The Cipher Brief

Ukraine’s Long-Range War: How Drone & Missile Strikes Are Taking the Fight Deep Inside Russia

From Ryazan to Siberia, Ukraine’s drone and missile campaign is hitting Russia’s oil lifelines - exposing deep vulnerabilities in the Kremlin’s war machine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky (L) speak next to the first batch of Ukrainian made drone missiles "Peklo" (Hell) delivered to the Defence Forces of Ukraine in Kyiv on December 6, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

DEEP DIVE – By any traditional definition, the city of Ryazan doesn’t belong on a list of battlegrounds in the Ukraine war. There are no Ukrainian [...] More

The Open Source Report

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (R) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine (L) arrives to testify before the House Appropriations Committee's Defense Subcommittee at the U.S. Capitol on June 10, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Global Intelligence Report for Tuesday, November 4, 2025

Trump orders more Venezuela briefings for Congress

Explosions rock ammunition facility in occupied Luhansk Oblast, sites across Russia

Israel strikes southern Lebanon, killing two and wounding seven

China pledges to defend shared security interests with Russia

Access Today’s Report

Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

From the Caribbean to Jalisco, Trump Takes Aim at Cartels — But Will He Strike the Kingpins?

DEEP DIVE — Eight weeks ago, Secretary of State Marco Rubio went to Mexico City, the epicenter of the global illegal drug trade, and declared, “The [...] More

How the U.S. Can Stay Ahead of China in Space

How the U.S. Can Stay Ahead of China in Space

OPINION — Space has gone from frontier to front line. But despite this increased urgency and promises to remain first in flight, the Trump [...] More

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

UN-CREDIBLE CREDENTIALS? Regular Dead Drop readers might remember that news organizations from The New York Times to CNN and even Fox News refused to agree to draconian rules from the Pentagon about what they can and can’t report - in order to keep their building press passes. Well now, the Washington Post (which also refused to sign the pledge) is reporting that Laura Loomer has been granted press credentials to cover the Defense Department. In a post on X on Monday, Loomer confirmed the news saying “after a year of breaking the most impactful stories that pertain to our nation’s security and rooting out deceptive and [...] More