Putin's Costly 'Special Military Operation'

"[The rise in spending] comes as no surprise."

"It's not just about 'retaliatory strikes'. Simply put, more munitions are needed if the goals of the Special Military Operation are to be achieved."

Evgeny Suvorov, chief economist, CentroCredit Bank, Moscow

 

"[The ministry revealed last week that the budget plan would] ensure the provision of necessary weaponry and military hardware to the armed forces, the payment of allowances to military personnel and support for their families, and the modernization of defence industry enterprises."

Finance Ministry press service

A Russian MiG-31 fighter jet flies in the international airspace over the Gulf of Finland, September 24, 2026. Swedish Air Force/Finnish Air Force/Handout via REUTERS/

 

"Russia continues its reckless campaign of hostile actions against NATO allies. It is trying to weaken our resolve and stop our support for Ukraine."

"But Russia is failing. It is failing on the battlefield in Ukraine and it is failing to undermine our unity and support for Ukraine."

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte  

On the sidelines of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been teasing and testing NATO member countries, particularly its close East European neighbours in the Baltic region. Estonia has concluded an investigation into an arson attack on August 15 against Milrem Robotics, an Estonian defence manufacturer producing ground drones used by Ukraine. "We can conclude with certainty" stated Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, "that the arson attack ... was an act of sabotage ordered by the special services of the Russian Federation".

 

Milrem Robotics located in the Estonian capital Tallinn, had a fire break out in a building for which it has concluded Moscow's responsibility. "Baseless, absolutely no relation to reality. We cannot and will not take such statements seriously", responded Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in response. Russia has been repeatedly accused of hybrid provocations since its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia have increased their defence investment as a result. "Moscow is trying to scare Europe into winding down its support for Ukraine. This will not happen", stated Christian Wigand, European Commission spokesman. 

(DMITRY KOSTYUKOV/Getty Images)

 

War is a costly business on all sides. Vladimir Putin is so engrossed in saving Ukrainians from the grip of their 'neo-Nazi' government that despite Ukraine's courageous and effective counteroffensive to the conflict reaching into its fifth year -- discounting Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and much of the Donbas, and the loss on both sides of tens of thousands of military personnel -- he grinds on with his goal. It is Ukraine's vast territory, its agricultural land and natural resources that Putin slavers over.

 

A scarcity of fighting manpower, the cost attendant on firing countless missiles and drones to defeat Ukraine's resolve to meet the challenge its neighbour poses and exit the war intact, has cost Russia dearly. Nothing deters Putin's territorial ambitions. He is prepared to continue pouring more resources -- both manpower and financial -- into the war he has inflicted on Ukraine. Plans are underway at the Kremlin to boost military spending by over 25 percent, even as Ukraine has succeeded in penetrating deeper into Russian territory.

 

Military spending reflecting Putin's new draft budget now stands at 17.1 trillion rubles (some $288 billion) for the coming year. War spending will sit at roughly 35 percent of the country's 48.8 trillion rubles in total expenditures. Moscow has been forced to spend greater sums just on protecting itself even as it relentlessly continues to attack Ukraine's cities, aiming for its electrical grids as winter approaches to once again demoralize Ukrainian citizens left without heat and cooking facilities during its long cold winter.

 

For its part, Kyiv continues its winning strategy of sending missiles and drones further within Russia, targeting oil refineries, logistics hubs and warehouses. Russia must respond to increase costly air defences, and stepped up its attacks on crucial Black Sea ports for Ukraine, and hitting urban centres which it claims are really military depots. Ukraine's targets of Russian oil facilities have caused pain in a gasoline shortage across the country.

 

Russia's air defences, the advanced systems protecting Moscow included, have been tested by large scale drone attacks, courtesy of Ukraine. The massive military casualties that Russia has suffered have failed to translate to progress on the battlefield. Russians now spend sleepless nights in worrying over a new mobilization, with the new parliament back in session, when an overwhelming 'democratic process' voted Vladimir Putin back in power. 

 

Russia plans to spend 17.1 trillion rubles ($202.58 billion) on defense in 2027, around 27% more than the 13.5 trillion rubles originally budgeted and the highest figure since the start of the war in Ukraine in 2022, government documents seen by Reuters showed on Monday.  Reuters

 

The Expanding Use of Armed Robots and Unmanned Ground Vehicles in Ukraine

"It is already impossible to imagine defence without drones, and the same applies to UGVs [unmanned ground vehicles]."

"Logistics on the front line, evacuation of the wounded, combat missions -- the use of UGVs is now expanding at the fastest pace."

"The future is already on the front lines and Ukraine is creating it."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 

 

"At least 25 kilometres from the line of contact is effectively a 'kill zone', where the risks of casualties are extremely high due to the density of drones."

"So replacing human involvement with drones significantly reduces losses."

"[Some of these Unmanned Systems Forces are used in the delivery of mines or to conduct] kamikaze [attacks]." 

Robert Brovdi, commander, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces

 

"Replacing the infantryman is totally impossible."

"We are talking about helping the infantryman."

