Mick Ryan, AM

Thank you to everyone who has bought my new book, "White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan". Published by @casematepub, it is a near future military thriller, which explores new ideas, organizations and technologies in war. #WhiteSunWar

This morning I was woken up by the sound of a massive impact and explosion. Once again, the Russias attacked innocent civilians. The building that was struck was a few hundred meters from mine, and inside, was one of my medics. He rushed into action to help the wounded. Watch.

At the start of the war, Zelensky + his team defied expectations, using ordinary people in West to pressure their govts to help. Since then, hubris got in the way. The danger of today is Ukraine will start to lose good will of ordinary folk. Making political deals so much harder.

New @CSIS @AustraliaChair paper looking at how recent 🇺🇸actions are creating openings for greater Chinese influence in the Pacific Islands and undermining U.S. national security. Recommendations below for how to correct course. csis.org/analysis/shift… @KathrynPaik @john_auge

This is a terrific achievement. Hopefully the 2026 Australian National Defence Strategy will consider the Typhon for Australia to further extend its deterrent capabilities. asiapacificdefencereporter.com/us-australia-e…

Even if Putin is bad at long-term strategy, do western leaders have the will and the audacity to actually make him pay a price for his aggressive opportunism? At this point of his brutal campaign against the Ukrainian people, the answer is unclear. @LowyInstitute…

"Russian cruise missiles, along with ballistic missiles, continue to pose a persistent and serious challenge to Europe’s security environment...Urgent action is needed to close the current gap in Europe’s missile defense architecture." A great post from @FRHoffmann1…

I am on here live now. Please join us to discuss issues related to the war in #Ukraine.

My weekly update on conflict and confrontation in #Ukraine and the Pacific is now available. This week: Ukraine's new government, Russia's 'big push' on the ground and in the air, and major military exercises in Taiwan and Australia. mickryan.substack.com/p/the-big-five…

A good update on #Ukraine including Putin’s big push for victory and what growing Russian drone production might mean for attacks on Ukrainian cities. @TheStudyofWar

NEW: Russian forces conducted a large series of missile and drone strikes against Ukraine overnight on July 18 to 19.

Looking forward to joining this discussion in a few hours.

Fundamentally, both Russia and Ukraine face organizational challenges, though of different kinds. Ukraine suffers from delayed mobilization and delayed structural adaptations, while Russia struggles to translate its vast resource advantage into a combined and coordinated force:

One of the most moving trips I've made in this war: spending 24 hours inside southern Pokrovsk, with both soldiers and civilians fighting for survival, in their own ways. I captured what it's like inside in the near-surrounded city for @KyivIndependent: kyivindependent.com/24-hours-insid…

"The Ukrainian case is not conclusive, but it is a crucial example of how free societies should adapt their defense sectors to meet modern threats with speed, agility, and technological ingenuity." A report on the Ukrainian drone industrial complex from @csis…

RCDA has launched the Secure Taiwan Monthly for June 2025. English Version: rcdatw.org/secure-taiwan-… 中文版: securetaiwan.org/%E5%AE%89%E5%8…