Soil repair via NATO science: A NATO-backed project at a Czech university is testing giant miscanthus grass to pull oil, explosives residues, and trace pollutants from war-damaged Ukrainian chernozem, with early results pointing to improved soil biology and carbon storage. Ukraine’s long-range pressure: Zelensky says Ukraine hit Russia’s Ufa oil refinery for a second time in a week and struck a Penza research institute tied to space, aviation, and missile instrumentation—part of a “long-range sanctions” push that aims to disrupt fuel and military supply chains. Air defense boost: Ukraine secured a deal for hundreds of PAC-2/PAC-3 interceptors with Germany, with deliveries starting next year, while also working to borrow additional missiles from partners. Combat aviation upgrade: Ukraine and Sweden signed for 16 Gripen E jets (with related support) to modernize the Air Force, with further Gripen C/D transfers planned. Drone war tech shift: Defense Minister Fedorov warns Ukraine risks losing battlefield momentum without a “next level” of Western funding to keep innovating before Russia adapts. EU funding for drones: The EU released €3.9B under a Ukraine support loan to accelerate drone procurement. UK drone-first defense plan: The UK unveiled a £5B, four-year program to expand drones and autonomous systems across all services, signaling a major shift toward AI-enabled uncrewed warfare. C-UAS modularity: Spain’s EM&E Group showcased ODIN, an open-architecture anti-drone family integrating sensors and kinetic/non-kinetic effectors for scalable protection. Biotech automation: Agilent launched an AI module for label-free cell imaging analysis, aiming to cut manual segmentation and improve consistency in biopharma experiments.