Bolivarian authorities restore the Phoenix–Caracas route. On Tuesday, acting on instructions from President Nicolas Maduro, the Aeronautical Authority of Venezuela granted U.S. carrier Eastern Airlines LLC permission to operate weekly flights between Phoenix, Arizona, and the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia.

The decision allows the return of flight EAL8280/8281, operated with Boeing 777-200 aircraft on Wednesdays and Fridays. In this way, the repatriation flight schedule established before the airspace closure announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on Nov. 29 has been restored.

The repatriation of Venezuelan migrants is handled by the Great Mission Return to the Homeland (GMVP), a government program that serves citizens facing vulnerable conditions in the United States.

Last week, GMVP President Camilla Fabri described Trump’s suspension of repatriation flights as a regrettable and uncooperative measure that left thousands of Venezuelans seeking to return to their country in a state of “uncertainty and insecurity.”

The announcement of the Venezuelan airspace shutdown and the reauthorization of repatriation flights come amid Washington’s heightened hostility, as the United States maintains a military presence in the Caribbean with a strike group led by the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford.

The Venezuelan government has denounced that the U.S. military deployment is not truly intended to combat international drug trafficking but to create conditions for a “regime change” in the South American country.

Despite the airspace closure rhetoric, international commercial air traffic to Venezuela has not completely stopped. Airlines such as Copa Airlines have shifted to daytime schedules with “high alert levels” but continue flying.

Russia also confirmed it would not suspend its air connections with Venezuela, a move widely interpreted as explicit political support for the Bolivarian nation. As a result, Venezuelan state airline Conviasa continues operating its regular route between St. Petersburg and Caracas.

The resumption of repatriation flights suggests the existence of active communication channels for specific issues, even as political and military confrontation escalates on other fronts. For hundreds of Venezuelan families, the decision restores a vital air bridge, although its continuity will depend on the volatile dynamics between the two countries.

So far this year, the Great Mission Return to the Homeland has repatriated 13,956 Venezuelans, who receive support from the Bolivarian government to reintegrate into life in their country of origin.

Like thousands of other military families, Erica’s family learned the hard way that the biggest threat to their health and well-being wasn’t across an ocean or a threat from a foreign enemy. It was inside their own home. The nonprofit Change the Air Foundation recently released an independently administered national survey and a 10-minute documentary, The Hidden Enemy, that puts data and real stories behind what too many in Washington continue to overlook: Military housing is still failing our families, harming their health, and threatening national security. The survey findings echo the experiences of Erica’s family and so many others stationed across the country. The survey, Unsafe and Unheard: Military Service Members and Their Families Sound Off on Dangerous Living Conditions, collected responses from more than 3,400 service members and families at 57 military installations. The results are shocking. Ninety-seven percent of families reported at least one serious housing problem. Mold, mildew, water damage, pest infestations, water contamination, and broken HVAC systems are some of the various housing issues that many military families reported experiencing. Alarmingly, half of all their requests for help go unresolved.

In Erica’s case, she watched her five children develop serious health issues like rashes, headaches, asthma, and GI issues that no doctor could explain. That was until one finally traced the problems back to mold and water damage inside their walls, ceilings, window casing, and HVAC system. They would try to clean it, but then it would return. The housing company insisted the problem was fixed, but her family’s various health symptoms told another story. The Thompson family’s experience is alarmingly common. Seventy-six percent of families surveyed said their health had been harmed by housing conditions, and nearly half said their medical providers confirmed the connection. Brain fog, migraines, fatigue, respiratory problems, even seizures and long-term diagnoses, are being reported by military families across the country. Military children are suffering most of all: rashes, eczema, asthma, chronic infections to name a few. How is this acceptable for the sons and daughters of the people sworn to protect this nation? These housing issues aren’t cosmetic problems. They completely disrupt lives, kid’s schooling, finances, and a warfighter’s ability to adequately perform their duties - in fact, forty seven percent of active duty members reported this in the recent survey. They drive families to emergency rooms and, in many cases, push service members out of the military altogether. When you’re up all night with a sick child because your home is making them ill, you cannot perform your best at work. When families feel like they’re having to choose between their health and their service, it degrades mission readiness.

