Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the U.S. is prolonging the war in Ukraine because “they need conflicts to retain their hegemony.” Opening a conference in Moscow, he also said the U.S. is “using the people of Ukraine as cannon fodder.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he is looking to expand his “comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations” with his North Korean counterpart. Kim Jong-Un has responded in a letter of his own that renewed “strategic and tactical cooperation, support and solidarity . . . had been put on a new high stage, in the common front for frustrating the hostile forces' military threat and provocation.”

Canada is giving fully-vaccinated travellers entering through the land border a one-time exemption from fines or quarantine requirements if they unknowingly fail to submit the required health documents through the ArriveCAN app. Canadians citizens, permanent residents, persons registered under the Indian Act, and foreign nationals are eligible.

Although pandemic-related supply chain issues and worker shortages plagued the U.S. aerospace and defence sector in 2021, sales growth was mostly flat but revenues of the top 100 companies climbed for a sixth consecutive year. They rose nearly eight per cent from 2020 to $595 billion with the top 10 companies accounting for some 52 per cent of the total

Having lost access to Russia’s space launch facilities in neighbouring Kazakhstan, the European Space Agency has begun discussions with SpaceX and potentially other service providers. about using their facilities. “There are two and a half options that we're discussing,” ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher has confirmed. The other prospects include Japan and India but he considers the U.S. company “more operational.”

The parliament in Latvia is calling on its NATO allies to impose more comprehensive sanctions on Russia, which it has formally designated a “state sponsor of terrorism” over its invasion of Ukraine. “Latvia recognises Russia's actions in Ukraine as targeted,” it said August 11, also calling for increased western military, financial, humanitarian and diplomatic support.

Cory Moore, a former Canadian military officer who helped to develop the Afghan National Army’s legal branch, says a group of lawyers and others who supported his work have been “left in the dark” by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. He is pressing the department to to accelerate its processing of the claims by 12 individuals and their families who fear Taliban reprisals.

A Canadian Armed Forces veteran has been charged with murder after a July 31 nightclub shooting in Belize left two people dead and eight others injured. J.R. Smith, who served with the Royal Canadian Regiment in Afghanistan as part of Operation Medusa in 2006, is accused of driving the getaway vehicle. Originally from Newfoundland, he was profiled by CTV five years ago as part of a Remembrance Day feature on veteran entrepreneurship.

Today, Defence Minister Anita Anand participated virtually in the Copenhagen Conference for Northern European Defence Allies of Ukraine. The conference aims to determine how Northern European Allies and other partners can strengthen collaboration and enhance support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustifiable, and illegal attack.

A hard landing by one of the RCAF’s 1960s-era Canadair CT-114 Tutor jets in B.C. last week has resulted in the Snowbirds demonstration team being grounded for the foreseeable future. The pilot was uninjured but the commander of 1 Canadian Air Division ordered the fleet grounded August 10 pending the results of a “broad risk analysis.”

A Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet blown off the flight deck of an aircraft carrier during a July 8 storm in the Mediterranean has been recovered by U.S. Navy salvors using a used a remotely-operated vehicle at a depth of 9,500 feet. The aircraft was transported to a “nearby military installation” for eventual shipment to the U.S

High mobility artillery rocket systems, mortar and artillery ammunition, anti-tank missile systems, explosives and demolition equipment are in the 18th U.S. shipment of arms to Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February. The Defense Department announced the $1-billion package August 8 as the World Bank confirmed $4.5 billion in U.S.-financed budgetary assistance.

NATO membership for Finland and Sweden is seven countries short of ratification as of today, five weeks after Canada was the first of the 30 alliance members to ratify the request in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and generally growing regional belligerence. The Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and Portugal have yet to decide, with Hungary and Turkey expected to be the last to complete the process.

An economic package approved by the U.S. Senate, with Vice-President Kamala Harris casting the deciding vote August 7, includes a proposed 15 per cent tax on most corporations making more than $1 billion in annual profits. The $750-billion package now headed for the House of Representatives also includes funding for climate emissions measures and a proposal which would enable the government to negotiate lower pharmaceutical prices

A ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip appeared to be holding after three days of intense violence, including rockets fired by both sides. At least 44 Palestinians are reported to have been killed as Israel, reporting no casualties except minor injuries, began lifting a blockade today.

A threatened strike at three Boeing defence facilities in the St. Louis area was averted today when members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers voted for a three-year contract. The company said it was satisfied with the deal which improved retirement plans previously offered to the union.

Even though Defence Minister Anita Anand called it “desecration” at the time, Ottawa police are not charging a man who placed a U.S. flag on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial last month. “He showed remorse for the incident and police are confident that he will not repeat it,” the police explained Aug. 3.

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Aug. 2 that a major nuclear power station in southeastern Ukraine “is completely out of control” since Russian forces seized it shortly after their invasion of the region. “Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated,” he said, demanding IAEA access to the “extremely grave and dangerous” Zaporizhzhya site in the city of Enerhodar.

