Vladimir Putin is desperate for more manpower shore up his military campaign in Ukraine, according to a new report

Russian ground advances across eastern Ukraine appear to be small at first glance — only 1.2 square kilometers on an average per day near the city of Kupiansk. Or, as the Institute for the Study of War notes,

Russia will reinforce its Black Sea Fleet with marine robotic systems, warships, and additional aircraft, Nikolai Patrushev, the head of Russia's Maritime Collegium, said in an interview with the state-run RIA Novosti published on July 25.

Military experts have long scrutinized Russia's naval capabilities, acknowledging its nuclear submarine deterrents as a clear strength, but noting that Putin's navy is primarily composed of older Soviet-era vessels that lack the capacity to project power globally in a large-scale conflict, reports the Express.

Trump is showing signs of willingness to renew U.S. support Ukraine, Angela Stent writes in a guest commentary.

"Putin might use this perceived distraction as an opportunity to obtain further territory," a retired U.S. Colonel told Newsweek.

At the latest Nato summit in The Hague, the alliance announced that members had set a new target of spending 5 per cent of GDP on defence and security by 2035. In part, this is likely to have been driven by a realisation that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff’s shuttle diplomacy and Europe’s denunciations of Vladimir Putin will not be enough to end the war in Ukraine.