Yet when military families report these problems, the system designed to help them seems to fall apart. According to the survey, 94 percent of families did everything they were supposed to do by notifying the proper authorities, submitting photos, and begging for inspections or remediation. But only seven percent made it all the way through the military’s so-called “3-Step Process.” Most of the time, families must report the same problem repeatedly before anyone responds. Even then, the housing companies often mark work orders as “resolved” without having made satisfactory repairs. Astonishingly, fifty-three percent of reported issues never got resolved at all. Some families are offered to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA) just to secure basic habitability repairs or temporary relocation, a stunning practice that would be unthinkable in civilian residential housing. Yet military families, because of federal enclave law, lack many of the protections civilian renters are afforded. And far too many of these families live with a fear of retaliation for speaking up. In fact, the survey found that more than a quarter of families feared retaliation; 10 percent experienced it. But it’s not the fault of the commanders on the ground. The dispute resolution process for housing issues at local installations rarely works well, if at all. The Hidden Enemy captures the human cost better than statistics ever could. Families from across the country share stories of medical bills, destroyed belongings, sick children, and battles with housing companies fighting for a safe and habitable living space. For years, these stories were dismissed as isolated incidents. Now, the data shows the opposite: This is a systemic crisis. And it’s been worsening since the military got out of the real estate and housing business in 1996 and let private corporations take over with little effective Congressional oversight and accountability.

A third generation of military families is now paying a terrible price for the lack of oversight, transparency and accountability of military housing that came with the Military Housing Privatization Initiative (MHPI). To date, the Congressional Research Service estimates that more than $28 billion in Defense Department funds have gone to MHPI contractors. Yet, for at least a decade, those in Washington have documented widespread failures across the MHPI program. Our military families have had enough. Earlier this year, Change the Air Foundation and volunteers met with more than 60 congressional offices. Lawmakers asked for evidence with independent data that went beyond anecdote. Military families delivered it. Now it’s time for Congress, the Pentagon, and private housing companies to finally solve these urgent problems. Some of the solutions to begin tackling this are not complicated: for starters, adopt and enforce real mold remediation standards such as the ANSI/IICRC S520; ban NDAs that silence families; create legal protections so military tenants have the same rights as civilian renters; adopt a uniform definition for Life, Health and Safety (LHS) hazards as defined in the FY 2020 NDAA; require independent inspections and documented oversight so the housing system is being assessed by data, facts and successful outcomes. Most importantly, treat military families as partners and allies, not problem makers. Our warfighters and their families are the backbone of our nation’s mission readiness and national security. Their health, their stability, and the health of their homes matter. It’s time to finally fix our nation’s ongoing military housing crisis.

The evidence is in. Families like Erica’s and too many others are speaking out. And, this time, they will not go unheard.

Seventeen minors were handed over to NYC Child Protective Services. On Monday, the Colombian government expelled nine adults from the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community Lev Tahor and handed over 17 minors to New York, following an international alert from Interpol.

Lev Tahor members remained in a migration center in Medellin for a week, while the minors were kept under supervision. They were handed over to Child Protective Services (CPS) in New York, while the adults were placed at the disposal of U.S. immigration and judicial authorities.

Colombian Migration Director Gloria Esperanza emphasized that protecting children and adolescents is “a higher responsibility” and that Colombian authorities acted rigorously, guaranteeing the minors’ rights and complying with international regulations.

Lev Tahor members arrived in Colombia in October from the U.S. and Panama, entering through Cartagena and Medellin with valid passports. Their presence went unnoticed until an Interpol yellow notice and an anonymous tip revealed custody irregularities involving five U.S. minors.

On Nov. 22, Colombian authorities located the group in Antioquia and immediately implemented protective measures. The Colombian Institute of Family Welfare’s psychosocial team concluded that several adults did not have current legal custody arrangements in the U.S.

Following the legal setbacks, Esperanza estimated that the community has over 90 members. She detailed that the group planned to rent a farm in Colombia to replicate their practices, including marriages between cousins ​​as young as 12.

The Lev Tahor sect was founded in Jerusalem in 1988, and its members practice a restrictive lifestyle, with austere clothing, arranged marriages, and a rejection of secular education. The sect has been raided in Israel, Canada, the U.S., Guatemala, and Mexico due to custody disputes and the illegal transfer of minors.

