Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, often out of step with other NATO leaders, said today that Ukraine is unlikely to win its war with Russia. “It is obvious that there is no victory for the poor Ukrainians on the battlefield,” he said. “The war can be stopped only if the Russians can make an agreement with the U.S. “In Europe, we are not happy with that, but it’s the only way out.”

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has demonstrated a microwave drone countermeasure, the Tactical High-power Operational Responder, against a swarm of targets. “THOR has never been tested against these types of drones before, but this did not stop the system from dropping the targets out of the sky with its non-kinetic speed-of-light […] pulses,” an official explained.

The Military Police Complaints Commission is looking into how military police handled the sexual-assault allegation against Major-General Dany Fortin, who was cleared of misconduct after his acquittal by a Quebec Court last December. Fortin says he was the victim of a biased investigation and the Commission said today that his statements about senior military officials make it a matter of public interest.

Julianne Smith, the U.S. Ambassador to NATO, says the alliance expects Canada and other alliance members to have a clear plan of how they will meet defence spending targets when they meet July 11-12 in Lithuania. “Negotiations are still underway […] but my prediction is that will focus on making the 2% (of national GDP) target an enduring commitment.”