On Wednesday, August 20, a federal jury convicted Jinchao Wei (Patrick Wei), a 25-year-old machinist mate with the U.S. Navy, on six counts, including conspiracy to commit espionage, espionage, and unlawful export of, and conspiracy to export, technical data related to defense articles in violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Charges stem from August 2023, when Wei was arrested by the FBI for sending extensive details and photographs of his ship at the time, USS Essex (LHD-2), including information about weapons systems aboard the ship, to a Chinese intelligence officer on social media who was pretending to be a naval enthusiast working for a shipbuilding company in China. In exchange for the information, Wei was paid $12,000 over roughly 18 months. Wei is expected to be sentenced on December 1.

Twice this past week, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) detected and tracked an Ilyushin Il-20M “Coot-A” Special Mission Electronic Signals Intelligence Aircraft with the Russian Air Force operating within the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). During both intrusions, NORAD scrambled an E-3 “Sentry” Airborne Early-Warning and Control Aircraft, a KC-135 Aerial-Refueling Tanker and a pair of F-16 “Fighting Falcons” to intercept, visually identify, and monitor the Il-20M. The Russian military aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter the sovereign airspace of Canada or the United States.

The Israeli Defense Ministry is investigating if a ballistic missile launched last night by the Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen at Central Israel, which disintegrated during its terminal phase scattering debris and fragments across the Tel-Aviv Metropolitan Area, was equipped with a cluster munition warhead and/or a Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MIRV), similar to those used by Iran during the Twelve-Day War.

The Island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea, roughly 100 miles off the coast of Sweden with a population of around 60,000, is currently suffering from a major power outage, with a near-total energy, internet, and cell service blackout being reported across the island, cause still unknown.

NetBlocks confirms an ongoing internet outage on the Island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea.

Gotlands Energi (GEAB), the local energy distributor on the Island of Gotland reports that the power outage was caused by a “disconnect” in cables which run between the island and the Swedish Mainland, with power having been restored in Visby and beginning to be slowly restored across the rest of Gotland.

Despite reports previously that U.S. President Donald J. Trump had asked and even urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch strikes against targets in Russia, the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that the Pentagon for months has been blocking Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia, limiting Kyiv from employing a powerful weapon in its fight against Moscow.

According to the report, Elbridge Colby, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, developed a previously unannounced “review mechanism” to decide on Kyiv’s requests to fire long-range rockets and missile provided by the United States, as well as those provided to Ukraine by European allies that rely on American intelligence and components, which includes the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). The review gives Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth final say over whether Ukraine can employ the ATACMS, which have a range of nearly 190 miles, to strike military targets inside Russia.

In a Truth Social post made on Thursday, U.S. President Trump said Ukraine couldn’t defeat Russia unless it could “play offense” in the war, stating: “It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. It’s like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offensive. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia. Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND defend — Interesting times ahead!!!”

The Trump Administration last week secretly approved the sale of 3,350 Extended-Range Attack Munitions (ERAM) to Ukraine, with initial deliveries expected to begin by the end of October. The ERAM is a low-cost precision-guided air-launched stand-off missile-bomb system developed by the U.S. Air Force for Ukraine, with a range of up to 250 miles and a roughly 250lb warhead, allowing the Ukrainian Air Force to carry out strikes against important military sites in Western Russia, but only with the approval of the U.S. Defense Department.

Fires are continuing to burn and spread for a third day at the Novoshakhtinsk Oil Refinery in the Rostov Oblast of Southwestern Russia, after it was targeted earlier this week in a drone attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Overnight, several drones launched by Ukraine struck the gas and oil export terminal at the Port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad Oblast of Northwestern Russia, near the border with Estonia and on the Gulf of Finland. Several fires can be seen burning at the port, with the smoke reportedly being seen as far as the outskirts of Saint Petersburg.