US Embassy In Kyiv To Remain Open Despite Russian Bombing Threats

The US has vowed to keep its embassy in Kyiv open despite increasingly desperate threats from the Kremlin, claiming that it intends to escalate its missile and drone attacks on the city meaning that citizens and diplomats could be at risk. 

As Russia's performance on the battlefield deteriorates, it has tried to increase its attacks on civilian targets. The global war narrative has turned against Russia and Putin suggesting his options are bleak. In response, he has demanded more terror bombing of non-military targets which, so far, appear to have only further motivated European and other civilized countries to oppose Russia. JL

Ferdinand Knapp reports in Politico:

The United States said its embassy in Ukraine will remain open despite Russian warnings that diplomats who remain in Kyiv risk getting bombed. Russia's foreign ministry urged foreign citizens and diplomats to leave Kyiv “as soon as possible,” warning they risked being hit by missile strikes. Washington’s decision to keep its embassy open mirrors that of EU countries dismissing the Kremlin’s calls to leave the capital city. "We are staying in Kyiv."

Surprise Ukraine Counterattack Near Lyman Collapses Russian Salient

Russia's already tenuous foothold west of the Zherebets River, in the Lyman sector, has been thrown into further doubt by a surprise Ukrainian counterattack from the north, which is threatening the Russian salient with cutoff and collapse. 

Ukrainian forces combined arms tactics with complementary drone, artillery, armor and infantry has exposed the Kremlin's logistical lifeline, leaving trapped Russian troops with one option: retreat. JL

RFU News reports:

Ukrainian forces launched a major mechanized assault north of Lyman. After the Russians had spent over a year trying to outflank the Ukrainian town, the Ukrainians are threatening to collapse the entire salient in less than a month. Ukraine achieved tactical surprise and penetrated deep into Russia's northern flank. Russia's delay in effective response proved critical, as Ukrainian forces advanced three to five kilometers before Russian drones reached the assault groups. The Russians are experiencing growing logistical difficulties, remaining in increasingly unsustainable positions. The future of Russia's long contested foothold west of the Zherebets River is in doubt. 

AI Is Minting Billionaires. The Global Workforce Wants Their Share

Samsung Electronics reported record profits due to the AI-driven demand for its chips. It's workforce threatened to strike if it was not given a greater share, to which Samsung agreed. Now, Korean politicians are insisting that the entire populace share in the benefits of a technology their work and taxes helped fund - and they may be only first of a global wave. 

Polls show that Americans literally hate AI, and part of the reason is that they know an infinitesimally small group of tech billionaires and investors will grab almost all of the profits. The Koreans may have acted first, but when even MAGA Republicans in the US are starting to question AI's wealth distribution, especially since so much of the research was paid for by taxpayers. The tech industry is responding viciously, branding everyone else a communist, terrorist or worse. But the demands are not going to go away, particularly as so many jobs are being cut in AI's name. JL

Rina Chandran and John Popko report in Rest of World:

The money the AI boom has created for a select few “border on unthinkable.” Last year, 29 AI founders minted a collective $71 billion. Over the past year, U.S. startups have created 19 billionaires worth a combined $59 billion while, big tech companies including Meta, Amazon, and Oracle have announced tens of thousands of job, saying they are redirecting investment into AI. Of 130,000 layoffs since the start of the year, 77,000 are linked to AI adoption or investment - 60% of the total. AI gains rest on publicly funded research, government infrastructure, decades of scientific work, and the labor of people throughout the supply chain. Yet the rewards are “concentrating in a small number of firms and their investors, while the costs and risks are being distributed much more broadly. “Globally, workers are beginning to make the same claim: a rightful share, grounded in contribution.”

Ukraine Takes 46 Square Kms In Zaporizhzhia Near Oleksandrivka

Ukrainian air assault forces counterattacking in Zaporizhzhia oblast have pushed the Russian units there back 46 kilometers, liberating at least seven villages in that sector. 

This represents another success in Ukraine's ongoing offensive operations this spring. JL

Deep State reports:

Ukraine's forces liberated territory near Novoselivka on the Oleksandrivka front. Ukrainian defenders launched a new offensive on this front in early May. "Ukraine has liberated territory near Novoselivka and are also clearing the enemy from areas near Voronne, Sichneve, Piddubne, Tovste, Novokhatske and Zelenyi Hai," which means the Russians have lost at least 46 sq km of territory.

