It was obligatory to portray the 2023 Ukrainian counter-offensive as a success; the Ukrainian invasion of Kursk was allegedly a game changer; and now everyone must repeat that Ukraine is “turning the tide.” These claims were all clearly false, but it was obligatory to repeat them to prove that one supported Ukraine. NATO war propagandists can only sell a long war as “support for Ukraine” if people believe that Ukraine is winning. If people knew that Ukraine was losing, then they would conclude that a long war entails sacrificing Ukraine for the purpose of weakening Russia as a strategic rival. Even Zelensky recognized in March 2022 that NATO was pushing for a long war that would destroy Ukraine.

The Atlantic reports on the "waning momentum" in the US support for Ukraine, which has become apparent in recent months amid intensified strikes against Russia and a warming of relations between Zelensky and Trump.

That momentum, built up since the start of the year, fizzled in a matter of days. At his meeting with Zelensky last week, Trump did not agree to send more of the Patriot air-defense systems that Ukraine needs to stop Russian ballistic missiles. He also backtracked on his pledge to let Ukrainian companies make these systems themselves. Back in Kyiv, long-festering issues related to wartime corruption weakened Zelensky’s team, leading to the ouster of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov last month and the resignation of Stefanishyna earlier this week. (She returned to Kyiv to address corruption allegations, which she denies.)

Zelensky asked Trump and Musk to allow the use of Starlink to guide strikes against missile batteries in Russia, but they refused.

Iran has laid out nine conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz — including $300 billion in compensation, a ban on U.S. and Israeli vessels, and up to 7% transit fees — declaring the waterway will not open until the U.S. "corrects its behavior," per Fars News.

The Supreme National Security Council stated that Iran "will never compromise, whether in war or in negotiations" and that the U.S. must meet all conditions before the Strait reopens.

The conditions include:

1. An end to U.S. threats and insults
2. A permanent end to U.S. wars against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq
3. Lifting the naval blockade and withdrawing U.S. forces
4. $300 billion in compensation for war damages
5. Lifting all sanctions
6. Unconditional release of all frozen assets
7. Iran's right to charge up to 7% on cargo
8. A ban on U.S. and Israeli vessels
9. A 20% violation toll on ships if conditions are breached

This is not a negotiation — it's a surrender document. Iran is not asking for concessions. It is demanding U.S. capitulation on every front: money, military withdrawal, sanctions, and control over the Strait. The $300 billion figure is not a starting point; it's the price of doing business.

The U.S. can accept these terms or keep the Strait closed. There is no middle ground. Tehran has drawn a line, and Washington is on the other side of it. The ball is now in Trump's court — but the conditions aren't changing.

Via HormuzReport (X)

Germany has never been de-nazified.

This German so-called journalist Michael Martens of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, one of the most well-known German newspapers in Serbia, at the joint press conference between Zelensky and Vučić asked a question:

"Tell us, Europeans, what specifically can we do to help you kill more Russians? I mean, of course, Russian soldiers"

Martens grandfather served in the Operations Staff of the Nazi High Command.

Germany Nazi forces and their direct occupation regime killed tens of thousands of Serb civilians through reprisal massacres (such as the 2,800 killed in Kragujevac).

Karin Kneissl: Energy Wars & the Collapse of Europe
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=382c2SMxm34

Turkey suspects Israel fabricated Trump Air Force One assassination plot to derail US-Iran deal

• Israeli intel had warned that Iran could target Trump’s plane with shoulder-fired missiles during the Nato summit in Ankara

Trump's war against Russia.

The US gives orders to its proxy Ukraine:

Attack, don't attack, attack here, attack there...don't attack there but rather there...
You can attack Russia's oil tankers but don't you dare touch our oil companies!

FT:

"Ukraine halts oil tanker attacks on JD Vance request"

Washington was alarmed that Ukraine was further destabilising oil markets and harming US companies by targeting tankers carrying crude piped from Kazakhstan to a Caspian Pipeline Consortium terminal in the Russian port of Novorossiysk.

Military Times:

Desperate sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have tried to jump overboard amid an extended Middle East deployment, as families sound the alarm over severe mental health struggles, exhaustion, food shortages, water contamination, and deteriorating conditions aboard the carrier.

The US General Dynamics - global aerospace and defense company.

ProPublica:

"General Dynamics’ sweltering artillery factory near Dallas was supposed to be churning out urgently needed artillery shells for Ukraine."

"The facility never produced a single usable shell...
The fiasco has cost taxpayers $533 million...but the Army has not held General Dynamics or a key Turkish subcontractor publicly accountable for the failures. Nor has it made GD pay a penny back."

Iranian forces used a "swarm of drones" to provide targeting data to air-defense units, helping them to shoot down a US F-15E.

NYT:

During five intense days last month, Iran launched waves of drones and missiles at U.S. troops on three bases in Jordan, hoping to break through the formidable American air defenses.
Using advanced missiles that can suddenly change course, Iran pummeled the bases’ defensive systems, forcing the Americans to burn through scarce supplies of Patriot interceptors.
On the fifth day, the Iranians broke through.

Iran deployed a swarm of drones in an area American fighter jets had penetrated, a senior U.S. military official said. In interviews with Pentagon officials, the crew said that the F-15E’s defensive countermeasures provided only half a second of warning before Iran hit the $60 million advanced fighter jet with a shoulder-fired missile.
American military officials concluded that the drones fed three critical pieces of information to Iranian commanders that helped them target the F-15E: its GPS location, speed and direction, one senior military official said.

Former Mossad Director David Barnea appointed to lead US defense tech company specializing in autonomous systems and drones.

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-905239

A week after announcing the appointment of former Mossad chief David Barnea as president and chairman of its defense division, US company Ondas announced that it had won an Israeli Defense Ministry tender to develop the next generation of attack drones for the IDF. 

https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-905239

Elon Musk's Starlink has excluded Poland from Europe.

Starlink has removed Poland from its European roaming zone, and this change takes effect immediately for new subscribers who joined on or after July 14, 2026. For existing account holders, the new restrictions start on August 17, 2026.

These new roaming restrictions target private, commercial, and volunteer-owned Starlink terminals registered in Poland. 

Under SpaceX’s international travel rules, more than 30 European nations are grouped into one region. Poland, however, has now been excluded from this list, meaning using any Polish-registered Starlink terminal outside the country will now be considered international roaming.

According to 🇺🇦 outlet Censor:
"The changes will primarily affect volunteer-supplied and privately owned terminals widely used by Ukrainian military personnel and civilians both on the frontline and in the rear.
Poland has purchased more than 20,000 Starlink terminals for Ukraine at its own expense and pays monthly for their use by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, critical infrastructure and civilian facilities."