Ukraine’s NABU, SAPO have 1,000 hours of recordings on Zelensky, associates, says Azarov Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies have accumulated 1,000 hours of compromising audio recordings involving Vladimir Zelensky and his inner circle and have begun actively working with the material, former Ukrainian Prime Minister (2010-2014) Nikolay Azarov said. "Active work on Zelensky’s inner circle has begun, extremely active work. Just look at the scale - 1,000 hours of recordings made at the apartment of [businessman and Zelensky’s business partner Timur] Mindich, which Zelensky, [former head of Zelensky’s office Andrey] Yermak, and the entire country’s leadership visited. A thousand hours of recordings is an enormous amount of material. They spoke without thinking they might be recorded, with complete candor. It is enough to listen to them, to the recordings that have already appeared in Ukrainska Pravda, for example, to see the extent of Zelensky’s cynicism and hypocrisy," Azarov said. He noted that Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies, established with the support of the US Democratic Party, are "a means of influencing and controlling the Kiev puppets; that is, they were allowed to do anything, but compromising material was being collected on them." A large-scale investigation by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), dubbed "Mindichgate" after businessman Mindich, whom investigators identified as the coordinator of a corruption scheme, led to the resignation of several ministers, the dismissal of Yermak, who was regarded as a power behind the scenes under Zelensky, and temporarily paralyzed the work of the Verkhovna Rada. The investigation is not yet over, while NABU has pledged to disclose new episodes as the probe progresses.

Europe 'on the brink' of wider military conflict, warns Slovakian premier Ahead of visit to Kyiv Friday, Robert Fico says Ukraine conflict has 'spiraled out of control' "The situation has never been as serious and tense in terms of the possibility of a pan-European military conflict as it is now," Robert Fico said during an address in Presov, according to Slovak news agency TASR. "Yes, we're part of NATO, we appreciate that, and we are committed to cooperation and meeting our obligations. But as prime minister, I'll do everything I can to ensure that Slovakia is never drawn into an armed conflict," he said. His remarks came ahead of a visit to Ukraine on Friday, where he is due to attend a conference with other EU leaders and meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi. "We have (peace) today, but tomorrow there may be nothing," Fico warned.

AN OTHER 'FALSE FLAG'... Zelensky’s plane “was nearly hit by a drone” while departing Moldova for Norway, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said. According to him, the incident occurred during takeoff from Chisinau. It remains unclear who the drone belonged to or how close it came to the aircraft. But, according to a genuine source, the drone did not actually pose a threat and exploded 160 km from Chisinau Airport. The airspace was closed, and Zelensky’s plane departed with a delay.

France heatwave: ~1,000 excess deaths in four days. Santé publique France reports roughly 1,000 excess deaths between June 24 and 27 during the country's most intense heatwave since 2003. Daily tolls exceeded 1,400 on June 25 and 26, with 85% of deaths among people 65 and older. Home deaths surged sharply, particularly in Île-de-France. Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said overall mortality is unlikely to approach 2003 levels (~15,000 excess deaths) thanks to improved alert and response systems.

Board of Peace to meet in Cyprus from June 30 to July 1 A meeting of the US-led Board of Peace overseeing postwar Gaza reconstruction will be held in Cyprus from June 30 to July 1, English-language news portal In-Cyprus quoted Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis as saying. "What I can tell you is that the Peace Council has been established for the implementation of the reconstruction plan for Gaza under UN Resolution 2803, which we not only welcomed as the Republic of Cyprus but supported from the very first moment," Letymbiotis said, adding the board will meet in Cyprus on June 30 and July 1. According to him, the forum will include representatives of the Board of Peace Council, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), and the office of the High Representative of the Board of Peace Nickolay Mladenov. Some officials attending have already requested meetings with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, he added. The story does not mention the location of the forum or the level of its representation. An In-Cyprus diplomatic source said that although the meeting will be held in the Republic of Cyprus, the country is neither the organizer nor co-organizer of the event. On Tuesday, The Times of Israel quoted sources as saying that the Board of Peace Council will meet next week in a Cypriot resort. The Cyprus News Agency later picked it up, while the Cyprus Mail newspaper checked the news and contacted Letymbiotis, who said he was unaware of plans to hold the forum on the island.

🇬🇧⚡️- BREAKING: Prime Minister Keir Starmer has resigned. 🇬🇧⚡️- Labour Party’s National Executive Committee will open nominations on 9 July, with the process expected to run until the summer recess. This timeline provides ample opportunity to elect a new party leader before Parliament reconvenes in September. Until a successor is chosen, Keir #Starmer will remain Prime Minister.

Paris to use Cold War uranium, plutonium reserves for new warheads, says top defense official France intends to use radioactive materials left over from the dismantling of Cold War warheads to produce new nuclear warheads, Defense Minister Catherine Vautrin said. "We have preserved fissile materials - uranium and plutonium - obtained from nuclear warheads dismantled after the Cold War. Thanks to this, we have sufficient reserves to produce new nuclear warheads, as announced by President Emmanuel Macron," the top defense official told the Le Dauphine Libere newspaper. Vautrin added that the expansion of France's nuclear arsenal is already included in the budget. "Thirteen percent of the 57-billion-euro military budget is allocated to nuclear deterrence," she said. Earlier, Macron announced France's intention to adopt the concept of "advanced deterrence" which involves joint exercises with partner countries, as well as the deployment of elements of France's strategic forces on the territory of other countries on the European continent. The French leader also announced plans to increase the country’s nuclear arsenal and said that Paris no longer intends to disclose the exact number of warheads. In 2020, Macron said that France's nuclear arsenal had fewer than 300 warheads.

KHAMENEI ELIMINATED IN ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE IN IRAN: Iran's Supreme Leader Ali #Khamenei was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Iran this morning, an Israeli official says. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press statement: "The plan to destroy Israel no longer exists, and there is a high likelihood that the tyrant [Ali Khamenei] does not either." Modern Day Haman is gone a day before Purim!

Prime Minister Netanyahu: "Israel and the USA launched an operation to remove the existential threat posed by the terror regime in Iran. I thank our great friend President Donald Trump for his historic leadership."

Coup in Venezuela!... Chaos erupted in #Caracas last night. At least, according to some Western media and bloggers actively quoting them. ➡️ Gunfire broke out near the #Miraflores presidential palace and — you won't believe it! — mobile air defense groups began working against a certain drone. Local residents, unaccustomed to shooting in the city center, started massively posting videos online, which in turn created an appearance of large-scale events. Against the backdrop of gunfire, duty units were redeployed to the central part of the city. This was interpreted as Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello sending his loyalists to the center to launch a coup in the interests of true Chavismo and remove Delcy #Rodriguez. Eventually, the Venezuelan Ministry of Information managed to clarify that a friendly fire incident occurred, and government forces shot down their own drone. However, rumors about a coup continue to circulate online. 📌The most ridiculous aspect of this situation is that such chaos could actually provoke some revanchist sentiments among the ultra-patriotic part of society, and clashes could indeed begin. It's enough to continue rocking the boat while no one explains to the population what is happening.