Russia launches massive missile, drone attacks on Kyiv
May 24 (UPI) -- Russia, using missiles and drones, launched one of the biggest assaults on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, since the beginning of the war more than three years ago and hours after a prisoner exchange began.
Russia was retaliating after several days of Ukrainian drone attacks inside its territory, including in Moscow.
The first explosions in Kyiv were reported at 10 p.m. Friday, according to the Kviv Independent. Another wave was heard at around 1 a.m. and then, hours later, more missile debris was reported in the Obolonskyi district
CNN reported that 13 people died in the drone and missile attacks -- at least four in the eastern Donetsk region, five in the southern Kherson and Odesa regions, and four in the northern Kharkiv region in the past 24 hours.
At least 15 people needed medical attention in Kyiv, including two children, the network reported.
Russia launched 14 ballistic missiles and 250 drones, with Ukrainian forces shooting down six missiles and stopping 245 drones before they reached Kyiv. Projectiles also hit the Dnipro, Odesa, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted angrily after the attack and posted video with his message on X.
"It was a difficult night for all of Ukraine -- 250 strike drones, the absolute majority of them Iranian 'Shaheds,' and 14 ballistic missiles," Zelenskyy wrote. "The Odesa, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kyiv, Dnipro regions suffered damages. All strikes targeted civilians. There are fatalities. My condolences to the families and loved ones."
Zelensky called for more sanctions on Russia to achieve a cease-fire, including one lasting 30 days.
"With each such attack, the world becomes more certain that the cause of prolonging the war lies in Moscow," Zelensky wrote.
"Ukraine has proposed a ceasefire many times -- both a full one and one in the skies. It all has been ignored. It is clear that far stronger pressure must be imposed on Russia to get results and launch real diplomacy.
"We are awaiting sanctions steps from the United States, Europe, and all our partners. Only additional sanctions targeting key sectors of the Russian economy will force Moscow to cease fire."
Amid explosions and loud sirens throughout Kyiv, people took shelter in the city's subway stations as the air raid alert in lasted more than seven hours
A five-story building in the Solomianskyi district caught fire, and seven people needed medical attention, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv city military administration.
"It's terrorism," said Mykyta Kruchan, a 22-year-old business development manager whose parents live in an apartment building in the Obolonskyi district hit by a Russian Shahed-type drone. Their apartment was not damaged, he told the Independent.
"What Ukraine does we shoot their military buildings, military stuff, centers. ... But here, it's not an adequate reply to me. All they do is on purpose."
Kruchan, who described himself as once a supporter of President Donald Trump, said the president wants to "team up with terrorists rather than stop them."
Olha Chyrukha, a 64-year-old resident of Kyiv, standing outside a damaged apartment building, said: "I wish they'd agree to a cease-fire. To bomb people like this ..."
Ukrainian parliament member Kira Rudik told CNN hiding "under the stairs" overnight in Kyiv.
"It was terrifying, it felt honestly like armageddon, the explosions were everywhere," she said.
Russia's defense ministry claimed 94 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over Russian territory were destroyed, mostly over the Belgorod and Bryansk regions. Also, some UAVs were shot down over the Kursk, Lipetsk, Voronezh and Tula regions.
Prisoner swap, cease-fire talks
Russia and Ukraine began a one-for-one 1,000 prisoner exchange of soldiers and civilians in the first phase of a deal agreed to in Istanbul, Turkey, this week.
In the first swap on Friday, 390 Ukrainians were back home, and on Saturday the Russian defense ministry said 307 prisoners from each country were exchanged.
The two sides, with help from the United States, have been working toward a permanent cease-fire.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said "one week has passed since the Istanbul meeting, and Russia has yet to send its 'peace memorandum.' Instead, Russia sends deadly drones and missiles at civilians."
Ukraine and its allies want an immediate and unconditional cease-fire.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said his nation would give Ukraine a draft text stating its conditions for a truce after the prisoner swap is completed.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't show up for a meeting with Zelensky in Turkey. Instead, lower-level officials negotiated.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hegseth defends $961.6B Defense Department budget request
June 11 (UPI) -- The proposed Department of Defense budget puts "America first" while addressing Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. Hegseth and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine fielded questions during a more than 2-hour hearing regarding the proposed $961.6 billion DOD budget for the 2026 fiscal year. The Defense Department is improving pay, housing, healthcare and other services to improve the quality of life for military members and their families, Hegseth told committee members. "This budget puts America first and gives our warriors what they need," he said during his opening statement. The proposed budget request also would "end four years of chronic underinvestment in our military by the Biden administration," Hegseth added. Russia and the Ukraine war Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., opened the hearing with questions about the Ukraine War, including who is the aggressor and preferred outcomes. Hegseth said Russia is the aggressor and China would prefer to keep the conflict going as long as possible to distract from its moves in the Indo-Pacific region. Europe needs to do more to defend its territory against Russian aggression, Hegseth said, and the United States must remain strategic in its handling of the war while addressing matters in the Indo-Pacific region. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., cited ongoing Russian aggression against civilian targets in Ukraine as evidence that Russia has no intention of ending the war there. The 2026 budget request eliminates aid to Ukraine, while senators are working to impose more sanctions on Russia, Coons said. "What message do you think it sends" when Russia "attacks civilian centers in Ukraine and the United States does not send additional air defense and interceptors to Ukraine?" Coons asked. Hegseth said arms are still flowing to Ukraine, but other NATO allies are not doing enough to end the war. "You're not a real coalition, you're not a real defense alliance, unless you have real defense capability and real armies that can bring those to bear," Hegseth said. "That's a reality that Europe is waking up to quickly," he added, "and we're glad." Coons said the United States should not negotiate a cease-fire in Ukraine "at any cost" and instead should continue supporting Ukraine to achieve an enduring peace. "Putin will only stop when we stop him," Coons said. "The best way to stop him is through a stronger NATO." Chinese military threats and Hegseth's DOD leadership Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said China has more than 400 warships and is rapidly expanding its fleet versus 293 ships for the United States. She asked why the Defense Department only seeks funding to build two submarines and an ocean surveillance ship, plus some destroyers. Hegseth said the 2026 budget request reflects a 13% increase for investing in national defense over the current fiscal year. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., then questioned Hegseth's leadership. "I am repeatedly hearing that your policy and personnel changes at the Pentagon are only undermining [and] not strengthening our military's preparedness to protect our country," Murray said. She accused Hegseth of using the military to police areas in the United States, including sending the National Guard and Marines to California to use against "peaceful protesters." Murray then asked Hegseth if the Defense Department would continue to fire shipbuilders, which he denied it has done. "We are investing historically in our shipbuilding defense industrial base and workforce and ships in this budget," Hegseth said. Murray said the Navy is firing shipbuilder staff in the state of Washington and accused it of asking welders if they ever donated to the Democratic Party. Hegseth said no welders are subject to litmus tests to work on naval projects and denied that political questions are asked. Iranian, Russian, Chinese and North Korean coalition Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., asked Hegseth and Caine if the world is underestimating Iran's intent to "kill all the Jews," including using a nuclear weapon against Israel if Iran had one. Caine said Iran would use one to pressure Israel but doesn't know if Iran would use it to "wipe out Israel." Hegseth said a radical cleric in Iran would use one to wipe out Israel. "They're going to use a nuclear weapon if they get it," Graham said. He also asked if China intends to "take Taiwan by force if necessary." Hegseth said the DOD doesn't know that China has made the decision to do so. Caine suggested China might use military force against Taiwan, and the United States needs to prepare for it. Coons said China, Russia, North Korea and Iran are aligned and pose the greatest threat to world peace since the Cold War. He cited Ukraine as an example of the future of warfare, but said the Department of Defense is "internally divided" and operating on a continuing resolution for the first time. The current state within the Defense Department "cannot continue," Coons added. Next-generation fighter and collaborative drones are planned The Defense Department also wants to spend $4 billion during the 2026 fiscal year to develop the F-47 fighter and "collaborative combat" drone aircraft, according to DefenseScoop. The $4 billion request is just part of the 2026 budget request, but the amount of the entire proposed budget has not been released. The Air Force wants to spend $3.5 billion on the F-47 fighter project, which would give it a fighter capable of exceeding Mach 2 with a range of more than 1,000 nautical miles. The current F-22 and F-35A fighter jets have top speeds of greater than Mach 2 and Mach 1.6 and ranges of 590 and 670 nautical miles, respectively. The Air Force wants to buy up to 185 F-47 fighters during the program's duration. The Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft program would promote the development of next-generation drone aircraft that are capable of flying with the manned F-47 and other next-generation fighters.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Growing Fears of Massive Strikes On Iran As Nuclear Negotiations Sputter
