Russia Using American Trucks to Launch Deadly Kamikaze Drone Strikes on Ukraine Cities: Report
A modified Ram 1500 pickup truck could be seen in a July 20 video by Zvezda, a state TV channel controlled by the country's defense ministry, firing kamikaze drones, according to the Kyiv Independent .
Four more trucks with the same feature were later seen in the video showing off the Tatarstan region drone factory, although a source told the outlet that launching drones from pickup trucks was not common.
Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Stellantis, who owns Ram Trucks, paused all exports to Russia after sanctions were implemented on the country. However, between February 2022 and September 2024, 130 Michigan-made Ram 1500 trucks ended up in the country.
The majority of these exports are believed to have come about through a tactic called "transshipment," which is when a company direct sales through a country that is not participating in the sanctions.
Several companies based in the United Arab Emirates, who was not involved in the sanctions on Russia, allegedly rerouted sales of the American trucks through the country to sell to private Russian companies. From there, the trucks could be sold anywhere in Russia.
While companies could be able to continue sales in sanction-restricted countries with a special license, Alex Bashinsky, a co-founder at the Global Sanctions Training Institute and member of the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions, told the outlet that they are "hard to obtain."
No companies reached out to by Kyiv Independent explicitly stated they had the required license.
An intel report from earlier this month revealed that Russia's kamikaze drones are set to multiply in number to use in its war against Ukraine, with the number Shahed-136s, the most common explosive-carrying drone used by Russia, reportedly up exponentially.
On Thursday, at least 33 people were injured in an attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine, which officials from the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office said may have involved a new weapon developed by Russia, UMPB-5 bombs, though this remains unconfirmed.
Originally published on Latin Times
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Int'l Business Times
an hour ago
- Int'l Business Times
Russia Strikes Kill Six In Kyiv, Moscow Says Captured Key Town
Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least six people, officials said Thursday, as Moscow claimed the capture of a town that had been a key stronghold for the Ukrainian army in the east of the country. Drones and missile strikes hit at least 27 locations in Kyiv in the early hours, city officials said. "As of now, the services have confirmed six deaths," including a six-year-old boy, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the city's military administration, said in a post on Telegram. "We have 52 wounded people, almost 30 are in hospitals. Including nine children," he wrote. "It's a horrible morning in Kyiv. The brutal Russian strikes destroyed entire residential buildings and damaged schools and hospitals. Civilians are injured and killed. There are still people under the rubble," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga wrote on X. Russia's latest deadly attack on Ukraine came just days after US President Donald Trump issued a 10-day ultimatum for Moscow to halt its invasion of Ukraine, now in its fourth year, or face sanctions. Russia said it had captured the town of Chasiv Yar, which had been a strategically important military hub for Ukrainian forces in the east. The town "was liberated by Russian forces", Russia's defence ministry said in a statement. If confirmed, the capture of the town that has been the site of battles for months will mark the latest locality to fall to Russian forces, who have been making incremental but steady territorial gains for months. The fall of the hilltop town now paves the way for Russian forces to advance on remaining civilian strongholds in the eastern Donetsk region, like the garrison city of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, important logistical bases for the Ukrainian military and home to many civilians, who have up to now not fled the fighting. The Kremlin has made the capture of the Donetsk region its military priority and already in late 2022 claimed that the industrial territory was part Russia. Kyiv has been trying to repel Russia's summer offensive, which has made fresh advances into areas largely spared since the start of the invasion in February 2022. Thursday's attack came on the heels of a Russian strike on a military training camp, which killed at least three Ukrainian soldiers on Tuesday. Following Thursday's strikes, Ukraine's foreign minister called for the international community to apply utmost pressure on Moscow to end the war it launched in February, 2022. "President Trump has been very generous and very patient with Putin, trying to find a solution," Sybiga wrote. But Russian President Vladimir Putin "does not care about any attempts to put an end to the killing. He only seeks to destroy and kill. Because the entire existence of this war criminal is based on this senseless war, which he cannot win but refuses to end." "It's time to make him feel the pain and consequences of his choices. It's time to put maximum pressure on Moscow," Sybiga wrote. Thursday's attacks came just hours before a crucial parliamentary vote to overturn a highly criticised law that curbed the powers of anti-graft bodies. President Volodymyr Zelensky changed the law after the original legislation sparked the largest public unrest since Russia's invasion more than three years ago. The law had put the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) under the direct authority of the prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president. Critics said the move could facilitate presidential interference in corruption probes. Several hundred people staged a new protest in the rain in central Kyiv on the eve of the vote to put pressure on lawmakers. "Hands off NABU and SAPO," they chanted. "I hope that things will improve somehow, but it will be almost impossible to completely restore our reputation," Olena, a 51-year-old IT worker, told AFP at the protest. European allies had been worried that the law would undermine anti-corruption reforms key to Ukraine's bid to join the EU, but supported the new amendments.
