VICTORY CHRONICLES - DAY 167 - Ukrainian World Congress

Above: Crimea holiday makers watch a gigantic smoke cloud rise over an occupied air field. Screenshot from video via Euromaidan Press

Ukraine struck a russian-occupied air base in Crimea on Tuesday, sending up a massive cloud of black smoke and leaving locals wondering what was happening. Occupation authorities acknowledged an explosion but said that it was too early to give a cause.
An unnamed Ukrainian armed forces spokesperson confirmed that the Crimea strike was from Ukraine. This could mark a dramatic shift in the war, making the illegal occupiers unsafe in former havens. It is not clear what weapons capability Ukraine has other than aircraft that could strike Crimea.
Saki Air Base in Novofedorivka was built by the russo-soviets as an air force training ground. War analysts call the strike crucial for denying the invaders quick air response in the coming counter assault on Kherson.

Above: Russian lies are poison for the free world. Graphic via Global Voices

Big Western social media giants have taken measures to limit the spread of russian lies, but many languages and locations fall through the cracks. A study by the New York Times showed that russian lies spread more fluidly, for example, in Spanish and Arabic.
“The result has been a geographical and cultural asymmetry in the information war over Ukraine that has helped undercut American- and European-led efforts to put broad international pressure on Mr. Putin to call off his war.”
US lawmakers are particularly sensitive to propaganda in Spanish as it influenced the entire western hemisphere. They are asking outlets to do more to staunch russian lies on the Spanish channels RT and Sputnik Mundo. RT en Español’s Facebook page has 18 million followers, more than its English site or CNN’s Spanish channels. The posts drive traffic to Actualidad RT, the network’s main news channel. The outright lies paint a picture of russian victimization at the hands of a dangerous neighbor that is developing nuclear and biological weapons.

Missile launch systems aren’t useful without the ammo. Photo via Novynarnia.

The Biden Administration announced the release of a $1 billion military aid package, the largest drawdown to date from the $40 billion appropriated by congress earlier this year. The package includes much needed HIMARS ammo. The Biden Administration has already sent 19 HIMARS to Ukraine, so now Ukraine needs more ammo to keep putting them to good use.
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl told reporters on Monday, “Our assessment actually is that the Ukrainians are doing pretty well in terms of the numbers of systems, and really the priority right now is making sure that they have a steady stream of these GMLRS,” referring to the Lockheed Martin precision munitions fired from both the HIMARS and the MLRS M270 family of launchers provided to Ukraine by British forces.
This is the eighteenth drawdown, bringing the total amount of U.S. security aid to Ukraine to $9.8 billion since President Joe Biden took office last year, and $11.8 billion since Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.

Above: Satellite Khayyam launched from Kazakhstan with a russian rocket. Photo via Tehran Times

The Iranian-owned high resolution Khayyam satellite was launched by russia from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in southern Kazakhstan on Tuesday morning. Soon after, Tehran reported receiving the first instrument readings.
The launch signals the restart of strategic cooperation between the two countries, this time in the space industry, according to the Iranian ICT minister. Kremlin despot putin visited Tehran last month and met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi as the two countries try to renew a 20-year cooperation agreement.
Tehran says the satellite will never be used by russia against Ukraine despite US intelligence announcing last week that russia plans to use the satellite for the first few months to observe its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Iran says the satellite is designed for scientific research including radiation and environmental monitoring for agricultural purposes and no other country will have access to information it gathers. Analysts expect both russia and Iran to use the satellite to spy on neighbors and cause more global instability.