Ukrainian Forces Are Using Internationally-Banned Scatter Mines

"Human Rights Watch found that Ukrainian troops have been using scatter mines. The anti-
personnel weapons are internationally banned, including by Kiev, because of their devastating impact on civilians. 

HRW reports uncovered several instances where Ukraine used anti-personnel scatter mines." ZH

Drones Shot Down in Moscow Region

"One drone was shot down near Kubinka,....two drones were shot down in the Russian capital
near the village of Valuyevo." Sputnik

Tulsi Gabbard Scorches Democrat Party For Leading Us To The Brink Of Nuclear War

"Former Representative and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) thundered against the state of the modern Democratic party. On Twitter she called out the party’s leadership as being led by “cowardly warmongers who are firmly in the grips of the military industrial complex, and don’t know or care about the cost of war, or who pays the price.” 

She mentioned that the party has led the country in turn “to the brink of nuclear war......This proxy war against Russia using the Ukrainian peoples lives continues to escalate. We are hearing more talks of NATO countries who want to send troops into Ukraine which will only increase the likelihood of a direct confrontation between the United States and NATO countries [on the one side] and Russia [on the other],” she said.

The Hawaii politician then evoked Ronald Reagan’s , a Republican president, comments about nuclear war. She cited his famous dictum that “nuclear war can never be won and should never be fought.”  

She observed that “he [Reagan] was right when he said those words and he is still right today but the elite don’t care. They don’t care because they have got bunkers, they got places they can go where they know they will be safe and they have got no problem leaving the rest of us who don’t have those things… to perish.” TP

Families of fallen Ukrainian soldiers demand American-style cemetery

"A small-scale protest, staged by families of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, including members of
the notorious neo-Nazi Azov regiment, was held in the heart of Kiev on Friday. The demonstrators gathered on Independence Square (Maidan), urging Ukraine’s authorities to build a national military cemetery.

In some locations, authorities have to exhume old graves to make room for the newly deceased, the New York Times reported last month. For instance, a groundskeeper at one cemetery told the newspaper that the management of the site had decided to exhume unmarked graves from World War I, as it had run out of space." RT

Ukrainian marines shoot down Russian Ka-52 helicopter in Berdiansk sector

"Fighters with the 36th Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Bilynsky have
destroyed a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter with a Javelin anti-tank missile system in the Berdiansk sector." Ukrin

Ukraine’s Air Force launched 12 strikes on enemy clusters in past day

"The Air Force of the Defense Forces of Ukraine launched 12 strikes on enemy personnel concentration areas in the past day, while missile and artillery units hit an enemy command post." Ukrin

Oil Jumps After Saudi Arabia, Russia Announce Extension Of Export Cuts

"Saudi Arabia announced it will extend its voluntary, unilateral oil production cut by one
month, at least through August (the output cut can and likely will be extended further), keeping a ceiling on supply even as the market is expected to tighten further. Moments later, its OPEC+ ally Russia announced it will "voluntarily" extend a reduction of its oil exports in August by 500K bbl/day to ensure the oil market remains balanced....The news sent the oil and energy complex to the highest level in at least a week: Brent rose 1.5% to $76.50 a barrel; WTI for August delivery advanced 1.4% to $71.60. The Stoxx 600 Energy subsector outperformed the broader European benchmark on Monday. The energy sub-index rises as much as 1.9%, the most in a month; Shell (+2%) was the biggest contributor to the gains by index points. Other movers are Harbour Energy +4.7%, Galp +3.1%, Aker BP +2.7%, BP +2.7%, TotalEnergies +2.6%." ZH

Russia Says Wagner's Future in Africa Depends on 'Countries Concerned'

"Moscow said that the Wagner Group would continue to work in African countries if their
governments chose to maintain contracts with the private military group.

"The future of the agreements between African countries and the Wagner private military company is above all up to the governments of the countries concerned," Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters.

His comments come as the Kremlin moves to dissolve Wagner by handing its military hardware to the regular army and offering exile to mercenaries who took part in Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed mutiny last weekend." MT

Russia launches first overnight drone attack on Kyiv in 12 days

"Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv after a 12-day break, a Ukrainian military
official said on Sunday, with air defence systems destroying all targets on their approach." France24

Rioters Attack Home Of French Mayor Vincent Jeanbrun, Injuring His Wife And Child

"France dealt with its fifth consecutive night of widespread rioting, arson and attacks on police
following the officer-involved shooting of a 17-year-old French-Algerian teenager. In the Paris suburb of L’Haÿ-les-Roses, rioters attempted to burn down the home of town mayor Vincent Jeanbrun while his wife and young children were inside, according to a report from French newspaper Le Figaro.

“My wife and children in shock and hurt,” the mayor wrote in a social media post shortly after 2 a.m. local time." TP

Putin's Grip On Power

"It was earlier advised to “Be Very Skeptical Of US Intel Claiming That Surovikin May Have Helped Plan Prigozhin’s Coup”, and now two new developments lend even more credence to those suspicions.

The “investigative project” of exiled oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was designated

by Russia as a foreign agent last year due to his operations being funded by Ukraine, shared “documents” with CNN purporting to show that over 30 senior military and intelligence officials are secretly VIP Wagner members.

The outlet reported on these alleged findings around the same time that they published former Vice President Mike Pence’s answer to the question that one of their journalists asked him during his unannounced visit to Kiev regarding his opinion of whether or not President Putin has full command of his military. He claimed that this is an “open question” in light of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s failed coup attempt last weekend, thus suggesting that Russian leader is struggling to exert his authority.

