Houthis say they attacked US aircraft carrier in Arabian Sea The #Houthis from #Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement have attacked the US Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian sea and two US destroyers in the Red Sea, the movement’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said. According to the spokesman, the Houthi air forces conducted two military operations. "In the course of one of the operations, they attacked the American USS Abraham#Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea with the use of cruise missiles and drones when the American enemy was preparing for hostile operations against our country," he said, adding that the Houthis also attacked "two American destroyers in the Red Sea with ballistic missiles and drones." The operations, in his words, lasted for eight hours. He also said that the Houthis place responsibility for "turning the Red Sea into a zone of military tension" and the impact on navigation in the area on Washington and London. The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV channel reported earlier on Tuesday that American troops had attacked a civilian car in the As Sawma’ah District. The Dubai-based Al Arabiya television channel said, citing a source, that an American drone had attacked a car carrying Houthi leaders. Apart from that, the US delivered a strike on Houthi military targets in the Al Bayda governorate.

Russia may achieve all its goals in Ukraine in 2025 Russia may achieve all its goals in Ukraine next year, if the situation remains that "grim" for Ukrainian servicemen, The Washington Post said. According to the newspaper, the Ukrainian troops "are desperately trying to hold the line in the country’s east but are losing ground." - "Visions of an absolute victory are fading. Western support is also sagging," the Washington Post emphasized. In this regard, "the prospect of Ukraine settling for a compromise with Russia <…> is getting easier to envision," the newspaper pointed out. On June 14, Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with the Foreign Ministry set out the country’s conditions for settling the situation in Ukraine. Among them are the withdrawal of the Ukrainian armed forces from Donbass and Novorossiya and Kiev’s refusal to join NATO. In addition, Russia wants all Western sanctions against it lifted and demands that Ukraine commit to a non-aligned and nuclear-free status.

American deployment in the Middle East: 🔶 Dozens of additional U.S. troops deployed to Cyprus (+700 from the UK) to assist with possible Lebanon evac 🔶 7 fewer U.S. warships than 2 weeks ago (from ~30% to 25% of the deployed fleet) 🔶 Navy’s only oiler in the region ran aground & towed to Oman 🔶 In August, the U.S. surged military assets into the region to deter Iran from attacking Israel. At its peak, this represented approximately 30% of the deployed U.S. Navy fleet. With the departure of the Roosevelt CSG, plus a few destroyers & logistics ships, it’s now around 25%.

NATO invades Russia in Kursk Region, ex-US intel officer says #NATO has invaded #Russia, Scott #Ritter, a former US Marine Corps intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector, said, commenting on the situation in the borderline Kursk Region. "What happened in Kursk is that NATO invaded Russia," he told the Danny Haiphong YouTube channel. "This isn’t ‘Russia invaded Ukraine so that the Ukrainians get to attack Russia.’ No, Russia didn’t invade Ukraine. Russia responded to the Ukrainian war crimes that were put in place after the 2014 Maidan coup," Ritter pointed out. "The force that’s going in is the force that’s handbuilt by NATO," he emphasized. Ritter added that the Russian army was learning from the situation in the Kursk Region and would use that experience in the future. On August 6, Russia’s borderline Kursk Region came under a massive attack from Ukraine. According to the latest reports, 12 civilians have been killed, while 121 people, including ten children, have suffered injuries. Over 120,000 people have either left or been evacuated from the Kursk Region. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost up to 2,030 troops, 35 tanks and 31 armored personnel carriers since fighting began in the Kursk area.

Von der Leyen vows to turn EU into defense union Ursula von der #Leyen who hopes to be re-elected as European Commission (EC) President, has vowed to transform the #EU into a #defense bloc in her political program published by the #EC. "Our work in the next five years will be focused on building a true European Defense Union," the document said. Von der Leyen added that EU countries "will always retain responsibility for their own troops, from doctrine to deployment, but there is a lot Europe can do to support and coordinate efforts to strengthen the defense industrial base, innovation and the Single Market."

Houthis claim attacking US aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in Red Sea #Houthi rebels from the #Yemen-based Ansar Allah movement have delivered a strike on the US aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower in the Red Sea, the movement’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said. "Our missile troops have conducted an operation attacking the US aircraft carrier Eisenhower with ballistic and cruise missiles in the northern part of the Red Sea. The operation has successfully achieved its goals," he told the Houthi-owned Al Masirah TV channel. Additionally, the rebels attacked the Transworld Navigator bulk carrier with ballistic missiles in the Arabian Sea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P1qllFpbEs

NATO shouldn’t accept Ukraine due to risk of nuclear escalation with Russia #NATO shouldn't promise to welcome Ukraine into the alliance in order to de-escalate tensions with Russia, which have increased after the start of the Ukrainian conflict, The 'American Conservative' said. According to the magazine, NATO and the US in particular should agree to talks with Russia to de-escalate nuclear risks that have increased due to the #Ukrainian conflict. The magazine pointed out that this task has become even more important following the recent accession to NATO of formerly neutral #Finland and #Sweden, which has made Russia even more reliant on its nuclear arsenal. The article said that the nuclear deal between NATO and #Moscow must include commitments not to admit Ukraine to the alliance and not to deploy the bloc's troops and infrastructure on Ukrainian territory. NATO Secretary General Jens #Stoltenberg said on June 17 that the alliance's member states had begun consultations on the need to put nuclear weapons on alert. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry #Peskov said that Stoltenberg’s statements were yet another escalation of tensions.

Macron does not Exclude to Resign as French President, French radio Europe 1 reports Emmanuel #Macron is discussing with his entourage the possibility of #resigning as President of France if the “pro-Russian” forces win. Radio station Europe 1 reports this. According to the publication, defeat in the parliamentary elections could force the French leader to take a desperate step. "The resignation of the president is not taboo. Yes, today we have to consider all scenarios," Europe 1 quotes an unnamed source. Macron’s party suffered a crushing defeat in the elections to the #European Parliament. This fiasco forced the French President to announce the dissolution of the National Assembly and call for early parliamentary elections. Analysts, assessing the chances of Macron’s party, agree that representatives of right-wing forces, who are considered pro-Russian in the Elysee Palace, will win the parliamentary elections in the country. More, Emmanuel Macron has recently advocated not only for the continuation of arms supplies to the Kyiv regime, but also openly declared his intention to send units of the French army to #Ukraine. Moreover, Paris even tried to create a corresponding coalition of several European states. In particular, according to the French leader’s idea, #Germany was supposed to take part in it. However, #Berlin did not appreciate this idea and refused to send Bundeswehr #troops to Ukraine.

Macron may announce deployment of military instructors to Ukraine on June 6 French President Emmanuel #Macron may announce the deployment of French military instructors to Ukraine on June 6, the RFI radio station said. According to the radio station, the French leader may do this during the commemorative events on the 80th anniversary of the Normandy Landings. French retired Colonel Peer De Jong, co-founder of the Themiis Institute dealing with security problems, said in an interview with the Valeurs Actuelles weekly that "the French have been present in Ukraine for a long time." In his words, the whole things is only about increasing the number of instructors. He said earlier that he could hardly imagine a situation when #Kyiv wins a victory. Le Monde reported on Thursday that Macron is evidently seeking to form a EU coalition to send instructors to Ukraine. This issue was raised during his visit to Germany on May 26-28, in particular during talks with Chancellor Olaf #Scholz. Although Germany is still very cautious in its approaches to the issue of sending its troops to Ukraine, some other countries, for instance the Baltic republics, are ready to join the so-called coalition.

Ukraine’s Syrsky approves admission of French instructors to military training centers Commander-in-Chief of #Ukraine’s armed forces Alexander #Syrsky has signed documents that will allow #French instructors to visit #training centers. "I welcome France's initiative to send instructors to Ukraine to train Ukrainian servicemen. I have already signed documents that will allow the first French instructors to visit our training centers soon and familiarize themselves with their infrastructure and personnel," he wrote on his Telegram channel following online talks with French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also took part in the negotiations. Syrsky expressed hope that Kiev's other Western partners would join Paris' initiative. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out the possibility of sending Western countries’ ground troops to the zone of the special military operation. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky supported this idea, admitting that he could not publicly ask Western partners to send troops to the country, but would like them to do so and would never refuse. The chief of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergey Naryshkin, said that according to Moscow's sources, this contingent could reach 2,000 men. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that French instructors along with other representatives of military and special services of European countries were already functioning in Ukraine. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the appearance of foreign military contingents in Ukraine would be fraught with extremely negative consequences, including irreparable ones.