Senior lecturer in Defence Studies at King’s College London. My views are my own, but I might retweet folk with whom I don’t agree.
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andrew corbett retweeted
HMS Warspite — the “Grand Old Lady”
With 15 battle honours, Warspite is the most decorated ship in Royal Navy history. Her service spanned two world wars and some of the most famous naval actions of the 20th century.
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andrew corbett retweeted
As I’ve been writing about Putin for over 20 years, and as I warned Americans about Trump 10 years ago, when you realize that all their decisions are based on making money and clinging to the power needed to make more money, their actions start to make complete sense.
The Trump administration’s talks with Russia about ending the war in Ukraine have expanded to include a multibillion-dollar oil deal that would benefit Middle Eastern business executives with ties to the main U.S. negotiators. nytimes.com/2026/10/03/us/po…
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andrew corbett retweeted
“Vivaldi” is a very successful operation. It's not finished yet. As of today, about 125–140 square kilometers have been de-occupied. Importantly, the number of Russians killed and wounded over the last 2–3 months has increased. Since the beginning of the year, they had 30–32,000 casualties per month – 21–22,000 killed and others badly wounded. Now, we are talking about 42,000 casualties a month. So, during the offensive, we lost several times fewer people than Russia, and they have been on the defensive. Our military wanted to start this operation a year ago, but it was not that well prepared yet. Thank God, we decided to postpone it a bit, and now we have good results and fewer losses.
From an interview with Reuters. (1/3)
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andrew corbett retweeted
Nothing says “Russia wants peace” like threatening foreigners for existing in the country they trying to erase.
⚡️ @mfa_russia once again urges foreign nationals, personnel of diplomatic missions, to refrain from remaining in or travelling to Ukraine
Responsibility for any possible adverse consequences lies entirely with those who choose to disregard this warning
t.me/MFARussia/32545
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Heidi 🏖 🐬💙🍹🌊
andrew corbett retweeted
🔴 This is absolutely brutal.
Suella Braverman attacks the last government’s record on immigration.
Miatta Fahnbulleh: “You were in government.”
Julia Lopez: “Home Secretary.”
Sometimes the fact-check arrives before you’ve even finished the argument. 👇
After Suella Braverman complains about the failures of the Conservative government Miatta Fahnbulleh points out she was part of that failed Government. #bbcqt
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andrew corbett retweeted
The former British home secretary and buddhist daughter of a Kenyan descendant of Goan Catholics, and a Mauritian Hindu descendent of Tamil, born in Harrow, studied in New York, married to a Jewish South African who lived In Israel says multiculturalism has failed.
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Brutal; “just-in-time war economy: a single site, a single customer, a shareholder on life support, and zero margin. It shoots itself in the foot, then wonders why it's limping. Industrial depth, after all, is simple: a second source, stockpiles…”
Could be many western states…
Coup de gueule du week-end.
En 2022, on nous vendait "l'économie de guerre" à grand renfort de fanfare. En 2026, le clairon se tait et personne ne s'en émeut.
Les Forges de Tarbes sont la seule usine française capable de fabriquer les corps creux des obus de 155 mm du canon #CAESAr. Selon BFM Business, elles ont tout arrêté entre mi-août et mi-septembre. Les matières premières n'arrivent plus depuis mars, les machines en fin de vie tombent en panne et les salaires arrivent en retard. Plusieurs des 60 salariés témoignent sans donner leur nom, dans un climat de peur. Certains s'attendent déjà à ne plus être payés.
Les commandes, elles, existent. KNDS, seul client, annonce 60 000 à 150 000 corps creux sur 2026-2028. Pourtant, l'usine n'arrive pas à produire. Son actionnaire, Europlasma, tient grâce à des obligations convertibles, un financement que l'AMF associe aux sociétés sans autre solution. Le groupe affiche 35,6 millions d'euros de perte en 2025 et a vendu les murs de l'usine en mars. En avril, il annonçait des négociations exclusives pour céder sa branche défense à un investisseur français resté anonyme. Depuis, silence complet.
Et l'État ? Il a avancé 7 millions d'euros en 2022 et 2023 pour moderniser l'outil, puis il a tourné la tête. Nous ne voyons ni plan de sauvetage, ni réponse claire du ministère des Armées, ni industriel de la BITD qui lève la main.
Pendant ce temps, les Allemands et les Polonais produisent pour eux et pour leurs alliés sans se poser mille questions. Nous, grand pays d'artillerie et de métallurgie, nous confions un maillon unique à un montage financier bancal.
Bravo, la France invente l'économie de guerre à flux tendu : un site unique, un client unique, un actionnaire sous perfusion et zéro marge. Elle se tire une balle dans le pied, puis s'étonne de boiter. La profondeur industrielle, c'est pourtant simple : une seconde source, des stocks de matières premières et un propriétaire à la hauteur. Tant que l'État ne tranche pas, il organise lui-même la défaillance.
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Coup de gueule du week-end.
En 2022, on nous vendait "l'économie de guerre" à grand renfort de fanfare. En 2026, le clairon se tait et personne ne s'en émeut.