In 2024, Guatemala rescued 160 children, and three members, the Weingarten brothers, were sentenced in New York to 12 years in prison for child sex trafficking. Colombia is the fourth Latin American country where Lev Tahor has been detected.

The sect, comprised of about 50 families from various countries, has had conflicts with local authorities, such as in San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala, where they were expelled due to their rejection of the Indigenous population.

Rixi Moncada denounces media manipulation and narco-political financing behind the ongoing fraud. In an interview with teleSUR, Rixi Moncada, the candidate of the Libre Party and a member of the progressive project led by President Xiomara Castro, described in detail the technical irregularities, media manipulation and external interference in the presidential elections held in Honduras, where transnational right-wing forces are orchestrating an unprecedented fraud in recent Latin American history.

During the conversation, she told journalist Jorge Gestoso that Honduras is undergoing “an electoral coup” designed to preserve a U.S.-backed oligarchic and narco-political power structure.

GESTOSO: You said, “I reiterate my denunciation of foreign interference in the electoral process by U.S. President Donald Trump. With his interference and his pardon of Juan Orlando Hernandez, the desperate bipartisan establishment is imposing an electoral coup against me.” Is this an electoral coup?

MONCADA: This has been completely an electoral coup. An electoral coup that is underway. Three direct messages from the U.S. president, practically against me and my platform. But with an additional component: releasing former President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was sentenced by U.S. courts to 45 years in prison for trafficking more than 400 tons of cocaine to the U.S., in the middle of general elections to define a new government. It is an ongoing electoral coup.

GESTOSO: You have also said that “the elections are not yet lost,” that “the bipartisan establishment did not impose its electoral scheme,” and that there is “a trap in the vote transmission system.” You even describe it as a “sinister plan by the bipartisan system.” The question is: Didn’t you see this coming?

MONCADA: Of course we saw it coming, and it was reported. Remember that Honduras began rebuilding its institutions after the U.S.-backed coup d’etat in 2009. We have a whole history of violent coups. A president was ousted in 2009 by force of arms. There was foreign participation. And now, this electoral coup in progress. Of course we saw it coming, and it was reported at the time.

I reaffirm that I do not accept the vote-transmission system because it is a rigged and compromised. It contains internal mechanisms preventing a transparent and democratic election.

And if we add that interference—violating all international protocols, all international law, the OAS Democratic Charter, agreements signed by states to respect principles—using social media platforms to send three messages, with the U.S. president saying “Do not vote for candidate Moncada, I cannot work with her, she is a communist,” that is direct, brutal interference that harms the interests of the Honduran people.

GESTOSO: You also said, “Let us remain standing and fighting until the final count; the elections are not lost.” And from there comes the question: When all ballots have been counted, are you willing to accept the result?

MONCADA: I am always willing to respect the Honduran people’s will. But when we have a transmission system through which results from each polling station are sent, and we learn that on election night more than 3,300 presidential-level tally sheets with vote results were stuck in the system and were never published… and then a preliminary result is announced.

We also learned that thousands of tally sheets did not go through the biometric fingerprint identity-verification system. That decision was made by the bipartisan establishment inside the National Electoral Council (CNE).

So there is no doubt about these strategies in the transmission system that amount to real adulteration or a trap in counting the popular will. That is why I stand firm and continue the fight alongside the people who went to the polls to vote for me.

So, I will accept the results that appear in 100% of the tally sheets we receive through our party’s system, once they are verified against the data held by the National Electoral Council. That transmission system has no credibility at any of the three electoral levels.

GESTOSO: A relevant fact: On the night of the election, an exit poll was published placing you in first place with 37%, followed by your rival with 32%, Nasralla, and candidate Nasry Asfura with 26%. However, the first official preliminary results did not match. How did you react?

MONCADA: The impact is more than that. Throughout November, we maintained our lead in various polls. But 82 hours before the elections, Trump issued his first message: “She is a communist, do not vote for her.” And he did not come alone.

He was accompanied by millions of messages sent to Honduran phones saying, “If Rixi Moncada wins, December remittances will not arrive.” Honduras has approximately 2.5 million people who receive remittances from the United States. That is extortion, coercion, blackmail.

