17 November 2025
Ukraine-France
Ukraine signed a letter of intent with France to obtain 100 Rafale warplanes over the next 10 years. France confirmed the number of Rafales and said the deal, which also includes air defence systems, bombs and drones alongside the Dassault-made jets, concerns new equipment rather than transfers from French stocks. The aim is to finance this with EU programs and the planned use of frozen Russian assets – which the EU has not yet agreed on. That makes this far from a done deal. Some believe there will be movement on the issue in mid-December.
Poland
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk described Sunday’s explosion on the country’s rail network near the Ukraine border as an “unprecedented act of sabotage.” A passenger train travelling between Warsaw and the eastern city of Lublin was forced to make an emergency stop early on Sunday after damage was spotted on the tracks. The route is a crucial part of the network for delivering aid to Ukraine. Tusk said the goal of the sabotage was to blow up the train and that additional damage had been identified elsewhere on the route.
Venezuela-US
President Trump said his administration may hold talks with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but the White House gave no more information. Trump announced the possibility of talks on Sunday evening after news that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford had arrived in the Caribbean – a move designed to pressure Maduro.
United States
It has been revealed that six men have been arrested in the United States in recent weeks for an alleged ISIS terrorist plot. The men, who were in New Jersey, Michigan and Washington states, shared ISIS material that encouraged attacks. It is believed that the men were planning on a 2015 Paris-style Bataclan massacre in Michigan during Hallowe’en. The alleged radicalization of these men online demonstrates the long-lasting effects that ISIS’s propaganda and online recruitment strategy has.
Democratic Republic of Congo
The DRC and the M23 rebel group signed a peace framework deal in Qatar. There are eight protocols in the framework, and some of them still require significant work. For example, the DRC is demanding that all Rwandan troops leave the DRC and Rwanda is calling for the disbandment of the Congo-based FDLR rebel militia, which is largely made up of ethnic Hutus linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Social media wires
Drone nets over Kherson streets
Sabotaged Polish railway
Featured Photo: “Hallowe’en Jack-o-latern, Quebec, 2016” – Wikimedia Commons, 2025
The Wires Brief is a daily 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. Feature photos are altered with grayscale.