2 October 2025
Ukraine-US
President Trump recently signed off on allowing intelligence agencies and the Pentagon to aid Kyiv with strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure. U.S. officials are asking NATO allies to provide similar support. The U.S. is also considering deliveries of Tomahawks and Barracudas, as well as other American-made ground- and air-launched missiles with ranges of approximately 500 miles (800km).
France-Russia
Yesterday, French soldiers boarded a Benin-flagged oil tanker called The Boracay, suspected of being part of Russia’s Shadow Fleet, which is used to evade sanctions. No one has outright said it yet, but recently, these ships are suspected of being used to launch drones into Europe, which have targeted airports. French authorities arrested the captain and the first officer.
US-Canada
The US has approved the sale of HIMARS, built by Lockheed Martin, to Canada under a deal worth $1.75 billion. Canada has requested to buy 26 launchers and 132 GMLRS missiles.
United Kingdom
A suspected terrorist attack has occurred outside a synagogue in Manchester. The perpetrator has been shot dead by police. It is believed that he drove his car into a group of people and then proceeded to stab at least four individuals. Today is Yom Kippur.
Israel-Gaza
The BBC is reporting that the military leader of Hamas, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, disagrees with the peace plan at all. Al-Haddad believes that the proposal has been written in a way that will disarm and destroy the militant wing. Al-Haddad made it clear that he wants to fight on.
Russia-Ukraine
Russian artillery strikes have cut power to the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant, which the UN’s atomic energy watchdog said affected the confinement structure which houses the plant’s damaged reactor core. Two emergency diesel generators are now supplying it with electricity. Just over a week ago, the Russians targeted the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, also cutting power to it.
US-Iraq
The US military announced on Tuesday that it will be scaling down its forces and operations in Iraq and focusing its attention in the region on ISIS in Syria. Most of the 2,500 US personnel in the country will be shifted to Iraq’s Kurdistan region in the north. Once the transitions are completed, the total number of US forces in Iraq will number fewer than 2,000, and the majority of them will be in Erbil.
Russia-North Korea
A Ukrainian general has said that Russia may have brought in around 20,000 workers from North Korea to manufacture goods intended for military use, including the production of Geran drones in Russia’s Republic of Tartarstan.
Russia
Due to fallout from Ukrainian strikes on its energy infrastructure, Russia is being forced to consider importing gasoline from Asian markets. Ukrainian strikes have reportedly closed nearly 40% of Russia’s refining capacity, causing domestic fuel shortages.
Social Media Wires
Footage of the police confrontation with the suspect in Manchester
Drone cope cages are becoming more… avant-garde
Ukraine’s attack on Russia’s Primorsk oil export facility
Feature Photo: “oil tanker crossing bridge over Lake Maricaibo” – Wikimedia Commons, 2025
The Wires Brief is a weekly breaking news report incorporating wire service news and social media updates. DefRep cannot verify the authenticity of social media reporters nor the accuracy of social media updates.