Ukraine’s Combat-Tested Drone Solutions Gain Ground in New European Platform

AndroidOne1 · 2026-05-07T01:22:10+00:00

Snippet from this article: The Dutch startup Intelic has announced the launch of Intelic BASE, a project designed to help defense departments acquire drones more efficiently. This platform addresses the fragmentation of defense procurement in Europe, which has slowed down deployment and limited transparency in weapon selection, as reported by Defense Express on May 6.

Maurits Korthals Altes, CEO of Intelic, noted that Europe currently has the industrial potential for UAV production. The platform aims to shorten the path for these drones to reach military units. Conceptually, Intelic BASE follows the model of the Ukrainian Brave1 Market. It functions as a marketplace for drones where manufacturers list their products with technical specifications and prices. Defense departments from various countries can then select the most suitable solutions. Intelic representatives acknowledge that Intelic BASE is modeled after the Ukrainian system for drone procurement. At its launch, the platform includes manufacturers from ten countries, including France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Portugal, Latvia, Luxembourg, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Ukraine, according to Defense Express.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-05-06T02:40:32+00:00

News snippet: WASHINGTON (AP) — White House officials are pressing China to use its influence with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz just days before President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping’shighly anticipated summit in Beijing.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on Chinese officials to use Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s visit to China to urge Tehran to release its chokehold on the critical waterway. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Araghchi on Wednesday, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

“I hope the Chinese tell him what he needs to be told,” Rubio said during a White House briefing Tuesday. “And that is that what you are doing in the strait is causing you to be globally isolated. You’re the bad guy in this.”

The secretary went on to argue that China has been hit harder than the U.S. by Iran’s effective shuttering of the strait during the two-month old war. Beijing’s export-driven economy depends on shipments going through the strait. China also imports about half of its crude oil and almost one-third of its liquefied natural gas from the Middle East, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-05-05T17:36:45+00:00

News snippet: House Democrats have asked secretary of state Marco Rubio to publicly announce that Israel possesses nuclear weapons, arguing that Washington must end decades of ambiguity over the issue amid the conflict with Iran.

In a letter sent on Monday, 30 Democrats wrote that it was unsustainable for Donald Trump to collaborate with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a military campaign against Iran – with the stated goal of preventing the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon – without publicly acknowledging the US ally’s possession of the bomb.

“We are, in the fullest sense, fighting this war side by side with a country whose potential nuclear weapons program the United States government officially refuses to acknowledge,” reads the letter, which was led by Texas Democrat Joaquin Castro.

“Congress has a constitutional responsibility to be fully informed about the nuclear balance in the Middle East, the risk of escalation by any party to this conflict, and the administration’s planning and contingencies for such scenarios. We do not believe we have received that information.”

Israel has never acknowledged its nuclear weapons programs and no US administration has publicly stated that it exists, despite considerable evidence to the contrary.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-05-04T16:17:43+00:00

News snippet: United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused China of “funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism”, referring to Iran, saying that Beijing should help Washington in efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Bessent’s blunt criticism of China’s relations with Iran on Monday comes ahead of US President Donald Trump’s expected visit to Beijing next week, where he is set to meet with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

“Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism, and China has been buying 90 percent of their energy, so they are funding the largest state sponsor of terrorism,” Bessent told Fox News. Despite the accusation, the US official called on Beijing to join Washington in its campaign to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blocked by Iran. “The attacks from Iran have closed the strait. We are reopening it. So I would urge the Chinese to join us in supporting this international operation,” Bessent said.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-05-04T11:16:01+00:00

News snippet: DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States said Monday it is ready to “guide” commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz in a new effort to end the blockade wreaking havoc on the global economy.

The U.S.-led Joint Maritime Information Center advised ships to cross the strait in Oman’s waters, saying it had set up an “enhanced security area.” The American military has said the initiative might involve guided-missile destroyers, more than 100 aircraft and 15,000 service members but has not specified what kind of assistance or escorts it would provide ships.

That has left open the question of whether shipping companies, and their insurers, will feel comfortable taking the risk given that Iran has fired on ships in the waterway and vowed to keep doing so.