Int'l Business Times
2 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Trump Gets His Way On Tariffs, But Global Trade System Intact For Now
President Donald Trump has succeeded in strong-arming nations to accept higher tariffs on US exports, yet for now experts see little threat to the postwar trend of lower duties in the pursuit of greater wealth all around. Since World War II, most politicians and economists view free trade as a pillar of globalisation, enshrined in the 1947 signing of the GATT accord. It was the precursor to the World Trade Organization, which now has 166 members and covers 98 percent of global commerce. "What we've learned in the postwar is that lower tariffs are better for prosperity of your own country," said Richard Baldwin, a professor at the IMD Business School in Switzerland. "And it's also good if other countries lower their tariffs, so we have a vibrant international economy," Baldwin, who was a member of US president George Bush's Council of Economic Advisors, told AFP. Trump however has embarked on a punishing trade war, claiming that deficits with other nations show they are "ripping off" the United States. He has recently landed accords with Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and, most importantly, the European Union. For dozens of other nations, US "reciprocal" tariffs are to jump from 10 percent to various steeper levels come August 1, including powerhouse economies such as South Korea, India and Taiwan. "To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is 'tariff'," Trump repeatedly said during the 2024 election campaign that returned him to office. Despite the headline figures, many economists expect the fallout for the global trade system overall to be limited. US importers may well decide to procure more from American producers as the tariffs are applied, or pass along the higher costs to consumers. "That won't have a systemic impact" outside the United States, Pascal Lamy, a former WTO chief, told AFP, calling the tariffs a "Pyrrhic victory" for Trump. He noted that Trump is targeting only the US deficits for goods and not services, "the part of global trade that is increasing the fastest". "You need to change your outlook when it comes to international trade," Lamy said, adding that "Donald Trump has a medieval view" of the issue. And instead of making a country more prosperous, the accepted economic wisdom is that by making goods more expensive, tariffs weigh on economic growth for everyone involved. "Putting up your own tariffs is not a way to make yourself richer -- that's something that people have given up on many years ago," Baldwin said. "Trump has not screwed up the entire world trading system yet because the rest of the world hasn't changed their opinion as to whether trade is good or bad," he said. "And generally speaking, it's good." Global trade has risen sharply in recent decades, totalling nearly $24 trillion in 2023, according to WTO figures. US imports represent just 13 percent of overall imports -- meaning the vast majority of international commerce will not be directly affected by Trump's levies. "It's significant, but it's only a small part of imports worldwide, and the rest of the world still wants the system of engagement and interdependence to work," said Elvire Fabry, a specialist in geopolitical economics at the Jacques Delors Institute. Several countries have moved in recent years to forge new trade deals, a trend Trump's tariffs blitz could accelerate. In March, Japan, South Korea and China pledged to speed up negotiations on an accord, while Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has called for a deal between the Mercosur Latin America bloc and Japan. The European Union has also signed a free-trade deal with Mercosur, though its ratification has been held up, in particular by France over concerns about unfair agriculture competition. The EU has also relaunched efforts to secure a deal with Malaysia and countries in Central Asia. In April, the WTO said world merchandise trade would fall 0.2 percent this year before a "modest" recovery to growth of 2.5 percent in 2026. But those forecasts took into account only the tariffs Trump had announced up to then -- not the more severe levels he has threatened to put in place starting August 1 for countries that have not signed deals with Washington.
