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Ukrainian soldiers say Russian strike drones are flying smaller drones into battle like an ‘aircraft carrier’

The view from a Ukrainian interceptor drone as it hunts a Russian drone.
A Russian Molniya drone.

  • Russia’s medium-sized strike drones are flying smaller drones into battle, Ukrainian soldiers say.
  • The fixed-wing “Molniya” drones can carry one or two first-person-view (FPV) quadcopters.
  • The tactic extends the reach of Russia’s FPV drones.

Russia has been using its medium-sized drones to fly smaller drones packed with explosives into combat, extending their range and creating deadly new problems for Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian soldiers who described the tactic to Business Insider said that Moscow uses its fixed-wing Molniya (“lightning” in Russian) drones to carry small first-person-view (FPV) drones; these are typically the quadcopters that have become a dominant presence on the battlefield.

The tactic, while not a new phenomenon, has become a growing concern for Ukrainian forces because it enables the FPVs to operate and strike at greater depths. The war has featured other types of mothership-style drone carriers, but Russia only recently started using the Molinya for this purpose, soldiers said.

A soldier in the 4th Ranger Regiment, a Ukrainian special operations unit, said that the inexpensive Molniya drones act as “an aircraft carrier,” bringing one or two FPVs into battle, significantly extending their reach.

The Molniya can also carry an explosive payload, allowing it to function as both a mothership and a strike drone, said the operator, who could only be identified by his call sign Khyzhak (“Predator” in Ukrainian) for security reasons.

After the Molniya releases its onboard FPVs, it can continue flying to strike a target. Russia has sometimes even put anti-tank mines on the drone to increase its explosive potential, Khyzhak said.

A downed Russian Molniya drone is seen, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the frontline in Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukraine, February 8, 2025.
A downed Russian Molniya drone.

“They’re cheap, there’s a lot of them, and so they can use them any time — at any moment — they want,” the soldier added.

Neither Russia’s defense ministry nor its US embassy responded to Business Insider’s request for comment on the tactic.

A Ukrainian drone unit commander operating in the northeast Kharkiv region described the Molniya tactic as a “dispensable relay.” They can often fly for dozens of miles, and the FPVs are remotely piloted after they are dropped off by the mothership.

Russia began using this tactic in the Kharkiv region several weeks ago, taking advantage of the shifting front lines, the commander said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

Another Ukrainian soldier said he suspects Russia does not have many of these Molniya drones and described the threat as still being somewhat “experimental.”

The soldier, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Ukraine has similar mothership-style drones that can carry three or even four smaller ones. He declined to detail how widespread their use is, citing operational security concerns.

A pilot from the 13th Khartiia Operational Brigade of Ukraine's National Guard flies an FPV drone during a training session to practice flight tactics in conditions simulating combat and maximize the effectiveness of strikes against infantry and fortified positions, on November 5, 2025.
FPV drones are small quadcopter systems that dominate the battlefield in Ukraine.

Ukraine has previously disclosed the use of naval drones to carry FPVs in the Black Sea, with the smaller quadcopter drones taking off from the mothership to attack a Russian-held oil platform.

The introduction of the FPV-carrying Molniyas marks another instance of battlefield innovation, highlighting how drones continue to play an increasingly dominant role in the ongoing conflict.

“War changes. I’m not saying every day, but every year for sure, every half of the year. They’re trying new tactics all the time. We are doing the same,” Khyzhak said.

Both Ukraine and Russia are constantly trying to outsmart the other in what officials have described as a cat-and-mouse game to field new warfare technology before the other side develops a workable countermeasure.

New warfighting technologies often grants one side an advantage for only a limited window, maybe only a few months before the other side figures out how to respond, Lt. Col. Yurii Myronenko, Ukraine’s deputy minister of defense for innovation and a former drone unit commander, told Business Insider recently.

Khyzhak said that Russia is modifying its drones to make them more deadly. He added that “they are improving their weapons — their equipment — nonstop, 24/7, every day.”

Earlier this month, Ukraine’s defense ministry published combat footage showing interceptor drones — one of Kyiv’s newest air defense tools — taking out a handful of Molniyas above the battlefield. It’s unclear if they have stopped any of the motherships carrying FPVs.

Read the original article on Business Insider
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Belgium hits back at EU plan to use frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine

Prime minister says proposal violates international law and would destabilise financial markets

Belgium has hit back against an EU plan to use Russia’s frozen assets to aid Ukraine, describing the scheme as “fundamentally wrong” and throwing into doubt how Europe will fund Kyiv.

