The problem with the Shahed drones: How fast can they be? Rep. Marine Col Mark Cancian of the Joint Task Force in Ukraine

The conflict in Ukranian has had a significant impact on drones since Russia launched it’s invasion in February, but their use has increased since the summer when the United States and Kyiv said Moscow acquired drones from Iran. Over the last few weeks Iranian drones have been used to target critical energy infrastructure.

Many of the weapons terrorizing Kyiv and other civilian areas of Ukraine, however, are what the defense industry calls “loitering munitions.” These drones explode on impact, which is why they are sometimes referred to as kamikaze drones.

Russia had bought the drones and was training its forces how to use them, according to US officials. Russia has ordered thousands of Shahed-136 drones from Iran, according to the president of Ukraine.

The Iranian drones are known as a “loitering munition” because they are capable of circling for some time in an area identified as a potential target and only striking once an enemy asset is identified.

The speed of the Shahed drones is a disadvantage according to Ret. Marine Col Mark Cancian.

“The problem with them is that they’re slow,” Cancian said. “They’re propeller-driven and you know, like all propeller-driven drones, they’re just not very fast so they’re susceptible to being shot down by either missiles or by aircraft guns.”

Iran Sensitivities to the Russia-Ukraine War, and a U.S. Plan to Launch Air Defense Systems in Ukraine

The Iranian Mission to the United Nations didn’t reply to the request for comment on the new shipment. Iran has previously denied supplying Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine, saying it “has not and will not” do so.

“Iran has time and again declared that it is siding with no side in the Russia-Ukraine war. Iran has not given arms to either warring side,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Twitter.

Both Nadimi and Cancian compared the Russian decision to target cities as it is losing on the frontlines to The Blitz – the German bombing campaign that targeted London in World War II.

Cancian said that the Russians use cruise missiles to strike at major cities in order to intimidate the Ukrainian population, but that is a mistake. “The Ukrainians are not likely to break.” The morale is very unlikely to break.”

Cancian said that by concentrating on the cities, the military would have more time to recover from the front line.

At the same time, the U.S. has said it is speeding up its delivery of NASAMS, the same ground-based air defense systems that are used to protect the White House in Washington, D.C., and the systems are expected to be in Ukraine in a few weeks.

In August of this year, the Pentagon said that they would be sending drones to launch and control from nine miles away. At altitudes of about 500 feet, umas can stay for a long time.

The Russian War in the Middle East: The Status of Iran’s Connection with the Continuum and Future Directions of the UAV Program

This new expected shipment would mark a significant increase in Iranian support to Russia’s war effort. There is no exact timing for when the weapons are going to arrive in Russia, but officials believe they will be delivered before the end of the year.

The US is looking at all options, not just with sanctions, in order to disrupt the Iranian weaponry from going to Russia, said Secretary of State Tony Blinken. He said that the US is “trying to break up these networks.”

John Kirby, the communications person at the National Security Council, said the presence of Iranian personnel was proof that Tehran was engaged in the conflict.

We know those drones have been used to target civilians. And we know that Iran, in the face of all of this evidence, keeps lying and denying that it’s happening,” Malley said.

A senior US defense official said they didn’t have any info to back up the rumor that Iran was going to send missiles to Russia.

The US imposed a sanctions against an air transportation provider for its involvement in the shipment of Iranian drones to Russia. The US is also ready to target producers who contribute to the UAV program, according to the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

The question of longevity and sustainability remains because it is unclear how long Iran can or would continue providing weaponry – including more advanced missiles – to Russia.

State of Ukraine: NPR’s Spectator Report from the Ukraine Emergency Operations and Security Conference (SHEA) during Nov. 2

Anticipation is mounting for a possible battle for Kherson, a Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine. Kremlin-installed officials have been evacuating civilians in preparation for a potential Ukrainian counteroffensive.

And Ukraine will be watching America’s midterm election results this week, especially after some Republicans warned that the party could limit funding for Ukraine if it wins control of the House of Representatives, as forecast.

