TYB
Scientists are baffled after spotting the 'Eye of Sauron' in deep space
August 13, 2025
The Eye of Sauron is an integral part of the Lord of the Rings series.
The flaming, floating fiery eyeball, positioned atop a dark tower in Mordor, is a symbol of the Dark Lord's all–seeing power and vigilance.
Now, experts have detected a similarly terrifying vision in real life.
But rather than looking for Frodo or the Ring, it seems to be peering directly at us from deep space.
The image is of a phenomenon called a cosmic jet, which is an extremely powerful stream of plasma and energy emitted from celestial objects.
This particular one comes from a blazar – a type of galaxy powered by a supermassive black hole.
The PKS 1424+240 blazar is one of the brightest in the sky despite being located billions of light–years away.
And as well as a foreboding picture, the discovery may have helped researchers solve a decades–long cosmic puzzle.
The blazar has long baffled astronomers as its cosmic jet appeared to move slowly, despite it being one of the brightest sources of high–energy gammas rays and cosmic neutrinos ever observed.
This contradicted the belief that only the fastest jets could be behind such exceptional brightness.
Using 15 years of ultra–precise radio observations from the Very Long Baseline Array – a system of 10 radio telescopes – researchers were able to stitch together a deep image of the jet at unparalleled resolution.
'When we reconstructed the image, it looked absolutely stunning,' lead author Yuri Kovalev, from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy, said.
'We have never seen anything quite like it—a near–perfect toroidal magnetic field with a jet, pointing straight at us.'
Since the jet is aligned almost exactly in the direction of Earth, its high–energy radio emissions are dramatically amplified.
'This alignment causes a boost in brightness by a factor of 30 or more,' co–author Jack Livingston said.
'At the same time, the jet appears to move slowly due to projection effects—a classic optical illusion.'
This head–on view also gave scientists the extremely rare opportunity to peer directly into the heart of the blazar's jet.
Radio signals helped the team map out the structure of the jet's magnetic field, revealing it is likely helical (a spiral) or toroidal (doughnut–shaped).
This structure likely plays a key role in accelerating particles to extreme energies, the researchers said.
https://www.msn.com/en-my/news/other/scientists-are-baffled-after-spotting-the-eye-of-sauron-in-deep-space/ar-AA1KrZgh
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2025/08/aa55400-25/aa55400-25.html
Northrop Grumman Integrates Multiple Antennas to Track Satellites in First-Time USSF DARC Demo
Aug. 12, 2025
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Deep-Space Advanced Radar Capability (DARC) successfully combined the capability of multiple ground-based antennas at DARC Site 1 in Western Australia, demonstrating technology that will create the world’s most capable deep-space tracking radar system.
DARC’s calibrated antenna arrays operated as a single system to successfully characterize the movement of multiple satellites and demonstrate the effectiveness of the system’s precision radar tracking technology.
This is a significant step forward as the system progresses towards Site 1’s completion and operational capability.
During its demonstration, DARC successfully:
• Utilized seven of the 27 antennas at DARC Site 1, bringing the program a significant step closer to full capability.
• Demonstrated mission-enabling technology capable of tracking spacecraft that present potential threats to space assets or the U.S. homeland and allies.
• Sustained a multi-week campaign of data collection, analysis, and adjustment to confirm successful calibration and operational capability.
DARC is a partnership between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, designed to create an all-weather, global system to track very small objects in geosynchronous orbit (GEO) to protect critical U.S. and allied satellite services.
Once complete, DARC will track the movement of objects in, to, and from GEO with the highest precision, an effective and critical capability for threat detection and mitigation.
By leveraging a unique design consisting of multiple ground-based antennas operating together as one, DARC provides unmatched capabilities to enable the USSF’s Space Domain Awareness mission.
Expert:
Kevin Giammo, director, Space Surveillance and Environmental Intelligence, Northrop Grumman: “Northrop Grumman’s DARC will provide a strategic advantage at a scale never before achieved in global space domain awareness.
Its ability to track multiple small moving objects over 22,000 miles above earth will offer unmatched persistent and comprehensive capability as the world’s premier deep-space radar tracking system.”
Details on DARC:
DARC is a next-generation ground system enabling security and stability in deep space on a global scale. It is specially designed to be the world’s most advanced radar for tracking and characterizing objects in deep space.
Once complete, DARC’s ground-based sensor network will provide full global coverage protecting U.S. and allied satellites in geostationary orbit, a critical area of space traditionally used by some of the most important military and commercial satellites.
Unlike telescopic systems which perform this mission today, DARC is not impacted by clouds and can operate 24/7 – during nighttime and daylight hours and all-weather conditions. Learn more about Northrop Grumman’s DARC.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company.
Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe.
Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our employees define possible every day.
https://news.northropgrumman.com/milsatcom/Northrop-Grumman-Integrates-Multiple-Antennas-to-Track-Satellites-in-First-Time-USSF-DARC-Demo
thats no eye
Perseid meteor shower 2025 outshines moon to put on a spectacular show
August 13, 2025
The Perseid meteor shower peaked on Aug 12–13, overcoming the glare of a waning gibbous moon to put on a spectacular show of shooting stars that delighted onlookers worldwide.
The Perseids are active every July and August as Earth barrels through the trail of dusty debris shed by the wandering comet 109P/Swift-Tuttle.