DW
3 hours ago
- DW
Can Australia's youth social media ban work? – DW – 07/31/2025
Australia is implementing a social media blackout for children under 16 to arrest a growing mental health crisis. But is a ban the best way to help young digital natives? When Australia's government decided to implement a world-first national youth social media ban, it was pitched as an antidote to a growing mental health crisis. It followed intense debate about the dangers of social media, much articulated in the book, "The Anxious Generation," by Jonathan Haidt. The American social psychologist argues that smartphone-based childhoods and social media is helping to fuel an epidemic of mental illness among teenagers. As the ban was passed in the Australian Parliament in November 2024, one poll revealed overwhelming support among 77% of Australians. The plan to fine TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, Instagram, and now YouTube, 49.5 million Australian dollars (€27.7 million, $32.3 million) for failing to block young people was supported by 87% of those surveyed. Underage social media users and their parents will not be punished for any violations under the law. Social media companies, including Elon Musk's X, were predictably unimpressed with a ban that many concede will also be difficult to police. "It's entirely likely the ban could see young people pushed to darker corners of the internet where no community guidelines, safety tools, or protections exist," said a TikTok spokesperson when the bill was passed. The Australian social media ban partly seeks to protect young people from the cyberbullying, disinformation and illegal content that has riddled social media platforms. But some experts doubt whether prohibition is an antidote to deteriorating youth mental health. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Marilyn Campbell, a professor in the school of Early Childhood and Inclusive Education at the Queensland University of Technology who writes on cyberbullying, warns that there is little research that actually establishes a "causal" connection between social media and psychological health. "We know that there's a high correlation between the rise of new technologies and the increase in young people's poorer mental health," she said. "But we don't even know why yet." One 2023 study sampling social media use in 72 countries found "no evidence suggesting that the global penetration of social media is associated with widespread psychological harm." Even though populist psychology works like "The Anxious Generation" merely draw a correlation between rising youth anxiety and depression and social media use, they have been heavily hyped in the media, Campbell noted. Building on the popularity of these ideas, the government is now pursuing a "nice, simple solution," she told DW. "You don't have to spend any money on it," she said of the ban. "It's not complicated." Researchers at the University of Queensland note that the limited understanding of social media impacts on young people's mental health means that other influences need to be considered such as rising "social inequity," "climate anxiety" and "gendered violence." Instead of focusing on social media, governments need to "reform the mental health system," Campbell suggested, adding that "many more school counselors and school psychologists" would help. "There's lots of things that they could do but that costs money," she added. "We know that social media is doing social harm, and my Government and this Parliament is prepared to take action to protect young Australians," said Australian Prime Minsiter on Wednesday when announcing that YouTube would be added to the list of banned platforms after initially being left out. But social media can also be positive for young people, said Campbell. Writing for magazine in January, she noted that young people with autism or who are "exploring their sexual and gender identity" can sometimes more easily identify with peers online than in their physical locality. She added that like the prohibition of alcohol in the US, a ban just forces the problem underground. Youth also need to be prepared to live in a "technologically-saturated world," the professor told DW. "We are not doing them any favors by saying, well, you can't be in this world until you're 16." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Australian ban will not come into effect until this December, however trials are underway to address the complex task of enforcing the social media blackout. Platforms won't be allowed to compel users to provide government-issued ID or digital identification, but need to provide "alternative age assurance methods" to confirm the age of social media account holders. One recent study showed that some 80% of people surveyed are concerned about the accuracy of age assurance technologies, and potential data privacy breaches. Some 77% of German respondents to a 2024 poll also said they would either "fully" or "somewhat" support an Australia-like social media ban. An even higher percentage — 82% — were "absolutely certain" or "somewhat certain" that social media use is in some way bad for children and teenagers. Several US states are also limiting access to social media, including ensuring greater parental guidance over social media usage. For decades now, the US has required tech companies to seek parental consent to access the data of users under 13. Sweden too is looking to ban access to smartphones in schools due to worries about a decline in both mental and physical health. In 2024, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy suggested that warning labels be added to social media platforms akin to warnings on cigarettes and alcohol. This came after a Surgeon General report found some positives with social media use such as "community and connection with others who share identities, abilities and interests," but also "symptoms of depression and anxiety" among adolescents spending 3-plus hours a day on social platforms. Marilyn Campbell reiterated that social media apps should not be banned, but designed to encourage safer interaction with young people. "I think that children need to be educated to live in the digital world," she said.
