Three threads define the day: an escalating war with diplomacy stirring at the edges, a British rethink of Brexit on security grounds, and a widening gap between defence budgets and defence factories.

War in Ukraine

  • Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russian oil facilities, its largest barrage of the war, extending the refinery campaign Zelensky ordered despite Trump's objections, while Russia struck back at Kyiv (more).
  • US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied pausing intelligence sharing with Kyiv and pressed Zelensky to focus on ending the war (more).
  • Putin proposed a three-way summit with Trump and Xi Jinping to decide Ukraine's fate, as Zelensky said Washington is delaying Patriot missiles Kyiv already paid for (more).

United Kingdom

  • The IPPR think tank urged Downing Street to weigh rejoining the EU, framing closer alignment as a response to global security threats rather than a trade question (more).

Defence & Industry

  • The US, Canada and Europe are raising defence spending faster than their industries can expand output, with Washington recruiting Detroit auto-industry veterans and Canada reworking its Defence Investment Agency (more).
  • European industry blames fragmented national procurement, while China's control over materials like rare-earth magnets adds a 2027 Pentagon compliance deadline to the pressure (more).