Defense Briefing

Greece has blocked the 21st EU sanctions package against Russia – to protect the shipping company Dynagas, which is allegedly involved in Russian shadow fleet trade. The incident reveals how economic self-interest of individual members undermines the cohesion of EU sanctions policy. Russia is likely to derive a substantial oil export windfall from this, while Brussels' geopolitical credibility suffers.

According to terrain analyses, Russian troops are now only eight kilometers away from Kramatorsk and Sloviansk – the last major Ukrainian cities in the Donbas. Channel 4 reports live from the city, which is preparing for one of the war's most brutal battles. A fall of these cities would give Russia an operational breakthrough in eastern Ukraine and fundamentally alter the course of the war.

After five consecutive nights of attacks, Trump now threatens direct strikes on Iranian power plants and bridges – a new escalation level that would massively impact the civilian population. Iran, in turn, has targeted the US Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain as well as objectives in Kuwait and Jordan. Markets are reacting nervously: According to Polymarket, Strait of Hormuz traffic is considered 99% non-recoverable through end of July – with immediate consequences for global oil prices and supply chains.

A joint advisory from 19 allied cybersecurity authorities (NSA, CISA, FBI, DC3 and partners) from July 13, 2026 warns of systematic Russian attacks on poorly secured routers in energy, telecommunications, and defense infrastructure. The attacks are attributed to FSB Center 16 and exploit default credentials as well as known CVEs – a sign that even basic security hygiene is lacking in critical sectors. This new aspect: The advisory explicitly names defense industry networks as a primary target for the first time, pointing to espionage in the defense sector.

Ukraine has destroyed a strategically significant industrial facility in Orenburg – deep in Russian territory and beyond S-400 air defense coverage. The facility was part of Russia's rocket technology supply chain (Gazprom/Salavat complex). The attack demonstrates significantly enhanced Ukrainian deep-strike capability and is likely to noticeably impair Russia's rocket production.