In a sharply worded letter, Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, said the proposal violated international law and would instigate uncertainty and fear in financial markets, damaging the euro. “These risks are unfortunately not academic but real,” he wrote to the European Commission presiden,t Ursula von der Leyen.

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Larry Ellison was briefly the world’s richest man. Here are the politicians he’s backed over the years.

Larry Ellison, the chairman and cofounder of Oracle
Oracle chairman and cofounder Larry Ellison briefly eclipsed Elon Musk as the world’s richest man this week.

  • In September, Larry Ellison briefly overtook Elon Musk as the richest man in the world.
  • Ellison cofounded Oracle and his son recently bought Paramount.
  • He’s also been a big political donor and has supported several politicians over the years.

You’ve probably heard Larry Ellison’s name a lot lately.

In September, the cofounder and chairman of Oracle briefly overtook Elon Musk as the richest man in the world after his company’s stock price soared on news of a blockbuster earnings report.

He also cemented Oracle’s role in the American takeover of TikTok, which was approved by President Donald Trump that same month.

And in August, his son David successfully acquired Paramount, a major shake-up of the media industry that led to a string of new acquisitions and the ascent of Bari Weiss as editor in chief of CBS.

Nonetheless, Ellison is known for keeping a relatively low profile compared to other major tech billionaires.

He’s been around for a long time, and over the years, he’s made a number of interesting moves. In 2012, he bought an entire island in Hawaii, and he later purchased an airline to help facilitate travel to it.

He also owns several mansions, including properties in Malibu, Palm Beach, and Rhode Island.

And the billionaire has thrown around his money in another way: spending it on political campaigns.

Though he’s one of several tech leaders who’s fostered ties to Trump, Ellison does not appear to have ever made any direct, public contributions to the president’s political operation, according to Federal Election Commission records.

He did host a fundraiser for Trump in 2020 on one of his properties, but has said that he did not attend the event himself.

But Ellison has spent big on some other major politicians — mostly Republicans.

Here are the politicians who’ve enjoyed Ellison’s largesse over the years.

Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina
Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina

Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican senator from South Carolina, has been Ellison’s biggest financial beneficiary by far.

From 2020 to 2023, as Scott geared up for a 2024 presidential bid, Ellison poured more than $35 million into Opportunity Matters Fund, a super PAC associated with Scott.

Ellison even attended Scott’s presidential campaign launch event in South Carolina in 2023, where the senator gave the Oracle cofounder and shoutout and called him a “mentor” of his.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Secretary of State Marco Rubio

Long before he became Secretary of State, Marco Rubio was a freshman senator running for President of the United States.

During the 2016 presidential election, Ellison contributed $5 million to Conservative Solutions PAC, a super PAC that supported Rubio’s presidential bid.

Ellison reportedly held a fundraiser for Rubio at his mansion in Woodside, a town in the San Francisco Bay Area, in May 2015.

Rubio ultimately dropped out of the race after losing his home state of Florida, and Trump went on to win the nomination and the presidency.

Former Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah
Former Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah

Long before Romney was a senator from Utah, Ellison was a supporter of his 2012 presidential candidacy.

Ellison donated $3 million to Restore Our Future, a pro-Romney super PAC, that year.

Romney, the onetime governor of Massachusetts, ultimately lost to then-President Barack Obama. He was later elected to the Senate in 2018 and retired after 2024.

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina

Tim Scott isn’t the only South Carolina politician that Ellison has supported.

The state’s other Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, has also earned Ellison’s financial support, including as recently as this year.

Ellison contributed $1 million to Security is Strength, a pro-Graham super PAC, in March of this year.

It was his largest publicly disclosed political donation since 2022. Graham is seeking reelection next year.

Ellison also made a $250,000 contribution to the same group in 2020, the last time that Graham was up for reelection.

A smattering of other politicians have received Ellison’s money
Former President Bill Clinton

Ellison has donated to a variety of other politicians over the years.

In July, he gave almost $50,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the official campaign arm for Senate Republicans.

In 2020, he gave $1 million apiece to super PACs supporting Republican Sen. Susan Collins in Maine and GOP candidate John James in Michigan. He also gave $1 million in 2022 to a super PAC that spent heavily in a US House primary in Tennessee.

While most of his contributions have been to Republicans, Ellison wasn’t always just a GOP donor.

FEC records show that in the 1990s, he made significant donations to Democrats, including a total of $120,000 to the Democratic National Committee, when Bill Clinton was the party’s presidential nominee.

In 2000, he was quoted as saying: “We should have amended the Constitution to elect Bill Clinton to a third term.”