Taras Ostapchuk, CEO, Ratel Robotics 

The Droid TW 12.7, by DevDroid, is shown here outfitted with a 0.50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun that can be aimed and fired by a remote operator using a tablet and an encrypted communications link.  DevDroid

 

In the early years of the conflict imposed on Ukraine by the full invasion of the country by Russian forces it was tank formations and large-scale troop movements, the conventional mechanisms in the pursuit of offensive dominance and defensive responses that typified the war. Now approaching the second-half of its fourth year, not taking into account Russia's military annexation of the Crimean peninsula, the eastern and southern front line is at a stalemate, monitored by drones set to strike moving targets. 

 

Ukraine's surprise counteroffensive took Russia's Vladimir Putin off guard; despite its much smaller population, military, arms, and economy. Ukraine stopped the Russian military dead in its tracks, even recovering some of its territory. Ukraine steadily advanced from desperately attempting to down Russian missiles and drones to protect its civilian infrastructure targeted by Moscow, to striking back across the border into Russia, first hitting only border targets then moving on to strike as far as Moscow and beyond.

 

Now, Ukrainian infantry units are using robot vehicles on combat missions as Ukraine has out-innovated Russia. The asymmetric technological approach with the use of drones and robots is Ukraine's winning ticket to defeating the Russian military. Like Mykhailo Fedorov the Ukrainian Defence Minister recently removed, Ukraine's new Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatryi advocates leveraging drone and robotics know-how for advantage on the battlefield. 

 

Recently a battle robot armed with a flame thrower approached a group of Russian assault troops planning to challenge Ukrainian defences on a section of the eastern Donetsk front lines. The robot turned the area where the Russians were positioned near a tree line to into a flaming cauldron, followed up by a machine gun crew to clean up the surviving attackers. A new battlefield technique employed by Ukraine's 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade.

 

A heavy lift drone (top circle) transporting a ground robot (bottom circle) in a combat operation  Russian MoD via X

 

That robot represents an expanding Ukrainian corps of unmanned ground vehicles equipped with such offensive devices as rifles, to rocket-propelled grenade launchers. At least 50,000 of these UGVs are set to be produced for the battlefield to reinforce human troops tasked to confront Russian servicemen. A remote-controlled combat robot was landed using an unmanned naval drone reaching the shore 11 kilometres away at the occupied Kinburn Spit in southern Ukraine. 

 

The  ground robot, a Wolly 7.62, carried an ammunition-loaded machine gun firing on Russian troop positions, who were forced to pull back, then self-destructed.

 

The $11,000 robot was made use of by the 123rd Separate Territorial Defence Brigade with four Ukrainian operators conducting the assault. "We are already fighting with drones in many areas, and we are very polite to our robots in advance", laughingly explained a solder with the call sign "House Goblin" archly referring to the Terminator movie series. According to Ukrainian officials, unmanned systems help manage the manpower gap with Russia, freeing up soldiers, saving lives on tasks with dangerous logistics in supporting front-line troops and evacuating the wounded. 

 

While Ukraine's wish to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization remains endlessly deferred, NATO members are eager to learn from Ukraine's tactical innovations with the use of its advanced technology in the production of drones and robots. Some European states have signed defence production partnerships with Ukraine as Kyiv strives to become central to the security structures of the continent. 

 

Zysko Sergii/Shutterstock

 

"Absolutely incredible,  [Ukraine] fully integrates every single drone every sensor, and every shooting platform into just one single network", the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee was advised by U.S. army secretary Dan Driscoll. "Ours does not." Ukraine has signed drone deals with countries as disparate as Saudi Arabia and the Netherlands, with an increasing number of partnerships being floated, including with the United States.  

"They accomplished something never done in warfare."

"They pushed Russians off a position that was being defended by humans and they pushed them off the position with no humans in the fight."

Former U.S. army vice-chief of staff Jack Keane  

RoverTech’s Zmiy uncrewed ground vehicle moved through a forest during a demonstration. RoverTech  

The Unconventional Swiftly Overtaking the Conventional in Conflict

"The U.K. and our E5 partners are stepping up -- investing together in the next generation of air defence and autonomous systems to strengthen NATO's shield."

"We have some of the best kit on the entire planet for shooting down air threats. The problem is to be effective at shooting down relatively low-cost missiles, drones and other threats facing us."

"We need to make sure that we're matching the cost of the threats with the cost of defence."

Luke Pollard, British Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry  

French soldiers holds a soft-kill counter-drone gun during the Orion 2026 military exercises at Saint-Nazaire's airport, western France, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

 

"Combat technologies and techniques are changing rapidly -- we must respond quickly and appropriately."

"We also signed a crucial commitment regarding the joint development of drone-based strike capabilities, low-cost joint production, and joint procurement of drone effectors, i.e., combat payloads, using artificial intelligence." 

Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz  

A new program for the production of low-cost air defence systems and autonomous drones with the use of the expertise Ukraine has gained during its operational defence and counter-offence against the Russian invasion over the past four years fighting the Russian military has been announced by a coalition of five European nations. France, Poland, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy announced a joint initiative, among many European plans to increase defence along their borders, similar to the 'drone wall', to improve detection, tracking and interception of drones violating European airspace. 

 

Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine and hybrid operations targeting infrastructure, public opinion and cyberspace, sees Europe facing a persistent, multi‑domain challenge.  Saab/NATO

 

Throughout the conflict, both Kyiv and Moscow have developed cutting-edge drone warfare advantages, using the sombre real-time theatre of war, leading to battlefield innovation which has in the very nature of their departure from what is considered to be 'normal' conflict interactions redrawn the usual in favour of distance combat in drone technology as battlefield tactics have changed forever. Poland has launched its own drive to refine its combat readiness, alongside Ukraine with the use of drone technology in joint manufacturing projects and military training programs.

 

A number of concerning incidents where Europe's borders and airports were being 'tested' by Russia's provocative use of rogue drones, spurred these efforts to redefine old tried-and-true battlefield techniques, grown stale in the face of the new drone technology which now launches and strikes with remote control. The group of five European countries signed an agreement to invest jointly in the production and procurement of drone-based strike capabilities. Partnered with inexpensive drone defence systems in a program dubbed Low-Cost Effectors and Autonomous Platforms (LEAP).

 

Lesson learned. Warsaw and its NATO allies made use of multimillion-dollar jets in response to drones that cost thousands to produce, when Russian drones entered Polish airspace in September of 2025. The emerging realization that low-cost kinetic or electronic effectors would effectively detect and destroy drones at a fraction of the price, set in. This energetic new drive toward responsive action against Russian provocation is the result of Europe acting frantically to arm itself following scathing criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump, faced by Europe and NATO.  

European drone wall  Reuters

"Europe’s security is more uncertain than it has been in decades [given Russian aggression, instability in the Middle East, China and a “redefined” alliance with the U.S. The low-cost interceptor program exemplifies the European commitment to its own security]."

"If we want to keep our country safe, we must strengthen our hard power. The good news is that we are already investing record sums in defence."

"Europe is stepping up. but it’s not about competing with NATO. It’s about making Europe stronger within NATO. A stronger Europe makes the alliance also stronger."

Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief 

 

Peace? Of Course Peace!!!

"The United States is the creator of NATO, its main sponsor. All the main resources come from the U.S. -- money, military technology weapons, ammunition, everything."

"And in the new U.S. National Security Strategy, Russia is not named as an enemy or a target. Yet the NATO secretary general is preparing for war with us."

"What is that? Can't you read?" 

Russian President Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin during his annual Direct Line call-in show at Moscow’s Gostiny Dvor, 19 December 2025. Photo: EPA / SERGEI ILNITSKY

 

"The financial package for Ukraine has been finalized. Ukraine is granted a zero-interest loan."

"These funds are sufficient to cover the military and budgetary needs of Ukraine for the two years to come."

"If Russia does not pay reparations we will -- in full accordance with international law -- make use of Russian immobilized assets for paying back the loan." 

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz 

 

"[The U.S. is trying to] figure out if we can nudge both sides to a common place."

"We understand that you're not going to have a deal unless both sides have to get."

"Both sides will have to make concessions if  you're going to have a deal. You may not have a deal. We may not have a deal. It's unfortunate."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio 

 

"The key question [relating to the U.S.-proposed plan to end the 4-year war] remains how the United States responds after consultation with the Russians. At this point, I honestly don't know, but I will know later today."

"This [agreement between Ukraine and Portugal for joint production of maritime drones] is one of the most promising areas of defence co-operation. What matters now is delivering results, and all parts of Europe must have sufficient capabilities to counter any threats."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 

Moscow Times

 

According to the Russian Defence Ministry it struck unspecified "transport and storage infrastructure used by the Ukrainian armed forces" as well as energy facilities supporting Kyiv's war effort. But then, Ukrainian drones have hit a Russian oil rig, the military patrol ship Okhotnik and other facilities as the ship patrolled the Caspian Sea near an oil and gas production platform at the Filanovsky oil and gas field, also hit, as well as a radar system in the Krasnosilske area of Crimea. 

 

Nothing, however, stops Mr. Putin from sneering at Ukraine's presumably feeble efforts at defence and offence, as, he claims, Russian forces are clearly winning the war that Ukraine is responsible for starting and he, Vladimir Putin, is anxious to put an end to. During the annual question-and-answer availability session staged by the Kremlin, Mr. Putin responded to many questions put to him. And in the process beamed over the fact that U.S. President Trump had shunted aside America's European allies in favour of Russia.

 

In responding to journalists and the general public in Russia the Russian president expressed his confidence on the trajectory of the Ukraine war while denying any responsibility for the war's consequences in massive human casualties, since it wasn't his fault at all, but rather that of the West. Sneering at NATO secretary-general's assertion that Russia might attack a NATO country within five years, pointing to the U.S. National Security Strategy linking Russia to "strategic stability". As for the security document; it is "largely consistent with Russia's intentions".  

 

"He can come back when he is ready for peace" 

Vladimir Zelensky and US President Donald Trump   REUTERS/ Brian Snyder

 

"When I arrived in Anchorage, I said these would not be easy decisions for us. But we agree to the compromises being 'proposed'. To say that we reject anything is absolutely incorrect and has no basis."