U.S. President Donald Trump has been presented with a broad array of potential military options against Iran should ongoing nuclear negotiations with that country fail. Israel is already reportedly moving ever closer to at least being in a position to launch its own strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The direct and indirect blowback from any such operations against Iran could be immense. Fears that U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks are on the verge of collapse have been steadily growing in the past week or so amid statements from both sides outlining potentially intractable positions. Iran's ability to continue domestic enrichment of nuclear material that could be used to produce nuclear weapons has emerged as a key stumbling block to reaching a deal. 'If the President directed [it], is CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command] prepared to respond with overwhelming force to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran?' Congressman Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican, asked U.S. Army Gen. Michael 'Erik' Kurilla at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee today. Kurilla is currently head of CENTCOM, making him the top officer overseeing operations across the Middle East. 'I have provided the Secretary of Defense [Pete Hegseth] and the President [Trump] a wide range of options,' Kurilla said in response. 'I take that as a yes?' Rogers, the present chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, asked in return, appearing to refer to the specific wording of his question, to include the possible use of 'overwhelming force.' 'Yes,' Kurrila said. Top U.S. military commander in the Middle East General Kurilla confirms that he has presented military options on Iran to President Trump & SecDef Hegseth in House Armed Services Committee this morning. — Brian Katulis (@Katulis) June 10, 2025 It is important to note here that U.S. presidents and defense secretaries regularly ask to be briefed on potential military options in light of crises or heightened risks of one erupting. Being presented with a full range of operational possibilities, including large-scale strikes or other significant direct action, does not mean the United States is automatically committed to pursuing any specific course of action, something we will come back to later on. Publicly, Trump has consistently advocated for reaching a deal with Iran to avoid any need to take military action, though he has also raised the possibility of military action in the event talks reach a dead end. He has separately said that he has pressed his Israeli counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to hold off on striking Iranian targets while negotiations are ongoing. There have been reports of significant friction between the two world leaders, as well. Amid all this, the U.S. president is said to be facing increasingly intense pressure from a faction of domestic political allies to acquiesce to and/or join in on Israeli attacks on Iran, according to a new report just today from Politico. There have been reports for weeks already that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been actively planning and otherwise preparing to launch strikes on Iran, and the country's nuclear sites in particular. Israel's Haaretz newspaper reported yesterday that those plans continue to advance, while the country's Channel 12 television station had said that more active preparations, including the prepositioning of munitions, may now be underway. It is also worth noting that there have been persistent reports about possible Israeli strikes on Iran for some time, but that this actually came to pass on a more limited level last year. Authorities in Israel have also demonstrated a new willingness to launch overt attacks beyond the country's borders, in general. Preparations for an Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities are said to be nearing completion, with the final steps, including the transfer of munitions and operational planning, currently ongoing, according to Channel 12. — OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 9, 2025 'Iran is acting much differently in negotiations than it did just days ago,' Trump said in an interview today with Fox News' Bret Baier. 'Much more aggressive. It's surprising to me. It's disappointing, but we are set to meet again tomorrow – we'll see.' Trump had told reporters that the next round of U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks was scheduled for Thursday during a question-and-answer session around an Invest America roundtable with multiple corporate CEOs at the White House yesterday. It is unclear whether or not this plan has changed. 'We have a meeting with Iran on Thursday. So we're going to wait till Thursday,' Trump had said. 'They're just asking for things that you can't do. They don't want to give up what they have to give up. You know what that is. They seek enrichment. We can't have enrichment. We want just the opposite.' US President Donald Trump told reporters that the next round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran will be held on Thursday, adding that Iran is demanding things "that you can't do." He noted that Tehran is insisting on uranium enrichment. — Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) June 9, 2025 'And so far, they're not there. I hate to say that, because the alternative is a very, very dire one, but they're not there,' the U.S. president continued. 