Mick Ryan

PLA Assessments on the Centrality of Space Power in Ukraine - Jamestown Executive Summary: Editor’s note: This is the final installment in a four-part series on the lessons that the People’s Republic of China has learned from observing Russia’s war in Ukraine. The first t...

"For PLA planners, the overarching lesson is an uncomfortable one. It is the realization that space support can no longer be treated as a specialized rear-area function, but must be viewed as a frontline contest." Chinese learning about space ops from the #Ukraine War.
jamestown.org/pla-assessme...

'Unprovoked terrorist strike' — Russia attacks bus carrying Ukrainian civilian miners, killing at least 12, injuring 16 Russia launched a mass attack, targeting mines of DTEK, Ukraine's biggest private energy firm, the company said. One of the strikes hit a service bus in the town of Ternivka, which was transporting mi...

⚡️Update: 'Unprovoked terrorist strike' — Russia attacks bus carrying Ukrainian civilian miners, killing at least 12, injuring 16.

The attack marks "the largest single loss for DTEK since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion," CEO Maksym Timchenko said.

Putin Cannot Afford a Peace Deal Now. The Big Five, 1 February edition My regular update on war and great power competition. This week: Ukraine peace talks continue, why Putin doesn't want peace now, the Taiwan-U.S. Joint Command & my Big Five recommended reads.

"There is one message that we should take away from the current round of talks to end the war in Ukraine: Putin does not want the war to end right now." My latest update on war and strategic competition.
mickryan.substack.com/p/putin-cann...

Justice Mission–2025: The Narrative Battle Inside China’s Latest Taiwan Exercise - Taiwan Security Monitor Author: Jonathan Walberg When the People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command launched its Justice Mission–2025 exercises around Taiwan on December 29th, the visible indicators were familiar: j...

“What distinguished this iteration was not just the scale or geometry of the activity, but the depth and coherence of the narrative campaign that unfolded alongside it.” ⁦‪@TaiwanMonitor‬⁩
tsm.schar.gmu.edu/justice-miss...

Whatever This Is, It Is Not Strategy Defending the nation will take more than sycophancy, slurs, and slop.

“The 2026 National Defense Strategy appears to have been drafted not by serious people but by Pentagon officials eager to curry favor with an imperious president and terrified of getting their talking points wrong.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Never Fight Alone Anyone who would denigrate the service of our NATO allies clearly never spent a day in uniform.

“If we continue to show disdain for our allies, if we fail to appreciate their contribution to our national security and greater global stability, we may find ourselves fighting alone someday. And trust me, war is never a contest you want to fight alone.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Oceanic Barrier Systems: Barrier Concepts for War and Competition in the Pacific An examination of how recent massive Chinese fishing vessel concentrations might be a harbinger of future Chinese oceanic barrier systems in the Pacific.

If America & Taiwan can build the drone-based Hellscape concept for Taiwan's defence, there is no reason to believe the Chinese have not learned and begun to develop their own oceanic barrier concepts. Oceanic drone barriers may be coming to the Pacific soon. mickryan.substack.com/p/oceanic-ba...

TOP NEWS TODAY 🔝 27 January 2026 — Meanwhile in Ukraine Post by Meanwhile in Ukraine

Russian drones hit a passenger train in the Kharkiv region and struck Odesa again as Kyiv braces for harsh blackouts in extreme cold. Ukraine answered with air defense interceptions and fresh strikes on Russian systems, while negotiations remain tangled in territorial pressure.

Technology and Security | Chaos in the Interregnum: Navigating Australia’s Technology, Strategy and Security Choices with Mick Ryan In this episode of Technology & Security, Dr Miah Hammond-Errey is joined by Major General Mick Ryan to examine how emerging technologies are reshaping war, alliances, and societies at a moment of ...

My conversation with @miahhe.bsky.social ‬⁩on how emerging technologies are reshaping war, alliances, and societies at a moment of profound global uncertainty.
ts.transistor.fm/episodes/cha...

Zhang Youxia’s Differences with Xi Jinping Led to His Purge - Jamestown Executive Summary: At 3:00 p.m. Beijing time on Saturday, January 24, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced that Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (张又侠) and Chief...

“The divide between Zhang and Xi no longer centered on debate or planning and instead shifted to execution and direct noncompliance. This problem was clearly visible across the PLA, and it posed a serious threat to Xi’s authority.”
jamestown.org/zhang-youxia...

NATO Defense Spending Tracker The Transatlantic Security Initiative's NATO defense spending tracker delves into data to analyze current defense spending trends.

A useful look at different aspects of NATO defence spending from ⁦‪Atlantic Council.
www.atlanticcouncil.org/commentary/t...

Davos Don Insults Allies, Deterred on Greenland (for now). Ukraine Peace Talks. PLA Purges Persist. The Big Five, 25 January edition My regular update on war and great power competition. This week: Davos Don, Ukraine peace talks, Fedorov's plan to kill more Russians, PLA purges continue & my Big Five recommended reads.

"The current chaos, emblematic of the interregnum between the post World War Two order and a new global order yet to emerge, will probably continue for some time to come."
mickryan.substack.com/p/davos-don-...

