PrairiePundit

 The Federalist Wire: Texas Governor Urges Terrorist Designation for Violent Venezuelan Gang Amid Border Criticisms of VP Kamala Harris Texas Governor Greg Abbott has called on Vice President Kamala Harris to formally label the violent Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) as a terrorist organization. Abbott’s appeal comes with pointed criticism of what he describes as Harris’s “open border policies” that he claims put “the lives of every American at risk.” ... The US may need to use special ops troops to deal with the Venezuelan thugs.  They are clearly a terrorist organization and the Federal Government needs to deal with foreign adversaries.  See also: Cover-up? What Aurora officials already knew about rising Venezuelan gang violence And:   AP: 2,000 Migrants Heading to U.S. from Southern Mexico There’s likely more and less to this than the headlines suggest, or conventional wisdom would conclude And:   The numbers behind the migrant crisis — and how mu...

 ISW: ... Ukrainian strikes on Russian military assets in Crimea often generate Russian panic disproportionate to their kinetic effect and negatively impact Russian morale. Ukrainian strikes on Russian rear areas consistently cause panic in the Russian information space and generate frustration and criticism about the Russian military command.[26] Ukrainian strikes on Crimea have also caused some Russian milbloggers to panic and erroneously perceive any Ukrainian actions targeting Crimea as conditions setting for imminent Ukrainian operations to liberate the peninsula.[27] Russian milbloggers notably expressed concern that Ukrainian forces were able to operate a drone and record footage of a strike on a Russian S-400 air defense system in Crimea about 120km behind the current frontline.[28] The Russian withdrawal of aviation elements and other military equipment from the Chornobaivka base from May to September 2022 following the Western provision of HIMARS to Ukraine and the more r...

 ISW: The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) accused Ukraine of attempting to attack two Black Sea Fleet patrol boats with unmanned semi-submersibles on August 1. The Russian MoD initially claimed that Ukraine launched three unmanned boats at the “Sergey Kotov” and “Vasily Bykov” Project 22160 large patrol ships in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, about 340km southwest of Sevastopol.[1] The Russian MoD later clarified that the patrol ships were escorting Russian civilian transport ships en route to the Bosphorus Strait via the Black Sea and claimed that the patrol ships detected and destroyed all three semi-submersibles.[2] Russian authorities may be amplifying claims of Ukrainian attacks to frame Ukraine as irresponsibly threatening civilian ships in the Black Sea, thereby setting conditions to further escalate naval activity and consolidate control in the Black Sea, though there is no indication that Ukrainian attacks on Russian military targets have threatened civilian ves...

 ISW: ... Russian authorities are blaming Ukrainian government entities and Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny for the April 2 assassination of Russian milblogger Maksim Fomin, also known as Vladlen Tartarsky. The Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee claimed that Ukrainian special services collaborated with the Anti-Corruption Fund, which Navalny founded in 2011, to plan the attack against Fomin.[4] Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that the Ukrainian government may be behind Fomin’s death and claimed that Ukraine has killed others since 2014, such as Daria Dugina, which Peskov spuriously used as justification for the “special military operation.”[5] The Russian Investigative Committee reclassified the case as a terrorist attack and claimed that it was planned in Ukrainian territory.[6] The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) confirmed that the sculpture handed to Fomin prior to his death contained hidden explosives.[7] The Russian Investigative Committee...

 ISW: ... Putin is instead doubling down on his commitment to overpower Ukraine militarily and/or protract the war by mobilizing Russia’s defense industrial base and renewing various crypto-mobilization schemes to generate renewed combat power. Putin’s March 25 speech continued a months-long effort to mobilize Russian military industry for a protracted war.[7] That effort and his speech also aim to portray Russia (falsely) as the modern incarnation of Stalin’s Soviet Union able to overwhelm its enemies with unstoppable masses of men and materiel despite Putin’s manifest unwillingness actually to put Russia fully on a war footing. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu began this effort at the end of 2022 and has continued it through this year, and Putin has been amplifying it.[8] The Russians clearly are attempting to mobilize their military industry and will surely generate some improvements. The exaggerated claims and unrealistic goals that Putin and Shoigu have made and set are ...

