🇪🇺 Von der Leyen: €300 billion in European savings flown overseas every year, primarily to the US, will be invested in Europe from now on. All 27 EU states agreed to establish the S&I Union, a step toward the full Capital Market Union
🔥 RUSSIA’S FUEL CRISIS DEEPENS
Russian economist Vladislav Zhukovsky says there is “no way out” of Russia’s fuel crisis unless attacks on its refineries stop.
Ukraine reportedly struck the Kirishi refinery, Russia’s second-largest, with an annual capacity of 20 million tonnes.
BREAKING: A drone has been found in Romania, in a field outside the commune of Viișoara, Vaslui County, in eastern Romania.
The drone is believed to be Russian, and is believed to contain an explosive payload. Romanian authorities have isolated the area and deployed police officers and an SRI explosives team to examine the damaged aircraft.
The location is significant: Viișoara lies between Bârlad and Vaslui, roughly 70 km west of the border with Moldova and well inland from Romania’s usual drone-incident areas along the Danube, close to the Ukrainian border. This places the reported discovery considerably farther inside Romanian territory than the areas where drone debris has more commonly been found following Russian attacks on Ukraine.
Authorities are investigating the type of drone and the circumstances in which it reached the area. It remains unclear whether the aircraft was part of Russia’s overnight attack on Ukraine or was a stray drone that was not detected by Romanian military radar.
The Romanian Interior authorities have notified the Iași Court of Appeal Prosecutor’s Office, which will oversee the investigation. No casualties have been reported.
Hey @google I’d like to report an error.
The lake that borders New York and Ontario is an international body of water, and it is widely agreed by the entire world, except one rogue leader, that the name of this lake is “Lake Ontario”
Grow a spine and fix it.
🎬 We are used to seeing people like this only on the screen.
James Bond, Ethan Hunt, John Wick — fictional heroes who fearlessly penetrate deep behind enemy lines, carry out impossible missions, and disappear from places where others wouldn’t survive for even a minute.
But Ukraine doesn’t need fictional secret agents. We had — and still have — our own. Real ones. People for whom the most dangerous special operations are not movie scripts, but reality.
One of them was Oleh Babii.
On one mission, he had to travel about 600 kilometers deep into Russian territory. On foot. With no room for error, no guarantee of ever returning, and the clear understanding that the enemy could be waiting behind every step.
The targets of the operation were Russian Tu-22 strategic bombers, aircraft that were used almost daily to bomb peaceful Ukrainian cities.
At the time, Ukraine did not yet have the capability to strike targets at such distances with its own drones or missiles. So people had to do the job. Practically with their bare hands.
Oleh Babii and his comrades managed to penetrate deep behind enemy lines and strike three enemy aircraft at once. The operation dealt a serious blow to Russian aviation capabilities and complicated the enemy’s plans for missile strikes against Ukraine.
But this story is about far more than a single operation. Oleh had carried out more than nine reconnaissance missions deep behind enemy lines. During those missions, he helped identify around 70 important military targets.
To some, these are just numbers. But behind every one of those numbers were kilometers of enemy territory, hours of waiting, the constant risk of being discovered, and people who knew that a single mistake could be their last.
But Oleh would never return from his final mission...
On August 30, 2023, the reconnaissance group was returning after the operation to destroy the Russian Tu-22 bombers. On their way back, the Ukrainian scouts encountered a group of FSB special forces.
A battle broke out.
Oleh Babii covered the retreat of his comrades. He stayed behind, where every second he bought could save someone else’s life. And he paid for it with his own.
Oleh was mortally wounded. He was only 32 years old.
After his death, Oleh Babii was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine and the Order of the Gold Star. And at home, his family was waiting for him — his wife and two young children. His daughter was only one year old when her father was killed.
We can talk endlessly about fictional secret agents, their courage, their weapons, incredible stunts, and spectacular special effects. But real courage looks very different.
It is 600 kilometers on foot deep into enemy territory. It is dozens of reconnaissance targets identified. It is carrying out operations you could not even tell your loved ones about. It is knowing that tomorrow may never come.
And perhaps the most terrifying part of all is the moment when someone consciously chooses to stay behind and cover the others, knowing that the price of that decision may be the highest possible.
Oleh Babii was not a movie character. He was a real human being. A son, a husband, a father. A warrior who did what seemed impossible for Ukraine and for his comrades.
Today, August 30, marks three years since his death.
Let us remember those who went where returning seemed almost impossible. Let us remember those who did their work in silence, without cameras or applause.
And let us remember Oleh Babii — a Hero of Ukraine who gave his life while covering the retreat of his comrades.
Eternal memory to the Hero. Glory to Ukraine! 🇺🇦