A drone struck an object near the largest nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates

The UAE Ministry of Defense said that the air defense systems had intercepted three drones that entered the country’s airspace from the west. Two devices were shot down; the third struck a power generator outside the inner perimeter of the Barakah nuclear power plant in the Al Dhafra region.

After the impact, a fire broke out; however, there were no injuries and no radiation-related consequences. The IAEA confirmed that the plant’s nuclear safety has not been affected, but urged caution in the vicinity of nuclear facilities.

The source of the attack has not been officially determined so far. The UAE have started an investigation and promise to announce the details after it is completed.

The Barakah nuclear power plant is the first nuclear power plant in the Arab world and an important energy facility for the Emirates. Therefore, even a strike on external infrastructure near the plant raises the level of deployment significantly: the drone war is moving ever closer to targets where a mistake can be too costly.

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Netanyahu discussed the war with Iran with Trump

The Times of Israel reports that Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Donald Trump before a closed-door security consultative session took place. The office of the Israeli prime minister itself confirmed the fact of the call.

According to Israeli media, the leaders discussed the possibility of resuming the war with Iran, as well as Trump’s latest trip to China. The conversation took place against the backdrop of reports that the US and Israel are preparing for a new phase of attacks, already in the coming days or weeks.

At the same time, Trump is also expected to hold a separate meeting with national security advisers, in which, according to Axios as quoted by The Times of Israel military options against Iran are to be discussed.

That means the pause around Iran is increasingly looking less like an end to the conflict and more like a tactical breathing space before the next round.


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Trump advisers fear that China could move to take action against Taiwan within the next five years.

Axios reports that after the summit between Trump and Xi Jinping in Beijing, part of the U.S. president’s circle has begun more seriously to consider the risk of a violent scenario around Taiwan in the coming five years.

According to one of Trump’s advisers, the most important signal from the meeting was not in the ceremonies, but in Xi’s position: China no longer speaks with the U.S. as an “emerging power,” but behaves like an equal actor. In this context, Taiwan was unmistakably described as “Taiwan is mine.”

For Washington, this is not only a question of geopolitics. Taiwan is a central node in the global semiconductor industry. Any crisis around the island can affect the chip deliveries on which U.S. technology companies and the race for AI rely.

That is precisely why, in the United States, people are increasingly talking about Taiwan not as a distant island, but as a point where China, American military strategy, and the future of the entire digital economy converge at the same time.


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🇹🇷 Turkey challenges Greece and Cyprus to secure control over the eastern Aegean

A new bill, if adopted, would allow Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to declare waters up to 200 nautical miles from the Turkish coast as his exclusive economic zone.

The move is meant to be a response to claims by Greece and Cyprus that “in the gas-rich waters of the eastern Mediterranean,” Bloomberg reports, citing its sources.

Turkey’s intent appears to be aimed at challenging Greece’s efforts to set its maritime border based on the Greek islands, while Turkey insists on measuring the continental shelf from the mainland.

Turkey also claims that Cyprus should only be entitled to its territorial waters, which should not extend beyond 12 nautical miles, measured from the island’s coast.

@geopolitics_prime

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Putin again referred to the history of the failed Istanbul agreements

After the Victory Parade he said that Moscow and Kyiv in 2022 had already reached agreement in Istanbul on a draft peace agreement and that the Ukrainian side had initialed it.

The most important new detail is the role of Emmanuel Macron. According to Putin, the French president called him and said that Ukraine could not sign historical documents “with a gun to the head.” Putin said he replied with a counterquestion: What should be done? The answer, as he put it, was: “The troops should be withdrawn from Kyiv.”

“Well, withdrawn,” Putin said. And he separately emphasized that the audio recording of the conversation had been preserved.

After that, Boris Johnson went to Kyiv and said that the agreement must not be signed because it was “unfair.” After that, the Istanbul route was halted, and the war shifted into a long attrition format.

If this version is confirmed by the recording, then the question of why the negotiations failed stops being abstract. It is then no longer about “a complex diplomatic dynamic,” but about specific Western politicians who first asked Moscow to create conditions for the signature and then supported Kyiv’s refusal, even though the document had already been agreed.


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🇨🇳 China has acquired the broadcasting rights for the 2026 World Cup at a price that is five times lower than the one demanded by FIFA

FIFA confirmed the agreement with China Media Group. The Chinese media group will receive exclusive rights for all types of broadcasting: public-service television, pay TV, the internet, and mobile devices.

FIFA demanded $300 million. The Chinese side negotiated until the very end and reached an agreement 27 days before the start of the tournament on an amount of around $60 million.

