Philipp Stratmann’s Post

Early this morning, Iran initiated a series of unmanned aerial assaults on Israeli territories, marking a significant escalation in regional tensions. US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have both issued strong condemnations of Iran's actions. #BidensupportsIsrael #droneattacksIsrael #internationalresponseIsrael #Iransowschaos #Iransregionalchaos #Israelsdefensesupport #MiddleEaststability #preventfurtherescalation #UKcondemnsIran #USIrantensions

North Korea has destroyed sections of disused roads connecting it to South Korea, confirmed by South Korea's military. The explosions targeted areas north of the military demarcation line. In response, South Korea fired warning shots, having previously warned of the impending destruction. Tensions escalated after North Korea accused South Korea of sending drones with propaganda into Pyongyang. Video footage from South Korea captured North Korean soldiers preparing for the explosions, which affected the Gyeongui and Donghae roads. Analysts view this as a signal from Kim Jong Un, indicating a refusal to negotiate with South Korea and reinforcing military postures amid ongoing hostilities. The explosions coincided with a meeting called by Kim to address the drone situation, which he branded a serious provocation. He instructed military officials to be prepared for immediate action to defend the country’s sovereignty. North Korea has expressed willingness to retaliate if drones are seen as a threat. This destruction of roads reflects Kim's strategy to sever ties with South Korea, moving away from the goal of peaceful unification, as evidenced by past incidents like the demolition of the liaison office in 2020. #AsiaRisk #GeopoliticalConflictandDisputes #SouthKorea Get a full accounting of the security situation in Asia by subscribing to Security Asia. Subscribe now--free of charge--at https://lnkd.in/g7Cs8Gkf https://lnkd.in/gW9uKkqx

Despite all the international pressure and sanctions, Russia keeps testing the #NATO countries to see how far it can go. Every time an “unintentional” attack takes place, the #EU countries find dozens of excuses to label it a random event and to avoid escalating the issue and dealing with Russia. #Poland was the first country to experience one of these incidents when a Russian attack drone exploded in 2022, killing two farmers in the border village of Przewodów. Since then, Russian drones have crossed into Polish airspace several times. Also, in March of this year, a Russian ballistic missile entered Polish airspace on its flight path toward the western part of Ukraine. Last week, a Russian drone traveled 25 km into the airspace of a NATO country. Also, #Romania recently confirmed that a Russian UAV had entered the country's airspace. This is not the first drone that has wound up in Romania. The first drone explosion took place in September 2023 when Russia was attacking Ukraine's agricultural and port facilities. Moreover, last week, #Latvia confirmed that a Russian Shahed-type drone equipped with an explosive crashed on its territory. Little by little, more and more weapons are edging closer to NATO and EU countries while the entire EU block sits and watches a dictator harass Europe with its “accidental” raids. However, instead of agreeing to shoot down military targets with their advanced air defense systems over their territory and the western part of Ukraine, our allies are coming up with new excuses to avoid confrontation with the aggressor. Well, it seems that schoolyard bullying is an effective diplomatic strategy, and one bully has the whole class frightened and unwilling to do anything about it. If the EU countries do not unite against the aggressor to put an end to Putin's war, he will invade other countries one by one. So, if you do not act now, YOU WILL BE THE NEXT ONE!

12 Sep 06:30: A DEFINITION OF WESTERN ONGOING WEAKNESS, APPEASEMENT AND INCOMPETENCE, as led by biden 🇺🇸, Starmer 🇬🇧, Scholz 🤡, macron 🐩 and meloni 🇮🇹?: ‘Despite all the international pressure and sanctions, Russia 👺 keeps testing the #NATO countries to see how far it can go. Every time an “unintentional” (😉😙😗) attack takes place, the #EU 🇪🇺 countries find dozens of excuses to label it a random event and to avoid escalating the issue and dealing with Russia 👺. (Me: ‘The fools? Not a hard question). #Poland 🇵🇱 was the first country to experience one of these incidents when a Russian attack drone exploded in 2022, killing two farmers in the border village of Przewodów. Since then, Russian drones have crossed into Polish 🇵🇱 airspace several times. Also, in March of this year, a Russian ballistic missile entered Polish airspace on its flight path toward the western part of Ukraine. Last week, a Russian drone traveled 25 km into the airspace of a NATO country. Also, #Romania 🇷🇴 recently confirmed that a Russian UAV had entered the country's airspace. This is not the first drone that has wound up in Romania. The first drone explosion took place in September 2023 when Russia was attacking Ukraine's agricultural and port facilities. Moreover, last week, #Latvia 🇱🇻 confirmed that a Russian Shahed-type drone equipped with an explosive crashed on its territory. Little by little, more and more weapons are edging closer to NATO and EU countries while the entire EU 🐈🇪🇺🐩 block sits and watches a dictator 👺 harass Europe with its “accidental” 😙😗 raids. However, instead of agreeing to shoot down military targets with their advanced air defense systems over their territory and the western part of Ukraine, our allies are coming up with new excuses 🐩🤡🐈🤡🐩🤡🐈 to avoid confrontation with the aggressor. Well, it seems that schoolyard bullying is an effective diplomatic strategy, and one bully has the whole class frightened and unwilling to do anything about it. (Me: ‘Please Comnrnt and must a single historical act of appeasement that has worked in stopping a bully? Is the Wedt actually being led by timid m***ns? Also not a hard question?’) If the EU 🇪🇺 countries do not unite against the aggressor to put an end to Putin's war, he will invade other countries one by one. So, if you do not act now, YOU WILL BE THE NEXT ONE!: Thank you, Andrew 🇺🇦🌎🌍🌏 … and Nikki 🇳🇿🇺🇦:

