION: Thank you for taking my question, General. So on the balloon, I -- it -- have you shared the ID characteristics, now that we now have some better definition, with our other allies and partners so that they can watch over their own airspace and detect potential incursions?

GENERAL RYDER: So yes, so we are -- we are in the process of updating our international allies and partners. Not going to have more specifics to provide. Clearly, we maintain an intelligence-sharing relationship with many countries, and so as we have information to provide and as we currently are, we will share that information.

QUESTION: So I've heard multiple stories about the balloon in Hawaii. How exactly did it go down? Was it -- did it crash? Was it shot down? I just want to confirm.

GENERAL RYDER: Yeah, again, I'm not going to be able to talk about what we know on those previous balloons.

QUESTION Second, once we found out that it did go down, however it went down, were we able to recover any information from it?

GENERAL RYDER: Again, I'm not going to have any specifics to provide. As I highlighted earlier, broadly speaking, we've learned a lot about this surveillance balloon program, and every piece of information that we gather contributes to that body of knowledge that enables us to detect them, track them, and take appropriate action.

QUESTION -- one in Guam, anything?

GENERAL RYDER: Again, I'm not going to be able to go into more details.

QUESTION: I just had a very quick follow-up. Is the unofficial U.S. policy now that you're not going to shoot down balloons over land, only over water, or in the way that you're scrutinizing this further information that you have, is that going to change the way you respond to future balloons since it's a fleet?

GENERAL RYDER: Yeah, so I think you need to take a step back and look at our policy has not changed. If something is about to enter our airspace, we're going to track it and monitor it and determine whether or not it's a threat. And in this particular case, as the balloon approached U.S. airspace, the NORAD NORTHCOM Commander determined that it did not present an imminent physical or military threat.

So we're always going to reserve the right to take appropriate action against any foreign objects, unexplained aerial phenomenon, whatever it is, to safeguard the American public, and that's exactly what we did in this case.

QUESTION: Pat, if there were four previous incidents were Chinese spy balloons were over U.S. airspace and they weren't reported, how is this not an intelligence failure?

GENERAL RYDER: So the idea here is that we're going to be tracking all kinds of objects on any given day, both in the air, on the sea. And so as we gain information and as we see the profile of those objects determining whether or not it's a threat -- and so in terms of our ability to collect on those, as I've highlighted, we have learned a lot about their program, we've been able to learn a lot about what they're doing and their intent.

We observe a lot of things every single day in a lot of different ways, from an intelligence collection standpoint, and those are things that we're not necessarily going to talk about publicly for obvious reasons. There's also benefit in us knowing what they're doing and not publicly talking about what they're doing.

But in terms of monitoring these and collecting on them, we have been able to put together a body of knowledge that enables us to be able to detect them and act appropriately.

QUESTION: But did you know they were Chinese spy craft at the time, those four incidents?

GENERAL RYDER: They were tracked and subsequently determined to be Chinese.

QUESTION: And lastly, J-21 Chinese aircraft that came very close to the U.S. surveillance plane on December 21st, was that related to the balloon program or observation of the balloon -

GENERAL RYDER: No, completely discounted.

QUESTION: Thanks very much for doing this. One follow-up on the question of communications with China. You said that responsible nations, if it was a civilian balloon, would have notified the U.S. in advance. Does the Pentagon then assess that China is acting recklessly on purpose, in the hopes of creating some sort of bigger incident?

And then separately on the balloons, how -- is there any evidence or any assessment that some of the balloons, whether the one that was tracked just over the U.S. or the others, had capabilities other than surveillance, perhaps transmission?

And are there any other countries that may be running similar balloon programs to that being run by the PRC?

GENERAL RYDER: Yeah, thanks, Jeff. So on your last question, I mean, obviously nations around the world maintain various degrees of intelligence programs, and I'm not going to get into those from here.

