Russia Invades Ukraine. Again by captaincrunch

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

THGR:

Nope!

And... nope!

Jeez! You and your clickbait.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Friday, June 19, 2026 7:13 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Russian opposition media source Meduza reported on June 18 that major Russian state media TV channels Perviy Kanal and NTV did not cover the Ukrainian strikes on Moscow City in their daytime broadcasts, that the Rossiya-1 channel only quoted official statements, and that none of the channels ran a separate strike report.[19] Meduza noted that Russian news channels instead primarily focused on the need to punish residents who film the strikes and their aftermath.

https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive
-campaign-assessment-june-18-2026/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Friday, June 19, 2026 8:23 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Macron: Trump thought Ukraine was losing but changed his mind after G7 summit

By Iryna Kutielieva, STANISLAV POHORILOV — 19 June, 14:10

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/06/19/8040144/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Friday, June 19, 2026 10:51 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Why do Russians shrug at the minor misfortune of Putin killing Russians?

History is why:

The Great Terror

On 1 December 1934, Stalin found a pretext for launching his second revolution from above. On this day, a slightly deranged gunman shot the Leningrad Party boss dead. Stalin immediately took charge of the investigation into his comrade’s murder and used it to ‘uncover’ all kinds of ‘enemies’ within the party ranks. Some of the victims of the emerging Great Purge were truly in opposition to Stalin. Many more were loyal Stalinists who had confessions beaten out of them. Each arrest triggered several others, as the accused were forced to point fingers at alleged co-conspirators. The purge began in the Party and the state apparatus but soon broadened to include the military, decapitating the Red Army. Three out of five Marshals did not survive the decade. More army-level commanders were shot between 1936 and 1941 than had been in these positions at the start of the period: the terror chewed up replacements, too. Many more experienced cadres saw their careers destroyed even if their lives were spared. Lower down the hierarchy the impact was less spectacular and reinstatements lowered the overall share of victims to about 8 per cent of the officer corps in 1937 and 4 per cent in 1938. But the purge truly only became the Great Terror after it spread to the population at large in a series of ‘mass operations’ in 1937 and 1938. Overall, in these two years, nearly 1.6 million people were arrested, and a staggering 681,692 of them shot. More died in detention, as a result of torture, malnutrition, overwork, disease or accidents, increasing the death toll of these two bloody years to maybe 1.5 million.10

To Stalin, this bloodletting was an essential part of war preparation. Wreckers were everywhere, he told the Central Committee in 1937. They were ready to ‘do their spoiling work . . . in the period immediately preceding war or during war itself’.11 The closer his police looked at personal networks within the party, the more conspiracies they thought they saw. The more he learned about the views of the population, relentlessly eavesdropped upon by party members and police agents, the more isolated he felt. A public debate about a new constitution, the promise for more open elections and a census of the population all revealed widespread hostility to his form of socialism. In the context of the looming threat of Japan from the east and a militarizing Nazi Germany from the west, it was clearly not enough to just purge state, party and army from hidden enemies. Formerly well-off peasants (‘kulaks’), whose property had been confiscated and who had been sent into exile as part of collectivization at the start of the decade, people who had fought with anti-Bolshevik armies in the Civil War, officers and civil servants of the old regime, members of competing socialist or non-socialist parties, clergymen, common criminals, ‘anti-Soviet elements’, Poles, Germans, Finns, Latvians, Chinese, Koreans and other diaspora nationalities all fell victim.12

from Stalinism at War The Soviet Union in World War II by Mark Edele, 2021

Free download from

https://annas-archive.gl/search?q=Stalinism+at+War+Mark+Edele

https://z-lib.sk/s/Stalinism%20at%20War%20Mark%20Edele

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Vladimir Putin has actively overseen the rehabilitation of Joseph Stalin's reputation, promoting him primarily as a victorious wartime leader and a strong, effective statesman rather than a mass-murdering dictator.

• De-emphasizing Terror: While the Kremlin has acknowledged that Stalin committed crimes, it emphasizes that these were necessary for industrialization and that his legacy should not overshadow the victory in World War II (known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War).

• Monuments and Museums: State-sanctioned monuments to Stalin have been erected across the country, and restored Stalinist-era aesthetics and symbols have appeared in public spaces like the Moscow metro.

• Political Framing: Putin utilizes Stalin to justify his own "strongman" leadership style and stoke patriotic fervor, often drawing parallels between himself and the Soviet leader. State media and educational curricula frequently portray current conflicts as a continuation of Stalin's fight against global fascism.

• Societal Shift: This decades-long government-led effort to reframe history has contributed to a dramatic increase in Stalin's popularity, with public opinion polls showing that a majority of Russians now hold a favorable view of the Soviet dictator.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Friday, June 19, 2026 11:10 AM

Is also JJ. Keep it real please, and use a VPN

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
THGR:

Nope!

And... nope!

Jeez! You and your clickbait.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

Who do you and Jack think you're Bullshiting. What you call clickbait is what's being reported globally. Here's a statistic for ya. 50% of Russians don't have toilets. The first thing they did when they found themselves in Ukraine was to start stealing them.

tick tock comrade, tick tock Putin.

T

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Friday, June 19, 2026 1:38 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Dozens Of FPVs Chip Away Support Columns To Bring Down Road Bridge In Ukraine

By David Hambling | Jun 18, 2026, 10:08 am EDT

A recent video shows 43 FPV drones collapsing a Ukrainian road bridge by repeatedly striking its five support columns. This marks a significant military first, demonstrating that small, inexpensive drones can destroy robust infrastructure from a distance, a task previously requiring costly missiles or airstrikes. The drones, equipped with RPG warheads, cumulatively chipped away concrete from the reinforced columns, compromising their structural integrity until the bridge failed. This method is efficient and cost-effective, using minimal munitions compared to traditional bombing campaigns. This development suggests FPVs could increasingly target larger structures, revolutionizing bridge destruction tactics and posing new challenges for defense.

View the video https://twitter.com/i/status/2065470545802477724

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2026/06/17/dozens-of-fpvs-c
hip-away-support-columns-to-bring-down-road-bridge/

Bridge Dropping 101

Bridges are natural chokepoints, making them obvious targets for military action. But they are robustly built and most weapons have little effect. Blast and shrapnel effects that are lethal to personnel and soft-skinned vehicles barely scratch stone and concrete, and direct hits with large amounts of explosive are needed. Even heavy artillery generally fails to do the job, which usually requires 250 pounds or more of explosive in one hit.

During World War II, the U.S. military carried out extensive research on bombing road and rail bridges. They found it took an average of 190 sorties by medium bombers dropping a phenomenal 350 tons of bombs to take out a bridge. These were a mix of 500-pound and 1,000-pound weapons.

The number of bombs needed decreased sharply with bombing accuracy, the report stating, “It is worth noting that if bombing accuracy could be improved to something approaching training school accuracy….The number of sorties required would be reduced from 190 to 33.”

These days, the USAF uses precision-guided 2,000-pound bombs to destroy bridges, as these have sufficient explosive weight and are accurate enough that only one or two weapons are needed.

FPV drones typically carry repurposed RPG anti-tank warheads

FPV drones provide even better accuracy with a much smaller payload, typically a repurposed warhead from an RPG anti-tank rocket launcher weighing around five pounds. This warhead is a shaped charge which produces a narrow jet of high-speed metal capable of punching through a foot of steel armor or more than three feet of concrete.

This is not an obvious choice of munition for attacking bridge supports. The columns are reinforced concrete, and the warhead is unlikely to damage the steel rebar. But the Russian drone operators knew what they were doing.

Termite Tactics

The video reportedly shows an attack by the Kontora group of the Zapad unit, posted on the Telegram channel "Military correspondents of the Russian spring." The bridge is described as crossing the Nitrus River near the village of Andriivka in the Kherson region. Several successive FPVs strike each of the bridge’s five supporting columns. They claim that 43 FPVs were used, but the video shows about 37 of them.

The first couple of strikes on each bridge support only remove small amounts of concrete

The first couple of hits on each column just chip the concrete, but after that the column cracks up and larger fragments break off. After multiple hits a section of concrete is stripped away, exposing the bare skeleton of steel reinforcing bars.

The key to the attack is how reinforced concrete works. Adding steel bars to concrete makes it less brittle and greatly improves the tensile strength. Unlike plain concrete, a reinforced concrete beam can withstand lateral forces as well as compression without breaking. This makes a bridge resilient to lateral movement from earthquakes or other forces. But the compressive strength is still provided by the concrete. Blast that brittle material away, and the beam loses perhaps 80% of its load-bearing capacity. The actual proportion depends very much on the exact design.

After several strikes, all the concrete has been blasted away, leaving just the steel rebar beams to support the weight of the bridge

Bridges are designed with a huge safety margin, and a reinforced concrete bridge can generally take at least twice what it is ever expected to carry. However, without the concrete in those support beams, the bridge cannot carry its own weight and will slump. As we see in the final few frames of the video, the rebar starts to crumple and the bridge slumps.

It turns out you do not need to cut through the rebar if you chip away enough concrete. The entire two-lane road bridge, carrying the highway for something like 100 feet over a 15-foot drop, has been brought down by small quadcopters.

Future Bridge Busters

This tactic may already have been used widely by both sides, but not shared for reasons of operational security. The way the drones head unerringly for aim points suggests well-drilled operators who may have done this before. It is unlikely to come as any surprise to the Ukrainians. But it does suggest that, at the very least, protective netting may be needed on vulnerable bridges.

Precision makes this an extremely efficient type of attack: under 250 pounds of munitions, compared to the 350 tons of bombs dropped on each bridge in WWII.

It is also a remarkably low-cost operation. 43 FPVs probably cost less than $25,000, or perhaps half as much as a single U.S. precision-guided bomb, and without needing a jet aircraft to deliver it. You could carry out forty such attacks for the cost of one ATACMS missile.