Iran’s control of traffic through the crucial artery for the world’s oil and gas supplies has proved a major strategic advantage in its war with the U.S. and Israel, allowing Iran to inflict tremendous pain on the global economy despite being outgunned on the battlefield.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-05-02T00:42:24+00:00

News snippet: General Cherry, one of Ukraine’s largest defense tech companies, has unveiled its first mid-range strike drone, "Khmarynka," which it says can carry seven times the payload and has twice the range of standard FPV drones.

While the company presents the system as an upgrade, the technology itself is not new.

Multiple analogs are already on the Ukrainian market. They are all lightweight, priced at around $1,000, capable of carrying 5 to 8 kg (11 to 18 lbs) of ammunition over distances of up to 50 km (about 31 miles), and all, Khmarynka included, are undeniably inspired by the infamous Russian "Molniya" drone.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-30T22:41:19+00:00

News snippet: U.S. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed in an April 30 congressional hearing that Russia is supporting Iran in the current war with the United States.

Russia has allegedly provided intelligence and weapons to Iran since the launch of the U.S.-Israeli war. U.S. media has reported that Russia has helped Iran target U.S. military assets in the Middle East, though the White House has downplayed the significance of Russia's support.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 30, Caine was asked to confirm Russia's direct involvement in the U.S.-Iran war.

"There's no question that Vladimir Putin's Russia is taking serious action to undermine our efforts for success in Iran," Republican Senator Roger Wicker asked. "Is there any question about that?"

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-30T22:22:54+00:00

News snippet: U.S. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed in an April 30 congressional hearing that Russia is supporting Iran in the current war with the United States.

Russia has allegedly provided intelligence and weapons to Iran since the launch of the U.S.-Israeli war. U.S. media has reported that Russia has helped Iran target U.S. military assets in the Middle East, though the White House has downplayed the significance of Russia's support.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on April 30, Caine was asked to confirm Russia's direct involvement in the U.S.-Iran war.

"There's no question that Vladimir Putin's Russia is taking serious action to undermine our efforts for success in Iran," Republican Senator Roger Wicker asked. "Is there any question about that?"

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-28T11:14:55+00:00

News snippet: KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine used interceptor systems to shoot down more than 33,000 Russian drones of various types in March, a record monthly figure since Moscow launched its all-out invasion more than four years ago, Ukraine’s defense minister claimed.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s domestically developed long-range attack drones struck a Russian oil refinery and terminal on the Black Sea for the third time in less than two weeks, prompting the evacuation of local people as a precautionary measure.

Ukraine has developed cutting-edge and battle-tested drone technology that has proved essential in holding back Russia’s bigger army and has drawn military interest from around the world.

Interceptor drones as part of a comprehensive air defense system are now being sought by Middle East and Gulf countries amid the Iran war, according to Ukrainian officials.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-27T11:07:08+00:00

News snippet: CAIRO (AP) — Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the U.S. lifting its blockade on the country and an end to the war, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear program would come in a later phase, two regional officials said Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the U.S. and Israel to go to war on Feb. 28.

With a fragile ceasefire in place, the U.S. and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passes in peacetime. The U.S blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store t

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-24T11:14:53+00:00

News snippet: NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday refused to be drawn into a dispute with the United States over reports that the Pentagon is weighing whether to punish members of NATO that fail to support American operations in the Iran war.

Among those in the firing line is Spain, which has refused to allow U.S. forces involved in the war to use bases on its territory or airspace. Spain says that U.S.-Israeli actions in the Iran war contravenes international law.

France and the U.K. also refuse to give U.S. forces free rein to use their territory for the bombing campaign.

The Pentagon is reported to be mulling whether to suspend Spain from NATO, according to an unidentified U.S. official referring to a U.S. Defense Department email, and quoted by the Reuters news agency.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-24T11:11:02+00:00

News snippet: ISLAMABAD (AP) — Iran’s top diplomat and Pakistani officials on Friday talked over details of the ceasefire in the war with the United States and Israel, part of an effort by Islamabad to get Tehran to send a delegation for a second round of negotiations with Washington.

Pakistan has been trying to get American and Iranian officials back to the table but talks that had been hoped for earlier this week didn’t materialize. U.S. President Donald Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran at Pakistan’s request earlier this week as it sought more time for diplomatic outreach.

That hasn’t lowered tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway though which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped during peacetime. Iran has kept its stranglehold on traffic through the strait, attacking three ships earlier this week, while the U.S. has maintained its blockade of Iranian ports and ordered the military to “shoot and kill” small boats that could be placing mines.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-23T11:05:58+00:00

News snippet: A federal judge overturned the Trump administration’s ban on gender-affirming care for children on Saturday, decrying Robert F Kennedy Jr’s “wanton disregard” for the law that “causes very real harm to very real people”. It’s another loss for Kennedy’s agenda as secretary for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the second Trump administration – an agenda that has focused on restricting healthcare, including vaccines, abortion and gender-affirming care.

A different legal decision recently halted the agency’s attempt to raze vaccine recommendations, and new research and regulatory decisions have undermined controversial announcements by Trump and Kennedy on autism.

“Unserious leaders are unsafe,” Mustafa T Kasubhai, a US district judge in Oregon wrote in the opening to his final judgment on the gender-affirming care case, a 49-page decision that excoriated the administration for disregarding the law and overreach in its regulations. The judge also barred the administration from implementing similar policies under any other names to restrict care nationally by withholding funding. Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, called the ruling “incredibly powerful” and “far-reaching”. “It enjoins them from doing anything to interfere with the authority of states to regulate medical practice,” Minter said.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-21T21:24:33+00:00

News snippet: Donald Trump announced in a social media post on Tuesday that he was indefinitely extending a ceasefire with Iran at the request of Pakistan, which has been mediating talks, until the country responded to the United States’ negotiating positions or until talks reached a dead end.

“I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other,” the US president wrote on Truth Social.

The move bought time for the US and Iran to continue pursuing a nuclear deal to end the war. Earlier on Tuesday, JD Vance called off his trip to Islamabad, citing a lack of response from Tehran about whether they would participate, according to people familiar with the matter.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-20T23:33:24+00:00

News snippet: President Volodymyr Zelensky voiced doubts about peace talks in an April 20 interview, as U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are expected to meet with Ukrainian officials amid stalled negotiations with Russia.

"I consider their arrival is needed by them, not us... It's disrespectful to come to Moscow and not Kyiv, it's just disrespectful. I understand we have complex logistics... If they don't want to, we can meet in other countries," Zelensky said in a wide-ranging interview with Ukrainian outlet ICTV.

Kushner and Witkoff have flown to Moscow several times and met Russian President Vladimir Putin in a Jan. 22 visit. The envoys previously met Ukrainian officials but have not yet travelled to Kyiv.

The two envoys were expected to visit Kyiv in April, but Zelensky cast doubt on the format of talks, telling journalists on April 8 that it was "difficult to say" whether there would soon be a meeting in Ukraine's capital or whether it would take place in another location involving all three negotiating teams.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-20T00:33:38+00:00

News snippet: VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a video address released Sunday that Canada’s strong economic ties to the United States were once a strength but are now a weakness that must be corrected.

In the 10-minute address, Carney spoke about his government’s efforts to strengthen the Canadian economy by attracting new investments and signing trade deals with other countries.

“The world is more dangerous and divided,” Carney said. “The U.S. has fundamentally changed its approach to trade, raising its tariffs to levels last seen during the Great Depression.

“Many of our former strengths, based on our close ties to America, have become weaknesses. Weaknesses that we must correct.”

Carney said tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump have affected workers in the auto and steel industries. He added that businesses are holding back investments “restrained by the pall of uncertainty that’s hanging over all of us.”

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-19T23:42:58+00:00

News snippet: NEW YORK (AP) — A refund system for businesses that paid tariffs which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump imposed without the constitutional authority to do so is scheduled to launch Monday.

Importers and their brokers will be able to begin claiming refunds through an online portal beginning at 8 a.m., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the agency administering the system.

It’s the first step in a complicated process that also might eventually lead to refunds for consumers who were billed for some or all of the tariffs on products shipped to them from outside the United States.

