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Mike Stone

@michaelstone.bsky.social
2.6K followers 776 following 217 posts

Reuters reporter covering the U.S. arms trade. Mainly focused on Ukraine and Golden Dome for now. Read my stories here: www.reuters.com/authors/mike-stone; RP's≠endorsements. Views=own.

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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Same #Fairford base was getting harassed by drones back in 2024. It was assumed it was a grey zone tactic by Russia for the US’s #Ukraine war involvement.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Castelion, which makes solid rocket motors and hypersonic weapons turned to the auto industry for sophisticated electronic components used in advanced driver assistance systems and electric vehicles to help steer its ​missiles to targets. www.reuters.com/business/aer...
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Defense startups raid auto and fracking sectors for parts to speed weapons output www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
Defense startups raid auto and fracking sectors for parts to speed weapons output
Defense tech startups are repurposing automotive chips and pipes used in fracking -- while copying production methods from drugmakers -- in an effort to deliver weapons to the Pentagon faster and at l...
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Andrew Gray @andrewramsaygray.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Big scoop from @sasilink.bsky.social and @michaelstone.bsky.social: Germany is considering ordering more U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets - a move that would deepen Berlin's reliance on American military technology as its joint next-generation fighter program with France falters.
reuters.com
Exclusive: Germany seeks more F-35 jets as European fighter program falters, sources say
Germany is considering ordering more U.S.-made F-35 fighter jets, two sources told Reuters, a move that would deepen Berlin's reliance on American military technology as its joint next-generation figh...
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
I stopped by the #Pentagon this week.
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Reuters @reuters.com · 14/02/2026
Ethiopia revokes accreditation of Reuters journalists reut.rs/3ZExkRv
reut.rs
Ethiopia revokes accreditation of Reuters journalists
The Ethiopian Media Authority has declined to renew the accreditation for three Addis Ababa-based journalists from Reuters, the news agency said.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Scoop: AeroVironment's LOCUST counter-drone laser used by US Army near El Paso airport, sources say www.reuters.com/business/aer... w @davidjeans.bsky.social
reuters.com
Exclusive: AeroVironment's LOCUST counter-drone laser used by US Army near El Paso airport, sources say
The U.S. Army deployed AeroVironment Inc's LOCUST laser counter-drone weapon system near El Paso International Airport on Wednesday, leading to a seven-hour airspace shutdown, two people briefed on th...
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Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Trump administration has filed a brief urging Supreme Court to block California's redrawn congressional districts: www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Overheard in the newsroom: "The word lockup has a new meaning." (This is a joke only Fed reporters will understand.)
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
File under confusing for everyone: There is a #Baseball Spring Training exhibition game between the Venezuelan National Team and the Washington Nationals on March 4th.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Exclusive: L3Harris nears space propulsion asset stake sale to AE Industrial, sources say $LHX www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
Exclusive: L3Harris nears space propulsion asset stake sale to AE Industrial, sources say
L3Harris Technologies is nearing a deal to sell a 60% stake in a portfolio of space and propulsion businesses to private equity firm AE Industrial Partners as the large defense company sheds some NASA...
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
Pentagon fails audit...again Auditors identified 26 material weaknesses and 2 significant deficiencies in the Department of Defense's (DoD) internal controls over financial reporting for fiscal 2025. www.reuters.com/world/us/pen...
reuters.com
Pentagon says it fails eighth audit, targets 2028 to pass
For the eighth year in a row, the Pentagon has failed an annual audit, the Department of Defense said on Friday, continuing a pattern of financial accountability problems that have drawn bipartisan cr...
