CHINA – The PLA will send troops to Mongolia to participate in the "Khaan Quest-2023" multinational peacekeeping exercise in mid-June, said Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense on Friday.

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Ukrainian Naval Ships Chernihiv (ex-HMS Grimsby) and Cherkasy (ex-HMS Shoreham) sail from Rosyth this morning.

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Israel's Rafael defense industry unveils Sky Sonic, an anti-hypersonic missile, that will soon go into testing and has been in the works for several years.

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2023 military strength ranking:

1. 🇺🇸United States
2. 🇷🇺Russia
3. 🇨🇳China
4. 🇮🇳India
5. 🇬🇧United Kingdom
6. 🇰🇷South Korea
7. 🇵🇰Pakistan
8. 🇯🇵Japan
9. 🇫🇷France
10. 🇮🇹Italy
11. 🇹🇷Turkey
12. 🇧🇷Brazil
13. 🇮🇩Indonesia
14. 🇪🇬Egypt
15. 🇺🇦Ukraine
16. 🇦🇺Australia
17. 🇮🇷Iran
18. 🇮🇱Israel
19. 🇻🇳Vietnam
20. 🇵🇱Poland
21. 🇪🇸Spain
22. 🇸🇦Saudi Arabia
23. 🇹🇼Taiwan
24. 🇹🇭Thailand
25. 🇩🇪Germany
26. 🇩🇿Algeria
27. 🇨🇦Canada
28. 🇦🇷Argentina
29. 🇸🇬Singapore
30. 🇬🇷Greece
31. 🇲🇽Mexico
32. 🇵🇭Philippines
33. 🇿🇦South Africa
34. 🇰🇵North Korea
35. 🇳🇴Norway
36. 🇳🇬Nigeria
37. 🇸🇪Sweden
38. 🇲🇲Myanmar
39. 🇳🇱Netherlands
40. 🇧🇩Bangladesh

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British intelligence believes that Russia has gained a temporary advantage in southern Ukraine.

The reason: the introduction of 20 attack helicopters to Berdyansk.

This will put more pressure on NATO to expedite jet deliveries to Ukraine.

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Baiba Braže, NATO Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, published today on Twitter:

"In a show of solidarity and force
🇺🇸 strategic bombers flew above the Freedom Monument in Riga 83 years after the Soviet occupation of Latvia started.

B1-B bombers’ forward posture in Europe enables NATO Allies & partners cohesion."

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BREAKING – Ukraine confirms tactical successes in all main sectors of the southern Ukraine counter-offensive

Ukraine's Defence Ministry claims that its forces are moving at up to 2km along each main axis in southern Ukraine.

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Ukrainian forces destroyed a “significant” ammunition depot near the Russian-occupied port city of Henichesk in the southern region of Kherson, spokesman for the Odesa military administration Serhiy Bratchuk said on Sunday.

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UKRAINE – An epidemic of cholera is spreading among Russian military personnel in Kherson Oblast and Crimea following a Russian terrorist attack onthe Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, the Atesh partisan movement reported on Telegram on June 17.

Several Russian deaths due to the disease have been reported.

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Ukraine counter-offensive: Occupied Skadovsk, Lazurne, Genichesk, Partizans (Rykove) - Russian warehouses with ammunition are detonating everywhere today.

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ZAPORIZHZHIA FRONT /0245 UTC 18 JUN/ Early contact reports suggest that UKR troops have broken through South of Novodanvilivka. Preliminary info suggests that UKR is expanding a widening pocket from Novopokrovka in the E, Verbove and Novoprokopivka in the S and Kopani in the West.

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The USA has approved the sale of 153 M982A1 Excalibur tactical projectiles to Spain.

The contract is valued at 48.2 million USD.

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German Armoured infantry battalion of the 41st Brigade in Lithuania is deploying to Pabradė for upcoming EXERCISE GRIFFINSTORM.

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The concept of a promising K-3 tank has been presented in South Korea. It differs:

🔺Uninhabited tower
🔺130 mm gun
🔺 Active protection system
🔺An armored capsule for three crew members.

South Korea wants to develop its new tank together with Poland.

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Russian flights arrive in Iran constantly for arms collection.

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Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu attended an aerospace exhibition where he stated: “We are determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. We made it clear to our American friends that the agreements are more limited - they are also unacceptable to us. We will do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves against any threat."

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SYRIA – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and U.S.-led Global Coalition arrest two ISIS members in southern Hasakah in a joint security operation.

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IRAQ – Convoys of the U.S. Coalition Forces, reported in al-Baghdadi, and then headed towards Ain al-Asad base in Anbar province.

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UKRAINE – The LAND-LGR4 launcher based on the HMMWV of the Ukrainian army fires Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided missiles.

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Another version of the export of Israeli Merkava-2/3 tanks has been announced: part of the deliveries will be made to Cyprus to replace the 41 T-80U / UK tanks transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and part to Morocco to compensate for the supply of T-72B.

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UPDATE – Israeli Walla writes that Poland might acquire more than 100 Merkava tanks from Israeli surplus stocks.

Such a deal is believed to either entail Poland selling the tanks further to Ukraine, or use tanks themselves as replacements for other Soviet-era tanks that they would sell on Ukraine.

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