Dan Lamothe
@DanLamothe
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Military affairs beat @washingtonpost . @GUPolitics fellow. @UMassJournalism & @merrillcollege alum. Son of @Chicopee_MA .
Northern Virginia
Joined August 2009
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BREAKING: The entire D.C. National Guard will be activated today, putting about 1,100 guardsmen on duty tonight, defense official tells me. Comes after breach of Capitol by pro-Trump protesters.
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U.S. official confirms that the working dog wounded in the Baghdadi raid is ok.
I said: "What's the dog's name?"
Source said: "It's classified."
I said: "Really?"
Source said: "Yes."
I'm still not positive if the source is kidding or not.
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A senior U.S. defense official just released an updated assessment of the war in Ukraine as of early Sunday evening in Washington. Basic updates:
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As names and ages roll in on some of the U.S. service members killed in Kabul, we are reminded how much young men and women in uniform, often in their teens or early 20s, do for our nation.
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A "clap-out" for Gen. David Berger today at the Pentagon as he wraps up a four-year tour as commandant of the Marine Corps.
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The Army confirms that Glen Oakley, interviewed by CNN below near the El Paso Mall, is indeed a soldier and member of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss.
I share this because the veracity of initial media reports in mass shootings is often questioned later.
#elpasoshooting
This is Glen Oakley.
He was in the
@FootLocker
when the El Paso shooting happened. When he ran to leave, he saw kids in the mall without their parents, scared and alone.
So he picked up as many as he could and carried them to safety.
Focus on the heroes.
#ElPasoShooting
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This is Chief Petty Officer Charles Robert Thacker Jr. He is the USS Theodore Roosevelt sailor who died of covid-19 this week. He tested positive for the coronavirus on March 30.
Thacker's wife also is in the military, and was flown to Guam. He died by her side.
RIP.
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The Joint Chiefs of Staff, the leaders of each branch of the U.S. military, weigh in on the insurrection at the Capitol in this new memo:
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Army Spc. Etienne Murphy died Friday in a vehicle rollover in Syria. He was 22, and a member of the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. RIP.
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Final point: As of Saturday morning in Washington, not a single major Ukrainian city has fallen to Russia, days after this invasion began.
Outgunned or not, the Ukrainians are making this painful for Putin and his army.
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This is Nawres Hamid. He is the American killed in the Dec. 27 attack in Iraq that spiked tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
He worked as an interpreter for U.S. forces. He was a dad and husband, born in Iraq and naturalized as a U.S. citizen.
RIP.
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This is Sgt. Maj. James G. Sartor. He was killed by small-arms fire in Afghanistan on Saturday, July 13 while deployed with 10th Special Forces Group.
Between Iraq and Afghanistan, Sartor was deployed in 2002, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2017 and 2019.
RIP.
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A senior U.S. official expressed exasperation to me about the Starlink situation in Ukraine involving
@elonmusk
.
Musk “dangles hope over the heads of millions, then sticks the DoD with the bill for a system no one asked for but now so many depend on.”
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Pentagon will deploy two Patriot missile defense batteries to Poland, U.S. military says in statement tonight. They include not only the missiles, but powerful radar designed to spot incoming fire.
As of Tuesday, Russia has launched 670~ missiles at Ukraine since invading.
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Senior U.S. defense official:
"In the airspace, we continue to observe that the airspace over Ukraine is contested. Ukrainian air and missile defenses remain effective and in use. The Ukrainian military continues to fly aircraft and to employ air defense assets."
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A background briefing about the Russian war on Ukraine with a senior U.S. defense official has just concluded.
It’s Day 21 of the invasion, and there are a few significant updates:
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A Saturday morning background briefing with a senior U.S. defense official about the war in Ukraine just concluded.
First takeaway: Russian reconnaissance troops are now in and near Kyiv, the capital, even as main Russian advanced is about 30 kilometers north, official said.
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"There does not appear to be any significant movement along the Russian axes. Leading elements remain outside these city centers. We cannot give specific distances today.
"The convoy continues to be stalled."
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A background briefing at the Pentagon about the Russian war on Ukraine just finished. It’s Day 19 of the war.
Basic takeaways:
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"We assess that the Russians have now committed inside Ukraine somewhere near 95% of the combat power they had amassed along the border."
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This is Sgt. 1st Class Javier Jaguar Gutierrez, 28, and Sgt. 1st Class Antonio Rey Rodriguez, 28. They are the two U.S. Special Forces soldiers killed in Afghanistan on Saturday.
RIP.
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"We’ve observed limited changes on the ground over the past day. Russian forces continued efforts to advance and isolate Kyiv, Kharkhiv and Chernihiv across the north and east are being met with strong Ukrainian resistance."
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I met Ian McConnell in Afghanistan. I was an embedded journalist, and he was an EOD tech.
When I got into my first firefight, Ian checked on me afterward to see how I was doing. Kindness in a grim place.
He died by suicide after his deployment.
RIP.
#MemorialDayWeekend
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A member of the Pentagon's Defense Science Board, James Miller, has resigned his position, telling
@EsperDoD
that he believes the Pentagon chief violated his oath to the U.S. Constitution last night during Trump's church photo-op.
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This is Army Spc. Vincent Sebastian Ibarria. He died in Afghanistan's Farah province in a vehicle rollover yesterday, the Pentagon just announced.
He was 21 years old, and on his first deployment as a member of the 10th Mountain Division.
RIP.
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U.S. forces say Turkey was deliberately ‘bracketing’ American troops with artillery fire in Syria.
That’s not something we ever would have done to a partner force," Army officer says.
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Amid an avalanche of news today, I can't help but think that the death of Jeremy Richman in Newtown deserves more attention.
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U.S. Army announces this morning a new contract with Lockheed Martin to boost HIMARS ammo production in light of the war in Ukraine.
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I'm on a plane bound from Honolulu to Dallas. The pilot just notified passengers that we will be traveling with the remains of a U.S. veteran who fought in the Korean War.
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This is Gunnery Sgt. Diego D. Pongo and Capt. Moises A. Navas. They are the Marine Raiders who were killed Sunday during an operation on an Islamic State mountain hideout in Iraq.
Pongo leaves behind a daughter.
Navas leaves a wife, daughter and three sons.
RIP.
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"Donald Trump may not have been expecting this, but a lot of other people in the government were — they just couldn’t get him to do anything about it,” said one intelligence official about coronavirus concerns.
“The system was blinking red."
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SCOOP: The Army falsely denied for days that Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn, the brother of disgraced conspiracy theorist Michael Flynn, was involved in its heavily scrutinized response to the assault on the Capitol.
w/
@PaulSonne
@CarolLeonnig
@byaaroncdavis
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Sgt. 1st Class Mihail Golin, 34, moved to the United States in 2004 from Latvia, and joined the Army a few months later.
He was on his fourth combat deployment when he was killed Monday in Afghanistan.
RIP.
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Airspace over Ukraine remains contested, U.S. official says, in contradiction to expectations before the invasion that Russia would quickly seize control of the skies.
Ukrainian jets and air-defense systems are active and continue to “engage and deny," U.S. official says.
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I have placed specific, on-the-record questions with the Defense Department today, including for an estimate of how much the 4th of July celebration will cost in taxpayer money.
I was just referred to the White House for comment.
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Vladimir Putin's speech right now is calling for a redrawing of European boundaries that go back generations.
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At the Pentagon, a Tuesday morning background briefing about the war in Ukraine with a senior U.S. defense official has concluded. Important updates:
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This is Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Luis F. Deleon-Figueroa, 31, who shared my hometown of Chicopee, MA. He and Master Sgt. Jose J. Gonzalez, 35, of La Puente, CA, were killed yesterday in Afghanistan's Faryab Province.
RIP.
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Just back from background briefing with a senior U.S. defense official. Important details that the Pentagon is seeing about the assault on Ukraine:
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"We believe the Ukrainian people in most parts of the country still have means of communication, access to internet and the media," senior U.S. defense official says.
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These troops died in a helicopter crash at sea on Aug. 31, Navy says today.
From top left:
Lt. Bradley Foster, 29
Lt. Paul Fridley, 28
Naval Air Crewman 2nd Class James Buriak, 31
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sarah Burns, 31
Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Bailey Tucker, 21
RIP.
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"We have not observed an amphibious invasion in or near Odessa, nor do we assess that one is imminent.
"We’ve observed continued ongoing fighting and efforts to encircle Mariupol. There continue to be reports of wide-spread utility outages (water and electricity)."
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Out of a background briefing this morning with a senior U.S. defense official. Notable updates about the war in Ukraine:
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"We are aware of the Ukrainian military’s release of videos and numbers of Russian aircraft shot down," senior U.S. defense official says. "We cannot independently verify those incidents, but neither are we in a position to refute them."
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This is Sgt. 1st Class Reymund R. Transfiguracion, 36. He was killed yesterday in Afghanistan's Helmand province by an IED explosion. Bio just released by the Army says he was born in the Philippines in May 1982 and enlisted in the Hawaii National Guard in July 2001. 1/
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This is Army Sgt. Jason McClary. He died Sunday in the military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries suffered in a Nov. 27 bomb blast in Afghanistan that killed three other U.S. troops.
McClary was awarded the Purple Heart twice, and served previously in Iraq.
RIP.
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Russia now has 100 percent of the forces it assembled prior to invading committed to the fight. It has under 90 percent of those forces available to them, after taking losses, senior U.S. defense official says.