Our planet plowed through the densest part of the comet's trail on Aug. 12-13, when countless cometary shards collided with Earth, burning up in spectacular fashion as they were overcome by the friction of atmospheric entry.
In previous years, the Perseids have produced between 50 to 100 meteors per hour at their peak, with shooting stars emanating from a point of origin known as a radiant located in the constellation Perseus.
Unfortunately, the 2025 Perseids happened to coincide with the appearance of a waxing gibbous moon, which bleached the sky with moonlight, blotting out all but the brightest members of the ancient meteor shower.
Thankfully, there were still plenty of bright meteors to be seen, which outshone the moon to dazzle stargazers and provide a mesmerizing target for the astronomical community, who captured the shooting stars against a backdrop of aurora and framed spectacular landscapes.
Read on to see a selection of spectacular shooting stars captured during the 2025 Perseid meteor shower.
The 2025 Perseid meteor shower in pictures
cont.
https://www.space.com/stargazing/meteor-showers/perseid-meteor-shower-2025-outshines-moon-to-put-on-a-spectacular-display-photos
New lunar surface simulator in Colorado puts moon machinery to the test
August 3, 2025
GOLDEN, Colorado — The Colorado School of Mines has built a large simulated moonscape.
The specialized facility is being used to test lunar rovers and to evaluate lunar landing and launch pads, excavation gear and other hardware ideas.
It's all about getting a lunar leg up on how to work effectively with robotic spacecraft on the moon.
"The Mines Lunar Surface Simulator is up and running. We are using it almost every day for one project or another," said Ian Jehn, an adjunct professor at the school and a structural engineer focused on safe and sound infrastructure for the moon.
Currently, specialists are running rover investigations for the Autonomous Site Preparation: Excavation, Compaction, and Testing project, or ASPECT for short.
The work is underway as part of NASA's Lunar Surface Technology Research (LuSTR) program, Jehn told Space.com, to demonstrate automated lunar site preparation.
ASPECT is a fully autonomous rover, outfitted with equipment for regolith excavation, boulder moving and surface compaction.
Unique challenges
The challenges of building this unique facility were many, said Chris Dreyer, director of engineering at the Colorado School of Mines Center for Space Resources.
"We wanted to build a large facility with a high-quality geotechnical lunar regolith simulant, which presented logistics challenges to make a large amount of simulant at a reasonable cost," Dreyer said. Over 110 tons (100 metric tons) of lunar simulant fills the large testbed.
The structure itself needed to be dust-tight and waterproof. Within the Mines Lunar Surface Simulator, a gantry system was built to follow a rover's actions.
Frankie Zhu, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the School of Mines, developed a rover motion capture system to model rover mobility based on observation.
Building the testbed was a complex task that took more than a year of planning and construction, according to Dreyer. "Having built this, I can understand why there are so few equivalent testbeds in the world," he said.
Open for innovation
Colorado-based company is building robotic infrastructure, including a rover named Eagle, to help open the moon to further exploration, innovation and commercial activity.
Also interested is Interlune, a Seattle-based startup that aims to be the first company to commercialize natural resources from space, starting with harvesting helium-3 from the moon.
Then there's Outward Technologies, a space mechanisms and systems company advancing critical technologies for extracting resources in space.
And some companies are already using the simulated moonscape. For example, during a recent visit to the testbed, Neurospace GmbH of Berlin evaluated its modular rover platform, the HiveR.
Irene Selvanathan, CEO of Neurospace, said the group is identifying the minimum technology required to build a rover that's inexpensive, affordable and scalable. HiveR is modular, flexible, able to repair itself, and is transferable for use in applications on Earth.
"We're always looking for opportunities to support technology development coming from startups, established aerospace, and academia," Dreyer concluded.
"There are lots of opportunities to use the testbed for lunar excavation testing, construction, mobility, sensing, dust mitigation and more."
https://www.space.com/astronomy/moon/new-lunar-surface-simulator-in-colorado-puts-moon-machinery-to-the-test
https://www.space.com/astronomy/stars/red-supergiant-star-expels-mysteriously-large-cloud-of-gas
https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/pdf/forth/aa55975-25.pdf
Red supergiant star expels mysteriously large cloud of gas
August 13, 2025
A red supergiant star has expelled the largest cloud of gas and dust ever seen in the process of being blown off one of these stellar behemoths.
The vast size and intricacy of the cloud suggests that there could be a hidden group of stars that are contributing to the growth of the cloud.
In a false-color image taken by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile, the parts colored blue are expanding towards us, and the parts colored red are traveling in the opposite direction.
The cloud stretches up to 1.4 light-years across, centered on the star, known as DFK 52. To give an idea how large it is, if DFK 52 were as far from us as another well-known supergiant is, the star Betelgeuse in the constellation of Orion the Hunter, somewhere between 550 and 700 light-years away, then the cloud around it would appear as large in the night sky as roughly one third of the full moon in the sky.
The star in question, DFK 52, is quite similar to another well-known red supergiant, Betelgeuse.
It is located in an extreme cluster of stars called Stephenson 2 that is home to at least 25 other red supergiants and found 18,900 light-years away in our Milky Way galaxy.
Once these stars ran out of hydrogen in their core for nuclear fusion reactions, the loss of energy meant that their cores began to contract under gravity, raising the temperatures there to the point that the stars could turn to fusing helium to produce energy instead.
