"It has been one year since Hamas brutally attacked Israel, and in that time we have witnessed an exceptional show of strength and resilience from the Israeli people in the face of unimaginable tragedy. We have also seen those in America and throughout the West celebrate these horrific acts. As veterans of the U.S. military, we fought for a future where peace and security prevail. For that world to exist, the values that America and Israel share must be defended. Today, we remember the victims — including dozens of Americans — and those still being held unjustly. We support Israel and its efforts to bring justice to those responsible for this dark day."

CENTCOM: 'We attacked 15 Houthi sites in Yemen' U.S. Central Command (#CENTCOM) carried out airstrikes targeting #Houthi positions in #Yemen. This operation was part of a broader effort to counter Houthi attacks on maritime vessels in the Red Sea. The strikes were aimed at neutralizing Houthi military capabilities, particularly in response to their continued aggression against commercial and military ships. CENTCOM reported that 15 Houthi targets were hit, with the goal of enhancing maritime security and protecting freedom of navigation in the region. The Houthis had escalated their attacks on international shipping, including recent missile and unmanned vessel strikes on oil tankers in the Red Sea. These actions have posed a significant threat to vessels linked to the U.S., the UK, and other coalition partners.

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.

Romania and Bulgaria to create a joint Special Operations Center in the Black Sea region The plans to create the center were announced back in 2023, but the memorandum between the defense ministries of the two countries was signed only on July 10, 2024. The headquarters of the joint command will be based in Romania. The stated goal of creating this structure is to "ensure security and stability in the Black Sea region". Earlier, on July 1, the Black Sea Mine Countermeasures Operational Group (MCM BLACK SEA) began operations, comprising naval forces from #Turkey (the supply ship TCG Gungor Durmus A574, the minesweeper M-270 AKÇAY), Bulgaria (the minesweeper M-33 STRUMA) and #Romania 🇷🇴 (the minesweeper MCM ROS "Junior Lieutenant Alexandru Axente"). The ships participated in the NATO military exercise Breeze 2024, which took place from July 4 to 14, 2024 in the Black Sea waters near #Bulgaria. ✨While the Black Sea Fleet is struggling with bureaucracy with varying success, the "peace-loving" #NATO is increasing its activity and coordination in the Black Sea region in opposition to #Russia.

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.

Iranian ship ignores distress call from ship struck by Houthis "This continued malign and reckless behavior by the #Iranian-backed #Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden," said U.S. Central Command. There are Good Samaritans, and then, as the Iranian warship IRIN Jamaran demonstrated on Saturday, there are Bad Samaritans. The Iranian frigate was some eight nautical miles from the M/V Verbena—a Ukrainian-owned and Polish-operated cargo carrier flagged in Palau—that was struck with two missiles by Iran-backed Houthi terrorists on June 13. On Saturday, the crew issued a distress call and said it was abandoning ship. “M/V Anna Meta responded to render assistance. Anna Meta has recovered the mariners and is transporting them to safety. The crew abandoned ship due to continued fires and an inability to control them,” stated U.S. Central Command. “The Iranian frigate IRIN Jamaran was eight nautical miles from M/V Verbena and did not respond to the distress call,” CENTCOM said. “This continued malign and reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.” “CENTCOM will continue to act with partners to hold the Houthis accountable and degrade their military capabilities,” it added. “The Islamic Republic of Iran and its terrorist proxies in Yemen, the Houthis, are literally pirates,” wrote Israel Nitzan, former acting consul general of Israel in New York. “They pose a threat to international commerce, peace and security. They must be stopped.”

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.

Road clearance operations continue in New Caledonia To secure these operations, internal security forces remain mobilized, as here with the French Police Nationale in the Magenta district of Nouméa.

Medvedev gives warning amid talk of deploying Western troops to Ukraine The deployment of Western troops to Ukraine would be akin to these countries declaring war on #Russia, and lead to a catastrophe on a global scale, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry #Medvedev said. "Sending their troops to the territory of former Ukraine will mean their direct involvement in the war. We will have to respond to this. And, alas, not on the territory of former #Ukraine," he wrote on his Telegram channel. He added that in this case, Western leaders "won’t be able to hide on Capitol Hill, or in the Elysee Palace, or on 10 Downing Street."- "A global catastrophe will ensue," Medvedev concluded. According to him, the cause of the discussion on dispatching Western troops to Ukraine, launched by French President Emmanuel #Macron, is a "shameless calculation for political bonus points." "Some kind of a total degradation of the ruling class in the West is underway," Medvedev clarified and reiterated that the extent of the catastrophic nature of such a clash was something "Kennedy and Khrushchev could grasp over 60 years ago." - "Yet current immature imbeciles who got to power in the West keep failing to recognize this," he added.

British maritime agency reports another incident off Yemen coast Another incident has been reported off the #Yemen coast, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (#UKMTO) said in a statement. "UKMTO has received a report of an incident 14 nautical miles southwest of Al Mukha, Yemen," the statement reads. "Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution," the agency added. According to the British maritime security company Ambrey, a Malta-flagged container ship came under attack while on route from Djibouti to the Saudi port of Jeddah. The ship was reportedly targeted with three missiles. According to Reuters, "Ambrey assessed that the vessel was targeted due to its listed operator’s ongoing trade with Israel."