Les Forges de Tarbes sont la seule usine française capable de fabriquer les corps creux des obus de 155 mm du canon #CAESAr. Selon BFM Business, elles ont tout arrêté entre mi-août et mi-septembre. Les matières premières n'arrivent plus depuis mars, les machines en fin de vie tombent en panne et les salaires arrivent en retard. Plusieurs des 60 salariés témoignent sans donner leur nom, dans un climat de peur. Certains s'attendent déjà à ne plus être payés.
Les commandes, elles, existent. KNDS, seul client, annonce 60 000 à 150 000 corps creux sur 2026-2028. Pourtant, l'usine n'arrive pas à produire. Son actionnaire, Europlasma, tient grâce à des obligations convertibles, un financement que l'AMF associe aux sociétés sans autre solution. Le groupe affiche 35,6 millions d'euros de perte en 2025 et a vendu les murs de l'usine en mars. En avril, il annonçait des négociations exclusives pour céder sa branche défense à un investisseur français resté anonyme. Depuis, silence complet.
Et l'État ? Il a avancé 7 millions d'euros en 2022 et 2023 pour moderniser l'outil, puis il a tourné la tête. Nous ne voyons ni plan de sauvetage, ni réponse claire du ministère des Armées, ni industriel de la BITD qui lève la main.
Pendant ce temps, les Allemands et les Polonais produisent pour eux et pour leurs alliés sans se poser mille questions. Nous, grand pays d'artillerie et de métallurgie, nous confions un maillon unique à un montage financier bancal.
Bravo, la France invente l'économie de guerre à flux tendu : un site unique, un client unique, un actionnaire sous perfusion et zéro marge. Elle se tire une balle dans le pied, puis s'étonne de boiter. La profondeur industrielle, c'est pourtant simple : une seconde source, des stocks de matières premières et un propriétaire à la hauteur. Tant que l'État ne tranche pas, il organise lui-même la défaillance.
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andrew corbett retweeted
You cannot lobby against biological reality, only against the freedom to name it.
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andrew corbett retweeted
I haven’t seen the plan described in this article (although I want to) but I feel confident about its content and what’s next. Russian strategy has discussed for 10+ years what we are seeing now as strikes. A 🧵 on the calculated cruelty in the strategy:
nytimes.com/2026/10/02/world…
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andrew corbett retweeted
We are giving justified responses to Russia’s escalation with our own long-range sanctions. Important results are achieved practically every day. Over the past 24 hours, oil facilities in the Samara and Volgograd regions were hit. Successful operations were carried out in the Black Sea and in the Voronezh, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd, Samara, and Krasnodar regions, targeting airfields, industrial facilities, oil refineries, a missile and space center, and an ammunition depot belonging to the occupiers. I thank the warriors of the Security Service of Ukraine, Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, Unmanned Systems Forces, Special Operations Forces, and Foreign Intelligence Service for their precision and professionalism.
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andrew corbett retweeted
Ignatius: Hegseth "has dismissed 26 generals and admirals since he became defense secretary and blocked or withheld the promotions of about 55 others, according to a careful count by a congressional official who helps oversee the Pentagon. This purge has driven out some of the military’s most respected combat veterans — the very warriors Hegseth claims he wants to support."
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andrew corbett retweeted
Putin gave another [bad] speech at Valdai on Oct 1. Nothing really new. tl/dr: Putin doesn't understand why Russia can't get everything it wants. I've broken it into 6 specific points (so you don't have to) and compared to his Munich 2007 speech. 1/7
valdaiclub.com/events/articl…
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andrew corbett retweeted
Q to Zelenskyy: What are the biggest hurdles for Ukraine 🇺🇦 to join the EU?
Zelenskyy: Putin.
#HSF2026
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This is the kind of incident that makes life in Great Britain so infuriating so regularly nowadays: many people bought tickets for a specific date & time to see the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum. While in the queue to enter, they were handed a paper telling them the gallery was closing & their visit was cancelled. A "private event" was scheduled at the museum. Some people had travelled a long way at some expense. Many had gone to considerable trouble to arrange their schedule to spend the day in London. All had paid a large fee for the ticket, which the museum happily accepted, while also accepting a booking for a private event that would make the visit the ticketholders had paid for impossible.
The museum invited the ticketholders they turned away to get in contact to reschedule - I imagine this would not be straightforward, as almost all interactions with big institutions these days involve being put on hold for patience-testing amounts of time & then dealing with someone in another country who is being paid tuppence &, while trying their best, may not have English as a first language. Does the museum not realise what huge inconvenience they have caused? Most people's lives are very busy. For many, this was a big event they had planned for & looked forward to.
There is such deep thoughtlessness in the decision to turn ticketholders away - I can't help thinking those who work at the museum do not care about their visitors at all. And yet a museum is set up to display its collection to the public. That is its goal.
Those in the museum are at the service of the British people before anything else. They ought not to treat those they serve with such cavalier disregard.
Waited since I was 7 years old to see the Bayeux Tapestry. Got in an hour-long online queue to spend £50 on tickets. Got there ahead of time. Stood in a queue for 20 minutes. Then was told halfway through the queue that the gallery was closing.
The @britishmuseum stinks 😭
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