Ukraine, 6-12-26

Links to TEN reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Moscow Times, Tass, and National Public Radio; others or just headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down for WEST BANK, GAZA, MEDIA and IRAN, and down for UKRAINE 6-11-26.) — MCM

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Ukraine hits fuel supplies to Crimea, sparking a fuel crisis on the Russian-held peninsula. From AP. In a new blow to the Kremlin’s narrative that Moscow is winning the 4-year-old war in Ukraine, Kyiv’s forces have targeted supplies to Crimea, triggering the worst fuel crisis on the Black Sea peninsula since it was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same report in Spanish.

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Ukraine and Russia trade overnight drone strikes. From Reuters.  Ukraine and Russia exchanged overnight drone strikes into early today, with Ukraine targeting a major oil processing and petrochemical region while Russia attacked railway stations and electrical substations. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE and HERE for reports from the Moscow Times

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Military operation in Ukraine. From Tass. Click HERE for links to four reports from Tass.

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FROM JUNE 11  Ukraine’s drone commander wants to cut Crimea off from Russia, by Olena Harmash and Sergiy Karazy | Reuters  CLOSE TO THE FRONTLINE, Ukraine — Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, says his drone forces have reduced the traffic using the Novorossiya highway — a critical Russian military supply route through occupied southern Ukraine to Crimea — by more than two thirds over the past month, and within another month . . . READ MORE . . .

   

FROM JUNE 10  In Ukraine, a competition puts soldiers’ drone skills to the test. Reported by Hanna Palamarenko | NPR  As drones become the weapon of choice in the Russia-Ukraine war, a group of soldiers test their skills in an unusual competition. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Media, 6-12-26

Links to commentaries from Tom Engelhardt’s Substack via ScheerPost and from Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll up or down for WEST BANK, GAZA, UKRAINE and IRAN, and down for MEDIA 6-10-26.) — MCM

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FROM JUNE 11 Reading the Times, by Tom Engelhardt | Substack / ScheerPost  The other day, at the very bottom of page seven of the first section of the Times, I noticed an article by Rebecca Dzombak with this headline: “2025 Wildfires Were World’s Costliest Ever, Study Says, With Populated Areas Hit.” READ MORE . . .

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FROM JUNE 10  Who is the aggressor? by Joe Lauria | Special to Consortium News  If you understand who the aggressor is, you are on your way to understanding the mad and perilous times we live in. Once you get that, what you’ve been taught all your life starts to lose its hold on you. READ MORE . . .

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Iran, 6-12-26

Links to NINE reports, analyses and commentaries: from the Associated Press, Reuters, Middle East Monitor, the Cradle, and National Public Radio; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up for WEST BANK, GAZA, UKRAINE and MEDIA, and down for IRAN 6-11-26.) — MCM

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NEWER  Trump bristles over memorandum text that appears to favour Iran, by Parisa Hafezi, Humeyra Pamuk and John Irish | Reuters DUBAI / WASHINGTON / PARIS — Terms of a proposed memorandum to end the war in the Gulf outlined by Western, Pakistani and Iranian sources today appeared to strongly favour Iran, drawing criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who called the reports inaccurate. READ MORE . . .

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NEWER  Trump says G7 support ‘irrelevant,’ claims ‘victory’ in Iran war. From Middle East Monitor. U.S. President Donald Trump has dismissed any support from G7 as “irrelevant” and claimed that “we have won the war in Iran,” in a brief phone interview broadcast today by Italian channel La7, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

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Trump is raising expectations that this time he really will close deal with Iran to wind down war, by  Aamer Madhani, Farnoush Amiri and Lisa Mascaro | AP  WASHINGTON — President Trump has offered scant details about the settlement with Iran he says is taking shape, but told reporters he believed the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who is believed to have been wounded on the first day of the war and has not been seen in public since, is ready to sign off on the deal. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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FROM JUNE 11  Trump calls off latest threats to strike Iran, cites breakthrough in talks to end war, by Jon Gambrell and Aamer Madhani | AP  DUBAI  — U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he had called off new military strikes on Iran, claiming a breakthrough in negotiations to end the war just hours after the American leader threatened to escalate the conflict by seizing control of Iran’s oil industry. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.  Click HERE for report from NPR.

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FROM JUNE 11  Iran says no final decision made on deal that Trump hopes could be signed soon. From Reuters. President Donald Trump on Thursday said the United States and Iran could sign a peace deal as soon as this weekend that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, but Iran countered that . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for June 12 report from the Cradle

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FROM JUNE 11  How ‘algorithm’ got its name from a 9th-century Persian mathematician, by Scott Neuman | NPR  It’s a simple word that has developed a sinister connotation: algorithm. For many of us, algorithms help determine what we watch, read and listen to — in the process, confirming our tastes and biases, and creating ideological echo chambers. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine, 6-11-26

A link to an analysis from Global Delinquents via ScheerPost; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll down for WEST BANK, GAZA, LEBANON and IRAN, and for UKRAINE 6-10-26.) — MCM

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FROM JUNE 9  How the CIA conjured Ukrainian nationalism, by Kit Klarenberg | Global Delinquents / ScheerPost  The genocidal nationalism practiced and preached by Andriy Melnyk, leader of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists, was covertly promoted and sponsored for decades by Anglo-American intelligence. This little-known spectral meddling was specifically concerned with promoting cultural and ethnic difference, and enmity, between Russians and Ukrainians globally. READ MORE . . .

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West Bank, 6-11-26

A link to a report from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll up or down for UKRAINE, GAZA, LEBANON and IRAN, and down for WEST BANK 6-10-26.) — MCM

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Israel allocates $51M to build 69 illegal settlements in occupied West Bank: watchdog. From Middle East Monitor. Israel allocated 152 million shekels ($51 million) to prepare construction plans for 69 illegal settlements and outposts in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said today, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

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Gaza, 6-11-26

A link to a report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll up or down for UKRAINE, WEST BANK, LEBANON and IRAN, and down for GAZA 6-10-26.) — MCM

   

FROM JUNE 9  Militants and police executed and maimed dozens of Palestinians in Gaza: UN report, by Sam Metz | AP  RAMALLAH, West Bank — Hamas militants and police units in Gaza beat, maimed and publicly executed dozens of Palestinians during its war with Israel in acts amounting to war crimes, according to a United Nations report released Tuesday.  READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others.

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Lebanon, 6-11-26

Links to reports from Middle East Eye and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll up or down for UKRAINE, WEST BANK, GAZA and IRAN, and down for LEBANON 6-10-26.) — MCM

   

Israel launches attacks on Lebanon’s Baalbek, Nabatieh. From Middle East Eye. The Israeli army targeted areas in the Baalbek region, about 80 kilometers away from the Israeli boundary with Lebanon. Elsewhere. . . READ MORE . . .

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How Israel is cementing its presence in Lebanon and Syria, by Daniel Hilton, Adam Chamseddine,  Levent Kemal and Reem Aouir | Middle East Eye  LONDON / BEIRUT / ANKARA / MANCHESTER, England — With its sweeping panoramas of south Lebanon and flags rising over 1,000-year-old battlements, the footage Israel released last week of its troops seizing Beaufort Castle was intended to provoke awe and anger. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JUNE 10  Israel orders evacuation of Tyre’s last safe neighborhood as strikes intensify. Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR  In Lebanon, Israeli airstrikes are emptying parts of an ancient city, but for residents too old or too sick to flee, staying behind is the only option. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Iran, 6-11-26

Links to NINE reports: from the Associated Press, the Cradle, Reuters, National Public Radio, and Middle East Eye, and to commentary from Informed Comment; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up for UKRAINE, WEST BANK, GAZA and LEBANON, and down for IRAN 6-10-26.) — MCM

   

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Iran announces ‘complete closure’ of Hormuz after latest U.S. attack. From the Cradle. Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority today announced the full and complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping, in response to the latest round of overnight U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic Republic. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE for June 10 report from Reuters

U.S.-Iran strikes continue, testing fragile ceasefire. Reported by Greg Myre and Leila Fadel | NPR  A second day of U.S. and Iranian strikes has intensified tensions, raising fears that the fragile April ceasefire could unravel as negotiations stall. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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U.S. ‘precision strikes’ cut water access to 20,000 people in southern Iran: report. From the Cradle. The U.S. military’s recent airstrikes on a drinking water facility in southern Iran “could constitute a war crime,” a New York Times investigation said Wednesday after an attack by Washington cut off water to tens of thousands of people. READ MORE . . . 

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Qatar negotiators depart Iran after mediating talks. From Middle East Eye. Qatari negotiators have departed Tehran following discussions on the current Middle East war, AFP reported, citing a diplomatic source who said the discussions were “conducted in coordination with the United States.” READ MORE . . .

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Iran seeks frozen funds as U.S. interim deal appears close. From Middle East Eye. Efforts to reach a preliminary deal between Iran and the U.S. have intensified despite strikes exchanged by both sides, as they discuss a mechanism for releasing frozen Iranian funds, three Iranian sources and a European official told Reuters. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JUNE 10  U.S. military says it’s striking ‘multiple targets’ in Iran in second day of renewed fire, by Jon Gambrell, Michelle L. Price and Konstantin Toropin | AP  DUBAI — The U.S. military said Wednesday it began another round of strikes against Iran after President Donald Trump warned that Tehran would “pay the price” for stalled negotiations. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others.

   

Retired Gen. Joseph Vogel on the U.S. strikes on Iran and Tehran’s capabilities. Steve Inskeep of NPR speaks with with the former commander of U.S. Central Command about the U.S. strikes on Iran and the extent to which Iran might be able to hit back. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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If Trump deliberately hit reservoir in Iran, it was a war crime & endangers the whole Gulf, by Juan Cole | Informed Comment  ANN ARBOR, Mich. — If the strike this week on water tanks serving the inland town of Kuhestak was deliberate, it was a war crime. Iranian media alleged that it deprived 20,000 people of drinking water in 113º F. (45º C. ) temperatures and 60% humidity. This affected men, women and children. Drinking water was unavailable for 12 hours. READ MORE . . .

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Gaza, 6-10-26

For now, links to two reports from Middle East Monitor; and others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for today’s LEBANON, WEST BANK, UKRAINE, IRAN and MEDIA so far, and for GAZA 6- -26.) — MCM

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FROM JUNE 9  Hamas says acceptable approaches reached on contentious Gaza ceasefire issues. From Middle East Monitor. The Palestinian movement Hamas said Tuesday that “acceptable approaches” had been reached on the “contentious issues” of a Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel following talks in Cairo. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JUNE 9  UN warns of ‘immense’ humanitarian needs as Israel allows only one crossing into Gaza. From Middle East Monitor. The UN warned Tuesday of worsening humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, as Israel reopened the only approved cargo crossing into the besieged territory amid food shortages and a sharp decline in meals to civilians, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

Lebanon, 6-10-26

For now, links to THREE reports: from Middle East Eye and the Cradle, and to a commentary from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll up or down for today’s GAZA. WEST BANK, UKRAINE, IRAN and MEDIA so far, and down for LEBANON 6-9-26.) — MCM

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Israeli air strike kills at least six in southern Lebanon. From Middle East Eye. An Israeli air strike on the town of Tayr Debba, located in southern Lebanon’s Tyre district, killed at least six people. The Lebanese Civil Defence confirmed the casualties to Al Jazeera.

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Israeli military abducts municipal councillor, worker in southern Lebanon. From Middle East Eye. The abduction by Israeli forces took place today in the town of Kfarshuba amid continuous Israeli strikes in the area, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. READ MORE . . .

   

FROM JUNE 9  ‘Imprison their women and children’: Supremisist Israeli minister calls on troops to abduct Lebanese civilians. From the Cradle. Israel’s National Security Minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, called during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday for Israeli forces to abduct Lebanese women and children in order to pressure Hezbollah. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JUNE 9  How a regional defence pact could deal the final blow to Israel’s violent extremism, by David Hearst | Middle East Eye  As Amal Saad, a scholar on Hezbollah, wrote in these pages, the ceasefire agreement signed by Lebanese representatives with Israel and the U.S. belongs to a category of political submission with little or no precedent. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED