I wanted Trump to fully condemn the retaliation attack on Ukraine, and tell Russia, to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine. Call Putin out once, as leading a brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. His lack of response shows weakness.

CNN reports: “Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had used more than 400 drones and 40 missiles in the overnight attack, making it among the war’s largest. He said Moscow targeted “almost all” of Ukraine, listing nine regions, from Lviv in the west to Sumy in the northeast.”

Retaliation was expected. Ukraine had hit targets an astonishing 2800 miles from the Ukraine-Russia border. The drones had been smuggled in, then located them in close proximity to the airbases, disguised as small shacks. Before the drones were released, everyone was evacuated and the lids of the shacks were opened by remote control.

Russia called Ukraine’s attack “terrorism.” I prefer the tactics of asymmetrical warfare. Russia wants to instill fear into Ukraine, and give them a sense that the war can not be won. Ukraine showed two can play this game. The difference is that Ukraine did not attack any residential areas.

George Washington commanded a tiny militia in comparison to Britain’s army. But he understood the adage that, “A good offense is the best defense.” (see note at end) But missile and drones by themselves do not capture territory. So, Russia’s unmanned attacks are a prelude to sending in tanks to secure territory.

It has been an unprovoked and brutal invasion of Ukraine since February 24, 2022. Others would consider the invasion began on February 20, 2014, when Russia seized Crimea. Ukraine military has demonstrated since the beginning of hostilities, that incredible toughness, discipline and cleverness in tactics in spite of being vastly outnumbered. The US should be praising Ukraine and promising them more military support.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), is a non-profit which provides detailed assessments of the war. Their latest assessment shows advances by Russia in the northeast area of Sumy and to the south of the occupied territory. See link: Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 7, 2025 .

It is definitely a war that is being fought on multiple fronts. At the same time, there is the propaganda war. The Peace Talks in Istanbul focused only on prisoner of war exchanges. The latest report from ISW states:

“Russia baselessly accused Ukraine of failing to conduct a prisoner of war (POW) exchange and to repatriate the bodies of killed in action (KIA) soldiers on June 6 — part of the Kremlin’s efforts to undermine mutually agreed upon confidence building measures with Ukraine.”

Further, it is stated that:

“Russian officials continue efforts to deflect blame away from Russia and onto Western states for the lack of progress toward a peace settlement.”

Ukraine Defenses against Drones

It is very hard to defend against 400 drones and 40 missiles all coming at once. However, large drones traveling long distances will fly low and can be spotted and shot down or otherwise destroyed. This is the good news.

Detection is difficult, but small radar units can identify drones. They can be shot down with machine guns or missiles, which will try to intercept the drone, if they are within range. But, it is hardly precise.

Proximity Fuzes and Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine

Four days ago, it was reported by CNN that all “proximity fuzes” approved by Congress and destined for Ukraine will be shipped instead to Yemen, by order of Secretary of Defense, Peter Hegseth.

CNN: Pentagon diverting key anti-drone technology from Ukraine to US forces in the Middle East

I was totally stunned at this news, although the media was pre-occupied by other events. I knew few people outside of the military understood the significance. When a missile is in close proximity to a drone, the proximity fuze triggers the missile to explode and destroy the drone.

Peter Hegseth dealt a terrible blow to Ukraine’s defenses. They will be less able to defend themselves against Russia’s attack and Russia isn’t going to lose one minute, to continue their massive attacks along Ukraine’s eastern border. Unlike the Ukrainian drone attack, they will bomb apartments, hospitals, schools, and other non-military targets to clear the way for occupation.

The proximity fuzes will be used to support Yemen against Houthi rebels. Houthi rebels are in northern Yemen. In the past, US provided Yemen with logistical and intelligence support to the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthi rebels. Trump greatly increase our involvement in March 2025 with airstrikes against the Houthi rebels. The Houthi rebels attacked two tankers last year in the Red Sea.

Let me say at the onset, that the proximity fuzes are elements of Ukraine defensive arsonal. It means Ukraine will have less success defending itself. Trump is not approving new military aid to Ukraine. Russia is counting on winning by attrition. Russia concocts lies about Ukraine refusal to return the bodies of Russian’s killed in action or to agree to prisoner exchanges.

So, thanks to Peter Hegseth, Russia will be more successful in their planned overthrow of Ukraine. Yemen also needs defending, but the nine arab country coalition, let by Saudi Arabia means the Yemen government will have strong military support in the future. Plus, Trump through actions of Secretary Hegseth is blatantly ignoring the approval of Ukraine military support and giving Russia the green light to continue their invasion.

It is not about 2 boys in a fight as Trump recently portrayed the war. It is about a democratic country fighting for its survival. And the President ignoring the intent of Congress in defending Ukraine.

Stay tuned,

Dave

Links:

Washington himself wrote in 1799, “offensive operations, often times, is the surest, if not the only (in some cases) means of defense,” according to Wikipedia.  (Thank you Google AI).

Wikipedia: Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war

AP News: Salvage complete of tanker at center of oil spill scare after being hit by Houthi rebels in Red Sea (January 10, 2025)

The civil war in Yemen is complex as many other countries are taking sides. The conflict has strong underpinnings in the split between the Shia faction (Houthis) and Sunni faction (Yemen government). Wikipedia has many pages devoted to various aspects of this conflict. There have been various efforts to negotiate a peace agreement. Perhaps in a later blog, I will go into more detail.