In terms of what message China was trying to send with this balloon, again, I'd refer you to the PRC. I'm going to deal with the facts. The facts are that the balloon went into and violated sovereign U.S. airspace. We tracked it very closely, we developed options, and when the time was right to minimize potential civilian harm, we took a shot and took the balloon down.

And again, this is contributing to our body of knowledge on this program, which we will apply to defending our skies and protecting our citizens well into the future. And I will say also that when it comes to learning about these kinds of programs, I think we all appreciate the fact that this is not static. You're constantly learning, you're constantly applying lessons learned in order to protect the American public and our allies and our partners, and this is no different in that case.

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. Appreciate your time today.

Efforts Underway To Study Chinese Surveillance Balloon After Downed - After the United States Air Force carried out the operation to shoot down the Chinese surveillance balloon, efforts are underway to study and scrutinize both the balloon and its payload. Read Full Article

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Issues Statement Regarding "US Claim" It Shot Down Chinese Unmanned Airship - Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and protest against the US's use of force to attack civilian unmanned airships".

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on the US claim that it shot down the Chinese unmanned airship

"China expresses its strong dissatisfaction and protest against the US's use of force to attack civilian unmanned airships.

The Chinese side has repeatedly informed the US side after verification that the airship is for civilian use and entered the US due to force majeure, which was completely accidental. China clearly requires the US to handle it properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner.

A spokesman for the US Department of Defense also stated that the balloon will not pose a military or personal threat to ground personnel. Under such circumstances, the U.S. insists on using force, obviously overreacting and seriously violating international practice.

China will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of relevant companies, while reserving the right to make further necessary reactions."

DoD F-22 Safely Shoots Down Chinese Spy Balloon Off South Carolina Coast - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: "A U.S. Air Force fighter safely shot down a Chinese high-altitude surveillance balloon today, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a written statement.

President Joe Biden ordered the action on Wednesday, but it was delayed until the balloon was over water off the coast of South Carolina to ensure no Americans on the ground were harmed.

"The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters," Austin said.

The action was taken in coordination and support of the Canadian government. "We thank Canada for its contribution to tracking and analysis of the balloon through [North American Aerospace Defense Command] as it transited North America," Austin said.

"Today's deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC's unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," Austin said referring to the Peoples Republic of China.

U.S. officials first detected the balloon and its payload on January 28 when it entered U.S. airspace near the Aleutian Islands. The balloon traversed Alaska, Canada and re-entered U.S. airspace over Idaho.

"President Biden asked the military to present options and on Wednesday President Biden gave his authorization to take down the Chinese surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to us civilians under the balloon's path," said a senior defense official speaking on background.

"Military commanders determined that there was undue risk of debris causing harm to civilians while the balloon was overland."

An F-22 Raptor fighter from the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, fired one AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon.

The balloon fell approximately six miles off the coast in about 47 feet of water. No one was hurt.

Long before the shoot down, U.S. officials took steps to protect against the balloon's collection of sensitive information, mitigating its intelligence value to the Chinese. The senior defense official said the recovery of the balloon will enable U.S. analysts to examine sensitive Chinese equipment.

"I would also note that while we took all necessary steps to protect against the PRC surveillance balloon's collection of sensitive information, the surveillance balloon's overflight of U.S. territory was of intelligence value to us," the official said.

"I can't go into more detail, but we were able to study and scrutinize the balloon and its equipment, which has been valuable."

The balloon did not pose a military or physical threat. Still its intrusion into American airspace over several days was an unacceptable violation of U.S. sovereignty. The official said Chinese balloons briefly transited the continental United States at least three times during the prior administration.

While Chinese officials admitted that the balloon was theirs, they said it was a runaway weather balloon. "The PRC has claimed publicly that the high-altitude balloon operating above the United States is a weather balloon that was blown off course.

This is false," the official said. "This was a PRC surveillance balloon. This surveillance balloon purposely traversed the United States and Canada, and we are confident it was seeking to monitor sensitive military sites."

The mission now transitions to one of recovery. There are a number of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels establishing a security perimeter around the area where the balloon came to Earth. They are searching for debris, said a senior military official also speaking on background.

