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The Ukrainian president has congratulated his troops on reclaiming a village in
the southeast of the country, in what has been described as a ‘significant’
breakthrough in its ongoing counteroffensive.

Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video yesterday showing a group of soldiers holding
a Ukrainian flag and saying they had seized back control of Staromaiorske in the
Donetsk region, next to the Zaporizhzhia province.

Zelensky declared: ‘Our South! Our guys! Glory to Ukraine!’ 

In his nightly address on Wednesday he also said: ‘By the way, today our boys
had very good results at the front. Good for them!’

It comes as fierce fighting continues to rage in southeastern Ukraine, where,
according to a US think tank, Kyiv appeared to have ‘broken through’ some
Russian defenses in a ‘significant’ offensive.


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KIM JONG-UN AND PUTIN'S DEFENCE CHIEF SALUTE MASSIVE NUKE

Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin’s army chief were all smiles as they reviewed
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Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu is believed to have sealed secret
agreements for the supply of weapons for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine (Picture:
Getty; Reuters)
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Recent battles have been taking place along a 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front
line, where Ukrainian soldiers have been bolstered by western-supplied weapons
and training.



Russian military bloggers have confirmed that Ukrainian forces have taken part
of the village that the area was the focus of Ukraine’s attacks in recent days.

However Putin insisted on state TV that the Ukrainian troops’ push ‘wasn’t
successful’ and said they suffered heavy casualties, although it was not
possible to independently verify his claim. The Russian president was in St.
Petersburg at a summit of African leaders.

Ukrainian troops have made only incremental gains since launching their
long-awaited counteroffensive in early June, and Putin has repeatedly claimed
Ukraine has suffered heavy losses without offering evidence.

Kyiv’s generals have warned that fast results are virtually impossible because
of Russia’s fortified defence line and the large number of land mines that had
been planted.





Ukraine has sent thousands of troops to the region in recent days, said a
Western official who has not been authorised to speak on the matter publicly.




Authorities have released few operational details of the counteroffensive and
its progress.

However, on Wednesday Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that soldiers
were advancing toward the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhizhia region.

The seizure of Melitopol near the Sea of Azov would be a major success for
Ukraine, which hopes to break through the land corridor between Russia and the
Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.





That could split Russian forces into two and cut supply lines to units further
west. Russia currently controls the whole Sea of Azov coast.



The Institute of Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported that
Ukrainian forces launched ‘a significant mechanized counteroffensive operation’
in western Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday and ‘appear to have broken through certain
pre-prepared Russian defensive positions.’

This week Zelensky visited the city of Dnipro, along the Dnieper River to the
north of Zaporizhzhia, and met with military commanders to discuss air defenses,
ammunition supplies and regional recruitment.

He also paid a visit to a medical facility looking after soldiers wounded at the
front. He thanked staff and emphasised the importance of their work.

Meanwhile, a missile strike in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region left one civilian
dead and the area’s port infrastructure damaged.

It comes after Moscow broke off a grain export agreement, Odesa Gov. Oleh Kiper
said.

The cruise missile was apparently launched from the Red Sea.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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According to Miles Taylor who served in Donald Trump's administration as chief
of staff in the Department of Homeland Security, a "surprising" name popped up
in 2018 as some close aides to the now-former president were giving thought to
resigning en masse.

Based on Taylor's recently published tell-all book "Blowback," senior officials
in the Trump administration were unhappy with his divisive border policy,
reports Newsweek.

As Taylor wrote, discussion about the revolt led one insider to bring up the
first lady.

"A surprising name came up: First Lady Melania Trump," he wrote. "I didn't press
for further details, but one attendee asserted that FLOTUS would actually
consider leaving her husband if enough key officials quit."

Taylor explained that Trump's "wanting to turn away all asylum seekers, weighing
the throwing of tear gas at migrants at border crossings 'to make people feel
like their skin was on fire, and even shooting those illegally entering the
United States," was at the center of the turmoil.




"I made my position clear. A mass resignation would be a powerful statement
about Trump's behavior. It would be impossible for Republicans — and the country
— to look away if Trump's top lieutenants left in a blaze of glory," Taylor
wrote, with Newsweek reporting he admitted in a phone call on Thursday that he
had little to no interactions with Trump's third wife.



Speaking with Newsweek, he stated, "I found it very interesting at the time that
someone had suggested that they had spoken to Melania and felt like there was a
chance she would leave her husband if there was the right moment. I don't
personally know what undergirds their relationship."

He added, "There were a lot of suggestions behind the scenes in the
administration, not just outward commentary, but in the administration that
there was some sort of contractual obligation Melania had to Trump — and when he
got elected there was a renegotiation."

You can read more here.


RECOMMENDED LINKS:

・'If his schedule allows': Trump reportedly might not attend Melania's 53rd
birthday celebration

・Kari Lake falling out of favor with Trump because she's causing him problems
with Melania

・MSNBC's Mika mocks Donald Trump for forgetting Melania's birthday




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