This leads to the star's outer layers heating up too, enough to start fusing hydrogen in them instead, producing extra energy that causes the star's outer layers to expand.
As these stars expanded and grew diffuse at their edges, their surface temperatures cool and they shine red. In many ways, this is similar to how our sun will expand into a red giant towards the end of its life in five billion years' time.
The difference is that these stars have masses between 10 and 40 times the mass of our sun, so their expansion is more extreme. They became red supergiants, the most enormous stars in existence.
Betelgeuse, for instance, is a red supergiant that is somewhere between 640 and 764 times the radius of our sun! (Its exact size is tricky to ascertain, partly because its outer limits are so diffuse, and partly because the distance to Betelgeuse is not precisely known.)
Eventually, the red supergiants of Stephenson 2 will all go boom in a supernova, but before then they undergo periods of mass loss, belching out clouds of gas that cool and condense into dust that hangs around just on the edge of a red supergiant's system.
On the face of things, DFK 2 looks unremarkable as far as red supergiants go. Its luminosity is about 20,000 times brighter than our sun, but that's typical, albeit a bit on the low-end, for red supergiants.
Its mass is between 10 and 15 times the mass of our sun; again, typical for a red supergiant. But where DFK 2 is extraordinary is in how it is losing mass.
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When astronomers led by Mark Siebert of the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, observed Stephenson 2 with ALMA, they found that DFK 52 was surrounded by a cloud of material three to four times larger than any ever seen to have been ejected by a red supergiant.
The velocity with which the material is racing away from the star is also interesting, in that it seems to have changed.
Siebert's team estimates that about 4,000 years ago, DFK 52 underwent a titanic outburst in which it unleashed most of this mass, blowing it away at a velocity of 27 kilometers per second (60,370 miles per hour).
Astronomers call this a 'superwind', which isn't a wind in the conventional size like on Earth, but a sleet of radiation and charged particles. There is evidence that other red supergiants switch on their superwind in the run-up to going supernova.
However, DFK 52 seems to have taken a different option, switching off its superwind instead for a slow breeze of 10 kilometers per second (22,300 miles per hour), which is slower than the winds emanating from other well-known red supergiants such as Betelgeuse and Antares in the constellation of Scorpius, the Scorpion.
Even so, Siebert's team conservatively estimates that in the past 4,000 years DFK 52 has lost as much material as makes up our sun.
Mass loss from red supergiants is not well understood, but DFK 52 seems to be an anomaly even among what is currently known. Why is its mass loss so extreme, and the structure of its circumstellar cloud so complex?
Generally, there is a dichotomy among red supergiants. The more luminous ones have more extreme and asymmetric mass loss, while the less luminous ones have slower and more spherical mass loss.
DKF 52 is less luminous than the most energetic red supergiants by a factor of 10, but has experienced mass loss in excess of the more luminous red supergiants. What's going on?
Siebert and his colleague's best guess is that there is more than one star at the heart of DFK 52, so tightly bound that we cannot see them from our perspective on earth.
Other red supergiants in binary or multiple star systems display equatorial rings in their circumstellar material driven by the orbital interactions of a companion star.
Partial equatorial rings are visible in DFK 52's circumstellar material, but other evidence of a binary, such as bipolar symmetry in the ejected material, is lacking. Furthermore, the complexity of the structure of the circumstellar material will also take some disentangling.
Nonetheless, a second or even a third star would provide the extra gravitational energy required to first drive such mass loss, and then to contribute to a superwind that blows the ejecta to such great size.
That said, a companion star was recently discovered around Betelgeuse, but why that newly found star does not have the same effect on Betelgeuse as on DFK 52 is unclear.
DFK 52 is more than just an astronomical curiosity. It will one day explode as a supernova, and understanding the behavior of "its dramatic mass loss warrants extensive follow-up" to better understand how and why red supergiants lose mass and then explode.
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Satellites watch Tropical Storm Erin take shape over the Atlantic Ocean
August 13, 2025
Satellites are tracking Tropical Storm Erin from space as it steadily gathers strength over the Atlantic Ocean. Currently, Tropical Storm Erin is expected to intensify and could become the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season.
The storm, which formed from a tropical wave that drifted off Africa on Aug. 11, has shown increasingly organized cloud bands and intensifying thunderstorm activity in recent imagery from satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Tropical waves are low pressure areas that typically move from east to west across the tropics and absorb warm ocean air, forming clouds and thunderstorms as they do, according to NOAA.
Erin developed in the eastern Atlantic, moving westward from the Cabo Verde Islands at about 20 mph (32 km/h).
Infrared sensors on NOAA's GOES-19 satellite reveal colder cloud tops and deep convection near the center — signs of a strengthening system feeding on warm ocean waters.
Forecasts indicate Tropical Storm Erin may reach hurricane strength by late Thursday or early Friday. Maximum sustained winds are currently near 45 mph (75 km/h), according to a statement from NOAA.
Satellite animation sequences taken over the course of its development show a more symmetric structure and tightening circulation — early indicators of potential eye formation and evolution into a hurricane.
Forecast models track Erin moving west-northwest before curving away from the United States, suggesting a very low chance of landfall.
Still, even if it doesn't make landfall, the storm could bring heavy rain and strong winds to parts of the U.S. East Coast as it travels northward, and forecasters warn that swells generated by Erin could produce dangerous surf and rip currents along coastal areas.
