'Major disinformation': Belarusian president on Ukrainian counteroffensive

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko
©Ilya Pitalev/POOL/TASS

The Kiev regime’s much-hyped counteroffensive is simply disinformation, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.

"The three days of the ‘counteroffensive’: what we’re observing and the information we’ve received from the Russian president are in complete congruence. Over three days, about three dozen advancing Ukrainian tanks and 120 or 130 infantry fighting vehicles have been eliminated, and, what’s most horrible, more than 2,100 Ukrainians have been killed, with slightly over 70 [fatalities] on this side. This is the result of this attempt at a counteroffensive. Well, I’ve always said this, the counteroffensive is a major piece of disinformation. There is no counteroffensive and cannot be a counteroffensive, but if there is one, then here’s the result from it over three days," he said at a meeting in Minsk with members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Committee of Security Council Secretaries.

According to Lukashenko, the Kiev regime’s Western handlers are currently scrambling to analyze the causes of Ukraine’s military failures.

"Yesterday I talked with [Russian President] Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] and we are absolutely of the same opinion that the current situation is all about the West, which is fighting there, waiting to see the results of the ‘counteroffensive,’ and naturally, if not for all the Western weapons and mercenaries, the whole thing would have ended long ago," the Belarusian leader added.

Shoigu: Ukraine Loses 350 Troops After Failing to Break Russian Defense

Up to 1,500 Ukrainian military attempted to break through Russian defense lines on Wednesday night, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Thursday.

"Today at 1:30 a.m. (local time, 22:30 GMT on Wednesday), the enemy totaling up to 1,500 military and 150 armored vehicles attempted to break through our defense in the Zaporozhye direction," Shoigu told reporters.

Ukraine lost up to 350 military, as well as 30 tanks and 11 infantry fighting vehicles as a result of a two-hour battle, the minister said.

"The reconnaissance forces detected the enemy in a timely manner, delivered a preventive strike by artillery, aviation and anti-tank weapons," Shoigu said. Kiev has been promising a "counter-offensive" for the past month, but Ukrainian troops have failed to advance, only losing several key positions, including the city of Artemovsk in the DPR. However, Ukraine has boosted its activity on the frontlines following Kiev's attack on the Novaya Kakhovka dam, which led to the flooding of a major area in Russia's Kherson region.

Watch Russian Ka-52 'Alligator' Attack Helicopter Fire at Enemy

The Kamov Ka-52 attack helicopter, in service with Russia's Air Force, is capable of effectively eliminating enemy targets in combat zones, while also swiftly dodging retaliatory fire.

Russian Air Force Ka-52 Alligator attack helicopter crews have been shown in combat in footage released by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

As part of Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine, Ka-52s fired unguided bombs to engage Ukrainian positions.

The precise strike at the designated target was confirmed by a forward air controller.

The Ka-52 Alligator is a twin-seat all-weather attack helicopter developed by the Kamov Design Bureau, based on the Ka-50 Black Shark helicopter.

EU Fails to Agree New Sanctions Against Russia as Economic Pinch Takes Toll

The European Union and its US allies slapped crushing sanctions on Moscow in early 2022 after the long-smoldering Donbass crisis escalated into a full-blown NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine. The strategy backfired, thrusting the EU into an unprecedented energy crisis and threatening the bloc with large-scale deindustrialization.

EU countries failed again to agree on an 11th package of sanctions against Russia in talks Wednesday, with negotiations expected to continue next week, four diplomats with direct knowledge of the situation have told European media.

The proposed restrictions, said to be focused on efforts by Russia and its partners to circumvent earlier enacted sanctions, are reportedly being held up by Hungarian and Greek indignation amid efforts to label their national companies operating in Russia as “war sponsors.” France and Germany have also reportedly asked for measures to soften the proposed sanctions amid fears of the impact they could have on ties with affected countries besides Russia.

The United States has accused five countries – Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkiye and the United Arab Emirates, of being particular egregious violators of the West’s sanctions policy against Moscow.

On Wednesday, State Department sanctions coordinator Jim O’Brien complained that European companies have sold vast quantities of goods to third parties which then resold them to Russia, enabling Moscow to “reimport certain key categories of electronics at about pre-war levels.”

