Tag: perpetual war

Russia Army Captures Two More Settlements In 3rd Straight Month Of Advance In Ukraine’s East

Russia’s military announced on Sunday that its forces had taken control of two additional settlements in eastern Ukraine, specifically one in the Donetsk region and the other in Kharkiv.

The statements indicated the villages of Piddubne in Donetsk and Sobolivka in Kharkiv are now under Russian control, though the Ukrainian side has not yet acknowledged this.

Piddubne had an estimated pre-war population of about 500 and is located merely 4 miles from the Dnipropetrovsk oblast border.

As for, Sobolivka, it lies about two miles west of Kupiansk and is outside of areas previously claimed by Russia, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a couple of social media posts that its troops had “liberated” the settlements, and made reference to “Poddubnoye” and “Sobolevka” – according to the Russian spellings.

According to analysis presented in AFP, this marks the third straight month of Russian forces’ advance in Ukraine’s east, after stagnant front lined during the winter.

“Russia’s military advance in June accelerated for a third consecutive month and made its largest advance since November, according to AFP’s analysis of data from US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW),” AFP writes.

“The Russian army took 588 square kilometers (227 square miles) of Ukrainian territory in June, compared with 507 square kilometers in May, 379 square kilometers in April, and 240 square kilometers in March, according to ISW data,” the publication adds.

Drone assaults from both sides continues to be a feature of the war, with Russia just days ago having unleashed an unprecedented 500 drones on Ukraine.

Kiev was targeted again overnight Friday, and the next day the city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said the number of people killed had increased to two, with an additional 31 people wounded.

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The UK Aims To Entrench Its Influence In Estonia In Order To Lead The Arctic-Baltic Front

The possible deployment of nuclear-capable F-35As there, which could be equipped with US air-to-ground nukes since the UK no longer has its own, would give London a leading role in managing the joint Arctic-Baltic front against Russia that’s expected to remain even after the Ukrainian Conflict ends…

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told the Postimees newspaper after last month’s NATO Summit that his country is interested in hosting nuclear-capable F-35As from its allies, with the outlet suggesting that the UK could deploy some of the 12 that it plans to purchase after they’re transferred. The UK’s other announcement that it’ll join NATO’s dual-capable nuclear aircraft mission raises the chance that these jets could be equipped with US nukes since the UK no longer has its own air-to-ground ones.

The Wall Street Journal explained how “U.K. Shifts Nuclear Doctrine With Purchase of U.S. Jets”, which could lead to it obtaining the aforesaid nukes from the US, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared that Estonia’s readiness to host nuclear-capable jets from any NATO country poses an “immediate danger” to Russia. All this follows Russia’s Foreign Spy Service warning in mid-June that the Brits and Ukrainians are cooking up two false flag provocations in the Baltic to rope Trump into the war.

Seeing as how it was assessed in late April that “Estonia Might Become Europe’s Next Trouble Spot”, it’s therefore likely that they’ll let the UK deploy nuclear-capable F-35As at Tapa Army Base, where it already has some troops as part of its largest overseas deployment. Putting everything together, it can therefore be concluded that the UK is actively expanding its sphere of influence in the Baltic on anti-Russian pretexts and via associated means, with Estonia playing a leading role by hosting its regional forces.

The Baltic front of the New Cold War is connected to the Arctic one due to Finland joining the alliance in 2023 and Russia responding by building up its forces along their border to deter NATO-emanating threats from there. This joint front, which is expected to remain tense even after the Ukrainian Conflict ends, will also see the construction of the “EU Defense Line” that’ll stretch along Finland’s, the Baltic States’, and Poland’s eastern borders with Russia and Belarus as a 21st-century Iron Curtain.

It’s within this context that Trump reportedly plans to pull some US troops out of Central & Eastern Europe (CEE), perhaps in exchange for Russia reducing its own presence in Belarus (possibly including its tactical nukes), as part of their plans to build a new European security architecture. Be that as it may, the “EU Defense Line” – which includes new border fortifications and the deployment of extra-regional countries’ forces like the UK’s and Germany’s – ensures that the EU-Russian security dilemma will persist.

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Trump says Ukraine will need Patriot missiles for its defense, chides Putin

U.S. President Donald Trump said Ukraine would need Patriot missiles for its defenses, after speaking with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday, and voiced frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s failure to end the fighting.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had a good call with Zelenskiy, repeating that he was “very unhappy” about his call with Putin a day earlier, given what he called the Russian leader’s refusal to work on a ceasefire.

Asked whether the United States would agree to supply more Patriot missiles to Ukraine, as requested by Zelenskiy, Trump said: “They’re going to need them for defense… They’re going to need something because they’re being hit pretty hard.”

Trump touted the efficacy of the Patriot missiles, calling the weapon “pretty amazing.”

Asked about the prospects for a ceasefire, Trump said, “It’s a very tough situation… I was very unhappy with my call with President Putin. He wants to go all the way, just keep killing people – it’s no good.”