In my view, it is an interference mechanism being tested in Honduras to see what results it yields, especially with elections upcoming in Chile and Colombia. Never before has interference of this magnitude been seen.

So I am not only facing two candidates, I am facing the oligarchy. My proposal to democratize the economy, make everyone pay taxes, and end privileges enjoyed by a small group of powerful actors in this country—this is not only about me; bringing benefits to social sectors deeply affected especially since the coup—this is not just about the two candidates. I faced the oligarchy and interference by the U.S. establishment.

GESTOSO: You have also said that this campaign was financed by drug trafficking, referring to the bipartisan establishment.

MONCADA: Without any doubt. There is overwhelming evidence: more than 50 politicians, businesspeople and legislators from the bipartisan establishment have been convicted in the United States, including former President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

And now, in the middle of an election, Trump grants a pardon to someone sentenced to 45 years. How can a judicial ruling against a drug lord accused of bringing more than 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. be overturned, granting him a pardon during an election? That has nothing to do with justice, democracy, or the fight against drug trafficking. It is politics of interests, nothing more.

GESTOSO: Do you believe this election has been a struggle between drug-trafficking groups?

MONCADA: There is drug-trafficking financing. We have had it in the past and we have evidence. Entire municipalities were financed with narco money. The bipartisan establishment governed for 12 years and 7 months with explicit U.S. tolerance. Washington knew it was a mafia connected to cartels. The very day Xiomara Castro assumed the presidency, the United States presented charges against Juan Orlando Hernandez. Five years later, he is freed.

GESTOSO: What do you think of the role of the National Electoral Council?

MONCADA: I have no suspicions—I am certain they are not impartial referees. Since the 2009 coup, this democracy has been overseen by the United States. There is a deeply rooted oligarchy here that does not pay taxes and controls the economy. Those are the interests that have prevailed, and those are the ones I faced.

GESTOSO: The playing field is marked, slanted and full of holes. And that is the trap underway. Did you know the field was completely tilted, and if so, why did you decide to take on the challenge?

MONCADA: These are the challenges and struggles our peoples must fight constantly—not only in Honduras but across the region. These are important liberation processes that build collective awareness. For me, the two-year political campaign has been an extraordinary campaign. What did I learn? It allowed me to travel the country, understand different dynamics, and get closer to people in regions I did not fully know.

The campaign was extraordinary, beautiful, and joyful. Those who turned out to vote for me gave votes of gold that are there, despite all the foreign interference, including the message 72 hours before the election saying Moncada is a communist. Even with that, people went to the polls, and their vote is sacred to me.

GESTOSO: What mechanisms do you plan to use to reverse this scenario?

MONCADA: All available ones: technical, legal, judicial, and political. We will listen to people in different regions, how they are handling the scrutiny process, and how we interpret contradictions between the two oligarchic candidates. Even they cannot reconcile their numbers.

GESTOSO: What do you expect from the international community and election observers?

MONCADA: I expect clear statements from the OAS and the European Union. Trump’s interference 72 hours before the election cannot be ignored. He violated the Democratic Charter, sovereignty, and the self-determination of peoples. If observers remain silent, they will be ignoring their own principles.

GESTOSO: You have also spoken about media control in Honduras.

The Venezuelan leader hails Philip Pierre’s reelection and calls for deeper Caribbean unity. On Monday, after the victory of the Saint Lucia Labor Party (SLP) in the elections was confirmed, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro sent greetings to the Caribbean nation, highlighting the importance of solidarity and cooperation among brother peoples.

“The people of Saint Lucia have spoken with strength and clarity, reaffirming at the polls the leadership of Prime Minister Philip Pierre and the path of social justice he has charted together with the Labor Party,” President Maduro said.

“I respectfully and admiringly congratulate this democratic victory, which honors the popular will and strengthens hope in a sovereign, dignified and united Caribbean.”

“From Venezuela, we celebrate this new mandate together with our Saint Lucian brothers, confident that the bond between our peoples will continue to grow on the basis of cooperation, respect and a shared vision of peace and prosperity. Long live the sovereignty of the peoples of the Caribbean!” the Bolivarian leader concluded.

Three political parties and eight independent candidates competed in the general elections held on this Caribbean island on Monday. Approximately 180,000 residents were called to vote to elect a new government across 285 polling stations throughout Saint Lucia.

