Over 40 engagements recorded in four areas over past day

"Ukraine's defense forces had 43 military engagements with Russian invaders in the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka areas in the past 24 hours." Ukrin

White House Denies Report China Seeking Spy Base In Cuba, But Menendez Demands Answers

"China is seeking to establish a spy base in Cuba in order to better eavesdrop on the United
States, in an alleged plot which is reminiscent of Cold War intelligence maneuvering among great powers.

Beijing is reportedly in direct talks with the Cuban government, with The Wall Street Journal being the first to report Thursday that the two had reached a "secret agreement" to establish the base. However, hours later in a press briefing White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby rejected the report as inaccurate." ZH

Ukraine accuses Russia of shelling rescuers amid dam evacuations

 "Zelenskyy has accused Russian forces of shelling Ukrainian emergency workers who are
trying to rescue people from floodwaters caused by the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam." AlJazeera

Russia says ammonia pipeline blast may end grain deal

"Moscow has accused Ukrainian "sabotage" groups for the blast that damaged the Togliatti-
Odesa pipeline on Monday.

And the Kremlin says it will not renew last year's grain export deal with Kyiv unless the pipeline is operational." BBC

Saudi Arabia condemns armed attack on embassy

"Saudi Arabia has condemned an attack on its embassy in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, where a
power struggle has raged since April 15, killing hundreds and causing a mass exodus. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that armed groups had stormed and vandalized its building in the conflict-torn city and also destroyed the property and housing of Saudi employees." RT

U.S. Issues Air Quality Warnings, Restrict Flights Over Smoke from Canada Fires

"U.S. agencies warned the public to avoid inhaling smoke from Canadian wildfires, which
also disrupted travel.....“Everyone should stay indoors as much as possible, especially sensitive groups such as children, elderly, pregnant women and people with heart and lung conditions like asthma and bronchitis,” the department continued.....Canada’s Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair, said the fires have burned about 9.4 million acres of forest. The fires have caused at least 26,000 people in Canada to be evacuated." Breitbart

Ukraine's Military Says Counteroffensive Has Begun, Intensified Fighting Confirmed

"Ukraine's forces have finally launched their long-awaited counteroffensive.

The servicemembers said this "crucial phase" in the war has now begun with fresh, intensified attacks in the southeast, coming also as severe flooding from the Kakhovka dam explosion continues to unfold. David Ignatius is calling it Ukraine's "D-Day" - but it's too early to tell if any actual gains have been made and sustained, amid the usual conflicting battlefield claims. Russia's military has said it is crushing the Ukrainian campaign." ZeroHedge

Ukraine’s Air Force launches over 20 strikes on enemy positions, destroys Su-25

"Over the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s Air Force launched 17 strikes on the areas of concentration of Russian troops and four more – on enemy air defense systems. A Russian Su-25 attack aircraft and four reconnaissance drones were also destroyed." Ukrin

Journalists Are Asking Ukrainian Soldiers To Hide Their Nazi Patches, NYT Admits

"The surprising Monday Times headline said that "Nazi Symbols on Ukraine’s Front Lines
Highlight Thorny Issues of History." This acknowledgement comes after literally years of primarily indy journalists and geopolitical commentators pointing out that yes indeed... Ukraine's military and paramilitary groups, especially those operating in the east since at least 2014, have a serious Nazi ideology problem. ...The authors of the NYT report begin by expressing frustration over the optics of Nazi symbols being displayed so proudly on many Ukrainian soldiers' uniforms. Suggesting that many journalistic photographs which have in some cases been featured in newspapers and media outlets worldwide (typically coupled with generally positive articles on Ukraine's military) are merely 'unfortunate' or misleading, the NYT report says, "In each photograph, Ukrainians in uniform wore patches featuring symbols that were made notorious by Nazi Germany....The report admits this has led to controversy wherein news rooms actually must delete some photos of Ukrainian soldiers and militants. "The photographs, and their deletions, highlight the Ukrainian military’s complicated relationship with Nazi imagery, a relationship forged under both Soviet and German occupation during World War II," continues the report." ZH

 

Russian invaders blow up Kakhovka dam

"Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River, which is part of the
Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant (HPP)." Ukrin

Sonic Boom Over DC As NORAD Scrambles F-16s To Intercept "Unresponsive" Private Jet That Crashed

"NORAD scrambled two F-16 fighter jets to intercept an unresponsive private jet that
breached highly restricted airspace in Washington, DC. The private jet crashed shortly afterward in mountainous terrain in Northern Virginia. NORAD's fighter jets "were authorized to travel at supersonic speeds and a sonic boom may have been heard by residents of the region," according to the statement. The pilot was unresponsive and the Cessna subsequently crashed near the George Washington National Forest, Virginia." ZH

Ukraine’s Air Force launches 15 strikes on Russian invaders

"Ukraine’s Air Force launched 15 strikes on enemy personnel clusters over the past day. The
enemy used Kh-101/Kh-555 air-launched cruise missiles and Shahed Iranian-made combat drones. The forces and means of the air commands, in cooperation with the air defense units of other components of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, destroyed four out of six Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles and six out of eight Shahed UAVs." Ukrin

Ukrainian drone operator dodges Russian TOR-2M missile, then catches up to it

"The highlight of the attack was the phenomenal reaction of a Ukrainian drone operator who
managed to dodge a Russian missile fired at his drone.

"A TOR tried to shoot down our suicide drone. But the pilot saved the drone - he manually diverted it from the missile, and then "captured" the target and caught up with the enemy SAM trying to escape," the special service wrote." Yahoo

23 combat engagements, 56 enemy strikes in past day

"Over the past day, the enemy launched 30 airstrikes and 56 MLRS attacks on the positions of  Ukrainian troops and populated settlements...One Iskander-K missile hit the suburbs of Dnipro city – a two-story residential building was damaged, more than 20 civilians, including children, were injured.......The General Staff also noted that the aircraft of the defense forces launched 11 airstrikes on enemy personnel concentration areas, as well as six airstrikes on enemy anti-aircraft missile systems over the past 24 hours." Ukrin

Ukraine’s backers running out of available weapons

"Western nations’ military stockpiles are being depleted, forcing them to seek armaments
elsewhere to prop up Ukraine, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has warned. He also downplayed Kiev’s hopes of joining NATO in the foreseeable future." RT