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Space Force awarded the first group of Golden Dome contracts. The awards went to several companies including Northrop Grumman, True Anomaly, Lockheed Martin and Anduril, the sources said. www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Lots of details on this story. Delays, setbacks loom over Trump's Golden Dome missile shield www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
NEW- Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal to U.S. President Donald Trump and has long been interested in Lockheed Martin's F-35 fighter jet, one of the people and a U.S. official said. The Pentagon is now weighing a potential sale of 48 of the advanced aircraft. www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
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Carol Rosenberg @carolrosenbergfeed.bsky.social · 25/10/2025
Today's report: U.S. citizen dependents, and other non-essential American residents being evacuated from the base at Guantanamo Bay ahead of Hurricane Melissa. Their pets too. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/25/u...
nytimes.com
Navy Begins Evacuating Families From Guantánamo Bay Ahead of Hurricane Melissa
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
A #hypersonic startup I've been following got small integration contracts that could lead to big things. "The company aims to produce thousands of the weapons annually at full rate production, with a target cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars per unit." www.reuters.com/world/us-mil...
reuters.com
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
News on F/A-XX: Oct 7 (Reuters) - After months of delay, the Pentagon will select as soon as this week the defense company to design and build the Navy's next stealth fighter, a U.S. official and two people familiar with the decision said www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
The decision to move ahead with a selection was made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday, the U.S. official and one of the people said. www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
Exclusive: Trump to reinterpret 1987 missile treaty to sell heavy attack drones abroad www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Trump to reinterpret 1987 missile treaty to sell heavy attack drones abroad
President Donald Trump is expected to unilaterally reinterpret a 38-year-old arms control treaty to sell sophisticated "Reaper" style and other advanced military drones abroad, according to a U.S. official and four people familiar with the plan.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
More on Golden Dome. The last lines of defense dubbed the "under layer" and "Limited Area Defense" will include new radars and current systems like the Patriot missile defense system and a new "common" launcher that will launch current and future interceptors... www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Pentagon Golden Dome to have 4-layer defense system, slides show
The Trump administration's flagship Golden Dome missile defense system will include four layers -- one satellite-based and three on land -- with 11 short-range batteries located across the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii, according to a U.S. government slide presentation on the project first reported by Reuters.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
One surprise was a new large missile field - seemingly in the Midwest according to a map contained in the presentation - for Next Generation Interceptors (NGI) which are made by Lockheed Martin www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Pentagon Golden Dome to have 4-layer defense system, slides show
The Trump administration's flagship Golden Dome missile defense system will include four layers -- one satellite-based and three on land -- with 11 short-range batteries located across the continental U.S., Alaska and Hawaii, according to a U.S. government slide presentation on the project first reported by Reuters.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
Golden Dome seeks alternatives to SpaceX: Kuiper, which has launched just 78 of a planned constellation of 3,000 low-earth orbit satellites, has been approached by the Pentagon to join the effort, signaling the administration's openness to integrating commercial tech www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Trump's Golden Dome looks for alternatives to Musk's SpaceX
The Trump administration is expanding its search for partners to build the Golden Dome missile defense system, courting Amazon.com's Project Kuiper and big defense contractors as tensions with Elon Musk threaten SpaceX's dominance in the program, according to three sources familiar with the matter.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 16/07/2025
It has become clear Trump presented a framework - not a fleshed-out plan. How sizeable any support ends up being for Ukraine will depend on coming negotiations about who provides which equipment, according to 10 officials... www.reuters.com/world/europe... w/ @gramslattery.bsky.social
reuters.com
Ukraine celebrates Trump's weapons reversal, but the 'devil's in the details'
President Donald Trump has finally found a way to like arming Ukraine: ask European allies to donate their weapons, and sell them American replacements. Now comes the hard part — agreeing on who will actually give up their prized systems.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Scoop- President Donald Trump for the first time since returning to office will send weapons to Kyiv under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor, two sources familiar with the decision said www.reuters.com/world/europe...
reuters.com
Trump to use presidential authority to send weapons to Ukraine, sources say
President Donald Trump for the first time since returning to office will send weapons to Kyiv under a presidential power frequently used by his predecessor, two sources familiar with the decision said on Thursday, a move suggesting new interest by the president in defending Ukraine.
