War & Conflict with Preston Stewart

So the situation in Yemen is not good. The Houthis are solidifying their gains, Yemeni government troops sort of melted away and it doesn’t look like anyone is coming to help. At least not yet.Today we’re joined by Mohammed al-Basha, a middle east analyst and the founder of Basher Report Risk Advisory to discuss what’s going on.We get into why this kicked off now, how this ties into the US-Iran war, what to expect from the Saudis in the coming months and more.Follow Basha at the links below:https://x.com/BashaReporthttps://bashareport.substack.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/bashareport/Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last day of our merch collab with Dzyga's Paw! https://prestonstew.shop/collections/dzygas-pawUkraine just announced the first phase of a counteroffensive in the east.GEN Biletsky Commander of the 3rd Army Corps “Good news is coming, but for now, our actions require silence. The Russians have acknowledged these advances with one milblogger warning that these forces aren’t just scared conscripts, but battle-hardened mechanized units who are back to their favorite activity – killing Russians. Sources:https://www.kyivpost.com/post/84556https://deepstatemap.live/en#11/49.0263881/38.0072021https://www.kyivpost.com/post/84190https://t.me/voenkorKotenok/74963https://t.me/notes_veterans/29811https://t.me/rybar/82966https://t.me/ab3army/7468 https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2099767585428398149?s=20Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a big week in Washington D.C. as the House looks to pass the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia Act of 2026. So to unpack what’s going on here we’re joined today by Mykola Murskyj.Mykola is the Director of Advocacy at Razom for Ukraine and is going door to door right now in the House explaining to our Representatives what this bill is and isn’t.Links:https://razomforukraine.quorum.us/campaign/GrahamVote/https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5334?s=1&r=2&hl=hr5334https://www.csis.org/analysis/what-happens-if-congress-codifies-russia-sanctionsStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our fall fundraiser here: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-fall-offensivePolish jets were scrambled yesterday as Russia struck right along the border between Ukraine and NATO. I mean less than 1km from NATO territory leading the Ukrainian Foreign Minister to warn: “This is Putin’s terror “knocking” directly on the doors of the EU and NATO. Russian barbarians are at your gate”Sources:https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/09/11/8052995/https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian-air-defence-stocks-significantly-depleted/https://tvpworld.com/95363922/dorohuskyahodyn-volyn-russian-drones-hit-kyivwarsaw-traintruck-near-poland-ukraine-borderhttps://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-polytics/4163489-zelensky-outlines-ukraines-need-for-patriot-missiles-ahead-of-winter.htmlhttps://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iea-further-cuts-russian-oil-output-forecasts-ukrainian-attacks-2026-09-11/Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our fundraiser that supports Foxhound here: https://givebutter.com/Southern_FrontToday we’re talking with one of the newest drone units in Ukraine, Foxhound. We’re joined by Ben and Dingo, two foreign volunteers that recently stood up the group that is already conducting combat operations in some of the hottest sectors of the front.We get into this unique aspect of the Ukrainian military where you can form your own unit. They talk through how that’s done, the challenges faced in doing so and of course, what their new platoon has been up to at the front.Learn more about Foxhound on IG: https://www.instagram.com/foxhound.usp/https://www.instagram.com/belt.fed.brit/Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Houthis are on a roll in Yemen and the Saudi’s are struggling to stop them. The last 24-48 hours have been wild with the Houthis making their largest territorial gains in years to include the capture of islands in the middle of the Red Sea. Meanwhile, we’ve learned that the US has boots on ground in Saudi Arabia helping assist in their response but has turned down Saudi requests for direct military support.It’s best to view this as another front of the Iran war. Not only is the now threatened Bab al Mandeb Strait seen as the only maritime workaround to the closure of Hormuz but we’re watching Iran step in to help their ally the Houthis, while the US wavers on helping our ally, Saudi Arabia. Sources:https://yemen.liveuamap.com/https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-iran-mokha-mandeb-shipping-saudi-025d052a14d9481258d51009a76d0bd6https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-reach-strategic-island-mouth-vital-shipping-lane-2026-09-11/https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-iran-mokha-mandeb-shipping-saudi-025d052a14d9481258d51009a76d0bd6https://www.axios.com/2026/09/11/houthis-yemen-saudi-trump-mbs-strikeshttps://www.newsweek.com/saudi-arabias-east-west-oil-pipeline-hit-by-houthis-photos-appear-to-show-12430311https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/10/politics/us-military-support-saudi-arabia-houthi-iran-yemenStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 years ago the United States suffered the deadliest terrorist attack in our history. Fortunately, we haven’t had to relive that horror due in large part to the many people who have dedicated their lives to counterterrorism. So today, we’re talking with two of them from the Soufan Center.Colin Clarke is the Executive Director and Clara Broekaert a research analyst and together they just edited a new book titled ‘25 YEARS AFTER 9/11: The Future of the Global Jihadi Movement’.We get into what the counterterrorism community has done right, and wrong over the last 25 years, how