Day: July 17, 2026

Meanwhile, their only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, is reportedly heading to the scrapheap after 9 years and $1 billion wasted on failed repairs. It is in such terrible shape that no one even wants to buy it for scrap metal.

Which begs the question: how is the legendary Russian submarine fleet holding up?

The reality under the surface isn’t much better. Submarine maintenance requires advanced high-tech alloys, precision engineering, and specialized electronics—precisely the things Russia can no longer import due to sanctions. While they still have a few modern hulls, the majority of the fleet is plagued by:

Noisy propulsion systems: Lack of precision parts makes them easier for NATO to track.

Delayed refits: Shipyards are clogged with broken surface ships and starved of cash.

Safety cuts: A dangerous cocktail when dealing with nuclear reactors.

A self-proclaimed naval superpower, now reduced to a green-water navy with rusted hulls and empty docks

Speaking in a prime-time address from the White House, Trump said the Chinese government stole 220 million voter files, including names, addresses and other sensitive data in what is “believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history” — claims that US intelligence agencies have previously debunked. More here:  bloom.bg/4ppanhh

📷: Saul Loeb/AFP/Bloomberg