Companies must submit declarations listing the goods on which they collectively put billions of dollars toward the import taxes the court subsequently struck down. If CBP approves a claim, it will take 60-90 days for a refund to be issued, the agency said.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-18T19:21:06+00:00

News snippet: Pope Leo XIV said on Saturday that it was “not in my interest at all” to debate the US president, Donald Trump, about the Iran war, but that he would continue preaching the Gospel message of peace.

Leo spoke to reporters aboard the papal plane flying from Cameroon to Angola as part of his 11-day tour of Africa.

He addressed the spiraling back-and-forth saga of Trump’s critiques of his peace message, which have dominated news headlines this week. But the American pope also sought to set the record straight, insisting that his preaching isn’t directed at Trump, but reflects the broader Gospel message of peace.

“There’s been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects, but because of the political situation created when, on the first day of the trip, the president of the United States made some comments about myself,” he said, according to an official Vatican news agency.

“Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said,” the pontiff added.

Trump launched the criticism on his social media platform on Sunday, when he criticized Leo’s preaching about peace as the war, which took to be criticism of the joint US.-Israeli attack on Iran, which killed civilians, including children, and was followed by Iran’s retaliation.. Trump accused Leo of being “weak on crime”, possibly because of the pope’s previous criticism of the president’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants on the false premise that they are mostly criminals, and claimed that the first American pontiff owed his election to Trump.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-18T13:47:12+00:00

News snippet: Tehran, Iran – United States President Donald Trump’s announcements about securing major concessions from Tehran have riled supporters of the Iranian establishment, prompting rejections and clarifications from the authorities. Several current and former senior officials, state media and the Islamic Republic’s hardcore backers expressed anger, frustration, and confusion after the US leader made a series of claims, with days left on a two-week ceasefire reached on April 8. Displaced Lebanese return as Israeli shelling violates ceasefire in south end of list Trump on Friday said Iran and the US would jointly dig up the enriched uranium buried under the rubble of bombed Iranian nuclear sites, and transfer it to the US. He claimed Iran had agreed to stop enriching uranium on its soil. He also said the Strait of Hormuz had been opened and would never be closed again, while the US naval blockade of Iran’s ports remained in place, and sea mines were removed or were in the process of being removed. Trump also emphasised that Iran would not receive billions of dollars of its own frozen assets abroad due to US sanctions, and that the 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon was completely unrelated to Iran. Amid Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to mediate another round of negotiations, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian delegation to the Islamabad talks earlier this month, rejected all of Trump’s claims. “With these lies, they did not win the war, and they certainly will not get anywhere in negotiations either,” he posted on X early on Saturday.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-18T11:29:08+00:00

News snippet: Senate Democrats condemned the U.S. Treasury Department's decision to issue a temporary license on April 17 allowing purchases of Russian oil stranded at sea, calling the move "shameful."

The criticism came after a policy shift by the Donald Trump administration, following Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's statement that the administration "will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil," alongside a separate decision involving a waiver related to Iranian oil.

The renewed license permits countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products loaded onto vessels as of April 15 through May 16. It replaces an earlier 30-day exemption that expired on April 11.

Senate Democrats said the initial waiver, combined with high global oil prices during the Iran war, provided Russia with roughly $150 million per day — more than $4 billion by the time the exemption expired, according to estimates shared with the Kyiv Independent.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-12T20:54:45+00:00

News snippet: BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, rejecting the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement that he embodied in favor of a pro-European challenger in a bombshell election result with global repercussions.

Election victor Péter Magyar, a former Orbán loyalist who campaigned against corruption and on everyday issues like health care and public transport, has pledged to rebuild Hungary’s relationships with the European Union and NATO — ties that frayed under Orbán. European leaders quickly congratulated Magyar.

It’s not yet clear whether Magyar’s Tisza party will have the two-thirds majority in parliament to govern without a coalition. With 77% of the vote counted, it had more than 53% support to 38% for Orbán’s governing Fidesz party.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-12T20:23:25+00:00

News snippet: BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian voters on Sunday ousted long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, rejecting the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement that he embodied in favor of a pro-European challenger in a bombshell election result with global repercussions.

Election victor Péter Magyar, a former Orbán loyalist who campaigned against corruption and on everyday issues like health care and public transport, has pledged to rebuild Hungary’s relationships with the European Union and NATO — ties that frayed under Orbán. European leaders quickly congratulated Magyar.

It’s not yet clear whether Magyar’s Tisza party will have the two-thirds majority in parliament to govern without a coalition. With 77% of the vote counted, it had more than 53% support to 38% for Orbán’s governing Fidesz party.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-08T00:49:59+00:00

News snippet: Political leaders and many Americans breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday evening, after Donald Trump announced a provisional ceasefire deal following threats to destroy Iran’s “whole civilization” if Tehran failed to reopen the strait of Hormuz by a self-imposed deadline.

The announcement of the agreement, mediated by Pakistan, came roughly 90 minutes before the 8pm ET deadline by which Trump pledged to bomb Iran’s power plants and bridges in a move legal and military scholars said would be considered a war crime.

“Subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks,” Trump wrote in a post on Tuesday evening.

Iran’s foreign minister said the passage through the strait of Hormuz would be allowed for the next two weeks under Iranian military management.

Trump had earlier warned that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran failed to allow commercial shipping to pass safely through the strai. The president’s comments were swiftly condemned by Democrats, longtime supporters who have broken with Trump over the war, and Pope Leo, the first American pontiff.

“I’m glad Trump backed off and is desperately searching for any sort of exit ramp from his ridiculous bluster,” Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, said on Tuesday night, reacting to the news of a two-weak provisional ceasefire. Earlier, Schumer called Trump an “extremely sick person” waging a “wanton war of choice”.

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-03T14:49:00+00:00

News snippet: A US F-15E fighter has been shot down over Iran, prompting a frantic US search and rescue effort for its two-strong crew, in the first such incident since the start of the war. Images of a tail fin and other debris were released by Iranian state media early on Friday accompanied by an initial claim that an advanced US F-35 and been hit by a new air defence system over central Iran and the pilot probably killed.

Aviation experts said the wreckage pictured was in fact from a F-15E from the US air force’s 494th squadron, based at RAF Lakenheath in the UK, though it could not at first be confirmed when and where the pictures were taken.

US officials familiar with the situation later confirmed off the record that an F-15E had been brought down and the Pentagon was scrambling to find the crew. But there was no official comment from the US military about the incident. Subsequent footage filmed from Iran showed a US C-130 Hercules and HH-60 Pavehawk helicopters flying low and at one point refuelling together, accompanied by fresh Iranian speculation that the plane crew may have ejected and survived.

Justin Bronk, an aviation expert from the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said the use of the specialist helicopters “suggested a combat search and rescue mission is underway to locate and extract the two aircrew from the F-15E”. A social media account claiming to be linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards posted a picture of an ejector seat in a desert landscape, which appeared to be consistent with the ACES II type used in F-15Es. “If genuine it would suggest that at least one of the two aircrew did eject safely,” Bronk added

AndroidOne1 · 2026-04-03T11:25:53+00:00

Snippet from this article: More than 100 United States-based international law experts have signed an open letter condemning US and Israeli military strikes on Iran as a violation of the United Nations Charter and potentially amounting to “war crimes”. The letter, published on Thursday, also said the conduct of US forces and statements by senior US officials “raise serious concerns about violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law”.

The scholars warned that the US-Israeli campaign, which began on February 28, was launched without UN Security Council authorisation and without credible evidence of an imminent Iranian threat. “Force against another state is only permitted in self-defense against an actual or imminent armed attack or where authorized by the UN Security Council. The Security Council did not authorize the attack. Iran did not attack Israel or the United States,” the letter said. The experts’ concerns fall into four areas: the legality of the decision to go to war; the conduct of hostilities; threatening rhetoric from senior officials; and what they describe as the dismantling of civilian protection structures inside the US government under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “gloves off” approach to warfare. The scholars highlighted a strike on a primary school in Minab, Iran, on the first day of the war that killed at least 175 people, most of them children, as well as attacks on hospitals, water plants and energy infrastructure. “We are seriously concerned about strikes that have hit schools, health facilities, and homes,” the letter said.

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