The storm's development aligns with NOAA's forecast for an above-normal 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. As of early August, forecasters continue to project 13–18 named storms, with 5–9 hurricanes and 2–5 major hurricanes, consistent with pre-season models.
Satellites will keep delivering detailed, real-time views of Erin as it develops, supplying essential data to improve tracking and intensity forecasts — not just for this storm, but for others anticipated in what may be a highly active 2025 hurricane season.
https://www.space.com/astronomy/earth/satellites-watch-tropical-storm-erin-take-shape-over-the-atlantic-ocean-video
https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh/MIATCPAT5+shtml/130842.shtml
VHF antenna successfully deployed in space
13th August 2025
Oxford Space Systems’ large Very High Frequency (VHF) isoflux helical antenna has been successfully deployed on the IOD-2 mission for Startical's ECHOES project.
The ECHOES project, spearheaded by Startical – a joint venture between Spanish ANSP ENAIRE and air traffic and space specialist Indra, aims to prove the viability of space-based communications and surveillance capabilities for ATM services in a real scenario.
According to the stakeholders, the concept will revolutionise air navigation through a constellation of satellites that provide global VHF communication.
The antenna developed by Oxford Space Systems as an ECHOES project subcontractor and integrated onto the satellite in collaboration with Indra, is a critical component in ensuring the project's success, enabling radio connectivity in remote areas where reliable communication is essential to future air traffic management.
Nearly 4m in length, it was designed to operate within the 117MHz to 138MHz range.
“This project demonstrates the ability of Oxford Space Systems to deliver high-performance, technically demanding deployable antennas within a tight timescale whilst conducting a rigorous design, development and verification programme.
In this case the programme took just 12 months from first order to delivery, including designing and testing an innovative antenna to meet Startical’s requirements.
This was enabled by our team’s ability to draw on extensive product knowledge and heritage, rapid execution with a strong integrated project team covering the range of skills needed, and the highly collaborative approach with the project partners – Startical, Indra and NanoAvionics,” said Sean Sutcliffe, CEO of Oxford Space Systems.
The ECHOES project, performed within the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) framework and involving Startical, ENAIRE and Indra, as well as Nav Portugal, DLR, Crida and Mitiga, has received substantial funding from the European Union, supported by the Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA) under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF Transport).
This financial backing, along with the technical expertise of Oxford Space Systems, Startical, ENAIRE and Indra, ensures that the project will set new standards in air traffic management, particularly in regions where traditional systems are less effective.
https://www.airportsinternational.com/article/vhf-antenna-successfully-deployed-space
U.S. Space Force Launches Experimental GPS Satellite
August 13, 2025
(TNS) — The Pentagon launched its first experimental navigation satellite in nearly 50 years, aiming to test out new technology that could shape future military GPS programs.
United Launch Alliance's new Vulcan rocket launched the Navigation Technology Satellite-3 from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday.
The satellite will test new anti-spoofing signals, a steerable phased-array antenna to send signals to ground forces in high-jamming areas, and receivers to help the satellite operate without instructions from ground controllers, Joanna Hicks, a senior research aerospace engineer at the Air Force Research Laboratory, told reporters Monday ahead of the launch.
The Pentagon and AFRL spent about $250 million to develop the NTS-3 satellite and the ground system, and L3Harris was the prime contractor for the program.
The satellite was built to be reprogrammed from the ground, "so we don't have to have everything planned out before we go on orbit and before we see what the threats are," Hicks said.
The program aims to build resiliency in the military's GPS constellation, but also to pave the way for new position, navigating, and timing capabilities.
Most of the service's PNT satellites are in medium-Earth orbit, but NTS-3 will be sent to geostationary-Earth orbit to experiment with different positioning for the mission.
"One of the things that NTS-3 is testing…is the multi-orbit constellation concept. So can we receive signals from NTS-3 at GEO as well as GPS at MEO, and take advantage of all of them?
Maybe in the future, we'll be able to put some of these technologies in [low-Earth orbit], for example. We don't currently have that as a planned mission, but that's something that could conceivably happen in the future," Hicks said.
The last experimental navigation satellite was launched almost 50 years ago, Hicks said: "At the lab, we think that we are overdue for an experiment in this area."
The mission was supposed to launch in 2022, but delays with ULA's Vulcan pushed it to this year.
During that downtime, Hicks said the program added capabilities and experimental signals: "We've really been able to take advantage of that and make sure that we are ready for the best possible experimental mission on orbit."
The team expects to start collecting data within a few weeks, and the entire mission will last about a year.
AFRL doesn't plan on using the satellite in actual operations after the year is up, but they are working with "some organizations to talk about how they might use leftover capabilities for testing," Hicks said.
Tuesday's launch also marks a milestone for ULA: it's the first national-security mission to fly on the company's new heavy-lift Vulcan rocket.
The rocket has been late to launch due to development problems and certification delays after material broke off one of the solid rocket boosters during its second flight in October.
Vulcan was supposed to launch four Space Force missions last year, but that was reduced to two and pushed to this year.
The company aims to launch twice a month, with a combination of Vulcan and Atlas rockets, by the end of the year—facing pressure to clear a backlog of missions that have stacked up due to Vulcan delays.
Tuesday's launch is the first of 25 launches the Space Force has ordered from ULA in phase two of the National Security Space Launch program.
