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... Meanwhile, French bases in Ivory Coast, Senegal and Gabon are all being transformed into co-managed operations to downplay Paris' role. Military schools and training academies will become much of the focus for France, the officials said. "The Macron administration has encountered numerous setbacks on the African continent since 2017, yet none have prompted a reevaluation of strategy or thinking or personnel," said Jalel Harchaoui, associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank in London.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Monday imposed new trade restrictions on 11 Chinese and five Russian companies, accusing some of supplying components to make drones for Russia's war effort in Ukraine. ... Nine of the companies, including China's Asia Pacific Links Ltd. and Russia's SMT-iLogic, allegedly took part in a scheme to supply the previously blacklisted Special Technology Center with drone parts for Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff (GRU). An investigation by Reuters and iStories, a Russian media outlet, in collaboration with the Royal United Services Institute, a defense think tank in London, last year uncovered a logistical trail that spans the globe and ends at the Orlan drone's production line, the Special Technology Centre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged the counteroffensive was slow, but added that is was “important that we are moving forward every day and liberating territory”. A study by the Royal United Services Institute, a London-based think-tank, found Ukrainian forces average 700-1,200m of progress every five days. That gives Russian forces time to dig in and especially to mine territory as they pull back.