EU countries are purchasing too much defense equipment from abroad, particularly from the United States.

— 63% of all EU defense orders were placed with U.S. companies between mid-2022 and mid-2023. An additional 15% of orders went to other non-EU suppliers.

— EU defense R&D spending in 2022: €10.7 billion (4.5% of total defense spending).

— U.S. defense R&D spending: $140 billion (16% of total defense spending).

The report suggests that the EU needs to:

— Increase joint procurement and development of defense equipment.
— Boost investment in European defense firms and R&D.
— Improve coordination and standardization of defense equipment across member states.
— Reduce reliance on non-EU (especially U.S.) defense suppliers.

Author of the report: Mario Draghi (former Italian prime minister and European Central Bank chief)

Iran has sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirms.

— He announced that new sanctions would be imposed, including measures against Iran Air.

— Blinken predicted that Russia would likely use these missiles "within weeks."

— Blinken announced he would visit Kyiv on Wednesday for consultations with Ukrainian leadership. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy will accompany him on this trip.

Important: Biden will discuss Ukraine's ability to strike deep into Russia with Western missiles during a meeting on Friday with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

It appears the U.S. will finally allow ATACMS strikes deep inside Russia for Ukraine, The Hill reporter reports.

No concrete decision yet.

Lucky: Ukrainian kamikaze UAV hits a high-rise building in Moscow region, filmed very closely.

Russian T-80BV tank quickly moves into a combat position, brakes sharply and fires direct fire.

But there is a nuance.

It fires shells without fuze.

Without a fuze, the shell would not explode, rendering it ineffective as a weapon.

It was all propaganda.

Putin wants to use his own jets to fly to Türkiye

— Russian President Vladimir Putin has postponed several official visits to Türkiye since last year, with officials citing multiple reasons.

— Putin has requested to fly to Türkiye with Russian fighter jet escorts, primarily due to concerns about Ukraine's capability to shoot down aircraft.

— The request for Russian fighter jets to fly into Turkish airspace is complex, as Turkey's NATO-aligned air defense systems may perceive the Russian jets as enemy targets. There are concerns about whether Türkiye would disable NATO systems to accommodate this demand.

— Russian and Turkish officials are in discussions about a potential visit in early October, but the demand for Russian fighter jet escorts makes scheduling difficult. The last time Putin visited Türkiye was in 2014.

— Former Turkish ambassadors noted that while Türkiye may send fighter jets to escort foreign heads of state, it is highly unusual for a leader to request bringing their own fighter jets.

— Putin’s security team has also raised concerns about staying in Ankara. They consider the major hotels—Hilton, Sheraton, and JW Marriott—unsafe due to their U.S. ownership.

Source: MEE

Ukrainian FPV drone equipped with RPG-18 launcher.

Taiwanese Mirage 2000 fighter jet crashed into the sea off Hsinchu on Taiwan's northwest coast during a nighttime training exercise.

The jet experienced a loss of power, prompting the pilot to eject.

The pilot was found conscious about two hours later and rescued.

Russia's monthly oil tax revenues have soared from $5 billion to $10 billion, largely due to rising oil prices leading up to its invasion of Ukraine.

This windfall is facilitated, in part, by the European Union.

Greek ship owners are daily selling oil tankers to Russia's "shadow fleet," enabling Moscow to circumvent the G7's price cap and continue exporting oil.