There is no estimate for how long the recovery mission will take, the military official said, but the fact that it came down in such a shallow area should make recovery "fairly easy".

The military official gave some detail of the engagement. The F-22 fired the Sidewinder at the balloon from an altitude of 58,000 feet. The balloon at the time was between 60,000 and 65,000 feet.

F-15 Eagles flying from Barnes Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts, supported the F-22, as did tankers from multiple states including Oregon, Montana, South Carolina and North Carolina. Canadian forces also helped track the overflight of the balloon.

The Navy has deployed the destroyer USS Oscar Austin, the cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the USS Carter Hall, an amphibious landing ship in support of the effort."

DoD Statement: Chinese High Altitude Surveillance Balloon Successfully Shot Down - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: "This afternoon, at the direction of President Biden, U.S. fighter aircraft assigned to U.S. Northern Command successfully brought down the high altitude surveillance balloon launched by and belonging to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the water off the coast of South Carolina in U.S. airspace.

The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters.

On Wednesday, President Biden gave his authorization to take down the surveillance balloon as soon as the mission could be accomplished without undue risk to American lives under the balloon’s path.

After careful analysis, U.S. military commanders had determined downing the balloon while over land posed an undue risk to people across a wide area due to the size and altitude of the balloon and its surveillance payload.

In accordance with the President’s direction, the Department of Defense developed options to take down the balloon safely over our territorial waters, while closely monitoring its path and intelligence collection activities. This action was taken in coordination, and with the full support, of the Canadian government.

And we thank Canada for its contribution to tracking and analysis of the balloon through NORAD as it transited North America.

Today’s deliberate and lawful action demonstrates that President Biden and his national security team will always put the safety and security of the American people first while responding effectively to the PRC’s unacceptable violation of our sovereignty."

CIA Director: Chinese President Has Instructed Military To Be Ready By 2027 For Invasion On Taiwan - WASHINGTON - CIA Director William Burns said that Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered China's military to "be ready by 2027 to conduct a successful invasion" of the island of Taiwan.

Burns spoke at Georgetown University on Thursday and said that Xi has been watching Russian President Vladimir Putin's drawn-out war on Ukraine.

"On Taiwan, I guess I would say our assessment at CIA is that I wouldn’t underestimate President Xi’s ambitions with regard to Taiwan. He has been pretty clear about that over the years," Burns stated.

He continued by saying, "I think he has watched very carefully – it seems to us – Putin’s experience in Ukraine and been a little bit unsettled and sobered by that as well".

"We know as a matter of intelligence he has instructed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready by 2027 to conduct a successful invasion."

He added, "Now, that does not mean that he's decided to conduct an invasion in 2027, or any other year, but it's a reminder of the seriousness of his focus and his ambition".

"Therefore, I think it’s very much in our interest as a policy matter in the United States to make clear our commitment to the status quo, to make clear we are not interested as a country in changing that status quo, that we are deeply opposed to anyone trying to change that unilaterally, especially by the use of force".

"And to continue to do all we can to help Taiwan defend itself and think through how best to do that to deter what would be a sort of deeply unfortunate conflict for everyone involved, including China as well".

Taiwan has been sending military aircraft and drones into the airspace around the island of Taiwan, some of which cross into Taiwan's air defense identification zone nearly every single day since former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island on August 2nd, 2022.

Before Pelosi's visit to the island, China's incursions around the island were far less frequent and were not daily occurrences.

China also began sending frequent reconnaissance drones around Taiwan, which were not generally sent around the island before Pelosi's visit occurred.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Statement On Balloon Over United States - Below is a statement by the Chinese Foreign Ministry regarding the balloon spotted above mainland United States.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Statement

"Q: On February 3, senior US State Department officials said at a briefing via teleconference that due to the entry of a Chinese unmanned airship into US airspace, US Secretary of State Blinken has decided to postpone his planned trip to China. Do you have any comment?

A: Regarding the unintended entry of a Chinese unmanned airship into US airspace due to force majeure, the Chinese side has verified it and communicated it to the US side. It is a civilian airship used for research, mainly meteorological, purposes.

Affected by the Westerlies and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course. This is entirely an unexpected situation caused by force majeure and the facts are very clear.

China always acts in strict accordance with international law and respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.

We have no intention to violate and has never violated the territory or airspace of any sovereign country. Some politicians and media in the US have hyped it up to attack and smear China. The Chinese side is firmly opposed to that.

Maintaining contact and communication at all levels is an important common understanding reached by the Chinese and US presidents at their meeting in Bali.

One of the tasks of the diplomatic teams on both sides is to properly manage bilateral relations, particularly to manage some unexpected situations in a cool-headed and prudent manner. In fact, neither side has ever announced that there would be a visit.

It is a matter for the US to make its latest announcement, and we respect that."

Surveillance Balloon May Be Guided By Artificial Intelligence - A specialist in surveillance balloons says that balloons are difficult to shoot down and that the one over the United States flying over U.S. military sites looks to have been equipped with an advanced AI guidance system. Read Full Article

Explosion Reported Over Billings Montana - An explosion has been reported over Billings, Montana. The governor says that they are "monitoring the situation". The city of Billings, Montana says PD fire and airport have not been called to any incidents, and there have not been any plane crashes picked up on radar. View Tweet.

A Second Chinese "Spy Balloon" Hovering Over Latin America - WASHINGTON - The Chinese "spy balloon" has altered its flight path and is now moving east at about 60,000 feet over the "central" United States, which demonstrates its ability to maneuver, according to a statement by the U.S. military Friday.

A second balloon has also been spotted hovering over Latin America, according to the Pentagon.

China claimed that the balloon was merely a civilian airship that accidentally got blown off course into U.S. airspace.

Pentagon spokesperson: "we are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon.”

Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder spoke at a news briefing and said, ""We know this is a Chinese (surveillance) balloon and that it has the ability to maneuver".

Ryder said that he expects that the balloon will continue on its path over U.S. airspace for a few more days.

He also refused to say where exactly the balloon is located currently, and when asked "Doesn't the public not have a right to know if the balloon is over their state?" he stated, "The public certainly has the ability to look up in the sky and see where the balloon is".

Ryder also said that the balloon "does not pose a physical threat to people on the ground".

Kansas Senator Roger Marshall said that the balloon is hovering over the northeastern portion of his own state, and said "I condemn any attempts the Chinese make to spy on Americans. President Biden must protect the sovereignty of the U.S.".

Ryder said, "We are seeing reports of a balloon transiting Latin America. We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon".

Canadian Ministry of Defense Statement on High Altitude Surveillance Balloon - "February 2, 2023 – Ottawa, Ontario – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces: "A high-altitude surveillance balloon was detected and its movements are being actively tracked by NORAD. Canadians are safe and Canada is taking steps to ensure the security of its airspace, including the monitoring of a potential second incident.

NORAD, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Department of National Defence, and other partners have been assessing the situation and working in close coordination.

Canada’s intelligence agencies are working with American partners and continue to take all necessary measures to safeguard Canada’s sensitive information from foreign intelligence threats.

We remain in frequent contact with our American allies as the situation develops."

Senior Defense Official Holds a Background Briefing on High-Altitude Surveillance Balloon - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE transcript of a background briefing regarding the high-altitude surveillance balloon spotted hovering over mainland United States, having come from Alaska, through Canada and into the northern United States from Canada.

DoD: "BRIGADIER GENERAL PAT RYDER: Good evening, everyone. Brigadier General Pat Ryder here, the Pentagon press secretary. So thank you very much for joining us a little bit later in the day. I'm going to go over a couple of ground rules first. I'll provide you then with an on-the-record statement. And then I'll turn it over our senior defense official.

So first, I'm going to read you an on-the-record statement. This is from Brigadier General Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary.

"The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now. The U.S. government, to include NORAD, continues to track and monitor it closely. The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic, and does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground. Instances of this kind of balloon activity have been observed previously over the past several years. Once the balloon was detected, the U.S. government acted immediately to protect against the collection of sensitive information."

STAFF: And with that, we'll go ahead now and revert to on-background. And you can attribute this to a senior defense official.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Thanks, Pat.

Hey, everybody. Thanks for joining us late. So a couple of things up top, and then happy to take a few questions. I'll let Pat moderate on that. But so a few things.

First, we are confident that this high-altitude surveillance balloon belongs to the PRC. As was said at the top, instances of this activity have been observed over the past several years, including prior to this administration. In this instance, President Biden was briefed and asked for military options.

Secretary Austin convened senior DoD leadership yesterday, even as he was on the road in the Philippines. It was the strong recommendation by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Milley, and the commander of NORTHCOM, General VanHerck, not to take kinetic action due to the risk to safety and security of people on the ground from the possible debris field.

Currently we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collection perspective. But we are taking steps, nevertheless, to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information.

We are also tracking what abilities it could have in gaining insights, and continue to monitor the balloon as it is over the continental United States.

And so with that, let me pause and I'll take your questions.

Pat, you want to run the show?

STAFF: Yes, sir. Thank you.

All right, first we'll go to Tara Copp, Associated Press.

Q: Hey, thanks for doing this. A couple of questions about the balloon itself. Can you give us a sense of how big is it? Is it as big as a car? Big as a bus? Did that factor into the decision not to shoot it down? And, I guess, third on the balloon, when did you first start tracking it? Was it before it crossed into the continental United States?

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yes, good questions. So how big? You know, I'm not going to go into the exact dimensions. We did assess that it was large enough to cause damage from the debris field if we downed it over an area. We had been looking at whether there was an option yesterday over some sparsely populated areas in Montana. But we just couldn't buy down the risk enough to feel comfortable recommending shooting it down yesterday.

So, beyond that, though, I can't really go into the dimensions. But there have been reports of pilots seeing this thing, even though it's pretty high up in the sky. So, you know, it's sizeable.

In terms -- and so whether it factored into the decision, it did in the sense that we had to assess what the possible debris field would look like falling from that height. We wanted to, you know, take care that somebody didn't get hurt or property wasn't destroyed.

And, I'm sorry, how long have we been tracking it. I'm not going to go into all the details because I don't want to reveal sensitive information. But I will say we have been tracking it for some time. And we have had custody of it the entire time it has been over U.S. airspace, entered the continental United States airspace a couple of days ago.

Q: And just one last, you know, Montana's one of the three homes for our siloed nuclear weapons. Was there any concern that the balloon was trying to collect intelligence on those silo fields?

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yes, so clearly the intent of this balloon is for surveillance. And so the current flight path does carry it over a number of sensitive sites. I'd just say a couple of things.

First, our best assessment at the moment is that whatever the surveillance payload is on this balloon, it does not create significant value added over and above what the PRC is likely able to collect through things like satellites in Low Earth Orbit.

But out of an abundance of caution, we have taken additional mitigation steps. I'm not going to go into what those are. But we know exactly where this balloon is, exactly what it is passing over. And we are taking steps to be extra vigilant so that we can mitigate any foreign intelligence risk.

STAFF: Thank you.

Let's go to Jen Griffin, FOX.

Q: Thank you very much. What do you think the target of this balloon was? And has this ever happened before that you've seen either a Chinese surveillance balloon or another country's surveillance balloon over the United States, or is this the first time?

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yes, so, I mean, it is a surveillance balloon. And not to be -- I'm not trying to be a wiseguy. But the goal is surveillance. And clearly they're trying to fly this -- this balloon over sensitive sites, one of which was just mentioned, to collect information. As I said, we do not judge that it provides significant value added over and above what they can currently collect in other means. But nevertheless, it's something we're watching closely.