These two back-to-back news items were intended to leave their audience with the impression that the President Putin remains at risk of being overthrown by his armed forces, which is nothing but an artificially manufactured information warfare narrative designed to sow doubts about his leadership.

It simultaneously attempts to influence him and his circle into carrying out large-scale purges that could adversely affect the special operation while also making the public think that he’s weak if he doesn’t.

The New York Times earlier admitted that “American officials have an interest in pushing out information that undermines the standing of General Surovikin, whom they view as more competent and more ruthless than other members of the command." ZeroHedge

Ukraine's ‘blitzkrieg’ strategy has failed, so where does that leave its much-hyped counteroffensive?

"The counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), widely hyped by Ukrainian and Western officials since the beginning of the year, has been going on for nearly a month. Since June 4, Kiev's forces have been trying to advance on the southern section of the frontlines in Zaporozhye Region and in the western part of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

The anticipated ‘blitzkrieg’ strategy was not successful and the Ukrainian offensive became

stuck in positional warfare, losing a lot of the military equipment provided to it by the West. By the end of June, Kiev managed to occupy a mere eight villages, but was not able to reach the main Russian fortifications. Russian Federation built a deep line of defense, a task which involved civilian workers. Near Melitopol, it constructed a defense line in two echelons with a forefield and two security zones. Tokmak and the village of Ocherevatoye were prepared for point defense. 

The Vremyevsky salient – the most vulnerable section of defense

On June 4, Ukraine launched its counteroffensive with a distracting (later to become the main) strike on the Vremyevsky salient. Apparently, this was intended to pull out the Russian Army’s reserves and draw them into battle in this area. These attacks continued for several days but were unsuccessful. 

During the second attack on June 10, Ukraine’s army acted more effectively, and by June 13, Russia retreated from the villages of Novodarovka, Neskuchnoye, Storozhevoye, Blagodatnoye, and Makarovka. On June 26, the Ukrainians took control of Rovnopol and some positions in the fields on the way to Novodonetsky and Priyutnoye.

In the course of three weeks of fighting, the AFU captured six villages, which were all evacuated ahead of time. It should be noted that the Vryemyevsky salient was initially extremely inconvenient for Russian defense – surrounded by Ukrainian forces from the flanks,....June 7, the AFU started moving in the direction of Melitopol. Initially, this was the task of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, a unit which had earlier suffered many casualties. Going in the direction of Vasilevka, the brigade tried to occupy the village of Lobkovo.

The next day, the AFU launched an offensive supposedly headed by the 47th Mechanized Brigade and armed with the new German Leopard tanks. This attack ended badly for the Ukrainians – the operation failed, Western equipment was destroyed, and Russia published damaging video footage which went viral online.The Ukrainian online resource DeepState, which shows a live map of the war, temporarily closed the comments section and later published an “uncomfortable analysis” of the events, slamming Ukrainian officials and politicians who claimed that their army had not launched a counteroffensive yet. According to Ukrainian political observers, the behavior of the officials devalued the lives of the country's soldiers.

Increased pressure on the front forced the Russian Army to retreat from two other villages – Lobkovoe and Pyatikhatka, where lengthy battles took place. Presently, the Russian Army is holding its defensive positions near the village of Zherebyanka.

To the east, the AFU was able to advance through the fields in the direction of the village of Rabotino, which is on the road from Orekhov to Tokmak. Both sides have suffered losses but Ukraine is also losing a vital asset – time – as the pace of the counteroffensive slows down.....the Russian Air Force is constantly attacking UFU warehouses and staging areas. 

Every two weeks, Ukrainian journalist Roman Shrike polls his Telegram subscribers on the estimated duration of the war. On June 15, the option that the war will continue for ‘more than another year’ received over 50% of votes for the first time." RT

Unrest sparked by teen’s killing spreads to Belgium, 64 arrested

"Nationwide riots triggered by French police’s fatal shooting of a 17-year-old spread to
Belgium, unleashing chaos that resulted in 64 arrests, City of Brussels police revealed......Hordes of young people gathered in Brussels, using social media meetups to evade the authorities’ grasp and reassembling at the next location when police got too close. As the rioters settled on the Anneessens neighborhood and nearby Midi Station as the targets of their rage, the Anneessens metro station was closed for the night and buses through the neighborhood stopped or rerouted." RT

Why a Siberian Shaman Is a Thorn in the Kremlin's Side

"Alexander Gabyshev, a self-styled shaman from Russia’s Far East, has been held in

compulsory psychiatric treatment since 2019, after he set out on a cross-country trek to Moscow with the goal of peacefully expelling President Vladimir Putin from power and “restoring democracy” to Russia by performing a shamanic ritual on Red Square.

On Monday, a court in Russia’s Far East ordered to transfer him from a neuropsychiatric dispensary to a general psychiatric hospital in Yakutsk, where he will undergo a “milder” form of treatment.

Russia’s Memorial human rights organization has declared Gabyshev to be a political prisoner.

The Free Yakutia Foundation, an anti-war movement in Gabyshev’s home republic of Sakha, has penned this op-ed on how Gabyshev’s message was able to resonate with so many ordinary Russians." MT

Russian Forces Repel Five Ukrainian Attacks in Donetsk Direction

"The Russian armed forces have repelled five Ukrainian attacks in the Donetsk direction in the past day. The Ukrainian military lost up to 160 soldiers in the Donetsk direction and up to 120 soldiers in the South Donetsk." Sputnik