“the president has encased himself in the hard amber of irrationality that inevitably surrounds authoritarian leaders. He has become detached from reality—and that detachment is extremely dangerous.” (Gift article) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Trump’s Irrationality Is Dangerous
The president’s recent rant is a sign of serious dysfunction in the Oval Office.
theatlantic.com
‼️ Zelenskyy: Air defence missile supplies to Ukraine have fallen threefold since 2025
Zelenskyy: Air defence missile supplies to Ukraine have fallen threefold since 2025
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pointed out that Ukraine has three times fewer anti-ballistic missiles than it did in 2025, despite its partners having stocks available.
pravda.com.ua
Volodymyr Zelensky launched what he called a 40-day "influence operation" to pressure Russia into ending the war. Here's what happened. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Forty days after Zelensky launched his ‘influence operation’ against Russia, what did it achieve? — Meduza
Ukraine: struck at least 20 Wildberries warehouses, hit at least 25 oil refineries and other oil and gas infrastructure facilities — knocking out a third of Russia’s oil refining capacity — and…
meduza.io
🔥🛢️ The Ufa oil-refining complex has been hit. It is one of Russia’s largest refining clusters, comprising three Bashneft refineries with a combined annual capacity of around 23.5 million tonnes of crude oil.
/2. More footage of the oil-refining complex in Ufa burning after today’s attacks
A towering column of smoke rises from the destroyed Wildberries logistics hub in Aleksin.
Another night of Russian terror against Ukraine:17 killed&44 injured in Kyiv&Kyiv region.A Nova Poshta branch was destroyed,along with two key Epicentr logistics complexes&a Rozetka logistics hub.People were killed on a railway platform near the attacked Ukrzaliznytsia logistics centers 📹Kyiv region
Trump said a deal on the Strait of Hormuz is possible as early as Wednesday, as expectations build for an arrangement that allows for the reopening of the crucial waterway for energy markets
Trump Fuels Hopes of Hormuz Opening With Hints Deal Is Close
US President Donald Trump said a deal on the Strait of Hormuz is possible as early as Wednesday, as expectations build for an arrangement that allows for the reopening of the critical waterway.
bloom.bg
A Wildberries employee who was preparing to go to work this morning watches the company’s logistics hub in Aleksin burn.
“The attacks by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28, followed by Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, immediately stranded some 1,500 ships and nearly 20,000 sailors, according to the International Maritime Organization.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/b...
Sailors Working in Strait of Hormuz Are Caught in Crossfire of Iran War
Thousands of civilian workers remain stranded on ships at risk of attack by Iran. On one vessel, sailors have been held by the Iranian navy for more than three months.
nytimes.com
A close, clear view of the destroyed Wildberries logistics hub in Aleksin, filmed by an employee who arrived for work this morning.
“If you are tasked and paid by a Russian state entity to say something, that is not freedom of expression. That is subversion by an enemy state.” open.substack.com/pub/alexzfin...
France Moves to Expel a Russian Propagandist
Will the move set up a court battle to test the line between freedom of expression and protection of the constitutional order?
open.substack.com
In a new survey, CFR asked more than 350 foreign policy experts to predict how the capabilities of “frontier AI”—AI that pushes the leading edge of what current systems can do—and the governance structures that could emerge around them will affect the global order. Read about the survey findings:
How Experts Think AI Will Change the Global Balance of Power by 2035 | Council on Foreign Relations
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) means policymakers need to navigate a future defined by technological uncertainty. To help them do so, CFR asked foreign policy experts to predict how frontier AI capabilities and the governance structures that c...
cfr.org
France’s push to enlist its car industry to produce military drones is moving to industrial implementation. 🔗Link to article in comments ⬇️
At least 17 people were killed in a Russian ballistic missile attack on Kyiv last night. We weren't able to intercept a single one. I haven't felt this angry since Russia was launching daily ballistic strikes on Kharkiv from right across the border, while our allies forbade us from using
The targets hit included a brewing company, a warehouse for construction material, and a mail sorting office that had nothing to do with the war, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Russian barrage in Ukraine's capital region kills 17 as air defenses fall short
The targets hit included a brewing company, a warehouse for construction material, and a mail sorting office that had nothing to do with the war, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. But the Russian Defense Ministry said the businesses masked ties to the military.
bit.ly
Ukraine’s air defense missile supplies have dropped threefold compared with 2025, Zelensky said, warning that Kyiv faces growing shortages as Russia intensifies ballistic missile attacks. www.kyivpost.com/post/81763
Ukraine’s Air Defense Missile Supplies Drop Threefold as Kyiv Warns Partners Have Stockpiles Available
The shortfall comes amid reports that Washington rejected Ukraine’s request for additional Patriot interceptors and scaled back earlier commitments.
kyivpost.com
The war of attrition entered a new phase, Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, Ukraine's presidential adviser, said Russia expanded its strikes beyond the battlefield, targeting retail warehouses, food storage facilities, logistics hubs, and businesses to wear down Ukraine’s economy and daily life 📷 Flash
The European Commission announced that the EU will transfer €1.4 billion in profits from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine. ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, urged Ukraine’s partners to act after an overnight Russian attack killed 17 people in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast 🔗 pm9dfw.s.gy/4o6mTQ
Russia appears to be stepping up its campaign against VPNs again. meduza.io/en/feature/2...
Russia appears to be carrying out one of its biggest VPN blocking campaigns in recent memory. Here’s what we know. — Meduza
Amnezia, one of Russia’s most popular VPN services, reported on August 4 that Russian authorities had launched a new attack on tools used to bypass internet blocking. The attack had been underway for…
meduza.io
Btw those Antonov planes in Leipzig are the "Strategic Airlift International Solution" of alot of NATO and EU militaries because they lack any organic Strategic Airlift capacities... de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strateg...
State media reported that Vladimir Tkachuk, founder and CEO of Uraldronzavod, is in critical condition and that doctors are “fighting for his life.”
Yekaterinburg Drone Maker CEO Wounded in Car Explosion - The Moscow Times
The head of a Russian drone manufacturer was seriously wounded in a car explosion, Russian media reported Wednesday, in what appears to be the second attempted assassination of a defense executive in ...
themoscowtimes.com
One of the buildings at Roscosmos' main research institute, TsNIIMash, is on fire in Korolyov, Moscow region. The institute is central to Russia's space program and aerospace research. #Russia
Taiwan began major military drills to test commanders’ ability to fight on the fly while temporarily limiting internet access for the first time. 🔗Link to article in comments ⬇️
“They tend to read our sense of urgency as a form of leverage,” Mr. Ross said. “We always seem in a hurry to get things done. They operate under the premise that time serves their interests more than ours.” www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/u...
An Angry Trump Struggles to Understand Iran’s Defiant Leaders
Iran’s leaders have perplexed several American presidents, perhaps none more than President Trump.
nytimes.com