Happy Australia Day everyone. I am grateful for the many opportunities this amazing country has given me and my family. We are not a perfect country, and have our challenges, but we are always aspiring to get there. It was my privilege to serve it in the Army for so long.

Davos Don Insults Allies, Deterred on Greenland (for now). Ukraine Peace Talks. PLA Purges Persist. The Big Five, 25 January edition My regular update on war and great power competition. This week: Davos Don, Ukraine peace talks, Fedorov's plan to kill more Russians, PLA purges continue & my Big Five recommended reads.

5/ You can read all the latest on war and strategic competition in my latest update here: mickryan.substack.com/p/davos-don-...

4/ In this week's Big Five recommended national security readings, there are good articles from @wired.com @warontherocks.bsky.social @kyivpost.com and others.

3/ In the Pacific, two more Chinese generals from the CMC bite the dust - lots of interesting speculation about that online. Also, the implications of the new U.S. National Defense Strategy for the Pacific, and forthcoming Japan-US military exercises near #Taiwan.

2/ In this weeks update, I explore the latest on the war in Ukraine. This includes speeches at Davos, Trump's insults towards NATO allies, peace negotiations and Defence Minister Fedorov's plan to kill 50K Russians in 2026.

The past week has seen an array of events that are indicative of the tumultuous, post-Pax Americana era we are living through. The current chaos, emblematic of the interregnum between the post World War Two order and a new global order yet to form, will probably continue for some time to come. 1/5

Ep 268: Seth Jones on America’s Defense Industrial Crisis Podcast Episode · School of War · 23/01/2026 · 49m

Another terrific episode of the ⁦‪@schoolofwarpod‬⁩ featuring a discussion on America’s defence industrial base. podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/s...

A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026? How a convergence of factors could tempt Beijing to act.

“The Chinese view on Taiwan changed significantly in 2025…The fundamental driver of this new assessment is…the perception that President has little interest in defending Taiwan militarily. China sees an opportunity that may not arise again down the road.” www.foreignaffairs.com/china/perfec...

The Transition from a Defunct Global Order “You cannot live within the lie of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination.” The Canadian PM’s speech at Davos describes the world as it is.

"It has become clear in the past year that our pleasant post-WW2 existence, and network of relationships, has been winding down. The 1st step in addressing this situation is having the intellectual honesty & moral courage to correctly diagnose the situation."
mickryan.substack.com/p/the-transi...

Read the full transcript of Carney’s speech to World Economic Forum - National | Globalnews.ca Prime Minister Mark Carney gave a forceful speech in Davos, Switzerland, on the 'new world order' and how middle powers like Canada can benefit by working together.

“We are taking the sign out of the window. The old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy. But from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, and more just. This is the task of the middle powers.”
globalnews.ca/news/1162087...

How to Understand Trump’s Obsession With Greenland Erratic though the president may sound, the Trumpian worldview is comprehensible.

“Trump’s domestic political gift is the feral instinct for weakness that characterizes most authoritarians. That instinct is shakier in international affairs, but it shapes the way in which he views the world.”
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

There is a lot to dig into with this latest post by President Trump. To visualize just how badly this could go wrong, I recently published a short story called The Greenland Expedition, which you can read at the link: mickryan.substack.com/p/the-greenl...

America Under Siege: Inside China's Espionage Campaign in the United States | The Last Line of Defense | CSIS Podcasts Host Seth Jones explores the implications of modern Chinese espionage cases with David R. Shedd, former Deputy Director and Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).

A terrific episode of the Last Line of Defense podcast with Seth Jones and David Shedd about the large scale theft of intellectual property by China. @CSIS www.csis.org/podcasts/las...

Bonfires, dancing, pets: How Ukrainians are staying warm during the toughest winter in years | CNN Kateryna Skurydina goes to bed wearing thermal underwear, two jumpers and a scarf. She covers herself with a down duvet and two blankets. But her secret weapon is her cat, Pushok.

Bonfires, dancing, pets: How Ukrainians are staying warm during the toughest winter in years
www.cnn.com/2026/01/17/e... #Ukraine #Putinswar #Russia

Trump Is Risking a Global Catastrophe His irrational fixation on Greenland could lead to widespread conflict.

“The president’s obsession with Greenland is especially dangerous because it has no real constituency: Trump is determined to get the island, it seems, only because Denmark and the rest of the world are telling him that he can’t have it.” www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

The Greenland Expedition A fictional account of an American military expedition to Greenland. I hope this situation will be resolved short of military operations. But to prevent the worst, we need to imagine it.

"Would this be a simple operation to intimidate the locals? Or would we have to fight – to fight the soldiers of a nation I had served with on operations, trained with at school, & are our allies?" A fiction story of a U.S. military operation in #Greenland. mickryan.substack.com/p/the-greenl...

Respect for the Heroes of Ukraine.

The Greenland Expedition A fictional account of an American military expedition to Greenland. I hope this situation will be resolved short of military operations. But to prevent the worst, we need to imagine it.

"Would this be a simple operation to intimidate the locals? Or would we have to fight the soldiers of a nation I had served with on combat operations, trained with at school, and who are our allies?" A fictional story of a U.S. military #Greenland expedition. mickryan.substack.com/p/the-greenl...