"We obviously have a backlog of missions that we're working through…I will say that we're ready and postured to launch as quickly as we can as we work through that backlog," said Col. Jim Horne, Space Systems Command mission director.
https://www.govtech.com/products/u-s-space-force-launches-experimental-gps-satellite
SpaceX Starlink Mission
August 13, 2025
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is targeted to launch 24 Starlink satellites to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4 East (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
A live webcast of this mission will begin about five minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the new X TV app.
This will be the fifth flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission, which previously launched four Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on the Of Course I Still Love You droneship, which will be stationed in the Pacific Ocean.
There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
https://www.spacex.com/launches/sl-17-4
but can you huff them?
Gen. Hague’s visit highlights Buckley SFB's strategic importance
Aug. 12, 2025
BUCKLEY SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. (AFNS) – Bridging the 260 miles from Denver to the International Space Station, Brig. Gen. Nick Hague, U.S. Space Force Guardian and NASA astronaut, kicked off a Colorado Front Range tour with a meet-and-greet, Aug. 11, at Buckley Space Force Base.
Hague provided insights into the missions performed by Expedition 72 and the future of space exploration.
“The strength of the Space Force lies in the dedication and expertise of our Airmen and Guardians, and my visit to Buckley Space Force Base was a testament to that,” Hague said. “Buckley embodies the spirit of innovation and dedication that has always defined this installation.”
Following his visit with service members, families and the local community, Hague visited the Mission Delta 4, 11th and 2nd Space Warning Squadrons, to share his gratitude for the Guardians’ persistent work within the Overhead Persistent Infrared Battlespace Awareness Center.
The OBAC is the cornerstone of our nation’s defense strategy, using data from the Space-Based Infrared System constellation to detect ballistic missile launches, monitor space activities and identify infrared signatures in real-time.
“Having the opportunity to connect with the dedicated Guardians who make the mission happen every day is always my top priority,” Hague said. “
Seeing firsthand the cutting-edge work being done at the OBAC within Mission Delta 4 reinforces the critical role Buckley plays in defending our nation's interests in space."
https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/4272765/gen-hagues-visit-highlights-buckley-sfbs-strategic-importance/
Ukraine ready to discuss aerial ceasefire – top Zelensky aide
13 Aug, 2025 12:26
Ukraine is prepared to discuss an aerial ceasefire with Russia as a stepping stone towards further talks for settling the conflict, Mikhail Podoliak, an adviser to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, has said.
This spring, Russia agreed to a US-backed proposal for a 30-day pause on strikes on energy infrastructure, which was violated on multiple occasions by Kiev.
In an interview with the Corriere della Sera on Tuesday, Podoliak gave his take on the upcoming summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, set for August 15 in Alaska, which is expected to revolve around the Ukraine conflict.
One US scenario for settling the conflict envisaged a comprehensive ceasefire “which would also take into account the impact of air strikes, including missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian territory,” Podoliak noted.
“Ukraine is ready to discuss it, is ready to consider this scenario, and sees it as the initial stage for reaching realistic negotiating positions,” he said.
He also stressed that it is impossible to settle the conflict without a trilateral meeting between Trump, Zelensky and Putin.
Any talks with Zelensky should be preceded by significant diplomatic progress, Moscow has maintained, while voicing concern about his right to sign any binding agreements, given that his presidential term expired last year.
Russia has, on several occasions in the conflict, floated options for a limited ceasefire. One of the most significant initiatives stemmed from a Putin-Trump call in mid-March when Moscow agreed to Washington’s proposal for a mutual moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure facilities for 30 days.
While Ukraine generally signed on the initiative, Moscow accused it of violating the agreement on a daily basis. Despite this, the Kremlin said at the time it had honored the deal as a gesture of goodwill toward the US.
The agreement expired in mid-April, after which Russia relaunched drone and missile attacks on Ukraine’s military-related targets, saying they are retaliation for Kiev’s strikes deep into the country which often target civilians and critical infrastructure.
Moscow has also insisted its attacks are never aimed at civilians.
https://www.rt.com/russia/622841-ukraine-ready-discuss-aerial-ceasefire/
Zelensky doesn’t want peace – human rights lawyer
13 Aug, 2025 12:33
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky does not want peace because he can only stay in power as long as the conflict with Russia continues, US human rights lawyer Dan Kovalik has told RT.
The Russian Defense Ministry warned on Tuesday that Kiev is preparing a false flag attack on civilians in Kharkov Region in an attempt to derail Friday's summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump.
During the talks in Anchorage, Alaska, the two leaders are expected to discuss the possible settlement of the Ukraine conflict and bilateral issues. Zelensky has not been invited to the summit.
Kovalik said in an interview on Tuesday that he “suspected Ukraine would try to do something provocative to break up any possibility of a deal in Alaska. I mean Zelensky, his whole political life and maybe his real life depend on this war continuing.”
Moscow was right to warn the international community about Kiev’s plans, as “this will immunize people against a false-flag attack in the sense that they will be ready for it and know who really did it when, if it comes. God forbid it does come,” he suggested.
The Ukrainian authorities “clearly do not want it to end… they do not want peace,” the human rights lawyer said.
"Look, Zelensky has not had proper constitutional authority… for over a year. His term ran out over a year ago. He has refused to have elections. He knows his popularity is in decline.
The only chance he has to stay in power and to continue looting the aid from the West is for this war to continue,” Kovalik added.
