Illia Kabachynskyi

For 40 consecutive days, Ukraine waged one of its largest long-range strike campaigns since the start of the full-scale invasion. Thousands of drones and missiles targeted Russian air bases, oil refineries, military industries, and logistics hubs in an effort to raise the cost of the war and pressure the Kremlin toward negotiations. By the end of the campaign, more than 100 strategic facilities had reportedly been struck—including every one of Russia’s 11 largest oil refineries.

Russian missiles that hit a grain ship near Odesa did not stop at Ukraine’s coastline. Their impact will be felt thousands of kilometers away, as seen in bread prices in Egypt and the availability of flour in Somalia.

Putin has now signed six decrees expanding Russia’s Armed Forces since launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin’s continued expansion sends a clear message: Russia is not seeking de-escalation but is building its military to sustain and potentially widen it.

For years, the Moscow Exchange was the Kremlin’s best argument that sanctions had failed. Now it is becoming the strongest evidence that Russia’s wartime economy is beginning to fail. 

When the PURL program was launched in 2025, it promised to solve one of Ukraine’s most urgent military problems: getting Patriot interceptor missiles faster. One year later, the program is successfully helping Ukraine defend its skies against Russian ballistic missiles. 

Battle-tested General Mykhailo Drapatyi has been appointed Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, succeeding Oleksandr Syrskyi, who had led the military since February 2024. Following a series of consultations with senior military officials, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy nominated Drapatyi for the position.