Sanctions Blunted

The EU’s anti-circumvention restrictions resemble the ‘secondary sanctions’ regularly used by the United States, which threatens to target third countries doing business with America’s adversaries. Washington used such sanctions for decades against countries like Iran, Cuba and North Korea. However, the restrictions faltered last year after being applied against Russia, not only failing to achieve their goal of collapsing the Russian economy, but prompting most of the world outside the US and Europe to reject efforts to isolate Russia.

The negotiations on the EU’s 11th package of sanctions comes after the approval of the 10th package in February, with those restrictions including entry bans, export bans, and asset freezes.

The European Union has now slapped over 1,500 sanctions on Russia since February 2022. Russia is by far the most heavily-sanctioned nation on Earth, with its 13,260+ total restrictions more numerous than all Western sanctions on Iran, Syria, North Korea, Belarus, Venezuela and Myanmar combined.

But the sanctions have largely failed to achieve their objective, with Russia’s GDP resuming growth in 2023 after a 2.5 percent contraction in 2022, and Moscow working intensively to expand trade ties with China, India, Africa, the Middle East and Latin America after being frozen out of Western markets.

Meanwhile, European nations have faced recession and the threat of deindustrialization amid rising energy and food prices after a halt in imports of Russian oil, gas, coal and fertilizers left many industries uncompetitive against Asian and US counterparts.

Russia warned about precisely such an eventuality in the spring of 2022, when President Putin cautioned his EU counterparts that restrictions on Russian energy purchases at Washington’s behest would constitute a form of "economic suicide."

Epidemi penyalahgunaan narkoba AS membunuh 300 orang Amerika per hari

Di dalam dinasti Sackler dan perusahaannya, Purdue Pharma, yang diduga memicu epidemi opioid AS.

Purdue Pharma memperkenalkan pembunuh rasa sakit opioid OxyContin pada 1990-an dan mempromosikannya secara agresif sebagai non-adiktif.

Pengacara pemerintah Amerika Serikat berpendapat bahwa pemilik perusahaan, Sacklers, tahu bagaimana pengobatan mereka disalahgunakan secara luas, tetapi melipatgandakan produksi - dan keuntungan.

Baru-baru ini gugatan diselesaikan sebesar $6 miliar.

Barry Meier, penulis Pain Killer (segera menjadi seri Netflix), mulai menulis tentang epidemi opioid 20 tahun lalu ketika membunuh sekitar 20.000 orang setiap tahun. Dia memberi tahu pembawa acara Steve Clemons bagaimana keserakahan perusahaan dan keragu-raguan pemerintah telah menyebabkan angka itu melebihi 100.000 kematian tahun lalu saja.

USA melampaui rekor 100.000 kematian akibat overdosis pada tahun 2021

Lebih dari 80.000 orang meninggal karena penggunaan opioid, termasuk resep pil pereda nyeri dan fentanil, obat mematikan yang 100 kali lebih kuat dari morfin dan semakin banyak ditemukan dalam obat lain.

Kematian akibat metamfetamin dan kokain juga meningkat.

Sejak awal abad ke-21, epidemi overdosis yang dipimpin oleh resep pil pereda nyeri dan diikuti gelombang heroin, fentanil, dan sabu telah menewaskan lebih dari 1 juta orang, atau kira-kira populasi San Jose, menurut data sementara.

Dan tidak ada akhir yang jelas, menurut para ahli.

"2022 mungkin akan sama mengerikannya dengan 2021, sangat mungkin lebih buruk," kata Keith Humphreys, seorang peneliti kecanduan dan kebijakan narkoba di Stanford University.

Nora Volkow, direktur Institut Nasional Penyalahgunaan Narkoba, mengatakan negara itu keluar dari pandemi dengan "peningkatan yang signifikan" dalam depresi, kecemasan, kesepian, dan pemikiran untuk bunuh diri, "dan itu tidak akan hilang."

Para pejabat memperingatkan bahwa mereka menanggapi semakin banyak overdosis karena pandemi terus berlanjut. Kantor Jaksa Agung Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro telah menyita 1,8 juta dosis fentanil dalam tiga bulan pertama tahun 2022, lebih banyak dari opioid sintetik yang manjur dibandingkan sepanjang tahun 2021.

Kematian akibat overdosis secara nasional melonjak ke tingkat yang sebelumnya tidak terlihat pada paruh pertama pandemi, naik 30 persen dari 2019 hingga 2020. Pandemi membebani keuangan, kesehatan mental, perumahan, dan lainnya bagi banyak orang, sambil membayangi krisis narkoba. Ada kekhawatiran bahwa lonjakan kasus virus korona yang diprediksi pada musim gugur ini dapat kembali membatasi akses ke perawatan dan pengobatan.

Hari Kesadaran Fentanyl Nasional bertujuan untuk memperkuat upaya nasional untuk meningkatkan kesadaran dan mengurangi permintaan fentanyl, yang merupakan opioid sintetik yang sangat adiktif yang terus mendorong epidemi overdosis.

Fentanyl terlibat dalam lebih banyak kematian orang Amerika di bawah 50 tahun daripada penyebab kematian apa pun, termasuk penyakit jantung, kanker, pembunuhan, bunuh diri, dan kecelakaan lainnya. Fentanil ilegal mendorong peningkatan baru-baru ini dalam kematian akibat overdosis obat di AS.

“Fentanyl adalah satu-satunya ancaman narkoba paling mematikan yang pernah dihadapi bangsa kita,” kata Administrator Anne Milgram. “Fentanil ada di mana-mana. Dari daerah metropolitan besar hingga pedesaan Amerika, tidak ada komunitas yang aman dari racun ini. "

Menurut CDC, 107.375 orang di Amerika Serikat meninggal karena overdosis obat dan keracunan obat dalam periode 12 bulan yang berakhir pada Januari 2022. Yang mengejutkan, 67 persen dari kematian tersebut melibatkan opioid sintetik seperti fentanil.

Beberapa dari kematian ini dikaitkan dengan fentanil yang dicampur dengan obat-obatan terlarang lainnya seperti kokain, metamfetamin, dan heroin, dengan banyak pengguna yang tidak menyadari bahwa mereka benar-benar menggunakan fentanil. Hanya dua miligram fentanil yang dianggap sebagai dosis yang berpotensi mematikan; itu sangat berbahaya bagi seseorang yang tidak memiliki toleransi terhadap opioid.

"Kita harus mengambil setiap kesempatan untuk menyebarkan berita untuk mencegah kematian overdosis terkait fentanil dan keracunan yang merenggut banyak nyawa orang Amerika setiap hari."

Putin discusses Ukraine conflict resolution with African leader

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
©Sergei CHIRIKOV / POOL / AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to host a delegation of African heads of state who plan to visit Moscow to present their peace initiative to end the Ukraine conflict, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

The agreement was reached in a phone call with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, during which both leaders discussed issues pertaining to the "well-known African initiative" and "key aspects of the further development of bilateral strategic partnership."

Six African leaders seeking to mediate a resolution to the fighting decided on Monday to travel to both Moscow and Kiev in mid-June.

Ramaphosa's office said on Tuesday, after a previous meeting with his counterparts, that the foreign ministers of the Comoros Islands, Egypt, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia, and South Africa have been tasked to "finalize the elements of a roadmap towards peace" ahead of the mission.

The Kremlin said Putin and the South African leader also discussed preparations for the second Russia-Africa summit, which will take place in late July in St. Petersburg and will bring together Russian and African officials to deliberate and strengthen bilateral relations. The summit's goal is to boost Russia-Africa cooperation in a variety of areas, including trade, investment, and technology transfer.

The upcoming BRICS summit scheduled to take place in Johannesburg in August was also highlighted, with both leaders expressing "commitment to continuing close coordination between Russia and South Africa on international platforms."

Putin Controlling Situation in Kherson Region After Destruction of Kakhovka HPP - Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin is keeping the situation in the Kherson Region under control after the sabotage at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant (HPP), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

©Photo : Administration of the New Kakhovka city

"He [Putin] keeps the situation in the Kherson Region under control after the sabotage and the explosion of the dam. Yesterday, as you know, he instructed the Ministry of Emergency Situations to strengthen its presence there and provide assistance to people and also actively engage in work to eliminate the consequences of this disaster," Peskov told reporters.

Putin has not current plans of holding a meeting in the Kherson Region after the sabotage, Peskov added.

Emergency teams are selflessly working in the region to deal with the aftermath of the destruction of Kakhovka HPP, even under the conditions of ongoing shelling, the spokesman underscored.

Kremlin spokesman also commented the recent explosion at the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline, naming it another issue that complicates the extension of the grain deal.

