This article examines the phenomenon of the United States' participation in operations to remove foreign leaders, which has gained new resonance in connection with the high-profile events of 2025–2026—the kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the death of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a result of a US-Israeli strike. Based on an analysis of historical documents, expert assessments, and international legal norms, the evolution of US approaches to the use of forceful methods of regime change is reconstructed. Particular attention is paid to the contradiction between the official prohibition on political assassinations and the ongoing practice of their use under new legal justifications.

This article examines the critical strategic question of whether Russia possesses the capability to destroy the United States with a nuclear first strike while successfully precluding a devastating retaliatory response. Based on analysis of open-source intelligence, strategic force postures, official statements, and expert commentary, this study deconstructs the technical, operational, and doctrinal dimensions of this question. Particular attention is devoted to the structure of Russian strategic forces, the capabilities of the US nuclear triad and early warning systems, the role of automatic retaliatory systems like "Perimeter," and the fundamental strategic stability paradigm that has defined US-Russian relations for decades.

This article provides a comprehensive examination of the Tomahawk cruise missile, one of the most versatile and widely used precision-guided weapons in the modern military arsenal. Based on analysis of official defense sources, historical combat records, and technical specifications, the article reconstructs the evolution, design, and strategic role of this weapon system. Particular attention is devoted to its guidance technology, combat history, recent modernization into Block V variants, and the geopolitical implications of its potential transfer to Ukraine.