Notes and Essays -- John Brown

International More Ukrainians want talks to end war with Russia: Gallup  A rescue worker looks on at a fire of a burning electrical substation hit by a Russian bombing in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) by   Filip Timotija , The Hill   - 11/19/24 9:57 AM ET More than half of Ukrainians want talks to end the war with Russia, according to Gallup polls released Tuesday, the war’s 1,000th day.  The surveys, conducted in August and October, found that 52 percent of Ukrainians want their nation to negotiate an end to the war in Eastern Europe that has been raging for more than 2 1/2 years. About 38 percent of Ukrainians want their military to keep fighting until it wins the war. Some 9 percent did not know or refused to share their opinion on the matter.  The outlook of the Ukrainians is different from the period when the invasion began in February 2022. Just months after Russia’s invasion kicked off, around 73 percent of Ukrainians wanted

The announcement came a day after Ukraine used U.S.-supplied missiles to strike inside Russia, raising fears of retaliation against the capital.  By  David L. Stern The Washington Post , Updated  November 20, 2024 at 9:32 a.m. EST | Published  November 20, 2024 at 6:54 a.m. EST; article contains a video. KYIV — American officials warned Wednesday of a “potential significant air attack” on Kyiv and said the U.S. Embassy in the capital would be closed “out of an abundance of caution” after Ukrainian forces struck an arms depot inside Russia with U.S.-supplied weapons systems.   “Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” a statement on the embassy website said. “The U.S. Embassy recommends U.S. citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.” The Italian, Greek and Spanish embassies in Kyiv would also be closed temporarily, statements on their websites and media reports said. The Italian Embassy warned of a “possible high-intensity ai

Army chooses Red Cat’s Teal Drones to provide thousands of reconnaissance aircraft By Heather Somerville and Brett Forrest,  The Wall Street Journal , Updated Nov. 20, 2024  10:08 am ET    Teal Drones said its portable drones would be provided to Army infantry platoons to expand their reconnaissance abilities.    Photo:  Heather Somerville/WSJ The U.S. Army is bypassing some of venture capital’s best-funded drone makers to buy technology from a little-known Utah manufacturer.  Salt Lake City-based Teal Drones has been selected as the winner of a military program to provide thousands of small surveillance drones, according to a regulatory filing and an Army document viewed by The Wall Street Journal. The program will arm U.S. soldiers with backpack-size drones similar to what the Ukrainians have deployed in vast numbers in the war with Russia. The Army has said it needs around 11,700 drones for its Short Range Reconnaissance program, its largest effort yet to acquire small surveillance

The decision is the latest in a series of moves by the U.S. and Russia that have escalated tensions between the two.   A Ukrainian soldier outside Toretsk, in October. The Biden administration has approved supplying Ukraine with anti-personnel mines to bolster defenses against Russia’s increasing reliance on foot soldiers to lead their assaults. Credit... Tyler Hicks/The New York Times By  Andrew E. Kramer  and  Helene Cooper The New York Times , Nov. 20, 2024,  9:23 a.m. ET  The Biden administration has approved supplying Ukraine with American anti-personnel mines to bolster defenses against Russian attacks as Ukrainian front lines in the country’s east have buckled, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday. The decision is the latest in a series of moves by Russia and the United States related to the war in Ukraine that have escalated tensions between the two. The White House recently granted permission to Ukraine to fire longer-range American missiles at targets in Russia,

Three-star general Kim Yong Bok lacked a public persona until Pyongyang made him the proxy decision maker for its roughly 11,000 troops in Russia Col. Gen. Kim Yong Bok and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a visit to a special forces base in September.   PHOTO:  KCNA/REUTERS By  Dasl Yoo , The Wall Street Journal Updated Nov. 20, 2024 12:10 am ET  SEOUL—In a country that fetes its military elites like celebrities, Col. Gen. Kim Yong Bok was rarely seen—or even mentioned—in public. His role leading North Korea’s special forces required him to keep a low profile to conceal his identity. But now he is a very public figure.   He is the top North Korean military official in Russia, where more than  11,000 North Korean soldiers  have been deployed to aid Moscow’s efforts to  dislodge Ukrainian troops  who have seized a chunk of Russian territory. Kyiv and Seoul officials have confirmed his presence in Russia. In recent days, President Biden gave the green light for Ukraine  to use U.