The Canada Border Services Agency has confirmed that officers in Montreal have seized more than a dozen shipments of “dual use goods” destined for Russia but banned under Canada’s sanctions after the invasionof Ukraine. All involved “suspected links to the Russian military.”

As this year’s Exercise Rim of the Pacific winds up off Hawaii in a couple of days, the U.S. Navy is assessing how four unmanned surface vessels worked with allied navies as a prelude to developing larger platforms. USN Rear Admiral Casey Moton, program executive officer for unmanned and small combatants, says the USVs proved they were reliable and their autonomy was mature as they racked up more than 100 days at sea during RIMPAC and related activities.

Disregarding Chinese threats of an unspecified military response – as well as the advice of President Joe Biden ¬– U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy arrived in Taipei today. She and an accompanying congressional delegation said in a statement that the visit, part of an Indo-Pacific tour, “honors America's unwavering commitment to supporting Taiwan's vibrant democracy.”

After seizing power again last year, Myanmar’s military rulers today extended their “emergency rule” which, among other things, enables them to detain critics. General Min Aung Hlaing's regime first extended its rule last August, appointing himself prime minister at the same time, and it now will remain in effect until at least next year.

Having grounded two fleets of U.S. Air Force training aircraft, the Defense Department has found a similar defect in the Martin-Baker ejection seats used by the three versions of the Lockheed Martin F-35 in all services. The issue with inoperative explosive ejection cartridges was discovered in April but the DoD has only now announced widespread grounding until the situation is addressed. The British-based seat manufacturer, which has a U.S. subsidiary says that “outside the F-35, not a single anomaly has been discovered worldwide as a result of the forensic investigation which continues.”

U.S. and British officials say some elements of the Russian mercenary force, the Wagner Group, have been recalled from Syria to fight in Ukraine. “We’ve seen Wagner draw down a little bit on the African continent in the call to send fighters to Ukraine,” U.S. Africa Command leader General Stephen Townsend. British officials added that the mercenaries appear to have taken on new frontline roles in the offensive, most likely because Russia “has a major shortage of combat infantry.”

Nearly five years after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised the UN that Canada would provide a rapidly-deployable peacekeeping force, it evidently remains a work in progress. Global Affairs documents show the commitment was to expire last March but the cabinet has pushed that back to next year despite pressure from the UN and the U.S.

Natural gas supplies to Latvia have been cut off by the Russian energy giant Gasprom which accuses the EU state of violating purchase conditions without providing details. However, since gas accounts for only 27 per cent of Latvia’s total energy consumption, an economics ministry official suggests Gazprom’s move should not have a major impact.

A Dutch shipyard has delivered a new ship the Royal Navy expects will facilitate development and deployment of the latest autonomous and lethality technologies. To be used by the service’s experimental unit, NavyX, the 270-ton vessel is expected to reduce demands on the surface warfleet.

Kim Jong Un says North Korea is ready to use nuclear weapons in conflicts with its southern neighbour and its U.S. ally. “Our armed forces are completely prepared to respond to any crisis, and our country’s nuclear war deterrent is also ready to mobilize its absolute power dutifully, exactly and swiftly in accordance with its mission,” he said July 27. He also accused the U.S. of “demonizing” his country and said the South Korean government, which replied only that it would handle provocation in “a powerful, effective manner”, is led by “confrontational maniacs.”

U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, used a video call today, their fifth since Biden took office, to discuss for more than two hours the future of an increasingly complicated relationship. China’s ascendency as a global power, economic policies, human rights and the ongoing political clash over Taiwan remained key issues.

Nick Diggle, a former Royal Navy counterterrorism expert and now Arctic security specialist, is being assigned as a minister-counsellor at the U.K. High Commission in Ottawa in September. His appointment follows a warning in March by General Wayne Eyre, the Chief of the Defence Staff, that Russia had reoccupied Cold War bases in its far North.

Sixty-one defence research and development companies have received a total of €1.2 billion in the initial batch of European Defence Fund grants, mainly for work in air, ground and naval combat programs. More than 140 proposals had been submitted by consortia comprising at least three companies from at least three EU states or Norway.

In the event of Russia stopping natural gas exports to European Union customers, the EU says that its members have agreed to reduce usage by 15 per cent next winter while leaving some states to opt out to avoid rationing. The measure would be in effect between August and March but the voluntary aspect would become mandatory if supplies reach crisis levels.

BAE Systems says that by 2027 it will be flying a demonstrator aircraft in the U.K. to test artificial intelligence as a support for pilots as part of the multinational Tempest next-generation fighter development program. Helmet sensors would amass biometric and psychometric information which could enable the AI to assist pilots in an emergency.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has set August 1 for a strike against Boeing Defence plants, having rejected a contract offer which the union says does not meet pension commitments. Boeing plans to keep operations running in the event a strike does happen.