⭕ 30 Jun 2023
Politico, Alyona Getmanchuk and Olena Halushka: Why Ukraine should get an invitation to NATO https://tinyurl.com/2b2h57w9
// Opening accession talks won’t drag the Alliance into the war with Russia — in fact, it will prevent it.
WaPo: CIA director, on secret trip to Ukraine, hears plan for war’s endgame https://tinyurl.com/2av7b7xm “In an ideal scenario favored by Kyiv, Ukraine’s military would … advance troops and powerful weapons to the edge of Ukraine’s boundary with Crimea”
// During meetings in Kyiv, William Burns was told of Ukraine’s ambitious goal to retake territory and push Moscow into talks by the end of the year
TheTimes [UK]: Putin knows his history: the end will be brutal and from within https://tinyurl.com/yu7s5ues //➔ Great history and great writing #highlyrec
// 6/30/2023; Despite having the trappings of a functional constitution Russia remains an autocracy in which, from Peter the Great to Stalin, leaders either anoint their successors or are removed by bloody force, writes Simon Sebag Montefiore
⋙ See under Entire Articles: Putin’s End 6-30-2023
In the history of a nation famed for its blood-spattered successions, it was the most savage liquidation of an autocrat — and is ever in the mind of a history-obsessed Russian ruler who this week may be feeling the insecurity of a system in which the despot seems omnipotent but in which there is no orderly succession nor safe retirement and in which the jeopardy is intensified by his own merciless war. At midnight on March 23, 1801, Tsar Paul, successor and son of Catherine the Great, heard footsteps on the stair of his impregnable new residence, Mikhailovsky Castle. He did not have time to wonder how the assassins had gained access, nor how none of his multiple security agencies had reported the conspiracy, nor why this paradomaniacal military enthusiast was about to be challenged by his own elite officers.
Paul leapt out of bed in his nightgown and hid behind a tapestry. The conspirators, almost a hundred, were led by his top generals and many of them were drunk after a pre-regicidal champagne drinks party. They were let in by the emperor’s closest servant. They passed the bedrooms of his mistress, who did nothing. His son Alexander, heir to the throne, waited listening downstairs as they burst into the chamber. Paul was destroyed by war: his capricious foreign policy, including sending an army to attack British India, and his crazy, inconsistent personal terror, humiliating officers and nobles, convinced his trusted chief minister, Count Peter von der Pahlen, and his generals to depose him.
The conspirators saw his feet and dragged him out. When he refused to abdicate, a giant officer hit him with a golden snuffbox, knocking out an eye, then several threw themselves on to him. Holding down his limbs, they smashed his head on the floor and strangled him with his sash. When it was done, several drunkenly stomped the head to pulp. Downstairs his sobbing son, Alexander I, learnt he was now emperor and a parricide. Russian government, joked the French femme-de-lettres Germaine de Staël, was “autocracy tempered by strangulation”. Its 21st-century governance is not much improved.
Vladimir Putin surely knows the story well: he is a history buff specialising in 18th-century tsars and empire-builders. (God save us from omnipotent history buffs!) His three favourite characters — Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Prince Potemkin — all either faced attempted military coups or successfully launched them.
Russia is run in such a way that orderly successions are virtually impossible. It has the trappings of a functioning constitution — elections, presidency, legislature — but that is cosplay. It is actually an autocracy that tolerates no real opposition, so the politics takes place in secret cabals in palace corridors, lubricated by money and vodka, enforced by pistol and swagger. Coups, intrigues, covins and conspiracies are the only ways to get anything done. …
🐣 RT @RepDanGoldman In just 2 days, this Court has set civil rights back decades and blocked life-changing opportunities for millions of Americans. Precedent means nothing to conservative justices legislating from the bench with no transparency or accountability. ¤ We need reform and we need it now.
🐣 RT @RollingStone Commentary: The Supreme Court has become just another arm of the religious right — and the rest of us are all paying for it.
⋙ RollingStone: The Supreme Court Sold Its Soul to the Christian Right https://tinyurl.com/yc6nsjny
// From affirmative action to LGBTQ rights to student loans, the court delivered for a vocal minority made up of religious extremists
🐣 RT @igorsushko Kremlin asset Nigel Farage says his bank in the UK closed his accounts without explanation and 7 other banks refused his money. Well, yea, they don’t want the liability of holding his dirty money. Free market at work. I’m sure he’s welcome at Sberbank in Russia. [CNB link]
🐣 RT @RonFilipkowski This makes me think that he, or his lawyers, were told something. Maybe not, but this seems rather random for him to make this prediction today.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1674842153099329536?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @@realDonaldTrump I predict that the Racist District Attorney in Atlanta, with the per capita WORST crime record in the Country, Fani Willis, where murderers “get away with murder,” and are seldom charged and almost never prosecuted, will be dropping all charges against me for lack of a case. I made a PERFECTLY LEGAL PHONE CALL, AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ABOUT AN ELECTION THAT I STRONGLY FEEL WAS RIGGED AND STOLLEN. NONE of the MANY LAWYERS on the call minded my words, or even hinted at
wrongdoing. SCAM!
NYT, Mikhail Zygar: Putin Thinks He’s Still in Control. He’s Not. https://tinyurl.com/mr33faj7 The uprising showed Putin “in the worst possible light: weak, vacillating, incapable of exerting control. He alone is to blame for what happened, something that is obvious to everyone except him”
🐣 RT @michaeldweiss The problem with being a useful idiot for this regime is that the regime always ends up diminishing your usefulness and amplifying your idiocy.
⋙ 🐣 RT @TheGEC Putin on Wagner:
2020 “Wagner does not receive funding from the Russian state” https://bit.ly/434B8uD
2022 “Russian state has nothing to do with Wagner” https://bit.ly/3NpkG2a
2023 June 27 “all of the funding the Wagner Group received came from the state” https://bit.ly/46l2sHT
🐣 RT @maria_drutska I haven’t heard Medvedev’s nuclear threats for over a week; I almost started worrying about how he’s doing. ¤ Meanwhile, scientists have created a visualization of a nuclear war between the USA and russia. ¤ In such a scenario, more than 5 billion people could die from explosions, radiation, and starvation, including approximately 99% of the populations of the United States, Europe, russia, & China.
💽 https://twitter.com/maria_drutska/status/1674675418698244097?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @maria_drutska “The FSB has been tasked to kill Prigozhin,” – Head of the GUR Budanov
🐣 RT @GlasnostGone #Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said Russia’s reducing number of personnel & military at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Few people would be surprised if Putin caused an #ecocide nuclear explosion to delay Ukraine’s advance on occupied #Crimea.
⋙ TheGuardian: Russia reducing number of personnel at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – reports https://tinyurl.com/wbaze6f8
// Russia is gradually reducing the number of personnel at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in southern Ukraine, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said on Friday.
🐣 RT @GlasnostGone No one can be “unbothered” by the “horrific developments taking place now in #Ukraine & the crimes committed by Russia. #Ecocide & environmental destruction is a form of warfare…” Yesterday, @GretaThunberg visited Kyiv & talked to President Zelensky.
⋙ CNN: Greta Thunberg highlights environmental cost of war in Kyiv meeting with Zelensky https://tinyurl.com/h3szy6ra
⭕ 29 Jun 2023
🐣 RT @mccaffreyr3 Enormous insights into the fragility of the Putin regime. A bunch of corrupt gangsters. Hard to unseat Putin. He’s off gassing vulnerability. The bench waiting to take power are weak, divided, don’t trust anyone. Couple of thousand tac nukes.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Tendar Of course Prigozhin had help from Russian generals. (…)
¤ https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1673972979452051456?s=20
You don’t march 800 km through 4 Russian oblasts virtually unimpeded if there is no significant support in the Russian generality. Putin had to order mayors with dump cars and excavators to set up barricades, because the Russian army was AWOL.
Even though the circumstances of Wagner`s stopping at the gates of Moscow are murky, I stand by my word that Moscow would have been taken by Sunday. The resistance of Putin’s regime was nonexistent or not willing to defend Putin and the question is not if Russian generals helped in this insurrection, but how many were involved.
The dissolution of Russian statehood is continuing and Putin is facing the dilemma whether to send out his few remaining bloodhounds to track down the insurrectionists and by doing so expedite the downfall of the Russian war effort or remain being a lame duck and being removed altogether in a short period of time. Since he is revengeful narcissist who already said that he will never forgive betrayal he would eventually go after the traitors, if he can regain some relative power back, and his enemies are most certainly aware of that fact. ¤ It’s going to be interesting either way, since he will lose no matter what. ¤ Source: [Below] #Russia #Ukraine #PMCWagner
🐣 RT @Mike_Pence While I strongly support American involvement in Ukraine, I heard again today frustration about how slow the Biden Administration has been in providing that military support. We are the most powerful Nation on Earth, we have the most powerful military on Earth, and we ought to be providing them with what they need to win.
💽 [CNN:] https://twitter.com/Mike_Pence/status/1674598630748037121?s=20/photo/1
BBC: Chinese spy balloon did not collect information, says Pentagon https://tinyurl.com/3pd3jaxv “The US ‘took steps to mitigate’ what intelligence the suspected spy balloon could collect, officials said on Thursday”
AtlanticCouncil, Taras Kuzio: Putin’s Wagner weakness is a signal to support Ukraine’s counteroffensive https://tinyurl.com/umc7ry2v “Putin’s failure to punish mutinous troops … has revealed him as a weak leader who is more inclined to capitulate than escalate”
🐣 RT @walter_report There were 17 schools in Bakhmut (11,600 children).
There were 29 kindergartens in Bakhmut (3,500 children).
In Bakhmut there were 3 colleges (2,000 students), 2 academies (6,000 students), several music schools, 5 cultural centers, 12 libraries…
There was a salt mine near Bakhmut with World’s largest underground concert hall.
A magnificent winery with a unique bottling method was also in Bakhmut.
There was a lot in Bakhmut. Was. Not anymore.
Such a city no longer exists.
Leveled down by russians.
Wherever russians come to – they ruin and destroy everything.
Scourge.
@apostrophe_ua
🖼 https://twitter.com/walter_report/status/1674538905939394560?s=20/photo/1
WaPo: Russian elite brace for sweeping Kremlin investigation into Wagner rebellion https://tinyurl.com/3ynky94r
WaPo, Ishaan Tharoor: The battle in Syria that looms behind Wagner’s rebellion https://tinyurl.com/yu28wtwt
🧵 RT @ChrisO_wiki The bitter feud between Yevgeny Prigozhin, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov appears to have originated in Syria, as an interesting personal account by Prigozhin of the February 2018 Battle of Khasham illustrates. ⬇️
📌 https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1674479633545175047?s=20
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1674479633545175047.html
🐣 RT @gtconway3d From the journalist who first reported that a federal indictment was about to drop.
⋙ 🐣 RT @AndrewFeinberg NEW: Federal prosecutors are prepared to seek indictments against multiple figures in former president Donald Trump’s orbit and may yet bring additional charges against the ex-president in the coming weeks, The @Independent has learned
⋙⋙ TheIndependent: Prosecutors are prepared to hit Trump and his allies with new charges, sources say https://tinyurl.com/2n6sbwjt
// Prosecutors could bring between 30 to 45 additional criminal charges against the former president in the coming weeks
🐣 RT @ArmedMaidan Ukrainian forces breached dense mine fields and formidable defenses in a well-planned operation near Klishchiivka, south of Bakhmut, that advanced so rapidly it cut off an entire Russian airborne company, which surrendered after realizing too late it was surrounded, Euromaidan Press says in its latest frontline report […]
🌎 https://twitter.com/ArmedMaidan/status/1674540142441250816?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Mike_Pence I know the difference between a genius and a war criminal, and I know who needs to win this war in Ukraine, and it’s the people fighting for their freedom and fighting to restore their national sovereignty. There is no room in our party for apologists for Putin. There is only room for champions of freedom.
🐣 RT @McFaul The longer autocrats stay in power, the more mistakes they make. They become isolated, surrounded by yes-men, and cut off from society. They think they know everything & stop listening to advisors. They get tired. #Putin has been in power for 23 years. That’s a long time.
🐣 RT @ KyivPost 🇺🇸Former US Vice President and candidate for nomination from the Republican Party, Mike #Pence, made an unannounced visit to #Ukraine, NBC News reported. ¤ He met with President #Zelensky, visited Moschun, #Bucha and #Irpin. ¤ “Supporting Ukrainian military is in our national interest,” Pence said.
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa The support of the United States for our fight for freedom is vital. The support of all Americans, every American family, all civil society groups, the Congress – both parties, both houses, and of course the support of President Joe Biden. I am grateful for this support!
Today, the 48th Vice President of the United States @Mike_Pence is in Kyiv. We discussed our defense, interaction between our nations, security cooperation, and importance of partners’ determination and certainty regarding Ukraine’s future membership in NATO. 🇺🇦🇺🇸
🐣 According to this @WashingtonPost chart, in states where affirmative action has been banned, Whites benefit by 2%, Asian-Americans by 1% and Blacks(!) by .5%; Hispanics are disadvantaged by 2%. Of greater importance is the fact that these effects are at the margins.
◕ https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1674487442957815810?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 ⇈ The relative positions of the groups don’t change much relative to one another.
WaPo: State affirmative action bans helped White, Asian students, hurt others https://tinyurl.com/y7fxu59s
🐣 RT @gtconway3d Before people start criticizing a decision they haven’t read, they should take a look at the facts of these “affirmative action” cases, in particular the outrageous facts of the case from my alma mater, Harvard. ¤ Race wasn’t just a “factor” in the mix. Asian-Americans were systematically denied admission because of their race, and everyone should stop pretending otherwise.
⋙ 🐣 What Harvard needs to do away with, if it seriously wants to eliminate bias, are legacy admissions.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @TafkaTrap Legacies are a red herring. The merit gap is small & it’s legacy whites bumping non legacy whites. Black/brown AA admits bump Asians/Jews & the merit gap is huge. Legacies are not comparable. At all. They’re also not illegal racial discrimination.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 whites are not all the same: other factors matter, like family income, regional, urban/rural, ethnicity, religion; I get really annoyed at all whites being viewed as one undifferentiated mass ¤ legacy admissions are the closest thing we have to a hereditary, landed gentry
🐣 RT @nytimes Breaking News: The Supreme Court rejected affirmative action at Harvard and UNC. The major ruling curtails race-conscious college admissions in the U.S., all but ensuring that elite institutions become whiter and more Asian and less Black and Latino.
🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Supreme Court Rejects Affirmative Action Programs at Harvard and UNC https://tinyurl.com/jerh5nkp
// In earlier decisions, the court had endorsed taking account of race as one factor among many to promote educational diversity.
📔≣ ⋙ NYT: Read the Supreme Court Decision https://tinyurl.com/ycxshf3t
// [CourtDoc (copyable)]
🐣 RT @Acyn Reporter: Is this a rogue court? ¤ Biden: This is not a normal court
🐣 RT @gtconway3d Before people start criticizing a decision they haven’t read, they should take a look at the facts of these “affirmative action” cases, in particular the outrageous facts of the case from my alma mater, Harvard. ¤ Race wasn’t just a “factor” in the mix. Asian-Americans were systematically denied admission because of their race, and everyone should stop pretending otherwise.
⋙ 🐣 What Harvard needs to do away with, if it seriously wants to eliminate bias, are legacy admissions.
WSJ: U.S. Considers ATACMS Long-Range Missiles to Bolster Ukraine’s Fight https://tinyurl.com/57y96sec “The precision-guided missiles can hit GPS-located targets … with pinpoint accuracy, impeding Russia’s ability to put its rear-echelon operations out of Ukrainian reach”
// Officials see new urgency after long reluctance to provide advanced missile system
🐣 RT @BettyBowers Man whose sister did his homework in high school, who paid someone smart to take the SAT for him, got into college cause his daddy gave them money, and was called “the dumbest goddamn student I ever had” by a professor is happy we’re going back to “merit-based” enrollment, y’all.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/BettyBowers/status/1674476477935386624?s=20/photo/1
// [Text:] “Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had!” — Dr. William T. Kelley
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA “The war between the security forces – the FSB and the Ministry of Defense of Russia – is entering an active phase” – GUR ¤ Therefore, physical destruction as a result of this confrontation is not excluded.
💙 🐣 RT @djrothkopf Bidenomics is real. It is a revolutionary. And it is producing better lives for Americans. By focusing on it, Biden is doing something else radical. He is not pandering or lying as his opponents do. He is running on the truth of his record.
⋙ 🐣 RT @JRubinBlogger Economists may look back on this time as an inflection point when historic investments ushered in a new era of domestic manufacturing, gave a new lease on life to the Rust Belt and improved the balance sheet of middle-class Americans.
⋙⋙ WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: ‘Bidenomics’ is transformative. Biden needs to ensure voters know it https://tinyurl.com/226e9s8d
The economy has created 13 million jobs, inflation has been more than cut in half, huge investments are being made in infrastructure and green energy, wage growth has begun to outpace inflation, the first drug price controls are going into effect and the biggest corporations will finally be forced to pay something in federal taxes. Yet polls show voters incorrectly think we are in a recession and remain negative about the economy. ¤ The White House is well aware of the problem.
🔄 Beginning this week, the White House is making a focused push to narrow the gap between performance and perception. On Monday, senior Biden advisers Mike Donilon and Anita Dunn released a four-page memo explaining the president’s vision, which they call “Bidenomics.”
🐣 📊 RT @KyivPost 78% – the vast majority of Ukrainians have close relatives or friends who were injured or killed during the Russian invasion of #Ukraine, according to the results of a sociological survey conducted by the #Kyiv International Institute of Sociology on May 26 to June 5, 2023 ¤ At the same time, 64% of Ukrainians have at least one close relative or friend who was wounded, and 63% have at least one close relative or friend who was killed.
¤ https://twitter.com/KyivPost/status/1674379118446559232?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 Respect 🙏
🖼 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1674406871455637504?s=20/photo/1
// “Peaceful and Free Europe” / “Ukraine Refusing to Surrender”
🐣 RT @OleksiyDanilov [tr] The collapse of the “Budapest Memorandum” (1994), the failed Bucharest NATO summit (2008) were successive steps to encourage the Russian attack on Ukraine. The third mistake can be critical. History has proven that world stability is impossible without solving Ukraine’s security issues. We expect maximum specifics in the “anti-Budapest” style from the upcoming Vilnius summit…
🐣 📊 RT @ EuromaidanPress Ukrainiansv attitudes toward the largest allied countries remains very positive.
94% consider Poland a friendly country, 86% consider the United States friendly, 85% consider the United Kingdom friendly,
80% – Germany, a jump from 65% last year [link]
◕ https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1674378348372393986?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Flash_news_ua ⚡️The issues of Ukraine’s future membership in NATO will be discussed already after the summit in Vilnius, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. ¤ “After the NATO summit, we will discuss Ukraine’s aspirations for NATO membership. And I am absolutely sure that the allies will send a very strong signal of support to Ukraine,”- said the Secretary General.
🐣 RT @ hwag_ucmc ‼️ Russian Threat to Europe’s Largest Nuclear Power Plant, Ukrainian intelligence issues stark warning ¤ Watch our explainer here: https://youtu.be/7tDWtvFhkxM
💽 https://twitter.com/hwag_ucmc/status/1674385565737795584?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ @FinancialTimes Breaking news: Top Russian army general Sergei Surovikin — known as ‘General Armageddon’ — has been detained as the Kremlin cracks down on Wagner sympathisers following the militia’s failed mutiny last week https://on.ft.com/44pBQU2
🐣 RT @WarFrontline Wagner” will no longer fight in Ukraine, – Budanov
PMC “Wagner” will no longer participate in hostilities on the territory of Ukraine.And this is the most effective unit of the Russian Federation,which knew how to achieve success at any cost, said the head of intelligence💪🏼‼️👀
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa We have to realize that the path to our victory is difficult. And now, no one can say when we will complete it. But when the goal is clear and fair, it does not matter how thorny the path to this goal is. Ukraine will walk this path to victory! And this is no longer a dream – it is a reality.
🐣 RT @NOELreports “Bakhmut is fully controlled by the Armed Forces from the air, the occupiers are retreating from the northern streets,” commander Denys Yaroslavskyi said.
// “Defenders of Ukraine actually are working to take control of Klishchiivka and Berkhivka and its strategic heights near the city. After their capture, Bakhmut can be taken into an operational encirclement,” he added.
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA Girkin… Oh-oh again 👀
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1674317347434160128?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] Strelkov Igor Ivanovich #KRP ¤ While the face, vaguely similar to President (and absolutely not requiring compliance with the two-week quarantine necessary to get an appointment with the president) walked around Derbent, Hero of Russia Yevgeny Prigozhin traveled around Moscow, and then around St. Petersburg (where, apparently, he is now). No one is going to detain an eminent citizen who has recently been accused of rebellion. Although the whole country mourns at least 10 combat pilots killed through his fault. Listen, citizens: Do we really need to follow at least some laws in our country? Or is everything already possible?
🐣 RT @TelegraphWorld 🔴 Yevgeny Prigozhin was forced to launch his mutiny early because Russia’s security agency learnt of the plan in advance, Western intelligence agencies have said. ¤ Full story: https://tinyurl.com/bdz6yuyz
⭕ 28 Jun 2023
NewYorker, Susan Glasser: Why Donald Trump Was So Mad at Mark Milley That He Confessed to a Crime https://tinyurl.com/4p9t97k7 “Milley [was] concern[ed] throughout the volatile post-election period that Trump might escalate a confrontation with Iran”
… Milley [was] concern[ed] throughout the volatile post-election period that Trump might escalate a confrontation with Iran. I learned about this as part of my reporting for “The Divider,” a book on Trump’s Presidency I was working on with my husband, Peter Baker of the Times, and decided to publish the information then, given its relevance to the new disclosures about the Trump-Milley rift. The resulting July 15, 2021, piece described repeated meetings after the election, during which Milley objected to the prospect of strikes, which were being pressed on Trump by a circle of Iran hawks around the President as well as by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Milley even flew to Israel to have a meeting with him, at his home in Jerusalem, to urge him to back off. “If you do this, you’re gonna have a fucking war,” Milley told Netanyahu. Iran was in fact the subject of the final meeting Milley had with Trump, on January 3, 2021, when the chairman and other national-security advisers were summoned to the Oval Office on a Sunday afternoon to debate the matter one last time. At the end of the meeting, Trump raised the upcoming January 6th rally of his supporters to Milley and his acting Defense Secretary, Christopher Miller. “It’s gonna be a big deal,” Milley heard Trump say. “You’re ready for that, right?” …
[…] When Meadows’s ghostwriters showed up at Bedminster that day, the former President saw a chance to plant his story about Milley. It worked, by the way: the book that Meadows ultimately published in November of 2021, “The Chief’s Chief,” included a detailed account of the meeting in Bedminster, with the “sound of children laughing” at the pool outside drifting into the room as Trump, “dressed in a sport coat and a crisp white shirt,” recalled “a four-page report typed up by Mark Milley himself” that purportedly “contained the general’s own plan to attack Iran.”
No one made much of this attack on Milley when Meadows’s book came out. If anything, it underscored Trump’s own ignorance about the role of the Pentagon in dealing with its Commander-in-Chief. It is the military’s job, and that of its chairman as the President’s senior military adviser, to draw up war plans for any number of scenarios. Presenting such a plan to Trump on Iran is hardly proof of advocacy to use it.
What Milley had been so worried about in the final days of Trump’s Presidency was the spectre of an erratic leader, one who was cavalier with the nation’s secrets, impetuous in his thinking about war and peace, and consumed with himself and his effort to stay in power. All this was only confirmed by Trump’s rant against him. “This totally wins my case,” Trump had said in the taped interview that will now be used against him in court. But it already seems clear that the case it proved was Milley’s.
🐣 RT @ChakhoyanAndrew “Contrary to the conventional wisdom, when pushed against the wall, Putin did not lash out or become more dangerous. Rather, he became amenable to compromise and negotiation, focused on salvaging his position.” #mustread @MacaesBruno
⋙ NewStateman, Bruno Maçães: What Ukraine knew about the Wagner mutiny https://tinyurl.com/yty6tu7f
// Kyiv had been expecting Yevgeny Prigozhin to act for weeks. Now the truth is out: there is no Russian state.
🐣 RT @christogrozev As I said on @OutFrontCNN last night, we discovered a surge of panicky midnight communication between FSB, GRU and FSO already the night of 22 to 23 June, a full day before Prigozhin launched the coup attempt. This report may explain why.
⋙ 🐣 RT @bopancScoop: Wagner’s Prigozhin planned to capture Russia’s military leadership as part of his mutiny but had to rush the operation after Russian intelligence FSB learned of the plot some 48 hours in advance, which could in part explain its failure. [link] via @WSJ
⋙⋙ WSJ: Wagner’s Prigozhin Planned to Capture Russian Military Leaders https://tinyurl.com/439nfn7c
// Western intelligence officials say Russian domestic intelligence agency learned of plot in advance
🐣 RT @Flash_news_ua ⚡ EU members France and Germany, alongside the UK and US, have led efforts to agree on bilateral security arrangements to provide Ukraine with long-term financing, military supplies, training, and intelligence aimed at helping it repel russia’s full-scale invasion and protect it from future aggression, — Financial Times.
The proposed EU declaration is aimed at sending “a very clear political signal” to Ukraine and russia, according to one diplomat involved in the discussions. It is also seen as ensuring the bloc has a stake in the broader security framework being devised to protect Ukraine and is not sidelined by US-led Nato, according to a second official. 👉 Follow @Flash_news_ua
🐣 RT @OmarRiverosays BREAKING: Trump is hit with more bad news as legendary “Watergate” journalist Bob Woodward declares on live national television that he “has never seen anyone in government” who is such “an alarming, dangerous threat to national security” as Trump. ¤ But it gets even worse for Trump…
⋙ Woodward continued his brutal rant on CNN, revealing that the “contingency plans” that Trump stole “are most sensitive documents in the government because they outline during a crisis how we might attack Iran, what the casualties would be, how many ships would be sunk, how long it might take.” ¤ This should strike fear in the heart of EVERY American who cares about our national security and democracy.
🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote Sorry, trump. This investigation started wayyyyy before you declared your candidacy. So technically, trumps candidacy is interfering with Jack Smith’s investigation.
⋙ 🐣 RT @KFaulders In response to ABC’s reporting, Trump’s campaign accused special counsel Jack Smith of “openly engaging in outright election interference and meddling by targeting one of the leaders of President Trump’s re-election campaign.” […]
🐣 RT @AccountableGOP Chris Christie: “We had people trying to hunt down the Vice President of the U.S. chanting, ‘Hang Mike Pence.’ And Donald Trump…sat outside the Oval Office in that dining room of his eating a well-done cheeseburger and watching TV and doing nothing to stop what was going on.”
💽 https://twitter.com/AccountableGOP/status/1674239987439501312?s=20/photo/1
🧵 RT @ WarintheFuture The ripples from the Wagner mutiny in Russia over the weekend continue to propagate across the Russian systems. A quick assessment of the impact on Russia’s ‘fighting power’. 1/25
📌 https://twitter.com/WarintheFuture/status/1674162791199174657?s=20
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1674162791199174657.html
🐣 RT @IuliiaMendel A joy to my heart. Ukrainian forces have reportedly crossed the Dnipro River and retaken territory on the left bank of Kherson province, in a move that paves the way for a future possible advance towards Crimea. ¤ According to pro-Russian Telegram channels, Ukrainian troops have seized the village of Dachi, opposite the city of Kherson, and near the destroyed Antonivskyi Bridge. They have dug in and are seeking to establish a bridgehead, the channels said. @guardian
🐣 RT @ ChuckPfarrer VELYKA NOVOSLIKA /0015 UTC 29 JUN/ UKR units on the Velyka Novoslika axis have liberated Rivnopil & the area to its south. RU forces were dislodged from the hamlet and fled toward Starornnaiorske. UKR has consolidated gains on the east bank of the Mokri Yaly River.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1674207386028867585?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ Gerashchenko_en “And it would be right for Russia to ask for Ukraine’s membership in NATO now. ¤ Because NATO members defend themselves, not attack. ¤ NATO states defend nations, not rush into their neighbors to destroy their future. ¤ Russia, as the aggressor, knows this better than anyone else, a Russia that is now entering an era of rebellion and systemic weakness, is more than anyone interested in security on its internationally recognized borders. ¤ Therefore, Russia is also interested in Ukraine being in NATO” – @ZelenskyyUa
🐣 📊 RT @KyivIndependent Poll: 65% of Americans support arming Ukraine. ¤ Around 81% of Democrats, 56% of Republicans, and 57% of independents expressed their support for supplying Ukraine with weapons, a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on June 28 revealed.
🐣 RT @McFaul Obviously waiting for further confirmation, but very big news if true. Remember Putin named Surovikin to command Russian forces in Ukraine & then soon removed him, replacing him with Gerasimov. Was reporting at the time that soldiers were disappointed with that decision. Wonder what they are thinking now?
⋙ 🐣 RT @Faytuks Russian general Sergei Surovikin has been arrested, two sources close the Russia’s ministry of defence tells The Moscow Times
🐣 RT @igorsushko Exhibit for the Hague, if Putin lives to see his trial for war crimes. Russia “fully” funded Wagner Group atrocities around the globe. Russian state paid Wagner over ₽166.371 billion in the past year. $1.935 billion.
🐣 RT @BradMossEsq Big news is this wasn’t just an interview: it was a proffer session. Rudy is trying to avoid an indictment. ¤ Giuliani Sat for Voluntary Interview in Jan. 6 Investigation
⋙ NYT: Giuliani Sat for Voluntary Interview in Jan. 6 Investigation https://tinyurl.com/yhsvety9
// The onetime personal lawyer for Donald Trump answered questions from federal prosecutors about the former president’s efforts to remain in power after his 2020 election loss.
🧵 RT @ChrisO_wiki 1/ Russian sources reportedly say that Sergei Shoigu’s plan to defang the Wagner Group failed because he didn’t anticipate Yevgeny Prigozhin’s personal popularity. Prigozhin had prior knowledge of the moves being made against him, leading to his strike against Rostov-on-Don.
📌 https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1673963225845493764?s=20
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1673963225845493764.html
2/ Shoigu is nonetheless said to be unsackable due to knowing too many secrets and having too extensive a network of loyalists to be easily uprooted. Meanwhile, Putin is said to have been in complete confusion and reportedly put the FSB in charge during the mutiny. ⬇️
3/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that a source has told it about what happened on the Russian government side immediately before Wagner’s mutiny: ¤ “The harbinger of a coup in Russia is always a strengthening of the protection of state institutions.
4/ “A few days before the escalation of the situation with the Wagner PMC, the FSO [Federal Protective Service] suddenly asked Rosgvardia [Russian National Guard] chief Zolotov for assistance from fighters of Dzerzhinsky division.
5/ “The Rosgvardians reinforced FSO patrols near the Kremlin, the White House [the Russian government’s main office], the presidential administration and other government facilities in the capital.
6/ “On 27 June, the reinforcements were withdrawn as suddenly as they appeared and the main state institutions were guarded as normal.
7/ “In addition to the strengthening of the security of the buildings, operative groups of the Central Security Service and the Main Staff of the Ministry of Defence flew to the war zone in advance, supported personally by Defence Minister Shoigu and his high-ranking entourage.
8/ “A group of officers of the Main Personnel Directorate of the Defence Ministry also flew to Rostov. They all were told there that by 1 July, the Wagner PMC shall be disbanded and cease to exist.
9/ “Newly arrived task force units and operational staff on the ground were ordered to make this transition without any excesses. ¤ Thus, with Moscow’s approval, the operation to disband Prigozhin’s army was to take place.
10/ “The protracted conflict between the defence minister and the head of the PMC was to have been ended. But things did not go according to plan.
11/ “According to the sources of VChK-OGPU, Shoigu was initially motivated by someone to take very drastic measures against several leaders of Wagner. Under any circumstances, Prigozhin and his associates, which included [Dmitry] Utkin, were to be interned.
12/ “But they did not take into account the popularity of the country’s chief chef with front-line officers, soldiers and service operatives. All possible scenarios for the detention of Prigozhin and his men have been made available to the latter.
13/ “As the VChK-OGPU source believes, they did not envisage the main thing – the unwillingness [of the military] to take the side of the extremely unpopular Special Military Operation leaders, Shoigu and Gerasimov.
14/ “That is when a missile strike was launched against Wagner’s positions. After the failed missile strike on Wagner’s positions the action unfolded. ¤ In a matter of hours the headquarters of the southern grouping and the city of Rostov-on-Don were taken.
15/ “The Defence Minister fled to Moscow. ¤ Then within twenty-four hours the Wagnerites effectively approached the capital.”
16/ As many commentators noted, Shoigu disappeared from view during the mutiny. According to VChK-OGPU, it was because he was effectively put into protective custody by the FSO while negotiations took place between the government and Prigozhin over his future.
17/ “Several VChK-OGPU sources confirmed information that after fleeing Rostov and the rapid advance of the Wagner PMC towards Moscow, Sergei Shoigu was effectively isolated by the FSO, he was not allowed anywhere under the pretext of personal security.
18/ “In reality, Shoigu was at this point the object of negotiations between Prigozhin and Lukashenko. It was because of Shoigu that Prigozhin initially broke off the negotiations (Putin refused to give up his defence minister).
19/ “However, the situation became more difficult by the hour, the convoy was rapidly approaching Moscow. As a result, Putin effectively met all Prigozhin’s demands by pushing back on Shoigu.
20/ “But even then he was not taken out of the isolation, because FSB Deputy Director Korolev personally initiated an urgent revision of all materials regarding the Defense Ministry (the issue regarding Deputy Minister Tsalikov is still open, by the way).”
22/ “[Aleksey] Dyumin also persuaded Putin of the need to “remove” Shoigu. But Putin decided otherwise – to make Shoigu into an almost-hero who defeated Prigozhin.
23/ “The source believes that the point here is that Shoigu is extremely dangerous in the event of resignation because of his knowledge, the huge number of people loyal to him in senior positions and his leverage over processes in the Kremlin.
24/ “This is not the harmless [Dmitry] Medvedev or [Vladislav] Surkov, whose silence and inaction can be bought with money, this is more serious. Putin is not ready for such a conflict right now,” reckons our interlocutor.”
25/ The FSB is said to have played a central role in dealing with the mutiny. During Wagner’s march on Moscow, VChK-OGPU published a cryptic account from a source: “In fact, the country is currently under the control of the FSB. Everywhere there’s fear and confusion.”
26/ The channel reports that another source in the Russian government “speaks of Putin’s utter confusion [during the mutiny] – he was only seen this way in 2014, when a Malaysian civilian Boeing was shot down by mistake [✛ TG Sources]
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer LONG RANGE PUNCH: US Senator James Risch says the possibility of sending long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine is high. Risch said in an interview with the Voice of America yesterday (27 June) that ‘ATACMS missiles are an effective weapon that Ukraine must receive ASAP’.
◕ https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1674174234052919297?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @haltman As Prigozhin sets up shop in Belarus, heads appear to be rolling in Russia of military leaders and others who may have helped him.
⋙ TheDrive: Purges Underway In Russian Security Apparatus After Prigozhin’s Mutiny https://tinyurl.com/mryc85wj
// Reports say Gen. Sergei Surovikin, head of the Russian Air Force and erstwhile Prigozhin ally, was arrested for his part in the mutiny.
🐣 RT @McFaul Surovikin is not some mid-level colonel. He is/was second in command in Ukraine and was first in command before Putin removed him. Having him out of the fight would be good for Ukraine. Having Russian soldiers pissed off about him being out of the fight would be even better.
🐣 RT @clashreport After the failed attempt of an armed rebellion, Moscow is conducting an “audit” of the activities of Wagner PMC around the world. ¤ Similar messages were transmitted to the authorities of the Central African Republic, Mali and the forces of Khalifa Haftar in Libya.
🐣 RT @7Veritas4 For those in the back, the investigations of his criminal conduct had started long before he declared his intentions. ¤ He isn’t running for President. He is running from his crimes. ¤ He isn’t being indicted for you. He is being indicted for Justice and the rule of Law.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/7Veritas4/status/1674032911551479809?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonald Trump IF I WASN’T RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, OR IF I WAS LOSING BADLY IN THE POLLS (I AM WINNING BY RECORD NUMBERS, & AGAINST BIDEN ALSO!), I WOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN FAKE INDICTED. LIKEWISE, IF THE VERY CORRUPT DEMOCRATS TRULY WANTED TO RUN AGAINST ME, I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN INDICTED. IT IS ALL A BADGE OF HONOR & COURAGE. I AM BEING INDICTED FOR YOU!!!
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA INFORMATION FROM RUSSIAN MILITARY CORRESPONDENTS!!! According to preliminary information, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Forces Surovikin and his deputy, Colonel-General Yudin, were detained and taken to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center.
NYT: Something Is Messing With Earth’s Axis https://tinyurl.com/3pru9uy2 “In terms of the effect on Earth’s axis, pumping up water from underground was second in magnitude, between 1993 and 2010, only to the post-glacier adjustment of the planet’s crust, the study found”
🐣 RT @sentdefender U.S. Officials have told the NYT they believe that Command-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, General Sergey Surovikin alongside several other Members of Russian Military Leadership knew about and possibly Supported the “Coup” by Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Wagner PMC Group.
🐣 RT @wartranslated Luka[shenko] the Mediator with his own vision of what happened on Friday, claims Putin made a decision to challenge Wagner with force, but Luka the Wise managed to get hold of Prigozhin who wasn’t picking up Putin’s calls.
NYT: Russian General Knew About Mercenary Chief’s Rebellion Plans, U.S. Officials Say https://tinyurl.com/2r25ctbb “If General [Sergei] Surovikin was involved in last weekend’s events, it would be the latest sign of the infighting that has characterized Russia’s military leadership”
// Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, may have believed he had support in Russia’s military.
⭕ 27 Jun 2023
🐣 RT @wartranslated Luka[shenko] the Mediator with his own vision of what happened on Friday, claims Putin made a decision to challenge Wagner with force, but Luka the Wise managed to get hold of Prigozhin who wasn’t picking up Putin’s calls.
📔 ChahamHouse: Report: How to end Russia’s war on Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/2hyyxape
// Safeguarding Europe’s future, and the dangers of a false peace
[…] Backing a full and unambiguous Ukrainian victory is therefore essential not only on moral but also practical grounds. Although recent increases in Western supplies of munitions and other hardware are welcome, the fundamental solution to many of the problems raised in this report remains: that Ukraine still needs a massive influx of weaponry. Without it, Ukraine will cease to exist as a sovereign state and an emboldened Russia will continue its imperialist campaign of expansionism against neighbours and aggression against perceived adversaries, democratic and otherwise, the world over. In the longer term, backing Ukraine will serve to deter other aggressors while potentially sowing the seeds for positive political change in Russia.
NYT: Supreme Court Rejects Theory That Would Have Transformed American Elections https://tinyurl.com/22kujys5 “The Constitution, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said, ‘does not exempt state legislatures from the ordinary constraints imposed by state law’”
// The 6-to-3 majority dismissed the “independent state legislature” theory, which would have given state lawmakers nearly unchecked power over federal elections.
The vote was 6 to 3, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. writing the majority opinion. The Constitution, he said, “does not exempt state legislatures from the ordinary constraints imposed by state law.” ¤ Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch dissented.
… Though some of the biggest cases are still to come, probably arriving by the end of the week, the court has so far repeatedly repudiated aggressive arguments from conservative litigants. …
The case concerned the “independent state legislature” theory. It is based on a reading of the Constitution’s Elections Clause, which says, “The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.”
Proponents of the strongest form of the theory say this means that no other organs of state government — not courts, not governors, not election administrators, not independent commissions — can alter a legislature’s actions on federal elections.
Chief Justice Roberts [writing for the majority ] rejected that position. “The Elections Clause does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review,” he wrote.
The ruling soundly dismissed the theory, one that an unusually diverse array of lawyers, judges and scholars across the ideological spectrum viewed as extreme and dangerous. Adopting the theory, they warned, could have profound consequences for nearly every aspect of federal elections, including by erasing safeguards against partisan gerrymandering and curtailing the ability to challenge voting restrictions in state courts.
But some election law specialists cautioned that Tuesday’s decision elevated the power of federal courts in the process, allowing them to second-guess at least some rulings of state courts based on state law.
“This gives the U.S. Supreme Court the ultimate say over the meaning of state law in the midst of an election dispute,” Richard L. Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote in a blog post. “This is a bad, but not awful, result.”
Others said the decision was a nearly complete victory and a resounding reaffirmation of the status quo. “I see no evidence of interest by the Supreme Court to make mischief here,” said Vikram David Amar, the dean of the University of Illinois College of Law
WaPo: After Putin speech on deal with mercenaries, Russia confronts divisions https://tinyurl.com/yc8ex5e8 “‘There was so little support for the regime that it was really striking. The military didn’t move. The police didn’t move. People were just watching’”
The Kremlin on Tuesday went into overdrive to try to project unity and reassert Putin’s strength while also moving to taint Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the former Putin ally who led the rebellion. But the official explanations for why Prigozhin was allowed to escape without punishment looked unusually thin, highlighting new doubts about Putin’s strength and competence in a crisis.…
The admission that Russian authorities spent so much money on a “private” mercenary group could backfire on Putin, as a telling example of the cost of the Ukraine war, which the Kremlin generally has sought to obscure from the public. The disclosure could be especially damaging after Prigozhin’s repeated accusations that Russian military leaders are minimizing the death toll in Ukraine, which he claims has run as high as 1,000 soldiers a day either killed, seriously wounded or deserting. …
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was present at Putin’s meeting with military officers, in a clear sign that the president is unlikely to remove him, despite intense resentment over Shoigu’s handling of the war among hard-line nationalists and some Russian military officers. Prigozhin, a ferocious critic of Shoigu, tried to leverage those divisions in his unsuccessful mutiny.
In Moscow, the FSB announced that charges against Prigozhin’s Wagner Group had been dropped because “it was established that its participants stopped their actions aimed at committing a rebellion,” the Tass state-owned news agency reported. ¤ Putin and the Defense Ministry have acknowledged that several Russian military pilots were killed in the rebellion when Wagner fighters shot down their helicopters and at least one plane. …
Moscow-based Russia analyst Boris Kagarlitsky, a former Soviet dissident and critic of the Putin regime, said Kremlin claims that unity saved Russia were “just nonsense,” adding that many citizens observed the mutiny unfold without backing one side or another. ¤ “There was so little support for the regime that it was really striking. The military didn’t move. The police didn’t move. People were just watching. Nobody rushed to the government offices to show support,” he said. …
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer VELYKA NOVOSLIKA /1720 UTC 27 JUN/ UKR forces on the Velyka Novoslika axis have liberated Rivnopil. UKR has continued to push RU south along the T-05-18 HWY, consolidating gains on the E bank of the Mokri Yaly River & are now in contact at Starornnaiorske and Urozhaine.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1673740371241713669?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer KREMINNA AXIS /1830 UTC 27 JUN/ During the reporting period 26-27 JUN, RU forces including elements of the 76th Air Mobile Division (VDV) reduced offensive operations in the Kreminna AO. They are assessed to have failed in their attempt to reach the Zherebets watershed.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1673758354814935072?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer KHERSON CITY /2115 UTC 27 JUN/ RU conducted two airstrikes against UKR positions on the S bank. Fires are presently visible in the vicinity. Darkness is hampering assessment of the situation, though it appears UKR forces remain in contact along the M-14 HWY axis.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1673800484245700608?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer WESTERN THEATER /27 JUN/ Ukrainian ‘crossing attempts’ along the Dnipro will necessarily force Russia to divert units from covering the major axes of advance to the Sea of Azov– namely the M-18 HWY to Melitopol and the H-30 HWY to Tokmak. Ukraine will dictate the pace of battle.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1673698540416032768?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @DemocracyDocket BREAKING: In a victory for voters, the U.S. Supreme Court rejects the radical independent state legislature theory in Moore v. Harper. State courts will continue to have the power to strike down unfair maps & voting laws for violating state constitutions. http://bit.ly/mooredecision
🧵 RT @ JuliaDavisNews Lukashenko is starting to reveal the alleged details of his negotiations with Prigozhin (thread):
*This is Google Translate, which is not familiar with some expressions. I made a few corrections so you can get the gist of what is being said.
📌 [TextLink:] https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1673695100671602688?s=20/photo/1 -n
🐣 RT @7Veritas4 Could somebody please explain to Captain Capslock, his family, and his friends, that even a former President is not above the law? ¤ “Smith”
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/7Veritas4/status/1673655397960278017?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump COULD SOMEBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN TO THE DERANGED, TRUMP HATING JACK SMITH, HIS FAMILY, AND HIS FRIENDS, THAT AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, I COME UNDER THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT, AS AFFIRMED BY THE CLINTON SOCKS CASE, NOT BY THIS PSYCHOS’ FANTASY OF THE NEVER USED BEFORE ESPIONAGE ACT OF 1917. “SMITH” SHOULD BE LOOKING AT CROOKED JOE BIDDEN AND ALL OF THE CRIMES THAT HE HAS PERPETRATED ON THE AMERICAN PUBLIC, INCLUDING THE MILLIONS & MILLIONS OF DOLLARS HE EXTORTED FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES!
🐣 Sovereignty does not depend on self-sufficiency. It is established by domestic and international law:
≣ Declaration of State Sovereignty of Ukraine (1990)
https://tinyurl.com/5d84vmrh
≣ Law on the Succession of Ukraine (1991)
https://tinyurl.com/2p8xrztc
🐣 RT @nexta_tv #Putin’s main henchman in Europe came out with a new scandalous statement. ¤ It was directed, of course, against #Ukraine.
“Ukraine is no longer a sovereign state. It has no money and no weapons. It can only fight thanks to aid. The U.S. decides when peace will come,” said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor #Orban.
In addition, Orban said he did not consider #Putin a war criminal and opposed sanctions.
💽 Ukraine’s Mineral Resources https://youtu.be/BftqoZOryDo
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Lukashenko gave his version of how events developed during the mutiny: ¤ “I said don’t make a hero out of me in any case, neither of me, nor of Putin, nor of Prigozhin, because we missed the situation, and then we thought that it would dissolve, but it did not dissolve. And two people who fought on the front collided. There are no heroes in this case.” ¤ “My position: if Russia collapses, we will all be left under the rubble, we will all die.”
🐣 RT @wartranslated Putin is set to award soldiers who “took part in suppressing the mutiny” in Kremlin. Shoygu is ready to receive another award. Man is not going anywhere, it seems.
🐣 RT @sentdefender The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has Confirmed that the Criminal Charges against Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Fighters within the Wagner PMC Group which Participated in the “Armed Rebellion” on June 23-24 have been Completely Dropped.
🐣 RT @ MingtheMercil15 Girkin is so depressed, he’s descended into black parody.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/MingtheMercil15/status/1673591731097329665?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] His Majesty Reba the First looked sadly at the members of the Privy Council, dejectedly huddled in their chairs … There were reasons for sadness and despondency:
Not only did the war “not go very well” but also the recent rebellion of the beloved royal cook, on whom such great hopes were pinned, and instead of gratitude – who raised the Gray Companies and almost broke into Arkanar on the way from the Irukan front.
Everyone on whom His Majesty’s gaze fell lowered their gaze and began to fidget nervously.
Here is the Supreme Constable sitting… With a face like a baked apple. Once offended by fate at birth, but by it (as if in compensation for a congenital lack of intelligence and incurable moral deformity) ascended to the very heights under the last King (Pitz the Sixth Forever Drunk) and even more ascended after the right choice made upon coming to power Slaves of the First.
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA “The criminal case of an armed rebellion against Prigozhin was closed” – the FSB of the Russian Federation
🐣 RT @NOELreports Prigozhin has likely also arrived in Belarus. His business jet flew from Rostov-on-Don to Belarus and landed at the Machulishchy airbase near Minsk at 07:40.
⋙ 🐣 RT @NOELreports “Lukashenko : “I gave all orders to bring the army to full combat readiness. We must be stronger than the threats looming over our land. And the threats again come from the West,” he added.
⋙ 🐣 RT @NOELreports Lukashenko: “Today we clearly see a new wave of NATO expansion and an unprecedented build-up of the potential of the alliance member countries in the region, including in the immediate vicinity of our borders. Demonstration after demonstration, a demonstration of strength.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @NOELreports Lukashenko: “Under no circumstances should you make a hero out of me, neither of Putin, nor of Prigozhin, because we messed up the situation, and then we thought it would get better, but it didn’t get better. And two people clashed, who fought at the front. There are no heroes in this matter.”
🐣 RT @ZMiST_Ua 🇬🇧 British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that the provision of Storm Shadow missiles to Kyiv “had a significant impact on the battlefield” in Ukraine, and their accuracy was “almost flawless”. ¤ “We encourage international partners to provide Ukraine with their long-range systems,” he added.
⭕ 26 Jun 2023
🐣 RT @Samizdat24 I’ll keep saying it. Either Putin lays down a massive show of force, cracks the whip on Wagner and their allies or he’s cooked. The toothpaste is out of the tube, you can’t “oh well whatever nevermind” a fucking thunder run on Moscow, even an aborted one.
⋙ 🐣 RT @DylanBurns1776 Telegram is not taking Putin’s speech well ¤ People are confused by the inaction in response to the mutiny. Pro/anti Wagner crowd are disappointed, and everyone else seems to be doomering. ¤ Feels like Putin’s mystique cracked. While his ministry of defense has never looked weaker.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @UkrainianAna Russian reactions to Putin’s “sensational” and “fate determing” speech for your enjoyment 😁
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/UkrainianAna/status/1673416487233548307?s=20/photo/1 -2
[Text:] OK, fine.
That’s it.
What was that?
Vova are you a fucktard?
No, really, it’s over. Over.
And that’s it?
That’s it?
OK. I am a naive fool. I am done.
Determined the fate for real…
Umm. OK.
Translations for you all.
NYT: Biden and Putin Have Dueling Messages on the Mutiny in Russia https://tinyurl.com/2s8f5ez3 “Mr. Biden said his first move was to gather key allies on a video call because ‘we had to make sure we gave Putin no excuse’ to ‘blame this on the West or to blame this on NATO’”
// The White House concluded that it had to get ahead of any argument by Vladimir V. Putin that the uprising was serving the interests of Russia’s adversaries.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer WAGNER’S AIR DEFENSE: During Wagner’s lunge at Moscow, Pregozhin’s mutineers shot down this rare and valuable Il-22M Command and Control aircraft. RU is said to have only 12 of these aircraft. Also downed were 6 Russian helicopters, taking the lives of as many as 30 RU airmen.
🖼 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1673517322798071809?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @AntiToxicPeople Holy shit. Trump’s response to the incredibly incriminating tape is even MORE insane than I expected.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1673530252038144003?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump The Deranged Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, working in conjunction with the DOJ & FBI, illegally leaked and “spun” a tape and transcript of me which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe. This continuing Witch Hunt is another ELECTION INTERFERENCE Scam. They are cheaters and thugs!
🐣 RT @ cepa “I think the most important thing we learn from this very strange sequence of events is that Putin is far weaker than we thought, and his regime is much more fragile than we thought,” @apolyakova explains to @GeoffRBennett what Prigozhin’s failed mutiny means for Russia.
💙 🐣 RT @MartinSauerbrey Putins Speech in short: You are all traitors, we defeated you without problem: Would you like to go home, fight on with us or go to a Spa in Belarus with your boss in order to resume plotting against me? I’m the one and only President of the RF. Am I?
NBCNews: Five or six Secret Service agents have testified before Jan. 6 grand jury, sources say https://tinyurl.com/29rjdrtx
// It is not known what the agents’ proximity to Trump was on Jan. 6 or what information they may have provided to the grand jury.
🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote BREAKING: talk about burying the lede. RAFFENSPERGER will be interviewed by Jack Smith’s office IN ATLANTA on Wednesday. Is Smith prosecuting trump in Georgia? Sweet baby Jesus, I can’t keep up!
💙❤️ ⋙ WaPo: Justice Dept. asking about 2020 fraud claims as well as fake electors https://tinyurl.com/7me4xcfs
The Justice Department’s investigation of efforts by Donald Trump and his advisers to overturn the 2020 election results is barreling forward on multiple tracks, according to people familiar with the matter, with prosecutors focused on ads and fundraising pitches claiming election fraud as well as plans for “fake electors” that would swing the election to the incumbent president.
Each track poses potential legal peril for those under scrutiny, but also raises tricky questions about where the line should be drawn between political activity, legal advocacy and criminal conspiracy.
A key area of interest is the conduct of a handful of lawyers who sought to turn Trump’s defeat into victory by trying to convince state, local, federal and judicial authorities that Joe Biden’s 2020 election win was illegitimate or tainted by fraud.
Investigators have sought to determine to what degree these lawyers — particularly Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman, Kurt Olsen and Kenneth Chesebro, as well as then-Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark — were following specific instructions from Trump or others, and what those instructions were, according to the people familiar with the matter, who like others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an ongoing investigation.
Special counsel Jack Smith’s team has extensively questioned multiple witnesses about the lawyers’ actions related to fake electors — pro-Trump substitutes offered up as potential replacements for electors in swing states that Biden won. …
In the weeks after the election, an advertising firm created three ominously named spots for Trump’s fundraising effort: “Overwhelming,” “Stop the Steal” and “On Tape.” But when lawyers for the campaign reviewed the advertisements, they raised concerns that the spots contained false information and might not meet network standards, according to people familiar with the matter.
The campaign was facing a repeated problem, Trump adviser Jason Miller wrote to Larry Weitzner, an executive at the firm producing campaign ads for Trump. ¤ “The campaign’s own legal team and data experts cannot verify the bullshit being beamed down from the mothership,” he wrote, according to four people familiar with the email. That was why Giuliani and his lawyers were “0 for 32,” Miller added, an apparent reference to the number of times Trump’s legal team had challenged the election results in court and lost.
The email is one of many pieces of evidence prosecutors have obtained indicating that Trump advisers privately didn’t believe or were at least skeptical of voter fraud claims. Some of those messages came as top campaign officials continued to approve advertisements raising money off the claims and as Trump falsely continued to say the election was “rigged.” …
🐣 RT @ AWeissmann_ I remember as a young prosecutor, the John Gotti prosecutor telling me that his upcoming trial was not about the proof, as Gotti was on tape confessing to the murders, it was about the jury being willing to follow the law.
Now we have that issue for the jury and the electorate.
⋙ 🐣 That’s why I’m worried. So many people in this country seem to have forsaken a commitment to “the facts and the law.”
🐣 The point Trump was trying to make about Milley and Iran was covered extensively at the time. Trump claims the document “proves” it was DOD that wanted to attack Iran, not him. Trump apparently had asked for “options.” What he’s ‘waving around’ is likely one of the “options.”
🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom LOOK AT THIS CLASSIFIED THING RIGHT HERE THAT IS TOTALLY CLASSIFIED THAT I AM SHOWING YOU RIGHT HERE
⋙ 🐣 RT @Acyn Wow CNN got the tape of Trump’s conversation about classified documents
🔊 https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1673496118724816896?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Terrorist Girkin-Strelkov commented on Prigozhin’s latest statements: ¤ “I will repeat my conclusions. It was an attempted armed rebellion to remove Putin from power. There was an aim specifically to commit a coup d’état
¤ https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1673447203979894784?s=20
The whole military operation was perfectly executed and prepared. A real master class. Those who have served and know at least something about an army should understand that unprepared units will not achieve such results. If the march had not been prepared, it would have ended halfway from lack of diesel and other things.
I will try to give my version of this coup attempt
Every coup has power and a political component. After the beginning of the SMO, it became clear to all that a conspiracy and a palace coup was possible. The question remained who could do it. As it turns out, Wagner was the perfect armed tool. There is a conflict with the Ministry of Defense. There was the possibility of preparing a conspiracy without fear of anything, because Prigozhin’s protection is perfect. And there are many other factors as well
Timing was perfect. The Ukrainian offensive; everyone was busy managing and defending. No one could imagine someone launching an insurgency. Wagner was recovering from Bakhmut. Everyone believed that the PMC was almost incapacitated. There was a weekend ahead. Officials and enforcers were relaxed. Some were on holiday. Administration buildings were empty
Route of travel. Don route was full of people, which was beneficial to the rebels as a “human shield”. Plus the longest days. Prigozhin actually admitted that they almost arrested Gerasimov in time to leave Rostov. I am sure that the aim was to arrest Shoigu and Gerasimov in Rostov. The capture of Rostov was a militarily competent action. As I have written before, it was impossible to carry out an operation in Rostov to arrest Prigozhin
Wagner’s units were not just marching, they were breaking through to Moscow. What facilities were they supposed to take? That question remains open. They had every opportunity to blockade the Ministry of Defense, General Staff, Lubyanka, PA and possibly the airports. There are witnesses that strange groups appeared in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the morning and moved around in an organized manner, dressed in camouflage uniforms just about in the street
Striking at the Wagner base was a “legitimate” reason for Prigozhin to take action. What they said about the reluctance to shed blood was a lie. It started to be shed immediately. The “protest” was a lie. There was no need to fly to Moscow for that. It would have been enough to take Rostov. In such cases, almost immediately Dzerzhinsky’s division is brought into Moscow. Kantemirovka and Tamanskaya were on full alert, but there was no order to go to Moscow. Putin clearly outlined what was happening. So did Sobyanin
Masses of people with their own tasks were to turn up in St Petersburg too. A GAZelle with cash was not just stored on the street. It happens when you have to distribute money to people quickly. It was like that on Maidan, by the way. Apparently, for some reason the political plan failed. Prigozhin, apparently, really did not want to take power himself. He had to provide a power plan. It is said that Putin flew urgently to St Petersburg. If so, Prigozhin stopped because there was no point in continuing the military operation. And then there were behind-the-scenes negotiations and so on
Everyone felt there was no state for about twenty-four hours. I guess in the future we will find out who the conspiracy was made for. In any case, this was just the beginning. Stakes are as high as ever. Next time the conspirators may succeed
If something looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is probably a duck.
P.S. The main thing now is to show the public that this was not a conspiracy. We need to shift the public’s attention from political categories to disputes between “economic entities” and personal grievances. That is being done.”
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /2240 UTC 16 JUN/ The UKR Gen’l Staff reports that Russia was forced to carry out an aviation strike mission against Soledar; This strongly indicates that UKR forces have crossed the T-05-13 HWY between Krasbohorivka and Blahodatne.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1673457271613816833?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer KHERSON AXIS /1810 UTC 26 JUN/ On 24-25 JUN sources reported that UKR units had established a pontoon bridge augmented by ferries in the vicinity of the M-14 HWY (Anatovsky) bridge at Kherson. Over the next 18 hours, UKR established a bridgehead centered on the M-17 HWY axis.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1673389363357425669?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer UPDATE/ 2230 UTC 26 JUN/ Frontline sources report a strong Russian counter-attack is in progress on the M-14 HWY axis north of Oleshky. The status of the UKR bridgehead will be updated as information becomes available.
NYT: Zelensky shows himself with Ukrainian troops in the east as Putin faces the fallout from an armed mutiny. https://tinyurl.com/5yx9nev2
.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said he visited front-line positions on Monday, projecting unity with his troops as Russia continued to grapple with the fallout of a short-lived military mutiny.
In a series of photos, videos and messages posted on social media, Mr. Zelensky was shown addressing soldiers and meeting with commanders. He said the photos and videos were taken in the country’s east, where Kyiv’s forces are waging a counteroffensive to recapture territory from Russian control.
NYT: A Visibly Angry Putin Stresses Failure of Wagner Revolt https://tinyurl.com/yh9mzy4p
// Header changed to: Putin Says Russia Is United Behind Him, After Quelling Rebellion
// The Russian president made brief public remarks on Monday, his first since the end of the short-lived rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
A visibly angry Vladimir V. Putin on Monday denounced as “blackmail” a weekend rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group even as he defended his response to the mutiny and hinted at leniency for those who took part, saying that “the entire Russian society united” around his government.
Speaking publicly for the first time in two days, Mr. Putin, in an address broadcast on Monday night, refused to utter the name of the Wagner boss behind the insurrection, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin. But his contempt was clear for those who had seemed, briefly, to threaten civil war and upend Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces are mounting a counteroffensive.
🧵 RT @FreudGreySkull Putin came across as a lame duck in his latest post mutiny speech
📌 https://twitter.com/FreudGreyskull/status/1673426564330188800?s=20
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1673426564330188800.html
Putin thanked the population of Russia for solidarity and patriotism. The highest consolidation of society is shown. Everyone took a single position – the entire Russian society.
Everyone was united by responsibility for the fate of the Fatherland.
● From the very beginning of the events, decisions were made to neutralize the threat and protect the constitutional order. In any case, an armed rebellion would have been suppressed –
the organizers could not help but understand this. The organizers went to criminal actions, splitting the country at the moment when at the front with the words “Not a step back!” our comrades are dying.
The organizers of the rebellion pushed their subordinates to shoot at their own. This is what the enemies of Russia wanted: for Russia to lose, and society to split, choke in bloody civil strife. They rubbed their hands, wanting to take revenge in the so-called counteroffensive.
● Putin thanked the power structures and law enforcement agencies. The courage of the fallen pilots saved Russia from tragic events.
They tried to use Wagner PMC fighters in the dark.
Steps were taken from the very beginning to resolve the crisis and conflict. Putin thanked the Wagner commanders who stopped at the last line. Now they have the opportunity to conclude a contract with the Russian MOD, other power structures or go to Belarus.
🐣 I’m seeing news reports that say Putin approved the Wagner organization moving to Belarus. Is that true? I’ve seen only that Prigozhin could go there. What “promise” is Putin keeping? @McFaul @JuliaDavisNews @Gerashchenko_en
WaPo: Putin claims Russia would have crushed rebellion but Wagner fighters will be allowed to go to Belarus https://tinyurl.com/2p9ycpbu
● In his Monday address, Putin said that Wagner fighters who want to may go to Belarus because “the promise I gave will be fulfilled.” He said that Russia is under unprecedented pressure with “traitors” betraying their own citizens and Russian fighters — “that’s what Ukrainian nazis and national traitors wanted,” he added.
● Prigozhin said in his video message that the rebellion, which he calls a “march of justice,” came after orders that would have resulted in the absorption of Wagner mercenary forces in Ukraine into the conventional military, beginning July 1. He claimed that most Wagner members had refused to sign contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry, fearing that they would be used as cannon fodder by incompetent commanders, and he reiterated accusations that his fighters came under attack from Russian forces.
● The success of Wagner’s rapid advance toward Moscow suggests that the group should have been responsible for the drive to take Kyiv in the early days of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Prigozhin said. If that attack “was carried out by a unit of a similar level of training and moral composure such as Wagner then perhaps the ‘special operation’ would have lasted a day,” he said.
● Prigozhin did not reveal his location. He did not discuss his reported acceptance of exile in Belarus. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Monday afternoon that he does not have any assessment of Prigozhin’s location.
🐣 RT @revishvilig Putin tried to show decisiveness but his speech was utterly weak.
The big news is that Prigozhin with the Wagner fighters can move to Belarus.
Lukashenko’s address is postponed and will be tomorrow, very interesting what he will say.
🐣 RT @ JuliaDavisNews Putin did his best to look confident and decisive, but so far failed to utter anything new.
🐣 RT @McFaul Putin’s main objective tonight was to try to divide the Wagner fighters from their leaders.
🐣 RT @ wartranslated As always, anticlimactic from Putin:
– Any attempts to start a mutiny will fail.
– An armed mutiny would have been suppressed anyway. Perpetrators must’ve known about this.
– By betraying their country, they also lied and forced others to kill their own soldiers.
– All the enemies abroad and national traitors wanted us to fight each other. They failed.
– The majority of Wagner commanders and fighters are patriots. They were used covertly against their brothers-in-arms.
– I made steps to avoid large bloodshed. This needed time including letting those who made a mistake change their mind and see the consequences this will lead to.
– Stability was possible thanks to the enormous support of civil society who united during the difficult time.
– Putin will keep his word regarding PMC employees (possibly regarding no prosecution. Some can go to Belarus, rest can sign contracts with MoD. The choice is theirs.
≣ Putin’s Speech: Today I once again appeal to all citizens of Russia. Thank you for your endurance, solidarity and patriotism. This civic solidarity has shown that any blackmail, any attempt to create internal turmoil is doomed to failure.
I repeat,the highest consolidation of society, executive and legislative power at all levels was shown. A firm, unambiguous position in support of the constitutional order was taken by public organizations, religious denominations, leading political parties, in fact, the entire Russian society. Everyone was united and rallied by the main thing – responsibility for the fate of the Fatherland.
I emphasize that from the very beginning of the events, all the necessary decisions were immediately taken to neutralize the threat that had arisen, to protect the constitutional order, the life and security of our citizens.
An armed rebellion would have been suppressed in any case. The organizers of the rebellion, despite the loss of adequacy, could not fail to understand this. They understood everything, including that they went to criminal acts, to split and weaken the country, which is now confronting a colossal external threat, unprecedented pressure from outside. When at the front with the words “not a step back!” our comrades are dying.
However, the organizers of the rebellion, betraying their country, their people, betrayed those who were drawn into the crime. They lied to them, pushed them to death, under fire, to shoot at their own.
It was precisely this outcome – fratricide – that Russia’s enemies wanted: both the neo-Nazis in Kyiv, and their Western patrons, and all sorts of national traitors. They wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other, to kill military personnel and civilians, so that in the end Russia would lose, and our society would split, choke in bloody civil strife.
They rubbed their hands, dreaming of taking revenge for their failures at the front and during the so called counteroftensive, but they miscalculated.
I thank all our military personnel, law enforcement officers, special services who stood in the way of the rebels, remained faithful to their duty, oath and their people. The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic devastating consequences.
At the same time, we knew and we know that the vast majority of the fighters and commanders of the Wagner group are also Russian patriots, devoted to their people and state. They proved it with their courage on the battlefield, liberating the Donbass and Novorossiya. They tried to use them in the dark against their brothers in arms, with whom they fought together for the sake of the country and its future.
Therefore, from the very beginning of the events, on my direct instructions, steps were taken to avoid a lot of bloodshed. This took time, including to give those who made a mistake a chance to think again, to understand that their actions are resolutely rejected by society, and to what tragic, destructive consequences for Russia, for our state, the adventure in which they were dragged leads.
I thank those soldiers and commanders of the Wagner group who made the only right decision – they did not go to fratricidal bloodshed, they stopped at the last line.
Today you have the opportunity to continue serving Russia by entering into a contract with the Ministry of Defense or other law enforcement agencies, or to return to your family and friends. Whoever wants to can go to Belarus. The promise I made will be fulfilled. I repeat, the choice is yours, but I am sure it will be the choice of Russian soldiers who have realized their tragic mistake.
I am grateful to the President of Belarus Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko for his effortsand contribution to the peaceful resolution of the situation.
But I repeat, it was the patriotic spirit of the citizens, the consolidation of the entire Russian society that played a decisive role these days. This support allowed us to overcome the most difficult trials for our Motherland together.
Thank you for that. Thank you.
🐣 RT @DenesTorteli Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar: “Russia’s task now is to stop our offensive at any cost. By blowing up dams, mining fields, continuous shelling, sabotage, information injection and even ‘nuclear’ rhetoric. The motivation ‘not to lose’ the occupied lands will be much stronger than the motivation to ‘seize’ our lands. Because this is their mental primordial trauma. It is psychologically easier for them to endure an unsuccessful offensive than the loss of conquered lands. This demoralizes and demotivates them irreparably. They won’t be able to assemble their army on their own, because, like in Kharkiv region, the fighters will start refusing to obey orders en masse. So we have to understand this. Our troops are really having a hard time now. It is very difficult. But they are moving forward. They are moving forward. Because we are fighting a just war. And this is our strength.” https://t.me/annamaliar/887
🐣 RT @GlasnostGone Feel the distance difference between dictatorship & all for one democracy. #StandWithUkraine️
🖼 https://twitter.com/GlasnostGone/status/1673400121365504024?s=20/photo/1 -3
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews In the aftermath of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mini-mutiny, state TV propagandists had a mission: to praise Putin’s wisdom for quickly ending the ordeal. Nonetheless, they couldn’t hide their outrage that the Wagner boss didn’t get “a bullet to the forehead.”
⋙ DailyBeast, Julia Davis: Russian State TV Anchors Are Aghast That Vladimir Putin Didn’t Kill Yevgeny Prigozhin Over Mutiny https://tinyurl.com/re7a94y2
// The Kremlin’s propagandists praised Putin but were dumbfounded that he allowed the Wagner boss and his mercenaries to escape punishment.
WaPo: Defiant Prigozhin says Wagner mercenaries to operate from Belarus https://tinyurl.com/4jvxbykz //➔ a lot going on here, much of it contradictory; @washingtonpost says it’s free to read until June 30, so go at it; tumultuous times
Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin resurfaced Monday for the first time since his Saturday mutiny, and declared that his motive was to save the private militia from being subsumed into the Russian military — not to topple President Vladimir Putin.
Prigozhin, who did not disclose his whereabouts, said he ordered the rebellion after Russia’s military killed 30 Wagner fighters in a missile strike on one of the militia’s camps, and he said he accepted a deal to avoid prosecution and move to Belarus because it would allow Wagner to continue its operations there.
Whatever his intentions, however, Prigozhin’s brazen revolt confronted Putin with the fiercest challenge he has faced in more than 23 years as Russia’s supreme leader, and it laid bare bitter divisions over the handling of the war in Ukraine that could have serious repercussions on the battlefield. …
Speaking in an 11-minute audio address posted on Telegram on Monday, Prigozhin said Wagner fighters were strongly opposed to signing a contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry — as they had been ordered to do by July 1 — because it would have effectively dismantled the group. Wagner had decided to hand back its equipment to the Defense Ministry when the missile strike occurred, he claimed.
Prigozhin expressed regret about Russian aircrews killed by Wagner during Saturday’s rebellion, “but these assets were dropping bombs and delivering missile strikes,” he said.
He boasted that Wagner was perhaps the “most experienced and combat-ready unit in Russia, and possibly in the world” and had performed a huge number of tasks in the interests of the Russian state, in Africa, the Middle East “and around the world.”
“Recently, this unit has achieved good results in Ukraine,” he said, adding that Wagner had received an outpouring of support from Russians in Saturday’s revolt, which he called a “march for justice.”
While Prigozhin issued his defiant statement, Russia’s embattled leadership tried to demonstrate control on Monday after the bruising, chaotic mutiny by airing a video of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visiting a command post. The Kremlin released video of a recorded address by President Vladimir Putin to young engineers. ¤ It was not clear when the video address by Putin was recorded …
Shoigu’s exact whereabouts and the timing of the video released by the Defense Ministry also were not clear. Russian media reported that it was prerecorded, probably on Friday, before the Wagner rebellion.
By contrast, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited his troops near the front lines in eastern Ukraine on Monday and his office quickly released video of the him greeting soldiers.
As a state of emergency in the Russian capital was lifted, Russians were left trying to make sense of Putin’s reversal from his threat of tough action against what he called “treason,” and what it could mean in the near term, especially for the ongoing war in Ukraine, and in the longer term for stability in the country and for Putin’s political future.
State-owned media, meanwhile, reported Monday that the insurrection charges against Prigozhin had not yet been rescinded. …
Russian news outlet Verstka reported that a Wagner base for 8,000 soldiers was being constructed in Belarus, in the Mogilev region southeast of Minsk. The report could not be confirmed. …
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin called for moves to strengthen Russian unity in the wake of the crisis, but he insisted that the Russian government worked “smoothly and clearly” during the crisis. …
“It is important to ensure the sovereignty of the Russian Federation and the security of citizens, taking into account recent events,” Mishustin said at a meeting of deputy prime ministers Monday. “It is necessary to consolidate society against the backdrop of an attempted armed rebellion.”
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wagner would continue operating in Mali and the Central African Republic, calling Wagner operatives there “instructors.” …
Lavrov said the U.S. ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, had spoken with Russian government representatives Sunday and conveyed Washington’s view that the events were Russia’s internal affair and its hope that Russian nuclear weapons remained secure. …
News coverage by Russian media displayed how deeply the events have rattled Putin’s authoritarian state, which is built on his power as supreme leader, with the rule of law readily dispensable and competing fiefs — including oligarchs and officials — jostling constantly for presidential favor, state benefits and influence.
An opinion column in the Russian newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets said that the “most terrifying scenario” — of fighting in the streets of Moscow and elsewhere and a split in Russia’s military and security forces — had been averted.
“Russia displayed its vulnerability to the whole world and to itself. Russia dashed to the abyss at full speed and with the same speed stepped back from it,” the columnist, Mikhail Rostovsky, wrote under the headline: “Prigozhin Leaves, Problems Remain: Deep Political Consequences of a Failed Coup.”
But there were signs of a potential crackdown on Russian private military companies, with widespread calls to bring them to heel, even though they are already technically illegal in Russia. One key reason for Wagner’s mutiny was Prigozhin’s refusal to sign Defense Ministry contracts that would have sidelined the militia and submitted it to Shoigu’s authority.
Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, carried out raids Saturday at the addresses of current and former Wagner mercenaries, Russian media outlet Important Stories reported.
Andrei Kartapolov, chairman of the defense committee in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, told the Vedomosti newspaper there was no need to ban Wagner, calling it the most combat-ready unit in Russia. Kartapolov said Wagner fighters could continue to serve in the war in Ukraine if they signed contracts with the military. Such a path may be unpalatable to many Wagner fighters, who are intensely loyal to Prigozhin.
The state-controlled Tass news agency reported Monday that Wagner’s recruiting offices in Novosibirsk and Tyumen had reopened, after they closed during the mutiny, and that the group’s office in St. Petersburg was open and working. Wagner is seen by many in Russia as a more prestigious, elite and effective force than regular Russian military units.
Another newspaper, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, called for all armed formations not officially part of the security structures to be disarmed given “today’s political reality,” in an article published Sunday. …
“The events of June 24 will undoubtedly have long-term consequences for the country. It became clear that a man with a gun, if he is not a state official, is a real threat to the state and statehood,” the newspaper’s editor, Konstantin Remchukov, wrote in an opinion column. “In Russia there should not be armed people who are loyal first to their commanders and only secondarily to someone else.”
Social media pages connected to Prigozhin, Wagner and key figures associated with him were blocked on Saturday. By Sunday, many pro-Kremlin Telegram channels were rushing to discredit the Wagner leader. In St. Petersburg, local media published photographs of gold bars, fake passports, millions in cash and “white powder” reportedly seized from his properties by the authorities.
Alexander Khodakovsky, head of the pro-Moscow Vostok Battalion, which is fighting in eastern Ukraine, published a story that Prigozhin had one of his underlings beaten “half to death,” after the subordinate told the mercenary leader that it would not be possible to recruit 1,000 Russian prisoners, but only 300.
“This incident told me everything: I made an approximate psycho-portrait of Prigozhin, and I began to warn everyone of the growing threat,” Khodakovsky wrote. “It was clear to me that a person with such manners serves only his own interests,” he added. “I always cringed when I saw how the figure of Prigozhin was erected on a pedestal.”
NYT: One Big Winner of Kremlin-Wagner Clash? The Dictator Next Door https://tinyurl.com/2jfmhk5f “Belarusian media machine has been trumpeting [Lukashenko’s] role as a power broker, a rare role reversal at a time when the dictator has become overwhelmingly dependent on Russia”
// The strongman leader of Belarus, a dependable ally of Vladimir Putin’s, may see a chance to rebrand himself as a statesman.
Mr. Putin agreed to mediation, and when “the president of Belarus called, Yevgeny Prigozhin immediately picked up the phone,” said Mr. Gigin, on whom the European Union once imposed sanctions for “supporting and justifying repression against the democratic opposition and civil society.”
The conversation between Mr. Lukashenko and Mr. Prigozhin was “very difficult,” said Mr. Gigin, who this month became the director of the National Library of Belarus. “They immediately blurted out such vulgar things it would make any mother cry. The conversation was hard, and as I was told, masculine.”
Though other possible explanations have been advanced for why Mr. Prigozhin gave up on his “march for justice” to Moscow, some offering minimal credit to Mr. Lukashenko, the Belarusian media machine has been trumpeting his role as a power broker, a rare role reversal at a time when the dictator has become overwhelmingly dependent on Russia.
“Putin lost because he showed how weak his system is, that he can be challenged so easily,” said Pavel Slunkin, a former Belarusian diplomat and analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “Prigozhin challenged, he attacked, he was so bold and then he retreated, looking like a loser. Only Lukashenko won points — first in the eyes of Putin, in the eyes of the international community as a mediator or negotiator, and as a possible guarantor of the deal.” …
Opposition leaders believe that Mr. Putin’s ambitions are not limited to Ukrainian territory. Eventually, they predict, he will try to strengthen his control over Belarus.
With his reported mediation in the Wagner crisis, Mr. Lukashenko may hope to reclaim some of his rapidly eroding sovereignty, and stem Belarusian fears of being swallowed by its larger neighbor, said Dmitri Avosha, the founder of the Belarusian website Tribuna.
Lukashenko simply did a favor to Putin in its purest form, and helped himself solve the problem of occupation,” he said. …
However much the balance of power between Mr. Lukashenko and Mr. Putin may have shifted now, both men still need each other to remain in power. ¤ “They are two Siamese twins,” said Pavel Latushka, a former Belarusian diplomat and minister now in exile. “They can’t live without each other. It’s one body, two heads. The fall of one means the political death of another.”
Reuters: Russia’s Shoigu appears in video for first time since Wagner mutiny https://tinyurl.com/4b3fbvaj “Markov, a former Kremlin advisor … , said the defence ministry video was ‘a signal to everyone that Shoigu is in office and will probably remain defence minister now’
// ‘Putin will not do anything under pressure from a mutineer,’ Markov said.”
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en ⚡️Prigozhin about his deal with Lukashenko: ¤”Lukashenko extended his hand and offered to find a solution to continue the work of Wagner PMC in legal jurisdiction.”
💽 https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1673363320542298114?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @sentdefender Preparations are reportedly underway for the Construction of a Major Operations Base for the Wagner PMC Group near the Town of Osipovichi in the Mogilev Region of Eastern Belarus, with the Base said to be able to House and Support up to 8,000 Fighters; Belarusian Media has stated this is part of a plan to Build a Network of Camps and Facilities for the Wagner Group across Southern and Eastern Belarus with the Majority being roughly 100 Miles from the Border with Ukraine.
⋙ 🐣 How would the Wagnerites get to Belarus? Not through Ukraine, certainly. Would Putin let them go through Russia? Hard to imagine. Letting Wagner set up camp in Belarus would give Lukashenko a lot of fierce fighters who are Russian citizens, a threat to Putin.
🐣 RT @wartranslated Summary of Prigozhin’s 26 June address to clarify the situation: it was to demonstrate protest against the “destruction of PMC Wagner, not toppling the Russian authorities”:
¤ https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1673345844148314112?s=20
What were the prerequisites for the March for Justice?