"The ball is entirely in the court of our opponents, so to speak, and, first and foremost, the leaders of the Kyiv regime and their, in this case, and above all, European sponsors." 

President Vladimir Putin  

It is, he reiterated, Kyiv that is refusing to end the war, while Moscow was prepared for peace with Ukraine and is willing to compromise to end the conflict, while Ukrainian forces were retreating "in all directions".  Terms suitable to Moscow are all that Russia is asking for to achieve peace. Terms eliminating "the root causes" of the conflict. Russia bears no responsibility for human war casualties "as we did not start that war".

 

While having assured President Trump that Russia stood willing to compromise in peace talks, Russia is also prepared to absorb more of Russia's "historical lands" from Ukraine through military force if negotiations to end the war on  Russian terms failed. Those Russian terms are, he contends, completely reasonable; the surrender of both Ukrainian territory in Russian hands, and portions still held by Ukraine. Oh and by the way, Ukraine taking steps to downsize its military and forego the weapons it holds to a limited number.

 

Right: no NATO presence in Ukraine as a guarantor of peace conditions upheld, nor any future attempt by Ukraine to join NATO. As for reconstruction costs associated with rehabilitating and rebuilding Ukraine, reparations are of no concern to Russia; Europe can foot the bill. Europe's decision to help fund Ukraine's continuation of its offensive saw EU Council President Antonio Costa declaring: "We have a deal. Decision to provide 90 billion euros of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered."

 

Belgium continues to hold out on the EU's plan to use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's war effort and reconstruction. The International Monetary Fund estimated 137 billion euros would be needed by Ukraine in 2026 and 2027. The 210 billion euros of Russian assets frozen mostly in Belgium would fit the bill nicely. While Putin's ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who sees himself as a peacemaker declared: "I would not like a European Union in War. To give money means war".  

"Western leaders created this situation themselves and continue fanning the flames by saying they are preparing for war with Russia. [It is] nonsense [that Russia wants a war with Europe]."

"I have no doubt that you and I will witness new successes of our armed forces, our troops on the contact line before the end of this year. That's the plan." 

President Vladimir Putin 

Putin answers questions as presenters Pavel Zarubin and Yekaterina Berezovskaya look on. Photo: EPA / SERGEI ILNITSKY

 

U.S. National Security Strategy (NSS)

"[European allies risk] civilizational erasure [as a result of their migration and free speech policies]."

"[Economic stagnation in Europe] is eclipsed by the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure."

"[Ending the war in Ukraine is a core U.S. interest to] reestablish strategic stability with Russia." 

"[Europe is enfeebled by its immigration policies, declining birthrates], censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition [along with a] loss of national identities and self-confidence."

"Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less. As such, it is far from obvious whether certain European countries will have economies and militaries strong enough to remain reliable allies. Many of these nations are currently doubling down on their present path. We want Europe to remain European, to regain its civilizational self-confidence." 

"[As for the Middle East], America's misguided experiment with hectoring [countries in the Middle East, especially monarchies in the Gulf, about their traditions and forms of government]."

"[The Arab nations are] emerging as a place of partnership, friendship, and investment. We should encourage and applaud reform when and where it emerges organically, without trying to impose it."

"[The U..S. strategy] is motivated above all by what works for America -- or, in two words, 'America First'."

U.S. National Security Strategy 

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at an event in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. Trump's new national security strategy was welcomed by Moscow, according to a Kremlin spokesperson on Sunday. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/The Associated Press)

 

"The adjustments that we see correspond in many ways to our vision."

"[The current U.S. administration is] fundamentally different from the previous ones." 

"President Trump is currently strong in terms of domestic political positions. And this gives him the opportunity to adjust the concept to suit his vision."  

Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin Spokesman  

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, left, speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.(Sergei Ilnitsky/The Associated Press)

 

"This NSS is a real, painful, shocking wake-up call for Europe. It is a moment of cavernous divergence between Europe’s view of itself and Trump’s vision for Europe."

"If Europe had any doubt that the Trump administration is fully committed to a tough love strategy, it now knows for sure. The administration is asking—demanding, really—that Europe polices its own part of the world and, most importantly, pays for it itself."

"The most worrying parts of the strategy are the ones that chastise Europe for losing its European character. The sentiment behind the words seems to stoke fear of migrants and an adherence to an idealized, old-world Europe that is questionable at best. Modern Europe is vibrant, evolving, and—largely—pretty happy."

"The majority of Europe’s reaction to this NSS is likely to be the same aghast shock as met Vice President JD Vance’s Munich speech."

Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) 

Released on Friday, the Trump administration's new national security strategy will give no comfort whatever to its heretofore allies in Europe, while Russia has already expressed its cautious pleasure, and China will be satisfied to an extent; Latin America has more to puzzle over, and the Middle East will feel somewhat gratified and no little relieved, for the most part. America's erstwhile partners in Europe stand to wallow in discomfort and uncertainty, not quite recognizing its place in this new America First reality imposed upon the world.