jihadi groups are leveraging AI in their new operations and more.You can find their new book here: https://thesoufancenter.org/25-years-after-9-11-the-future-of-the-global-jihadi-movement/https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/07/9-11-failure-of-imagination-new-terrorist-technologies/Follow Colin and Clara at the links below:https://thesoufancenter.org/team/colin-p-clarke/https://x.com/ColinPClarkehttps://thesoufancenter.org/team/clara-broekaert/https://x.com/ClaraBroekaertStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So the Houthis are kind of winning right now in Yemen. Just a few days ago we had regional analysts wondering if the Iranian backed group was on the verge of collapse, but we blink and they’ve just taken some very strategic territory. One local official summed up it by saying, “it’s really bad”. For Yemeni government forces that is, as the Houthis continue to advance.Sources:https://yemen.liveuamap.com/https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/the-gulf/artc-it-s-really-bad-fmr-yemeni-official-describes-losing-mocha-to-houthis-calls-for-more-saudi-involvementhttps://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/yemens-iran-backed-houthis-sweep-toward-strategic-bab-al-mandeb-c1786d79?mod=Searchresults&pos=1&page=1https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/10/world/middleeast/yemens-houthis-seize-strategic-red-sea-port-officials-say.html?searchResultPosition=2https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/trump-says-iran-war-end-after-us-midterm-elections-threatens-attack-pickaxe-2026-09-10/Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our fundraiser to support these soldiers in the south: https://givebutter.com/Southern_FrontSo there’s a major issue in southern Ukraine. The soldiers don’t have enough fuel. Now they’re not completely out but right on that line. Some units have so little that troops are having to stay in position for months on end. That’s a problem. This affects everything from combat operations to training, logistics to medical evacuation. So to help break down what’s happening with this, we’re joined today by Rachel Jamison of Protect a Volunteer. Learn more about PAV here:https://protectavolunteer.com/https://x.com/RachelPAVStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pretty significant strikes carried out yesterday between the US and Iran showing that we are, once again, in a spiral of escalation with some analysts warning that we’re on a path to return to full scale war. Looks like Iran fired missiles at US warships. The US responded by striking five Iranian oil tankers and then Iran fired 20 ballistic missiles at a US base in Jordan. Sources:https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/09/world/middleeast/iran-war-us-aggression-hormuz.html?smid=nytcore-ios-sharehttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/first-on-60-minutes-air-force-officer-shot-down-iran-rescued/https://x.com/citrinowicz/status/2097447835364925797?s=20Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This update is as of 0900 CDT, 08SEPT2026. Looks like the Yemen Civil War is back to full scale fighting as the Houthis kicked off an offensive in the south and launched missiles into Saudi Arabia leading the Yemeni government to counterattack saying they plan to wipe out the Houthis once and for all.Sources:https://yemen.liveuamap.com/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/8/yemeni-forces-launch-counteroffensive-against-houthis-vow-to-retake-sanaahttps://www.crisisgroup.org/anb/middle-east-north-africa/yemen/houthis-escalate-yemens-western-fronthttps://www.npr.org/2026/09/08/g-s1-142296/houthi-attacks-saudi-arabiahttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/08/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-yemen-houthis-energy-attack.htmlhttps://x.com/BashaReport/status/2096894850159288608?s=20Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Overnight Ukraine struck two more oil refineries in Russia which might seem pretty normal at this point but according to a new assessment in the Wall Street Journal, the costs are really starting to add up. We also just had Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner visit Moscow and Kyiv in a new push for peace. From what we can tell, the talks seem to have gone well, and it’s notable these two visited Ukraine at all. However, there’s no indication there’s going to be any major changes anytime soon.Sources:https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/how-ukrainian-drone-strikes-are-pounding-russias-economy-a03652a7?mod=hp_lead_pos3https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/trump-envoys-visit-ukraine-in-new-push-for-peace-talks-ee01b34e?mod=WTRN_pos1https://kyivindependent.com/us-envoys-witkoff-kushner-arrive-in-ukraine/Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In response to Iran firing missiles at two US warships in the Middle East, the US military just destroyed three Iranian oil tankers. This is actually a pretty big escalation in a few ways. First off, the launching missiles at our aircraft carrier is significant and not something we’ve seen in a while but then the US response was serious, actually sinking commercial vessels in this key waterway. That said, we’re still at a bit of an impasse where neither Iran nor the US seem willing to give an inch as the pressure mounts in different ways. Sources:https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/time-is-no-longer-on-irans-side-in-the-battle-of-the-blockades-e47b657d?mod=hp_lead_pos1https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/video/iran-us-attack-wedding.htmlhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/04/inside-the-iranian-wedding-bombed-in-us-strike/https://www.reuters.com/investigations/deadly-strike-iranian-wedding-was-likely-direct-hit-by-us-munition-analysis-2026-09-03/https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2096231596449767452?s=20Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In