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Guillaume Ptak

Guillaume Ptak

gptak@washingtontimes.com

Guillaume Ptak's foreign correspondence from Ukraine is often highlighted in the Threat Status daily newsletter produced by The Washington Times.

Articles by Guillaume Ptak

A serviceman controls an FPV drone of "General Cherry" company at the polygon in Ukraine on Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka) **FILE**

What the U.S. can learn from Ukraine about beating Iran’s drones

Just weeks into his tenure as defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov is already signaling a shift in how Kyiv plans to manage the war against Russia: less bureaucratic oversight, more data-driven management and a new emphasis on leveraging Ukraine's hard-won expertise in defeating Iran's Shahed drones.

March 17, 2026
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko meet in St. Petersburg, Russia, Jan. 29, 2024. (Dmitry Astakhov, Sputnik, Government Pool Photo via AP, File)

How Belarus became a rear base for Russia’s war on Ukraine

Almost a year ago, in March 2025, Russian officials announced plans to build a large-scale drone factory in neighboring Belarus, presenting the project as a step toward strengthening the "national security and the economy" of Moscow's closest ally.

February 24, 2026
Members of the 423rd Unmanned Systems Battalion in Ukraine say they are most vulnerable to Russian aerial attacks while traveling. On this late December trip, the team’s leader rides in the truck bed with a shotgun as a last-ditch guard against drones tracking the vehicle. (Guillaume Ptak/The Washington Times)

Russia trades men for ground; Ukraine answers with deadly drones

In a dusty basement somewhere along Ukraine's southeastern front, Ukrainian team leader Ihor is sitting at a table, staring intently at a laptop. On the screen, there is an aerial view of a barren treeline demarcating two desolate, snow-covered fields. A man is cautiously moving among the leafless trees, an automatic rifle slung over his shoulder.

February 4, 2026
Ukraine's military intelligence chief, then-Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, visits the Muslim Center for an Iftar dinner during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky, File)

Zelenskyy’s appointment of spy chief reshapes Ukraine’s power structure

For most of the war, 40-year-old Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov has operated in a realm deliberately removed from Ukraine's public political life. As head of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, the GUR, he oversaw a service whose successes are at times hard to quantify, with their full extent often discovered long after the fact -- if ever.

January 8, 2026
In this photo provided by North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un attends the military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Worker's Party, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

What North Korea has learned fighting for Putin in Ukraine

In August, North Korean state media released photos of Kim Jong-un bowing before the portraits of soldiers killed in Ukraine, hugging grieving families and pinning medals on returning troops. In a rare display of public mourning, the North Korean leader described the fallen as "great heroes" and "martyrs," his "heart aching" at their loss.

December 1, 2025