All posts tagged: Commander

Exclusive-Senior Ukrainian Commander Sees Imminent ‘Turning Point’ in War

Exclusive-Senior Ukrainian Commander Sees Imminent ‘Turning Point’ in War

Published by Sam Flores

KHARKIV REGION, Ukraine, May 27 (Reuters) – Ukraine has a six-month window in which to seize the battlefield ⁠initiative ⁠from Russia and strengthen its hand for peace talks, a senior ⁠commander told Reuters, predicting a “turning point” was imminent after more than four years of war. Russian forces have made grinding gains since their full-scale invasion of ​Ukraine in February 2022, but the advances have slowed this year and Ukrainian troops are increasing pressure on the battlefield to try to push them back. Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, who commands Ukraine’s Third Army Corps, one of Ukraine’s ‌most respected fighting forces, told Reuters in an interview that ‌he believes Russia’s army is exhausted and incapable of making major breakthroughs. If Ukraine’s military can build and maintain momentum over several months, it can gain the initiative along the frontline and push Russia to abandon its designs on ⁠the last part of ⁠the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine that it does not yet occupy, he said. “I believe the next six to nine ​months are a turning point,” …

Marco Rubio poses in front of map of Cuba with US commander as invasion fears soar | World | News

Marco Rubio poses in front of map of Cuba with US commander as invasion fears soar | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has posed in front of a map of Cuba alongside a US general as Donald Trump sends his biggest sign yet he intends to invade Cuba soon. Rubio made the symbolic statement on Tuesday as he shook hands with the commander of the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), General Francis L. Donovan, alongside a prominent Reference Map of Cuba, during the 2026 Heads of Mission Conference held in Doral, Florida. The conference is focused on advancing the US National Security Strategy objectives, “including collaborative efforts to counter narcoterrorism and deny adversaries a foothold in our region,” SOUTHCOM stated on X. Running between May 5 and 7, it hosts senior officials from the US government, heads of diplomatic missions from US embassies across Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as leaders from the Department of War. It comes amid Donald Trump‘s recent claims that the US would “take Cuba almost immediately” after concluding the war in Iran, and that “it would be an honour to liberate” the “devastating” island. …

Mexico’s Jalisco drug cartel commander ‘El Jardinero’ found hiding in ditch | Crime News

Mexico’s Jalisco drug cartel commander ‘El Jardinero’ found hiding in ditch | Crime News

Published by Sam Flores

Mexican special forces have arrested Audias Flores, known as “El Jardinero”, one of the top commanders of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), as well as his chief financial operator, Mexico’s Security of Security ⁠Omar Garcia Harfuch said. Videos shared by ‌Garcia Harfuch on social media on Monday showed aerial footage of the arrest of Flores as helicopters hovered overhead during the arrest operation, which the Mexican Navy said followed months of surveillance and involved more than 500 troops, six helicopters and several planes. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “Audias Flores Silva, alias ‘El Jardinero’, was detained in Nayarit. He has an arrest warrant in Mexico and is also sought by United States authorities for extradition purposes. For his capture, the US government offered a reward of 5 million dollars,” Garcia Harfuch said in a post on social media. Flores, a regional commander in control of swaths of CJNG territory along Mexico’s Pacific coast, was considered a potential successor to Nemesio Oseguera, alias “El Mencho”, who ran the feared cartel and …

Former NATO commander: Halting mine-laying vessels ‘key to unlocking’ Strait of Hormuz

Former NATO commander: Halting mine-laying vessels ‘key to unlocking’ Strait of Hormuz

Published by Sam Flores

Retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, a former NATO allied supreme commander, suggested on Thursday that reopening the Strait of Hormuz largely hinges on the U.S. military’s ability to stop Iranian mines from being laid in the waterway. “Strategically, what we ought to be doing is going after these small boats before they get underway. And… Source link

