What's He Doing There?

Hi Global Recap readers,

It was a huge weekend for geopolitics news.

• All weekend my desktop was buried in links, videos, and notes for today’s newsletter, so it feels great to finally clear it all out.

• Keep an eye out for more stories as we approach China’s Victory Day military parade on September 3, joined by Kim, Modi, Putin, and Xi.

Hope you had a good weekend, and happy Labor Day to our US readers!

🌐 WORLD
Fast Scroll News

🇻🇪 Maduro Threatens Armed Republic

Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro vowed to declare a “republic in arms” if Donald Trump orders an attack, as US warships close in on the country’s coastline.

• Deployment: Maduro has stationed troops along Venezuela’s coast and the Colombian border, urging civilians to join a militia.

• Fleet: The US Navy has positioned two Aegis destroyers, a cruiser, and the destroyer USS Sampson in the Caribbean, with three amphibious assault ships carrying over 4,000 personnel en route.

• Justification: Washington says the buildup targets Latin American drug cartels blamed for fentanyl and cocaine flows into the US.

• Rebuttal: Venezuela’s foreign minister Yvan Gil cites UN data showing 87% of Colombian cocaine leaves via the Pacific, with only 5 percent moving through Venezuela.

Here's an AI video of Maduro floating around the internet, supposedly released by Maduro's opposition:

🇮🇳 Modi Courts Putin, Xi

India’s PM Narendra Modi just aligned himself more visibly with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping in Tianjin, days after President Donald Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian goods kicked in.

• Setting: Xi hosted Modi, Putin, and other Shanghai Cooperation Organization leaders at the port city of Tianjin on September 1, marking Modi’s first China visit in seven years.

• Gesture: Modi held hands with both leaders, called China a “partner” not a “rival,” and took a ride in Putin’s presidential limo before a separate bilateral meeting.

• Signal: Xi condemned unnamed countries’ “bullying behavior,” while Modi avoided direct criticism of Washington but deepened ties with US adversaries.

🇾🇪 Israel Hits Houthi Cabinet

Over the weekend, Houthis confirmed that Israel assassinated Ahmed al-Rahawi, the PM of their government in Yemen, with a precision airstrike on Sanaa last Thursday. The blast also left several senior ministers dead or badly wounded during a private cabinet meeting.

• Target: The meeting was held to review annual performance and watch a speech by the PM. Israel struck while most senior officials were gathered in one room.

• Infrastructure: Alongside the cabinet strike, Israel bombed a presidential base, two power plants, and a fuel depot in northern Yemen.

• Confirmation: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz called it an “unprecedented knockout blow,” claiming the strike eliminated “most ministers and senior officials.”

• Response: Houthi leader Mahdi al-Mashat vowed revenge, saying, “We will turn the wounds into a victory.”

• Strategy: This marks Israel’s first direct hit on Houthi leadership, following similar assassinations of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders in Tehran, Beirut, and Gaza.

🇵🇸 Gaza Flotilla Departs

A convoy of 20 boats carrying 350 activists from 44 countries, including Greta Thunberg, just sailed out of Barcelona loaded with food and medical supplies bound for Gaza.

• Departure: The flotilla left the Spanish port at 19:00 local time on Monday after a failed attempt the previous day due to stormy weather.

• Mission: Organizers say the goal is to “break Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza” and open a humanitarian corridor.

• Structure: The Global Sumud Flotilla Mission will launch in two waves, with a second group departing Tunis on September 4 to meet in the Mediterranean.

• Precedent: Israeli forces intercepted a similar attempt in June, escorting Thunberg and others to Ashdod before deporting them.

• Backdrop: Israel imposed a near-total blockade on goods entering Gaza in March, easing slightly in late May after international pressure, while a UN-backed body has since declared famine in parts of the territory.

🇷🇺 Russia Jams EU Jet

Bulgaria says Russia likely jammed the GPS of a charter plane carrying European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday, forcing it to circle Plovdiv airport for an hour before landing.

• Incident: Von der Leyen was en route to the central Bulgarian city during a four-day tour of seven EU border states when the aircraft lost satellite navigation.

• Confirmation: Commission deputy spokesperson Arianna Podestà said Bulgarian authorities suspect “blatant interference by Russia” and noted such threats are a regular feature of Moscow’s behavior.

• Precedent: In March 2024, a UK defense secretary’s RAF plane experienced similar interference near Kaliningrad for about 30 minutes.

🇺🇦 Kyiv Links Killing to Russia

Ukraine’s police chief says Russia is tied to the assassination of Andriy Parubiy, a pro-Western lawmaker gunned down in Lviv on August 30 by a man disguised as a delivery courier.

• Victim: Parubiy, 54, was a former parliamentary speaker and a key leader in Ukraine’s 2004 and 2014 pro-European protest movements.

• Method: The attacker wore a Glovo courier uniform, shot Parubiy eight times in broad daylight, and fled before being tracked down.

• Arrest: Dozens of officers captured the suspect in the Khmelnytsky region two days later, with photos showing him shirtless and pinned by armed police.

🇨🇳 CHINA
Shenzhen Footage
in Russian Drone

A Ukrainian drone analyst says he pulled camera test clips from a downed Russian decoy drone, and the videos show Shenzhen’s Beihuan main road. The find adds fuel to Kyiv’s claims that Chinese tech is slipping into Moscow’s war machine via unofficial channels.

The Footage Discovery

It starts with a Telegram post from Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, a well-known Ukrainian drone specialist.

• Over the weekend, Beskrestnov uploaded two short clips he says came from a Russian Gerbera drone, a decoy model built to mimic Iran’s Shahed loitering munition.

• The videos appear to show nighttime traffic on Beihuan main road in Shenzhen, China’s tech hub bordering Hong Kong.

• Business Insider geolocated the scene to the Aote Kexing Science Park, a cluster of four high-rise office towers along that road.

What the Clips Show

The details in the footage point to more than casual filming.

• In one clip, a person inside a high-rise pans a camera toward a window, zooming in on cars and tagging them with yellow and white indicators.

• Another shows vehicles merging into Beihuan main road, with the same tracking overlay.

• The vantage point matches the view from a tower in Aote Kexing Science Park, about 1.2 kilometers from Shenzhen’s Hi-tech Industry Park.

The Camera Link

Beskrestnov also posted an image of the drone’s camera unit.

• It closely resembles the A40 Pro, a 360-degree, 40x optical zoom model made by ViewPro, a Shenzhen-based company.

• ViewPro markets the A40 Pro as capable of AI-based target tracking and lists its office 0.75 miles from the filming location.

• The company did not respond to Business Insider’s request for comment.

Wider Supply Concerns

This isn’t the first time Ukrainian officials have pointed to Chinese components in Russian drones.

• In January 2025, a Zelenskyy advisor said troops found Chinese anti-jamming antennae in Shahed drones.

• Two months later, Beskrestnov posted a photo of a Chinese 16-element Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna from Shahed wreckage.

• Kyiv’s military intelligence has also reported Western-made parts in Shahed decoys, raising questions about sanctions enforcement.

Sanctions and Procurement Routes

The Shenzhen link shows a broader sanctions problem.

• In July 2024, Reuters and The New York Times reported Russia was using Hong Kong shell companies to source electronics and chips.

• The US Commerce and Treasury Departments have sanctioned dozens of Hong Kong entities and individuals tied to this trade.

• Shenzhen’s proximity to Hong Kong makes it a key node in China’s Greater Bay Area, where cross-border business is tightly integrated.