The attack seems to have used standard FPVs. We know Ukraine has FPV warheads with linear shaped charges, which can cut through rebar and other structural materials, because these were used against Russian aircraft in Operation Spiderweb. Such weapons would destroy bridge supports with far fewer hits.

The changing daylight in the video suggests that the FPVs attacked over a period of hours. Systems like Ukraine’s Pasika, which allows a single operator to control a large number of FPVs, keeping a number orbiting nearby and calling them down in succession, would allow such an attack to be completed in minutes.

The bridge supports are static targets and easy to pick out visually. This would make programming a machine vision system to attack them relatively straightforward, removing the need for an operator to control the drones.

FPVs are sometimes seen as short-range weapons. But with add-on wings, they can hit targets some 60 miles away. And FPVs transported by carrier drones can hit targets hundreds of miles away, a tactic which is used increasingly by both sides.

Previously, FPVs have destroyed bridges already mined for demolition by setting off the explosive charges; there have been several examples of this. But we now know that it only takes a few dozen drones to take down even a seemingly sturdy structure.

The next question is just how large a structure FPVs could bring down. There is no obvious theoretical limit; it is more a question of how long it takes to marshal and direct the required number of drones. Certainly, larger road and rail bridges start to look like targets. FPVs can also attack traffic on the bridge, lay mines on it, and disrupt repair operations. Skyscrapers and other large buildings may also be at risk.

Small weapons can have big effects. We just do not know how big yet.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Friday, June 19, 2026 3:10 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
THGR...
Nope!
And... nope!
Jeez! You and your clickbait.

THGR:

Who do you and Jack think you're Bullshiting. What you call click bait is what's being reported globally.

tick tock comrade, tick tock Putin.

"Globally" by mainstream/ anti-Putin sources. Please adjust your view of the globe!

Here's an example of how your videos are clickbait meant for the gullible:

"Moscow under siege"

Really????

Ukraine targeted "a" refinery. That's it.

Moscow and environs is over 21 million, similar to LA county's 18 million. Like Moscow, we have refineries that supply the area. Since I moved here, we've had a few refineries close down due to regulations. We had one major one - Exxon- blow up its gasoline-producing unit, a fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) and ultimately shut down the whole refinery. Recently, we had the remaining refinery blow up. It had such a major upset that all the emergency flaring units went off all at once, we could see for MILES the flames shooting skyward a hundred feet.

And yanno what happened to LA??

NOTHING
NADA
ZIP

Gas prices went up a bit, and then went down in a few months. That's it.

Look at a map, THGR. There are so many roadways and railways into Moscow, which is hugely expansive on a flat plain, with no specific tunnel or bridge chokepoints, it would take literally tens, or more likely hundreds, of thousands of drones and TROOPS ringing Moscow to besiege it.

Kiev's attack was a publicity stunt to get more EU aid.
Please stop posting clickbait.
More importantly, please stop believing it.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Friday, June 19, 2026 6:46 PM

Is also JJ. Keep it real please, and use a VPN

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
THGR...
Nope!
And... nope!
Jeez! You and your clickbait.

THGR:

Who do you and Jack think you're Bullshiting. What you call click bait is what's being reported globally.

tick tock comrade, tick tock Putin.

"Globally" by mainstream/ anti-Putin sources. Please adjust your view of the globe!

Here's an example of how your videos are clickbait meant for the gullible:

"Moscow under siege"

Really????

Ukraine targeted "a" refinery. That's it.

Moscow and environs is over 21 million, similar to LA county's 18 million. Like Moscow, we have refineries that supply the area. Since I moved here, we've had a few refineries close down due to regulations. We had one major one - Exxon- blow up its gasoline-producing unit, a fluidized catalytic cracking unit (FCCU) and ultimately shut down the whole refinery. Recently, we had the remaining refinery blow up. It had such a major upset that all the emergency flaring units went off all at once, we could see for MILES the flames shooting skyward a hundred feet.

And yanno what happened to LA??

NOTHING
NADA
ZIP

Gas prices went up a bit, and then went down in a few months. That's it.

Look at a map, THGR. There are so many roadways and railways into Moscow, which is hugely expansive on a flat plain, with no specific tunnel or bridge chokepoints, it would take literally tens, or more likely hundreds, of thousands of drones and TROOPS ringing Moscow to besiege it.

Kiev's attack was a publicity stunt to get more EU aid.
Please stop posting clickbait.
More importantly, please stop believing it.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

Yup, you have lots of trains and roadways in Russia. And in the past week Ukraine has sent hundreds of Drones into Moscow. Three nights in a row. And what you claim to be clickbait is video showing it happen.

Ukraine ISSUES ORDER To Attack Belarus Forces; Moscow HIT By Missile Drone Strikes

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Friday, June 19, 2026 8:21 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

THGR, you can't damage a road, railway, or bridge with drones. You can't even destroy a significant industrial facility with drones. It's that "payload v distance" trade-off. You'd need missiles.

That's why Ukraine targets storage tanks. They're lightly built, full of flammable material, and make big clouds of black smoke. A great show.

Try to put things in perspective. While you're busy cheering Ukraine managing to hit some storage tanks here or there, or vehicles here or there, or a truck stop or substation or two, this is something Russia has been doing multiple times a day for years.

*****

And attacking Belarus.
Again... seriously??

Are Zelenskys handlers following the Trump model of warmaking? When getting your ass handed to you in one conflict, start another one (and overextend yourself)?

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Saturday, June 20, 2026 6:07 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
THGR, you can't damage a road, railway, or bridge with drones.

Actually, you can. The Russians showed that they could in this video:

Dozens Of FPVs Chip Away Support Columns To Bring Down Road Bridge In Ukraine

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2026/06/17/dozens-of-fpvs-c
hip-away-support-columns-to-bring-down-road-bridge/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Saturday, June 20, 2026 6:09 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Phillips P. OBrien

Jun 20, 2026

https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/early-lessons-from-the-us-iran-
war

One idea that I have tried to get through in my writings is that battles rarely, if ever, “determine” anything. By battles, I mean time-limited engagements over space that do not see the complete ending of a war. Think Stalingrad, the Tet Offensive, or Bakhmut. What battles usually do, on the other hand, is “reveal”. This is, I believe, one of the key insights needed to understand what is important and what is not when analyzing the course of a conflict. This argument was central to my recent book War and Power: Who Wins Wars and Why, and was included as a major point in the Introduction. Here is a paragraph from page 15.

Wars go off the rails because they are extremely complex and difficult interactions that end up taxing militaries, economies, governments and societies, from the beginning of the productive process all the way to the battlefields. They are not decided on the battlefield; rather, the battlefield reveals the state of the national powers involved. The cause-and-effect relationship that people normally assume between battle and wars needs to be reversed. Battles don’t cause the war to end a certain way; they reveal how a war is developing.

Not understanding this is one of the reasons the reporting about the fighting in Ukraine was so weak for so long. For example, looking at the Battle of Pokrovsk, which raged from 2024 throughout most of 2025, it is easy to see that the result was not decisive in any way. Russia’s ability to gain control of the wrecked shell of that city was not important strategically. It made no difference to the continuing creation of military power on either side, and deprived neither side of, nor gained for either side, access to the key resources or political power needed to keep waging war.

However, what the Battle of Pokrovsk did, if you were paying attention to the right things at the right time, was reveal how the Russo-Ukrainian war was developing. That was not necessarily in Russia’s favor.

Download the book from https://z-lib.sk/s/War%20and%20Power%20Who%20Wins%20Wars%20and%20Why

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Saturday, June 20, 2026 6:40 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Trump: Ukraine war would have ended in one day if not for a 'terrible mistake'

The US President explained the decision made by a Russian general

By Daryna Vialko | Sat, June 20, 2026 – 00:02

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/trump-ukraine-war-would-have-ended-in-
one-1781902697.html

Russia could have ended the war in Ukraine on the very first day if a Russian general had not made a single mistake, US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Axios.

Trump said the war should have ended very quickly because Russian President Vladimir Putin had hundreds of tanks moving toward Kyiv along a highway.

"There's a highway, concrete, very good highway, solid as a rock, right into Kyiv. And about halfway there, he would've been there in three hours going at 51 miles an hour, which is about the max speed for a tank," the President said.

However, according to Trump, that did not happen because a Russian general decided to send the tanks "through the farmland" instead. The vehicles became stuck in the mud after record rainfall had hit the area several days earlier.

The American leader said Ukrainian forces then destroyed the Russian tanks using Javelin anti-tank missiles, which he emphasized had been supplied to Kyiv during his presidency.

"They were locked in quicksand, practically. It was mud like quicksand. They couldn't move," Trump said.

According to the US President, if the Russian tanks had stayed on the highway to Kyiv, they would have reached the Ukrainian capital within four hours.

"That war would've been over in one day. That was four and a half years ago. So that was a terrible mistake. And here's a general, decides rather than going up the middle of a highway right into the town," Trump said.

As previously reported, following a Ukrainian strike on the Moscow oil refinery, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russian citizens to influence the Kremlin leader if they want to end the consequences of the war started by Moscow.

Zelenskyy also noted that, according to available information, more than half of Russians support ending the war. At the same time, he stressed that the Russian public is aware of the lack of significant battlefield achievements by Russian forces.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Saturday, June 20, 2026 1:47 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Sat, June 20, 2026 - 18:47

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has returned the Order of the White Eagle to Poland after President Karol Nawrocki revoked the award from him.

"Yesterday, the President of Poland noted that the Order of the White Eagle is not an ordinary award. It is a symbol of the highest trust of the Republic of Poland. It signifies a special bond with the Polish state and the special gratitude of the Polish People. Such a symbol requires not only merit, but also respect for the values that form the foundation of our community," Zelenskyy wrote on X.

He noted that if it is considered acceptable for this special symbol to remain associated with Catherine II, Benito Mussolini, and Gerhard Schröder, then Ukraine will not dispute it. Therefore, Zelenskyy returned the award to Poland.

"We believed that the Order of the White Eagle, awarded in 2023, was meant for the Ukrainian People and our army. That is what was said at the time. Today, I sent the Order back to the President of Poland," the Ukrainian leader said.

At the same time, Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine is grateful to the Polish people for their support and cooperation, which plays an important role in the struggle "for our and your independence."

"Ukraine never forgets solidarity and understands that cooperation between states and peoples in our region is one of the tangible security guarantees for Ukrainians and for each neighboring state," the statement reads.

The president also said that Ukraine will remain open to all meaningful formats of cooperation with Poland in order to avoid "conflicting interpretations of the difficult and painful chapters of our shared past and to ensure proper respect for all innocent victims of the 20th century."

Zelenskyy stressed that Ukrainians are doing everything in their power to prevent Europe from losing in this century. He also said Ukraine will continue to defend itself in the war waged by Russia.

"We will undoubtedly achieve a dignified peace. Ukraine is grateful to all peoples, states, and leaders who will continue to stand with us in the defense of freedom and who, together with Ukraine, will serve as guarantors of postwar peace in Europe and a new, real security," the head of state added.

In conclusion, he added that he is proud of Ukrainians and every Ukrainian soldier, and expressed the view that the future will confirm respect for Ukrainians.

Background

Earlier, on June 19, Polish President Karol Nawrocki stripped Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Poland's highest state award—the Order of the White Eagle.

The decision was linked to a series of diplomatic disputes between Ukraine and Poland over historical issues. However, the main factor was Zelenskyy's decree awarding an honorary designation "named after Ukrainian Insurgent Army heroes" to one of the Ukrainian military units.

Today, June 20, Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov said he was refusing the Gold Officer's Cross of the Order "For Merit to Poland," which he was awarded by the Polish president last year.

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/zelenskyy-sends-poland-s-highest-honor
-back-1781970087.html

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, June 21, 2026 6:44 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

As a Ukrainian journalist, I’ve covered the US for 20 years. I find it increasingly shocking

My country has been under occupation, dogged by corruption and war. Yet even I’ve been bewildered by the way the US seems to be fracturing

By Nataliya Gumenyuk | Thu 30 Apr 2026

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/30/as-a-ukrainian-journalis
t-ive-covered-the-us-for-20-years-i-find-it-increasingly-shocking

In 2008, when I was a reporter for a leading Ukrainian TV station, I insisted on following Barack Obama’s campaign for US president. Few Ukrainian media outlets could afford to send a journalist to travel around the US to report on the election; even the newsrooms of those that could took some convincing.

As a media student in 2004, I had spent two months on the streets of Kyiv during the Orange Revolution, where people protested a stolen election and succeeded in defending their vote. The excitement of the fight for freedom and justice, combined with the energy of mass gatherings, was seductive. I recognised a similar momentum in the US during Obama’s campaign and wanted to see how things felt on the ground. As a Ukrainian, I could relate to Obama’s promises to restore respect for human rights and the rule of law, and his desire to mobilise people around the idea of “hope”. It also stood in contrast with what I knew of the US: I had studied foreign news reporting at the time of the US invasion of Iraq and the military’s crimes in Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo.

I went on to cover four more US elections. What stood out to me, and still bewilders me now, is the extent to which the conversation around access to affordable health care and education has become radicalised in the US. To a Ukrainian, or indeed most Europeans, these are simply what people expect from a functioning state. I recall a Nobel prize laureate – the American scientist Martin Chalfie, who won the 2008 chemistry prize and taught at Columbia University – telling me he was planning to use the award money to pay his daughter’s college tuition. I was shocked.

As a foreign reporter in the US, I witnessed debates around these issues become increasingly hostile and disconnected from reality. In 2020, the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, Donald Trump supporters considered anyone wearing a face mask to be suspicious; health and safety measures, they believed, were a ploy to deprive them of their civil liberties. No rational argument could convince them otherwise. Fast forward to 2025, and Trump has appointed as the US secretary of health an anti-vaccine activist who champions debunked scientific theories and insists that mRNA vaccine technology is dangerous, despite its proven efficacy.

There is no longer a shared sense of what is true. I know first-hand that when facts are questioned, rather than verified and used to build common ground, it becomes harder to agree on even the most basic issues – including what the government is for. People stop debating what can be changed and improved about the public sector and instead start to see it as something to be dismantled. The underlying problems, meanwhile, remain unsolved.

Today, as Ukraine fights a war to defend its democracy – to preserve a state where institutions serve the people rather than dictators, where the press remains independent, and where citizens can shape the politics around them – the contrast between the two countries is striking.

In Ukraine, the war claims the lives of soldiers every day. Resources are scarce, the economy has been shattered, and yet even the poor contribute what they can to support fellow citizens, often through small but meaningful donations. Those experiences make it even more unsettling to observe how in the US, democracy is being eroded and dismantled, sometimes without an effective fight. And how a prosperous society, facing no comparable threat, can hesitate to redistribute resources that are readily available.

More at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/30/as-a-ukrainian-journalis
t-ive-covered-the-us-for-20-years-i-find-it-increasingly-shocking

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, June 21, 2026 7:03 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Weekend Update #190: Long-Range Reveal

Phillips P. OBrien
Jun 21, 2026

. . . the Ukrainians were able to get a large number of drones through this blanket of defenses to seriously damage one of the most important economic/strategic targets in the capital of Russia. Now that is notable and shows change. This kind of attack would have been beyond Ukrainian abilities in 2025. There systems were not refined enough, they did not have the tactics to neutralize Russian air defense, and they lacked the mass.

Now they can do it.

That is the most important “reveal” of the week and the thing to take from these contrasting attacks. We have known for a long time that while the Russians are more than happy to launch terror attacks, the Ukrainians attack strategic targets and try to respect the laws of war (even while the US is disregarding them).

So the targets themselves are utterly consistent. The difference is that when faced with a crisis, the Russians opted to simply ramp up the horror because they have no other new ability. The Ukrainians, to counter, showed that they can do more, very effectively. If the Russians cannot change that dynamic, the long-range war is going to get even worse for them.

More at https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-update-190-long-range-r
eveal

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, June 21, 2026 7:53 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Russian-occupied Crimea completely suspends gas sales to civilians as Ukrainian drone strikes squeeze peninsula

By Luca Léry Moffat | June 21, 2026 1:11 pm

https://kyivindependent.com/crimea-completely-suspends-gas-sales-as-uk
rainian-drone-strikes-squeeze-occupied-peninsula/

Gas stations in Russian-occupied Crimea have been instructed as of June 21 to completely suspend sales of fuel to civilians, as Ukraine steps up medium-range drone strikes on energy infrastructure across the peninsula.

"Fuel will only be dispensed to state services that ensure the vital activities and security of the Republic of Crimea," Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed governor of occupied Crimea, said in a video address on the morning of June 21.

The ban is effective as of 9 a.m. on June 21, Aksyonov added. . . .

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, June 21, 2026 1:43 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

UK cuts US parts from missile production chain in new systems for Ukraine

Britain has developed new cruise missile prototypes for Ukraine that eliminate American parts, aiming to reduce dependency in weapons production.

By Benjamin Murdoch | June 21, 2026

https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/06/21/uk-cuts-us-parts-from-missile-p
roduction-chain-for-ukraine/

The move comes as Ukraine seeks to expand and diversify its long-range strike arsenal, amid repeated delays and political constraints linked to US-involved systems.

The UK Ministry of Defense has confirmed the development of three prototype cruise missiles under a program known as Project Brakestop, according to Financial Times reporting on the program. The systems were tested in spring, and at least one design is expected to be delivered to Ukraine by the end of 2026.

MBDA UK developed the Crossbow cruise missile, which uses an independent visual navigation system rather than US-linked guidance inputs. Rotron Aerospace produced a propeller-driven SkyLance variant focused on longer range at lower speed, while MGI Engineering adapted Formula 1-derived technology for its Tiger Shark concept.

UK officials said the aim is to shift toward simpler, lower-cost cruise missiles that can be produced at scale, with a target rate of around 20 units per month. Reported unit costs are significantly lower than existing Western long-range systems. . . .

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, June 21, 2026 3:39 PM

Is also JJ. Keep it real please, and use a VPN

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

THGR, you can't damage a road, railway, or bridge with drones. You can't even destroy a significant industrial facility with drones. It's that "payload v distance" trade-off. You'd need missiles.

That's why Ukraine targets storage tanks. They're lightly built, full of flammable material, and make big clouds of black smoke. A great show.

Try to put things in perspective. While you're busy cheering Ukraine managing to hit some storage tanks here or there, or vehicles here or there, or a truck stop or substation or two, this is something Russia has been doing multiple times a day for years.

*****

And attacking Belarus.
Again... seriously??

Are Zelenskys handlers following the Trump model of warmaking? When getting your ass handed to you in one conflict, start another one (and overextend yourself)?

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

You can watch this and learn something or not comrade.

T

Crimea DECLARES Emergency As Russia ENDS Fuel Sales; Putin PREPARES Imminent Response

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Sunday, June 21, 2026 4:56 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

THGR, do you really think making life miserable for civilians in Crimea will dent Russia's warmaking capacity?

Jeez! Get a grip!

"Time works in Russia's favor."

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Sunday, June 21, 2026 7:19 PM

Is also JJ. Keep it real please, and use a VPN

I've got 50 sources. Show me another source backing this up.

T

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
THGR, do you really think making life miserable for civilians in Crimea will dent Russia's warmaking capacity?

