The Battle of Conoco Fields, also known as the Battle of Khasham, was one of the rare occasions U.S. and Russian (mercenary) forces went toe to toe. The battle began as a force of some 500 Syrian and Russian Wagner PMC fighters supported by armour and artillery launched an assault on a joint SDF/U.S. special forces base at the Conoco gas plant located near the city of Deir ez-Zor. As the Wagner-led force pushed their advance, U.S. forces responded with a series of air and ground strikes. U.S. forces were reportedly in constant contact with a Russian liaison officer posted in Deir ez-Zor throughout the engagement, and only opened fire after they had received assurances that no regular Russian forces were present. [1] The engagement lasted well over three hours, leaving up to 100 pro-government forces dead, including around a dozen Wagner fighters, with no U.S./SDF losses in return. In May 2023, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin detailed his version of events of what occured during the battle, which certainly makes for an interesting insight into ''the first deadly clash between citizens of Russia and the United States since the Cold War". [2]

 

The coronavirus pandemic (COVID) has engulfed the nations of the world. Globally, COVID has caused approximately 7 million deaths, a number that is likely even higher due to limited testing and problems in the attribution of the cause of death. COVID also gave rise to a pandemic power play between world powers that sought to aid other countries in their fight against the pandemic. In Africa, the great power competition occured between China and the United States, both of which supplied large quantities of aid to the continent. A major part of that aid consisted of mobile field hospitals, which gave African nations the capability to rapidly deploy state-of-the-art hospitals to the worst-hit areas.

 

The list only includes captured Afghan aircraft of which photographic or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of aircraft captured is undoubtedly higher than what is listed here. Not all aircraft captured in intact condition are operational at the time of capture. Thus, the number of aircraft captured by the Taliban thus doesn't translate into an operational fleet of similar size. Civilian aircraft are not included in this list.