Ukraine is shifting warfare from multimillion dollar rockets to thousand dollar drones

 

How the War in Iran Helped Ukraine Go From Problem to Solution

The Middle East quagmire has given Kyiv an unexpected lifeline—and a new hand to play

By

Yaroslav Trofimov

May 22, 2026 8:00 pm ET

President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly toured the Gulf in recent months, sending some 200 troops to showcase Ukrainian drone-interception technologies and to ink deals that could lead to investment and co-production. This followed the establishment of Ukrainian drone-manufacturing plants across Europe earlier this year, and the growing adoption of Ukrainian military innovation by Western militaries, particularly in Europe.

“Our technological game-changers have transformed the war. There is now a shift from seeing Ukraine as just a recipient of aid, as a consumer of security, to viewing it as a subject, a contributor to security,” Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa said in an interview. “Ukraine has shown leadership not just in the war against Russia, but also in the global conflict that now involves the Middle East.”

The Wall Street Journal's editorial board is blind to the reality that Iran holds all the cards and the final solution strung out over months possibly years is one where they may give slightly on Nuclear but the toll booth at the Strait of Hormuz is theirs for the long term

 

Trump Reaches an Iran Crossroads

He wants the war to end, but the regime offers him only bad deals.

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By 

The WSJ Editorial Board

May 20, 2026 5:39 pm ET

Americans should be clear eyed about what the president is doing. He is taking their money and showering it on criminals.

 

There Has Never Been an Example of Presidential Corruption Like This

By The New York Times Editorial Board

The editorial board is a group of opinion journalists whose views are informed by expertise, research, debate and certain longstanding values. It is separate from the newsroom.

J Jared's Slush Fund Riyadh · 9h ago The issues with Israel that the right wing refuses to grapple with, and that Bret neglects here: 1. The US doesn't fund, via tax dollars, other regimes with massive human rights violations, especially to the same tune. Israel is the largest recipient of any country of US aid. We don't fund China, Burma, Iran, Russia and others, though Trump has certainly aided the latter two with his sanctions reductions. And I'm sure if you asked the people who condemn Israel, they would condemn US money going the Saudis, for example, just the same. They still get less than Israel. 2. Israel claims it's "the only democracy in the Middle East" but then engages in antidemocratic behavior that Bret concedes. And, then only wants comparisons to the Middle East. If Israel is such a vibrant democracy, it should compare itself to democracies. Israel supporters will say things about how Iran treats minorities. Yes, they treat them horribly. But not only do we not fund Iran, but democracies don't mistreat minorities, period. Does Denmark have government members that are celebrate terrorism? Does Canada have roving bands of settlers that murder minorities with impunity? 3. Israel is the only country I am aware of whose "leadership" walked into the Situation Room and urged a US "leader" to start a war. That is abhorrent. Yes, Trump and his goons deserve blame but how can Israel be absolved?

 

Hatred of Israel and the Degradation of the West

By Bret Stephens

Opinion Columnist

Six hundred years ago, on a muddy field near Agincourt in northern France, King Henry V’s outnumbered, half-starved English army faced the flower of French chivalry. French knights were expensive, each man-at-arms the product of many years of training, his armor and warhorse a major investment. Henry’s archers carried longbows that cost little, drawn by men trained in every village across the kingdom. When the volleys came, the knights fell by the hundreds. Quantity overwhelmed quality—and the mud helped. France lost the battle, but defeat in the war came not in the dying. It was in the impossibility of replacing what had died.

 

The Economics of Victory in Ukraine and Defeat in Iran

The U.S. uses $4 million Patriot interceptors to destroy drones that cost $20,000 to $50,000.

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By 

Tom Tugendhat

Updated May 19, 2026 4:54 pm ET

It turns out that would-be authoritarians don’t need to staff their regimes with ideological true believers, offer extreme enticements or impose draconian punishments in order to make successful power grabs. They just need to figure out how to target their ideal labor pool: the frustrated and mediocre.

 

Actually, Democracy Dies in H.R.

New research sheds light on how mediocre employees help would-be authoritarians maintain power.

By Amanda Taub

May 18, 2026

The nature of war has changed and is changing much faster and more radically than most observers—and most of the world’s militaries—yet understand. Rifles, mortars and tanks appear to be going the way of sword fights and cavalry charges. Evacuating the wounded from the ever-expanding drone-infested “gray zone” that separates opposing armies can take weeks, in some cases up to two months. That’s because teams of drone and unmanned ground vehicle operators must struggle to maneuver coffin-shaped evacuation platforms against swarms of hostile drones on a winding path through the war zone. In a war in which thumbs on joysticks have largely replaced fingers on triggers and more fighting is done on screens and less in the trenches, almost every assumption about what armies are and how they fight is being challenged and reshaped daily.

 

Ukraine Offers a Glimpse at the Future of War

The way armies fight is changing daily—and, at the moment, that favors Kyiv.

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By 

Walter Russell Mead

May 18, 2026 5:19 pm ET

No doubt Mr. Trump wants to punish Europe for its ambivalent (and at times unhelpful) response to the Iran war. But . . . Poland? The Trump team’s refrain about “model allies” who share the burdens of defense is meaningless if Poland doesn’t qualify.

 

Trump Bugs Out on Poland

The Pentagon cancels a brigade deployment to NATO’s eastern front.

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By 

The WSJ Editorial Board

May 18, 2026 5:41 pm ET

The New York Times is wrong about Iran's position on Nuclear weapons as being non negotiable however Iran retaining the toll booth on the Strait of Hormuz is

 

Stocks, Bonds and Oil Zigzag Amid Mixed Signals on War Talks

By The New York Times

May 18, 2026