Jeez! Get a grip!

"Time works in Russia's favor."

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Sunday, June 21, 2026 10:28 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by THG:
I've got 50 sources. Show me another source backing this up.

A billion flies eat shit.

I have a lot of sources too. I post THIS source bc he gets his news from both sides, official as well as Telegram and others. More importantly, he backs his map with VIDEOS from the frontline and "behind the line" attacks.

None of your "sources" have specific, detailed info backed by evidence. They don't compare and contrast both sides. They just repeat whatever yaking points they want to repeat without ever trying to source it or determine if it's meaningful.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Sunday, June 21, 2026 11:43 PM

I think the likelihood that any of you are getting legitimate information or have any idea what any of this is all really even about underneath all the 24/7 spin from every single angle is pretty slim-to-none.

But how horrible a reality would that be to face?

To question if all the online arguments that you've had over the last 20 years over politics didn't really mean nothing because nobody ever had any of the facts and 99% of the stuff people cared about one day were tossed aside the next, melded into one big blob of crap with all the other daily meaningless internet onslaught, and all but completely forgotten about by the time the next big thing they want you focusing on starts.

Let's face the truth here.

Joe Biden*, the former President of the United States had a crackhead son who is addicted to hookers and bad decisions. This son was never in control of his problems, although I would imagine that being paid $60,000 per month to sit on the board of one of Ukraine's power companies and having Joe as a dad would get your ass out of most of the trouble. At least until you left your unencrypted laptop with all sorts of naughty stuff at a repair shop for months, because you obviously dropped it off while tripping balls and had no recollection of where the damn thing even went until it was announced that somebody had it.

Left or Right, I'm not even making that argument here. Everything I just said is the absolute truth, and to this day nobody has ever given me a reasonable explanation for Hunter Biden's seat at Burisma that isn't some sort of payoff or shakedown and wasn't all about getting Hunter as far away from his dad as possible so he didn't ruin his run for the Presidency.

Nobody in the media on either so-called "side" even asks anything or anyone about this. It's just deal with it or pretend it doesn't exist and never happened.

The Democratic Party and the Media don't seem to particularly like Joe Biden* and the Biden* family right now, and yet they still can't bring themselves to look into any of this and get any answers.

We'll just never know. Because nobody is ever going to look into it. And the only reward for the people who have shown they have the balls to do real investigative journalism and get some answers to questions the Legacy Media refuses to ever ask is to have their lives ruined.

What are we really doing there?

For 12 years now. At least...

Who do you even get angry at and over what topic anymore? There's just so much to choose from all the time.

Do you continue to vote for the people who swear they will make things the way that they used to be and don't even pretend to try and deliver on any of their promises after the election is won? Or, do you vote for the people who tell you that you, yourself and everything you remember about the world as it used to be are the problem?

So yeah...

When I hear any of you talking anything about Russia here, which has been nearly every goddamned day for nearly four and a half years now, I just kind of shake my head and laugh.

Just like I said from day one, nobody gives a shit about Ukraine. I know it felt for a while like that wasn't true. When so many people with pronouns in their bios on Twitter had their Ukraine flags along side them to show their support in the current thing. Ted proudly showing Uncle Sam with the American Flag with the caption "America Supports Ukraine" over and over and over again.

And that support lasted for about 2 or 3 months. And that support ended over 4 years ago to this day.

Talking about this right now would be like if we were still talking about the Iran situation during the 2030 midterms and Gavin Newsom were our sitting President.

Nobody on either side is ever going to fix anything. Even those who think that they will get inside and the curtain is lifted and they see just a fraction of the shit that is really going on and find out pretty quick they're far from top dog and they're going to play by the established rules, or else.

We could argue about who got into their jobs with noble intentions initially, but what's the point? Their betrayal is inevitable.

Nobody who hasn't seen behind the curtain could ever possibly imagine what actually lay in wait...

Anybody who has either defends what's behind it with everything they've got...

... or they don't live very long.

Dead bards tell no tales.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Monday, June 22, 2026 5:28 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Ukraine's drone chief explains how Crimea could force Moscow into a corner

What ingredients are in the Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces "recipe"?

By Vladyslava Kovalenko | Sun, June 21, 2026 – 13:53

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukraine-s-drone-chief-explains-how-cri
mea-1782039162.html

"Moscow and the old man in the bunker will cling to Crimea until the very end as the main trophy of this war, even if it becomes an 'island.' Of course — it’s a pillar of their ideology of greatness and comes with plenty of perks, like turning the Sea of Azov into an 'internal Russian body of water,' and so on," Madyar said. . . .

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, June 22, 2026 5:45 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

'They attack with everything at once' — How Russia exploits Ukraine's vulnerability to ballistic missiles

By Tania Myronyshena | June 22, 2026 10:55 AM

https://kyivindependent.com/they-attack-with-everything-at-once-how-ru
ssia-exploits-ukraines-vulnerability-to-ballistic-missiles/

On June 2, Russia carried out its largest ballistic and hypersonic missile attack of the year. On June 15, it nearly surpassed that record.

The attacks point to a disturbing change in tactics: The Kremlin may be refining a new model of strikes on Ukrainian cities, relying on concentrated salvos of ballistic and hypersonic missiles to inflict maximum damage as Ukraine faces a growing shortage of Patriot interceptors.

The two mass strikes in June followed a similar pattern. Russia launched more than 600 drones and around 70 missiles. Both attacks relied heavily on ballistic and hypersonic missiles and were directed primarily at Kyiv.

The June 2 strike also marked the largest simultaneous use of Zircon missiles during the full-scale war, with eight launched in a single attack. Two weeks later, Russia again aimed every Zircon missile used in the attack at the Ukrainian capital, alongside up to 19 ballistic missiles.

Both the types of weapons deployed and the chosen targets reflect Russia's changing approach.

"In 2022, cruise missiles made up roughly 70-80% of Russia's missile attacks, while ballistic missiles played a much smaller role," aviation expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap told the Kyiv Independent. "Now this has changed, and Russia is placing all its bets on ballistic missiles. And cruise missiles have transformed from a means of delivering strikes into a tool for exhausting air defense."

Colonel Yurii Ihnat, head of the Communications Department of the Ukrainian Air Force, said the latest attacks also stood out for their concentration of different weapons against a single target.

"They choose one target — Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipro, or a city in western Ukraine — and attack it with every available weapon at once," Ihnat told the Kyiv Independent. . . .

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, June 22, 2026 6:27 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Turning Crimea From An Asset Into A Russian Liability

It Seems To Be Happening In Front Of Our Eyes

Phillips P. OBrien | Jun 22, 2026

https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/turning-crimea-from-an-asset-in
to

The last few days have given some concrete evidence about both the situation for the Russian occupiers of Crimea and Ukrainian plans for the peninsula. The Ukrainian strategy of isolating the peninsula seems to be both accelerating and having concrete results. If the Russians do not have the ability to counter soon, Crimea could be isolated, with pretty dire strategic results for them.

The best piece of concrete evidence for the isolation of Crimea is that the peninsula is running out of fuel. Yesterday, the Russian governor was forced to take the dramatic step of forbidding fuel sales to civilians. According to a BBC story:

Governor Sergey Aksyonov said individuals and businesses would be turned away from petrol stations, and fuel would only be sold to government agencies ensuring Crimea's “functioning and security”.

It is hard to overstate how serious the fuel situation must be on Crimea for such a draconian restriction to be imposed on civilians. Putin has always maintained the fiction that Crimea is some happy and functioning part of the Russian state. No more.

Back in July 2024, I wrote that Ukraine isolating Crimea would be a three step process, and at that point only the first step has been accomplished (which was the cutting off of Crimea from the sea). The next two steps would be far more difficult, but if they could be accomplished, the whole process might culminate in an attempt to take down the Kerch Bridge.

And here is the conclusion:

Quote:
Now that the seas are no longer safe for Russia, the Ukrainians want to deny the Russians the air over Crimea as much as possible—why giving themselves (the Ukrainians) the ability to attack what they want across and connecting to Crimea. This campaign will basically lead to the air-sea isolation of Crimea— and those who know my work know what that usually means. I promise to write more on that later if you are interested.

Only once the air-sea isolation of Crimea is complete can Ukraine really go for the last part of the campaign—possibly the most difficult, but one that would be the nail in the coffin for Russian control over Crimea. That would be completely severing or at least severely damaging the road and rail links into the peninsula.

People might wonder why the Ukrainians haven’t gone against the Kerch Bridge like they might have expected—its because it will only be truly devastating to shut the Kerch Bridge off completely if Russia has lost air-sea control around the peninsula, and the road-rail connections from the north (occupied Ukraine) into Crimea can be shut off or severely damaged as well.

This is the ultimate end point, one imagines, for the Ukrainian campaign against Crimea. Once you start seeing more efforts to take down the Kerch Bridge its because Ukraine feels it has successfully completed the first two steps.

I saw this Ukrainian boast that they had just disabled the remaining Russian air defense systems protecting the Kerch Bridge:

Quote:
Army Media @armyinformcomua

Ukraine just stripped the Kerch Bridge of its air defence.

In a joint operation on June 21, Ukraine’s Security Service and Special Operations Forces struck two Pantsir air defence systems deployed directly on the Crimean Bridge — and simultaneously disabled four S-400 radar stations.

Six air defence assets. One operation. The bridge that Russia built as a symbol of its grip on Crimea is now unprotected.

Every air defence system destroyed around the Kerch Bridge expands the operational window for what comes next. Every radar station disabled removes another layer of early warning for Russian forces defending the peninsula.

What the Ukrainians have done is remarkable. It has taken years of planning and effort, a number of extremely difficult steps, and has put the Russians in a terrible strategic bind.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, June 22, 2026 9:12 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
THGR, do you really think making life miserable for civilians in Crimea will dent Russia's warmaking capacity?