– PMC Wagner carries out tasks around the world. It was meant to stop existing on 1 July 2023. “Employees” all refused to sign the contract with MoD, only 1-2% decided to join the Russian army.
– The original plan was to go to Rostov on 30 July and transfer all vehicles to MoD, which were ready for transport.
– Despite any aggression, Wagner suffered a missile attack, followed by helicopter attack. Around 30 PMC Wagner fighters died. This triggered an immediate decision to move out early and respond militarily.
– Throughout the 24-hour march, one column went to Moscow, another to Rostov. They made 780 km of progress in one day. They regret being forced to attack the army aircraft but the bombs were dropped which caused the response. During the march, all military objects on the way were blocked and disarmed. None of the military have died on the ground.
– The objective was to not allow destruction of Wagner and take to responsiblity those who with their unprofessional actions made a huge number of mistakes during the SMO. All the military met along the way supported this.
– Wagner stopped when the advanced storm unit deployed artillery, conducted reconnaissance and realised a lot of blood will be shed in an upcoming battle. They decided that demonstration of the protest was enough, and turned around.
– Factors that made Wagner turn around: first, they didn’t want to shed Russian blood. Secondly, they wanted to demonstrate their portest, not overtake the authority in Russia.
– Lukashenko offered to find solutions for further legal operation of Wagner legally. Columns turned aroound and went back to field camps.
– The march showed many things demonstrated before. Serious secruity concerns around the country. All military bases and airfields were blocked.
– If actions on 24 Feb 2022 were done by forces as trained as Wagner, the special operation could have ended in 1 day. This shows the level of organisation that the Russian army should be following.
🧵 RT @Faytuks Prigozhin has posted a new long audio message (11 minutes+) on telegram. I will translate below. [🔊link]
📌 https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1673341974882004994?s=20
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1673341974882004994.html
No one has agreed to sign a contract with Russia’s Defence Ministry – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
We started our “March” due to injustice and we showed no aggression, but despite this, we were hit by missiles and helicopters – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
The Wagner group was bound to cease existence on July 1 – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
We showed master-class on how February 24, 2022, had to look, however, we turned around to avoid spilling the blood of Russian soldiers – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
The aim of the March was to avoid the destruction of the Wagner group. We regret that we had to hit Russian aviation – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
We wanted to hold accountable those who made mistakes during the special military operation in Ukraine – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
We didn’t do a “march of justice” to overthrow Russia’s leadership, however, it showed serious security problems in the country – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
When the first assault detachment approached Moscow, it became obvious that a lot of blood would be shed, so we felt that a “demonstration of what we wanted to do was sufficient” – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
During the march, civilians were happy and greeted PMC Wagner with Russian flags. Many residents supported the PMC because they saw support for the “fight against bureaucracy” – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
The march lasted 24 hours, during the day the columns travelled 780km and were 200km (124 miles) from Moscow – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
If the actions on February 24 were carried out by a unit by the level of training, like the Wagner PMC, the special operation might have lasted a day – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
Lukashenko extended his hand and offered to find solutions for the further work of the Wagner PMC group within “legal jurisdiction” – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
Among the PMC fighters, there are several wounded and two dead. The dead were servicemen of Russia’s Ministry of Defense who joined Wagner. No one was forced to “march” – Head of Wagner PMC Prigozhin
🐣 RT @vtchakarova According to @meduzaproject’s sources close to the presidential administration, around midday on June 24, #Prigozhin started trying to get in touch with the Kremlin himself – and allegedly even “tried to call Putin, but the president did not want to talk to him.
¤ https://twitter.com/vtchakarova/status/1673299718426750981?s=20
According to Meduza’s sources close to the Kremlin and the Russian government, it is likely that Prigozhin realized that he had “exceeded the limit” and that “the prospects for his columns to move are foggy. When the Kremlin saw Prigozhin’s changed mood, it allegedly decided against a “bloody clash,” according to Meduza’s sources. They claim that a large group of officials, including Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Anton Vaino, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, and Russian Ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov, were engaged in the final negotiations.
“Prigozhin needed a worthy confidant to get out of the game [saving face]. Lukashenko acted as such. He loves PR and understands the benefits – so he agreed,” says the interlocutor of “Meduza. According to him, the “benefit” for Lukashenko is obvious: publicly he became the man who “saved Russia from a civil war at most, but at least from a great blood. #geopolitics #Velsig
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙋𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙣’𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙫𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡. Wagner’s “March of Justice” showed that the Kremlin does not know its own country. The government in Russia is only strong on TV, but in reality, it is as rotten as the wooden barracks in the Russian provinces.
¤ https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1673296158670614529?s=20
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅:
One plausible explanation for Prigozhin’s rebellion is that it was conceived as a play to cover up a multi-stage operation. At the end of it they were counting on:
🔹 Putin having a “carte blanche” to change the military leadership;
🔹 Prigozhin continuing his looting of Africa;
🔹 Wagner PMC being transferred to the Ministry of Defense as of July 1;
🔹 the authorities demonstrating that they know how to cope with crisis situations, uniting elites and the general population around them.
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒕:
The staging got out of hand and almost led to the regime’s collapse.
🔹 Directors of the “performance” did not take into account that Prigozhin has huge support inside the Russian Federation, and support of Putin’s vertical was declarative;
🔹 Lack of initiative from officials, incapable of independent decisions, was revealed;
🔹 Unity of the nation, uniting around the figure of Putin, was a fiction. The population was completely passive and loyal to the rebels.
𝑨𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕:
🔹 Russian system was proven to be rotten and dysfunctional;
🔹 The regime holds on to a virtual picture that it broadcasts to the population and to itself;
🔹 Any critical situation inside the country threatens to collapse the system, the regime and the country.
Russia turned out to be not a fortress, but a gateway. Russian Volunteer Corps is free to enter the Belgorod region; the capital and the Kremlin are attacked by drones, and the mercenary army is capable of taking not Kyiv but Moscow without a fight in two days.
Based on analytical materials by @future_ui
🐣 RT @nexta_tv PMCs will no longer be able to enter into contracts with prisoners. This was announced by the chairman of the State #Duma Committee on Legislation and State Construction Pavel Krasheninnikov. According to him, now the contracts are concluded only with the Ministry of Defense of the #Russian Federation.
🐣 So, only the members of Wagner who did not participate in failed coup are welcome in the regular army. Hard to see how they would fit in. & what about the participants? Hard to see them melting away. ¤ And what about Prigozhin’s troll operation & his people in Syria and Africa?
🐣 RT @Tendar
– Girkin demands Prigozhin to be hung.
– Prigozhin wants to kill Shoigu, but goes to king potato
– Lame duck Putin is nowhere to be seen
– Kadyrov makes selfies on empty bridges
– Margarita Simonyan asks why Russia needs anyway the Ukrainian oblast
Like I mentioned on Saturday. This is a collapse of the last remnants of Russian statehood, and I accept everyone who says that Russian Federation was never even a state in the first place but a mafia entity.
⭕ 25 Jun 2023
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa From time to time my son comes to my office. From time to time, but nevertheless. And he is most interested here in these chevrons. Military personnel, volunteers, relatives of our soldiers handed them to me. At the front and in Kyiv, in hospitals, during the award ceremonies for heroes in the Mariinsky Palace…
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1672898482842001408?s=20/photo/1
The number of chevrons on the chevron board is growing, but very slowly, as every time Kyrylo takes them away. And I am happy that he is interested in this. Our heroes, our defense, Ukrainian chevrons.
A long time ago I wanted to make a special series of posts in my social networks about these chevrons. About where they came from. Who gave them to me. What these units are. And today, we will start issuing such posts.
Maybe someone else wants to talk about the chevrons you have. I think that is correct. It is correct that our people, our children, should know to whom we owe our lives and Ukraine’s freedom.
Thank you, warriors! Thank you to everyone who fights and works for Ukraine!
Glory to Ukraine!
TheAtlantic, Anne Applebaum: Putin Is Caught in His Own Trap https://tinyurl.com/4zpy98h7 “The Wagner mercenaries showed up in the [Rostov-on-Don] early Saturday morning. They met no resistance. Nobody shot at them. … People shook their hands, brought them food, took selfies.”
// After spending years cultivating public apathy, the Russian president found his people indifferent to his fate.
The Wagner Group mercenaries marched 800 kilometers across Russia, shot down planes and helicopters, took over a regional military command, provoked a panic in Moscow—troops dug trenches; the mayor told everyone to stay home—and then stood down. Yet in a way, the strangest aspect of Saturday’s aborted coup was the reaction of the people of Rostov-on-Don, including the city’s military leaders, to the soldiers who arrived and declared themselves to be their new rulers.
The Wagner mercenaries showed up in the city early Saturday morning. They met no resistance. Nobody shot at them. One photograph, published by The New York Times, shows them walking at a leisurely pace across a street, one of their tanks in the background, holding yellow coffee cups.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s violent ex-con leader, posted videos of himself chatting with the local commanders in the courtyard of the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Military District. Nobody seemed to mind his being there. …
People shook their hands, brought them food, took selfies. “People are bringing pirozhki, apples, chips. Everything there in the store has been bought to give to the soldiers,” one woman said on camera. In the evening, after Prigozhin had decided to stand down and go home (wherever home turns out to be), he drove away in an SUV with crowds filming him on their cellphones and cheering him on, as if he were a celebrity leaving a movie premiere or a gallery opening. Some chanted “Wagner! Wagner!” as the troops emerged into the street. This was the most remarkable aspect of the whole day: Nobody seemed to mind, particularly, that a brutal new warlord had arrived to replace the existing regime—not the security services, not the army, and not the general public. On the contrary, many seemed sorry to see him go.
The response is hard to understand without reckoning with the power of apathy, a much undervalued political tool. Democratic politicians spend a lot of time thinking about how to engage people and persuade them to vote. But a certain kind of autocrat, of whom Putin is the outstanding example, seeks to convince people of the opposite: not to participate, not to care, and not to follow politics at all. The propaganda used in Putin’s Russia has been designed in part for this purpose. The constant provision of absurd, conflicting explanations and ridiculous lies—the famous “firehose of falsehoods”— encourages many people to believe that there is no truth at all. The result is widespread cynicism. If you don’t know what’s true, after all, then there isn’t anything you can do about it. Protest is pointless. Engagement is useless.
But the side effect of apathy was on display yesterday as well. For if no one cares about anything, that means they don’t care about their supreme leader, his ideology, or his war. Russians haven’t flocked to sign up to fight in Ukraine. They haven’t rallied around the troops in Ukraine or held emotive ceremonies marking either their successes or their deaths. Of course they haven’t organized to oppose the war, but they haven’t organized to support it either.
Because they are afraid, or because they don’t know of any alternative, or because they think it’s what they are supposed to say, they tell pollsters that they support Putin. And yet, nobody tried to stop the Wagner Group in Rostov-on-Don, and hardly anybody blocked the Wagner convoy on its way to Moscow. The security services melted away, made no move and no comment. The military dug some trenches around Moscow and sent some helicopters; somebody appears to have sent bulldozers to dig up the highways, but that was all we could see. Who will respond if a more serious challenge to Putin ever emerges? Certainly the military will think twice: Perhaps a dozen Russian servicemen, mostly pilots, died at the hands of the Wagner mutineers, more than died during the failed coup of 1991. Nobody seems particularly bothered about them.
One day after this aborted coup, it is too early to speculate about Prigozhin’s true motives, about what he was really given in exchange for standing down, about where Putin really spent the day on Saturday—some say St. Petersburg, some say a dacha in Novgorod—or about anything else, really. But the flimsiness of this regime’s ideology and the softness of its support have been suddenly laid bare. Expect more repression as Putin tries to stay in charge, more chaos, or both.
Substack Home&Away, Richard Haass: All Politika is Local https://tinyurl.com/yc63syzh
FT, Gideon Rachman: The Putin system is crumbling https://tinyurl.com/2px4v3eb “Sticking with Putin once seemed the safe option for the country’s elite. But as the system crumbles, these calculations are changing”
// After the march on Moscow, things cannot go back to normal in Russia
The images that defined Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a leader were filmed on February 25 last year. As Russian troops closed in on Kyiv, the Ukrainian president walked the streets of the city with his close colleagues, reassuring citizens that: “All of us are here, protecting our independence and our country.”
Now contrast that with Vladimir Putin’s performance, as the Wagner militia briefly threatened to march on Moscow over the weekend. From the comfort of an office, the Russian president raged about “betrayal” and “treason”. Then he disappeared. …
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Meanwhile in Russia: even the obedient state TV propagandists were flabbergasted by Putin’s decision to let Yevgeny Prigozhin stay alive, much less to walk free after committing his mini-mutiny. More in my latest article, linked below
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews In the aftermath of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mini-mutiny, state TV propagandists had a mission: to praise Putin’s wisdom for quickly ending the ordeal. Nonetheless, they couldn’t hide their outrage that the Wagner boss didn’t get “a bullet to the forehead.”
⋙⋙ DailyBeast, Julia Davis: Russian State TV Anchors Aghast that Putin Didn’t Kill Prigozhin https://tinyurl.com/y7k9njj3
// The Kremlin’s propagandists praised Putin but were dumbfounded that he allowed the Wagner boss and his mercenaries to escape punishment.
💙 NYT, J Michael Luttig: It’s Not Too Late for the Republican Party https://tinyurl.com/3wfck47f “[R]ushing to model their campaign on Mr. Trump’s breathtakingly inane template is as absurd as it is ill fated. They will be defending the indefensible”
Donald Trump this month became the first former or incumbent American president to be charged with crimes against the nation that he once led and wishes to lead again. He cynically calculated that his indictment would ensure that a riled-up Republican Party base would nominate him as its standard-bearer in 2024, and the last few weeks have proved that his political calculation was probably right. …
In a word, the Republicans are as responsible as Mr. Trump for this month’s indictment — and will be as responsible for any indictment and prosecution of him for Jan. 6. One would think that, for a party that has prided itself for caring about the Constitution and the rule of law, this would stir some measure of self-reflection among party officials and even voters about their abiding support for the former president. …
… As only the Republicans can do, they are already turning this ignominious moment into an even more ignominious moment — and a self-immolating one at that — by rushing to crown Mr. Trump their nominee before the primary season even begins. Building the Republican campaign around the newly indicted front-runner is a colossal political miscalculation, as comedic as it is tragic for the country. No assemblage of politicians except the Republicans would ever conceive of running for the American presidency by running against the Constitution and the rule of law. But that’s exactly what they’re planning. …
From his distant second place, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida denounced the Biden administration’s “weaponization of federal law enforcement” against Mr. Trump and the Republicans. Mike Pence dutifully pronounced the indictment political. And both Governor DeSantis and Mr. Pence pledged — in a new Republican litmus test — that on their first day in office they would fire the director of the F.B.I., the Trump appointee Christopher Wray, obviously for his turpitude in investigating Mr. Trump. It fell to Kevin McCarthy, the House speaker, to articulate the treacherous overarching Republican strategy: “I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump against this grave injustice. House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.” ¤ There’s no stopping Republicans now, until they have succeeded in completely politicizing the rule of law in service to their partisan political ends. …
Republicans have waited in vain for political absolution. It’s finally time for them to put the country before their party and pull back from the brink — for the good of the party, as well as the nation. ¤ If not now, then they must forever hold their peace.
🐣 RT @Osinttechnical We officially have the first “Russians requesting airstrikes via telegram” of the counteroffensive
⋙ 🐣 RT @wartranslated A more recent update is now convincingly requesting air support to assist in destroying the group. It appears as if a Telegram channel is the only way to do it as the situation is deteriorating rapidly.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1673072580104798213?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] The area under the Antonovsky Bridge (about 150 meters) is also used by the enemy to supply and rotate groups that have settled in the “Hotel”, as well as in the “Dachas” area – in this area the enemy is using Polish-made mortars against the positions of our troops.
According to the latest information, reinforcements continue to arrive to enemy units, the total number of manpower in the bridge area at the moment is up to 100 people.
Also, due to the difficulty of passing information from the fields through official channels, we are forced to report: in this area, for several days, at different times, groups of our fighters were blocked that were performing the tasks of cleaning up the area, one group was evacuated, it’s not possible to evacuate the second group at the moment since enemy firing points are not suppressed and evacuation groups get under heavy enemy fire.
The enemy knows about the blocked group. For several days, artillery, including heavy flamethrower systems, attacked the enemy in this area, but, as colleagues rightly noted, only tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces can solve this problem; ground forces do not present an effective solution. If necessary, solution. If necessary, all available information, as well as the coordinates of enemy concentration sites, are ready to be transmitted via any convenient communication channel.
🐣 RT @officejjsmart “RESIGN PUTIN!”
⚡️⚡️⚡️Girkin (Strelkov) urged Putin to “act as commander in chief or resign.”
According to Ateo Breaking, the former 🇷🇺 intelligence officer, who organized the 2014 invasion of Ukraine 🇺🇦 & who has a wide following in 🇷🇺, is not holding-back about Putin. 💥💥💥
🖼 https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1673003142026330113?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @mhmck Understand Russians.
They are nihilists. There is no limit to their behaviour. They will commit any atrocity.
They are liars. They don’t recognize the possibility of truth or a world of shared experience.
They are slaves. They only understand dominance and submission.
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Who will pay Prigozhin now? ¤ Prigozhin’s private army existed thanks to Putin’s dirty money. ¤ For the money from selling oil, gas, timber, metals, gold and other resources of Russia to the West and to the East.
Yesterday, Russian media reported that during searches in the offices of the PMCs, colossal amounts of cash were found – 4 billion rubles, (about $50 million).
Prigozhin immediately admitted that this was money of the PMC and that it was intended for paying the so-called “coffin” money – payments to the relatives of killed mercenaries.
“Wagner PMC has existed for 10 years using cash only. When we were working in Africa, in Ukraine and in other countries, when America was a nightmare, everyone was satisfied with cash. And now they came with searches,” Prigozhing commented.
Let’s talk about the dirty economy of Wagner PMC. ¤ Using simple arithmetic calculations, multiplying the declared number of mercenaries in the PMC – 50,000 people, by their average payment for a bloody contract – RUB 240,000, we get the amount of $150 million a month. And this amount does not include any other costs for the maintenance of Prigogzhin’s private army. ¤ According to my rough estimates, maintaining a private Wagner army cost Putin between $250 million and $350 million in cash per month.
It is possible that one of the reasons that prompted Prigozhin to revolt against Putin was the conflict over the verification of how he spent more than $2 billion received from Putin and his oligarchs during the 15 months of war.
We still do not know the reasons why Prigozhin stopped his march on Moscow by his mercenaries. Neither he, nor Putin, nor Lukashenko made a single public statement after the talks.
But I have several questions:
1. Will Putin, after Prigozhin’s rebellion, finance his PMC in the same way as before? I highly doubt it! And if not, then where will Prigozhin get $250 million per month to maintain PMCs?
2. Will Prigozhin now be provided with shells, cartridges, missiles – after his mercenaries shot down helicopters and a Russian plane yesterday with the same missiles? I don’t think so!
3. Will the Russian military, who until this moment idolized Prigozhin as a real military leader, forgive him the Russian pilots and officers killed by him? I think that he lost their trust, both after the murders and after a cheap provocation about the alleged shelling of the rear camp of the PMC, staged by Prigozhin himself as a pretext for rebellion.
4. How will Prigozhin withstand the powerful blow of Kremlin propaganda? Already last night it was clearly visible how quickly and clearly the position of Kremlin propaganda in relation to the Wagner PMC has changed. From yesterday’s heroes, they quickly began to turn into traitors, rebels, and murderers of valiant pilots. A few more weeks and instead of Prigozhin and his accomplices, instead of the Wagnerites “heroes of Russia”, propaganda will show them as a bunch of scoundrels, rebels and murderers – which, in fact, they are.
Therefore, future events look obvious to me – yesterday Prigozhin lost his chance to seize power in Russia. ¤ There will most likely not be a second campaign against Moscow, since Wagner PMC will slowly collapse through a gradual reduction in funding for salaries to mercenaries, through contradictions between those who are 100% loyal to Prigozhin and who feel deceived and thrown into the furnace of the ambitions of the bloody Bakhmut butcher.
And Ukraine only benefited from this failed rebellion, as fascist Russia became even weaker – and that’s good news!
🐣 RT @sentdefender Russian Sources are stating that Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu is currently under a form of “House Arrest” by the FSB pending an Investigation into his Leadership within the MoD and the Theft of Military Funding, Sources believe that Major Announcements regarding charges in the Chain-of-Command and General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces are expected sometime today, June the 26th or this week.
[TextLink:] [tr] https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1673171204209795072?s=20/photo/1 -2
WaPo: What just happened in Russia? The Wagner crisis, explained. https://tinyurl.com/2p92vhju Basic backgrounder
🐣 RT @maryilyushina An overview of why Prigozhin marched on Moscow, the irony of his predictions of a revolution in Russia and the surprising warmth Wagner received from Rostov residents — something that should rattle Kremlin quite a bit
⋙ WaPo, Mary Ilyushina: Mercenary boss warned of revolution in Russia, but his own was short-lived https://tinyurl.com/wc8mhw6w
🚫 🐣 RT @MattPPea Shoigu arrested according Wagner channels. Thanks to @Wales4Ukraine [link]
// need confirmation
🐣 RT @randymot4 Both the Wagner group and the Free Russian forces have demonstrated that Russia is very poorly defended. Virtually the entire army is in Ukraine and even that is not enough to cover the long defensive lines. The Ukrainian attack force not committed includes abput 9-10 heavy brigades, fully mobile incl support vehicles. They will cut through the opening in the Russia lines – probably in two or three places – and go a long way toward ending the war. A mobile operation gives Ukraine a huge advantage due to the slowness of Russian command & control. #RussiaLosing
🐣 RT @randymot4 Both the Wagner group and the Free Russian forces have demonstrated that Russia is very poorly defended. Virtually the entire army is in Ukraine and even that is not enough to cover the long defensive lines. The Ukrainian attack force not committed includes abput 9-10 heavy brigades, fully mobile incl support vehicles. They will cut through the opening in the Russia lines – probably in two or three places – and go a long way toward ending the war. A mobile operation gives Ukraine a huge advantage due to the slowness of Russian command & control. #RussiaLosing
🐣 RT @Stanovaya [Carnegie Eurasia] Below is a brief description of Prigozhin’s mutiny and the factors that contributed to its outcome. We, as observers, initially missed important details due to the scarcity of information and lack of time for in-depth analysis. Here’s the perspective that currently seems most plausible:
1️⃣ Prigozhin’s rebellion wasn’t a bid for power or an attempt to overtake the Kremlin. It arose from a sense of desperation; Prigozhin was forced out of Ukraine and found himself unable to sustain Wagner the way he did before, while the state machinery was turning against him. To top it off, Putin was ignoring him and publicly supporting his most dangerous adversaries.
2️⃣ Prigozhin’s objective was to draw Putin’s attention and to impose a discussion about conditions to preserve his activities – a defined role, security, and funding. These weren’t demands for a governmental overthrow; they were a desperate bid to save the enterprise, hoping that Prigozhin’s merits in taking Bakhmut (that’s why he needed it!) would be taken into account and the concerns would catch Putin’s serious attention. Now it appears that these merits helped Prigozhin to get out of this crisis alive, but without a political future in Russia (at least while Putin is in power).
3️⃣ Prigozhin was caught off-guard by Putin’s reaction and found himself unprepared to assume the role of a revolutionary. He also wasn’t prepared for the fact that Wagner was about to reach Moscow where his only option remained – to “take the Kremlin” – an action that would inevitably result in him and his fighters being eradicated.
4️⃣ Those in the elites who were able reached out to Prigozhin with offers to surrender. This likely added to his sense of impending doom. However, I don’t believe any high-level negotiations took place. Lukashenko presented Prigozhin with a Putin-endorsed offer to retreat on the condition that Prigozhin would leave Russia and Wagner would be dissolved.
5️⃣ I don’t think Prigozhin was in a position to make demands (such as the resignation of Shoigu or Gerasimov – something many observers expect today. If that happens, it will be due to another reason.) After Putin’s address in the morning of June 24th, Prigozhin’s primary concern was to find an off-ramp. The situation would have led to inevitable death in merely a few hours. It is possible that Putin has promised him safety on the condition that Prigozhin remains quietly in Belarus.
I stand by my previous assertion that Putin and the state have been dealt a severe blow (which will have significant repercussions for the regime). However, I want to emphasize that image has always been a secondary concern for Putin. Setting optics aside, Putin objectively resolved the Wagner and Prigozhin problem by dissolving the former and expelling the latter. The situation would have been far worse if it had culminated in a bloody mess in the outskirts of Moscow.
And no, Putin doesn’t need Wagner or Prigozhin. He can manage with his own forces. He’s now certainly convinced of that. I will disclose many more details in my bulletin to be issued tomorrow evening.
NYT, Anton Trianovski: Revolt Raises Searing Question: Could Putin Lose Power? https://tinyurl.com/yfp6u4ju “The fact that Mr. Prigozhin and his forces were not being punished punctured Mr. Putin’s reputation as a decisive leader who would not tolerate disloyalty.”
// Russians with ties to the Kremlin expressed relief that the mercenary leader’s mutiny did not spark a civil war. But they agreed that Vladimir Putin had come off looking weak in a way that could be lasting.
🧵 RT @CanadianKobzar FELLAS! STAY AWHILE AND LISTEN! In the theme of the recent “coup”, today I will discuss a true revolution. One that is integral to understanding the current war. A heroic fight to break the chains of corruption – Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity of 2013/14. 1/21
📌 https://twitter.com/CanadianKobzar/status/1672832074150027264?s=20
🐣 RT @ @ZelenskyyUa With just 15 days to go until the @NATO Summit in Vilnius, we are doing everything to ensure that the summit has real content. Strong content.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1673071448427053057?s=20/photo/1
Positive decisions for 🇺🇦 in Vilnius are the only possible positive decisions for our common security in Europe and in the Alliance as a whole.
Thank you to everyone who supports Ukraine! Thank you to 🇺🇸 Mr. President @POTUS, the Congress, both parties and all Americans for the historic strengthening of freedom in the world! Thank you to 🇨🇦 Mr. Prime Minister @JustinTrudeau and all Canadians for your unwavering support! Thank you to 🇵🇱 Mr. President @AndrzejDuda and everyone in Poland who stands with 🇺🇦 in the defense of Europe!
🐣 RT @home_fella Russia is planning to blow up Zaporizhzhya NPP -Budanov ¤ “Russian troops have deployed equipment with explosives near 4 of the 6 power units of ZNPP. The plan for a terrorist attack on ZNPP is fully developed and approved. They can use technical means to accelerate the disaster”
🖼 https://twitter.com/home_fella/status/1672994165003616256?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer ORIKHIV AXIS /2050 UTC 25 JUN/ UKR forces are reported to have advanced south on the T-04-08 HWY axis and have consolidated a 1 KM gain in the vicinity of Robotyne.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1673071069228326916?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ Gerashchenko_en “The coup was being prepared for eight months and all of Prigozhin’s publicity was aimed at preparing it” – GULAGU NET
¤ https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1672936813646757895?s=20
GULAGU NET published a list of the National Guard, Federal Security Service and Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation units that have partially or fully moved over to Prigozhin’s side.
A description of what is happening was also provided: ¤ This special operation was being prepared and developed over a period of more than eight months. Surovikin and Alexeyev not only knew but were also involved and verbally instructed some commanders not to offer armed resistance. That is why they were urgently taken under control and forced to make a video-recorded appeal addressed to Prigozhin. Later, when taking over the headquarters of the Southern Military District of the MoD, Alexeyev uttered an important phrase to Prigozhin’s demand of giving them Chief of the General Staff Gerasimov: “Yes, take him away”. They were ready to hand over their commander (superior officers) to the rebels. This is a fact of betrayal, a decision on which is about to be made.
This special operation involved former commanders and fighters of the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, 2nd and 15th GRU brigades of Wagner PMC (under the command of Utkin), who had previously participated in special operations on the territory of foreign countries, primarily to capture customs posts, communication points, local army units and strategic weapons.
Formally, Yevgeny Prigozhin himself was at the headquarters of the Southern Military District of the MoD, and did not physically move from there, holding talks with the Deputy Minister of Defense and giving orders to detain or capture anything, unlike Utkin, Kuznetsov and other PMC commanders, and neither Putin, nor Peskov promised them immunity and non-prosecution. By the end of the year, they will be detained or liquidated. ¤ Source: GULAGU NET
Meduza: ‘Putin was nowhere to be found’ An inside look into the Kremlin’s attempted negotiations with Prigozhin and why it took Lukashenko to put an end to the rebellion https://tinyurl.com/bddc472y
🐣 RT @ ZelenskyyUa I spoke with 🇺🇸 President @POTUS. A positive and inspiring conversation.
We discussed the course of hostilities and the processes taking place in Russia. The world must put pressure on Russia until international order is restored.
I thanked the @POTUS for the unflagging support of 🇺🇦, especially for Patriots. ¤ It is important to further increase 🇺🇦 capabilities to protect our skies. In this context, I also thanked him for the support of the fighter jet coalition. ¤ We discussed further expansion of defense cooperation, with an emphasis on long-range weapons.
I am grateful for the readiness of the 🇺🇸 and the American people to stand side by side with Ukraine until the full liberation of all our territories within internationally recognized borders.
We coordinated our positions on the eve of the @NATO Summit in Vilnius, discussed further work on the implementation of 🇺🇦 Peace Formula and preparations for the Global Peace Summit.
🧵 RT @khodorkovsky_en Wagner PMC chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s attempted military coup was one of the most serious political events to take place in Russia in the last 20 years. Why did it happen, what does it mean and what lessons can be learned from it?
📌 https://twitter.com/khodorkovsky_en/status/1672952267287433216?s=20
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1672952267287433216.html
⭕ 24 Jun 2023
NewYorker, David Remnick: Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Rebellion: Putin’s Weakness Unmasked https://tinyurl.com/nhjwuvf2 “‘Putin is still alive. He is still there in his bunker. But there is the growing feeling that he is a lame duck, and they have to prepare for Russia after Putin’”
// 6/24/2023
⋙ See under Entire Articles: Prig Coup Nykr Jun 2023
NYT: Rebel Wagner Forces, Threatening March to Moscow, Abruptly Stand Down https://tinyurl.com/4nnpehtt “The head-spinning sequence of events that played out in less than 24 hours plunged a nation already struggling to wage the war in Ukraine into a full-blown domestic crisis”
// The mercenary group had seized the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, the center of Moscow’s military operations in Ukraine, posing a grave threat to President Vladimir Putin’s government.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer YOUR PAPERS, PLEASE: The Russian FSB raided the HQ of the Wagner Group, where they discovered various passports belonging to Yevgeny Prigozhin. Many were made out to his alter ego, Vladimir Vasilovich Bobov, & oddly, one made out to in his real name, with someone else’s picture.
🖼 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1672790835694370816?s=20/photo/1
WaPo, David Ignatius: Putin and Prigozhin played a game of chicken — and both swerved in the end https://tinyurl.com/5r88y3kk “Putin might have saved his regime … , but this day will be remembered as part of the unraveling of Russia as a great power — which will be Putin’s true legacy”
President Vladimir Putin looked into the abyss Saturday and blinked. After vowing revenge for what he called an “armed mutiny,” he settled for a compromise. ¤ The speed with which Putin backed down suggests that his sense of vulnerability might be higher even than analysts believed. Putin might have saved his regime Saturday, but this day will be remembered as part of the unraveling of Russia as a great power — which will be Putin’s true legacy.
Putin’s deal with renegade militia leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin is likely to be a momentary truce, at best. The bombastic rebel will head for Belarus, in a deal brokered by his pal President Alexander Lukashenko, in exchange for Putin dropping charges against him and his mutinous soldiers, according to Kremlin spokesman Dimitry Peskov.
This was a real coup, until it wasn’t. For much of Saturday, Prigozhin was marching units of his 25,000-man Wagner militia toward the gates of Moscow, rolling through Russia’s Ukrainian command headquarters at Rostov-on-Don and north to Voronezh. Sources tell me the Russian FSB put up roadblocks along the way, to little effect. Putin called up the National Guard to defend Moscow. …
The Biden administration’s response to this mad day in Russia seemed to be a version of the advice attributed to Napoleon: “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” That, as well as the usual Biden prescription: focus on allies and partners.
President Biden and his team stayed in contact with foreign leaders. White House and State Department officials spoke to the other major democracies, known as the Group of Seven; they added India and Australia as members of the “Quad.” They consulted with NATO and the European Union.
The message in all these calls, I’m told, was “cool it.” Don’t make the crisis in Russia more dangerous by seeking to intervene or profit from the disarray. This message was focused especially on Ukraine; U.S. officials stressed their desire that Kyiv not seem to take advantage of the strife in Russia in ways that might spiral into an even more dangerous moment. The Ukrainians, from what we can see, followed that advice.
What comes next, surely, is more trouble for Putin in Ukraine. Prigozhin told the truth flat out in the days before his march on Moscow. Ukraine didn’t threaten Russia, and Russia’s invasion was unnecessary — a mistake of epic proportions. Even Putin, the ice man, can’t freeze the burning truth of his Ukraine disaster.
🐣 RT @RadioFreeTomThe Prigozhin episode is not a win for Putin, writes @RadioFreeTo: “The Russian dictator has been visibly wounded, and he will now bear the permanent scar of political vulnerability.”
TheAtlantic, Tom Nichols: The Coup Is Over, but Putin Is in Trouble https://tinyurl.com/4x9w26bb
// The Wagner Group’s chief may have lost spectacularly, but Russia’s dictator suffered a huge political blow.
A short recap of the past 24 hours in Russia reads like the backstory for a fanciful episode of Madam Secretary or The West Wing. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the brutal convicted criminal who leads the Wagner mercenary group, declared war on the Russian Ministry of Defense and marched into the city of Rostov-on-Don. He then headed north for Moscow, carrying his demand for the ousting of Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. The city went on alert.
Prigozhin and his men came within 125 miles of the capital—that is, closer to Moscow than Philadelphia is to Washington, D.C. He then said that a deal had been struck and that Wagner’s forces were turning around to avoid bloodshed. Apparently, however, the blood Prigozhin saved from being shed was his own. If the “deal” announced by the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accurately reflects the outcome of this whole bizarre episode, Prigozhin has in the space of a day gone from being a powerful warlord to a man living on borrowed time in a foreign country, waiting for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inevitable retribution. …
Nonetheless, this bizarre episode is not a win for Putin. The Russian dictator has been visibly wounded, and he will now bear the permanent scar of political vulnerability. Instead of looking like a decisive autocrat (or even just a mob boss in command of his crew), Putin left Moscow after issuing a short video in which he was visibly angry and off his usual self-assured game. Putin reportedly worries a great deal about being assassinated, and so perhaps he wanted to hunker down until he had more clarity about who might be in league with Prigozhin. But whatever the reason, he vowed to deal with Prigozhin decisively and then blew town, probably to his retreat at Valdai, in a move that looked weak and disorganized. …
Prigozhin gets to stay alive, at least for the moment, but his life as he knew it (and maybe in any sense) is over. Putin, however, is now politically weaker than ever. The once unchallengeable czar is no longer invincible. The master of the Kremlin had to make a deal with a convict—again, in Putin’s culture, among the lowest of the low—just to avert the shock and embarrassment of an armed march into the Russian capital while other Russians are fighting on the front lines in Ukraine.
… [T]wo things appear certain. First, Putin has suffered a huge political blow, and he has survived by making deals both with Prigozhin and with his own colleagues in the Kremlin that are, by any definition, a humiliation. And second, Yevgeny Prigozhin has changed the Russian political environment surrounding Putin’s war in Ukraine. ¤ Prigozhin’s rebellion and its effects will last beyond today, but how long he will live in Belarus—or stay alive in Belarus—to see how the rest of it plays out is unclear.
NYT: Timeline: What Led to the Standoff Between Russia and Prigozhin https://tinyurl.com/msah4sxu Prigozhin had debunked Russian justifications for the war and accused the military of corruption and incompetence; Wagner got to within 200km of Moscow when a deal was cut
// The leader of the Wagner mercenary group had kept a low profile for years, only acknowledging his force’s existence in September of last year.
WaPo: Wagner uprising is reckoning for Putin’s rule https://tinyurl.com/27x65zpv “[O]bservers said the uprising was ‘a symptom of a deep sickness’ within the Russian state brought on by Putin’s messianic mission to capture what he believes are Russia’s historical lands in Ukraine”
Vladimir Putin faced the gravest challenge to his presidency after the system he has presided over for the last twenty-three years buckled this weekend under the pressure of the war he launched in Ukraine and, for a moment, devolved into armed conflict inside Russia.
The march on Moscow by an irate onetime ally, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, accompanied by a convoy of armed members of his private Wagner mercenary group, was a reckoning for a presidency that till now has thrived on Putin’s ability to divide and rule by pitting rival groups against each other and serving as the ultimate arbiter among feuding elites.
Although eventually aborted, Prigozhin’s insurrection exposed the deep weaknesses inside Putin’s rule, raising the specter of civil war and, for several hours on Saturday, appearing to pose a threat to Putin’s position itself. After more than two decades of autocratic rule, Putin’s hubris has repeatedly clouded his judgment — both in invading Ukraine and in misjudging whether Prigozhin could pose a threat — and allowed a months-long standoff between the Wagner chief and the Russian military leadership to spiral this weekend into armed rebellion.
“Recently, Putin has been making mistake after mistake, and Prigozhin could become for him a critical mistake,” said Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia’s onetime richest man who became a leading exiled opposition figure after Putin jailed him for ten years. “When you are in power for twenty years and everyone tells you what a genius you are, who knows what happens to your consciousness.” ¤ The current crisis, however it ends, will ultimately further weaken Putin’s regime, Khodorkovsky said. …
WaPo: Wagner uprising is reckoning for Putin’s rule https://tinyurl.com/27x65zpv “[O]bservers said the uprising was ‘a symptom of a deep sickness’ within the Russian state brought on by Putin’s messianic mission to capture what he believes are Russia’s historical lands in Ukraine”
🧵 RT @MarkHertling It hit me we’re thinking of Prigozhin in the wrong way. ¤ His actions have confused us these last 48 hours (and beyond) because we see him as the leader of a large mercenary body, fighting for pay (or freedom from jail) instead of what soldiers fight to defend (the state). 1/4
📌 https://twitter.com/MarkHertling/status/1672738004102705152?s=20
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @LamarEsq @MarkHertling: Thank you, General, for the brief primer, on CNN, re: Prigozhin as modern warlord. You nailed the characteristics and the reason for 21st-century bafflement. Excellent insight.
After some research, I’m now concluding he fits the definition of a modern day warlord, with these attributes: ¤ Here are the characteristics of a warlord: · an individual with limited military skills, who is accountable to no one, who has no true ideology… 2/4
…who rules through patronage, who flourishes only when the central government is weak, and who further fragments the politics, the unified military action, and the economics of a central government. ¤ There is no contribution to a nation’s power, only the individual’s. 3/4
If this definition fits Prigozhin, it also suggests that Russia is therefore a failed – although semi-functioning – quasi modern state. ¤ We know Putin is a kleptocratic authoritarian, so this seems to fit. ¤ Would be interested in what others think of this conclusion. 4/4
🐣 RT @front_ukrainian ⚡️Summarizing all the events and the words spoken, we can say that Yevgeny Prigozhin bet everything and lost. Most likely, PMC Wagner will cease to exist and will be disbanded
🐣 RT @mccaffreyr3 MSNBC. 23 June 23. Putin’s control and stature gravely weakened by the criminal war in Ukraine. He’s brutal but scared. Still has an iron clamp on the security institutions. His continued leadership of Russia is more tenuous each month.
// 11thHour
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Terrorist Girkin-Strelkov: “I have to admit with great bitterness that the Russian Federation is one step closer to its final and irrevocable demise.
As of today, the Russian Federation has two presidents – the real president, Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, and Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, the acting president to serve his term. The main purpose of the acting president is to periodically address the real president, kneeling down, with the question: “What do you want, Yevgeny Viktorovich?”
Never, even in my worst nightmare, I couldn’t imagine that I would see this shame and destruction of my country.”
🐣 RT @ ZelenskyyUa We all remember how the head of Russia threatened the world in 2021. He had some ultimatums, he was trying to show a kind of strength…
¤ https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1672658185641926660?s=20
The year 2022 showed that he confused – confused his illusions and the lies he was fed with strength. They in the Kremlin are capable of resorting to any terror, capable of resorting to any stupidity, but they cannot provide even one percent of the necessary control. And they are the problem.
In one day, they lost several of their million-plus cities and showed all Russian bandits, mercenaries, oligarchs and anyone else how easy it is to capture Russian cities and, probably, arsenals with weapons.
Now, it is very important that no one in the world remains silent because of being afraid of this Russian chaos. All the actions of the leaders now can be historic. Every word of journalists is worth its weight in gold. It is necessary to clearly name the source of the problem. And if someone in the world tries to ignore the situation, if someone in the world is under the illusion that the Kremlin is capable of regaining control… this only postpones the problem until the next breakthrough of chaos – even more dangerous. ¤ We all know the solutions.
🐣 RT @McFaul What has weakened Putin’s grip on power? His disastrous war in Ukraine. The longer the war continues, the weaker Putin’s regime becomes. Those that want to avoid Russian state collapse (i.e. Xi) should be pushing Putin to end his war.
🐣 RT @wartranslated Civilians chanting “Shame!” and “Traitors!” at the police units which arrived back in Rostov after Wagner units withdrew.
💽 https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1672737054973739010?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en By my estimates, Putin’s rating in Russia fell below 30% in the 24 hours of Prigozhin’s “coup d’etat”. The bloody murderer turned into a limping duck, his “macho” image shattered both in Russia and abroad
It’s really like Russia had two presidents today – the real one, a determined, capable murderer, and the old one – cowering with fear deep down in his bunker, sending his bloody accomplice Lukashenko to negotiate.
Why did Lukashenko become the mediator in negotiations with criminal Prigozhin? I think the answer is simple. Wagner convoys were only a few hours away from Moscow. If they had captured the capital, they would take control over government buildings, including the Kremlin. That would lead to the collapse of Putin’s regime, and that, in turn, would have caused the collapse of Lukashenko’s regime. That’s why one rushed to save the other.
What will happen next?
1. No one really knows the exact agreements that were reached in negotiations with Prigozhin. The fact is – a convoy of Wagner PMC stopped and walked away 200 km from Moscow, and that Prigozhin’s forces left the headquarters of Southern Military Region in Rostov.
2. A lot will depend on whether Putin will honor his side of the deal, including the resignation of Shoigu and Gerasimov (assuming that was included in the agreement).
One thing is clear:
There will be a sequel of some sort.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer A LONG STRANGE TRIP: The Wagner Group mercenary Group, led personally by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has seized the Southern District Military Command Center in Rostov-on-Don. Wagner units are now embarking on a Quixotic 1000 km (600 mi) journey to Moscow.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1672622608565583872?s=20/photo/1
⋙ BBC: Wagner boss to leave Russia and charges dropped, state media says https://tinyurl.com/3aft9t2f
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that criminal charges against #Prigozhin will be dropped. Other #Wagner members will likewise not be prosecuted for their participation. Prigozhin agreed to move to #Belarus.
🐣 RT @nicholadrummond After what’s happened today – with Putin openly accusing Prigozhin of treason and Prigozhin responding that Putin colluded with Shoigu and Gerasimov to start the SMO under false pretences – there really is no going back for either man. This ends badly for one or the other.
🐣 RT @mhmck The most prudent and stabilizing way to end the war and build peace is to inflict public, chaotic and humiliating defeats on the leader-of-the-moment of the Russian terrorist state.
🐣 RT @301military BREAKING: Peskov announced that the criminal case against Prigozhin will be dropped, and he will leave for Belarus.
🐣 RT @ 🐣 RT @ ZelenskyyUa Today, the world saw that the bosses of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Complete chaos. Complete absence of any predictability.
// 12:47pCT
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1672662657881571332?s=20
First, the world should not be afraid. We know what protects us. Our unity. ¤ Ukraine will definitely be able to protect Europe from any Russian forces, and it doesn’t matter who commands them. We will protect. The security of Europe’s eastern flank depends only on our defense.
Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian guns, Ukrainian tanks, Ukrainian missiles are all that protect Europe from such marches as we see today on Russian territory. And when we ask to give us the F-16 fighters or the ATACMS, we’re enhancing our common defense. Real defense.
Second, everything must be real. It’s time for everyone in the world to frankly say that all of Russia’s criminal actions against Ukraine were and are unprovoked. And we all have to focus exclusively on our common security priorities. NATO is not just a word or a set of formal promises. These are reliable guarantees for everyone that peace won’t be destroyed. Without Ukraine, such guarantees are worthless. Already in July at the summit in Vilnius, it is a historic chance for real decisions without looking back at Russia. Any nation that borders Russia supports this.
What will we, Ukrainians, do? ¤ We will defend our country. We will defend our freedom. We will not be silent and we will not be inactive. We know how to win – and it will happen. Our victory in this war.
And what will you, Russians, do? ¤ The longer your troops stay on Ukrainian land, the more devastation they will bring to Russia. The longer this person is in the Kremlin, the more disasters there will be.
🐣 RT @McFaul Can anyone remember a mutiny or coup attempt that lasted 24 hours and no one really fought or was killed? We all watched how easy it was for Wagner to seize Rostov. Something strange going on here.
🐣 RT @McFaul Putin could not control a mercenary force that he created & run by his buddy. He had to rely on Lukashenko of all people to cut a deal with a guy he called just hours ago a traitor. These are signs of real weakness, not strength.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer ORIKHIV AXIS /1715 UTC 23 JUN/ UKR forces in contact south of the H-08 HWY axis; RU units are reported to be on the defensive. UKR has advanced south along the T-04-08 HWY & is in contact north of Robotyne. UKR units are in contact NW of Verbove.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1672291679699648519?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ igorsushko 🚨 Prigozhin released a recording that he will turn his columns around and stop his March of Justice on Moscow after coming within 200km. There’s going to be so much more to this. Either a fake out or some insane deal has been struck, and not necessarily with Putin. 🍿
🐣 RT @ 🐣 RT @wartranslated Prigozhin says it’s over: ¤ “They were going to dismantle PMC Wagner. We came out on 23 June to the March of Justice. In a day, we walked to nearly 200km away from Moscow. In this time, we did not spill a single drop of blood of our fighters. Now, the moment has come when blood may spill. That’s why, understanding the responsibility for spilling Russian blood on one of the sides, we are turning back our convoys and going back to field camps according to the plan.” ¤ Audio: https://t.me/concordgroup_official/1303
🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Wagner chief says mercenaries are turning back after advance toward Moscow https://tinyurl.com/w9mcbp9u “With security guarantees for Wagner Group on the table, Prigozhin agreed to stop his forces’ progress toward Moscow”; the deal was brokered by Lukashenko
// 2:45pCT
The agreement for Prigozhin’s forces to turn around was brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who spoke with Putin before negotiating with Prigozhin, according to Belarusian state-owned news agency Belta. With security guarantees for Wagner Group on the table, Prigozhin agreed to stop his forces’ progress toward Moscow.
Mercenaries are halting their travel toward Moscow and turning back from the city, Wagner Group leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin said in an audio message Saturday. After a day of mounting tension in Russia as Prigozhin’s forces advanced in the direction of the capital, his statement appeared to signal a possible end to the immediate crisis.
Prigozhin said his forces had gotten within 200 kilometers of Moscow, and now “we turn our columns around and leave in the opposite direction to the field camps according to the plan.” The Washington Post could not immediately clarify his whereabouts. Prigozhin called his forces’ movement on Saturday — which began after Prigozhin called for Russians to join his campaign against President Vladimir Putin’s military leadership — a “march of justice.”
Wagner forces on Saturday had moved north from the Voronezh region to the Lipetsk region, which is roughly 250 miles from the Russian capital.
🐣 RT @front_ukrainian⚡️⚡️⚡️Columns of “Wagner” entered the Moscow region, passing through the city of Barabanov, – Russian media ¤ Now they are only 2 hours away from Moscow.
🌎 https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1672604539797512193?s=20/photo/1
CNN: Putin is at risk of losing his iron grip on power. The next 24 hours are critical https://tinyurl.com/y349teru
🐣 RT @@wartranslated ❗️Prigozhin audio message 10:19AM BST – “no one will surrender to the demands of the President”:
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1672536701997072384?s=20
“Regarding the betrayal of the Motherland, the President is deeply mistaken. We’re patriots of our Motherland. We fought and we are fighting, all fighters of PMC Wagner. And no one is going to surrender to the demands of the President, FSB, or anyone else. Because we don’t want the country to live further in corruption lies, and bureaucracy.
When we fought in Africa, we were told that we needed Africa, and then they dumped it, because they stole all the money that was meant to come for help.
When we were told we are fighting with Ukraine, we went and fought. But it turned out that the ammo, weapons, all money put towards this were also being stolen, while officials are sitting and saving them for themselves for an incident that happened today, when someone is going towards Moscow.”
Now they are not saving anything, they are striking us with planes and helicopters at the columns with civilians. And they hit civilians because they’re missing. And they hit anywhere they can.
Thus, we are the patriots, but those resisting us today are those who gathered around scumbags. Audio: https://t.me/Prigozhin_hat/3812
🐣 RT @WarFrontline The Belarusian regiment of Kalinouski is preparing an appeal to the Belarusian people at 17:00.👀👀
🐣 RT @JayinKyiv Medvedev and his family have fled Moscow according to Russian channels.
🐣 RT @TheDeadDistrict Interception of the Russian radio: The Russian 205th Brigade in the Kherson direction is thinking about “turning its guns to Russia”. Audio in my TG channel
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en It’s really high time for Russian liberals to talk to Russians in Russia and abroad, to raise their voice and to give vision of future of people of Russia. Future without Putin or Prigozhin. ¤ Peoples of Russian Federation, if you have been waiting for a chance – this is it! ¤ Please share/tag with everyone to whom this may concern.
🌎 https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1672542872665505792?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ ZelenskyyUa Everyone who chooses the path of evil destroys himself. Who sends columns of troops to destroy the lives of another country and cannot stop them from fleeing and betraying when life resists. …
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1672543858863767552?s=20
… Who terrorizes with missiles, and when they are shot down, humiliates himself to receive Shahed drones. Who despises people and throws hundreds of thousands into the war, in order to eventually barricade himself in the Moscow region from those whom he himself armed. For a long time, Russia used propaganda to mask its weakness and the stupidity of its government. And now there is so much chaos that no lie can hide it. And all this is one person, who again and again scares by the year 1917, although he is able to result in nothing else but this.
Russia’s weakness is obvious. Full-scale weakness. And the longer Russia keeps its troops and mercenaries on our land, the more chaos, pain, and problems it will have for itself later. It is also obvious. Ukraine is able to protect Europe from the spread of Russian evil and chaos.
We keep our resilience, unity and strength.
All our commanders, all our soldiers know what to do.
Glory to Ukraine!
🐣 RT @Den_2042 Prigozhin: “As with regard to the high treason, the President has made a big mistake. We are the patriots[…] We don’t want the country to continue to live in corruption, in lies and in bureaucracy.”
🐣 RT @DefenceHQ [UK] Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 24 June 2023.
Find out more about Defence Intelligence’s use of language: https://ow.ly/s3ez50OWlAF 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1672505632325238784?s=20/photo/1
● In the early hours of 24 June 2023, the feud between Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner Group and the Russian MoD escalated into outright military confrontation.
● In an operation characterised by Prigozhin as a ‘march for freedom”, Wagner Group forces crossed from occupied Ukraine into Russia in at least two locations. In Rostov-on-Don, Wagner has almost certainly occupied key security sites, including the HQ which runs Russia’s military operations in Ukraine
● Further Wagner units are moving north through Vorenezh Oblast, almost certainly aiming to get to Moscow. With very limited evidence of fighting between Wagner and Russian security forces, some have likely remained passive, acquiescing to Wagner.
● Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia’s security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how the crisis plays out. This represents the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times.
🧵 RT @ MarkGaleotti All still pretty unclear as to Prigozhin’s rebellion, but am struck by the uncompromising language in Putin’s emergency address in which he denounces this as treason and a betrayal of the Fatherland 1/
📌 https://twitter.com/MarkGaleotti/status/1672517490495180800?s=20
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1672517490495180800.html
All still pretty unclear as to Prigozhin’s rebellion, but am struck by the uncompromising language in Putin’s emergency address in which he denounces this as treason and a betrayal of the Fatherland 1/
If Prigozhin thought there was a deal to be struck, this implies not. But I suspect VVP has (belatedly) come down hard because he must realise just how far his own legitimacy and credibility is on the line. 2/
Putin created Prigozhin, as a useful and biddable instrument (never one of his friends), and Putin allowed the Prigozhin/Shoigu rivalry to continue way past the point at which is was becoming dangerous and dysfunctional. 3/
His whole system is based on them, divide and rule on steroids, but it means that arbitrating these rows is one of his key and unique roles. No one else can do it – and so the buck stops with him when they spin out of control. 4/
🐣 RT @front_ukrainian ❗️”Either we take advantage of this historic chance, or we will lose everything,” Belarusian volunteer Sakhashchyk, founder of the 1st separate amphibious assault company in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, addressed the Belarusian military in connection with the events in the RF
🐣 RT @front_ukrainian “We will destroy everything around us, we are all ready to die – all 25 thousand, and then another 25 thousand, because the Russian people must be freed,” – Prigozhin.
🐣 RT @wartranslated “The war will end inside Russia, the process has begun” – Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
🐣 RT @yasminalombaert Russia’s chief state propagandist Vladimir Solovyov comments on the Wagner Putsch.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/yasminalombaert/status/1672516463830204418?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @wartranslated❗️Kadyrov emerges, supports Putin, calls this a military coup, requests Wagners to lay down weapons.
🐣 RT @MalcolmNance WARNING: MUTINY IN RUSSIA MAY LEAD TO A COUP. What started as a small, localized mutiny by Yevgeny Pregozhin & PMC Wagner mercenaries against Russian Federation army commanders has escalated into a pre planned full blown coup. Whether Putin is the target or just Shoigu, Wagner is now marching on Moscow.
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Russian Telegram channels report that Wagner PMCs have entered Voronezh and are on the outskirts of Krasnodar and Volgograd. No one is resisting the militants.
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Today, Ukraine has become a few steps closer to complete Victory over Russia and complete return of its territories, including Crimea.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1672520308790525953?s=20/photo/1
A vile, but useful in this case monster – Prigozhin, raised an armed rebellion against Shoigu and Gerasimov, captured the headquarters of the Southern Military District of the Russian Federation, and now his advanced groups are heading towards Voronezh, and then towards Moscow.
In fact, this is a rebellion, not against war criminals Shoigu and Gerasimov, but against Putin himself, whose place Prigozhin has long wanted to take and create his own regime in Russia.
What are the true motives of Prigozhin that prompted him to launch an armed rebellion? I think that he, as a person who has known Putin personally for more than 30 years, treats him with contempt and sees that Putin, having unleashed a bloody massacre against Ukraine, for the sake of his illusory greatness, no longer controls the situation.
In addition, Prigozhin, who has already participated in military coups in Africa for 10 years, decided that if it was possible to seize power in Sudan or the Central African Republic, then it is possible to do it in Russia as well, which Putin has lowered during his 23 years of rule to the level of puppet tropical dictatorships .
An interesting question – what exactly was the reason for the mutiny? Yesterday at 7:30 p.m., Prigozhin published a video showing footage of a rocket attack on the rear camp of the “Wagner” military unit, as a result of which his fighters were allegedly killed.
I am convinced that this provocation was organized by Prigozhin himself, because there was no sense for Shoigu and Gerasimov to attack one of the dozens of military camps of the “Wagner” military group.
If they really wanted to solve their problem with the bloody clown, they would have to eliminate him himself, not attack some tent in the forest and give Prigozhin an excuse to start a riot.
Prigozhin had been preparing for this mutiny for a long time. It is for this reason that he has been raising his profile for the past six months by accusing Shoigu and Gerasimov of sabotage, and gaining the trust of the Russian military, who are not satisfied with the way the criminal war against Ukraine is being waged. It was for this reason that he opened Wagner centers in all subjects of the Russian Federation and recently toured half of Russia.
Prigozhin has crossed his Rubicon, and will not turn from his path until he is physically destroyed or he achieves his goals.
In my opinion, what are the further possible options for the development of the situation?
The first: Putin’s power today and tomorrow will crumble like a house of cards. Prigozhin’s troops will enter Moscow, seize the Kremlin, the Ministry of Defense and all power, and Prigozhin will appoint himself the military dictator of Russia, on the basis that Putin cannot perform his duties due to a sharp deterioration in his health.
The second: Putin will give an order to physically destroy Prigozhin, which has already been effectively declared an outlaw, with a blow from “Kinzhal” or “Iskander”, as well as to destroy from the air the PMC convoys that are now heading from Russian South towards Moscow. I say from the air, since it is unlikely that any ground unit of the Russian army would dare to engage in open combat with the experienced and strictly disciplined mercenaries of the Wagner Army.
The third option: Putin will abandon the plan to physically destroy Prigozhin and try to come to an agreement with him, fulfilling his demands to remove Shoigu, Gerasimov and other ineffective war criminals, replacing them with Prigozhin’s proteges, in order to increase military pressure on Ukraine and our allies.
This will still mean the actual transfer of power to the hands of Prigozhin and the departure of Putin from power, and in the future the possibility of being shot together with Kabayeva for treason, as the Ceausescu couple was shot in 1989, on the second day after the beginning of the uprising.
You can choose which of the three options is the most beneficial for Ukraine, or write your vision in the comments.
In my opinion, all three options that I mentioned above only strengthen Ukraine’s position and bring our Victory closer.
If Prigozhin seizes power in the Kremlin, it will with a 99% probability lead to the collapse of Russia, which I have predicted since 24 February, 2022.
Kadyrov and the leaders of other national subjects of the federation in the Caucasus, Povolzhie (Volga region), and Siberia, know that Prigozhin considers all of them second-class people and will easily give an order to shoot and destroy any of them. Therefore, they will negotiate with the local commanders of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, the Russian Guards, the FSB, and declare their independence from Prigozhin.
An armed war of clans will begin for power, for resources, there will be such chaos and disorder, compared to which the year 1917 will seem like a fairy tale.
If, after all, Putin gives the order and Prigozhin is eliminated, then the Russian army, which was still somehow holding on due to the belief in some improvements, will completely lose the remnants of faith in the possibility of winning in the confrontation with us and our NATO allies.
Next will be our successful offensive, the total overthrow of the remnants of the Russian front, and the Russians and together with their henchmen will run and stop only after crossing our borders. ¤ Onwards to Victory!
🐣 RT @wartranslated ❗️AP Wagner: “The trigger of the Civil War was pulled by Pypa [Putin]. Instead of sending one or two degenerates into retirement, he gave the order to neutralize the most combat-ready unit in Russia. The life of one or two traitors was placed above 25,000 heroes. Who is evil in this conflict is already obvious. The victory will be for PMC “Wagner”. ¤ AP Wagner is one of numerous channels associated with senior figures in Wagner.
🐣 RT @wartranslated ❗️Full morning of 24 June address by Putin to the nation in regards to the military coup:
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1672508593969549312?s=20
“I appeal to the citizens of Russia, to the personnel of the Armed Forces, law enforcement and security services, fighters and commanders currently fighting on their positions, repelling the enemy attacks, doing it heroically.
I spoke to the commanders in all directions last night. I appeal also to those who were deceptively pulled into the criminal adventure, pushed towards a serious crime of an armed mutiny.
Russia today is leading the most difficult war for its future, repelling the aggression of neo-nazis and their handlers. Against us, the whole military, economical and information machines of the West are turned.
We fight for the lives and security of our people. For our sovereignty and independence. The right to remain Russia, a state with 1000 years of history.
It’s a battle where the fate of our people is decided requires uniting of all our forces, unity, consolidation and responsibility. Everything else [t]hat weakens us must be shoved to the side.
Our external enemies are using any arguments to undermine us from within. Thus, actions splitting our unity is a betrayal of our people, our combat brothers who fight now at the frontline. It’s a strike in the back of our country and our people.
Exactly this strike was dealt in 1917 when the country was in WW1, but its victory was stolen. Intrigues, and arguments behind the army’s back turned out to be the greatest catastrophe, destruction of the army and the state, loss of huge territories, resulting in a tragedy and a civil war.
Russians were killing Russians, brothers killing brothers. But the beneficiaries were various political chevaliers of fortune and foreign powers who divided the country, and tore it into parts. We will not let this happen.
We will protect our people and state from any threats, including internal betrayal. What we’re facing is exactly internal betrayal. Extraordinary ambitions and personal interests led to treason. Treason of their own country and people and of the case that fighters of Wagner were dying for alongside our soldiers.
Heroes who liberated Soledar and Artemivsk, towns and cities of the Donbas. They fought and were giving lives to Novorossiya and the unity of the Russian world. Their name and glory were also betrayed by those who are trying to organise the mutiny, pushing the country into anarchy and brother-killing, to a defeat, in the end, and capitulation.
Repeat: any internal mutiny is a deadly threat to our state, to us as a nation. It’s a strike against our nation, our people. And our actions to defend the fatherland from such a threat will be brutal.
Anyone who consciously went on the path of betrayal, who prepared the armed mutiny, went on the path of blackmail and terrorist actions, will take an inevitable punishment.
They will answer to the law and our people. The Armed Forces and other departments were properly instructed. Extra anti-terrorist measures are now being implemented in Moscow, Moscow region, and a number of other regions.
Decisive actions will be taken to stabilise the situation in Rostov-on-Don. It remains difficult. The operation of civilian and military control departments is practically blocked.
As a President of Russia and the Supreme Commander, as a citizen of Russia, I will do everything to defend the country, protect the Constitution, lives and safety, liberty of the citizens.
Those who prepared the military mutiny, who raise weapons against combat brothers, have betrayed Russia, and will pay for this. And those who are being pulled into the crime, I’m asking to not make this crucial, tragic, unrepeatable mistake. Do the one right choice – stop participating in criminal actions.
I believe that we will defend and preserve what’s sacred for us. And together with the motherland, we will overcome all challenges, and become even stronger.
🐣 RT @McFaul OK, so both sides are now all in.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Wagner PMC Telegram channel:
“Putin made the wrong choice. All the worse for him. Soon we will have a new president”
🐣 RT @Tendar Russian insurgent forces are spreading in all directions. Volgograd, Krasnodar, Moscow, you name it. No serious resistance is reported. #Russia #Coup
🐣 RT @Tendar Putin just made his last big mistake. It is monumental self-own.
For the Russian troops in Ukraine this must be the most-confusing moment in their lives.
Expect major developments in Ukraine but also outside!
This is a once-in-lifetime moment!
🐣 RT @KyivPost ⚡️#Putin promised to fight back: “They’re pushing us to a defeat and capitulation, a strike against Russia, our people. Our actions will be brutal… As a citizen of #Russia, I will do everything to defend the country.”
🐣 RT @Tendar Putin has given formal orders to “neutralize” the rebellion and de facto kill Prigozhin. ¤ That’s it. All hell is lose.
🐣 RT @McFaul That analogy casts Putin as Nicholas II and Prigozhin as Lenin –an odd image to be invoking.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ McFaul Strange to me that Putin invoked 1917 in his speech today. Not a good analogy for him to be resurrecting.
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Putin called the situation a criminal adventure, betrayal, treason, rebellion, apostasy and a stab in the back – from his address regarding Prigozhin.
🐣 RT @s_hnizdovskyi Putin recorded an address, calling Prigozhin a traitor. Putin said he had given instructions to MoD and other agencies to deal harshly with the coup organizers. Prigozhin will “answer not only in front of the law but in front of the people”, Putin said. More of his quotes:
“❗️Any turmoil is a deadly threat, our actions will be tough.” ⚡️Russian armed forces received the necessary order to neutralize those who organized an armed insurgency, Putin said.
🐣 📊 RT @s_hnizdovskyi Russians place more trust in protecting Russia’s border regions from the attacks on Wagner PMC (43%) than in the Security Forces (FSB) (37%). This may indicate that the state’s monopoly on military power has been undermined (especially regarding the current events)
◕ https://twitter.com/s_hnizdovskyi/status/1672505425915269121?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ PhillipsPOBrien So let me get this straight. Wagner controls Rostov and the Ukrainians have damaged/destroyed the transport links from Crimea to Russian forces in Ukraine. Basically, the Russian army supply situation is, in a word, screwed.
🐣 RT @PhillipsPOBrien So, looks like Prigozhin is doing this on his own, wow. Question. How many Russian army troops are actually in Russia and can be used to stop him?
⋙ 🐣 RT @ NOELreports President Putin is now adressing the Russian nation.
“We are fighting for the right to remain Russia, a state with a thousand-year history. Actions that are being carried out now are apostasy from the nations. This is a stab in the back of our country and our people.”
🐣 RT @ IAPonomarenko So, no deal with the Wagner, as far as I understand.
It’s a 100% war now. ¤ It remains to be seen how strong is the loyalty of Russia’s regular military (a large part of which are mobilized cannon fodder slaves) toward the ridiculed dictator who is growing childish day by day.
🐣 RT @ nexta_tv ⚡️#Putin: “The Russian Armed Forces received the necessary order to neutralize those who organized the rebellion. ¤ All those who consciously embarked on the path of betrayal will suffer inevitable punishment.”
🐣 RT @McFaul The idea that Putin will let Prigozhin overthrow his buddy Shoigu & then do a deal with him strikes me as rather far-fetched. If I were Putin, Id be very scared of Prigozhin. But these are strange, volatile times.
🐣 RT @ @AndriyYermak Разом із Залужним, Шапталою, Неїжпапою, Олещуком та Хоренком. ¤ Команда Президента Зеленського. У росіян буде палати🔥
[Translated from Ukrainian by Google]
Together with Zaluzhny, Shaptala, Neizhpapa, Oleschuk and Khorenk.
President Zelenskyi’s team. The Russians will have chambers 🔥
🖼 https://twitter.com/AndriyYermak/status/1672488121999454209?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @NOELreports Solovyov seems sad in his first response to what is happening in Russia.
“Every kingdom, if it is torn apart by strife, will be desolate, and every city or house where there is strife will not stand.”
💽 https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1672495008568541184?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ Gerashchenko_en Putin’s address expected soon – Peskov ¤ It was supposed to have started almost 45 minutes ago.
🐣 RT @gorsushko 🚨Wagner PMC reports they have taken control of military objects around Voronezh and the Russian army there has chosen to side with ‘the people.’ They mean Wagner PMC.
🌎 https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1672493722217467904?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @AlexBondODUA “pootin postponed his morning speech, previously announced by Peskov”- rus media. ¤ People say that there are some serious troubles with the logistic of 💼🧻 for Mr. president.
🐣 RT @OstapYarysh Wagner group claims to control military objects in Rostov and Voronezh.
Counter-terrorist regime introduced in Moscow and Moscow Region.
Putin is expected to deliver a special address.
And it’s only 9:30 am in Moscow.
🐣 RT @EuromaidanPR All mass events in Moscow have been cancelled, Moscow Mayor Sobyanin said.#Prigozhin #RussiaIsCollapsing
🐣 RT @ McFaul Wow. Russia now has two armies in control of two different parts of the country. That’s the definition of a civil war or (according to Tilly/Trotsky) a “revolutionary situation.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @igorsushko 🚨 Prigozhin issued his first public address from the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don, a city with a population of 1.1 million, which Wagner PMC now fully control.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1672482027701166081?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 23 Jun 2023
WaPo: New video undercuts claim Twitter censored pro-Trump views before Jan. 6 https://tinyurl.com/4hccbtdk
// In the internal video call from Jan. 5, 2021, workers were told not to take tougher action against a growing wave of tweets they feared were veiled incitements to violence.
🐣 RT @ wartranslated Prigozhin says the army supports him, and accuses Shoygu of hiding 2000 dead Russian corpses in Rostov morgue to hide losses:
“The majority of the military are warmly supporting us. We get messages: “Finally, the jusice in the army will come! Finally, you will ensure we will get the ammo and won’t be thrown as meat!”
Just now, the information came through: in Rostov morgue, the Minister of Defence ordered to hide 2000 bodies, which are held there to avoid showcasing the losses.” ¤ Audio: https://t.me/concordgroup_official/1290
🐣 RT @YVindman It’s hard for me to imagine Russian forces in Ukraine staying and fighting while there is an insurrection at home. If this persists / gathers momentum, I can see a rapid collapse of Russian forces in Ukraine.
WaPo: Wagner mercenary boss faces arrest over ‘incitement to armed rebellion’ https://tinyurl.com/msvj5ar4 “The bizarre and chaotic events Friday were the latest sign of the damage that Putin’s war in Ukraine has inflicted in Russia over the past 16 months”
Russia’s Federal Security Service late Friday announced a criminal case against Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin, accusing him of “incitement to armed rebellion” after he declared an open conflict with Russia’s military leadership and called on Russians to join 25,000 Wagner fighters against Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and other top commanders.
🐣 RT @RealCynicalFox #RussianCoup Several initial thoughts:
1. If this is in fact a coup attempt, which remains to be seen, Putin needs to show himself publicly as soon as possible to rally loyalist Russian forces as soon as possible to prevent further defections. There are repeated reports of Russian troops joining Wagner forces.
2. Again, assuming this is a coup, Putin now finds himself in the same position Tsar Nicholas did in 1917 in at least one sense. His most reliable units – the VDV and Spetsnaz – have been seriously weakened by recent casualties. These are the units who would normally be used to put down such an action against the government. Their capability & reliability is now far more questionable in their current (somewhat) rebuilt state than it was pre-war.
3. The lack of public statements from Putin, Shoigu, and Gerasimov is genuinely concerning and raises questions as to their current status.
4. The choice of Wagner center of gravity at Rostov is curious if this is an outright coup attempt. It certainly impacts the Russian war effort in Ukraine.
5. If this spirals into something prolonged and/or a genuine threat to the current Russian government, the situation for the UAF may change dramatically. This may develop into a genuine opportunity for Kyiv.
🐣 RT @McFaul What is happening in Russia so far is not a conventional coup in that Prigozhin is not trying to overthrow Putin, but just the Russian generals in charge of the armed forces.
🐣 RT @igorsushko 🚨 Special Operations Forces (SSO) commanded by Major General Valery Flustikov have taken over control of the Ministry of Defence headquarters on Frunzenskaya in Moscow. Right now, there’s no way of knowing whose side he is really on: Shoigu or Prigozhin. Probably “wait & see.”
🖼 https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1672352313091178496?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @AVindman Rostov houses the command of the Southern Military District and the Operational Headquarters for the war in Ukraine. It’s also one of Russia most important logistical hubs for the war. Wagner could get it hands on enormous stockpiles.
🐣 RT @Stanovaya Here are a few insights into the situation surrounding Prigozhin:
1️⃣ For a long time, Prigozhin has been out of direct contact with Putin, yet he’s believed he was acting in Putin’s interests “by default”. His significant contributions in the war enhanced his sense of exclusivity and privilege.
2️⃣ The President’s administration maintained the stance that unless explicitly directed, it wasn’t feasible to openly confront Prigozhin, despite a strong inclination to do so. In fact, they had even convinced themselves of his usefulness.
3️⃣ As I’ve previously stated, the atrocities of war can drive people to the brink of sanity. Even the most loyal players, who are dependent on the Kremlin (which doesn’t imply complete manageability), can lose their sense of proportion. This is especially true when there appears to be no response to the continual attempts to escalate the situation.
4️⃣ Now that the state has actively engaged, there’s no turning back. The termination of Prigozhin and Wagner is imminent. The only possibility now is absolute obliteration, with the degree of resistance from the Wagner group being the only variable. Surovikin was dispatched to convince them to surrender. Confrontation seems totally futile.
5️⃣ The impending end of Wagner has satisfied many in power. He had become excessively anti-state, which is intolerable during a war. However, a significant number of those outside of power now lament the loss of a character like Prigozhin, who had begun to appeal due to his daring and audacity. Consequently, political repercussions are expected.
A crucial point to note is that many within the elite will now personally fault Putin for letting the situation escalate to such extremes and for his lack of a timely, adequate response when to many it was evident that Prigozhin was pushing the limits of Kremlin’s tolerance. Therefore, this entire saga is also an undercut to Putin’s standing.
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Prigozhin: two aircraft are above Wagner’s convoy. He’s asking them not to obey criminal orders, threatens revenge if they do. Calls Russian military to turn against Shoigu and Gerasimov who are responsible for more than 100,000 Russian deaths.
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en The addresses of Surovikin and deputy head of Russian intelligence department were filmed in front of a suspiciously similar backgrounds. They look like they’ve been arrested.
🐣 RT @@HerrDr8 #1WayTrainRideRUS #1PageAssessUKRWar This from APR 2022. Discontinued the analytical thread then when it became clear Putin survived the initial debacle. TOTALLY unclear who has THE influence chit on Prig.
◕ https://twitter.com/HerrDr8/status/1672421111034785794?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ maria_drutska Update of russia vs. russia
● Prigozhin claims Wagner has entered Rostov (please note, Rostov is a logistics hub for the russian military), but no proof of this, yet; though more and more videos do seem to be appearing to show this
● President Biden has been briefed on the situation
● Missile strikes in Kyiv, and other cities
● Prigozhin claims to have shot down a russian helicopter; he didn’t provide evidence, but there are videos circulating which have not been authenticated, yet
● Google News blocked in russia
● Governor of Rostov region tells civilians to stay indoors
● Prigozhin’s name seems to be blocked from russian media
● Girkin claims that the military coup is pre-planned, and done prematurely – he’s pissed (remember he hates Prigozhin)
● Supposedly FSB & police have been put on full alert in Rostov
● FSB has setup checkpoints along highways, and also in Moscow where people are being searched
● Kremlin appears to be locked down, with military vehicles patrolling; putin was informed a few hours ago
● military vehicles are seen patrolling in various cities including Rostov & Moscow
● russian tv channels (I believe channel 1) were interrupted with an emergency message about Prigozhin & Wagner
● Earlier, Surovikin released a video (general who oversaw russia’s Kherson goodwill gesture) pleading with Wagner / Prigozhin to return to their barracks
● This all started earlier today when Prigozhin released a video blaming Gerasimov and Shoigu for the shortcomings of the russian invasion, leading to the deaths of 100K russian soldiers. He also dismissed russian narrative about Ukraine bombing civilians in Donbas for 8 years, and several other Kremlin talking points.
● Then, Prigozhin accused Shoigu of bombing Wagner, which the russian MOD denied (the video looks staged, but I’m not an expert in this)
● There were messages on Telegram of russian units firing on other russian units who were fighting near the front; again, I can’t confirm this
● Prigozhin has stated that he wishes to hang Shoigu in the red square, publicly
● Prigozhin to be investigated for mutiny by the FSB; the Wagner building in Moscow was searched earlier today
There are more and more videos coming out, but they haven’t been authenticated, yet. Western media outlets are starting to pick up on this, and russian Telegram is talking non-stop about this. ¤ But, remember, whatever is happening now, for russia, it will get worse. ¤ Good night, and Slava Ukraini!
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en VCHK-OGPU – from their source: “The attempts to act against Prigozhin come solely from FSB and Russian Guards. The Ministry of Defense has withdrawn itself, lower-rank officers either simply refuse to follow orders, or openly support Wagner.
As for Shoigu and co. – they simply hid and entirely lost their touch with reality. Apparently, the scare is serious.”
🐣 RT @Kasparov63 As I said, there is no Russian state, no political chain of command, and total failure in Ukraine has exposed that. Who will obey whose orders now? If Prigozhin is still alive and free in 24 hours, we will have entered a new reality.
🐣 RT @Tendar At this point it is absolutely irrelevant if Prigozhin’s coup will succeed or not. Literally everybody in Russia and outside will know after this night that the war in Ukraine is lost. The morale of the Russian army, which was already low, will hit rock bottom and the mood in Russia altogether will be Armageddon-like.
What started as an attempt to overthrow the Ukrainian government and annex all of Ukraine has eventually backfired on a monumental scale. The last chapter of this Russian-made tragedy has opened and I doubt that it will be a long chapter.
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Russian media:
“The source says there is panic in the Kremlin, no one can reach Putin”
“Source: Right now the Kremlin is negotiating about something with general governor Dyumin”
Source: Some people in the Kremlin, from the presidential administration, are finding out about a possible emergency relocation. One of the few available destinations is Uruguay”.
* Alexei Gennadyevich Dyumin is a Russian politician, serving as Governor of Tula Oblast since 2016. Previously he served as President Vladimir Putin’s chief security guard and assistant before being promoted to lead the Russian military’s Special Operations Forces, where he oversaw the annexation of Crimea in 2014
🐣 RT @ ChuckPfarrer RED ON RED ENGAGEMENT: @PStyle0ne1 reports that an armed convoy of Wagner PMC troops has left Shakhty and is apparently en route to a RU military command center at Rostov-on-Don. It appears the long-simmering feud between Wagner PMC and the Russian MOD may be about to go hot.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1672393600812961793?s=20
🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Whether #Prigozhin coup succeeds, let’s remember Putin only turned on him today, AFTER the Wagner head blew open all the Kremlin’s lies about the war. He admitted #Ukraine did nothing to provoke #Russia. Greedy Russia just wanted to install a puppet so oligarchs could plunder it.
⋙ 🐣 RT @PaulaChertok 🔥 Key #Prigozhin admissions that Russia’s rationales for war are lies:
-denazification
-demilitarization
-genocide in Donbas
-protecting Russian speakers, ethnic Russians
AND P admits plan was to install a puppet & plunder Ukraine for oligarchs.
#RussiaIsTerroristKleptocracy
⋙⋙ 🧵 RT @SamRamani2 Yevgeny Prigozhin has crossed another red line
The Wagner Group chief is now attacking the rationale for Russia’s war with Ukraine
Here are some key points /1
📌 https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1672250346805116928?s=20
🐣 RT @FreudGreyskull The head of the General Staff of the Russian Federation gave the order to launch airstrikes on the columns of Wagner PMC – Prigozhin. ¤ Yevgeny Prigozhin thanked the pilots, who, in his words, “refused to obey the order.”
🐣 RT @Fireblade577 A civil war is brewing in Russia between the established Elite and Prigozhin and these videos are clearly designed to recruit those dissatisfied with the established elite to his side. This could blow up any moment (or not at all) or we could see attempts at eliminating 1/2
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @wartranslated In continuation of his interview, Prigozhin lists two reasons for the start of the SMO: a) personal ambitions of Shoygu and b) the desire of Russia’s ruling clan, who were not satisfied with the Donbas, to appoint Medvedchuk as the president of Ukraine and divide its assets between each other for plundering. According to Prigozhin, denazification and demilitarisation make no sense since Azov wouldn’t be exchanged for Medvedchuk otherwise.
💽 https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1672186669762596865?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @Fireblade577 Prigozhin who is clearly staying close to the front where he can be protected by his Wagner Loyalists 2/2
⭕ 22 Jun 2023
🐣 RT @TimothyDSnyder All of these Ukrainian actions are taking place on Ukrainian sovereign territory. Russia has no more business making threats about this than it does about actions in Iceland, Liberia, or New Zealand.
