OBB—Fedorov’s sudden removal last week incited large protests in Kyiv and other major cities, with demonstrators demanding either Fedorov’s reinstatement or Syrskyi’s immediate dismissal.

Syrskyi had faced steep criticism from rank-and-file soldiers, veterans, and military reformers for maintaining a rigid, top-down Soviet-style command system that often ignored tactical innovation and led to high human casualties. But he seemed to enjoy the support of many senior figures in Ukraine’s armed forces and that of the neo-Nazi Azov Brigade.

Further, Fedorov’s popularity was due in large measure to the apparent, though disputed success of Ukraine’s recent drone wars which had gained headline approval from Ukraine’s sponsors in the political West and mainstream media.

JM—World Wars, as I have argued before, are each unique, transformed by technological and civilization change, with different battlefields in different realms — military, economic, informational, among others. In most cases, a World War is not just one war but many at the same time.

The “First World War” was coined in September 1918 by British Lieutenant Colonel Charles A. Court Repington in his diaries,but his war was just the “Great War” term until September 1939 when war with Germany started again and Time Magazine needed something catchy. The term did not become “official” in the US until the war as over.

LJ—As of September 1, 2022, Russia controlled approximately 55–60% of Donetsk oblast. The Wikipedia article on the annexation, referring to the situation at the time of the September 30, 2022 annexation declaration, states that Russia held about 60% of Donetsk at that point. PBS reporting from June 2022 put the figure at roughly 50%. The trajectory between those two data points — 50% in June, 60% at end of September — places September 1 at approximately 55–58%.

Donetsk oblast is 26,517 km². Of that, Russian-backed separatists had held approximately 8,800 km² — roughly one-third — since 2014, centred on Donetsk city. The 2022 invasion extended Russian control southward through Mariupol (which fell May 20, 2022) and northward through the Sievierodonetsk corridor. At September 1, 2022, the major Ukrainian-held cities in the oblast still included Bakhmut (then under intense attack but still Ukrainian), Avdiivka, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, and Zaporizhzhia city — all of which would become the focal points of subsequent fighting.

PG—Recent American presidents have certainly tried to make the brutal Israeli suppression and occupation of what was supposed to be a neighbor state called Palestine somehow seem to be something quite acceptable. This is particularly due to the nonsense regurgitated by a group of American fundamentalists that many refer to as Christian Zionists (CZ), best exemplified by the delusional US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

HB—Donald Trump flipped and flopped again.

He announced a 20% fee for all ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, 13thof July. He withdrew the order on Tuesday, 14th of July.

The oil market gyrated during the day and some “smart” folks made yet another killing with the oil futures.

By this point, people are already used to such flip-flops. Wall Street coined the term TACO Index, which tracks how market panics force Trump’s policy U-turns.

DW—Professor Marandi offers an in-depth analysis of the escalating conflict surrounding Yemen, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, focusing on recent events such as Yemen’s pressure on Saudi Arabia by threatening crucial oil export routes and the intensification of military confrontations in the Persian Gulf and Red Sea regions. He challenges the Western perception of Iran’s allies as mere proxies, emphasizing their principled resistance. The tightening siege on Yemen by Saudi Arabia, compounded by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran, has shifted leverage significantly in Yemen’s favor, increasing Saudi vulnerability due to their dependence on Red Sea oil exports.