response to Iran firing missiles at two US warships in the Middle East, the US military just destroyed three Iranian oil tankers. This is actually a pretty big escalation in a few ways. First off, the launching missiles at our aircraft carrier is significant and not something we’ve seen in a while but then the US response was serious, actually sinking commercial vessels in this key waterway. That said, we’re still at a bit of an impasse where neither Iran nor the US seem willing to give an inch as the pressure mounts in different ways. Sources:https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/time-is-no-longer-on-irans-side-in-the-battle-of-the-blockades-e47b657d?mod=hp_lead_pos1https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/02/video/iran-us-attack-wedding.htmlhttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/04/inside-the-iranian-wedding-bombed-in-us-strike/https://www.reuters.com/investigations/deadly-strike-iranian-wedding-was-likely-direct-hit-by-us-munition-analysis-2026-09-03/https://x.com/CENTCOM/status/2096231596449767452?s=20Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our truck fundraiser here: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-fall-offensiveTanks are still useful on the modern battlefield. I know that’ll get some folks fired up but look, when you talk to the people actually fighting the war, they want more tanks. That should be a pretty good sign.But also, we’re not seeing tanks scrapped, but rather technical and tactical adaptations emerge to keep them in the fight, at least for now. Sources:https://www.twz.com/land/how-russian-drones-forced-ukraine-to-park-its-m1-abrams-tankshttps://x.com/Black_BirdGroup/status/2096083074240975038?s=20https://x.com/414magyarbirds/status/2094683844821549418?s=20Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our truck fundraiser here: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-fall-offensiveSo you might have heard the news that Ukraine has declared the Russian skies closed to commercial aircraft. With Zelensky saying “There are no more safe moments in the sky over Russia” Now Putin didn’t handle this well, at all. I mean right away they referred to this as Ukraine threatening to kill civilians and a clear cut example of state terrorism backed by the west.But here’s the thing, that’s not at all what happened. Sources:https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9v9yydy2wvohttps://x.com/Mockingjay_uahttps://x.com/DrnBmbrStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One scam can cost you everything — protect yourself now. The first 100 users get 20% off with code prestonstewart at https://coveron.com/prestonstewart NATO is under attack, has been for some time, but yesterday, it really escalated. Germany just announced that the two men behind the attempted drone attack at the Leipzig airport were acting on behalf of Russian state entities. This is just the tip of the iceberg as Russia ramps up it's hybrid warfare across Europe. Sources:https://www.wsj.com/opinion/germany-leipzig-airport-drone-russia-nato-iran-1df66c1e?mod=hp_opin_pos_3 https://apnews.com/article/germany-russia-explosive-drone-leipzig-attack-8a0054face48cc56f6cb6bcf9a8f4b51 https://www.reuters.com/world/eu-some-eu-states-summon-russian-embassy-officials-over-leipzig-drone-attack-2026-09-02/ https://www.dw.com/en/germany-news-explosive-devices-found-near-power-plant/live-78583741 https://www.npr.org/2026/09/02/g-s1-141502/germany-russia-attempted-drone-attack https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germany-train-station-explosion-augsburg-injured-b3043222.html https://www.politico.eu/article/poland-suspects-foreign-involvement-in-drone-plant-arson-attack/ Store: https://prestonstew.shop/ Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While the US kicked off another wave of strikes in Iran last night, it’s pretty clear that our focus is using economic warfare to try to bring this war to a close. And as our guest today mentions, it’s worth noting that economic and military means aren’t mutually exclusive and in many cases can support the other.To help understand what we’re seeing on the economic side of this war, we’re joined today by Brett Erickson who I think does a great job of summarizing this as a matter of runway. Who has more and what shortens or lengthens that path?Brett is a financial crime and geopolitical expert whose work operates at the intersection of national security, finance, geopolitics, and institutional governance and serves as the managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors.We get into the US economic warfare strategy, what’s working, what’s not and what to watch for in the coming weeks.Follow Brett and his work at the links below:https://www.obsidianriskadvisors.com/https://x.com/BrettErickson28Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Looks like we’re back to war. This appears to be like more than a tit for tat response as the US carried out strikes for a few hours earlier today and the Iranian response, missile and drone attacks across the region, is still ongoing as of this recording.In turn we don’t have any solid battle damage assessments however the US says we went after a number of radar sites along the coast and Iran says that one strike hit a wedding party killing four and wounding more than 50.On the other side, Iran appears to have shot down a US MQ-9 Reaper drone and it looks like at least a few missiles bypassed air defense and impacted in Jordan. Jordan has since announced that 10 missiles were intercepted and 3 fell in unpopulated areas.Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In recent months China and Russia have helped Iran to kill Americans.And that’s the focus of today’s conversation with Bradley Bowman where we get into how these countries have increased collaboration in recent years and the very real threat that poses to the United States and our Allies.Bradley is the senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and recently co-authored a book titled “Axis of Aggressors: Countering the Cooperation of China, Russia, Iran & North Korea”Find Axis of Aggressors here: https://www.amazon.com/Axis-Aggressors-Countering-Cooperation-Russia/dp/1968919414/Where to follow Bradley:https://www.fdd.org/team/bradley-bowman/https://x.com/Brad_L_Bowmanhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleylbowman/Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most shocking leaks in recent years just came out from the Pentagon with multiple senior officials allegedly telling Secretary Hegseth that the war in Iran is unsustainable, but he’s not listening. We do have official and unofficial responses from the Pentagon where they’ve stated that this is just Trump Derangement Syndrome and that the Washington Post works for enemies of the United States. Pushback is normal, but this high level internal debate being leaked? That’s not. This is pretty significant. Sources:https://wapo.st/4wT23bLhttps://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/28/treasury-uae-banque-misr-sanctions-iran.htmlhttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/09/12/marine-fired-charlie-kirk-death-post-pentagon/86110626007/https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/status/2094103560384389592?s=20https://x.com/infantrydort/status/2094069244057051321?s=20https://youtu.be/FT784GgO8-o?si=2_TGWGCIHF93ULad Store: https://prestonstew.shop/ Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946 Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

https://www.recwatches.com/the-x4009-series and use code PRESTON for 10% off. The X4009 is a strictly limited timepiece built from original WWII Spitfire aluminum, no two are identical. Part of every sale funds the restoration of the actual aircraft.So Ukraine says they have intelligence that Russia is planning a ground attack from the north, towards Kyiv. Now it’s far from certain that Russia could even pull that off but the timing is notable.So far this week we have the CIA director secretly traveling to Moscow to reportedly warn Russia against attacking NATO. And today, the Polish Prime minister “the escalation from Russia's side is progressing and we must be prepared for various scenarios.”Check out our fall truck fundraiser here: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-fall-offensiveSources:https://deepstatemap.live/en#6/49.438/32.053https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/08/29/8050908/https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-plans-new-ground-attack-on-kyiv-ukraine-warns/https://x.com/donaldtusk/status/2093648423522124282?s=20https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2026/08/27/europe-cannot-protect-russia-from-itself?taid=6a9040a82c351600015c0b77&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitterStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our fall fundraiser here! https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-fall-offensiveSo it looks like Ukraine just took out another Tu-95 bomber, on the runway, pretty far inside Russian territory. That would be the second Russian strategic bomber hit by a Ukrainian drone in the past six weeks. Same airfield actually which seems like maybe there’s a little gap in their air defense to say the least.Sources:https://militarnyi.com/en/news/satellite-images-damage-tu-95-bomber-engels/https://t.me/SBUkr/18479https://t.me/bomber_fighter/26371https://t.me/milinfolive/178343https://t.me/milinfolive/176402Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fall campaign just went live! Check it out here to see the new patches available to our donors: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-fall-offensiveSo we’ve got some updates on why the CIA director secretly flew to Moscow on Tuesday including an assessment that a ‘critical shortage’ of interceptors in Europe, may be leading Putin to consider the dangerous gamble of attacking NATO directly. Sources:https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-says-it-could-strike-uk-military-targets-response-ukrainian-strikes-using-2026-08-27/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/08/27/8050507/https://kyivindependent.com/baltics-assessment-of-russia-threat-unchanged-after-cia-directors-moscow-visit/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/us/politics/cia-director-russia-ukraine.htmlhttps://apnews.com/article/patriot-missiles-iran-war-russia-ukraine-trump-09c7d8030a2e11fbd8ee3f7176b3f2d4https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/cia-chiefs-surprise-moscow-trip-was-to-warn-russia-not-to-attack-nato-c2d997f3?mod=trending_now_news_1Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NATO & Ukraine Team Up on Airfield DenialThings are going to get creative Ukraine is pretty much out of missile interceptors, so now what?We know they’re trying to get more and there’s of course the domestic program that hopefully will be ready soon but the other option is to target the archer rather than shooting down the arrows. And that’s something NATO is helping with.Today we’re joined by Colonel Valerii Vyshnivskyi of the NATO-Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Center to discuss a new challenge: persistent airfield denial. This is part of a series of innovation challenges put on by NATO where companies from alliance countries submit their solutions and compete for the potential to receive support to develop their products.References:https://www.act.nato.int/jatec/https://www.act.nato.int/activities/innovation-challenges/https://www.act.nato.int/opportunities/contracting/rfip-act-sact-26-72/Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Car4Ukraine campaign: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-offensive-2026Car4Ukraine merch collab: https://prestonstew.shop/collections/car4ukraineDzyga's Paw merch collab: https://prestonstew.shop/collections/dzygas-pawYesterday the CIA director flew unannounced to