 

A disconcerting pivot from the role of controlling, stabilization empire of the globe to a new hands-off policy which allows other nations the pleasure of going it alone when it comes to stability and self-defense. With the second election/administration of Donald J. Trump to the presidency of the United States of America a new world order came into effect. On the other hand, Mr. Trump remains dedicated to 'peace' and peace-making, still counting on the Nobel Committee to come to its senses in 2026 -- which hasn't given it pause in striking 'terrorist' boats in the Caribbean Sea trafficking drugs to the U.S.

 

This is a document required by law that the administration must release; and it presents a break from former president Joe Biden's Democratic administration's course of intent which implemented a campaign to reverse Mr. Trump's first administration's trajectories. In brokering an end to the four-year-stagnant conflict in Ukraine, the first shock was the virtual abandonment of Ukraine's sovereign rights and a surprise embrace of Moscow's territorial imperative. An end to the war is not designed to liberate Ukraine but rather to consolidate a rapprochement with Russia.

 

As for America's European allies, their intransigence in supporting Ukraine and expecting the United States to continue the previous administration's commitment to that end, has left those expectations adrift and discombobulated. Trump's position in a drive to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia", when Europe's concerns are the Kremlin's yearning to restore the Soviet bloc to its former glory and NATO is stuck in a position of unease when its member-states are forced to cope with mysterious drones flying over their airports and military bases, flounders with its most powerful ally scorning its utility.

 

Jewish population of greater New York reaches 1.4 million. JNS

 

The United States, of course, faces no issues of immigration/migrant/refugee instability where Congress is faced with elected Representatives from Somalia and 'Palestine' backgrounds along with other Muslim Arab-Americans whose loyalties to the United States are not always evident. The U.S. 'melting pot' has installed imams in mosques whose Friday sermons don't exactly praise democracy and love of their fellow-man. New York electing an avowed Socialist, Muslim extremist whose contempt for America's ally in the Middle East has him broadcasting his intention to 'arrest' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should he come to New York City, the major home of Jewish-Americans.

 

The world at large is extremely well aware of the presence of Donald J. Trump in the White House. It is still reeling from the economic blows of trading with the United States where former free-trade agreements have been swept into the dust heap of the past as economy-crippling tariffs have taken their place. The sovereignty of nations called into question when U.S. national security under Mr. Trump eyes Greenland and Canada as potential extensions of the United States. It's Mr. Trump's very own version of How to Win Friends and Influence People.  

J.D. Vance and Donald Trump   Getty Images

"That strategic clarity is entirely missing from the new NSS, which is more polemic than policy. The north star of great power competition with China and Russia—around which the first Trump administration built bipartisan consensus—is gone."

"Rather than describing the scope and scale of China’s systemic challenge to the United States and our allies and partners, the 2025 NSS makes clear that economics are “the ultimate stakes.” The new paramount objective of Washington’s China policy is a “mutually advantageous economic relationship with Beijing.” 

"The discussion of Russia is mealymouthed at best: The document declines to characterize the threat Moscow poses to U.S. interests. It instead opts for the bizarre formulation, “many Europeans regard Russia as an existential threat.” 

"And while the 2017 NSS highlighted Iran and North Korea as second-tier threats, the new NSS does not mention North Korea at all and downplays the danger posed by Iran after Operation Midnight Hammer."

"Vance’s speech in Munich could have been interpreted back in February as the ideological views of just the vice president and parts of the radical MAGA base. But now, these views have become the administration’s official policy, which will only accelerate Europe’s efforts to hedge against the United States and to build up its own autonomy."

Council on Foreign Relations  

The Pentagon, headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense, seen from the air in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)

 

Russian European Airspace Violations

"The repeated violations of our airspace are unacceptable. The message is clear: Russia is testing the European Union and NATO."

"And our response must be firm, united and immediate."

"At today's meeting, we agreed to move from concept  to concrete actions."

"[Ministers backed a broad plan to bolster the EU's eastern defences; the] immediate priority [should be a] drone wall, with advanced detection, tracking, and interception capabilities."

EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius 

 

"[Ukraine is] ready to participate [in the project]."

"The drone wall will create a fundamentally new defence ecosystem in Europe, of which Ukraine is ready to be a part."

Ukraine's defence minister Denys Shmyhal  

A mobile radar installation is seen at the Danish military site on Amager, Pionegaarden, near the village of Dragoer and on the coast of Oresund, the sea between Denmark and Sweden, on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (Steven Knap/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

The urgent need to create a "wall" of anti-drone defences following airspace violations by Russia, was unanimously agreed to by European Union countries on Friday. The threat that was made glaringly obvious this past week when  unidentified drones gave Denmark and Norway little option but to close down some of their airports gave sharp focus to the extent and breadth of the threat facing EU and NATO-member nations.

 

Online discussions were held by the EU defence commissioner with ministers from ten EU states located mostly along the bloc's eastern border. Ukraine, though not a member of the EU, was invited to take part in the discussions, given its proven capabilities to detect and disarm the missiles in their airspace by shooting down Russian drone swarms. 

 

The meeting participants agreed that focus would initially be on the development of a network of sensors to assist in better detection of such threatening incursions', feasibly on line within a year. Building full interception capabilities would take longer in the goal of intercepting the drones. Ursula von der Leyen, EU chief, in a keynote speech this month produced the first call for a "drone wall", mere hours following a NATO shoot-down of Russian drones in Poland. 