Jeez! Get a grip!

"Time works in Russia's favor."

Ukraine declares Crimea's beach season 'closed' after wave of strikes

The statement highlighted what has happened in Crimea in recent days

By Kateryna Danishevska | Mon, June 22, 2026 – 15:44

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukraine-declares-crimea-s-beach-season
-closed-1782131739.html

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense announced the "closure of the beach season" in Crimea, according to a statement from the ministry.

"Closing the beach season in Crimea," the ministry said in its statement.

"The forecast for tourists is unfavorable," the Ministry of Defense emphasized.

Over the past few days, the Defense Forces have struck the following targets in Crimea:

• An oil depot,

• Gas compressor stations,

• Pantsir and S-400 air defense systems,

• Nebo-U and Kasta radar stations.

During the night of June 21, explosions were reported in various parts of Crimea, and traffic on the Kerch Bridge was temporarily suspended. Witnesses also reported thick black smoke rising from a fire near the seaport area.

Later, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed details of the nighttime operation. According to him, Ukrainian forces struck targets on both sides of the Kerch Bridge, located about 300 kilometers from the front line.

Also during the night of June 20, the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out a large-scale operation against Russian forces and their logistics infrastructure in temporarily occupied territories.

According to Robert Brovdi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, known by the call sign Madyar, four gas compressor stations in Crimea and a road bridge across the Henichesk Strait were hit. In addition, drones struck some Russian fuel supply and military logistics facilities.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, June 22, 2026 1:34 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Crimea Without Fuel: The Logistics Lockdown Delivers Results After Just One Month

Following Ukraine's latest strikes, the Crimean peninsula has been left without access to fuel. Petrol sales to civilians have been banned, with supplies reserved exclusively for emergency services and the military. Ukraine has effectively sealed the peninsula off logistically, leaving only one route open: the Crimean Bridge. The only question is how long that will last.

By Illia Kabachynskyi | Jun 22, 2026 19:14

https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/crimea-without-fuel-the-logis
tics-lockdown-delivers-results-after-just-one-month-20057

In the early hours of 21 June, Ukrainian drone and missile strikes on Crimea produced significant results: a series of oil and gas infrastructure facilities were hit, along with air defense systems, logistics nodes, and three ferries. In this instance, strikes against enemy air defenses were more of a welcome bonus; the primary target was the fuel infrastructure. Storage tanks will continue to burn for some time, and replenishing them will not be straightforward: the ferries destroyed were transporting fuel tankers, and there is nothing available to replace the vessels quickly.

Later that same day, Crimean officials announced that petrol sales had been suspended at petrol stations, both cash and card transactions. In other words, Crimea simply has no more petrol, and there is no clear way to obtain it. All supplies reaching the peninsula are reserved for special services and military needs. Russia continues to choose war over the welfare of its own civilians.

The situation on the peninsula is the direct result of a program run by Ukraine's General Staff and Ministry of Defense called the "Logistics Lockdown." Within a week of the head of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdi, declaring the "isolation of Crimea," that prediction has proved accurate.

The Crimea Logistics Lockdown

In late May 2026, the Ministry of Defense announced a program called the Logistics Lockdown. Its concept was to destroy the enemy's ability to move personnel, weapons, and equipment to the front. The strike force: Middle Strike class drones with a flight range of up to 200 kilometers.

For two months prior, this category of strikes had been steadily gaining momentum and producing results, with hundreds of air defense systems destroyed, continuous elimination of equipment, drone, and ammunition depots, and headquarters kept under constant threat. Seeing the returns, Ukraine allocated an additional $100 million to the procurement of drones in this class, and the number of units operating them expanded.

In just one month of effective operations, Ukrainian forces achieved visible and tangible results. Strikes began with the land corridor from Russia into Crimea, then moved to destroying ferries, before hitting all the bridges connecting Crimea to the Ukrainian mainland.

At this point, the only consistently functioning link between Crimea and Russia is the Crimean Bridge, which has not been the target of precision strikes for some considerable time. There is, however, a strong sense that this will not last: Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has published a strike map clearly showing the Crimean Bridge within range as a potential target for Ukrainian drones. Strikes against it feel like a matter of timing and accumulating sufficient means to achieve a meaningful result.

For Ukraine, strikes on Crimea are a critical element of deterrence: the peninsula functions as a staging ground for offensive operations in southern Ukraine. By degrading that capability, the Ukrainian army faces less pressure on its own lines, and gains room to conduct offensive operations of its own.

Managing the situation in Crimea now requires Russia to commit ever greater numbers of troops. Military convoys have appeared on the roads to counter Ukrainian drones, logistics have become significantly more complex as routes have deteriorated and journey times have grown. Even the military itself is receiving less fuel: what was once available everywhere now requires considerable additional effort to obtain. All of this pulls Russian forces away from the front.

Beyond Crimea

One of the most difficult situations for Ukraine remains in the Donetsk direction, where Russian forces are pressing towards Kostiantynivka. Middle Strike drones are accordingly being used to close off all key Russian supply routes across Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, with drones now operating over Mariupol and targeting ports on the Sea of Azov.

All major roads and railway junctions used by Russia to move personnel, weapons, and equipment to the front are under fire. The effect on Russian operations has already been dramatic: even infiltration groups have been reduced from two-person teams to single individuals, who frequently never reach their intended objective.

It is critically important for Ukraine to continue scaling up Middle Strike strikes and severing Russian logistics. This directly reduces both the frequency and intensity of Russian assaults. The support of partners who are becoming part of Ukraine's drone programs is therefore more important than ever at this moment.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, June 22, 2026 2:01 PM

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Monday, June 22, 2026 4:54 PM

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Ukraine is finally setting the terms for Russia — so should the US

By Andrew Chakhoyan and Victor Rud, opinion contributors - 06/22/26 1:30 PM ET

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/5933672-ukraine-is-framing-r
eality-for-russia-so-should-we/

Three things have happened recently that should focus minds in Washington.

First, Russia’s war came home, because Ukraine’s startling innovations are changing the universe of what’s possible. Second, Ukraine has shattered the myth of inevitable Russian victory, recapturing territory and disrupting Russian military logistics with newly developed capabilities.

But the third change is subtler, and its consequences won’t be felt for a long time after headlines move on.

Kyiv has opened a new front where few Western leaders have dared to fight: the cognitive warfare where Moscow operated largely unopposed — at least until now. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote a letter to his Russian counterpart demanding a face-to-face meeting and an immediate ceasefire.

This was packaged as diplomacy and nominally addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but it was obviously meant for a much wider audience. And it was a strategic masterstroke: Ukraine is now setting the agenda, and the Kremlin, at last, must respond.

On June 5, Putin was due to appear at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Kremlin’s annual exercise in self-congratulation. The event was meant to project confidence, global relevance and that much-advertised Russian “stability.” Instead, smoke from Ukrainian strikes hung over the proceedings, and Putin found himself responding to a public challenge from the leader of the country whose existence Moscow denies.

Authoritarian systems rest on the appearance of total control. Russia can lose staggering numbers of troops — 1.3 million killed or badly wounded and counting — burn through equipment and impoverish its own regions, all in the service of imperial ambition. Human life has never been the measure of power in Moscow. A visible weakness at the center is what is intolerable.

Zelensky understood this. His note did not merely propose talks. It punctured the “dear leader” pose and went straight for the autocrat’s deepest fears.

“You cannot fail to notice it,” Zelensky wrote. “After 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll. And with time, the fatigue with you will only grow.”

For Putin, that line must have cut deep. Last September, caught on a hot mic in Beijing, he was heard discussing radical life extension with Chinese President Xi Jinping, including the possibility of living to 150 with the help of organ transplants. Zelensky aimed at the one force no tyrant commands: time.

Then came the sharper passage: “You will have to fight much harder for your own existence — not Russia’s, but your own. And this is not a threat from me or from Ukraine. It is a fact of Russian history that you know well: When Russia grows tired, change comes.”

Facing thousands of delegates, Putin referred to Zelensky several times as “the letter’s author,” as if saying the Ukrainian president’s name would itself concede too much. Putin wanted to telegraph confidence. But try as he might, he did the opposite. Attempting to laugh it off, the aging tyrant spoke of his age, and his words no longer mattered. Putin took the bait, and that was that.

Zelensky’s letter recalibrates the GPS for Washington. Phillips O’Brien’s sharp verdict on President Biden’s Ukraine policy, back in November 2024, was that he treated Russia’s war as “a crisis to be managed, not a war to be won.” Trump now treats it as a deal to be struck. Both approaches are oblivious to the fact that Moscow is not seeking peace. It is doubling down on revanchism, global disruption and war crimes in Ukraine. Washington keeps conceding the psychological initiative to Moscow, surrendering what George Orwell called “reality control.”

No surprise, then, that America keeps swinging between panic and hope, ricocheting from one Kremlin-made crisis to the next. Moscow chooses the time, place and circumstance. Washington reacts, having talked itself into caution before Moscow even finishes the provocation, asking again and again: What now? How do we respond?

Russia invades Georgia and gets a “reset.” It seizes Crimea and gets “deep concerns,” plus sanctions calibrated not to provoke. Moscow intervenes in Syria, rescues Bashar Assad’s regime and turns itself into a power broker in the Middle East — America reacts by contemplating the meaning of words “red line.” Russia partners with Iran, and the White House now has to account for Moscow’s interests as it’s trying to sort out the Persian Gulf.

Small wonder, then, that the same failed instinct reappears in Ukraine: find a salvific territorial “agreement” and call it peace. With a border that would stretch around the equator more than once, Russia scarcely needs more land, except to vaporize the humanity on it.