Zelensky said on Tuesday that he considered the fact that Putin was meeting Trump on US soil a “personal victory” for the Russian leader.
The US president earlier described the Alaska summit as a “feel-out meeting” that will help him determine whether the Ukraine conflict can be settled.
Moscow expects that the talks between Putin and Trump will “give an impulse to the normalization of bilateral relations” with Washington.
https://www.rt.com/news/622837-zelensky-putin-trump-alaska/
Zelensky claims Putin has won ‘personal victory’
13 Aug, 2025 04:47
The upcoming summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, is a “personal victory” for the Russian leader, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has said.
Trump is set to host Putin for talks in Alaska on Friday. Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Zelensky claimed the meeting marks the end of Russia’s “international isolation” over the Ukraine conflict.
“Putin will meet Trump on US soil, and I consider this his personal victory,” Zelensky said. He added that Moscow has also managed to “get sanctions delayed,” apparently referring to a ten-day ultimatum issued by Trump to Russia in late July.
The US president announced the “highly anticipated meeting” with Putin last week, revealing it will take place in Alaska. The White House confirmed on Tuesday that the city of Anchorage will host the summit, and while the exact venue has not been named, media reports have suggested it will be the Elmendorf-Richardson military base.
Both Washington and Moscow have been cautious about expectations, signaling the summit is likely to be the first top-level event in a string of talks rather than result in an immediate breakthrough.
The talks are expected to focus on the Ukraine conflict as well as a broader range of bilateral Russia-US issues.
“We hope that the forthcoming high-level meeting will give an impulse to the normalization of bilateral relations, which will allow us to move forward on several issues,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said this week.
The White House has also appeared to downplay expectations, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying it would be “a listening exercise” for Trump.
https://www.rt.com/russia/622822-zelensky-admits-putin-victory/
Exact location of Putin-Trump summit revealed
13 Aug, 2025 07:56
This week’s summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart, Donald Trump, will take place at the Elmendorf-Richardson military base in Anchorage, Alaska, CNN has reported, citing White House officials.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed on Tuesday that the two leaders will meet in Alaska’s largest city on Friday to discuss the Ukraine conflict and bilateral issues, but declined to name the exact venue of the summit.
CNN reported several hours later that Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson has been chosen as the location as it meets the security requirements for the high-profile meeting.
The Trump administration “hoped to avoid the optics of hosting the Russian leader and his entourage on a US military installation,” but could not find a better site due to summer being the peak of the tourist season in Alaska, sources told the broadcaster.
Trump earlier described the Alaska summit as a “feel-out meeting” that will help him determine whether the Ukraine conflict can be settled.
He also stressed that he sees great potential for trade with Russia, which “has a very valuable piece of land” as well as “tremendous potential… to do well.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Tuesday that Moscow views the meeting as a chance to mend strained relations with Washington and tackle long-running disputes.
The hope is that it will “give an impulse to the normalization of bilateral relations” and help the two nations “move forward” on several issues, he said.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was formed in 2010 as a result of the merger of the US Air Force’s Elmendorf base and the US Army’s Fort Richardson.
Located on the northern edge of Anchorage, it currently hosts 5,000 military personnel and civilians, covering an area of 339 sq. km.
https://www.rt.com/news/622826-putin-trump-alaska-anchorage/
https://www.rt.com/news/622810-trump-putin-meet-anchorage-alaska/
Trump wants ceasefire deal at Putin summit – Macron
13 Aug, 2025 15:05
US President Donald Trump has reportedly told Western European leaders that he wants to reach a ceasefire deal in the Ukraine conflict at his upcoming meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, according to France’s Emmanuel Macron.
A video conference was held between Trump and the leaders of Germany, Finland, France, the UK, Italy, Poland, EU officials and Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky on Wednesday.
The virtual meeting was devoted to discussions of Trump’s summit with Putin in Alaska scheduled for Friday.
Speaking to reporters after the call, Macron stated that the US president had indicated that he intends to “obtain a ceasefire in Ukraine during the meeting with Putin.”
Trump also assured the Europeans that any discussions on territorial issues relating to Ukraine would be negotiated with Kiev at the table.
Macron said that Trump will push for a future trilateral meeting with Putin and Zelensky during the Alaska summit. The meeting could take place in Europe, according to the French president.
Previously, when announcing the summit with Putin, Trump suggested that a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine would have to include some sort of land swap.
Zelensky has rejected the notion of recognizing Russia sovereignty over any of the territories claimed by Kiev, citing limitations imposed by Ukraine’s constitution.
During a separate press briefing following Wednesday’s video conference, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that Western European leaders and Trump had agreed to put more “pressure” on Putin if no progress towards a peace deal is made in Alaska.
Russia has repeatedly stated that it is open to peaceful resolution, but has stressed that any deal would have to address the roots of the conflict and respect the realities on the ground.
This includes the status of former Ukrainian territories that have joined Russia after holding public referendums.
Moscow has said that it expects a positive outcome of Friday’s summit between Trump and Putin, adding that it sees the meeting as a chance to mend strained relations and move forward on long-standing issues.
Trump has also said that he expects the summit to be a “feel-out meeting” to determine whether the Ukraine conflict can be settled.
https://www.rt.com/news/622847-trump-ukraine-deal-putin/
‘Biden’s mistakes need to be corrected’ – Putin envoy
13 Aug, 2025 07:30
The policies of former US President Joe Biden must be reversed to achieve global peace, Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s economic envoy and a key figure in the Ukraine settlement process, has said.
Dmitriev, who is also CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), took to X on Wednesday to comment on a White House post touting Trump as “the President of PEACE.”
The post also listed several world leaders who had called for Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Russian official seemingly approved of the message, writing: “World needs peace and security. Biden’s mistakes need to be corrected.”
Trump has frequently described the Ukraine conflict as “Biden’s war,” stressing that he intends to end it and claiming it would never have started had he been president in 2022.
Biden also authorized defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, UNRWA.
Dmitriev has been a key figure in the Ukraine settlement process, welcoming Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff during his visit to Moscow last week.
Witkoff later held three-hour talks with Putin, which Moscow praised as “business-like and constructive,” adding that the US had made an “acceptable” offer regarding a potential settlement on Ukraine.
Following the talks, Putin and Trump agreed to hold a summit in the city of Anchorage, Alaska, on August 15.
The US president has described the event as a “feel-out meeting,” suggesting that discussions could focus on a potential land swap arrangement between Russia and Ukraine.
On Saturday, however, Dmitriev warned that certain countries interested in prolonging the Ukraine conflict could attempt to sabotage the summit through “provocations and disinformation.”
Numerous Western media outlets have speculated that Trump is determined to win a Nobel Peace Prize.
Last month, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt argued that “it’s well past time” for the US president to receive the award, which is traditionally handed out in December.
Last week, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev endorsed Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his role in mediating the long-running disputes between their countries.
https://www.rt.com/russia/622827-biden-mistakes-reversal-moscow/
https://twitter.com/kadmitriev/status/1955373938055561480
Russia ‘has won the war’ – Orban
13 Aug, 2025 00:03
Russia has already won the Ukraine conflict and it is now up to the West to acknowledge this, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.
Orban made the remarks on Tuesday, shortly after he snubbed the latest joint EU statement in support of Ukraine issued ahead of the meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, scheduled for Friday in Alaska.
Speaking to the ‘Patriot’ YouTube channel, the Hungarian leader said he partly opposed the statement as it only made the EU look “ridiculous and pathetic.”
“When two leaders sit down to negotiate with each other, the Americans and the Russians … and you’re not invited there, you don’t rush for the phone, you don’t run around, you don’t shout in from the outside,” Orban stated.
“If you are not at the negotiating table, you are on the menu.”
Moscow has already won the conflict against Ukraine, the Hungarian leader added, claiming that Kiev’s backers were in denial.
“We are talking now as if this were an open-ended war situation, but it is not. The Ukrainians have lost the war. Russia has won this war,” he stressed.
“The only question is when and under what circumstances will the West, who are behind the Ukrainians, admit that this has happened, and what will result from all this.”
A member of both the EU and NATO, Hungary has consistently opposed Brussels’ policies on the Ukraine conflict since its escalation in February 2022, including weapons supplies to Kiev and sanctions against Russia.
Budapest has also opposed the idea of Kiev joining either of the blocs.
Relations between Budapest and Kiev have been further soured by tensions around the Hungarian ethnic minority in Western Ukraine.
Last week, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Kiev has no place in the EU and “doesn’t even belong among civilized nations,” citing the recent death of an ethnic Hungarian allegedly at the hands of Ukrainian draft officers.
https://www.rt.com/news/622818-orban-russia-won-war/
In southern Lebanon, IDF chief says he has approved plans for ‘conquest of Gaza’
August 13, 2025 7:12 pm
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir says the military “approved plans for the conquest of Gaza,” during a visit to southern Lebanon today.
It is unclear if Zamir is referring to Gaza City or the entire Strip. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government instructed the military to prepare to capture Gaza City, and only later on, other remaining Hamas strongholds in the Strip.
“This morning, we approved plans for the conquest of Gaza, and now we are in Lebanon. At the same time, we are operating in Syria, Yemen, Judea and Samaria (West Bank), and monitoring events in Iran.
We are in a multifront war,” Zamir says during the visit to an army post in southern Lebanon, according to remarks published by the IDF.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/in-southern-lebanon-idf-chief-says-he-has-approved-plans-for-conquest-of-gaza/
IDF says it killed elite Hamas Nukhba member who took part in Oct. 7 assault
August 13, 2025 6:33 pm
A member of Hamas’s elite Nukhba Force who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught and participated in the kidnapping of three soldiers was killed in a strike in the Gaza Strip last week, the military announces.
Abdullah Saeed Abd al-Baqin served as the deputy commander of the Nukhba company in Hamas’s Central Jabalia Battalion, according to the military.
On October 7, 2023, Baqin invaded Israel and attacked an army base next to the Erez Crossing that serves the Coordination and Liaison Administration to the Gaza Strip, a unit that is part of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories.
Baqin was involved in the abduction of soldiers Ron Sherman, Nik Beizer and Tamir Nimrodi from the base, the IDF says.
The bodies of Sherman and Beizer were recovered by the military from north Gaza after they were killed in captivity as a result of an Israeli strike. Nimrodi remains held in the Strip.
The IDF adds that during the war, Baqin was involved in advancing numerous attacks against troops operating in Gaza. A strike directed by the 215th Artillery Regiment on August 7 killed him, according to the IDF
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/idf-says-it-killed-elite-hamas-nukhba-member-who-took-part-in-oct-7-assault/
https://twitter.com/idfonline/status/1955652058205364241
IDF source: Some of the journalists killed with Al Jazeera’s Sharif were also terror operatives
August 13, 2025 6:09 pm
The IDF said Wednesday that it had taken “many measures” to mitigate harm to civilians in a strike on Sunday that killed prominent Al Jazeera reporter and Hamas operative Anas al-Sharif, and alleged that several of the other journalists killed in the same strike were also members of terror groups.
Al Jazeera said the strike killed its correspondents Sharif and Mohammed Qreiqeh, along with cameramen Ibrahim Zaher and Mohammed Noufal. Freelancers Moamen Aliwa and Mohammad al-Khaldi were also with the group and were killed in the strike.
Israel has accused Sharif of being an active Hamas terrorist, sharing a number of documents it says show that he was receiving a salary from the terror group and was an active Hamas operative who headed a terrorist cell in charge of rocket-launching.
The strike on the group of journalists led to sharp international anger and condemnation from many Western governments.
In response to a query by The Times of Israel as to why the IDF chose to target Sharif when he was with five other journalists in a tent near Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital, the military issued a response on Wednesday defending the strike, while a military source claimed that several of the other journalists were also members of terror groups.
“On Sunday, the IDF struck a terrorist from the Hamas terror organization in the northern Gaza Strip. Prior to the strike, many measures were taken to reduce the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence information,” the IDF said.
“Terror organizations in the Strip systematically violate international law, cruelly exploiting civilian institutions and the population as human shields for terror activities,” the army added.
In addition, a military source told The Times of Israel that the strike targeted several other “incriminated terrorists,” meaning verified members of terror groups, in addition to Sharif.
The source did not elaborate on how many or which of the five other journalists were also allegedly terror operatives.
On Monday, the IDF asserted that Sharif was “the head of a Hamas terrorist cell and advanced rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”
The military said that “intelligence and documents from Gaza, including rosters, terrorist training lists and salary records, prove he was a Hamas operative integrated into Al Jazeera,” sharing a screenshot of the relevant documents.
The documents, published by the IDF in October 2024, showed that Sharif joined Hamas’s military wing on December 3, 2013, where he served as a commander of a rocket-launching squad in northern Gaza.
He was certified as the team commander on January 1, 2019, according to the documents.
On April 7, 2017, Sharif was wounded in his eye and suffered hearing loss during Hamas training, though he continued to remain in the organization on a $200 monthly salary, according to a 2023 document published by the military.
A separate, undated document showed that Sharif’s name was on the internal phone registry of the elite Nukhba Force company in Hamas’s East Jabalia Battalion. A codename for Sharif is also listed in the directory.
IDF international spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Monday that the documents the army published in October are “only a small, declassified portion of our intelligence on al-Sharif leading up to the strike.”
The strike on the journalists’ tent sparked a wave of criticism and calls for an in-depth investigation, including from the UN, the EU and a number of European nations.
The United States on Tuesday declined to criticize Israel over the strike, with State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce telling reporters only that she would “refer you to Israel for information regarding al-Sharif.”
She voiced respect for journalists who cover war zones but said that Hamas members have been “embedded in society, including posing as journalists.”
“It is a horrible thing to do for those of you who are committed to finding information for people to be in that situation,” she said.
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said in early July that more than 200 journalists had been killed in Gaza since the war began, including several Al Jazeera journalists.
While Israel has repeatedly chastised international media for relying on information coming out of Hamas-controlled Gaza, it has barred journalists from entering the Strip since the start of the war, except on occasional, tightly controlled trips with the military.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-source-some-of-the-journalists-killed-with-al-jazeeras-sharif-were-also-terror-operatives/
New evidence questions former GHF staffer’s claims that IDF killed child at distribution site
Aug. 12, 2025
A new investigation by The Daily Wire is casting doubt on a now-viral story shared by a former Gaza Humanitarian Foundation contractor who claimed he witnessed Israel Defense Forces soldiers kill a child while receiving aid at a GHF site.
Tony Aguilar, who first recounted his experience on the podcast Unxeptable on July 28, claimed that he met a child named “Amir” while working at a GHF aid location on May 28.
He said, after sharing words and an embrace with Amir, that the boy got lost in the crowd, and was subsequently shot and killed an hour later by the IDF.
However, in a video obtained by The Daily Wire, Siham Al-Jarabe’a—a woman claiming to be the child’s stepmother—told an Arabic interviewer on Aug. 5 that the boy, whom she identified as Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hamdan Al-Jarabe’a, was alive and with her until he went missing on July 28.
She disputed many of the details of Aguilar’s story. Additionally, a review of body cam footage from an American security contractor standing next to Aguilar on the day of the alleged incident showed a different version of the encounter.
“Tony completely fabricated his story,” the security contractor told the Wire.
Aguilar, who claimed to have resigned from his GHF post, was reportedly fired by the organization on June 13 “due to poor performance, volatile conflicts with staff and erratic behavior,” the media outlet reported.
GHF and the IDF stated there were no reports of an incident involving Israeli military fire on civilians at any GHF distribution site on May 28.
https://www.jns.org/new-evidence-questions-former-ghf-staffers-claims-that-idf-killed-child-at-distribution-site/
https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-new-evidence-calls-into-question-viral-story-of-gazan-boy-amir-killed-at-ghf-aid-site