Moscow. The last time this happened was in late 2021 to warn Putin that we knew he was about to invade Ukraine in hopes he would back off. No doubt something important is going on but as of now it’s all speculation.Sources:https://www.wsj.com/world/cia-director-john-ratcliffe-makes-surprise-trip-to-moscow-c1c68fa6?mod=hp_trendingnow_article_pos5https://malcontentnews.substack.com/p/why-did-cia-director-ratcliffe-travelhttps://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2092519739625026031?s=20https://t.me/two_majors/82314Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get $35 off your first box of wild-caught, sustainable seafood—delivered right to your door. Go to: https://www.wildalaskan.com/PRESTONYesterday the United States kicked off Operation Economic Outcast which administration officials have called the economic D-Day for Iran. The response was ‘meh’ with some in Iran saying this is just another empty threat by President Trump. In fact when asked why these sanctions weren’t going into place right now, Secretary Bessent said “Why would I want to blow up the global financial system.” Which may be an indication of how far we’re willing, or not willing to take this.Sources:https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/u-s-says-oil-is-pouring-through-hormuz-trackers-cant-find-it-306faebdhttps://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/u-s-squeezes-iran-but-avoids-targeting-its-biggest-lifeline-china-b8d2ee88?mod=hp_lead_pos2https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/bessent-launches-operation-economic-outcast-to-isolate-iran-0e4db091https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/8/24/what-to-expect-as-iran-braces-for-new-us-economic-measures-amid-warhttps://www.ft.com/content/cb865200-1a06-40be-86a3-10ee2bb05804Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/68Lhcj39e7zM4iM9bbJkdt?si=14c0ff0c0757472aApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/war-conflict-with-preston-stewart/id1834772946Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our merch collabs below:Dzyga's Paw: https://prestonstew.shop/collections/dzygas-pawCar4Ukraine: https://prestonstew.shop/collections/car4ukraineIn just the last two days, Ukraine has taken out three Russian aircraft, three anti-aircraft missile systems and 12 air defense radars with most of the strikes occurring inside Russia rather than occupied Ukraine. In other words, more and more Russian targets continue to become available. Sources:https://united24media.com/defense-tech/britain-to-unlock-classified-scalp-missile-technology-for-ukraine-to-build-them-at-home-21919https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/23/ukraine-war-briefing-macron-focuses-on-delivery-of-missile-interceptors-as-russian-attacks-intensifyhttps://kyivindependent.com/zelensky-says-musk-may-change-his-mind-on-using-starlink-against-russian-ballistic-missiles/https://t.me/usf_army/2361https://t.me/usf_army/2358Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One scam can cost you everything — protect yourself now. The first 100 users get 20% off with code prestonstewart at https://coveron.com/prestonstewartSo the United States says we will not be returning to large scale kinetic operations in Iran anytime soon as we wait for the economic pressure to “collapse the regime.” But here’s the thing, that might actually prompt the return to fighting President Trump is hoping to avoid. See, while Iran is certainly feeling the impact of the blockade and sanctions, hardliners in the regime are arguing that the time to strike is now. Force the US to an actual agreement before the economic situation deteriorates even further.Sources:https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/20/world/europe/trump-iran-economy-sanctions-threats.htmlhttps://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-treasury-secretary-bessent-hold-press-conference-iran-on-monday-2026-08-20/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/trump-iran-economy-sanctions-hormuz-b3036190.htmlhttps://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/18/there-no-breaking-point-problem-with-trumps-plan-teconomically-strangle-iran-01040781https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2026-08-21/trump-warns-of-economic-d-day-against-iran-but-tehran-is-well-acquainted-with-sanctionshttps://x.com/RZimmt/status/2090781942107066794?s=20https://x.com/HamidRezaAz/status/2090781076159406330?s=20https://x.com/citrinowicz/status/2090792770755506197?s=20Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn about our truck fundraiser here: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-offensive-2026So Ukraine is out of Patriot missile interceptors and Russia is ramping up missile production. That’s a problem, to say the least and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say this is the biggest issue facing Ukraine today. This dynamic isn’t anything new and overnight we saw again how Russian missiles are largely unchallenged in the Ukrainian skies.Sources:https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/17/europe/ukraine-patriot-missile-launchers-run-dry-intlhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-08-11/ukraine-stops-reporting-russia-missile-data-as-defenses-strugglehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/14/patriot-missiles-ukraine-putin-kyiv-running-out-nato-dangerhttps://newsukraine.rbc.ua/interview/d-1786341590.htmlStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So we’ve got a new strategy with Iran: no more talks, just wait them out.Iran meanwhile is taking a different approach threatening to go on the offensive if the blockade isn’t lifted soon with one analyst saying “There is also a widespread view in Iran that the main war has not yet