Ukraine says at least 40 Russian warplanes hit in massive drone strikes
Ukraine claims to have hit more than 40 Russian warplanes at several military airfields, in what appears to be one of the most audacious drone attacks so far on Russian aviation.
According to a statement from Ukraine's security service, SBU, "enemy strategic bombers are burning en masse in Russia".
The SBU says Ukraine is conducting "a large-scale special operation aimed at destroying enemy bomber aircraft."
Dramatic footage has emerged purportedly showing a drone attack at Belaya airbase in Irkutsk oblast, Siberia, thousands of miles from Ukraine.
Russia's military has not commented on the issue.
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Washington Post
2 hours ago
- Washington Post
Here are the people Trump is trying to delete
Women, people of color and those in the LGBTQ+ community are main targets When the Trump administration encounters a group it doesn't respect or care for, oftentimes it just deletes them — specifically, the very record of their existence. For example, when the Defense Department was asked to cull all DEI-related content from its websites, it removed approximately 26,000 images. A list of the deleted photos was given to the Associated Press. About 19,000 of them included descriptions, and our analysis found that 4 out of 5 depicted women, people in the LGBTQ+ community and racial minorities. We recovered a handful of the photos so you can see what's missing. Many erased images included American service members from the past and present, both on and off duty. Most of the people were unnamed. About 80 percent of the erased images contained one or more targeted keywords, such as gay, transgender, women, Hispanic and Black. In a nutshell, the purge sought to exclude the diversity the U.S. military once celebrated. This is part of a broader campaign to delete the statistical and visual evidence of undesirables, or at least those who may not fit into President Donald Trump's conception of the new American 'golden age.' Entire demographics are being scrubbed from records of both America's past and present — including people of color, transgender people, women, immigrants and people with disabilities. They are now among America's 'missing persons.' This is a chart that shows, of the images with text descriptions, the portion that include words related to targeted groups. Six percent of images included at least one word related to LGBTQ+ communities, seven percent with DEI-related words, 22% with female-gendered words and 46% with words related to race and ethnicity. Seventy-nine percent of all the images with descriptions included at least one word from any of those four categories. The analysis was done by Amanda Shendruk. A look at the deleted groups On the list of 26,481 images targeted for deletion, 19,017 included text descriptions. Of images with descriptions, the fraction with words related to: LGBTQ+ | Ex: Pride, gay, transgender 6% DEI | Ex: Diversity, inclusion, bias 7% Female gender* | Ex: She, women, her 22% Race and ethnicity | Ex: Heritage, Hispanic, Black 46% Any of the above categories 79% *Fewer than 1% included a male-gendered term. Source: Analysis by Amanda Shendruk/The Washington Post A look at the deleted groups On the list of 26,481 images targeted for deletion, 19,017 included text descriptions. Of images with descriptions, the fraction with words related to: LGBTQ+ | Ex: Pride, gay, transgender 6% DEI | Ex: Diversity, inclusion, bias 7% Female gender* | Ex: She, women, her 22% Race and ethnicity | Ex: Heritage, Hispanic, Black 46% Any of the above categories 79% *Fewer than 1% included a male-gendered term. Source: Analysis by Amanda Shendruk/The Washington Post A look at the deleted groups On the list of 26,481 images targeted for deletion, 19,017 included text descriptions. Of images with descriptions, the fraction with words related to: LGBTQ+ | Ex: Pride, gay, transgender 6% DEI | Ex: Diversity, inclusion, bias 7% Female gender* | Ex: She, women, her 22% Race and ethnicity | Ex: Heritage, Hispanic, Black 46% Any of the above categories 79% *Fewer than 1% included a male-gendered term. Source: Analysis by Amanda Shendruk/The Washington Post Story continues below advertisement Advertisement People who aren't White are an especially frequent target of government erasure. Some are higher-profile, such as baseball legend Jackie Robinson or the recently-fired Carla Hayden, the first Black American and first woman to serve as librarian of Congress. But most are ordinary people going about their jobs and lives, who may not even realize recognition of their existence has been terminated. Everyday Americans who happen to be nonwhite have been deleted from federal datasets and indexes designed to inform government preparations for emergencies. Some government mapping tools that involve race have been taken down entirely. In response to an executive order banning DEI, some federal agencies now forbid the recognition of Black History Month and employee affinity groups. And keywords such as 'Black,' 'ethnicity' and 'indigenous' have appeared on lists of banned words for public communications and scientific grants. These systemic deletions are ironic in the case of the military. When the Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in college admissions in 2023, it specifically exempted military service academies. The justices appear to have been swayed by military leaders who argued that a deliberately diverse military serves national security. 'Diversity in the officer corps creates a more cohesive, more competent, and ultimately more lethal fighting force,' the leaders wrote in an amicus brief. But under this administration, service members and veterans who exemplify racial 'diversity' are now MIA, at least visually. **ONE TIME USE ONLY. MANDATORY CREDIT. For op-erased-shendrukrampell about Trump removing people of color and LGBTQA people from administrative existence. Where did gay and trans people go? The military has also been particularly aggressive at removing any evidence of the LGBTQ+ community from its installations and facilities. At the start of Pride Month, Defense officials announced they are seeking to rename a ship that honors Harvey Milk, the late gay rights icon and former Navy officer. (This is part of a broader effort to ensure military installations reflect a 'warrior ethos,' according to a Pentagon statement.) The U.S. Navy launched the USNS Harvey Milk in 2021. (Alex Gallardo/AP) At one point, U.S. military-run schools in Europe took down all rainbows from kindergarten classrooms. Schools have since been told that rainbows are allowed, provided they aren't used as a gay pride symbol. Meanwhile, trans people have been removed from military ranks altogether (litigation is ongoing). Though the military is hardly alone in attempting to purge this demographic; trans and other gender-nonconforming citizens have been a frequent target of erasure across the government. On Trump's first day in office, he signed an executive order directing the government to stop recognizing trans and nonbinary people entirely. The order included a directive to the State Department and Department of Homeland Security 'to require that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards,' reflect their sex 'at conception.' Trans activists and LGBTQ+ rights groups have condemned the change as dehumanizing and insulting. ('Remember that you do not need the government's permission to exist,' Lambda Legal advised in an online FAQ about legal rights and ID applications.) On a practical level, the policy effectively left some citizens without usable travel documents. TSA agents have flagged some (real) passports as fraudulent because the sex listed on the document — the sex assigned at birth — does not match that of the traveler standing before them. There is ongoing litigation over this policy as well. Trans people have similarly been removed from sites across the government: This is a graphic that shows government webpages that have been altered or deleted. The state department removed trans-specific international travel warnings. The Centers for disease control and prevention is no longer counting trans people in federal health data, and removed pages about trans health risks. The deleted webpages were restored by court order, but now include a note. The Department of Justice has stopped tracking assaults on trans people, a group four times more likely to be victims of violent crime. The U.S. National Park Service removed references to trans people on the Stonewall National Monument website. Before Today LGBTQI+ Travelers Jan. 31 After Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Travelers June 5 State Department Removed trans-specific international travel warnings. Before Jan. 26 After June 5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Is no longer counting trans people in federal health data and removed pages about trans health risks. The deleted webpages were restored by court order but now include a note. Before Jan. 30 After The requested page could not be found June 5 Justice Department Has stopped tracking assaults on trans people, a group four times more likely to be victims of violent crime. Before lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) person Feb. 13 After gay or lesbian person June 5 U.S. National Park Service Removed references to trans people on the Stonewall National Monument website. Before After Today LGBTQI+ Travelers Jan. 31 Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Travelers June 5 State Department Removed trans-specific international travel warnings. Before After Jan. 26 June 5 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Is no longer counting trans people in federal health data and removed pages about trans health risks. The deleted webpages were restored by court order but now include a note. Before After Jan. 30 The requested page could not be found June 5 Justice Department Has stopped tracking assaults on trans people, a group four times more likely to be victims of violent crime. Before After lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) person Feb. 13 gay or lesbian person June 5 U.S. National Park Service Removed references to trans people on the Stonewall National Monument website. Before After State Department Removed trans-specific international travel warnings. LGBTQI+ Travelers Jan. 31 Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Travelers June 5 Before Centers for Disease Control and Prevention After Is no longer counting trans people in federal health data and removed pages about trans health risks. The deleted webpages were restored by court order but now include a note. Jan. 26 June 5 Before After Justice Department Has stopped tracking assaults on trans people, a group four times more likely to be victims of violent crime. Jan. 30 The requested page could not be found June 5 Before After U.S. National Park Service lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer (LGBTQ+) person Removed references to trans people on the Stonewall National Monument website. Feb. 13 gay or lesbian person June 5 Story continues below advertisement Advertisement **ONE TIME USE ONLY. MANDATORY CREDIT. For op-erased-shendrukrampell about Trump removing people of color and LGBTQA people from administrative existence. The invisible woman Meanwhile, some women's rights and protections have been erased under this administration. In some cases, so have their jobs, health concerns and identities. Women (alongside racial minorities) have been disproportionately fired in purges of National Institutes of Health science review boards and senior military leadership positions. A landmark study on women's health — the Women's Health Initiative — was canceled entirely in April, though eventually restored after significant public outcry. The Labor Department likewise canceled grants for women's apprenticeship programs last week. More broadly, the terms 'woman' and 'women' have also appeared on banned-word lists for federal agency websites, grant applications and other external communications, including at the National Science Foundation and the Food and Drug Administration. **ONE TIME USE ONLY. MANDATORY CREDIT. For op-erased-shendrukrampell about Trump removing people of color and LGBTQA people from administrative existence. De-documenting immigrants In his first term, Trump tried to delete immigrants from the decennial census counts used for apportioning legislative representation and drawing congressional districts. He ultimately failed. This time around, the administration has taken a slightly different tack: manipulating other administrative records for immigrant families, from cradle to grave. In another day one executive order, Trump tried to strip birthright citizenship from the children of many groups of immigrants, including many parents here lawfully. The order has been temporarily blocked, but if effective it would mean these children would no longer be counted as U.S. citizens — and would be denied access to the rights they're entitled to. Including, presumably, the right to stay in this country. Supporters of birthright citizenship outside the Supreme Court, where the justices are hearing a Trump administration challenge to the constitutional provision in D.C. on May 15. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) Months later, DHS and the U.S. DOGE Service deliberately misclassified more than 6,000 mostly Latino immigrants as 'dead' in Social Security databases, even though they were very much alive. Their newfound spectral status would prevent them from working or receiving federal benefits they might be legally entitled to. Administration officials have said the goal was to pressure people to leave the country. Ultimately the administration backed down and resurrected at least some of the 'dead' in official recordkeeping. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement **ONE TIME USE ONLY. MANDATORY CREDIT. For op-erased-shendrukrampell about Trump removing people of color and LGBTQA people from administrative existence. Fastest way to make Americans look richer? Stop tallying the poor. While the administration's attacks have clearly been focused on non-Whites, LGBTQ+ groups, immigrants and women, others' existence has also proven inconvenient for the Trump agenda. Take, for instance, the poor. Trump's Department of Health and Human Services fired the entire team that calculates government-wide poverty guidelines, which determine who is sufficiently low-income to qualify for benefits such as food stamps. Perhaps if we never define or quantify poverty, the administration seems to believe, poor people would cease to exist — and therefore would no longer be entitled to safety-net services. The Social Security Administration similarly took down its Disability Analysis File, a long-running dataset containing historical, longitudinal and one-time data on all children and preretirement adults with disabilities. The agency also canceled multiple surveys tracking outcomes for children and adults on government income support related to their disabilities. Out of survey, out of sight, out of mind. Other government acknowledgments of people with different physical or mental abilities — such as long-standing federal guidance to private businesses about their obligations under the Americans With Disabilities Act — have also been deleted. The administration's efforts to disclaim people with disabilities has even turned international: The State Department is removing all references from its annual human rights report to people with disabilities (as well as women, indigenous communities and LGBTQ+ people). Americans didn't ask for this However anti-DEI some of Trump's base might be, Americans writ large do not appear supportive of campaigns to expunge government recognition of these groups. This is evident from recent YouGov polling on views of Trump's efforts to delete references to diversity from federal websites, buildings and official reports. This chart shows data from YouGov polling that shows most Americans don't want websites and words banned. 44% oppose removing government websites that use the terms gender, racism, diversity or bias (while 38% support it). 50% oppose removing references to women, LGBTQ people and disabled people from the State Department's annual human rights report (while 27% support this). And 55% oppose removing from federal buildings posters and materials that emphasize the inclusion of women and racial minorities. 30% support this. Most Americans don't want websites and words banned Do you support or oppose ... Removing government websites that use the terms gender, racism, diversity or bias 38% 18 44 Strongly/somewhat support Not sure Strongly/somewhat oppose Removing references to women, LGBTQ people, and disabled people from the State Department's annual human rights report 27% 23 50 Removing from federal buildings posters and materials that emphasize the inclusion of women and racial minorities 30% 16 55 Percentages on final question are greater than 100 because of rounding. Questions are from surveys conducted Feb. 11-14, April 4-9 and Feb. 26-28, 2025. Source: YouGov Most Americans don't want websites and words banned Do you support or oppose ... Removing government websites that use the terms gender, racism, diversity or bias 38% 18 44 Strongly/somewhat support Not sure Strongly/somewhat oppose Removing references to women, LGBTQ people, and disabled people from the State Department's annual human rights report 27% 23 50 Removing from federal buildings posters and materials that emphasize the inclusion of women and racial minorities 30% 16 55 Percentages on final question are greater than 100 because of rounding. Questions are from surveys conducted Feb. 11-14, April 4-9 and Feb. 26-28, 2025. Source: YouGov Most Americans don't want websites and words banned Do you support or oppose ... Removing government websites that use the terms gender, racism, diversity or bias 38% 18 44 Strongly/somewhat support Not sure Strongly/somewhat oppose Removing references to women, LGBTQ people, and disabled people from the State Department's annual human rights report 27% 23 50 Removing from federal buildings posters and materials that emphasize the inclusion of women and racial minorities 30% 16 55 Percentages on final question are greater than 100 because of rounding. Questions are from surveys conducted Feb. 11-14, April 4-9 and Feb. 26-28, 2025. Source: YouGov And why would Americans support this? Most people see themselves in at least one of these groups — and they want to be seen by their government, too. Story continues below advertisement Advertisement
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Associated Press
Germany's Merz says he found Trump open to dialogue and committed to NATO
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday, a day after meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, that he encountered a U.S. administration open to discussion and returned confident that Washington remains committed to NATO. Merz described his Oval Office meeting and extended lunch with Trump as constructive but also candid, noting that the two leaders expressed different views on Ukraine. 'Yesterday, in the meeting at the Oval Office, I expressed a distinctly different position on the topic of Ukraine than the one Trump had taken, and not only was there no objection, but we discussed it in detail again over lunch,' Merz said in Berlin after his return. Thursday's White House meeting marked the first time the two sat down in person. Merz, who became chancellor in May, avoided the kind of confrontations in the Oval Office that have tripped up other world leaders, including Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy and South Africa's Cyril Ramaphosa. The two leaders opened with pleasantries. Merz presented Trump with a gold-framed birth certificate of the president's grandfather, Friedrich Trump, who emigrated from Kallstadt, Germany. Trump called Merz a 'very good man to deal with.' The American administration, he said, is open to discussion, listens, and is willing to accept differing opinions. Add he added that dialogue should go both ways: 'Let's stop talking about Donald Trump with a raised finger and wrinkled nose. You have to talk with him, not about him.' He said he also met with senators on Capitol Hill, urging them to recognize the scale of Russian rearmament. 'Please take a look at how far Russia's armament is going, what they are currently doing there; you obviously have no idea what's happening,' he said he told them. 'In short, you can talk to them, but you must not let yourself be intimidated. I don't have that inclination anyway.' Merz, who speaks English fluently, stressed the need for transatlantic trust and said he reminded Trump that allies matter. 'Whether we like it or not, we will remain dependent on the United States of America for a long time,' he said. 'But you also need partners in the world, and the Europeans, especially the Germans, are the best-suited partners. 'This is the difference between authoritarian systems and democracies: authoritarian systems have subordinates. Democracies have partners — and we want to be those partners in Europe and with America.' He reiterated that the U.S. remains committed to NATO, particularly as Germany and others boost their defense spending. Trump has in the past suggested that the U.S. might abandon its commitments to the alliance if member countries don't meet defense spending targets. 'I have absolutely no doubt that the American government is committed to NATO, especially now that we've all said we're doing more. We're ensuring that we can also defend ourselves in Europe, and I believe this expectation was not unjustified,' Merz said. 'We've been the free riders of American security guarantees for years, and we're changing that now.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Drones target Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant training centre, IAEA warns of risks
The training centre just outside the perimeter of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has been targeted by drones for the fourth time this year. Source: Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Interfax-Ukraine Details: The IAEA team stationed at the Zaporizhzhia NPP heard repeated gunfire likely directed against drones attacking the plant's training centre, followed by the sound of multiple explosions, Interfax-Ukraine says. The team reported hearing at least five blasts between 11:30 and 13:45 on Thursday 5 June, each preceded by gunfire. No damage to the training centre has been confirmed. Quote from Grossi: "Drones flying close to nuclear power plants could threaten their safety and security, with potentially serious consequences. As I have stated repeatedly during the war, such incidents must stop immediately." More details: The agency noted that in mid-April this year, a drone crashed near the Zaporizhzhia NPP training facility, and in February, another UAV seriously damaged the New Safe Confinement at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Ukraine's operating nuclear power plants in the cities of Khmelnytskyi, Rivne and Pivdennoukrainsk also regularly report sightings of drones near their sites. Background: The International Atomic Energy Agency has reported yet another drone attack near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
