Tag: perpetual war

The Drone War No One Can Stop: Mystery Aircraft Defy Europe’s Defences

In September 2025, a wave of incursions caused major disruption. 

Copenhagen Airport was temporarily closed. 

Danish military bases were breached. 

Drones were also spotted over a power plant, a hospital, and a ThyssenKrupp naval factory in Germany.

France and Belgium were affected too.

The countries hit seemed powerless to stop the drones.

On Saturday (1 November) and Sunday (2 November), drones were sighted on two separate occasions over Kleine Brogel Air Base in Belgium.

The base hosts F-16s from the Belgian Air Force’s 10th Tactical Wing.

Alarmingly, under NATO’s nuclear sharing program, the base also stores B61-series nuclear bombs.

Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken confirmed that drones entered the area near the Base in northeastern Belgium on Saturday and Sunday nights in two separate phases.

Francken said the first phase involved “small drones to test the radio frequencies” of Belgian security services. Later, “big drones” appeared, apparently “to destabilize the area and people,” he told public broadcaster RTBF.

“It resembles a spy operation. By whom, I don’t know,” he said. “I have a few ideas, but I’m going to be careful about speculating.”

As in September, Belgian forces appeared unable to bring down the drones. Francken later explained why jamming efforts failed and why the military chose not to use kinetic force.

Francken said the security services’ jammer failed because the drones had adapted.

“The jammer didn’t work because they tested our radio frequency and changed it,” he explained. “They have their own frequencies. An amateur doesn’t know how to do that.”

When asked why the drones weren’t shot down, Francken said:

“If they’re over a military base, we can shoot them down. But if they’re nearby, we have to be very careful — they could fall on a house, a car, a person. That’s completely different.”

He added that the situation also raised legal questions. “It’s not entirely clear. We have to clarify the legal grounds.”

Francken admitted that Belgium was still playing catch-up.

“We’re chasing after the threat,” he said. “We should have bought air defense systems five or ten years ago.”

Similar failures exposing the limits of counter-drone technology have occurred in recent years, affecting key U.S. military bases.

In December 2023, Langley Air Force Base in Virginia was swarmed by dozens of drones over several weeks, sparking a major security scare.

In 2024, Liberation Times obtained twenty-two witness statements and an incident report through a Freedom of Information Act request, following incursions at the base.

These statements come from members of the 633d Security Forces Squadron, who are responsible for guarding Joint Base Langley-Eustis.

Witnesses from the 633d Security Forces Squadron reported observing the so-called ‘drones’ ‘moving at rapid speeds’ and displaying ‘flashing red, green, and white lights’.

Concerningly, one witness stated that their dronebuster ‘failed to register’ one of the objects, while another was unable to use a dronebuster ‘due to not having a visual’.

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Israel Arrests Ex-IDF Lawyer Who Leaked Video Showing Israeli Soldiers Rape a Palestinian Prisoner

On Monday, Israeli police arrested the Israeli military’s former top prosecutor for leaking a video that showed Israeli soldiers raping a Palestinian prisoner at the notorious Sde Teiman detention facility in southern Israel last year.

Maj. Gen. Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi resigned on Friday after admitting to approving the leak, something she said she did in response to the backlash over Israeli military police arresting IDF soldiers who were suspected of severely abusing the prisoner, which involved stabbing him with a sharp object that tore his rectum.

Tomer-Yerushalmi went missing on Sunday for several hours, raising concerns that her life was at risk, but she was later found unharmed. The former military prosecutor has come under a torrent of criticism for her role in leaking the video, including from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called the leak the worst public relations attack on Israel in the country’s history.

Israeli government officials have been strongly critical of the act of leaking the video, but of the horrific abuse inflicted on the Palestinian prisoner. According to Israeli media reports at the time, the prisoner was admitted to the hospital with an injury to his anus so severe that he couldn’t walk and also had severe lung injuries and broken ribs.

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Zelensky Says Ukraine Received More Patriot Systems

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kiev had received additional Patriot missile defense systems from Germany. 

“Today, we can already say there is a good result for our air defense – Ukraine now has more Patriots. I would like to thank Chancellor Merz, I thank Germany, and everyone who helps,” Zelensky said on Sunday. “More Patriots are now in Ukraine and being put into operation.”

Ukraine has relied on its Western backers for Patriot systems, which are in high demand from Washington’s partners across the globe. While the Patriot is Ukraine’s most effective air defense system, the Financial Times reported last month that the American system is failing to intercept Russian missiles at an increasing pace.  

“Ukraine’s ballistic missile interception rate improved over the summer, reaching 37% in August, but it plummeted to 6% in September, despite fewer launches,” the outlet explained. “The Patriot interceptors are the only ones in Kiev’s arsenal capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles. Moscow’s cruise missiles can be taken down with less sophisticated air defences, but the updates have made it harder to do so,” officials speaking with FT said. 