On Wednesday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that a Ukrainian sabotage group had blown up the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline in the Kharkov region, adding that there are casualties among the civilian population.

"We do not know what kind of destruction there is, we do not know what the Ukrainian side is going to do with this line. But you know that this topic was mentioned as an integral part of the part of the deal that concerned us. Therefore, let's just say, this is another aspect that complicates the situation in terms of prolonging the deal," Peskov told reporters.

Reports of Swedish Arms in Kiev's Failed Raid on Russia Raise Doubt Over Further Aid

©Press service of the Russian Ministry of Defense / Go to the mediabank

According to pundits, the use of Western weapons in the recent Ukrainian sabotage attacks on Russia pose questions over Kiev's control of the massive troves of arms provided, as well as the suitability of further donations.

A video circulating on social media shows pro-Ukrainian saboteurs in possession of Swedish anti-tank weapons, reportedly during their bungled attempt to infiltrate Russia's Belgorod Region.

A self-proclaimed group of pro-Ukrainian Polish militants that calls itself the Polish Volunteer Corps recently shared a video reportedly filmed in Russia during the one of the botched raids, where the terrorists are pictured handling Swedish Pansarskott 86 anti-tank rounds. The clip's authenticity was verified by Sweden's national broadcaster, which geolocated the footage as filmed in Russia. Earlier, Stockholm sent 15,000 of these projectiles to Kiev.

The saboteurs were reported to have used weapons originally provided to Kiev by the US, Poland, the Czech Republic and Belgium, which obviously debunks the narrative of arming Ukraine for "self-defense purposes only."

While Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson was evasive in his comments, noting that the authorities are familiar with the reports of Swedish anti-tank rounds used in Russia's Belgorod Region, pundits pointed out numerous problems with the recent revelation.

Lieutenant Colonel Peter Liden from the Swedish Defense University argued that the clip would provide Moscow with an opportunity to "demonstrate that the West is waging a war against Russia."

His colleague Magnus Christiansson, a senior lecturer at the Swedish Defense University, called the footage "remarkable" and said it sparked a debate about whether Ukraine can control or has the ability to keep track of Western-supplied military equipment.

"I don't think Russia is that surprised that these weapons are being used because they were donated by the West to Ukraine, but it does create a discussion about how Ukraine uses the weapons they received and reasonably raises questions about whether it is wise to donate further arms given how these resources are used," Magnus Christiansson told Swedish media.

The West has already crossed a red line for Russia with its increasingly brazen arms deliveries to Ukraine, whose military campaign is heavily reliant on deliveries of Western materiel, ranging from trucks and tanks, to drones and missiles. Based on the official explanation, the arms come with a clause to be used exclusively on Ukraine's territory.

On May 22, a group of Ukrainian saboteurs raided the Grayvoronsky district of the bordering Belgorod Region, killing one and wounding several others, whereupon Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced an anti-terrorist operation. The following day, the incursion was quashed, with Russia neutralizing 70 terrorists and releasing footage showing several scorched armored vehicles belonging to the attackers, as well as US-made Humvees capsized in craters.

Not one Western nation condemned the attack or acknowledged its role in arming the saboteurs and terrorists. Only Belgium's Foreign and Defense Industries pledged to turn to Kiev "at the first opportunity" for an explanation due to the use of Belgian-made weapons in the attack.

Lionel Messi says he will join Miami's MLS team

Messi heads to America to play in Miami","description":"Lionel Messi on Wednesday announced that he intends to join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami as a free agent after parting ways with French champions Paris St Germain and snubbing a lucrative contract offer in Saudi Arabia. Ryan Chang reports.

Lionel Messi has pulled off his latest stunning feat: He is headed to Major League Soccer, and joining Inter Miami.

After months — years, even — of speculation, Messi finally revealed his decision to join a Miami franchise that has been led by another global soccer icon, David Beckham, since its inception but has yet to make any real splashes on the field.

That likely will soon change. One of Inter Miami's owners, Jorge Mas, tweeted out a photo of a darkly silhouetted Messi jersey shortly before the Argentinian great revealed his decision in interviews with Spanish news outlets Mundo Deportivo and Sport.

It was widely believed that Messi eventually would choose to play for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, following longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo to a nation where some clubs now are funded by the state's sovereign wealth fund. Going back to Barcelona, a storied franchise where he spent most of his career, was another possibility.

