Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian Resistance, Logistics Challenges Slow Russian Momentum

Russia's advance in Ukraine had slowed to a stop outside Kyiv in the face of logistics and fuel shortages while Ukraine had used "creative" solutions to defend their country, a senior defense official told journalists early Feb. 27, including reportedly using a drone to destroy a Russian mechanized column. Still, heavy fighting continued in the second city of Kharkiv; Russian naval assets positioned near Odessa; and a "siege" approach had begun on the city of Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv, raising the prospect of more civilian deaths, the Defense Department reported. "The Ukrainians are putting up a very stiff, and brave, and heroic resistance," the defense official said. "The Russians have been frustrated; they have been slowed; they have been stymied; and they have been resisted by the Ukrainians. And to some degree, they have done it to themselves in terms of their fuel and logistics and sustainment problems."
Russia

Putin Puts Nuclear Forces on High Alert, Escalating Tensions

The Defense Department on Feb. 27 called Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to put his strategic forces on high combat alert “escalatory” but said the U.S. will defend its interests and allies against any threat. “We remain confident in our ability to defend ourselves, and our allies, and our partners, and that includes in the strategic deterrent realm,” a senior defense official said in a morning telephone briefing with journalists. “We believe that this is not only an unnecessary step for him to take, but an escalatory one,” the defense official said of Putin’s announcement.
Press conference by the NATO Secretary General - Extraordinary virtual summit of NATO Heads of State and Government

NATO Activates Response Force; Austin Calls on Allies to Increase Contributions

NATO has for the first time activated about one-third of its response force, including some 7,000 U.S. troops, while Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III called on allies to further strengthen the alliance against potential Russian aggression following its invasion of Ukraine. “President Putin’s decision to pursue his aggression against Ukraine is a terrible strategic mistake for which Russia will pay a severe price for years to come,” said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg after a virtual meeting of NATO heads of state Feb. 25. A day earlier, Austin spoke to 15 NATO allies and European counterparts about the Russian war against Ukraine.
machines decide to kill

Thompson to Cadets: The US Will Have Machines That Decide to Kill

The Space Force’s second-in-command told Air Force Academy cadets attending a leadership conference that the U.S. will need machines to make decisions that kill—and that confronting the inherent ethical dilemmas “can’t wait.” The weapons' inevitability comes down to “the speed of war—how quickly things are going to have to happen in the future," Thompson said.
air force video games

Spark Tank Finalists: Video Games as the Future of Training?

The Department of the Air Force’s annual Spark Tank competition takes place March 4, when six teams will take to the stage at the AFA Warfare Symposium in Orlando, Fla. Each team will make pitches to the most senior leaders in the Air and Space Forces on how their innovations can save money, improve the lives of Airmen and Guardians, and transform the department. Air Force Magazine is highlighting one team each day from now through March 3. Today, we look at “DAGGER: Developing Airmen and Guardians with Games for Enhanced Readiness” led by Matthew Correia of Air University's Eaker Center at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala.

Radar Sweep

U.S. Sends Fighter Jets to Japan in Apparent Warning to North Korea, China

Korea Joong Ang Daily

In an apparent warning to North Korea and China, the United States has deployed an unspecified number of F-35A stealth fighter jets to Okinawa, Japan, its military said. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the F-35A jets from the 354th Fighter Wing in Alaska had been moved to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, to take part in “integrated air operations.” Their arrival follows the U.S. military’s deployment of four B-52 subsonic bomber jets to Guam earlier in the month to partake in training operations with allies and regional partners.

‘The Ghost of Kyiv’ Is the First Urban Legend of Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine

Task & Purpose

As Russian missiles burned across the horizon and military aircraft prowled the skies above Kyiv, digital whispers of a lone airborne hero among the Ukrainian resistance began to emerge online. His name and his history are shrouded in mystery, but his exploits are already the stuff of modern military lore: that, with six air-to-air kills, the heroic pilot of a Ukrainian MiG-29 became the first air combat ace over European soil since World War II. They call him ‘the Ghost of Kyiv’—and despite thousands of digital prayers to the contrary, he is, in all likelihood, a work of fiction.