'They have given us their thoughts on the deal. I said, you know, it's just not acceptable.' 'We discussed a lot of things, and it went very well, very smooth. We'll see what happens. You know, we're trying to do something with a country we just spoke about, Iran,' Trump said at the same White House event yesterday in response to questions about a telephone conversation earlier in the day with Netanyahu. 'They [the Iranians] are good negotiators, but they're tough. Sometimes they can be too tough. That's the problem, we're trying to make a deal so that there's no destruction and death. And we've told them that, and I've told them that. I hope that's the way it works out, but it might not work out that way. We'll soon find out.' Trump response when he said the US officials have meeting with the Iranians on Thursday and that he discussed Lebanon with Netanyahu . — Hiba Nasr (@HibaNasr) June 9, 2025 Iran 'won't be enriching,' Trump had already told reporters this past weekend. 'If they enrich, then we're going to have to do it the other way.' Domestic Iranian capacity to enrich Uranium to a level of purity required to make effective nuclear weapons has long been a sticking point between Tehran and much of the international community. The U.S. Intelligence Community, among others, continues to assess that Iran does not have an active nuclear weapons program, but that the country has put itself in a position where it could build one within as little as a week if it chose to do so. The United States, Israel, and others, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), have also accused Iran of lying, or at least being far less than forthcoming, about the full extent of its nuclear efforts to date. Signals from the Trump administration on the enrichment issue specifically have been mixed in recent weeks. Axios reported just last week that a proposed U.S. deal might allow Iran to continue enriching uranium to lower purity levels associated with civilian nuclear generation. A previous multi-national deal with Iran that the United States was party to, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had also put limits on Iranian enrichment, but did not require it to be stopped outright. Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA in 2018 during his first term in office. Iran announced in 2020 that it was no longer abiding by any of the agreement's stipulations. For its part, Iran has stressed repeatedly that it is not willing to completely abandon its domestic enrichment efforts. Iranian authorities have also said they want a clear, formalized plan for relief from U.S. sanctions as part of any new nuclear agreement. 'The U.S. proposal is not acceptable to us. It was not the result of previous rounds of negotiations. We will present our own proposal to the other side via Oman after it is finalized. This proposal is reasonable, logical, and balanced,' Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said early today, according to Reuters. 'We must ensure before the lifting of sanctions that Iran will effectively benefit economically and that its banking and trade relations with other countries will return to normal.' 'Uranium enrichment is the key to our nuclear program and the enemies have focused on the enrichment,' Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said last week during a televised address, again per Reuters. 'The proposal that the Americans have presented is 100% against our interests … The rude and arrogant leaders of America repeatedly demand that we should not have a nuclear programme. Who are you to decide whether Iran should have enrichment?' Majid Takht-e-Ravanchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, also indicated yesterday that Iran could be looking to extend negotiations without necessarily outright rejecting a particular proposal. 'Our proposal is certainly not a one-sentence or one-paragraph text that can be easily dismissed,' Takht-e-Ravanchi explained in an interview with state-run IRNA. 'It contains elements that demonstrate our seriousness, show that our position has a defined framework, and indicate that we intend to work based on established principles. Our approach is logical.' 'The reality is that we are not discussing an excessively lengthy text at this stage because we do not intend to present a comprehensive, time-consuming agreement or understanding. The proposal we have submitted serves as a framework for an agreement. If there is mutual understanding regarding this framework, we can then begin more detailed negotiations on specific issues.' If U.S. negotiations with Iran do collapse, and American and/or Israeli attacks on nuclear facilities or other targets follow, it is unclear what the scale and scope of that operation might be, as already noted. The IDF has already demonstrated an ability to launch precision standoff strikes on Iran with virtual impunity in the past year, but only against targets on the surface. Israeli forces would face significantly greater challenges in neutralizing deeply buried sites tied to Iran's nuclear program. TWZ highlighted this reality after Israel announced its special operations forces had conducted a dramatic ground raid on an underground missile production facility in Syria last year. 'What member states decide to do is their prerogative,' IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi told The Jerusalem Post yesterday. 'I don't advise the Israeli government. They will decide what's best.' 