But in the end, he made the call that surprised many. Messi is joining MLS. He said in the interviews Wednesday that some final details still need to be worked out, but that he has made the call to "continue my path" in Miami.

"After winning the World Cup and not being able to return to Barcelona, it was my turn to go to the league of the United States to live football in another way," Messi said.

He didn't take the money. He didn't choose the memories. He picked Miami instead. Messi's next matches are likely to be exhibitions with Argentina against Australia on June 15 at Beijing and at Indonesia in Jakarta four days later — and then his Inter Miami debut figures to be sometime in July.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner — the trophy given annually to the best player in the world — makes his move after two years with Paris Saint-Germain. At 35, Messi has nothing left to prove in the game and filled the only significant unchecked box on his resume back in December by leading Argentina to the World Cup title.

Messi has more than 800 goals in his career for club and country, making him one of the greatest scorers in the sport's history. In more than 17 years of representing Argentina on the international stage, he has scored 102 goals against 38 different national team opponents — 16 of those goals coming on U.S. soil. He scored twice in last year's World Cup final against France, a match that officially ended 3-3 with Argentina prevailing in penalty kicks.

He has been to the absolute mountaintop of the game.

And now he comes to MLS, and a team that is struggling — last place in the Eastern Conference, just a few days removed from the firing of coach Phil Neville (who was hand-picked by Beckham two years ago).

Messi's decision to play in the U.S. might be the biggest boost ever for American soccer on the pro stage. Some of the game's biggest names — Pele, Thierry Henry, Beckham himself — have come to the U.S. toward the end of their careers, but landing a player still no worse than near the pinnacle of his game and just a few months removed from hoisting a World Cup is simply huge.

It took months of negotiations with MLS, the Inter Miami ownership, Adidas and even Apple getting involved in a creative pitch to bring Messi to Miami's pitch. Apple — which is a broadcast partner of MLS — announced Tuesday that it will show a still-untitled four-part documentary series "featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes access to global superstar Lionel Messi.... In his own words, Messi tells the definitive story of his incredible career with the Argentina national football team, providing an intimate and unprecedented look at his quest for a legacy-defining World Cup victory."

And now, his story will have a Miami chapter.

Inter Miami needed six years from inception to playing its first match, and its first four seasons have been less than stellar.

Messi is joining a team that sits last in the Eastern Conference and just fired its coach. It has made the playoffs in two of its first three seasons but has yet to finish a season with a winning record or even a positive goal differential.

Still, there have been hints for months that Miami remained very much in the Messi sweepstakes. Messi met with Inter Miami co-owner Beckham this spring, and that was shared publicly almost to ensure that everyone knew the sides were still talking. Messi and his family also own several pieces of luxury real estate in South Florida, and — almost as if to suggest something big was coming — the MLS club told fans the only way they could get tickets for the second half of this season was to purchase a season-ticket package.

He's an enormous draw everywhere on the globe, including Miami. Two days after Argentina won the World Cup, Miami Heat guard Kyle Lowry sat on his team's bench for a game unable to play because of injury. He wore a Messi jersey that night.

Inter Miami still plays home matches in a temporary home in Fort Lauderdale, about 45 minutes north of the site in Miami where the team wants to build a permanent complex.

And even in an area where the population has a serious Latin flavor, and where more people might actually call the sport futbol than soccer, Inter Miami has struggled to generate the same attention as do the area's primary pro teams — basketball's Heat, baseball's Miami Marlins, football's Miami Dolphins and hockey's Florida Panthers.

Messi could change that in an instant. In a flash, he becomes the biggest name in MLS and makes everything Miami does newsworthy.

His decision ends what has been a wild saga. Barcelona made Messi a superstar, but the financial issues that forced the team to letting him go two years ago still remain an issue.

"I heard that they'd have to sell players or lower players' salaries and the truth is, I didn't want to go through that," Messi said Wednesday.

There are no financial issues with Saudi Arabia, and speculation that he would end up there intensified when Messi made an unauthorized trip to the kingdom. PSG suspended him and some fans turned on him, serenading him with jeers toward the end of his season with the French club.

Everyone knew he wouldn't be back with PSG. Few likely thought he was heading to Miami. But here he is, a move to Miami by a superstar that might even be more shocking than LeBron James arriving to join the Heat 13 years ago.