The Turkish President is going to host the Swedish Prime Minister on Tuesday. Sweden needs to meet certain conditions before it becomes a member of NATO.

The General Assembly is scheduled to discuss a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency and is expected to have Ukrainians on its agenda.

More than 4 million Ukrainians were left without electricity after attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure.

Russia rejoined a U.N.-brokered deal to safely export grain and other agricultural goods from Ukraine, on Nov. 2. Moscow had stopped working on the deal a few days earlier after it said that Ukraine had attacked its ships in the Black Sea.

The past recaps can be found here. For context and more in-depth stories, you can find more of NPR’s coverage here. Also, listen and subscribe to NPR’s State of Ukraine podcast for updates throughout the day.

The 2001 Flare-Induced Bombing by a Chinese Aircraft Embedding into an Unmanned US Airlines Flight over the Hainan Island

In the past, Beth Sanner was a deputy director of National Intelligence for Mission Integration, where she oversaw elements that coordinate and lead collection, analysis and program oversight in the Intelligence Community. In this role she also served as the president’s intelligence briefer. She is an analyst for CNN and teaches at the University of Maryland. The opinions expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.

The balloon incident is not being put in perspective. I am not suggesting that the US change their mind. However, we all need to begin to better differentiate threats posed by various Chinese actions; US officials must calmly evaluate the situation at hand (or in the sky) and respond based on both the immediate risk and US strategic interests. The current mood in Washington makes me fear that every Chinese activity is threatening.

The US Navy reported an increase in unsafe intercepts by Chinese fighter jets last summer and in December, a Chinese plane flew just 20 feet in front of a US RC-135 plane carrying 30 crew over the international waters. This was just five weeks after the meeting between President Biden and President Xi in Bali during a G20 Summit — a meeting in which they pledged new mechanisms to stabilize the bilateral relationship.

The most memorable example was that of George W. Bush. Two Chinese fighter jets harassed a US navy plane over the international waters near China on April 1, 2001. One collided with the EP-3 and crashed. The EP-3’s pilot managed to regain control of his heavily-damaged plane and made an unauthorized emergency landing on China’s Hainan Island. The 24 US crew members were held for 11 days, and some were repeatedly interrogated before US officials negotiated their release.

Had any damage or loss of life resulted when China downed the unmanned US craft, Chinese authorities would have quickly placed both blame and liability on the US. Protests would have erupted in front of the US Embassy and China’s Ambassador to the US swiftly withdrawn.

My first reaction to the Chinese balloon when it was identified floating over Montana was probably the same as yours: “Shoot it down, already!” But in my decades as a senior intelligence official, my role in such circumstances was to focus on the facts, not the outrage, highlighting the intelligence community’s knowledge — and the gaps in our understanding — and providing a measured, clear-headed assessment. A senior intelligence official in the White House Situation Room might have joined the US military for discussion in certain meetings over the past week. So I’m inclined to buy the risk-benefit calculus that drove the decision to wait to shoot the balloon down until it was flying over shallow US waters where the risk posed by a large debris field was minimal.

The war drums are already beating and I’m waiting for the hyperbole to reach new heights as we move closer to the 2024 election: who will be the toughest on China? It is important that China-bashing is not considered a new brand of McCarthyism, given the already dangerous rise of anti- Asian rhetoric and violence in the US.

Officials said the US is seeing China publicly trying to present itself as a proponent of peace – Wang said in Munich on Saturday that Beijing would be introducing a “peace plan” for Ukraine and Russia – and maintain relationships with Europe, while at the same time quietly aiding Russia’s war effort and considering the provision of lethal aid.

Territorial and sovereignty integrity of countries will be respected in the proposal from China, Wang said.

Wang urged European countries to change their attitude to the war in a key context.

CNN asked Ursula von der Leyen if she believed that China is listening to Europe’s message to not support Russia after hearing Wang’s speech. She said the opposite had been seen so far.

China has not condemned the actions of Russia in Ukraine. Putin told his Chinese counterpart that the partnership was more important than ever because of the pressure the West was putting on them. According to Chinese state media Xinhua, the President of China said that the two countries needed to reinforce strategic coordination andject more stability into the world.