⋙ TheGuardian: Russia accuses Ukraine of using UK-supplied missiles to strike bridge to Crimea https://tinyurl.com/5as5xxux
// Chonhar Bridge is one of a handful of infrastructures linking Crimea with the mainland
Sergei Shoigu, the Russian defence minister, said on Tuesday that the potential use of US-made Himars and the Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Crimea would mark the west’s “full involvement in the conflict and would entail immediate strikes upon decision-making centres in Ukrainian territory”.
Shadow missiles have a range “in excess of 250km” (155 miles), according to their manufacturer, the European arms group MBDA, significantly further than the high-precision Himars rocket launchers, which have been used heavily by Ukraine.
The shorter-range missiles have become less effective as Russia moves its troop and supply reserves further from the frontlines. The Storm Shadow missiles should allow Ukraine to strike at targets previously out of reach.
WaPo: IRS whistleblower says Justice Dept. slowed, stifled Hunter Biden case https://tinyurl.com/ddpy8xpe
// Tax investigator says prosecutor decisions whittled down the case against the president’s son
🐣 RT @nother_fella I find myself agreeing with Senator Graham, Strelkov and even Prigozhin today; never thought that would happen! ruzzia is desperate but must be deterred from blowing the ZNPP. 🇬🇧 has given 🇺🇦 Storm Shadows; 🇺🇦 should be permitted to use them to sink part of the Black Sea Fleet as a warning.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Terrorist Girkin-Strelkov: Russia has no chance to win, Putin and the higher ranks of Russian leadership are delusional. Russia lost all initiative on the frontlines.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1671200203083329541?s=20/photo/1
🧵 RT @LindseyGrahamSC The Graham-Blumenthal resolution: ¤ 1⃣ Agrees that the deployment of the Russian Federation’s tactical nuclear weapons within the Republic of Belarus is a threat to Ukraine and NATO member states.
📌 https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/1671916293832802304?s=20
⋙ 2⃣ Views the use of any tactical nuclear weapon by the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus, or their proxies, or the destruction of a nuclear facility, dispersing radioactive contaminates into NATO territory causing significant harm to human life….. ……as an attack on NATO requiring an immediate response, including the implementation of Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty.
⋙ 3⃣ Urges the current administration to consult with NATO leaders and other European partners to develop a comprehensive response to minimize the threat to civilians and coordinate a diplomatic and military response commensurate with the situation.
🐣 RT @7Veritas4 His daily plea to his congressional shills to save him.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/7Veritas4/status/1671853418380419072?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump Congress will hopefully now look at the ever continuing Witch Hunts and ELECTION INTERFERENCE against me on perfectly legal Boxes, where I have no doubt that information is being secretly “planted” by the scoundrels in charge, the Perfect Phone Calls (Atlanta), the illegal DOJ/Pomerantz/Manhattan D.A. Hoax, where virtually EVERYONE agrees THERE IS NO CASE, and the NYSAG SCAM, where I have proven beyond a doubt that there is no case, but have a hostile Judge who should not be on this case!
🐣 RT @7Veritas4 “Congress, if you’re listening…” ¤ – Captain Capslock
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/7Veritas4/status/1671854828945920000?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump CONGRESS, PLEASE INVESTIGATE THE POLITICAL WITCH HUNTS AGAINST ME CURRENTLY BEING BROUGHT BY THE CORRUPT DOJ AND FBI, WHO ARE TOTALLY OUT OF CONTROL. THIS CONTINUING SAGA IS RETRIBUTION AGAINST ME FOR WINNING AND, EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY TO THEM, ELECTION INTERFERENCE REGARDING THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. IT WILL BE THERE UPDATED FORM OF RIGGING OUR MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION. LOOK AT THE POLLS – THEY CAN’T BEAT ME (MAGA!) AT THE BALLOT BOX, THE ONLY WAY THEY CAN WIN IS TO CHEAT. STOP THEM NOW!
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer KAMIANSKE AXIS /1750 UTC 22 JUN/ On 21 JUN, UKR repelled a RU counterattack Piatykhatky. Also on 21 JUN, a UKR missile strike targeted a troop & equipment & concentration in Shyroke, destroying a KSHM command vehicle, several trucks and artillery pieces and killing 50 RU troops.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1671936471232544768?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer CUTTING THE CORD: UKR carried out a long range precision strike that severed the M-18 HWY bridge linking Crimea to Melitopol. The destruction of this bridge will negatively affect RU logistics in the southern area of operations.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1671947294684446732?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @kvistp Russia will no longer be able to normally supply its troops in the occupied Zaporizhia region after blowing up the Chongar bridge. ¤ The last escape route for supplies for the occupiers is marked. This route can be fired with HIMARS MLRS without any problems, so any trip along it will be really hot for all Russians.😁💙💛
🌎 https://twitter.com/kvistp/status/1671923051301158940?s=20/photo/1
WaPo Editorial: Dictators’ dark secret: They’re learning from each other https://tinyurl.com/3vufwj5j “All who believe in democracy must find new ways to advance it. … Democracy’s greatest strength is openness. It should be harnessed to tell the truth loudly and widely”
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa We have just had a report from our intelligence and the Security Service of 🇺🇦. ¤ Intelligence has received information that Russia is considering a scenario of a terrorist attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. A terrorist attack with radiation leakage. They have prepared everything for this.
Unfortunately, I have repeatedly had to remind that radiation has no state borders, and who it will hit is determined only by the wind direction.
We share all available information with our partners – everyone in the world. All the evidence. Europe, America, China, Brazil, India, the Arab world, Africa – all countries, absolutely everyone should know this. International organizations. Everyone.
There should never be any terrorist attacks on nuclear power plants anywhere. This time it should not be like with Kakhovka – the world has been warned, so the world can and must act.
🐣 RT @wartranslated Russian military blogger explains the importance of the Chongar bridge: it was best suited for the Russian military and civilian supply in Kherson region, it carried 70% of the traffic. While it can be repaired, Russia does not have reliable means to prevent cruise missile strikes in the area. https://t.me/zhivoff/9740
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1671790854812450817?s=20/photo/1 -2
[Text:] Strike on the bridge over Chongar: consequences
The first thing to understand is that this is not just a strike on a bridge, it is a strike on a land corridor. The strike was serious, and it is possible that it will happen again. 70% of all military and civilian traffic went through Chongar.
The second thing that has now become obvious is that we are very poorly protected from attacks by Storm Shadow missiles, and previous arrivals in Genichesk were an element of breaking through our air defenses in the north of Crimea.
The logistics of supplying new regions after the attack of the bridge will seriously become more complicated, and the risk of repeated arrivals will scare many away from attempting to cross. Both the military and commercial operators, and all of us who work in the liberated territories, will get into trouble.
2/2 Thirdly, the border crossing of Armyansk goes to Kherson, it is worse equipped, and you will have to make a detour of 100 km along completely unusable roads that have not been put in order. And the Chaplynka border crossing is generally not really suitable for civil traffic, and there are no roads there either.
Over the past week, the enemy has inflicted serious damage on the civilian infrastructure of the Kherson region. It is still not very clear how the political administration of the region can work without a bridge and under the threat ofthe arrival of new missiles.
Fourth: visually, the bridge is quite suitable for movement, it can be repaired fairly quickly, but something must be done about the constant threat of repeated strikes. In general, the situation is difficult. In such cases, the enemy must be dealt a disproportionately strong blow in order to wean him from attacks on his own infrastructure, but premonition tells us that we will refrain.
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA Three roads connect Crimea with the Kherson region: two in the Armyansk region (through Kalanchak and Chaplynka) and one in the Dzhankoy region – through Chongar ¤ It is the road through Chongar that is most convenient for transporting military equipment to the Zaporizhzhia region
⋙ 🐣 RT @ Maks_NAFO_FELLA In Chongar, an automobile bridge connecting the peninsula with the mainland was attacked. ¤ Previously, Storm Shadow missiles were used for the attack. The road surface on the bridge was damaged. Traffic is blocked.
🖼 https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1671749471351324673?s=20/photo/1 -3
🐣 @AdamSchiff
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
– Maya Angelou
🙏💙
⭕ 21 Jun 2023
🐣 RT @wartranslated ❗️Prigozhin accuses the Russian MoD of hiding facts about the Ukrainian offensive and Russian losses. ¤ In a 4-minute audio message, Prigozhin declares there are areas where no military reporters are allowed to hide the truth about casualties Russia is taking during the counter-offensive. According to Prigozhin, Ukrainians are aiming to reach Molochny Lyman (likely to cut the Russian Zaporizhzhia group into two). If things progress the same way, Russians will one day wake up with Crimea being Ukrainian, says Prigozhin. ¤ He once again attacks Shoygu for inactivity and brings up the dead sailors of the Moskva cruiser lost by Russia last spring.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1671528539655491585?s=20/photo/1
WaPo Editorial: House Republicans censuring Adam Schiff says more about them than him https://tinyurl.com/3cnj7cpd The measure passed only after Trump threatened to support primary opponents against any GOP Representatives who did not vote for the censure
[…] Contrary to what many Trump supporters claim, the investigation by Robert S. Mueller III never exonerated Mr. Trump. Indeed, the special counsel’s report laid out significant evidence of obstruction of justice. It’s indisputable that Russia interfered in the 2016 election on Mr. Trump’s behalf.
After 20 Republicans voted last week with Democrats to table the censure resolution, Mr. Trump wrote on social media that he’d support primary challengers against them. (Mr. Schiff had spearheaded Mr. Trump’s first impeachment and played a leading role on the select committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.) When the resolution came up again Wednesday, this time without a threat to fine Mr. Schiff $16 million, most of those Republicans capitulated. …
In so doing, they weakened the power of congressional censure as an official rebuke reserved for egregious conduct — and, in the process, made themselves appear to be the wrongdoers.
🐣 RT @RepAdamSchiff To my Republican colleagues who introduced this sham resolution: You honor me with your enmity.
You flatter me with this falsehood.
Your words tell me that I have been effective in the defense of our democracy, and I am grateful.
💽 https://twitter.com/RepAdamSchiff/status/1671595167827079171?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ProjectLincoln .@tedlieu refuses to mince words and play the GOP’s games – it’s clear that the Durham report is a sham drummed up by Republicans desperate for anything that might discredit the Biden administration.
💽 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1671699526883876864?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @BryanDawsonUSA If you want to know why pathetic, traitorous Kevin McCarthy and his traitorous Republican horde voted to censure Adam Schiff, watch him own John Durham and get him to admit, and agree with the Mueller report, that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians:
💽 https://twitter.com/BryanDawsonUSA/status/1671741420682506240?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @RpsAgainstTrump Special Counsel John Durham: “Our report should not be read to suggest in any way that Russian election interference was not a significant threat. It was.”
💽 [8:22m] https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1671701257600245761?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @OccupyDemocrats BREAKING: Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff humiliates John Durham, the author of Trump’s phony “Durham report,” during a hearing today by the House Judiciary Committee.
¤ https://twitter.com/OccupyDemocrats/status/1671605195447447554?s=20
It all started when Durham tried to claim that the Justice Department’s investigation into Trump and Russia was a hoax. ¤ That’s when Congressman Schiff expertly cut Durham off, declaring, “Mr. Durham, just so people remember what this is all about, let me ask you. The Mueller investigation revealed that Russia interfered in the 2016 election in a sweeping and systemic fashion, correct?
This is when the fun began, because Durham had no choice it to respond, “Yes, that is correct.” ¤ But Schiff didn’t stop there, continuing to hammer Durham:
SCHIFF: And Russia did so through a social media campaign that favored Trump and disparaged Hillary Clinton, correct?
DURHAM: The report says yes.
SCHIFF: Mueller found that a Russian intel service hacked computers associated with the Clinton campaign and then released the stolen documents publicly. Is that right?
DURHAM: That report speaks for itself as well.
SCHIFF: Mueller also reported that though he could not establish the crime of conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt, he also said, quote, “a statement that the investigation did not establish certain facts does not mean there was no evidence of those facts,” and also appears in the report, doesn’t it?
DURHAM: Yes.
SCHIFF: In fact, you cited that very statement in your own report, did you not, as a way of distinguishing between proof beyond a reasonable doubt and evidence that falls short of proof beyond a reasonable doubt?
DURHAM: Correct.
SCHIFF: Both Mueller and congressional investigations found that Trump’s campaign chairman Paul Manafort was secretly meeting with an operative linked to Russian intelligence named Konstantin Kilimnik, correct?
DURHAM: Yes.
SCHIFF: And that Manafort gave that Russian intel operative the campaign’s internal polling data. Correct?
DURHAM: Yes.
SCHIFF: Is it true, Mr. Durham, that Mueller and congressional investigations also revealed that Don Jr. was informed that a Russian official was offering the Trump campaign, quote, “very high level and sensitive information,” unquote, “that would be incriminating of Hillary Clinton was part of,” quote, “Russia and its government support of Trump.” Are you aware of that?
DURHAM: Sure, people get phone calls all the time from individuals who claim to have information like that.
SCHIFF: Really? The son of a presidential candidate gets calls all the time from a foreign government offering dirt on their important opponent. Is that what you’re saying?
DURHAM: I don’t think that’s so unique.
SCHIFF: Are you really trying to diminish the significance of what happened here and the secret meeting that the president’s son set up in Trump Tower to receive that incriminating information?
DURHAM: I don’t think that that was a well-advised thing to do.
SCHIFF: Oh, not well advised. All right. Well, that’s the understatement of the year. So you think it’s perfectly appropriate or maybe just ill-advised for a presidential campaign to secretly meet with a Russian delegation to get dirt on their opponent? You would merely say that’s inadvisable?
DURHAM: I wouldn’t do it, but it wasn’t illegal, was it? It was stupid, foolish, ill advised.
SCHIFF: Well, it’s illegal to conspire to get incriminating opposition research from a hostile government. Wouldn’t that violate campaign laws?
At this point, all that Durham could respond with a was a shameless “I don’t know.”
Please retweet and ❤️ to thank Schiff for setting Durham straight — and consider investing in Tribel, a “woke” new Twitter competitor that’s currently doing a round of equity crowdfunding and just blew past $1.8 million raised from 4,400 of its users. If you want to own a piece of the “next big thing” in social media, here is the link to do so, http://wefunder.com/Tribel. You can invest as little as $100 — or as much as you’d like.
🐣 RT @AWeissmann_ This is a stain on this institution, led by Trump but carried out by enablers who are complicit. The death of statesmen and women.
⋙ 🧵 RT @lukebroadwater House Democrats have gathered in the well of the House chanting “shame! shame! shame!” after the chamber votes along party lines, 213-209, to censure Rep. Adam Schiff
📌 https://twitter.com/lukebroadwater/status/1671651279762751489?s=20
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @lukebroadwater The Democrats are surrounding Schiff and cheering for him as he approaches the well for the censure
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @lukebroadwater Some are now chanting “Santos! Santos!” ¤ Swalwell shouts out “pathetic!”
⋙⋙⋙ NYT: House Censures Adam Schiff Over His Role Investigating Trump https://tinyurl.com/3uexs7h6
// The move by the G.O.P.-led House was the first in what could be a series of votes seeking to punish those whom Republicans have deemed enemies of the party.
🐣 RT @AntiToxicPeople I guess he’s not happy with what an embarrassing shitshow Durham’s testimony was, on top of his ever increasing unhinged lunacy continuing at a rapid pace.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1671640920595525632?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonald Trump Just think of it??? All these failed criminal acts against me, and then I get indicted on phony “Trumped Up” charges where they refuse to use the Presidential Records Act, and the Clinton Socks Case, under which I am totally innocent and a charge could not even be brought. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!! These thugs and criminals must be punished!
💙🧵 RT @rgoodlaw This is the exchange I’ve been waiting for. @RepAdamSchiff demonstrates Durham’s disregard of clear evidence of Trump Campaign-Russian collusion. ¤ Durham admits he lacks knowledge of undeniable parts of record, indicates why his report ignores episodes.
📌 💽 https://twitter.com/rgoodlaw/status/1671562659525689347?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en The war in Ukraine is the largest drone war in the history of humankind. We are actually in a transitional stage – our war combines elements of all the wars of the 20th century.
From WWI when soldiers stayed in trenches, aiming rifles at each other and seizing positions with bayonet attacks ¤ To ¤ “Swarms of drones”, AI and neuronetworks actually being used to gain advantage on the battlefield. ¤ Ukraine has combined all the elements of past wars. The one who remains on old positions and will fight with old methods will lose.
But our enemy must not be underestimated. Russians also understand the importance of drones very well and produce good ones, like Lancet and Orlan. They increase production by circumventing sanctions. So it is very important to disrupt Russian supply chains, simplify and develop the drone market, support drone producers in Ukraine as well as those who produce anti-drone means.
🐣 RT @EuromaidanPress Russia will not launch a nuclear strike on Ukraine, Ukraine’s Intel chief, Kyrylo Budanov, says
For all my dislike of Russia, this country is not run by idiots only, Budanov said.
🖼 http://president.gov.ua
⭕ 20 Jun 2023
(✅)NYT: Hunter Biden’s Tangled Tale Comes Front and Center https://tinyurl.com/3texzeey
// 1/11/2023, Updated 6/20/2023; Federal prosecutors could decide soon whether to indict the president’s son on tax and gun charges, and he faces a fresh round of hostile congressional hearings. But a close look at his story shows that it differs in important ways from the narrative promoted by Republicans.
[Oversight Committee Doc:] A President Compromised: The Biden Family Investigation https://tinyurl.com/bdz2zjt4 Interim Report
// 11/17/2022
⋙ See under Entire Articles: Hunter Tangled 6-20-2023
🐣 RT @NatalkaKyiv Seems like Budanov is addressing the whole world in this video. Note how he repeats the words ‘the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant’ over and over.#Budanov #Zaporizhzhia #Russia #Ukraine #RussiaUkraineWar
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1671382408594173953?s=20/photo/1
WaPo, Philip Bump: Trump is offering talking points, not defenses https://tinyurl.com/y5fx9dnx In the infamous photo of items laid out on the floor were Secret items he had already sorted out and kept together in a leather-bound box in his office, where he often entertained guests
The “2A” identifier corresponds to the government’s documentation of the evidence it collected at Mar-a-Lago during the search. In the manifest of what was seized, Item 2A is listed as “[v]arious classified/TS/SCI documents.” It is apparently a subset of Item 2, identified as a “[l]eather-bound box of documents.” That box and its contents were removed not from the storage room near the Mar-a-Lago pool but from Trump’s office, where he was in the habit of entertaining visitors.
It isn’t identified as “a box with some shirts and a few documents.” It’s just a box — a leather-bound one — sitting in Trump’s office, with documents. In that, it seems, were the documents that appear in that famous photo. Of the 15 documents originally identified by the FBI as bearing “top secret” classification, six were found in the Item 2A batch. Four were “TS/SCI,” which means they were classified as “top secret” and included “sensitive compartmented information,” a more restricted level of control.
WaPo, Philip Bump: The tedious demand that everything be subjected to made-for-TV ‘debate’ https://tinyurl.com/ayp9jz2u “We have turned ‘debate’ into a cudgel meant not to inform but to entertain, to validate our skepticism and to feed our dislike of our opponents”
Science does not arise from debate. “The scientific process for vetting and evaluating claims about science and medicine … involves other experts reviewing and considering the subject. It involves testing methodologies and writing lengthy papers articulating competing claims and arguments.” ~ Philip Bump, WaPo
Take, for instance, the research that proved the ineffectiveness of hydroxychloroquine in treating COVID-19. First comparative studies were done that showed statistically that it didn’t have any effect. Then a group of German scientists discovered why: Most cell studies had been done using a default cell culture of renal (Vero) cells, and hydroxychloroquine was effective on them. But lung cells have a “back door” that allowed thhe virus in. COVID-19 can infect lung cells.
To reach scientific conclusions, you have to “commit science,” you have to do the work. Others have to be able to replicate it. If human subjects are involved, there are ethical rules and processes. Medicine is a profession and a discipline. You can “debate” until the cows come home, but until you do the work of science, nothing can be resolved. ¤ https://tinyurl.com/4xmzjxmr
NYT: Judge in Trump Documents Case Sets Tentative Trial Date as Soon as August 14 https://tinyurl.com/4ru7e236 //➔ Mark the date: Use pencil
// The judge, Aileen M. Cannon, set an aggressive schedule for moving the case forward, though the proceedings are likely to be delayed by pretrial clashes.
WaPo, Editorial: Why Hunter Biden’s plea deal is justified https://tinyurl.com/5f4hm6u5 “The outcome appears similar to what other defendants might have gotten for similar violations of the law”
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT /2120 UTC 20 JUN/ UKR broke up RU attacks on Dubovo-Vasylivka & Hyrhorivka. Russian losses for the period include 1,010 KIA, 8 Main Battle Tanks, 15 Armored Fighting Vehicles and more than 27 artillery and Multiple Rocket launch systems.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1671263713469538304?s=20/photo/1
WaPo, Michael McFaul: The U.S. needs to launch a diplomatic surge on Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/mv6ysrbj //➔ China, Turkey, a group of African nations, selected EU countries and the Pope have all offered to help broker peace talks and rebuilding: Where is the US?
WaPo: Hunter Biden reaches deal to plead guilty in tax, gun case https://tinyurl.com/4pz487ju “[T]he lead prosecutor in the case, said the investigation ‘is ongoing,’ suggesting that matters beyond the tax and gun issues are still under scrutiny”
// The president’s son would get about two years probation and enter a diversion program, people familiar with the negotiations said
🐣 RT @ JohnWDean Hunter Biden accepted responsibility for his malfeasance. Something Republicans never do! Hunter did not get a deal, notwithstanding GOP efforts to make it into a capital crime. Trump NEVER takes responsibility and the GOP NEVER holds him responsible. GOP is embarrassing itself.
🐣 RT @renato_mariotti It insults the intelligence of the American people to compare misdemeanor tax charges to a scheme to steal Top Secret documents and obstruct justice when the government asked for them back. ¤ If anything, Hunter Biden was treated harshly — those crimes are rarely charged.
🐣 RT @ lindyli If you don’t care about Jared Kushner grifting $2 billion from MBS & another $500 million from the UAE
Or about Ivanka grifting $100 million from MBS
Or about Trump profiting off LIV
Or about Mnuchin grifting $2 billion from MBS
No one cares what you say about Hunter Biden
🐣 RT @RepDanGoldman My statement on the resolution of Hunter Biden’s criminal case.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/RepDanGoldman/status/1671200170485198856?s=20 /photo/1
[Text:] “This was a thorough, professional, and exhaustive investigation into Hunter Biden’s finances which started under the Trump Administration and was investigated by a Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney, David Weiss, for five years.
I have every confidence that the charges levied against Hunter Biden reflect Mr. Weiss’s fidelity to the rule of law – and his oath to proceed without fear or favor – and hold Hunter Biden accountable for every charge Mr. Weiss could prove. ¤ “Ultimately, Hunter Biden is accepting responsibility for crimes and conduct that is virtually never charged by the DOJ.
‘It is also clear that the U.S. Attorney’s exhaustive examination of Hunter Biden’s finances found no wrongdoing connected to President Biden, further debunking the rumors, hearsay, and innuendo coming from House Republicans.
“As with Donald Trump’s indictments, this case should be litigated in the court of law, not the court of public opinion, and most definitely not the halls of Congress.
🐣 RT @SykesCharlie He’s taking this rather well, I think.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/SykesCharlie/status/1671230641831129088?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonald Trump The Hunter/Joe Biden settlement is a massive COVERUP & FULL SCALE ELECTION INTERFERENCE “SCAM” THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN IN OUR COUNTRY BEFORE. A “TRAFFIC TICKET,” & JOE IS ALL CLEANED UP & READY TO GO INTO THE 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION – AND THIS AS CROOKED DOJ, STATE, & CITY PROSECUTORS, MARXISTS & COMMUNISTS ALL, HIT ME FROM ALL SIDES & ANGELS WITH BULL…! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
🧵 RT @PeterHotez 1/n Awful to read Mr. Ackman’s account of my activities. I have no pharma conflicts, I co-developed low-cost patent-free Covid vaccines for global health reaching 100 million doses. I never took a cent for any cable news/podcast/radio appearances., spoke tirelessly to low-income
📌 https://twitter.com/PeterHotez/status/1671183258384474112?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @PeterHotez 2/n ..communities to help them survive during the pandemic. I spoke endlessly to teacher groups, school boards and parents so we could keep schools open at difficult times. And you have the audacity to present phony conspiracy websites that monetize the internet as your evidence?
⋙ 🐣 RT @PeterHotez 3/n: 200,000 Americans needlessly perished because they fell victim to antivaccine activism during the pandemic, mostly during the delta and BA.1 waves when Covid vaccines were 90% protective, because they listened to the conspiracists and politically motivated talking heads.
⋙ 🐣 RT @PeterHotez 4/n I saved lives during the pandemic. And now you’ve shown us your contribution.
PravdaUA: Russian Defence Minister began to threaten strikes on “decision-making centres” in Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/4cyfm7a8
At a military collegium, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu began to threaten strikes on “decision-making centres” in Ukraine, in the event that the Armed Forces strike occupied Crimea.
Source: The press release of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
Shoigu’s direct quote: “According to our data, the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine plans to strike the territory of the Russian Federation, including Crimea, with HIMARS and Storm Shadow missiles.”
Details: Shoigu is convinced that the occupied Ukrainian peninsula is outside the war zone, so the Russian military leadership will consider possible strikes on Crimea as drawing the US and the UK into the war and will strike back at the “decision-making centres” in Ukraine.
Shoigu also complained that since 4 June, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had carried out 263 attacks on the positions of the Russian occupiers. …
🐣 RT @ AWeissmann_ Hunter Biden note: 3 factors why this is on the up and up:
1. to go forward with the tax deal, the DOJ Tax Division had to sign off on this deal;
2. the USAttorney is a Trump appointee, held over by Garland;
3. 1st time tax offense like this rarely get prosecuted/jail time.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ kyledcheney JUST IN: Hunter BIDEN has pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor tax offenses and entered a diversion agreement on a felony count of being a drug user in possession of a firearm. https://tinyurl.com/bdekahkf
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AWeissmann_/status/1671180294345433091?s=20/photo/1
EuromaidanPress: Prigozhin escalates conflict with Russia’s Ministry of Defense – UK intelligence https://tinyurl.com/3ez86b3s “Wagner financier Yevgeny Prigozhin is defying the Russian Ministry of Defense’s orders for his mercenaries to sign official state contracts”
// Amid Ukraine’s counteroffensive, Wagner financier Yevgeny Prigozhin is defying the Russian Ministry of Defense’s orders for his mercenaries to sign official state contracts and says he awaits the ministry’s reply to a “contract” of his own making, the UK intelligence says in its daily update:
🐣 I don’t think it’s possible to debate facts with Trump
He’s a black hole of delusion that sucks in everything it encounters and turns it into spaghetti (to borrow Stephen Hawking’s metaphor)
He remains extremely and singularly dangerous
🔄 💙 🐣 RT @ BryanDawsonUSA [15 Jun] Watch the Congressional testimony where Comey admits FBI investigators found no emails marked classified on Hillary’s server:
💽 https://twitter.com/BryanDawsonUSA/status/1669359690692845573?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer KREMINNA AXIS /0130 UTC 20 JUN/ Russian social media and Telegram channels report that RU forces are advancing west of Kreminna. These sources claim the VDV’s the 76th Air Mobile Division has launched an attack along the O-130501 Road axis toward Yampolivka.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1670966307750027266?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 19 Jun 2023
🧵 RT @TrentTelenko [6/19] The size and duration (6 hours plus) of the secondaries at the Rykove (Partyzany) ammo depot (below) argue the PSU storm Shadow Strike hit a RuAF theater level ammo storage depot. ¤ This means things.Artillery Logistical 1/
📌 https://twitter.com/TrentTelenko/status/1670971803987058688?s=20
GovExec (2020): Who Really Defeated the Islamic State – Obama or Trump? https://tinyurl.com/wd56kd2e The plan was Obama’s and about 50% of the success was achieved under him: Trump adopted Obama’s plan but gave more leeway to the military, however at the cost of more civilian deaths
// 10/19/2020; President Trump has claimed the Islamic State was completely defeated on his watch – but an analysis of government maps and other reports shows his administration did only half the work
NYT: GOP Targets Researchers Who Study Disinformation Ahead of 2024 Election https://tinyurl.com/387nc4vx “Many Republicans are convinced that researchers who study disinformation have pressed social media platforms to discriminate against conservative voices”
// A legal campaign against universities and think tanks seeks to undermine the fight against false claims about elections, vaccines and other hot political topics.
On Capitol Hill and in the courts, Republican lawmakers and activists are mounting a sweeping legal campaign against universities, think tanks and private companies that study the spread of disinformation, accusing them of colluding with the government to suppress conservative speech online.
The effort has encumbered its targets with expansive requests for information and, in some cases, subpoenas — demanding notes, emails and other information related to social media companies and the government dating back to 2015. Complying has consumed time and resources and already affected the groups’ ability to do research and raise money, according to several people involved.
They and others warned that the campaign undermined the fight against disinformation in American society when the problem is, by most accounts, on the rise — and when another presidential election is around the corner. Many of those behind the Republican effort had also joined former President Donald J. Trump in falsely challenging the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
“I think it’s quite obviously a cynical — and I would say wildly partisan — attempt to chill research,” said Jameel Jaffer, the executive director of Columbia University’s Knight First Amendment Institute, an organization that works to safeguard freedom of speech and the press. …
A conservative advocacy group led by Stephen Miller, the former adviser to Mr. Trump, filed a class-action lawsuit last month in U.S. District Court in Louisiana that echoes many of the committee’s accusations and focuses on some of the same defendants.
Targets include Stanford, Clemson and New York Universities and the University of Washington; the Atlantic Council, the German Marshall Fund and the National Conference on Citizenship, all nonpartisan, nongovernmental organizations in Washington; the Wikimedia Foundation in San Francisco; and Graphika, a company that researches disinformation online.
In a related line of inquiry, the committee has also issued a subpoena to the World Federation of Advertisers, a trade association, and the Global Alliance for Responsible Media it created. The committee’s Republican leaders have accused the groups of violating antitrust laws by conspiring to cut off advertising revenue for content researchers and tech companies found to be harmful.
The committee’s chairman, Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a close ally of Mr. Trump, has accused the organizations of “censorship of disfavored speech” involving issues that have galvanized the Republican Party: the policies around the Covid-19 pandemic and the integrity of the American political system, including the outcome of the 2020 election.
Much of the disinformation surrounding both issues has come from the right. Many Republicans are convinced that researchers who study disinformation have pressed social media platforms to discriminate against conservative voices.
A central premise of the committee’s investigation — and the other complaints about censorship — is that the researchers or government officials had the power or ability to shut down accounts on social media. They did not, according to former employees at Twitter and Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, who said the decision to punish users who violated platform rules belonged solely to the companies.
No evidence has emerged that government officials coerced the companies to take action against accounts, even when the groups flagged problematic content.
“We have not only academic freedom as researchers to conduct this research but freedom of speech to tell Twitter or any other company to look at tweets we might think violate rules,” Mr. Hancock said. …
🐣 RT @ChrisDJackson Fact check: this photo was taken in 2013 by @PeteSouza.
𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘢 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘤𝘰, 𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘮, 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘙𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘎𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘰𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘺 1, 2013. 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘺 𝘗𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘻𝘢
🖼 https://twitter.com/ChrisDJackson/status/1670977573684142082?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @TheRickWilson Robert F Kennedy, Jf. is an expert on vaccines in the same way the insane guy out behind the bus station screaming that aliens have a tracking device shoved up his ass is an aerospace engineer.
🐣 📋 RT @NewVoiceUkraine Ukraine has only deployed 25% of its forces accumulated for the counter-offensive, while the Russians have thrown 90% of their reserves into defense. [link]
¤ https://twitter.com/NewVoiceUkraine/status/1670921398376878080?s=20
💽 Fox: Entire Trump Interview https://www.foxnews.com/video/6329757073112
// full hour
🐣 RT @Acyn Trump: First of all, I won in 2020 by a lot
Baier: You lost the 2020 election
Trump: They were counting ballots, not the authenticity of the ballot. The ballots were fake ballots. [etc etc]
💽 https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1670922502510452738?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @OccupyDemocrats BREAKING: Donald Trump’s night goes from bad to worse as FOX News host Brit Hume humiliates him live on the air over his disastrous interview with his fellow FOX News host Bret Baier, declaring that Trump’s rambling defense of his charges for violating the Espionage Act was “on the verge of incoherent.” ¤ But it gets worse for Trump…
First, the FOX host began by congratulating his colleague Bret Baier in front of millions of FOX viewers for pushing back against Trump and not letting him get away with lying about the indictment and his culpability.
Then, Hume set his sights on Trump, declaring, “I will say a couple of things. His answer on the matters of the law seem to me to verge on incoherent. He seemed to be saying that the documents were really his, and that he didn’t give them back when he was requested to do so by a subpoena because he wasn’t ready to because he hadn’t sorted them and separated the classified information or whatever from his golf shirts, whatever he was saying.”
Hume concluded his brutal rant by putting Trump on notice that he has MAJOR problems waiting for him when the trial begins, declaring that Trump “seems to believe that the documents were his and that he had declassified them, when there was evidence to the contrary. And therefore, he could do whatever he wanted with them. Which I don’t think is gonna hold up in court.” ¤ That’s right. Even FOX News knows that Trump is TOAST.
Please retweet and ❤️ if you think that Trump MUST be found guilty — and consider investing in Tribel, a “woke” new Twitter competitor that is currently doing a round of equity crowdfunding and just blew past $1.6 million raised from 4,000 of its users. If you want to own a small piece of what is quickly becoming the “next big thing” in social media, here is the link to do so, http://wefunder.com/Tribel. You can invest as little as $100 — or as much as you’d like. Here’s the link to download the new Tribel app that Elon Musk is so afraid of: http://tribel.app.link/okwPIHYCIqb
🐣 RT @MeidasTouchTrump just does not know when to keep his mouth shut.
💽 https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1670913684305215488?s=20/photo/1
In a new interview with Bret Baier on Fox, Trump says the National Archives should have begged him for the documents back: “The only way NARA could ever get this stuff, this back, would be ‘please, please, please could we get them back.'”
NARA *did* ask Trump for the documents and then subpoenaed him when he refused. Even then, Trump lied about fully complying with the subpoena and instructed his aide, Walt Nauta, to move the boxes to a different location.
Trump gives a incredibly weak excuse that he was “very busy” and “wanted to go through the boxes and get all of [his] personal things out” before turning them over.
🐣 RT @MeidasTouch This is absolutely brutal for Trump. Ouch. This is absolutely brutal for Trump. Ouch.
💽 https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1670925881781669889?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @RonFilipkowski Holy shit this guy is the biggest idiot I have ever seen! This is the best story he can come up with? This guy is cooked. Keep talking moron.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Acyn There’s a lot going on here and this is going to reviewed: Trump on the recording of him
💽 https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1670921724911558665?s=20/photo/1
NYT: China’s Rebound Hits a Wall, and There Is ‘No Quick Fix’ to Revive It https://tinyurl.com/54cwr6zs “China’s exports to the United States were down 18.2 percent last month compared with May last year”
// Policymakers and investors expected China’s economy to rev up again after Beijing abruptly dropped Covid precautions, but recent data shows alarming signs of a slowdown.
🐣 RT @anneapplebaum If you were wondering why the Ukrainians won’t stop fighting
⋙ 🐣 RT @ChakhoyanAndrew “Since Russia’s soldiers first stormed 🇺🇦, women have been gang-raped, men castrated, children sexually abused, & civilians forced to parade naked in the streets, according to the UN.” #ThisIsRussia #RussianCulture
⋙⋙ TheTelegraph [UK]: Castration, gang-rape, forced nudity: How Russia’s soldiers terrorise Ukraine with sexual violence https://tinyurl.com/3y32rup3
// 11/28/2022; The Kremlin has been accused of terrorising Ukrainians with sexual violence systematically – and known reports are the ‘tip of the iceberg’
🐣 RT @front_ukrainian⚡️🇨🇳China does not provide 🇷🇺Russia with lethal weapons, – 🇺🇸Blinken ¤ “We and other countries received assurances from China that it does not and will not provide lethal aid to Russia for use in 🇺🇦Ukraine. We appreciate that and have seen no evidence to the contrary.”
WaPo: FBI resisted opening probe into Trump’s role in Jan. 6 for more than a year https://tinyurl.com/mu4ta6fc ‘Inside DOJ, some have complained that the AG’s determination to steer clear of any claims of political motive has chilled efforts to investigate the former president’
// In the DOJ’s investigation of Jan. 6, key Justice officials also quashed an early plan for a task force focused on people in Trump’s orbit
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer ORIKHIV AXIS /2330 UTC 19 JUN/ RU carried out an airstrike against Novodarivka, and shelled Orikhiv, Novoandriyivka and Mala Tomachka. UKR forces are in contact along the T-04-08 HWY axis. West of Luhivske, UKR units are reported to be in contact along the T-08-15.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1670934566016614400?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer,KAMIANSKE-ORIKHIV AXIS /1430 UTC 19 JUN/ The 0600 briefing of the UKR Gen’l Staff reports that its forces have expanded control of a Piatykhatky. UKR troops are in contact in the vicinity if Luhove and N of Hrozove. RU conducted air strikes on Novodanvilivka and Orikhiv.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1670798606285111298?s=20/photo/1
🔄 🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer WE COVER THE WAR: Indications & Warnings @ChuckPfarrer and @MriyaReport post daily maps of the Ukraine War. We cover Svatove, Kreminna, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Vuhledar, Kamianske and Kherson, as well as partisan actions near Melitipol and long range strikes and sabotage in Crimea.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1670895985977901058?s=20/photo/1
// Index chart of fronts
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /1510 UTC 19 JUN/ Over the past 72 hours, UKR forces have consolidated significant gains north and south of the Bakhmut urban area. Gains of as much as 3 Km have been registered along the M-03 HWY axis. UKR has consolidated gains S of the H-32 and Ivanivske.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1670810073189285889?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @OleksiyDanilov War is hard work. At this time, our job is to eliminate the russian occupiers, their forces and means. Calmly, carefully, step by step. Today, Ukraine’s Defense Forces are doing their job perfectly! ¤ Everything will be Ukraine, and it will be within the borders of 1991.
🐣 RT @maxseddon The clandestine operation to eliminate a C.I.A. informant in Miami represented a brazen expansion of Mr. Putin’s campaign of targeted assassinations. ¤ “The red lines are long gone for Putin. He wants all these guys dead.”
NYT: Russia Sought to Kill Defector in Florida https://tinyurl.com/2h35dkmr
// A failed plot to assassinate a C.I.A. spy in 2020 in part led to expulsions of the agency’s chief in Moscow and his Russian counterpart in Washington.
As President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has pursued enemies abroad, his intelligence operatives now appear prepared to cross a line that they previously avoided: trying to kill a valuable informant for the U.S. government on American soil.
The clandestine operation, seeking to eliminate a C.I.A. informant in Miami who had been a high-ranking Russian intelligence official more than a decade earlier, represented a brazen expansion of Mr. Putin’s campaign of targeted assassinations. It also signaled a dangerous low point even between intelligence services that have long had a strained history.
“The red lines are long gone for Putin,” said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former C.I.A. officer who oversaw operations in Europe and Russia. “He wants all these guys dead.” …
“We cannot allow a foreign power to interfere in our democratic process with impunity,” President Biden said at the White House in announcing the penalties. He made no mention of the plot involving Mr. Fuentes.
⭕ 18 Jun 2023
TheAtlantic, Peter Wehner: Morality Is for Trump What Colors Are to the Color-Blind https://tinyurl.com/3kph2vmm “Other shady and unethical individuals have served in the White House … but Trump’s full-spectrum corruption puts him in a category all his own”
// The majority of his enablers, though, still know right from wrong.
… Trump doesn’t just cross moral lines; he doesn’t appear capable of understanding moral categories. Morality is for Trump what colors are to a person who is color-blind.
But what’s true of Trump isn’t true of the majority of his enablers. They see the colors that Trump cannot. They still know right from wrong. But for a combination of reasons, they have consistently overridden their conscience, in some cases unwittingly and in some cases cynically. They have talked themselves into believing, or half-believing, that Trump is America’s martyr and America’s savior.
Trump’s behavior obviously speaks to his own character. But Trump’s behavior has also proved to be a test of the character of others—Republican politicians and voters, the GOP establishment and the evangelical movement. It’s proved to be a test of character for those who claim to be “constitutional conservatives” and “family values” advocates, for ethicists and public intellectuals, for right-wing commentators and party strategists.
With very few exceptions, and to varying degrees, they have failed it. They have turned against—or at the very least, at a crucial hour, they have failed to defend—ideals and institutions they once claimed to cherish. Donald Trump could not have so deeply wounded our republic without his enablers. It took a team effort.
And now here we are, eight summers after Trump announced his first bid for the presidency, and we find him facing 71 felony counts while still 30 points above his nearest GOP rival, having transformed the Republican Party in his own image in ways that exceed even what Ronald Reagan did. His imprint is on the party in a thousand different ways. Tens of millions of Americans see Trump as their angel of vengeance, and they can’t wait for the second act to get started.
The moral wreckage of Donald Trump’s presidency and post-presidency was predictable and even inevitable. The reason? Trump’s moral depravity, which touches every area of his life, private and public, has long been in public view, undisguised and impossible to miss.
In July 2016, I described Trump as temperamentally unfit to be president—erratic, unprincipled, unstable, obsessive, a serial liar, and a misogynist who made racist appeals and who suffered from what, at the time, I called a “personality disorder.” On the day after Trump’s inauguration, I wrote, “A man with illiberal tendencies, a volatile personality and no internal checks is now president. This isn’t going to end well.” It hasn’t.
The scope and seriousness of Trump’s misconduct over the past eight years are staggering. He has relentlessly promoted lies and conspiracy theories, brutalized and dehumanized his opponents, threatened prosecutors and judges, and used his pardon power to subvert the legal system. He was found liable in a civil case of sexual abuse and defamation. He made hush-money payments to a porn star. He instigated a violent attack on the Capitol and attempted to overturn an election. He was impeached twice. And he is the first former president to be indicted, not once but twice. More indictments are likely to come.
Other shady and unethical individuals have served in the White House—Richard Nixon and Warren Harding among them—but Trump’s full-spectrum corruption puts him in a category all his own. His degeneracy is unmatched in American presidential history and unsurpassed in American political history.
If Trump’s malice is obvious, what’s behind it is more difficult to assess. In 2016, the psychologist Dan McAdams wrote a psychological portrait of Trump for The Atlantic, which he later expanded into a book, The Strange Case of Donald J. Trump: A Psychological Reckoning. McAdams describes Trump as “psychologically singular,” a man who “lacks an inner story to provide his life with temporal continuity, purpose, and meaning. He is the episodic man, living (and fighting) in the moment.” And that moment is free of ethical considerations and ethical constraints. …
Whatever the precise nature of Trump’s psychological pathologies—McAdams says Trump is “way more strange than any mental illness category that one can apply or create”—we can see for ourselves how they manifest: extreme narcissism, lack of empathy, feelings of persecution, grandiosity, and deceitfulness; impulsivity, shamelessness, remorselessness, and rage; a compulsive desire for attention, an obsessive need to dominate others, an eagerness to shatter social norms, and the belief that rules that apply to others don’t apply to him.
In his 1983 book, Statecraft as Soulcraft, George Will, one of the most consequential conservatives of the past half century, wrote that “the purpose of politics is to facilitate, as much as is prudent, the existence of worthy passions and the achievement of worthy aims.” Will was channeling Aristotle, who said in the Nicomachean Ethics, “The main concern of politics is to engender a certain character in the citizens and to make them good and disposed to perform noble actions.” …
Donald Trump, rather than using the presidency to elevate human sensibilities, did the opposite, and he did it relentlessly. Among the most damaging legacies of the Trump years is his barbarization of America’s civic and political life. He called the spirits from the vasty deep, and they came when summoned.
Many millions of Americans responded, determined that their country become more decent, more humane, more just. We are now in mid-story; none of us knows quite how it will end. An extraordinary drama is playing out, and each of us has a role to play in shaping the outcome. …
WaPo: Barr slams Trump’s defense in documents case as ‘absurd’ and ‘wacky’ https://tinyurl.com/99r38y59 “‘I think the government acted responsibly,’ Barr said on Fox News. ‘They gave him every opportunity to return those documents. They acted with restraint’”
// Speaking to CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” Barr, a Republican, pushed back on a number of his party’s talking points in excusing the former president’s alleged actions.
🐣 RT @KateGoesTech How many F-16s are gathering dust in each country:
🇺🇸 USA: 2,256
🇮🇱 Israel: 362
🇹🇷 Turkey: 270
🇪🇬 Egypt: 220
🇳🇱 Netherlands: 213
🇰🇷 South Korea: 180
🇬🇷 Greece: 170
🇹🇼 Taiwan: 150
🇵🇰 Pakistan: 111
🇦🇪 UAE: 80
🇩🇰 Denmark: 77
🇯🇴 Jordan: 64
🇸🇬 Singapore: 62
🇧🇪 Belgium: 54 …
// 5/30/2023
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer ZAPORIZHZHIA FRONT /0245 UTC 18 JUN/ Early contact reports suggest that UKR troops have broken through S of Novodanvilivka. Preliminary info suggests that UKR is expanding a widening pocket from Novopokrovka in the E, Verbove and Novoprokopivka in the S and Kopani in the West.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1670261602648567808?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 17 Jun 2023
🐣 RT @TheStudyofWar #WagnerGroup financier Yevgeny #Prigozhin continued to signal his disinterest in formally subordinating the #Wagner private military company (PMC) to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD). http://isw.pub/UkrWar061723
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1670260251570913281?s=20/photo/1
Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin continued to signal his disinterest in formally subordinating the Wagner private military company (MC) to the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD). Prigozhin sarcastically criticized the MoD’s formalization efforts on June 17 after previously portraying himself as compliant with the Russian MoD’s order for volunteer formations to sign formal contracts by July 1 and claimed he attempted to submit a contract to formalize Wagner under the Russian MoD.[19] Prigozhin implied that the Russian MoD will confiscate weapons that volunteer units obtained outside of the Russian MoD’s weapon deliveries and noted that inexperienced Russian commanders with higher military education will replace what he claimed are more combat-effective volunteer commanders. 20] Prigozhin added that formalization will destroy hierarchies within volunteer formations and force volunteers to serve in the military without the Russian MoD respecting military contract deadlines. Prigozhin noted that the Russian MoD will not provide sufficient supplies or weapons for volunteers and will mistreat irregular forces. Prigozhin did not discuss the contents of his claimed formalization contract with the Russian MoD on June 17, but a Wagner-affiliated milblogger suggested that Prigozhin demanded a series of powers and concessions from the Russian military command discussed in the force generation section of this update. [21] Prigozhin’s behavior indicates that he is unlikely to subordinate Wagner forces to the Russian MoD unless such a move would grant him more political power within Russia.
🧵 RT @ @Mylovanov The African delegation brokering peace between Ukraine and Russia achieves nothing. ¤ Putin interrupted the arguments of the delegation after they stated that the peace should be based on internationally recognized borders. ¤ Putin made several claims. Let’s address them. 1/
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1670174144946749441.html
📌 https://twitter.com/Mylovanov/status/1670174144946749441?s=20
// by economist mostly about grain exports
🐣 RT @igorsushko Russian war criminal & former FSB spetsnaz, Igor ‘Strelkov’ Girkin predicts Russia’s collapse if Ukraine is able to break through the current frontline, which he calls the thinnest thread on which everything hangs for Russia.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1670256908341772289?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @igorsushko Strelkov is of the belief the depth of the defences are quite shallow.
🐣 RT @ EmbassyofRussia 🇷🇺 President of #Russia Vladimir #Putin: ¤ I do not rule out that if there had been a different administration in #US, then perhaps it would have been possible to take a different path in the situation with Ukraine.
⋙ 🐣 RT @dylanc78 I do not rule out that if there had been a different administration in #Russia, then perhaps it would have been possible to take a different path. Russia would be a prosperous and respected member of the international community. But instead, Russia is a kleptocracy.
🐣 RT @ RusEmbUSA 💬President #Putin: As for 🇷🇺-🇺🇸 contacts, there are practically none. ¤ ❌ It is not us who refuse to carry on a dialogue with them, they just shifted the focus of this dialogue to arms supplies. ¤ 🔥 We will burn everything they have supplied and see what they will do next.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer ROLL THE BONES: As Putin & Lukashenko try desperately to scare someone with Belarus’ nuclear weapon starter kit, a pair of USAF B-1B bombers did a fly over of Lativa. The B-1B, known as ‘The Bone’, is the key weapons platform of the United States’ Global Strike Command (GSC).
⋙ 🐣 RT @NATO_AIRCOM 2️⃣ strategic 🇺🇸 B-1B flew over 🇱🇻Riga on 17 June. Bombers are currently deployed in Europe & conducted Air-Land-Integration with @Latvijas_armija forces.
🇱🇻MinDef: “B-1B training flight shows that our Allies are capable of defending Latvia swiftly & with impressive fire power.”
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer KAMIANSKE AXIS /2000 UTC 17 JUN/ RU mil bloggers and social media reports that Russian forces are retreating from Luhove. UKR units are in contact south of [Zherebianky] and Piatykhatky. It is assessed that UKR is consolidating lodgments west and south of the T-08-12 HWY axis.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1670157308704223233?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer VELYKA NOVSLIKA / 17 JUN/ UKR forces broke up Russian counter attacks at Blahodante, Storozhove and Makarivka. RU forces have been steadily pressed south down the T-05-18 HWY. UKR units are now in contact in the vicinity of Urozhaine. Heavy fighting is continuing.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1670180697674338306?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer KHERSON AXIS /1350 UTC 17 JUN/ Sources report that Ukrainian SOF units have crossed in force in the vicinity of Nova Kakhovka. The operation may have been staged with the possible goal of establishing a bridgehead. RU forces will be forced to redeploy to contain the attempt.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1670080695799103488?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer AVDIIVKA AXIS /1350 UTC 17 JUN/ UKR downed a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter on 16 JUN. UKR forces broke up RU attacks at Stepove, Avdiivka & Peske. A RU airstrike was carried out against Avdiivka and RU fire missions were conducted against the settlement of Vesele.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1670063859401465857?s=20/photo/1.
💙 WaPo: Trump’s indictment plus candidacy could endanger democracy and the rule of law https://tinyurl.com/3cnkkdbs “Not since the Vietnam War in the 1960s or perhaps the mid-19th century before the Civil War has the country’s governing structure faced such disunity and peril”
// The collision of former president Donald Trump’s criminal indictment with the presidential campaign could further undermine confidence in democratic principles and institutions of government, experts say
🐣 RT @sentdefender Russian Sources are claiming that Ukrainian Forces have begun to Deploy a Significant number of Electronic-Warfare Systems along the Frontline in the Donetsk Region result in “Huge Drone Losses by Russian Units” and leading many to believe that a Ukrainian Operation in the Region is Imminent.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1669861229022642177?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @KyivIndependent ⚡Kremlin spokesman claims Ukraine largely ‘demilitarized’. ¤ Kremlin press secretary Dmitriy Peskov claimed that Russia’s goal of “demilitarizing” Ukraine was largely completed, saying that it was using “fewer and fewer of its own weapons” and increasingly relying on weapons provided by the West.
🐣 RT @RonFilipkowski John Eastman, who wrote the legal brief Trump cited to pressure Pence to overturn the election, is complaining that he lost his job as a tenured law professor, and the judge ordered that his CA disbarment hearing be live-streamed this Tues so the American public can watch.
💽 https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1670165526214066177?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @berlin_bridge Yes, like how the Nazis kindly let the Allies land at Normandy. A gentlemen’s agreement don’t you know.
⋙ 🐣 RT @BowesChay Vladimir Putin has revealed that #Russian troops withdrew from #Kiev and other regions in #Ukraine on the basis of a peace deal agreed in #Turkiye, this casts serious doubts over Ukrainain narratives about defeat of Russia in the “battle of Kiev”
¤ https://twitter.com/BowesChay/status/1670153379509686272?s=20
He showed African leaders and press the document at their meeting in St Petersburg. Russian journalists published the title page of the document both sides provisionally agreed to titled “Treaty on Permanent Neutrality and Security Guarantees of Ukraine”
According to the President of the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Russia agreed in principle to the draft agreement spring 2022 in Istanbul, but then Kiev refused to sign it after Russian troops voluntaraly pulled back when ordered by Moscow as part of the deal.
The text says that the UK, China, Russia, the USA, France, and Turkey would act as guarantors. Sources suggest Boris Johnston travelled to Kiev soon after to insist / threaten Zelensky not to continue with the deal.
⋙⋙ 🐣 why would Ukraine sign such a draft statement with Russia still occupying >20% of their land? ¤ if they “withdrew” from northern Ukr as part of a deal, why didn’t they state it at the time? ¤ fact is, they were trounced and so, once again, rewrite history
¤ https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1670174521750429702?s=20/photo/1
// apple or banana meme
🐣 RT @JayinKyiv Yesterday’s African delegation to Kyiv was a mere PR event organized by Kremlin. ¤ Now they’re in Moscow reading a list of prepared Kremlin disinfo narratives. ¤ And NOW, they’ll get PAID.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1670129228203847681?s=20/photo/1 -2
[Text:] [Russian Talking Points:] [ Only Putin speaks ]
● The leadership of Unkraine refused to negotiate, not us. Russia is ready for a constructive dialogue with all who are for peace.
● Kyiv began hostilities against the Donbass in 2014, it was he who unleashed a war in Ukraine.
● The food crisis in the world is caused not by a special operation, but by the actions of the West.
● For a long time we tried to restore the situation by peaceful means, but the West led us by the nose.
● The logic of recognizing the LPR and DPR, and protecting Donbass is impeccable from the point of view of international law and the UN Charter.
🐣 RT @AntiToxicPeople Amazing to read this NYT op-ed from 50 years ago today, 6/17/73, the 1st anniversary of Watergate. Read it & compare to what we are living through now. ¤ This was 8 days before John Dean’s riveting, explosive testimony that revealed Nixon’s deep complicity in a massive cover up.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1670103841042481153?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Sky_Lee_1 21 post in less than an hour. He’s imploding!
💽 https://twitter.com/Sky_Lee_1/status/1670086757852016643?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @mfa_russia 💬 FM #Lavrov: Democracy is not only for domestic consumption. The West believes it has the right to impose its domestic democratic rules on others. ¤ ☝️The principle of the UN Charter – the sovereign equality of states – applies in the international arena https://t.me/MFARussia/16273
🐣 “The West believes it has the right to impose its domestic democratic rules on others” ¤ Ukraine chose a democratic future: it was not imposed. Rather, after promising Ukraine he would seek EU membership, Putin compelled Yanukovych to renege. Putin imposed. Then, Maidan.
⭕ 16 Jun 2023
🐣 RT @RusEmbUSA 🇷🇺🇺🇸 Russian Ambassador to the USA Anatoly Antonov met with U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy in Washington, DC on June 16. ¤ Topical issues of the bilateral agenda were discussed.
AP: NATO moves to protect undersea pipelines, cables as concern mounts over Russian sabotage threat https://tinyurl.com/42a4jv5w
🐣 RT @NatalkaKyiv After the Russian terrorist attacks on the Kyiv region on the same day African leaders were visiting Kyiv President Zelensky doesn’t hold back at a press conference with his African colleagues. ¤ #Zelensky #Putin #Ukraine #RussiaUkraineWar #RussiaIsATerroristState #RussianWarCrimes #Russia #Africa
💽 https://twitter.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1669925867470897153?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Ukrinform_News The root of the evil is Russia. And this root must be extracted. It’s absurd that the UN deploys its humanitarian missions under the threat of shelling by Russia, which sits in the chair of a UNSC permanent member.@SergiyKyslytsya spoke with Ukrinform.
NYT, Stephen Wertheim: The Tale the West Tells Itself About Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/2p9a7v52 //➔ Wertheim takes the view that, because Iraq was a mistake, Ukraine must be, too.
¤ https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1669978804310224898?s=20
But Ukraine is a EUROPEAN conflict in that it embodies the West’s commitment to democracy over autocracy.
If the West cannot defend a country that so desires Enlightenment values, the entire Western project is lost, there is nothing to offer the World, and we have no recourse but to let “the Darkness drop again” (Yeats) @stephenwertheim
✛ “Stephen Wertheim (@stephenwertheim) is a senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School and Catholic University. He is the author of ‘Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy.’”
↥ ↧
TheGuardian, Stephen Wertheim: Two decades later, it feels as if the US is trying to forget the Iraq war ever happens https://tinyurl.com/3uua7vh5
// 3/17/2023
BookReviews (Amazon):
Stephen Wertheim: Tomorrow, the World: The Birth of U.S. Global Supremacy
October 27, 2020
● David Shulman 4.0 out of 5 stars The Fall of France Shock
January 27, 2021
Columbia University historian and co-founder of the noninterventionist Quincy Institute offers up a conspiracy theory of how a small group of intellectuals centered around the Council on Foreign Relations in the early 1940’s became the vanguard of American hegemony in the years to come. The elite view was highlighted by Henry Luce’s famous “American Century” article in Life Magazine in February 1941. To me there is some truth in what Wertheim writes, but history is far more complicated than the theory he lays out.
He argues that it was not Pearl Harbor that turned the tide against isolationism, but rather the fall of France in May 1940. Although France’s fall did not move public opinion all that much, it certainly moved elite opinion. But why did it move elite opinion? My answer is that it was an enormous geopolitical shock that would have worked its way through policy in any event, elite opinion or not. Why?
Simply put, the correlation forces drove policy far more than a few intellectuals. The fall of France meant that the balance of power in Europe was broken and Germany ruled supreme. England was up against the wall and the wily Stalin understood the geopolitical underpinnings of his pact with Hitler were rendered moot. Stalin’s hope of Western Europe bleeding white in a manner similar to World War I was shattered and instead of the Soviets being able to pick up the pieces of a shattered Europe, his country would soon become Hitler’s prey.
In America the isolationists/noninterventionists believed that the European balance of power would be preserved obviating the need to intervene. The collapse of France shattered that illusion. Thus, the noninterventionist idea of hemispheric defense looked kind of lame in the face of a Nazi dominated Europe. Simply put by not acting the United States would be on the strategic defensive, a hardly desirable outcome.
After the war, the United States stood astride the world like no other power ever before. But contrary to what Wertheim argues, instead of pressing its military advantage, the U.S. demobilizes and remains that way until the Korean War. It was Soviet expansionism in Europe and China that forces the United States into becoming a global hegemon, albeit an enlightened one.
I wish Wertheim would have cited Walter Russell Meade’s “American Providence” which discusses the four strands of American foreign policy. In that book Meade outlined the conflict between the Wilsonian internationalists and the Jeffersonian isolationists on the eve of World War II. That argument was settled initially by the Jacksonians revenge against the Pearl Harbor attack and later the Hamiltonian internationalists seized the economic prizes that were available in the postwar world. ¤ In a word, Wertheim overstates his case, and the book could have used a better editor. It is a slog at too many points.
● Amazon Customer 3.0 out of 5 stars Containment is neglected
February 8, 2021
As some reviewers have stated, the argument does not develop any of the issues related to containment introduced by George Kennan as the US demobilized after WW2. While the discussion of the projection of American power in 1940 and 1941 is an interesting intellectual exercise, the fact that the US was slowly getting drawn into the war had to be justified to the public (and members of Congress) which had firmly turned against any involvement. A rationale for engagement was thus necessary, ergo, the necessity of arguments in support of what were essentially moral imperatives for an American presence globally. In reality, it was the USSR that tripped the scales in favor of an American presence in so far as Germany was defeated anyway and Soviet power was rapidly taking hold in Europe–then of course there was China, Korea, Vietnam, etc. In addition, lets not forget that D-Day, June 1944 was as much about defeating Germany as it was an attempt to prevent the Russians from occupying all of Europe right up to the English Channel, the 1942 Second Front issue not withstanding. The democratic debacle in Czechoslovakia in 1948 was itself a sufficient reason to have the Americans on edge, especially after the allied discussions at Yalta and Potsdam.
● not me 3.0 out of 5 stars Buyer Beware: Recycled Dissertation
June 19, 2021
“Tomorrow, the World” has big ambitions. Looking for the roots of American imperial overreach, it focuses on the early 1940s, when “elites” (the author’s phrase) in New York and Washington redefined “internationalism” to mean U.S. global dominance, in contrast to an older “internationalism” that rejected power politics and emphasized international law and free trade. These “elites” wanted the U.S. to police the world, with the UN and the British Empire serving as auxiliary vehicles for American power. The author sees a direct connection between their plans and the global war on terror of the 2000s (somehow the Cold War gets left out of the story). These issues are important but, unfortunately, “Tomorrow, the World” is based mainly on the author’s PhD research in the archives of the Council on Foreign Relations and in the correspondence of a handful of academics and journalists (such as Quincy Wright and Walter Lippman). As a result, the book ends up as little more than a recycled dissertation, with all the limitations of that genre, even though it is packaged as something grander. (If anyone doubts how limited the book is, consider the fact that Henry Stimson and Harry Hopkins aren’t even mentioned in the index.) The author now needs to write a real book based on the archives of the State Department, the War and Navy Departments, the White House, the Congress, the British government, and major newspapers. If nothing else, a better-researched and comprehensive book would avoid the cramped trivia and faint John Birch Society odor that mar this one.
NYT: African Leaders Talk Peace in Ukraine, as Missiles Explode Overhead https://tinyurl.com/2p8u5zvs Zelensky insisted that peace talks can only begin after Russia leaves the land it invaded and occupies. The African Leaders are eager for grain imports to resume and urge talks now.
// After meeting with the Africans, including some who have close ties to Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that their peace plans were unrealistic.
NYT: Evidence in Trump Documents Case Hints at ‘Ongoing Investigations,’ Filing Says https://tinyurl.com/5df2wxtu “Judge Cannon asked the federal magistrate judge assigned to help her with the case…. Judge Bruce E Reinhart issued [the] warrant used by the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago”
// Court papers from federal prosecutors in the case against Donald Trump suggested that other criminal cases could potentially emerge from the inquiry.
[…] The government’s motion for a protective order, which Mr. Trump’s lawyers did not oppose, said that prosecutors were ready to start turning over a trove of nonclassified evidence that they had collected during the documents investigation. That included information about investigative techniques, material related to potential witnesses and things like grand jury transcripts, exhibits and recordings of witness interviews, the motion said.
It also sought to restrict disclosure of the evidence to Mr. Trump’s legal team; to people who might be interviewed as witnesses and their lawyers; and to any others who were specifically authorized by the court. …
Shortly after the government requested the protective order, Judge Cannon asked the federal magistrate judge assigned to help her with the case, Bruce E. Reinhart, to handle the question of whether to impose it. It is common in the Southern District of Florida for magistrate judges, not district judges like Judge Cannon, to handle pretrial motions.
Judge Reinhart is no stranger to the case. Last summer, he issued a warrant used by the F.B.I. to search Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s private club and residence in Florida, suggesting that he believed there was probable cause that investigators would find evidence of a crime at the compound.
It could be a significant development moving forward if Judge Reinhart handles the more substantial legal motions that will be filed by Mr. Trump’s lawyers in the months to come, given that Judge Cannon was widely criticized for making rulings favorable to Mr. Trump in an early stage of the investigation.
TheDailyMail: EXCLUSIVE: Saudi crown prince bragged that Jared Kushner gave him CIA intelligence about other Saudis saying ‘here are your enemies’ days before ‘corruption crackdown’ which led to torture and death https://tinyurl.com/22ud5brc
// 4/5/2018
● Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Jared Kushner in October
● Salman has since bragged about using classified intelligence from Kushner as part of a crackdown on ‘corrupt’ princes and businessmen in Saudi Arabia
● He said the intelligence from Kushner included information on those who were disloyal to Salman and who were his ‘enemies’, insiders tell DailyMail
● Kushner’s attorney’s spokesman said it was ‘false’ that the president’s son-in-law passed on secrets and that he was ‘well aware of the rules’
● The crown prince launched his crackdown on corruption in November, days after he met Kushner for talks in Riyadh
● Hundreds were rounded up, including princes from rival parts of the Saudi royal family and some of the country’s wealthiest businessmen
● But the crackdown saw accusations of torture and at least one reported death
🐣 RT @BlackKnight10k The CIA was spooked in 2021 because all of their assets were being captured and murdered and I think about it all the time ever since the FBI found those classified documents at Mar-a-Lago
⋙ TheHill: CIA admits to losing dozens of informants around the world: NYT https://tinyurl.com/y4d78ncy
// 10/5/2021; CIA assets killed
🐣 RT @RonFilipkowski Here he is. Fox producer and former Tucker show Editor Alexander McCaskill, leaving Fox today with his stuff after getting fired for posting the ‘Wannabe Dictator’ chryon about Biden. Have a nice weekend!
¤ https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1669834209526005761?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Igorsushko Incredibly bizarre video published by Yevgeny Prigozhin. He went to Russia’s Ministry of Defence to hand over the signed agreement which would allegedly subordinate Wagner PMC to the Ministry of Defence. Prigozhin and Shoigu are playing a game of intrigue. English translation:
💽 https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1669789313918459904?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @Igorsushko UPDATE: To absolutely no one’s surprise, the “agreement” Prigozhin signed was drafted by Wagner and not the MoD. It stipulates the MoD must send unlimited funding, armament, and soldiers to Wagner PMC. This is not the contract Shoigu and Putin ordered Prigozhin to sign. Theatre.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1669836174041534470?s=20/photo/1 -3
🐣 RT @mkraju Senate GOP John Thune, amid calls from some on the right to defund parts of DOJ: “I think defunding is a really bad idea.” ¤ GOP Rep. Don Bacon says Trump lied about holding top secrets at his house and showed them to people. “I’m not in the mood for defending that.”
💽 https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1669817197462421504?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @petestrzok As details about Trump’s handling of classified material emerge, the level of likely damage to national security only increases. ¤ Trump was and remains a counterintelligence nightmare, unrivaled in Presidential history.
Thanks to @NicolleDWallace for the conversation.
⋙ 🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “Donald Trump is a counterintelligence nightmare, still to this day… He took this stuff with him everywhere it appears, so the chances in my opinion are high that there was classified info at Bedminster… at Trump Tower” – @petestrzok w/ @NicolleDWallace
💽 https://twitter.com/petestrzok/status/1669832491773878278?s=20/photo/1
WaPo, Dana Milbank: As Trump is arrested, Republicans honor the insurrectionists https://tinyurl.com/59hf8v93 Fake hearing for fake “patriots” ~ more cosplaying for the violent fringe of the MAGA base
… In the Capitol complex, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), with sidekick Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and four other far-right lawmakers, held a “hearing” that honored participants in the riot, family members of Jan. 6 rioters and organizers of the attempted overthrow of the 2020 vote.
Technically, Gaetz couldn’t call such a hearing, because he isn’t a committee chairman. But House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who is trying to win back the support of extremists such as Gaetz, let it happen anyway.
Gaetz did his all to make the proceedings look official. There were congressional seals on his nameplate and on the big screen behind him. A meeting room in the Capitol visitor center was arranged to appear like a committee room, with lawmakers facing the witnesses. Gaetz advertised the “field hearing” as part of how “the 118th Congress is investigating the weaponization of the federal government.”
He impersonated a chairman — “you are recognized,” “thank you for your testimony,” “I’ll recognize myself [for] questions,” “her time has expired” — and the others played along (“Thank you for the opportunity to testify,” “I yield back”). Gaetz said testimony could be used “for the official record [of the] House” or for “work in the Judiciary Committee, upon which I serve, or the Oversight Committee.” C-SPAN carried the proceedings live. …
🔄 ≣ Wikipedia: The Presidential Records Act (PRA) of 1978, 44 U.S.C. §§ 2201–2209 https://tinyurl.com/bdhkft8m
APNews: NATO moves to protect undersea pipelines, cables as concern mounts over Russian sabotage threat https://tinyurl.com/42a4jv5w
🐣 RT @ukraine_map The US 🇺🇸 Congress draft National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2024 from the House Armed Services Committee says that no less than $80 million of USAI funds should be used for the procurement of ATACMS for Ukraine 🇺🇦
⭕ 15 Jun 2023
🔄 💙 🐣 RT @ BryanDawsonUSA [15 Jun] Watch the Congressional testimony where Comey admits FBI investigators found no emails marked classified on Hillary’s server:
💽 https://twitter.com/BryanDawsonUSA/status/1669359690692845573?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ukraine_map The US 🇺🇸 Congress draft National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2024 from the House Armed Services Committee says that no less than $80 million of USAI funds should be used for the procurement of ATACMS for Ukraine 🇺🇦
WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Trump’s chances of a Jan. 6 indictment soar https://tinyurl.com/4ntm266c Five factors: “the convictions of Jan. 6 participants, the Georgia investigation, Smith’s success in getting witness testimony, [Judge] Carter’s decision and general public sentiment”
[…] Five factors now point to a federal indictment on Jan. 6-related charges. ¤ First, the Justice Department has already obtained multiple convictions on the most serious charge — seditious conspiracy — and long prison terms for multiple militia group members. Smith might not be able to directly tie Trump to the violence, but it would be a gross injustice for the people Trump told to go to the Capitol to do his bidding to get heavy jail sentences but to let the man they believed sent “orders” to go free.
Moreover, by winning convictions on seditious conspiracy, the department has proved that the events of Jan. 6 were sedition, namely an effort “to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States … or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States.”
If Trump cannot be tied directly to the violence (either in calling for his supporters or allowing them to run amok for 187 minutes), his effort nevertheless plainly sought to prevent the execution of the law and the constitutional transfer of power.
Second, a state filing in Georgia based on the phony elector scheme and the effort to cajole Georgia officials to “find” just enough votes to flip the state to Trump more or less force Garland’s hand. The federal counterparts to expected state charges (e.g., interference with an election official, voting fraud) cannot be wished away. If the facts are available for Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis, they are there for the Justice Department.
Third, Smith has the goods. The inner circle has been pierced; credible witnesses with percipient knowledge of the relevant facts are arrayed against Trump. He’s got the evidence the House select committee on Jan. 6 committee obtained. He has the testimonies of former vice president Mike Pence, former chief of staff Mark Meadows and former White House lawyers. …
Fourth, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, in a case involving John Eastman’s assertion of attorney-client privilege, already found that (albeit at a lower standard of proof) “President Trump attempted to obstruct an official proceeding by launching a pressure campaign to convince Vice President Pence to disrupt the Joint Session on January 6.” Looking at the accumulated evidence, he found, “These actions more likely than not constitute attempts to obstruct an official proceeding.” …
Fifth, the conversation about the propriety of indicting a former president has percolated throughout the political system. As evidence of Trump’s liability (on multiple grounds, in different venues) has mounted, we saw the shift from “How can we indict without becoming a banana republic?” to “How can we fail to indict without becoming a banana republic?” Certainly, MAGA Republicans remain devoted to their cult figure, with no regard for the rule of law. But polling during and after the Jan. 6 hearings showed that majorities think he did something illegal and/or should be indicted.
This does not mean Smith should be guided by public polls. It does mean there is no flashing red light to suggest the public would rise up in opposition to an indictment, no threat to the institutional integrity of the Justice Department beyond those already screaming “witch hunt!” or making wild, baseless accusations about misconduct.
Given the convictions of Jan. 6 participants, the Georgia investigation, Smith’s success in getting witness testimony, Carter’s decision and general public sentiment, it would be foolhardy to bet against an indictment on Trump’s most serious breach of his oath: his attempt to overthrow the results of a presidential election. All Americans should look forward to the day when he is held accountable for his attack on democracy.
WaPo, Ben Hodges: How to know whether Ukraine’s counteroffensive is working https://tinyurl.com/bddht592 ‘Watchful waiting’ by the US means Ukraine will always be under supplied with military equipment and ammo. Ukraine needs ATACMS now.
🧵 RT @igorsushko Having spent dozens of hours analyzing every word spoken by Prigozhin during his hour-long interview to develop a precise translation (9,117 words!), here are my key takeaways. ¤ Thanks to everyone who donated to http://woc.one to make this project possible!
📌 💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1669549294515531777?s=20/photo/1
// 57min video interview w Prigozhin
1. Putin no longer controls Prigozhin. Prigozhin’s brazen sense of security as he incites a revolution against Putin’s regime can only mean one thing – someone else with immense power in the regime has guaranteed Prigozhin’s personal safety.
2. Prigozhin is a very conniving & extremely intelligent monster. In some instances he is clearly lying, but none of his statements ever break the logical chain. The interview was not scripted.
3. He far surpasses Putin with his level of intellect.
4. Although the audience for his populist message is the Russian public, he sprinkles in unambiguous signals that he’d never use nuclear weapons if he were in charge, calling the idea mentally-ill. Target audience for this part is clearly the West’s intelligence community.
5. Interest in Prigozhin in Russian society is through the roof. He has succeeded in legitimizing himself through this kind of medium by speaking directly to the people. His support is rapidly rising, including in local government offices.
⋙ DailyMail: Putin’s chef is now more popular than Vladimir in Russia: Internet searches show Russians are more interested in the Wagner mercenary chief than their president https://tinyurl.com/4r3rysh6
// Russians appear to be more curious about Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. Google Trends from May showed Prigozhin had greater popularity than Putin
6. Idea of Prigozhin as the savior of Russkiy Mir (Russian World) is permeating various levels of society among the hardcore warmongers, exactly those who have thus far supported Putin.
7. Direct calls to execute the Russian military leadership is an unambiguous attack on Putin. In response, Defence Minister Shoigu ordered to disband & absorb all Russian PMCs, including Wagner, just 5 days later. Prigozhin said “Shoigu will die” if he tries to take over Wagner. Note that Putin has now publicly come out in support of Shoigu’s order to disband Wagner PMC.
🐣 RT @TreasChest 16 ballistic missiles were aimed at the Patriot, after they were shot down they learned that among them were 6 “Kinzhal” missiles, — the commander of the 96th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade Iaremenko (Granit)
¤ https://twitter.com/TreasChest/status/1669543191983411200?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @AndrewFeinberg I don’t think anyone read him the Miranda warning…
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AndrewFeinberg/status/1669481318336348170?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump SO NOW THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT, PLUS THE CLINTON SOCKS CASE, TOTALLY EXONERATED ME FROM THE CONTINUING WITCH HUNT BROUGHT ON BY CORRUPT JOE BIDEN, THE DOJ, DERANGED JACK SMITH, AND THEIR RADICAL LEFT, MARXIST THUGS, WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO DROP ALL CHARGES AGAINST ME, APOLOGIZE, AND RETURN EVERYTHING THAT WAS ILLEGALLY TAKEN (FOURTH AMENDMENT) FROM MY HOME? THIS WAS NOTHING OTHER THAN ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!
🐣 RT @Faytuks President Biden is ‘open’ to a proposal from NATO’s Secretary general to remove the Membership Action Plan requirement for Ukraine to join NATO ¤ “MAP requires a candidate nation to make military and democratic reforms with NATO’s advice and assistance”
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1669482487133642752?s=20/photo/1
⋙ Politico: Biden ‘open’ to plan that eases Ukraine’s path to NATO membership https://tinyurl.com/2p8s3fpy
// The proposed removal of the Membership Action Plan would provide neither a formal invitation nor a timeline for joining the alliance.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer ZAPORIZHZHIA AXIS / 2230 UTC 15 JUN/ UKR forces have expanded a series of lodgments south of Orikhiv and the H-08 HWY. Coordinated UKR offensive operations have pushed south of Novodanylivka in the east, in a pocket extending to Robotyne and Novoprokopivka in the west.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1669470248934731776?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ArmedMaidan Ukraine “appears to be taking Russian prisoners at a faster pace than at any time in the war so far… this is a sign of the Russian army cracking”: Korshak
🌎 https://twitter.com/ArmedMaidan/status/1669428732136660992?s=20/photo/1
Ukraine’s 47th Brigade, which famously lost a small number of Bradleys and Leopards while advancing near Orikhiv last week, suffered few casualties in that action (thanks to the Western armour), remains “fully combat-capable,” went on to liberate two villages and appears to have recovered at least some of the damaged armour, Korshak says
Korshak also comments on Putin’s admission Tuesday that Russia lost 54 tanks in the previous week ¤ “If he’s admitting 54, then what’s the real number his underlings didn’t tell him? If his subordinates are giving the loss numbers even a 50 percent haircut, and say the real number for the week was 100 tanks, then we are left with, for Russia, the disconcerting sum that this offensive is knocking out 15 or so Russian tanks A DAY, and the thing about that is — that estimate is almost exactly the same as the UAF [Ukrainian Armed Forces] official estimates for the same period. Point being, if we assume Putin is being lied to by a factor of 50 percent, then that is yet more evidence that when the UAF reports they took out a Russian tank, honestly, they probably did” ¤ https://tinyurl.com/4txjr7tz #Ukraine #UkraineRussiaWar #UkraineCounteroffensive #VelykaNovosilka
🐣 RT @shashj Stupendous. Sixteen months into his botched war, Putin declares that military bloggers are the first people to have told him about the problems facing Russian units.
⋙ (🧵) RT @RALee85 Sladkov says the last 30 minutes was a closed meeting where the voenkors told Putin about problems facing Russian units. According to Sladkov, Putin said “I didn’t know about this…I’m hearing about this for the first time” after hearing about problems. https://t.me/Sladkov_plus/7958
📌 https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1669120068687372288?s=20
⇈ ⇊
🐣 [Lead tweet] RT @RALee85 [Jun 13] A good indication of the influence of prominent Russian Telegram channels and voenkors in this meeting with Putin, including Sladkov, Kots, Poddubny, Pegov, Filatov, Kulko, Rudenko, Steshin, Gazdiev, Zimenkin, Agranovich, Kuksenkova, Ushenin, etc […] [link]
¤ https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1668657779156955139?s=20/photo/1 -4
⋙ 🐣 RT @RALee85 Putin’s repeated meetings with them also indicates that he wants a different source of information on the war than his intelligence and military commanders.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RALee85 Some of these voenkors have been very critical of Russian generals, as a whole and focusing on individuals.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RALee85 [above tweet]
🐣 RT @ddale8 Here are *7* cases from 2017 to 2023 in which an obscure citizen was convicted and sentenced to prison time for having classified material at home — under the exact same Espionage Act “willful retention” provision Trump is charged under:
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1669446554648715264?s=20/photo/1 -2
⋙ CNN, Daniel Dale: Fact check: Multiple non-spies have received prison sentences under Espionage Act provision Trump is charged with violating https://tinyurl.com/yh6ywzvw
💙 WaPo: Trump rejected lawyers’ efforts to avoid classified documents indictment https://tinyurl.com/mvrrc799 “Trump time & again rejected the advice from lawyers & advisers who urged him to cooperate & instead took the advice of Tom Fitton, the [non-lawyer] head of … Judicial Watch”
// 6/14, upd 6/15; The former president was not interested in attempting to negotiate a settlement in the classified documents investigation
💙 NYT: The Radical Strategy Behind Trump’s Promise to ‘Go After’ Biden https://tinyurl.com/3dabf95t About-to-be-disbarred (and likely to be indicted for Jan 6 offenses) Geoffrey Clark one-ups Barr on the powers of the President to micro-manage the Department of Justice
//. Conservatives with close ties to Donald J. Trump are laying out a “paradigm-shifting” legal rationale to erase the Justice Department’s independence from the president.