Russian, Chinese strategic bombers conduct joint aerial patrol in Asia-Pacific alarm regional US allies And Russia Special Military Operation Video

An air task force of Russian Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying aircraft and Chinese H-6K strategic bombers conducted a joint aerial patrol over the waters of the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the western Pacific, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

"On June 7, 2023, the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Air Force of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted a new joint aerial patrol in the Asia-Pacific region. The air task force composed of Tu-95MS strategic missile-carrying bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Hong-6K strategic bombers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army conducted an aerial patrol over the waters of the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea and the western part of the Pacific Ocean," the ministry said in a statement.

The joint flight lasted about eight hours, the ministry specified.

The Russian Aerospace Forces and the Chinese Air Force conducted joint air patrols in the Asia-Pacific region, the Russian Defense Ministry reported

Su-30SM and Su-35S jets of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Chinese Jian-11B fighters provided support for the air group along the entire flight route, it said.

Several strategic bombers were joined by Russian Su-30SM and Su-35S fighter craft, as well as a Chinese Shenyang J-11B, which provided air cover for the larger planes. The Chinese jet is based on the design of the Soviet-era Su-27, the first version of which entered service in 1985.

The ministry also noted that the drill was part of plans to step up military engagement with Beijing, but said it was “not directed against third countries.”

During the joint aerial patrol, Russian aircraft made landings and take-offs from a Chinese airfield and fighter jets of foreign states escorted the strategic missile-carrying bombers at some stages of the aerial patrol, the ministry said.

Russian and Chinese strategic bombers conducted their joint aerial patrol in the Asia-Pacific region in compliance with international law, it said.

"In the course of fulfilling their objectives, the aircraft of both countries acted in strict compliance with international law. There were no violations of the airspace of foreign states," the ministry said.

The strategic bombers conducted their joint aerial patrol as part of the 2023 military cooperation plan and the flight was not directed against any third countries, the ministry

"Fair Russia - For the Truth" is preparing amendments on the right of territorial defense units to use small arms, Mironov said.

While Moscow maintained the exercises were fully in line with international law, they nonetheless triggered anxiety for Japan and South Korea. Soon after the training mission kicked off on Tuesday, both countries said Russian and Chinese craft had flown too close to their airspace and scrambled fighter jets in response, with Seoul issuing a “stern” protest after claiming its air defense identification zone had been breached.

“The Defense Ministry expressed regrets to the two countries over the flight to the sensitive areas close to our air space,” the South Korean military said in a press release, adding that it was not notified about the drills in advance.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno also claimed the fly-over was meant as a “clear show of force” and posed “a grave security concern” to Japan, but acknowledged that its territory was not violated.

The latest air patrol marks the sixth such exercise between Beijing and Moscow in the region and follows several other rounds of joint drills in recent months. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu declared in March that military ties between the two powers had “reached a whole new level.”

Special operation, June 6th. Main:

▪️Within three days, Kyiv launched a long-promised offensive in different sectors of the front, concentrated a large amount of equipment and manpower for this, Shoigu said;

▪️The Russian Armed Forces thwarted the attempts of the Ukrainian troops to attack: on June 4, the enemy attempted an offensive in five directions, but did not succeed in any of them; On June 5, there were attempts to attack in seven directions, the enemy was stopped;

When holding Avdiivka, the Armed Forces of Ukraine use the same tactics as in Mariupol and Artemovsk - they hide behind civilians and put equipment in city blocks, a Russian intelligence officer told RIA Novosti

▪️Ukrainian troops lost up to 3,715 military personnel in 3 days of hostilities, as well as 52 tanks, 48 guns and 7 aircraft and helicopters, Shoigu said;

▪️Among the destroyed equipment are 8 Leopards and 3 AMX-10 wheeled tanks, 136 units of other military equipment, including 79 foreign ones;

▪️️The attack of Ukrainian militants on the settlement of Berkhovka near Artyomovsk was successfully repelled, reports that the point was abandoned by Russian troops do not correspond to reality, the RF Ministry of Defense reported;

▪️️In the area of Artemivsk, four attempts at the offensive of the Ukrainian troops were successfully repelled, bypassing the Russian defense was not allowed;

On Tuesday night, the Russian Aerospace Forces launched a group missile attack on one of the decision-making centers of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry reported;

▪️Russian air defense systems shot down two Ukrainian Su-25s, one Su-27 fighter, two Mi-8 helicopters, Storm Shadow and HARM missiles, destroyed ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the DPR and Zaporozhye region;

▪️Ukrainian military intelligence planned to carry out a terrorist attack in Russia using a "dirty bomb" containing radioactive substances and render the area unusable for human habitation, the FSB reported;

▪️Ukrainian troops carried out a series of strikes on the Kakhovskaya HPP last night, Vladimir Leontyev, head of the administration of the Novokakhovka urban district, told RIA Novosti;

▪️The Kiev regime blew up the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station in order to transfer troops to the area of its offensive operations from the Kherson direction, weakening its positions there, Shoigu said;

▪️The Russian Federation condemns the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station by Ukrainian troops, which is a terrorist act and was planned by Kiev as part of the so-called "counteroffensive", the Russian Foreign Ministry said;

The Russian Defense Ministry showed footage of the destruction of a column of Ukrainian armored vehicles

▪️Russia will request a meeting of the UN Security Council in connection with the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, said the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN Vasily Nebenzya.

Terrorist attack on the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station. Important for this moment:

▪️Putin, in a conversation with Erdogan, called the destruction of the hydroelectric power station a barbaric action of Kyiv.

▪️Erdogan proposed the creation of an international commission to investigate what happened at the hydroelectric power station.

▪️The water level in Nova Kakhovka is decreasing, but it will take at least seven days before it completely leaves all flooded areas, the city administration said.

▪️In Novaya Kakhovka, electricity and water have already appeared in the morning, public utilities are eliminating the consequences. An emergency situation at the regional level has been introduced in the Kherson region.

The Cabinet of Ministers and the authorities of the Kherson region took priority measures to help people after the disaster, Deputy Prime Minister Abramchenko said.

▪️The consequences of the destruction of the infrastructure of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station may affect more than 20 thousand civilians, Abramchenko said.

▪️In total, 35 settlements were flooded in the Kherson region, said Acting Governor Saldo.

▪️After the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, there is a threat of infection in Novaya Kakhovka, one of the cemeteries is washed out, but so far the chemical analysis is in line with the standards, the head of the city administration said.

Western media are discussing what happened at the Kakhovskaya HPP:

Wall Street Journal: Destroying the dam could "buy Russia time to rebuild its defenses" and at the same time "deprive Ukraine of some options for a pending counteroffensive." For Ukraine, this could be beneficial because the flood could wash away Russian fortifications and minefields.

The Ministry of Defense showed footage of the destruction of armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by army aviation using guided missiles

Washington Post: The water release sparked "deep concern" about the environmental and economic damage it caused. Ukrainian troops have previously delivered a "trial strike from a HIMARS rocket launcher provided by the Americans" at a hydroelectric power station.

New York Times: The breach of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric dam has increased the likelihood of "long-term environmental and humanitarian disasters" in the area.

Special operation, June 7th. Main:

▪️The Ukrainian DRG blew up an ammonia pipeline in the Kharkiv region, the RF Ministry of Defense reported. As a result of the explosion, there are victims among the civilian population;

▪️The section of the Togliatti-Odessa ammonia pipeline in the Russian Federation is cut off from the Ukrainian part, it is in good condition under constant monitoring and is safe, RIA Novosti was told in the press service of PJSC Transammiak;

▪️The Foreign Ministry said that Kyiv will not calm down and will carry out terrorist acts around the world;

▪️Kyiv is considering the possibility of blowing up a storage facility with spent nuclear fuel, the Russian Foreign Ministry said;

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation published a video showing Ka-52 helicopters attacking Ukrainian forces in the South Donetsk direction

▪️Up to 40 thousand people were affected by the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, 35 settlements and territories were flooded, Saldo said;

▪️Putin instructed the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations to organize assistance to people in the flood zone in the Kherson region;

▪️Aviation and artillery of the "Center" grouping inflicted a defeat on the positions of 3 brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in two directions, RIA Novosti said in the Ministry of Defense;

▪️The Russian Armed Forces repelled three attacks by Ukrainian troops on the Vremevsky ledge, the Russian Defense Ministry reported;

▪️In the Artemovsk area, Ukrainian troops lost up to 415 people, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The Russian military, using the Lancet-3 kamikaze drone, destroyed the radar station of the IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile system supplied to Kiev by NATO countries, follows from the published video of the Russian Defense Ministry