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Domestique @domestiquecycling.com · 07/07/2025
After today’s relatively quiet stage, tomorrow has the potential to explode into fireworks 🔥 @poetina.bsky.social has broken down the route of 🇫🇷 #TDF2025 Stage 4 in full detail - every key moment, every tactical twist that could shape the race. 📰 www.domestiquecycling.com/en/features/... 📷 ASO
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Refueling is done blind - pilots can't see the boom extending from a tanker full of gas attaching to the B-2 16 feet behind their heads. www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
Turkey sandwiches and stealth: Preparing for B-2 bomber missions
Before strapping into the cockpit of the U.S. Air Force's B-2 Spirit stealth bomber for missions that can stretch beyond 40 hours, pilots undergo weeks of preparation that focuses not only on flight plans, but what to eat.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Inbox: MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY RELEASE The Golden Dome for America Industry Summit has been CANCELED. The Summit will not be held on June 11, 2025 at the Von Braun Center downtown Huntsville, AL. An announcement will be made on SAM.gov if/when a new date and location are planned.
sam.gov
Home | SAM.gov
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Reuters @reuters.com · 21/05/2025
Japan flexes defence ambitions at arms show reut.rs/4jZbXmk
reut.rs
Japan flexes defence ambitions at arms show
Japan opened one of its largest-ever arms shows on Wednesday in a display that Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said marked the pacifist nation's deepening push for overseas defence cooperation and weapons exports.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 20/05/2025
The vice chief of space operations, United States Space Force General Michael Guetlein, is expected to be in the Oval Office this afternoon where the officials, who declined to be identified, said that it was likely he will be named as the program lead www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
reuters.com
Trump to make Golden Dome announcement on Tuesday, US official says
President Donald Trump is expected to announce he has selected the path forward for his ambitious Golden Dome missile defense shield, a U.S. official said on Tuesday.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's cost assessment office plans to slash funding for the next-generation jet's development by shifting the $454 million that Congress provided for the F/A-XX in the fiscal year 2025 budget to other programs www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...
reuters.com
US Navy's new fighter jet threatened by funding dispute, sources say
The U.S. Navy and Congress are battling with the Trump administration to keep moving forward with a contract award to build the Navy's next-generation fighter jet, according three people with knowledge of the matter.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
“The kingdom first requested information about General Atomics' drones in 2018, they said. Over the past 12 months, a deal for $20 billion of General Atomics' MQ-9B SeaGuardian-style drones and other aircraft came into focus, according to one of the sources.” www.reuters.com/world/trump-...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Trump poised to offer Saudi Arabia over $100 bln arms package - sources
The United States is poised to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth well over $100 billion, six sources with direct knowledge of the issue told Reuters, saying the proposal was being lined up for announcement during U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to the kingdom in May.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
Scoop- SpaceX is pitching for the part of the Golden Dome initiative called the "custody layer," a constellation of satellites that would detect missiles, track their trajectory, and determine if they are heading toward the U.S. www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
Exclusive: Musk's SpaceX is frontrunner to build Trump's Golden Dome missile shield
Elon Musk's SpaceX and two partners have emerged as frontrunners to win a crucial part of President Donald Trump's "Golden Dome" missile defense shield, six people familiar with the matter said.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
I vbet searches for dollar cost averaging are off the charts tonight. #Tariffstankmarkets
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
SCOOP: Another massive fighter jet contract will be announced this week. This time it’s the Navy. $NOC $BA www.reuters.com/business/aer...
reuters.com
Boeing, Northrop Grumman await US Navy next-generation fighter contract this week, sources say
The U.S. Navy is expected to announce this week who will build its next-generation carrier-based stealth fighter - a program worth hundreds of billions over its lifetime and a key part of plans to confront China, people familiar with the decision said.
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Shane Harris @shaneharris.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
In 25 years of covering national security, I’ve never seen a story like this: Senior Trump officials discussed planning for the U.S. attack on Yemen in a Signal group--and inadvertently added the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
theatlantic.com
The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans
U.S. national-security leaders included me in a group chat about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. I didn’t think it could be real. Then the bombs started falling.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday will award Boeing a contract to build the U.S. Air Force's most sophisticated fighter jet, known as Next Generation Air Dominance, two sources familiar with the situation said. $BA $LMT #NGAD
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
The winner of the high-stakes contest will receive hundreds of billions of dollars in orders over the contract's lifetime, underpinning their businesses for decades. www.reuters.com/world/us/pen...
