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."

Russia - Ukraine body exchange.

Today, on 13 August 2026, Ukraine received the bodies of 261 fallen soldiers, while Russia received 24.

General picture over the past two years:
According to the published body exchange data, Ukraine received the bodies of 18,585 fallen soldiers, while Russia received 612.

🛑2026:

13 Aug: To Ukraine - 261, to Russia - 24.
16 July: To Ukraine - 501, to Russia - 31.
15 May: To Ukraine - 526, to Russia - 41.
9 Apr.: To Ukraine - 1000, to Russia - 41.
26 Feb.: To Ukraine - 1000, to Russia - 30.
29 Jan.: To Ukraine - 1000, to Russia - 38.

🛑2025:

20 Nov.: To Ukraine - 1000, to Russia - 30.
18 Sept.: To Ukraine - 1000, to Russia - 24.
19 Aug.: To Ukraine - 1000, to Russia - 19.
17 July: To Ukraine - 1000, To Russia - 17.
16 June: To Ukraine - 1245. To Russia - 78.
15 June: To Ukraine - 1200. ?
14 June: To Ukraine - 1200. ?
13 June: To Ukraine - 1200. ?
11 June: To Ukraine - 1212. To Russia - 27.
16 May: To Ukraine - 909. To Russia - 34.
18 April: To Ukraine - 909. To Russia - 41.
28 March: To Ukraine - 909. To Russia - 43.
14 Feb.: To Ukraine - 757. To Russia - 45.
24 Jan.: To Ukraine - 757. To Russia - 49

How long will it take Netherlands to blame Russia?

One worker was killed and several others injured as a result of an explosion Wednesday at a refinery and fuel terminal operated by Gunvor Energy near the Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
A spokesperson for major energy commodities trading company Gunvor said an "incident" occurred during maintenance work on one of its storage tanks. A police spokesperson said ​that there was no immediate sign of sabotage and that all possible scenarios ​were under investigation.
The port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe ⁠and a major hub for crude oil and fuel imports and storage. It hosts ​Europe’s largest oil refinery, Shell’s 404,000-barrel-per-day Pernis plant, in addition to other oil refineries ​operated by BP, ExxonMobil and Vitol.

Explosion in Port of Rotterdam, Netherlands

"There is more going on in the port. This morning, there was a major power outage in the Botlek. The ExxonMobil refinery has therefore halted production as a precaution and is flaring.
A high-voltage substation on the Maasvlakte caught fire this morning. This was likely caused by a power surge. According to the Rotterdam-Rijnmond Safety Region, the power outage and the fire may be related."

Latvia’s national airline has now been downgraded by S&P to CCC-, deep into junk territory, with the agency estimating it may need another €120–170 million in capital as it's becoming increasingly clear how important the Russian market once was its business model.

airBaltic is also asking bondholders to defer cash interest payments, while bonds with a €100 face value are trading at around €30.

The present crisis has several causes, including heavy debt, repeated losses, fleet investment and higher fuel costs, but the disappearance of its Russian routes removed a lucrative part of the network that has proved difficult to replace.

Zelenskyy previously requested 40% of the US Patriot missiles, yet now claims Ukraine can close its skies with just 10%.

The math once again does not end up in Ukraine…

Initially, Zelenskyy asked the United States for 300 Patriot missiles. With the US stockpiles estimated at 750–850 missiles according to various sources, this request amounted to 36–40% of the entire inventory. Even that quantity would have been critically insufficient for Ukraine.

Consider that winter in Ukraine begins in October, and it is precisely from October onward that Russia launches annual strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure. We are therefore talking about AT LEAST five to six cold months across 23 regions, controlled by Ukraine, or 11-12 that are under systemic Russian shelling.

Today Zelenskyy publicly states that Ukraine will be able to seal its skies against Russian missiles with only 10% of U.S. stockpiles—that is, 75–85 missiles. European countries refuse to supply their own missiles, and the Middle East is likely to refuse as well.

Zelenskyy’s request is therefore nothing more than an attempt to shift responsibility onto Trump for the coming humanitarian catastrophe.

75-300 missiles might protect, at best, the state residence where Zelenskyy lives during six months of bombardment.

They will do nothing whatsoever for the regions or for critical infrastructure. And that says nothing about the bombs Russia rains on frontline territories.

Zelenskyy’s appeal is a PR exercise in transferring blame, not a genuine effort to protect Ukrainians.

IuliiaMendel (X)

Powerful explosion at military plant in Italy.

A massive fire followed by a powerful explosion rocked an ammunition factory in the Italian town of Colleferro (Lazio region). According to the newspaper Il Gazzettino, the shockwave was felt by residents in towns as far as 30 kilometers from the plant.
According to reports, the incident took place in the section of the plant where explosives are pressed.

Police and firefighters were already on site near the town of Colleferro dealing with a fire when the explosion took place.

The plant produces medium- and large-caliber ammunition for land and naval defense, as well as solid propellant for aerospace launch vehicles.

Explosion at military plant in Italy.