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Ukraine drone strikes deep inside Russia
In this episode of Europe in :60, Carl Bildt provides an update on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Bildt highlights Ukraine’s recent drone strikes on Russian bomber bases that was “beyond what you see in James Bond movies.” The bold Ukrainian operation comes amid a shifting geopolitical landscape that may be encouraging Russia to double down. Bildt notes that Russia’s maximalist demands and Trump’s apparent withdrawal of pressure on Putin have emboldened Moscow to continue military operations. Bildt warns, “we are facing further tragic months of war in the East of Europe."
Leading Republican senators during their weekly briefing in the US Capitol in Washington, D.C., USA, on May 20, 2025.
What We’re Watching: “Big Beautiful” bill heads for the Senate, UK gives up Chagos Islands, Taiwan pivots to drones
House passes Trump’s tax agenda, but senators will now have their say
By a margin of just one vote, the US House early on Thursday passed a budget bill containing President Donald Trump’s tax agenda, which centers on making his 2017 tax cuts permanent. Some last-minute changes to the bill helped to get it over the line: House Republicans increased the SALT-cap to $40,000 and accelerated the introduction of work requirements for Medicaid. But can the GOP get the bill through the US Senate? Lawmakers in the upper chamber are already plotting changes to the legislation...
You can Chagos your own way: UK hands islands back to Mauritius, leases back base
More than two centuries after taking the Chagos Islands from France, the United Kingdom relinquished the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, but will continue to lease a US-UK military base there, on the island of Diego Garcia, for another 99 years. The UK says the deal, which creates a 24-mile buffer zone around the base, is meant to ensure its long-term security amid growing Chinese aggression in the area. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the deal.
Taiwan adds new drone units as part of shifting military strategy
Ever wary of a potential Chinese invasion, Taiwan announced that it will introduce its first-ever drone units this year. The move is part of Taipei’s evolving strategy of effectively deterring Beijing rather than preparing for a direct fight. “Overall, the cross-strait military balance still tilts toward China’s favor, since China spends a lot more on defense,” says Eurasia Group regional expert Ava Shen. “So it’s more pragmatic for Taiwan to be a ‘porcupine,’ so to speak.”North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises the test of suicide drones with artificial intelligence at an unknown location, in this photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 27, 2025.
North Korea preps new kamikaze drones
This development, which broke late last week, follows trends in militarization around the world, particularly in the United States and China. We’re already seeing them on the battlefield in the war between Ukraine and Russia. AI-powered drones are handling 80% of strikes, according to our recent interview with former Ukrainian defense advisor Kateryna Bondar, now with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. However, she stressed that humans are still needed in the loop and that we’re a long way away from “killer robots.”
North Korea has traditionally lagged behind the major superpowers on military development, but AI presents another opportunity to level the playing field if it can get access to the right technology and materials.
Hard Numbers: US and Mexico reach water deal, Russia and Ukraine smash drone records, US students look abroad after Trump win, Indonesia’s new president walks non-aligned line, Haiti's interim leader fired
18: After 18 months of talks, the US and Mexico announced on Saturday that they have reached a new water-sharing agreement. The accord revises and makes more flexible a decades-old pact under which Mexico provides water from the Rio Grande to the US Southwest in exchange for water from the Colorado River. The breakthrough comes amid growing concerns about water scarcity on both sides of the border. (For more on the complicated (geo)politics of the Colorado River, see our report here).
84 and 145: Russia and Ukraine each launched their largest drone attacks ever against the other side this weekend. Moscow said it intercepted at least 84 Ukrainian drones, at least 34 of which were aimed at the capital city itself, while Kyiv said Russia had launched at least 145 unmanned craft of its own. Both sides said they shot down the majority of the other’s drones. The barrages come as both sides try to game out the impact of Trump 2.0, with the president-elect having pledged to end the war in “24 hours” when he returns to office.
500: The number of US students seeking to study abroad has spiked in the days since Donald Trump won the presidential election. A leading provider of information on foreign education opportunities reported that average inquiries jumped nearly 500% to 11,000 a day since last Tuesday night. College students were one of the few demographics that overwhelmingly supported Kamala Harris, with polls showing more than 70% favoring the vice president.
10 billion: Indonesia’s new president hailed cooperation with China, signing $10 billion in new business and security deals with the country at a forum in Beijing on Sunday. Prabowo Subianto, a former army general and businessman who took office last month, has praised China’s emergence as a “civilizational power” but also said Indonesia would remain “non-aligned.” His first trip abroad as president will take him from Beijing to Washington, DC, and then to South America and the UK.
6: Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Garry Conillewas fired on Sunday after just six months on the job. The country’s transitional council, established to restore democratic order amid increasing gang violence, signed a decree to dismiss Conille, replacing him with businessman Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, the former president of Haiti’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The decree is set to be published on Monday.