 

An engineer watches a Ukrainian-made quadcopter drone at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, June 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) 

NATO's initial response had little option given its unpreparedness, other than to use top-of-the-range fighter jets to fire expensive missiles with an aim of shooting down a handful of cheap Russian drones, emphasizing gaps in the alliance's arsenal for addressing such airborne threats. Since then, the alliance conveyed additional hardware to its eastern flank, yet the sort of low-cost capabilities of fending off Russian attack drones lack Ukraine's experience.

 

The proposal for the "drone wall" represents a portion of the broader impetus by Europe to  support an addition to its defences in recognition of the threats emanating from Russia. The program thus considered should be regarded as a new flagship defence project being worked on by the bloc in its response to Moscow's growing belligerence. 

 

Ukrainian soldiers prepare to launch an Avenger UAV drone in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. ( AP Photo/Yevhen Titov)

A Proud Tradition : Defunct

"During the Second World War, Canadians defended the east and the west coasts and fought in a series of long and difficult campaigns around the world—on land, at sea and in the air—to defeat the German, Italian and Japanese forces."  

"More than 1.1 million Canadian men and women served in the armed forces. The home front was largely directed to winning the war."

"In 1939, Germany invaded Poland. This started more than six years of bitter fighting in the Second World War, which finally ended in 1945. More than one million Canadians and Newfoundlanders served in uniform, both here at home and around the world. Over 45,000 of our brave men and women in uniform gave their lives and another 55,000 were wounded before Germany was defeated in May 1945 and Japan in August of the same year."  

"Canada contributed significantly to the Allied victory. Revelations of the Nazi atrocities and the Holocaust shocked the world. The war also led to the decolonization of empires, the creation of the United Nations, and what became known as the “Cold War” between the United States and the Soviet Union, and their respective allies.Canada was fundamentally transformed by the war. More than a million veterans came home and would help lead Canada into its very prosperous second half of the twentieth century."

Veterans Affairs Canada 

Second World War -- 1939 -1945

 

"There is a risk that DND/CAF [Department of National Defence/Canadian Armed Forces] will not have the right military personnel, in the right numbers, with the right competencies at the right place, and the right time." 

"[In the Canadian air force and army it will take until 2032 for fleets to be] at least70 percent [functional. In the Royal Canadian Navy the 2032 target is] at  least 60 percent. For the navy, while awaiting a] future fleet [of new destroyers, the first vessels are scheduled for completion in] early 2030."

"The degradation in materiel readiness of the aging platforms within the existing fleet will present a significant challenge to maintaining ... operational readiness."

"There are insufficient trainers, equipment, training facilities and other supports to meet training targets effectively."

"In an increasingly dangerous world, where demand for the CAF is increasing, our readiness is decreasing."

Department of National Defence internal report 

Members of the Canadian Army Royal 22nd Regiment from Valcartier, Que. take part in an exercise in Metchosin, B.C.  An internal Department of Defence document says just over half of the Canadian Armed Forces is in a state to respond to a crisis call from NATO allies. (Chad Hipolito/The Canadian Press)

At the very time when the current federal government in Canada plans to triple defence spending, given NATO's latest demands of its member nations in operational military readiness as a group facing a hostile new world order, the Canadian military is revealing that the organization is overwhelmed and dysfunctional to the extent that it will not be capable of meeting even current duties for at least another seven years. 

A year ago the Department of National Defence estimated it would have 90 percent of its forces by March 31, 2025, "ready for operations in accordance with established targets". That was then, this is now, when a new internal report estimates the forces will be incapable of meeting the benchmark until the more "realistic and achievable" date of 2032.The delay is partially caused by a sudden influx of new defence spending. The report points out it will take time to manage the "significant improvements" finally on order by Ottawa.

The Defence Department details in its report the burden it is under as a result of shortages in personnel, degraded equipment, and a chronic inability to obtain new kit. Equipment shortages are the most apparent issue with over half of the aircraft, ships and army vehicles effectively out of commission in the military. Annual statistics on what percentage of the Canadian Armed Forces' various vehicle fleets are considered to meet "training, readiness and operational requirements" are maintained. 

The statistics reflect that in the navy, air force and army, the figures are all at historic lows of 45.75 percent. 48.9 percent and 49 percent operational respectively.  For the time being, the navy remains largely dependent on a fleet of aging frigates described as "rapidly becoming combat inefficient." The dismal picture of operationality highlighted for the Canadian Military comes at a time when funding and recruitment -- two of its most chronic shortcomings -- have recently seen some relief.

Leaked internal documents obtained by CBC News paint an alarming picture of Canada's military readiness, including warnings about personnel challenges and 'unserviceable' equipment. CBCNews

Spending for the military was recently promised at two percent of GDP, a previously-stated NATO goal for all of its members, only to be overtaken by the new NATO military spending guidelines at five percent of GDP, which the current Liberal government has agreed to. The Canadian military will receive $62.7 billion, rather than the previous budgeted support of $53.4 billion. 

