Ukraine

Ukraine's drones have erased Russia's home-front sanctuary, hitting St. Petersburg twice in four days and forcing Moscow to pull air defenses back to guard itself.

Kyiv is quietly turning four years of combat into an export business, selling battle-tested drone and air-defense know-how to the Gulf, Taiwan, and Seoul even as it leans on the West for the interceptors that keep its cities standing.

The war's arsenal is changing hands mid-fight, with Washington stepping back and Europe stepping in, the kind of supplier handoff that decided Britain's survival before Lend-Lease.

Ukraine has crossed from absorbing the war to shaping it. Its drones struck deep inside Russia twice in a week, Europe opened a negotiating track as Washington's mediation collapsed, and the bloc agreed unanimously to begin membership talks. Russia's advance has stalled, and its elite has begun openly debating whether to quit.