An FPV drone with an attached portable grenade launcher is seen during a test flight conducted by Ukrainian servicemen of the 'Bulava' Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Unit of the Separate Presidential Brigade at their position near a frontline, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on Oct. 11, 2024.
Ukraine deploys AI-powered drones against Russia
Instead, these new drones use software from the Ukrainian company NORDA Dynamics, which uses computer vision — a type of artificial intelligence technology — to direct the drones to their targets. An unnamed Ukrainian official told Reuters this summer that the hit rates of manually controlled drones had fallen to 30–50%, and predicted at the time that the new drones could achieve 80% hit rates if successful.
Russia and Ukraine are racing toward automating their militaries — and sometimes that means drones vs. drones. For instance, the Ukrainian military is using drones to take down Russian camera reconnaissance drones that help Russian forces identify targets on the ground in Ukraine. The Washington Post has also reported that Russian drones have indiscriminately targeted civilians in the Ukrainian city of Kherson. It’s unclear whether Ukraine’s new drones can down these exact drones yet, but it’s clear that the two warring countries are already engaged in a drone-on-drone war.
The future of modern warfare
Technology in Ukraine is transforming the battlefield in real time. How will it change the US national security strategy? And could what's happening in Ukraine shift China’s President Xi Jinping’s future plans in Taiwan? Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Admiral James Stravridis joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to talk about how technology is creating a “new triad” of warfare, i.e., unmanned systems, cyber and artificial intelligence, and special forces.
Modern conflict no longer requires huge standing armies to fight effectively; just look at Ukraine’s success in the Black Sea. Smaller militaries are increasingly using drones, satellites, and unmanned systems against larger armies. Stavridis says Taiwan is a “resistance fighter’s dream” because of its geography and resources. Plus, it manufactures about half of the world’s computer chips, which China relies on for its technology infrastructure. But Stavridis also warns the same technology is empowering malefactors and terrorist groups, creating dangerous asymmetrical warfare.
“The US will continue to be the preeminent nation at projecting power. China will make a play to do it. Russia, the lights are going to go out,” the Admiral says, “But it’s acts of terrorism and the ability to use weapons of mass disruption, that’s what you need to worry about.”
For more on technology and the transformation of war, check out Admiral Stavridis’ book "2054: A Novel". His newest book, "The Restless Wave", a historical novel about the rise of new technology in the Pacific during WWII, is out October 8.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don''t miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔).
A local resident reacts next to a residential building damaged by a Russian missile strike in the village of Novohupalivka, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 26, 2024.
Russia hammers Ukraine with massive airstrike
Ukrainians endured a brutal barrage of drone and missile strikes targeting Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine on Monday. The attacks killed at least three people, wounded at least 13, and cut off electricity in parts of the country. One of those killed, Ryan Evans, was a 38-year-old British veteran security adviser working with Reuters, and two other members of the team had to be hospitalized, one with serious injuries.
Sadly, Ukrainians are accustomed to waking up to air raid sirens and no electricity. Regional officials swiftly moved to open “points of invincibility,” essentially shelters that can keep people safe from the bombs and also offer a chance to charge electronics and have a snack.
The big picture: Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory near Kursk has spooked Moscow, which is struggling to push them back. Ukrainians have also launched daring drone raids deep into Russia, even targeting Moscow. Russia means to remind Ukraine it can still cause immense disruption with its long-range missiles.
And in the south, Russian forces are steadily advancing on the key town of Pokrovsk, forcing civilians to evacuate. Taking the city would secure key roads Moscow needs to secure the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a priority.Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visits an exhibit during a ceremony celebrating the achievements of the country's defense industry in Tehran on August 22, 2023.
Is Iran sending drones to Sudan?
Iranian drones are playing a game-changing role in Sudan’s civil war, with the country’s armed forces increasingly using them to spot rival forces and direct artillery fire, Reuters reports.
Sudan has reportedly acquired Iranian-made drones in recent months, but it denies obtaining “any weapons from Iran” – though flight tracking records from December and January show an Iranian cargo airline making repeated trips between Iran and an important hub for the Sudanese army.
Iran’s arms industry flexes its muscles. “Iran's involvement in Sudan is part of its broader strategy for expanding its presence in the Red Sea, building off of its success in supporting and building up the Houthis,” says Gregory Brew, an Iran expert at Eurasia Group.
“Iran also sees Sudan's embattled government as a potential ally, one that it can cultivate through arms deals and drone sales,” Brew adds, which tracks with Tehran’s broader strategy of exploiting conflicts to its advantage.
Beyond Sudan, Iranian drones have played a central role in the Ukraine war, with Russia repeatedly using them to strike civilian targets and vital energy infrastructure. “Iran has built up its arms exports bona fides through its sales to Russia, and it now sees new customers all across the globe,” says Brew.
Among other things, arms sales are also just a way for Iran to make money.