The Canadian Armed Forces announced earlier this year it was on track to meet its 2025 recruitment goal of 6,490 new members to be enrolled following three consecutive years of losing more members than were being gained by the military. Early results, however, indicate that new recruits have overwhelmed the capacity of the military to handle them. Up to one-tenth of new recruits, it was revealed months earlier, were leaving after waiting up to 200 days for training to commence.

The new departmental report notes as well that the Department of National Defence is stretched by both a demand to "address deteriorating global security", while yet increasingly being deployed for domestic disaster relief. The Canadian Armed Forces saw itself deployed to perform relief for a natural disaster just once, in 2010. By contrast, in 2023, they were called on no fewer than eight times to perform natural disaster-outcome relief. Making it clear that their role to respond to such emergencies rendered it incapable of responding, due to low manpower, to fulfill their international and national military assigned tasks. 

"It means that Canada's falling further down the rank of allies. It means that the gap is growing between our international commitments and our capacity."

"It impacts our credibility at NATO for sure, but it impacts our security interests, too. It's in our security interest to be a credible contributor to NATO." 

"[The presentation] should set off alarm bells."

Kerry Buck, career diplomat, Canada's former ambassador to NATO

 

A Canadian soldier fires his machine gun during NATO Exercise Steele Crescendo, which took place outside of Riga, Latvia, in 2020. (NATO)

 

Russian Sabotage Against NATO Nations

"...We knew what they were doing."

"Some of it was espionage, where they are charting a lot things. Some of it, I think, was positioning in case of a war or a deep crisis."

Stale Ulriksen, researcher, Royal Norwegian Naval Academy

The Estlink 2 power cable in the Gulf of Finland was ruptured in suspected Russian interference

 

Drones began appearing over oil rigs and wind farms off Norway's coast some three years ago, and the puzzle to officials was where they came from although they were suspected of having been launched from ships in the North Sea by Russia. Ships close by underwater energy pipelines. But action could not be taken, since they were flying over international waters. Drones were seen as well over military bases in Britain and Germany over areas where U.S. forces are stationed.

According to military analysts, the drones may have been on a surveillance mission sponsored by a state; their presence a hybrid (gray zone) attack. This represents a new range of tactics -- military, cuber, economic, psychological -- utilized in covertly attacking or destabilizing an enemy. Hybrid attacks on Western countries are being increasingly brazen as hostile states such as Russia, Iran and others plan these dangerously unsettling attacks. The challenge for the West is how to react without setting off an infinitely more dangerous response?

 

Finnish authorities announced on January 8, 2025 that they had banned the oil tanker Eagle S, suspected of belonging to the Russian 'ghost fleet' and of having caused damage to five submarine cables, from sailing due to 'serious faults'

 

This past July three packages exploded in Europe, postmarked from Lithuania, parcels containing electric massage machines containing highly flammable magnesium-based substances, an event that was potentially deadly as a hybrid attack. Two such packages exploded in DHL cargo facilities in Britain and Germany, a third in a Polish courier firm. Investigators felt the packages represented a test by Russian military intelligence in planting explosives on cargo planes bound for the United States and Canada.

Hybrid attacks have been deployed, it is believed, by Russia through covert sabotage against NATO allies dating from the Kremlin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. American and NATO intelligence agencies discovered a Russian plot to murder the chief executive of Rheinmetall, a German weapons giant, which manufactures arms and ammunition for Ukraine.

Drones appeared in Germany over Ramstein Air Base, one of the largest U.S. military posts in Europe; others seen near facilities owned by Rheinmetall. All of which Russia has time and again denied any involvement in. "Failing to act (by NATO members by imposing a unified range of measures) will mean the Kremlin retains the strategic advantage", warned former British intelligence strategist Charlie Edwards.

In the Baltic Sea, the crew of the Estonian mine hunter EML Sakala kept a careful watch on vessels slowing down or suddenly changing course suspiciously, just west of Russia. With the use of binoculars and long zoom lens cameras, they log names of ships, searching them out for missing anchors or trailing cables About 200 vessels were so scoured in a week at sea by the Estonian crew.

 

Finnish authorities said on December 26 that they were investigating a Russian oil tanker, named Eagle S, that sailed from a Russian port over suspected 'sabotage'

 

One of three Estonian navy ships, in marine patrols by NATO countries in the wake of the Estlink-2 power cable and communication links between Finland and Estonia damaged on December 25. Two other undersea data cables were also damaged a month before and suspicion fell on Russia, although nothing has been proven and once again the Kremlin denied involvement. The infrastructure provides power and communication for thousands of Europeans.

In the wake of the December 25 incident, the Eagle S, an oil tanker had left a Russian port, when Finnish police and border guards seized the tanker as it fell under suspicion of cutting the Estlink 2 power and four telecommunications cables by dragging its anchor. Carrying 35,000 tons of oil, investigators charged the ship left a drag trail with its anchor for close to 100 kilometres on the sea bed before it was apprehended and escorted to a Finnish port.

At a depth of 90 metres at its deepest point, the cable is some 145 kilometres in length, stretching across one of the busiest shipping lanes in Europe. Ten Baltic Sea cables have suffered damage since 2023. Undersea cables and pipelines criss-crossing the sea, link Nordic, Baltic and central European countries. They promote trade, energy security and serve to reduce dependence on energy resources from Russia.

