| Associated Press | Ukraine’s future is at the center of talks in Paris with Rubio, Witkoff and top European officials
Paris is hosting a series of talks Thursday about Ukraine and its security, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, French President Emmanuel Macron and top Ukrainian and European officials.
Newsweek | North Korea Is Making Billions From Russia's War on Ukraine
North Korea's involvement in Russia's war on Ukraine has generated more than $20 billion for its economy so far, according to a recent estimate, and is helping Pyongyang to acquire even more high-tech weapons. The South's Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA) think tank published a report outlining the potential value of North Korea's military cooperation with Russia as it supports Moscow's ongoing Ukraine invasion.
The Economist | Power is being monopolised in Ukraine Behind the nondescript façade of a light-industrial building in Kyiv, an eclectic crew of video-gamers, architects, scientists and film-makers is mass-producing deep-strike drones and cruise missiles. They do not look like old-style defence types, but they are transforming Ukraine’s war. Three years ago they were making 30 drones a month. Now they are up to 1,300 a month, ranging from slow drones ($580,000 for a set of ten) to a new ballistic missile (at $1m a piece).
Military Times | House vets chairman backs VA staffing cuts but promises oversight
House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Mike Bost doesn’t know what the full impact of cutting tens of thousands of federal workers from Veterans Affairs payrolls will be, but he is confident it won’t cripple the department.
Military.com | Search Underway at VA for Key Under Secretary Positions for Health and Benefits
The search is underway to fill two key leadership positions at the Department of Veterans Affairs: under secretary for benefits and under secretary for health. The jobs have been filled by acting leaders since the departures of Josh Jacobs, who led the Veterans Benefits Administration, and Dr. Shereef Elnahal, former head of the Veterans Health Administration, with the change in presidential administrations.
Stars & Stripes | Vaughn Drake, oldest known surviving veteran of 1941 Japanese surprise attack, dies at 106
Vaughn P. Drake Jr., who at 106 was believed to be the oldest surviving veteran of the 1941 Japanese surprise attack on Hawaii, died Monday in Lexington, Ky. Drake was a 23-year-old Army engineer helping to build barracks at Kaneohe Naval Air Station on the windward side of Oahu when the attack took place on Dec. 7, 1941, according to a Facebook post Friday by Pacific Historic Parks, which announced his death. | 