The ruling Saint Lucia Labor Party (SLP) backed Prime Minister Philip Pierre, who was reelected in a democratic process monitored by observers from the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

Currently, Saint Lucia is a parliamentary monarchy with King Charles III as head of state. He appoints a governor-general who performs mainly ceremonial duties. The head of government is the prime minister, who leads the party that wins the most seats in legislative elections.

The U.S. military has stood up its first operational unit armed with Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS) kamikaze drones, a design reverse-engineered from the Iranian-designed Shahed-136, in the Middle East. The establishment of Task Force Scorpion Strike (TFSS) is a major development, and offers a way “to flip the script on Iran,” according to a U.S. official. Earlier this year, TWZ laid out a detailed case for why America’s armed forces should be investing heavily in rapidly-produced Shahed-136 clones as an adaptable capability that could be critical in future operations globally, as you can read here. U.S. Central Command announced the creation of TFSS today, which it said is a direct response to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s “Unleashing U.S. Military Drone Dominance” initiative that kicked off earlier this year. TFSS falls more specifically under the auspices of U.S. Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT), which oversees U.S. special operations activities across the Middle East. CENTCOM’s Rapid Employment Joint Task Force (REJTF), established in September to help fast-track the fielding of new capabilities in the region, was also involved.

TFSS consists of about two dozen troops that will oversee the establishment and operations of drones, the U.S. official told us, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. The delta wing LUCAS drone, which is roughly 10 feet long and has a wingspan of eight feet, was developed by Arizona-based SpektreWorks in cooperation with the U.S. military. “I do not want to get into numbers [of drones fielded], but they are definitely based and delivered at an amount that provides us with a significant level of capability,” the official added. The LUCAS design includes features that allow for “autonomous coordination, making them suitable for swarm tactics and network-centric strikes.” “Costing approximately $35,000 per platform, LUCAS is a low-cost, scalable system that provides cutting-edge capabilities at a fraction of the cost of traditional long-range U.S. systems that can deliver similar effects,” Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a CENTCOM spokesperson, also told TWZ. “The drone system has an extensive range and the ability to operate beyond line of sight, providing significant capability across CENTCOM’s vast operating area.”

“LUCAS drones deployed by CENTCOM have an extensive range and are designed to operate autonomously,” CENTCOM added in a press release. “They can be launched with different mechanisms to include catapults, rocket-assisted takeoff, and mobile ground and vehicle systems.” “We can push them from various points,” the U.S. official told TWZ when asked about whether the LUCAS drones could be launched from ships. “They can be launched through various mechanisms, and land is not the only place from which to launch these.” As an aside here, TWZ has previously explored in great depth the arguments for adding a variety of drone types to the arsenals of U.S. Navy ships to provide additional layers of defense, as well as enhanced strike, electronic warfare, intelligence-gathering, and networking capabilities, which you can find here. Overall, the LUCAS drone’s core design was based directly on the Shahed-136. “The U.S. military got hold of an Iranian Shahed,” according to the U.S. official. “We took a look and reverse-engineered it. We are working with a number of U.S. companies in the innovation space.” “The LUCAS drone is the product of that [reverse-engineering] effort,” they added. “It pretty much follows the Shahed design.”

…

U.S. military experience aiding in the defense of Israel, as well as observations from the war in Ukraine, have been key drivers in recent pushes to develop and field new drone and counter-drone capabilities, now including the LUCAS design. Beyond the particulars of the LUCAS drones themselves, the confirmation that an operational American unit in the Middle East is now armed with them is a major development. Before now, at least publicly, the U.S. military had only shown concrete interest in LUCAS and similar designs for use as threat representative targets for testing and training purposes rather than as operational weapons. “We are now at a point where not only are we building them in mass, but we have already based them in [the] Middle East for the first time,” the U.S. official stressed to TWZ. “In essence, we are able to flip the script on Iran.” “I’ll let you read between the lines, but the fact that we are basing it where we are basing it, and the fact that we have seen what the Russians have done to Ukraine, what Iran has done to fomenting instability with the use of drone technology, the 12-Day War threats they posed to Israel and how partners and allies have to expend vast amounts of resources to defend against these attacks, we are now taking a page from their playbook and throwing it back at them,” the U.S. official continued. “In essence, Iran enjoyed overmatch and an advantage through the high volume of drone attacks they were able to effectively deploy, and they are hard to defend against at such a high volume.”