Ukraine deploys new combat model, commander says Russian-held areas recaptured

Ukraine deploys new combat model, commander says Russian-held areas recaptured

Published by Sam Flores

April 15 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s Defence Ministry said on Wednesday it was introducing a new model of operations integrating drone warfare with infantry activity and pointed to successes announced by its top commander ‌in retaking territory from Russian forces in the south of the country. Top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Kyiv’s ‌forces had regained control of nearly 50 sq km (19 sq miles) of its territory from Russia in March, building on its gains since ​the start of the year. Drones have assumed a prominent role in the four-year-old war pitting Kyiv against Moscow. Both sides have also devoted resources to developing ways to intercept drones and upgrade air defences. “A new model of warfare is being introduced, drone-assault units that combine aerial and ground unmanned systems with infantry into a single integrated system,” the Defence Ministry ‌said in a brief statement on ⁠Telegram. “This approach has already produced results in the south, where since February a large area of territory has been liberated, precisely thanks to the use of these advanced units.” Syrskyi made …

Hezbollah commander describes fighting Israel in Lebanon : NPR

Hezbollah commander describes fighting Israel in Lebanon : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

People inspect the aftermath of Wednesday’s Israeli airstrikes that targeted southern Beirut’s al-Rihab neighborhood, April 9. AFP/via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption AFP/via Getty Images BEIRUT, Lebanon — It was too dangerous to meet in person. Israel has been hunting him and his comrades, picking them off by airstrike and drone, in surprise attacks that often kill civilians alongside them. In a 40-minute phone call late Thursday, a Hezbollah field commander told NPR how he was wounded in Israel’s vast bombardment of Beirut a day earlier, which killed more than 350 people, according to Lebanese authorities. An Israeli missile exploded in the street next to a building in the capital’s southern suburbs, where he was sheltering. Flying glass and debris injured him in the arms and legs, the commander says. Two people, he said, died next to him. The next day, as he spoke to NPR, he was back on his feet. “I have an enemy occupying my land,” he said. “Where am I supposed to be?” He gave only his nom de guerre, …

‘Darwinian’ battle looms for the West’s arms industry, top NATO commander warns – POLITICO

‘Darwinian’ battle looms for the West’s arms industry, top NATO commander warns – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Last month, American defense tech firm Anduril signed a 10-year contract with the U.S. Army for hardware, software and infrastructure that could be worth up to $20 billion. In Germany, the government locked in a multibillion-euro drone deal with German companies Stark and Helsing — which were founded in 2024 and 2021, respectively. As Europe and the U.S. rush to counter the threat from Russia and the war in the Middle East, the competition from newer firms poses yet another test for military contractors already scrambling to scale up production, says Vandier, who is in charge of innovation and preparing NATO for the future of warfare. “On one side, the legacy companies say they are going to change. On the other, the startup world brings fierce energy and venture capital money, with young people who aren’t afraid to fail because they know they can always try again,” he told POLITICO. “It is a clash of two worlds.” That clash was on full display last month when Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger dismissed Ukraine’s drone industry as …

Who was Gholamreza Soleimani, killed commander of Iran’s Basij forces? | Conflict

Who was Gholamreza Soleimani, killed commander of Iran’s Basij forces? | Conflict

Published by Sam Flores

Brigadier General Gholamreza Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary forces, has been killed in the US-Israeli war on the country, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has confirmed. In a statement shared by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency on Tuesday, the IRGC said the 62-year-old was killed in an “attack by the American-Zionist enemy”. Soleimani was the commander of the country’s most powerful internal security forces for the past six years and a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War, having fought on the front lines. Iran also confirmed early on Wednesday that Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was killed. As US and Israeli forces increasingly target the Basij and other military apparatuses, Soleimani had emerged as a central figure in a war that has seen Iran’s top political and military figures killed. From front-line volunteer to general Soleimani was born in 1964 in the city of Farsan in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. His military career was forged in the trenches of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. He is not related to Qassem …