[…] The naked politics infusing Mr. Trump’s headline-generating threat underscored something significant. In his first term, Mr. Trump gradually ramped up pressure on the Justice Department, eroding its traditional independence from White House political control. He is now unabashedly saying he will throw that effort into overdrive if he returns to power.
Mr. Trump’s promise fits into a larger movement on the right to gut the F.B.I., overhaul a Justice Department conservatives claim has been “weaponized” against them and abandon the norm — which many Republicans view as a facade — that the department should operate independently from the president.
Two of the most important figures in this effort work at the same Washington-based organization, the Center for Renewing America: Jeffrey B. Clark and Russell T. Vought. During the Trump presidency, Mr. Vought served as the director of the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Clark, who oversaw the Justice Department’s civil and environmental divisions, was the only senior official at the department who tried to help Mr. Trump overturn the 2020 election.
Mr. Trump wanted to make Mr. Clark attorney general during his final days in office but stopped after the senior leadership of the Justice Department threatened to resign en masse. Mr. Clark is now a figure in one of the Justice Department’s investigations into Mr. Trump’s attempts to stay in power. [ He has lost his tenured position and is being disbarred in California ]
Mr. Clark and Mr. Vought are promoting a legal rationale that would fundamentally change the way presidents interact with the Justice Department. They argue that U.S. presidents should not keep federal law enforcement at arm’s length but instead should treat the Justice Department no differently than any other cabinet agency. They are condemning Mr. Biden and Democrats for what they claim is the politicization of the justice system, but at the same time pushing an intellectual framework that a future Republican president might use to justify directing individual law enforcement investigations.
Mr. Clark, who is a favorite of Mr. Trump’s and is likely to be in contention for a senior Justice Department position if Mr. Trump wins re-election in 2024, wrote a constitutional analysis, titled “The U.S. Justice Department is not independent,” that will most likely serve as a blueprint for a second Trump administration.
In statements to The New York Times, both Mr. Clark and Mr. Vought leaned into their battle against the Justice Department, with Mr. Clark framing it as a fight over the survival of America itself. …
Mr. Trump’s top rival for the Republican nomination, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, also rejects the norm that the Justice Department should be independent. …
… As the former president addressed his supporters on Tuesday night at his Bedminster club, Fox News displayed a split screen — Mr. Trump on the right and Mr. Biden on the left. The chyron on the bottom of the screen read: “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested.” … [ The chryon writer, a Tuckercarlson producer, was fired for this ]
As president, Mr. Trump saw his attorney general as simply another one of his personal lawyers. He was infuriated when his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself from the Russia investigation — and then refused to reverse that decision to shut down the case.
After firing Mr. Sessions, Mr. Trump believed he had found someone who would do his bidding in William P. Barr, who had been in the role during George H.W. Bush’s presidency. Mr. Barr had an expansive view of a president’s constitutionally prescribed powers, and shared Mr. Trump’s critical views of the origins of the Russia investigation.
Under Mr. Barr, the Justice Department overruled career prosecutors’ recommendations on the length of a sentence for Mr. Trump’s longest-serving political adviser, Roger J. Stone Jr., and sought to shut down a case against Mr. Trump’s first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who had already pleaded guilty. Both cases stemmed from the Russia investigation.
But when Mr. Trump wanted to use the Justice Department to stay in power after he lost the election, he grew enraged when Mr. Barr refused to comply. Mr. Barr ultimately resigned in late 2020.
🐣 RT @poroshenko [tr] You know, no less important than the power of our Armed Forces and the help of our allies is our internal UNITY. ¤ We have one enemy – Putin. And this should be remembered.
I understand everything. I understand that you are tired, I understand that you are nervous. I understand that sometimes you want to… ¤ But now we have to stop talking. ¤ We must keep unity until our complete VICTORY. And we will deal with everything later.
This is my message, this is the message of our soldiers from the front. Unity and support of the Armed Forces and victory is our priority. ¤ Today, we are working again in the East, we are again transferring equipment, baths and something new — high-explosive fragmentation grenade launchers of 40 mm caliber for dropping from drones on the heads of you know who 😉
🐣 RT @RFERL “I have the feeling we haven’t seen the real offensive yet,” one military expert said. “Yes, they are fighting in many places, but to my mind, not with full capacity. Ukraine hasn’t committed their heavier brigades yet.”
⋙ RFE/RL: You’re Hearing A Lot About Ukraine’s New Counteroffensive. One Week In, It’s Only Getting Started. https://tinyurl.com/3pcsun7d
🐣 RT @AndriyYermak [tr] We highly appreciate the bipartisan and bicameral legislative initiative proposed by US lawmakers to make Russia pay for the war by transferring the assets of the aggressor state to Ukraine. It is necessary to rebuild Ukraine with Russian funds.
🐣 RT @McFaul Excellent! An idea that our international working group on sanctions has been advocating for many months. @AndriyYermak @DmytroKuleba: US senators to launch bill to seize and transfer Russian assets to Ukraine
⋙ FT: US senators launch bill to seize and transfer Russian assets to Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/93atwwh5
// Bipartisan push comes amid debate over how to help Kyiv pay for reconstruction from the war
🐣 RT @NOELreports “Right now, our fighters are facing stiff resistance. But Russia will lose the war if the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is successful,” Zelenskyi in an interview with NBC News. [
🐣 RT @TreasChest It is important that the water in the pond at the Zaporizhzhya NPP remains at the current level, – Director General of the IAEA, Raphael Grossi.
Today, Grossi visited the Russian-occupied nuclear power plant to assess the impact of the collapse of the Kakhovskaya HPP dam on its safety. ¤ “There is evaporation, there may be a leak, but the water level has to be kept at that level. With the available water reserves, the station can be safe for a period of time. ¤ The station will work to replenish water reserves to ensure the normal functioning of the safety system. And we will carefully monitor this process,” he said. http://ZN.UA
🐣 RT @djrothkopf It’s true. Much of the horrific abuse of our Constitution will be funded by the rich if they feel it can ensure they do not become ever so slightly less rich as a result of paying their fair share of taxes.
⋙ 🐣 RT @HC_Richardson Thread. Personally, I am wondering how much of politics now is only about super rich folks determined to sink Biden because he wants to raise taxes on the extraordinary fortunes they’ve amassed under the low-tax regime of the past 40 years.
💙 ⋙⋙ 🧵 RT @TheRickWilson 1/ Good morning. ¤ If any of you are still bamboozled by Nancy Jacobsen and Mark Penn’s @nolabelsorg’s actual intentions let me hook you up. ¤ They claim to be moderate, centrist problem solvers who are running a 3rd part effort to “give Americans more choices.”
📌 https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/1669327042398261249?s=20
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer VELYKA NOVOSILKA AXIS /1430 UTC 15 JUN/ UKR forces advance south of Vuhledar and T-05-09 HWY axis. RU attack on Maryinka repelled. Fire missions target RU HQs and troop concentrations.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1669349279436259328?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 14 Jun 2023
WSJ, Karl Rove: Trump Invited This Indictment https://tinyurl.com/3ppks38w ‘This indictment is devastating in its rigor of evidence and the seriousness of the alleged crimes. The case will further tear our country apart and—wrongly—undermine confidence in our justice system’
// His childish defiance of the law comes at a high cost to him—and to the country.
… [T]his indictment is devastating in its rigor of evidence and the seriousness of the alleged crimes. Even so, the case will further tear our country apart, as it has a heavy impact on the presidential campaign and—wrongly—undermines confidence in our justice system.
The blame for this calamity rests solely on Mr. Trump and his childish impulse to keep mementos from his time in the Oval Office, no matter what the law says.
One of the relevant statutes is the Presidential Records Act, which states that “the United States shall reserve and retain complete ownership, possession, and control of presidential records.” The PRA defines these in the most expansive way imaginable. Essentially every scrap of paper, text or email the president or his staff creates or receives is a presidential record, except his personal diary, private political receives is a presidential record, except his personal diary, private political materials unrelated to the presidency, and campaign papers.
None of that apparently mattered to Mr. Trump. Before he left Washington in January 2021, he ordered a fleet of trucks to carry away hundreds of boxes of letters, reports, memos and other documents he’d received as president. The indictment says these included information about “defense and weapons capabilities” of both the U.S. and foreign countries, American nuclear programs, our and allies’ “potential vulnerabilities . . . to military attack,” and “plans for possible retaliation” to an attack.
Those documents didn’t belong to Mr. Trump, and he surely knew that. The president’s lawyers and staff must have warned him he couldn’t take the files. His top aides with security clearances had been made well aware of classified documents’ sensitivity, having all signed acknowledgments “that the unauthorized disclosure, unauthorized retention, or negligent handling” of classified information “could cause irreparable injury” to the country, for which the government “may seek any remedy available.”
It also had to have been explained to Mr. Trump that the White House Office of Records Management kept a list of the documents he received and the National Security Council maintained a log of the classified documents he saw. He must have known these inventories would be shared with the National Archives and Records Administration, so that NARA would know if he improperly took documents.
That’s why in May 2021 the archives began requesting their return. When Mr. Trump sent some records back in January 2022, NARA knew he had more. When his lawyers said in June 2022 that after a “diligent search,” all remaining “responsive documents” had been returned, the Federal Bureau of Investigation knew that wasn’t true. It took a search warrant two months later to collect the rest of them.
Mr. Trump says there’s no criminal penalty for violating the Presidential Records Act. That’s true, but it only highlights how damning his behavior was. Congress thought a law so simple and clear would be honored by anyone entrusted with the presidency. Instead of living up to his office, Mr. Trump treated it and America’s national security flippantly, taking thousands of presidential records, among them hundreds of highly classified documents. It should have been evident to anyone who once occupied the Oval Office that documents containing some of the nation’s most important secrets shouldn’t be treated as trophies, shared with private guests, discussed with political associates or stored in bathrooms or ballrooms. Any staffer found guilty of doing that would go to prison for breaking the laws protecting the nation’s secrets, as Mr. Trump is now charged.
However Mr. Trump’s trial ends, America is bound for a period of anger, division and recrimination. Some Republicans, searching for ways to undermine Mr. Trump’s indictment, are even turning to one of the far left’s lunacies—calling for law enforcement to be defunded. Eliminating the FBI is no different from scrapping the San Francisco Police Department.
Extreme as this situation is, it could easily have been avoided if Mr. Trump simply followed the law and left behind his precious keepsakes. It’s a shame one of his top aides didn’t have the gumption to make him do so. If then White House chief of staff Mark Meadows ordered the trucks heading south to Mar-a-Lago to detour to drop off records at the archives’ warehouse in Suitland, Md., it might have enraged Mr. Trump when he found out, but it would have spared the country from the ugly months ahead.
No matter the outcome, America will pay a high price for the former president’s reckless petulance. So will he.
YahooNews/RollingStone: Trump’s Advisers Want Tom Fitton to Butt Out: Report https://tinyurl.com/mr3mk6he
Donald Trump can’t stop taking advice from Judicial Watch President (and definitely not a lawyer) Tom Fitton — and it’s driving his attorneys crazy. According to a report from The Washington Post, who spoke to seven Trump advisers familiar with the behind-the-scenes events of Trump’s indictment by the Justice Department, the former president repeatedly ignored the counsel of his lawyers in favor of Fitton’s advice.
According to the report, lawyers for the former president pleaded with him to cooperate with investigators looking to recover the hundreds of classified documents Trump took with him after leaving the White House. Sources told the Post that Fitton’s name was often invoked by Trump in his explanations as to why he was choosing to ignore the legal advice he pays millions of dollars for.
Multiple advisers to the former president told the Post that they believe Trump’s insistence that he could keep the documents without repercussion, and his invocation of the “Clinton Socks” case as justification, are a direct result of Fitton’s advice.
On Tuesday, Trump pleaded not guilty to 37 federal criminal counts brought by the DOJ as a result of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the former president’s hoarding of classified documents. The charges include violations of the Espionage Act, conspiracy to obstruct justice, corruptly concealing a record or document, and concealing a document in a federal investigation.
Trump has remained defiant in the face of his second arrest this year and vowed revenge against President Joe Biden and the prosecutors overseeing his case during a speech following his arraignment.
That revenge plot has been aided by Fitton. As reported by Rolling Stone in May, Fitton claims that the DOJ is “stonewalling” him and his organization’s efforts to publicly unmask the names of employees working under Smith. The department has denied Fitton’s request on grounds that it is an “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy” that would also “interfere with enforcement proceedings.”
While Fitton’s involvement with the former president is causing headaches for the people trying to keep him out of jail, he is but one block in the teetering Jenga tower that is Trump’s legal team. Sources with knowledge of the matter previously told Rolling Stone that Trump’s legal roster was riddled with internal squabbling and underhanded attempts for dominance over various legal cases. With two of Trump’s attorneys having resigned hours before the former president was indictment was unsealed, Fitton’s free — if unfounded — legal advice might be the best he can get. […]
WaPo: Trump centers campaign on his prosecution, vilifying legal system https://tinyurl.com/35cze6hb “As Trump and fellow Republicans rally around the ‘weaponization’ theme, there are signs that his supporters are already internalizing the message”
// The former president has redefined the stakes of his campaign and has misrepresented facts and law
🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom A party that lost its mind in 2016 and continues to deteriorate.
⋙ 🐣 RT @ MorningConsult Nearly 3 in 5 potential Republican primary (59%) voters back Trump for the GOP’s 2024 presidential nomination, up from 55% last week before news of his indictment on charges related to his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. https://morningconsult.biz/3OYzNlB
◕ https://twitter.com/RadioFreeTom/status/1669175403888406528?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @NatalkaKyiv Ukraine is reporting that Russians mined a number of dams in the Zaporizhzhia region. ¤ The dams are located on the Tokmachka River in the area of Trudovoye, Snegurevka and Ostrikovka. ¤ The Russian army intends to blow them up when the Ukrainian Forces advance toward Tokmak. ¤ #Ukraine #RussiaUkraineWar #RussiaIsATerroristState #RussianWarCrimes #Russia
🌎 https://twitter.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1668960492478423046?s=20/photo/1
📋 OccupyDemocrats: CUT OFF: CNN won’t allow Trump on live TV anymore https://tinyurl.com/yc7mmmpu
The news network that just hosted a Town Hall with disgraced former president Donald Trump last month has now refused to air his post-arraignment speech live. ¤ Trump is now complaining that CNN host Jake Tapper — who Trump labels “Fake Tapper” — said the network wouldn’t air his speech live and argues that this could be why the network has been dropping in ratings (although in fact, the ratings dropped after his Town Hall).
Tapper, on the other hand, said that the speech would be covered, with fact-checking, but not aired live, because of Trump’s tendency to lie, and the potential that his words could actually be dangerous. ¤ The latter is evidenced by the frequency of death threats to public officials after he attacks them verbally, as well as by the January 6th attack.
In his Town Hall last month, among other things, Trump again attacked E. Jean Carroll, who had just faced off against him in a court battle that ended in a jury finding Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation, awarding Carroll millions of Trump’s ill-gotten dollars.
Since then, there’s been a shakeup at the network, with the CEO Chris Licht out after viewers largely blamed him for setting up a pro-Trump atmosphere, among other reasons. ¤ The decision not to air Trump’s post-indictment speech live seems to suggest that Licht’s exit is part of a culture change at the network. Tapper said: ¤ “We’re not carrying his remarks live because he says a lot of things that are not true and sometimes potentially dangerous, but we do have some…so you can get a sense of his state of mind and how he’s framing his defense.”
[Trump] posted on TruthSocial, arguing that Tapper didn’t want to cover him because he didn’t want CNN viewers to see “the level of enthusiasm” in Trump’s supporters. ¤ “Fake Tapper just demanded that his broadcast be closed down from Miami because there was far too much enthusiasm on the streets for “Trump.” The good news is, he was the only one to do so, perhaps a good explanation as to why CNN’s ratings are so low!” Trump said.
It’s Trump’s norm to attack networks as having low ratings when they aren’t favorable to him. ¤ In this case, the ratings drop can be directly tied to him, though. OutKick reports: “The primetime hours of CNN, 8-11 pm, have declined 32 percent since the town hall — from 581,000 to 395,000. CNN recorded its lowest primetime average since May 2014 the week following the event.” ¤ Basically, the event didn’t draw conservative viewers to CNN and alienated liberal viewers — equating to a net loss.
Meanwhile, at Fox News, the opposite decision was made — a choice to enhance partisanship and appease the most tantrum-prone former president in U.S. history. ¤ Covering President Joe Biden, they ran a chyron — that’s the little headline that scrolls under the news — declaring Biden a “wannabe dictator.” Specifically, it declared: ¤ “Wannabe dictator speaks at the White House after having his political rival arrested.”
(Biden did not have his political rival arrested; Trump was arrested because the DOJ has evidence indicating that he committed dozens of felonies, though it will remain to be determined in court if he’s guilty.) ¤ The chyron aired near the end of the slot that used to belong to Tucker Carlson, according to the New York Times.
[ Note: Fox stated the chryon was taken down almost immediately and steps have been taken. @avindman is demanding Fox no longer be shown on military bases. (Sources: seen by me on Twitter ]
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa Cities with ruins instead of life. Cities with flooded streets. Cities that exist only in fond memories. Cities where explosions now sound instead of children’s laughter. We will never forgive the pain that Russia has brought to our land. And we will expel the Russian evil from all our land, liberate every city and village of ours from the occupier and return justice to our people.
💽 https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1668906224639721474?s=20/photo/1
// moving video
🐣 RT @MeidasTouch Mike Pence: “I had a chance to review the indictment over the weekend. And this indictment contains serious charges and I cannot defend what is alleged. The very prospect that what is alleged here took place…it puts at risk the men and women of our Armed Forces.”
💽 https://twitter.com/MeidasTouch/status/1669077206772097024?s=20/photo/1
NYT: Judge in Trump Documents Case Has Scant Criminal Trial Experience https://tinyurl.com/ycyzhmvt
// Judge Aileen M. Cannon, under scrutiny for past rulings favoring the former president, has presided over only a few criminal cases that went to trial.
WaPo, Karen DeYoung: As Ukraine’s counteroffensive heats up, Washington holds its breath https://tinyurl.com/5f3mpw22
// After 16 months of war, and with tens of billions’ worth of advanced weapons sent, Western backers need Ukraine’s forces to show dramatic gains against Russian occupiers
↥ ↧
⋙ Comment: I recommend the article below as an antidote to the one above:
Comment Link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/06/14/ukraine-counteroffensive-biden-support/?commentID=a18f64e3-19c3-4e99-860b-bfe3dd71d77e
↥ ↧
⋙ 🐣 RT @Jack_Watling Having kept fairly quiet throughout its preparation I’ve written a piece for @RUSI_org trying to outline the challenges over the next few weeks for the AFU’s offensive. They are beating expectations, but this is going to be a hard fight.
⋙⋙ RUSI, Jack Watling: Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Begins: Shall the Leopards Break Free? https://tinyurl.com/64m3sbus
// Ukrainian forces are making gains, but the offensive is some way from its decisive phase; we must refrain from premature pronouncements of success or failure.
[…] For Ukraine’s international partners, the summer is likely to be deeply uncomfortable. Losses will mount and success will take time. It is vital, however, that there is no diminution in the strengthening of the training programmes allowing Ukraine to continue to generate combat units, or the mobilisation of defence industry to put supply to the Ukrainian military on a sustainable basis. However much territory is liberated in this offensive, the critical variable is convincing the Kremlin that even if its defeat comes in stages, it is coming.
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @Seathanaich Here’s hoping that this campaign unfolds like Normandy in 1944. A tough break in, fixing enemy reserves, creating a weak point, and then a breakout and enemy collapse. ¤ Until then, impatient voices will be the loudest.
🐣 RT @georgewbarros Good piece from @Jack_Watling. ¤ The Ukrainian campaign design seeks to have the Russians decisively commit their reserves to one sector of the theater so the Ukrainians can then decisively commit to attacking a weak point.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Jack_Watling Having kept fairly quiet throughout its preparation I’ve written a piece for @RUSI_org trying to outline the challenges over the next few weeks for the AFU’s offensive. They are beating expectations, but this is going to be a hard fight.
⋙⋙ RUSI, Jack Watling: Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Begins: Shall the Leopards Break Free? https://tinyurl.com/64m3sbus
// Ukrainian forces are making gains, but the offensive is some way from its decisive phase; we must refrain from premature pronouncements of success or failure.
🐣 RT @ DevanaUkraine Russian soldiers who surrendered today are massively criticizing and saying bad things about their commanders who betrayed them. Look at their emotions. These are not memorized texts, as in the videos of the russians.
💽 https://twitter.com/DevanaUkraine/status/1669046699480735749?s=20/photo/1
// really sad
🔄🔄 🐣 I invite you to follow my curated Twitter Lists on “Ukraine” (~1.2K accts)
and (more technical) “War in Ukraine” (~700 accts) https://twitter.com/i/lists/157259218
✛ War in Ukraine: Battles, Battle Maps, Weapons, Ret. Mil., Milbloggers, Think Tanks https://twitter.com/i/lists/1545071393397784576
🔄 🐣 I read that changing the sensitivity rating helps. I did so and it seems to have improved the situation. ¤ Mostly, though, I use two Twitter Lists: ”Ukraine” & “War in Ukraine.” Feel welcome to follow them. The first follows ~1.2K accounts. The !atter follows ~700 accounts. No ads
🐣 RT @ProjectLincoln .@NoLabelsOrg is funded by the same billionaires that are funding Ron DeSantis. ¤ Don’t be fooled, they don’t want a moderate in office. They’re nothing more than pro-MAGA operatives that want to siphon votes from Biden to get Trump back in office or help DeSantis win in 2024.
💽 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1669034466696650758?s=20/photo/1
😂 RT @AWeissmann_ Trump saying “DOJ is not coming just after me, they are coming after you,” only makes sense if you have intentionally taken nuclear and military secrets and obstructed justice. Unless that applies to you, you can relax!
🐣 RT @sgurmanm “Mr. Smith is a veteran career prosecutor,” Garland said in his first public comments since Trump’s indictment. “He as assembled a group of experienced and talented prosecutors and agents who share his commitment to integrity and the rule of law.”
🐣 RT @NikaMelkozerova with all our criticism of some western journalists, when we see great work we always celebrate it. So many Ukrainians in my feed( including me) shared this story as very accurate, not rosy, objective reporting. Masterful
💙 ⋙ NewYorker, Luke Mogelson: Two Weeks at the Front in Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/yw8yn6ep
// 5/22/2023; In the trenches in the Donbas, infantrymen face unrelenting horrors, from missiles to grenades to helicopter fire.
🐣 RT @ United24media ⚡️ International Criminal Court is investigating potential new charges against Russian President Putin over Kakhovka hydroelectric plant disaster, says lawyer Scott Martin. ICC reps arrive in the Kherson region.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer VELYKA NOVOSILKA AXIS/ 1650 UTC 14 JUN/ UKR forces make gains S of T-05-09 HWY at Novodonetske. UKR forces are engaging in mine-clearance operations and offensive operations against Rivnopil. UKR counter-battery fire destroyed 5 Russian Masta type self-propelled howitzers.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1669021980044009483?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @front_ukrainian ⚡️⚡️At the upcoming summit, NATO will send a clear signal that it is ready to accept 🇺🇦Ukraine into the Alliance — Stoltenberg
🐣 RT @FreudGreyskull Romanov continues his explosive reaction to the commanders incompetence. ¤ Does anyone know his name?
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/FreudGreyskull/status/1668908022377385984?s=20/photo/1 -4
[Text:] The co-authors of a number of our tragic offensives continue to “advance”. A selection of emergency situations near Kremennaya: –
It was near Kremennaya, a tragic incident occurred in one of the divisions that were going to go on the offensive. For two hours people stood in a crowd in one place and waited for the division commander to say his motivating word. But instead of him, the HIMARS MLRS and enemy artillery had their say. In the Yuzhnodonetsk direction, in a few days there were fewer victims in the battles than from the criminal stupidity of the division commander (c @rybar –
If by the middle of the second year of the war there are commanders that carry columns to the front and build personnel in one big pile, and then wait for the enemy artillery to strike, then such commanders must be shot before the formation, even if they are colonels or even generals (c) @vysokygovorit
– Bitch, you can’t stand in a column for two hours in one place! Well, what are you doing, father commanders, you are commanding people! Will bloggers be looked for again instead of degenerates with high shoulder straps? The Armed Forces of Ukraine have no merit in this war. We are at war with our own stupidity and sloppiness, smeared from above with beautiful reports (c) @dva_majors
Judging by the photo of the PnV https://t.me/voenacher/46645, we are talking about a person on whose topic in November 2022 there was a sensational appeal from the fighters of the 155th Marine Corps Brigade of the Pacific Fleet addressed to the Governor of Primorsky Krai https://t.me/grey_zone/15698
Colleagues here confirm my naive guesses with hints:
https://t.me/romanov_92/39345
https://t.me/milinfolive/102130
As for me, the military prosecutor’s office should rustle with an electric broom. But we are still having a hard time with this, so most likely there will be furious revelations of worthless military correspondents, who again blur the blissful picture of reports with photos.
So it goes.
Eternal remory to the dead.
🐣 RT @Ayei_Eloheichem Strelkov forwards a furious message from Alksnis attacking Putin directly: “I don’t want to give you advice because it’s obviously useless, but try to get a detailed map…Maybe then you will not be disgraced to the whole world by ignorance of the situation at the front?”
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Ayei_Eloheichem/status/1668878263882776577?s=20/photo/1 -2
[Text:] What do you mean by “a significant part of Donetsk”? Isn’t the former Donetsk region part of the DPR? But SIXTY PERCENT of its territory is still under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine today. And for fifteen months we have not been able to drive the Ukrainian army out of Maryinka and Avdiivka, in fact, the suburbs of Donetsk, from where the capital of Donbass is being shelled every day. But have Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, like hundreds of other settlements of Donbass, already been liberated?
What kind of sanitary belt are you talking about if we were unable to drive the enemy away even from Donetsk, subjecting NINE YEARS to torment, suffering and the threat of death of its inhabitants?
After your words, which I quoted, I once again became convinced that our affairs are bad if the Supreme Commander-in-Chief is absolutely not in control of the situation at the front. And I remembered another Supreme Commander-in-Chief – Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin, to whom the Chief of the General Staff, General Antonov, daily personally reported the situation on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War with the obligatory display on the maps. And Stalin knew this situation by heart.
I don’t want to give you advice because it’s obviously useless, but try to get a detailed map of the fighting in Ukraine on your office wall, where all the changes in the course of the fighting will be noted daily. Which it i advisable to submit to you personally after the daily report of the current Chief of the General Staff. General Gerasimov, or even Minister of Defense Shoigu. Maybe then you will not be disgraced to the whole world byignorance of the situation at the front?
⭕ 13 Jun 2023
CBSNews: What does the Presidential Records Act say, and how does it apply to Trump?https://tinyurl.com/yuxdenu3 “The PRA requires that all records created by Presidents (and Vice-Presidents) be turned over to [NARA] at the end of their administrations,” the Archives said”
✅ NYT: Trump’s Misleading Defenses in the Classified Documents Case https://tinyurl.com/2p93aa46 “Trump repeatedly defied requests to return materials for months and, according to the indictment, played an active role in concealing classified documents from investigators”
// The former president drew misleading comparisons to others, misconstrued the classification process and leveled inaccurate attacks at officials.
🐣 RT @OmarRiverosays BREAKING: Trump is hit with more devastating news as Alan Dershowitz, the lawyer who defended him at his impeachment hearings, betrays him, declaring that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment is like “a gun with Trump’s fingerprints on it.” ¤ But Dershowitz didn’t stop there…
He continued, declaring that this is “by far” the most serious of all of the cases against Trump” — and they when Trump “foolishly waved” top secret documents “about a battle attack plan for Iraq” in front of his staff” and bragged that he “could have declassified this, but didn’t,” it became “an admission that he had material that he knew he had not declassified” — which is “evidentiary gold” for Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case.
Please RT and ❤️ if you think that Trump MUST be found guilty — and consider joining the growing exodus to Tribel, a new Twitter competitor I created that is exploding in popularity because Elon Musk banned Tribel’s Twitter account — but he forgot to ban this link to download the new Tribel app: http://tribel.app.link/okwPIHYCIqb
🐣 RT @Reuters A federal judge said E. Jean Carroll, the New York writer who last month won a $5 million jury verdict against Donald Trump for sexual abuse and defamation, can pursue a related $10 million defamation case against the former US president [link]
🐣 RT @VABVOX #NEW While Trump was being arraigned for 37 counts related to violations of the Espionage Act, a federal judge agreed that E. Jean Carroll could amend her defamation suit to expand damages due to what he said at the CNN Town Hall.
[TextLink:] https://pic.twitter.com/w8h9GJgKsl
Technology[.]org: Five More Patriot Batteries will Arrive in Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/27n7hz8f “The Ukrainian military reportedly managed to improve the systems, allowing them to track and destroy hypersonic missiles twice as fast as they were designed for”
// Raytheon has announced that Ukraine will be receiving additional five batteries of the Patriot air defense system, and the approximate timing has been disclosed.
[…] According to the head of Raytheon, the deadline for delivering these complexes to bolster the Armed Forces of Ukraine is planned for the end of 2024 at the latest. The article also highlights that even Raytheon itself was surprised by the impressive effectiveness of their missile platform in Ukraine, which was demonstrated in actual combat situations.
Furthermore, the article revealed a bit of a “teaser” information by saying that Ukraine has made modifications to the Patriot’s software, enabling it to track and destroy hypersonic missiles that fly at double the speed it was originally designed for.
“The Ukrainian military reportedly managed to improve the systems, allowing them to track and destroy hypersonic missiles twice as fast as they were designed for,” says the original article.
However, as the experts from Defense Express noted, implementing changes to the American military software from the Ukrainian side to enable interception of Russian “hypersonic” missiles, such as the X-47 “Kinzhal,” seems quite a challenging task which could possibly be accomplished only with the help of the colleagues from the U.S. Army.
Meanwhile, Raytheon Technologies is actively working to increase the production of air defense systems and accelerate the technological production cycles, which currently stand at two years. Specifically, the production capacity is being increased to 12 batteries manufactured per single year.
This increase is not only driven by Ukraine’s requirements but also by the growing global demand for the Patriot system (its PAC-3 version), especially following its successful use in real conflicts, facing Russian weaponry.
🐣 RT @TheRickWilson This ad starts airing today in several markets. Will Trump see it in Mar A Lago and Bedminster? ¤ Yes. Yes, he will.
💽 https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/1668276361562316800?s=20/photo/1
// traitor ad @ProjectLincoln The Lincoln Project Espionage Act
🐣 RT @AndriyYermak As President @ZelenskyyUa said, meetings were held with the diplomats of the respective countries, and we are waiting for their reactions. ¤ The sanctions coalition must give a tough response. We need to ensure circumvention of sanctions is impossible.
🔄 ⋙ 🐣 In the House, on the Republican side, make sure to include:
@RepMikeRogersAL, Armed Services: @HASCRepublicans
@RepMcCaul, Foreign Affairs: @HouseForeignGOP
@RepMikeTurner, Intelligence: @HouseIntel
@RepMarkGreen, Homeland Security: @HomelandGOP
// pro-Ukraine GOP pro-Ukraine Republicans in the House
CBSNews: What does the Presidential Records Act say, and how does it apply to Trump?https://tinyurl.com/yuxdenu3 Trump is not charged under the PRA, but under Provision 793 of the Espionage Act which prohibits the retention of national defense information in an unsecured location
🐣 RT @tribelaw Judge Aileen Cannon “and the 11th Circuit owe both Trump and the American people an expertly run trial free from the appearance of bias.” Judge Cannon cannot fulfill that obligation.
⋙ WaPo, Jennifer Rubin: Aileen Cannon should not preside over the Trump trial https://tinyurl.com/yc5mz8xr
[…] Constitutional scholar Laurence H. Tribe told Newsweek: “Judge Cannon’s rulings in favor of Donald Trump’s motion to suspend the criminal investigation … including her appointment of a special master to undertake a review that had no basis in law, certainly fits that test by establishing a strong basis for questioning her impartiality, entirely apart from the aggravating factor that she was appointed to her lifetime position on the federal bench by defendant Donald Trump.”
Other legal scholars agree. (As Stephen Gillers put it, “Now, the fact that a judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned doesn’t mean that the judge is partial. The public may simply not trust the impartiality of the judge. Because public trust in the work of the court is a value as important as the work itself, the rule says that the judge should not sit when we can’t fairly ask the public to trust what the judge does.”)
It borders on absurd that an inexperienced judge appointed to the bench by the defendant to whom she threw lifeline would try the case after getting slammed by the circuit court for even touching his civil gambit. This might be the most important criminal trial in U.S. history, with enormous implications for democracy, the rule of law and national security.
WaPo: President Biden huddles with NATO Chief Stoltenberg amid questions on Ukraine, Sweden and NATO’s next secretary general https://tinyurl.com/d3bpt7vh “We’ve strengthened NATO’s eastern flank & made it clear we’ll defend every inch of NATO territory” ~ Biden
🧵 RT @judgeluttig There is not an Attorney General of either party who would not have brought today’s charges against the former president.
📌 https://twitter.com/judgeluttig/status/1668766562210447360?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @judgeluttig He has dared, taunted, provoked, and goaded DOJ to prosecute him from the moment it was learned that he had taken these national security documents.
⋙ 🐣 RT @judgeluttig On any given day for the past 18 months — doubtless up to and including the day before the indictment was returned — the former president could have avoided and prevented this prosecution. He would never have been indicted for taking these documents.
⋙ 🐣 RT @judgeluttig But for whatever reason, he decided that he would rather be indicted and prosecuted.
⋙ 🐣 RT @judgeluttig After a year and a half, he finally succeeded in forcing Jack Smith’s appropriately reluctant hand, having left the Department no choice but to bring these charges lest the former president make a mockery of the Constitution and the Rule of Law.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer VELYKA NOVOSILKA/ 2050 UTC 13 UTC/ Front line sources report a major RU counter-attack is in progress against the T-05-18 axis S of Velyka Novosilka. RU forces are reported to have seized high ground to the EWst of the Mokri Yaly River, dominating the T-05-18 approaches.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1668704311805726721?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer ZAPORIZHZHIA AXIS/ 1530 UTC 13 JUN/ Front line sources report that UKR has destroyed more than a dozen RU tanks and numerous BMPs and IFVs in the last 24 hours of combat. UKR SOF directed a strike on Polohy, killing RU Major General Sergei Goryache.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1668642293723680768?s=20/photo/1
🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Trump arraigned, pleads not guilty to 37 classified documents charges https://tinyurl.com/48nsryts “A few hundred people, most of them Trump supporters, had gathered and were waving flags and chanting” outside the Miami federal courthouse
// After scowling through a court hearing, the former president tries to fundraise and hype his candidacy
🐣 RT @ ProjectLincoln .@TheRickWilson points out Trump’s love for media attention has no conditions. There is no such thing as bad press to him. The blitz around the latest indictment is another flood that will drown out lesser known candidates opportunity to present themselves & their campaigns.
💽 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1668758526338953216?s=20/photo/1
🧵 RT @DonbasDIY As Russia preaches denazification, Since 2004 it has covertly partnered & financed Neo Nazi & far-right movements around the world. Following a Neo-Eurasianist strategy popularized by Dugin, these fringe groups are causing division, spreading lies & subverting societies. 1/
📌 🌎 https://twitter.com/DonbasDIY/status/1664000637560934402?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @TreasChest ⚡️Zelensky’s evening address:
🔹The Bakhmut direction, and this, in particular, the soldiers of the 80th separate brigade of the DSHV – there is forward movement in various areas. Thank you for your extraordinary courage!
🔹Tavria OSUV units – in the conditions of extremely brutal battles, in the conditions of aviation and artillery superiority of the occupier, there is forward movement. Thank you, warriors!
🔹Marines of the 35th and 36th separate brigades, 110th separate mechanized brigade, 128th separate mountain assault brigade, paratroopers of our cool “Simdesyatdevyatka”, artillerymen of the 55th separate brigade “Zaporizka Sich”… Thank you for strength!
🔹And I thank everyone in our society who understands that the liberation of our land from such occupiers requires difficult, heroic and intense actions, which day by day, step by step, give the necessary power to our offensive actions. ¤ Channel 24
⭕ 12 Jun 2023
NYT: Hillary Clinton’s Emails: A Nation Struggles to Unsubscribe https://tinyurl.com/4xmdktm8 “The two episodes are vastly different legal matters, and Mrs. Clinton was never found to have systematically or deliberately mishandled classified information”
// As Donald Trump made history by becoming the first former president to face federal charges, many Republicans tried to change the subject by renewing an eight-year-old controversy.
🖼 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1668948331018477572?s=20/photo/1
🔄 Butter Emails
🧵 RT @KremlinTrolls Video appears to show Russian terrorists using anti-retreat detachments (often called ‘barrier’ or ‘blocking’ troops) to fire on their own fleeing soldiers. ¤ Stalin used this method in 1941 to control unruly troop units.
📌 💽 https://twitter.com/KremlinTrolls/status/1668208719618768899?s=20/photo/1 -2
The first use of the barrier trooos by the Red Army occurred in the ate summer and fallof
1918 in the Eastern front during the Russian CivilWar, when People’s Commissar of
Military and Naval Affairs (War Commissar Leon Trotskv of the Communist Bolshevik government authorized Mikhail Tukhachevsky, the commander of the lstArmy, to station blocking detachments behind unreliable Red Army infantry regiments in the 1st Red Army,
with orders to shoot if front-line troops either deserted or retreated without permission.
formation in the Red Army.
On 18 December he cabled: ¤ “How do things stand with the blocking units? As far as I am aware they have not been included in our establishment and it appears they have no personnel. It is absolutely essential that we have at least an embryonic network of blocking units and that we work out a procedure for bringing them up to strength and deploying them.”
The barrier troops were also used to enforce Bolshevik control over food supolies in areas
controlled by the Red Army, a role which soon earned them the hatred of the Russian
civilian population. …
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa More terrorist missiles, Russian killers continue their war against residential buildings, ordinary cities and people. Unfortunately, there are dead and wounded. The rescue operation in Kryvyi Rih continues. My condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones! 🇷🇺 terrorists will never be forgiven, and they will be held accountable for every missile they launch.
💽 https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1668480633864171521?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Such a powerful @BBCSteveR report from Moscow. As its war on Ukraine drags on, Russia sinks deeper into glorifying its militarism, a messianic militarism. Very reminiscent of Nazi Germany, right down to the propaganda language, “We are Russians. God is with us!” h/t @IlvesToomas
⋙ 🐣 RT @BBCSteveR Extraordinary art exhibition across from the Kremlin: “We are Russians. God is with us!” Seems to reflect the official view that somehow God is on Russia’s side. On Russia Day, I ask Muscovites about this, & about Russia’s war in Ukraine & Russia’s future. @BBCNews
💽 https://twitter.com/BBCSteveR/status/1668319910349656066?s=20/photo/1
🧵 RT @mkraju John Thune says of Trump indictment: “They’re very serious allegations.”
Others in GOP downplay it. ¤ Sen. Tommy Tuberville on allegation Trump obstructed probe and tried to hide classified documents.”They obviously got what they wanted,” he said of DOJ.
📌 https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1668388556799201287?s=20
🐣 RT @KyivIndependent ⚡️Ukrhydroenergo head: Kakhovka dam destruction cut off water supply to Crimea for ‘at least a year’ ¤ “There is no water supply to Crimea because the Kakhovka reservoir’s water level is already much lower than what is needed to go along the Crimean Canal, Ihor Syrota said.
🧵 RT @ChrisO_wiki 1/ Russian Defence Minister Shoigu’s recent bid to control the Wagner Group is reportedly motivated by Russian elites aiming to stop Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin becoming a player in future turmoil. Meanwhile, an apparent leak accuses Wagner of massive theft of military fuel.
📌 https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1668397517292072965?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @ […] 14/ It remains to be seen where this will go, but the apparent leak looks like an attempt to prepare the ground for Wagner – and presumably Prigozhin himself – to be prosecuted for corruption and theft. /end
🐣 RT @ RpsAgainstTrump WOW. Mitt Romney isn’t mincing words about Trump’s mishandling of classified documents: ¤ “I’m angry. The country is going to go through tumult as a result of one thing: President Trump didn’t turn over military documents when he was asked to do so.”
🚫 🐣 RT @Carl_Rehnberg2 Defence Minister Shoigu has issued a kill order for all soldiers of the PMC Wagner, it is kill on sight, no captives. ¤ He has also recinded all pardons for any member of PMC Wagner. ¤ Civil War has started in Russia.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Carl_Rehnberg2 Gay Satan did publish it below, but here it is again.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Carl_Rehnberg2/status/1668363527428399105?s=20/photo/1
// letter in Russian: some commenters say letter is FAKE
[TextLink:] [tr] https://twitter.com/JaryloUEch13479/status/1668373933601574915?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @yasminalombaert Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Monday it has signed a contract with the Akhmat group of Chechen special forces, a day after Russia’s powerful mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin refused to do so.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/yasminalombaert/status/1668368081876287492?s=20/photo/1
The signing followed an order that all “volunteer units” (mercenaries), should sign contracts by July 1 bringing them under the control of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, as Moscow tries to assert its control over private armies fighting on its behalf in Ukraine.
In return, volunteer fighters would get the same benefits and protections as regular troops, including support for them and their families if they are wounded or killed.
Prigozhin, who has waged a running feud with the defence ministry and accused it of failing to provide adequate ammunition supplies to his Wagner mercenaries in Ukraine, said on Sunday he would refuse to sign any such contract. ¤ He said that Shoigu “cannot properly manage military formations”.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer VELYKA NOVOSILKA/1740 UTC 12 JUN/ UKR forces are reported to have liberated Rivnopil. UKR units have united at Starornaiorske with forces now advancing south down the T-05-18 axis. UKR is consolidating gains and is presently reported to be in contact north of Staromlynivka.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1668311079745728519?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @MissionYak https://twitter.com/MissionYak/status/1668312894746787840?s=20/photo/1
◕ [Text:] Confidence in Putin reached record lows in many countries surveyed in 2022
% who have in Russian President Vladimir Putin to do the right thing regarding world affairs
🐣 RT @tribelaw I’ve been arguing this for days. And if our system is too weak to achieve her recusal, at the very least the Chief Justice should direct that the entire trial be televised to ensure vitally needed transparency.
⋙ 🧵 RT @NormEisen Judge Cannon must recuse from Trump’s case under 28 USC 455–or be reassigned by the 11th Circuit ¤ Her lawless pro-Trump rulings that were smacked down on appeal mean her “impartiality might reasonably be questioned” ¤ I explain @Slate & in this thread (1/x)
📌 https://twitter.com/NormEisen/status/1668238931400306691?s=20
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @NormEisen Under 28 USC 455(a) a judge shall disqualify themselves if their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” ¤ Judge Cannon’s situation clearly fits that test ¤ She is obligated to recuse herself & if she doesn’t the 11th circuit will likely reassign sooner or later (3/x) [TextLink:] https://twitter.com/NormEisen/status/1668252110079639555?s=20/photo/1
// [Text:] 28 U.S. Code § 455 – Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate judge
Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned.
🐣 📋 RT @ SIPRIorg At the start of 2023, the 9 nuclear-armed states possessed an estimated 12 512 nuclear weapons:
USA 🇺🇸 5 244
Russia 🇷🇺 5 889
UK 🇬🇧 225
France 🇫🇷 290
China 🇨🇳 410
India 🇮🇳 164
Pakistan 🇵🇰 170
North Korea 🇰🇵 30
Israel 🇮🇱 90
Read more in #SIPRIYearbook 2023 ➡️ http://bit.ly/3MYIDxd
[TextLink:] ◕ https://twitter.com/SIPRIorg/status/1668133114730749952?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @RonFilipkowski The rantings of a deranged madman with autocratic dreams who continues to become more unstable and unraveled with every passing day.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1668291671820312577?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump NOW THAT THE “SEAL” IS BROKEN, IN ADDITION TO CLOSING THE BORDER & REMOVING ALL OF THE “CRIMINAL” ELEMENTS THAT HAVE ILLEGALLY INVADED OUR COUNTRY, MAKING AMERICA ENERGY INDEPENDENT, & EVEN DOMINANT AGAIN, & IMMEDIATELY ENDING THE WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA & UKRAINE, I WILL APPOINT A REAL SPECIAL “PROSECUTOR” TO GO AFTER THE MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE USA, JOE BIDEN, THE ENTIRE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY, & ALL OTHERS INVOLVED WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR ELECTIONS, BORDERS, & COUNTRY ITSELF!
CEPA, Ben Hodges: Think Ukraine’s Offensive Has Started? Wait for the Heavy Brigades https://tinyurl.com/nz8twyu8 “When we see two or three of those brigades … focused on a narrow frontt, it will then be possible to say that the main attack has probably started”
// There’s fighting underway across frontline Ukraine, says Lt-Gen (rtd.) Ben Hodges, but the decisive moment will come when we see hundreds of armored vehicles hitting Russian lines.
… There is a big difference between starting an offensive, and the main attack or main effort of the operation. The offensive has clearly started, but not I think the main attack.
When we see large, armored formations join the assault, then I think we’ll know the main attack has really begun. To date, I don’t think we’ve witnessed this concentration of several hundred tanks and infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) in the attack.
A Ukrainian tank battalion normally has 31 tanks. An armored infantry battalion would have about the same number. Add in armored vehicles carrying engineers, air defense, logistics, and so on. An armored brigade would likely have three tank battalions and one or two mechanized infantry battalions. In total, then, an armored brigade is going to have 250-plus armored vehicles of different types.
I estimate that the Ukrainians have put together anywhere from seven to 12 armored brigades. Some may have only Ukrainian or captured Russian equipment, and others will have a mix of Western-provided kit.
When we see two or three of those brigades (around 500-750 armored vehicles) focused on a narrow front, it will then be possible to say that the main attack has probably started and where it’s happening.
If the West provides everything the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) need, especially long-range precision weapons, then I still anticipate that Ukraine can liberate Crimea, the decisive terrain of this war, by the end of this summer, that is to say, by the end of August. This is one of the aims of the offensive, I believe. At that point, the UAF’s long-range precision weapons could reach Sevastopol, Saky, Dzankoy, and other key Crimean targets, and that would allow them to make the peninsula untenable for Russian forces. That’s why the UK’s delivery of Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles with a range of 155-plus miles, was such an important contribution.
I hope the Biden Administration will finally relent and give short-range (up to 300km or 186 miles) ground-to-ground ATACMS ballistic missiles to Ukraine. That would mark a decisive contribution to what Ukrainian forces can achieve on the ground by giving the offensive an enormous boost. …
Lined up in defensive positions before the UAF assault units are the Russians, sitting behind hundreds of miles of trenches with bunkers, minefields, anti-tank ditches, and “Dragons Teeth” obstacle belts. But these defenses are only as good as the soldiers occupying them and covering those obstacles. I’m not impressed with the fighting capabilities of the Russians in most places, and the vicious in-fighting we see between the various Russian leaders, (e.g., warlords like Prigozhin and Kadyrov) highlights the lack of cohesion on the Russian side. I imagine the UAF will exploit this. …
🐣 RT @ GlasnostGone Work has already started in an investigation by the International Criminal Court over the breach of the Kakhovka dam in #Ukraine & the vast flood it triggered, president Zelensky said – adding representatives of the court have visited the Kherson region.
⋙ PresidentUA: It is very important that representatives of international justice have seen with their own eyes the consequences of the Russian act of terrorism at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant https://tinyurl.com/2t2nvftz Address by the President of Ukraine
AP: Trump allies cite Clinton email probe to attack classified records case. There are big differences https://tinyurl.com/42nfv63n The “two important differences are in willfulness and obstruction”
🐣 RT @JayinKyiv Ukrainian intelligence warns that Russians, have just mined the Crimean Titan chemical plant in Armyansk to release 200 tons of ammonia, ¤ This will environmentally devastate a huge area. ¤ Ukraine warned about the Kakhovka Dam and no one listened. ¤ Let’s hope this time is different.
🌎 https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1668174163599654913?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 11 Jun 2023
NewVoiceUkraine: Hacker drains Russian special services wallets, transfers funds to Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/8kde3jkt
// A hacker gained access to hundreds of cryptocurrency wallets belonging to the Russian special services, and may have transferred stolen bitcoins to Ukrainian aid organizations, cryptocurrency experts now believe.
🐣 RT @davidgura “What he was stockpiling were the materials of treason. He may not have known how and when he would cash in this currency, but there can be little doubt that he was determined to retain the ability to do just that.”
💙 ⋙ NYRB (@nybooks), Fintan O’Toole: The Ultimate Deal https://tinyurl.com/4bpfvpcu
// Trump’s hoarding of official secrets is both breathtakingly careless and utterly calculated.
Secrets are a kind of currency. They can be hoarded, but if kept for too long they lose their value. Like all currencies, they must, sooner or later, be used in a transaction—sold to the highest bidder or bartered as a favor for which another favor will be returned. To see the full scale of Donald Trump’s betrayal of his country, it is necessary to start with this reality. He kept intelligence documents because, at some point, those secrets could be used in a transaction. What he was stockpiling were the materials of treason. He may not have known how and when he would cash in this currency, but there can be little doubt that he was determined to retain the ability to do just that.
Before the publication of the grand jury’s indictment, it was possible to believe that Trump’s retention of classified documents was reckless and stupid. The indictment reveals that recklessness and stupidity are the least of his sins. With Trump, it’s always a mistake to equate anarchy with purposelessness or to think that the farce is not deadly serious. Trump’s hoarding of official secrets is both breathtakingly careless and utterly calculated. At the heart of that calculation is a cold resolve to not give up the power that access to highly restricted information had given him. …
🚫 WaPo: Trump’s Miami court date brings fears of violence, rally plans https://tinyurl.com/3wtuytuj “Escalating violent rhetoric in online forums, coupled with defiant statements from the former president and his political allies, have put law enforcement officials on alert”
// Law enforcement officials are monitoring online threats and potential gatherings of far-right extremists and marshaling more officers
🐣 RT @abigaildisney My grandfather is spinning in his grave.
⋙ 🧵. RT @AnnaForFlorida Nazis outside of Walt Disney World right now — absolutely disgusting.
📌 💽 https://twitter.com/AnnaForFlorida/status/1667583474276990976?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 Yanukovich ran promising to bring Ukraine closer to the EU. Then, under compulsion from Putin, he reversed course, resulting in the Maidan and the exposure of flagrant corruption. It was Russia’s intervention that is to blame for 2014, NOT the West.
🌎 😅 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1668117926920978432?s=20/photo/1
// Not Russia map
CNN: Wagner chief rejects Russian Defense Ministry efforts to rein in his force https://tinyurl.com/ysb8s5ks “Yevgeny Prigozhin’s comments follow an announcement by the Russian Ministry of Defense Saturday that ‘volunteer units’ and private military groups would be required to sign a contract with the ministry.”
🐣 RT @ yasminalombaert President Zelensky’s evening address. “Even beasts are more moral than you, Russian state.”
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/yasminalombaert/status/1667995037043392513?s=20/photo/1
“Russian terrorists continue to shell evacuation routes, evacuation points, boats that take people away… Today, as a result of one of these attacks, three people were killed. Ten more people were injured, including two police officers. It was an evacuation from Kardashynka, an occupied village on the left bank of Kherson region… The occupiers created this disaster by blowing up the dam, leaving people to their fate in flooded towns and villages, and then shelling the boats that are trying to take people away… Even beasts are more moral than you, Russian state.”
🐣 RT @atrupar Former Trump AG Bill Barr on Trump’s federal indictment: “If even half of it is true, then he’s toast. I mean, it’s a very detailed indictment, and it’s very, very damning. This idea of presenting Trump as a victim here — a victim of a witch hunt — is ridiculous.”
💽 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1667896395804622848?s=20/photo/1
// FoxNews Sunday
⋙ 🐣 RT @atrupar Bill Barr: “We can’t forget here that this entire thing came about because of reckless conduct of the president. If he had just turned over the documents, which I think every other person in the country would have done … ”
💽 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1667897349132173313?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @tomiahonen Republican Opinions on Trump
Kilmeade: Trump’s insane
Priebus: an idiot
McMaster: dope
Mnuchin: idiot
Kelly: unhinged & an idiot
Mattis: 5th grader
Christie: a child
Coulter: moron
Barr: detached from reality
DeSantis: moron
Bolton: a Putin-loving moron
Tillerson: fucking moron
🐣 RT @HerrDr8 #UkrOffensive2023ZAP #1PageAssessUKRWar Context for ZAP traction (ex: JUNO sector). War lost by Putin 3 weeks in. Since then, brilliant Ukrainian strategy (they channel BH Liddell Hart), true grit,arsenals of democracy pumping kit in. Now, liberation of #TheOrcTriangle time.
🌎 ◕ https://twitter.com/HerrDr8/status/1667979469502439431?s=20/photo/1 -3
🐣 RT @ ChuckPfarrer [6/10] KAMIANSKE CITY AXIS /1625 UTC 10 JUN/ RU media indicates that UKR forces are advancing in the vicinity of Zherebianky & Piatykhatky. It is assessed that UKR forces have made progress on the O-081349 HWY axis in the vicinity of Nesterianka and may be advancing toward Hrozove.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1667565677526351875?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ ChuckPfarrer VELYKA NOVOSILKA /2110 UTC 11 JUN/ During the day of 11 JUN, sources report that UKR forces have staged advances in the Velyka Novosilka area of operations. The villages of Storozhove, Blahdonte, Makarivka, Starornnaiorske are reported to have been liberated
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1667998833769345024?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /1745 UTC 11 JUN/ Sources report that UKR forces have advanced S toward Soledar, penetrating RU lines by as much as 2000 meters. The same sources report UKR advances on a widening front between Vasiukivka & Orikhovo-Vasylivka.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1667946649153335299?s=20/photo/1
💙 🐣 RT @peterpomeranzev ‘Russia is a culture where you have crime without punishment and punishment without crime’. The Ukrainian scholars Tetiana Ogarkova and @yermolenko_v helps me understand what lies behind Russia’s acts of extreme violence
⋙ TheGuardian, Peter Pomerantsev: What lies behind Russia’s acts of extreme violence? Freudian analysis offers an answer https://tinyurl.com/p7f8jza2
// The blowing up of a Ukrainian dam echoes a traditional cycle of destruction and self-destruction marking the country’s history
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @DTAH22 I truly think that Russians are the remanence of pre-historic mankind, where they were isolated from the general human race development process, and kept the basic primitive man instincts and behavior. They never developed beyond that
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @The_Fit_Gourmet That’s an astute analysis. I would also add that violence permeates the russian society at all levels. From family violence and drunkenness that children witness at a very young age to “dedovschina” in the army… there’s a sense of normalcy and indifference when violence happens.
🐣 RT @GlasnostGone We all know that if #Ukraine liberates #Crimea, then Putin’s in BIG trouble. Its lose would make huge world headlines & he’d be unable to hide the humiliating defeat from the Russian people. So it’s unsurprising Putin blew the Nova Kakhovka dam to delay any advance on Crimea.
¤ https://twitter.com/GlasnostGone/status/1667866607404580865?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @DenesTorteli Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar: “According to available information, it has become known that the enemy is moving its most combat-ready units from the Kherson direction, primarily marines, airborne troops and the 49th Army. Therefore, the purpose of the Russians’ explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant becomes obvious. Thus, taking into account its own losses and limited reserves, thus realizing the inability to deter the Ukrainian offensive in different directions, the command of the Russian occupation forces decided to ‘narrow’ the possible geography of the Armed Forces’ active actions. The explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was obviously carried out in order to prevent the Ukrainian Defense Forces from launching an offensive in the Kherson sector and to free up the necessary reserves for their deployment to the Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut sectors. Also, by destroying the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, the Russian leadership is trying to divert some of the forces and resources of the Ukrainian Defense Forces to eliminate the man-made disaster, thereby making it impossible to liberate the occupied territories on the left bank of the Kherson region.” https://t.me/annamaliar/837
🐣 RT @@NOELreports Plans love silence. [Budanov]
🐣 RT @NatalkaKyiv Prigozhin’s press services published his response to the following question: “The debate continues on the web about the presidential administration giving you a very loud signal that you have personal ambitions, and you need to remove them in order to unite around a common victory. ¤ What can you say about this and how do you intend to realize these ambitions?” #Prigozhin #Wagner #RussianArmy #Russia #Ukraine #RussiaUkraineWar
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1667780718917738496?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @realblackmonk Let’s see where this his ambition leads him. I think prighozin knows he has crossed the rubicon. A faction must give way for the other. Either Shoigu/Gerasimov led MOD or Prighozin and his backers will have to leave the scene. Sooner than later.
🐣 RT @NOELreports It looks like Putin and Shoigu want to centralize the PMC’s under their command. All voluntary fighters who are fighting for Russia have to sign a contract with the Russian Federation as of 1 July 2023. This also applies to Wagner, led by Prigozhin. ¤ Shoigu pulls the strings.
💽 https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1667810365869113344?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 10 Jun 2023
WaPo: Political risks rise for Putin as Ukraine’s counteroffensive begins https://tinyurl.com/4xxyk7y4 ‘Nervousness among the Russian elite over the firepower of Ukraine’s Western weaponry is driving fears that the land bridge to Crimea could be severed’
🧵 RT @atrupar ICYMI, my thread on Trump post-indictment speech earlier today to the Georgia GOP convention begins here
📌 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1667650559074074627?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @OhRick4 It makes me sad that HALF our country is siding with a TRAITOR over OUR National Security and Democracy
The UNITED States of America
I’m heartbroken
Is there no true patriotism left
Its like people don’t care
None of this, NONE OF IT should have happened in the first place
⋙ 📋🐣 40% of Americans live in counties that voted for Trump
30% of US GDP comes from those counties (Brookings)
MAGAdonia is a 2nd tier country
SCOTUS just gifted Dems 4 or 5 House seats
Worry less, GOTV more
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer SECOND ORDER EFFECT: RU war planners may have forgotten that the dam they destroyed was critical to the supply of fresh water to the Crimean Peninsula.
◕ https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1667708106032259073?s=20/photo/1
🚫NYT: Trump Supporters’ Violent Rhetoric in His Defense Disturbs Experts https://tinyurl.com/3tknxyh7 //➔ poorly sourced (2 experts; typical rw kooks)
// The former president’s allies have portrayed the indictment as an act of war and called for retribution, which political violence experts say increases the risk of action.
// 📋 “The last thing Dems want is for Trump not to run because he is is a flawed candidate who lost to Biden once already: MAGAs are just coddling and cosplaying”
// 📋 Biden-voting counties produce 70% of the US GDP (Brookings) and are home to 198M (60%) vs 130M (40%) people; MAGAmerica is a third world country
// me, fretting with statistics
🐣 RT @ @tomiahonen And from our international desk.. Danni has calculated how many people GLOBALLY were damaged by our Traitor-In-Chief and his tremendous collection of espionage… RT @Daniellahahah18
◕ https://twitter.com/tomiahonen/status/1667692692686491648?s=20/photo/1
// 475.9M in Five Eyes countries
🧵 RT @noclador I looked at the footage of the Ukrainian attack South of Mala Tokmachka… errors were made: one by higher ups & one by the attacking troops.
1) No air defense: at least three russian drones and one helicopter flew above the Ukrainians and walked russian artillery in. 1/15
📌 https://twitter.com/noclador/status/1667266063501873153?s=20
🐣 🐣 RT @HerrDr8 #Kto200Arctic ISW reports: “Russian sources claimed that elements of the 200th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (14th Army Corps, Northern Fleet) are defending against Ukrainian counterattacks in the Bakhmut area”. The 200th? If RUS using them again, RUS be short. Real short.
◕ 🌎 https://twitter.com/HerrDr8/status/1667692826866352128?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Tendar Since both sides are already reporting it, I will release the information I collected, too. There is anyway a delay of this information and therefore does not compromise OPSEC. ¤ Almost the entire forward defense line of the Russian army near Velyka Novosilka – around 20 km long – has been wiped out. Ukrainian forces liberated Neskuchne and Novodonets’ke. ¤ Based on Russian drone footage we know that Ukrainian forces are already operating further south, hammering Russian forces in Storozheve and the little village of Blahodatne, nearby. #Ukraine #Counteroffensive #VelykaNovosilka #Donetsk
🌎 https://twitter.com/Fireblade577/status/1667652666569138176?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @jonflan What every citizen must decide. We’ve about done the groundlings in DC who did the dirty work for Trump and his corrupt overseers; time to get after the really serious wrongdoers – consider the pyramid of guilt –
◕ https://twitter.com/JonFlan/status/1667655201434550274?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer FIGHT’S ON: UKR’s Pres. Volodymyr Zelensky says that the long-awaited counter-offensive against Russia has started. “Counteroffensive & defensive actions are taking place.” But he would not talk in detail about which stage the counter-offensive was in.
⋙ BBC: Ukraine counter-offensive actions have begun, Zelensky says https://tinyurl.com/drtvr9sp
// Ukraine’s president refused to say which stage the counter-offensive against Russian forces was in.
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @CastleShore In my opinion the counteroffensive will start as a grind, probing for weaknesses getting thrown back in some areas. But when they break through things will start to happen very quickly and the Russians will soon be in full retreat just like last time
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS/ 2005 UTC 10 JUN/ UKR has consolidated advances made on numerous axes in the Bakhmut (AO). RU attacks at Bohdanivka and Bila Hora were broken up. were registered S of Ivanivske, across the canal west of the rail right-of-way and in the vicinity of Klischiivka.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1667621747359612929?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @TreasChest At the initial stage of the counteroffensive, it will be extremely difficult, but in the end, the Armed Forces will do much more than analysts’ forecasts, — former director of the CIA, General David Petraeus, in an interview with The Washington Post.
¤ https://twitter.com/TreasChest/status/1667616548817719296?s=20/photo/1
“The Ukrainians have begun to carry out an extremely difficult military task. They are attacking prepared defensive positions that are well supported by artillery. And in war, defense always has an advantage over offense,” the general emphasizes.
In addition, the Armed Forces will not have air superiority — the first F-16 aircraft are expected only in the fall. However, according to Petraeus, Russia will not have it either.
According to the general, the battles at the initial stage of the Ukrainian offensive “will be extremely difficult, and then the situation will become easier.”
the Russians will lack the reserves to cover a front of a thousand kilometers, and on the side of the Armed Forces will be Western equipment and foreign-trained, motivated military personnel.
“I believe that the Ukrainian command will organize impressive joint military operations,” the American general is convinced. ¤ #counteroffensive_ukraine http://ZN.UA
🐣 RT @yamane_patricia And he’s added to it #ArrestThemAll
[TextLink:] ◕ https://twitter.com/yamane_patricia/status/1667537901930926080?s=20/
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump See you in Miami on Tuesday
[Flyer:] ALL HANDS ON DECK!
Trump Document Hoax Rally
400 N Miami Ave.
Miami, FL 33128
Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. U.S. Courthouse
Tuesday, June 13 10am to 5pm
🖼 https://twitter.com/yamane_patricia/status/1667537901930926080?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @AntiToxicPeople We are numb to how completely & utterly insane this lunatic is.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1667543870589243392?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] @reaDonald Trump AMERICA WENT TO SLEEP LAST NIGHT WITH TEARS IN ITS EYES. SOMEDAY SOON, HOWEVER, IT WILL BE ABLE TO WIPE AWAY THOSE TEARS AND SMILE, BIGGER THAN EVER BEFORE, FOR WE WILL HAVE DEFEATED THE RADICAL LEFT MARXISTS, FASCISTS, COMMUNISTS, LUNATICS, & DERANGED MANIACS, & CLEARED THE PATH TO PUT AMERICA FIRST & THEN,QUICKLY, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
⭕ 9 Jun 2023
NYT Editorial: Donald Trump Should Never Again Be Trusted With the Nation’s Secrets https://tinyurl.com/yy6mdr7k “Trump’s recklessness in retaining and showing off military secrets is both arrogant and breathtaking. … It put the lives of American soldiers at risk”
CNN, Daniel Dale: Fact check: Seven of Trump’s false or unsupported claims on the documents investigation https://tinyurl.com/2p8u28jk
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1668208354521481217?s=20/photo/1
🔻False claim: Trump was following the Presidential Records Act by refusing to immediately return documents
🔻False claim: Obama, the Bushes and others took millions of documents home with them after leaving office
🔻False claim: The federal government could have simply asked for the documents back
🔻Unsupported claim: Trump declassified everything
🔻Unsupported claim: The FBI might be wrongly describing empty folders as actual documents
🔻Unsupported claim: The feds might have planted evidence
🔻False claim: Biden has been ‘totally uncooperative’
📊 YahooNews/NVofUA: Over 80% of Ukrainians oppose territorial concessions, even at risk of protracted war — poll https://tinyurl.com/23x733ya
CBSNews: Justice Department unseals Donald Trump indictment—and reveals the charges against him https://tinyurl.com/mrxas2c7
The historic federal indictment filed against former President Donald Trump was made public Friday, detailing the charges the former president is facing related to his handling of sensitive government records after leaving the White House.
The 44-page indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleges that Trump “endeavored to obstruct the FBI and grand jury investigations and conceal retention of classified documents.” The indictment names Walt Nauta, an aide to Trump who served as a White House valet, as a co-conspirator.
The indictment lists 37 felony counts in all against Trump:
31 counts of willful retention of classified documents
1 count of conspiracy to obstruct justice
1 count of withholding a document or record
1 count of corruptly concealing a document or record
1 count of concealing a document in a federal investigation
1 count of scheme to conceal
and one count of making false statements and representations.
At least four of the charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Trump was summoned to appear in federal district court in Miami on Tuesday for an arraignment. He spent Friday at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, golfing with GOP Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida, who tweeted a photo with the former president.
Read the full text of the indictment against Trump here https://tinyurl.com/2p94kywd
What information was in the boxes stored by Trump?
“The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack,” the indictment states. “The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods.”
Among 31 records “relating to the national defense” discovered at Mar-a-Lago were White House intelligence briefings from 2018 through 2020 related to foreign countries, documents concerning military capabilities of foreign countries and the U.S., a June 2020 document involving a foreign country’s nuclear capabilities, an undated record about U.S. nuclear weaponry and a document from October 2018 concerning the communications with another country’s leader.
Twenty-one of these documents had a “TOP SECRET” classification marking, while nine were marked “SECRET.” The final document bore no marking, according to a chart included in the indictment.
The 31 documents relate to Trump’s alleged violation of federal law regarding the willful retention of national defense information.
The 38 counts in the indictment — the final count, also of making false statements, is specific to Nauta — stem from special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into documents recovered from Trump’s South Florida residence, Mar-a-Lago, after he left the White House in January 2021. Roughly 300 documents marked classified in all were retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in the months after the end of Trump’s presidency.
The indictment states that Mar-a-Lago “was not an authorized location for the storage, possession, review, display, or discussion of classified documents” after Trump left office.
“Nevertheless, Trump stored his boxes containing classified documents in various locations at The Mar-a-Lago Club — including in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room,” according to the filing, which includes photos showing boxes stacked on the ballroom stage and in a bathroom next to a shower and toilet.
Another photograph contained in the indictment shows one box located in the storage room at Mar-a-Lago tipped over on the ground, with materials spilling out from it. The indictment states that on Dec. 7, 2021, Nauta discovered the fallen box and texted an unidentified Trump employee, “I opened the door and found this…” with two photos of the scene. Contained among the items in the box was a document marked “SECRET/REL TO USA, FVEY,” meaning it was releasable only to the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the U.S., prosecutors said.
Trump allegedly showed classified documents to others
It also alleges Trump showed classified documents to others and notes that on multiple occasions, the former president spoke of the importance of protecting classified information, both as a candidate in 2016 and then as president. The former president did not inform U.S. Secret Service he was storing records with classification markings at Mar-a-Lago.
According to the indictment, there were two occasions in 2021 when Trump showed classified documents to others. The first occurred in July 2021 at his golf club in Bedminster during a recorded meeting with a writer, publisher and two staff members, none of whom had security clearances. Trump “showed and described a ‘plan of attack’ that he said was prepared for him by the Defense Department” and called the plan “highly confidential” and “secret.” He then said, “As president I could have declassified it … Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret,” the filing states.
The second occasion took place weeks later, in either August or September 2021, also at the Bedminster property. The indictment states that Trump showed an official with his political action committee who also lacked a security clearance a classified map related to a military operation and “told the representative that he should not be showing it and that the representative should not get too close.”
Trump “caused some of his boxes” to be moved to Trump National Golf Club Bedminster in May 2021, which the indictment notes “was not an authorized location.”
Unlawful retention and obstruction
The indictment lays out the efforts by the National Archives and Records Administration, then the Justice Department, to recover presidential records. Those demands began with the Archives in May 2021 and escalated over the next 15 months, with a federal grand jury issuing a subpoena on May 11, 2022, for all documents with classification markings.
Trump met with two of his lawyers to discuss the response to the subpoena days after it was issued, during which the attorneys said they needed to search for documents that would be responsive to it. Citing comments by Trump memorialized by one of his lawyers, the indictment states the former president said, “I don’t want anybody looking, I don’t want anybody looking through my boxes, I really don’t, I don’t want you looking through my boxes,” and asked, “Wouldn’t it be better if we just told them we don’t have anything here?”
In between the meeting with his lawyers on May 23, 2022, about the subpoena, and June 2, 2022, when one of Trump’s lawyers returned to Mar-a-Lago to sift through boxes kept in the storage room, Nauta moved “at Trump’s direction,” 64 boxes to the former president’s residence, prosecutors claim. Thirty were brought to the storage room, according to the indictment.
In response to the subpoena, a total of 38 documents marked classified were given to Justice Department officials who traveled to Mar-a-Lago to collect them. A third Trump attorney — who did not search the boxes on the property — was present on June 3, 2022, when the records were turned over and signed a certification stating that “[b]ased upon the information that [had] been provided to” her, “a diligent search was conducted of the boxes that were moved from the White House to Florida.”
“These statements were false because, among other reasons, Trump had directed Nauta to move boxes before Trump Attorney 1’s June 2 review, so that many boxes were not searched and many documents responsive to the May 11 Subpoena could not be found — and in fact were not found — by Trump Attorney 1,” the indictment states.
The attempts to recover the records culminated in an extraordinary court-authorized search of Mar-a-Lago by the FBI on Aug. 8, 2022. The indictment notes that “more than 100 documents with classification markings remained at The Mar-a-Lago club” until the FBI’s August search.
The FBI opened its investigation into the alleged unlawful retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago at the end of March 2022, and a federal grand jury investigation started the next month.
Prosecutors detailed what they said were the former president’s efforts to obstruct the probe, including suggesting his attorney falsely represent to investigators that Trump didn’t have documents relevant to a grand jury subpoena and directing Nauta to move boxes of records to conceal them from Trump’s lawyer, the FBI and grand jury.
He also suggested his attorney hide or destroy documents covered by the subpoena. Prosecutors allege that Trump directed his attorney to sign a “sworn certification” that all the classified documents had been turned over to the FBI — when Trump knew there were more classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.
The government says Trump knew this because he “had directed that boxes be removed from the Storage Room [at Mar-a-Lago] before Trump Attorney 1 conducted the June 2, 2022 search” for documents with classified markings. As a result, Trump Attorney 1’s search “would not and did not locate” documents responsive to the May 11 Subpoena” — and were not provided to the FBI.
After the June 3, 2022 search, the government says “more than 100 documents with classification markings remained at The Mar-a-Lago club until the FBI search on August 2022.”
The indictment asserts that Trump kept classified documents “originated by, or implicating the equities of” number agencies within the intelligence community, including the CIA, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, and Departments of Energy, Defense and State.
The criminal case brought by federal prosecutors in Florida is unrelated to the state charges leveled against him in April in New York. That indictment entails allegations of falsification of business records.
Smith is also examining efforts to stop the transfer of power after the 2020 presidential election and events surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol, and that investigation remains ongoing.
What happens next with Trump?
Trump is expected to travel to Columbus, Georgia, on Saturday to speak first at the state’s GOP convention and then at the North Carolina Republican convention in Greensboro.
On Monday, two sources with knowledge of the planning told CBS News that Trump will travel from Bedminister to Miami via his private plane, “Trump Force One.” He is expected to spend the night at Trump National Doral Miami before motorcading to the federal courthouse for his scheduled arraignment on Tuesday.
🐣 RT @davidmweissman This is the lord and savior of the Republican Party. Trump is now sending his cult to intimidate Jack Smith and his wife. This does not sound like an innocent man.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/davidmweissman/status/1667270993155325955?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] @realDonaldTrump This is the man who caused the Lois Lerner catastrophe with the IRS. He went after Evangelicals and Great Americans of Faith. The United States had to apologize, and pay major damages for what this deranged lunatic did. He had a unanimous loss in the Supreme Court. His wife is a Trump Hater, just as he is a Trump Hater–a deranged “psycho” that shouldn’t be involved in any case having to do with “Justice,” other than to look at Biden as a criminal, which he is!
⋙ 🐣 SCOTUS overturned the Gov McDonnell bribery conviction, ruling the bribes he took weren’t substantial enough. Given the bribes Justice Thomas (and others, like Scalia) accepted, Donnelly’s price-tag must have seemed pretty cheap
⋙ 🐣 Lois Lerner was exonerated. Trump’s own DOJ dropped the case. Her IRS went after as many left-leaning groups as right-leaning groups. Sort of like Benghazi, there was no “there there”
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer ZAPORIZHZHIA AXIS / 2115 UTC 9 JUN/ The UKR government has requested media/social media reportage to remain mindful of Operational Security. The UKR Gen’l Staff reported on 9 JUN that on the Zaporizhzhia axis RU forces carried out airstrikes at Olhivskyi, Hulyaipole and Stepove.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1667277673062715397?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @TreasChest Members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the US House of Representatives, from the Democratic and Republican parties, introduced a resolution calling on the administration of President Joe Biden to transfer long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, – the co-author of the resolution, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, Republican Michael McCaul.
“If the USA does not provide Ukraine with all the necessary weapons, it will contribute to the prolongation of the war. ¤ The success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive is directly related to the military assistance provided by the United States and our allies.
Therefore, it is extremely unfortunate that the administration is delaying billions of dollars in military funding that could be immediately transferred to Ukraine and, in turn, help its Armed Forces significantly change the situation on the battlefield.
The United States and its allies jointly possess thousands of ATACMS missiles that could be transferred to Ukraine. ¤ Russia’s advantage in long-range weapons now forces Ukrainian forces to fight in a much more disadvantageous position.
The rapid provision of this extremely important weaponry will provide the Ukrainian military with the necessary ability to strike deep in the enemy’s rear, which they currently do not have, undermining Russia’s ability to wage war,” the resolution reads.
⋙ 🐣 It’s extremely heartening to see this. Although there are certain (loud, uninformed, unserious) voices among the GOP in the House, I’m always relieved to recall that the heads of the key committees (Intelligence, Foreign Affairs etc) stand strongly behind Ukraine
WaPo: Here are the 37 charges against Trump and what they mean https://tinyurl.com/mrsvdnjd Trump is accused of violating seven federal laws but faces 37 separate charges.
◕ https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1667251918052245505?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @EricLiptonNYT Here is the full Trump indictment document FYI. Click on link. https://int.nyt.com/data/documenttools/gov-uscourts-flsd-648653-3/ecd27a8d6d1f36ef/full.pdf
📔 Trump Indictment (Documents) https://tinyurl.com/2p8xwkpr 49p
📔 Copyable Version https://tinyurl.com/mry82c9v
📔 ⋙ See under Entire Articles: Indict Docs 6-12-2023
🐣 RT @kaitlancollins Trump indictment says on two occasions in 2021, he showed classified documents to others — one was the July recording CNN reporting referenced and the other was August or September 2021 when he showed people without clearances “a classified map related to a military operation.”
🧵 RT @EliotHiggins One thing I haven’t been able to figure out with the dam destruction is we have local people saying they heard an explosion at about 2:20am, then video footage of the dam supposedly from 2:46am showing a small explosion, and then reports of a large explosion detected after that.
📌 💽 ◕ https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/1667100337453277185?s=20/photo/1
🐣 Quote: “Let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far as we approve of monarchy, that in America the law is King. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be King; and there ought to be no other” ~ Thomas Paine, Common Sense
PravdaUA: Occupiers admit hydroelectric power plant blown up by Russian sabotage group https://tinyurl.com/3c938kmf Source: press service of the Security Service of Ukraine, citing Russian sources
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1667117884051447810?s=20/photo/1
Quote from the Security Service: “The invaders wanted to blackmail Ukraine by blowing up the dam and caused a man-made disaster in our country’s south.”
Details: “It’s not them [Ukraine – ed.] who have struck. Our sabotage group is there. They wanted to scare them with this dam. It didn’t go according to plan, it was more than they planned,” says the Russian military.
The occupier goes on to describe the consequences of this disaster, which Russia is trying to hide: rising water levels, flooding and destruction.
🐣 RT @Justlove3332 Spelling is fun. In all seriousness, every sweaty altar boy (Rubio) every base head (Lee) every white boot wearing, Disney hating dingle(Meatball) who still defends this man or talks about “banana republic” can suck it. You unleashed this orange ape on us. Keep feeding the beast.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Justlove3332/status/1667041724366041091?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump [6/8] CRAZY JACK SMITH AND HIS BAND OF THUGS AT THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ARE COMING FOR YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT TRYING TO TAKE ME DOWN IN THE GREATEST WHICH HUNT OF ALL TIME. SO UNFAIR! NIXON SAID WHEN A PRESIDENT DOES IT’S NOT ILLEGAL, AND TRUMP IS A MUCH BETTER PRESIDENT THAN NIXON EVER WAS. TOTAL LOSER, HE COULDN’T TAKE DOWN ROE, HE LET THAT HAPPEN AND VIETNAM TOO. VERY SAD. I HAD A PERFECT CALLAND FORGOT TO GIVE BACK SOME PAPERWORK TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIEVES AND SUDDNELY FOR TRUMP IT’S SUCHABIG DEAL. I ALREADY KNOW IN MY MIND I WILL BE PRESIDENT AGAIN IN 2024 SO IT WON’T MATTER. AND JUST WAIT. THEY WILLALL PAY!
⭕ 8 Jun 2023
DailyBeast, David Rothkopf: Trump Case Isn’t About ‘Documents,’ It’s About National Security https://tinyurl.com/yt5tmn6f
// The media needs to stop focusing on the paperwork and make it clear that the former president’s actions posed a serious threat to the country.
[…] … Based on evidence that has already been made public we know that Trump did not mistakenly shift a classified document or two from the White House to Mar-a-Lago. He was briefed repeatedly on the proper handling of classified materials. He has even acknowledged, on tape, that he understood how such sensitive, easily weaponizable documents should be treated.
But he ignored the law. He ignored the advice he was repeatedly given. And, based on reporting to date, he stole scores of items that were not his, to which he had no right, which could put the lives of Americans and our national interests and those of our allies at risk.
When news of his theft was discovered and the U.S. Department of Justice sought the return of those documents, Trump did not cooperate. He lied about them. He concealed documents from the government. He obstructed justice. In fact, if recent reporting is true, he did not just obstruct justice, he went to great lengths to do so. Indeed, the lengths he went to force us to ask another question that is relevant in this case: “Why?”
Why did he go to such great lengths to violate the law and put his future freedom at risk not to mention exposing U.S. intelligence assets to great jeopardy? Was it just to satisfy his admittedly gargantuan ego? To be able to say, “Lookee here, I was president once and I can prove it?” Even for Trump, that would be reckless.
No, it is unlikely he would have committed these alleged crimes unless he had a purpose in mind, an audience for what he had taken in mind, an anticipated return envisioned for the investment of time he had made, and for the risk he had undertaken.
We do not know to whom the documents may have been shown. Perhaps we will learn that in due course. We do not know (and perhaps may never know) to whom he may have contemplated showing them. But it seems safe to assume he did not hang onto them because he possessed some Harlan Crow-like impulse to create a personal museum that paid tribute to historical misdeeds.
We know this, in part, because he had shown a complete contempt for our national security, for the products produced by our intelligence community, for the entire concept of protecting vital national secrets throughout his presidency.
He appointed a national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who lied to the FBI about inappropriate exchanges he had with foreign enemies. He sought to defend that national security adviser after his crimes were clear (and has said he would reappoint him should he be elected again.) In one of his first meetings in the Oval Office with Russia’s foreign minister, he revealed to him and to the Russian ambassador sensitive classified information that put allied intelligence assets at risk.
He ignored the advice of national security professionals and granted his son-in-law and daughter classified clearances they should not have had. He repeatedly attacked and denigrated the intelligence community including one time, while standing alongside Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in 2018.
He put stooges in high places in the intelligence community to ensure that he would be able to control any revelations they might produce that he saw as threatening, and perhaps to enable him to come up with dirt on his enemies. He has said he would fire the professionals in the U.S. government in a clear effort to be able to replace them with those who placed loyalty to him above loyalty to the country or our Constitution.
This is all known. All on the public record. He was a threat to national security long before he stole these classified materials and went to great lengths to illegally retain them.
Indeed, there are not only these facts to provide context but the other major cases against Trump that are looming. What could better illustrate that Trump was something more than a souvenir hunter? He was, after all, impeached for seeking to blackmail Ukraine’s President Zelensky into performing a political hit job on Joe Biden prior to the 2020 campaign. He was again impeached for leading an insurrection against the U.S. government, actions which themselves may lead to a set of indictments from special prosecutor Jack Smith. Part of what Smith may be investigating are the efforts at defrauding the U.S. electorate, and perhaps Trump’s own donors in an effort to illegally maintain the presidency. Fulton County (Georgia) District Attorney Fani Willis may also prosecute him for those crimes. ¤ If Willis does it, let’s be careful not to refer to it as the “Georgia case” or simply as the “fake electors” case.
If Smith goes after Trump for leading an attempted coup against his own government, let’s not call it just the “Jan. 6 case” or be tempted to frame it in a way that makes it look, as some Republicans would have it, as though it were about just another partisan spat on Capitol Hill, albeit one that got a little out of hand.
The stakes in all these cases are much greater.
Take, for example, the reported case of a recording of Trump suggesting he was in possession of a classified war plans memo concerning possible moves we might make against Iran.
It’s not just egregious behavior, whatever the reason for his mentioning it, it also requires we consider what might happen if he shared that with his friends and business partners in Saudi Arabia or how, should the document become more widely available to our enemies, it could in a future conflict put U.S. soldiers lives at risk.
The case against Trump for leading a coup attempt is not about something that happened almost three years ago. He is running for president again. He has repeatedly shown his disregard for the Constitution and his willingness to place his own personal interests above those of the country. …
That is why we must frame the nature of the crimes with which the former president is being charged so carefully. We dare not numb ourselves to why they are important, numb ourselves to the anger and outrage we should be feeling or to the sense of danger that the likely defendant carries with him should the cases prove unsuccessful or, God forbid, their verdicts are subsequently nullified by an American electorate that failed to understand the scale and gravity of the crimes Trump committed repeatedly, often before our very eyes.
Donald Trump is not simply a clown, a fraud, an incompetent, a former game show host, or a sloppy, vulgar, golf-and-fast-food-loving doofus. Yes, he is all those things. But they are not the aspects of his character—or his behavior—that are important here.
He is, above all, a threat. He is a danger. He is tied to our worst international enemies and a threat the FBI director calls the greatest we face (domestic terror).
His trials should not be seen as political spectacles or some new twisted Trumpian reality show. They should be seen as an effort by our system to protect us, to take a dangerous man off the streets, to reduce the threat to our nation, our children, our allies, our values, and our institutions that this one malevolent, profoundly corrupt man poses.
🐣 RT @drdave1999 Political types are all over the air tonight, reminding people that “this is a dark day in American history.” I disagree, and I’ll tell you why. ¤ Trump’s given us more than 6 years of dark days. Now that the legal system is working, today is actually a day to be proud of America.
.🐣 RT @atrupar his face screams FAFO
🖼 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1666956936514793472?s=20/photo/1
// bearded Jack Smith
🐣 RT @SkinnerPm Goodnight to most, from all at Skinnerville, where we are thinking about our sweet SweetDog, who loved and was loved, and who was never indicted.
🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Trump charged in Mar-a-Lago classified documents investigation https://tinyurl.com/348nncvk “The charges include illegal retention of government secrets, obstruction of justice and conspiracy, according to people familiar with the matter.”
// Former president, first ever to face federal criminal charges, posts on social media that he must appear in court in Miami on Tuesday
‼️🐣 RT @oneunderscore__ Donald Trump: “I have been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM.”
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/oneunderscore__/status/1666952332884561920?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump Page 1: The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax, even though Joe Biden has 1850 Boxes at the University of Delaware, additional Boxes in Chinatown, D.C., with even more Boxes at the University of Pennsylvania, and documents strewn all over his garage floor where he parks his Corvette, and which is “secured” by only a garage door that is paper thin, and open much of the time.
🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump Page 2: | have been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM. I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election. I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!
🐣 RT @RpsAgainstTrump Russian state TV hosts have openly endorsed Donald Trump for president: “Our beloved Trump, in whom we place all of our hope… As always, our candidate doesn’t let us down. We need to support him.” #TBT #DonaldTrumpIsARussianAsset #TraitorTrump [via JuliaDavis]
💽 https://twitter.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1666824113460060160?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Ayei_Eloheichem Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen says Israel assesses Russia blew up the Kakhovka dam and Israel is looking into how to provide humanitarian aid
NBCNews: Ukraine launches counteroffensive against Russia https://tinyurl.com/3jch6b8x “This new phase of the war, which many see as crucial to persuading Western allies to renew their support, comes as Ukraine grapples with the fallout from the destruction of a critical dam in the region.”
🐣 RT @marceelias 🚨🚨🚨 BREAKING: Supreme Court AFFRIMS lower court victory in Alabama redistricting case. Follow @DemocracyDocket for details….
⋙ 🐣 RT @marceelias In addition to adding an additional minority opportunity district in Alabama, this will also add one in Louisiana (a case from there was held pending this decision). It will also result in least one more in GA and likely several in Texas.
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Meanwhile in Russia: military expert Evgeny Buzhinsky proposes destroying Kyiv dam and razing the city to the ground.
💽 [YT] https://twitter.com/JuliaDavisNews/status/1666792560004677634?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @KyivIndependent UN agrees to conduct evacuations from flooded occupied areas. ¤ Ukraine and the UN agreed that the UN would deploy personnel to the flood-affected left bank of the Dnipro River, occupied by Russia, to provide aid and conduct evacuations, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry announced.
⭕ 7 Jun 2023
TheIndependent [UK]: Prosecutors ready to ask for Trump indictment on obstruction and Espionage Act charges https://tinyurl.com/ycnbacvn “[P]rosecutors intend to ask grand jurors to vote on the indictment on Thursday, but that vote could be delayed as much as a week”
// The Independent has learned that prosecutors are prepared to ask grand jurors to vote on charges as early as Thursday
🐣 RT @Faytuks A group of Nato countries may be willing to put troops on the ground in Ukraine if member states do not provide tangible security guarantees to Ukraine at NATO’s summit in Vilnius, former Nato secretary general Anders Rasmussen says – The Guardian
⋙ TheGuardian: Nato members may send troops to Ukraine, warns former alliance chief https://tinyurl.com/3pkebe3f
// Security guarantees and membership path needed at Nato summit to avoid escalation, says Anders Rasmussen
🐣 RT @Sytheruk Ukrainians are dying every single day, including children. Russia have well and truly shown their hand. The dam confirms it. ¤ Everything in wests power toHelp Ukraine needs to be done now! ¤ Send Ukraine everything! F-16, f-18. Typhoons etc and send loads more tanks! Do more!
💽 https://twitter.com/Sytheruk/status/1666600335463395330?s=20/photo/1
.// caution: scenes of death and devastation
TheHill: House cancels votes for rest of week amid floor ‘chaos’ https://tinyurl.com/jkzutt3a “A group of 11 conservatives sunk a procedural rule vote Tuesday in a stunning rebuke to GOP leadership, fueled by anger over the debt limit bill negotiated by McCarthy and President Biden”
🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Prosecutors Tell Trump’s Legal Team He Is a Target of Investigation https://tinyurl.com/ycdebkt6 ‘Notifying a potential defendant that he or she is a target indicates that the person is a direct focus of a criminal investigation and often precedes the filing of charges’
// The notice from the office of the special counsel Jack Smith suggested that an indictment was on the horizon in the investigation into the former president’s handling of classified documents.
WaPo: Trump special counsel shifts focus of possible indictment in documents case to S. Florida https://tinyurl.com/2z72hptv
// People familiar with the matter said prosecutors want to base much of the case where most of alleged misconduct happened
🐣 RT @SykesCharlie Ranty McRant has some thoughts. DOJ, FBI,NEW YORK A.G., NEW YORK D.A., ATLANTA D.A., FASCISTS ALL!
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/SykesCharlie/status/1666516273465794589?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump Wow, this is turning out to be the greatest & most vicious instance of ELECTION INTERFERENCE in the history of our Country. Remember, I’m leading DeSanctimonious BIG in the Polls but, more importantly, I’m leading Biden by a lot. Also, & perhaps most importantly, they are launching all of the many Fake Investigations against me RIGHT SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF MY CAMPAIGN, something which is unheard of & not supposed to happen. DOJ, FBI, NEW YORK A.G., NEW YORK D.A., ATLANTA D.A. FASCISTS ALL!
🐣 RT @yamane_patricia Ha! https://tinyurl.com/2zk6wddh Man just can’t stop lying 😡
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/yamane_patricia/status/1666584890723237888?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump No one has told me I’m being indicted, and I shouldn’t be because I’ve done NOTHING wrong, but I have assumed for years that I am a Target of the WEAPONIZED DOJ & FBI, starting with the Russia, Russia, Russia HOAX, the “No Collusion” Mueller Report, Impeachment HOAX #1, Impeachment HOAX #2, the PERFECT Ukraine phone call, and various other SCAMS & WITCH HUNTS. A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE & ELECTION INTERFERENCE AT A LEVEL NEVER SEEN BEFORE. REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS MUST
MAKE THIS THEIR # 1 ISSUE!!!
🐣 RT @syadoz1 Washington post says the first stage of the counter offensive is doing well
⋙ WaPo, David Ignatius (June 6): D-Day dawns for Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/mt3y7mj9 “Military campaigns are rarely all or nothing, but this one comes close. If Ukraine can drive back an already shaky Russian army, it stands a chance of forcing Moscow to bargain for an end of its failed invasion.”
🐣 RT @wartranslated [2am Ukr] Several Russian sources are noticing a dramatic increase in fire and assault on their positions tonight in Zaporizhzhia direction. They say tanks are attacking their positions and shelling is non-stop:
Zapiski Veterana:
“I think now we can already talk about the beginning of the offensive announced by Ukraine for so long. There hasn’t been such movement at the front for a long time. And on the part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it never happened at all. ¤ It’s happening. Good luck to all.”
Sladkov:
“The offensive has begun. We have numbers. Wishing steadfastness to men in trenches. We’re not sleeping.”
Romanov believes this is still probing of defence:
“Not yet. ¤ There are active probes of our defense. In different areas, at different times of the day. ¤ Naturally, if the enemy manages to achieve success somewhere, he will try to consolidate and develop it.”
🐣 RT @reedgalen Is this real? I mean, even for him this is 🍌
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/reedgalen/status/1666578254332035073?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump WHEN MARK MEADOWS CAME CRAWLING TO ME WITH TEARS IN HIS EYES, SAYING SIR I NEED A JOB PLEASE HELP ME, I FELT VERY SORRY FOR HIM. I KNEW HE WAS STRONGLY HATED BY MOST OF HIS FELLOW CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS, BUT I HAD JUST FIRED MY PREVIOUS CHIEF OF STAFF, LIKE A DOG, SO I DECIDED TO HAVE MARK AUDITION FOR THE JOB, APPRENTICE STYLE. HOW DID HE THANK ME? BY HIRING VISCOUS RINOS & RATS WHO TURNED AND THROUGH ME UNDER THE BUS WITH THE RADICAL COMMUNISTS OF THE J6 COMMITTEE AND THEN A MAD DOG LEFTIST PROSECUTOR. I WAS GOING TO FIRE MARK IN 2021 BUT THE ELECTION WAS STOLLEN FROM ME!
🐣 The @UN or @NATO needs to go in immediately and estsblish a Safe Zone and rescue these people‼️ ¤ This is an 🚨EMERGENCY🚨
@StateDept @DeptofDefense @SecBlinken @POTUS
⋙ 🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa The situation in the occupied part of Kherson region is absolutely catastrophic.
¤ https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1666551447243182081?s=20
The occupiers simply abandoned people in these terrible conditions. Without rescue, without water, just on the rooftops in flooded communities. And this is another deliberate crime of Russia: after the terrorist state has caused a disaster, it also maximizes the damage from it.
Now we need a clear and quick response from the world to what is happening. It is even impossible to establish for sure how many people in the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region may die without rescue, without drinking water, without food, without medical care. Our military and special services are rescuing people as much as it is possible, despite the shelling.
But large-scale efforts are needed. ¤ We need international organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, to immediately join the rescue operation and help people in the occupied part of Kherson region. Each person who dies there is a verdict on the existing international architecture and international organizations that have forgotten how to save lives. If there is no international organization in the area of this disaster now, it means that it does not exist at all, that it is incapable of functioning. All the relevant appeals from Ukraine and our government are in place.
🐣 RT @JayinKyiv Will tell you why my tweets may be a little more vitriolic than normal the past few days (aside from the obvious).
Met a woman from Lisychansk traveling alone. Her 14 year old daughter was gangraped by Russians a year ago while they took over her home, left her pregnant, later got abortion. Daughter committed suicide in Poland 2 months ago.
This is what Russians bring to Ukraine, and to hear these western fucks like Musk and the rest promote Russian PR without having ever lived under the Russian system and its barbarism, is infuriating.
Getting on Twitter now is like entering an alternate universe run by naive western kids that’ve never experienced life outside mom’s house. ¤ Is this what living in the safety of the West does to one’s brain now? So soft and easily manipulated?
🧵 RT @KofmanMichael A few thoughts on the dam’s destruction and its implications for Ukraine’s offensive. In brief, I doubt it will have a significant impact on UA mil operations. The Khakovka dam is at least 100 miles from where much of the activity might take place at its closest point. […]
📌 https://twitter.com/KofmanMichael/status/1666477698607087616?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @KofmanMichael This is an ecological and humanitarian catastrophe, with long term economic implications for the region, for which Russia is responsible, but I’m skeptical that Ukraine’s military prospects in the short term will be negatively affected in a meaningful way.
🐣 RT @walter_report Evacuation of civilians and animals on the right (west) bank of Dnipro river continues after russians blew up Kakhovka dam on Dnipro river. ¤ Those who are on the east bank (under russian occupation) are left on their own. ¤ Serhii Korovayny
🖼 https://twitter.com/walter_report/status/1666432939347918851?s=20/photo/1
// rescued dog clings to rescuers leg
🐣 RT @Tendar Ukrainian drones delivering water to the citizens of Russian-occupied Oleshky. The Russian occupation neither helps nor would it allow any SAR helicopters to be deployed. The Ukrainian army tries its best to help. #Ukraine #Kherson #Oleshky
⭕ 6 Jun 2023
CNN: Twitter’s own lawyers refute Elon Musk’s claim that the ‘Twitter Files’ exposed US government censorship https://tinyurl.com/2spn689z
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer RUSSIAN WAR CRIME: The circumstances of the failure of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam indicate that it was an overt act of the RU occupation forces. On or about 1 JUN, RU forces emplaced explosives adjacent to the south bank of the hydroelectric complex– which they control.
◕ https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1666216915058958337?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @drosha69 205th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade of ru warned that the Nova Kakhovka dam is rigged to blow by ruzzians in Fall of 2022
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/drosha69/status/1666038445284950016?s=20/photo/1 -2
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS/1915 UTC 6 JUN/ On 5 JUN UKR air defense intercepted 10 recon UAVs 6 other RU UAVs of various types. UKR Missile and artillery units hit 2 command posts, 12 concentrations of RU troops, weapons and military equipment, 1 anti-aircraft missile system.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1666159135388205074?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Euan_MacDonald Water level in reservoir behind Kakhovka dam was at historic max before it was destroyed. There’s speculation in Ukraine that Russia, which controlled the sluices on the east bank at the hydropower plant, raised the water deliberately to maximise destruction – a long-planned act.
◕ https://twitter.com/Euan_MacDonald/status/1666025231113244673?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @ind_prop is there a plausible explanation why the water level dropped so significantly to begin with?
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @Euan_MacDonald The Russians may have been experimenting to see what effect lowering the reservoir level would have on the cooling ponds at Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant – but that’s just speculation on my part.
🐣 RT @RusMission_EU The Commission has proven that #Washington set up a vast network of extra-territorial biological laboratories around the world and in #Ukraine. ¤ We hope that this document will not go unnoticed by the EU. ¤ https://tinyurl.com/ydf7pzv4
⋙ 🐣 This is not a scientific or legal paper. Many claims but no footnotes ~ seriously⁉️ When I got to “military biological projects in Ukraine, which were partially supervised by Hunter Biden,” I laughed out loud. I’ve written papers for IBM. UChicago and Mayo Clinic. This report is a joke.
p19 In 2009, Hunter Biden, the son of the current U.S. President Joe Biden, Christopher Heinz, the stepson of former US Secretary of State John Kerry, and Devon Archer, founded the investment company Rosemont Seneca Partners. Close connection of this fund with principal contractors of the Pentagon, including Metabiota, can be traced.
p40 Not so long ago, the U.S. non-governmental organization Judicial Watch decided to conduct its own investigation in the context of incessant news about U.S. involvement in military biological projects in Ukraine, which were partially supervised by Hunter Biden. To do this, journalists initiated a request to the DTRA.
🐣 RT @gtconway3d everyone should retweet this as many times as humanly and technologically possible
⋙ 🐣 RT @AccountableGOPm Bill Barr on the classified documents investigation: “This is not a case of the DOJ conducting a witch hunt…This would have gone nowhere had the president just returned the documents, but he jerked them around for a year and a half…There is no excuse for what he did here.”
🐣 RT @Faytuks The US government has intelligence that is leaning towards Russia being behind the Nova Kakhovka attack, two US officials & one Western official says – NBC ¤ The US is working to declassify some of the intelligence & share it as early as Tuesday afternoon
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1666125145679753216?s=20/photo/1
⋙ NBCNews: Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of blowing up Nova Kakhovka dam https://tinyurl.com/3a3ub9xe
//: The critical Kakhovka dam was destroyed, according to video verified by NBC News and local officials on both sides.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer VELYKA NOVOSILKA /1600 UTC 6 JUN/ UKR Gen’l Staff reports on 6 JUN indicate a RU assault on Velyka Novosilka was broken up; in this engagement a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter was shot down.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1666112098756116481?s=20 /photo/1
🐣 [pdf:] 🐣 RT @lijukic Great map showing soil quality across Europe. You can see whyUkraine is the breadbasket of Europe.
🌎 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1666131859498053646?s=20/photo/1
🐣 “The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine could imperil the supply of fresh water to the Russian-occupied Crimea” Newsweek: https://tinyurl.com/yaj7mpsa
🌎 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1666134326411505672?s=20/photo/1
// Map: “THE NORTH CRIMEAN CANAL: CRIMEA’S WATER LIFELINE” from .EuromaidanPress
🐣 RT @PointlessWar The peak of the Dnieper water leakage is probably observed right now. [11:45amCT] This comes from an interview with the head of Ukrhydroenergo Ihor Syrota for Forbes ¤ A few points, according to the head of “Ukrhydroenergo”
🔺 Restoration of the Kakhovskaya HPP will cost $1 billion and may last 5 years.
🔺 The reservoir will be activated to the “dead point”, when the leak will stop, in about 4 days. 🔺 Regarding the Zaporizhzhya NPP, the situation is under control, catastrophic consequences are not expected.
🔺 Most of the three regions, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhya, will remain without water.
🔺 According to approximate estimates, 35-37 villages will be flooded. [of 80]
🔺 According to calculations, in 7-10 days all the water that arrived will go further into the sea.
🖼 https://twitter.com/PointlessWar/status/1666124340134281220?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Kasparov63 I said in 2014 that Putin would try to destroy Ukraine if he could not control it. He is losing and lashing out, but allowing him to win would be far worse. The only response is to help Ukraine achieve victory and territorial integrity asap.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Russia blowing up Kakhovka NPP is an act of terrorism that will have long-lasting negative effects not just on Ukraine but the whole world.
The South of Ukraine is one of the main global agricultural areas. The destruction of the HPP will flood the lands, destroy the irrigation system – less food will be grown, and exported, deepening the global food crisis. Russia will be able to continue blackmailing the world with food terrorism as one of the leading food exporters.
This could have devastating effects on Ukrainian economy – food is one of our main exports. The costs of restoration will be enormous. Tens of thousands more people will become IDPs.
The North-Crimean canal will dry out, leaving Crimea without drinking water. This means that when Crimea returns to Ukraine, it will be a disaster zone, just like Donbas. ¤ Terrorist state is committing genocide right before our eyes. The consequences will be felt for decades.
The world must acknowledge Russia as a terrorist state. Ukrainian Armed Forces must receive everything and anything to ensure a sustainable Ukrainian victory and stopping Russia as a global threat to humanity.
🐣 RT @IuliiaMendel @ZelenskyyUa told about the Kakhovska HPP blow up by Russians at the B-9 Summit in Slovakia. The Bucharest Nine is a Polish-Romanian initiative launched in 2015 that aims to help exchange views and coordinate positions on the security of NATO’s eastern-flank countries. ¤ It brings together Poland, Romania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, and Slovakia. @jensstoltenberg @ZuzanaCaputova @AndrzejDuda @prezidentpavel @GitanasNauseda @KlausWe47855967
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1666055171179266050?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA October 20, 2022. ¤ Zelensky warns that the invaders are mining the units and the dam of the Kakhovska hydroelectric power station and asks to send an international observation mission there..Thank you UN and all the other wonderful organizations…
🐣 RT @mfa_russia Russian MFA Spox Maria #Zakharova: On October 21, 2022, Russia’s Ambassador to the UN sent a letter to the UN Secretary General regarding Kiev regime’s plans to destroy the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric dam. ¤ Here is a question for @antonioguterres: what has been done?
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/mfa_russia/status/1666038487546560514?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Faytuks Russian sources don’t seem that sad that the Nova Kakhovka dam is destroyed. ¤ Fighterbomber: “The more problems crests have, the easier it is for us. In general, the collapse of the dam from a military point of view suggests that for some time downstream there will be no offensive operations and we can spend this time eliminating the counterattack” https://t.me/fighter_bomber/12620
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1665965984560164865?s=20/photo/1
It is clear that the main news today will be Kakhovskaya HPP. It is clear that crests [“khokols”] will blame us for its destruction without bothering with any proofs. But. Personally, Iam in favor of demolishing everything that is needed there.
Hydroelectric power station, nuclear power plant, thermal power plant, Chernihiv, Bankovaya, pipelines and other dry cargo ships and in general everything that we can hit today with conventional weapons. For tomorrow it will all have to be beaten with a nuclear.
The more problems crests have, the easier it is for us. In general, the collapse of the dam from a military point of view suggests that there will be no offensive actions downstream for some time and we can spend this time eliminating the counterattack, which has finally begun and calmly burn the Leopards, than, in fact, aviation is now busy. And aviation is there to hu me.
The crests spent the night as planned, in air alerts, while the work of the Kyiv “Patriota” was not noted by subscribers.
The so far unfinished “Patriot” in Zhuliany worked on long-range targets with an incomprehensible result, but it is clear that at least one rocket went off right at the exit from the launcher, I hope with a good result.
In general, while enjoying morning coffee, we are enjoying the hysteria of crests at the hydroelectric power station and are waiting for a video of the work of a couple of dozen UMPCs in only one fortified area
🐣 RT @KateGoesTech As a result of today’s terrorist act Crimea will have water access problems for decades ¤ Why is that interesting? ¤ Because Nazis know they won’t be able to hold Crimea another year
🌎 https://twitter.com/KateGoesTech/status/1666008488701485065?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @tvtoront Zelenskyy after the NSDC meeting: ¤ This night at 02:50 🇷🇺 terrorists carried out an internal detonation of the Kakhovska HPP structures. About 80 settlements are in the flooding zone. ¤ 1/2
⋙ 🐣 RT @tvtoront It was authorized to carry out evacuation from risk areas and to provide drinking 💧 to all cities and villages that were supplied from the Kakhovka reservoir. ¤ 💬We do everything to save people. All services, military, Government, Office are involved – President Zelenskyy. 2/2
🐣 RT @AlexBondODUA What ruzzia did with Nova Kakhovka is comparable in scale to the use of nuclear weapons. ¤ I don’t understand what moscow has to do to make the world community realize that this cancer needs to be strangled. ¤ Need a complete embargo on all Russian goods!
💽 🌎 https://twitter.com/AlexBondODUA/status/1666000391383703552?s=20/photo/1
// model of flooding from Nova Kakhovka dam
🐣 RT @kromark Not only important what happens to the areas down the stream, but up the stream too – and not because of the ZNPP, which reactors are shut down for months now and cold, but for agriculture and economy first and foremost with water levels going low. To be short, it’s a disaster.
🐣 RT @BasedWarszawa A reminder that the russians have a history of destroying dams. In August 1941 the NKVD blew up a dam in Zaporizhzhya, killing tens of thousands of innocent Ukrainian civilians. For decades the tragedy was hidden and unacknowledged.
⋙ 🐣 RFERL (2013): Ukrainian Activists Draw Attention To Little-Known WWII Tragedy https://tinyurl.com/5n7n94nn
// 8/23/2023
🐣 RT @AleksandrX13 People from the russian-occupied areas hit by the flood say that in many places the orcs are sitting on trees and screaming as the waters rise. ¤ It seems they underestimated the scale of the disaster they caused. Their fortifications are underwater. And I wonder just how much, in terms of supplies, arms, and heavy guns, they have lost.
⋙ 🐣 RT @AleksandrX13 The russians in the flooded areas are in a complete panic, being much more hit by the disaster than even Ukrainians in these areas – it seems they had no idea, when they destroyed the dam, of the forces they were unleashing!
NYT: Poland Isn’t the Friend the West Thinks It Is https://tinyurl.com/ha43f5s5 “[T]he countries most muscular in their defense of Ukraine are those affected by the 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact …. Theirs is a solidarity based on the trauma of Russian imperialism”
[…] That fear is what undergirds the country’s response to the war. Poland’s modern history — annexed, subordinated and occupied — is one of a recurrent loss of independence. This tragic inheritance, never far away, explains the government’s energetic response to the war in Ukraine: The future must not repeat the past. And it’s not just Poland. A glance at the map is enough to see that the countries most muscular in their defense of Ukraine are those affected by the 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact, which exposed Finland, the Baltic States and Romania, along with Poland, to the depredations of conquering armies. Theirs is a solidarity based on the trauma of Russian imperialism.
The United States should take note. In February, on the anniversary of the invasion, President Biden spoke in front of the Royal Castle in Warsaw. After praising Poland as one of the United States’ “great allies,” Mr. Biden stressed the importance of defending freedom and democracy. It was a powerful speech. But freedom and democracy do not, in this part of the world, necessarily go hand in hand. Just look at the fact that the Law and Justice party, despite government scandals and sky-high inflation, sits comfortably at around 35 percent in the polls.
The party’s newly burnished international image as steadfast friend to Ukraine only helps to entrench such support. The government can plausibly present itself as the guarantor of security, both at home and abroad, underwritten by Western backing. Along with countries like India, Turkey and Rwanda, Poland may become part of the jigsaw of not-so-liberal friends of the West, helping to consolidate opposition to Russia and China. This process is happening for the convenience of the West — but not in adherence to its values.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The United States, for one, exerts considerable influence in Poland. If Mr. Biden, whose two visits to the country in the past year were major events, spoke out against the government’s domestic behavior, it would send a powerful message to party leaders. What’s more, Washington could make financial assistance — last year, the United States invested $288.6 million in Poland’s military — conditional on compliance with democratic standards and the rule of law. It might not work immediately: The European Union’s withholding of post-pandemic recovery funds to protest the government’s violation of judicial independence hasn’t reversed that slide. But it would show Poland’s illiberals that they can’t just do as they please.
🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Major Ukrainian dam damaged, threatening southern areas with flooding https://tinyurl.com/ypprt2d7 “Both Russia and Ukraine have previously accused each other of plotting to destroy the dam, without providing evidence”
🌎 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1665985565345325059?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 5 Jun 2023
Remember this? ➔ Reuters (Oct 21, 2022): Factbox: Is the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine about to be blown? https://tinyurl.com/32bpxzts
// 10/21/2022
🐣 RT @TimothyDSnyder “Russia issues an unending stream of nuclear threats. In the West today… these are discussed in psychological rather than strategic terms… When Russians talk about nuclear war, the safest response is to ensure their very conventional defeat.”
⋙ NYT, Timothy Snyder: Putin Is Fighting, and Losing, His Last War https://tinyurl.com/5n6ew795
🐣 RT @ AntiToxicPeople LOL
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1665878518692220929?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] @realDonaldTrump Ty Cobb is a disgruntled former Lawyer, who represented me long ago, and knows absolutely nothing about the Boxes Hoax being perpetrated upon me by the DOJ for purposes of interfering with the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election, where I am substantially leading all “comers, including Republicans and Democrats. His words are angry, nasty, and libelous, only because I did not continue using him (and paying him), and for good reason. He will be held legally responsible for his false statements!
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA Prigozhin attack Konashenkov 👀👀👀🐸🤜🏻🐍
[TextLink:] /https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1665863388507914245?s=20photo/1
Viktorovich Prigozhin commented on the MoD report: <<| think Baron Munchausen is resting. And judging by what is written here, we will soon get to the aliens with such losses. To destroy one and a half thousand people, it must be such a massacre, per day, over 150 kilometers, that motherdo not grieve. Therefore, I think that this is just fromthe realm of wild, sloppy fantasy. In general, you need to add up all the numbers that Konashenkov gives. ¤ I think that we have just destroyed the entire planet Earth 5 timess.>>
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @NOELreports Russian state media RIA Novosti about the events in Donetsk region. ¤ “The total losses of Ukrainian troops amounted to more than 1,500 personnel, 28 tanks, including 8 Leopards made in Germany, 3 wheeled tanks AMX-10 made in France and 109 armored fighting vehicles”.
NYT, Paul Krugman: The Eyes of the World Are Upon Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/2tseysrn ‘If Ukraine’s counteroffensive succeeds, the forces of democracy will be strengthened around the world, not least in America. If it fails, it will be a disaster for Ukraine and for the world’
// entire: “If Ukraine’s counteroffensive succeeds, the forces of democracy will be strengthened around the world, not least in America. If it fails, it will be a disaster not just for Ukraine but for the world”
🧵 RT @TimInHonolulu 1. When #45 met with Russian spies in the Oval Office it was reported he burned an Israeli asset in Raqqa, a city that at the time was a focus of my reporting. I then took the time to examine the facts and the issue of whether POTUS had the power to declassify the Israeli asset.
📌 🖼 https://twitter.com/TimInHonolulu/status/1665840725014216705?s=20
// photo of Trump with Russians in office
WaPo: Trump-funded studies disputing election fraud are focus in two probes https://tinyurl.com/7h2vs6ps “The research is likely to be used as the prosecutors try to build a broader case, alleging racketeering, according to the three people”
// The then-president’s campaign hired two firms to prove voter fraud, but none was ever found
WaPo: Ukrainian forces claim advances along front line; Russia says it repelled attack in Donetsk https://tinyurl.com/2xby9zbs
🧵 RT @TheStudyofWar Russian and Ukrainian officials are signaling the start of the Ukrainian #counteroffensive. ISW has observed increased combat activity in different sectors of the frontline and assesses that Ukrainian forces are making territorial gains despite Russian claims to the contrary.⬇️
📌 https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1665763741407772672?s=20
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1665763741407772672.html
2/ The signals include Russian MoD claims that Ukrainian forces launched an unsuccessful “large-scale offensive” on June 4 & Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar’s June 5 statement that Ukrainian forces are “transferring to offensive actions” in some unspecified areas.
3/ Russian officials have historically immediately claimed that Ukrainian counter-offensives failed even when the counter-offensives ultimately succeed.
4/ @TheStudyofWar has indeed observed an increase in combat activity in different sectors of the frontline but will not speculate about or forecast the intent, weighting, or focus of Ukrainian counter-offensive operations.
5/ ISW will assess the outcome of Ukrainian counter-offensive operations when it can do so without compromising Ukrainian operational security, in accordance with ISW policy.
6/ A successful counteroffensive operation may take days, weeks, or even months before its outcome becomes fully clear, during which time Russian sources may falsely claim to have defeated it
.
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa Although the global trend is clear – Russia will lose this war, Russia’s rulers continue to deny reality. […]
💽 https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1665813669865742336?s=20/photo/1
They continue to try to deceive the world, to circumvent sanctions, to produce more weapons, to ensure more resources and people are spent on this aggression… We are preparing our steps, new steps to further limit Russia’s military potential. Everyone in the world who helps the terrorist state circumvent sanctions in one way or another, everyone in the world whom Russia uses for the supply of weapons, components, equipment… Each such entity must feel the full force of the free world. And we will ensure this. It is a common task of the world to stop terror. And the main prerequisite for fulfilling this task is to stop any ways in which terrorists are still trying to get something for themselves. More news to come soon.
FactCheck[.]org (2022): The Facts on ‘De-Nazifying’ Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/342ec3b7 “A statement signed by more than 300 historians who study genocide, Nazism & World War II said Putin’s rhetoric about de-Nazifying fascists among Ukraine’s elected leadership is ‘propaganda’”
WaPo: Trump lawyers ask Justice Dept. not to charge Trump in classified docs case https://tinyurl.com/5utzc6x8
// High-stakes meeting included special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading probe of Trump’s conduct, possible obstruction
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /1920 UTC 5 JUN/UKR forces have initiated multi-pronged offensive actions in the Bakhmut AO. UKR states it troops have advanced 200-1600 meters at Orikhovo-Vasylivka and Paraskoviivka, approximately 100-meters at Ivanivske, and 700 meters at Klischiivka.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1665798504545918982?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @LucasADWebber The White House said on Monday that actions by China in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea reflect a “growing aggressiveness” by Beijing’s military that raises the risk of an error where someone gets hurt https://tinyurl.com/2s3kabv4
🐣 RT @nytimes The decision by some Ukrainian soldiers to wear patches with Nazi icons threatens to reinforce Russian propaganda used to justify the invasion. It also could give the symbols mainstream life after the West’s decades-long efforts to eliminate them.
⋙ NYT: Nazi Symbols on Ukraine’s Front Lines Highlight Thorny Issues of History https://tinyurl.com/3xu7m6pn
// Troops’ use of patches bearing Nazi emblems risks fueling Russian propaganda and spreading imagery that the West has spent a half-century trying to eliminate.
⋙⋙ 🐣 This article is ignorant of Ukrainian history and culture and much more concerned about the ADL than Jews living in Ukraine. Ukraine is multi-cultural and diverse with a painful history it has only been free to explore for 25 years. They are also fighting for their existence.
⋙⋙ 🐣 If you want to learn how bafflingly complex and horrible the 19th & 20th were in Eastern Europe, read ”Bloodlands” by Timothy Snyder and realize most memories of these horrors were suppressed by the USSR, only coming to light with Glastnost
🐣 RT @EeldenDen Ukrainians fight to be part of Europe instead of Russia.. They fight for the European way of life. It sorts the wheat from the chaff, the true from the traitor. It unites liberals, nationalists, progressives and conservatives. All fighting for Europe
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer VELYKA NOVOSILKA/ 1820 UTC 5 JUN/ UKR has likely initiated its long-awaited offensive. Despite early RU claims of rebuffing a Ukrainian attack, it is assessed that UKR units have now consolidated a lodgment in the village of Novodonetske. Developing. https://archive.ph/hCZ5k
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1665787457734836234?s=20/photo/1
CREW (Msy 26): Donald Trump is likely to be indicted soon related to classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. Here’s what he may be charged with. https://tinyurl.com/2p833jww
🐣 RT @ AntiToxicPeople Oh my god. Full meltdown mode 🫢🤪🍿
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1665759493832216576?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump HOW CAN DOJ POSSIBLY CHARGE ME, WHO DID NOTHING WRONG, WHEN NO OTHER PRESIDENT’S WERE CHARGED, WHEN JOE BIDEN WON’T BE CHARGED FOR ANYTHING, INCLUDING THE FACT THAT HE HAS 1,850 BOXES, MUCH OF IT CLASSIFIED, AND SOME DATING BACK TO HIS SENATE DAY WHEN EVEN DEMOCRAT SENATORS ARE SHOCKED. ALSO, PRESIDENT CLINTON HAD DOCUMENTS, AND WON IN COURT. CROOKED HILLARY DELETED 33,000 EMAILS, MANY CLASSIFIED, AND WASN’T EVEN CLOSE TO BEING CHARGED! ONLY TRUMP – THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!
🐣 RT @SecBlinken The Kremlin continues covert efforts to destabilize democratic countries via malign influence operations. Today, we are designating seven members of a Russian intelligence-linked group, and one entity, for their role in destabilization operations in Moldova.
🐣 RT @trajaykay 🇬🇧🇺🇦🔱 President Zelensky meets with foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, in Kyiv today. ¤ Very touching words from James Cleverly 🔱 Zelensky official I had a meeting with Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Affairs of the United Kingdom James Cleverly
⋙ 🐣 RT @trajaykay During the meeting, we discussed important topical issues: Ukraine’s expectations from the NATO Summit in Vilnius, promotion of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparation of the Global Summit on its implementation, as well as the London International Conference on the
⋙ 🐣 RT @trajaykay Reconstruction of Ukraine. ¤ We are very grateful for the support that the UK has provided and continues to provide to Ukraine. In recent weeks, we have held talks with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. There was a direct dialogue and very important agreements were reached
🐣 RT @costareports BREAKING: Trump’s lawyers just spotted by @CBSNews entering the Justice Department, per @RobLegare who is on site… comes as sources tell me the special counsel is moving toward a charging decision in the classified documents case
⋙ 🐣 RT @costareports Sources tell @CBSNews that Trump’s lawyers are expected to raise concerns about how prosecutors have handled atty-client questions during the grand jury but there is no sign the special counsel is going to waver from how he and his team have handled the crime-fraud exception…
🐣 RT @RALee85 Khodakovsky and other Russian channels said that Russian communications went down before Ukraine’s assault yesterday. Kots also posted about Ukrainian EW jamming Russian comms. …
🐣 RT @ ivanastradner Several Russian radio stations were hacked and played a fake President Vladimir Putin speech announcing an invasion from Kyiv’s troops and emergency measures in three regions bordering Ukraine. [link]
🐣 RT @WarFrontline 🚨#Breaking, Chystopillia, Zaporizhzhya. Ukrainian soldiers behind enemy lines.👀‼️💪🏼 ¤ North of Tokmak ¤ Follow for more🍿
🐣 RT @FP #BREAKING US won’t let Iran get nuclear weapons, Sec. of State Blinken reiterates at pro-Israel lobby
🐣 RT @DenesTorteli Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar: [Bakhmut] “What is happening now? We are continuing the defense that we started on February 24, 2022. The defense operation includes everything, including counteroffensive actions. Therefore, in some areas we are moving to offensive actions. In particular, the Bakhmut direction remains the epicenter of hostilities. We are moving on a fairly broad front there. We are making progress. We occupy the dominant heights. The enemy is on the defensive, trying to hold their positions. In the south, the enemy is on the defensive. Local battles continue. Why are the Russians actively launching information about a counteroffensive? Because they need to divert attention from their defeat in the Bakhmut sector.” https://t.me/annamaliar/813
🐣 RT @michaeldweiss Already the whirr of the back pedal, after months of anonymous quotes to major news outlets stating the exact opposite: “American and European military officials advising Ukraine say that Russia’s defensive lines could be more fragile than thought”:
⋙ 🐣 RT @michaeldweiss Also significant: “But although the 23rd and 31st brigades have benefited from Western equipment, they are not among the nine Western-supplied and trained brigades that Ukraine has built up over the last six months for the purposes of spearheading an offensive.”
// so Russians are falling to regular troops, not the special brigades
@McFaul @ Arestovich clearly has vision for Ukraine. He has a revolutionary spirit that reminds me of our Founders in those heady days. He recently worked for Zelensky. He seems like a person who might need a mentor (to avoid pitfalls) & friends. You know best 🙂
🐣 RT @arestovych In the end we have five tasks (2+3):
¤ https://twitter.com/arestovych/status/1665690214197493763?s=20/
[Translated from Ukrainian by Google]
1. During the thirty years of independence, the most immoral types managed to form a System that is used for non-market exploitation of the country and people.
Scum won in Ukraine. ¤ They set the rules and seized most of the assets.
This System must be destroyed. ¤ Honest people must win. ¤ Morality must return to politics.
We have to destroy not only the deep state of circular bail, where judges can beat people with impunity, sons “decided” to rape female classmates, and law enforcement officers – make business a nightmare, but also the very possibility of its reproduction anew.
To build a new System that will support, strengthen and raise human creativity, entrepreneurship, and potential. ¤ This is the key to our survival. ¤ The old system, in the face of a foreign policy threat, will kill Ukraine, because it not only raped our past, not only drains the present, but also takes away resources for the future, destroys it.
2. Defend Freedom and approve it as a national idea and practice.
Any decision at any level should be selected according to the criterion – does it expand the rights and opportunities of citizens or not?
Restrictions are allowed only temporarily and exclusively in the interests of national security.
Freedom is a basic condition. ¤ Only freedom can unleash true Ukrainian potential, and when we provide the conditions for its growth, the world will gasp. ¤ I am sure that even we still do not know the full strength of our potential. ¤ But the deep state kills him every day.
3. Return the state to the state.
You do not own the state today. ¤ The state does not perform state functions properly. ¤ The state does not guarantee a citizen development and future, protection and opportunities. Moreover, she often takes them away or destroys them.
The state is stretched across political beds, corrupt, corrupt, ineffective. ¤ Instead of protecting and promoting national interests and creating conditions for the prosperity of the citizen, the state is mainly geared to pumping out money, black money.
The state must be cleansed and saved. ¤ It must gain independence from any influence other than the collective will of its citizens. ¤ This is a huge task and it must be done.
4. Return the state to the people.
The state rarely helps a person today. ¤ The main feeling of a citizen from communicating with the state is, for the most part, humiliation. ¤ The state mainly subverts, exploits and uses a person. ¤ Or remains indifferent.
To overthrow the state of the people means to make the state a friend of man. ¤ The main assistant of a citizen in his affairs.
The state should work for the protection, support and development of people, people, society, culture, economy. ¤ Special services and law enforcement officers should not mock business, but work to promote its economic interests – in the country and abroad. ¤ A person should go to the state as a reliable assistant and deputy. ¤ This is what it means to “return the state to the people.”
5. Return the people of history.
God has partially completed this task for us. ¤ He pulled us into the Great History by the hair, despite (perhaps) our desire. ¤ Our task is to be worthy of it.
The alpha sign of a Ukrainian in the world should be freedom and dignity. ¤ Dignity and freedom should flow from us, we should distribute this Wi-Fi to others. ¤ We have to go beyond local consciousness and start playing games on a global scale, making moves across the entire chessboard.
The Ukrainian victory shocked the world. ¤ Ukrainian culture, our civilization heritage should impress him. ¤ The world has lost its way today, new light, a new future and a new way of the world are the work of Ukrainians. ¤ Our business.
But the world will not believe us until we can accomplish this task for ourselves.
⋙ 🐣 magnificent vision for Ukraine — and the free world ¤ I envy your opportunity to start afresh, despite the high price you must pay ¤ do the work, don’t let your vision be dimmed, but treat weakness with gentleness and failures as opportunities ¤ and bring the world along with you: teach us!
🐣 RT @wartranslated Khodakovsky claims Ukraine is stepping up efforts in the Vuhledar area, says first Leopards were sighted:
“The situation on Novodonets’ke and to the left towards Velika Novosilka is difficult – the enemy, having felt our weak points, is stepping up his efforts. For the first time we saw leopards in our tactical area. As I expected yesterday – having a sense of success, the enemy will throw additional forces into the battle. Only in the area of Novodonets’ke recorded up to thirty units of armored vehicles.”
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en A Russian media claims: ¤ “Putin stopped receiving bad news reports, especially about the war, because of his “extremely irritated” reaction to those reports.
¤ https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1665676212516057089?s=20
According to an insider familiar with the situation, Putin reacted to reports containing the actual situation in the following manner: he irritatedly told the reporter that he [reporter] was currently under the influence of “Western propaganda” and was “thickening the clouds” in its wake, while Putin himself had more reliable information from other sources which did not coincide with the information provided by the rapporteurs. The journalist then would be dropped out of the list of people who have access to the Russian president for a long time. But those who reported only successes had permanent access, and defeats and failures were reduced to petty nuisances of no significance.
The source says that at this point Putin simply stopped receiving “bad news” because the president does not want to hear it.”
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en “Troops are withdrawing slowly, it’s a shame! Shoigu, Gerasimov, I urge you, come to the front, raise the army with pistols, so that they can march forward. Come on, you can do it! And if you can’t, you’ll die as heroes!” – terrorist Prigozhin blames Russian military leadership for new defeats near Bakhmut.
💽 https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1665663582887968768?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @EuromaidanPress Ukraine managed to retake back territory in southern Bakhmut and secure two settlements on the southern front. As well, Russia loses 200 square kilometers of territory in the Belgorod Oblast to pro-Ukrainian insurgents.
⋙ EuromaidanPress: Frontline report: Ukrainians secure foothold in Bakhmut and on the southern front https://tinyurl.com/yc56wt9w “So far, this was merely a reconnaissance-in-force operation, as the assault units were very light”
CNN: Exclusive: Ukraine has cultivated sabotage agents inside Russia and is giving them drones to stage attacks, sources say https://tinyurl.com/yckpmusc
🐣 RT @KadirHama #russia planned massive disinformation campaigns and prepared old combat videos for this purpose. ¤ A reminder for everyone to be on their guard not to amplify any nonsense about a counteroffensive until there’s official confirmation, or you risk spreading russian fakes. #fellas
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/KadirHama/status/1665620587866193920?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] STRATCOM of the Armed Forces of Ukraine / AFU StratCom
! WARNING! The Armed Forces of Ukraine warns of a loss. The Russian occupying forces are intensifying their informational and psychological operations.
Russian telegram channels and social networks are planning to intensify the spread of unreliable information about the combat operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And of their own formations. In order to demoralize Ukrainians and introduce delusion of the community (including one’s own population) Russian propagandists will spread unreliable information about the counteroffensive, its directions and losses of the Ukrainian army. Even if there is no counterattack. For this, old videos and photos have been prepared, which show damaged vehicles, dead and captured. And also other fake materials.
! We remind you that reliable information can be obtained only from the operational reports of the General Staff, strategic communications structures and from designated official speakers of the Defense Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
🐣 RT @JayinKyiv Russian Defense Ministry says Ukrainian counter offensive has begun. ¤ Judging from the panic I’m seeing on Russian military channels, they are right. ¤ This will be an absolute massacre.
⭕ 4 Jun 2023
🐣 RT @WarFrontline 🚨Several 🇷🇺 Z military channels, such as 🇷🇺 channel RVvoenkor here, are now also reporting several AFU 🇺🇦 breakthroughs at the front lines, and that the attacks and advance continue. The signs of the current success of the AFU 🇺🇦 offensive are becoming clearer and clearer.‼️🔥👀
🐣 RT @SuperCola_3 I made a small video showing Ukraine from more peaceful times, you know, before the rushistZ came. ¤ I don’t really know how to edit, but Ukraine is so f*cking beautiful I think it turned out kinda okay. ¤ Hope you enjoy it.
💽 🖼 https://twitter.com/SuperCola_3/status/1665414203371397120?s=20/photo/1
🐣📋 RT @KyivIndependent Danilov: Ukraine lost 7.5 times fewer troops than Russia in Bakhmut. ¤ Ukraine’s losses in the Battle of Bakhmut were lower than Russia’s by a factor of 7.5, National Security and Defense Council chief Oleksiy Danilov told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.
🐣 RT @Faytuks Pro-Russian Wargonzo is reporting a new Ukrainian attack near Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk oblast ¤ “This time the news is much more disturbing. The Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to form a much more serious armored fist” ¤ https://t.me/wargonzo/12962
🌎 https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1665584036654243841?s=20/photo/1 -2
[Text:] ⚡️ Urgently ⚡️ The Armed Forces of Ukraine went on the attack again near Velika
Novoselovka ⚡️
This time the news is much more disturbing. ¤ Unlike yesterday’s attack on our positions, which was deployed almost closer to lunch (the enemy began the main offensive operations at about 11:00, this time the neo-Nazis lined up in battle formations around 4:00 in the morning.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to form a much more serious armored fist. Much more equipment is involved than the day before. Only from the Golden Niva about 30 pieces of equipment (mostly NATO-style) advanced to our positions.
The main direction of the strike is the settlement of Novodonetskoye (it stands on the line just somewhere in the middle between Velika Novoselovka and Vugledara). There is evidence that the enemy is trying to enter the village.
There is a tough fight going on. As we wrote earlier, yesterday there was only the first wave. Today’s roll is clearly more powerful. @wargonzo * our project is funded by subscribers, help card 4279 3806 9842 9521
🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote The grand jury is meeting again this week. His lawyers may meet with DoJ officials this week. LFG!!!
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1665522574741102597?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonald Trump
Reports are the Marxist Special Prosecutor, DOJ, & FBI, want to Indict me on the BOXES HOAX, despite all of the wrongdoing that they have done for SEVEN YEARS, including SPYING ON MY CAMPAIGN. Biden Crimes go unpunished, including that he had Boxes in Chinatown, in his garage by the “Corvette,” & 1,850 Boxes in Delaware that he won’t allow anyone to see. That is real OBSTRUCTION! They seek retribution for Republicans looking into Biden’s CRIMES!I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG. ELECTION INTERFERENCE!
🐣 📋 RT @FellaNafo “Ukraine has now more than twice (!) the number of brigades the US Army had at the end of the Cold War.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @noclador As there seems to be some confusion: ¤ Ukraine’s offensive force is 35 combat brigades, 2 special forces regiments, 1 air assault regiment, 52 rifle battalions, 2 pontoon regiments, 6 artillery brigades, whole bunch of air defense, engineer, reconnaissance, drone, and logistic 1/2
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @noclador units… while another 86 (!) brigades hold the rest of the front. These 86 brigades are backed by 9 artillery brigades and lots and lots of combat support units. ¤ Ukraine has now more than twice (!) the number of brigades the US Army had at the end of the Cold War. 2/2
⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @DisruptivePoltx What’s the actual difference between a brigade, a battalion, a regiment & a unit?
⋙⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @rltone22 Regiment is a specialized unit about half of a brigade. Brigade is 3-4 battalions. Battalion is 6-8 companies iirc. Company is 100 men
⋙⋙⋙⋙🐣 RT @gr1mrea9er By NATO standards a battalion is about (700-1000 troops), one third to a fifth of a Brigade (3-5000). Two battalions usually counts as a regiment.
A unit is a group having a prescribed size and a specific combat or support role within a larger military organization.
⋙⋙⋙⋙🐣 RT @liberalurbanite A unit can be any size, it’s just a way to call a group or formation of soldiers.
A battalion can consists anywhere between 400-1000 soldiers (3-7 Companies).
A brigade consists of 3-6 battalions and is roughly 3000-5000 in size.
A regiment is an outdated way of organizing 1/2.
⋙⋙⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @liberalurbanite Companies make up battalion, battalions make up regiments, regiments make up brigades (usually). Nowadays a brigade can be made up of multiple battalions (it was the case for US in mid-late Cold War), whilst regiment is just a smaller brigade made up of fewer battalions.
⋙⋙⋙⋙🐣 RT @DannyPunton A unit is any independent group. Generally squad/section->platoon->company->battalion->(regiment or brigade)->division->army.
Sov regiment is smaller than brigade. US only has regiments historically where UK they are one or more permanent battalions and brigade is a task group.
⋙⋙⋙⋙🐣 RT @DmytroVan
Numbers, equipment, capabilities
Battalions have 300 to 900 people, they form regiments, reinforced and better equipped regiment is brigade and has 5000+ personnel
Some brigades in Ukraine now have the amount of personnel of division 9000 or so people
⋙⋙⋙⋙🐣 RT @CrimsonShadowMK
I see a lot of answers about numbers, but the key difference as it pertains to these armies is functional. Brigades have the necessary support elements to operate as an independent unit in a given area. Soviet regiments mostly lack that support internally, and need their ..
⋙⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @NAFOWhiteMouse
Understand all the numbers you are seeing are paper strength. Many 🇷🇺 units started the war under strength esp on infantry. Plus losses erode units unless replacements are sent and if the fighting is hard, there won’t be enough replacements
⋙⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @zappaterrologo
A battalion usually consist of 500-800 soldiers (range: 300-1000). Two or more battallions make a brigad/regiment). The choice between “regiment” and brigade is merely dependent on naming conventions. “Unit” is a very generic term who does not detail the size of the formation.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/zappaterrologo/status/1665421809913561091?s=20/photo/1
⋙⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @Victor_Tovikrov Honest answer is it massively differs from army to army and in different time periods.
Brigades / regiments difference is not so much in size, but purpose, for example. Both comprise battalions, but a brigade has a fuller package making it more capable of acting independently.
⋙⋙⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @RedDave14 There is an old rule of thumb:
3 Sections = 1 Platoon
3 Platoons = 1 Company
3 Companies = 1 Battalion
3 Battalions = 1 Regiment
3 Regiments = 1 Brigade
3 Brigades = 1 Division
3 Divisions = 1 Corps
3 Corps = 1 Army
(Armies, eras, locations, all differ)
🐣 RT @TrentTelenko So, Wagner PMC is ambushed by the Russian Army 72nd Brigade. ¤ The Russian Army unit loses the minefield- ambush & it’s 72nd Brigade has a battalion commander captured, beatened, and give a POW confession video. 🤯 ¤ I can’t imagine a story that absurd, let alone write it.
⋙ 🐣 RT @wartranslated PMC Wagner detained and interrogated no other but the commander of the 72nd Brigade, Roman Venevitin. Wagner and the 72nd Brigade shared positions in Bakhmut.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1665472757696528386?s=20/photo/1
They detained the man, beat him, broke his nose, and forced to record a video admitting to firing at a car of PMC Wagner due to “personal animosity” towards them.
They accuse him of being drunk while doing so, speaking to him as if he is a subordinate. This is a complete demoralisation of the Russian Armed Forces who should not be any close to tolerating such behaviour of a PMC.
TheHill (2020): The Hill’s review of John Solomon’s columns on Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/yc975m2x
// 2/19/2020; article is a muddle; tags: Russia, election interference, impeachment; Burisma, Giuliani, Shokin, Lutsenko, Yanukovich, Parnas, Firtash, Hunter Biden
The columns focused on a controversy surrounding the Bidens and Ukraine that initially surfaced during the Obama administration. Specifically, the columns raised questions about Hunter Biden working on the board of a Ukrainian energy company called Burisma. When Hunter Biden joined Burisma, Joe Biden was the vice president and point person for U.S. policies on Ukraine. Joe Biden is currently a candidate for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination.
President Trump seized on this issue, commenting on it on many occasions. The president asked the government of Ukraine to investigate the Bidens as his administration delayed $391 million of U.S. military aid to the country. Trump has said he was interested in rooting out corruption and that he did not expect nor request any quid pro quo. …
Contradicting assertions in Solomon’s columns, in Politico and in some other media reports, State Department officials, U.S. national security agencies and the Senate Intelligence Committee have concluded that Ukraine did not meddle in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Russian government officials, who have denied meddling in the 2016 election, have pushed the narrative that Ukraine interfered in that U.S. election. …
The column suggests that Joe Biden was protecting Hunter Biden because Burisma was the subject of a “wide-ranging corruption probe.” That account has been disputed by officials in both Kyiv and Washington and others who maintain the investigation had grown dormant, and that Joe Biden was pushing for Shokin’s removal, not because he was investigating corruption allegations, but because he was neglecting to do so. British officials investigating fraud at Burisma backed this account, dropping a case against the company in early 2015 — months before Joe Biden’s push to remove Shokin — citing a lack of cooperation from the prosecutor general’s office in Kyiv. Furthermore, seeking Shokin’s ouster was the official position of the U.S. and the European Union. The Ukrainian Parliament voted to remove Shokin in 2016. Like Lutsenko, Shokin’s reliability as a source is in question. Shokin was among the figures Solomon interviewed during his research.
Hunter Biden, who had little to no energy expertise at the time he was hired by Burisma, has said it was “poor judgment” to accept the position on Burisma’s board, acknowledging that he likely received the job offer because of his last name. State Department officials also said in impeachment inquiry testimony that they were concerned with Hunter Biden sitting on the company board while Joe Biden was overseeing the U.S. government’s Ukraine policies. …
There has never been any proof of legal wrongdoing by the Bidens. Pressed on the matter in a recent interview, Joe Biden said the Bidens’ dual roles in Ukraine led some to say it set “a bad image.” …
Lutsenko himself in May 2019 said there was no evidence of legal wrongdoing. At the time of Lutsenko’s initial interviews with Solomon in March 2019, there was tension between Lutsenko and Yovanovitch amid official U.S. concerns about Lutsenko’s commitment to anti-corruption efforts.
Aside from Solomon, diGenova and Toensing had other clients with interest in Ukraine. According to Bloomberg, diGenova and Toensing were paid $1 million by a Ukrainian oligarch, Dmitry Firtash, to find negative information on the Bidens. Firtash is fighting extradition to the U.S. on conspiracy charges, and the effort was designed to help win Giuliani’s help in the case, Bloomberg reported. They have also met with Lutsenko, according to The New York Times.
Salon, Sophia McClennon (2022): Why Zelenskyy’s background in comedy really matters https://tinyurl.com/mvkh8drt “The goal of satire is to get the audience to think, to recognize the flaws in the status quo and to see that the sorts of narratives offered by those in power can be changed”
// 3/12/2022; Forget about Paddington for a minute. The comedy that made Zelenskyy famous was also political
[…] Satire is a unique form of comedy, one that relies on creative irony. Here the comedian isn’t getting laughs because they fall down or make someone look silly; they get laughs because they hold up a creative mirror to the absurdities, injustices and abuses of power that govern the world. The goal of satire is to get the audience to think, to recognize the flaws in the status quo and to see that the sorts of narratives offered by those in power can be changed. Using satire to coax the public to think differently is even more essential when the public is being ruled by fear and repression. As Stephen Colbert explains, satire “alleviates fog off of the mind, because when you’re laughing you can’t be afraid. And, when you’re not afraid, you think better. Laughter leads to thinking.
But today’s satire is often not just a comment on the flaws and follies of the world and a call to rethink them. Today’s satirists aren’t simply court jesters. As I’ve explained in relation to the rise of satirists as political actors in the Trump era, there has been a steady increase in satire playing a direct role in political action. Today’s satirists inform and educate the public, run for office, propose legislation and engage in all sorts of political activities.
Earlier, I made the comparison between Kvartal 95’s comedy troupe and The Smothers Brothers. Interestingly, one of the regulars on The Smothers Brothers, Pat Paulsen, also ran for president. But, unlike Zelenskyy, Paulsen’s campaigns were entirely satirical. For example, he ironically would answer any criticism with the catchphrase: “Picky, picky, picky.”
In contrast, Zelenskyy’s campaign might have included plenty of stunts, but it was always sincere. Again, as a point of comparison, we might think of Jon Stewart’s actions to support war veterans, John Oliver’s attack on the coal industry, Samantha Bee’s activism for women’s reproductive rights or Michael Moore’s advocacy for clean water in Flint, Michigan. These are satirical comedians who are very serious about social issues. For them, satire isn’t a distraction from politics; it is politics.
Zelenskyy’s satire is in this same family of using ironic wit to foster political change and using the charisma of comedy to help defend and advance democracy. When asked about the overlaps between his character on “Servant of the People” and his campaign, Zelenskyy explained, “I didn’t invent all this [the show]—I felt all this, I am really feeling all this…It would have been impossible to create it all simply because I am a good actor and because someone wrote it well. We wrote it together, we all lived it together.”
Zelenskyy’s experience traveling across Ukraine as part of the Kvartal 95 troupe meant that he would also have gained a wide understanding of the issues that mattered to the people. Ladygina notes, “Zelenskyy is not performing sincerity because sincerity has been part of his connection with Ukrainians since the late ’90s.” Well before launching the Servant of the People political party, Kvartal 95, for example, had launched a number of social programs, including a campaign to encourage women to get mammograms, and also contributed funds for the Ukrainian military.
The main character of the “Servant of the People” is named Vasily Petrovich Goloborodko. His last name, Goloborodko, offers insight into the satirical wit of the show. Ladygina, a native speaker of Ukrainian and Russian, explains that Goloborodko means “beardless” and symbolizes a man without experience. Choosing that name, then, was an early and obvious sign that the show wanted to position the protagonist — someone from outside the political elite, who could be honest, sincere and committed to a better Ukraine — as what the country needed. But they also knew that having honest outsiders try to fight the Goliaths of corruption, oligarchy, Russian imperialism and international pressures would never be easy.
When we see that Zelenskyy’s comedy repertoire wasn’t just entertaining — it also posed creative ways to think about how to improve the future of Ukraine, and offered a funny look at how hard those changes might be to make — then Zelenskyy’s unwavering commitment to his people makes perfect sense. Just because he is witty, media savvy and pretty good at dancing, doesn’t mean he isn’t serious.
🐣 RT @Apex_WW The United States believes the highly anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive will result in Kyiv taking back “strategically significant territory,” Jake Sullivan, US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said Sunday.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Apex_WW “Exactly how much, in what places, that will be up to developments on the ground as the Ukrainians get this counteroffensive underway,” Sullivan said. “But we believe that the Ukrainians will meet with success in this counteroffensive.”
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA Update : “#Sweden 🇸🇪 complied with Turkey’s demands and has the right to join NATO” – Stoltenberg
Stoltenberg following a meeting with Erdogan, said that he had reached an agreement on a meeting with the participation of Sweden, Turkey and NATO. It is scheduled for June 12th.
💙 🐣 RT @EuromaidanPR The Plans need the Silence, – General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
💽 https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPR/status/1665290411399688193?s=20/photo/1
// video of individual troops all giving the “shhhh” sign 🤫
⭕ 3 Jun 2023
🐣 RT @tassagency_en Russian President Vladimir Putin remains open to any contact that would allow meeting the goals of the special military operation through peaceful means, but the West does not provide such a chance, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: https://bit.ly/43DENAi
⋙ 🐣please define ”the goals of the special military operation” as they stand today ¤ thanks
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @colinsmith50 Regime change & keeping hold of territory already taken. It’s the equivalent of a burglar offering to stop burgling as long as the householders agree to give away the deeds, permits the thief to keep everything he’s stolen & pays burglar for his time & loss of equipment.
🐣 RT @albafella1 Head of PMC “Wagner” terrorist Prigozhin promised to avenge the dead residents of the Belgorod People’s Republic:
“Why did we take Bakhmut and rename it Artemovsk? Why are tens of thousands of people, our Russian guys, dying, moving towards the West? In order for us to start giving away, step by step, pieces of the Belgorod region, our primordially Russian land? Why is everyone silent about the death of these civilians? Where is General Lapin? Where is Shoigu? Where is Gerasimov? Where are their explanations to the Russian people? Tell us their names and surnames, tell us the place and date where the burial will be, so that we can take off our hats and honor their memory, and then decide how and when we will take revenge,” — he says
🐣 RT @TreasChest The counteroffensive of the Armed Forces will be impressive and will reach its climax in the first three to four days, — former director of the CIA, General David Petraeus, on BBC Radio 4.
“I have a feeling that they will achieve the effect of a combination of different types of weapons, that is, they will successfully conduct a combined operation, when there are sappers who overcome obstacles and neutralize minefields, moving forward; armored vehicles that follow them are protected by infantry from anti-tank missiles; anti-aircraft defenses that keep Russian aircraft as far away as possible; electronic warfare equipment that jams their radio networks; logistics that follow directly behind them; artillery and mortars that precede them. This will inevitably lead to a culmination of forward unit attacks in the first 72-96 hours.” Petraeus said.
He also noted that Ukraine will eventually block Russia’s land access to Crimea and begin the “process of isolation” of the peninsula. Despite this, Petraeus expressed doubt that the liberation of Crimea will take place in this counteroffensive.
“But if the Ukrainians can start isolating Crimea, I think it will very, very significantly change the dynamics of the war,” the American general added. #counteroffensive_ukraine http://ZN.UA
🐣 RT @ SamRamani2 The Wagner Group says it is ready to defend Belgorod if the Russian Defence Ministry doesn’t do its duty ¤ Yevgeny Prigozhin claims Wagner will enter Belgorod even without an official Kremlin invitation
😅 RT @PaulaChertok DeSantis is the Joke of “Woke” warrior now – actually channeling Churchill who (checks note) fought an actual war, and *against* fascists not for them. #DeJokeOfWoke #DeFascist #NoThanks
⋙ 🐣 RT @Acyn DeSantis: As president, I recognize that the woke mind virus represents a war on the truth so we will wage a war on the woke. We will fight the woke in education, we will fight the woke in corporations, we will fight the woke in the halls of congress.
💽 https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1665086349483835392?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @igorsushko Some weeks ago Putin’s Kremlin propaganda ‘killed’ Ukraine’s top general, Zaluzhny, now they ‘killed’ general Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency, GUR. ¤ The situation is certainly unraveling for Russia both in the information space and on the ground.
🐣 RT @Mollyploofkins Magadonians?
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Mollyploofkins/status/1664740480431579137?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump WE ARE MAGADONIANS, WE ARE VERY SMART, WE STICK TOGETHER AS ONE, WE FOLLOW TRUTH SOCIAL, WE PUT “AMERICA FIRST,” AND WE WILL “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump FOX SHOULD EMBRACE MAGA. THEIR PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP IS DOWN 37% FROM JUST A YEAR AGO, ALL BECAUSE THE VERY SMART, EVEN BRILLIANT, MAGADONIANS KNOW THAT, DESPITE ALL THE FAKE LIP SERVICE, FOXNEWS IS PUSHING RON DESANCTUS, OR ANYONE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER, BECAUSE THEY HATE THE GREATEST “AMERICA FIRST” PRESIDENT TO EVER PUT ON A SUIT AND TIE, ME. THEY ARE ALL GLOBALISTS, AND GLOBALISTS WILL NEVER, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!
🐣 RT @nexta_tv Russia has failed to achieve any of the goals that Putin set at the beginning of the “Special Military Operation. This was stated by First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Konstantin Zatulin.
“What were our goals officially declared at the beginning of the Special Military Operation? Denazification, demilitarization, neutrality of Ukraine and protection of the citizens of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, who suffered all this time. On which of these points have we achieved results? None of them.
Moreover, some of them are no longer meaningful. For example, the neutrality of Ukraine. What is the sense of making this demand? None at the moment,” said the deputy of Putin’s “United Russia” party.
🐣 RT @S1epanS Some interesting key points from Igor “Strelkov” Girkin’s stream yesterday. Includes his usual pessimism and begging for mobilizations as well as commentary on Transnistria’s fate and the events in Belgorod.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/S1epanS/status/1664941308635500544?s=20/photo/1 -2
[ Errors of sofware in reading text, but here’s what it picked up: see linked pdfs if necc ]
[Text:] 1. The raids on Belgorod Oblast are meant to draw away Russian reserves which would otherwise be used to defend against a Ukrainian offensive, most likely to happen in the Zaporozhye direction in the south. Ukraine has not committed large forces to these raids, at most a battalion sized unit. It few brigades, they would easily reach the outskirts of Belgorod. These raids will continue.
2. The only way to prevent these raids, and the incessant artillery bombardment of our border areas, is to go on the offensive and create a Sokm buffer zone on the Ukrainian part of the border, A 30km zone w not be enough due to the range of Ukrainian artillery. However, with our current military capabilities, such an offensive is impossible. That is why Russia should never have retreated fron the Susy and Chernihiv oblasts. the retreat from Kyiv itselt was correct. our forces there would have been encircled and destroyed after the ground froze in spring, similar to our experiences during the 1939 Winter war.
3. the Russian army nas fully ceded the initiative to Ukraine, and are only passively responding to wha[t] Ukraine does. Girkin: “no one has ever won a war o passively responding to the enesy’s actions. The only way co regain chas anaclacive, and therefore win the war, as a cocas nacional mobilizacion, both of soldiers and of industry. However, this is impossible due to
Feudalise” within the armed forces. what as Victory>
4. Girkin belloves that “this war w continue unt koy as biberated from lazise and Zelenskyy flees to Jerusalem and his administration to Canada”. He reiterates that this sort of victory w only de possable wach a full nacional mobalazacion, and does now believe chac chas as possiole. hars are not won by cruise missiles. They are won by the boot of the infantryman occupying the enemy’s airfields, artillery posicions and cities
5. The feudalism mentioned earlier is the fact that the RU AF are split into 3 competing factions, each with their own political and military power base: The Ministry of Defense, wagner, and kadyrov. tach represent theanterescs of cafferenc offgarcns, and chear “aging tzar” cripples the time when Russia is losing.
6. Girkin says that Prigozhyn is lying when he says that roads out of Bakhmut were mined in front of him. he admits to disking him. out admits that he and hagner had the “only successes of the winter and soring campaign” when they cook baknmut. aloesc wich large casuaacies. Me says chac baknmuc, aachougn a viccory, was a waste of the resource that is Wagner, and that the PHC should have been committed elsewhere on the front. The rest of the Kussian spring campaign was a costly failure, especially in Avdaivka and Martinka, where no gains were made but heavy losses taken in “meat-wave /cannon fodder assaults with Mobiks and LONR troops.
7. The Ukrainians now enfoy an overall numerical supremacy in terms of troops. They have built up a large for the upcoming counteroffensive due to continuous mobilizations, while on the other hand Russianforces are dangerously depleted. Girkin says “I know I am repeating myself. but we need another [mobilization]
8. Transnistria. Girkin says that Transnistria is doomed, the “Ukrainian Nazis and Moldovan- excuse me. Romanian, nationalists can and will take it. Transnistria could have been taken as far back as last Summer, but [Gi]rkin be heves that the Ukrainians refrained -rom attacking at as blackma[il] to ensure the grain deal. however, an the long cerm, Transastrad and the russian garrason chere are doomed.
🐣 RT @NOELreports “We are ready for the counter offensive. We would like to have more equipment, but we can’t wait any longer. I strongly believe we will win,” Zelenskyi said in an interview with WSJ.
⋙ WSJ: Ukraine’s Zelensky: We Are Ready for Counteroffensive https://tinyurl.com/yn65m5fs
// Ukrainian president also discusses U.S. elections, NATO and China in wide-ranging interview
“I don’t know how long it will take,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready.”
In a wide-ranging, hourlong discussion, Zelensky, 45 years old, said he feared U.S. elections next year could bring a less-supportive administration to power and called on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to offer a clear path to membership for Kyiv.
He also urged China to try to restrain Russia and said Ukraine urgently needed more U.S.-made Patriot missile-defense systems to protect citizens from aerial bombardments and to shield front-line troops.
Zelensky acknowledged Russian air superiority on the front lines and said a lack of protection from Russian air power means “a large number of soldiers will die” in the counteroffensive.
Ukraine would have liked to have more Western-supplied weapons for the coming campaign, he said. Still, Ukraine is ready to move. “We would like to have certain things, but we can’t wait for months,” he said.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s ground forces were “stronger and more motivated” than the dug-in Russian troops trying to hold on to the roughly 20% of Ukraine they control in the country’s east and south.
The counteroffensive is a pivotal moment for Zelensky, a former actor and comedian whose leadership during the war has propelled him to global prominence. The outcome will shape the contours of Western military backing and diplomatic jockeying over Ukraine’s future.
Ukraine’s backers have provided billions in military and financial support that has been essential to Kyiv’s war effort, and calls for Zelensky to seek a peace deal could grow if the counteroffensive fails to deliver a significant breakthrough.
Zelensky veered from expressions of gratitude to Western supporters for weapons deliveries to words of frustration over their reluctance to give Ukraine greater quantities of powerful arms to fend off the Russians.
His statements reflected the balance he must find between pressing to get what he needs to retain Ukraine’s independence and domestic political support while not pushing allies too far and eroding their backing.
Zelensky said he was aware that Western leaders sometimes take offense at his harsh tone, but couldn’t understand why, in his view, they were drip-feeding more-advanced arms that they know would protect lives and help Ukraine win. ¤ If Ukraine isn’t able to withstand Russia, Zelensky said, “that animal, that beast will develop a taste” for conquest and go further.
“Let’s not compare who should be grateful to whom,” he said.
Zelensky spoke at a government residence after a day visiting wounded soldiers, meeting military commanders and visiting the port to discuss how to increase exports. Wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with his country’s name, he looked a touch weary, but perked up when asked how he keeps his spirits up.
“There is no place for weakness,” he said. …
Biden has an emotional attachment to Ukraine that has underpinned his administration’s support for the country, Zelensky said. Trump’s presidency came before the full-scale invasion, and “I’m not sure how Trump would have acted,” he said.
Still, Ukraine’s president said he was encouraged by bipartisan support in the U.S. and the backing of ordinary citizens, and hoped that both parties and Congress would continue to support Ukraine and pressure any new administration to keep up flows of assistance.
A more immediate concern for Zelensky is to secure a clear path to NATO membership at a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July. … …
🐣 RT @wartranslated Russian reporter Sladkov, who is known for his reassuring posts, says the Russian army is completely lacking counter-battery fire, and notifies of “unpleasant events” in Zaporizhzhia direction, a place where an important Ukrainian strike might occur during the counter-offensive. He says Ukrainian artillery is better than the Russian.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1664922561400938496?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] ZAPORIZHIA DIRECTION. THE SITUATION IS UNPLEASANT.
Our positions are under heavy artillery fire. I know a lot of bad details, but I won’t reveal them. The trend: they shell us – we don’t respond, and there are very bad reasons for this, there are several of them and all of them do not depend on the battalions, regiments, divisions in combat. Hundreds of shells are flying at us, zero in response.
What kind of war is this? Counter-battery fire, as the primary, constantly used method of countering enemy artillery, is absent in our SMO. It doesn’texist, no matter what anyone says. This is nothing new to the enemy, nor to any of us, so don’t stick your own head in the sand. We waste people because of our own shortcomings. Yes, I agree, we are causing serious damage to the enemy with our rear missile strikes. But the front line also needs to be protected, our people are standing there.
From the Book for Young Commanders: “Counter-battery firing is considered successful if the enemy’sfirepower and their crews are suppressed or destroyed. Suppression implies the further inability of the enemy’s firepower to continue firing. ¤ Adult big commanders probably read other books. And they don’t say that in reality the Ukrainian artillery beats the Russian one, which no one could even imagine to be the case a year ago.
🐣 RT @Fireblade577 Russia having to deploy their former elite (now depleted but still some of their best units) to the Bakhmut front, will further reduce the capabilities of the operational reserve they have to counter the upcomming Ukrainian offensive [via @DefenceHQ]
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Fireblade577/status/1664924507360972800?s=20/photo/1
● Russia has continued to redeploy regular units to the Bakhmut sector, as Wagner Group assault detachmentcomplete their withdrawal to rear areas.
● Russian VDV (airborne forces) have assumed an increasingly important role in Bakhmut: elements of the76th and 106th divisions and two additional separateVDV brigades are now deployed to the sector.
● The VDV is much degraded from its pre-invasion ‘elite’ status. However, Russian commanders have likely attempted to maintain some of these still relatively capable units as an uncommitted reserve. Because they have instead been forced to deploy them to hold the front line in Bakhmut, the whole Russian force is likely tobe less flexible in reacting to operational challenges.
⭕ 2 Jun 2023
TheAtlantic, Tim Alberta: Inside the Meltdown at CNN https://tinyurl.com/46uhjtbj #longread
// CEO Chris Licht felt he was on a mission to restore the network’s reputation for serious journalism. How did it all go wrong?
🐣 RT @ukrainiansquad It’s time to fight and to kick the occupiers out of Ukraine . God will be with you guys every step of the way, soldiers.
💽 https://twitter.com/ukrainiansquad/status/1664981570501988353?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @DefMon3 This is a great read. It addresses a lot of the issues regarding the training and command structure of Ukrainian armed forces. There are some great suggestions on how to improve things in the article
⋙ War on the Rocks, Erik Kramer and Paul Schneider: What the Ukrainian Armed Forces Need to Do to Win https://tinyurl.com/4ck3ptxw
💙 WaPo, Dana Milbank: McCarthy got rolled. But it’s good for him — and America. https://tinyurl.com/4nmh5h42 “This week provided Republicans with a road map to escape from Trumpism. The only excuse not to use it is cowardice — or complicity”
But this time, McCarthy didn’t cower and cave. He made these vulgarians clean their plates. He told the right-wing hooligans to stuff it, and he took his debt compromise to the House floor — where something remarkable happened Wednesday night.
More than two thirds of Republicans stuck with McCarthy, leaving the 71 GOP holdouts isolated. At the same time, nearly 80 percent of Democrats voted for the package, putting more D’s than R’s in the yes column and lifting the bill to passage by a lopsided 314-117.
Watching from the gallery, I felt more hopeful about our politics than I had in some time. For a brief, glorious (and probably fleeting) moment, the madness had stopped.
McCarthy discovered that, if he’s willing to be reasonable, Democrats will lend him their support. He also proved that the Trumpian forces within his party can be sidelined — if sensible Republicans would only show some courage.
All of the usual forces of destruction on the right were aligned against the debt-and-budget deal and, by logical extension, in favor of default: Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and the rest of the Fox Industrial Complex; Ron DeSantis; the House Freedom Caucus; Heritage Action; and the Club for Growth; former Trump aides Stephen Bannon, Peter Navarro and Russell Vought. Donald Trump himself, though he went quiet as the vote neared, told Republicans they should default rather than budge from their original absurd demands for $4.8 trillion in deficit reduction and the repeal of much of Biden’s agenda.
Instead, McCarthy accepted a modest $1.5 trillion in projected savings over 10 years and left Biden’s agenda intact while agreeing that there would be no more debt limit hostage-taking before the next elections. Most Republicans tolerated the compromise, and Democrats leaped at it.
“This is fabulous,” McCarthy replied at a post-vote news conference when The Post’s Leigh Ann Caldwell asked him to square the overwhelming Democratic support with his claims that Democrats got “nothing” in the negotiations. “This is one of the best nights I’ve ever been here,” he went on with exaggerated cheer. “I thought it would be hard. I thought it would be almost impossible just to get to 218 [votes]. Now, I found there’s a whole new day here.” …
McCarthy faced a choice in the debt ceiling negotiations: save the country from economic calamity or protect his own job. It’s not clear whether he made a conscious decision or whether, as Democrats and House Freedom Caucus members suspect, he simply got bested in the negotiations. Whatever the motive, he did the right thing for the country.
And now, sure enough, the MAGA crowd wants to hobble, if not terminate, his speakership. … ¤ The hard-liners called for reinforcements, but the cavalry never came.…
To answer his critics, McCarthy had a ready approach: He would make stuff up. ¤ He gathered the rank and file for a closed-door caucus meeting Tuesday night, fed them cartloads of We the Pizza pies, and told them, “I’m going to go on record and vote for the biggest spending cuts in history!” ¤ This wasn’t remotely true, but McCarthy repeated it endlessly over the following days. …
But if McCarthy didn’t have the facts, he did have the votes.
During Wednesday night’s debate, Jeffries gloated a bit about saving McCarthy from his MAGA hard-liners. “Earlier today, 29 House Republicans voted to default on our nation’s debt and against an agreement that you negotiated,” he needled, later adding: “Extreme MAGA Republicans attempted to take control of the House floor. Democrats took it back for the American people, and we will continue to do what is necessary.”
McCarthy’s allies evidently didn’t appreciate the taunt. The presiding officer, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (Ohio), took the extraordinary step of gaveling down the Democratic leader midspeech — on dubious grounds. But in the end, Democrats bailed out McCarthy again. In the final tally, most of the no votes came from Republicans; most of the yes votes came from Democrats. …
… This week provided Republicans with a road map to escape from Trumpism. The only excuse not to use it is cowardice — or complicity.
🧵 RT @SquireDigital 1/ Urazovo – Verigovka thread.
This short message from WarGonzo could be the start of something big. ¤ Even if this turns out to be nothing, this thread will look at an action that can be what a major feint would look like, before the main counter offensive in the south.
📌 🌎 https://twitter.com/SquireDigital/status/1664608927265308672?s=20
NYT: In Finland, Blinken Calls Russia’s War ‘Strategic Failure’ https://tinyurl.com/4k3dejxc “Mr. Blinken argued … that Mr. Putin had unwittingly exposed and compounded the weakness of Russia’s military, hobbled its economy and inspired NATO to become more united, and even larger”
🐣 RT @ @BlogUkraine #464dayofwar ¤ ⚡The US will help #Ukraine build the “army of the future”, – Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State ¤ #UkraineWar#UkraineRussiaWar
🐣 📋 RT @POTUS Folks, today is a good day for our economy. ¤ We learned the economy created 339,000 jobs last month – bringing us to over 13 million jobs since I took office. ¤ That’s more jobs in 28 months than any President has created in a four-year term. The Biden economic plan is working.
KyivPost: Trump’s Plan to Stop Russia’s War on Ukraine ‘in 24 Hours’ is as Terrible as You’d Expect https://tinyurl.com/4c38krza (what an embarrassment)
// The former president launched into a largely nonsensical tirade on Thursday evening, even claiming Kyiv is covering up the true numbers of people killed by Russian missile strikes
⭕ 1 Jun 2023
😅 RT @ProjectLincoln Bet Biden couldn’t do any of this. Thankfully.
💽 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1664421707107520513?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @igorsushko While in Moldova, Ukraine’s President Zelensky warned Russian troops occupying Transnistria in Moldova to leave if they want to survive. A joint operation between Moldova and Ukraine to liberate the territory may be on the horizon.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer PUTIN’s WÜNDER-WEAPON DUDS: With much hype and bluster, Russia threatened the world with the Kinzhal ‘hypersonic’ missile, the Su-57 ‘super fighter’ the T-14 Armata and the BMPT ‘Terminator’– all weapons that severely underperformed on the battlefield.
⋙ ModernWarInstitute: Hypersonic Hype? Russia’s Kinzhal Missiles and the Lessons for Air Defense https://tinyurl.com/57m75aw4 “In terms of maneuverability, the Kinzhal is more akin to a giant lawn dart loaded with explosives”
🐣 RT @GlasnostGone Unlucky Putin, #Brazil not sharing the love anymore. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva reiterated his position in favor of #Ukraine’s territorial integrity, condemning Russia’s invasion. As trade with the EU is more profitable than with Mordor.
⋙ TheGuardian: The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, reiterated his position in favor of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, condemning Russia’s invasion. https://tinyurl.com/yswhr8fb
//. The comments came after a meeting in Brasília with Finland’s president, Sauli Niinistö, who is making an official visit to Brazil on 1-2 June 2023. ¤ The Brazilian leader said he also hoped for a “balaced” trade agreement between Mercosur and the EU that could support Brazil’s push for reindustrialisation and sustainable development.
TheHill, Jonathan Sweet and Mark Toth: In Ukraine, Russia is nearly down to its nukes https://tinyurl.com/yezk2bs4 “The head games continue — real and imagined, including action, reaction, counteraction — only this time, it is Ukraine dictating the conditions”
[…] The Kremlin, in the absence of a sustained conventional offensive capability, was increasingly resorting to propagandists selling Putin’s retaliation strikes against Ukrainian civilians as though they were decisive battlefield successes. Yet as Russian missile and drone strikes lose effectiveness against a U.S. and NATO supplied integrated air defense network, Putin is shifting back to implied threats of nuclear escalation and Chernobyl-like environmental disasters.
This past week, Putin signed two documents designed to send one nuclear message to the U.S. and NATO. The first provided for the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, although control is solely retained by the Kremlin. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that the “tactical nuclear weapons were already on the move.”
Then, on Monday, Putin signed legislation into law withdrawing Russia from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Both decrees are creating an ominous new dimension in regard to the four Ukrainian regions Moscow illegally annexed — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. In the past, Putin has vowed to defend Russia territories, “including the annexed regions, with any means at his military’s disposal, including nuclear weapons.” …
New reports from the Ukraine Defense Ministry on May 26 also suggest Russia is planning a major accident at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in a ‘false flag’ operation to “thwart Ukraine’s imminently expected counteroffensive.” In faking a Ukrainian attack on the plant and causing “the leakage of the radioactive substances,” the Kremlin is apparently anticipating it can “trigger an international investigation which would require a ceasefire, allowing Russia to use the break in fighting to better prepare for Ukraine’s counteroffensive.”
Ukraine, however, remains undeterred and unwilling to give in to Russian nuclear blackmail. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky defiantly announced on May 29 that a decision had been made concerning the timing of Ukraine’s counteroffensive. The head games continue — real and imagined, including action, reaction, counteraction — only this time, it is Ukraine dictating the conditions.
Deep strikes, raids, reconnaissance in force, supporting efforts, main effort — Gerasimov must now prepare for all contingencies along a 900-mile front. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian army gets stronger and the Russian soldier in his foxhole is left to wonder.
Putin, essentially, is down to his nukes in Ukraine. And even he likely knows that they are not a viable or winning option. The question is no longer whether Russia conventionally loses in Ukraine, but when.
🐣 RT @AntiToxicPeople The terror filled rants are getting longer as more info leaks out🍿
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1664342678572789761?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] @realDonald Trump Just like the Democrat inspired Fake Dossier, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, UKRAINE, Impeachment Hoax #1, Impeachment Hoax #2, the “No Collusion” Mueller Report, and so much else, the illegally leaked, by the DOJ, FBI, and Special “Prosecutor,” Document story is a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time and, like all of the others, Fake News! I did nothing wrong, they did, and have been doing so for a long time. GREAT POLL NUMBERS – ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa Today, and every time we prepare and make decisions for the sake of our Europe, for the sake of our values, we must remember that every doubt we show here in Europe is a trench that 🇷🇺 will definitely try to occupy. I said this at the second meeting of the European Political Community, which is taking place today in Moldova.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1664260023592054784?s=20/photo/1
Since February 24 last year, the limits of security in Europe have in fact been the limits of our determination, our ability to act together for the sake of the interests of our peoples and the whole Europe. As much as we can reject doubts, we can reject the evil of aggression.
This year – is for decisions. In summer – in Vilnius, at the @NATO summit – the clear invitation to membership for 🇺🇦 is needed, and the security guarantees on the way to NATO membership are needed. In fall, on our accession to the 🇪🇺 – clear positive decision is needed. And we are also preparing the Peace Summit, which will guide the world majority to implement the joint #PeaceFormula, and it is a global need. The time has come, and the doubts must vanish. We openly say that only a strong air defense, namely the coalition of “Patriots”, namely the coalition of modern fighter jets can defeat 🇷🇺 terror. ¤ We are offering appropriate decisions and promoting appropriate decisions. 🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
🐣 RT @Tendar Germany has also increased the military aid package for Ukraine. Following positions have been added:
– 2x truck tractor trains 8×8 HX81, plus 3x semi-trailer
– 66x APC (probably Fuchs)
– 64x tracked all-terrain vehicles Bandvagn 206 (BV206)
– 7x tracked and remote controlled infantry vehicles TheMIS UGV systems
– Leopard 1 ammunition
Source: https://bundesregierung.de/breg-en/news/military-support-ukraine-2054992
#Germany #Ukraine
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer DEFENDERS OF KYIV: During last night’s sustained attacks, Ukrainian air defense is reported to have intercepted 10 out of 10 Russian Iskander short range ballistic missiles. This was a ‘type against target’ interception rate of 100%.
◕ https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1664223311369236481?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @GresselGustav 1/ Some noteworthy stuff here. First AIM-7 for air defence. They will be launched from Buk-M1 launchers. Integrating Sparrows in Buks was a bumpy ride, took longer than expected. But finally solves an ammo issue for a prolific system in 🇺🇦.
⋙ 🐣 RT @GresselGustav 2/ 105mm tank rounds. That ends the discussions on where to get ammo for Leopard 1 tanks.
⋙ 🐣 RT @GresselGustav A Soviet aircraft only needs to launch, but not guide a Storm Shaddow. ¤ A Buk launcher needs to provide a radar signal for a Sparrow, one that works under adverse EW conditions.
🚫 🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA There is unconfirmed information from several Russian sources that Putin has decided to remove Shoigu from his post. 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
🐣 RT @ NatalkaKyiv I don’t know who put the footage of the destroyed Ukrainian cities and intercepted conversations of Russian soldiers together, but I can’t think of a better illustration of ‘Russki Mir’.
💽 https://twitter.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1664161632350502913?s=20/photo/1
It’s hard to watch and hard to listen to, but it’s important to do both so that none of this will ever be repeated in the future.
The world had already said ‘never again’ on multiple occasions. ¤ This time we must mean it and make it so. ¤ Never again!!!
#StandWithUkraine #Russia #Ukraine #RussiaUkraineWar #RussianWarCrimes #RussiaIsATerroristState
🚫 🧵 RT @generalsvr_en Details of the #China Peace Plan and #Putin’s Reaction ¤ #Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday held a meeting via video call with several trusted people from the country’s leadership. Putin holds meetings in this format and composition very rarely and only to… 1/9
📌 https://twitter.com/generalsvr_en/status/1664197204083367937?s=20
⋙ discuss issues that require immediate decisions and on which the fate of the country’s leadership depends. Thus, yesterday they discussed a proposal from the #Chinese comrades that had arrived the day before. The gist of the proposal is as follows: 2/9
⋙ #Russia withdraws its troops to the borders as of February 23, 2022. The “Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics” remain within the borders as of February 23, 2022, for a transitional period of up to five years, after which they return to… 3/9
⋙ #Ukraine on terms of limited autonomy. […]
The #Crimea issue is a topic for negotiations, which will start in five years. Until then, Crimea is effectively under Russian control. According to the #Chinese comrades, if the #Russian leadership is prepared to… 4/9
⋙ end the conflict on such terms, this package would include the removal of most of the sanctions imposed after February 24, 2022. The #Chinese comrades practically explicitly promise in such a case to help restore and increase #Russia’s military capacity within… 5/9
⋙ two to three years and “create better conditions for further negotiations”.
The proposal was not presented to #Ukraine. The #Russian leadership has to make a decision first. However, the plan was ALLEGEDLY presented to a number of politicians from… 6/9
⋙ #European countries actively supporting #Ukraine and was met with a cautiously positive response. If #Putin agrees, the #Chinese comrades are ready to start active negotiations to put these plans into practice, but they demand an immediate response from… 7/9
⋙ the #Russian president. […]
Participants in the meeting praised such “peace initiatives” and asked the president what he thought of them. #Putin irritatedly replied that he “does not have two or three fucking years” and just “gets fucked” with such proposals. 8/9
⋙ Those taking part in the meeting tried to persuade the president to think about it and perhaps discuss better terms but without much success. The president said he was not yet ready for such solutions and, promising to think about it further, closed the meeting. 9/9
🐣 RT @ZMiST_Ua NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, commenting on the latest series of attacks on Russian territory, said that Ukraine has every right to defend itself. ¤ He added that the allies are determined to support Ukraine as long as necessary, and this does not make NATO a party to the conflict. ¤ “NATO has two tasks in this situation: to support Ukraine, which we are doing, and to prevent Russia’s aggressive war from going beyond the borders of Ukraine,” added the Secretary General
🐣 RT @rshereme Support for russia has fallen to historic lows, and now in no region of the world does it rise above 35% of the population. Even in the post-Soviet Eurasia and Africa, where russia held significant support, most people view russia unfavorably.
📊 https://twitter.com/rshereme/status/1664181633941897218?s=20/photo/1
// Gallup poll
🐣 RT @, GlasnostGone Today attending the European Political Community summit, it’s good to see president Zelensky in #Moldova with president @sandumaiamd. Zelensky said #Ukraine’s ready to be in the #NATO & that Kyiv was waiting for the bloc to be ready to admit his country [Guardian] https://tinyurl.com/5frfsn8w
⭕ 31 May 2023
PravdaUA: White House: We are against strikes on Russian territory, but it’s up to Ukraine to decide https://tinyurl.com/2j6ajwbn
🧵 RT @DonbasDIY As Russia preaches denazification, Since 2004 it has covertly partnered & financed Neo Nazi & far-right movements around the world. Following a Neo-Eurasianist strategy popularized by Dugin, these fringe groups are causing division, spreading lies & subverting societies. 1/
📌🌎 ◕ https://twitter.com/DonbasDIY/status/1664000637560934402?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /2130 UTC 31 MAY/ RU forces in the N area of operations conducted a failed attack at Orikhovo-Vasylivka. This comes as Wagner Group continues phased withdrawals from its contiguous positions. In the S area of operations, UKR forces broke up an attack at Bila Hora.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1664018461796753409?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @petestrzok Lordy there are tapes
CNN: EXCLUSIVE: Trump captured on tape talking about classified document he kept after leaving the White House https://tinyurl.com/ydkadptf Trump “acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document … , undercutting his argument that he declassified everything”
Federal prosecutors have obtained an audio recording of a summer 2021 meeting in which former President Donald Trump acknowledges he held onto a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran, multiple sources told CNN, undercutting his argument that he declassified everything.
The recording indicates Trump understood he retained classified material after leaving the White House, according to multiple sources familiar with the investigation. On the recording, Trump’s comments suggest he would like to share the information but he’s aware of limitations on his ability post-presidency to declassify records, two of the sources said.
Special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the Justice Department investigation into Trump, has focused on the meeting as part of the criminal investigation into Trump’s handling of national security secrets. Sources describe the recording as an “important” piece of evidence in a possible case against Trump, who has repeatedly asserted he could retain presidential records and “automatically” declassify documents.
Prosecutors have asked witnesses about the recording and the document before a federal grand jury. The episode has generated enough interest for investigators to have questioned Gen. Mark Milley, one of the highest-ranking Trump-era national security officials, about the incident. …
NYT: Trump White House Aides Subpoenaed in Firing of Election Security Expert https://tinyurl.com/zs36rvwe “Mr. Krebs’s assessment that the election was secure was at odds with Mr. Trump’s baseless assertions that it was a ‘fraud on the American public’”
// The special counsel is scrutinizing the dismissal of Christopher Krebs, who contradicted baseless claims by the former president that the 2020 election was marred by fraud.
The special counsel investigating former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election has subpoenaed staff members from the Trump White House who may have been involved in firing the government cybersecurity official whose agency judged the election “the most secure in American history,” according to two people briefed on the matter.
The team led by the special counsel, Jack Smith, has been asking witnesses about the events surrounding the firing of Christopher Krebs, who was the Trump administration’s top cybersecurity official during the 2020 election. Mr. Krebs’s assessment that the election was secure was at odds with Mr. Trump’s baseless assertions that it was a “fraud on the American public.”
Mr. Smith’s team is also seeking information about how White House officials, including in the Presidential Personnel Office, approached the Justice Department, which Mr. Trump turned to after his election loss as a way to try to stay in power, people familiar with the questions said.
The investigators appear focused on Mr. Trump’s state of mind around the firing of Mr. Krebs, as well as on establishing a timeline of events leading up to the attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on Jan. 6, 2021. The latest subpoenas, issued roughly two weeks ago, went to officials in the personnel office, according to the two people familiar with the matter. …
WaPo: Biden suggests using 14th Amendment to stop future debt ceiling standoffs https://tinyurl.com/5n6j6yd2 “The idea, as expressed by the president, would be to test the novel legal interpretation that holds that the debt ceiling is incompatible with the Constitution”
// The president has suggested invoking the Constitution after the current impasse. It is unclear whether a court would take up the case.
NYT, Thomas Edsall: The Politics of Delusion Have Taken Hold https://tinyurl.com/3mtsnzef Hyper-partisanship is self-reinforcing and possibly exaggerated, but is stuck until Republicans are able to reject the delusion that Trump won the 2020 election
PravdaUA/LondonTimes: Freedom of Russia Legion is recruiting Russians to storm Moscow – The Times https://tinyurl.com/yhmj9bks
A fighter of the Freedom of Russia Legion with the call sign Caesar said that the Russian partisans, who attacked the Kremlin’s forces from the territory of Ukraine, have “thousands” of people willing to join their ranks and will continue to raid the border until their forces are large enough to storm Moscow. Source: The Times
Quote: “We have serious capabilities. We have mortars, armoured vehicles, stinger manpads, portable anti-tank systems and a highly effective drone reconnaissance unit.”
Details: He said the Freedom of Russia Legion is the size of a battalion but plans to expand as an increasing number of Russians realise they can fight Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and prevail. ¤ A battalion typically consists of 500-1,000 soldiers.
Quote: “We will keep performing these harassment raids to the point we have our own piece of Russian territory, so that real Russian sons and daughters, real patriots, will be able to join us. Once that happens we will quickly grow our force and numbers and it will end with the Kremlin campaign.”
Details: Caesar joked that the weapons for his military formation were purchased from AliExpress and eBay, as well as from Russian military stores.
He emphasised that all of the members of his Legion were Russian citizens but admitted that they had served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces: “We are not a band of criminals or a private military company like Wagner. We fight within the structure of Ukrainian forces. Our main goal and task is the defence of Ukraine and de-occupation of its territories. After that we will go to free our home”.
He added that the raid on Russian territory was intended to support Ukraine’s planned counter-offensive while also acting as a recruitment campaign and encouraging Russians to overthrow Putin before the war comes to them.
According to him, Russians enter Ukraine through certain neutral border states. “We have a steady flow of incoming recruits and it grows. More and more Russian people understand that this war is criminal and it should be stopped”.
Alexei Baranovsky, a spokesman for the Legion’s political wing, told The Times that the Legion is “a politically neutral organisation with no ideological stance. [Its] only task is to overthrow Putin’s regime.” ¤ As he stated, the legion is biding its time: “We aren’t saying we will get to Moscow tomorrow. This will happen when the Ukrainian armed forces liberate Crimea. Putin’s political system will be paralysed by defeat in Crimea. This is when we will need to strike a devastating blow against Moscow. This is what we are preparing for.” …
🐣 RT @ Apex_WW The U.S. and its NATO allies haven’t acted on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine and aren’t prepared enough to defend Europe from a Russian attack, the Army’s former top commander on the Continent told an audience this week at a major security forum.
⋙ Stars&Stripes: ‘We’re not ready’ to defeat Russian attack on NATO, retired US general says https://tinyurl.com/287sz93t
The U.S. and its NATO allies haven’t acted on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine and aren’t prepared enough to defend Europe from a Russian attack, the Army’s former top commander on the Continent told an audience this week at a major security forum.
Transporting troops swiftly to the front lines, producing enough ammunition and communicating with allied armies remain challenges for NATO in defending against Russia, retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army Europe, said Tuesday at the Globsec conference in Bratislava, Slovakia.
🐣 RT @ ChuckPfarrer ATACMS: Though many consider it likely that UKR has 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 used US-made ATACMs missiles against the Kerch Bridge & the Saki airbase in Crimea, the Biden administration has definitely left the door open to overt US provision of the ATACMS to
UKR. https://tinyurl.com/2xe8jbbh
◕ https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1663980123442298893?s=20/photo/1
// (mainly, Chuck thinks this)
🐣 RT @front_ukrainian ⚡️The 🇺🇸USA announced a new $300 million military aid package for 🇺🇦Ukraine, — Kirby.
It will include:
● ammunition for the “Patriot” air defense system;
● ammunition for artillery and HIMARS;
● aircraft missiles “Zuni”
● SAM “Avenger”;
● MANPADS “Stinger”.
// Defense budget
🧵 RT @ChuckPfarrer BURN RATE: @ukraine_map reports that Russia continues to expend its supplies of long range precision strike missiles. Putin is estimated to have less than 194 Kalibr, Kh 101/Kh-555, Iskander and Kinzhal missiles remaining in stock.
📌 ◕ https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1663965385442377734?s=20/photo/1 -4
⋙ 🐣 RT @ukraine_map Russia’s Long Range Missile Stocks based on Ukraine’s reporting as of May 31, 2023 ¤ Russia is currently estimated to have 194 Kalibr, X-101/Kh-555, Iskander, and Kinzhal missiles in stock
◕ https://twitter.com/ukraine_map/status/1663953650467602445?s=20/photo/1
// 96 of 950 Kalibr, 50 of 900 Iskander, 48of 53 Kinzhal
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @juha_remes It’s almost as if Putin regime gangs are using Shahed-136 drones as poor man’s replacement system for missiles such as Iskander or Kalibr.
🧵 RT @sentdefender According to Photos which were recently released, the Headquarters of the Main Directorate of Intelligence for the Ukrainian Armed Forces (GUR) appears to have suffered multiple “Direct Hits” from Russian Cruise Missiles and/or Shahed-136 Drone Strikes over the last few days; this seems to align with earlier claims by the Russian Ministry of Defense and President Putin that the Russian Military had Targeted “Decision Making Centers” in Kyiv alongside Buildings related to Ukrainian Military Intelligence.
📌 🖼 https://twitter.com/sentdefender/status/1663940375596212225?s=20/photo/1 -2
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Meanwhile in Russia: truth bombs are landing on Russian state TV, as experts struggle to define what Russia’s victory in Ukraine would look like. More in my latest article for @thedailybeast, linked below⤵️ [ytube link]
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Putin’s propagandists insist Russia has to win. Trouble is, none of them seem to know what victory would look like, or whether it’s even achievable. Exasperated panelists drop truth bombs on state TV: “In some Russian cities, they are running out of men!”
⋙⋙ DailyBeast, Julia Davis: Team Putin Spars Over Baffling Russian ‘Victory Plan’ in War https://tinyurl.com/bpat26ts
// The Kremlin’s communication problems are triggering awkward moments and fiery clashes between Russian state television’s biggest stars.
🐣 RT @ Gerashchenko_en Prigozhin praised the Ukrainian Army and blamed Russia for concealing the real bad state of things from its population. ¤ Interesting choice of floor mat colors behind him, by the way.
💽 https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1663831169614458880?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS/ 1535 UTC 31 MAY/ RU sources indicate that units of the Wagner Group are conducting a phased withdrawal from positions in the northern portions of the Bakhmut Area of Operations (AO). Their stations are being turned over to Russian MoD forces.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1663929579478609925?s=20/photo/1
🧵 RT @ This was a small part of a very enjoyable conversation with @IAPonomarenko. ¤ The article is a good description of the challenges with fielding, maintaining & integrating the M1-series of tanks (and some other equipment). ¤ Ilia didn’t mention how the conversation started. 1/15 [link]
📌 https://twitter.com/MarkHertling/status/1663920394724679681?s=20
// how allies decide what equipment to provide and when
🐣 RT @USNATO The brutality with which Putin is conducting this full-blown assault against Ukraine is incomprehensible. In response, the United States continues to do all we can to strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, including coordinating support with our NATO Allies. ¤ Allied Ministers of Foreign Affairs will discuss practical and political support to Ukraine at tomorrow’s informal #ForMin in Oslo.
💽 https://twitter.com/USNATO/status/1663884613725331461?s=20/photo/1
// video of destruction
🧵RT @rshereme There is no neutrality in the face of evil. The russian war and genocide against Ukrainians have changed me. The russians killed three of my friends; they have beheaded, tortured, raped, and castrated thousands of my countrymen; they have destroyed the livelihood of millions. 1/n
📌 🖼 https://twitter.com/rshereme/status/1663803169288122369?s=20/photo/1
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1663803169288122369.html
2/ I used to be much more tolerant and accepting of different points of view. But now, my vision is more black and white. The war became personal. The pain became personal.
3/ When you are bombed almost every night for 1.5 years straight and have your country invaded, it is personal. I think everyone of us has lost someone, either on the battlefield or when rockets or Iranian drones bombed civilian infrastructure.
4/ Almost every day and night, you hear explosions in the sky. You start your day by reading reports about the next few people hospitalized or dead because Iranian drones or russian rockets crashed into one more building. And that might be the building where your loved ones live.
5/ So when I meet a person who claims to be neutral regarding the russian war and genocide against Ukrainian people, I hold them responsible for the atrocities committed by russians. There cannot be neutrality in the face of evil.
6/ A Ukrainian is judged because he or she didn’t shake the hand of a russian, belarusian, or iranian athlete, and some people dare to cast a judgment? How morally bankrupt do you have to be to judge a victim who doesn’t want to shake hands with the aggressor?
7/ Oh, but maybe these athletes don’t support their governments. Well, if they don’t support their governments, then speak up! Put on a shirt condemning the actions of their government. But no, they are silent. Morally bankrupt.
8/ Oh, but their government would put them in prison for their position. Give me a break! We, Ukrainians, at the cost of many lives, have overthrown several political regimes that wanted to become dictatorships. We stood up. We are free people!
9/ We paid the price and will continue to pay the price. Because freedom is not free. It comes with a price. For us Ukrainians, the price is especially high. But we are willing to pay it. Because it is better to die than to live as a slave.
10/ If you choose to remain neutral and silent, it’s your choice. But that choice defines who you are. You are a coward, a silent supporter, a “good russian,” and history will judge you as such.
11/ To end, I want to quote some people who understood very well that there is no neutrality in the face of evil.
12/ Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless. To not speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.”
13/ Elie Wiesel: “We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.”
14/ Dante Alighieri (paraphrased): “The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality”
🚫🐣 RT @IuliiaMendel Usually Zelenskyy’s schedule is not revealed due to security concerns. The information about possible arrival of Zelenskyy and Putin in Turkey could benefit Turkey who wants to be a mediator for peace. Or Russia to use it in propaganda later, trying to show Putin as someone who wants peace. Many try to put Putin and Zelenskyy at negotiations table
⭕ 30 May 2023
🐣 RT @anno1540 230530 Time: 22.00 @ZelenskyyUa[:]
Now, in Ukraine, on our land, in our sky, it is being decided whether freedom and civilization will retain global leadership in this century. Decided by us, together with America, together with Europe, together with all our allies and partners. I thank everyone in the world who helps us!
And, of course, today, as always, I thank our warriors. All those who are now fighting for Ukraine. All those who are on combat missions. At combat posts. The Avdiivka sector, Bakhmut, Maryinka, Shakhtarsk sector. I thank everyone who defends our positions in Luhansk and Kharkiv regions. I am grateful to each and every one who defends Zaporizhzhia and Kherson region. I thank everyone who keeps our border strong.
Our brigades that are fighting. Our brigades that are ready to move forward. And our intelligence. Our security forces. On all fronts and at all levels, the enemy must feel that Ukraine has become stronger.
Glory to our heroes! ¤ Glory to Ukraine!
🐣 RT @KateGoesTech How many F-16s are gathering dust in each country:
🇺🇸 USA: 2,256
🇮🇱 Israel: 362
🇹🇷 Turkey: 270
🇪🇬 Egypt: 220
🇳🇱 Netherlands: 213
🇰🇷 South Korea: 180
🇬🇷 Greece: 170
🇹🇼 Taiwan: 150
🇵🇰 Pakistan: 111
🇦🇪 UAE: 80
🇩🇰 Denmark: 77
🇯🇴 Jordan: 64
🇸🇬 Singapore: 62
🇧🇪 Belgium: 54
TheGuardian: Trump lawyer said to have been waved off searching office for secret records https://tinyurl.com/yj23rzsd “… as the special counsel Jack Smith examines whether his incomplete search was actually a ploy by Trump to retain classified documents”
// Exclusive: Evan Corcoran said he was steered away from Trump’s office, where the FBI later found the most sensitive materials
Donald Trump’s lawyer tasked with searching for classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after the justice department issued a subpoena told associates that he was waved off from searching the former president’s office, where the FBI later found the most sensitive materials anywhere on the property. ¤ The lawyer, Evan Corcoran, recounted that several Trump aides had told him to search the storage room because that was where all the materials that had been brought from the White House at the end of Trump’s presidency ended up being deposited.
Corcoran found 38 classified documents in the storage room. He then asked whether he should search anywhere else, like Trump’s office, but was steered away, he told associates. Corcoran never searched the office and told prosecutors the 38 papers were the extent of the material at Mar-a-Lago.
The assertion that there were no classified documents elsewhere at the property proved to be wrong when the FBI seized 101 classified documents months afterwards, including from the office, which was found to be where the most highly classified documents had been located. ¤ Corcoran’s previously unreported account, as relayed to the Guardian by two people familiar with the matter, suggests he was materially misled as the special counsel Jack Smith examines whether his incomplete search was actually a ploy by Trump to retain classified documents. ¤ It was not clear who waved off Corcoran from searching elsewhere at Mar-a-Lago – whether it was Trump himself or Trump employees …
A Trump spokesperson said: “This is completely false and rooted in pure fantasy. The real story is the illegal weaponization of the justice department and their witch-hunts targeted to influence an election in order to try and prevent President Trump from returning to the White House.”
The criminal investigation, which appears to be nearing its end, has recently focused on why the subpoena was not complied with, including whether Trump might have arranged for boxes of classified documents to be moved out of the storage room so he could retain them.
In particular, prosecutors have examined why Trump ordered his valet, Walt Nauta, to move certain boxes out of the storage room before and after the subpoena was issued – as Nauta later told the justice department – and crucially where the boxes might have been taken. ¤ The movement of boxes has taken on added significance for prosecutors after they saw on surveillance tapes that boxes were returned to the storage room on 2 June 2022, the day before the justice department travelled to Mar-a-Lago to collect what Corcoran had found, the Washington Post reported.
It was also not clear when Corcoran was waved off from searching other parts of Mar-a-Lago; it could be notable if it came before the boxes were brought back to the storage room, as it would raise questions as to whether he was held off while classified documents were moved back. ¤ The Guardian has previously reported that prosecutors determined Trump and Nauta knew when and where Corcoran intended to search because Corcoran needed Nauta to unlock the storage room, according to Corcoran’s roughly 50 pages of notes that were turned over to the grand jury in the case.
Corcoran also memorialized how he told Trump he could not retain any classified documents at Mar-a-Lago when Trump asked what he was allowed to keep, as well as when he took breaks during the search by walking out to the pool deck nearby, and therefore leaving the storage room unattended.
To obtain Corcoran’s account, otherwise off-limits because of attorney-client privilege, prosecutors persuaded a US appeals court to pierce the protection because Trump may have used Corcoran’s legal advice in furtherance of a crime, according to another lawyer briefed on the case.
While Corcoran testified that Trump did not personally mislead him about where to search at Mar-a-Lago, he also acknowledged that Trump did not suggest he look anywhere else. The New York Times earlier reported a summary of his testimony. ¤ Corcoran appears to have been told the prevailing belief among Trump aides and employees at the time: that any classified documents would probably be in the storage room with the rest of the material brought from the White House at the end of Trump’s presidency. ¤ Before he could start his search, Corcoran ended up telling Nauta about the subpoena, where at Mar-a-Lago he was searching and when he was searching, because Corcoran needed Nauta to unlock the storage room so he could gain access.
Once he gained entry, Corcoran realized he needed a deadline extension because he was the only Trump lawyer dealing with the subpoena and had underestimated the number of boxes there. The justice department agreed to a shorter extension that he wanted, and pushed the reply date to June. ¤ As the new subpoena deadline approached, Corcoran asked around whether there were other locations at Mar-a-Lago that he should search to ensure the response would be complete. Corcoran was told just searching the storage room should be sufficient and he did not look anywhere else.
Corcoran completed his search of just the storage room and told the justice department on 2 June 2022 to collect some documents the next morning. When prosecutors arrived, he provided a certification letter signed – and caveated – by another Trump lawyer, Christina Bobb, which attested to a “diligent search”.
The subpoena had been issued to Trump’s political office, and Corcoran treated it as an administrative subpoena and assumed he would be in recurring contact with the justice department about the documents matter, he has told associates.
When Corcoran turned over the 38 classified documents, according to court filings, he told the department the “records that came from the White House were stored within one location at Mar-a-Lago, the storage room … [and] he was not advised there were any records in any private office space”.
But that advice turned out to be wrong. When the FBI returned with a warrant months later, agents found in Trump’s desk drawer two classified documents mixed together with three other documents dated after Trump left the presidency, the Guardian has reported.,
😅 RT @jackryan212 I don’t know what this is. I found it on a Ukrainian telegram page but I almost cried laughing
💽 https://twitter.com/jackryan212/status/1663402529894309889?s=20/photo/1
// Ukraine Nato dancing
⭕ 29 May 2023
🐣 RT @maria_drutska We have approved the terms for the movement of our troops, decisions have been made – Zelensky in the evening address. ¤ So it begins.
⋙ 🐣 RT @HR_Attorney “You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hope and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you.” Eisenhower, June 1944
🐣 RT @ officejjsmart PRES. ZELENSKY 🇺🇦 TO AMERICANS 🇺🇸
Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy 🇺🇦 has published an address to Americans on the occasion of Memorial Day in the United States 🇺🇸.
💽 https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1663262786003124230?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa The world needs to see that terror is losing.
When Patriots in the hands of Ukrainians ensure one hundred percent downing of any Russian missiles, terror is losing. When the world increases pressure on Russia, including sanctions, when the terrorist’s isolation grows, when its former partners are ashamed of any closeness with Moscow, terror is losing. And of course, there is no greater humiliation for terrorist state than the success of our warriors.
No one else in the world uses weapons against evil more effectively than Ukrainians. And this is a common global task – to prevent Russia from making terror something usual to the world so that it leads to someone else catching this evil virus.
🐣 RT @ yasminalombaert President Volodymyr Zelensky said a decision had been made on the timing of Ukraine’s counteroffensive in his nightly address yesterday.
“As usual, the Commander-in-Chief and the commanders of the operational directions reported to the Staff.
Not only the supply of ammunition, not only the training of new brigades, not only our tactics.
But also the timing. This is what is most important. The timing of how we will move forward. We will. The decisions have been made.
I thank every soldier and sergeant, officer and general, and every prepared brigade.”
🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom GOPers figured out that just pandering to the most retrograde voters was easier than fighting for ideas. A big part of it is that nutball right-wing donors decided that they’d waited long enough and wanted a new right-wing Valhalla on earth *right now*, and democracy be damned.
⋙ 🐣 RT @MiaMcCall18 Why did it happen? Why is everything GOP-connected suddenly mad as a hatter?
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA BREAKING ¤ “All those who tried to intimidate us – our answer will not be long in coming, you will regret it very soon” – the address of the head of the GUR Budanov. [Uk 💽]
⭕ 28 May 2023
ABC/AP (May): Jan. 6 rioters are raking in thousands in donations. Now the US is coming after their haul https://tinyurl.com/3u7c2mxs
// 5/28/2023; A growing number of Capitol rioters are facing hefty fines on top of prison sentences at their sentencing hearings
💙 🐣 RT @Sytheruk Absolutely one of the greatest leaders of all time
💽 https://twitter.com/Sytheruk/status/1662998505638580224?s=20/photo/1
// Zelensky video
WaPo: Ukrainians fighting outside Bakhmut see Russian mercenaries withdrawing https://tinyurl.com/2taxx464 “Moving regular Russian units to defend Bakhmut could create vulnerabilities at other locations along the front, which stretches hundreds of miles”
🐣 RT @POTUS Speaker McCarthy and I reached a bipartisan budget agreement that will prevent the worst possible crisis – a default for the first time in our nation’s history. ¤ This deal is good news for the American people. ¤ I strongly urge Congress to pass the agreement right away.
🐣 RT @Victorshi2020 Watching President Biden right now gives me comfort. He is strong. He is steady. He & his team know exactly what they’re doing. Don’t even try to tell me that Donald Trump could’ve pulled this off. Joe Biden was made for this moment & he has delivered for all of us.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Victorshi2020 President Biden opened by saying there is good news. He then emphasized the fact that not everyone will be pleased but that this is what the job of the government is & that the alternative would’ve been much worse. Reiterates to Dems that he didn’t concede much. Strong address.
💙 🐣 RT @RabbiUkraine Today is a holiday in Ukraine – Kyiv Day! I recently recorded the song “Kyiv Heroy” and today I gave it to all Ukrainian people! https://youtu.be/7VwvPC60vys
♫ https://twitter.com/RabbiUkraine/status/1662826053973278722?s=20/photo/1
💙 EuromaidanPress, Paul Goble (2015): Ukrainian conflict is between ‘heirs of Kyivan Rus’ and ‘heirs of Golden Horde’ https://tinyurl.com/4sn43drv
// “The Ukrainian-Russian conflict is to a significant degree a conflict between the heirs of Kyivan Rus [Ukraine] and the heirs of the Golden Horde” [Moscow], according to Andrey Piontkovsky, and one of its key results will be “an intensification of the swallowing of Russia by China.”
In the course of a wide-ranging interview yesterday with Artem Dekhtyarenko of Ukraine’s Apostrophe news agency, the Russian commentator argues that it is a mistake to see what is taking place in Moscow as “a strengthening of the ties of Russia and China.”
Instead, he argues, it is part of a long ongoing process that has accelerated in the course of the Ukrainian crisis of “the swallowing of Russia by China.” At the recent Victory Day parade in Moscow, something “symbolic” happened that had never occurred “in the thousand year history of Russia:” three units of the Chinese military took part. …
The Chinese had never permitted themselves to express such notions so boldly, the Russian analyst continues; but it is clear that they now have “complete confidence that having cut itself off from Western civilization, Putin’s Russia will become an easy catch” for Beijing.
That is all the more so, Piontkovsky continues, because there are influential people in Russia itself who “welcome this process” because they “consider the Golden Horde to have been the golden age of Russian history.” Thus, “the swallowing of Russia by China is a return to its deepest historical roots.”
Those who think in this way have a certain measure of truth on their side, the Russian commentator concludes, and that in turn meansthat the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia is “to a significant degree” a conflict between the two states these two countries emerged from, Kyivan Rus in the case of Ukraine and the Golden Horde in the case of Russia.
💙 EuromaidanPress, Yaroslav Dashkevychm (2014): How Moscow hijacked the history of Kyivan Rus’ https://tinyurl.com/mr2d27nz “Moscow was created in 1277 as a subservient vassal region … to the Golden Horde …. By that time, Kyivan Rus had existed for more than 300 years”
[…] At the time of the Kyivan Empire there was no mention of a Moscow nation. It is well known that Moscow was created in 1277 as a subservient vassal region or ‘ulus’ to the Golden Horde, established by the Khan Mengu-Timur. By that time, Kyivan Rus had existed for more than 300 years.
There are no indications of any connection of Kyivan Rus with the Finnish ethnic groups in the land of ‘Moksel’ or later of the Moscow principality with the Principality of Kyivan Rus up until the XVI century. At the time when Kyivan Rus had officially accepted Christianity, the Finn tribes in ‘Moksel’ lived in a semi-primitive state.
How can anyone speak of ‘an older brother’ when that ‘older brother’ did not first appear until centuries after Rus-Ukrainians? He has no moral right to call himself an ‘older brother’, nor to dictate how people are to live, nor to force his culture, language, and world views. It is clear that until the end of the XV century, there was no Russian nation, there was no older brother ‘Great Russian’, nor were there any Russian people. Instead, there was the land of Suzdal: the land of Moksel, later the Moscow princedom, which entered into the role of the Golden Horde, the nation of Genghis Khan. From the end of the XIII to the beginning of the XVIII century, the people in this land were called Moskovites. And Moscow historians are silent about this question of their national origins.
During the IX to the XII cent. the large area of Tula, Ryazan, and today’s Moscow region – all this was inhabited by the people called ‘Moksel,’ including the tribes of Muromians, Merya, Vepsians, Mokshas, Chudes, Maris and others. These tribes eventually became the foundation of the nation who now call themselves ‘Great Russians’.
In 1137, sixth son of the Kyivan prince Volodymyr Monomakh, Yurii Dolgorukii (who had been left without a princedom in the Kyivan empire) arrived in this land. ¤ Yurii Dolgorukii began the rule of the ‘Riurykovyches’ in ‘Moksel’, becoming prince of Suzdal. To him and a local Finnish woman was born a son Andrei, called ‘Bogoliubskii’. Born and raised in the forest wilderness among the half savage Finnish tribes, prince Andrey cut all ties with his father’s entourage and with their old Kyivan customs.
In 1169 Andrei Bogoliubskii sacked and destroyed Kyiv. He destroyed all the churches and religious artifacts, something unheard of in those times. ¤ Andrei was a barbarian who did not feel any familial ties with Kyiv, the holy city of Slavs. …
… Up until the XII century, only Finn tribes lived in the land of ‘Moksel’ … And the anthropological investigations of human skulls by A. P. Bohdanov and F. K. Vovk support the differentiated characteristics of the Finnish and Slavic ethnoses.
In 1237 the Tatar-Mongols entered the lands of Suzdal. … The princes of Vladimir, Yurii and Yaroslav Vsevolodovich accepted subservience to Khan Batey. In this manner, the land of ‘Moksel’ entered the ranks of the Golden Horde Empire of Genghis Khan. …
Living with the Horde of Batey from 1238 to 1252, Alexander, only much later named “Nevsky,” adopted all the customs and organizational ideas of the Golden Horde. …
The big lie was introduced: that Moscow was founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruky. This is a myth with no supportive evidence. Moscow was established as a settlement in 1272. That same year the Golden Horde conducted their third census of the populations in their domain. Both in the first census (1237-1238) and in the second census (1254-1259) there is no mention of any Moscow at all. … Thus for over 270 years, Moscow was ruled solely by khans of the Genghis dynasty. …
Based on these facts, it becomes clear that Moscow is the direct inheritor of the Golden Horde Empire of Genghis and that actually the Tatar-Mongols were the ‘godfathers’ of Moscow statehood. The Moscow princedom (and tsardom from 1547) up until the XVI century had no ties or relationships with the princedoms of the lands of Kyivan Rus.
The tribe of Great Russians, or the Russian people as known today, appeared around the XV to XVII centuries from among the Finn tribes: Muroma, Mer, Ves and others. This was when their history started. There is no history of Great Russians on Kyivan lands!
The history of Great Russians starts with the ‘Beyond the Forests Land’ in Moscow, which was never Kyivan Rus. The Tatar-Mongols who entered these lands were a big element in the formulation of ‘Great Russians’. The Great Russian psychology absorbed many characteristics – the Tatar-Mongol instincts of a conqueror and despot, with the ultimate aim: world domination.
Thus by the XVI cent. was established the type of a conqueror who was horrible in his lack of education, rage and cruelty. These people had no use for European culture and literacy. All such things like morality, honesty, shame, justice, human dignity and historical awareness were absolutely foreign to them. A significant amount of Tatar-Mongols entered the makeup of Great Russians from the XIII to XVI centuries and they accounted for the genealogy of over 25% of Russian nobility. …
In order to appropriate the history of Kyiv lands and to immortalize this theft, the Great Russians had to squash the Ukrainian people, drive them into slavery, deprive them of their true name, exterminate them via famine, etc.
Ukrainians had emerged as a nation in the XI to XII centuries, and probably, even earlier. Later they were labeled ‘Little Russians’ when Russians began to brainwash the world with their ‘version’ of history. For the smallest deviation from this official version, people were tortured, killed, and sent off to the GULAG. The Soviet period was especially brutal and vicious. During that time, Ukraine lost over 25 million of her sons and daughters, who perished in wars for Russian interests, and during collectivization, tortures, and forced relocations. ¤ This is the way the ‘older brother’ forced the ‘younger brother’, the ‘Little Russian’, to live in the savage ’embraces of love’. […]
⭕ 27 May 2023
WaPo: Russians snitch on Russians who oppose war with Soviet-style denunciations https://tinyurl.com/4nme296d “As Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime cracks down on critics of the war and other political dissenters, citizens are policing one another”
// … “in an echo of the darkest years of Joseph Stalin’s repression”
🐣 RT @snno1540 Attacks on Russia must be deterred: GUR ambitions are beginning to worry Western intelligence – The Times
Western special services note the professionalism of Ukrainian spies. At the same time, the growing ambitions of Ukrainian military intelligence somewhat worries Western partners, so in some places they even try to restrain the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine from some attacks on Russia.
Journalists claim that the “treasury” of the GUR MOU contains a number of very ambitious operations on the territory of the Russian Federation, some representatives of Western intelligence even refer to the military intelligence of Ukraine as the “Ukrainian Mossad” [link in Ukr]
🐣 RT @officejjsmart BIG WIN FOR UKRAINE 🇺🇦
In the largest drone strike since the war began, tonight Kyiv successfully shot down 40 drones. ¤ This is the security that Europe 🇪🇺 and USA 🇺🇸 give Ukraine 🇺🇦 through air defense systems. Thank you! Everyday closer is 🇺🇦 victory over evil 🇷🇺!
🇺🇦 🇺🇦 🇺🇦!
🐣 RT @DefMon3 You know you are winning when your enemy spend all their cruise missiles and long range drones attacking your capital city, instead of military targets which make sense. On top of that, most of them are being shot down.
🐣 RT @JayinKyiv Never ending barrage of Iranian drones tonight on Kyiv.
WaPo: What’s in the McCarthy-Biden deal to lift the debt ceiling? Here are 6 takeaways. https://tinyurl.com/z2ybkpaj
// The president and House speaker can claim a victory that appeared elusive just days earlier
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1662653979833122816?s=20/photo/1
● Raises the debt ceiling beyond the 2024 election
● Largely holds funding flat for domestic programs
● Claws back some money for the IRS
● Slight funding boosts for the military, veterans affairs
● New work requirements on federal programs [but not Medicaid]
● Out of the deal: Closing tax loopholes, cutting student debt relief
🔆 This❗️⋙ WaPo: Biden, McCarthy reach ‘agreement in principle’ to raise debt ceiling as default looms https://tinyurl.com/2h72kpff
🧵 RT @ChrisO_wiki 1/ The Russian Army is holding public show trials of soldiers accused of refusing to fight in Ukraine. Soldiers in Vladikavkaz and Yekaterinburg have been given lengthy sentences after being tried in front of their comrades by military courts.
📌 https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1662486514498936836?s=20
🧵 RT @RALee85 Russia achieved limited tactical gains at high cost over the winter. Ukraine correctly held back resources and spent time regenerating offensive potential to give itself a better chance of achieving operational-strategic level gains this summer.
📌 https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1662585307269570560?s=20
⋙⋙ 19fortyfive: Sad Reality: The Ukraine War Is Now Going Russia’s Way https://tinyurl.com/2p98m2zu
// Recent evidence indicates the Russian side has made tactical and operational improvements that are having an impact on the ground in Ukraine.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RALee85 If Ukraine had committed all of its resources to the front over the winter, Russia likely wouldn’t have made any gains but Ukraine would have reduced its chances for achieving a breakthrough this summer.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RALee85 I think some people assume that both sides commit all of their resources to the front line at all times and that wars are linear, but that isn’t how it works. Ukraine has a much better chance of making serious gains this summer than Russia had over the winter.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RALee85 I think the focus on Bakhmut has given some people the wrong perception of the war, conflating a tactical-level battle (Bakhmut) with the strategic level. There were several other battles over the winter and none were successes for Russia.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RALee85 There are still important long-term questions about ammunition availability and other variables, but I’m more optimistic about Ukraine’ chances after Russia’s failed winter offensive and recent announcements of more capable weapons’ deliveries from NATO members.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RALee85 Russia made some slow and costly gains last spring before that offensive culminated. Similar arguments were made then about the war’s trajectory favoring Moscow, but the attrition Russia sustained set the conditions for Ukraine’s successful offensives in Kherson and Kharkiv.
⋙ 🐣 RT @RALee85 Russian equipment issues are growing, and they are increasingly relying on convicts to fight/hold their lines. I’m skeptical that Russia can restore sufficient offensive potential to make serious gains. The question is whether they can defend the territory they currently control.
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa When Russia started this aggression, they looked at the world as if they were looking at themselves in a mirror. They thought that supposedly everyone in the world was cynical and despised people in the same way as the owners of Russia do. But the world is different – the world helps us protect life. And anyone who goes against the world will become marginal. Russia will gain nothing and lose everything. Glory to all who defend our state! Glory to all who help! 🇺🇦
🐣 RT @maxseddon Talk of a “time of troubles” among warring Russian elites has been strong behind closed doors since the war effort really began sputtering last fall, but it’s still quite something for it to spill out into the open like this
⋙ 🐣 RT @wartranslated Girkin accuses Prigozhin of preparing for a coup in Russia. He says the insults towards the Russian army by Putin’s cook are unacceptable, and signal a rift in the elites which Prigozhin will take advantage of with his private army that is being withdrawn from Bakhmut. Girkin adds that if Russia misses the upcoming counter-offensive, the political situation in the country may become unrecongisable by the end of summer. ¤ Watch an excerpt from a longer video posted today.
💽 https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1662429293719298049?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Podolyak_M [tr] Regarding conditions, requirements, statements… One must call a spade a spade. The civilized world must recognize that the accused of war crimes #Путін and his clique are no longer the legitimate representatives of Russia in the world, and therefore there is nothing to talk about with them. Today’s Russian government must lose its place in all international institutions, including in the Security Council #ООН . There will be a regime change – let’s talk with the successors. In particular, about compensation payments and the nuclear disarmament program.
🐣 RT @CinC_AFU The time has come to take back what belongs to us.
⋙🐣 RT @lamatzzi For I set to defeat the enemies of my homeland
The killers of my Brothers
The rapists of my Sisters
Let my hand be firm
To destroy my enemies
Let my weapons serve well
To destroy my enemies
Let my will be of steel
To destroy the enemies
Your blessing
For our sacred revenge
🐣 RT @s_hnizdovskyi Russian society is polarised between the “elite” and the regular people, says Prigozhin. With the number of Russia’s war losses (btw, he names a bigger number than 🇷🇺 MoD), he predicts the repeat of the 1917 revolution in Russia and the execution of the elites.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/s_hnizdovskyi/status/1662454451720929280?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Hromadske Russia has named new requirements for “achieving peace” with Ukraine, including Ukraine’s refusal to join NATO and the EU. The Ukrainian President’s Office has already responded.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Podolyak_M “Demands of #Russia” told through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the RF rather confirm the legal and factual incapacity of the Russian leadership. Therefore, only “the conditions of #Ukraine” are realistic…
Immediate withdrawal of all troops from the sovereign territory of Ukraine. Final recognition of the collapse of the #USSR and full sovereignty of the post-Soviet countries. Extradition of war criminals and authors of war. Fixing the demilitarization zone (buffer zone) on the territory of the #RF. Reduction of offensive weapons (missiles with extended range). International conference to organize control over the nuclear arsenal of the RF. A legally fixed program of reparation payments, including a voluntary renunciation of Russian assets seized in other countries in favor of Ukraine…,
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa It’s peace that we will pass on to our children and grandchildren as an inheritance of the present generation. We don’t have and don’t want other alternatives. But to pass on peace as the inheritance, we must get to the day when we can say that we are ending this war with our victory.
🐣 RT @EuromaidanPress PMC Wagner owner Prigozhin’s revelations expose the extensive losses and failure of Wagner Group in Bakhmut, demonstrating Ukraine’s success in destroying capable Russian army elements – Frontline report
⋙ Euromaidanpress: Frontline report: Prigozhin’s video exposes high losses and failure of Wagner Group in battle for Bakhmut https://tinyurl.com/55kxyc4k
// Wagner Group owner Prigozhin’s revelations expose the extensive losses and failure of Wagner Group in Bakhmut, demonstrating Ukraine’s success in destroying capable Russian army elements.
🐣 RT @EuromaidanPress Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s Telegram channel published a post saying “It’s time to get back what’s ours” with Ukraine Army’s enlistment ad video ¤ Media are speculating whether it may mean the beginning of the long-expected counter-offensive ¤ https://t.me/CinCAFU/505
💽 https://twitter.com/EuromaidanPress/status/1662332269162381313?s=20/photo/1
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/DenesTorteli/status/1662318450172108801?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ Gerashchenko_en For the first time on Russian TV, propagandists said that Putin and the country’s leaders must resign and others need to be elected.
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1662352521858252800?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 26 May 2023
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer IT’S NOT A WIN WHEN YOU RUN: Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, announces that his forces are withdrawing from Bakhmut. RU’s Pyrrhic ‘victory’ in the city is estimated to have cost its forces as many as 40,000 dead and tens of thousands wounded.
🐣 RT @ ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /1420 UTC 26 MAY/ RU sources indicate that Wagner Group forces have initiated withdrawal from the N areas of the Bakhmut Aera of Operations (AO). RU MoD forces including elements of the 9th, 200th, 6th and 123rd Motor rifles are now operational N of Bakhmut.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1662099611958345728?s=20/photo/1
Politico: Yushchenko: ‘Putin has Putin-nized Europe’ https://tinyurl.com/yckd5c48 “[]efore the war, Russia was still a major trade partner … [W]ith Russia no longer being a trade partner, a lot of sources of corruption have disappeared” ~ Former Ukraine President Yushchenko
[…] The real change in Putin, in how he behaves, in how he talks, in how he looks at other countries, I first noticed when he spoke in the Munich security conference in 2007. That speech was so undiplomatic and arrogant. Even how his voice sounded changed. He was trying to sound tough, like a thug, while lecturing the world on how he believes the world should be. How he thinks the security arrangements in Europe should be organized.
I really felt ashamed when I watched him speaking. It was so striking. I remember sitting next to Chancellor [Angela] Merkel, and she kept turning to me, and she said, “I cannot believe he is saying all that.” …
Putin has Putin-ized Europe. The highest level politicians in Europe serve on the board of his companies, and make money in Russia. We see how former chancellors, ministers, vice chancellors of different countries, become members of supervisory boards of Russian state companies. The political corruption, or as I call it, Punitization, has been so deep in all aspects of political and business life in prominent European countries.
Europe, divided by Putin, failed to really build effective security systems and arrangements.
We need to go back and reflect very thoroughly and seriously on what we did wrong to allow this fascist regime in the 21st century, after all the lessons that we were supposed to learn from the 20th century. I think additionally that political leaders of Russia, and the military leadership should be eventually brought to court and tried. For that we need to have a consolidated foreign policy related to these matters. …
Whatever happens with the current situation is pretty much dependent on two countries, China and the United States. … Russia now, is just the vessel, just a subordinate component to Chinese foreign policy. Russia has no say anymore in how to run the world.
Of course, a lot of agreements need to be reached by China and the United States on many matters. But I think that every day, when we talk about the United States, senators and congressmen, more and more people are thinking in the following way: Russia is a gas station.
Q: You’ve talked about how Russia shouldn’t be a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council. Is there a path to remove Russia from that position?
As of now, there is a team of lawyers from different countries looking for mechanisms. They are putting a list of all the instruments that could be used to take that right from Russia to be a permanent member of the council. Once that system is in place, by the end of the summer, we will come up with a list of people who will be contacted and who could be the voices of this initiative, who could actually influence, and bring this into the agenda of the United Nations. …
… [K]eep in mind that before the war, Russia was still a major trade partner. And they were the ones who were imposing and profiting and arranging these corruption schemes in the way they liked, in the dirtiest and most improper way. So this is why, with Russia no longer being a trade partner, a lot of sources of corruption have disappeared. …
What I see is that the people of the United States are more consolidated than ever when it comes to providing Ukraine with military and other assistance. Most of the people — I’m not saying 100 percent — but most people speak in support of Ukraine.
President [Joe] Biden came to Ukraine, and I don’t remember a case when the president of the U.S. or any other important country would come into a war zone.
That was the most important support, expressed in a very courageous way. And that meant so much to every citizen and soldier in Ukraine. Biden walked through downtown Kyiv, at the same time, there were air raid sirens going on, and the president was not being pulled into some shelter or basement. He behaved like every American with dignity, with a sense of freedom and respect to those who fight for freedom.
🐣 RT @Heroiam_Slava ❗️ Ukrainian counteroffensive will be the biggest battle in Europe since World War II, – former German Foreign Minister
🐣 RT @Suomiperkele7 Ukraine, my country will support you until the end, so will 50 countries. Ukraine you are in our hearts, you are in our soul. We don’t get tired, we don’t get sick, we don’t give up, but we fight until the end. We are from all over the world, but our hearts are yellow and blue, ¤ Russia will not wi!! Justice, Caring, equality, friendship, union and humanity. Ukraine Will Win🇺🇦❤️
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer. NUCLEAR ROULETTE: The official account Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (@DI_Ukraine) released a statement at 1503 PM CST indicating that it had information of a planned Russian provocation at the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1662230302754734081?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @DI_Ukraine ‼️ Russians are preparing massive provocation and imitation of the accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in the nearest hours. ¤ They are planning to attack the territory of the ZNPP. After that, they will announce the leakage of the radioactive substances.
⋙ 🐣 RT @DI_Ukraine They obviously will blame Ukraine. Russians sabotaged today’s planned rotation of the staff of the IAEA monitoring mission. They aim to provoke the international community and conduct a detailed investigation requiring a ceasefire.
⋙ 🐣 RT @DI_Ukraine Russians are going to use this so desirable pause for the regrouping of the occupational personnel and to stop the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
PravdaUA: Russians prepare large-scale provocation at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant https://tinyurl.com/bdef63bc “[T]he invaders will announce an emergency leak of radioactive substances [at the ZNPP]. Ukraine will, as ever, be blamed for the incident” ~ Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence
Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence has reported that in the coming hours, Russian invaders are preparing a large-scale provocation to simulate an accident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). ¤ Source: press service of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence
Details: According to Defence Intelligence, it will be carried out directly on the territory of the ZNPP. After that, the invaders will announce an emergency leak of radioactive substances. Ukraine will, as ever, be blamed for the incident. ¤ In order to conceal what they are doing as much as possible, the Russians have disrupted the IAEA permanent monitoring mission personnel rotation scheduled for 26 May, Defence Intelligence notes.
The purpose of this action is to provoke the international community into conducting a detailed investigation during which all hostilities will be suspended. In this way, the invaders hope to gain a much-desired pause, which they will use to regroup their ranks and stop the Ukrainian counteroffensive, the intelligence officers summed up.
PravdaUA: Zelenskyy’s office responds to Chinese envoy’s call for occupied territories to be given to Russia https://tinyurl.com/s2fpbp2a Would be “the defeat of democracy, the victory of Russia, the preservation of Putin’s regime &…the sharp increase in conflicts in global politics”
Quote from Podoliak: “Any ‘compromise scenario’ envisaging the liberation of NOT all territories of Ukraine, which ‘anonymous sources’ in the European and American elites periodically talk about, is tantamount to admitting the defeat of democracy, the victory of Russia, the preservation of Putin’s regime and as a consequence the sharp increase in conflicts in global politics.”
DailyBeast, Wajahat Ali: CNN Can Never Wash Away the Trump Disaster Stench https://tinyurl.com/2rwhfrw4 “CNN viewers might not be leaving their ‘silo’ but they’re definitely leaving CNN, whose ratings have plummeted since the Trump town hall”
UACrisis: “It’s either victory and the birth of a new world, or annihilation” -Russian Propagandist Dugin https://tinyurl.com/ax3daueu “Dugin contends that Russia has no choice but to join forces with other nations labelled ‘nomads’ by the West”
[…] Dugin contends that Russia has no choice but to join forces with other nations labelled “nomads” by the West in order to forge a new world order free of Western dominance.
According to Dugin, Russia has two options: complete isolation from the rest of the world, which would strengthen Russian identity and beliefs, leading to victory and a promising tomorrow, or opening up to other civilizations while keeping the West out. He harshly criticises the West, comparing it to hell in terms of lies, double standards, and hostile values.
Dugin emphasises the importance of Russia taking a different path, one of which centred around Africa, the Islamic world, China, Iran, and Latin America. He says that the West has attempted to marginalise Russia, but claims that Russia has risen above this and is moving forward. “The west has indeed swept us on the western map, but we have risen up, gathered ourselves, and stayed put – instead, we are developing.”
“We will never return to our previous course. It’s either victory and the birth of a new world, or annihilation, as our President has repeatedly warned.” ¤ Dugin’s thoughts reflect his desire for Russia to assert its independence and pursue alliances outside of Western influence, implying a shift in Russia’s global perspective, however instead comes across as delusional and desperate.
WSJ: Did Merkel Pave the Way for the War in Ukraine? https://tinyurl.com/29pwcvy7 “Putin had told her that he wanted to destroy the European Union. But she still forged ahead with plans to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline linking Germany directly to Siberia’s natural gas fields”
// The former German chancellor is unapologetic as critics reexamine her deals with Putin and reluctance to punish his previous aggressions.
[…] Merkel was a key architect of the agreements that made the economies of Germany and its neighbors dependent on Russian energy imports. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has destroyed that strategic partnership, forcing Germany to find its oil and natural gas elsewhere at huge costs to business, government and households. Berlin was able to secure enough natural gas to carry its economy through last winter, but it is unclear how Germany will meet its long-term supply needs. …
Most controversially, former allies of Merkel and other experts say that her refusal to stop buying energy from Putin after he seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014—she instead worked to double gas imports from Russia—emboldened him to finish the job eight years later. …
At an event last year, Merkel recalled that after annexing Crimea, Putin had told her that he wanted to destroy the European Union. But she still forged ahead with plans to build the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, linking Germany directly to Siberia’s natural gas fields, in the face of protests from the U.S. Merkel’s government also approved the sale of Germany’s largest gas storage facilities to Russia’s state-controlled gas giant Gazprom.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was set to double Russian gas exports to Germany at a time when the country already depended on Putin for 55% of its gas supply. The pipeline was built but never came online, and it was later scrapped by Merkel’s successor because of the war in Ukraine.
Since leaving office, Merkel has defended the pipeline project as a purely commercial decision. She had to choose, she said, between importing cheap Russian gas or liquefied natural gas, which she said was a third more expensive. …
⭕ 25 May 2023
🐣 RT @djrothkopf This is roughly what I said I expected the other day. If it happens this way and they get it through both houses, it will be another example of Biden’s really remarkable ability to work with difficult situations on the Hill.
¤ https://twitter.com/djrothkopf/status/1661926915643432962?s=20
⋙ 🐣 RT @JStein_WaPo Can confirm @jimtankersley‘s scoop tn If it holds – big if – we are looking at essentially flat funding for domestic programs like anti poverty, rental aid, transit, science, etc ¤ I had been expecting a major cut based on everything in the prior few days
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @TomBlock_FS Deal will require bipartisan vote and moving new deadline until 2025 is a big get for Ds. R House bill had end date of 3/31/24. This is worth a lot for Ds to get.
🐣 RT @goterrands2 The Food and Drug Administration is advising consumers and healthcare providers to stop using certain lots of recalled SD Biosensor, Inc. Pilot COVID-19 At-Home Tests distributed by Roche Diagnostics. ¤ The product recall is due to significant concerns of bacterial contamination in the Pilot COVID-19 At-Home Test liquid solution provided in the test kit.
// COVID-19 test recall
🐣 RT @FBI Today two Oath Keepers leaders were sentenced for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/3y5bx33w
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/FBI/status/1661898741731794944?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] Today’s sentencings reflect the FBI’s commitment to do our part to hold accountable individuals who committed criminal acts on January 6, 2021, as well as those who plotted to interfere with the lawful transfer of power. We will continue to work with our partners to bring to justice those who violated our laws in connection with the siege on the U.S. Capitol.
FBI DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER WRAY
🐣 RT @TheRickWilson If only there was a phrase to encapsulate this effect…
⋙ 🐣 RT @brianstelter “In the weeks after the former president appeared on CNN, the network’s ratings have plummeted. In fact, its ratings last week were the worst the network has posted since June 2015.”
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @newrepublic The Trump town hall earned CNN no end of mockery on the day of the event. Weeks later, however, we’re seeing knock-on effects in the form of staggeringly low ratings. https://trib.al/4eaaed0
NYT: Mar-a-Lago Worker Provided Prosecutors New Details in Trump Documents Case https://tinyurl.com/2kd38bae “Prosecutors have been trying to determine whether Mr. Trump had documents moved around Mar-a-Lago or sought to conceal some of them after the subpoena”
// A maintenance worker for the former president recounted helping to move boxes into a storage room a day before a Justice Department official came seeking the return of classified material
🔆 This❗️⋙ NYT: Oath Keepers Leader Is Sentenced to 18 Years in Jan. 6 Sedition Case https://tinyurl.com/32mayx5d “The sentence … was the most severe penalty so far in any of the more than 1,000 criminal cases stemming from the Capitol attack” and the first for terrorism
// The sentence for Stewart Rhodes was the longest so far in the federal investigation of the Capitol attack and the first issued to a defendant convicted of sedition.
Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, was sentenced on Thursday to 18 years in prison for his conviction on seditious conspiracy charges for the role he played in helping to mobilize the pro-Trump attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. ¤ The sentence, handed down in Federal District Court in Washington, was the most severe penalty so far in any of the more than 1,000 criminal cases stemming from the Capitol attack — and the first to be increased for fitting the legal definition of terrorism.
It was also the first to have been given to any of the 10 members of the Oath Keepers and another far-right group, the Proud Boys, who were convicted of sedition in connection with the events of Jan. 6. ¤
For Mr. Rhodes, 58, the sentence was the end of a tumultuous and unusual career that included Army service, a stint on Capitol Hill and a law degree from Yale. His role as the Oath Keepers’ founder and leader thrust him into the spotlight and will now send him to prison for what is likely to be the better part of his remaining days.
At a dramatic, nearly four-hour hearing, Judge Amit P. Mehta chided Mr. Rhodes for seeking for years through his leadership of the Oath Keepers to have American democracy “devolve into violence.” ¤ As the hearing opened, prosecutors urged Judge Mehta to sentence Mr. Rhodes to 25 years in prison, arguing that accountability was needed for the violence at the Capitol and that American democracy was on the line.
Kathryn L. Rakoczy, one of the lead prosecutors in the case, told Judge Mehta that Mr. Rhodes had been calling for attacks against the government for more than a decade and that his role in the Jan. 6 attack was part of a longstanding pattern.
The Oath Keepers leader, Ms. Rakoczy said, exploited his talents and influence to goad his followers into rejecting the results of the 2020 election and ultimately mobilized them into storming the Capitol in two separate military-style “stacks” in a violent effort to keep President Donald J. Trump in office. ¤ “It is conduct that threatened — and continues to threaten — the rule of law in the United States,” she said. ¤ Ms. Rakoczy also noted that Mr. Rhodes had shown no remorse for undermining the lawful transition of power and continued to advocate for political violence. Just four days ago, she said, Mr. Rhodes gave an interview from jail, repeating the lie that the election had been marred by fraud and asserting that the government was “coming after those on the political right.”
“It’s not going to stop until it’s stopped,” Mr. Rhodes said during the interview, adding that the country needed “regime change.” ¤ As if to prove the government’s point, Mr. Rhodes — in an orange prison smock and his trademark black eye patch — gave a defiant address to the court, blaming the news media for demonizing the Oath Keepers for leading the Capitol attack. He also compared himself to the Soviet-era dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and to the beleaguered main character in Kafka novel “The Trial.” ¤ “I am a political prisoner,” Mr. Rhodes said. …
In court papers filed this month, prosecutors dwelled on the importance of severely punishing Mr. Rhodes and his subordinates, stating that the acceptance of political violence was on the rise in the United States and that lengthy prison terms were needed to serve as a deterrent against future unrest. ¤ “As this court is well aware, the justice system’s reaction to Jan. 6 bears the weighty responsibility of impacting whether Jan. 6 becomes an outlier or a watershed moment,” the prosecutors wrote. “Left unchecked, this impulse threatens our democracy.” …
In the end, Judge Mehta said he had imposed a harsh sentence because seditious conspiracy was “among the most serious crimes an individual in America can commit.” ¤ He also scolded Mr. Rhodes, telling him that he had not been prosecuted because of his political beliefs but rather because he had “prepared to take up arms and foment revolution” simply because he did not like the results of an election. …
🐣 RT @Flash_news_ua ⚡️Thanks to the most modern air defense systems, such as Patriot and other systems transferred by European partners, Ukrainian forces are successful in repelling missile attacks, – the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin.
🐣 RT @alanfeuer JUST IN: A federal judge has agreed to apply a terrorism enhancement in the sentencing of Oath Keepers’ leader Stewart Rhodes–the first time in more than 1,000 Jan. 6 criminal cases that the terrorism penalty provision has been approved.
⋙ 🐣 RT @alanfeuer Prosecutors argued for the enhancement by saying Rhodes set up an armed force outside DC on Jan. 6 and repeatedly called for violence vs the govt. ¤ “This wasn’t blowing up a building,” prosecutors said. But “organizing an armed force” and advocating “civil war” came close.
🐣 RT @Podolyak_M Once again about the #counteroffensive. Without further questions.
1. This is not a “single event” that will begin at a specific hour of a specific day with a solemn cutting of the red ribbon.
2. These are dozens of different actions to destroy the #Russian occupation forces in different directions, which have already been taking place yesterday, are taking place today and will continue tomorrow.
🐣 RT @pravda_eng Official of Ukrainian President’s Office @Podolyak_M states Ukraine’s counter-offensive already began
⋙ Pravda: Official of Ukrainian President’s Office states Ukraine’s counter-offensive already began https://tinyurl.com/4zfp8zu4
⭕ 24 May 2023
🐣 RT @apmassaro3 John McCain had russia exactly right. russia is provoked by weakness. You have to show strength. If only we’d listened
💽 https://twitter.com/apmassaro3/status/1661321152235536384?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ZelenskaUA Nowadays of 🇺🇦 and 🇵🇱 are already a subject of historical books. International Book Fair in Warsaw attended by 45 🇺🇦 publishers, is yet another confirmation of this closeness. I had the honor to personally express gratitude to organizers for a honorable reception of Ukraine. 1/2
⋙ 🐣 RT @ZelenskaUA This book fair is possible due to the help of my colleague, the First Lady of 🇵🇱 Agata Kornhauser-Duda, the Ukrainian and Polish Book Institutes, and the Embassies and Governments of our countries. Unity across cultural lines gives us a power that will defeat any evil. 2/2
🐣 RT @jamiedupree I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the occupant of the Chair openly mocked like this before.
// MTG calls for “decorum”
🐣 RT @TheTweetOfJohn “Glitchy. Tech issues. Uncomfortable silences. A complete failure to launch,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said. “And that’s just the candidate.”
⋙ NBCNews: A glass of wine and a laughing-crying emoji: Trump team trolls Ron DeSantis launch https://tinyurl.com/5tajm3us
// The former president’s aides and allies mocked the Florida governor after his technology-challenged 2024 presidential launch
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Yevgeny Prigozhin told Russia’s elites to retrieve their kids from foreign countries and send them to the frontlines. He says that only when the rich and powerful start burying their children like everyday folk, people will believe that all is fair.
💙 😅 RT @fireman452a THIS is PURE GENIUS!! Wait for it!!
💽 https://twitter.com/fireman452a/status/1353906078774403075?s=20/photo/1
// 2021, from @jimmykimmel; dancing iconic patriotic statues
🐣 RT @pravda_eng Putin is afraid he will be killed, and we are getting closer – Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence
⋙ Pravda [UA]: Putin is afraid he will be killed, and we are getting closer – Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence https://tinyurl.com/2pm426ff
🐣 RT @OlgaNYC1211 As a symbol of Russia’s military, the Russian Defense Ministry in Moscow is on fire 🔥
💽 https://twitter.com/OlgaNYC1211/status/1661514143428378624?s=20/photo/1
😅 RT @ProjectLincoln Lincoln Project co-founders @TheRickWilson and @ReedGalen with a brief message for #RonDeSaster on his dumpster fire campaign rollout.
💽 https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1661505275625349123?s=20/photo/1
📋 NYT: Jan. 6 Rioter Who Reclined in Pelosi’s Office Given Sentence of More Than 4 Years https://tinyurl.com/274u3r8e “More than 480 people have been sentenced so far in connection with the Capitol attack, and about 275 are serving at least some time in prison, DOJ officials say”
// Richard “Bigo” Barnett, who was pictured with his foot on a desk in the speaker’s office, had been convicted of eight crimes for his role in the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.
WaPo: Prigozhin says war in Ukraine has backfired, warns of Russian revolution https://tinyurl.com/2n4cj8yc “Prigozhin professed to be guided by love for his motherland and loyalty to Putin. But he also delivered blistering criticism of the war”
Pravda [UA]: Prigozhin believes Ukraine has one of world’s strongest armies https://tinyurl.com/yckj25z5
We barged in and stomped all over the place in search of Nazis. While we were looking for the Nazis, we beat up everyone we could, then we went to Kyiv, then we f**ked up and moved on. Then on to Kherson. F**ked up and moved on. After that or before that? At times I get confused – Izium, Lyman… And somehow nothing works out for us.
The special operation [the war in Ukraine – ed.] was carried out for denazification and demilitarisation. The Ukrainians were just a former republic of the USSR. They had the Ukrainian language, and everyone respected it, including those in the USSR.
So as far as denazification goes… we have made Ukraine a nation that’s known to everyone worldwide. Ukraine has become a country that is known absolutely everywhere. It’s like the Greeks during the heyday of Greece. We have legitimised Ukraine.
Now, as for demilitarisation… they had, say, 500 tanks at the start of the special operation, now they have 5,000 tanks. They had 20,000 people who could fight back then, now 400,000 can. In what way have we demilitarised it [Ukraine]? It turns out we did the opposite – we f**king militarised it.
We’ve fought in a lot of places, with a lot of people. We know how the Americans fight, the French, the cowardly UN troops, African tribes. Today, the Wagner PMC is the best army in the world. We beat everyone, always. But after it [Wagner]… I think that the Ukrainians today are one of the strongest armies. They have a high level of organisation, training, weapons, and intelligence. They use Soviet and NATO [weapons] equally successfully. They’re philosophical about the losses they suffer. Everything they do is to achieve the supreme goal, like we did during the Second World War. But with more technology and more precision.
If the system is built on the fact that you have to kiss someone’s ass, then the Wagner PMC will not do this. The main problem is Shoigu and Gerasimov. These two people blocked everything for us by their decisions, even though the president said ammo was available.s If [Colonel General Mikhail] Mizintsev became defence minister today and Surovikin became the chief of the General Staff, then it would be a decent structure. [Mizintsev is deputy commander of the Wagner PMC – ed.]
My political creed is: I love my homeland, I listen to Putin, Shoigu should be fired, we will keep fighting.
WaPo: The deepening radicalization of Donald J. Trump https://tinyurl.com/34f42vp5 “To experts who have reviewed his proposals, Trump is sketching out the contours of a second term potentially more dangerous and chaotic than his first”
// Watch how the former president’s positions and rhetoric have grown more confrontational and extreme as he seeks a second term
⭕ 23 May 2023
🐣 RT @atrupar Rep. Dan Goldman demolishes a lot of the spin surrounding the Durham report in short order
💽 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1661099791051268108?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @atrupar Rep. Goldman: “So why are my colleagues trying to undermine the FBI? Why are they asking to defund the FBI? … if you can undermine the investigator … then you can undermine our entire system of democracy. That is the authoritarian playbook 101.”
💽 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1661100628725096449?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @JohnWDean This is poster-boy authoritarian personality behavior. I witnessed it first with G. Gordon Liddy. Trump, like Liddy, cannot obey the law. Being law abiding is being weak in their minds.
⋙ 🐣 RT @OccupyDemocrats BREAKING: Donald Trump melts down after E. Jean Caroll announces that she is amending her successful defamation lawsuit to seek at least another $10 million in damages due to the smears he lobbed at her during his CNN interview. […]
¤ https://twitter.com/JohnWDean/status/1661218910430199809?s=20
🐣 RT @albafella1 There is Ukraine on the map shown to Putin: photo fact.
🌎 https://twitter.com/albafella1/status/1661187337739554816?s=20/photo/1 -4
The map was compiled in the 17th century by the French cartographer Guillaume Sanson. On it, Ukraine is designated as the “land of the Cossacks,” and Crimea as a separate state called the Crimean Khanate.
Ukraine is marked on a French map from the time of Louis XIV, although the President of Russia and the head of the Constitutional Court argued otherwise. A snapshot of the map is published on the website of the digital library of the National Library of France and its partners Gallica. ¤ The map was created by cartographer Guillaume Sanson in the 17th century.
If you look at the picture, you can see that the lands that are part of modern Ukraine are designated there as ‘Ukraine pays des cosaques’ ( Ukraine is the land of the Cossacks.). At that time it was part of the Commonwealth.
Moreover, Crimea, annexed by the Russian Federation in 2014, was designated by the cartographer as a separate state – the Crimean Khanate, which, in alliance with the Ottoman Empire, fought against the Russian kingdom.
And the area where Emperor Peter I will erect Petersburg – the city in which Vladimir Putin was born – is designated as Ingria and belongs to Sweden.
Recall that on May 23, Vladimir Putin launched a new fake about Ukraine. The Russian President believes that before the creation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR) in 1919, Ukrainians never had their own state. Putin also insisted that the territory of modern Ukraine at one time was part of the Commonwealth, and then the population of this territory allegedly “asked to be part of the Muscovite kingdom.”
In addition, on December 21, 2021, Vladimir Putin said at a press conference that Ukraine was created by the Soviet statesman Vladimir Lenin. According to the President of the Russian Federation, for this (creation of Ukraine), the Bolsheviks used “primordially Russian lands.”
🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Putin’s 17th Century map not only shows Ukraine existed. It’s called “PAYS”—literally “country” in French, making Putin’s map fiasco even more farcical. ¤ Don’t be surprised if eminent Constitutional Court Chairman Valery Zorkin has a date with a window in the coming days.
🐣 RT @PaulaChertok Putin can’t read French? The 17th Century map he dug up w/o Ukraine (checks map) HAS UKRAINE! ¤ VKRAINE ou PAYS DES COSAQUES=Ukraine or Land of the Cossacks ¤ 15 months & the pathetic war criminal is still trying—& failing—to justify his catastrophic blunder of a genocidal war.
🌎 https://twitter.com/PaulaChertok/status/1661167989368954882?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @UaNews_online Ukrainian Intelligence Chief: Kyiv has the minimum number of weapons required to begin counteroffensive
¤ https://twitter.com/UaNews_online/status/1661183174813073411?s=20
💙 🐣 RT @NatalkaKyiv Did Prigozhin switch sides or is he talking like this in preparation for the upcoming military coup? ¤ My money is on the latter. I think all will be blamed on ‘happy grandpa’ and he will be forced out of the Kremlin shortly. ¤ #Russia #Prigozhin #RussiaUkraineWar #Ukraine #UkrainianArmy
💽 [tr] https://twitter.com/NatalkaKyiv/status/1661144879450161158?s=20/photo/1
// praise for Ukraine and their war capabilities; blame for Russian MOD war effort and military leadership
🐣 RT @TimothyDSnyder Russia’s leading propagandist Solovyov portrays the invasion of Ukraine as a struggle of traditional values against Satanic America. The same man sent his lover to the U.S. so that their children could have American citizenship.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /1215 UTC 23 MAY/ Russian Wagner Group forces are consolidating positions in Bakhmut and the NW urban area of Khromove. During the last 24 hours, RU has resumed widespread artillery strikes in the Bakhmut Area of Operations (AO).
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1660982408500375552?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer AVDIIVKA AXIS / 1915 UTC 23 MAY/ This TACMAP reflects information promulgated in the 1800 (Kyiv) 23 May briefing of the UKR Gen’l Staff. It is reported that RU conducted no offensive operations in the last 24 hrs.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1661088097268842515?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa The strength of our state now, the strength of our defense now, is the basis of the strength of the rules-based international order. That is why the key task of our country and the purpose of virtually every international communication of ours is to strengthen, to bolster our defense, to increase the capabilities of our warriors and our country as a whole. Every foreign visit and almost every negotiation allows to become stronger. ¤ We will win together!
NYT: The Kremlin blames ‘Ukrainian militants’ amid a rare cross-border assault https://tinyurl.com/2pwwwpdy “The Free Russia Legion, a group of Russian volunteers who have taken up arms to fight for Ukraine, claimed responsibility for the incursion”
WaPo: Anti-Putin militias mount cross-border incursion in western Russia https://tinyurl.com/yeynu7sj “Putin ordered officials to tighten security in regions adjacent to Ukraine, but the new attack shows that Russia is still unable to protect the border zone”
🐣 RT @igorsushko Lightly armed Russian revolutionaries now control close to double the area of Bakhmut in Russia’s Belgorod region after 2 more successful incursions from Ukraine today.
🌎 https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1661080819853840386?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @SpencerGuard Russia will not “win” in Ukraine. They also cannot “lose” because nothing in Ukraine is theirs to lose. They can and will be defeated.
WSJ: Special Counsel Is Wrapping Up Trump Mar-a-Lago Probe https://tinyurl.com/3evcx4hr
// Some Trump associates anticipate an indictment—and raising funds off it
🧵 RT @ wartranslated Self-proclaimed “fighter against nazis”, the president of the so-called Russian Federation had a lackey bring him a 17th-century map to show that no Ukraine existed back then. Typically, this is enough grounds for him to kill several hundred thousand of foreign and own people in the 21st century. After over a year of getting beaten, having ran his country into the ground, and leaving it with no future, the accused child kidnapper continues pushing the line he made up just to stay in power for the rest of his life.
📌 💽 🌎 https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1661043248402399238?s=20/photo/1
⋙ 🐣 RT @ wartranslated Notice the words “quasi-state developments” he used: he is not just talking about Ukraine, he is also talking about the Baltic countries, perhaps Finland, Central Asia, and other nations and territories that were fully or partially annexed by the Russian Empire. For this individual, none of these states should exist, they should be eliminated and annexed back to Russia.
💙🐣 RT @Heroiam_Slava In a time of severe trials, when the deadly darkness came upon us, swallowing up our native lands, every Ukrainian had to make a choice: to submit or to become a hero. And a country of heroes emerged, defending their homeland, living, working and dreaming for it!
💽 https://twitter.com/Heroiam_Slava/status/1660901266057314306?s=20/photo/1
// inspiring
TechnologyReview (Apr), Masha Borak: How Russia killed its tech industry https://tinyurl.com/3fzca4fn
// 4/4/2023; The invasion of Ukraine supercharged the decline of the country’s already struggling tech sector—and undercut its biggest success story, Yandex.
🧵 RT @ general_ben A very good thread by @bctallis on the strategic considerations for winning the war against Russia and what the post-War conditions should be. Also, excellent point about improving our “nuclear IQ”. We talk about the threat of ‘nukes’ without understanding nuclear deterrence.
⋙ 🐣 RT @bctallis How to deal with #Russia – Short thread based on my talk at #LennartMeriConference 2023. #NeoIdealism
1. Ukraine’s war is our war – & must be won.
That means restoring UA’s 1991 borders & ensuring UA’s ability to defend them – & the people within them.
📌 https://twitter.com/bctallis/status/1660896948897869825?s=20
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1660896948897869825.html
2. After victory we have to get #Ukraine into #NATO & the #EU as fast as possible.
– As @SwedishPM has said:
This should be merit based but cannot again be an excuse for going soft or going slow on UA’s accession.
– we have to institutionally tie our future to UA’s.
3. We have to overcome any residual fears of #Ukraine’s victory and #Russia’s defeat.
As @EliotACohen said in Warsaw – RU must lose & know it has lost:
on the battlefield, its offensive military capability for 10 years & has lost Ukraine for good.
4. We should not be afraid to embrace the systemic competition against autocratic regimes
– but we have to equip democratic societies to win: militarily, economically, but also ideationally. We have to have the right mentality & ensure the substance behind our claimed superiority
5. We must focus resolutely on deterring & containing #Russia.
– over time this *may* spur change in RU but this is not our priority.
– we must focus on stopping RU from doing harm beyond its current borders.
6. To properly deter & contain #Russia we have to improve our deterrence & nuclear IQ
– too many western societies lack understanding of how effective deterrence works
– we strengthen our deterrence by boosting our will & ability to fight – precisely so that we don’t have to.
7. Boosting capabilities & communicating our effective effective deterrence will also help counter nuclear blackmail.
– we have effective nuclear deterrence with Russia and China & need to explain that more clearly to our populations, taking lessons from e.g. UK, US & NCEE.
8. If we do think about #Russia we must stop valorising illiberal elements within the so-called Russian opposition (eg Navalny).
– & stop the endless hunt for ‘good Russians’ which obscures the fact that we have a Russia problem not a Putin problem.
9. – BUT, we also need to stop buying into BS Russian exceptionalism: there’s no reason why, over time, RU *cannot* become a democratic, liberal state
To claim otherwise fuels the dangerous exceptionalism that lets Russians think they can get away with especially awful things.
10. We also need to drop any lingering great power exceptionalism of our own – we need to drop the great power lenses that see CEE thru the prism of Russia & Inso-Pacific thru prism of China.
– We need to arm ourselves like great powers but see the world like smaller states.
11a. Lastly, we need to fix our own roof- & more than that, do some serious home improvement.
– #Russia works in the cracks in our societies that we made. We need to fix those – but more generally build societies that are politically, economically &environmentally sustainable.
11b. We rightly claim that liberal democracy is a superior system – but we have to make its benefits more tangible to more of our people.
– we have to offer meaningful hope of progress to turn the costs of geopolitical, tech & green transitions into investments in a better future
And that’s how we deal with #Russia
– by prioritising #Ukraine’s victory & equipping ourselves to win the systemic competition against autocratic regimes.
Its fundamentally about ensuring free societies can not only survive but thrive. #NeoIdealism
🐣 RT @ Rail_splitter1 This is not Ukraine. Don’t play into the hands of Putin’s propagandists. These are Russians fighting against the Putin regime. Knowing what kind of Russians they are, I fear this is nothing but an ongoing FSB project. I do not trust them and don’t think Ukraine should, either.
⋙ 🐣 RT @TheWarMonitor The Belgorod event is even bigger than it seems. Russia, already low on troops, fearing a counteroffensive, now is forced to recall from occupied towns to secure their entire western border. Expecting it in the south, RU was completely caught off guard. Genius strategy by UA.
🐣 RT @DefenceHQ Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine
23 May 2023. ¤ Find out more about Defence Intelligence’s use of language: http://ow.ly/aoQP50OtWCp ¤ 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1660884230174560256?s=20/photo/1
● Between 19 and 22 May 2023, Russian security forces highly likely clashed with partisans in at least three locations within Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, near the Ukrainian border. The identity of the partisans remains unconfirmed, but Russian anti-regime groups claimed responsibility.
● The most serious incident took place near the town of Grayvoran. As well as small-arms fire fights, there was an uptick in drone or indirect fire attacks near the incidents. Russia has evacuated several villages and has deployed extra security forces to the area.
● Russia is facing an increasingly serious multi-domain security threat in its border regions, with losses of combat aircraft, improvised explosive device attacks on rail lines, and now direct partisan action. Russia will almost certainly use these incidents to support the official narrative that it is the victim in the war.
,
🐣 Bilhorod (Belgorod) is Ukraine
🌎 https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1660898833797201921?s=20/photo/1-4
// 4 maps four maps
⭕ 22 May 2023
NewYorker, Luke Mogelson: Two Weeks at the Front in Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/yw8yn6ep
// 5/22/2023; In the trenches in the Donbas, infantrymen face unrelenting horrors, from missiles to grenades to helicopter fire.
🌎 BBC: Ukraine war: Satellite images reveal Russian defences before major assault https://tinyurl.com/46zw2rer
// Russian fortifications
🐣 RT @officejjsmart PRIGOZHIN (of course) BLAMES SHOIGU[:] Wagner founder, Prigozhin, blames 🇷🇺 Minister of Defense Shoigu for the invasion of Russia 🇷🇺 today by Russians seeking to topple the Putin Government.
The head of PMC “Wagner” Prigozhin believes that the Ministry of Defense is unable to protect Russia ¤ “As far as I know, the 🇷🇺 military is not doing anything to strengthen our borders… the Ukrainian Army can just come in.
The 🇷🇺 Army is obliged to secure the border: it is its direct responsibility. ¤ The 🇷🇺 Army cannot attack – they’re not the Ministry of Offensive – but the Ministry of Defense. ¤ Therefore they are obliged to defend their country.” ¤ Essentially, the 🇷🇺 Army is the definition of failure according to Prigozhin.
🐣 RT @Ayei_Eloheichem HUR: “Today the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion…have launched an operation to liberate these territories of the Belgorod region from the so-called Putin regime…in order to create a…security zone.”
⋙ TheGuardian: Anti-Putin militia claims to have overrun village in Russia border region of Belgorod https://tinyurl.com/33kuctzc
// Self-described partisans the Freedom of Russia Legion say they launched cross-border raid from Ukraine
🐣 RT @anno1540 NATO Parliamentary Assembly recognized Russia’s crimes against Ukraine as genocide, and the regime in Russia as racism ¤ This was announced by the head of the permanent delegation of Ukraine to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Yegor Chernev. ¤ #NATO
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/anno1540/status/1660863149593993217?s=20/photo/1 -2
🐣 RT @Ayei_Eloheichem Tangentially, the other unit, the Freedom of Russia Legion, was the last time I checked a nebulous affair, and it’s unclear how many fighters it has, where it’s fought, or whether it even exists. ¤ Unless @IAPonomarenko has updated information since then?
⋙ MoscowTimes (2022) [UA]: Switching Sides: The Elusive ‘Russian Legion’ Fighting With Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/37zf4p9r
// 8/8/2022
The Kremlin’s war against Ukraine is one many Russians don’t want to fight. ¤ And some are so vehemently opposed that they are apparently prepared to take up arms against their country and fight alongside the Ukrainian army.
The Freedom of Russia Legion claims it was formed in March, when over 100 Russian soldiers gave themselves up to Kyiv’s forces.
“I ended up in this war anyway. I thought I would either die as an occupier and murderer or die with a good conscience. So I switched sides,” said a 26-year-old former Russian soldier turned legion member who asked to be referred to by his nom de guerre of Arni.
Along with ex-soldiers, the legion is apparently also made up of Russians who traveled to Ukraine alongside other foreigners to fight with the Ukrainian army in the months after the invasion. It is one of many units — from Georgians to Belarusians — operating as part of the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine set up by Kyiv at the start of the war. …
🐣 RT @saintjavelin The Ukrainian government is concerned about the civil conflict erupting across its border in Bilhorod ¤ Ukrainian authorities suggest a referendum to be held in full compliance with democratic procedures and international norms
🧵 RT @NOELreports SitRep – 22/05/23 – Bilhorod People’s Republic ¤ An overview of the daily events in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Today the Belgorod region (now called BPR) was attacked by Russian anti-government units of the Russian Volunteer Corps and Freedom Legion of Russia.1/X
📌 https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1660762093790851074?s=20
🐣 RT @AntiToxicPeople siren 🚨🚨🚨 BREAKING: Jack Smith’s prosecutors investigating Trump’s handling of classified docs issued a subpoena for information about Trump’s business dealings in SEVEN countries since he took office—China, France, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE & Oman
⋙ NYT: Prosecutors Sought Records on Trump’s Foreign Business Deals Since 2017 https://tinyurl.com/29m92wk4
// The special counsel scrutinizing the former president’s handling of classified documents issued a subpoena to the Trump Organization seeking records related to seven countries.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAD DAY IN BELGOROD: The FSB building in the Russian city has been torn by explosions. The blasts come amid numerous reports that an armed anti-Putin group has conducted a cross-border operation against the city.
⋙⋙ BBC: Russia battles armed group in border region https://tinyurl.com/mc5eeczm
⋙ 🐣 RT @Tendar Explosions reported from Bilhorod/Belgorod. It says that the local FSB building and the interior ministry got hit. ¤ Source: https://t.me/box_of_pandora/29315 #Ukraine #Russia #Bilhorod #Belgorod
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT CITY /1315 UTC 22 MAY/ Wagner forces have consolidated gains in Khromove district, securing the remaining contiguous urban areas of Bakhmut. UKR maintains Lines of Communication and Supply (LOCS); its positions at Chasiv Yar prevent RU advances beyond the city.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1660633437047345153?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer WHO KNEW? Turns out Vladimir Soloviov, Putin’s pet and virulent anti-US propagandist, and his mistress, basketball star Svetlana Abrosimova, have 2 children– both born in the US. Soloviov (who’s already married) has 8 kids from different marriages.
⋙ YahooNews/Ukrainska Pravda: Investigators find secret family of Russian propagandist with children born in the US https://tinyurl.com/2uee9z4w
🐣 RT @ ForeignAffairs “For Putin, Wagner has become a crucial means to rein in the military, which he has long viewed as a potential threat to his power.”
⋙ ForeignAffairs: Why Putin Needs Wagner https://tinyurl.com/2chzdvcy
// The hidden power struggle sustaining Russia’s brutal militia.
🧵 RT @MarkHertling What’s going on in Belgorod? ¤ I’d suggest it may be continuance of shaping operations, prior to Ukraines’ offensive. ¤ Some things we may see in the near future are types of “strikes” or deception operations like raids, feints or demonstrations. Here’s some info on each. 1/6
📌 https://twitter.com/MarkHertling/status/1660640657218629639?s=20
😅 RT @Teoyaomiquu Breaking! A biolab operated by russians is discovered in Belgorod! ¤ According to an informant, they have run multiple bio experiments and tests, including those with viruses, human blood, and genes
🐣 RT @Biz_Ukraine_Mag The Belgorod People’s Republic may be the greatest example of geopolitical trolling in world history. Ukraine appears to be mirroring Russia’s own hybrid war tactics while denying all involvement and deploying the Kremlin’s own cynical lexicon of civil war and internal conflict
🌎 https://twitter.com/Biz_Ukraine_Mag/status/1660723559008706568?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @JayinKyiv With armed Russian opposition to Putin’s regime now getting a foothold in Russia, the western weapons pouring into Ukraine will allow the Ukrainians to increasingly pass Russian weapons to the hands of Russian rebels. ¤ This is going to be wild.
🐣 RT @maria_drutska 90% of russia’s military is in Ukraine preparing for the AFU counter-offensive ¤ Meanwhile, the Free Russia Legion has moved in to positions around Belgorod ¤ Either russia loses Belgorod, or moves their exhausted soldiers from the front
🐣 RT @officejjsmart US RESPONSE “We have made it very clear to Ukrainians that we do not encourage attacks outside Ukrainian borders. But I think it’s important to remind the world that Russia started this war. ¤ Ukraine has the right to decide how it wants to conduct its military operations. ¤ But the aggressor in this war is Russia.” Matthew Miller, US State Department Spokesman on the situation in the Belgorod
🐣 RT @Faytuks Igor Girkin on the situation in Belgorod region: Russian volunteer corps has advanced hundreds of meters into Belgorod region with tank and artillery support from AFU. Russian helicopters and artillery engaged. There are several wounded russians. ¤ https://t.me/strelkovii/4982
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Faytuks/status/1660606734946189314?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] In the Belgorod region, punishers from the “Kraken” battalion and Nazi traitors from the “RDK” (“Russian Volunteer Corps”, by force in an incomplete platoon) raided the border crossing with the support of tanks and artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result, they managed to advance several hundreds of meters deep into the territory of the “old” Russian Federation. The border guards and reinforcement units took the fight, attack aircraft (helicopters) and artillery came to the rescue. Our side had several wounded, that one also had losses. In its purely military essence, insignificant hassle.
However, such raids were PREDICTED BY ME earlier as likely signs of an imminent enemy offensive on other fronts – in order to divert the forces and means of the RF Armed Forces to more reliable security of the “old state border”. How much this attack is connected with the upcoming offensive of the enemy – time will tell. But what can be absolutely certain is that the raid has a pronounced “propaganda effect – the enemy seeks to understand the morale of his troops and the population after the withdrawal from Bakhmut. “Cheap and cheerful” – as they say in such cases. In general, it worked. Resource costs are “cheap”, the media effect is loud
🐣 RT @KarinaVinnikova “Maybe something is happening, maybe not” – the official comment of Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.
🐣 RT @officejjsmart LIBERATION FOR BELGOROD
“⚡️The Legion “Freedom of Russia” and the RDK report that they have completely taken the settlement of Kozinka, Belgorod Region.”
🇷🇺 actively supported the “liberation” of🇺🇦 – let’s return the favor: Time to liberate 🇷🇺.
Bye bye, fascist Putin Regime! 👋
🌎 https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1660618900986294274?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @officejjsmart LIBERATION FOR BELGOROD
“⚡️The Legion “Freedom of Russia” and the RDK report that they have completely taken the settlement of Kozinka, Belgorod Region.”
🇷🇺 actively supported the “liberation” of🇺🇦 – let’s return the favor: Time to liberate 🇷🇺.
Bye bye, fascist Putin Regime! 👋
🐣 RT @officejjsmart ALL GOING WELL IN BELGOROD 🇷🇺
Russians, who are fighting on the side of Ukraine 🇺🇦, are invading Belgorod 🇷🇺.
In this video from Belgorod 🇷🇺, you note some building burning off to left, you hear air raid sirens wailing & the driver saying on the phone: “Stay home – don’t go anywhere right now.”
Three days to capture Kyiv isn’t working as planned 😂 😂 😂
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa It is our historic task to bring justice to all our people, to guarantee freedom for our entire country without any exceptions. The task of all those who defend freedom, all those who chose Ukraine and, therefore, will win.
🐣 RT @nafoprospect BREAKING: little green dogs with no tags have been spotted all around Belgorod oblast.
🖼 https://twitter.com/nafoprospect/status/1660588444702089218?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @wartranslated Same time as the unexplained incident in Belgorod is taking place, Ukrainian GUR head Kyrylo Budanov published an appeal, in Russian, to all Russian servicemen to surrender via the “I want to live” project to save their lives from the “upcoming meatgrinder”. “It will get worse”, says Budanov.
🐣 RT @NOELreports “It will get worse. You have a choice – to die or save your life,” Major General Kirill Budanov addressed the Russian military
🚫🐣 RT @wartranslated While the situation is still developing, the incursion into the Belgorod territory today reminds me of the raids a few months back, but with several major differences.
¤ https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1660601786921623553?s=20
The attack is much more brazen, a larger number of combat vehicles are being used this time, with much heavier artillery and mortar support. It is also being conducted in broad daylight, and drone footage is immediately being published online, to reach the maximum psychological effect.
In the previous incident, we began finding out details when forces were already withdrawn, and the attack began early in the morning when it was still dark.
What is also interesting is that both “Russian Volunteer Corps” and “Free Russia Legion” have left their marks today, they could potentially be operating in two separate areas (Legion in Dronivka, RDK in Grayvoron).
🚫 🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Another organization, calling themselves “Russian Volunteer Corps”, published videos showing the organization’s members by different village signs in Bryansk and Belgorod regions of Russia. ¤ “RVC is back to the motherland. We’re home. The time to fight for Russia’s freedom has come.” – one of them said.
🚫 🐣 RT @officejjsmart FREE RUSSIA LEGION ¤ Allegedly the Free Russia Legion, which fights on the side of Ukraine but is composed of Russians, is invading southern Belgorod, Russia.
💽 https://twitter.com/officejjsmart/status/1660598094847696896?s=20/photo/1
🚫🐣 RT @JayinKyiv All signs point to Ukrainian tanks having crossed the Russian border into Belgorod within the past 2 hours.
🚫🐣 RT @ officejjsmart 🇷🇺 NEARING A CIVIL WAR? “It is reported that Russian volunteers, who are fighting for Ukraine 🇺🇦, destroyed the border checkpoint with the 🇷🇺 Belgorod region. The number of killed and wounded is dozens of people.”
🚫🧵 RT @albafella1 The “Liberty of Russia” Legion @legion_svoboda also says it is returning home to end the Kremlin’s dictatorship.
📌 https://twitter.com/albafella1/status/1660558086052929538?s=20
// my guess it’s a diversion or excuse for Ru to escalate; if not, it’s a suicide mission
“We are Russians just like you. We are people just like you. We want our children to grow up in piece and be free people, so that they can travel, study and just be happy in a free country.
But this has no place in today’s Putin’s Russia, rotten from corruption, lies, censorship, restrictions on freedoms, repressions. In that Russia where a person’s life means less than an official’s wallet. In that Russia where a separate railway is being laid to the residence of the bunker grandfather instead of repairing roads in the regions. In a dictatorial country where children are separated from their parents for calling for peace, and teenagers are given life sentences.
It’s time to put an end to the Kremlin’s dictatorship. Thanks to all those who support us. To everyone who sends us donations and smokes where necessary. Your support is what every day reminds us of our final goal on Red Square [in Moscow]. Be brave and don’t be afraid, because we are coming home. Russia will be free!” — he says
⭕ 21 May 2023
NYT, David French: Why Ukraine Needs F-16s https://tinyurl.com/5n6nb259 “Providing Ukraine with advanced fighters [is] a sign the Biden administration is ready to turn the page from helping Ukraine simply avoid defeat. Now we are starting to help Ukraine achieve victory”
🐣 RT @ yasminalombaert Finally!
💽 https://twitter.com/yasminalombaert/status/1660371472127279104?s=20/photo/1
António Guterres backed the reform of the U.N. Security Council and the international financial system to align them with the “realities of today’s world.”
Both the U.N. body and the financial architecture reflect the power relations of 1945 and need to be updated, Guterres told a press conference on the margins of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
“It’s my deep believe that the Security Council not longer respond to the realities of today’s world. ¤ I think it is important to have the possibility of new members, namely new permanent members. ¤ And I think, it is also important a renewal of the working methods in order to make it more affective in guaranteeing peace all over the world.” he said.
It’s a shame that Russia is still permanent member of the Security Council and Russian Vladimir Voronkov, Under Secretary General for Counter-Terrorism. ¤ It’s about time that rogue states can’t dominate the agenda and the functioning of the UN Security Council anymore.
WaPo: As hold on Bakhmut slips, Ukrainian forces push to encircle city https://tinyurl.com/yhmmm2dp “[T]he Russian side has been riven with internal differences … Ukrainian forces have been able to exploit these differences to hold off an enemy that greatly outnumbers them”
🐣 RT @cepa “China now finds the way clear for a push into Central Asia, to become its dominant power and to set its primary strategic direction.” @emilavdaliani
⋙ CEPA: China Walks Unopposed into Central Asia https://tinyurl.com/4xreknnx
// 5/17/2023; China’s growing power and Russia’s declining strength mean a new era for Central Asia.
🧵 RT @ BrynnTannehill Lot of virtual ink being spilled on F-16s to Ukraine over the past few days. It’s looking like it will become a reality. So, let’s discuss some of the capabilities, challenges, limitations, and best potential uses of the aircraft. 1/n
📌 https://twitter.com/BrynnTannehill/status/1660261077026762753?s=20
🐣 RT @DenesTorteli “The enemy failed to surround Bakhmut and lost some of the dominant heights around the city. That is, the advance of our troops in the suburbs on the flanks, which is still ongoing, makes it very difficult for the enemy to be in Bakhmut. Our troops have semi-encircled the city, which gives us the opportunity to destroy the enemy. Therefore, the enemy has to defend itself in the part of the city it controls. Our defenders retain control over industrial and infrastructure facilities and the private sector of Bakhmut in the ‘Airplane’ district,” said Hanna Maliar on Telegram. https://t.me/annamaliar/772
🐣 RT @trajaykay
🇺🇦🔱 President Zelenskys Evening Address with English subtitles ¤ Tonight he is on a plane on the way home from the G7 in Japan
🇺🇦🔱 Zelensky. We are finishing this very difficult yet very important week. On Friday, we had the Arab League. On Saturday and Sunday – G7 plus Ukraine
💽 https://twitter.com/trajaykay/status/1660414361628803073?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @POTUS Let me be clear. ¤ I will not agree to a deal with House Republicans that protects billions in subsidies for Big Oil while putting the health care of 21 million Americans at risk.Or that protects wealthy tax cheats while putting food assistance at risk for 1 million Americans.
🐣 RT @RepDanGoldman Two things to consider re 14th Am:
1) anyone challenging the 14th Am is going to court to make America default on its debts.
2) there is no good argument for an injunction. Courts would likely allow us to pay our debts until a decision is made.
We must not be held hostage.
🐣 RT @KyivIndependent ⚡️Land Forces chief says Ukrainian troops may soon encircle Bakhmut. ¤ Ukrainian troops keep advancing on the flanks and are approaching a “tactical encirclement” of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s Land Forces, reported on May 21.
🐣 RT @EuromaidanPress Ukraine can strike Crimea using US-made weapons, Jake Sullivan, the US national security advisor to President Joe Biden, tells CNN ¤ “We’ve said we won’t allow Ukraine to use US-made weapons to strike Russia. And we believe Crimea is Ukraine,” Sullivan said.
KyivPost: Clandestine Russian Intelligence Ring in Europe Uncovered, OSINT Group Claims https://tinyurl.com/mkk47mhs
// The cover of 167 Russian intelligence officers across Europe has apparently been blown. The best part? It was accomplished by using open-source intelligence (OSINT).
🐣 RT @RonFilipkowski Biden is president for at least another 20 months. And Trump has been saying this for a year. Presumably, this World War would happen during that time. But he refuses to tell us his secret plan on how to prevent it. So I guess we will all die – including Trump.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1660276882615463936?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump Biden continues to bring the world ever closer to nuclear war. I alone am the candidate who can prevent World War 3. I will end the killing and bloodshed and bring peace to Europe and the World!
🐣 RT @AntiToxicPeople Happy Sunday morning from a deranged lunatic:
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1660257241973555200?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonaldTrump They Spied on my campaign, Rigged the 2020 Presidential Election, Weaponized the DOJ & FBI, and yet they continue to go after me instead of the criminals that did all of these things, because I am fighting for you, and leading Biden, and everyone else, in the polls. It’s called Election Interference, and it is totally ILLEGAL!
🐣 RT @wartranslated Girkin [aka Strelkov] says the Bakhmut battle was unnecessary and turned out to be Phyrric (longread). He notes that all Russian forces are now exhausted while trying to achieve at least some sort of victory for propaganda purposes, and Ukraine is now in a position to deal several strikes where it wants, most likely to be met by weak Russian resistance.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1660273337744982023?s=20/photo/1 -3
[Text:] [I] already briefly expressed my opinion on the conclusion of the assault on Bakhmut in Telegram. But, reading the strainedly joyful comments on VKontakte, I thought that it would be necessary to calmly and in detail once again go through this operation here too, which is now being iflated in every possible way (in order to stick “victorious laurels” on the bald head of “Cook”).
So, in a nutshell.
1. After the humiliating and almost catastrophic autumn defeats in the Kharkiv region, first the reduction of the Kherson bridgehead under the onslaught of the enemy, and then its complete abandonment, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, having carried out a partial “under-mobilisation” since its legal status turned out to be completely incomprehensible and it was limited only by conscripting 250-300 thousand men into the army and nothing more), they tried during the winter campaian (gradually turning into spring) to “take revenge” on the Donbas front. Precisely and only in the Donbas Donetsk-Lugansk). Because ever earlier (in the spring of last year, after the “de-escalation”), the Kremlin adopted (and remained unchanged to this day) a course towards “freezing the conflict through a compromise agreement with partners.” And within the tramework of achieving this agreement,” no offensives deep into the so-called “Ukraine” are considered at all – no matter what strategic prospects they promise. Therefore, only “smashing in the battle of attrition” into the position of the enemy in the Donbas in the hope that “sooner or later the partners will mature [for negitations]. The cretinism of this concept and its stillbirth are exceptional. But it is being implemented with the same gloomy-idiotic stubbornness with which they have been trying to implement exactly the same “non-alternative Minsk agreements” for 8 years. Starting from the end of April last year, all offensive operations of the RF Armed Forces were carried out ONLY in the Donbass. Even having occupied part of the Kharkiv region along the line of the Siversky Donets – they were not going to advance west of it, they were exclusively driven south – to the most heavily fortified Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration. With the corresponding result…
2. Thus, starting an offensive in the Donbas in the late autumn of last year, our “military strategists” again tried to solve for the political leadership the task that our elderly cretins “drew” in their heads: “Completely liberate the Donbas and start bargaining with Kiyy and dear Western partners in order to impose on them the “status quo: Crimea, Donbas and the orridor to Crimea stay with us, we do not pretend to be more. As we can see, this task has not been solved even to a small extent in seven months of bloody battles (which in many areas – near Avdeevka and Maryinka, for example, ore dimost continuous And the fact that “Wagner supplied and replenished until the middle of winter this year on “lux standard” at the cost of almost complete loss of their own infantry, managed to *get “in two towns of Soledar and Bakhmut during the months-long meat grinder is the only tactical victory. And in connection with the complete failure of the strategic task – the capture of Bakhmut is presented as “the crown of military leadership” and “an epoch-making battle of world-historical significance.”
3. Meanwhile – as already noted above – on the whole, the operation ended in a strategic failure of our troops. The enemy has NOT been ousted from the Donbas in all the main directions, in most directions – has not been moved at all. During the offensive, the RF Armed Forces used up a lot of trained manpower, exhausted almost to the bottom the stocks of weapons, equipment and ammunition necessary for further offensive operations. Therefore, increased attention has been paid to Bakhmut’s “capture” for the past 2 months – it was necessary to achieve at least some result “for propaganda” in order to “take a breath” later … Look, we “won* … And yesterday they stopped immediately at outskirts of Bakhmut, as soon as they crawled to it, there is no strength to go further …
4. Now we should be waiting for the “return move” from the enemy. Similar to the one that was made by the enemy in September, right after our valiant generals “finished” the tiny town of Peski on the outskirts of Donetsk throughout a month. Why do I think the enemy will attack soon? – precisely because now he has the best chance of success. The best strike units of the RF Armed Forces are exhausted by many months of battles. The stock of ammunition is minimal. If, for example, the enemy chooses the Donetsk front for attack (for example, the Mariupol direction), then he will be met by units and subunits badly battered and “thinned” by the transfer of reserves to Bakhmut. And if he decides to attack on the Zaporizhzhia front, then he may not worry about the stability of his defense in the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk direction and near Avdiivka.
5. Therefore – I consider the victory near Bakhmut: a) Initially unnecessary (“distraction to an unusable object”, I wrote about this many times); b) Pyrrhic. It was not worth the effort and money spent on it, even approximately. ¤ HOPE TO BE WRONG.
🐣 RT @AntiToxicPeople Every word of this is completely insane & delusional.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1660261577743011844?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] @reaDonaldTrump Joe Biden REFUSES to give the 1,850 Boxes in Delaware, or the 4 Boxes that were discovered in CHINATOWN, and then sent to his lawyers in Boston to clean them up. Maybe that’s why all of that money from China has gone into his pockets, but I hope not? I went by the Presidential Records Act – Things done correctly!
🐣 RT @ ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT CITY /1145 UTC 21 MAY/ RU control of the urban area will not materially change the tactical situation. UKR maintains Lines of Communication and Supply (LOCS), and its nearly impregnable positions at Chasiv Yar still deter RU advances on either the M-03 or H-32 HWY.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1660247983726686211?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @AndriyYermak Mr. President @POTUS, when we met in Kyiv you said you would do everything for pilots to train and then get fighter jets. And you did it along with your allies. ¤ Thank you, and the Congress, and all the people for your unwavering support
⋙ 🐣 Despite some loud contrarian GOP members of the House, most have supported this move for some time, especially the Chairmen of the key committees. And the Senate stands firmly behind you. Just wish things moved more quickly. ¤ Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦 🇺🇸
🐣 RT @markomihkelson Kissinger has changed his mind, follow him. Strong NATO is the best peace dividend for the democratic nations.
⋙⋙ TheEconomist: Kissinger: for the safety of Europe, get Ukraine into NATO https://tinyurl.com/3a5n3rv3
// 5/17/2023; Highlights from our conversation with Henry Kissinger; $paywall
⋙ 🐣 RT @grammoflot Kissinger’s happy with Russia keeping Crimea. He also says Nato membership ensures that Ukraine won’t make territorial claims on Russia. Very odd. Marko, you sure about jumping on the Kissinger train?
⋙ 🐣 RT @Estonian01 I could not read all article but I understood from someones tweet- he wants to take to NATO Ukraine in current boarders without occupied areas…
🐣 RT @twitter_dude Pyotr Aleksandrovich, Russia’s Minister of Science and Higher Education has died during a flight from Cuba back to Russia, at the age of 47. ¤ What is the scientific odds a minister of science dies on a 13-ish hour flight at the age of 47?
¤ https://twitter.com/witter_dude/status/1660189178741551104?s=20
[Clarification:] 🐣 RT @maria_drutska The question about Bakhmut was:
– Russians said they have taken Bakhmut.
– I think no. ¤
“We must understand that this does not mean anything. They (the russian soldiers) destroyed everything! There is not a single building left. This is a tragedy for today. But Bakhmut is in our hearts. There are only ruins and many dead russians. But they came to us. Our defenders in Bakhmut did a serious strong job. And of course we appreciate their great work!”
💽 https://twitter.com/maria_drutska/status/1660189833971613696?s=20/photo/1
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @ pravda_eng 💔Answering the journalist’s question if Bakhmut is still in Ukraine’s hands, President @ZelenskyyUa said that, “I think no. But you have to understand that there is nothing, they destroyed everything, there are no buildings.” And added that, “Bakhmut is only in our hearts”
// Interviewer asked “Russians say they have taken Bakhmut” acc another tweet
💽 [Full video] https://twitter.com/anno1540/status/1660181236554383378?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ front_ukrainian ⚡️The 🇺🇸USA announced a new package of military aid to 🇺🇦Ukraine in the amount of $375 million:
● additional ammunition for HIMARS systems;
● artillery shells, thermal imaging and bridge systems;
● TOW anti-tank guided missiles;
● Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems
// Defense budget
⭕ 20 May 202
🐣 RT @MattBoxer94 A sad day for Ukraine but the fact that it took the Russians 10 months to advance on a small city no one knew abt 15 months ago is an indictment of their armed forces and simultaneously Ukraine took back Kherson and Moscow is increasingly getting desperate
⋙ 🐣 RT @WarMonitor3 Bakhmut has been captured by Russian forces. ¤ However the picture is not as sweet as they make out, to the outskirt SW districts fighting still rages and on the flanks they are struggling to advance. ¤ A battle of attrition over 10 months which has served its military purpose.
🐣 RT @SophiePerrin18 Fellas: This is a brilliant write up by Michael Podolyak. It stamps a hearty “BS” to all the amplified crying, moaning, & posturing we’re see from Russian quarters on social media yesterday & today. Feel free to copy it & use it just like a meme!
// Note: “Mykhailo Mykhailovych Podolyak[1] (Ukrainian: Михайло Михайлович Подоляк; born February 16, 1972)[2] is a Ukrainian politician, journalist and negotiator, serving as the adviser to the head of Office of the President of Ukraine” ~ Wikipedia
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/SophiePerrin18/status/1659974559712391168?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @Podolyak_M [Михайло Подоляк] There are few pleasures in the world greater than watching Moscow’s reactions to President Zelenskyy’s visits. Like a demon sprinkled with holy water, the Kremlin is convulsing, using a network of decades-old agents, corrupt media, and agents of influence. It tries to scream, shout, sabotage – and every time in vain, facing humiliation again and again, even in those regions that it imperially considered “its own” or tried to convince the rest of the world of this. In every corner of the globe, President Zelenskyy is being hailed as a strong leader of the free world, paying tribute to the courage and bravery of the Ukrainian people. Such respect cannot be bought with money; it can only be earned. This is true power – greater than a gas pipe or corrupt kickbacks. This is true agency. Ukraine has forced to respect our word and opinion, to reckon with ourselves. At every meeting, it is said directly or signaled indirectly: the time of Putin and his clique of criminals is over; even where they are not considered bad guys, they are considered pathetic. Russia will suffer a military defeat – and it is inevitable. International law will be put back on the agenda. It is time to discuss the post-war world order.
🐣 RT @ front_ukrainian ⚡️The 🇺🇸USA announced a new package of military aid to 🇺🇦Ukraine in the amount of $375 million:
● additional ammunition for HIMARS systems;
● artillery shells, thermal imaging and bridge systems;
● TOW anti-tank guided missiles;
● Javelin and AT-4 anti-tank systems
// Defense budget
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en President @ZelenskyyUa at the G7 meeting. ¤ Congratulations to the great geopolitical strategist Putin (Russia used to be a part of G8, but was excluded after invading Crimea in 2014).
🖼 https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1660165187603660803?s=20/photo/1
// group photo
🐣 RT @ChristopherJM Zelensky, wrapping up his big G7 appearance in Hiroshima, says Ukraine “proposed its Peace Formula to the world.”
⋙ 🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa Our world is vast, but we are all in it together. And this is our shared cause – peace.
🇺🇦 proposed its Peace Formula to the world. As long as invaders remain on our land, no one will sit down at the negotiating table with 🇷🇺. The colonizer must get out. And the world has enough power to force 🇷🇺 to restore peace step by step.
We have developed the Peace Formula in a way that ensures each of its points is backed by @UN 🇺🇳 resolutions. And in a way that everyone in the world can choose the track they can contribute to. From Japan to the Arab countries, from Europe to Latin America, we find support for our Formula. And we continue this work.
⋙ 🐣 Ukraine’s Proposed Peace Plan via Reuters (12/28/2022) https://tinyurl.com/yndknb7m
The plan calls for:
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1660168197100777472?s=20/photo/1 .
Ukraine’s 10-Point Peace Plan
1. Radiation and nuclear safety, focusing on restoring safety around Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine, which is now-Russian occupied.
2. Food security, including protecting and ensuring Ukraine’s grain exports to the world’s poorest nations.
3. Energy security, with focus on price restrictions on Russian energy resources, as well as aiding Ukraine with restoring its power infrastructure, half of which has been damaged by Russian attacks.
4. Release of all prisoners and deportees, including war prisoners and children deported to Russia.
5. Restoring Ukraine’s territorial integrity and Russia reaffirming it according the U.N. Charter, which Zelenskiy said is “not up to negotiations”.
6. Withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities, restoration of Ukraine’s state borders with Russia.
7. Justice, including the establishment of a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes.
8. Prevention of ecocide, need for protection of environment, with focus on demining and restoring water treatment facilities.
9. Prevention of escalation of conflict, and building security architecture in the Euro-Atlantic space, including guarantees for Ukraine.
10. Confirmation of the war’s end, including a document signed by the involved parties.
🐣 RT @AntiToxicPeople Lunatic.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1660114768492101632?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @realDonald Trump FoxNews: “Durham Report Slams FBI for Trump-Russia Probe.” So why isn’t DOJ doing something about this, a part of the Crime of the Century, the greatest Witch Hunt in history? Instead they are viciously investigating me about “the Boxes Hoax,” even though Biden is guilty and I am not – I did nothing wrong! They spied on my campaign and Rigged an Election, and these Trump Haters go after me. Congress should make REFERRALSto DOJ, and demand they stop the Witch Hunt against “TRUMP.” MAGA!
🐣 RT @DerekJGrossman No apology for nuking Japan from Biden while in Hiroshima.
🖼 https://twitter.com/DerekJGrossman/status/1660064126645981184?s=20/photo/1
// caption: Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and with U.S. President Joe Biden, right, react after laying a wreath at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, Friday, May 19, 2023, during the G7 Summit. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh,Pool)
⋙ LATimes: Hiroshima attack’s last survivors watch as Biden pays tribute, but makes no apologies https://tinyurl.com/47stsnt6
// Group of 7 leaders convened in Hiroshima and honored victims of the atomic bomb. But they have no new plans to reduce the threat […?] $paywall
🧵 RT @mhmck Battles for the city of Bakhmut do not stop. The Russian fascist invaders conducted unsuccessful offensive actions in the direction of Bila Hora.
🐣 RT @TreasChest Volodymyr Zelensky was inaugurated four years ago. ¤ I remember well how it all began. People wanted change. The “elites” were very afraid of them. But we understood that this was our last chance. Either someone will unite the country and lead it forward, or we will lose everything.
🖼
https://twitter.com/TreasChest/status/1660028313530773508?s=20/photo/1
// TIME cover: How Zelensky Leads
🐣 RT @Erdbeerdampfe Sad Solovyov “Nobody takes us serious anymore” ¤ Watch the full video
💽 https://twitter.com/Erdbeerdampfe/status/1660087646436089857?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @McFaul In a few years, Ukraine will be armed with F16s, Patriots & hopefully THAAD missile defense systems, HIMARs & ATACMS and Abrams tanks. Russia will still have MiG29s, S-300s/400s, and T72s. The balance of military power is shifting in Ukraine’s direction.
🐣 RT @Keysfins May 24th: NARA/Archives will hand over 16 presidential records to Special Counsel that demonstrate sad dfg had knowledge of correct declassification process. ¤ Delish.
🐣 RT @RonFilipkowski The only thing I can’t believe is that it took this long.
🐣 RT @IndictmentTime Called it! He definitely got a target letter from the DOJ.
⋙ 🐣 RT @MuellerSheWrote Interesting.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/MuellerSheWrote/status/1660072595092574208?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] @realDonaldTrump Can you believe? They Rigged the Election, and want to
prosecute me!
🐣 RT @sentdefender Russian News Agency TASS, reported today that the Russian Foreign Ministry has Notified the United States and other European Countries that if they decide to follow through with their Plan to provide F-16s to Ukraine it will carry “Colossal” Risk to the West.
🐣 RT @yasminalombaert Words of an increasingly isolated, paranoid, dictator of a sinking ship. ¤ Putin desperately struggles to escape the disastrous trap he set for himself.
💽 https://twitter.com/yasminalombaert/status/1659844831206596615?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @DAlperovitch This is what’s left of Bakhmut after Russian so called “liberation”
💽 https://twitter.com/DAlperovitch/status/1659950022522183681?s=20/photo/1
// drone footage
🐣 RT @yasminalombaert A real bad weekend for pariah Putin.
● The Saudis invited President Zelensky as a guest of honour at the Arab League summit on Friday. Putin was not invited.
● On Friday the China-Central Asia Summit was successfully held in Xi’an. Putin was not invited and he desperately send them greetings.
● Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is taking his pitch for support beyond his western allies with a scene-stealing appearance at the G7 summit, confronting the leaders of India and Brazil after they chose not to back sanctions against Russia.
● The US has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to enhance the country’s air defence.
● Putin’s effort to shore up more friends in the South Caucasus by scrapping visa requirements for Georgian nationals and lifting a four-year ban on direct flights to the country also didn’t appear to go as smoothly as Putin may has hoped. The first flight that landed Friday in Georgia was met with protests.
🐣 RT @insidermildef Russia adapted to the game-changing HIMARS, but Ukraine’s new Storm Shadow missiles could put the fear back into its commanders, warfare experts say
⋙ BI: Russia adapted to the game-changing HIMARS, but Ukraine’s new Storm Shadow missiles could put the fear back into its commanders https://tinyurl.com/5n87c88z
// Ukraine has pushed Western partners for long-range missiles so it can strike Russian positions deep behind the lines. And now it’s got them.
🐣 RT @FridaGhitis Zelensky meets with Indian PM Modi on the sidelines of the G7. (Not a happy moment for Putin.)
💽 https://twitter.com/FridaGhitis/status/1659953848075665415?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @sentdefender So far the Russian Army has “Struggled” with Defensive Operations to the North and South of Bakhmut so if Wagner is planning to Withdraw and allow Ground Forces to take their Positions the Russian MoD needs to Rethink their entire Strategy for Defensive Operations in the Region.
↥ ↧
🐣 RT @sentdefender The Wagner PMC has announced that beginning May 25th they will begin to Withdraw their Forces from Eastern Ukraine in order for them to be Deployed to other “Hotspots” across the World including Sudan and Syria; their Previous Positions in Ukraine specifically across the Bakhmut Front will be replaced by Soldiers and Equipment from the Russian Ground Forces.
🐣 RT @officejjsmart THE FIGHT FOR BAKHMUT CONTINUES
Armed Forces of Ukraine 🇺🇦 are conducting an operation to encircle Bakhmut.
– Spokesman of the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
🚫🐣 RT @mfa_russia ⚡️ Russia’s Defence Ministry: ¤ As a result of offensive actions by the Wagner assault units, supported by artillery and aviation of the Yug Group of Forces, the liberation of #Artyomovsk [Bakhmut] has been completed ✅
// Ukr has not yet confirmed
🐣 RT @AntiToxicPeople 🚨🚨 Trump’s lawyer Parlatore who quit this week throws Trump’s other lawyer under the bigliest bus imaginable 😳
⋙ 🐣 RT @Acyn Reid: You said that Boris [Epshteyn?] tried to prevent you from conducting searches. What searches?
💽 https://twitter.com/AntiToxicPeople/status/1660025084789268480?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT CITY /2000 UTC 20 MAY/ Heavy urban combat continues in Bakhmut, with RU /Wagner forces consolidating lodgments in the vicinity of Khromove. UKR broke up a VDV attack again S of the H-32 HWY at Ivanivske. UKR refutes claims that Bakhmut city has been captured by RU forces.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1660011200594231297?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @SenWhitehouse This is a long deep dive into the secretive democracy-killing creepshow we are up against. You may want an airsick bag handy when you read it.
⋙ NewRepublic, Nina Burleigh: Who Is Leonard Leo’s Mysterious Dark Money King? https://tinyurl.com/2m28h53y
// America needs to know who Barre Seid is, what kind of country he wants, and just how massive an impact his $1.6 billion gift can have on our political discourse.
🐣 RT @sumlenny Every time I visit Kyiv, I try to manage visiting St.Sofiia cathedral – a UNESCO world heritage site, and one of the most beautiful sacred places I have ever seen in my life. Join me and share my passion for Sofiia!
💽 https://twitter.com/sumlenny/status/1659895722869751809?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @officejjsmart C5 is a new military bloc of China 🇨🇳, with Kyrgyzstan 🇰🇬, Uzbekistan 🇺🇿, Tajikistan 🇹🇯, Kazakhstan 🇰🇿and Turkmenistan. Russia 🇷🇺 was not invited
🧵 RT @WriterJackWhite So did the Russians interfere in the 2016 EU referendum to help Leave get the winning 1.9% margin? Yes – Russian spies Udod & Nalobin befriended the organisers of the Leave Campaign including Banks,Boris Johnson, Elliott of Vote Leave. RT & Prigozhin’s IRA
📌 https://twitter.com/WriterJackWhite/status/1659607117119078401?s=20
⋙⋙ TheGuardian (2017): Russia used hundreds of fake accounts to tweet about Brexit, data shows (This article is more than 5 years old) https://tinyurl.com/2e5za938
// 11/14/2017; Researchers find that accounts run from a St Petersburg troll farm tried to sow discord between Britons over the referendum
⋙ 🐣 Prigozhin and his hacking group were indicted by the US in connection with interference in our 2016 election that gave us Trump. You likely are familiar with our story as I am with yours. Russia has been a malign actor for decades. But we were asleep post-1991.
🐣 RT @maxseddon Take with a grain of salt. Prigozhin says Wagner’s forces have established full control over Bakhmut after a bloody siege that all but destroyed the city. ¤ His declaration of triumph is a long rant about how Shoigu and Gerasimov were no help and Wagner mostly did it on their own
⋙ 🐣 Leave it to Zelensky for this to come at the moment he shows up at both the meetings of the Arab League and the G-7 (where he secures a deal for F-16 fighter jets and more sanctions against Russia)
⋙ 🐣 RT @saabj35 That’s nice but they’re about to be outflanked.
🐣 RT @maxseddon Take with a grain of salt. Prigozhin says Wagner’s forces have established full control over Bakhmut after a bloody siege that all but destroyed the city. ¤ His declaration of triumph is a long rant about how Shoigu and Gerasimov were no help and Wagner mostly did it on their own
🐣 RT @ col_luka Just to summarize this week alone.
G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan
–> no Russia
Arab League Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
–> no Russia
Central Asian Summit in Xian, China
–> no Russia
This is how a former power disappears from the world stage. ¤ But sending greetings.
⋙ 🐣 Russia won’t be selling arms to many of these countries either. The world now knows Ru mil equipment sucks
🐣 After Zelensky showed up there, did he have a choice?
⋙ 🐣 RT @ mfa_russia ✍️ President #Putin sent greetings to participants in the 32nd #ArabLeague Summit: ¤ Russia has always attached great importance to the development of friendly relations & constructive partner interaction with countries in the Middle East & North Africa ¤ 🔗 https://is.gd/qbTkgA
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Congratulations to the great geopolitical strategist Putin. ¤ The China-Central Asia summit, to which China invited representatives of Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – but did not invite Russia – is a very important signal. ¤ This shows that China created a new Central-Asian C5, which China will lead. And Russia has lost its influence in the region where it historically had a lot of impact.
🐣 RT @djrothkopf With more strong support for Ukraine, a unified G7 front against Chinese economic coercion, steady leadership to calm concerns on default and productive meetings w/allies, ¤ @POTUS has had a successful G7 trip and once again shown how he’s restored US leadership worldwide.
⋙ 🐣 RT @djrothkopf It was not long his disgraced predecessor fought with our friends, shoved them aside to get into photo ops, kowtowed to our enemies, and put us global interests and security at risk every time he opened his mouth. We can’t afford to go back to that. The world can’t.
WaPo: Zelensky makes dramatic G-7 visit as Biden mobilizes allies over China https://tinyurl.com/ydtaaew2
// Leaders focus on supporting Ukraine and countering China’s economic rise
🔄 🧵 RT @VolodyaTretyak Important announcement ¤ Today I will start a thread series #RussiaDecolonized. I will write about each republic and estimate their chances of becoming free. ¤ There are nations that fought for their freedom against Moscow and even declared independence in 1991.
📌 🌎 https://twitter.com/VolodyaTretyak/status/1659634998440239105?s=20/photo/1
KyivPost, John Bryson: Kaliningrad, Königsberg or Królewiec? Putin’s Distorted Definition of the Russian Motherland https://tinyurl.com/26jz38fe
// Putin is being reminded that irredentism works both ways.
🐣 RT @oleksiireznikov Looks like Santa Claus does exists. A new jet coalition was born today! Thank you for the decision my colleagues @SecDef @BWallaceMP @DefensieMin @DedonderLudivin @troelslundp ¤ Ukrainian pilots are looking forward to starting their training on F-16 fighter jets. They will now be able to support their brothers and sisters-in-arms on land and on sea to win this war. F-16 were crafted to beat the bad guys. Their time is now!
⋙ 🐣 RT @oleksiireznikov [Dec 31, 2022] 2023 should be the victorious year. ¤ My official address to Santa Claus.
⭕ 19 May 2023
Newsweek: Ex-Trump White House Lawyer Predicts Bad News for Former President https://tinyurl.com/bdepm5dx
Former White House lawyer Ty Cobb believes the “feds are coming fast” for Donald Trump, predicting that the investigation into the former president’s alleged mishandling of classified documents will land him in prison. ¤ Cobb, a former U.S. assistant attorney and member of the Trump legal team between July 2017 and May 2018, told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Thursday that a plethora of evidence exists to convict the former president. …
Investigations include Smith looking into Trump’s potential wrongdoing regarding the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021; whether he attempted to overturn the 2020 president election results in Georgia; as well as the indictment already handed down against Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office for an alleged $130,000 hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels via Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen during the 2016 campaign; and New York Attorney General Letitia James’ tax fraud suit filed in September against Trump and three of his children: Ivanka, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.
CNN reported Thursday that the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) informed Trump that 16 records would be handed over to Smith, purportedly showing that the former president and his top advisers had knowledge of the correct declassification process while he was president—which Cobb said would not be “much of a legal hurdle” for Smith should Trump challenge it in court.
“I would not necessarily expand the case to try to prove the Espionage Act piece of it because there is so much evidence of guilty knowledge on the espionage piece that all they really have to do is show that Trump moved these documents at various times when DOJ was either demanding them or actually present, that he filed falsely with the Justice Department, had his lawyers file falsely with the Justice Department, an affidavit to the effect that none existed—which was shattered by the documents that they then discovered after the search—and the many other misrepresentations that he and others have made on his behalf with regard to his possession of classified documents,” Cobb said. ¤ It’s a “tight case” and Trump “will go to jail” because of it, Cobb said …
Title 18, Section 1519 of U.S. Code states: “Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.” …
Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, who served in the Trump administration, also forecast Thursday that the classified documents case will be the former president’s biggest legal pitfall.
“It’s very clear that he had no business having those documents,” Barr told CBS News’ Catherine Herridge. “He was given a long time to send them back and he was—they were subpoenaed. And if there’s any games being played there, he’s going to be very exposed.”
Clark Cunningham, law professor at Georgia State University, told Newsweek that he agrees with Cobb and Barr—that Trump’s most urgent risk of prosecution and conviction might be greatest in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.
A sworn certification document dated June 3, 2022, and signed by Trump’s records custodian was a response to a subpoena sent to testify before a grand jury. ¤ “I understand that this certification is made to comply with the subpoena, in lieu of a personal appearance and testimony,” said the custodian, whose name was redacted. …
“The sworn certification given by Trump’s lawyers to the Department of Justice at Mar-a-Lago last June that ‘all documents responsive to the [grand jury] subpoena’ were being handed over was clearly a false statement,” Cunningham said. “That document by itself is powerful evidence that the federal obstruction of justice statute was being violated—which carries a 20-year sentence. ¤ “The decision who to prosecute turns on who knew the certification was false: the lawyers who gave it to the DOJ, or—as seems increasingly likely—their client, Donald Trump.”
WaPo: U.S. won’t block transfer of F-16s to Kyiv, officials say https://tinyurl.com/yckztwx3 “While top GOP contenders for the presidency such as Donald Trump have criticized the scale of US aid for Ukraine, senior Republican leaders in Congress have been supportive of it”
The Biden administration has informed European allies that Washington will not block their export of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, U.S. officials familiar with the decision told The Washington Post. Biden has ruled out U.S. deliveries of F-16s to Ukraine, but will train Ukrainian pilots.
The decision follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s repeated requests for fighter jets, including from the Netherlands. In February, Ukrainian officials said they had made significant progress in persuading Dutch officials to send F-16s, but Washington’s approval is necessary because of third-party transfer agreements associated with the purchase of the U.S.-made jets.
A transfer would require the sign-off of the chairs and ranking minority-party members of relevant U.S. congressional committees. While top GOP contenders for the presidency such as Donald Trump have criticized the scale of U.S. aid for Ukraine, senior Republican leaders in Congress have been supportive of it throughout the war.
● Secretary of State Antony Blinken was a major force within the administration in pushing to allow U.S. allies to make the transfers and had also worked extensively with countries within NATO to move the policy forward, said U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter.
● Blinken played a similar role when NATO was at an impasse over whether to provide sophisticated tanks to Ukraine. At the time, Germany was hesitant to approve the transfer of Leopard 2 tanks — a roadblock overcome when Blinken pushed for the United States to approve the transfer of M1 Abrams tanks, making sure allies on both sides of the Atlantic were making major commitments to the war effort in tandem.
The U.S. said it will join efforts to provide fighter jet training to Ukrainian pilots, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said, adding that it would be “a safe bet President Biden will meet” Zelensky.
TheAtlantic, Eliot Cohen: It’s Not Enough for Ukraine to Win. Russia Has to Lose. https://tinyurl.com/yc3rx6vt “A Russia that prevails would be a Russia even further empowered to meddle in Europe and to expand its influence with unlimited violence”
// Anything less will encourage Russian imperialism and embolden autocrats around the world.
The United States has suffered from a deliberate fuzziness in formulating its objectives in the Russian war in Ukraine. … Bureaucratic mental fog is masquerading as artful policy, and it is dangerous. Strategy is the matching of means to ends. In war it is easy to become obsessed with action rather than purpose, and thereby to fall into Nietzsche’s famous description of the most common human stupidity: forgetting what one intended to do in the first place.
Ukraine knows how it defines victory: the pre-2014 borders cleansed of the invader, its exiles and refugees returned, its society and economy rebuilt, membership in the European Union and NATO attained, and some measure of justice for Russian rapists, torturers, and murderers secured. Similarly, we know how the Russians define victory: a Ukraine broken and severed from the West, much of its territory annexed; a Europe in disarray that resumes its addiction to cheap natural resources and business opportunities in Moscow; and the reconstruction of much of the old Russian imperial state.
We should want victory as Ukraine defines it. But to achieve it, the West must not only aid in the defeat of Russia—it must convince Russia that it has been defeated. ¤ A Russia that prevails would be a Russia even further empowered to meddle in Europe and to expand its influence with unlimited violence; a Russia that will have learned that it can commit slaughter and atrocities with impunity; a Russia whose ambitions will grow with success. A Russian victory would, as well, teach the world that the West—including the United States—lacks the resolve, despite its wealth, to follow through on its commitments, offering Beijing an encouraging lesson.
Conversely, Russian defeat would put Beijing—already somewhat nervous about its partner’s incompetence and wild statements—on the defensive, consolidate the Western alliance, and help preserve some of the essential norms of decent behavior in those parts of the world most important to us. Above all, it would block the Russian imperial project for good, because without Ukraine, as the historian Dominic Lieven has noted, Russia cannot be an empire.
… Russia must be convinced that the military instrument, and its deployment in large-scale war, will inevitably fail, and it must realize that Ukraine is permanently and completely lost.
… Ukraine must not only achieve battlefield success in its upcoming counteroffensives; it must secure more than orderly Russian withdrawals following cease-fire negotiations. To be brutal about it, we need to see masses of Russians fleeing, deserting, shooting their officers, taken captive, or dead. The Russian defeat must be an unmistakably big, bloody shambles.
Russia’s theories of victory in Ukraine have collapsed one by one. Putin began by believing that the country would fall in a week; then that it would succumb to a month or two of hard fighting; then that Europe would abandon it during a cold winter without Russian gas; then that Ukraine could be bludgeoned into submission by attacking its cities. The final theory of victory—that the West does not have the heart to pour vast resources into Ukraine indefinitely—needs to be disproved as well, because there is nothing beyond that.
To that end, with the utmost urgency, the West should give everything that Ukraine could possibly use, including long-range missiles to break for good the 11-mile Kerch bridge between the mainland and Crimea, and cluster munitions to devastate Russian fighting vehicles and infantry. Breaking the Russian army, as we have, by spending only a small fraction of our defense budget and none of our blood is an astounding strategic bargain.
Russians must, moreover, conclude that Ukraine—formerly, in their view, a pseudo-state containing “cousins” or “little brothers”—is gone forever. That means speedy accession to the EU and NATO, but also a deep Western commitment to rebuilding Ukraine economically and, most important, arming it to the teeth for years to come.
The paltering of the administration about giving our superabundant F-16s to Ukraine is foolish and shortsighted. These jets might not make a difference on the battlefield two months from now, but the knowledge that several hundred of them are in the pipeline for the next five years would have profound symbolic importance. We should be talking about how we will rebuild Ukraine’s armed forces, the West’s largest, most combat-tested, and in some ways most determined army.
The West needs an aggressive information campaign to drive home the reality of Russian defeat. Russians need to be reminded that their faltering economy is only a tenth the size of the EU’s; that they cannot build and deploy a modern tank; that their latest high-performance jet, the Su-57, will be outnumbered by the F-35s of the four small Nordic states; that their generals are superannuated and incompetent; that their high command is indifferent to their men’s lives; that their equipment is inferior to that of Ukraine; and that their logistics are rotted by graft and corruption.
Russia must be isolated politically and psychologically as well, thereby playing on the country’s historical ambivalence about the West, represented in its two capitals: St. Petersburg, facing Europe, and Moscow, facing Asia. But Russian literature, art, culture, and political practice are rooted in its relationship with Europe. The time may come—years or, more likely, decades from now—when a postimperial Russia will turn westward again.,…
The key to this strategy is courage. We must conquer our fears of Russian threats and escalation, of its nuclear bravado, and even of Russian collapse. We must be strategic and shrewd, but nothing can be accomplished without courage. In the words of John Paul II—the unarmed, lone old man who did so much to bring Soviet communism to its knees—“Never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.”
🐣 RT @Kasparov63 We must be honest about the violent, imperialist nature of Russia past and present. Putin is the villain of this chapter, not the whole story. Russians must face the future humbled, either as part of the civilized world or as a hollowed-out Chinese supply depot.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Kasparov63 Russia defeated completely in Ukraine is the first essential matter. But if Ukraine and the rest of the world are to know real peace, Russia must undergo a transformation. Unstable is better than a rogue gangster state, but we must plan for more.
⋙⋙ Newsweek: Kasparov Predicts Collapse of Russian ‘Empire’ https://tinyurl.com/ykpa8jts
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa I welcome the historic decision of the United States and @POTUS to support an international fighter jet coalition. This will greatly enhance our army in the sky. I count on discussing the practical implementation of this decision at the #G7 summit in Hiroshima.
🐣 RT @uarealitynow Zelensky, on surprise Saudi visit, seeks Arab League support in war. ¤ In a surprise personal appearance at an Arab League meeting in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday delivered an emotional appeal for support from leaders who have voiced only muted criticism of Russia’s invasion and from some, like Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who have maintained strong ties to Moscow despite the war. ¤ Washington Post
🖼 https://twitter.com/uarealitynow/status/1659629221642158089?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @NadjaUruski
🖼 https://twitter.com/NadjaUruski/status/1659530760812998659?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] This is the guy that Trump tried to bribe into blackmailing Biden and Putin tried to bully into giving up his country. He was a comedian who became a leader in an age where leaders everywhere became clowns. What a fucking champion. #Zelenskiy
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA “Joe Biden agrees to joint international support to train Ukrainian pilots on modern fighter jets, including F-16” – Politico
Training will take place outside #Ukraine at one of the European training grounds. It will last several months, and will begin in the coming weeks.
🐣 RT @benshapiro At what point does our civilization’s decline hit terminal velocity?
⋙ 🐣 when you’re in a moving train, you still are walking 3 miles an hour to get to the dining car ¤ address what issues confront you, with your knowledge and values, the best you can
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT CITY/ 1300 UTC 19 MAY/ Heavy urban combat continues in Bakhmut, with RU /Wagner forces consolidating lodgments in the district of Khromove. UKR again broke up a VDV attack S of the H-32 HWY at Ivanivske.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1659543183565504513?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @peterbakernyt Biden and other G7 leaders vow to crack down on sanctions evasion. “We will starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine,” they say in joint statement.
⭕ 18 May 2023
AboveTheLaw, Liz Dye: Trump Claims Magical Declassification Powers As Archives Discloses Contradictory Docs To Special Counsel https://tinyurl.com/2zm4s7ae
// Don’t you hate it when they come with receipts?
🐣 RT @Chris_D_Steele The Durham report’s failure to redact the names of alleged Russian sources is reprehensible. Some are based in Russia, others co-operated with the USG. Putin’s regime is renowned for brutal retribution. But Durham still threw them to the wolves to propagate his partisan theories.
🐣 RT @peaceandteachin Jim Jordan’s FBI whistleblowers turn out to be disgruntled FBI employees who lost security clearance when they espoused conspiracy theories and refused to investigate #Jan6 rioters. ¤ Oh and did I mention they were paid by Kash Patel.?! ¤ #FreshResists #OneV1 [link]
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Meanwhile on Russian state TV: propagandist declares that Russia is the savior of humanity and demands for all critics to be silent. He also claims that Stalin’s repressions were based on love and so is Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. [Ru vid]
🐣 RT @Heroiam_Slava ❗️ Ukraine has everything to liberate Russian-occupied territories ¤ NATO member states have provided an unprecedented level of support. I am confident that Ukrainian troops have all the means necessary to regain the occupied lands,” – Stoltenberg
🐣 RT @ general_ben Great thread. @ChrisO_wiki One of the reasons I overestimated Russian capabilities was that I failed to appreciate the depth and impact of corruption in the Russian MoD. A liberal democratic government with proper oversight and transparency will defeat an autocracy every time.
⋙ 🧵 RT @ChrisO_wiki 1/ A major corruption scandal is reported to be unfolding in the Russian Ministry of Defence that implicates several generals and ministers, concerning the hugely expensive construction of Russia’s National Defence Control Centre (NDCC) in 2014. ⬇️
📌 https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1659251593890365474?s=20
🐣 RT @FlaDems Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried Statement on Disney Pulling Plug on $1 Billion Development in Florida
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/FlaDems/status/1659290435641122816?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] “Florida just lost 2,000 jobs and millions in additional revenue because of Ron DeSantis’ unhinged personal vendetta against Disney. DeSantis has single-handedly and decidedly made Florida an anti-business state, not only with his continued attacks on companies that dare challenge his fascist policies, but also by forcing draconian laws that will decimate the workforce of the backbone industries of our state’s economy. Unfortunately, today’s news isn’t a shock for those of us who have been living through his reign of terror, and Floridians are already paying a high price,” said FDP Chair Nikki Fried.
🐣 RT @TreasChest The Patriot complex has been “targeted” at hypersonic targets since the 1990s, says Julian Röpke, Bild’s military columnist.
“Since the 1990s, the American Patriot air defense system has been sharpened specifically to shoot down hypersonic Chinese, Iranian, and Russian missiles,” Röpke writes.
“While the Russians exaggerate the characteristics of their weapons, the Americans always give too low estimates of its true striking ability to deprive the adversaries of information,” notes Italian gunsmith Thomas Tyner.
Since the Dagger can carry a projectile with a nuclear warhead, successful countermeasures against these missiles indicate NATO’s readiness to repel Russia’s attempts to use nuclear warheads.
“We have received proof that the Western air defense system is capable of intercepting 100% of tactical nuclear weapons delivery systems even under a time-coordinated attack from several directions,” emphasizes weapons expert Fabian Hoffmann from the University of Oslo. ¤ http://ZN.UA
🐣 RT @VictorKanyense Vladimir Putin’s hype of Russia’s hypersonic missiles have been proved to be false. I kept asking myself how did Russia beat the U.S. in developing hypersonic missiles? It didn’t. Russia has no hypersonic missiles. Putin lied 😂🤣😂
⋙ Newsweek: Russian state TV issues stark warning over threat of defeat https://tinyurl.com/2p932t7a
// “If we lose, we’re taking the whole world with us,” Vladimir Solovyov said on the Russia 1 channel.
🐣 RT @front_ukrainian ⚡️Due to an accounting error, the 🇺🇸Pentagon overestimated the value of weapons provided to 🇺🇦Ukraine by $3 billion – Reuters
The revaluation means that the US has more money to help Ukraine. This opens the possibility for the transfer of additional weapons.
💙 🐣 RT @michaeldweiss Scoop: @YahooNews has obtained a U.S. Air Force assessment of how two Ukrainian pilots did in a 3-week course on F-16s at Morris Air National Guard Base in Feb/March. Conclusion: it’ll take 4 months to train them, not 18, as the Pentagon has said:
⋙ YahooNews: Exclusive: U.S. could train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s in 4 months https://tinyurl.com/mr247msh
// Yahoo News has obtained a U.S. Air Force assessment of two Ukrainian pilots who outperformed stated Pentagon expectations over two weeks in a flight simulator at a U.S. air base.
TheHill: The collapse of Russian influence is widening https://tinyurl.com/yc44t5yh “If Russia cannot keep its occupied territories in line, what would it mean for the Russian-led CSTO, which currently includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and Tajikistan?”
🐣 RT @wartranslated Prigozhin’s mouthpiece channel admin GREY ZONE watches a video by the 3rd Assault brigade assaulting a Russian defensive position near Bakhmut which resulted in 300m of progress in 16 minutes. Unable to understand how the enemy [Ukrainians] can calmly send vehicles and infantry to walk along the woodline, meanwhile if Russians tried the same anywhere, they’d be burned on the approach.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1659197340111220738?s=20/photo/1 -2
[Text:] 1/2 Every day for a week I wanted to post this video, but each time I missed the opportunity. Today for the first time I saw another boring video on the channel of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation from Bakhmut, it tells how army units hold the flanks, and how they have everything PERFECT. Perhaps, they decided to take over the agenda Once again, just in case, I’ll say that the Russian Armed Forces are mostly good fighters, but what’s the use to recruit 300, 500, or at least 900 thousand of them, when, in view of the almost complete absence of a built-in combat control system in the troops, coherence of actions, communications, reconnaissance complex, fire support, training, etc., etc., they will simply be crushed as below in the video. Below in the video is how a week ago the 3rd Assault Brigade “Azov” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine took the platoon-strongpoint (48°29’13″N 37°54’57″E) of the Russian Armed Forces, which is located 2.5 km south of those positions that they had taken a little earlier (that footage with the 72nd brigade infantry fleeing from an enemy tank).
2/2 The assault itself lasts about 16 minutes, filmed in one shot. During this time, the enemy crosses 305 meters. Where are the hand-held anti-tank weapons? Where are the anti-tank firing points with ATMs? Where is the minefield with TMs? Where is the fire support from the flanks (from perpendicular woodlines) on the left and right? WHY THE FUCK DOES THE BMP RIDE SLOWLY IN OPEN SPACE FOR 15 MINUTES? What did they say in that video by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation? “We’re burning enemy vehicles as they approach”?
Why were our servicemen simply crushed, on foot? Probably, the “Wagnerites” are to blame for this again, and not the commanders of the RF Armed Forces on the ground. I’ll just say for myself that I can’t imagine that we could go like this along the woodline, hiding behind vehicles, where the enemy is on the defensive. Most likely, we would not even have had time to dismount from the vehicles, we would have been burned on the way. The enemy placed TM mines at all approaches. The BMD could not even go to the line to pick up the wounded, so they were dragged through one more woodline. And when a group of VDV was withdrawn (only 300m) to occupy a site in the “gray zone” they were immediately cut off from the neighboring wood line by enemy fire, preventing us from leaving and gaining a foothold at a previously set point.
🐣 If I were the parent of a trans child, I would move to a Blue state. ¤ However, most Americans do NOT support trans women in women’s sports or gender-affirming care for trans youth. That’s why MAGAts have seized on this, to divide us. ¤ Dems must tread carefully here.
↥ ↧
WaPo: Texas lawmakers vote to ban gender-affirming care for trans children https://tinyurl.com/muhzx9e9 //➔ most Americans oppose gender-affirming care for trans youth per a WaPo/KFF poll, but medical orgs support (see below)
✛ Although ~75% of Americans oppose discrimination against trans individuals in housing, hiring etc, ~65% OPPOSE trans women competing in women’s sports, and most OPPOSE puberty blockers for youth ages 10-14 (68%) and hormone therapy for 15-18 (58%)
WaPo poll (May 6) https://tinyurl.com/44cajbd2
✛ But medical groups SUPPORT gender-affirming care:
SciAm (May 2020): What the Science on Gender-Affirming Care for Transgender Kids Really Shows https://tinyurl.com/59eutf9e
// Laws that ban gender-affirming treatment ignore the wealth of research demonstrating its benefits for trans people’s health
NYT: Ukraine intercepts Russian missiles fired at Kyiv overnight https://tinyurl.com/mux4xehe “Air defenses intercepted 29 of 30 missiles fired at Ukraine overnight, the country’s military said” ~ not stated if any of these were the same as the 7 hypersonic missiles shot down Tuesday
🐣 RT @front_ukrainian The US Department of Defense is not against the transfer of F-16 fighters to Ukraine, – Politico. ¤ The publication, citing a Pentagon representative, writes that Biden is now under strong pressure to agree to send fighter jets.
⇈ ⇊
🐣 This is the article, I assume, but it’s ambiguous, saying “all types of jets” are under consideration. But here’s the rub: training takes a while, so that can start.
Politico: Pressure campaign on Biden to send F-16s to Ukraine goes into overdrive https://tinyurl.com/44ndy8h6
// Officials signal they’re still open to allowing other countries to send their U.S.-made jets.
While the administration has crossed several other red lines in military aid — approving everything from guided rockets to drones to Abrams tanks they once claimed would provoke Russia — the Biden administration is holding the line for now on the Lockheed Martin-made F-16s.
But momentum may be building for Washington to do the next best thing: allow other countries that fly the F-16 to send their own jets to Ukraine.
A new wrinkle appeared on Tuesday when the U.K. announced the kickoff of an international coalition of countries focused on procuring F-16s for Ukraine. Under the agreement, the U.K. said it would soon start training Ukrainian pilots to fly modern fighter jets; Belgium quickly followed suit, saying it could also train the pilots.
Appearing virtually in front of a gathering of leaders in Reykjavik on Tuesday, Zelenskyy said that given his country’s vast size, “we need additional air defense systems and missiles. We also need modern fighter jets, without which no air defense system will be perfect. And I am sure we will get there.”
The F-16 issue is expected to loom over the G-7 gathering in Japan this week, a preview of the public campaign Ukraine and other world leaders are expected to continue at NATO’s annual leaders summit in Lithuania in July.
“There’s an ongoing discussion about also other types of jets,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of last month’s meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
A spokesperson for Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that “jets are the only thing still missing from Reznikov’s wishlist.”
🐣 RT @ZelenskyyUa This year, the two meanings are united by one date, May 18.
🖼 https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1659091740538576896?s=20/photo/1
79 years ago on this day, the Soviet regime began deporting the Crimean Tatar people. A people they wanted to erase. Deprive of their homes, deprive of the right to life. ¤ But the people survived. And they will live freely! ¤ Today,
I am wearing a special vyshyvanka with ornaments that symbolize the unity of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar peoples. Symbols of our strength and our desire to live in our home. ¤ Let this year’s Vyshyvanka Day in 🇺🇦 be a reminder of what our people have been through and how strong our culture is. ¤ We honor our peoples, their strength and culture!
🐣 RT @DefenceHQ [UK] Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 18 May 2023.
Find out more about Defence Intelligence’s use of language: http://ow.ly/CuNR50OqKhQ ¤ 🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1659073859411144711?s=20/photo/1
● The Russian state is likely effectively banning senior officials from resigning from their jobs while the Special Military Operation’ continues. The measures likely extend to at least regional leaders, security officials and members of the powerful Presidential Administration.
● In private, many officials are likely highly sceptical about the war, as well as often experiencing work stress within the dysfunctional wartime apparatus. The ban is likely enforced with strong hints that resignees will face trumped up
criminal charges.
● As well as being concerned about capability gaps resignees would leave, the authorities are likely also attempting to prevent any impression of defeatism, and to bolster a sense of collective responsibility for the war.
NewStatesman, Michael Lind (Oct 2022): The Anglosphere Needs a Customs Union https://tinyurl.com/bddhbrbr Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US have a combined population of about half a billion people and a combined GDP of $30Tr
// 10/8/2022; The five “core Anglosphere” nations on their own would add up to a very impressive economic bloc.
