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Ukrainian forces surprised occupying Russians with a one-two punch Thursday, pushing deep into enemy territory to open a second front in Kyiv’s counterattack. Ukrainian authorities announced the liberation of 20 villages in the northeast, outside Kharkiv, as the military pushed for the occupied city of Izyum — all while continuing a fierce fight for Kherson in the south. Oleksiy Hromov, a deputy chief with the general staff of the armed forces of Ukraine, said Thursday that his nation’s forces — pushing toward the Donbas from Kharkiv — had penetrated more than 30 miles beyond Russia’s defensive line. “Since the beginning...

“According to multiple former senior U.S. officials we spoke with, in April 2022, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators appeared to have tentatively agreed on the outlines of a negotiated interim settlement: Russia would withdraw to its position on February 23, when it controlled part of the Donbas region and all of Crimea, and in exchange, Ukraine would promise not to seek NATO membership and instead receive security guarantees from a number of countries.”

"In the past 24 hours, in their effective operations the Russian forces eliminated 48 tanks, 46 infantry fighting vehicles, 37 other combat armored vehicles, 8 pickup vehicles with large-caliber machine-guns and over 1,200 Ukrainian servicemen," Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported

Economic war with Russia is likely to keep prices high and send growth into reverse but specter of rationing is fading. There is no end in sight for Europe’s surge in energy prices. That could be just what the continent needs to avoid the devastating effects of having to ration natural gas this winter. This is because prices are so high—many times their level from last year—that they are forcing Europeans to save fuel and secure alternative supplies. That has resulted in rising gas reserves and a higher likelihood that the economy will shrink but not crash outright in the...

MOSCOW. Aug 22 (Interfax) - Germany, Europe's leading gas market, has reaching its minimum target of stocking 80% of underground gas storage (UGS) capacity. However, the EU's primary economy intends to continue active gas injection ahead of the coming winter. The gas transit request via Ukraine was unchanged from previous days and months. UKRAINE TRANSIT Gas Transport System Operator of Ukraine or GTSOU has accepted a request from Gazprom for Monday to transport 41.6 million cubic meters of gas through the country, data from GTSOU show. The request for Sunday was 42.2 million cubic meters. Capacity was requested only through...

As the brutal conflict between Moscow and Kyiv continues unabated, the Russian Defense Ministry has started mass manufacturing Tsirkon hypersonic cruise missiles, expected to be documented by end of 2022. On the sidelines of the Army-2022 forum on Saturday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in a televised interview with Rossiya-1 channel said, “We are starting serial production of the Tsirkon missile. In fact, we have put it (the missile) into service, and it will be documented as early as this year, let’s call it that," TASS reported. Shoigu emphasized that the contracts signed at the Army-2022 conference included the manufacturing of...

A senior Kremlin official has approached Western diplomats and intelligence chiefs in a bid to help end the war in Ukraine, it was alleged last night. The source is said to have claimed that much of Moscow's elite are highly concerned about the trajectory of Russian president Vladimir Putin's invasion into the neighbouring country and are alarmed by the bite of wide-ranging sanctions levied by the West in response. A document, purportedly circulated to Western intelligence agencies and seen by The Mirror, said: 'A representative of Putin's inner-circle sent a signal about the desire to negotiate. .. It is unclear...

The photo that condemned Putin's Wagner thugs: Ukraine 'blows up Russian mercenary HQ in Donbas using HIMARS' after propagandist gave away its location with picture of a street sign Sergei Sreda, a so-called 'war reporter', visited Wagner HQ in Ukraine last week He shook hands with man who appeared to be Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin Experts used images to locate the base, and on Sunday it was confirmed to be hit It is not clear whether Prigozhin was still at the base at the time it was struck Ukraine has destroyed the headquarters of Russia's shadowy Wagner mercenary group in...

This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Small arms, ATGMs, MANPADS, loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles, trailers and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When the...

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the Kremlin inadvertently put its military forces in an unsustainable position, ordering them to take on more operations than they could bear. It had nearly all its soldiers surge simultaneously and rapidly into Ukraine to fight along multiple fronts. It did so without taking necessary protective measures, such as clearing routes of explosives. It had its forces advance at an unsustainable pace. As a result, Russian troops were vulnerable to ambushes, counterattacks, and severe logistical problems that cost the military enormous numbers of soldiers and equipment. That initial error was caused by the Kremlin’s...

Some data points: May 22 vs May 21 Cars: -96.7% (3,700 cars) Trucks: -39.3% ICE motors: -57% Pass. train wagons: -59.8% Freight wagons: -51.8% Fiberglass cables: -80.8% Fridges: -58.1% Washing machines: -59.2% AC electric motors: -49.9% Elevators: -34.7% Excavators: -60%

The United States will face "unimaginable consequences" if it plays the Taiwan card and Beijing will not be intimidated by sanctions like those on Russia, a Chinese foreign vice-minister has said. Le Yucheng told an online security forum on Friday evening that it was "ridiculous" to blame China for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and accused the US of sacrificing Ukraine for its own geopolitical interests. China has been criticised for not condemning Russia's invasion, and the US and its allies have expressed concern over the security of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province be to reunified with the mainland...

Any country trying to intervene in the Ukraine war will face a "lightning-fast" response, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned. "We have all the tools no-one can boast of... we will use them if necessary", he said, in what is seen as a reference to ballistic missiles and nuclear arms. Ukraine's allies have stepped up the supply of weapons, with the US vowing to make sure Ukraine defeats Russia. Western officials say Russia is being hampered in its efforts in the east. Last week, Russia launched a major offensive to seize the Donbas region after withdrawing from areas around the...

MSNBC guest Sarah Kendzior, a regular contributor to the network, pushed a conspiracy theory that Donald Trump was “installed” as President as a means to benefit Vladimir Putin. Kendzior pushed the conspiracy theory during a weekend appearance on “The Cross Connection,” after being prompted to comment on Trump’s recent comments which the media have falsely pushed as genuinely ‘heaping praise’ upon Putin. Kendzior piggybacked off the claims and launched a new conspiracy theory of her own. “Trump was installed as the President of the United States in order to weaken the alliances that were preventing Putin from achieving his goals,”...

A fire has been seen at a nuclear power plant in Ukraine after tanks opened fire with heavy weapons at the facility, footage in the early hours of Friday morning showed. A live feed from the Zaporizhzhia station showed flames at the site in the east of country, having earlier showed tanks firing at buildings - sparking fears of a radiation disaster in the nation currently being invaded by Russian forces. Dmytro Orlov, the mayor of the nearby town of Energodar, confirmed the blaze in an online post. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest of its kind in...

Former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) said Friday on MSNBC’s “The ReidOut” that Republicans were awful and hypocrites for supporting the Canadian truckers protest that is blocking border crossings between Canada and the United States. Host Joy Reid said, “At a certain point, the Republican center can’t hold. There is no center. The center is the far-right. I wonder what that means long-term for even the United States Senate, which seems like it could very well turn into the House, just smaller and weirder.”

In today's society, or at least within sports media, not being truthful about your vaccination status is worse than actually killing someone. You think I'm being hyperbolic, right? Tell that to Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers superstar quarterback. Rodgers tried to execute a play-action vax, and now he's in major trouble for his incomplete vax. According to veteran NFL reporter Ian Rapoport, Rodgers "received homeopathic treatment from his personal doctor to raise his antibody levels and asked the NFL to review his status. The NFL, NFLPA and joint docs ruled him as unvaccinated. Now, he has COVID-19." The reaction...

Whenever Joe Glickman heads out for groceries, he places an N95 mask over his face and tugs a cloth mask on top of it. He then pulls on a pair of goggles. He has used this safety protocol for the past 14 months. It did not change after he contracted the coronavirus in November. It did not budge when, earlier this month, he became fully vaccinated. And even though President Joe Biden said on Thursday that fully vaccinated people do not have to wear a mask, Glickman said he planned to stay the course. In fact, he said, he plans...

The CDC’s recent relaxing of mask mandates for vaccinated people has left many COVID doomsayers frantically wondering what to do next. After all, pesky anti-vax Trumplodytes will just lie, say they’re vaccinated and get away with not wearing masks. Thus, crazed feminist Jill Filipovic proposed a mandated Vaccine passport, a "QR code" or something, so we can know who has gotten the jab or not. Isn’t the left just replete with earnest little fascists? Filipovic’s totalitarian sentiments arose in response to the CDC and President Geezer removing mask mandates for vaccinated people. Of course the question as to who can...

Howard Stern unloaded on Joe Lieberman in an extended rant on his radio show yesterday, saying Lieberman is "getting his balls busted" and telling him to "shut the *&^& up" about his "morality crap." Stern also slammed Lieberman as a "cheerleader" for Bush who should "put on a dress and *&^%$(# jump up and down." To listen to the whole thing, head to Joementum. More excerpts follow after the jump.