Is it the first time. It is not the first time that you had a balloon of this nature cross over the continental United States. It has happened a handful of other times over the past few years, to include before this administration.

It is appearing to hang out for a long period of time this time around, more persistent than in previous instances. So that would be one distinguishing factor. Over.

STAFF: Let's go to Jeff Schogol, Task & Purpose.

Q: All right, thank you. What makes you believe this is a Chinese spy balloon? And then just for arguments sake, why not blow it up and just take the risk that it hits something on the ground?

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Right. No, I'm not going to go into all the ways in which we know that it's a PRC balloon. I will just say we have very high confidence that this is a PRC balloon. Very high confidence.

So we do not doubt that this is a PRC balloon. And that is an assessment shared across our intelligence and analytic community. Why not shoot it down? We have to do the risk-reward here. So the first question is does it pose a threat -- physical kinetic threat to individuals in the United States or the U.S. Homeland. Our assessment is it does not.

Does it pose a threat to civilian aviation? Our assessment is it does not. Does it pose a significantly enhanced threat on the intelligence side? Our best assessment right now is that it does not. And so given that risk, that profile, we assess that the risk of downing it, even if the probability was low in a sparsely populated area of the debris falling and hurting somebody or damaging property that it wasn't worth it and that was the recommendation of our military commanders.

That is what we recommended to the White House yesterday.

STAFF: Let's go to Idrees Ali, Reuters.

Q: Hey, just two quick questions. Firstly, have you directly brought this up with Chinese officials and what has their response been? And in terms of altitude, is this over U.S. airspace or is it sort of in the stratosphere? What's sort of the height of this right now?

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yes, both good questions. Good to hear your voice, Idrees. We have engaged PRC officials with urgency through multiple channels. They've been engaged both through their embassy here in Washington and through our embassy in Beijing.

We have communicated to them the seriousness with which we take this issue. But beyond that I'm not going to go into the content of the -- of the message. But we have made clear we will do whatever is necessary to protect our people and our homeland. And so if the risk profile that I described earlier, if that changes we will have options to deal with this balloon.

In terms of the altitude, I'm not going to go into the exact altitude. What I will say is that it is significantly above where civilian air traffic is active, which is why we do not assess that it's a threat to civilian aviation. It -- but it is in the atmosphere and it is over U.S. airspace. It is not in outer space.

STAFF: OK. Let's go to Heather Mongilio, USNI.

Q: Thank you so much. You mentioned this is not the first time. Can you say when the last time a similar situation happened?

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: I -- I'm not going to go into the details of that. It's happened a few times in recent years to include before this administration. But beyond that I'm not going to go into the details.

STAFF: Got time for just a few more. We'll go to Dan Lamothe, Washington Post.

Q: Yes, thank you. And can you walk us through how you observed it? NBC News reported that system F-22s were sent up -- I don't if scrambled would be the right terminology there but at least sent up to get a closer look. Thank you.

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yes, so we've been -- we've been observing it through multiple means, including manned aircraft. You did see reports yesterday of a ground stop at billings airport and the mobilization of a number of assets including F-22s.

The context for that was it would put some things on station in the event that a decision was made to bring this down while it was over Montana. So we wanted to make sure we were coordinating with civil authorities to empty out the air space around that potential area. But even with those protective measures taken it was the judgment of our military commanders that we didn't drive the risk down low enough, so we didn't take the shot.

But that's why you saw the reports that you saw, Dan.

STAFF: And Nancy Youssef, Wall Street Journal.

Q: Thank you. (Inaudible) you mentioned earlier that the balloon stayed for a longer period of time than in the past and that it wasn't offering any significant intelligence relative to other means of ISR that the Chinese have. My question is, is there any reason to believe that the Chinese wanted this to be spotted. Is there -- is that your conclusion?

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: You know, I can't speculate. It's probably a question better to direct to the Chinese embassy. I don't know why they did what they did. I will say that the past number of times it did not loiter over the continental United States for an extended period of time. It's different.

And precisely why they made the decision to make this different I think really is a question for them.

