🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦 Situation on the Druzhkovka direction, Donetsk Oblast:

Russian commanders achieve a significant tactical breakthrough after more than a year of stalemate on this sector

Over the last few weeks, Russian forces have significantly intensified their assault operations southwest of Druzhkivka, capturing seven different villages.

In the west, Russian forces captured the tactical heights north of Toretskoye after months of fighting. This, combined with the clearance of the remaining northern part of the village, allowed Russia to break through Ukrainian defences on the heights to the north and capture large swaths of the forested gullies south of Gruzka River.

To the east, Russian forces cleared the villages of Novopavlovka and Pavlovka, which were previously in the grey-zone, and used them to advance further north up the eastern bank of the Kazeny Torets River. They were able to village hop, capturing Priyut, Torskoye, and then Toretskoye, before infiltrating east into the villages of Petrovka and Raiskoye. Additionally, some assault groups crossed the Kazeny Torets River and captured Krasny Kut.

This puts Russian troops less than 4 miles (~6 km) southwest of the city of Druzhkovka.

🔗 AMK Mapping

🇪🇺❌🗣 EU leaders, to compensate for their impotence and lack of action in preventing the Ceuta migrant crisis and discouraging Morocco from organising another assault, demand tighter censorship on social media

Commissioner Henna Virkkunen met Meta and TikTok after Brussels blamed “misinformation” creating panic among EU citizens and governments at the sight of tens of thousands of migrants invading Spanish territory.

The platforms agreed to a dedicated fact-checking channel with the EU.

🔗 Europa

🇦🇪🤝🇮🇷 The UAE has released several billion dollars of Iran's frozen assets held in UAE banks, including 2 tonnes of gold worth $283 million, with the goal being that Iran spares the UAE from future attacks, according to multiple senior sources in Tehran with knowledge of the transfers.

The assets were flown to Iran aboard a Boeing 737-7KK (A6-RJA) operated by UAE Royal Jet, from Abu Dhabi to Tehran's Mehrabad Airport and Karaj's Payam Airport on August 11 and 12, each staying one hour before returning.

On June 8 the same plane flew from Abu Dhabi to Tehran's Mehrabad transferring $3 billion, multiple Iranian officials told Reuters in June.

@CIG_telegram

🔼 🇺🇸 🕯 The S&P 500 surges above 7,800 for the first time in history, now worth a record $70.8 trillion.

📎 KobeissiLetter

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 Earlier today, the USS George Washington (CVN 73) Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS Robert Smalls (CG 62) Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser and USS Shoup (DDG 86) Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA guided missile destroyer were photographed traveling westbound in the Singapore Strait

The George Washington is likely going to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln.

@CIG_telegram

🇮🇷⚔️🇺🇸📝: How does the loss of the U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf hinder the U.S. Navy's ability to maintain ships deployed in the Arabian Sea for long periods of time?

The US Navy and US Fifth Fleet are operating a fleet of about 20 ships in the northern Arabian Sea centered around two carrier strike groups - Lincoln and Bush - and an amphibious ready group - Boxer.

The loss of access to bases in and around the Persian Gulf means that all the food have to be procured either from local sources in and around the Indian Ocean, or brought in from East Asia.

To replenish the ships at sea with food, there are four ships available: USNS Arctic, Cesar Chavez, Wally Schirra and Alan Shepard. Some of these ships departed from bases in East Asia over a month ago.

Food, depending on the type, has specific shelf life. The Navy is well aware of this. Nuclear submarines load up all the food they need for months when they deploy. Surface ships have the advantage to receive fresh food on a more regular basis.

However, because of the number of ships on station, the limited number of store ships (four), and the elongated distance from supply sources, means that the food onboard ship will be of the type that can be stored, frozen or preserved for long duration. This means less fresh fruit & vegetables, or milk (butter there is good old fashion nuclear milk - if you know, you know).

What this story tells us, is that we need more logistics to keep our Navy at sea in a contested environment. In 2015, the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command re-introduced the concept of commercial shipping transferring fuel to Navy underway replenishment ships.

What we have lost are the commercial ships that can transfer dry stores and ammunition to restock.

Currently, the four stores ships have to shuttle between bases to the forward deployed fleet.

Remember, deployed warships are not cruise ships in the Caribbean. This does not mean we cannot do better, but admirals never like to prioritize and fund logistics over warships.

🔗 Sal Mercogliano

🇷🇺 🇯🇵 🇯🇵 Putin visited Etorofu Island on Thursday, marking his first-ever trip to the Russian-occupied Northern Territories claimed by Japan. The visit comes a day after Putin described the decades-old territorial dispute as effectively settled by the outcome of World War II.

📎 Arin Yumi