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"Both sides have taken losses to both aircraft and missile defense inventories," senior U.S. defense official says. "We are not going to speak to numbers. We assess that both sides still possess a majority of their air defense systems and capabilities."
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Confirmed with a second source: As of this morning, at least, the dog's name is classified.
Mind you, the dog's name is not "Classified." But it's classified.
U.S. official confirms that the working dog wounded in the Baghdadi raid is ok.
I said: "What's the dog's name?"
Source said: "It's classified."
I said: "Really?"
Source said: "Yes."
I'm still not positive if the source is kidding or not.
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Your might be having a tough day in public relations when the great grandson of Teddy Roosevelt weighs in on your organization's decision.
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A background briefing with a senior U.S. defense official for Monday about the war in Ukraine has concluded.
Some takeaways:
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Continued morale issues among Russian soldiers seen, senior defense official says.
In addition to food and fuel shortages, the Pentagon now observes frostbite as an issue.
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"We’ve observed fighting in the south near Kherson and Mykolaiv. We cannot independently verify reporting of Russian forces firing on protesters in Kherson."
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NEW:
@OMarkarova
, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, met last week with officials from
@GeneralAtomics
, maker of Reaper and Predator drones.
General Atomics says it has unmanned strike aircraft ready to go if the U.S. government approves.
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A farewell message from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who departs his office this evening.
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For days, the Army denied that Lt. Gen. Charles Flynn was on a call in which senior Army officials raised concerns about the optics of having the National Guard respond to the attack on the U.S. Capitol. In a scoop, we eventually reported that was false.
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The Russian warship Moskva was hit by two Ukrainian Neptune missiles, prompting its sinking, a senior U.S. defense official just told me and a handful of other reporters at the Pentagon.
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"As of today, we assess that approximately 600 Russian missile launches have occurred since the invasion began," senior U.S. defense official says.
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On Monday, the Washington Post published a scoop that U.S. intelligence officials had revised their assessment of Afghanistan to say that Kabul could fall in 90 days. Some said it could fall in 30.
That was six days ago.
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For the first time in weeks, the Pentagon assessed today that Kherson, a port city in southern Ukraine, is no longer under full Russian control.
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*Scream overheard from Pentagon*
NEW: Trump seems to be suggesting future U.S. defense budget cuts, perhaps after striking a deal with China. He says maybe China, Russia the U.S. "can come together and stop the spending and spend on things that maybe are more productive toward long-term peace."
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The Pentagon now assesses that nearly 100 percent of the Russian combat power prestaged at the Ukrainian border are now committed to the fight, a senior U.S. defense official says.
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As reported elsewhere, there is a Ukrainian effort afoot to retake terrain they had lost to Russia. Pentagon isn’t commenting on specific locations, but senior defense official says “we’re starting to see indications” that Ukraine is “now able and willing to take back territory.”
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This is Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael James Goble, 33, a member of the 7th Special Forces Group who died in Afghanistan on Monday of injuries suffered on Sunday in Kunduz province.
He was born in New Jersey and enlisted in 2004.
RIP.
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Save a thought today for Mohammad Fawad Mohammadi, a former Afghan interpreter who helped the U.S. military. He was attacked by a man in Oregon with a car, prompting an amputation.
Police believe the repeated ramming was intentional.
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A background briefing with a senior U.S. defense official about the Russian war on Ukraine just concluded. It’s Day 27 since the Russian invasion.
Here are some takeaways:
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A fresh push toward Kyiv came to a smoking end in the suburb of Irpin, where videos posted online showed the charred remains of Russian tanks and armored vehicles strewn around the streets while Ukrainian soldiers removed weapons from dead Russians.
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"A clandestine network of railway workers, hackers and dissident security forces went into action to disable or disrupt the railway links connecting Russia to Ukraine through Belarus, wreaking havoc on Russian supply lines."
Via
@LizSly
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Ukrainian forces have hit more than 400 targets with HIMARS, to "devastating effects," Gen. Mark Milley says during press conference in Germany at tail end of meeting of senior defense officials from several dozen countries supporting Ukraine.
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Russia also has not established air superiority over Ukraine, as U.S. officials had predicted was likely before this invasion began. Instead, the air space is contested, with some Ukrainian air defenses (surface-to-air missiles) still available and Ukrainian jets flying sorties.
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This is Army Sgt. Leandro Jasso, 25, a member of the elite 75th Ranger Regiment who was mortally wounded in Afghanistan's Nimroz province this weekend. RIP.
More details to come here.
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Shortly before this briefing, the State Department announced an additional $350 million in security assistance going to the Ukrainians. U.S. defense official says that will include more Javelin missiles, anti-armor weapons that the Ukrainians want.