Russian ballistic missiles are far cheaper to produce than the Patriot interceptors. 

After thanking his backers for sending Ukraine the advanced air defense systems, Zelensky asked for more. “Of course, more systems are needed to protect key infrastructure sites and our cities across the entire territory of our state.” He continued, “And we will continue working to obtain them – not only at the political level with states and leaders but also directly with manufacturers of all necessary air defense systems and missiles for them.”

NATO officials continue to claim that the bloc will provide Ukraine with all it needs to fight. However, Last month, the US Ambassador to NATO said that the alliance would only provide Kiev with $12-$15 billion in military assistance, far short of the $60 billion Zelensky says Ukraine will need. 

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Israeli Troops Advance Into Southwest Syria, Infiltrate Multiple Villages

Israeli troops have been launching operations in southwestern Syria on a fairly regular basis of late, and on Monday they carried out multiple incursions into both the Quneitra and Daraa Governorates, entering multiple villages therein.

Israeli tanks and vehicles raided the village of al-Mushayrifa and searched several homes. They went on to the village of Umm Batna and surrounded a house. It is unclear what they were doing, and the IDF has not commented.

Israeli armored vehicles operating out of the village of al-Hurriya moved against the village of Ofaniyah, also in Quneitra. There were no reports of any incidents in this operation, though again the IDF did not comment.

Further south, Israeli forces advanced into the Yarmouk Basin, in Daraa Governorate. The forces briefly entered the village of Ma’araba, though reportedly they withdrew back to the occupied Golan Heights shortly thereafter and seemingly didn’t do anything while there.

A lot of the Israeli operations of late have involved creating checkpoints along major roads, searching locals that try to pass by before packing up and leaving the area. There are sometimes detentions, though seemingly most of the detained are released shortly thereafter and their detentions are for no apparent reason.

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Report: US Preparing Mexico Mission Against Cartels That Would Include Troops and Drone Strikes

The Trump administration has begun developing detailed plans to send US troops and intelligence officers into Mexico to target cartels in operations that would include drone strikes, NBC News reported on Monday, citing current and former US officials.

The report said that US military personnel have already begun training for the potential mission, though a deployment is not imminent. Many of the troops would come from Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and would operate under the authority of US intelligence agencies, with involvement from CIA officers.

Unlike the current US bombing campaign against alleged drug boats in the waters of Latin America, which the Trump administration is conducting without legal authority, the idea of the campaign in Mexico would be to keep it secret and not publicize attacks.

The NBC report said the administration wanted to operate in coordination with the Mexican government but was also considering conducting the campaign without Mexico’s approval, which would mark a significant violation of the country’s sovereignty. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has increased law enforcement cooperation with the US and has allowed the CIA to ramp up surveillance flights along the border, but she has repeatedly ruled out US military intervention in her country.

“The United States is not going to come to Mexico with the military,” Sheinbaum said in August. “We cooperate, we collaborate, but there is not going to be an invasion. That is ruled out, absolutely ruled out.”

The Mexican leader has also condemned US strikes on boats in the region, saying she “doesn’t agree” with the policy. The US recently bombed several alleged drug vessels in the Eastern Pacific, and in one case, the Mexican Navy had to rescue a survivor.

The Trump administration has not provided any evidence to back up its claims that the boats it has been targeting were carrying drugs and has admitted to Congress that it doesn’t know the identities of the people it has killed. Since the bombing campaign began on September 2, the US military has extra-judicially executed 64 people at sea.

The strikes on boats and the push toward regime change in Venezuela have come under increasing scrutiny from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress due to the lack of transparency and lack of legal authority.

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UK Supplies Ukraine With More Storm Shadow Missiles for Strikes Inside Russia

The UK has supplied Ukraine with more Storm Shadow missiles, which are air-launched and have a range of 155 miles, for strikes inside Russian territory, Bloomberg reported on Monday.

The report came about two weeks after the Ukrainian military claimed an attack on a Russian chemical plant using Storm Shadows, which signaled the US was again backing Ukrainian missile strikes on Russian territory since the British-made missiles require US targeting data to be fired.

Ukraine first began firing Storm Shadow missiles into Russia last year, which coincided with the Biden administration giving it the green light to use US-provided ATACMS missiles in strikes on Russian territory. At the time, Russia responded by altering its nuclear doctrine to lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, making it clear that the US-backed missile strikes risk a major escalation from Moscow.

It’s unclear how many Storm Shadows or ATACMS Ukraine currently has, and the Bloomberg report didn’t specify how many Storm Shadows the UK has recently supplied. The US has also been backing long-range Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory, according to a report from the Financial Times.

The news about the Storm Shadow supply comes as President Trump has once again said that he doesn’t plan on providing Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, at least for now. Sending Tomahawks would mark a huge escalation of the proxy war since they have a range of over 1,000 miles and are nuclear-capable.

