For today, links to six reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, the Kyiv Independent, the Kyiv Post, the Moscow Times. and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) —  MCM

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 30  Russia attacks Ukraine’s two largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv. From Reuters. Russian forces attacked Ukraine’s two largest cities on Sunday, with missile fragments falling on a suburban Kyiv apartment building and a guided bomb killing one person in Kharkiv. Russian forces have maintained regular attacks on Ukrainian cities as well as . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from AP, and HERE and HERE for reports from the Kyiv Independent and Kyiv Post.

–   –   –

Russia border regions report power cuts after Ukraine attacks. From the Moscow Times. Officials in Russian regions bordering Ukraine reported power cuts and water supply issues on Monday after deadly drone attacks by Kyiv. The attacks and shelling on the border region of Belgorod over the past day . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Russian troops liberate two communities in Kharkov region, DPR, over past day — top brass. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian troops liberated the settlements of Stepovaya Novosyolovka in the Kharkov Region and Novopokrovskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said today in a broader report. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to five reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, Middle East Monitor, Middle East Eye, and the Anadolu Agency; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date  is HERE.) — MCM

–   –   –

Israeli tanks advance into areas in north and south Gaza, fighting rages, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Kamel Hamdan | Reuters  CAIRO / GAZA —Israeli forces advanced further today into the Shejaia neighbourhood of northern Gaza and also pushed deeper into western and central Rafah in the south, killing at least six Palestinians and destroying several homes, residents said. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 29  The UN starts to move tons of aid from U.S.-built pier after security fears suspended work there, by Julia Frankel and Wafaa Shurafa | AP  JERUSALEM — Humanitarian workers have started moving tons of aid that piled up at a U.S.-built pier off the Gaza coast to warehouses in the besieged Palestinian territory, the United Nations said Saturday, an important step as Washington considers whether . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

U.S. lawmakers vote to censor Palestinian death toll in Gaza to cover Israel war crimes. From Middle East Monitor. Lawmakers in the United States this week voted to prevent the government from citing the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza killed by Israel, in the latest effort to directly censor facts and criticism of the occupation and its war crimes. In a 269 – 144 vote in favour of the bipartisan amendment at the U.S. House of Representatives . . . READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

–   –   –

Gaza death toll nears 37,900 as Israel kills 43 more Palestinians, by Ikram Kouachi | Anadolu Agency  ANKARA — Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Gaza Strip have killed 43 more Palestinians, pushing up the overall death toll since last October to 37,877 people, the Health Ministry in the besieged enclave said today. A ministry statement added . . . READ MORE . . .

NOTE: A JUNE 29 REPORT WAS BELATEDLY ADDED TO THIS ENTRY.

For today, links to 12 reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Tass, the Kyiv Independent, UkrInform,  and National Public Radio, and to commentary from an Upstate New York commentator; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

–   –   –

7 killed and dozens wounded after missiles slammed into a town in southern Ukraine, officials say. From AP. KYIV — Russian missiles slammed into the town of Vilniansk in southern Ukraine, killing seven civilians, including three children, and wounding 36 more, local authorities reported after the Saturday evening attack. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Reuters.

–   –   –

Russia’s defense ministry says destroys 36 Ukrainian drones. From AFP. MOSCOW — Russian forces destroyed three dozen Ukrainian drones in areas near the border, Moscow’s Ministry of Defense said today. These reportedly included fifteen UAVs over Kursk region, nine UAVs over Lipetsk region, four UAVs each over Voronezh and Bryansk regions and two UAVs each over Oryol and Belgorod regions. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Russia claims two more east Ukrainian villages. From AFP. Russia today claimed two more east Ukrainian villages, Novooleksandrivka and Spirne, as its forces have had the upper hand over Kyiv on the battlefield for months. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Tass.

–   –    –

FROM JUNE 28  Russia releases 10 Ukrainian civilian prisoners – Zelensky. From AFP. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday 10 civilians, including a politician and two priests, taken prisoner in Russia and Belarus had been freed in a deal mediated by the Vatican. Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of prisoners throughout their . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 29  Russian strike on south Ukraine town kills seven – Kyiv. From AFP. A Russian strike on the south Ukrainian town of Vilniansk killed at least seven people, Kyiv said, in an attack that came hours after Russia said a Ukrainian drone killed five people on its border village. Both countries said two children were killed in each attack. Kyiv also said four people were killed in eastern frontline villages in the Donetsk region. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 29  Moscow claims east Ukrainian village in offensive on Toretsk. From AFP. Russia on Saturday claimed another village, Shumy, in eastern Ukraine as it pushes towards the city of Toretsk in a fresh local offensive in the embattled Donetsk region. Toretsk lies north-west of the city of Gorlivka, which has been under separatist control since 2014. It . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Zelensky: Russia used over 800 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine this week, by Elsa Court and news desk | The Kyiv Independent  Russia has used more than 800 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine this week alone, President Volodymyr Zelensky said today. Guided aerial bombs are precision-guided munitions that have a shorter range than missiles, but . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

OSCE Assembly recognizes Russia’s genocide of the Ukrainian people. From UkrInform. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has adopted a resolution recognizing Russia’s actions as genocide of the Ukrainian people and the need to decolonize Russia, a member of the Ukrainian delegation, Pavlo Frolov, said Friday. It was the opening day of the summer session in Bucharest. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 28  Joe Biden catches cold, by James Howard Kunstler | Clusterfuck Nation  Maybe ninety-seconds into last night’s long-awaited debate spectacle, the consensus must have jelled among the woke-and-broken news media mavens that their champion, “Joe Biden,” was not quite killing it out there at the podium. CNN moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash acted like . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for a JUNE 29 report from NPR.

NOTE: IN A SEARCH ENGINE, XMAWALKER WORKS FOR THIS WEBSITE.

For today, links to reports from Reuters and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials  below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

–   –   –

U.S. has sent Israel thousands of 2,000-pound bombs since Oct. 7, by Humeyra Pamuk and Mike Stone | Reuters  WASHINGTON — The Biden administration has sent to Israel large numbers of munitions, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles, since the start of the war in Gaza, said two U.S. officials briefed on an updated list of weapons shipments. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

What is Hamas’ strategy for a ceasefire and conditions for the end of war? Danielle Kurtzleben of NPR Danielle Kurtzleben speaks with Hussein Ibish, a senior resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute, about Hamas’ strategy for the war in Gaza. Click HERE later to listen and, still later, read.

For today, links to eight reports from Reuters,  the Associated Press, National Public Radio, Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye, others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

–   –   –

Israeli forces push deeper into southern and northern Gaza, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Doaa Rouqa | Reuters  CAIRO — Israeli forces deepened their incursion into two northern and southern areas of the Gaza Strip today, and Palestinian health officials said tank shelling in Rafah killed at least 11 people. Residents and Hamas media said tanks advanced further west into the Shakoush neighbo‬urhood‬ of Rafah, forcing . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Huge mounds of rotting trash pile up around Gaza camps, UNRWA says, by Emma Farge | Reuters  GENEVA — Mounds of trash rotting in the heat are piling up close to where displaced people are sheltering in Gaza, a UN official said today, raising fears about the further spread of disease. Louise Wateridge, an aid worker with United Nations Palestinian refugee agency, said a pile of waste weighing an estimated 100,000 tons was building up near people’s . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 27  Israel lets 19 kids leave Gaza who are sick or wounded, first medical evacuation in nearly 2 months, by Mohammad Jahjouh, Wafaa Shurafa and Kareem Chehayeb | AP  KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Israeli authorities say 68 people — 19 sick or wounded children plus their companions — have been allowed out of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt in the first medical evacuation since early May . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Sick children are allowed to leave Gaza for the first time in weeks. Reported by Leila Fadel | NPR  Israel and Egypt agreed to allow nearly 20 critically ill children to leave Gaza. This is the first major evacuation since the Rafah border closed last month. Click HERE  to listen and, later, read.

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 26  With aid at a trickle, experts say half a million people in Gaza face starvation. Reported by Tom Bowman and Aya Batrawy | NPR  A new study says half a million people are now facing starvation, as all of the Gaza Strip is at high risk of famine. Aid groups say Israel needs to secure aid routes. Click HERE to listen and read.

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 25  Israel let some wounded children leave Gaza for treatment, leaving thousands behind. Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR  For the first time in almost two months, Israel has allowed a small group of kids to leave Gaza for medical treatment. Aid groups say the move came after U.S. pressure and a court challenge in Israel. Click HERE to listen and read.

–   –   –

Biden, Trump go to bat for Israel in 1st U.S. presidential debate. From Middle East Monitor. Israel’s war on Gaza was a central feature of the first U.S. presidential debate, with both current President Joe Biden and his predecessor, Donald Trump, trying to outdo the other in positioning themselves as a champion of Israeli interests, Anadolu Agency reports. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Biden’s ‘a bad Palestinian’: Trump says he wants Israel to continue Gaza war. From Middle East Eye. Donald Trump attacked U.S. President Joe Biden for not being supportive enough of Israel’s war on Gaza, using a remark that denigrated Palestinians while going on to say that he supports the continuation of Israel’s military operation. READ MORE . . .

NOTE: X-MA911TRUTHWALK.COM, THE URL FOR THIS BLOG, NO LONGER WORKS IN SEARCH ENGINES. WHAT STILL DOES IS: XMAWALKER.

For today, links to eight reports from Reuters, Middle East Eye, the Associated Press, Middle East Monitor, and National Public Radio, and to commentary from Substack; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE and ASSANGE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) – MCM

–   –   –

NEWER  Senior U.S. Republican demands Biden administration shut Gaza aid pier, by Phil Stewart | Reuters  WASHINGTON — The Republican lawmaker who leads the House Armed Services Committee has written to the Biden administration formally demanding it shut down its aid pier off the coast Gaza, calling the operation ineffective, risky and a waste of money. The offshore floating pier . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Israel storms Gaza City neighbourhood, orders Palestinians to go south, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi | Reuters  Israel stormed a neighborhood in Gaza City today, telling Palestinians as the tanks moved in that they must move south, and bombed the southern city of Rafah in what it says are the final stages of an operation against Hamas militants there. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Battered Shujaiya comes under fresh Israeli assault, by Lubna Masarwa | Middle East Eye  JERUSALEM — Israeli air strikes and artillery heavily bombed Gaza’s Shujaiya neighbourhood today amid a fresh ground assault on the war-ravaged residential area. At least seven Palestinianswere killed and 40 wounded, including children, women and the elderly, according to initial estimates.  READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Gazans struggle to feed their children under Israeli campaign, by Mohammad Salem | Reuters  KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Famine approaches slowly for Gazans, who spend hours in queues for a few ladles of cooked food and the chance to fill plastic containers with drinkable water. Sometimes there is nothing to queue for in . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

In the searing heat of the Gaza summer, Palestinians are surrounded by sewage and garbage, by Wafaa Shurafa and Julia Frankel | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — Children in sandals trudge through water contaminated with sewage and scale growing mounds of garbage in Gaza’s crowded tent camps for displaced families. People relieve themselves in burlap-covered pits, with nowhere nearby to wash their hands. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Israel preparing to increase water supply for Palestinians in Gaza, sources say. From Middle East Monitor.  Israel, under pressure from Western allies to ease a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, is preparing to boost electricity to a desalination plant so it can produce more water for people in the enclave, an Israeli security official and a western official told Reuters on Wednesday. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 26  Looting in Gaza has led to skyrocketing food prices. Reported by Kat Lonsdorf and Anas Baba | NPR  A breakdown in law and order along a main route in southern Gaza has made Israel’s daytime fighting pause ineffectual for aid delivery. This led to skyrocketing food prices sold on the black market. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

–   –   –

Germany imposes Israel ‘loyalty’ test with new citizenship law. From Middle East Monitor. Germany has introduced a new citizenship law that requires applicants to declare their belief in Israel’s right to exist. The unprecedented move demands recognition of a foreign country’s right to exist as part of a citizenship process, and . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 26  The suspect body count, by Seymour M. Hersh | Substack  The number of slain Palestinians in Gaza, including those believed to be Hamas cadres, has gone through a series of public recalibrations in recent weeks, as Israel’s reshuffled war cabinet has struggled to minimize international rage at the slaughter there. The reduced body count . . . READ MORE . . .

 

NOTE: X-MA911TRUTHWALK.COM, THE URL FOR THIS BLOG, NO LONGER WORKS IN SEARCH ENGINES. WHAT STILL DOES IS: XMAWALKER.

For today, links to 10 reports from Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Tass, the Kyiv Independent, the Moscow Times, National Public Radio, the Kyiv Post, the Associated Press and Reuters, and to commentary from Indian Punchline; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and ASSANGE entries for this date are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

–   –   –

Russia considering downgrading relations with the West, the Kremlin says. From Reuters. MOSCOW — The Kremlin said today that Russia is considering a possible downgrading of diplomatic relations with the West due to the deeper involvement of the United States and its allies in the Ukraine war, though no decision has yet been made. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 26  Belousov discusses Ukraine war with U.S. defense secretary. From AFP. Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin spoke by phone on Tuesday to discuss the war in Ukraine. Russia’s Defense Ministry said the conversation took place “at the initiative of the American side.”READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

EU, Ukraine sign agreement on security guarantees for Kiev. From Tass. BRUSSELS — The European Union and Ukraine signed an agreement on security guarantees for Kiev, according to a Tass reporter. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed the pact for Ukraine. The presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, signed it for the EU. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Ukraine signs long-term security deals with Estonia, Lithuania, by Kateryna Denisova | The Kyiv Independent  Kyiv signed 10-year bilateral security agreements with Estonia and Lithuania at the Brussels summit on June 26, Ukraine’s Presidential Office reported. The two nations have joined 17 countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Germany, and France, that have signed similar . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Russia strikes Ukrainian military airfields by precision weapons — top brass. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian troops delivered a combined strike by precision weapons, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles against Ukrainian military airfields over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Russia sent 10K naturalized citizens to war in Ukraine, top investigator says. From the Moscow Times.  A senior federal law enforcement official said today that Russia has sent 10,000 recently naturalized citizens to fight in Ukraine amid Moscow’s manpower shortage. Male migrants who receive Russian citizenship. . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

Ukrainian soldiers, who are also musicians, are on a thank you tour in the U.S. Reported by Chuck Quirmbach | NPR  The Ukrainian soldiers are on a U.S tour to thank Americans for the latest round of military aid to Ukraine — and to court new support. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

–   –   –

Russia loses last Black Sea missile ship – Putin demands better protection. From Kyiv Post. Russia’s Navy needs to be protected from long-range missile attacks as soon as possible, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting Wednesday discussing shipbuilding. Last month, Ukraine’s Armed Forces destroyed a Russian Black Sea Fleet small missile ship . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 26  Ukraine’s Zelenskyy visits front-line troops under pressure from Russia’s onslaught in eastern areas, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Commander in Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on Wednesday visited troops in the eastern Donetsk region who have weathered fierce Russian ground and air assaults in recent months. The Kremlin’s army has escalated . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 25  Kyiv says any peace plan for Ukraine should be ‘fair’ and based on international law. From Reuters. KYIV — Ukraine has a clear understanding that any plan to end the war with Russia should be based on international law and the peace should be fair, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Tuesday. Commenting on a peace plan for Ukraine presented by . . . READ MORE . . .

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 21  Russia and DPRK rustle up an alliance, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  The sensational thing about the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership signed on June 19 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is that it reportedly provides for the two countries helping each other in the event of an attack by a third country. But . . . READ MORE . . .

NOTE: X-MA911TRUTHWALK.COM, THE URL FOR THIS BLOG, NO LONGER WORKS IN SEARCH ENGINES. WHAT STILL DOES IS: XMAWALKER.

For now, links to three June 26 reports from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date, so far, are HERE and HERE.) — MCM.

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 26  Assange arrives in Australia after pleading guilty to espionage on the way home. Reported by Adam Hancock | NPR  CANBERRA — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has finally stepped foot on home soil in Australia after a 14-year legal battle came to a close on Wednesday. He arrived in Canberra just hours after walking free from a court in the Northern Mariana Islands, a remote U.S. territory in . . . Click HERE to read and listen.

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 26  What did WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange change by releasing classified documents? A Martínez of NPR asks Alan Rusbridger, former editor-in-chief of The Guardian, about the legacy of Julian Assange, and the 2010 WikiLeaks publication of classified government information. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

–   –   –

FROM JUNE 26  What Julian Assange’s plea deal means for journalists who expose government secrets. Reported by David Folkenflik | NPR  Julian Assange avoids a trial or further jail time in the U.S. for posting classified documents, but his plea deal suggests journalists cannot count on sidestepping prosecution for publishing such government secrets. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

–   –   –

TO BE CONTINUED