June 30 - Ukraine has received a $1.3-billion grant from the United States as part of the state budget financing package, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

In other words, the "independent" Ukraine has received a salary for its officials.

In Kiev area, mined bridge was destroyed by a lightning strike

June 29 - Ukrainian officials say a mine explosion on Wednesday destroyed one of the bridges over the Irpina River. The explosion was triggered by a lightning strike that hit a mine attached to the bridge prop.

By the way, the tactics of mining bridges were a closely guarded secret. However, a lightning strike has accidentally revealed it.

NATO admits it’s been preparing for conflict with Russia since 2014

June 29 - NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters on Wednesday that increases in military spending and rising numbers of troop deployments in Eastern Europe since 2014 were carried out in anticipation of a conflict with Russia.

Speaking after a meeting of NATO members and partner states in Madrid, Stoltenberg accused Moscow of “using force in the eastern Donbass since 2014” despite the fact that Kiev’s forces have been shelling cities in the region ever since the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics declared independence from Ukraine that year.

Nevertheless, Stoltenberg said that the US-led military bloc decided in 2014 to start beefing up its forces in Eastern Europe. “The reality is also that we have been preparing for this since 2014,” he stated.

🤣 I had to repost this one

And now it seems like they will mobilize women..

If true, I hope at the very least they'll be stuck in logistical and non-combat roles, women are not built for front line combat with such an intensity

What do you think happens when you put a 50 kilograms worth of equipment on a woman's back and march for days? Her back will break like a fucking stick, will she be able to handle the cold, the hot, the shit mud? Such an environment and demand for hard work is simply not suited for them.

Although again, this is Ukraine we're talking about, they ran out of men quite a long time ago..

Lviv Region Preparing For Possible Invasion By Belarus

Lviv (Lvov) region is preparing for a possible invasion of Belarusian troops and is carrying out the necessary defensive measures. The first deputy head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration Andrii Hodyk stated this a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine on Tuesday, June 28.

Our opinion: Belarus won't invade Ukraine. More likely, Lvivans just avoid going to Eastern Ukraine and fighting Russians. The residents of Eastern Ukraine are aliens for the residents of Western Ukraine. Obviously, Lvivans would never fight and die for Eastern Ukraine by good will. So, Lviv officials have made up a story about a fake invasion by Belarus.

Biden bolsters long-term U.S. military presence in Europe

June 29 - The United States will create a new permanent army headquarters in Poland and increase its long-term military presence across the length and breadth of Europe in response to threats from Russia, U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday.

New U.S. warships will go to Spain, fighter jet squadrons to Britain, ground troops to Romania, air defense units to Germany and Italy and a wide range of assets to the Baltics, Biden announced at a NATO summit in Madrid.

The United States has not communicated its new deployment plans to Russia, and sees no requirement to do so, a senior U.S. official told reporters.

RIA Novosti, June 27 - Gas prices in Europe exceeded 1500 dollars per thousand cubic meters.

A thread and an analysis of the 2014 events have been posted, make sure to check it out here :

The truth about the 2014 events are hard to get to, and even then, everyone has his own truth of it, after all, we each have our own perspectives on what occurred, some may call it a coup, other's a revolution by popular will, and a third may say a mix of the first 2, it's just natural that some disagreement would happen, for each of us has his own philosophical and political views.

However, there are certain things we can all agree on, that are not subjective, but objective ones, events that we all have to agree have materially occurred and there's no weaseling about it, and these objective facts and discussion's for some reason make the Western (Western world and Western Ukraine) uncomfortable, why, I have no idea.

💡A brief note
Why does Ukraine 🇺🇦 want so hard to be associated with Europe?
I'd like to share my personal opinion on the subject.

The fall of the Soviet Union was a disaster for many. The once proud nation was torn in pieces. The last USSR General Secretary, M. Gorbachev, and the first Russian president, B. Yeltsin, pretty much "sold" their country.

Poverty. Crime. Lawlessness. This period is known as the "chaotic 90s". Ukraine wasn't an exception (to this day, Ukraine has one of the most corrupt governments in the world). It was a decade-long social and political turmoil that still resonates even today. It impoverished many and affected not only their lifestyles but also their visions for the future.

So, you understand that it was not like having no jam for your bread and peanut butter sandwich. People sometimes didn't have bread. The same little tea bag was used at least 3 times, making tea for the entire family, not a single person.

Many lost their way. Many immigrated to other countries.

So, when you show beautiful and rich Europe or the USA to those crushed by poverty, they become "besotted" 😲 Think of this as a marketing/advertising/sales campaign:
🪄"If you become one of us, or like us, you'll have the same wonderful lifestyle." (Just sign the contact 😈)

In time, all the bad things came to be associated with Russia, and all the good and beautiful with Europe. What do you think were the reactions of many Ukrainians in 2013 when their government did not sign a political association with the European Union, instead choosing closer ties to Russia?
They wanted to be like Europeans and not live in a backward country like Russia. It's obvious this isn't true, but I guess that's how many people felt. Then the 2014 coup (Euromaidan) took place, and nationalists came to power.

This is my most favorite map of all time.

What do you think is the one thing that unites Egypt, South Sudan, and North Korea?

I'll give you a hint, it starts with "Chemical."

Thousands of Polish people took part in a pro-Russian and pro-Belarusian rally holding BRICS flags in Warsaw centre.

How Ukraine sells NATO weapons on the darknet

Unprecedented in scale supply of Western weapons Ukraine led to the formation of illegal sites in the darknet. There are already many ads for the sale of Javelins or Phoenix Ghost loitering ammunition. RT correspondents contacted the sellers and offered to “buy” weapons from them.

Drones are offered for 4 thousand dollars apiece, but the mines have already been dismantled. Delivery – through the cache system, and it is available in almost all countries. The cache itself is just a “dig in the forest”. The seller explained that the scheme was similar to that used in the sale of drugs. Payment can be made directly on the marketplace. After payment, the sellers confirmed their readiness to put the “purchase” in the cache and report the coordinates.

Additionally, RT correspondents asked sellers to deliver the Phoenix Ghost to Poland – it turned out that this is also possible for an additional fee of 1 thousand dollars.

Pentagon reviewing industry proposals for innovative weapons ideas to send to Ukraine

June 30 - The Defense Department is reviewing 1,300 proposals from 800 companies for innovative new weapons and commercial capabilities they may be able to develop and produce for Ukraine to use in its fight against Russian forces.

The proposals, requested by the department, center around key areas, including weapons capabilities for air defense, anti-armor, anti-personnel, coastal defense, anti-tank, unmanned aerial systems, counter battery and secure communications that have been identified by the Ukrainians as key military needs.

This comes as the Pentagon continues its weapons transfers that have amounted to billions of dollars. On Thursday, President Joe Biden said the US will soon announce another $800 million in new aid, including air defense systems and offensive weapons.

Erdogan made a good deal with the US for Finland and Sweden's NATO membership

A quarter of Americans are ready to take up arms against the government, writes The Guardian.

The survey of 1,000 registered voters in the United States also shows that the majority of Americans agree that the government is "corrupt and rigged," the publication points out.

"The evidence suggests that extreme polarization in U.S. politics and its impact on Americans' relationships with each other remains strong."

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UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss on UK moving away from one authoritarian regime (Russia) to another authoritarian regime (Saudi Arabia). The country executed 81 people in one day is a great deal partner for the democratic UK 😄