UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
French doctors have been advised to prepare for a possible war by spring 2026, Le Figaro reports.
On July 18, hospitals received a letter instructing them to be ready to treat thousands of wounded in the event of a major war in Europe. Estimates suggest there could be between 10,000 and 50,000 casualties in the first months.
The largest Iron Defender-25 exercises in 2025 have begun in Poland.
The maneuvers will take place on land, at sea, and in the air, with the participation of 30,000 Polish and allied troops and about 600 units of equipment.
The exercises cover several regions of the country and involve the use of new strike and reconnaissance platforms, as well as the practice of lessons from the war in Ukraine.
At the same time, the Russian-Belarusian exercises West-2025 are being held in September.
Putin cynically declared that Russia "has never had, does not have, and will never have the desire to attack anyone."
Despite Putin’s ultimatums, NATO has moved 300 kilometers closer to Russia’s borders.
On September 1, the NATO Land Forces Regional Command headquarters officially began operating in the Finnish city of Mikkeli, the Finnish Land Forces reported.
Mikkeli is located 140 km from the Russian border and 304 km from St. Petersburg. Previously, the closest Alliance command headquarters to Russia was in Szczecin, Poland — the Multinational Corps “Northeast,” located 414 km from Kaliningrad.
At the first stage, about ten officers will work in Mikkeli. Over the next few years, personnel will grow to 50.
The headquarters will oversee NATO land forces in the northern region, coordinate national armies, and plan exercises and operations. It will report to the Norfolk command in the US, which is responsible for the Atlantic and the Arctic.
Russian dictator Putin said there is a possibility of finding consensus on security guarantees for Ukraine. He noted that he discussed this issue with Trump in Alaska.
Putin also did not rule out joint operation of the Zaporizhzhia NPP not only with the United States, but also with Ukraine.
“We can even work together at the Zaporizhzhia NPP,” the dictator said.
Fico said after talks with Putin that he had prepared a “serious message” for Zelenskyy.
“Putin informed me about the progress of negotiations with US President Donald Trump in Alaska and the prospects for ending this military conflict. From this important discussion, I have drawn several conclusions and messages that I intend to convey to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday,” the Slovak Prime Minister said.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has led to a global shortage of TNT. The explosive, used for decades not only in the military but also in industry — including the production of gravel, cement, and other materials — is now becoming more expensive and less available, The New York Times reports.
The production of TNT (trinitrotoluene) generates hazardous waste. For this reason, by the mid-1980s, the U.S. Department of Defense closed the last plant in the country that produced the explosive.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Poland remained the only official supplier of TNT to the Pentagon. However, most of its production is now directed to Ukraine.
The situation worsened after two key suppliers — Russia and China — stopped exporting TNT to the United States. This has put additional pressure on both U.S. weapons production and civilian quarry blasting operations that provide essential resources for the construction of roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.
Ukraine has become the first country to regularly use swarms of AI-controlled drones in combat — The Wall Street Journal.
According to the publication, the Swarmer software, developed by a Ukrainian startup, enables drones to coordinate their actions and independently decide whether to strike.
"You set the target, and the drones do the rest," a Ukrainian Armed Forces officer told the newspaper.
The technology has already been used more than 100 times, usually with groups of 3 to 8 drones. A swarm of more than 100 drones is reportedly now in the testing phase.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the Alliance’s defenses must be strengthened due to the growing direct threat from Russia — The Guardian.
Rutte warned that Russia is much closer than Europeans think.
“With the latest Russian missile technology, for example, the difference between Lithuania on the front line and Luxembourg, The Hague or Madrid is 5–10 minutes. This is the time it takes for a missile to reach these parts of Europe. So we are all under direct threat from the Russians, we are all on the eastern flank now, regardless of whether you live in London or Tallinn… there is no difference anymore,” he said.
Rutte also commented on the incident with the plane of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which circled for several hours over the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv because Russian electronic warfare systems had jammed its GPS signal. He recalled other similar cases and stressed that NATO takes this “very seriously,” stepping up its response to hybrid and cyber threats and working “day and night.”
“I’ve always hated the word ‘hybrid’ because it sounds so nice, but hybrid is what it is: the jamming of commercial aircraft with potentially catastrophic consequences, the assassination of a major industrialist in a NATO ally, the attack on the National Health Service in the UK. These are not small incidents. These are huge incidents with huge impact,” Rutte said.
❗️Russia attacked Ukraine with drones and missiles tonight: the attack was aimed mainly at the western regions of Ukraine.
▪️ In Ivano-Frankivsk region, a fire broke out at an infrastructure facility. Preliminary reports indicate no casualties.
▪️ In Lutsk, heavy fires occurred. Two garages and an outbuilding were destroyed.
▪️ In Khmelnytskyi and the region, smoke was observed over the city. The city council reported that public transport today will operate with major schedule disruptions and in reduced numbers.
▪️ In Kirovohrad region, 17 houses were damaged, part of the community lost power, and there are victims. Railway infrastructure was also damaged, causing train delays.
▪️ Explosions were also reported in Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Italy is considering concealing the routes of government flights after Ursula von der Leyen’s plane experienced GPS problems — The Guardian.
According to the publication, the authorities plan to classify state flights, reduce the amount of information on the website of the Prime Minister’s Office, and limit the display of trajectories on specialized resources.
Although a 2011 decree requires the publication of data on ministers’ movements and the need for diplomatic permits remains, sources note that Rome “may soon decide not to make such flights public.”
Ukraine Reveals Specs of “Palianytsia”—Its Secret Long-Range Rocket Drone (united24media.com/latest-news/ukraine-reveals-specs-of-palianytsia-its-secret-long-range-rocket-drone-11319)
Ukraine has disclosed the technical specifications of its “Palianytsia” rocket drone for the first time at the MSPO 2025 defense exhibition in Poland. The system, first announced on Ukraine’s Independence Day in August 2024, had remained classified until now.
According to Defense Express on August 2, the Palianytsia weighs 320 kilograms, including up to 100 kilograms of payload. Its maximum range is 650 kilometers, with an operational altitude between 15 and 500 meters.