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Opinion: Abraham Accords Can Help Kazakhstan Reshape Its Energy Future

On 6 November 2025, after speaking with Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Kazakhstan would join the Abraham Accords. Astana and Jerusalem have maintained full diplomatic relations since 1992, but Kazakhstan’s entry pushes the Accords beyond the Middle East and North Africa and into the Eurasian heartland. This matters at a time when Washington wants to re-energize the initiative and deepen its C5+1 engagement with the region.

Kazakhstan’s decision fits its multi-vector policy. The decision also builds on the country’s role as a key component of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, “Middle Corridor”), which links Chinese production to European markets. Cargo volumes reached about 4.5 million tons in 2024 and are expected to rise to around 5.2 million tons in 2025. A recent report by Boston Consulting Group expects rail freight through the Middle Corridor to quadruple by the decade’s end.

The Accords do not change Kazakhstan’s formal status with Israel. The question is, rather, whether they unlock deeper economic cooperation. The Times of Central Asia has already reported on clear opportunities for cooperation in sectors such as water and agricultural efficiency, grid and industrial productivity, and cybersecurity and administrative modernization. In the energy sector, like the others, the Accords give Israeli companies a clearer political and legal framework for working with Kazakhstan’s energy and infrastructure sectors. Gulf Cooperation Council states, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in particular, could provide project finance as well.

Hard Energy, Nuclear Fuel, and Israeli Technology

Astana’s principal concern in the energy sector is how to raise net revenue: the goal here is to make the sector more resilient to external pressure without incurring prohibitive capital costs. Israeli firms can address that problem at an operational level. The PrismaFlow sensing system developed by Prisma Photonics is a proven technology that uses existing optical fiber as a sensing system. Thousands of kilometers of pipeline can be monitored in real time for leaks, third-party interference, and attempted theft, without having to install physical sensors along the route. KazTransOil and Prisma Photonics could develop a program through an Abraham Accords framework to overlay this technology on selected trunk network segments and on the systems that deliver crude to export pipelines.

Energy-sector cybersecurity is another area where Israeli companies can help Kazakhstan’s hard-energy system. The Israeli firm Radiflow specializes in operational-technology (OT) cybersecurity for oil and gas installations, tailored to pipeline and production environments. Its systems provide continuous network visibility and better anomaly detection. Its risk-based threat management reduces both the likelihood and the cost of cyber incidents that might interrupt flows or force precautionary shutdowns. KazMunayGas, KazTransOil, and their joint ventures could implement a structured audit and remediation program with Radiflow as a strategic partner.

The uranium sector presents another opportunity for Kazakhstan–Israel cooperation, potentially a more strategic one. OT security systems can provide monitoring and control layers for uranium mining, in-situ leaching fields, and logistics chains. Kazakhstan accounts for over 40% of the world’s uranium mine output. Kazatomprom maintains at least a 20% share of global primary production through an asset base of 14 uranium mining operations. Under an Abraham Accords umbrella, a partnership linking Kazatomprom, selected Israeli technology providers, and interested Gulf or U.S. utilities would strengthen Kazakhstan’s access to premium markets and long-term contracts.

Energy Transition, Water, and Critical Minerals

Kazakhstan has set medium and long-term targets for a structural shift in its power mix. The official goal is that renewables should reach roughly 15% of generation by 2030 and 50% by 2050. Progress has been uneven, though, and coal still dominates. Grid operator KEGOC, a subsidiary of the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund, is planning multibillion-dollar upgrades and new transmission lines. These will integrate large volumes of wind and solar while connecting the western power zone more tightly to the unified system. The UAE company Masdar has already entered Kazakhstan’s market through a 1-gigawatt wind farm with a 600 MWh battery in the Zhambyl region. Israeli technology could slot into ongoing Gulf-financed projects under the Abraham Accords umbrella in other regions as well.

Israel’s renewable-energy sector has several company types that fit Kazakhstan’s needs right now. Consortia could be structured as Kazakhstan–Israel operational partnerships with the UAE or wider GCC financing under an Abraham Accords label. A “Middle Corridor Renewables Integration Program” under KEGOC and Samruk-Energy, for instance, could invite Israeli firms to co-design grid-friendly solar and wind clusters near key rail and logistics nodes. Israeli control systems and forecasting tools would reduce curtailment and help balance variable output. Ecoppia, another Israeli company, deploys water-free robotic cleaning systems that would be useful in Kazakhstan’s arid regions for large solar fields.

Kazakhstan’s position in critical minerals rounds out the opportunity. These minerals sit upstream of the clean-energy and electronics supply chains central to Israel’s technology economy and to Western industrial policy. Abraham Accords cooperation could mean joint feasibility studies and demonstration plants for low-carbon processing of battery and magnet materials. Potential Kazakhstani partners include Eurasian Resources Group, Kazgeology, and Tau-Ken Samruk. On the Israeli side, numerous firms are involved in process optimization, AI, and environmental engineering. UAE and Saudi investors want secure, ESG-compliant feedstock. A cooperative structure would let Kazakhstan host higher-value industrial operations drawing on Israeli know-how and Gulf capital.

Finance, Gulf Capital, and Multi-vector Diplomacy

The financial architecture for Kazakhstan–Israel cooperation under the Abraham Accords already exists, at least in outline. Using this would, by itself, be an expression of Tokayev’s diplomatic method. The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) operates under a common-law framework and hosts the Astana International Exchange, which has attracted several billion dollars in capital to Kazakhstan’s economy. Within it, the AIFC Green Finance Centre has become a regional reference point for green and sustainability-linked instruments. This institutional design was not accidental. The separate Astana International Forum (AIF), which developed from the Astana Economic Forum and has its own history, increasingly works in parallel with AIFC where appropriate. These structures were developed by Tokayev as instrumentalities for bringing in diversified capital and signaling regulatory compatibility with global markets.

Institutional investors and venture platforms on the Israeli side have already used the Abraham Accords framework to identify opportunities in the Gulf and North Africa. An “Abraham Accords Energy Window” at AIFC could structure bonds for projects in Kazakhstan and help raise long-dated capital for complex infrastructure less expensively. In such AIFC-registered projects, Masdar or other Gulf developers might lead construction while Israeli firms supply equipment and software, and Kazakhstani companies serve as long-term off-takers and operators. Tokayev could point to this arrangement to show how his decision to enter the Accords translates into actual investment flows, channeled through institutions Kazakhstan itself has built.

Tokayev has framed the new initiatives primarily as tools for economic modernization, climate resilience, and better regional connectivity. These opportunities still fit within a non-aligned foreign-policy framework that remains explicitly multi-vector. The expansion of Kazakhstan–Israel cooperation under a U.S.-brokered framework, backed by Gulf capital, weaves together three vectors: two Middle Eastern, one trans-Atlantic. It shows Kazakhstan’s diplomacy under Tokayev playing a leading role in raising Central Asia’s profile in the international system.

Kazakhstan Adjusts Its Multi-vector Diplomacy

Kazakhstan’s decision to enter the Abraham Accords is about upgrading its relationship with Israel, but it is also Astana’s way of updating multi-vectorism for a new era. Cooperation with Israel and the UAE can extend Kazakhstan’s Caspian energy and technology corridor not just through the South Caucasus, but all the way to the Gulf and the eastern Mediterranean. Tokayev wants to use institutions like the AIFC to structure this cooperation, embedding the corridor in rules and practices that global capital markets recognize and trust.

For Central Asia as a whole, Kazakhstan’s move sets a benchmark. If the Abraham Accords yield a modest but concrete portfolio of projects over the next several years – in hydrocarbons, nuclear fuel, renewables, and critical minerals – the decision will look like an early step toward a more diversified regional energy order. Other states in the region will draw their own conclusions about whether and how to engage, and they may test their own versions of energy and technology partnerships with Israel and the Gulf. For now, the initiative underlines that Kazakhstan remains Central Asia’s principal node where Eurasian transit, energy transition, and cross-regional diplomacy converge.

For Tokayev personally, joining the Abraham Accords fits how he has governed since taking office. It is another incremental move that shifts Kazakhstan’s position in a changing world without breaking old relationships. In recent months, he has become more active in the C5+1 process and launched a targeted search for technological partners in fields that determine long-term competitiveness, all while preserving the formal language of multi-vectorism. By choosing to connect Kazakhstan’s energy system to Israeli innovation and Gulf capital inside a U.S.-brokered framework, he is exploring whether a more fragmented world economy will limit the strategic options of a medium-sized state.

 

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the publication, its affiliates, or any other organizations mentioned.

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On #Espionage and #Intelligence Gathering | On The Record https://cfrontherecord.podbean.com/e/on-espionage-and-intelligence-gathering/ Summary by #Gemini This podcast episode, titled “New Frontiers in Intelligence: The Changing Nature of Espionage,” is a recording of a Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) event. It features a discussion on how technology and shifting global threats are fundamentally altering the intelligence landscape. Host: Barton Gellman (Brennan Center for Justice) Guests: Anthony Vinci: Author of The Fourth Intelligence Revolution, former CTO of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Rebecca U. Weiner: Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism,