5 Jul, 2023 13:01

China doubted we shot down hypersonic missiles – Kiev

Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov has detailed foreign reactions to Kiev’s claims about Russian weapons

When Kiev announced shooting down a Russian hypersonic missile, people in Washington were exhilarated, but avisiting Chinese official didn’t believe the claim and left before he could be shown proof, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov.

The reactions were described by The Financial Times on Wednesday, based on the minister’s account.Reznikov’s department claimed it had intercepted a Russian Kinzhal missile for the first time in May, using a US-made Patriot anti-missile system. Kiev has since reported downing over a dozen such weapons, whichMoscow mocked as not corresponding to reality.

The Ukrainian official declared that his nation had proven that hypersonic weapons can be defended against, showcasing in the process the advanced capability of NATO systems. He claimed that when he delivered the news of the first success to a US official, the response was: “Fantastic!”

But Li Hui, China’s special representative for Eurasian affairs, who was visiting Kiev in mid-May, was skeptical about Kiev’s ability to down Kinzhals, Reznikov explained.

“I proposed that if there are doubts, we are ready to provide proof,” Reznikov told the newspaper, adding that Li left the country without viewing the purported evidence.

The Kinzhal is an air-launched hypersonic missile, which is believed to be derived from the quasi-ballistic ground-launched Iskander projectile. The Russian forces have used both types of weapons against military targets in Ukraine, though details about hypersonic strikes have been scarce.

In May, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said thenumber of Kinzhal missiles, which Kiev claimed to have intercepted,was larger than the number actually fired by the Russian side.

Some military experts have suggested that Ukrainian officials were misrepresenting debris from Iskander missiles as coming from Kinzhals, when presenting them as evidence of successful intercepts.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has claimed that the Patriot system’s capability made it uniquely important for his country’s defense. He told The Wall Street Journal last month that Ukraine needed 50 batteries – which cost an estimated $1.1 billion apiece – for sufficient protection.

(That’s how Ukraine gets more weapons, the lie about successes. Hell, they lie about everything!)

https://www.rt.com/russia/579237-reznikov-kinzhal-intercept-china/

5 Jul, 2023 11:44

Kremlin denies report that Xi warned Putin not to nuke Ukraine

The Financial Times alleged that Beijing was privately claiming credit for Russia’s changing rhetoric

The Kremlin has dismissed “fictitious” claims in the Western press that Chinese President Xi Jinping warned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, not to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The claim was reported by The Financial Times, based on anonymous diplomatic sources.

“I cannot confirm that,” Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Wednesday, when asked about the FT article. He suggested thatofficial statements regarding Xi’s “important” visit to Moscow in March were “sufficient” to make conclusions about its nature.

According to FT, Chinese officials have “privately taken credit for convincing the Russian president to back down from his veiled threats of using a nuclear weapon against Ukraine.” The newspaper alleged that “deterring Putin” from an atomic strike was a key part in Beijing’s diplomatic strategy regarding Europe.

The Chinese government has blamed Western policies, including the expansion of NATO in Europe, for the Ukraine conflict, rejecting the Western view that Russia’s military operation was “unprovoked”. It has also publicly urged Moscow not to use its nuclear capability. The purported warning from Xi to Putin gave supporters of Kiev confidence that “China is backing up its public rhetoric behind closed doors,” the FT article said.

Moscow has called the Ukraine conflict part of a wider Western proxy war waged against Russia. Putin, as well as other senior Russian officials, have repeatedly cited the Russian nuclear doctrine, which allows the use of such weapons to prevent an existential threat to the Russian state.

Western officials and media outlets have framed those remarks as indicating a possible nuclear attack against Ukrainian forces.

However, Putin has stressed that he is against the idea of a limited nuclear strike for any purpose other than saving the nation from destruction.

“First of all, we have no need for that. Second, the very speculation about this is a factor that lowers the threshold for the use of the weapon,” he explained during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum last month.

The Russian leader added that his recent decision to station some Russian tactical weapons on the territory of ally Belarus was meant asdeterrence against “those who think they can inflict a strategic defeat on us,“ referring to the stated US goal in Ukraine.

(Since Ukraine won’t fight Russia, it’s rumor time to keep the bullshit alive!)

https://www.rt.com/russia/579232-peskov-xi-putin-nuclear/

'We have a very dangerous IDIOT in the White House': Trump mercilessly mocks Biden for saying Putin is 'losing the war in Iraq' TWICE and the 'USA cannot have this go on' in July 4 warning

By Nikki Schwab, Senior U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com

09:13 EDT 05 Jul 2023

Former President expressed his Fourth of July well-wishes on Truth Social Tuesday, calling President a 'very dangerous idiot' for twice mixing up Ukraine and .

Trump had marked the nation's birthday with a large rally Saturday in Pickens, South Carolina and was spending the actual holiday with his family.

He also devoted some of the day to dashing off Truths.

'When Biden said that is "losing the war in Iraq," twice, everybody knew, through confirmation, that we have a confirmed, and very dangerous, Idiot in the White House,' the former president said Tuesday afternoon. 'The USA cannot have this go on!'

He also shared a meme with a 'F*** Biden' flag.

Donald Trump draws thousands to small South Carolina city for campaign rally

Earlier Tuesday, the ex-president had issued a more traditional greeting.

'Happy FOURTH OF JULY to everyone,' Trump wrote. 'We are working hard, we will take back our Country, and MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.'

'The 2024 Election is our LAST GREAT CHANCE!' he added.

Trump also Truthed a highlights reel from his Saturday rally.

His campaign pushed back declared the ex-president was 'avoiding retail politics over the Fourth of July.'

'His campaign will have an overwhelming presence in various parades and patriotic events in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, engaging with voters and Americans who are sick of Joe Biden's failed leadership,' spokesperson Steven Cheung told the paper.

A number of his GOP rivals, however, showed up to traditional Fourth of July parades in the flesh.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, wife Casey and their daughter Madison got soaked as they marched in a parade in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

Earlier in the day, the DeSantis family marched in a parade in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire.

Sen. Tim Scott also marched in the Merrimack parade, while former Vice President Mike Pence marched in Urbandale, Iowa, alongside former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Trump relished remarks made by DeSantis' PAC spokesman .

Cortes admitted that the Florida governor was 'way behind' Trump in the 2024 GOP primary race, dubbing the ex-president a 'runaway frontrunner.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12264051/Trump-marks-Fourth-calling-Biden-dangerous-IDIOT.html

Will ANYONE show up to the first Republican debate? Blockbuster GOP event faces chaos as Trump threatens to skip, DeSantis says he won't appear without his arrival and candidates refuse to sign RNC loyalty pledge

By Katelyn Caralle, U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com

10:02 EDT 03 Jul 2023 , updated 10:06 EDT 03 Jul 2023

The first debate stage might not produce the dramatic scene originally expected as a growing number of candidates could opt to skip out – while others are struggling to meet the requirements to land on stage.

With just two months to go, there are 15 candidates vying for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 – and only one-third of the field has met the requirements so far to debate in August.

Longshot candidates remain at risk of not qualifying in time to reach the debate stage, while some of the frontrunners are threatening to boycott due to restrictions and rules set by the Republican National Committee (RNC).

The RNC is holding the first debate on August 23 in Milwaukee, – a key swing state that voted red for in 2016 then went blue in 2020 for President .

Trump has threatened not to attend the debate, suggesting the event is below him because he doesn't have any serious challengers.Politico reports that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis won't appear for the debate if Trump doesn't.

DailyMail.com has reached out to DeSantis' campaign team on whether he plans to participate in the August debate.

The 2016 GOP debate state was quite crowded – but the RNC was determined this time around to weed out candidates that lack the serious prospect of winning or getting far in the primary election.

But instead of the intended outcome, now frontrunner candidates are threatening to boycott the debates altogether.

