By Ben Farmer Russia welcomed African military and security officials to Moscow this week, amid fears it is expanding its footprint on the continent by exploiting the West’s failure to counter jihadists. The Kremlin showcased its security expertise and arms industry to representatives from over 100 countries at the 13th International Meeting of High Representatives for Security Issues in Moscow. Attendees, including Iran and China, discussed security challenges ranging from counter-insurgency and financial crime to artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and cyber attacks. Offering security expertise has become a potent selling point in the Kremlin’s efforts to engage with governments and gain…

Russia will deploy its latest fibre-optic drones when its anticipated summer offensive in Ukraine begins, military analysts have said. Fibre-optic drones are controlled via a cable, making them immune to electronic jamming. The drones are operated through a 15km-long fibre-optic line — similar to fishing wire — which transmits images to the pilot instantaneously. These weapons have already been used to fly along forest tracks, attack Ukrainian supply lorries, and penetrate bunkers to kill soldiers. According to a new report by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), the British defence and security think tank, Russia has developed a tactic using…

Russia has proposed holding a second round of peace talks with Ukraine on June 02 in Istanbul, as tensions rise over Germany’s decision to support the joint production of long-range missiles on Ukrainian soil. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin has offered both a date and location for further negotiations and is awaiting Kyiv’s response. Vladimir Putin’s chief envoy, Vladimir Medinsky, confirmed direct contact with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and said Moscow’s delegation is ready to meet “in the coming days” to exchange memoranda on a potential settlement. Lavrov’s comments came just hours after newly appointed German…

Defence chiefs are being accused of attempting to prevent the Army from supporting SAS veterans facing murder charges for shooting dead IRA terrorists during The Troubles. The revelation follows the disclosure that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ordered all regimental headquarters and serving military personnel not to support a petition calling for protection of Northern Ireland military veterans against prosecution. This move by the MoD comes after it emerged that up to 20 SAS veterans could face murder charges for shooting dead armed IRA terrorists more than 30 years ago. The MoD has instructed all Army headquarters not to…

Britain will introduce new laws to allow the security services to proscribe state-based groups such as Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Home Secretary has said. Following the arrests of eight Iranians allegedly involved in plotting terrorist attacks in London, Yvette Cooper said that Britain would “not tolerate growing state-backed threats on UK soil”. The Home Secretary also revealed that MI5 state threat investigations – where countries hostile to the UK might be planning a proxy attack – have increased by 50 per cent in the last year. In what marks a significant diplomatic low between the two countries,…

China has unveiled the world’s first aerial aircraft carrier capable of deploying hundreds of automated drones instantly. The high-altitude mothership, Jiu Tian SS-UAV – an aerial aircraft carrier – is scheduled for its inaugural test flight in June 2025, according to Chinese state media reports. First showcased at the 15th Zhuhai Airshow, Chinese state outlets describe the Jiu Tian as a significant leap in unmanned aerial technology. Developed by AVIC in partnership with Shaanxi Unmanned Equipment Technology and Haige Communications, the high-altitude UAV is designed as a force multiplier for China’s drone warfare capabilities. However, questions remain about its ability to…

The Royal Navy will launch a fleet of ‘drone’ submarines to protect vital undersea cables from attacks by Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’. A prototype of the unmanned 19-tonne vessel, named Excalibur, was launched at Devonport naval base last week and will pave the way for the production of an entire squadron. The vessels are designed to safeguard critical subsea infrastructure, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and will be central to the Government’s new defence plans. Underwater fibre-optic cables, which lie on the ocean floor, enable global communication and internet connectivity between continents, while other cables are responsible for carrying electricity.…

Russian President Vladimir Putin has refused to attend peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, prompting criticism from Kyiv in response to Moscow’s decision to send a “sham delegation” and casting doubt over the first direct negotiations between the two countries since 2022. Ukrainian sources now say Moscow demanded that the United States not be present at the talks, which they claim is a sign that Russia is not serious about peace. A Ukrainian official close to the negotiations told the BBC that Kyiv arrived “with a clear mandate” while Russia was using the meeting to “stall for time and put…

Security agencies in the UK and allied countries have warned members of the Uyghur, Tibetan and Taiwanese communities that they may be targeted by newly discovered variants of spyware. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has joined its counterparts in the US, Australia, Canada, Germany and New Zealand in raising the alarm over the Trojanised malware, which it says is hidden in legitimate-looking mobile apps such as TibetOne. The two variants, dubbed Moonshine and BadBazaar, are designed to covertly access device microphones, cameras, messages, photos and real-time location data, according to the NCSC. The agency warned that potential targets include individuals connected to:…

The former head of MI6 has warned MPs that China could “immobilise London” by switching off Britain’s traffic lights, due to Chinese companies controlling so much critical technology in the UK. Sir Richard Dearlove, the former chief of the Secret Intelligence Service, claimed that Chinese-made microchips embedded in UK infrastructure could be exploited to cause blackouts and bring the capital to a standstill. Dearlove and Charles Parton, a veteran diplomat, said Chinese companies dominate the microchip industry for devices embedded in technology known as the “internet of things” (IoT). These chips — known as Chinese-made cellular IoT modules (CIMs) —…

Marks & Spencer has today confirmed that personal customer data was stolen in the catastrophic cyber-attack that has paralysed the high street stalwart for more than two weeks and wiped over £1 billion off its market value. The retailer admitted that some shoppers’ contact details, dates of birth and order histories were accessed by cyber criminals in what is now understood to be a large-scale ransomware attack carried out by the DragonForce hacking cartel. Although M&S insists that no payment details, passwords or account credentials were compromised, the admission marks a major escalation in what is fast becoming one of…

A radar-jamming drone that will fly ahead of crewed fighters on missions to disable enemy air defences has been launched by Britain’s Royal Air Force. Drawing on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine, StormShroud has been introduced to the front lines at “an unprecedented pace” to meet the growing threat from Russia, the UK Ministry of Defence said. The weapon is based on the Tekever AR3 and AR5 drones, which have already seen combat in Ukraine, and has been fitted with a BriteStorm signal jammer that scrambles enemy radar at long ranges. In what the RAF described as “revolutionary new tactics”,…