…

In addition to Iran, “we don’t have a problem hitting the [Iranian-backed] Houthis [in Yemen], we could throw it in their face as well,” the U.S. official continued. However, “with the Houthis, you have more of a target-find problem, [rather] than sending a bunch of things into Iran with lots of stuff to hit.”

…

SpektreWorks is not the only company in this marketspace. In the United States, at least one other firm, Griffon Aerospace, has been pitching a Shahed-esque drone called the MQM-172 Arrowhead to America’s armed forces. While the general concept has existed for decades, similar delta-winged one-way attack munitions are steadily emerging globally among allies and potential foes alike, including in China. Russia is also said to be assisting North Korea in establishing its own domestic capacity to produce Shahed-136s, or derivatives thereof, as part of an exchange for Pyongyang’s help in fighting Ukraine. At the same time, while today’s announcement about TFSS and its LUCAS drones is significant, it is still being presented heavily as a regionally limited capability to be employed by special operations forces. Whether or not there are efforts to stand up similar units elsewhere within the U.S. military in other locales is unclear. Top U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force officers have openly expressed an extremely high desire to field a Shahed-like kamikaze drone capability as soon as possible. Still, the U.S. military’s standing up of its first operational unit armed with Shahed-like long-range kamikaze drones is a major development — one that has a high chance of serving as a springboard to much broader fielding of similar capabilities.

The Russian military has more armored vehicles than it did on the eve of Russia’s wider war on Ukraine in February 2022. And for one main reason. Despite losing as many as 16,100 vehicles in action in Ukraine, the Russians have more than compensated for these losses by pulling nearly 13,000 old vehicles out of long-term storage—and complementing these older vehicles with around 4,000 brand-new vehicles.

also those 16k loss numbers are probably exaggerated since they come from the very trustworthy Ukrainian government, so it’s even worse (or better )

The upshot is that the Russians had 20,000 vehicles in February 2022. 45 months later, they have 21,000. Yes, many of those vehicles are less sophisticated than the newer—and lost—vehicles they replaced. All the same, they represent a potent and enduring armored force. If the Kremlin chooses to use them sparingly. The implication is a foreboding one for Ukraine and any other country Russia may target. “Russia is not exhausting its armored reserves,” explained analyst Delwin, who crunched the numbers. “Modeling forward with constant 2025 loss levels and stable new production, the total fleet remains above 2022 levels through at least 2030.”

How Russia replaced 16,000 lost vehicles

Yes, Russia could struggle to make good major vehicular losses after 2030. That won’t help Ukraine, however—at least not now. There are divergent trends inside Delwin’s overall figures, of course. According to Delwin’s count, which draws on the work of open-source analyst Jompy, there’s been a slight decline in the Russian tank inventory since 2022 even as the Russian armed forces have massively expanded with new regiments and brigades. This makes sense, as the tanks’ main role has changed. As recently as 2022, large formations of tanks—sometimes dozens at a time—would operate independently or in combined-arms formations with other vehicle types. Tank attacks were still feasible … and common. But that was before tiny first-person-view drones were everywhere all the time along the 1,100-km front line of the wider war.

Why tanks matter less in 2025

A handful of $500 FPVs can knock out a million-dollar tank. FPV drones have been responsible for destroying more than two-thirds of Russian tanks in recent months. Now tanks on both sides of Russia’s wider war on Ukraine usually stay far behind the front line, hiding in underground dugouts and only occasionally rolling out to fire a few cannon rounds from kilometers away. Tanks are far less central to Russian battlefield doctrine than they were just four years ago. When Russian tanks do roll into direct combat, it’s usually as the lead vehicles in small mechanized assault groups including infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) and armored personnel carriers (APCs) hauling squads of infantry. Wrapped in layers of improvised anti-drone armor and fitted with mine-clearing plows, the tanks clear a path for the trailing vehicles, detonating mines and absorbing as many drone strikes as possible.

Vital battle taxis

Tanks support the IFVs and APCs, which are now the most important vehicles on the battlefield. They carry and protect the infantry whose job it is to occupy and hold new positions as Russia aims for incremental territorial gains rather than dramatic breakthroughs. And that’s why the number of APCs in Russian service has grown—a lot. Delwin noted “a sharp increase of 38%” in the quantity of infantry-carriers as the Kremlin replaces losses and equips new units with their share of the vehicles. The total number of heavier IFVs, such as the BMP-3, has slightly declined, however, as there were never as many of these vehicles in storage compared to lighter, simpler APCs such as the MT-LB.

While many Russian assaults now involve troops infiltrating on foot or on motorcycles—methods of attack that favor a military that’s flush with manpower and ambivalent toward casualties

—mechanized assaults “remain a consistent tactic,” Delwin wrote, “with monthly losses in the low hundreds during such operations.” “These vehicles remain essential for assaulting fortified positions, though increasingly paired with light motorbike units and infiltration-oriented assault teams,” he added. As long as the Russians mix infantry assaults with mechanized assaults, they’re at low risk of actually running out of vehicles.

The Czech Republic had every intention of donating its roughly 30 T-72M4CZ tanks to Ukraine. Just one problem—the three-person tanks, deep upgrades of the Soviet-designed T-72, don’t work. So Ukraine won’t be getting the tanks, even though it could surely use them. The Ukrainian armed forces went to war in February 2022 with around 1,000 tanks. They have since lost more than 1,000 tanks and received another 1,000 or so as donations. That should mean the Ukrainians have as many tanks as they started with 45 months ago. The problem is that the Ukrainian armed forces have doubled in size. At the same time, hundreds of surviving tanks are badly worn out after nearly four years of hard fighting. As a consequence, there’s a tank shortage in Ukraine—one those Czech T-72M4CZs won’t be helping to solve.

Italian fire controls failed—and can’t be repaired

The problem with the T-72M4CZs—which underwent an upgrade in the early 2000s—reportedly lies with the TURMS/T fire control system from Italian firm Selex Galileo, according to Novinky.cz. The TURMS/T helps the crew aim the tank’s 125-mm main gun. Something is broken inside the fire controls. “In the summer and autumn of this year, control tests were carried out repeatedly and without success,” the Czech defense ministry told Novinky.cz. “The problem occurred with the so-called rectification, i.e. the accuracy of the firing of tanks.” “Repairing these components is not technically possible, as confirmed by their Italian manufacturer,” the ministry added. Unable to shoot accurately, the T-72M4CZs are almost certainly destined for scrapping. The Czech army is re-equipping with 44 modern German-made Leopard 2A8 tanks.

The broken tanks won’t dent Prague’s overall military support for Kyiv. Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala revealed last week that Czechia has sent Ukraine military support worth $832 million since February 2022—and actually profited from the effort, receiving $1.19 billion in return through foreign aid and defense contracts. The Czech-led ammunition initiative has delivered over 1.5 million large-caliber artillery shells to Ukraine.

Why tanks matter less in Ukraine’s drone war

Tanks aren’t the most important vehicles in the Ukrainian inventory—and not just because tanks are best at offense while Ukraine is on the defense. Tanks are vulnerable to the tiny explosive drones that are everywhere all the time along the 1,100-km front line. According to NATO officials, FPV drones have been responsible for destroying more than two-thirds of Russian tanks in recent months. The Russians still deploy tanks in an offensive role, but only after wrapping them in layers of anti-drone armor. The Ukrainians deploy a few tanks for swift counterattacks against Russian incursions, but for the most part, Ukrainian tanks hide out kilometers behind the front line—leaving their dugouts only briefly to fire a few rounds at distant targets, like artillery. Forbes described this shift as the “era of the cautious tank”—a complete overhaul in how Ukraine deploys its armored forces after losing over 1,000 tanks to Russian drones.

Ukraine’s restructuring cut tank requirements

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian ground forces have reorganized in part to make more efficient use of their dwindling tank holdings. Starting in late 2024, the ground forces converted 11 tank, mechanized, and territorial brigades into heavy mechanized brigades by reducing the number of tank battalions in each brigade and increasing the number of infantry battalions. Each Ukrainian corps now has a heavy mechanized brigade. The reorganization resulted in lighter and easier-to-support brigades better suited for the kind of war Ukraine is waging right now. But the restructuring also reduced Ukraine’s overall requirement for tanks—at least for now. So, no, 30 old Czech tanks won’t make or break Ukraine’s war effort.