The RNC created a 'loyalty pledge' this year that requires candidates to sign an agreement to support whoever becomes the GOP nominee. This hasn't only caused a problem for frontrunner Trump, but also more longshot candidates that claim it continues a pattern of 'spinning the wheels' of the Republican Party around the former president.

Some candidates who haven't even met the criteria to be able to debate yet are saying they wouldn't agree to sign the pledge if they are given the opportunity.

The stricter requirements resulted in only five of the 15 candidates so far being able to reach the debate stage in Milwaukee. This includes Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and biotech millionaire Vivek Ramaswamy.

'The real race begins on Aug 23 in Milwaukee at the first debate. I'll be there. We will level up as a party & a nation,' Ramaswamy said in a Sunday evening tweet despite being the least likely to clinch the nomination of those who qualified for the debate.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12259035/Trump-threatens-skip-GOP-debate-candidates-refuse-sign-RNC-loyalty-pledge.html?ico=topics_pagination_mobile

White House cocaine was found in a 'dime-sized baggie' inside a 'cubby' used by staff and guests to store cell phones: New details emerge in drug mystery as Secret Service continues investigation

By Katelyn Caralle, U.S. Political Reporter For Dailymail.com

09:42 EDT 05 Jul 2023 , updated 10:58 EDT 05 Jul 2023

It's still not clear how cocaine made its way into the , but new reporting indicates it was found in a dime-sized bag in a storage facility regularly used by staff and guests.

U.S. Secret Service declined to comment on the ongoing investigation to DailyMail.com on Wednesday, but doubled-down that the white powder substance was found in a 'work area within the West Wing' of the White House.

It appears the federal law enforcement agency is still on the hunt for who brought the cocaine into the White House – while lawmakers and conservative trolls immediately suggested that Biden's addict son Hunter, 52, was the source.

A uniformed Preliminary testing confirmed it was cocaine. The discovery led to an evacuation of the White House – President Joe Biden was not on premise at the time. (Where was he then? Kek)

Biden ignores questions from the press after cocaine found in WH

Washington DC Fire Department dispatch calls indicated the powder was found in the 'library,' which is part of the executive residence two floors below the first family's living quarters, but is also a room open to public tours.

USSS later released a statement, however, contradicting that dispatch. It said that the cocaine was found in a 'work area' in the White House West Wing.

Now, that the illicit drug was found in a common area storage facility cubby where White House staff and guests regularly store their cell phones.

Additionally, a source familiar with the ongoing investigation said that the substance was found in a 'small, dime-sized bag,' .

Rather than the focus turning to the usual pomp and circumstance of the Independence Day celebrations at the White House, the first family was engulfed in scandal as the Secret Service investigated the cocaine incident.

The White House has remained silent on the shocking discovery that forced an evacuation while the president was in Camp David with his recovering drug addict son Hunter Biden.

The mystery of the cocaine deepened Tuesday afternoon when Secret Service officials said it was found in the West Wing - an area used by members of the Biden administration, White House staff and hundreds of journalists.

The West Wing is the activity center for the White House.

(It was the chicken necked drape wearer’s stash!)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12266767/White-House-cocaine-dime-sized-baggie-cubby-used-store-cell-phones.html

‘The Young Turks’ Star Ana Kasparian Admits She Would’ve Done The Same Thing As Kyle Rittenhouse

James LynchJuly 05, 2023 10:41 AM ET

Left-wing media star Ana Kasparian admitted Sunday she would have reacted similarly to Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin, when he defended himself from attackers during a Black Lives Matter riot.

Kasparian appeared on the Sitch & Adam Show, a center-left YouTube channel, to discuss politics and culture, including her recent shifts on issues such as crime and transgenderism that have alienated her from the far left.

“With the Rittenhouse story, I was going to cover the trial and I just needed to go back and just, like, really really look at all the details and remember all the details so when I do the story I get the facts right. And then as I’m doing that I come across a New York Times video … that showed you in slow motion how everything transpired that night. And once you see it for yourself, its really really difficult to argue that in those moments, he was not acting in self-defense,” Kasparian said nine minutes into the livestream.

