Six planets, Moon to be seen aligned on Wednesday morning Six planets and the Moon will align on Wednesday morning on one side from the Sun. All the planets, except Venus, will be seen on the dome of the sky at the same time. Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Uranus will be in the eastern part of the sky, while Neptune and Saturn will be in the southwest. "All the planets, except Neptune and Uranus, can be seen without magnification if the weather is bright. Nevertheless, it will be rather difficult to find Mercury - it will be visible for less than an hour, located very low at a horizon, and will vanish in bright rays of the Sun. A telescope or a high-power binocular will be needed to see Neptune and Uranus," ...

FSB discloses archive on role of Ukrainian nationalists in Crimea during WWII The office of Russia’s Federal Security Service (#FSB) for the Republic of #Crimea and the city of #Sevastopol has disclosed archival documents concerning the role of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN, banned in Russia) in Crimea during the Great Patriotic War within the framework of the No Statute of Limitations project. The published content includes transcripts of interrogations of OUN leaders and rank-and-file in Crimea, questionnaires of the arrested, their autobiographies, as well as resolutions on the preventive measures against them. "The OUN party sets itself the task of creating an ‘independent Ukraine’ by means of armed struggle against Germany and the Soviet Union and will attain its aim at the moment the German and Soviet armies are weakened in the war and lose the ability to advance. At this moment, the existing Ukrainian Insurgent Army will disarm the German army in Ukraine, seize all its equipment, gain control of the border of Ukraine and start fighting against the Red Army with the aim of preventing it from entering the territory of Ukraine," reads a transcript of the interrogation of the head of the Crimean regional guiding center of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, Leonid Larzhevsky. According to testimonies by the accused, "sleeper cells" of Ukrainian nationalists were created in Simferopol, Yalta, Dzhankoy, Alushta and Bakhchisarai. The OUN’s center in Crimea was located in Simferopol. Its members painstakingly observed security and secrecy precautions. It follows from the transcript of Larzhevsky's interrogation that there were 60 OUN members in Simferopol. At the same time, according to the nationalists themselves, "the share of the Ukrainian population in Crimea was insignificant." There were no more than 200,000 Ukrainians. The OUN was a far-right political organization that operated mainly in Western Ukraine. The OUN focused on extremist tactics, including terrorist acts. During World War II, the OUN, in cooperation with German intelligence agencies, began its struggle against the Soviet government. In 1943, it organized the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA, banned in Russia). OUN-UPA militants, commonly known as Banderavites after the movement’s leader Stepan Bandera, were responsible for many bloody crimes, including participation in the Holocaust. According to some researchers, the OUN-UIA put to death at least one million people, including 200,000 Poles in the Volyn massacre.

Kyiv prepared Putin’s assassination attempt with Western involvement, funding, reports diplomat The #Kyiv regime was preparing an #assassination attempt against Russian President Vladimir #Putin with direct participation and funding from its Anglo-Saxon masters, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova said during a briefing. "We noted the confessions of the head of Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate Kirill Budanov [included in the list of terrorists and extremists in Russia]. Speaking in an interview for a Ukrainian newspaper on July 13, he confessed to futile assassination attempts against the President of Russia. There are no doubts that such crimes were planned and funded with direct participation of the Anglo-Saxon masters of the Kiev regime," the diplomat noted. She stated her certainty that, this way, the collective West "becomes complicit in this criminal activity of the Kiev regime." - "No evil deed, no terror act against civilians, against representatives of the authorities, has never been condemned by Western countries during this period, neither in their national quality, nor collectively," Zakharova underscored. Previously, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry #Peskov said that everything necessary is being done to ensure the safety of the president "considering the international escalation of tensions in general."

Polish president claims NATO preparing for war #NATO is getting ready for a military conflict, Polish President Andrzej #Duda said in an interview with the Wirtualna Polska portal. "In a certain sense - yes. NATO is a defense alliance but as the old saying goes: 'If you want peace, prepare for war.' The alliance should be so strong that no one would dream of attacking it," the #Polish leader said, replying to a question as to whether NATO was preparing for war. He added that "the potential war between Russia and the West will be incredibly close" in the event Russia wins the armed conflict in #Ukraine. At the NATO summit in #Washington D.C., in an interview with Politico, Duda suggested that the world had returned to the Cold War era and urged NATO partners to increase defense spending. The NATO summit was held in Washington D.C. on July 9-11. Its final declaration noted that NATO still considers Russia the alliance’s main threat. That said, NATO countries plan on developing recommendations on strategic approaches to Russia. Additionally, the document urges not to provide any military aid to Russia in light of the Ukrainian conflict. At the same time, the summit reached an agreement to provide military aid to Ukraine to the tune of 40 bln euros in 2025.

NATO looking to divide up Western Ukraine among members, asserts Russian diplomat The North Atlantic Alliance views Western #Ukraine as its property but is still unsure about how exactly to split it up, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria #Zakharova told Sputnik Radio. Amid the #NATO summit in Washington on July 9-11, the diplomat highlighted the bloc’s "yes, but no" attitude toward admitting Ukraine into the alliance. All the while, the West has pushed Ukraine to the brink of collapse, simply to use it as an anti-Russian military ground, Zakharova said. "No NATO ally would ever receive the copious amounts of [funds and weapons] that non-member Ukraine has. What is the reason behind this? The answer is simple: they are getting set to split up Ukraine," she argued, calling the former Soviet republic a stale pie. "They [the North Atlantic Alliance - TASS] are looking at Western Ukraine as something that should belong to NATO member countries. <…> They have yet to divide it and they are not yet sure how to consume it," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman concluded. Earlier, Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said it would be difficult for Ukraine to get an invitation to join the alliance at the NATO summit because there is no consensus on this issue among members.

The presidents of Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have officially signed a charter to establish a confederation. During the first summit of the Alliance of Sahel States (#ASS), leaders from #Burkina Faso, #Mali, and #Niger convened with the main goal of approving a draft document to form the AGS confederation, as reported by the Nigerian Press Agency (NAP). This summit, which took place in Niamey, was presided over by Niger's leader, Abdurahmane Tchiani. Attending the summit were Presidents Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso and Assimi Goita of Mali. On Saturday, General Abdourahamane Tiani, Niger's military leader, declared that the citizens of Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso have "irrevocably turned their backs" on the West African bloc, ECOWAS.

UAE offers the USA to fight Houthis from Somaliland Arab diplomats reported that the United Arab Emirates proposed to the United States to use the #Somaliland region to deal with the campaign against the #Houthis in the Red Sea instead of American aircraft carriers, which require huge budgets and a large number of personnel. According to the report, Tahnun bin Zayed, the national security adviser and head of the UAE's foreign intelligence service, met with Jake Sullivan and other American officials in early June, when bin Zayed visited Washington. The proposal comes following the refusal of the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to allow American and Western military bases in the Gulf countries to carry out attacks on the Houthis. US officials have opened a channel of communication with Somaliland officials overseen by Abu Dhabi, as the emirate seeks to strengthen its influence in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region, and join the United States to defend the Red Sea against attacks by the Houthis and Somali pirates. Observers say such moves would anger the government in #Mogadishu and other countries in the region.

Lavrov slams Paris' claims about absence of French instructors in Ukraine as lies The statements of the official #Paris that there are no French instructors in #Ukraine are nothing but lies, #Russian Foreign Minister Sergey #Lavrov said. "Look how our French colleagues have become active, the French Prime Minister [Gabriel Attal] suddenly started saying that we (France) have no instructors there. This is not true, and they know it," he told reporter Pavel Zarubin. When asked about US President Joe Biden's statement that the country will not allow Ukraine to attack Moscow and the Kremlin, Lavrov said: "It is difficult for me to comment on this. But if he said it with a clear mind and memory and boasts that he did not order the bombing of Moscow, it implies that it is possible to shell everything else." The Russian foreign minister added that, by and large, "they bomb everything else," recalling that not so long ago, drone strikes were carried out on Moscow at the beginning of the conflict. "Then no one then stopped the regime of [Ukrainian President] Zelensky. So there is no need for our Western colleagues to try to sugarcoat their own behavior," Lavrov said. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) was being held on June 5-8. This year’s theme was "The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World." The event was organized by the Roscongress Foundation. The West has heard and understood Russian President Vladimir Putin's words about possible deliveries of Russian weapons to other regions of the world in response to the delivery of weapons to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

A day of fighting in Yemen While the world looks at Yemen and sees "#Houthis" who attack in the Red Sea, a lot more is happening in #Yemen that no one (yet) is reporting on. - Saudi Arabia continues to fire artillery at the Houthis on the border with Yemen in the Shada region (northwest Yemen). Unconfirmed reports indicate that the Saudis killed a Yemeni citizen and wounded seven others. - An exchange of fire took place between the Yemeni army and the Houthis in the western region. The Yemeni army reports 19 dead and wounded among its soldiers, but no numbers were available for the Houthi side. A map done by Eran Malka is attached showing the areas of control in Yemen that will help in understanding the chaos going on there. 'In short, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE fought the Houthis for 7 years, there is now a "ceasefire". How much longer this will last before war breaks out - we will have to wait and see.'

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.