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Someday, one of these rats will learn how to cook, run a restaurant kitchen in secret, impress a highly acclaimed food critic against all odds, and then be celebrated as a genius.
Follow your dreams, little rats. 🐀
Rats are everywhere in D.C. Even on the White House lawn.
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There is some info available about Robert Mueller's time in the military and Vietnam specifically, but much of it is second-hand. So I went to the
@USNatArchives
and
@USMC
to see what might be available.
Here it is, with docs included in the piece.
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"We cannot independently verify claims of ceasefire violations," senior U.S. defense official adds.
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SCOOP: An Army general has denied the request of Maj. Matt Golsteyn to have his Special Forces tab reinstated, following
@realDonaldTrump
's decision to pardon him in a murder case in which he faced trial.
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Twenty Ukrainian soldiers began receiving training yesterday on how to use the new Phoenix Ghost drone. The unmanned aircraft is a loitering munition that can be flown directly into Russian vehicles or troop formations.
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The Pentagon has seen evidence that Russia is trying to recruit Syrians to fight on their behalf in Ukraine, senior U.S. defense official says. That matches a
@WSJ
scoop from last night.
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The United States has seen signs that Russian soldiers in the invasion force, especially young conscripted ones, did not know they were being sent to combat, the senior U.S. defense official said.
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The Pentagon does not seen any indications of additional Russian forces moving toward Ukraine, senior U.S. defense official says.
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Knowing that many tactical drones are single-use and kamikaze in nature, I asked if it’s possible more could be delivered in rolling fashion, like Javelin missiles are.
“I wouldn’t rule it out,” the senior defense official said.
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Mattis rejects the notion that U.S. streets are a "battlespace" and backs protesters' calls for justice.
"It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers."
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Today, the senior U.S. defense official briefing reporters said the U.S. *is* considering sending other sophisticated weapons, including air-defense weapons that are more significant than MANPADS. That means something better than a Stinger missile.
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BREAKING: Ralph Puckett mentored generations of Army Rangers. At 94, he'll receive the Medal of Honor.
President Biden called his home in Georgia a short time ago to notify him, a family friend says.
He mentored decades of Army Rangers. At 94, he’ll receive the Medal of Honor.
www.washingtonpost.com
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Monday morning Pentagon background briefing on the war in Ukraine now concluded. Some noteworthy details on what is Day 5 since Russia's invasion to follow:
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A senior U.S. defense official just concluded the first Pentagon background briefing about Ukraine in several days.
It’s Day 63 since Russia invaded.
Some highlights:
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Ukraine is fighting back, senior U.S. defense official says. Was careful in describing how, and from where. Does not want to undermine Ukraine's ability to do so, official says.
"This is their country they're fighting for."
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Non-medical doctors that Joseph Epstein didn't write this about and call "Kiddo":
Dr. Henry Kissinger
Dr. Mark Esper
Dr. Dre
Dr. J
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One of the reasons the Pentagon announced last night another $100 million in weapons transfers to Ukraine is because there was an “urgent need” for Javelins in the Donbas and the Ukrainians want to be ready.
“Lots of adjustments in real time,” senior defense official says.
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Hours later, this tweet is still up.
The photo on the left is from last year, and taken before the pandemic.
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Why describe Stephen Miller's condo as sheathed in glass?
*Reads next paragraph.*
Ohhhhhh.
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RIP Ryan Owens, the Navy SEAL killed in Yemen and just IDed.
-- Enlisted in '98
-- Multiple awards "with V," include two Bronze Stars.
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Airspace is still contested, as it has been, a Pentagon official says.
“We do continue to assess that President Zelensky has the vast majority of his fixed-wing aircraft available to him,” senior U.S. defense official says.
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Pentagon says it cannot corroborate any reports of cluster munitions or thermobaric weapons in U.S., can't say whether the Russians are calling up reserves, and can't say whether any Russian naval infantry have been loaded on any "LSTs," a kind of landing craft.
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A couple things going on here. First, Russia is getting more resistance that it expected, senior defense official says. He cites resistance around Kyiv in particular.
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Pentagon also will not corroborate Ukrainian reports that Ukrainian forces have shot down one Russian Su-25 fighter jet, two Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers, two Russian Su-30 SM planes, and four Russian helicopters today.
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NEW TONIGHT: Thomas Modly's trip to Guam didn't just cost him his job. It cost taxpayers more than $243,000, the Navy estimates.
The executive jet that Modly traveled in costs about $6,946.19 per flight hour, Navy says. Round-trip flight: Some 35 hours.
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Joseph Dunford, retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs, confirms he said:
"I believe our leaders who have continued to undermine a peaceful transition in accordance with our Constitution have set the conditions for today’s violence.”
First reported by
@barbarastarrcnn
.
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