reuters.com
Pentagon set to award US Air Force's next-generation fighter jet contract, sources say
The Pentagon is set to announce its decision on a next-generation fighter jet contract initially worth more than $20 billion as soon as Friday, despite earlier concerns about budget constraints and shifting priorities, sources briefed on the plan said.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
The Pentagon is set to announce its decision on a next-generation fighter jet contract initially worth more than $20 billion as soon as Friday, despite earlier concerns about budget constraints and shifting priorities, sources briefed on the plan said. $BA $LMT
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Patricia Zengerle @reuterszengerle.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
The potential sale comes as the U.S. continues a wave of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen which began last Saturday, killing at least 31 people in the biggest such operation since Trump returned to the White House in January. Via @michaelstone.bsky.social - www.reuters.com/world/us-app...
reuters.com
US approves precision rocket sale to Saudi Arabia amid Houthi conflict
The U.S. State Department has approved what would be the first sale of advanced precision kill weapon systems to Saudi Arabia for an estimated cost of $100 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
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Alex Horton @alexhorton.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
The Pentagon purge of media it considers 'DEI' has expanded to stories about Navajo code talkers and Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian who helped raise the US flag over Iwo Jima. w/ @jonswaine.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...
washingtonpost.com
Amid ‘DEI’ purge, Pentagon removes web page on Iwo Jima flag-raiser
Pages celebrating Navajo code talkers and other minority service members were also erased.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Famed Pentagon Office of Net Assessment - disbanded.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
In recent weeks, 19 GLSDBs were test-fired to assess the effectiveness of the upgrades. Part of the modifications involved reinforcing connections within the weapon to enhance its resilience, the people said. www.reuters.com/world/us-lon...
reuters.com
US long-range bombs headed to Ukraine as ATACMS supply dwindles
The U.S. is poised to resume shipments to Ukraine of long-range bombs known as Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs (GLSDB), after they were upgraded to better counter Russian jamming, two people familiar with the weapon told Reuters.
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Metro @wmata.com · 13/03/2025
This week, Pentagon Station had its busiest day since 2020! Metro supports national security by getting key personnel to and from their duty stations throughout the region.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Will Coke and Pepsi lobbyists fight this? Wil they win? www.reuters.com/article/mark...
reuters.com
Ban sugary soda from US food stamps- food expert
Congress should ban sugary sodas from the $58 billion-a-year U.S. food stamp program as a step to combat the obesity crisis, the House Agriculture Committee was told on Thursday.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Ukraine alone accounted for 8.8% of global arms imports form 2020-24, and just under half of those imports were from the U.S., which under President Donald Trump has paused military aid to Kyiv. apple.news/AenHJlkzUT8G...
apple.news
European arms imports soared in past four years, SIPRI think tank says — Reuters
European arms imports rose 155% in 2020-24 and Ukraine has become the world's biggest arms importer following Russia's 2022 invasion, according to a report released by a leading conflict think tank on...
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
How Trump's Ukraine military aid halt affects US defense industry www.reuters.com/world/trump-...
reuters.com
How Trump's Ukraine military aid halt affects US defense industry
U.S. President Donald Trump has frozen military aid to Ukraine, just days after publicly confronting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at the White House and accusing him of being insufficiently grateful for Washington's backing.
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Mike Stone @michaelstone.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
DC wheat pasting.
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Patricia Zengerle @reuterszengerle.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
US pauses military aid to Ukraine, says White House - www.reuters.com/world/europe...
reuters.com
US pauses military aid to Ukraine, says White House
The United States is pausing military aid to Ukraine days after U.S. President Donald Trump clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in the Oval Office, a White House official confirmed on Monday.
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Reuters @reuters.com · 03/03/2025
France and Britain are proposing a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine that would cover air, sea and energy infrastructure attacks but not include ground fighting, French President Emmanuel Macron and his foreign minister said reut.rs/3Xtw6HZ
reut.rs
UK, France propose partial one-month Ukraine truce, Paris says
France and Britain are proposing a partial one-month truce between Russia and Ukraine that would cover air, sea and energy infrastructure attacks but not include ground fighting, French President Emmanuel Macron and his foreign minister said.
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