'But one thing is certain,' he added, 'The [Iranian nuclear] program runs wide and deep. And when I say 'deep,' I mean it. Many of these facilities are extremely well-protected. Disrupting them would require overwhelming and devastating force.' This is where questions about U.S. participation typically come into the picture. America's armed forces have a unique conventional deep-penetrating strike capability in the form of B-2 Spirit stealth bombers armed with GBU-57/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bunker buster bombs. TWZ highlighted the significance of this combination in reporting around the unusually large deployment of six B-2s to the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia between March and May of this year, as well as the use of those bombers in strikes on Yemen last October. In both cases, we also pointed out the clear strategic signalling aimed at Iran. The B-2 bombers on Diego Garcia represented just a portion of the additional U.S. forces and materiel that flowed into the Middle East since the beginning of the year. In addition, last week, reports began to emerge that the U.S. military had diverted counter-drone capabilities originally intended to be delivered to Ukraine to American forces in the Middle East. Like Israel, the U.S. military could also launch its own standoff strikes on Iran via other aircraft, as well as ships and submarines, but would face similar limitations in the kinds of targets it might be able to prosecute. Questions have even been raised in the past about whether some of Iran's underground nuclear facilities might be beyond the reach even of the MOP. Strikes that do not fully destroy facilities could still put them out of commission for at least a limited time. Ground raids could also be launched as part of what might be a protracted campaign. Any such operation would require a much larger force package beyond just the assets tasked with carrying out the strikes, including to suppress and destroy hostile air defenses, and would present additional risks as a result. U.S. operations targeting Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen in the past year or so have highlighted how even more rudimentary air defenses can still present real threats to even advanced American aircraft, as you can read more about here. All of this would be further magnified by any need to mount a combat search and rescue effort to recover American personnel should their aircraft be downed inside Iran. The Houthis' arsenal of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as kamikaze drones, which the group has amassed with immense help from Iran, also underscores the dangers U.S. warships could face from Iranian retaliation. TWZ already explored the potential broader ramifications of a major conflict between the United States and Iran in detail earlier this year amid another spike in tensions between the two countries. Iran has long vowed to carry out a broad retaliatory response if its nuclear facilities are targeted. This could include missile and drone attacks on Israeli and U.S. interests across the Middle East on a scale and scope not seen ever before, as well as similar actions by proxy forces like the Houthis, along with terrorist attacks globally. 'We have a rule in CENTCOM: you improve your foxhole every single day,' Kurrila also said at today's hearing. Kurilla says an Israeli attack on Iran would increase the risks to safety of US troops in the region. 'We have a rule in CENTCOM: you improve your foxhole every single day.' — Jared Szuba (@JM_Szuba) June 10, 2025 Just this week, Iranian authorities explicitly threatened to strike Israeli nuclear sites if their own are targeted. This followed claims from Iran's intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, that his country is in possession of a trove of secrets about Israel's unacknowledged nuclear arsenal, which he has also threatened to publicly release. This remains largely unconfirmed, but IAEA's Grossi has indicated that the information Iran has relates primarily to Israel's publicly acknowledged Soreq nuclear research facility. It's also worth noting that Iran's general ability to threaten missile and drone attacks on targets further away from its shores has steadily grown in recent years. The U.S. Air Force's deployment in May of a contingent of F-15E Strike Eagle combat jets to provide force protection on Diego Garcia, which TWZ was first to report, highlights this fact. The island, where a force of a B-52 bombers also remains forward-deployed, has historically been seen as being less vulnerable, especially to smaller potential adversaries like Iran, simply due to its remoteness. Grossi, among others, has also warned that attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities could prompt the country to start an active nuclear weapons program. The U.S. Intelligence Community has publicly assessed that Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei is already under increasing pressure from domestic hardliners to do so. There is clear potential for other second-order impacts, as well. Iranian authorities have threatened the possibility of blockading the Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, in times of heightened tensions in the past. Doing so would have major impacts on global oil and natural gas supplies. Yemen's Houthis have already massively disrupted international shipping with attacks on commercial vessels in and around the Red Sea in the past year or so. Regional and global impacts could draw in other countries and create additional complexities. Russia and China, for instance, have deep ties to Iran and interests in keeping the current regime in Tehran in place. All told, it remains to be seen whether the United States and/or Israel will launch attacks on Iran, including its nuclear sites. At the same time, that decision looks to heavily hinge on the increasingly uncertain future of ongoing U.S.-Iranian negotiations. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Chabria: Newsom's 'Democracy is under assault' speech could turn the tables on Trump