Wang Yi, the new top foreign policy adviser to China’s president, is going to Moscow this week as part of his eight day Europe tour, a trip that brings into issue China’s diplomatic balancing act after Russia invaded Ukraine.

The US has recently seen disturbing trends in China’s support for Russia’s military and there are signs that Beijing wants to supply lethal military aid to Russia without being detected, US officials told CNN.

The officials would not describe in detail what intelligence the US has seen suggesting a recent shift in China’s posture, but said US officials have been concerned enough that they have shared the intelligence with allies and partners at the Munich Security Conference over the last several days.

The issue was raised by the Secretary of State when he met with Wang Yi on the sidelines of the conference.

“The Secretary was quite blunt in warning about the implications and consequences of China providing material support to Russia or assisting Russia with systematic sanctions evasion,” a senior State Department official told reporters.

How the War Between the Worlds Can’t Go On: China’s Top Explicit US-Russian Diplomat is Traveling in Opposite Direction

This warfare can’t continue. Wang said at the conference that efforts should be made to bring this warfare to an end.

“To date, we have seen Chinese companies – and, of course, in China there is really no distinction between private companies and the state – we have seen them provide non-lethal support to … Russia for use in the Ukraine,” Blinken said.

“The concern that we have now is based on information we have that they’re considering providing lethal support, and we’ve made very clear to them that that would cause a serious problem for us and in our relationship,” Blinken said.

As US President Joe Biden touched down in Ukraine to meet with his counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday, China’s top diplomat was traveling in the opposite direction, on his way to Russia.

There are two trips that are taking place just days before the one-year anniversary of the brutal war between the world’s two superpowers.

Wang was careful to say that they don’t add fuel to the fire and aren’t against reaping benefits from the crisis, but it was still an oblique dig at the US.

“Some forces might not want to see peace talks to materialize. They don’t care about the lives of Ukrainians or the harm on Europe. They might have strategic goals larger than Ukraine itself. Wang said that this warfare must not continue.

He told officials that Europe should play a role in bringing peace to Europe, and should have a framework to do so.

The U.S. and the Cold War in Ukraine: a High-Energy Monitor for the Interaction Between Russia and China

The US side supplies weapons to the battlefield more than the Chinese side. The US side is not qualified to lecture China, and we would never accept the US dictating or even coercing pressure on Sino-Russian relations,” a ministry spokesperson said at a regular news conference.

Who is calling for dialogue and peace? And who is handing out knives and encouraging confrontation? The international community can see clearly,” the spokesperson said.

Previously, Beijing had carefully avoided actions that could trigger secondary sanctions, which would deal a devastating blow to an economy hampered by three years of costly zero-Covid policy.

And while Beijing’s pro-Russian rhetoric appears to have softened in recent months, its support for Moscow – when measured by its annual trade, diplomatic engagements and schedule of joint military exercises – has bolstered over the past year.

A top US State Department official said Thursday that the Biden administration would put some restrictions on Chinese companies involved in evading sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine.

She mentioned that the US had recently sanctioned a Chinese company called Spacety, which she noted was providing support to the group in Bakhmut.

The forthcoming sanctions will also “clamp down on more Russian banks that have been evading sanctions” as well as “the middlemen who are flipping back money to the Russian government” through oil trade.

Sources say it is not clear that Beijing has decided yet, but talks between Russia and China about the price of the equipment are continuing.

To date, Beijing has been hesitant about providing lethal equipment that might be traced back to China because of the risk of international blowback, and Beijing still wants the provision of any equipment to Russia to be deniable and ideally non-attributable, the sources said.

It would also provide a potentially significant boost to Russian capabilities at a critical moment. The head of a mercenary group in Russia published photos of dead fighters and blamed the Russian Ministry of Defense for the low supply of weapons.

Private and public sector in China: a comparative study of the Chinese pharmaceutical sector and the results of the XinHao project

According to the sources, the lines between public and private companies in China are not very high.