Ukraine Shot Down Zero Missiles In Huge Russian Overnight Salvo That Killed At Least 21

Ukraine Shot Down Zero Missiles In Huge Russian Overnight Salvo That Killed At Least 21

TYLER DURDEN

According to a growing casualty count, a large barrage of ballistic missiles fired by Russia on Ukraine has killed at least 21 people and wounded dozens more.

The overnight attack has raised the alarm for Ukraine's Western backers, given it is being widely reported that among the over two dozen ballistic and anti-ship missiles fired, not a single one was intercepted by Ukraine.

The attacks come on the heels of a record month: July saw over 380 missiles of all types launched on Ukraine, with government authorities citing the highest civilian casualties since 2022, with at least 377 civilians killed, and another 2,129 wounded for the month of July.

As Ukraine grapples with very low and limited missile interceptors, and amid reports that the Pentagon too is struggling to keep up supplies amid the Iran war, CNN also confirms that "as Russia fired more than two dozen ballistic and anti-ship missiles" and that "none" were intercepted by Ukrainian defenses.

President Zelensky again took to social media to urge partners to rapidly send more anti-air missiles: "It is crucial that our partners realize that delays in their delivery or a reluctance to provide anti-ballistic systems lead precisely to such horrific casualties and destruction," he said.

"Partners who are not ready to help more actively with the supply of interceptors right now can help by imposing new sanctions," he added.

Notably the Russian strikes have expanded to not just city infrastructure, energy cites, military bases, and ports - but now Russia appears to be going after prominent businesses.

This comes after Ukraine's repeat attacks on Wildberries facilities, the Russian online retailer giant comparable to Amazon:

​​​​​​The strikes also caused damage to prominent businesses in Ukraine, including the country’s largest e-commerce platform, Rozetka, and Epicentr, a retail chain comparable to IKEA.

In a statement, Epicentr said Russia launched a "devastating attack" on its manufacturing infrastructure, killing one of its male employees. “In a matter of minutes, Russian missiles destroyed what the company had been building for decades,” the statement said.

FOZZY group, which is one of Ukraine’s largest retailers that operates supermarket chains, said Russian shelling caused fires at two of its distribution centers. It said that six of its employees had been killed, while more have been injured.

But on the flip side Ukraine has only expanded its own long-range drone attacks on Russian territory, including on the capital city.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has explained to TASS that "In recent months, the number of drones launched toward Moscow has increased significantly. And overall, of all the attacks carried out almost daily against Russian territory, two-thirds of the drones are heading toward Moscow."

Last month Zelensky had announced a 40-day "operation of influence" - describing a multi-pronged campaign of long-range drone strikes intent on forcing Moscow to halt the war and get to the negotiating table on terms favorable to Ukraine. The Russian military has all the while also been upping its response.

Super El Niño is getting even STRONGER, models reveal – as experts warn 'this is only a warm–up act'

Super El Niño is getting even STRONGER, models reveal – as experts warn 'this is only a warm–up act'

WILIAM HUNTER

The Super El Niño is getting even stronger, the latest climate models have revealed.

According to the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), El Niño is expected to steadily strengthen into a 'strong' event between August and October.

This powerful climate pattern is expected to bring above–average temperatures all around the planet and cause huge changes in rainfall patterns.

While many countries are already facing one of the hottest and driest summers on record, experts warn 'this is only the warm–up act'.

The WMO now predicts that sea surface temperatures in key regions will exceed 2.9°C (5.2°F) above the seasonal average.

El Niño events typically reach their peak between November and February, and have their strongest influence on global weather during the start of the following year.

This means we are only just starting to experience the effects of what experts are calling the strongest El Niño event in recorded history.

António Guterres, UN Secretary–General, says: 'El Niño is strengthening – adding fuel to a planet already on fire with scorching heat domes, apocalyptic wildfires and record hot seas.'

While each El Niño varies, the event typically brings increased rainfall in parts of 

southern South America, the southern United States, parts of the Horn of Africa 

and central Asia. 

In contrast, there will be drier conditions over Central America, northern South 

America, the Caribbean, Australia, Indonesia, and parts of southern Asia

El Niño and cooling La Niña events are part of a natural climate pattern called the El Niño Southern Oscillation.

In a normal year, the trade winds blow westwards across the Pacific, transporting warm water away from South America towards Australia and allowing colder water to well up along the coast.

But during the hot El Niño part of the cycle, these winds weaken or reverse, allowing warm water to build up in the tropical Pacific.

That concentration of warm water can raise the global average temperature and disrupt weather patterns on a global scale.

For the last few months, scientists have been watching with growing concern as these critical waters in the Pacific have warmed to record levels.

In July, sea surface temperatures exceeded 2.1°C (3.8°F) above average, but forecasts suggest that things are only going to get hotter.

To make matters worse, the WMO warns that El Niño has arrived alongside a climate phenomenon known as a positive Indian Ocean Dipole.

This is where the western Indian Ocean becomes warmer while the eastern part becomes cooler.

Together with El Niño, that temperature gradient amplifies climate risks, including droughts, floods, and wildfires – especially around the Indian Ocean.

But what does this mean for you?

El Niño only has an indirect effect on the UK's weather, but global effects on this scale will have knock–on impacts.

WMO Secretary–General Celeste Saulo says: 'This El Niño, developing against the backdrop of unprecedented ocean heat and rising temperatures, provides governments and communities with a window of opportunity to anticipate risks and act before impacts unfold.'

The most obvious consequence of a strengthening super El Niño is that the global temperature will be above average into next year.

El Niño isn't caused by climate change, but this extra heating does combine with the warming already being caused by human factors.

That means temperatures are likely to hit extreme levels all around the world, with the biggest effects being felt in Southern Europe, Africa, East Asia, Central America, South America, New Zealand, and the Caribbean.

This will also have a big impact on rainfall patterns between August and October this year.

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Bab el-Mandeb Strait: Why the Red Sea passage is referred to as 'Hormuz 2.0'

Bab el-Mandeb Strait: Why the Red Sea passage is referred to as 'Hormuz 2.0'

J. Micah Hancock

Much of the world’s attention has been focused on the Strait of Hormuz, due to the Iran conflict and the increase in energy prices following its closure by the Iranian regime. Around 20% of the world’s naval traffic passes through the Strait. 

However, another waterway has also come into focus following recent tensions between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. That waterway is the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Gulf of Aden, south of the Arabian Peninsula, with the Red Sea.

Like the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab el-Mandeb is one of the world's busiest maritime chokepoints, carrying about 4.8 million barrels of oil per day, significant volumes of Qatari liquefied natural gas, and roughly 10–12% of global shipping traffic, or about 19,000 vessels each year.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had previously threatened to close off the Bab el-Mandeb Strait as part of its attempt to weaponize the Hormuz, following the U.S.-Israeli air campaign launched on Feb. 28.

Iran’s ability to threaten both Hormuz and – via the Houthis – Bab el-Mandeb raises the economic stakes of the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.  

At its narrowest point, the Bab el-Mandeb ["Gate of Tears" in Arabic] waterway is only around 26 kilometers (16 miles) wide, functioning as a natural chokepoint between Djibouti and the Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen. 

Bab el-Mandeb is the only direct route from the Gulf of Aden to the Suez Canal, making it the fastest shipping route from Asia to Europe. It is also the only route for crude oil shipped from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu to Asia. The Suez Canal accounts for about 2% of Egypt's gross domestic product, generating around $10 billion in revenue in 2022–2023, before the start of the Gaza war.

While the Houthis lack the ability to completely shut down the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the threat of attacks would likely force most shipping to bypass the waterway and the Suez Canal, depriving Egypt of significant revenue. Together with the Strait of Hormuz, the effective closure of both waterways would allow a single entity – the Islamic Republic of Iran– to disrupt roughly 30% of the global oil and gas supply.

Following recent Houthi drone strikes on Saudi oil facilities and an announced blockade of Saudi ships passing through the Red Sea, many feared the Iranians were attempting to act on that threat, raising fresh concerns about global energy supplies and trade. 

After the start of U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran, Saudi Arabia began diverting some of its oil exports through Yanbu following the IRGC's closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Closing the Bab el-Mandeb would force tankers and container ships heading to and from Europe and Asia to divert around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, adding weeks to the delivery times, as demonstrated in late 2023, after the Houthis targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthis said the attacks were carried out in solidarity with Hamas after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel.

However, due to the security risks, multiple shipping companies abandoned the route, opting instead for the longer journey around the African continent. The rerouting caused a relatively minor inconvenience for Israel but dealt a significant financial blow to Egypt, which reported an almost 66% decline in Suez Canal traffic, according to the Egyptian government.

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Netanyahu says Israel ‘didn’t agree’ to Board of Peace’s terms for disarming Hamas

Netanyahu says Israel ‘didn’t agree’ to Board of Peace’s terms for disarming Hamas

Jacob Magid

In his first public comments on the matter, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that Israel has not agreed to the Board of Peace’s Hamas disarmament plan, which was accepted by the terror group last week.

Reiterating comments from recent days attributed to “senior Israeli officials,” Netanyahu said in a video posted to Facebook that Israel will not withdraw “from our current lines” in Gaza “until Hamas is completely disarmed.”

This would appear to go against the disarmament plan, which requires Israel to pull back to the original Yellow Line in Gaza. Israel withdrew to that line as part of the October 2025 ceasefire-hostage release deal with Hamas, but has since expanded its control of the Strip from 53 percent to over 60%.

While the Board of Peace indicated that Israel would not have to carry out withdrawals beyond the original Yellow Line until Hamas at least begins to hand over its weapons, Netanyahu asserted that Israeli forces will not move at all, as his election campaign kicks into gear.

“[US] President [Donald] Trump thinks — or his team thinks — that they can get Hamas to disarm and demilitarize Gaza. We are looking into it. They sent us a draft. We did not agree to it. It was not our draft. We sent back our comments,” Netanyahu said in the video statement.

The “draft” Netanyahu described was not supposed to be open for debate with Israel, as it was the result of separate negotiations between Hamas, the Trump-controlled Board of Peace and mediating countries Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the US.

A senior US official briefing reporters last week said the disarmament proposal is an extension of Trump’s 20-point plan for ending the Gaza war, which Israel already accepted last fall. Accordingly, Israel is only being asked to maintain its adherence to the 20-point plan, the US official said, adding that Trump would be “very disappointed” in Jerusalem if it blocked the proposal’s advancement.

However, with Israel seemingly opposed to the proposal, the Board of Peace’s top envoys visited Jerusalem to meet with Netanyahu on Monday in a bid to bring him on board.

That effort did not appear to bear fruit, though, as the Board of Peace subsequently indicated that it may reopen the terms of the deal for deliberation, issuing a statement that suggested it was changing the terms of the Israeli withdrawal in Jerusalem’s favor.

But agreeing to Israel’s demands to amend the disarmament proposal risks losing the support of Hamas, which took months to secure.

Along with a withdrawal to the original Yellow Line, the plan requires Israel to immediately halt all military operations in Gaza once it enters into force. While Israel has pushed back on this condition, it did reportedly agree to tighten the rules of engagement in Gaza, requiring the approval of the IDF chief of staff before any single strike can go ahead.

Netanyahu did not deny that policy change in his video statement, but insisted, “We are instructing IDF soldiers to do whatever is necessary to defend themselves, defend our territory and defend people.”

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A Dangerous Deal: Trump's Board of Peace and Hamas

A Dangerous Deal: Trump's Board of Peace and Hamas

Khaled Abu Toameh

• The original goal of Trump's peace plan was not to relocate Hamas's arsenal. It was to eliminate it permanently.

• Weapons stored in warehouses remain weapons that function. Explosives stored today can be easily recovered tomorrow. Rocket factories that are preserved can resume production. Tunnels that are mapped rather than destroyed can be used again.

• The issue has never been where Hamas keeps its weapons. The issue has always been Hamas having access them.

• Transferring weapons from one Palestinian group to another is notdemilitarization.

• Even more disturbing is the new deal's assertion that "no weapons shall be transferred or handed to Israel or non-Palestinian parties."

• Equally disturbing is the new roadmap's conditioning of disarmament on an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip....

• Why should a terrorist organization that carried out the October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel be allowed to dictate the conditions of its own disarmament? No country fighting ISIS or al-Qaeda would first withdraw its forces and only then hope terrorists voluntarily surrender their weapons. Hamas should not be negotiating the terms of its defeat. It should be compelled to unconditionally surrender and disarm.

• This is the same Ghazi Hamad [senior Hamas official] who publicly vowed that Hamas would repeat the October 7 massacre time and again until Israel is eliminated: "The Al-Aqsa Flood [the name Hamas uses to describe the October 7 massacre] is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth, because we have the determination, the resolve, and the capabilities to fight."

• Anyone who thinks that the newly established NCAG will somehow confront Hamas and impose its authority over the terrorist organization is living under an illusion.

• The far more likely scenario is that Hamas will continue to call the shots from behind the scenes while allowing another Palestinian body to assume responsibility for governance, civil service salaries, reconstruction, and collecting international aid.

• This would essentially replicate the Hezbollah model in Lebanon, where a heavily-armed Iran-backed terrorist militia coexists with a formal government while retaining independent military power and ultimate political influence.

• Within hours of the announcement of the roadmap, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dismissed the plan outright, declaring... that "the resistance" (Hamas) would remain steadfast until what it called the "final victory" over Israel.

• Iran understands Hamas better than anyone else because it has financed, armed and trained the terrorist organization for decades. If the Iranian regime is openly rejecting the prospect of Hamas's disarmament, why should anyone else believe that Hamas intends to honor the agreement?

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