Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has asked the US government for an emergency package of 300 Patriot missile interceptors before winter, warning that Ukraine’s air defence stockpiles are almost exhausted as Russia continues launching large-scale ballistic missile attacks. In an interview with Axios following his White House meeting on Tuesday with President Donald Trump, which lasted more than an hour, Zelensky said Ukraine urgently needs additional interceptors to protect its energy infrastructure ahead of winter. “We needed the Patriots yesterday,” Zelensky said. According to Zelensky, Russia launches between 30 and 40 ballistic missiles during each major strike and carries out three…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is due to meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday as Kyiv seeks additional air defence systems and closer defence cooperation following an escalation in Russian missile and drone attacks. After arriving in the United States, Zelensky said strengthening Ukraine’s air defences would be his government’s immediate priority. “Our number-one priority is anti-ballistic defence and strategic cooperation with America. Peace needs to be brought closer,” he wrote on X. The meeting will take place before both leaders attend a memorial service for Senator Lindsey Graham, one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters in Congress,…

Russia is seeking a further 30,000 North Korean troops to bolster its war effort in Ukraine, in what would mark the biggest expansion yet of the growing military alliance between Moscow and Pyongyang. The revelation was made by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said Russia has been preparing to receive the additional soldiers since June, with facilities being readied in the Voronezh region, south of Moscow. Zelenskyy also claimed North Korea is preparing to transfer additional ballistic missile launchers to Russia, further strengthening the Kremlin’s ability to wage its more than four-year war. If confirmed, the deployment would more than…

Iran has warned that a Ukrainian attack on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea “cannot go unanswered”, after Tehran said the strike killed one sailor and injured another. Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the 25 July attack as an act of aggression and summoned Ukraine’s diplomatic representative in Tehran over the incident. Iran said it reserved the right to defend its national interests and security. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later said: “Zelenskyy has attacked an Iranian commercial vessel, killing a sailor. A blatant UN Charter violation done at Israel’s behest to drag Europe into its war.” “In calls…

US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Iranian bridges and power plants if Tehran continues attacking commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, as tensions spread beyond the Gulf after Yemen’s Houthi movement warned it could target Saudi shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the United States would retaliate against any future Iranian attack on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz. “From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz — whether it be by missile, rocket, drone or any other device…

Ukraine launched more than 400 drones towards Moscow and the surrounding region overnight, Russian authorities said, in what Russian military commentators described as one of the largest attacks on the capital since the start of the war. Russia’s defence ministry said 381 drones had been intercepted across the country and over the Black and Azov seas. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 85 drones had been destroyed while approaching the capital. The claims could not be independently verified. Ten people were injured in the Moscow region, including three Chinese nationals, according to Russian officials. Seven of the casualties were reported in…

Up to 60,000 British soldiers a year will train using artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics and virtual battlefields under a £2 billion programme designed to prepare the Army for modern warfare. The 15-year contract has been awarded to Omnia Training, a consortium led by Raytheon UK, and will replace and modernise the way troops rehearse large-scale military operations. The government said the system would allow commanders to recreate the complexity of contemporary conflicts, analyse soldiers’ performance and identify weaknesses before units are deployed. At the centre of the programme will be a digital platform known as the Combat Laboratory, which…

Iran has asked the Yemeni Houthi terrorist group to prepare to disrupt shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if the United States strikes Iranian power infrastructure, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Two senior Iranian sources and a regional source told Reuters that Iran’s leadership discussed the move before informing the Houthis. They said the group had recently been told to prepare. The development follows US President Donald Trump’s warning that Washington could target Iran’s power infrastructure. The sources did not say whether Tehran’s message was conveyed before or after those remarks. Iran’s Foreign Ministry and a Houthi…

Iran has warned it will respond “proportionally” to further US military action, as Washington carried out fresh strikes against Iranian military targets and President Donald Trump threatened to widen the military campaign. The latest developments come despite a US-Iran memorandum of understanding (MoU), agreed in June, which was intended to halt hostilities, restore freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and provide a framework for further negotiations. Tehran has accused Washington of repeatedly breaching the agreement, while the United States says its latest operations are targeting military capabilities used in attacks on commercial shipping. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail…

Axiom Space is strengthening its financial and technology leadership as the Houston-based company seeks to make the leap from flying private astronauts to the International Space Station to operating permanent commercial infrastructure in orbit. The company announced on Wednesday that it has appointed Zach Gitomer as chief financial officer and Erick Wegerer as chief information officer. The two executives will help oversee Axiom’s finances, information systems and cybersecurity as it develops a commercial space station, operates astronaut missions and builds next-generation spacesuits. The appointments come at a critical stage for Axiom, which has emerged as one of the leading companies…

By Harry Fullerton Ambition and reality In Arthurian legend, the Sword in the Stone is the iconic test of kingship. Placed in an anvil by the wizard Merlin, the blade was inscribed with a challenge stating that whoever could pull it free was the rightful King of England. Only a young squire, Arthur, managed to do it, revealing his royal lineage. It is an analogy that is very fitting for the UK Government’s current problem of trying to fund the nation’s defence. Their equivalent ‘stuck sword’ is the Defence Investment Plan or ‘DIP’ as it is referred to. The DIP has failed…

The United States has launched a series of overnight strikes against dozens of Iranian military targets, prompting a wave of retaliatory attacks by Iran on US-linked sites across the Middle East and raising fresh concerns over regional stability and global energy supplies. The strikes, announced by US Central Command (Centcom), targeted air defence systems, coastal radar installations, naval assets, missile facilities and drone capabilities. Washington said the operation was conducted in response to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes. Centcom said the operation involved fighter aircraft, naval…