Frame it as a call to action or a presidential campaign announcement, Gov. Gavin Newsom's address to America on Tuesday has tapped into our zeitgeist (German words feel oddly appropriate at the moment) in a way few others have. 'Democracy is under assault right before our eyes,' Newsom said during a live broadcast with a California flag and the U.S. flag in the background. 'The moment we've feared has arrived.' What moment exactly is he referring to? President Trump has put Marines and National Guardsmen on the streets of Los Angeles, and granted himself the power to put them anywhere. Wednesday, a top military leader said those forces could "detain" protesters, but not outright arrest them, though — despite what you see on right wing media — most protesters have been peaceful. But every would-be authoritarian ultimately faces a decisive moment, when the fear they have generated must be enforced with action to solidify power. The danger of that moment for the would-be king is that it is also the time when rebellion is most likely, and most likely to be effective. People wake up. In using force against his own citizens, the leader risks alienating supporters and activating resistance. Read more: Mayor Karen Bass decries continuing raids, wonders if L.A. is a 'national experiment' What happens next in Los Angeles between the military and protesters — which group is perceived as the aggressors — may likely determine what happens next in our democracy. If the military is the aggressor and protesters remain largely peaceful, Trump risks losing support. If the protesters are violent, public perception could further empower Trump. The president's immigration czar Tom Homan, said on CNN that what happens next, 'It all depends on the activities of these protesters — I mean, they make the decisions.' Welcome to that fraught moment, America. Who would have thought Newsom would lead on it so effectively? "Everybody who's not a Trumpist in this society has been taken by surprise, and is still groggy from the authoritarian offensive of the last five months," said Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at the embattled Harvard University, and author of "How Democracies Die." Levitsky told me that it helps shake off that shock to have national leaders, people who others can look to and rally behind. Especially as fear nudges some into silence. "You never know who that leader sometimes is going to be, and it may be Newsom," Levitsky said. "Maybe his political ambitions end up converging with the small d, democratic opposition." Maybe. Since his address, and a coinciding and A-game funny online offensive, Newsom's reach has skyrocketed. Millions of people watched his address, and hundreds of thousands have followed him on TikTok and other social media platforms. Searches about him on Google were up 9,700%, according to CNN. Love his message or find it laughable, it had reach — partly because it was unapologetically clear and also unexpected. "Trump and his loyalist thrive on division because it allow them to take more power and exert even more control," Newsom said. I was on the ground with the protesters this week, and I can say from firsthand experience that there are a small number of agitators and a large number of peaceful protesters. But Trump has done an excellent job of creating crisis and fear by portraying events as out of the control of local and state authorities, and therefore in need of his intervention. Republicans "need that violence to corroborate their talking points," Mia Bloom told me. She's an expert on extremism and a professor at Georgia State University. Violence "like in the aftermath of George Floyd, when there was the rioting, that actually was helpful for Republicans," she said. Read more: After images of unrest comes the political spin, distorting the reality on the ground in L.A. Levitsky said authoritarians look for crises. "You need an emergency, both rhetorically and legally, to engage in authoritarian behavior," he said. So Trump has laid a trap with his immigration sweeps in a city of immigrants to create opportunity, and Newsom has called it out. And it calling it out — pointing out the danger of protesters turning violent and yet still calling for peaceful protest — Newsom has put Trump in a precarious position that the president may not have been expecting. "Repressing protest is a very risky venture," said Levitsky. "It often, not always, but often, does trigger push back." Levitsky points out that already, there is some evidence that Trump may have overreached, and is losing support. A new poll by the Public Religion Research Institute found that 76% of Americans oppose the military birthday parade Trump plans on throwing for himself in Washington, D.C. this weekend. That includes disapproval from more than half of Trump supporters. A separate poll by Quinnipiac University found that 54% of those polled disapprove of how he's handling immigration issues, and 56% disapprove of his deportations. Bloom warns that there's a danger in raising too many alarms about authoritarianism right now, because we still have some functioning guardrails. She said that stoking too much fear could backfire, for Newsom and for democracy. "We're at a moment in which the country is very polarized and that these things are being told through two very different types of narratives, and the moment we give the other side, which was a very apocalyptic, nihilistic narrative, we give them fodder, we justify the worst policies" she said. She pointed to the Iranian Revolution of 1979, when some protesters placed flowers in the barrels of soldiers' guns, and act of peaceful protest she said changed public perception. That, she said, is what's needed now. Newsom was clear in his call for peaceful protest. But also clear that it was a call to action in a historic inflection point. We can't know in the moment who or what history will remember, said Levitsky. "It's really important that the most privileged among us stand up and fight," he said. "If they don't, citizens are going to look around and say, 'Well, why should I?" Having leaders willing to be the target, when so many feel the danger of speaking out, has value, he said. Because fear may spread like a virus, but courage is contagious, too. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