America’s interest is not a quick settlement that rewards aggression and licenses the next war. America’s interest is a durable peace that secures for a nation of 40 million the right to exist, its sovereignty, restoration of borders and a clear lesson that Moscow has avoided for generations: conquest does not pay.

It’s the least we can do for having stripped Ukraine of its nuclear and much of its conventional arsenal decades ago. In 2013, before Russia first invaded Ukraine, Putin said the quiet part out loud in a New York Times op-ed, no less: “If you have the bomb, no one will touch you.”

By chasing stability or another deal, America risks allowing the disappearance of a nation and establishing a grisly legacy. The better lesson comes from Ukraine, which is bringing the war back to the aggressor militarily, politically and psychologically.

Controlling the narrative and never ceding the initiative was Putin’s superpower. But a king without clothes can command the stage only until someone points and laughs.

Andrew Chakhoyan is an academic director at the University of Amsterdam. He previously served in the U.S. government at the Millennium Challenge Corporation and studied at Harvard Kennedy School and Donetsk State Tech University. Victor Rud is chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Ukrainian American Bar Association and is on the board of the Centre for Eastern European Democracy.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, June 22, 2026 6:32 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Summer Vacation In Crimea Has Been Ruined

Ukraine Just Warned ALL Russians to FLEE Crimea (while they still can)

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Monday, June 22, 2026 6:57 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Does Andrew Chakhoyan really believe the crap he wrote??

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Monday, June 22, 2026 6:59 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Turning Crimea From An Asset Into A Russian Liability

It Seems To Be Happening In Front Of Our Eyes

Phillips P. OBrien | Jun 22, 2026

https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/turning-crimea-from-an-asset-in
to

The last few days have given some concrete evidence about both the situation for the Russian occupiers of Crimea and Ukrainian plans for the peninsula. The Ukrainian strategy of isolating the peninsula seems to be both accelerating and having concrete results. If the Russians do not have the ability to counter soon, Crimea could be isolated, with pretty dire strategic results for them.

The best piece of concrete evidence for the isolation of Crimea is that the peninsula is running out of fuel. Yesterday, the Russian governor was forced to take the dramatic step of forbidding fuel sales to civilians. According to a BBC story:

Governor Sergey Aksyonov said individuals and businesses would be turned away from petrol stations, and fuel would only be sold to government agencies ensuring Crimea's “functioning and security”.

It is hard to overstate how serious the fuel situation must be on Crimea for such a draconian restriction to be imposed on civilians. Putin has always maintained the fiction that Crimea is some happy and functioning part of the Russian state. No more.

Back in July 2024, I wrote that Ukraine isolating Crimea would be a three step process, and at that point only the first step has been accomplished (which was the cutting off of Crimea from the sea). The next two steps would be far more difficult, but if they could be accomplished, the whole process might culminate in an attempt to take down the Kerch Bridge.

And here is the conclusion:
Quote:
Now that the seas are no longer safe for Russia, the Ukrainians want to deny the Russians the air over Crimea as much as possible—why giving themselves (the Ukrainians) the ability to attack what they want across and connecting to Crimea. This campaign will basically lead to the air-sea isolation of Crimea— and those who know my work know what that usually means. I promise to write more on that later if you are interested.

Only once the air-sea isolation of Crimea is complete can Ukraine really go for the last part of the campaign—possibly the most difficult, but one that would be the nail in the coffin for Russian control over Crimea. That would be completely severing or at least severely damaging the road and rail links into the peninsula.

People might wonder why the Ukrainians haven’t gone against the Kerch Bridge like they might have expected—its because it will only be truly devastating to shut the Kerch Bridge off completely if Russia has lost air-sea control around the peninsula, and the road-rail connections from the north (occupied Ukraine) into Crimea can be shut off or severely damaged as well.

This is the ultimate end point, one imagines, for the Ukrainian campaign against Crimea. Once you start seeing more efforts to take down the Kerch Bridge its because Ukraine feels it has successfully completed the first two steps.
I saw this Ukrainian boast that they had just disabled the remaining Russian air defense systems protecting the Kerch Bridge:
Quote:
Army Media @armyinformcomua

Ukraine just stripped the Kerch Bridge of its air defence.

In a joint operation on June 21, Ukraine’s Security Service and Special Operations Forces struck two Pantsir air defence systems deployed directly on the Crimean Bridge — and simultaneously disabled four S-400 radar stations.

Six air defence assets. One operation. The bridge that Russia built as a symbol of its grip on Crimea is now unprotected.

Every air defence system destroyed around the Kerch Bridge expands the operational window for what comes next. Every radar station disabled removes another layer of early warning for Russian forces defending the peninsula.

What the Ukrainians have done is remarkable. It has taken years of planning and effort, a number of extremely difficult steps, and has put the Russians in a terrible strategic bind.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Videos or it didn't happen.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Monday, June 22, 2026 11:54 PM

Over the last few years we've seen a lot of people take decades worth of credibility they've built up and just set it right on fire in front of everyone.

Maybe we need to see some more.

You start making claims like the ones that they've been making recently and you're wrong about them?

I don't know man...

I know that these lemmings are really set in their ways. And I know that the people making the 3 to 8 clickbait videos per day know that about their regular lemmings, but eventually everyone has a breaking point and at some point they will just refuse to continue to be lied to.

When your entire viewer base is pissed off people looking to be angry all day long, you've got to keep upping the ante to keep them coming back for more everyday. If you don't, somebody else is going to and they're going to start sniping your audience from you.

So if the model is to make everything make you angrier every day, what happens when even pretending to be objective flys out the window?

Well... We already know the answer to that. Everybody starts ignoring you. The media has never been so powerless as it is right now. Even independent journalism on both sides has been seeing massive dips.

But you've got a spouse and kids. Obligations. Bills to pay. So you become even more desperate...

Whether you acknowledge it or not, you've left any illusion of objectivity out of your opinions years ago. And you don't care that half or more of the country knows that every word you say is bullshit because all you care about is the 10% that believe every single word you say while trying to wrangle as many as those other 40 or so percent that are regularly voting Equus Asinus, but haven't yet tethered themselves down with the tenets of your cult.

What do you do then?

What do you do when the lying by omission or lying by framing stops working on an ever-increasing amount of the population because somebody finally told them what to look for when they're being lied to? When people start actually clicking on article headlines and reading a paragraph or two before just taking the framing the headline itself as their new thought of the day?

What do you do then?

What do you do when none of the small stories like Trump eating McDonalds everyday or having an OCD attack over the rip in the Reflecting Pool move the needle even one millimeter anymore?

What do you do then?

What do you do when every trick you've ever learned starts becoming ineffective because you yourself helped inoculate an entire planet from your bullshit, ragebait and lies by completely over-saturating everyone with it for years?

I'll tell you what you do.

You start telling bigger lies...

More risky lies...

Lies that could see you, your channel and maybe even your very prominent household name personally destroyed in an instant if you didn't dot all your Ts and cross all of your Is before you hit play on that camera and opened your big fucking mouth to tell other people what they should think about your "Shit to be Pissed Off About Today" lineup.

Lies that can be eventually traced back to the single source that conjured the lie.

That's the tricky thing about lies... ain't it?

The truth coming back to you is something that you don't have to account for because you're dealing with the truth. You are not the one who Made the "truth". You're simply reporting on the Truth that is happening.

Just a little tip to those of you who have never worried about being held accountable for your lies until the last 2 years.

Maybe try telling the truth?

I assure you... If you did it right, you probably wouldn't lose much of your current audience because there is literally a fucking endless supply of very true things that everyone should be pissed off about. You will find no shortage of content.

Would lies like these be a bridge to far?

Likely not for Ted or Second, but I'll bet if they're spewing a bunch of plain lies like this in their clickbait we should see their subscriptions and watch numbers begin to drop.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 6:48 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Dutch Destinus produces 1,000th Ruta cruise missile jet engine

June 22, 2026, 05:51 PM

https://english.nv.ua/nation/destinus-produces-1-000-ruta-cruise-missi
le-engines-50618405.html

Dutch defense firm Destinus manufactured the first 1,000 T150 turbojet engines to be used in its Ruta family of cruise missiles, the company announced on June 22.

Ukrainian outlet Defense Express called the milestone a positive sign for Kyiv, since the Netherlands previously pledged to pay for and deliver 700 Ruta missiles to Ukraine.

Destinus said the T150 is intended for the Ruta B1 (Block 1) and Ruta B2 (Block 2) variants. The company said the milestone “strengthens Europe’s ability to produce cruise missile engines at industrial scale.”

Destinus said the engine was developed entirely in-house and is being manufactured at facilities in Europe. The company did not disclose what share of the components are European-made or the rate of production, Defense Express noted.

Sidney Berndt, Destinus’ chief manufacturing officer, said the company is planning to produce thousands of missiles a year and is already scaling up capacity, including through a joint venture with Germany’s Rheinmetall, Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems.

Defense Express said the T150 production figures indicate Destinus could deliver the 700 Ruta cruise missiles to Ukraine within the planned timetable.

According to Defense Express, the Ruta B1 has a range of more than 300 kilometers and can carry a payload of more than 150 kilograms. The Ruta B2 extends range to about 700 kilometers and includes improvements such as reduced radar cross-section and air-launch capability.

It is unclear how many Ruta missiles Destinus has delivered to Ukraine so far. Defense Express said deliveries are likely test batches used to refine existing versions and develop new ones. Ruta has reportedly been supplied to Ukrainian forces since early 2024. The publication added that while the first version was closer to a jet-powered drone in design, the second and third versions are full-fledged cruise missiles.

Read also:
Fugitive Russian founder’s company unveils Ruta Block 2 cruise missile https://english.nv.ua/nation/ruta-block-2-cruise-missile-may-soon-targ
et-russian-air-defenses-50575817.html

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 7:28 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Russian strikes drove Ukraine’s sharpest economic contraction since the recovery began, and forecasters have cut the year to near zero.

By Peeter Helme
23/06/2026

On 22 June, Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a record budget of 4.4 trillion hryvnia ($97.6 billion), most of it borrowed from Europe. The money to keep Ukraine fighting, and eventually to rebuild it, is flowing as never before.

The constraint that now shapes Ukraine’s economic future is no longer money but electricity, workers, and institutions to use it.

Real GDP fell 0.6% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, the National Bank confirmed on 18 June, and 0.7% against the previous quarter. The number is small. What hides behind it is not.

For nearly three years, Ukraine’s economy grew through bombardment—near-continuously from the middle of 2023, when the country clawed its way back from a collapse of almost 29% in the invasion year. It dipped only once before now, briefly, when drought hammered the harvest at the end of 2024. The first quarter of 2026 was the sharper break.

More at https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/06/23/ukraine-economy-contraction-jun
e-2026/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 11:43 AM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Ukraine has cleared its first remote drone control system for operational use under NATO-standard codification procedures, Militarnyi reports.

The system allows Ukrainian drone operators to control UAVs from remote locations far from the battlefield, reducing their exposure to artillery, FPV drone strikes, and electronic warfare targeting launch sites near the front line while maintaining continuous drone operations across wider areas of the front.

The system, Hornet Vision Ctrl, was developed by Ukrainian company Wild Hornets and allows operators to control drones remotely from anywhere in the world. It has now been officially approved for use by Ukraine’s Defense Forces following codification under NATO standards, the company told Militarnyi.

The complex includes a ground control station with a digital video system, a 360-degree omnidirectional antenna, and operator workstation equipment designed to enable long-range drone operations with low-latency communication.

https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/06/23/ukraine-approves-first-nato-sta
ndard-drone-control-system/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 3:36 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Over the last few years we've seen a lot of people take decades worth of credibility they've built up and just set it right on fire in front of everyone.

Maybe we need to see some more.

You start making claims like the ones that they've been making recently and you're wrong about them?

I don't know man...

I know that these lemmings are really set in their ways. And I know that the people making the 3 to 8 clickbait videos per day know that about their regular lemmings, but eventually everyone has a breaking point and at some point they will just refuse to continue to be lied to.

When your entire viewer base is pissed off people looking to be angry all day long, you've got to keep upping the ante to keep them coming back for more everyday. If you don't, somebody else is going to and they're going to start sniping your audience from you.

So if the model is to make everything make you angrier every day, what happens when even pretending to be objective flys out the window?

Well... We already know the answer to that. Everybody starts ignoring you. The media has never been so powerless as it is right now. Even independent journalism on both sides has been seeing massive dips.

But you've got a spouse and kids. Obligations. Bills to pay. So you become even more desperate...

Whether you acknowledge it or not, you've left any illusion of objectivity out of your opinions years ago. And you don't care that half or more of the country knows that every word you say is bullshit because all you care about is the 10% that believe every single word you say while trying to wrangle as many as those other 40 or so percent that are regularly voting Equus Asinus, but haven't yet tethered themselves down with the tenets of your cult.

What do you do then?

What do you do when the lying by omission or lying by framing stops working on an ever-increasing amount of the population because somebody finally told them what to look for when they're being lied to? When people start actually clicking on article headlines and reading a paragraph or two before just taking the framing the headline itself as their new thought of the day?

What do you do then?

What do you do when none of the small stories like Trump eating McDonalds everyday or having an OCD attack over the rip in the Reflecting Pool move the needle even one millimeter anymore?

What do you do then?

What do you do when every trick you've ever learned starts becoming ineffective because you yourself helped inoculate an entire planet from your bullshit, ragebait and lies by completely over-saturating everyone with it for years?

I'll tell you what you do.

You start telling bigger lies...

More risky lies...

Lies that could see you, your channel and maybe even your very prominent household name personally destroyed in an instant if you didn't dot all your Ts and cross all of your Is before you hit play on that camera and opened your big fucking mouth to tell other people what they should think about your "Shit to be Pissed Off About Today" lineup.

Lies that can be eventually traced back to the single source that conjured the lie.

That's the tricky thing about lies... ain't it?

The truth coming back to you is something that you don't have to account for because you're dealing with the truth. You are not the one who Made the "truth". You're simply reporting on the Truth that is happening.

Just a little tip to those of you who have never worried about being held accountable for your lies until the last 2 years.

Maybe try telling the truth?

I assure you... If you did it right, you probably wouldn't lose much of your current audience because there is literally a fucking endless supply of very true things that everyone should be pissed off about. You will find no shortage of content.

Would lies like these be a bridge to far?

Likely not for Ted or Second, but I'll bet if they're spewing a bunch of plain lies like this in their clickbait we should see their subscriptions and watch numbers begin to drop.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

The reason why I'm so skeptical about 95% of SECOND'S and THGR'S second-hand claims is bc I follow Military Summary channel every day. Often twice a day. The PRO-UKRAINIAN host follows the drone strikes, frontline advances and retreats, official statements and Telegram channels in excruciating, granular detail. Every day. Twice a day!

More importantly, he backs up his reporting with geolocated videos. (I generally ignore his explanations and projections, tho, bc they're almost never correct.)

Simplicius the Thinker doesn't post anywhere near as often, but he backs up his points with videos that aren't found almost anywhere else, like videos of Israeli missile damage that Israeli officials strongly censor, or frontline videos that won't make it on YouTube bc they're too gruesome, or videos of new/ unusual weapons like the first Oreshnik strike, or the Ukrainian "Hollywood special fx drones" that are loaded with kerosene and rubber and create their own black smoke plume no matter what they land on.

Literally, the only time Kiev was correct was the claim of N Koreans fighting in Kursk.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 6:20 PM

The problem with videos is, you can't even believe them anymore.

And when there's really nobody in the media that you can trust anymore since all of those whores have already lit their credibility on fire, what authority would you ever turn to and just blindly believe when they tell you which ones are fakes and which ones arent?

Not only is it getting harder to tell real videos from AI generated videos by the day, but a couple of years go somebody got one of the big news channels to post a video from a video game as war footage and everyone jumped on it and passed it around until somebody figured it out and they all looked like assholes. Again.

I think in 2026 we have to be real with ourselves and admit that we truly do not even know when a video we are watching is something that actually happened.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 7:40 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
The problem with videos is, you can't even believe them anymore.

And when there's really nobody in the media that you can trust anymore since all of those whores have already lit their credibility on fire, what authority would you ever turn to and just blindly believe when they tell you which ones are fakes and which ones arent?

Not only is it getting harder to tell real videos from AI generated videos by the day, but a couple of years go somebody got one of the big news channels to post a video from a video game as war footage and everyone jumped on it and passed it around until somebody figured it out and they all looked like assholes. Again.

I think in 2026 we have to be real with ourselves and admit that we truly do not even know when a video we are watching is something that actually happened.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

I was looking for articles about that video game war footage and why bother looking for something that happened a few years ago when we've got another one from just 6 days ago...

https://fullfact.org/conflict/iran-israel-fighter-jet-video-game-war-t
hunder/

At least the media didn't jump in on this one right away and it was just shared all over social media by a bunch of "educated" 2-digit IQs that beleive they're 3-digts.

Quote:
A dramatic video of a warplane being shot down has been viewed thousands of times on social media, and shared with claims it shows Iranian fighter jets attempting to enter Israeli airspace.

But this isn’t real footage. The video is actually from the military game War Thunder.

The clip was shared on X and Facebook on 14 June with claims that three Iranian fighter jets were destroyed.

We traced the clip to a video posted on YouTube on 7 June, claiming to show the video game War Thunder. This version is much clearer and therefore more obviously computer-generated. The account sharing it regularly posts clips from the game and the end of the clip features the game’s distinctive ‘kill sound’.

A spokesperson for Gaijin Entertainment, which makes the game, also confirmed the footage is from War Thunder.

Iran fired missiles at northern Israel on 7 June, prompting retaliatory strikes from Israel. On 14 June the US reached a preliminary agreement to end the war with Iran.

Although Israel claimed to have shot down an Iranian jet in March, we’ve not seen any evidence of this happening in June.

We have previously fact checked many other video game clips that have been shared on social media with misleading captions saying that they depict real-world events. We’ve written about what to check if you suspect footage purporting to be news may actually be from a video game.

For further advice on how to verify videos before you share them, read our toolkit.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 8:10 PM

I wonder if Google's AI is sometimes more helpful to people than Google would like it to be.

I'm not bad at Google-Fu, but I was really having a hard time finding the story I was thinking about. I didn't have much solid to go off of, since I didn't remember anybody's names who were involved, which outfit put the lie out there first or even what the lie itself was about.

But 2 prompts from the AI got me exactly what I was looking for...

Quote:
The incident you are remembering where a prominent American media personality or broadcast associate mistook video game footage for a live military conflict involves MSNBC contributor and retired four-star U.S. Army General Barry McCaffrey.

The confusion over the exact year makes complete sense, as this happened right on the edge of your timeline in May 2022, during the heavily televised initial months of the Russia-Ukraine war.

The 2022 MSNBC Contributor Incident

What Happened: General Barry McCaffrey, appearing frequently on MSNBC as a military analyst, went viral after tweeting a video he believed showed authentic wartime action.

He added the caption: "Russian aircraft getting nailed by UKR missile defense. Russians are losing large numbers of attack aircraft.

"The Reality: The clip was actually beautifully rendered, simulated gameplay from the photorealistic military sandbox video game Arma 3.

The Fallout: Because of his high profile on cable news, mainstream media, internet watchdogs, and gamers immediately noticed the mistake. McCaffrey quickly deleted the tweet without an official on-air correction, but the story was widely reported across American media circles as an example of how easily simulated footage can fool experts.