begun.”Sources:https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/18/politics/iran-war-trump-halt-talkshttps://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-contradicts-adviser-jared-kushner-on-iran-where-talks-stand-12338008https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-plan-escalate-war-cc657664?st=RXaQT6https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/18/pentagon-evaluating-smaller-us-military-presence-persian-gulf-after-iran-war/https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/irans-attacks-on-ships-in-hormuz-pile-up-testing-u-s-military-restraint-6ff9f5dd?mod=middle-east_news_article_pos3Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Details on our Southern Front campaign through a 501c3: https://givebutter.com/Southern_FrontInterview with soldiers in the south: https://youtu.be/l74r1s8y7uYSenior officials are sounding the alarm in Russia, with a chief economist saying "We won't win the competition in this war of attrition. We're under the illusion that everything In Ukraine will collapse. It hasn't, and it won't. Our costs are mounting." Now he was fired two days after this speech was made public, so let’s get into what he said and what’s looking like major problems headed Russia’s way in the near term.Sources:https://ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/08/14/vglavnom-gosbanke-kremlya-sprognozirovali-porazhenie-rossii-vekonomicheskoi-voine-naistoschenie-szapadom-a203552https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/08/17/veb-chief-economist-fired-after-warning-russia-cannot-win-war-of-attrition-the-bell-a93513https://t.me/roy_tv_mk/21591https://t.me/swodki/611730Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our ongoing fundraiser here: https://givebutter.com/Southern_FrontA few days ago we learned that Ukraine had been conducting a major counteroffensive in the south over the last few months. Those operations, combined, led to over 745 sq km cleared and 26 villages returned to Ukrainian control. Part of the reason for that success is that it was kept secret. Clearance after clearance went off without a public mention from the Ukrainian military.Today we’re joined by two soldiers that took part in some of those operations. Rojhat and SOUPS are team leaders in the Black Talon Group, an organization fighting in the Ukrainian SSO or Special Operations Forces. We focus on some of their close quarters tactics. How they go about clearing buildings when they know Russians are inside, challenges of infil and exfil and a crazy story about a recent MEDEVAC that goes to show that the ‘golden hour’ really isn’t a thing in this war.Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our campaign to help soldiers on the Southern Front here: https://givebutter.com/Southern_FrontSo Russia just rolled out some pretty impressive new technology and it sort of worked then didn’t. It’s a new drone defense system, the Arena M, and it sounds like it may have perfectly intercepted some Ukrainian drones flying at Russian tanks. Problem is, they were facing hundreds and the system was overwhelmed. Sources:https://t.me/feniksdpsu/2188https://t.me/azov_brigade_ngu/1676https://x.com/kriegsforscherD/status/2086165753917509724?s=20https://t.me/boris_rozhin/221592https://t.me/milinfolive/177376https://t.me/swodki/606694Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our campaign to help out one of the units that fought in these operations: https://givebutter.com/Southern_FrontSo Russia has now responded to Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south. They said no.It’s a bold choice. And if this is how they actually plan to proceed, it’s going to make things much more difficult for the Russian military. Now as a refresher. Two days ago news came out that Ukraine had been conducting a major operation in the southern direction since January.They’d keep a lid on the news and over the course of seven months, liberated 26 settlements and took back over 745 square kilometers.Sources:https://t.me/rybar/82439https://t.me/voin_dv/20675https://t.me/rybar/82440https://t.me/skala425/963https://t.me/ua_dshv/8563Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s guest is Harrison Mann, a former U.S. Army major and executive officer of the Defense Intelligence Agency's Middle East/Africa Regional Center who resigned in protest at his office's support for Israel's war in Gaza. We talk about the Minab school strike in Iran, where that investigation stands right now and the impact this has on the perception of the US military at home and abroad.You can follow Harrison and his work at the links below:https://x.com/Harrison_J_Mannhttps://www.instagram.com/harrison_j_mann/?hl=enhttps://substack.com/@harrisonmannhttps://aboutfaceveterans.org/Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get 10% Off your entire order & take advantage of Ridge’s Annual Sweepstakes by going to https://www.Ridge.com/PRESTON #RidgepodUkraine just quietly took back over 700 sq km of territory that Russia had claimed over the last year. Here’s the deal: Russia kept making the same mistake so Ukraine took advantage of it. In turn, nearly all of Russia’s gains in the eastern Zaporizhia direction in 2026 have been wiped out. Back to square one.Sources:https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/2087533010354618868?s=20https://t.me/si4eslavskabrygada/2533Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russia has a manpower shortage in Ukraine. It’s not that they’re running out of people, far from it. They’re running out of people they want to fight the war. The undesirables. The second class citizens, prisoners and folks that to be blunt, the Kremlin just doesn’t care that much about.And as that group gets smaller and smaller, it becomes increasingly likely that we’re going to see a forced mobilization in Russia where citizens are pressed into service and sent to the front.Sources:https://archive.is/20260810134149/https://www.ft.com/content/45289802-848f-4fa6-9769-6971b4b69bcchttps://warontherocks.com/a-return-to-mass-russian-force-expansion-in-the-war-with-ukraine/https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/the-kremlin-is-bullying-more-russians-into-fighting-in-ukraine-3d1af6d7https://t.me/dshrg2/5395https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/20369Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we're