STAFF: And last question, Brandi Vincent, DefenseScoop.

Q: Thank you so much for doing this. Does the balloon appear to have technology that is different or more advanced than any technology that the U.S. has? Does the U.S. have a policy for dealing with balloons like this? I can't help but think of the 163 balloons that were made sense of in the UAP report. So is this something that you're developing policy on or does policy exist about how to handle these sort of sightings?

SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: Yes, you know I'm not going to go into the exact nature of the technology. I don't think that the -- that the pay load on this is -- I wouldn't characterize it as revolutionary. I think the thing that is different is the altitude and of course the willingness to put it over the continental United States for an extended period of time.

I think that's the -- that's the biggest difference here. As it relates to do we have a policy, the answer is yes, we do and most importantly we also have sufficient authority given to us to take action under Title 10 against unmanned aerial systems of which this balloon would be a part. So we think we have all the authorities we need to do anything that we need to do to protect the American people and we'll continue to do that.

Q: Thank you.

STAFF: Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen, that's all the time we have. Just as a reminder the comments are as a senior defense official on background. My comment at the top is on the record and we will post a transcript on defense.gov when it's available. Thank you for joining us.

NORAD And Northern Command Statement On Surveillance Balloon Over US - NORAD: "NORAD and U.S. Northern Command statement on the high-altitude surveillance balloon.

The United States government has detected and is tracking a high altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now.

The North Americacn Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) continues to track and monitor it closely.

The NORAD Commander, General Glen VanHerck assesses the balloon does not present a military or physical threat to people on the ground at this time.

The balloon is currently traveling at an altitude well above commercial air traffic."

U.S. Tracking High-Altitude Surveillance Balloon - DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: "An intelligence-gathering balloon, most certainly launched by the People's Republic of China, is currently floating above the United States, the Defense Department announced Thursday evening.

"The United States government has detected and is tracking a high-altitude surveillance balloon that is over the continental United States right now," Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said during an impromptu briefing Thursday evening. "The U.S. government, to include NORAD, continues to track and monitor it closely."

Ryder said the balloon is well above commercial air traffic and doesn't pose a threat to civil aviation. He also said this isn't the first time such a balloon has been seen over the United States.

After the balloon was detected, Ryder said, the U.S. government "acted immediately" to protect against the collection of sensitive information, though he didn't detail what measures were taken.

A senior defense official who participated in the briefing on background only said the U.S. intelligence community has "very high confidence" the balloon belongs to the People's Republic of China, and that the United States has engaged with Chinese officials "with urgency, through multiple channels" regarding the presence of the balloon.

"We have communicated to them the seriousness with which we take this issue," the official said. "We have made clear we will do whatever is necessary to protect our people and our homeland."

Right now, the official said, following recommendations of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley and Air Force Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the U.S. position is to allow the balloon to continue to float above the United States, rather than attempt to shoot is down.

The official said the risk of using kinetic force to take the balloon out of the sky might put civilian communities at risk, and that the threat the balloon poses now to both safety and U.S. intelligence doesn't justify such an action.

"Currently, we assess that this balloon has limited additive value from an intelligence collective collection perspective," the official said. "But we are taking steps, nevertheless, to protect against foreign intelligence collection of sensitive information."

The official said this is not the first time such a balloon has been seen above the United States, but did say this time the balloon appears to be acting differently than what has been seen in the past.

"It's happened a handful of other times over the past few years, to include before this administration," the official said. "It is appearing to hang out for a longer period of time, this time around, more persistent than in previous instances. That would be one distinguishing factor."

While the senior defense official would not say how large the balloon is, the official did say its size did figure into the calculation to not use kinetic force to take it out of the sky.

"We did assess that it was large enough to cause damage from the debris field if we downed it over an area," the official said. "I can't really go into the dimension — but there have been reports of pilots seeing this thing, even though it's pretty high up in the sky. So ... it's sizable."

As early as yesterday, the official said, the balloon was seen over Montana."