“So once I saw all those details, first of all, I had to convey them to my audience and be honest about what the reality was. The other thing was, you know,there was a lot of misreporting about how Rittenhouse was in possession of an illegal weapon and that he crossed state lines with that illegal weapon. So, that was a lie,” she added.

Later in the broadcast, Kasparian addressed her on-air debates with Cenk Uygur, her co-host on the flagship show of The Young Turks, a longtime left-wing YouTube network.

“Cenk is his own man, the best I can do is share my perspective and I just told him, I was like, [Rittenhouse] was acting in self-defense. But look, Cenk just has a different perspective, it is what it is, I’m not here to talk badly about Cenk,” she said 33 minutes into the broadcast.

“But to him, he just couldn’t, he just disagrees about it being self-defense, he thinks like [Rittenhouse] didn’t need to like shoot the gun, he didn’t need to kill people. I hear you, I wish it didn’t end that way, but if I were in his shoes, I would’ve done the same thing.”

In March, Kasparian drew attention when she took issue with the left’s use of “birthing people” to describe women in order to appease activists who support transgender ideology. She doubled down on her position in April after she received criticism from left-wing activists for objecting to the rhetoric they use to describe women. Uygur came to Kasparian’s defense and accused their opponents of being “extremists” who help the right wing.

Kasparian also admitted she was wrong about left-wing conspiracy theorist Rebekah Jones and took aim at green energy initiatives for imposing costs on the middle class. She previously conceded to being wrong about “key details” of the Kyle Rittenhouse incident.

Rittenhouse was acquitted on all charges in November 2021 for shooting three men and killing two of them during an August 2020 Black Lives Matter riot.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/07/05/ana-kasparian-kyle-rittenhouse-self-defense/

‘Shut The F**k Up’: WNBA Star Natasha Cloud Lashes Out And Ridiculously Claims All White Americans Have ‘Privileges’

Andrew PowellJuly 05, 2023 12:00 AM ET

Well … this isn’t blatant racism at all.

Natasha Cloud, who is a guard for the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, issued a response Monday to the criticism she’s been getting hammered with for her quite cold takes on the greatest country in the world (the United States of America) after two huge rulings from the Supreme Court in late June.

Leading the Mystics to the 2019 WNBA championship, Cloud took to Twitter yet again for another take on what she thinks the problem is here in good ‘ol America.

“(For real) though if y’all just went through my timeline you’ll see what I’m saying. It’s blatant what the problem is,” Cloud wrote. “I think our biggest obstacle in all of this is getting self centered, ignorant, misinformed, gullible, hateful people to step outside of themselves and to be able to actually shut the fuck up and listen to what a non white experience is like in America. There are inherent privileges that white Americans receive by being born white in this country. That’s a fact.”

Here is Cloud’s entire thread on Twitter:

Fr though if y’all just went through my timeline you’ll see what I’m saying🤣💀.

It’s blatant what the problem is. I think our biggest obstacle in all of this is getting self centered, ignorant, misinformed, gullible, hateful people to step outside of themselves and

— Natasha Cloud (@T_Cloud4) July 4, 2023

Wow … how ridiculous.

As a white American, there aren’t many privileges that I’ve come across. Like my career in the media, for example. I’ve been in this industry for nearly 10 years now, and quite frankly, a large portion of my journey has been full of blood, sweat and tears. There’s been a lot of hard work involved, with only a little bit of glory attached before I came here at the Daily Caller. What about struggling is privileged?

Nice to get spoken down to by yet another rich athlete … how nonsensical, man.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/07/05/wnba-natasha-cloud-americans-white-privilege/

Adam Schiff Is Raking In Cash Since Being Censured Over Russiagate Claims

Mary Lou MastersJuly 05, 2023

Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff raked in more than $8.1 million in campaign contributions for his Senate bid in the second quarter of 2023 after being censured by the House, Politico reported Wednesday.

The Republican-held House voted 213-209 to censure Schiff on June 21 via a resolution introduced by GOP Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna regarding the congressman’s claimsTrump colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election. Schiff’s fundraising totals brings his campaign to $29.5 million cash on hand, breaking Democratic Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock’s record of raising $7.2 in 2021’s second quarter, according to Politico.

“It’s still very early, and while the polls will shift, Adam continues to lead in every metric that is critical to running an effective campaign,” Brad Elkins, Schiff’s campaign manager, wrote in a memo per Politico. “Our campaign continues to build up significant advantages that will propel Adam forward.”

Schiff is one of several Democrats running to fill the seat of retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, including Reps. Katie Porter, Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna. Early polling suggests Schiff has a slight lead for the primary in 2024, and the congressman has received endorsements from former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, three former California congressmembers and many state and local lawmakers.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy removed Schiff from the House Intelligence Committee in January, citing similar reasons as Luna’s censure resolution.

Schiff’s campaign, which raised $6.5 million in the first quarter, brought in over 144,000 individual donors giving more than 233,000 contributions from across the country, according to Politico. Contributions came from each of California’s 58 counties, as well as all 50 states, with the majority being from grassroots donors. (Hugely doubtful! Dem money laundering going on!)

https://dailycaller.com/2023/07/05/adam-schiff-raking-cash-censured-over-russiagate-claims-california-senate/

Why the Alarms Are Sounding Off in the Ron DeSantis Camp

Matt Vespa

Matt Vespa

July 04, 2023 3:30 PM

(Seriously who dresses DeSadist, they definitely do not want him to win!)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was supposedly the man taking up the mantle for the conservative movement, the heir to the Trump coalition who could undo the damage inflicted on the country by Joe Biden. But then, Trump decided to run for president again, and Ron wasn’t going to alter his political map, so a collision course was set. When he announced, Trump was still ahead in the polls, but DeSantis was quietly chipping away at the former president’s lead in the polls. Everything changed when Trump got indicted again. Whether you like Trump or not, the fallout from that bit of legal news was stunning. It’s only something that could happen to him: he politically got stronger. An indictment kills one’s political ambitions, but not for Trump. Being a victim of the political establishment, a rogue FBI, and a corrupt media, the attacks against him are ineffective; the GOP base does not care.

It puts DeSantis in a terrible position. If the attacks from the Left can’t damage Trump, neither will those from the Right. In a field of primary no-names, Trump is quickly going to wipe them out in the first few contests, possibly even before that, because unless some of these bids are self-funded, I don’t see a fundraising pool big enough to support anyone who isn’t Trump or DeSantis. Maybe North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, the ‘who the hell is that’ candidate, could tread water since he’s independently wealthy.

Unable to capitalize on a twice-indicted frontrunner, there are reportedly alarm bells going off inside the DeSantis camp; though Newsweek probably has the correct theme, I doubt it was over an advert that slammed Pride month (via Newsweek):

DeSantis has failed to take advantage of Trump getting indicted in both the New York falsifying business records case and Special Counsel Jack Smith's classified documents investigation, where the former president has denied 37 charges respectively. DeSantis has not made any traction in the GOP primary polls while also seeing his favorabilty rating plummet.

Just 35.9 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of DeSantis, compared to 45.2 percent who say they view him unfavorably as of June 29, according to FiveThirtyEight's national average tracker, although experts point out the campaign is still in its early stages.

DeSantis's unfavorable rating among potential voters has been steadily rising since late March, when he recorded a split 39.3 percent favorable rating. This includes the time after he confirmed his 2024 bid in late May in an error-strewn Twitter Space online announcement.

DeSantis' favorability rating also arrives at a time when the Florida governor, who has signed several anti-LGBTQ laws during his tenure, was criticized by a Republican group for a presidential campaign advert as being "homophobic."

The piece later quotes The Lincoln Project, a cadre of defrocked and disgruntled GOP operatives who hate conservative Republicans, so it’s no shock they took a few shots at DeSantis. Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Trump critic, also heavily criticized the Florida governor’s campaign, but Hogan isn’t the face of the party, nor does he speak for the base. The important parts of the Newsweek piece are the favorability numbers, which are brutal at this early stage in the game. It isn’t good, and it’s creating a narrative we’ve seen before when it comes to popular governors taking on Trump: they peak too soon and later cancel themselves out of the presidential game forever. Even DeSantis’ advisers, like Steve Cortes, a former Trump adviser, said the governor is way behind right now on the metrics for beating Trump (via Politico):

Calling the DeSantis campaign the “clear underdog,” he added: “In the first four states which matter tremendously, polls are a lot tighter, we are still clearly down. We’re down double digits, we have work to do.”

The remarks amounted to a remarkably blunt admission of vulnerability from within the ranks of a leading presidential operation, contrasting with the projection of confidence that other DeSantis aides often adopt. Cortes did say he thought the gap between Trump and DeSantis could be closed once DeSantis’ personal and political story is shared more widely on the campaign trail.

That’s a big “if,” and if you’re trailing Trump in the polls in a primary, history shows it stays that way. This sort of news gives big-money donors heartburn.I wouldn’t say the DeSantis campaign is sinking like the Titanic, but it’s taking on water.(it’s the Titanic Matt!)

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2023/07/04/newsweek-the-ron-desantis-campaign-is-in-serious-trouble-n2625308#google_vignette

Louisiana A.G.: If Legacy Media Faced Censorship that Others Do on Social Media, They’d Sue Just Like We Did

Ian Hanchett5 Jul 2023

1:19

On Tuesday’s broadcast of Newsmax TV’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) discussed the state’s lawsuit against government attempts at blocking what it deems misinformation on social media and stated that any legacy media outlet confronted with the level of censorship that the government has attempted to engage in on social media would have reacted the exact same way Louisiana did by filing suit.

Landry said, “I’d like to know what The New York Times would do if then-President Trump would have sent someone into their editorial office and said, let me see your stories, here’s how you’re going to write them, oh, you can’t report that. If they would have done that, their hair would have been on fire. They would have been screaming at the top of their lungs. They would have went out there and found one of those fancy New York lawyers, and they would have slapped a lawsuit against then-President Trump. That’s the kind of hypocrisy that exists in the country today. This case basically shows to the American people the level of hypocrisy those in the government will go to to censor their ability to simply discuss issues with each other on social platforms.”

https://www.breitbart.com/clips/2023/07/05/louisiana-a-g-if-legacy-media-faced-censorship-that-others-do-on-social-media-theyd-sue-just-like-we-did/

>>19127161

Scroll on by, you have free will. I like Derek

>>19127194

They meant “the Vax”

>>19127256

Cool, now do it for blacks since there are two black justices. Well really, one black and one thoroughly confused what a woman is

>>19127336

We humans are so easily distracted!

5 Jul, 2023 15:32

Kiev court hit by blast – media

A defendant set off an explosive device while attempting to flee custody, Ukrainian media have reported

A district court in Kiev has been rocked by an explosion, Ukrainian media outlets reported on Wednesday. The Interior Ministry confirmed the incident, adding that police, explosives experts and an investigative group have been deployed to the scene.

“[An] unidentified explosive device was detonated by a man who was brought to a court hearing,” Interior Minister Igor Klimenko said in a Telegram post. He did not provide further details but called on people to stay away from the court building and “let the relevant services do their job effectively.”

It is unclear if the incident caused any casualties, although videos on social media showed ambulances and police cars parked near the court building.

At least five ambulances and several firefighting vehicles were deployed to the scene, which was cordoned off by the police, Strana.ua reported.

The media outlet also claimed that the suspect, named as Igor Gumenyuk, had barricaded himself in the court’s restroom together with two security guards.

Gumenyuk was charged with terrorism after taking part in a rally organized by the Ukrainian ultra-nationalist Svoboda party in 2015. At the time, a crowd of nationalists gathered near the office of the Ukrainian parliament – the Verkhovna Rada – in Kiev to protest against amendments to the constitution. The measures would grant special status to the two Donbass republics after they sought independence from Ukraine.

The rally ended with a grenade being thrown at members of the Ukrainian National Guard, killing four soldiers and leaving 140 people injured. Gumenyuk was accused of being behind the attack.

Thesuspect had served with a Ukrainian ultranationalist “volunteer battalion” between 2014 and 2015, and had been in custody since 2015. He had a loyal group of nationalist followers who considered him to be a “hero,”the UNIAN news agency reported.

(Guaranteed he will be reported as a Russian nationalist that infiltrated the Azovs.)

https://www.rt.com/russia/579249-blast-in-kievs-court/

Whereabouts of top Russian general remain unknown since Prigozhin mutiny

July 05, 2023 11:59 AM

The deputy commander of Russian troops in Ukraine has not been seen since the Wagner Group's attempted rebellion against top military leaders last month.

Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who previously served as Russia's top commander in Ukraine, had advance warning of Yevgeny Prigozhin's, the paramilitary group's founder, planned coup, the New York Times reported last month citing U.S. officials. Both his whereabouts and his possible involvement in the attempted mutiny remain unknown, though the Moscow Timesreported on June 28 that Surovikin had been arrested.

The United Kingdom’s Defense Ministry noted in their daily update on Wednesday that Surovikin hasn’t been seen publicly since the mutiny on June 23 and June 24, though they noted that reports of his arrest “cannot be confirmed.” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Col. Gen. Yunus-bek Yevkurov also missed a televised appearance on Monday, and he was filmed talking to Prigozhin during the group’s brief seizure of Rostov-on-Don.

Prigozhin had been intending to apprehendRussian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, both of whom he has publicly rebuked for months. The mercenary leader was forced to accelerate his timeline after Russian intelligence officials uncovered the plot. The Wagner forces' quick success in the first hours of the coup, despite authorities' prior knowledge of the plan, raised questions about the capability of Russia's forces.

This plan was the culmination of a monthslong battle against them, though it had remained verbal until now. He accused Shoigu and Gerasimov of treason and of withholding military resources from his forces even as they were battling on the front lines of Russia's war in Ukraine.

U.S. officials have argued the situation demonstrated "cracks" forming within Putin's circles, though others also referred to it as an "internal" issue for Russia and declined to elaborate.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/whereabouts-sergei-surovikin-remain-unknown

Pence dismisses GOP debate doubts: 'I've debated Donald Trump 1,000 times'

by Julia Johnson, Politics Reporter

July 05, 2023 09:52 AM

Former Vice President Mike Pence has no doubt in his ability to hold his own in a debate against his past running mate, former President Donald Trump. According to him, they've debated several times over the years — just without the cameras.

"People ask me all the time: How do you envision debating Donald Trump?" he told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Wednesday. "I tell themI've debated Donald Trump 1,000 times, with the cameras off."(you weren’t an enemy then!)

Pence explained that he and Trump didn't always see eye to eye over the course of their administration.

"I know how to have a good policy debate with the president," he assured Hewitt. "I look forward to it and I sure do hope he comes to every single one of those debates."

The Indiana Republican also reiterated his commitment to sign the Republican National Committee's somewhat controversial pledge to support the eventual nominee in order to qualify for the debate stage in August.

"I'll be supporting the Republican nominee," he said. "Especially if it's me."

The former vice president added, "I'm going because I have a little bit of experience with nationally televised debating. Some people think we did all right," referencing his past debates with vice presidential candidates Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) in 2016 and Kamala Harris in 2020.

He further criticized those who might plan to skip the debate, most notably Trump who has avoided making any commitment to the event. "You're not talking to each other," he said of the debate. "You're talking to the American people."

"I wouldn't pass up on the opportunity to talk to the American people about our vision, our experience, our love for this country for anything, so you better believe that I'm going to be at Milwaukee. I will be on that debate stage, and wherever two or more Republican candidates for president are gathered there, I will be also," Pence said.

Pence is currently polling in third place in a hypothetical Republican primary race, with 7%, per Morning Consult. He is behind both Trump (57%) and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who has 19%.

(Pence is so boring I didn’t read the full article.)

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/pence-debate-debated-donald-trump-1000-times