joined by Dara Massicot. Dara is a senior fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace where her work focuses on defense and security issues and she’s just back from a research trip to the front lines in Ukraine.We get into the varying targets for Ukrainian strikes, how they coordinate efforts at that depth, major issues facing the two countries for the rest of the year and more.Follow Dara at the links below:https://carnegieendowment.org/people/dara-massicothttps://x.com/MassDaraStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out the doc on Ryan here: https://youtu.be/BDmUPUTQ7ms?si=YRpMbDS2I11797IOUkraine just struck a target more than 2,000km inside of Russian territory. That’s 1,242 miles for my fellow Americans which means roughly the distance from New York City to Miami Florida. These deep strikes, especially those against refineries, are causing a fuel shortage in Russia. Despite Russian efforts to slow the bleed, we are still seeing videos of citizens lined up at the pump hoping the gas station doesn’t run out before they can fill up. And it’s worse in the occupied territories meaning that military transport along the southern land bridge is facing new challenges in keeping the front supplied. Sources:https://www.kyivpost.com/post/81805https://t.me/rybar_in_english/33373https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/ukraine-set-to-receive-70-atacms-and-12-m270-launchers-from-turkey-in-280-million-arms-deal-21502Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s looking more and more that we’ve reached an impasse in Iran.Trump will not accept Iran's newest terms as that would signal a clear US defeat. However, a significant escalation to change the dynamics also seems unlikely. That leaves us with how things sit today: Iran with de-facto control of the Strait of Hormuz. Sanctions will stay in place and economic relief won't be granted, but real nuclear negotiations probably won't come together anytime soon.Now President Trump remains optimistic just a few hours ago stating "It will work out. It always works out.”Sources:https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/trump-strait-of-hormuz-opening-iran-negotiations-b6a43ad6?mod=trending_now_news_4https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/07/politics/general-dan-caine-off-ramp-iran-warhttps://www.axios.com/2026/08/09/trump-iran-interviewhttps://www.reuters.com/world/what-is-patriot-missile-system-why-are-supplies-depleted-worldwide-2026-08-07/https://fortune.com/2026/08/08/iran-economic-collapse-us-naval-blockade-hormuz-sanctions-relief/Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Merch collabs: https://prestonstew.shop/Check out our truck fundraiser here: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-offensive-2026Nearly 31,000 Russian soldiers were killed or seriously wounded in July marking the fifth month this year where Russia lost more men than they were able to recruit.Those losses are adding up and have led to a change in a US intelligence assessment that now believes, that because of the mounting challenges in Ukraine, Putin may try to directly test NATO in the near future. In fact, Russian hybrid warfare is already underway and just this week an explosive laden drone was found next to a Ukrainian plane parked at a German airport in what local officials referred to as an attempted act of Russian terrorism. Sources:https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/u-s-intel-links-russia-to-explosive-drone-at-german-airport-8a69a823https://www.reuters.com/world/germanys-security-council-discusses-drone-incident-air-cargo-hub-2026-08-07/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/06/leipzig-drone-bomb-found-near-ukrainian-plane-carrying-ammunitionhttps://www.wsj.com/world/europe/u-s-intel-finds-putin-could-test-natos-resolve-with-limited-incursion-e3b02e2c?st=LXaSes&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalinkhttps://x.com/414magyarbirds/status/2085980136378077692?s=20https://x.com/414magyarbirds/status/2085646628560556041?s=20Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So while all eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz, a new front may have just opened, threatening even more instability in the Middle East and decreasing the changes the Iran war is wrapped up anytime soon. Yesterday the Houthis carried out an attack against Yemeni government forces sparking fears of a new regional escalation. Initial reports are that 58 government soldiers were killed along with 11 civilians that were wounded after they were struck by Houthi drones in Saudi Arabia. This marks one of the deadliest days of the ongoing civil war in over four years and warns of a possible return to full scale war.Sources:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/30/saudi-forces-planning-major-offensive-against-houthis-central-yemenhttps://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-attacks-iran-us-explainer-6d79ab62dc697281ba5be0352e95b2c5https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-expects-imminent-attacks-north-south-senior-official-says-2026-08-06/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/world/middleeast/houthi-yemen-strikes.htmlhttps://www.timesofisrael.com/houthi-attack-on-saudi-arabia-wounds-11-civilians-as-kingdom-warns-of-wider-threat/https://sanaacenter.org/publications/perspectives-and-analyses/28037Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out our truck fundraiser here: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-offensive-2026Car4Ukraine and Dzyga's Paw collab: https://prestonstew.shop/Ukraine’s middle strike campaign continues to hammer Russian logistics and based on new data, it does appear to have slowed Russia’s advance over the past few months but there’s still plenty of work to be done. And when I say slowed, I