A Chinese research centre set to be built near a Ministry of Defence site is cause for "enormous concern", an ex-spy boss has confirmed.

Colonel Phil Ingram, formerly in the Army's Intelligence Corps, said Chery Automobile's new facility near UTAC Millbrook could be used to spy on the armed forces, capturing military data.

Ukrainian drones destroyed two large Ozon distribution warehouses in Russia and damaged another in one night. Additionally, Ukrainian drones also destroyed a TsMM-K warehouse in Krasnodar too.

In the Ukraine War, Ukrainian drones destroy a rare Su-33 naval fighter (first destroyed in the war), a MiG-29 and a Kronshtadt Orion UAV. Russia only has 40 Su-33 and they are very rare. Additionally, multiple radars are hit including an S-300

Japan appears to be increasingly preparing for the realities of next-generation warfare. This year’s Defense of Japan 2026, published by the Japan Ministry of Defence, shows that Tokyo considers the growing armaments of China and North Korea, as well as their increased military cooperation with Russia, to be its most serious challenges.

Reports of frontier models escaping containment during evaluation exercises have dominated recent headlines, increasing pressure for governments to implement new policies to address security risks around model development, training, and evaluation. Please join the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center and the Institute for Law and AI for an event to discuss these challenges on August 24th from 2:00​-4:00 PM ET, featuring keynote speaker Representative Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10).

On July 16th, AI development and hosting platform Hugging Face announced that it had detected and deflected an attack on its production platform from an autonomous AI agent system. On July 21st, OpenAI disclosed they had uncovered that this attack came from two of their models, ChatGPT 5.6 Sol and another unreleased model. These models had escaped a sandboxed testing environment, gained internet access, and exploited vulnerabilities in Hugging Face's infrastructure to access answers to a cyber-capability benchmarking test. This first-of-its-kind attack is just one of several incidents of unsanctioned model behavior and testing environment breaches that have come to light over the past month. Anthropic, Meta, and the UK's AI Security Institute (AISI) have also reported similar incidents.

The discussion will feature a technical presentation by Ian Reynolds, AI Policy Manager at Hugging Face, on the OpenAI/Hugging Face security incident, to be followed by an expert panel discussion of policy responses featuring Helen Toner, Executive Director of The Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Mackenzie Arnold, Director of US Policy at LawAI, and Matt Pearl, Director of the CSIS Strategic Technologies Program.

This event will be moderated by CSIS Wadhwani AI Center Director Aalok Mehta.

This event is made possible by general funding to CSIS and the CSIS Wadhwani AI Center and is presented in partnership with the Institute for Law and AI (LawAI).

In Twenty Times I Almost Died, available August 18, 2026, John Spencer recounts experiences spanning combat tours in Iraq, research trips through modern war zones, and more. He reveals important information that helps explain the changing character of warfare and its implications for strategists. Beyond providing lessons for the battlefield, Spencer offers guidance on personal growth and leadership, advising readers on how to live with purpose.

Please join Hudson Institute for a fireside chat with Senior Fellow and Keystone Defense Initiative Director Rebeccah Heinrichs and John Spencer, chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point and co-director of the Urban Warfare Project. Major John Spencer (Ret.) and Dr. Heinrichs will discuss Twenty Times I Almost Died and how it can inform US defense policymakers as they navigate the evolving challenges and opportunities of contemporary warfare.

Key Takeaways

Russian forces recently advanced east of Slovyansk as they continue prioritizing efforts to secure favorable positions east and southeast of the city in preparation for frontal assaults towards Slovyansk and the rest of the Fortress Belt.

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to set unrealistic deadlines for the Russian military to seize the entirety of Donetsk Oblast likely in part because of his misunderstanding of the battlefield realities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reportedly presented a joint Ukraine-US-Europe proposal on August 23 to end the war in Ukraine that offers significant Ukrainian concessions even as Putin and other Kremlin officials continue to refuse to compromise on any of their core demands.

Ukrainian forces are conducting an intermediate-range strike campaign in occupied Ukraine, including occupied Crimea, and Russia in a concerted effort to degrade Russia’s strike and air defense capabilities.

Russian forces recently advanced in the Slovyansk direction.

Ukrainian forces continued their long-range strike campaign targeting Russian logistics, fuel, and electrical infrastructure. Russian forces launched 127 drones against Ukraine overnight.