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Joe Biden Threatened to Withhold $1 Billion From Ukraine to Protect Company Hunter Was Working With

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My Son Hunter, the new movie from Breitbart News, is a fact-based dramatization of the life of debauchery and corruption lived by the first son Hunter Biden. Although the movie takes certain artistic liberties, many scenes portray true accounts of the Biden scion’s life; this “True Fact” series will detail those accuracies.

True Fact: Joe Biden threatened to withhold $1 billion from Ukraine to protect Ukrainian energy company Burisma, while Hunter was on the board.

Then-Vice President Biden pressed the Ukrainian government in 2015 to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin, who was probing Burisma Holdings while Hunter was being paid over $80,000 a month to sit on the board. Biden threatened to withhold U.S. aid over the prosecutor’s firing and boasted about the move during a 2018 appearance at the Council of Foreign Relations.

“I said, I’m telling you, you’re not getting the billion dollars. I said, you’re not getting the billion. I’m going to be leaving here in, I think it was about six hours,” Biden told the audience.

“I looked at them and said: I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money. Well, son of a b**ch. He got fired. And they put in place someone who was solid at the time,” he continued. (Read more from “Joe Biden Threatened to Withhold $1 Billion From Ukraine to Protect Company Hunter Was Working With” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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Double Trouble: Xi-Putin Summit Produces Pledge of a United Front on World Stage

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to forge closer ties during a summit in Central Asia on Thursday that included a discussion of Chinese support for Russia’s troubled invasion of Ukraine and Russian support for Beijing’s claims to Taiwan.

The get-together in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the first meeting between the two leaders since Mr. Putin ordered the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, took place on the sidelines of a regional summit.

“China is ready to work with Russia in extending strong support to each other on issues concerning their respective core interests,” Mr. Xi said during the meeting, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

Mr. Xi used the meeting, part of his first trip outside China’s borders since the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in Wuhan in late 2019, to highlight the joint efforts of the authoritarian governments of China and Russia to become leading world powers and challenge what they say is the “unipolar” dominance of the United States.

“In the face of historical changes in the world and times, as major countries, China is willing to work together with Russia to play a leading role and to inject stability into the turbulent world,” Mr. Xi said. (Read more from “Double Trouble: Xi-Putin Summit Produces Pledge of a United Front on World Stage” HERE)

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Ukraine Accuses Russia of ‘Preparing for a Decisive Energy Attack on All Europeans’ This Winter

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of using energy as a weapon by keeping a critical pipeline to Germany shut down in recent days, exacerbating electricity and natural gas shortfalls ahead of the winter months.

“Russia wants to destroy the normal life of every European — in all countries of our continent,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Saturday.

“Where Russia cannot do it by force of conventional weapons, it does so by force of energy weapons. It is trying to attack with poverty and political chaos where it cannot yet attack with missiles. This winter, Russia is preparing for a decisive energy attack on all Europeans.”

Russian energy company Gazprom has blamed technical problems for this week’s shutdown of Nord Stream 1, saying that oil leaks in turbines must be fixed before natural gas flows resume. (Read more from “Ukraine Accuses Russia of ‘Preparing for a Decisive Energy Attack on All Europeans’ This Winter” HERE)

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Ukraine, COVID, and Monkeypox: Biden Asks Congress for Another $47 Billion to Address ‘Critical Needs for the American People’

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The White House asked Congress for another $47 billion Friday to address what it considers “immediate needs,” including the spread of monkeypox at home and abroad, the never-ending fight against COVID, and the defense of Ukraine.

President Joe Biden’s request to Congress is aimed at keeping the government open beyond the September 30 expiration of the 2022 fiscal year, according to administration officials, Politico reported. The requested $47 billion includes $6.5 billion to address the recent flooding in Kentucky and wildfires in California, but that’s just a little over half of the $11.7 billion Biden wants to send to Ukraine.

“This Administration will continue to work with members of both parties in Congress to meet these critical needs for the American people, and we look forward to reaching a bipartisan funding agreement that advances national priorities in the coming fiscal year,” Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget wrote Friday.

While the administration carved out some funding to address natural disasters at home, there was no mention of Biden wanting Congress to send money to address the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi, that has now dragged on for five days. Instead, the president set his short-term priorities on throwing more money toward combatting the already slowing spread of viruses and aiding the war defense of a foreign nation. (Read more from “Ukraine, COVID, and Monkeypox: Biden Asks Congress for Another $47 Billion to Address ‘Critical Needs for the American People’” HERE)

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Biden Announces Additional $3 Billion Security Package to Ukraine

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The U.S. will ship Ukraine $3 billion worth of missiles, artillery rounds and drones in the latest military aid package intended to help Kyiv defend itself following Russia’s invasion six months ago.

The package includes six more National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) and munitions; up to 245,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery ammunition; and up to 65,000 rounds of 120 mm mortar ammo, Pentagon officials told reporters on Wednesday.

Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s undersecretary of defense for policy, said the latest Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) program represents a multiyear investment to help Kyiv fend off Russia.

“We will stick with Ukraine over the long haul,” Mr. Kahl said.

The latest plan represents a change in the way the Biden administration has helped supply Ukraine’s forces. In the past, the Pentagon pulled military equipment from its own stock to supply Ukraine with lethal hardware. Under USAI, the government will be able to procure Ukraine’s needs directly from private industry suppliers. (Read more from “Biden Announces Additional $3 Billion Security Package to Ukraine” HERE)

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Amnesty International: Ukraine Armed Forces Hiding Weapons Systems in Heavily Populated Areas, Including in Schools and Hospitals

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By Amnesty International. Ukrainian forces have put civilians in harm’s way by establishing bases and operating weapons systems in populated residential areas, including in schools and hospitals, as they repelled the Russian invasion that began in February, Amnesty International said today.

Such tactics violate international humanitarian law and endanger civilians, as they turn civilian objects into military targets. The ensuing Russian strikes in populated areas have killed civilians and destroyed civilian infrastructure.

“We have documented a pattern of Ukrainian forces putting civilians at risk and violating the laws of war when they operate in populated areas,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General. . .

Between April and July, Amnesty International researchers spent several weeks investigating Russian strikes in the Kharkiv, Donbas and Mykolaiv regions. The organization inspected strike sites; interviewed survivors, witnesses and relatives of victims of attacks; and carried out remote-sensing and weapons analysis. Throughout these investigations, researchers found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages in the regions. The organization’s Crisis Evidence Lab has analyzed satellite imagery to further corroborate some of these incidents.

Most residential areas where soldiers located themselves were kilometres away from front lines. Viable alternatives were available that would not endanger civilians – such as military bases or densely wooded areas nearby, or other structures further away from residential areas. In the cases it documented, Amnesty International is not aware that the Ukrainian military who located themselves in civilian structures in residential areas asked or assisted civilians to evacuate nearby buildings – a failure to take all feasible precautions to protect civilians. (Read more from “Amnesty International: Ukraine Armed Forces Hiding Weapons Systems in Heavily Populated Areas, Including in Schools and Hospitals” HERE)

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Zelensky Seeks Direct Talks With Xi Amid War With Russia

By Bloomberg. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to hold direct talks, noting Beijing hasn’t replied to such requests since Russia invaded his country some five months ago.

The last time the pair spoke was one year ago, Zelenskiy told the South China Morning Post in an interview published Thursday. Since Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, he said the Ukrainian side had “asked officially for a conversation” with Xi but hadn’t received a response. Such a dialog, he added, “would be helpful.”

The leader of the world’s second largest economy has refused to condemn Russia’s war in Ukraine and declared a “no limits” friendship with Putin weeks before the invasion, making any call with Zelenskiy potentially awkward. Xi and Putin spoke within days of the war’s beginning, and the Russian leader called Xi on the latter’s birthday in June.

Dialog between Ukraine and China has been limited to lower level diplomatic exchanges, such as those between Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Ukrainian counterpart. (Read more from “Zelensky Seeks Direct Talks With Xi Amid War With Russia” HERE)

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Ukraine’s Zelensky, Wife Pose for Vogue While Their Country Is Invaded

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By Breitbart. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife, First Lady Olena Zelenska, posed for a special digital cover for Vogue magazine while their country continues to be invaded by Russia.

Zelensky and Zelenska were photographed by famed American photographer Annie Leibovitz for the Vogue digital cover which has been promoted across the fashion magazine’s social media platforms.

The cover, featuring Zelenska, reads “Portrait of Bravery: Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska” on the steps of the presidential office compound in Kyiv, Ukraine. Zelensky, who posed alongside his wife, can be seen chatting with Leibovitz in a behind-the-scenes video posted by Vogue.

While Zelensky and Zelenska pose for Vogue, American taxpayers have footed the bill for tens of billions of dollars in foreign aid to Ukraine even as inflation and skyrocketing gas prices cripple working and middle class American families and the United States heads toward a recession.

In one portion of his interview with Vogue, Zelensky shrugged off the crushing economic realities facing American taxpayers as they help fund his country’s war with Russia — plunging the U.S. further into inflationary pressures.

(Read more from “Ukraine’s Zelensky, Wife Pose for Vogue While Their Country Is Invaded” HERE)

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Zelensky Responds to Americans Unhappy With Spending to Support Ukraine

By Newsweek. Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky said that Americans balking at the cost of U.S. support for Kyiv’s fight against Russian aggression should keep in mind “we are fighting for absolutely communal values.”

In an interview with journalist and broadcaster Piers Morgan, Zelensky was asked whether he was worried that Americans might be concerned at the amount Washington was spending in its military support for Kyiv’s forces. . .

But Zelensky said the war that Washington was helping Kyiv fight was “still the war against those values that are professed in the United States and in Europe.”

“As long as we are resisting it, the integrity of the United States will continue, therefore we are giving our lives for your values and the joint security of the world,” he told the New York Post. (Read more from “Zelensky Responds to Americans Unhappy With Spending to Support Ukraine” HERE)

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Trump: Biden Sends $60B to Ukraine for Weapons to Be ‘Obliterated’ by Russia

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Not only would Russia have not waged war on Ukraine under the Trump administration, but the U.S. taxpayers would not have had to sink $60 billion and counting into Ukraine’s defense – to watch Russia “obliterate” the weapons Ukraine is sent – former President Donald Trump lamented Saturday night.

“Ukraine would have never happened under the Trump administration,” Trump told the young conservatives at the Turning Point Action Summit in Tampa, Florida. “Russia would have never done what they did – and they didn’t.”

Trump took another bow for his pressing NATO nations to contribute their fair share for their collective defense, to the tune of $430 billion, he said.

“We were being taken advantage of by Europe,” Trump said. “If you look at Ukraine now, we have so far given $60 billion to Ukraine. Well, the European countries, who are obviously more affected than us, have given a tiny fraction of that number.” (Read more from “Trump: Biden Sends $60B to Ukraine for Weapons to Be ‘Obliterated’ by Russia” HERE)

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Two Americans Confirmed Dead in Ukraine

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Two Americans died while fighting for Ukraine in the eastern region of Donbas, according to the State Department.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed the two deaths and stated the administration is providing “all possible consular assistance,” according to a Reuters report.

The causes of the deaths were not revealed.

“Out of respect to the families during this difficult time, we have nothing further,” the spokesperson added.

One of the two people killed was reportedly named Luke Lucyszyn, his mother confirmed to ABC News. (Read more from “Two Americans Confirmed Dead in Ukraine” HERE)

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UN Chief: New Ukraine-Russia Deal Is a ‘Beacon on the Black Sea’ for Food Crisis

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Ukraine and Russia have agreed a deal that would allow the resumption of vital grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, a major diplomatic breakthrough aimed at easing a global food crisis sparked by the war, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Friday.

Ministers from both countries signed an agreement brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in Istanbul.

The breakthrough followed months of negotiations, and promises to unblock ports on the Black Sea to allow the safe passage of grain and oilseeds — some of Ukraine’s most important exports.

Russia has so far been blocking maritime access to those ports, meaning that millions of tons of Ukrainian grain has not been exported to the many countries that rely on it. (Read more from “UN Chief: New Ukraine-Russia Deal Is a ‘Beacon on the Black Sea’ for Food Crisis” HERE)

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