Russia's clandestine production of the Garpiya-A1 drone, leveraging Chinese technology, has significantly escalated the Ukraine conflict. This development underscores Russia's shifting reliance from Iranian designs to domestic development and Chinese components. With a production rate exceeding 2,500 units, the Garpiya-A1 has inflicted substantial damage on Ukrainian infrastructure and claimed numerous lives. As NATO and the US voice concerns, China's involvement has sparked tensions, highlighting the complexities of global geopolitics and the urgency for diplomatic resolution. Read full news at https://lnkd.in/dtumU3qe #GeopoliticalTensions #RussiaUkraineConflict #ChineseInvolvement #DroneWarfare #GarpiyaA1 #LongRangeThreat #GlobalSecurity #DefenseIndustry #MilitaryTech #InternationalConcerns #NATOAlert #USsanctions #RussiaChinaPartnership #UkraineCrisis #NationalSecurity #EscalatingConflict #DroneProduction #WarTechnology #GlobalInstability #ConflictResolution #DiplomaticEfforts #InternationalRelations #MilitaryEscalation

I know that many of you have no access to Russia Today but are keen to read perspectives from all sides. No, I don't hold shares and I'm not being paid. "On January 11, nine Ukrainian drones attacked the “Russkaya” compressor station near the town of Anapa in Russia’s Krasnodar Region. The station, situated on the north-eastern coast of the Black Sea, is a key installation in the TurkStream gas pipeline that crosses the Black Sea’s seabed to emerge on land again north of Istanbul. To be precise, TurkStream consists of two parallel pipelines, just like the Nord Stream 1 and 2, which used to link Russia and the EU. Most of these two trans-Baltic pipelines were destroyed in a massive act of eco-terrorism; the perpetrators are certain to have included Ukraine and the US, in one way or another.  The attack on the compressor station did not achieve its aims. Russian air defenses shot down the drones, and despite some minor damage, the station remained intact. However there were important consequences, and this story is far from over. Three days after the Ukrainian strike, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Washington of being behind Kiev’s assault. In particular, Lavrov charged that the US is seeking to demolish TurkStream, just as it made sure Nord Stream was taken out of commission. If Lavrov is right, the unsuccessful January 11 drone attack could turn out to have only been the beginning: Further attacks may follow, perhaps including an underwater bombing of the pipelines, as was carried out against Nord Stream in September 2022. Context is essential here: At the beginning of this year, pipelines carrying gas from Russia via Ukraine to the EU were switched off after Kiev refused to prolong a transit agreement. That has left TurkStream the only remaining pipeline sending gas from Russia to, ultimately, the EU, in this case mostly Hungary. Importantly, Lavrov believes that the US is aiming to have its Ukrainian clients sabotage this last remaining link, not only to hit Russia but also in order to fulfil the broader strategy of disrupting the EU’s economies."

🤓 🗞 New deets from #Europe on the "Whodunnit? China???"😱 Baltic Sea cables damage. 👉 What happened: On Sunday morning, a significant attack on #NATO territory occurred when a #fiberoptic undersea cable linking #Sweden and #Lithuania was cut. A second cable disruption occurred between #Finland and #Germany the next day. The damage raised suspicions of sabotage, and the four countries are now investigating. 🇨🇳🚢 The Chinese-flagged vessel Yi Peng 3 became a focal point because its route was closely aligned with the cables when they were cut. 🇩🇪 🗣 Earlier in the week, Germany's Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius, suggested hybrid warfare and deliberate sabotage without providing evidence. 🇩🇰🪖 Maritime tracking shows that #Denmark's Armed Forces deployed ships near the Yi Peng 3 on Nov. 19, which paused operations after exiting the Oresund Strait. Experts say this likely means the vessel was being detained and possibly examined for evidence.  👓 📚 Christian Bueger, a specialist in #maritime security at the University of Copenhagen, told reporters that "[t]he Danish Navy is probably questioning the cruiser and is puzzled about how to proceed further." "What we know for sure is that two cables were cut. What we don't know for sure is who did it and why. But obviously the Chinese vessel is now under suspicion. And if the shipping data is correct, the Danes have stopped it still in international waters," he said. (See link in comments). 🪆🇷🇺 There is also speculation about potential involvement from #Russia. However, Bueger found the German defense minister's comments about sabotage and implicating Russia surprising and premature. "It limits their action space [for diplomatic maneuver] . . . the German defense minister is basically accusing China of committing an act of sabotage on German infrastructure" since a Chinese ship is the focal point. 🗺 The Baltic Sea has been a battleground for hybrid warfare, highlighted by past sabotage of gas pipelines and GPS jamming, making undersea cables vulnerable targets. Last year, the Chinese-owned Newnew Polar Bear damaged the Balticconnector connecting #Estonia and Finland. Beijing admitted fault ten months later, calling it an accident. According to Shashank Joshi, The Economist's defense editor, the ship had Russian links in ownership and crew. 🤔 German tabloid Bild reported on Wednesday that the Yi Peng 3's captain is also of Russian nationality. But the newspaper did not give a source for its claim. According to Bueger, China is experienced in hybrid sea operations in the #Taiwan Straits, but it would be shocking if they were to act in European waters. Since Russia invaded #Ukraine in 2022 and NATO expanded to include Finland and Sweden, Moscow has openly reserved the right to conduct such operations against those supporting Kyiv. Bueger said that if China did the same in #Europe, it would be highly provocative and unprecedented. #news #geopolitics

China has imposed sanctions on 13 American defense firms and several executives in response to the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. The sanctions include freezing the assets of these companies and executives in China, banning their entry into China, and prohibiting Chinese entities from engaging in transactions with them. The targeted companies include Teledyne Brown Engineering, BRINC Drones, Rapid Flight LLC, Red Six Solutions, Shield AI, SYNEXXUS, Firestorm Labs, Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems, HavocAI, Neros Technologies, Cyberlux Corporation, Domo Tactical Communications, and Group W2. This move by China is a response to the U.S. State Department's approval of arms sales to Taiwan, which China views as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity https://lnkd.in/eWWKzmGr

Part 1 Credit to Laura Gozzi January 14, 2025 Nato launches new mission to protect crucial undersea cables https://lnkd.in/g-QnNj3t Nato has launched a new mission to increase the surveillance of ships in the Baltic Sea after critical undersea cables were damaged or severed last year. Nato chief Mark Rutte said the mission, dubbed "Baltic Sentry", would involve more patrol aircraft, warships and drones. His announcement was made at a summit in Helsinki attended by all Nato countries perched on the Baltic Sea – Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden. While Russia was not directly singled out as a culprit in the cable damage, Rutte said Nato would step up its monitoring of Moscow's "shadow fleet" - ships without clear ownership that are used to carry embargoed oil products. Tensions between Nato countries and Russia have been mounting relentlessly since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. "There is reason for grave concern" over infrastructure damage, Rutte said. He added that Nato would respond to such accidents robustly, with more boarding of suspect vessels and, if necessary, their seizure. He declined to share more details on the number of assets that will take part in the Baltic Sentry initiative, as he said this could change regularly and that he did not wish to make "the enemy any wiser than he or she is already". Undersea infrastructure is essential not only for electricity supply but also because more than 95% of internet traffic is secured via undersea cables, Rutte said, adding that "1.3 million kilometres (800,000 miles) of cables guarantee an estimated 10 trillion-dollar worth of financial transactions every day".

Let this sink in - Ukraine cut 15% of Russia’s oil production and drove them to the negotiating table with a compromise on the table using relatively simple drones designed and manufactured in Ukraine over the past two years or so. They did it from hundreds of miles away through some of the toughest air defenses on the planet against predictable targets. Think about that next time you’re driving to Houston on I-10 and pass miles upon miles of oil infrastructure, most of which is within rock throwing range of the highway and all of which is a very predictable target. None of that infrastructure is defended against drones, none of the federal agencies with authority to defend it have the resources to do so and no state local or tribal agency has authority to defend critical infrastructure in their territory. The oil companies have absolutely no counter UAS authority and can’t even purchase C-UAS gear for federal agencies to operate. I know it is an election year and there are a lot of silly political issues drawing a lot of attention. This issue isn’t silly - it is vital and doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Write your Congressman! #counteruas #ukrainerussiawar