 Newsmax: Ukrainian troops were greeted by joyous residents in the center of Kherson on Friday after Russia abandoned the only regional capital it had captured since its invasion in February. Russia said it had completed the pullout across the Dnipro River without losing a single soldier, but Ukrainians painted a picture of a chaotic retreat, with Russian troops ditching their uniforms or drowning while trying to escape. GATEWAY TO CRIMEA Kherson region borders Crimea and provides Moscow with a land bridge to the Black Sea peninsula that it seized from Kyiv in 2014. Ukraine retaking swathes of Kherson region would deprive Moscow of that land corridor. It would also bring long-range Ukrainian artillery closer to Crimea, which Moscow sees as vitally important to its interests. The peninsula, whose annexation Putin sees as a key achievement of his more than two decades in power, is home to a huge Russian military force and the Black Sea Fleet, which Moscow uses to project power into t...

 Streiff: Friday night, the Russian naval base at Sevastopol in occupied Crimea was attacked by a number of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned undersea vehicles (UUV). The results of the attack are unclear. The Russians admit to damage to a minesweeper but video taken during the attack and aftermath hints at more extensive damage. This is the fourth high-profile attack on targets in Crimea, a territory Russia illegally claims as its own, in as many months. On July 31, a drone attacked the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, wounding six. On August 9, a major Russian airbase at Novofedorivka suffered catastrophic aircraft losses due to a Ukrainian missile attack; see Airbase in Russian-Occupied Crimea Hit by Devastating Ukrainian Attack . And on October 8, a truck bomb extensively damaged the Kerch Strait Bridge linking Crimea to Russia; see WATCH: Incredible Footage of Key Russian-Controlled Bridge in Crimea Being Destroyed . The main target of the attack appears to have ...

 ISW: The Russian withdrawal from western Kherson Oblast has begun. Russian forces likely intend to continue that withdrawal over the next several weeks but may struggle to withdraw in good order if Ukrainian forces choose to attack. Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command stated on October 21 that Russian forces are “quite actively” transferring ammunition, military equipment, and some unspecified units from the Dnipro River’s west bank to the east bank via ferries.[1] The Southern Operational Command added that Russian forces deployed 2,000 mobilized men to hold the frontlines and are continuing to shell Ukrainian positions, likely in an effort to cover their withdrawal.[2] Ukrainian military officials reported that the Russian occupation administration is preparing the evacuation of imported Russian specialists, Ukrainian collaborators, and Kherson’s banking system.[3] Russian occupation administration in Beryslav and humanitarian facilities in Kherson City also reportedly ceased...

 NY Times: Explosion Damages Crimea Bridge, Imperiling Russian Supply Route A fire erupted on the sole bridge linking the peninsula to Russia, and part of the 12-mile crossing collapsed into the sea. Russian and Ukrainian officials both indicated that the fire was no accident, though there were no immediate claims of responsibility. Crimea was part of Ukraine until it was seized by the Russians in 2014.  Russia's attempt to take Ukraine in recent years has led to Ukraine not only resisting the current Russian operations but also insisting that Crimea is Ukraine's territory.   There has also been an exit of Russian nationals from Crimea in recent months. The war in Ukraine is also causing Russia to lose its grip on other areas. A Distracted Russia Is Losing Its Grip on Its Old Soviet Sphere Russia’s domination of Central Asia and the Caucasus region is unraveling as the Kremlin focuses on the war in Ukraine — and border violence is flaring. Russia has become a much we...

  ISW: Russian occupation officials in Crimea reported another drone attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet Headquarters in Sevastopol on August 20. Russian-appointed Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev claimed that Russian forces were unable to shoot down a drone, resulting in the drone hitting the roof of the Black Sea Fleet headquarters.[1] Razvozhaev then retracted his initial statement and claimed that a fleet air defense post shot down the drone, which landed on the roof and caught fire.[2] Social media footage showed a loud explosion and a cloud of smoke around the headquarters, and the drone likely detonated rather than being shot down. Some OSINT accounts have identified the drone as a commercially-available “Skyeye 5000mm Pro UAV.”[3] Ukrainian officials did not claim responsibility for the attack as of the time of this publication. ISW has previously reported that Crimean occupation officials have obliquely accused Ukraine of orchestrating a drone attack on the hea...

 NY Times: Blasts Hit Russian Ammunition Depot in Crimea A senior Ukrainian official said that an elite military unit operating behind enemy lines was responsible for Tuesday’s attacks. Follow updates. Ukraine continues to attack Russia in areas occupied by Russia that were originally parts of Ukraine.  They keep demonstrating the vulnerability of Russia in a war that Russia started.  The Ukraine operations have been targeting Russian logistics in recent attacks.