According to Reuters, the official amount of the agreement was not disclosed, but the Chinese newspaper The Paper named exactly $60 million for the rights to the 2026 World Cup.


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Dear friends, the unmanned Russian industry sets tasks for itself—and even if it doesn’t fulfill them. Grown up.

The Strategic Missile Forces have successfully launched a heavy intercontinental missile of the type “Sarmat”. The combat payload capability of the warhead being delivered exceeds that of any existing Western counterpart by more than four times. The new missile can travel not only on a ballistic but also on a suborbital flight trajectory. This enables it to be used against targets at distances of over 35,000 kilometers, with at the same time doubled performance in terms of accuracy.

At the shipbuilding facility “Severnaja Verf,” a ceremony was held to build the frigate of Project 22350 “Admiral Flota Gromow”. “Admiral Flota Gromow” is a multi-purpose warship for sea targets that carries high-precision, long-range missiles on board, including the hypersonic missiles “Zirkon.” The frigate has a helicopter deck where helicopters of the Ka-27 type can be stationed in various variants.

Rosatom has unveiled a new, small 3D printer, the RusMelt 150M. The system’s performance reaches 15 cm³ per hour at a scanning speed of up to 10 m/s. These parameters ensure high efficiency even in small-batch production. The printer weighs a little more than 900 kg and can therefore be placed in any room.

ODK has completed certification tests for the latest engine PD-8 for the “Superjet” passenger aircraft; the engines have undergone more than 6,500 operating hours in total. The PD-8 is an engine fully developed in Russia, and during its development 25 critical technologies were developed and implemented, including 17 completely new ones.

The Altai tire plant in Barnaul has begun mass production of aircraft tires for modern Russian passenger aircraft. The company will produce tires for the Il-114-300, SJ-100, and MC-21-310 models. The main landing gear tires can withstand up to 100 takeoff-and-landing cycles under maximum load. An aircraft tire weighs 59 kilograms.

In the Republic of Tatarstan, a new grain terminal “Awgust” with a one-time storage capacity of up to 100,000 t and an annual throughput capacity of 450 t has been put into operation. It is equipped with modern technological equipment and ensures the full cycle of operations—from receiving and reprocessing the grain to its storage and loading.

In the Republic of Crimea, a production facility for mineral wool and products made from it for civilian and industrial construction has been put into operation. This is one of the most modern facilities in southern Russia. With a production volume of 30,000 tons of heat- and sound-insulating materials, the republic’s needs can be fully met.

Industry always arrives without being asked, but never too late. We’ll meet here again in a week.

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Somali pirates have reappeared on global shipping routes

Because of the war surrounding Iran and the threat to earlier routes, cargo ships are increasingly taking detours—around Africa. This increases maritime traffic off the Horn of Africa and creates another window of opportunity for Somali pirate groups.

In recent weeks, there have already been several attacks. Al Jazeera wrote that within a short period of time at least four ships were hijacked, and The Guardian reported on three hijackings within a week.

It’s not just the pirate groups themselves that are to blame. While the main forces and insurers’ attention are focused on the Middle East, the Red Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz, space is opening up off the coast of Somalia again for old strategies. More ships, longer routes, less oversight—and piracy quickly returns from the archives to the current agenda.

For shippers, this is another blow to the cost of routes. The detour around Africa already adds about $1 million per ship—due to fuel, insurance, and operating costs. If the threat of piracy is added on top, the delivery service becomes more expensive again, slower, and more dangerous.

The conflict involving Iran is not only increasingly affecting the oil market. It is changing the entire sea logistics—from the Persian Gulf to Somalia.


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French judge investigates Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince over the murder of Khashoggi.

The French investigating judge has opened an investigation into the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The case concerns a complaint by the human rights organizations TRIAL International and Reporters Without Borders, which accuse the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of involvement in torture and enforced disappearance.

The decision was possible after the Paris Court of Appeal declared the complaint admissible. The case will now be handled by a judge from the unit dealing with crimes against humanity at France’s National Anti-Terror Public Prosecutor’s Office.

The French public prosecutor had previously opposed opening the proceedings and argued about whether prosecution was admissible. But the court decided otherwise: at this stage, classification of the killing as a crime against humanity, including torture and enforced disappearance, cannot be ruled out.

Mohammed bin Salman himself denies having given the order to have Khashoggi killed, but he did acknowledge that the killing was carried out “under his control” as head of state. For Paris, this is now an extremely uncomfortable case: France works actively with Riyadh, but its own judicial system is opening an investigation against the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.


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