Zelenskiy said he had agreed to work on increasing Kyiv’s capability to “defend the sky” as Russian attacks escalate, adding in a message on Telegram that he discussed joint defense production, as well as joint purchases and investments with the U.S. leader.

Ukraine has been asking Washington to sell it more Patriot missiles and systems that it sees as key to defending its cities from intensifying Russian air strikes.

A decision by Washington to halt some shipments of weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv that the move would weaken its ability to defend against Russia’s airstrikes and battlefield advances. Germany said it is in talks on buying Patriot air defense systems to bridge the gap.

A source briefed on the Trump-Zelenskiy call told Reuters they were optimistic that supplies of Patriot missiles could resume after what they called a “very good” conversation between the presidents.

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Report: Syria Talks With Israel Involve Seizing North Lebanon

Israeli media began reporting new specificities about the Syria-Israel peace talks that have been ongoing for awhile, and incredibly they seem to suggest that the deal is centering around discussions of carving off parts of Lebanon to give to Syria’s Islamist government.

The normalization was centering heavily around the Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights. Israel invaded and occupied parts of Golan in 1967, and invaded further parts of Golan in December after the ouster of the Assad government. The new Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government has argued that public opinion obliges them to try to get the Golan back.

Or at least part of the Golan. Israeli media are suggesting that a compromise under discussion would see Israel return one third of the Golan to Syria, at least nominally, though potentially with Israel being allowed to continuing leasing it, and then compensating Syria with parts of Lebanon.

The HTS is reportedly keen to seize Tripoli, historically Tripoli of the Levant to distinguish it from the one in Libya, arguing it is a Sunni majority city and was separated from Syria proper during the French mandate. They also reportedly want the Bekaa Valley.

This seems like it would be a non-starter for Lebanon, of course, but there is no indication they’re even involved in the discussion. This gives this talk the appearance of Israel and Syria discussing how to carve up their smaller neighbor.

Tripoli is Lebanon’s second largest city, and over 8% of the city’s population is Alawites. That’s another potential problem with Syria annexing the city, because there have been on-again, off-again massacres of Alawites in northwest Syria, resulting in over ten thousand fleeing into northern Lebanon and the Tripoli area. Now, it seems, the city they fled is also up for grabs.

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Palestinian Sheikhs in Hebron Ask Israel for Separate Emirates, Not State

A group of Palestinian sheikhs in the holy city of Hebron has written to the Israeli government formally asking to be given sovereignty over the area as an emirate, and not as part of a larger Palestinian state.

The new emirate, they say, would join the Abraham Accords, the regional agreement establishing peace between Israel and participating Arab and Muslim states. Abraham himself is said by tradition to be buried in Hebron, in the Tomb of the Patriarch, holy to Muslims and Jews.

The initiative places a new option on the table for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and an alternative to the corrupt and antisemitic Palestinian Authority, which currently administers the area.

The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday:

“We want cooperation with Israel,” says Sheikh Wadee’ al-Jaabari, also known as Abu Sanad, from his ceremonial tent in Hebron, the West Bank’s largest city located south of Jerusalem. “We want coexistence.” The leader of Hebron’s most influential clan has said such things before, as did his father. But this time is different. Sheikh Jaabari and four other leading Hebron sheikhs have signed a letter pledging peace and full recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Their plan is for Hebron to break out of the Palestinian Authority, establish an emirate of its own, and join the Abraham Accords.

The letter is addressed to Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat, a former mayor of Jerusalem, who has brought Mr. Jaabari and other sheikhs to his home and met with them more than a dozen times since February. They ask him to present it to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and await his reply.

“The Emirate of Hebron shall recognize the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people,” the sheikhs write, “and the State of Israel shall recognize the Emirate of Hebron as the Representative of the Arab residents in the Hebron District.” Accepting Israel as a Jewish state goes further than the Palestinian Authority ever has, and sweeps aside decades of rejectionism.

The suggestion is timely: the U.S. and Israel are said to be preparing a formal peace plan that encompasses the region. The plan must make room for Palestinian aspirations in some form to win the support of Arab leaders.

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The Spiderweb & The Lion: Subversive Infiltration And US National Security

Over a decade ago, when I was working on force protection issues for Navy air logistics missions, the threat of drone attacks was just beginning to be seriously discussed. We kicked around contingencies and “what ifs,” but those discussions were largely in the background of mission planning. Over the course of the past ten years however, that threat has exploded to the forefront of the military operational planning world and has presented something altogether new in modern warfare.

In the early hours of June 1, 2025, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) executed Operation Spiderweb, an audacious drone assault on Russian airfields that destroyed or damaged a number of Russia’s most prized aircraft, including possibly two A-50 early-warning planes and as many as a dozen strategic bombers. Drones, smuggled into Russia over 18 months and concealed in remote-controlled containers, were launched from within Russian territory, catching Moscow’s defenses off guard.