What Does Putin Really Want?

Politico

To look ahead to where the Russia-Ukraine conflict is headed and what might be driving an increasingly autocratic leader with deep historical grievances and a nuclear arsenal at his disposal, Politico Magazine reached out to a range of experts, from Russians who know Putin as their day-to-day leader, to former diplomats, and others who’ve encountered him directly, to experts outside the United States and Europe who have insights of their own. The good news is that most of them saw limits to Putin’s goals. The bad news: Those limits lie far outside the boundaries of the global order we’ve come to rely on.

What the Ukrainian Air Force Has in the Sky

Flying Magazine

The Ukrainian Air Force was created in March 1992 out of aircraft that were left behind when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991 and pulled out of Poltava Air Base in central Ukraine. The aircraft ranged from Soviet-built fighters such as the MiG-21, 25s, and 27s, Sukhoi Su-15, 17 interceptors, and Tupolev Tu-160 bombers.

Kremlin Cracks Down Harder on Media, Facebook as Protests Sweep Russia

Defense One

The Russian government took steps Feb. 25 to further limit what its citizens can see in media and on the internet, “slowing” access to Facebook and ordering state and independent outlets to use only governmental sources in their reporting on Ukraine. Russia will “partially restrict access in the form of slowing down traffic” to the social-media platform, Russia’s telecommunications agency said in response to Facebook’s own “restricting” of four state-owned media sites: the Zvezda TV channel, the RIA Novosti news agency, and the Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru Internet sites.

Pilot Program to Help Military Families Pay for In-Home Child Care Is Off to a Slow Start

Military Times

A pilot program that aims to give military families another option for obtaining scarce child care is slowly getting off the ground. The Defense Department’s In-Home Child Care Fee Assistance Pilot, available in five regions of the country since last summer, provides monetary assistance to help military families pay for a child care provider in their own home. But to date, just five families are actively participating in it.

Pentagon Wants to Bolster Domestic Microelectronics Base With New Innovation Network

Defense News

The U.S. Department of Defense wants to create a network of regional hubs to mature microelectronics technology and manufacturing processes and strengthen the domestic industrial base. In a new request for information, the department asks companies, academia, government labs, and domestic semiconductor manufacturers for input on its Microelectronic Commons concept, which originated with a cross-functional team led by Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu.

U.S. Space Command Needs Help Identifying Hostile Intent in Space

SpaceNews

If Russia or any other actor were to intentionally interfere with U.S. satellites, it would be difficult to identify the aggressor, said the top commander of U.S. military space operations. “The challenge in the space domain is determining intent,” said Gen. James H. Dickinson, commander of U.S. Space Command. Dickinson warned that the U.S. military and the Intelligence Community need better tools to identify the source of nefarious activity in orbit. A key focus of U.S. Space Command is to protect satellite systems that provide communications, missile warning, and GPS navigation.

2024 Space Force Budget to Show ‘Large Pivot’ to ‘China Fight’

Breaking Defense

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is pushing a “large pivot” in the fiscal 2024 budget to prepare for the “China fight,” including for the Space Force, said Lt. Gen. Michael A. Guetlein, head of the Space Force’s acquisition command. “We’ve heard the Secretary say, ‘China, China, China, China.’ He’s going to continue to say, ‘China, China, China, China,’” said Guetlein, who heads Space Systems Command. And China is the focus behind Kendall’s seven “operational imperatives” outlined in January, the first of which is a “resilient space order of battle,” Guetlein said.

One More Thing

Sean Penn Filming Documentary on the Ground in Ukraine

Military Times

Oscar-winning actor and director Sean Penn is in Ukraine filming a documentary about the ongoing Russian attack that began Feb. 23. The Office of the Ukrainian President wrote in a Facebook post Feb. 24 that Penn attended press briefings, met with Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, and spoke to journalists and military personnel about the Russian invasion.