The patrol ship Turva located an anchor that is suspected to be related to the cable damage that occurred on December 25.    Finnish Police

Anti-Israel, Pro-Hamas Montreal Mobs

"What we saw was not peaceful protest. What we saw was actually violence, hate and antisemitism, and this has no place on our streets."

"Of course we believe in the freedom of speech, we believe in the freedom to demonstrate, but where we draw the line is when there's violence."

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly

 

"It was engagement in violence and hatred on display in the City of Montreal."

"Those behaviours are unacceptable and we can condemn them, and in particular the hatred and antisemitism that was on display, in the strongest possible terms."

Defence Minister Bill Blair 

A protester holds a smoke torch during demonstration by the Collectif Désinvestir pour la Palestine and the Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes (CLAC) in Montreal Friday Nov. 22, 2024. The demonstration was in support of Palestine and in opposition to the meeting of NATO parliamentarians in Montreal. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

A violent crowd of hundreds of pro-Hamas demonstrators rioted in Montreal after a day of province-wide university student demonstrations when thousands took to the streets to demand that Quebec universities divest from investments with firms having connections in any form to Israel. A day later, on Friday a coalition of leftist anti-capitalists and 'pro-Palestinian' groups marched in front of the Palais de Congres de Montreal where some 300 delegates representing NATO member states were attending a high-level summit from November 22 to 25 with a focus on Ukraine, climate change, and the future of the alliance.

At the time of the meeting and the chaotic protest Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Toronto, attending the penultimate night's performance of popular celebrity singer Taylor Swift, with his family. He was right royally entertained and did some entertaining of his own, dancing clownishly to the music of the entertainer's sad songs of yearning and regret, disappointment and recovery. Very apt, in that Canadians are yearning to be rid of this quasi-adult foppishly displaying himself while enacting policies whose virtues are the destruction of Canadian values. 

Regret and disappointment are ours; we await recovery in the wake of his electoral defeat.

Demonstrators fill Ste-Catherine St. during Friday’s protest. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

In downtown Montreal havoc reigned on Friday night when protesters exercised their freedom to demonstrate against what they characterized as the "complicity" of NATO member countries in a conflict they claim has cost thousands of Palestinian lives. Their black-and-white portrayal of a nation of Jews fighting back against the terror that has threatened the Jewish State for all its years of existence when it could no longer seek to appease the claims of victimization of challengers for Judaic ancestral territory expressed in the murderous rage of savagely lethal atrocities, forcing it to retaliate and root out its violent tormentors. 

Police found themselves confronted by a raging mob resisting efforts to restore calm and security to the area by a mob fully invested in its anarchic goal of total disruption of civilizational mores. The 'demonstration' of utter lawlessness began in the late afternoon, when violence accelerated and cars were incinerated, smoke bombs thrown and metal barriers tossed into the street. Thugs began smashing the convention centre windows and went on to do the same to windows of nearby businesses.

Riot police line the sidewalk on St-Laurent Blvd. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

 Police stated the arrest of a 22-year-pold woman for having obsrtucted police work and assaulting a police officer. Two men, 22 and 28 were arrested for obstructing police actions, all released, to appear at a later date in court. Police also announced that the technique of facial recognition despite most of the malefactors wearing masks to conceal their identities, would be employed and they have expectations that the identities of the major disrupters and dispensers of violence would be achieved, and further charges brought.

The groups Divest for Palestine and the Convergence of Anti-Capitalist Struggles were identified as the organizers of the protests. Members of Divest for Palestine claimed injuries caused by police physical handling of the protesters, four of them, they claimed, having to be taken to hospital for medical attention. Doubtless, the Jewish General Hospital medical staff would do their utmost to honour their medical calling of service to all regardless of who, what, when and where.

According to one Benoit Allard of Divest for Palestine, the protest purpose was demonstrating against NATO'S "complicity with Israel's military while it's conducting its genocide in Gaza ... war crimes in Lebanon, Syria" and "It's enforcing illegal occupation of Palestinian territories". These are people immune to both reality, reason and history. Their minds set in the ironclad conviction that any situation involving Jewish human rights of survival and resistance are illegal and represent criminal offences.

 

Still from video of an anti-NATO/pro-Palestine protest Friday night shows windows being smashed at the Montreal Convention Centre as a flare releases red smoke. NATO delegates are in the city this weekend to discuss support for Ukraine, climate change and the future of the alliance.

 

The statements by Melanie Joly and Bill Blair fail to hold up to scrutiny, given the fact that the Liberal government that they represent has engaged in its own brand of antisemitism, leaving the Canadian Jewish community to fend for itself when fulminating bands of pro-Hamas defenders of anti-Israel accusations march into Jewish neighbourhoods for the express purpose of intimidation and threats against their security, with demands for a 'Final Solution', and chanting 'From the River to the Sea', code for the elimination of Israel.

A frame grab from video shows a pro-Palestinian protest in downtown Montreal on Friday that police said led to three arrests.  Scopal via Reuters