Notes and Essays -- John Brown

Opinion Western troops could help defend Ukraine in a future war without bringing it into the alliance. A German soldier during a military exercise near Paluknys, Lithuania on on Oct. 28 (Sean Gallup/Getty Images) November 9, 2026 at 7:30 a.m.  EST The Washington Post By Lise Howard and Michael O'Hanlon Lise Howard is a professor of political science at Georgetown University. Michael O’Hanlon holds the Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy at the Brookings Institution.   As Ukraine, Russia and the United States get ready for another round of negotiations in Abu Dhabi this week, Russia continues to pummel Ukrainian infrastructure, threatening to plunge its civilian population into darkness and cold, while Ukraine is realizing limited gains on the battlefield and continuing to hit refineries deep inside Russia. Although a limited ceasefire could emerge from the talks, a war-ending breakthrough seems unlikely. President Donald Trump is shifting his focus to foreign poli...

 VIA QUORA Roland Bartetzko · Follow Logistics in Ukraine (2022–present) 15h How long exactly can Russia sustain its monthly 30-50 thousand monthly casualties in Ukraine? Until next spring. Russia is currently applying maximum pressure on Ukraine, not only through ground combat operations but also through an ongoing campaign of missile and drone strikes. In the long run, these operations aren't sustainable. Russia has more manpower than Ukraine, but its reserves aren't infinite. I don't think Russia can maintain its current rate of losses in personnel and equipment for longer than a few months. Its plan is probably to secure a favourable position ahead of upcoming negotiations. Taking a drone detector with you when leaving the house has become a reality for volunteers living in frontline cities. (Picture by the author of this post) Moscow is also trying to destroy Ukraine's energy infrastructure to make life in Ukrainian cities impossible. A new wave of refugees headin...

A Soldier Cut Off His Own Foot to Survive. Then Came a Daring Drone Rescue. Pvt. Vlasenko was alone and injured on Ukraine’s front line—a human trapped in a robot war. Saving him would require a totally new solution By James Marson and Nikita Nikolaienko The Wall Street Journal Photography by Emanuele Satolli for WSJ Nov. 5, 2026 9:00 pm ET Quick Summary -- To save Pvt. Kostyantyn Vlasenko , Ukraine attempted what it said was the first aerial drone evacuation. -- Vlasenko survived for months in a ruined school boiler room near Kupyansk, using a radio to report Russian troop movements to his unit -- For Vlasenko, a safe withdrawal was made even more improbable by the fact that he was missing not only part of his right leg, but his left foot. *** JB: This article, as far as I could tell. is an ode to the courage of a Ukrainian military officer that includes information about the situation in his tragic part of the world, which I have only partially underlined given its length . LVIV, ...