95% of Russians Attacking Kupiansk By River or Pipeline Killed By Ukrainians

Ukrainian troops defending Kupiansk can now determine with "100%" accuracy where Russians will attempt to infiltrate, either through a network of Soviet-era pipelines or over the Oskil River. As a result, 95% of the Russians are killed within 10 minutes to an hour of emerging. 

The Russians keep trying because they think their numbers will eventually overwhelm the Ukrainians. The problem for the Russians is, they are running out of numbers. JL

Asami Terajima reports in the Kyiv Independent:

The longest a Russian soldier can hope to survive for after emerging from underground pipelines is, according to those hunting them, one hour. "But it's usually 10 minutes, and that's it." (It's) an endless "whack-a-mole" fight: monitoring the pipes for exit holes, taking out the Russians that emerge, filling in the holes, then searching for the next exit point. Despite huge losses and horrific conditions in the pipes - "dozens of soldiers suffocated, committed suicide, or died in panic and delirium" - Russia continues to push men through them. It also keeps sending troops across the Oskil River either by boats or on foot. (But) 95% of the Russian troops who try to cross the river, including through the pipelines, are killed or wounded. 

Ukraine's Drones Are Breaking Russia's Defenses. The Kremlin Has No Answers

Gone are the days when Ukraine's drone forces consisted of amateurs with commercially sourced Chinese hobbyist drones. Now, thousands of expert operators aim tens of thousands of aerial and ground drones - many designed and built in Ukraine - at targets ranging from hapless Russian troops in the kill zone to industrial targets hundreds to thousands of kilometers deep within Russia. 

The effect has been devastating. At the front, Russian advances have all but ceased. In the rear, logistics and reinforcements have been forced back beyond their ability to respond to Ukrainian counterattacks for fear of drone strikes. And in Russia, 70% of the population and most of the country's industrial and energy capacity is now vulnerable, if not already damaged. The results of these developments are, quite literally, war changing. And the Kremlin has no answers. JL

Steve Hendrix and Serhii Korolchuk report in the Washington Post:

As a fifth summer's fighting begins, dozens of Ukrainian operators fly thousands of drones from underground command centers that looks more like a tech start-up than a forward bunker. High-definition monitors line insulated walls, showing a drone’s-eye view of a doomed Russian soldier in a foxhole, an enemy supply truck, or a ground robot delivering food and ammo to a forward unit. After a year in which Ukraine resisted White House pressure to cave to Russian demands, tens of thousands of drones now blanket 200 miles behind the front, targeting supply lines, command centers and air defense batteries. Along the front, aerial drones attack anything moving, a gauntlet Russians cross at tremendous cost. The deep-strike drones Ukraine launches each month grew 20 to 30 times. Mid-strike drones have expanded 1,000%. Ukraine is starting the summer with mounting confidence. "They will be in very big s---. We are going to increase the quantity of hits even more.”

Anthropic's Latest Valuation at $900 Billion Surpasses OpenAI

Anthropic, until quite recently seen as the runner-up to OpenAI in the race for AI dominance, surpassed its rival in value as a new $65 billion financing round drove it up to $900 billion, well ahead of OpenAI's $730 billion. This comes after Anthropic's annualized run rate jumped to $45 billion, besting OpenAI's $30 billion, on the strength of its coding capabilities. This not only establishes Anthropic's superior future prospects in the eyes of investors, but suggests that the company's technology is now the best on the market. 

This will come as a shock to all those 'experts' who predicted the Pentagon's labelling Anthropic a supply chain risk would limit its prospects, especially after OpenAI then cravenly agreed to all of the Pentagon's demands. Truth will out, even in tech. JL

Mike Isaac and Cade Metz report in the New York Times:

On Thursday (yesterday) Anthropic officially passed OpenAI as the world’s most valuable A.I. start-up. Anthropic raised $65 billion in financing that values it at $900 billion before the inclusion of the new capital, a deal that puts it ahead of OpenAI’s last valuation of $730 billion. The new round boosted Anthropic’s value two and a half times its previous valuation of $380 billion three months ago. Since Anthropic improved its A.I. coding technology in November, hundreds of businesses have signed up for the software. The company's “revenue run rate” - expected revenue for the year based on its current performance - crossed $47 billion this month. The company’s momentum has (grown) even as Dario Amodei, it’s CEO, has spoken out about the potential dangers of A.I. and called for regulation of the technology. That led to a bitter fight with the Pentagon.