Western allies are starting to sweat about the fate of Ukraine's counteroffensive

Thursday, June 22, 2023
BY JULIA CLAIRE & CROOKED MEDIA

- Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) ([link removed]) shutting down a Fox News reporter in a way only he can

In the weeks since Ukraine’s counteroffensive began, progress has been slow, and western officials are starting to grow concerned.

* Two western officials and a senior United States military official told CNN that the early phases of Ukraine’s counteroffensive are “not meeting expectations on any front,” ([link removed]) and Russian forces are showing more competence than early assessments expected. Russian lines of defense are reportedly proving to be well-fortified, and they have had success pushing back Ukraine with missile attacks, mines, and air attacks.

* The officials made sure to stress that the counteroffensive is still in its early days, and Western allies “remain optimistic” that Ukraine will be able to make territorial gains as the mission progresses. They also mentioned that Ukrainian forces have skillfully adapted to Russian tactics, and have had more success targeting and shooting down Russian aircrafts of late.

* Yevgeny Prigozhin, who heads the Russian Wagner Mercenary Group (and whom we should always remember is an unreliable narrator) poured gasoline on his weird feud with the Kremlin’s top brass on Thursday ([link removed]) when he accused them of lying to President Vladimir Putin and the Russian people about the scale of Russian losses and setbacks in Ukraine. The Wagner Group led the Russian capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut last month, and Prigozhin has taken a defiant, public “I’m doin’ all the work around here and I get no respect,” stance with the Russian government.

Russian and Ukrainian officials are trading accusations of military sabotage that seem to point towards further escalation of the conflict.

* Russian-backed officials in southern Ukraine have accused Kyiv of using long-range missiles supplied by the United Kingdom to strike the Chonhar Bridge ([link removed]) , which connects the Kherson region (mainland Ukraine) to the Crimean peninsula. The strike came just two days after the Kremlin threatened to attack Ukraine’s “decision-making centers” if western-supplied missiles were used against the Russian-annexed Crimea.


* On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the country’s intelligence services have warned him that Russia is considering carrying out a “terrorist act” on a nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia ([link removed]) . The plant is currently under Russian occupation, and Zelenskyy said he had received information that the occupying troops were planning an attack that would release radiation to the surrounding region. The Kremlin responded later in the day with spokesman Dmitry Peskov calling it “another lie” shortly after Zelenskyy’s video was released. The Kremlin’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov was quoted on Thursday as saying that the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Mariano Grossi would meet with the head of Russia’s state nuclear company in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad on Friday.

Now that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is underway, both countries are trying to maintain a posture of strength in the face of escalating violence, and western allies are waiting with bated breath hoping that their efforts and aid are enough to help Ukraine regain its territory.

Pride is all about queer joy, celebrating how far we’ve come, and fighting to make things better. It’s also a little bit about outfits. The Crooked Store’s Pride collection has everything you need to celebrate and spread the word with new Fuck Bans merch, Criminalize Straight tees, and our Leave Trans Kids Alone You Absolute Freaks collection.

Pick up a piece and hit the streets with a message. Head to crooked.com/store ([link removed]) to shop.
[link removed]

Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary of the fateful Dobbs decision, which rescinded the constitutional right to abortion. New research shows that, as many pro-choice activists long predicted, the consequences for women’s health have been devastating ([link removed]) . A poll by KFF, a health-research nonprofit, uncovered that, beyond simply restricting access to abortion, the end of Roe increased maternal mortality, affected how pregnancy-related medical emergencies are managed, and triggered an increase in requests for sterilization. The poll was conducted on a random sample of 569 board-certified OBGYNs across the country. Many of them reported that post-Roe restrictions have made their jobs more difficult and legally precarious than before, all while leading to worse patient outcomes. Seventy percent of respondents said the Dobbs ruling has widened severe racial inequities in maternal health care. Dobbs immediately rendered
common but serious patient emergencies such as miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and other complications immediately subject to delays and denials of care. More than half of the doctors polled said the decision has broadly hurt their profession, and has made it harder to attract new OBGYNs to the field.

The Titanic tourist submersible apparently imploded under intense water pressure and its five passengers are presumed dead ([link removed]) , according to officials.


House Speaker Kevin McCarthy shelved a sham impeachment vote against President Biden introduced by MAGA whackjob Rep. Lauren Boebert ([link removed]) (R-CO), because even most Republican lawmakers didn’t want to take it.


The United States Census Bureau confirmed that Hispanic Texans outnumber White Texans for the first time after trending in that direction for years ([link removed]) .


Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) explained why she reportedly called Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) “A little bitch” on the House floor by telling Semafor ([link removed]) : “She has genuinely been a nasty little bitch to me.” Love this for them!


We finally know who put up $500,000 in bail for Rep. George Santos (R-NY) after he was arrested by federal authorities, and it turns out it was just his father and his aunt ([link removed]) , who are, we assume, the last two people on this cursed planet who can stand him.


The North Atlantic Ocean is experiencing off-the-charts surface temperatures, particularly around the United Kingdom and Ireland ([link removed]) , where an “exceptional” marine heat wave is in progress.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has agreed to fight Tesla CEO in a cage match ([link removed]) , because we live in the dumbest possible reality. We can only hope this is a “Two billionaires enter, no billionaires leave,” situation.

On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a comprehensive congressional effort to set new rules and regulations for artificial intelligence ([link removed]) , one that would more closely connect A.I. experts with lawmakers as they try to catch up to the European Union’s considerable head start in creating guardrails to protect the population from A.I. through legislation. Schumer outlined a new process by which Congress would field input from industry representatives, scholars, and consumer advocates in order to get lawmakers (who, to put it generously, are not tech-savvy people) up-to-speed on the complicated topic and thereby expedite regulation. Key lawmakers across the upper chamber will be deputized by Schumer to develop bipartisan proposals to address concerns about A.I.’s potential impact on privacy, intellectual property, and national security. Lawmakers are under the gun to create new
protections against AI-related abuses while the technology is still nascent. The Biden administration and other federal agencies have launched their own initiatives to keep A.I. in check in recent months, but Schumer’s plan is the most concerted congressional effort thus far. “Chuck Schumer vs. A.I.” is, of course, the battle royale we have all long wanted to see.
[link removed]

If you’re looking for better sleep, you need to upgrade your mattress with Helix.

The Helix lineup offers twenty unique mattresses, including the award-winning Luxe collection, the newly released and high-end Helix Elite collection, a mattress designed for big and tall sleepers and even a mattress made just for kids!

Take the Helix Sleep Quiz and find your perfect mattress in under two minutes - and it’s shipped straight to your door, free of charge.

They even offer a one-hundred night trial and a ten to fifteen year warranty to try out your new Helix mattress.

Side sleeper? Choose a model with memory foam layers to provide optimal pressure relief.

There are also models with a more responsive foam to cradle your body for essential support in stomach and back sleeping positions. Plus, check out enhanced cooling features to keep you from overheating while you sleep.

It’s no wonder Helix has over twelve-thousand five star reviews!

Helix is offering twenty percent off all mattress orders AND two free pillows for our readers. Go to helixsleep.com/hysteria ([link removed]) .

This is their best offer yet and it won’t last long!

With Helix, better sleep starts now.

A federal judge struck down a Florida statute banning state Medicaid payments for transgender health care ([link removed]) on Wednesday, the second blow to anti-trans legislation in Florida in just two weeks. We love to see it.

Two high-profile claims of 2020 election fraud in Fulton County, GA, were formally dismissed by state officials on Thursday ([link removed]) .
[link removed]

============================================================
** (http://)
. . . . . .
** ([link removed])

© Crooked Media 2023. All Rights Reserved.
If you want to manage which emails you receive from Crooked Media, ** update your preferences here ([link removed])
. If you prefer to opt out of all Crooked Media communications, you may ** unsubscribe ([link removed])
.
** Share this newsletter ([link removed])

7162 Beverly Blvd #212, Los Angeles, CA, 90036
** Powered by Mailchimp ([link removed])
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Link ([link removed])