Three dead, five injured: Russian missile hits playground near house in Mykolaiv

"In Mykolaiv, a Russian missile strike on a playground near a multi-story residential building on the evening of Friday, July 19, killed three people and injured five others." Ukrin

Ukraine evacuates thousands of nuclear workers from Russian-occupied ZNPP

"About 5,000 nuclear workers from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant

(ZNPP) have been evacuated and relocated to areas free from occupation. Russia has banned access to the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) for workers who remain in the occupied territory. However, according to Energoatom President Petro Kotin, they continue to receive their salaries, which are regularly paid into their accounts by Energoatom." UB

Former MP Farion shot in Lviv

"Ukrainian linguist and former MP Iryna Farion was shot in Lviv on July 19.

Lviv city councilman Ihor Zinkevych reported the apparent assassination attempt via Facebook. According to him, Farion was severely wounded and is in critical condition.
“Neighbors saw the shooter; he was wearing gloves, and the weapon did not have a silencer,” Zinkevych added. Oliarnyk specified that Farion was shot in the head and was taken away by ambulance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky later said that Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and SBU security service head Vasyl Malyuk are personally overseeing the investigation of the attempt on Farion’s life." UB

Biden Pushes Party Unity as he Resists Calls to Step Aside, Says he’ll Return to Campaign Next Week

"President Biden on Friday appealed for party unity to take on former President Donald

Trump’s “dark vision,” working to hold off pressure from Democrats at the highest levels for him to bow out of the 2024 election to make way for a new nominee and avoid widespread losses.
As more Democratic members of Congress called for him to drop out Friday — bringing the total since his disastrous debate against Trump to at least 30 — Biden remained isolated at his beach house in Delaware after being diagnosed with COVID-19. The president, who has insisted he can beat Trump, was huddling with family and relying on a few longtime aides as he tries to resist efforts to shove him aside." Breitbart

England Burning: Violent Riots Break Out in Multicultural Area of Leeds

"Riots broke out in a multicultural area of the English city of Leeds on Thursday evening, with hundreds of residents setting fires, throwing stones, and clashing with police.

Horrific images poured out from the heavily Pakistani Harehills area in east Leeds. Riots broke out in a multicultural area of the English city of Leeds with hundreds of residents setting fires, throwing stones, and clashing with police.
Horrific images poured out from the heavily Pakistani Harehills area in east Leeds. The West Yorkshire Police said per the Manchester Evening News: “Officers attended and found an ongoing disturbance which involved some agency workers and some children. More people started to attend the location and a decision was made to remove the agency workers and the children to a safe place." Breitbart

Ukrainian army pulls out from another eastern village as Russia smashes defensive positions

"Ukraine’s army has pulled out from the village of Urozhaine in the eastern Donetsk region, an official said, surrendering another front-line position as Russian forces blast Ukrainian defenses in a relentless onslaught.
The village was reduced to rubble, which "made it impossible to hold the positions there,” Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesperson for local ground forces, told the Associated Press." LATimes

One Dead, Seven Wounded in Tel Aviv by ‘Aerial Target’

"One person was killed and seven wounded in the early hours of Friday morning in Tel Aviv, Israel, as the result of what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called an “aerial target” — possibly a drone — that was undetected by defenses." Breitbart

It Was A Major Mistake For Zelensky To Insult Modi Last Week

"Zelensky insulted Indian Prime Minister Modi during his trip to Moscow last week by tweeting that “It is disheartening to see the leader of the world's largest democracy embrace the world's most notorious criminal in Moscow”, thus prompting India to summon the

Ukrainian Ambassador on Monday.
It’s unclear what he was told, but his hosts predictably made it clear that such rhetoric isn’t welcome, especially after Modi lamented the loss of life in all conflicts during his meeting with Putin. While some might imagine that Zelensky simply tweeted whatever his Western patrons told him to, the reality is that he probably did so on his own prerogative, though therein lies the problem. In his mind, the latest phase of the Ukrainian Conflict sparked by Russia’s special operation is an epic battle between democracies and dictatorships, not anything having to do with security dilemmas and national interests. This false perception was impressed upon him by the West over two years ago." ZeroHedge

Biden Nomination Odds Collapse On Reports Of Imminent Withdrawal, Harris Reportedly Vetting Running Mates

"BREAKING: @MarkHalperin on Newsmax says President Joe Biden has already agreed to step down which can happen as early as this weekend. Halperin says the speech is already

being drafted & Biden will reportedly *not* initially endorse Harris. Multiples sources outline the apparent state of play on Biden at this time:
Plans to announce withdrawal from nomination as early as this weekend, with Sunday most likely
Jon Meacham polishing up remarks
Biden with NOT resign the presidency
Biden will NOT endorse Harris
Open convention with Harris and about 3 others
Super delegates will not be allowed to vote on 1st ballot
Harris is vetting at least four possible running mates, including Andy Beshear and possibly Shapiro" ZH

"Largest IT Outage In History" Sparks Disruptions Worldwide

"Early Friday, a global IT outage caused by an issue with cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike

disrupted flights, banks, retailers, stock exchanges, 911 call centers, and media outlets. Experts say this could be one of the largest IT outages in modern history.
Bloomberg reported that CrowdStrike warned customers that its Falcon Sensor threat-monitoring product was the source of the chaos, causing Microsoft's Windows operating system to crash. There was no mention of what triggered the issue, and there were reports of disruptions in Microsoft's Azure cloud and 365 Office software." ZH

Fire Engulfs Artillery Factory Deep Inside Russia

"A fire has broken out at a key military facility in Russia, with Russian and Ukrainian social media channels posting videos of flames and smoke billowing into the air. Ukraine Fights was among pro-Kyiv Telegram channels which shared footage of the blaze at Uraltransmash in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, in the Sverdlovsk region, around 1,100 miles east of Moscow. The site produces military equipment and machine tools used for Russia's war machine, the post noted. It is also the country's main producer of self-propelled artillery and makes oil drilling rigs as well as other civilian products." Newsweek

130 combat engagements in frontline over last day, most intense in Pokrovske and Toretske sectors

"There were 130 combat engagements with Russian troops on the frontline yesterday, with the greatest enemy activity observed in the Pokrovske and Toretske sectors. According to the updated information, over the past day, the Russians launched three missile attacks with four missiles at the positions of Ukrainian units and settlements, 73 air strikes, and used 101 anti-aircraft missiles. In addition, they fired 4675 times, 139 of them from multiple launch rocket systems.

The areas of Lyptsi, Vovchanski Khutory, Staritsa, Synkivka, Hlushkivka, Petropavlivka, Novoozynove in Kharkiv region were hit by air strikes; Siversk, Lyman, Tymofiivka, Vozdvyzhenka, Vovche, Kostiantynivka, Yelizavetivka, Berestky, Kostiantynopil, Novoselivka Persha, Chasiv Yar, Pivnichne, Toretsk, Oleksandropil, Shevchenko, Velyka Novosilka, Urozhayne in Donetsk region; Pyatikhatky in Zaporizhzhia region.
In the Kharkiv sector, Russian troops continued offensive and assault operations. There were 12 combat engagements in the area. All of them took place in the areas of Hlyboke and Vovchansk. Russians actively used bomber aircraft for attacks.
In the Kupyansk sector, 11 attacks took place over the last day. Ukrainian defence forces repelled all Russian army assaults near Sinkivka, Stelmakhivka and Berestove.
In the Lyman sector, Ukrainian troops stopped 14 Russian attacks near Makiivka, Nevske, Torske and Terny.
In the Siverskyi sector, the Ukrainian Defence Forces repelled five assault attacks. Russians tried to advance near Pereyizne, Spirne and Vyymka.
In the Kramatorsk sector, Ukrainian troops stopped six attempts by Russian troops to break through Ukrainian defences. The invaders, with the support of aviation, made their main efforts in the area of Chasiv Yar.
Russian troops continued to be active in the Toretsk sector yesterday. In total, the enemy attacked the positions of Ukrainian defenders 20 times in the areas of Pivnichne, Toretsk and New York. They carried out air strikes with anti-aircraft gunships and unguided aerial missiles." Ukrin

Ukraine introduces earlier sunsets to spite Russia

"The Ukrainian parliament has voted in favor of ending Daylight Savings Time starting next year, citing firstly national security concerns. The move will result in awkward hours for residents of eastern regions.

Verkhovna Rada chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk had proposed the measure as far back as 2020, but did not have the votes to get it approved. It was passed on Tuesday, with 261 deputies voting in favor.
“In the fall, we will switch to winter time and stay on it,” Yevgenia Kravchuk, a senior member of Vladimir Zelensky’s Servant of the People faction, said on Facebook. “No more disruptions of biological rhythms and ‘habits’ by the time change.”
While Kravchuk explained the reasoning in terms of minimizing the inconvenience to Ukrainians, Stefanchuk’s proposal had other priorities.
The change “is intended to ensure the protection of territorial integrity and strengthen the national security of Ukraine, since the aggressor state [Russia] has imposed its time in the temporarily occupied territories,” said the original explanatory note from 2020. “Therefore, the installation and consolidation throughout Ukraine of a single Kiev time, without exception, will strengthen the security position of Ukraine and will contribute to the de-occupation and reintegration of temporarily occupied territories.” RT

144 combat clashes on front lines in past day

"As many as 144 combat engagements were recorded on the front lines in the past 24 hours.

Over the past 24 hours, 144 combat clashes have been recorded. According to detailed information, yesterday the enemy attacked the positions of Ukrainian units and settlements with two missile strikes using one missile and 67 airstrikes using 104 guided aerial bombs. In addition, he launched 4,605 shelling attacks, including 94 using multiple rocket launchers. According to him, the aggressor carried out airstrikes near Hlyboke, Lyptsi, Mali Prokhody, Starytsia and Synkivka in the Kharkiv region; Terny, Lyman, Makiivka, Spirne, Chasiv Yar, Dobropillia, Pivnichne, Toretsk, Oleksandropil, Umanske, Pokrovsk, Zhelanne, Prohres, Arkhanhelske, Katerynivka, Urozhaine and Vodiane in the Donetsk region; Huliaipole, Lobkove, Rivnopil, Kamianske and Piatykhatky in the Zaporizhzhia region." Ukrin

Schumer Says "Best For Biden To Drop Out Of Race" As President Tests Positive For COVID

"Moments ago, ABC News reported that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., advised President Biden to end his reelection for the greater good of the country and the Democratic Party.

Only eight days ago, Schumer had a different opinion on Biden: "I'm with Joe." Schumer pushed for the Democratic National Convention's delay as questions soared about the president's 2024 candidacy.
According to Axios, the delay "signals that the congressional leaders sympathize with rank-and-file Democrats who want more time to address concerns about Biden's ability to defeat former President Trump."
Vice President Kamala Harris's nomination odds for the party now stand at 50, while Biden's is at 38. Just hours after President Biden mentioned in an interview that he would consider dropping out of the presidential race if diagnosed with a "medical condition," the elderly president tested positive for Covid-19 this afternoon.
Unidos US president Janet Murguía informed the audience at the organization's national conference in Vegas about Biden's diagnosis. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Biden was delivering speeches in Las Vegas when he "experienced mild symptoms." KJP said the president "will be returning to Delaware, where he will self-isolate and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time." ZH