Reuters reports that the U.S. and South Korea are cutting the duration and scope of the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise following President Donald J. Trump’s order to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to substantially reduce U.S. participation. The exercise, which began Aug. 17, will now end Aug. 21 rather than Aug. 27. The allies are also scaling back some field maneuvers, with portions of the planned second phase reportedly being canceled and some live-fire training events either canceled or shifted to simulations. U.S. and South Korean officials say the changes will preserve the exercise’s essential readiness objectives, while North Korea has condemned the drills as provocative regardless of their reduced size. On Sunday, President Trump took to Truth Social to order the reduction citing his “very good relationship” with Kim Jong Un, while Reuters reports that the administration is also seeking to reopen direct diplomacy with Pyongyang. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Trump’s aides are pushing for a meeting with Kim as early as this fall. South Korean officials said they were not informed in advance of President Trump’s order.

Ukrainian attack drones struck Russia’s Ufa Oil refinery this morning, setting the facility on fire. The strike reportedly damaged support equipment for the refinery’s main AVT-6 refining unit.

The Ukrainian Air Force continues its summer campaign to knock out Russian bridges behind the frontline. Seen here, a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 Fulcrum drops a quartet of GBU-39 SDB glide bombs on the Russian bridge over the Seym River at Zvannoe.

Ukrainian attack drones hit a Russian Black Sea Fleet strategic storage depot in the hills above occupied Sevastopol, Crimea, yesterday, setting the facility ablaze. NASA's FIRMS detected a large fire during multiple passes over the site Tuesday morning.

A Spanish fighter jet shot down a drone that violated Romanian airspace, Romania’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

Ukrainian Fire point FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile launch.

Ukrainian drones struck Wildberries' largest warehouse in Koledino, Moscow region today.

Logistics warehouses in Domodedovo, Moscow region were also attacked overnight.

Two Flamingo missiles struck an aircraft plant in Samara overnight, likely hitting CSKB-Progress which makes Soyuz rockets for Russia's Rassvet satellite internet. The nearby Aviacor aircraft repair plant may also have been damaged.

The U.S. Army has temporarily grounded Apache helicopter training flights following the deaths of two soldiers in an AH-64E crash near Fort Hood, Texas, on Wednesday. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Deontre T. Huey, 34, and Warrant Officer Seth L. Olmsted, 25, were killed when their Apache crashed in a rural field near Salado. The crash sparked a wildfire, but no buildings were struck. The Army has not identified a cause and says the stand-down will remain in place until investigators have a better understanding of the accident. The temporary grounding affects training flights, not necessarily the entire Apache fleet. The AH-64 remains heavily used by Army and National Guard units and has also seen combat during the Iran war, including an Apache reportedly shot down by an Iranian drone over the Strait of Hormuz in June.

Many houses burned down, more at risk as forest fire moves through Omis, Croatia.

Russian SAM system shooting at the Black Sea off the coast of Gelendzhik today.

French FM Barrot: Iran must halt the executions of protesters from the January 2026 uprising and release political prisoners. A joint declaration by France, Canada, the UK, Australia and the EU opposes the death penalty against dissidents. Iran is still executing arrested protesters after unfair trials, seven months after a crackdown that killed thousands.

Reports indicate that Russia's Orsk refinery has completely halted operations after a successful Ukrainian strike. Authorities acknowledge that repairs will take at least 6 months due to reliance on imported equipment and are bracing for the worst. Fuel is planned to be brought in "from the outside," as only 80% of gas stations are currently operational.

Reports indicate that the Galaktika shopping center is heavily on fire in occupied Yenakiieve, Donetsk region, following a drone attack.

Video footage captured a massive explosion earlier today at the KNDS Ammunition Plant in Colleferro, Italy, just to the southeast of Rome, following reports of a fire inside the facility’s powder pressing department, with multiple firefighting teams currently working to extinguish the flames, according to the ANSA.

President Trump has directed the Navy to abandon the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) being used on the Gerald R. Ford class carriers and return to traditional steam catapults, according to U.S. officials cited by the Wall Street Journal. Trump signed a national security memorandum directing the Navy to redesign the fourth Ford class carrier, Doris Miller, and subsequent ships around steam catapults. The first three carriers, Gerald R. Ford, John F. Kennedy and Enterprise, will retain EMALS. The decision reverses years of Navy and industry resistance to Trump's proposal, largely because replacing EMALS would require significant redesign and could cost billions of dollars. Trump has criticized EMALS for years, arguing that it is overly complex and less reliable than steam catapults. The move effectively locks in a major technological reversal for future U.S. aircraft carriers.

Citing The New York Times, TWZ reports that a senior U.S. military official said Iranian drones provided commanders with the F-15E’s location, speed and direction, potentially allowing a dispersed missile team to target the aircraft. The significance may be less about a sophisticated “drone swarm” than the use of inexpensive drones as airborne sensors. After U.S. and Israeli strikes degraded Iran’s conventional air defense network, drones could provide a relatively cheap and expendable way to detect and track aircraft and pass targeting information to dispersed shooters. The report also connects the account to the previously reported “jellyfish” or “minefield” of drones seen by the F-15E crew shortly before they ejected, while cautioning that it remains unclear whether those drones were actually involved in the shootdown. If accurate, the incident illustrates a broader lesson demonstrated in Ukraine: cheap, distributed sensors can help cue much more expensive weapons against high value targets.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has announced that she will be leaving the Trump Administration at the end of August, in order to spend more time and energy on her two young children, the youngest of which was born on May 1. Leavitt said in a post earlier today, “The truth is since returning to the White House after the birth of my daughter, I have felt in my heart that I cannot be the best mom my two young children deserve while devoting the constant time, energy, and attention required of the White House Press Secretary.”

A U.S. Army exercise in Germany earlier this year highlighted the growing challenge posed by battlefield drones. During Combined Resolve, Ukrainian drone operators from the 412th Unmanned Systems Regiment reportedly overwhelmed a U.S. armored brigade, using reconnaissance drones to locate armored vehicles before employing First Person View (FPV) and bomb dropping drones to simulate their destruction, according to the Wall Street Journal. The exercise was specifically designed to test large scale ground combat against an opposing force incorporating small battlefield drones. U.S. forces improved during subsequent iterations by dispersing and concealing themselves more effectively and making greater use of electronic warfare. The experience gap remains significant. Ukrainian operators have spent more than four years adapting drone tactics under combat conditions, while U.S. forces have comparatively limited experience operating, repairing and employing drones in a contested battlefield environment. Similar results have reportedly occurred in exercises involving British, Swedish and other NATO forces. The takeaway is less about the vulnerability of any individual armored platform and more about the system required to protect and employ armor in a drone-saturated environment: concealment, dispersion, electronic warfare, counter-drone systems and the ability to rapidly adapt tactics.