https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-18-2026
"Overnight, Ukraine launched its biggest attack on Moscow, the capital of
Russia, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Ukraine’s waves of drone
strikes on a major Moscow oil refinery have shrouded the city in flames and
black smoke. Last week, Russia struck one of Ukraine’s most important religious
and cultural landmarks, the thousand-year-old Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. The ancient
monastery, with its churches and bell towers, is a UNESCO World Heritage site,
described by the United Nations agency as a “masterpiece of Ukrainian art.”
Russia denied responsibility for the strike. After the Moscow strikes,
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky released a video saying: “If Ukraine
burns, your Moscow will burn too.”
In the U.S., President Donald J. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance are trying
hard to sell the administration’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran,
which Trump signed yesterday at the Palace of Versailles in a scene that
recalled Germany’s surrender after World War I. Trump is posting in all caps on
social media that the deal is a triumph and that those who disagree with it
“are either jealous, bad people, or stupid.”
Vance is in front of cameras saying that Iran’s nuclear program has been
destroyed—which is false—and that Iran gets nothing outlined in the MOU unless
Iranian leaders change their behavior. The published agreement makes no such
stipulation, and benefits, like the ability to sell oil on international
markets and the lifting of sanctions, begin to flow to Iran immediately.
The leaders trying to dictate a new global order seem brittle and breaking,
while in the United States the crowds jamming the streets in New York City in a
ticker tape parade for the NBA Championship winners, the New York Knicks,
suggested the momentum has shifted back to the American people. Celebrities
like Mariska Hargitay, Timothée Chalamet, Mary J. Blige, Fat Joe, Spike Lee,
and Ben Stiller joined the parade to celebrate the Knicks’ win.
At City Hall, Mayor Zohran Mamdani blended the victory of the Knicks with the
rising political power of the people."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