CNN reported on Friday that the Pentagon gave the White House the green light to send Tomahawks to Ukraine if it chooses to, because it determined doing so wouldn’t negatively impact the US military’s stockpiles.

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Police raid nightclub in Ukraine over Russian song

A nightclub in the Ukrainian port city of Odessa was raided by police over the weekend after reports that a Russian-language song was played and that many of the guests were singing along, according to local media.

Since the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev, Ukraine has passed several laws restricting the use of Russian in public, revoking its official status, while politicians and activists have campaigned to completely phase it out.

A video of the performance – published by Strana.ua along with photos showing police inside the Palladium nightclub – shows a DJ playing the Russian-language track ‘Glamour’ by Belarusian rappers nkeeei, uniqe, ARTEM SHILOVETS, and Wipo in front of hundreds of guests. The song reportedly prompted the police raid.

Odessa Regional Governor Oleg Kiper denounced the incident, adding that the relevant departments of the Regional Military Administration were instructed to investigate and provide a legal assessment of the nightclub’s actions.

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US Bombs 16th Alleged Drug Boat in Latin America

The US has bombed another alleged drug-running boat in the waters of Latin America, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Saturday.

Hegseth said the vessel was targeted in the Caribbean and, as usual, he provided no evidence to back up his claims about what the boat was carrying. He said the bombing killed three “narco-terrorists,” a term the Trump administration is using to justify extra-judicial executions at sea for an alleged crime that doesn’t receive the death penalty in the US.

The attack brings the total number of boats the US has bombed since September 2 to 16, and the total number of people killed in the campaign to 64, according to numbers released by the Trump administration. Nine boats have been hit in the Caribbean, and seven were targeted in the Eastern Pacific.

While the Trump administration has claimed the boats that have been targeted were attempting to bring drugs to the US, a US official has told Drop Site News that many of the vessels that have been struck “do not even have the requisite gasoline or motor capacity to reach US waters.”

Trump officials have also framed the bombing campaign as a response to fentanyl-related deaths in the US, but the US official speaking to Drop Site also noted that little to no of the fentanyl in the US comes from Venezuela, where most of the boats targeted in the Caribbean have come from.

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Trump Say US Won’t Sell Tomahawk Missiles to Ukraine, for Now

President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States will not sell or trade Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine for the time being, as concerns linger that such a move could lead to an escalation in that nation’s defensive war against Russia’s invasion.

Asked by a reporter on Air Force One whether he was considering sending the long-range missiles to Ukraine, Trump replied, “No, not really.”

He added a moment later that he might “change my mind, but at this moment I’m not [considering it].”

Ukraine has requested that the United States provide Tomahawk missiles, a type of missile manufactured and operated by the United States that has an effective range of up to 1,500 miles. Being equipped with such weaponry would enable the Eastern European nation to strike within Russian territory.

In October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested that Ukraine would be willing to trade drones to the United States in exchange for Tomahawk missiles.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it would view an attack within its territory using western missiles as an escalation by Ukraine’s western allies.

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Netanyahu greenlights death penalty bill for Palestinian prisoners

The National Security Committee in Israel’s Knesset is moving forward with a bill to impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks and operations that killed Israelis. 

According to the Israeli government’s top official on captives’ affairs, Gal Hirsch, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports the move. 

Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who has long called for the execution of Palestinian prisoners, thanked Netanyahu for supporting the bill in a post on social media. 

“I thank the prime minister for his support for Otzma Yehudit’s bill for the death penalty for terrorists, but the court must not have any discretion – every terrorist who goes out to murder must know that the death penalty will be imposed on him. It’s time for justice!” Ben Gvir said. 

Israeli media reports said the bill could have its first reading as soon as Wednesday. 

“The extremist and terrorist Israeli government once again proves, through this decision, that it feeds off the blood and suffering of prisoners in its jails,” said the Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Defense. “The repercussions of this fascist step will be even more bloody and will drag the entire region into a new cycle of uncertainty whose consequences no one can predict.”

Lawmakers in the Knesset National Security Committee already voted 4-1 in favor of the bill on 28 September.

The bill – which does not apply to Israelis who kill Palestinians – requires another three votes in a full Knesset session before it is passed into law. 

At the time of the vote, Ben Gvir came under fire within Israel for pushing the execution bill at a time when Israeli captives were still held in Gaza. 

The National Security Minister threatened on 20 October to stop voting with the ruling coalition if the death penalty bill did not pass its first reading within three weeks. 

Prior to the formation of Netanyahu’s ruling coalition, Ben Gvir had been demanding the death penalty for Palestinians and, at one point, even made the demand as a condition for his joining the government.

Since assuming the role of national security minister, Ben Gvir has tightened the already repressive measures against Palestinians in the Israeli prison system.

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