Just days later, on June 13, 2025, Israel’s Mossad orchestrated a similarly bold strike, dubbed Rising Lion, targeting Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. Mossad agents, operating covertly within Iran, established drone bases near Tehran and smuggled precision weapons to dismantle air defenses and eliminate key figures, including Revolutionary Guards commanders and at least one senior nuclear scientist. Allow me to emphasize, the drone attacks came from within Russia and from within Iran.

These operations quite possibly signal a new era of warfare: patient, subversive infiltration by committed adversaries willing to play the long game.

The United States—due to years of lax borders and insufficient oversight of foreign land purchases—is alarmingly vulnerable to such tactics, especially from a strategic rival like China, whose land acquisitions near U.S. military bases pose a clear risk.

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US reportedly plans to curb sales of AI GPUs to Malaysia and Thailand to prevent smuggling to China

The U.S. government is preparing a new set of export rules that would tighten control over the exports of advanced Nvidia AI GPUs to Malaysia and Thailand, in a bid to prevent the re-export of these components to China amid existing bans, according to Bloomberg.

A preliminary version of the new export rule, reported by Bloomberg, states that the U.S. Commerce Department would require companies to obtain a U.S. government export license before sending AI GPUs to the two Southeast Asian nations. The plan has not been finalized and may change, yet it may represent another step towards limiting Chinese entities’ access to high-performance Nvidia AI GPUs.

Malaysia and Thailand are not major suspected hubs for the smuggling of Nvidia’s GPUs, unlike Singapore, which is officially listed as one of Nvidia’s primary sources of revenue, raising questions about whether the products sold to Singapore-based entities eventually end up in China. Indeed, Nvidia denies that its AI GPUs formally sold to Singapore-based entities could end up in China, arguing that they are sold to entities officially based in Singapore, but they are destined elsewhere. Nonetheless, it is widely believed that Singapore is a hub for smuggling high-end Nvidia GPUs to China and other sanctioned countries.

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German MPs demand more money for Ukraine – Bild

A group of German lawmakers from the Green Party has called on Chancellor Friedrich Merz to urgently increase military aid to Ukraine, saying Berlin must contribute more in light of a slowdown in US arms deliveries, according to a letter obtained by Bild.

The letter, signed by Bundestag deputies Robin Wagener, Sara Nanni, Sebastian Schafer, and Anton Hofreiter, criticized the federal government’s recently announced increase in military assistance from €7.1 billion to €8.3 billion as insufficient.

The lawmakers pointed to the US decision to pause certain weapons shipments to Kiev as a critical factor, arguing that Berlin should raise the figure to at least €8.5 billion and commit to maintaining that level through 2029.

The Green MPs, who have been among Kiev’s most vocal supporters in the Bundestag, reportedly said the government still has room to maneuver within the approved budget framework, and argued that the constitutional limits on debt spending could be sidestepped through special exemptions.

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Report: European Union to Sanction Israel Next Week Over Gaza War

The European Union is planning to sanction Israel next week over the Gaza conflict.

The European elitists found violations of human rights obligations by Israel in Gaza.

Israel has been at war with Hamas since the terror group stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023. The terror group slaughtered families in their homes, targeted a rave party with hundreds of young adults, gunned down the young party-goers, and kidnapped hundreds of Jews on their way back to Gaza.

Israel retaliated with the promise to destroy Hamas in Gaza. The international community believes Israel has committed human rights violations in the process.

Now, EU officials are finalizing plans to sanction Israel this coming week.

Via Reuters.

However, deep divisions among member states suggest that only a few of the proposed measures—if any—are likely to be implemented.

According to an internal EU report on its trade agreement with Israel, seen by Euractiv last month, the bloc found “indications of violations” of human rights obligations.

In response, the European External Action Service (EEAS) is drafting a document outlining possible measures. EU ambassadors are expected to review it on July 10.

In 2024 the International Criminal Court called for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Gaza War.

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Police Arrest ‘Palestine Action’ Protesters Following Ban as Terrorist Group by British Government

Dozens of protesters supporting Palestine Action were arrested in London on Sunday as they demonstrated in defiance of the British government’s move to classify the group as a proscribed terrorist organisation.

Following failures to legally challenge the terrorist classification, which prohibits people in the UK from supporting the group in any regard, supporters of Palestine Action gathered in London’s Parliament Square outside the House of Commons.

Protesters were seen waving placards with the message: “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action”.

The demonstration prompted at least 20 arrests from the Metropolitan Police, which said in a statement per Sky News: “The group is now proscribed and expressing support for them is a criminal offence… Arrests are being made.”

Earlier this week, Members of Parliament backed the government’s call for a ban on the group by a margin of 385 votes in favour to just 26 against.

Thus, Palestine Action is now on the same legal level as other banned Islamist terror groups like al Qaeda, ISIS, and Hezbollah. Those found to be members or supporters of the group now face up to 14 years in prison. Even wearing t-shirts or other symbols of the group can be punishable with up to six months behind bars.

While the group attempted to launch legal challenges at the High Court and the Court of Appeals, they were ultimately shot down, paving the way for the ban to come into effect at midnight on Saturday.

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