mean that Russia’s key offensives this summer are moving slower than soldiers did across the Somme in WWI.Sources:https://x.com/CSIS/status/2085123757111115913?s=20https://t.me/rybar/82258https://map.ukrdailyupdate.com/?lat=47.741170&lng=36.804199&z=8&d=20665&c=1&l=0https://t.me/DeepStateUA/23716https://t.me/creamy_caprice/12586Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sources to learn more about the Human Safari in Kherson:https://khersonhumansafari.com/https://x.com/ZarinaZabriskyhttps://x.com/kelley7622https://brendankelley.substack.com/https://x.com/AndrewPerpetuaYesterday Russian drone operators hunted a civilian in the Ukrainian city of Kherson. This wasn’t a mistake, I mean Russians bragged about it and it’s unfortunately not unusual. The deliberate targeting of civilians, aid workers, elderly and children alike is so common in this area that it’s been dubbed the “Human Safari”.Sources:https://map.ukrdailyupdate.com/?lat=46.646549&lng=32.633686&z=13&d=20661&c=1&l=0https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/36553https://t.me/osvedomitell_alex/36574https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/world/europe/drone-russian-beach-explosion.htmlStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Check out the WoTR membership program here: https://warontherocks.com/membership/Four months ago Ryan Evans wrote about the war in Iran “we aren’t just walking the path to defeat — we are blindly sprinting down it.” Unfortunately much of that assessment appears even more accurate today.Today we’re joined by Ryan Evans, the founder of War on the Rocks, a platform for analysis and debate on strategy, defense and foreign affairs. We get into what looks like a severe lack of strategic consideration at the start of the war, what options President Trump has remaining and more.Sources referenced:https://warontherocks.com/tactical-success-strategic-failure-washington-walks-the-path-to-defeat-in-iran/https://warontherocks.com/membership/https://x.com/EvansRyan202Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Southern Front Campaign: https://givebutter.com/Southern_FrontUkrainian drones struck, on average, seven different Russian targets every hour of every day in July. That's more than 53,000 unique Russian targets hit. We just got the July rollup from the Ukrainian unmanned systems forces and these numbers are wild. We’ll even do some comparisons based on new data released by both the Ukrainian and Russian governments. Sources:https://t.me/milinfolive/176358https://t.me/romanov_92/54829?singlehttps://t.me/usf_army/2274https://t.me/icpbtrubicon/2284Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn about our campaign with Car4Ukraine here: https://car4ukraine.com/campaigns/preston-stewart-offensive-2026Maneuver warfare isn’t dead, it’s just changing. And one of the units forging this new path on the battlefield is Ukraine’s 225th Separate Assault Regiment. Today we’re joined by Sanich, the Deputy Commander of the 1st Battalion, 225th Assault Regiment to hear how they’re able to conduct offensive operations in a drone saturated battlefield.He explains how their tactics have changed, what they’re seeing from Russian forces right now in their area of operations and more. This interview is part of a fundraiser through Car4Ukraine where you all helped to provide a vehicle to 1st Battalion, 225th Regiment. Ways to support the 225thFor the 1st Assault Battalion of the 225th Separate Assault Regiment:🔧 Components for building unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs)⚡ Power stations and generators🚙 Vehicles🇺🇦 Support Ukraine💳 PayPal — [email protected]🏦 Monobank — https://send.monobank.ua/jar/4aaZb5pYcr🌍 Wise — 4596610005098270Store: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The United States is stuck in Iran with no clear path to accomplish our objectives in this war anytime soon. Despite the bluster coming from the White House, it doesn’t seem Washington wants to escalate the conflict to force Iran’s capitulation. And in five months Iran hasn’t given an inch in regards to their denuclearization, their proxies or missile programs and have now added a term, that they will from here forward, control the Strait of Hormuz. In fact some skeptics are now referring to this war as a strategic US defeat which I think is probably a bit premature, but unfortunately, I can see how they get there.Sources:https://www.mako.co.il/news-world/2026_q3/Article-cf1b00b3d11cf91027.htmhttps://www.ukmto.org/ukmto-products/warnings/2026https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/world/middleeast/us-iran-war-strategy.html?smid=nytcore-ios-shareStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support the Omega Team in GUR with a new van here: https://givebutter.com/Southern_FrontLast night Ukraine intercepted 5% of Russian missiles, 33 got through. That’s a real problem and this shortage in missile defense capabilities is arguably, the most significant challenge facing Ukraine today. I mean while Ukrainian stocks of Patriot interceptors have decreased, Russia has increased missile production. They’ve found a weakness and are exploiting it.Sources:https://kyivindependent.com/kyiv-hammered-by-ballistic-missiles-as-russia-launches-2nd-major-attack-in-48-hours/https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-june-13-2026/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/07/31/how-ukraines-f-16s-could-stop-russian-ballistic-missiles/https://www.csis.org/analysis/renewed-iran-war-would-test-diminished-interceptor-inventoriesStore: https://prestonstew.shop/Join the community on Substack: https://prestonstew.substack.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/prestonstew_TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prestonstewInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/prestonstew_/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Preston-Stewart/61584740132063/Contact: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices