Impact of War on Russian Territory

Smart Security Made simple. That's the new blink two K video doorbell lineup. Choose battery powered convenience or hardwired reliability . Whatever suits your home, set up in minutes, then start greeting your guests and seeing your deliveries in detail from anywhere. Leave it on the mat. Thank you. Because whether you're a renter or homeowner, you deserve peace of mind. Shop new blink two K video doorbells ataz Amon. com slash blink It's Friday, the twenty sixth of June. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, the peace process between the US and Iran continues to look less like a peace process and more like something that doesn't resemble a peace process. How's that for eloquence? An Iranian drone strike on a commercial ship in the Strait of Hormuz has raised tensions further, prompting a sharp response from President Trump. Later in the show, Ukraine unleashes one of its biggest drone attacks of the war , forcing Russian authorities to declare a state of emergency in Crimea. We'll have the details . But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Just days after the U. S. claimed to be moving toward a broad er peace agreement with Iran , well, the fragile ceasefire is facing yet another test. President Trump accused Iran on Friday of violating the ceasefire by launching attack drones at ships moving to the Strait of Horm uz. Yeah, that would do it, including one drone that struck a commercial cargo vessel off the coast of Oman on Thursday. According to the White House, Iran fired at least four one way attack drones at ships transiting the water way. One of those drones hit the upper deck of a large cargo ship. Three others were reportedly shot down. The vessel was damaged, but no casualties were reported. Trump called the incident a quote foolish violation , a foolish violation of our ceasefire agreement. Well, no offense, but that sounds like what you'd say to a toddler that just drew on the walls with a sharpie. This is the Iranian regime deliberately targeting commercial vessels with the potential to injure or kill civilian sailors. The ship was later identified as the Ever Lovely, it's a Singapore flagged vessel operated by Taiwan's evergreen marine . The company said the ship was struck by an unknown object , alright, if that's what we want to call an Iranian drone, while traveling near Oman on a route recommended by maritime authorities. The vessel resumed its trip out of the strait after the attack . Iran was targeting vessels that were attempting to bypass the regime's preferred or in their minds authorized routes . Which means the vessels were trying to bypass supposed regime control can transit the strait and how. It's a significant moment as the incident strikes at the heart of the interim agreement or memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran. Under that agreement, Iran was supposed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping while the two sides entered a sixty day negotiating period aimed at reaching a broader settlement. But instead of restoring confidence in the waterway, Thursday's attack has raised new questions about whether Tehran is trying to institutionalize control over the strait even while publicly claiming to honor the deal. What? Well, that would imply that the regime isn't negotiating in good faith. I know, that's a surprising thought. While Iran has not publicly claimed responsibility for the strike, if it walks like an Iranian drone and looks like an Iranian drone, it's probably an Iranian drone. You don't have to be close to figure that out. Iranian officials have made clear that they expect ships moving through Hormuz to coordinate with Tehran and use routes approved by Iran's newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority. Well, that sounds official, doesn't it? After the attack, that authority, the PGSA warned that vessels traveling through unauthorized routes would do so at their own risk. I don't think they know what's in that memorandum of understanding . In other words, Iran appears to be sending a message. The strait may be open , well, it's not really, is it? But only on our terms. Of course, that's not how the U. S. and its Gulf allies see the interim agreement. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, wrapping up a tour of the Gulf this week said Thursday that if Iran threatened or blocked ships in the strait, quote, we're going to have a problem. End quote. Well, it looks like then you do have a problem. Rubio and the Gulf Cooperation Council also issued a joint statement calling for free, unconditional and unrestricted navigation through the strait , without tolls or attempts by Iran to assert control. Iran responded angrily. Ooh, they got their backup, accusing Washington and Gulf States of issuing what it called an interventionist and provocative statement . Not as provocative as launching attack drones at cargo vessels. Iranian officials argued that the strait should be governed by Iran and Oman and warned that safe passage can't be guaranteed under arrangements that ignore Iran's role as a coastal state . In that dispute is now of course having immediate consequences . The International Maritime Organization, that's a UN agency, temporarily paused its efforts to escort ships and seafarers stranded in the region after Thursday's attack , saying it needed to reconfirm that safety guarant ees will remain in place . More than eleven thousand seafarers have reportedly been stuck in the region, with ships of course reluctant to move through the strait after months of attacks and uncertainty. Iranian state media also reported Friday that three foreign tankers attempting what Tehran called an unauthorized passage through the strait were turned back after a warning from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC.. U. S officials said they were aware of those reports and were looking into them as they attempt to hold the fragile ceasefire agreement together , despite the regime's belligerents. Now, as we've been tracking, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had begun to pick up after the interim deal or memorandum of understanding was signed. Saudi Aramco resumed crude oil loadings at Ras Tamura, the world's largest oil port, and fertilizer shipments through the strait had also increased , easing some concerns about global food and energy prices. Oil prices actually fell Friday despite the renewed tensions, reflecting optimism that the broader deal may still hold , or possibly reflecting the energy market's reluctance to concede that the deal may not hold. And the Strait of Hamuz is hardly the only issue still hanging over these negotiations. The two sides continue to disagree over Iran's nuclear program, the scope of future international inspections, sanctions relief, and the release of frozen Iranian assets. Meanwhile, the standoff between Israel, Hezbollah and Lebanon continues to complicate the diplomatic picture, with Iran insisting that any lasting agreement must also address that conflict, which of course primarily involves the Iranian backed Hezbollah. As a reminder, Israel says it's not bound by the U. S. Iran framework . And in southern Lebanon on Friday, Israeli forces dropped evacuation leaflets over a town even as Israeli and Lebanese officials were reportedly expected to sign a separate framework agreement in Washington. Now, once again, the Lebanese government does not control Hezbollah, so any agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government is of limited utility. We're not being chillish here, just pointing out operational realities. All right, coming up next, one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks since Putin's invasion has triggered a state of emergency in Crimea , as Kiev turns up the pressure on the Kremlin. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here with a message for dog lovers everywhere. Now, if you're like me, dogs are an important part of the family, right? We've got two of our own golden retriever Hendrix, he's a good old boy of fourteen years and Monty, our cute but somewhat dim witted King Charles Spaniel. Now, as you probably know, when it comes to your dog food, there always seems to be a compromise, right? It's either fresh and he althy or it's easy to store and serve. Well, that's why we love Sundays for dogs. With the Sundays for Dogs brand, you get both Fresh and Healthy Dog Food that's easy to store and serve. 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You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome , that's new. They can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a fifty page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online makes sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required compatibility and availability varies eighteen plus . Welcome back to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. As we've discussed previously, Ukraine's campaign of long range drone strikes appears to be forcing Russia into increasingly difficult military trade offs. Russian installed authorities in occupied Crimea declared a state of emergency on Friday after what Moscow described as one of the largest Ukrainian drone attacks since Russia's invasion in early twenty twenty two. According to Russia's defense ministry, its air defenses intercepted some six hundred sixty Ukrainian drones overnight across Crimea and roughly a dozen other regions of the country. Officials later reported destroying dozens more drones Friday morning, though the ministry offered little information about damage on the ground. While many of the strikes remain difficult to independently verify, Ukrainian officials say the operation targeted Russian naval vessels, air defense radars and military infrastructure in and around the strategic port of Kerch, one of Moscow's most important logistical hubs, linking occupied Crimea to mainland Russia. But perhaps the bigger story is what has happened to Crimea itself. For much of the war, Russia managed to insulate daily life on the peninsula from the kind of disruption experienced closer to the front lines . But that appears to be changing. Weeks of increasingly intense Ukrainian strikes have produced fuel shortages, rolling power outages, and disruptions to water supplies across parts of Crimea. Summer camps have been canceled, children have been evacuated from some areas, and thousands of tourists are reportedly leaving the peninsula at the height of the vacation season. The campaign, intended to isolate the strategic Black Sea Peninsula from mainland Russia, has upended daily life in Crimea in a way not seen since Moscow illegally annexed the region back in twenty fourteen . The State of Emergency declared Friday, gives Russian installed authorities expanded powers to coordinate evacuations, accelerate emergency spending, and respond more quickly to the continuing attacks. It's worth noting that the mounting disruptions to daily life across Russia appear to be taking a political toll on Vladimir Putin. According to a survey released Friday by a Russian state affiliated pollster, Putin's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since Russia launched its full scale invasion back in twenty twenty two. While polling inside Russia should obviously be viewed cautiously, the fact that a state link ed survey even acknowledged such declining support suggests that Ukraine's strike campaign is having its intended effect, forcing more Russians to experience the consequences of a war that had previously felt very far away . Ukraine is working steadily to increase the domestic costs of continuing the war, making Russia devote more personnel, equipment, and financial resources to defending territory beyond the front lin es. Western officials and military analysts increasingly believe that the strategy is producing tangible military effects. They say Ukraine's expanding campaign against Russian fuel depots, refineries, and logistics hub s has disrupted supply lines and strained fuel availability, effectively stalling much of Russia's offensive operations on the battlefield. President Zelenskyy reinforced this strategy with a message on Thursday , announcing what he described as a forty day, quote influence operation. While Zelensky did not spell out that operation in detail, the apparent objective is to escalate attacks in a sort of extended blitz in order to compel Moscow toward negotiations to end the war after months of stalled diplomatic efforts. Friday's massive drone assault offers an early glimpse of what Ukraine has planned for this forty day influence oper ation . But Russia is still punching back. Overnight, Russian forces launched another wave of missiles and drones across Ukraine, killing at least three civilians and wounding dozens more. While Ukrainian official s said some of the attacks targeted civilian infrastructure . Even so, the Declaration of State of Emergency in Crimea highlights how Ukraine's expanding drone campaign is beginning to affect areas that, until recently, again, had remained relatively insulated from the day to day realities of the war . And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Friday, the twenty sixth of June. Now if you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at the firsttv dot com dot And to listen to the show ad free, you can do that, of course. It's very simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDB remium . com . And finally, I hope you'll check out the latest episode of our weekend show, that's the PDB situation report. As always, it airs this evening, Friday evening at ten PM on the first TV. And of course, it can be found on our YouTube channel at President's Daily Brief and on podcast platforms everywhere. Great guests as always, terrific insight, really everything you could want in a weekend news program , and no bitter aftertaste. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back over the weekend with the PDB situation report. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Hey, Mike Baker here. Now, whether you're in a one or a two income household, if you're a breadwin ner, well, you're carrying a lot of responsibility. You know that. Mortgage payments, tuition and everyday bills that don't just disappear should something happen to you or your partner. But thinking about that, thinking about what ifs in life, right? That can be overwhelming. So I'm here to tell you that taking steps to protect your family financially is now a lot easier than it used to be. It's why I recommend Ethos Life Insurance. That's ethos ETHOS . It's fast, it's easy and it's one hundred percent online. You get a quote in seconds, you apply in minutes, and you get same day coverage up to three million dollars. 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