That was BEFORE A.I. was a thing that people who weren't die-hard, OG Terminiator fans ever talked about.

You had a retired 4-Star US Military General who was a frequent commentator on MSNBC either wittingly or unwittingly, of his own accord or under duress from somebody else, try to pass of current popular video game footage as a real military conflict.

The fact that people caught this isn't the story here. The story is that we were already at the point where they felt like they could use fake footage to manipulate us even before everybody with $60 extra per month to burn could create footage just as convincing while in their jammies at home.

And they weren't wrong. And every time they do something like this and there's no outrage and nobody ever has to suffer any consequences that's just more data. Push the envelope further next week. And a little further the next. And again and again and again until everything becomes so normalized that not only can't anybody tell what is real and what isn't anymore, but they completely stop bothering to care because it's all just too damn much.

General Barry McCaffrey should have been tarred and feathered with the whole thing broadcast on national TV. And I'll bet he wasn't even given a slap on the wrist. Worst case scenario is that they stopped having him on for 2 or 3 weeks until everyone stopped talking about it and then they just brought him right back into whatever normal rotation they used to have him on.

And at the end of the day... if we, as in you and I specifically, have this power and technology available to us now, how long has the government actually had it? How long have foreign governments actually had it? How long have large tech companies actually had it before they started renting out a heavily gimped version to us?

How much video footage have we watched over the last decade that wasn't real?

They put movies like Wag the Dog out there so whenever anybody suggested that our governments and corporations were doing shit like this all the time with the tech that Hollywood more or less invented, we would be called conspiracy theorists and they could laugh it all off and tell you to go and watch Wag the Dog again.

Man...

Once I saw Tom Hanks shake JFK's hand I knew we were fuckin' cooked.

--------------------------------------------------

Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 8:34 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

If one side puts out a phony video, the other side can dispute it. And if one side puts out a video that's detrimental to it's own side, chances are it's genuine.

Since my sources follow events like hawks, as do their audiences, it's unlikely anything slips by. I think you're more likely to find AI manipulation on sites with a lot of followers, not on specialized sites run by obsessive- compulsives.

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 9:39 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
If one side puts out a phony video, the other side can dispute it.

What? Am I talking to AI right now?

That seems a little too simplistic and naively optimistic a statement for it to have been written by the Sigs I know.

For quite a few more reasons than just one. The more I think about it, there's levels to why I don't believe that you actually believe that statement actually means anything. It's really an iceberg, actually.

Quote:
And if one side puts out a video that's detrimental to it's own side, chances are it's genuine.

Chances are BETTER that it's genuine, certainly. I get it. To each of their own ability and accord, we've all consciously or subconsciously started building defenses to this. Even those among us who want to believe everything they're told still have to fight their genetic code that knows something is very wrong right now, but is confused and doesn't know how to properly handle what is going on.

You know I walk around thinking I'm the smartest person in almost every room, but I'll be the first to admit that I'm having a really hard time deciding whether or not new channels that I come across are AI generated or not these days. There's still plenty of obvious slop out there to be immediately discarded, but that's just distracting us from how many channels have been set up that are much more sophisticated than they were only 3 months ago.

This is no joke. This has always been one of my greatest fears coming to life. Not the AI part, but the part where we have technology of any kind available to us that can make videos so convincing that most people don't even question if they were real or not. It's something I've feared since I saw The Running Man with my old man and younger brother when we were something like 5 and 7 years old.

Quote:
Since my sources follow events like hawks, as do their audiences, it's unlikely anything slips by. I think you're more likely to find AI manipulation on sites with a lot of followers, not on specialized sites run by obsessive- compulsives.

I get that. And I understand that you have faith in them that everything is genuine.

I just can't bring myself to do that for anyone. To put it another way, I don't even know what you could ever say about your sources that would ever convince me to believe in them the way that you do. And that's not even a knock on any of them. How could it be when we're not even talking about any specific sources here?

I'm not there. Only once in my life now can I say I spent 3 days outside of the little 250 mile radius I've called home for the rest of the 47 years. I've lived a very fucking simple life, and I have no shame in admitting that.

That being said, I appreciate our talks even when they get heated and we say some things that we know we shouldn't say to each other probably more than I would otherwise because we come from very different walks of life and that's the kind of thing I find interesting. I understand that, especially in your field, you've had tons of experience being around a lot of these Studies and Theses and and all sorts of things that were basically all but invisible to the general public until some laws and the internet made a lot of it finally available to everyone (and almost nobody gave a shit and most people don't even know about it).

It was part of your job to play Sherlock Holmes and weed out the bad info from the good info and refine all the results. Theories aren't law. Isolating and cutting out the bullshit is arguably more important than verifying one single (alleged, supposed, subject to change in the future) truth.

Me? That ain't my job. I just don't believe none of it. No reason to even lie about that.

99% of the time or more, that has never positively or negatively impacted my life in any way that I'm even aware of. The few things I've ever come to know I've had zero influence over even if I wanted to do something about them. I might be able to win a minor local battle and get them to change their plans and make a nice looking proper sidewalk instead of the zig-zag amature bullshit somebody had cooked up before I got involved and talked to the guys on the top....

But all this big picture shit?

Nobody has ever even convinced me that I should have an opinion on the Russia/Ukraine issue at all.

Why should I care?

Nobody is being honest with me about what the fuck we've been doing there going back to at least 2014. Half of the people who report on it probably believe that they are telling you the complete truth. Maybe a few of them are accidentally correct about things or even one or two of them actually know what is going on.

But it just mean nothing. It means literally nothing.

Second will call me a goddamned evil Trumptard Nazi who needs to be murdered for saying this. Ted will make a retarded face.

All I really know man is that the internet came and everything just sucked after that. If not for the Major Events in between that need not be named, it was just a slow creep from around 1997 until today. 30 years of everyting falling to shit around us.

We all know more than we ever did, and everyone's fucking miserable.

I've asked the question here before, and didn't get an answer from anyone.

What does anybody get from talking about Russia at all, let alone every day for years? How has focusing any time on this issue at all positively impacted any American Citizen's life, regardless of which lens you're viewing it through?

I seriously want to know.

Because at the end of the day, it's like I always said from the beginning. Nobody cares.

But I understood all of those people who "cared" so hard for 2 or 3 months in the beginning there. It was inescapable. You didn't just see it online, but you saw the Ukraine Flag bumperstickers and flags flying on cars when you went to work or grocery shopping.

But none of them really cared. 99% of them haven't had the Ukraine flag in their Twitter bios for over 2 years now. Maybe they've still got the bumper sticker because those things always suck to remove, but ain't nobody in America flying Ukraine Flags out of their car windows in 2026 is all I'm sayin'. Caring about Ukraine was no longer in vogue. It wasn't a bankable commodity anymore. Everyone who was using the issue for something had gotten what they needed from it, and now there was 3 other things they were being told that they needed to care about.

But then here's this thread from nearly 2.5 years ago with over 10,000 posts and half a million views. (Most of the views are just us narcissists here looking at our own posts and the view counts on FFF.NET mean practically nothing).

Seriously...

Fuck Ted and Second. As much as I'd really love to know deep down why they care at all about any of this, I already know that Ted just believes and does whatever he's told, and Second is a chronic liar and I wouldn't believe anything he said anyway.

I want to know what You get out of this, Sigs. Why do you care?

I understand that both you and your husband come from countries much closer to all of this than most other people. If that's your answer, it's an acceptable one. I'm just kind of hoping it's more interesting than that.

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Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 10:17 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
I've asked the question here before, and didn't get an answer from anyone.

What does anybody get from talking about Russia at all, let alone every day for years? How has focusing any time on this issue at all positively impacted any American Citizen's life, regardless of which lens you're viewing it through?

I seriously want to know.

Wow...

Here's a Theory for you, Sigs.

What if this... this little dance that all of us do here every day or pretty much as often as possible at least...

What if this... everything we do here... is just OUR Fantasy Football?

Even our other friend in the Garden who I won't even mention by name as not to drag her in here for any reason.

What's your favorite sport?

Mine was wrestling, because it was the only sport I'd ever played and it was one of the only things I was really good at growing up. Technically a team sport with the way it's scored, sure, but I genuinely never cared at all about the team score. I rarely hung out with any of the team outside of training and matches, and I was only there to win my match and finally get to eat something after 2 days of starving myself.

I think that actually is a pretty good marker of my psychology regarding all of this if we're playing some sort of RISK type game here.

I don't know why I come here, but I know I'll never leave...

It's the only place I wanna be, yeah, yeah, yeah...

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Those who dance always seem crazy to those who can't hear the music.

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 10:17 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Hmmm.....

Someday everything we see on the inet .... all the videos, all the analyses, all the debate... could be AI generated. It could ALL be fake. We could all be surrounded by artificially generated media, and the only thing we would know for real would be the people that we know IRL and the things we experience IRL.

But today isn't that day.

If the internet were under such tight control, governments wouldn't be working so hard to control the content. (Britain is turning into a real dystopian tyranny.)

So, I "get" your concern, but I don't think it's warranted at the moment.

Why do I care?

Well, I think if we want any agency whatsoever over our future, we really have to make a point of trying to understand the world. And we'll never be able to influence the future individually, only together. And of course if we need to work together we have to have a common understandings ... among other things, that there's a real world and facts don't cater to our wants or fears.

I have no illusions that SECOND will ever change. IDK what's up with him. At one point, long before you became aware of him, he said he was fighting a war here online. And, of course, if you look at his view of war, it's all about eliminating "the enemy".

So I guess I'm the nub that won't be hammered down bc I'm still here.

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"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Tuesday, June 23, 2026 11:16 PM