I love how this reorganization is painted as being totally about efficiency and adaptation and not at all related to all the vehicle losses the Ukrainians have suffered, but when Russians use motorcycle assault tactics, now that of course is an indication that they’ve ran out of tanks, if it’s the other side then the explanation could never be adaptation to the specific conditions of the war.

Five months after releasing a plan to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence, the Trump administration is turning to robots. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been meeting with robotics industry CEOs and is “all in” on accelerating the industry’s development, according to three people familiar with the discussions who were granted anonymity to share details. The administration is considering issuing an executive order on robotics next year, according to two of the people. A Department of Commerce spokesperson said: “We are committed to robotics and advanced manufacturing because they are central to bringing critical production back to the United States.” The Department of Transportation is also preparing to announce a robotics working group, possibly before the end of the year, according to one person familiar with the planning. A spokesperson for the department did not respond to a request for comment. There’s growing interest on Capitol Hill as well. A Republican amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act would have created a national robotics commission. The amendment was not included in the bill. Other legislative efforts are underway.

The flurry of activity suggests robotics is emerging as the next major front in America’s race against China. It’s the latest example of how the Trump administration is embracing industrial policy in a bid to compete against Beijing in critical sectors such as AI. But promoting the spread of robotics also threatens to undermine one of Trump’s chief goals: reviving the U.S. manufacturing workforce. A general-purpose humanoid sounds like science fiction. But advances in artificial intelligence are enabling human-like robots to take on increasingly sophisticated work by processing more data more quickly. The International Federation of Robotics estimates that by 2023 China had 1.8 million industrial robots inside its factories, four times as many as the U.S. China, Japan, Australia, Germany and Singapore all have national robotics plans. Catching up would require substantial investment. Funding is on pace to hit $2.3 billion in 2025 – double last year’s total, according to CB Insights. Goldman Sachs estimates the global market for humanoids could reach $38 billion by 2035.

The industry has been pushing administration officials and lawmakers to get involved. They say robots are the physical expression of AI. Any push to strengthen AI competitiveness must also include a plan for advancing robotics, they say. Companies want tax incentives or federal funding to help companies integrate advanced automation, stronger supply chains and widespread deployment. They also want trade policies to confront Chinese subsidies and intellectual property practices. “It’s important that we lean in, think about a national robotics strategy and support this burgeoning industry in the U.S. so that we can remain competitive,” Apptronik CEO Jeff Cardenas told MM. Apptronik, an Austin startup backed by Google and valued at $5 billion, has developed a general-purpose robot called Apollo, one of the first humanoids to operate inside an auto factory.

Uh… why the fuck are they making humanoid factory robots? Like the whole advantage of robots is that you can make them NOT humanoid, and thus pick whichever shape is most optimal for the specific job it’s going to be doing, which in manufacturing is rarely that of a human - that’s why most industrial robots are basically just an arm with some tool attached to the end. Androids are cool in sci-fi settings, but very much not the most important style of robot in practice.

“There is now recognition that advanced robotics is crucial to the U.S. in terms of manufacturing, technology, national security, defense applications, public safety,” said Brendan Schulman, VP of policy and government relations for Boston Dynamics. “The investment that we’re seeing in the sector and the efforts in China to dominate the future of robotics are being noticed.” An unresolved question is how a national robotics push would square with the administration’s goal of reviving American manufacturing. Skeptics warn that if companies automate too aggressively, the U.S. could end up reshoring factories only to staff them with machines - not people. A paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that as firms automate, many workers in routine or replaceable roles experience lower employment opportunities and reduced earnings.

Another scenario looks very different - one where robotics and manufacturing reinforce each other and where workers build, deploy and maintain robots that power industrial growth. That’s the vision some in the industry are pushing. Jeff Burnstein, president of the Association for Advancing Automation, said robots make workers more productive, which could expand job opportunities. “When companies are investing in robotics they’re also investing in more people because their company is doing better,” he said. “It’s not man versus machine, but it’s man and machine that will take us into the future,” Cardenas said. “This is our view - robots that augment human capability and human capacity, versus robots that replace us. I think it’s important that we’re there first.”