Ausl 1.5T, Can 2T, NZea .25T, UK 3.1: TOT 7Tr; US 23.3 ALL 30Tr
⭕ 17 May 2023
WaPo: Russian scientists, experts in hypersonic technology, arrested for treason https://tinyurl.com/4j26hxu2 “The noise around the scientists’ case follows Ukraine’s claims to have struck down six of Russia’s Kinzhal hypersonic missiles during a barrage of missile strikes on Kyiv”
TheAtlantic, David Frum: A Sinister Flop https://tinyurl.com/2ns38jn8 “As a legal text, the Durham report is limp and meager. As a history of recent events, it is misleading. … [But it] is already proving to be a huge success as a prop and support for the bitterest partisan rancor”
// Special Counsel John Durham served up not an investigation, but an excuse for future partisan abuses.
WaPo, Anna Nemtsova: I’ve never seen the Kremlin so rattled https://tinyurl.com/yss85m8b “[T]he three principal Russian forces in Bakhmut — the Wagner Group, Kadyrov’s Chechen militias and the regular army — are openly feuding with each other as Ukrainian troops advance”
A mysterious drone attack on the Kremlin. A car bombing that wounded a key advocate of the invasion of Ukraine. Four military aircraft shot down in a single day — inside Russia’s borders. ¤ If the Ukrainians and their allies wanted to rattle the Russian leadership, it’s working.
Never, in more than two decades of covering Vladimir Putin’s regime, have I seen it in such an obvious state of chaos and disarray. These days, Kremlin-watchers don’t have to read tea leaves or decode cryptic utterances from the leadership to spot the signs of intrigue — it’s all out in the open, thanks to Putin confidant Yevgeniy Prigozhin.
In one of several recent videos, Prigozhin, founder of the mercenary army known as the Wagner Group, stood over dead Russians in a field and cursed the Russian military leadership, demanding punishment for Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as well as for Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov. He blamed the two men — both close Putin associates he accused of neglecting supplies for his troops — for “tens of thousands of Wagner dead and injured.” …
Top officials in Kyiv must have been rubbing their hands in glee. While the Kremlin is primarily to blame for its own troubles, given its obvious corruption and incompetence, the Ukrainians have been doing everything they can to undermine morale and exacerbate divisions among their enemies. A constant drumbeat of drone attacks on military bases, oil refineries and fuel depots has added to the sense of unraveling. (Officially, Kyiv does not acknowledge striking targets inside Russia. It’s also hard to determine whether some of the most mysterious attacks — such as the one on the Kremlin — were actually launched by Ukrainian forces.) …
Another Prigozhin tirade echoed that earlier disaster when he accused soldiers from the regular army of “fleeing” from the front in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, blaming the military command for “betraying the motherland.” (Meanwhile, Prigozhin himself is being accused of betrayal after a Post report revealed that he tried to trade information with Ukrainian authorities earlier in the war — for reasons that remain murky.) Moscow propagandists can’t even begin to address the stunning losses they’ve incurred since Putin launched his full-scale invasion last year. U.S. analysts recently estimated that the Russians have incurred 100,000 casualties since December alone. …
Putin’s own Victory Day celebration stood out for its subdued tone and the presence of only a single tank — a fact that gave the Ukrainians a welcome opening for mockery.
Russian political insiders are increasingly questioning the rationale for the war. Sen. Lyudmila Narusova, the widow of Putin’s political mentor Anatoly Sobchak, recently went public with her concerns. ¤ “Nobody has explained how victory is supposed to look,” she told an interviewer. “If we think of the originally declared goals, ‘denazification’ and ‘demilitarization,’ the entire Ukrainian army must have been already destroyed by now.” Noting that Russian forces now face Ukrainian troops armed and equipped by the West, she went on: “Does that mean we are demilitarizing NATO? That goal is unattainable.” ¤ If Narusova does not understand Putin’s plan for victory, then no one else does, either.
The sense of confusion at the highest ranks of the Kremlin is boosting the chances that Kyiv’s counteroffensive will succeed. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a longtime Prigozhin ally, has now appeared to break with the Wagner chief, harshly criticizing his threats to withdraw from the front. As a result, the three principal Russian forces in Bakhmut — the Wagner Group, Kadyrov’s Chechen militias and the regular army — are openly feuding with each other as Ukrainian troops advance.
Meanwhile, Putin has conspicuously failed to explain to the public how his security forces failed to prevent two drones from reaching the Kremlin and neglected to thwart the car-bomb attack on a key Russian warmonger, Zakhar Prilepin. ¤ Former Putin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov told me the Kremlin is “shaking.”
None of this, of course, guarantees that Ukraine’s counteroffensive will be a success. For the time being, though, Kyiv has every right to congratulate itself on the effectiveness of its psychological war against Putin’s regime.
WaPo: Senate Democrats ask Biden to ready 14th Amendment, bypass GOP on debt limit https://tinyurl.com/yh9jdwx6 House Democrats are have also taken steps toward a “discharge petition,” which would force a floor vote without McCarthy putting it forward
// House Democrats also begin a long-shot attempt to force a vote on a debt ceiling increase without other spending cuts
NYT: Gains Near Bakhmut Raise Ukraine’s Hopes of a Turning Tide https://tinyurl.com/4xaztnnf “‘Wagner’s men have entered Bakhmut like rats into a mousetrap,’ the commander of all Ukrainian ground forces, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, told soldiers during a visit to the front”
// The advances have been small, and Russians still hold most of the city, but Ukrainians say they see a meaningful shift in momentum.
NYT, Charlie Savage: After Years of Political Hype, the Durham Inquiry Failed to Deliver https://tinyurl.com/56xb9hz7 After four years, the investigation led to just two failed prosecutions, but many insinuations and disingenuous claims of triumph by Trump acolytes
// A dysfunctional investigation led by a Trump-era special counsel illustrates a dilemma about prosecutorial independence and accountability in politically sensitive matters.
At a time when special counsels are proliferating — there have been four since 2017, two of whom are still at work — the much-hyped investigation by Mr. Durham, a special counsel, into the Russia inquiry ended with a whimper that stood in contrast to the countless hours of political furor that spun off from it.
Mr. Durham delivered a report that scolded the F.B.I. but failed to live up to the expectations of supporters of Donald J. Trump that he would uncover a politically motivated “deep state” conspiracy. He charged no high-level F.B.I. or intelligence official with a crime and acknowledged in a footnote that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign did nothing prosecutable, either.
Predictably, the report’s actual content — it contained no major new revelations, and it accused the F.B.I. of “confirmation bias” rather than making a more explosive conclusion of political bias — made scant difference in parts of the political arena. Mr. Trump and many of his loyalists issued statements treating it as vindication of their claims that the Russia inquiry involved far more extravagant wrongdoing.
“The Durham Report spells out in great detail the Democrat Hoax that was perpetrated upon me and the American people,” Mr. Trump insisted on social media. “This is 2020 Presidential Election Fraud, just like ‘stuffing’ the ballot boxes, only more so. This totally illegal act had a huge impact on the Election.”
Mr. Trump’s comparison was unintentionally striking. Just as his and his supporters’ wild and invented claims of election fraud floundered in court (Fox News also agreed to pay a $787.5 million settlement for amplifying lies about Dominion Voting Systems), the political noise surrounding Mr. Durham’s efforts ultimately ran up against reality.
🐣 RT @RonFilipkowski He woke up and went straight to the all-caps. Usually he has to warm up with a few posts first before going full crazy.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1658808346659504129?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] @realDonaldTrump I WAS BEING FRAMED BY THE FBI AND THE DOJ. NOW IT CONTINUES WITH THE BOXES HOAX, THE “PERFECT” PHONE CALL IN ATLANTA, THE MANHATTAN D.A., AND THE NEW YORK STATE A.G. SCAM. WHAT A GROUP, BUT ALL REPORT TO THE DOJ IN WASHINGTON. IT’S JAMES COMEY AND THE SLEAZEBAGS ALL OVER AGAIN.THEY ARE PLAYING ELECTION INTERFERENCE IN 2024 THROUGH ILLEGAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGAINST REPUBLICANS, IN PARTICULAR YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT, ME. THESE ARE CHEATING LOWLIFES, BUT WE WILL WIN. OUR COUNTRY IS GOING TO HELL!
⭕ 16 May 2023
🐣 RT @DavidCayJ The Durham Report misleads by commission and omission, not to mention obfuscations. ¤ Marcy Wheeler of @emptywheel does a great job of showing the sins of omission:
⋙ EmptyWheel, Marcy Wheeler: Eight Things Not Mentioned in the Durham Report https://tinyurl.com/3jjxhztw
1. All mention of the Italian referral on Trump.
2. All mention of the conspiracy theories Durham and Barr chased in Europe.
3. Durham’s own investigative failures.
4. The Trump Tower Moscow deal.
5. Konstantin Kilimnik’s name.
6. Description of Guccifer 2.0’s initial releases.
7. The biased FBI Agent running the Clinton Foundation informant.
8.The response to Mike Flynn’s lies about Sergey Kislyak.
WaPo Editorial: Durham’s investigation reveals nothing except a broken process https://tinyurl.com/2bska88t “Barr’s handpicked special counsel confirmed only what the public already learned in a previous report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz”
[…] When then-Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Mr. Durham to investigate the investigators of Trump-Russia ties, Mr. Barr appeared determined to uncover a vast plot on the part of government officials who could be criminally prosecuted for their misdeeds. Instead, Mr. Barr’s handpicked special counsel confirmed only what the public already learned in a previous report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz.
The upshot: There were flaws in the FBI’s handling of the matter, especially involving dubious Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) applications to surveil 2016 Trump adviser Carter Page, but they flowed from confirmation bias rather than politically motivated misconduct. Though Mr. Durham continues to disagree that it was appropriate for the FBI to open a full investigation, rather than a preliminary one, he makes no finding that doing so was prohibited under agency rules. There was no involvement by the CIA, National Security Agency or any other snoops. And there is no reason to send anyone to prison. Indeed, the special counsel faced two acquittals in the cases he developed and a guilty plea resulting from a referral by the Justice Department’s inspector general.
So what has this $6.5 million process accomplished? Plenty — but none of it good. Even now, conservatives are seizing on Mr. Durham’s report, which contains indignant rhetoric that suggests dramatically more wrongdoing than its substance backs up, to assert a deep-state plot. The probe’s very existence during an election cycle already served as a talking point for Mr. Trump’s allies, who promised time and time again that Mr. Durham was going to lay bare the “crime of the century.”
This story could have been even worse: The New York Times reported in January that Mr. Barr pressured Mr. Durham to deliver an interim report centered on the Clinton campaign ahead of the 2020 election.
The special counsel’s only recommendation for reform is narrow — to create a sort of devil’s advocate role within the FBI to challenge investigators’ assumptions in politically sensitive investigations. And even this suggestion does less to address flaws in the FISA process and in high-profile FBI investigations more generally than others that were in the Horowitz report, many of which the agency has already implemented. The best way to ensure investigating agents’ claims are appropriately scrutinized before the government takes them to court, for instance, might be to further empower prosecutors by ensuring they get all the information, both exculpatory and inculpatory, that they need. Further reforms to make the FISA adjudication process more adversarial would also help.
But all this speaks to a bigger problem: Matters such as these shouldn’t even be in the purview of a special counsel, whose role is to decide whether to bring charges, then pack up and go home. These individuals operating under the Justice Department’s purview yet imbued with extra independence have a history of overspending resources and reaching beyond their mandates. The attorney general, technically still in charge, has some power to constrain them — yet this case shows clearly what happens when he does the opposite instead. ¤ The current attorney general, Merrick Garland, overseeing two separate special counsel investigations into Mr. Trump and President Biden, should take note.
🐣 RT @JackFought_1 Dmitry Medvedev claimed Poland and the Baltics as part of Russia today.
Please tell me more about how no one needs to Join NATO again, because Russia never invades its neighbors, Russian trolls.
#Ukraine #Poland #Estonia #Lithuania #Latvia #Russia #NATO #War
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/JackFought_1/status/1658611527627444224?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] 🐣 RT @MedvedevRussiaE A certain person calling himself the president of France said that Russia had already lost geopolitically, and was transforming into the othercountries’ vassal. ¤ The president of the Republic was obviously harmed by socializing withthe Kiev junkie. ¤ He inhaled too much of the warm Paris air mixed with Ukrainian cocaine waste, that his guest was emitting.
A geopolitical loss?
It was back in 2022 that NATO was lazily shooing us away when the matter concerned the security guarantees. Like, leave us alone, no time for you. And now, all of the NATO member states go to bed at night, and wake up in the morning thinking of Russia. Moreover, some of the especially cowardly and suffering from phantom pains, like temporarily occupied Poland and our Baltic provinces, have well soiled themselves. So, if there has indeed been a loss, it is that of the primitive NATO politics, with its underlying ambition to play the exceptional role in the 21st century.
Speaking of vassal dependence… Look who’s talking! Europe the beauty, including France, has turned into an elderly wench who is especially thoroughly satisfying all of the most perverted whims of Americans. And in the process, it is hurting its own economy and ordinary Europeans with masochistic lust. ¤ As they put it, tel maître, tel valet.
🐣 [Re: Trump says he’ll release JFK files ]
… and he’ll make Mexico pay for the wall
and pass a better healthcare plan than Obamacare
and rebuild America’s infrastructure
and pay off the National Debt
and lock up Hillary Clinton etc etc etc
😂 😆 😂
🔊 BulwarkPodcast: Anne Applebaum: The Case for a Complete Ukrainian Victory https://tinyurl.com/49m6pk7 “Ukraine’s freedom is on the line, but America’s role in the world is also at stake. And if a democratic Ukraine can win against autocratic Russia, the world’s geopolitics could be altered for a generation”
🐣 RT @noclador Weapon systems that impressed the world in the last year:
🇺🇸HIMARS / GMLRS
🇺🇸Patriot PAC-3
🇩🇪IRIS-T
🇸🇪🇬🇧NLAW
🇺🇸Javelin
🇫🇷CAESAR
🇩🇪PzH 2000
Weapon systems that made the world laugh:
🇷🇺Su-34
🇷🇺Su-35
🇷🇺Iskander
🇷🇺Kinzhal
🇷🇺Pantsir
🇷🇺T-90
🇷🇺S-400
🐣 Once could have been a fluke. ¤ Six? Russia’s “unstoppable” hypersonic missiles were ALL shot down over Kyiv by the US’s Patriot air defense system. ¤ “What air defense doing?” ~ Killing the Kinzhal 🇺🇦🇺🇸
🐣 RT @ChristopherJM Ukrainian commander-in-chief Zaluzhny says Russia attacked Ukraine from “north, south & east with 18 air, sea, & land-based missiles.” 6 Kinzhals launched from MiG-31K aircraft; 9 Kalibr cruise missiles launched from ships in Black Sea; 3 S-400 land-based missiles. All shot down.
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en Yet another massive Russian air attack on Ukraine last night.
Ukrainian Air defense shot down all of them:
– 6 aeroballistic Kinzhal rockets; [“hypersonic”]
– 9 Kalibr cruise missiles;
– 3 ballistic/anti-aircraft rockets (being confirmed);
– 6 strike Shahed drones;
– 3 drones.
Glory to Ukrainian Air Defenders! ¤ Thankful to Allies who provide Ukraine with air defense!
Source: Air Forces of Ukraine
◕ https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1658349478192054272?s=20/photo/1
🐣 📋 RT @PStyle0ne1 It seems all of this, if not all, was fired at Kyiv, the most protected area of Ukraine. ¤ 9 ballistic missiles, 6 of them hypersonic, that without Patriots and SAMPT Ukraine is uncapable to intercept. ¤ With 100% interception rate, it is a humiliation for Russia.
⭕ 15 May 2023
🐣 RT @SenatorRomney Putin’s aspirations look beyond Ukraine—he is seeking to reestablish the old boundaries of the Soviet Union and bring more nations under his control. Ukraine must win the war in order to shed Russia’s imperial ambitions and halt the rise of autocracy’s sway on the global order.
// We must stop Putin from rebuilding the old Soviet Union. ¤ At a SFRC hearing to discuss what comes next for U.S. policy towards Russia, Senator Romney recalled the success of our Soviet Union strategy.
💽 https://twitter.com/SenatorRomney/status/1658528138584809483?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @sumlenny Without NATO countries’ support, peaceful Kyiv would have been devastated tonight with the Russian missiles. Hundreds of people would have been killed. I don’t mention what consequences for millions of Ukrainians Russian occupation would have (Bucha). NATO is peace, NATO is life.
🐣 RT @davidfrum
Mueller: indictments and convictions
Durham: vibes
⋙ 🐣 RT @davidfrum [Feb 3]
Russia helped Trump win the 2016 presidential election.
Trump welcomed Russian help.
Trump’s intimates sought even more help.
Trump’s campaign manager shared information.
All repeatedly lied about it.
In office, Trump supported Russian policy goals
Saved you 24,000 words.
⇈ ⇊
🐣 RT @davidfrum Mueller: hard news
Durham: opinion column
🐣 RT @SpencerGuard “the war in Ukraine is a fight not over territory but over the country’s future. Russia is determined to control Ukraine’s political destiny…Ukraine’s security lies with — and in — the West, and the conflict cannot end until Ukraine is part of it.”
⋙ Politico [EU]: The conflict cannot end until Ukraine is part of the West https://tinyurl.com/599vvtdy
// The question is not whether Ukraine should become a part of the Euro-Atlantic institutions, but when and how.
🐣 RT @danielsgoldman The Durham Report is a political hatchet job. The only thing more pathetic is the outcome of his prosecutions. ¤ It retreads the same material that both Mueller and the IG found to justify the opening of the 2016 Russia investigation. ¤ Why the different outcome? 2 main reasons:
⋙ 🐣 RT @danielsgoldman 1) it ignores that Wikileaks had just made its first dump of DNC emails — which corroborated the FBI’s info — when the investig was opened; and
2) tries to lump in the Steele Dossier even though it came much later and had nothing to do with the opening of the Russia investig.
Axios (2020): All the Trump associates convicted or sentenced in the Mueller investigation https://tinyurl.com/3smyh9d4
// 2/20/2020
NYT: In Final Report, Trump-Era Special Counsel Denounces Russia Investigation https://tinyurl.com/2p82eyze //➔ Indictments in Durham probe: 2 (BOTH found Not Guilty); Indictments, Convictions/Guilty Pleas in Mueller Investigation ⬇️ via Axios (2020); Pardons do not expunge Guilt
◕ https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1658219145744326656?s=20/photo/1
// After four years of investigating the Russia inquiry, John Durham turned in a report that was made public on Monday.
Mr. Durham’s 306-page report appeared to show little substantial new information about the F.B.I.’s handling of the Russia investigation, known as Crossfire Hurricane, and it failed to produce the kinds of blockbuster revelations impugning the bureau that former President Donald J. Trump and his allies had once suggested that Mr. Durham would find.
Instead, the report — released without substantive comment or redactions by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland — repeated previously exposed flaws in the inquiry, including from a 2019 inspector general report, while concluding that the F.B.I. suffered from a confirmation bias as it pursued leads about Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia.
WaPo: Durham report sharply criticizes FBI’s 2016 probe of Trump campaign https://tinyurl.com/scba86yf
// Special counsel says “extremely troublesome” failures appear to stem from bias
⋙ [Doc:] https://www.justice.gov/storage/durhamreport.pdf 316p
🐣 RT @LuisMorenolg Bakhmut will become, (if it hasn’t already) a legendary, iconic battle in the world’s military history. It’s an inspiration for the invaded, the outnumbered and people fighting for a just cause. It’s also the harbinger of Putin’s much deserved end. Superb analysis here.
⋙ KyivPost, Jonathan Sweet & Mark Toth: Bakhmut Rising https://tinyurl.com/yfrstdwr “The main event – Ukraine’s full-throttled counteroffensive – has yet to come. However, it is rapidly building … while many on both sides are ready for it to happen ¤ Rise Bakhmut, rise” 🇺🇦
// Is the ongoing battle for Bakhmut, to quote Churchill, the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning?
The rapidly deteriorating situation in Bakhmut is becoming increasingly bleak, if not tactically hopeless, for Russian President Vladimir Putin. May 9 has come and gone, and General Valery Gerasimov has still failed to capture the city, as ordered. Routed Russian troops have been captured on video as they fled fighting positions, abandoned weapons, and surrendered, as Ukrainian forces begin to aggressively capitalize on a growing military and psychological edge.
Bakhmut is rising up again, much like an ancient Greek Phoenix and Yevgeny Prigozhin has reduced himself to that of the chorus in a Greek tragedy. Repeatedly, over the last few days, the founder of the Wagner Group has popped up on Telegram to detail every strategic blunder by Gerasimov and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Bakhmut, blaming the hapless duo for the reasons why Russian “troops were fleeing” and for the overall “stupidity of Russian army commanders.”
Things seem to be only getting worse for the Kremlin. Putin’s house of cards is teetering on collapse. His grand design, of holding a celebratory Victory Day Parade in Red Square to mark the fall of Bakhmut, has now, humiliatingly, given way to Russian soldiers parading as fast as they can to get out of the Ukrainian salt mining town and surrounding area. All well-deserved but, it is important to remember: one rout does not win a war.
And still the plot thickens. The Washington Post reports that the leaked U.S. intel documents indicated that Prigozhin allegedly offered to reveal the locations of regular Russian troop formations in the Donbass, in January, if Kyiv would withdraw its own forces from the Bakhmut frontline. The report seemed to be confirmed by two Ukrainian officials who said that Prigozhin “has spoken several times to the Ukrainian intelligence directorate, known as HUR. Whether a Russian trick or Ukrainian disinformation, it seems that Prigozhin’s relationship with the Kremlin continues to deteriorate.
The primary challenge now, for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is to quickly identify and remove that one remaining elusive card which could bring Putin’s house down. The decisive blow has yet to be struck by Zelensky’s Generals. Although, in the global media’s eyes, Bakhmut is the focal point of the war and they have zoomed in on Ukrainian success there, the challenge Ukraine faces is bigger than just that one city. …
… At the beginning of the war, Putin’s army “consisted of professional soldiers; was largely equipped with reasonably modern vehicles; and had been regularly exercised, aspiring to complex, joint operations.” That was then, this is now. Today, it assesses Putin’s forces to be “mostly poorly trained mobilized reservists” who are “increasingly reliant on antiquated equipment.” More succinctly as we wrote last month in these pages, Putin’s army is running on empty.
In what was already a bad week for Putin and Gerasimov, the UK announced it had recently delivered the precision deep strike capability Ukraine needs to help win the war – the Storm Shadow air launched cruise missile, extending its operational reach beyond 250 kilometers, bringing Crimea squarely into play.
As a result, the strategy of making Crimea “untenable,” as advocated by retired Army Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, is fast becoming possible. Storm Shadow also puts Russian cruise missile and drone launch sites, as well as staging areas for Russian troops beyond Ukraine’s border, ‘at risk’ – negating the arbitrary sanctuary Russian territory has so far offered. In essence, it helps levels the playing field in favor of Ukraine, much as HIMARS did; a new reality that is driving Russian propagandists into full crisis mode. The despondent head of RT, Margarita Simonyan, who, as Russian media expert and Daily Beast columnist Julia Davis reported, “now wonders whether Russia can protects its territories.”
Even Russia’s much vaunted Kh-47M2 ‘Kinzhal’ hypersonic missile system is now a casualty of Putin’s Ukrainian ‘special military operation’. On May 4, a U.S.-supplied Patriot missile battery, manned by Ukrainian troops, shot down Putin’s declared “Wunderwaffe.” Rubbing salt in Putin’s wounds, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat commented: “They were saying that the Patriot is an outdated American weapon and Russian weapons are the best in the world. Well, there is confirmation that it effectively works against even a super-hypersonic missile.” He added “successfully intercepting the Kinzhal was a slap in the face for Russia.”
Putin is now also faced with his own ‘Mussolini moment’. Not only was his Victory Day Parade embarrassingly small, just a solitary WWII-era T-34 tank to symbolize Russia’s much-vaunted armor, it may have also marked the loss of a key Putin ally. During the parade, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko seemed to be ill and was forced to return immediately to Minsk. Rumors are flying that Lukashenko is dead. Jason Jay Smart reported a Russian Dassault Falcon business jet landed in the Belarusian capital on Saturday on board of which were several senior Russian officials. Dead or not, a key Russian ally is now in domestic turmoil and potentially paralyzed by uncertainty.
For now, at least, Bakhmut is rising, from which, a Phoenix is resiliently and boldly sporting yellow and blue Ukrainian colors. Putin’s red Phoenix is on the run and is increasingly under attack by Prigozhin. The Institute for the Study of War in its May 13 report, assessed that “Ukrainian forces had liberated 16.85 square kilometers in the Bakhmut area during recent counterattacks” and that even more “significant” gains might be possible in the short-term, if “Russian forces fail to stabilize the frontline.”
The main event – Ukraine’s full-throttled counteroffensive – has yet to come. However, it is rapidly building and while many on both sides are ready for it to happen, Zelensky and his generals will not be rushed. Zelensky has made it clear he wants more time and weaponry to ensure its success. Meanwhile, Prigozhin continues his war of words with the Kremlin while Ukraine begins to raise its flag over more and more of once Russian-occupied parts of Bakhmut and the surrounding region that forms Russia’s flanks.
Rise Bakhmut, rise. 🇺🇦
🐣 RT @OlgaNYC1211 Putin will hold an unscheduled Security Council meet after the flight of the army from Bakhmut, several downed fighter jets/helicopters, and a few dead colonels over the weekend. Things are going according to plan
🐣 RT @officejjsmart PUTIN PANICKING ¤ “⚡️Putin urgently convened the Security Council after the “flight” of the 🇷🇺 Army from Bakhmut. Putin decided not to wait until the scheduled meeting this Friday and will instead hold a video conference today, says the Kremlin.” ¤ Putin: Soon you’ll lose it ALL.
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /1245 UTC 15 MAY/ RU & Wagner Group forces continue ineffective offensive operations. UKR broke up RU offensive actions at Bohdanivka, Bakhmut, and Stochney. RU air strikes were conducted against Ivanivske and Stupochky. Combat within the W urban area is ongoing.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1658087843544150016?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 14 May 2023
🐣 RT @tribelaw If McCarthy and the members who pull his strings keep throwing a tantrum and invoking the ceiling they could easily lift to threaten the nation with a disaster of their own making, the 14th Amendment’s command that we pay all our debts will have to take priority over the ceiling
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer TRAITOR: The Washington Post reports that Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin offered to give Russian troop locations to Ukraine if it pulled its own forces back from the beleaguered city of Bakhmut, where Wagner mercenaries were taking heavy losses.
🐣 RT @ michaeldweiss Whether HUR has cultivated and manipulated Prigozhin or it just wants the world (read: the Kremlin) to think it has, this is an absolutely banger psyop.
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Ukrainian officials confirmed that Prigozhin has spoken several times to the Ukrainian intelligence directorate and extended the offer regarding Bakhmut more than once. Kyiv rejected it because officials don’t trust Prigozhin.
‼️ ⋙⋙ WaPo: Wagner chief offered to give Russian troop locations to Ukraine, leak says https://tinyurl.com/ydprs3vp
// THE DISCORD LEAKS | Yevgeniy Prigozhin said he would tell Ukraine’s military where to attack Russian troops if they pulled their own forces back from the beleaguered city of Bakhmut, where Wagner mercenaries were taking heavy losses
In late January, with his mercenary forces dying by the thousands in a fight for the ruined city of Bakhmut, Wagner Group owner Yevgeniy Prigozhin made Ukraine an extraordinary offer. ¤ Prigozhin said that if Ukraine’s commanders withdrew their soldiers from the area around Bakhmut, he would give Kyiv information on Russian troop positions, which Ukraine could use to attack them. Prigozhin conveyed the proposal to his contacts in Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, with whom he has maintained secret communications during the course of the war, according to previously unreported U.S. intelligence documents leaked on the group-chat platform Discord.
Prigozhin has publicly feuded with Russian military commanders, who he furiously claims have failed to equip and resupply his forces, which have provided vital support to Moscow’s war effort. But he is also an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who might well regard Prigozhin’s offer to trade the lives of Wagner fighters for Russian soldiers as a treasonous betrayal. ¤ The leaked document does not make clear which Russian troop positions Prigozhin offered to disclose.
But there is no debating Prigozhin’s bitter frustration with the grinding fight in Bakhmut. He has complained, publicly and privately, that the Russian Defense Ministry has not given his fighters the ammunition and other resources they need to succeed. Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, has seen some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. Over the past few months, in a grinding back and forth measured by city blocks, Ukrainian and Russian forces have taken steep casualties. …
Prigozhin, who promised to take control of the city by May 9, in time for Russia’s Victory Day celebrations, has recently threatened publicly to pull his forces out of the fight.
Other leaked documents reveal Russian Defense Ministry officials privately wondering how to respond to Prigozhin’s criticism of the military’s performance and his demands for more resources, which they apparently conceded were not illegitimate grievances. The documents also speak to a power struggle between Prigozhin and top officials, including Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. …
The documents also suggest that Kyiv suspects, or may know, that the Kremlin is aware of Prigozhin’s communications with Ukrainian intelligence, if not his secret negotiations over Bakhmut. ¤ One document, based on “sigint” — or intercepted communications — states that Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, “expected the Russians to use details of Prigozhin’s secret talks with the HUR and his meetings with their officers in Africa to make him appear to be a Ukrainian agent.” It doesn’t specify whether Budanov suspects Moscow may already know that Prigozhin is talking to HUR officers. …
⋙ 🐣 RT @PStyle0ne1 ‼️The Russian Ministry of Defense confirms the death of 2 colonels near Klishchiivka, Makarov and Brovko, one commanded the 4th motorized rifle brigade (as I mentioned yesterday), and the other one was the commander of the army corps for military political work. ¤ The rumor goes that Wagner gave out their location to the Ukrainians🤣
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @PStyle0ne1 On a separate note, the photo illustrating yesterday’s tweet is not from Klishchiivka as @GeoConfirmed indicated to me privately but from a village 30 km south. My apologies for this mistake. ¤ Nonetheless, the Russian command has been decapitated as confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense
🐣 RT @JuliaDavisNews Ukrainian officials confirmed that Prigozhin has spoken several times to the Ukrainian intelligence directorate and extended the offer regarding Bakhmut more than once. Kyiv rejected it because officials don’t trust Prigozhin.
‼️ ⋙ WaPo: Wagner chief offered to give Russian troop locations to Ukraine, leak says https://tinyurl.com/ydprs3vp
// THE DISCORD LEAKS | Yevgeniy Prigozhin said he would tell Ukraine’s military where to attack Russian troops if they pulled their own forces back from the beleaguered city of Bakhmut, where Wagner mercenaries were taking heavy losses
RawStory: ‘We can’t track down the informant’: James Comer says he lost top witness in Biden investigation https://tinyurl.com/5epbet5 The informants are “either currently in court, they’re currently in jail, or they’re currently missing” ~ Rep. Comer
[…] “The nine of the ten people that we’ve identified that have very good knowledge with respect to the Bidens,” he added, “they’re one of three things, Maria, they’re either currently in court, they’re currently in jail, or they’re currently missing.”
🐣 RT @KyivIndependent Moscow says 2 Russian colonels killed in battle for Bakhmut. ¤ Russia’s Defense Ministry said that Colonel Vyacheslav Makarov, the commander of Russia’s 4th Motorized Rifle Brigade, and Colonel Yevgeny Brovko, deputy commander of an unspecified army corps for political work, had been killed in the Bakhmut area.
🐣 RT @ wartranslated Russian volunteer Murz posted another long update last night on the battle situation in and around Bakhmut: he says the Ukrainians have massive superiority in air recon and “unlimited shell supply”, softening targets before any infantry advances. He confirms officer kills in the 4th Brigade of the DPR yesterday. The defensive lines built by Russia are too weak and shallow, and unlike regular forces, Wagners have been bullshitting their way out of holding these positions.
[TextLink: https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1657675029813796866?s=20/photo/1 -4
🐣 RT @ Heroiam_Slava 🇩🇪🤝🇺🇦 €2.7 billion military aid for Ukraine:
– 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles
– 30 Leopard tanks
– 4 IRIS-T-SLM air defense systems
– 200 reconnaissance UAVs
– 100 armored vehicles
– 100 logistics vehicles
– 15 Gepards
– a large amount of ammunition.
// Zelensky is in Berlin: what a haul!
⭕ 13 May 2023
🐣 RT @TreasChest The Armed Forces continue to carry out successful counterattacks at once in several directions near Bakhmut — Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Citing reports from Russian military personnel and satellite images of the area, analysts write that Ukrainian troops established new positions on the outskirts of Kurdyumivka (14 km southwest of Bakhmut) and pushed back the Russian forces behind the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas channel in this area.
Also, the defense forces probably advanced towards Klishchiivka (7 km southwest of Bakhmut) from the direction of Predtechyny (16 km southwest of Bakhmut). As of May 13, ISW calculated that during the latest counterattacks, Ukrainian troops liberated 16.85 square kilometers in the Bakhmut area, which actually confirms the words of Serhiy Cherevaty, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said the day before.
ISW notes that the retreat of occupying troops in relatively small areas of the front line has a negative impact on their defensive ability in the Bakhmut area and believes that these “regroupings” may become more significant if Russian forces are unable to stabilize the front line in the near future. ¤ #counteroffensive_ukraine http://ZN.UA
🐣 RT @Tendar Just to summarize the most important developments of the last 48h:
– Russian lines at Bakhmut crumbling
– Losing 2 jets and 3 choppers
– Rear bases in Russian-occupied Luhansk getting eliminated
– Russians deploying T-54/55
– Panic and chaos among Russian pilots/troops
– Prigozhin calling for rebellion
And the Ukrainian counteroffensive hasn’t even started, yet.
🐣 RT @KyivIndependent Russia’s colonial view of history is used to justify its imperial conquest of Ukraine. They falsely claim to be Kyivan Rus’ legitimate successor. We’re dispelling these misconceptions in #UkrainesTrueHistory.
💽 https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1657536206719303682?s=20/photo/1
// subscribed
🐣 RT @mhmck Ukrainian defenders are making small advances and gaining tactical advantage against the Russian fascist invaders in the direction of Svatove in Luhansk region, on the flanks of Bakhmut and around Vuhledar in Donetsk region, and towards Polohy in Zaporizhzhya region.
🐣 RT @TrentTelenko This is a very interesting Russian translation 🧵 by @wartranslated on how screwed, blued and tattooed a Russian volunteer thinks Russian ground forces in Ukraine are. ¤ Check it out ⬇️
⋙ 🐣 RT @wartranslated Really interesting but long post from Murz (Russian volunteer) on the upcoming Ukrainian offensive. This is in two tweets because there’s just so much text, so scroll down. He essentially explains how Ru army is depleted and is going to struggle to defend.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1657297370722312192?s=20/photo/1 -4
⋙⋙ 🐣 RT @wartranslated Continuation of the post, with some conclusions on how it may all end – not very well at all, and by end of summer Ukrainians might be already near Crimea, Mariupol, and in Donetsk.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1657297373318586368?s=20/photo/1 -2
🐣 RT @carlbildt What’s happening? Rumors are circulating all around on the health status of Lukashenko. And if it’s really serious we can expect a serious contest and crisis over the future of Belarus – with undoubtedly aiming for a complete and quick takeover.
⋙ 🐣 RT @HannaLiubakova #Belarus Lukashenka’s motorcade reportedly went to a hospital but left after two hours. The secrecy around his health is not new yet they don’t even try to calm down the elites or the Kremlin. If they don’t reveal any information about his health, it might be really serious.
🐣 RT @SamRamani2 BREAKING: Zelensky says the “first important steps” of Ukraine’s counter-offensive “will be taken soon”
🐣 RT @pravda_eng ⚪️🔴⚪️ @ZelenskyyUa: 70% of Belarusians oppose Russia’s war and support Ukraine
¤ https://twitter.com/pravda_eng/status/1657521105400389633?s=20
🐣 RT @anno1540 The entire area must be liberated. But this is not enough: Valeriy Zaluzhny on the victory of Ukraine
According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, after the liberation of all the occupied territories, Ukraine must do everything to ensure that what happened and began on February 24, 2022 never happens again.
“Victory for us is a liberated territory and powerful ultra-modern and, perhaps, very large Armed Forces, combat-ready, which will not allow the Russian Federation to repeat what happened and what is happening now. This is what victory is. ¤ And world history knows states that live and always show by their behavior that “it is better not to touch”. The state of Ukraine should become just like that,” said Valery Zaluzhny in Dmitry Komarov’s special project “Rik. Behind the scenes”.
WaPo: Alleged leaker fixated on guns and envisioned ‘race war’ https://tinyurl.com/bdfkje99
// Videos and chat logs reveal Jack Teixeira’s preparations for a violent social conflict, his racist thinking and a deep suspicion of the government he served
PravdaUA: Armed Forces moving forward on Bakhmut front – Ukraine Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi https://tinyurl.com/mrx4x9wu
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /1345 UTC 13 MAY/ UKR forces have continued a series of successful counter-attacks south of the city of Bakhmut. RU attacks were broken up at Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Hyrhorivka, & Stupochky during the day of May 12. RU conducted air strikes on Bohdanivka and Bakhmut.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1657378250950078466?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 12 May 2023
🐣 RT @tribelaw “The debt limit — created during World War I to free up the U.S. Treasury to issue new debt without needing a congressional vote every time — is now a deeply stupid and dangerous weapon of mass destruction.” — POLITICO Nightly (5/12/23)
🐣 RT @officejjsmart ABANDONED BY THEIR OFFICERS ¤ The order of the Russian troops is breaking down, and Russian soldiers are surrendering. ¤ There is mayhem and chaos on the Russian side as the Kremlin abandons its troops.
EuromaidanPress: Ukraine liberates 17.5 km² near Bakhmut, unblocks supply route https://tinyurl.com/27enmbbp “After Ukrainians saw how Russian troops from the 9th Motorized Rifle Brigade started to abandon their positions, it was decided to maintain the momentum”
WaPo: How Ukrainian forces denied Russia victory in Bakhmut by Victory Day https://tinyurl.com/cyfb6hvh “Ukrainian forces scored a rare advance this week south of the city and held fast in the city center”
◕ 📊 WaPo, Philip Bump: Trump supporters are neither underrecognized nor half the country https://tinyurl.com/mr427hzt //➔ good charts, but moot with revelation of instructions given to participants in “town hall,” which resulted in amplifying proTrump sentiments
// media attention given to individual candidates
NYT: Ukraine’s Advances Near Bakhmut Expose Rifts in Russian Forces https://tinyurl.com/mwv2rhj9 “Ukrainian advances this week have … erased what Moscow’s forces had painstakingly achieved over several months”
// Russia’s pro-war bloggers were quick to claim that Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive had begun, but Ukrainian officials downplayed the advances.
NYT: Ukraine’s Advances Near Bakhmut Expose Rifts in Russian Forces https://tinyurl.com/mwv2rhj9 “Ukrainian advances this week have … erased what Moscow’s forces had painstakingly achieved over several months”
// Russia’s pro-war bloggers were quick to claim that Ukraine’s long-anticipated counteroffensive had begun, but Ukrainian officials downplayed the advances.
🐣 RT @Victorshi2020 NEW: we polled 18-29-year-olds & found not only do the majority of them SUPPORT President Biden but they also prefer Joe Biden over Donald Trump by 28 points & Joe Biden over Ron DeSantis by 34 points. Republicans, you should be terrified. We are not taking any of your BS.
⋙ 🐣 RT @Victorshi2020 More on the poll we at @VotersTomorrow conducted below. Alarming statistics for the GOP & encouraging signs for President Biden. Among them 1.) the majority of young people support Biden & 2.) would vote Biden more than ANY other Republican by a long run.
⋙⋙ 📊 New Poll by Voters of Tomorrow Shows Joe Biden with Strong Support Among Gen Z, leading GOP Challenger https://tinyurl.com/4jdmj47b
◕ https://twitter.com/EdKrassen/status/1657144109998436356?s=20/photo/1
// Overall 53, Dems 75, Indy 43, GOP 20
🐣 RT @DeadlineWH “I think former President Trump can actually end this war today. All he needs to do is pick up the phone call Putin and tell him that he is not running for President, because that is the only thing that Putin is hoping for.” @igornovikov w/ @NicolleDWallace
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT CITY /2030 UTC 12 MAY/ RU sources indicate Ukraine carried more than 26 attacks on the Bakhmut axis. RU army and Wagner forces were reported to have been driven back NW of the urban area and S of the H-32 HWY at Ivanivske.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1657121948965523470?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @DonLew87 EPIC FAIL. Mark Pomerantz testified to Jim Jordan’s committee today. Basically said that Jordan is conducting a clown show while licking Trump’s boots. Another failure for Jim. Details here…
⋙ Law&Crime: ‘This deposition is for show’: Manhattan DA’s ex-deputy scorches Jim Jordan’s ‘cynical histrionics’ in Trump probe, pleads Fifth https://tinyurl.com/5n86exxp
Scorching the committee’s chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, ex-Assistant District Attorney Mark Pomerantz flatly declared in his opening remarks: “This deposition is for show,” later labeling it “political theater” and “cynical histrionics.”
“I do not believe for a moment that I am here to assist a genuine effort to enact legislation or conduct legislative ‘oversight,’” Pomerantz said in a three-page statement. “We are gathered here because Donald Trump’s supporters would like to use these proceedings to attempt to obstruct and undermine the criminal case pending against him, and to harass, intimidate, and discredit anyone who investigates or charges him.”
Jordan, a Trump loyalist from Ohio, says he’s investigating whether Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of the former president is politically motivated. In early 2022, Pomerantz and his then-colleague Carey Dunne resigned from the probe, believing that Bragg was too reluctant to charge Trump with tax crimes. Dunne faded to the sidelines, but Pomerantz went on to write a tell-all memoir of his time inside the DA’s office titled “People v. Trump,” named at the time for the case that wasn’t. …
Bragg and Pomerantz now view the House GOP’s actions as attempted interference with the judicial process. ¤ “The charges against Mr. Trump should be heard and decided by a judge and a jury before politicians second-guess their merits or the decision to bring them,” Pomerantz wrote. “That’s how our system works. Those who claim that they respect the rule of law should wait for the courts to do their work.” …
BoingBoing/Mediaite: Town hall audience was “disgusted” and “bewildered” by Trump, but CNN told them not to boo, only to applaud https://tinyurl.com/yvxk2jzr
Republican political consultant Matthew Bartlett says CNN’s town hall with Trump was rigged to make it look like everyone in the audience was in agreement with Trump, even though many in attendance were “disgusted” and “bewildered,” reports Mediaite.
“The floor manager came out ahead of time and said, Please do not boo, please be respectful. You were allowed to applaud,” Bartlett told Puck News senior political correspondent Tara Palmeri. ¤ From Mediaite:
Bartlett claimed that, while many in the audience applauded and cheered the former president, “there were also people that sat there quietly disgusted or bewildered.” He estimated that while around half of the audience expressed vocal support for Trump, the other half sat in silence. Bartlett also alleged that Trump repeatedly “lost the audience” when he spoke about topics like January 6 or the results of the 2020 election, despite the appearance on CNN that the audience was consistently on his side.
“In a TV setting, you hear the applause, but you don’t see the disgust,” Bartlett told Palmeri. “So Trump did not have the entire room on his side, make no mistake, even if it certainly came across that way on TV.”
🐣 RT @atrupar “Fascism is a mass movement … And, yes, millions of neighbors, relatives, and good, pure people can participate in the rituals of victimization, bigotry, and blood. Who is fascism for, after all, if not the good, pure people?” — @nberlat
⋙ PublicNotice, Noah Berlatsky: CNN’s Trump town hall was a fascist ritual https://tinyurl.com/2dn557fz
// Trump calls his supporters to their worst selves.
🐣 RT @PhillipsPOBrien If this is true, and it is plausible if terrible, then Ukrainian losses in the whole war on all fronts are a little less than US intelligence estimates of what Russia has lost trying to take just Bakhmut in the last 5 months
⋙ 🐣 RT @KyivIndependent
⚡️Euractiv: Internal EU memo puts Ukrainian troop losses at 13,000.
An internal EU memo suggests that Ukraine has lost 13,000 troops since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Euractiv reported on May 12.
The memo also says 35,000 Ukrainian servicemembers were wounded.
🐣 RT @StateOfUkraine Prigozhin’s statements today:
🇷🇺 units fled from the flanks (video👇), front collapsing
🇷🇺 losses today: 5 sq. km.
🇺🇦 controls Chasiv Yar-Bakhmut road
🇺🇦 has gained strategic territories, inc. tactical heights
🇺🇦 forces entering Berkhivka will initiate the encirclement of Bakhmut
🐣 RT @parrot_soldier A whole russian squad surrendered to the AFU in the outskirts of Bakhmut. ¤ The panic among muscovite ranks is growing each passing day.
🐣 RT @Flash_news_ua ⚡️For three days of counteroffensive actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Bakhmut direction, 17.3 km² were liberated, — the speaker of the Eastern Forces Group, Cherevatyi reports.
🐣 RT @ 🐣 RT @GlasnostGone #Ukraine says its recaptured ground in Bakhmut. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said 🇺🇦 forces advanced 2km in a week. Said for Russia Bakhmut has an “almost sacred” importance. Accused Kremlin of claiming false victories & lying about ammo shortages.
⋙ BBC: Ukraine claims gains in Bakhmut after Russia denials https://tinyurl.com/25atjyt3
🐣 RT @Gerashchenko_en “Capturing Bakhmut means nothing because flanks are crumbling, the front is failing…it will lead to global tragedy for Russia” – Prigozhin continues blaming the Russian army for fleeing and leaving 5 km near Bakhmut.
💽 https://twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1657054335270830080?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /1230 UTC 12 MAY/ Over the past 48 hours, UKR forces have mounted a series of successful counter-attacks N and S of the city of Bakhmut. UKR forces advanced in the vicinity of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Hyrhorivka, Bohdanivka, Khromove, Ivanivske and Stupochky.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1656998826580869122?s=20/photo/1
🔄 📋 📊 WaPo, Philip Bump (Feb 28): Underrecognized: Extremist murders are usually from right-wing actors https://tinyurl.com/3kt9vbem Data for 2013 to 2022 from the Anti-Defamation League (Jewish hate-monitoring organization)
// 2/28/2023
◕ https://twitter.com/Auriandra/status/1656944250142040066?s=20/photo/1 -3
The first chart shows the ideologies of politically motivated murders.
● 90% of incidents and 75% of deaths were by rightwing extremists.
● About 5% of inclidents and 20% of deaths were by Islamic radicals.
● About 5% of inclidents and 5% of deaths were by leftwing extremists (like “antifa”)
The second chart shows the that during the last 7 or so years (since Trump), almost all incidents and deaths were by right wingers.
This last chart shows who people think is responsible, leftwing or rightwing. It is msybe not surprising that Democrats blame the rightwing and Republicans blame the leftwing. But it’s the Republicans who are wrong.
⭕ 11 May 2023
🧵 RT @ThreshedThought Ukraine counteroffensive thread ¤ This may be a long thread. …
Here is a round up of where we are so far. [edited for clarity]
📌 https://twitter.com/ThreshedThought/status/1656727045076819969?s=20
[ThreadReader:] https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1656727045076819969.html
Ukraine has been conducting ‘shaping operations’ for the last few weeks or so.
These have had many strands:
– Information
– Attacks on logistics and command
– Dislocating operations on Russian territory
– Probing operations / establishing of bridgeheads
The aim of all of these elements of the shaping operations is to create lots of ambiguity in the Russian military command about:
– where exactly the major blows of the Ukrainian counteroffensive will fall
– when exactly it will start
The continual activity by Ukraine – blowing up oil dumps in Crimea here, flying drones over Moscow there, hitting logistics behind the Zaporizhzhia front etc. – is designed to raise, and keep maintained, levels of anxiety among the Russian command, and Russian soldiers.
Exhausted and anxious soldiers do not make good decisions
Now there are several basic premises that underlie the Ukrainian counteroffensive
1) The aim is not to kill every last Russian in Ukraine, but to affect the minds of decision makers in Moscow. This requires some sort of battlefield spectacular, localised defeat, major encirclement of Russian forces, or serious momentum to be generated by the Ukrainians.
2) This diagram is still pertinent. Ukrainians have interior lines; Russians have exterior lines (in hostile territory). This means the Ukrainians can move troops, equipment and supplies backwards and forwards along the font line much easier than the Russians can.
3) The Ukrainians probably don’t have a developed plan about where their main blow will fall. Eventually they probably want to strike south from Zaporizhzhia to cut the Russian forces in two. See here (the X is knocking out the Kerch bridge which isolates the Russian troops in…
but until that point they should just probe in one area, see if the Russians respond, if they do, fine, head to another area, if they don’t respond, then exploit that axis. ¤ They can just move up and down the front line to keep the Russians moving resources up and down…
but until that point they should just probe in one area, see if the Russians respond, if they do, fine, head to another area, if they don’t respond, then exploit that axis.
They can just move up and down the front line to keep the Russians moving resources up and down… And we are already staring to see these probes. …
Here is probably the most interesting thing. There are early reports of a Ukrainian assault on the Russian flanks at Bahkmut, which if they collapse will enable the Ukrainians to encircle the Russian forces that are currently themselves encircling Bahkmut. This is called a double… [map]
There’s also lots of activity on other areas of the front – and depending on how the Russians respond, will determine how which the Ukrainians reinforce. ¤ It’s all about creating dilemmas for the Russians. …
🧵 RT @MarkHertling In discussing the upcoming Ukrainian offensive yesterday with a group of govt officials, one asked me “when will it start?” ¤ I said: “in the attack, it starts when the commander feels it’s the right time…that’s an advantages of the offensive.” ¤ I then explained RSOI. 1/10
📌 https://twitter.com/MarkHertling/status/1656800463461785601?s=20
RSOI is Reception, Staging, Onward Movement & Integration. ¤ When units enter a combat zone, they are “received” in country, “staged” to move forward, then “moved” to the combat area, and then integrated into a larger unit. ¤ How is this related to Ukraine, you ask? 2/
Remember that Ukraine’s army has been receiving all kinds of different equipment from many different countries, and they are training at different EU training areas on new skills with that equipment. ¤ Some training takes longer than other, depending on the kit. 3/
When finished in, say, Germany, Poland, Estonia or other countries, they travel back to Ukraine & are “received” & “staged” with other types of partner units. ¤ Once all together, they “move” forward, closer to the front lines, & are “integrated” into even larger units. 4/
Now, multiply this by the estimated 9 Brigades – armor, engineers, artillery, logistics, staff & commanders, etc. (many of whom are coming together for the first time) – and it’s easy to understand why…it takes as long as it takes. ¤ Commanders assess when they’re ready. 5/
I once heard a Sergeant Major say “RSOI is converting piles of puzzle pieces into combat ready units.” ¤ Spot on. ¤ BTW, these “puzzle pieces” are being put together all across the 400+ km front lines, at points of Ukrainian general’s plan. 6/
A few days ago, Czech President Pavel publicly told Zelenskyy “don’t be pushed, attack when you’re ready.” ¤ I’m sure others have said the same to Gen Zaluzhnyi, chief of Ukraine’s Army. ¤ A mentor once told me (as I prepared a division for combat) “go slow to go fast!” 7/
Ukraine’s army will attack when they’re ready, at time and place(s) of their choosing, & they will be successful in their operation to regain sovereign territory, transitioning to offense takes significant preparation, coordination & synchronization. ¤ This ain’t a video game. 8/
In 2007, I had the honor of commanding the Germany-based @1stArmoredDiv. ¤ We were the first “plug & play” division…we deployed with our division staff but all our combat brigades came from 7 different divisions in the US & our support units came from 13 different states. 9/
Each unit’s RSOI execution during this “surge” was critical to getting forces into the fight. ¤ This execution is what the Ukrainian Army is doing now. ¤ Those wanting the offensive to start need to be patient. ¤ It will go slow, then it will go fast. 10/10
TheBulwark, Charlie Sykes: The Moment That You Knew https://tinyurl.com/ydjf4363
// What CNN’s disastrous town hall showed us.
Critics had worried that giving the indicted, twice-impeached, coup-plotting, chronically lying sexual predator an unedited, live television forum might turn out badly. ¤ The reality, however, was far ghastlier: a sh*tshow for the ages, and a moment that captured the thorough degradation of both our politics and the media. ‘It was a f**king nightmare,’ remarked one savvy observer, ‘and it was programmed to BE a f**king nightmare.’”
TheAtlantic, Tom Nichols: CNN Went Full Jerry Springer https://tinyurl.com/mwpbc82h //➔ the “town hall” was a MAGA “event”, not journalism; it energized the MAGA base and left the rest of us feeling helpless and unrepresented
// The network’s president made an indefensible decision in airing an episode of Trump’s ongoing reality show.
… CNN’s decision to run a town hall with the former president enabled that behavior and managed to harm journalism, the network’s reputation, and the American political process all at once.
I have long argued that Americans need to see more, rather than less, of Donald Trump. Because I believe that Trump is an existential menace to American democracy, I have encouraged covering Trump as closely as possible. … Trump built a following over the years by being on television, and his base can’t get enough of him, so why should the media encourage more adoration? But for ordinary Americans who did not join the cultish following that congealed around Trump in 2016—many of whom are the independent voters who will decide the next election—“Trump exhaustion” is a real thing, and the more of it, the better.
Watching Trump for any extended period of time is enervating and deeply uncomfortable. The man is a quivering bag of weird verbal and physical tics. And when he gets rolling, listening to a Trump speech is like standing nearby while someone throws a match into a box of cheap bottle rockets: When the fusillade of annoying noise, misfires, duds, and smoke is over, all that’s left is a general stink in the air.
This discomfort is exactly my point: If you want to stop Donald Trump from returning to power, putting him on TV is the way to go. But doing so requires either that you hand him a microphone and let him immolate himself, or that you sit him down with a reporter who will not let up on calling out his lies and fantasies until he melts down.
Last night, however, CNN chose one of the worst possible options. Instead of a candidate interview, CNN Chairman Chris Licht apparently thought it would be a great idea to cast Trump in a remake of The Jerry Springer Show, complete with vulgar jokes, hooting fans, and a mild-mannered host—in this case, the CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins—stuck with the thankless of job of trying to intervene in the shouting and angry finger-pointing. Instead of an important one-on-one interview with a dangerous and malevolent demagogue, CNN presented another episode of Trump’s ongoing reality show.
The result was a disaster that was not only foreseeable but also as predictable as the laws of physics, a cringe-inducing display that damaged CNN’s reputation, put one of its rising stars in a no-win situation, cheapened journalism, and undermined our political process—all in the span of little more than an hour.
… But “covering” Trump does not mean packing an audience with supporters and then setting the resolutely misogynist Trump against a young female reporter in a situation that practically could have been designed by the Trump campaign itself.
Indeed, Licht and his producers seemed determined to place Trump right in his comfort zone. Although Collins tried repeatedly to contradict Trump, Licht had to know—perhaps was even expecting—that Trump would simply steamroll her, as he did. (She also missed several opportunities—particularly on abortion—to stop Trump as he rocketed beyond the Van Allen belts, but I accept that correcting him is basically impossible.) Only once did she finally manage to get under his skin with repeated questioning, and in response, he pulled out his standard insult of calling her “nasty.” …,
[ Audience: ] Whoever they were, Trump was jazzed by their support. Every slimy comment got a laugh or applause, including many about E. Jean Carroll, the woman who successfully sued Trump for sexual abuse and defamation this week. (Trump was so vile, Carroll says, that she is reportedly thinking of suing him again.) Collins had to ask about Carroll, of course, but after that, the plan—if one existed—seemed to be for her to stand there and take it while Trump talked over her, made dirty jokes, and basked in audience laughter. Trump’s sleaziness, like everything else in this train wreck, was completely foreordained—and, again, Licht and his producers had to know it. …
How anyone—especially the head of a news network—can believe that this group of people has been ignored is astonishing. Perhaps he missed the many years of journalists conducting ritual pilgrimages to America’s diners and asking every angry old guy in a red hat to please, please tell us what he wants.
Perhaps what Licht really meant is that CNN should see MAGA world as an underserved community that is up for grabs while Fox News reels from its scandals. It seems an odd strategy, however, to push Collins onstage as the blood sacrifice for an hour, and then follow that up with Jake Tapper and other CNN hosts wrestling with the cognitive dissonance of talking about what a miserable fiasco their own network just splattered across the nation’s screens.
As many observers have noted, CNN has learned nothing since 2016. Or maybe CNN has learned everything since 2016, and intends to do it all over again.
🐣 RT @NOELreports Ukrainian troops have increased their local activities in Bakhmut. A barrage of 4 full MLRS was recorded.
⋙ 🐣 RT @NOELreports Ukrainian troops comply with Prigozhin’s request. More ammunition.
💽 🔥https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1656778065920311298?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @wartranslated Russian Aleksandr Kots says Ukrainians are putting pressure on Wagner flanks in Bakhmut in order to encircle them.
[TextLink:] https://twitter.com/wartranslated/status/1656736681280536608?s=20/photo/1
[Text:] The enemy continues to put pressure on the flanks of Artemovsk [Bakhmut]. Unfortunately, in some areas they managed to take the frontiers which we took were with considerable bloodshed. Actually, after Zelensky said that they would not leave Bakhmut under any circumstances, it became clear that an operation was being prepared to de-block the city. When the retreating Ukrainian units began to undermine high-rise buildings behind them, an upcoming attempt of revanche became obvious.
They destroy the dominant heights in Artemovsk. To deprive us of the advantage in the coming
defense. While fighting was going on in the city, the enemy formed strike groups, which should bypass Bakhmut on the flanks, encircling the Wagners. Only coordinated actions can stop the enemy now, without division into us and them. Guys, hold on!
🐣 RT @mhmck On May 11th, Ukrainian defenders made small, tactical gains on the flanks of Bakhmut. ¤ This is not the counter-offensive. This is the Armed Forces of Ukraine effectively counter-attacking and the Russian invaders failing to adopt a sound, defensive posture.
🌎 https://twitter.com/mhmck/status/1656788527323938816?s=20/photo/1
WaPo: CNN leadership under fire after ‘disastrous’ Trump town hall https://tinyurl.com/5fd9ykr2
// A furious backlash raised questions about the future of chief executive Chris Licht and the larger challenges facing the news media going into the 2024 election
CNN’s prime-time broadcast of a raucous town hall with Donald Trump propelled a tsunami of criticism from inside and outside the network Thursday — and renewed questions about how the news media will handle the challenge of covering the serial falsehoods of the Republican Party’s leading candidate going into the 2024 election.
The former president repeatedly dodged or sneered at questions from CNN’s moderator, Kaitlan Collins, during the live, 70-minute forum at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire on Wednesday night. He doubled down on false claims that “a rigged election” led to his 2020 ouster and referred to writer E. Jean Carroll, who just prevailed in her lawsuit against him for defamation and battery, as a “whack job,” to cheers and laughter from the audience, made up of local Republican voters. ¤ And when Collins pressed him on why he removed classified documents from the White House, he replied: “You are a nasty person.”
“Predictably disastrous,” wrote former network TV news executive Mark Lukasiewicz, part of a chorus of media critics and political observers who bemoaned the on-air spectacle. “Live lying works. A friendly MAGA crowd consistently laughs, claps at Trump’s punchlines … and the moderator cannot begin to keep up with the AR-15 pace of lies.”
At a time when CNN has been struggling to turn around viewership decline, the telecast proved to be a ratings disappointment, with Nielsen reporting just 3.1 million viewers overall. That was a big boost over CNN’s typical 8 p.m. telecast, but a smaller audience than CNN’s town hall with President Biden last summer (3.7 million) and six previous Trump town halls carried by Fox News — calling into question both CNN and Trump’s drawing power.
The more profound impact, however, may be the damage done to the reputation of the network that has long promoted itself as “the most trusted name in news.” It also raised questions about the future prospects of chief executive Chris Licht, who replaced Trump-friend-turned critic Jeff Zucker last year and is charged with striking a more neutral tone at a cable channel that exploded with impassioned commentary during the Trump years.
Journalists at CNN and others outside the organization called the town hall a “debacle,” a “disaster” and “CNN’s lowest moment.” On Twitter, the hashtags and phrases BoycottCNN, DoneWithCNN and ByeCNN trended late Wednesday.
The thrust of the criticism is that CNN’s format, which it has used for other candidates over the years, enabled Trump’s filibustering and thwarted real-time fact checking, allowing him to present a dishonest rehashing of his record. “In terms of sheer control of the stage and WWE-style platform dynamics, the horrible truth is that this outcome was preordained,” tweeted veteran political writer James Fallows. Some compared the program to a modified Trump campaign rally — the kind that CNN sometimes aired live during the 2015-16 campaign cycle, which Zucker later said he regretted.
Licht defended the decision to host Trump in this format during his regular morning meeting with network staff on Thursday. ¤ “I am aware that there have been people with opinions [and] backlash, and that is absolutely expected,” he said, according to an audio recording. “And I’ll say this as clearly as I possibly can: You do not have to like the former president’s answers, but you can’t say we didn’t get them. … America was served very well by what we did last night. People woke up and they know what the stakes are in this election in a way they didn’t the day before.”
Licht also hailed Collins’s “masterful performance” as moderator and called her “a rock star.”
Licht, however, was hammered by his own journalists. “We did it wrong,” said an on-air personality. “We treated him like a normal politician who could be fact-checked. We ended up dancing around a demagogue.” ¤ “It should have been a taped interview where you could fact-check him,” said one CNN correspondent who, like the on-air personality spoke on the condition of anonymity to preserve relationships and careers. “The audience was laughing at his comments about Jean Carroll. Disgraceful.”
In his meeting with staff, Licht defended the decisions that led to a cheering, partisan audience: “That was also an important part of the story because the people in that audience represent a large swath of America. And the mistake the media made in the past is ignoring those people exist.” ¤ Another staffer, also speaking on background to avoid retaliation, suggested Licht and other executives who approved the event should resign. …
[T]he Trump town hall is shaping up as another disappointment under Licht’s watch. Despite his tinkering with CNN’s daily lineup and a mandate to reposition the network as a neutral purveyor of news, Licht has been unable to stop its ratings from sliding to historic lows. …
CNN’s daily media newsletter, Reliable Sources, was blunt in its assessment of Wednesday’s event. “It’s hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening,” reporter Oliver Darcy wrote Wednesday night.
But the squadron of analysts and commentators that CNN put on the air late Wednesday to assess Trump’s performance in the town hall (“We don’t have enough time to fact-check every lie he told,” said anchor Jake Tapper) said nothing about the network’s own decision to host the forum.
At least one of the network’s paid commentators went public with his objections before the Trump special aired. Michael Fanone, a U.S. Capitol Police officer who was injured while defending the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, wrote an essay published by Rolling Stone that indicted the programming decision. ¤ “Putting him onstage, having him answer questions like a normal candidate who didn’t get people killed in the process of trying to end the democracy he’s attempting to once again run, normalizes what Trump did,” Fanone wrote. “It sends a message that attempting a coup is just part of the process; that accepting election results is a choice; and that there are no consequences, in the media or in politics or anywhere else, for rejecting them.” …
[I]nside CNN, the mood was dark. ¤ “I can’t believe anyone thought this was a good idea,” said one staffer, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid career repercussions. “I’ve been a CNN journalist for many years. I’ve always been so proud to say that. I’ve never, ever been ashamed of CNN until tonight.”
🐣 RT @wartranslated Numerous reports in Russian channels about Ukrainian forces having begun a larger offensive in several directions. This follows reports of Wagner struggling in Bakhmut in the recent days. Current reports are very conflicting, some mention Ukrainians moving towards Russian border. We still have to see if any of this is real, but the situation is rather similar to September and November regroupings.
⋙ 🐣 RT @wartranslated So far, I’m seeing the following: Ukrainian advances in Bakhmut and Soledar area, as well as some vehicle movement in Kharkiv Oblast. No info on south – Crimea etc. All of this is obviously only coming from Russian mouths.
TheDrive: Ukraine’s Storm Shadow Missiles Are A Big Problem For Russia https://tinyurl.com/3mfwbzxa “[T]he Storm Shadow should give Ukraine a powerful new ability to hit key targets, including command nodes, supply dumps and bridges, deep behind the front lines”
// Britain confirmed that Ukraine is getting advanced air-launched Storm Shadow cruise missiles, some of which may already have been delivered.
NYT, Frank Bruni: Trump’s ‘Stupid,’ ‘Stupid’ Town Hall https://tinyurl.com/2p887td9
NYMag: CNN Staffers Pissed After Trump Trashes Their Town Hall https://tinyurl.com/yns3mdsj
🐣 RT @justicedems 1.1 million people died from COVID in the US due to policy failure. ¤ We need a healthcare and economic system built on keeping everyone safe and healthy, not on shareholder profits. [?]
🌎 https://twitter.com/justicedems/status/1656706323872989196?s=20/photo/1
⋙ NYT: As Emergency Ends, a Look at Covid’s U.S. Death Toll https://tinyurl.com/c92bpfhh
🐣 RT @brianstelter Just in: CNN’s town hall with Donald Trump averaged 3.1 million total viewers. The event outrated Fox and MSNBC, as expected, but these are not 2015/16 level numbers for Trump — not even close.
🐣 RT @ 🐣 RT @mlcalderone “I don’t know anyone who was happy with last night,” says one CNN journalist. “The mood is absolutely the lowest it’s been in the Licht tenure, and that’s saying a lot.”
⋙ VanityFair: CNN’s Donald Trump Town Hall Was Essentially a Campaign Rally https://tinyurl.com/mscztn28
// The network gave Trump a platform to spout lies and insults—and a cheering section! Network boss Chris Licht is defending the debacle, but inside, says one CNN journalist, “the mood is absolutely the lowest.”
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer SUNDAY PUNCH: The UK has confirmed it’s supplying UKR with long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles. The Stormshadow has a range of over 250km (155 miles), giving UKR new capabilities as it prepares a counter-offensive against Russia.
◕ https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1656636182027984896?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer PERFECT TIMING: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said his country needs more time to prepare a much-anticipated counter-offensive against Russian forces, as the military awaits the delivery of promised aid.
⋙ BBC: Zelensky says Ukraine needs more time for counter-offensive https://tinyurl.com/mvsp9bbr
🐣 RT @ChuckPfarrer BAKHMUT AXIS /1230 UTC 11 MAY/ UKR forces have mounted a series of successful counter-attacks in the urban area and south of the city of Bakhmut. RU air strike reports indicate that UKR forces pushed back an earlier VDV thrust and are in contact at Klishchiyivka.
🌎 https://twitter.com/ChuckPfarrer/status/1656634137686470656?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ DecodingFoxNews This is an annotated version of Trump’s Town Hall on CNN broken down to 2 minutes. You won’t have to listen to his voice. I break it down for you. It’s Trump without Trump. Trump only neutered.
💽 https://twitter.com/DecodingFoxNews/status/1656527299959832578?s=20/photo/1
⭕ 10 May 2023
NYT: House Republican Report Finds No Evidence of Wrongdoing by President Biden https://tinyurl.com/4wypw7tv
// After months of investigation and many public accusations of corruption against Mr. Biden and his family, the first report of the premier House G.O.P. inquiry showed no proof of such misconduct.
🐣 RT @NeverTrumpTexan “Either let us destroy the economy with draconian cuts or we will destroy the economy with a needless default.” ¤ That is what Republicans call negotiating.
🐣 RT @ Morning_Joe “As long as the end is Donald Trump ends up in power, the rules don’t matter,” says @ChrisMurphyCT on GOP’s defense of former President’s legal issues
🧵 RT @ MarkHarrisNYC Update: The proper thing for Chris Licht to do now is resign.
📌 https://twitter.com/MarkHarrisNYC/status/1656458551982710786?s=20
⋙ If I were Chris Licht right now, I would be mulling over the fact that my tenure at CNN is going to be completely defined by what happens in the next 36 hours.
⋙ A failure this immense happens when you forget that journalism’s only allegiance is to the truth, and decide instead that your highest priorities are to have no opinion about anything and to platform lies by calling them “newsworthy” or saying, “But a lot of people believe him.”
⋙ There were so many mistakes here. 1) Agreeing to an entirely partisan audience as a condition of the interview. 2) Deciding that someone could serve as moderator, host, interviewer and corrector of the record simultaneously. 3) Ignoring Trump’s history of lying in your planning.>
⋙ 4) Deciding that it’s your job to normalize a profoundly abnormal candidate via placing him a “normal” format. 5) Not having a separate set of on-set (literally) fact-checkers who could keep up with him in real time. 6) Not pivoting after yesterday and saying that because.. >
⋙ of the verdict, the show would now have to begin with a 15-minute one-on-one interview with no live audience. 7) Ignoring the many people, including in your own organization, who made ALL these points in advance. This isn’t “Who could have known?” People knew, and they said so.
🐣 RT @BruceRFeldman Who in their right mind thinks it would go any other way. Either @CNN wanted exactly this or they wasted millions on the Chris Licht hire. Where was their board on this? They’re supposed to be the adults in the room. If this creates a CNN meltdown, the board has abandoned its fiduciary responsibility.
🐣 RT @ruthbenghiat CNN became a party to Trump’s need to psychologically “undo” his defeat by getting the audience to applaud him *for being an assaulter.* The more approval authoritarians get, the more they feel emboldened to be even more lawless. This is why this “town hall” was so dangerous.
⋙ 🐣 RT @SIfill_ I hate that @CNN allowed E. Jean Carroll’s name to be dragged through the mud again by this terrible man. Sure she could sue him for defamation again. That doesn’t change the hurt & humiliation at the laughter, and at the knowledge that CNN was willing to expose her to this.
🐣 RT @DavidJollyFL Despite the melting down about tonight, this is a GOP train wreck. ¤ Trump is not picking up a single new general election voter. And every voter who came out in 18, 20 & 22 to stop him now remembers why. ¤ Strong night for Trump’s GOP primary. Terrible night for his general.
🐣 RT @TheDeadDistrict Katheryn Winnick ‘Vikings’ actress who played Lagertha visits #Ukraine “I was overwhelmed by the destruction in Irpin, Ukriane, while visiting the area. Seeing it with my own eyes made me realize how many families are suffering. All lives matter.”
🖼 https://twitter.com/TheDeadDistrict/status/1656513595709046784?s=20/photo/1 -4
🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom Also, unrelated to CNN or Collins, Donald Trump is not sane.
🐣 RT @benshapiro This townhall hits everybody’s pleasure centers: CNN gets to broadcast outrage over the oh-so-troubling Trump; Trump gets to shellack a CNN host. The only people who lose out are those who were hoping for, you know, some serious answers to serious questions.
🐣 RT @BradMossEsq All three ongoing criminal cases got new evidence tonight against Trump. He is confessing on live television.
🐣 .@msnbc could cash in on people unhappy w @cnn’s rightward turn if they could lessen the wall-to-wall coverage of shootings, crt-lite and trans (really?); focus on Biden’s winners: middle class/kitchen table/fair shot ✛ Ukraine agenda (@Morning_Joe @DeadlineWH, @AriMelber fine)
🐣 RT @DavidShuster Whether CNN gave Trump the infomercial by design or through sheer incompetence, let’s be clear. This was a humiliating and infuriating night for anybody who still cares about basic integrity and civic responsibility. @CNN deserves all the venom and contempt tonight.
⋙ 🐣 RT @DavidShuster The irony is that @CNN has some tough. Informed, experienced journalists in @jaketapper @andersoncooper who would have held Trump accountable in a credible and compelling manner. But they were benched by design. What a mistake. t
🐣 RT @mikememoli A Biden campaign adviser’s summary of tonight’s town hall: “Weeks worth of damning content in one hour. … It was quite efficient.”
🐣 RT @MichaelRWear Whether Trump is helping or harming his campaign right now should not be our primary concern. What’s clear now, as it has been for a very, very long time, is the harm he does to the spirit of this country. “A corrupt heart elicits in an hour all that is bad in us” -F.W. Peterson
🐣 RT @richsignorelli Adolf Hitler is no longer around to do a @cnn town hall before Nazi party members, “fortunately or unfortunately.”
🐣 RT @harrisonjaime This was a key clip of the night: Trump bragging about overturning Roe and paving the way for a national abortion ban.
💽 https://twitter.com/harrisonjaime/status/1656478259700195328?s=20/photo/1
🐣 RT @ananavarro .@JoeBiden is the winner of tonight’s town-hall. ¤ Trump showed he commands the GOP base. ¤ Hopefully, it reminds D’s of the awful human & existential threat to democracy Biden’s up against, and they stop fretting about his age & get behind the guy who’s proven he can beat Trump.
🧵 RT @djrothkopf Hard to say what was the worst part of the CNN debacle: Trump repeating the Big Lie, promising to pardon Jan 6 insurgents, further victimizing E. Jean Carroll, not promising to honor the 2024 election result, not calling Vladimir Putin a war criminal…
📌 https://twitter.com/djrothkopf/status/1656476896350068737?s=20
…or condemning his invasion of Ukraine, implying that there was equivalency between Russia and Ukraine, attacking our allies yet again, promising to double down on many of his worst policies, taking credit for the abomination that was the Dobbs decision…
…the lies upon lies upon lies, the clear message he sent that if elected again would could face even worse than his disastrous, scandal-ridden, failed first term, his insults to Kaitlan Collins for doing her job, the way the audience was constituted…
…the fact that giving him this platform normalized him, allowed him to spread his disinformation & will help him raise $? Each of those was terrible, each chilling in light of the past 7 years. But no, worst of all was CNN’s decision to air this in the first place. Disastrous.
🐣 RT @brianstelter THIS is the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Look away if you choose, but this is what it’s going to be like. Should news outlets sanitize it or stare it in the face?
⋙ 🐣 it’s bad for the reputation of the US at a critical time for diplomacy, especially when staged in such an irresponsible format ¤ it also bad for the mental health of the unbalanced and, to a certain extent, for all citizens ¤ was it really worth it @cnn?
🐣 RT @SykesCharlie Who could possibly have predicted this would be such an epic clusterf?
⋙ 🐣 RT @JuddLegum The audience for the CNN townhall w/Trump will be 400 Republicans & GOP-leaning independents ¤ Allowing Trump to appear in front of an audience exclusively comprised of people who are likely sympathetic to Trump — and then turn over the questions to that group — is irresponsible
🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom Will you commit to accepting the results of the election? ¤ Trump: If I think it’s honest
⋙ 🐣 RT @BecuJeanne He was claiming the election was rigged BEFORE the election. BOTH TIMES. Before the election. Both times.
🐣 RT @RadioFreeTom Will you commit to accepting the results of the election? ¤ Trump: If I think it’s honest
🐣 RT @ krassenstein BREAKING: Kaitlan Collins just asked Trump during the CNN Town Hall if he shared the classified documents seized at Mar-a-lago with anyone. ¤ Trump’s incredibly scary answer: ¤ “Not really”. ¤ He then said “it doesn’t matter”. ¤ When Collins continued to push him on what he meant by “not really” he refused to give a straight answer and eventually called Collins “a nasty woman”. ¤ How can anyone support this?
🐣 RT @ruthbenghiat His campaign is traditional if the tradition we are talking about includes Mussolini Hitler Duterte Bolsonaro etc
🐣 RT @MFA_Ukraine The world needs #RealPeaceNotAppeasement. Real Peace means:
– restoring internationally recognized borders of 🇺🇦
– a safe homeland for the Tatar people in Ukrainian Crimea
– grainships in the Black Sea, not warships
– a world under the rule of international law rather than force
🐣 RT @hilaryluros Uncle @TheRickWilson has spoken. Pay attention, y’all.
⋙ 🐣 RT @TheRickWilson I have words.
💽 https://twitter.com/TheRickWilson/status/1656460186184298496?s=20
🐣 RT @newrepublic A 65-page report, a press conference, and nothing to show for it.
⋙ NewRepublic: Republicans Finally Admit They Have No Incriminating Evidence on Joe Biden https://tinyurl.com/3rywn9y3
// A 65-page report, a press conference, and nothing to show for it
During a press conference explaining the investigation, Comer was asked if he had evidence directly linking Biden to corruption. The Kentucky Republican hemmed and hawed but ultimately admitted he didn’t.
The memo accuses the Biden family of involvement in a “scheme to peddle influence” in Romania from 2015 to 2017, as well as financial dealings with individuals in China. Hunter Biden’s name comes up repeatedly. But the memo contains scant details of all of these alleged dealings, nor does it contain any evidence that any laws were broken or that Biden was involved in his son’s Chinese business.
Representative Jamie Raskin, the ranking member of the Oversight Committee, slammed Comer for having “failed to provide factual evidence to support his wild accusations about the president.” ¤ “He continues to bombard the public with innuendo, misrepresentations, and outright lies, recycling baseless claims from stories that were debunked years ago,” Raskin said in a statement.
🧵 RT @atrupar My thread about Trump’s CNN town hall starts here
📌 💽 https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1656441717665538051?s=20/photo/1
OpenSecrets: Trump made more than $200 million from foreign business interests since 2016 https://tinyurl.com/2p9h2cr3
// 10/8/2020
s 🐣 📊 RT @ianbremmer brazilian public: not in line with lula on russia war
// Brazilians Overwhelmingly Blame Russia for Starting War in Ukraine: 62%/17%
🐣 RT @RFERL Enerhoatom, the operator of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant, has warned that Russia plans to forcibly “evacuate” about 3,100 employees of plant.
⋙ RFE/RL: Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Plant Warns Of ‘Catastrophic Lack’ Of Workers Amid Russian Evacuation Plans https://tinyurl.com/bdxx2cb5
🐣 RT @mhmck On the flanks of Bakhmut, Ukrainian defenders made gains of up to 2 km on the Russian fascist invaders:
–away from the 0505 road near Khromove
–away from the H-32 highway near Ivanivs’ke, in the direction of Klishchiyivka
–away from Stupochky
🐣 RT @NOELreports U.S. attorney general Garland allowed the transfer of forfeited funds from Russia oligarch for use in Ukraine. ¤ “While this represents the US’ first transfer of forfeited Russian funds for the rebuilding of Ukraine, it will not be the last,” he said.
⋙ Reuters: U.S. attorney general OKs transfer of forfeited funds from Russia oligarch for use in Ukraine https://tinyurl.com/2p99esmz
🐣 RT @Maks_NAFO_FELLA “There is a serious risk of encirclement of the Wagner PMC in Bakhmut as a result of the collapse of the flanks. The flanks are already cracking and falling.” – Prigozhin
NYT, David French: A Guilty Ex-President https://tinyurl.com/4x44z6bm “Donald Trump had his day in court. He lost. Now the GOP faces a very different kind of trial. … [A]nd it is a great tragedy of our time that no one can presume that it’s a test the party will pass”
🐣 RT @IanSams46 Absolutely brutal for @JamesComer ¤ POLITICO: “Comer fails to link president in Biden family probe” ¤ Comer “doesn’t show any way Biden’s decisions were influenced” or “that he had direct knowledge” ¤ “No link has publicly emerged, and that didn’t change”
⋙ Politico: Comer releases Biden family probe update without showing link to president https://tinyurl.com/yckfp677
// nothing here; The Oversight panel chair revealed Wednesday th
🔆 This❗️⋙ 💙💙🔄 LawfareBlog: Litigation Documents Related to the Mueller Investigation 
