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The veteran strategist joined moderate Reps Tom Suozzi and Adam Gray to promote capitalism and fiscal responsibility.

The New York Times was defeated in a defamation lawsuit Thursday brought by a former college basketball player and ordered to pay millions in damages.

US To Send Hospital Ship Next Year To Peru To Help With Impact Of El Nino

Authored by Victoria Friedman via The Epoch Times,

The United States will send a military hospital ship to Peru’s Pacific coast next year to help the country cope with the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Plans to send the hospital ship USNS Comfort to the northern Pacific coast of Peru in February 2027 were confirmed by U.S. Ambassador to Peru Bernie Navarro on Aug. 19 during a press conference at Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in Miami, Florida.

Appearing alongside Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Espá, Navarro told reporters that “one of the biggest things the United States is doing is bringing the military vessel Comfort, which we are going to bring in February.”

The ambassador said that February is when they believe the problem with El Niño will peak.

Espá told reporters that officials were already starting to develop a road map.

“We are concerned, but we’re not just concerned; we’re taking action,” Espá said.

“That’s why we’re so grateful to the ambassador, because thanks to him, the day before yesterday we met at Southern Command with all the U.S. agencies that will be assisting us, along with civil society and the business sector, to develop our roadmap.”

Following the press conference, Navarro said in a post on X:

“The United States will stand with Peru in facing El Niño. With a strategy focused on prevention rather than reaction, we will set an example for regional cooperation.”

El Niño is a warming of the Pacific Ocean near the equator that affects global weather patterns. According to meteorologists, it could soon equal or surpass the 1997 phenomenon, which caused damage from heat waves, heavy rains, floods, and forest fires.

Peru, which lies on the western coast of South America, has been subject to flooding this year as a result of the weather phenomenon.

Aid to South America

The planned deployment of USNS Comfort, which was already in Peru in 2018 and 2019, was announced in an earlier statement from the U.S. Embassy in Peru on Aug. 17 following the summit at SOUTHCOM.

The summit on disaster preparedness for El Niño was attended by the U.S. ambassador, Espá, SOUTHCOM, representatives from the U.S. and Peruvian governments, and individuals from academia and civil society.

The U.S. Embassy in Peru said in a statement that during the summit, Navarro highlighted that the United States has demonstrated its support for the South American country through its aid and assistance.

This includes the construction of 18 Regional Emergency Operations Centers; the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration training provided to its officials in emergency response and risk management; and scientific and medical cooperation, such as the upcoming arrival of the hospital ship.

The United States has also been sending increased humanitarian aid for earthquakes in Colombia and Venezuela.

SOUTHCOM said in an Aug. 17 post on X that U.S. assistance to Colombia for earthquake relief is ongoing.

“Today, a [U.S. Air Force] C-17 Globemaster III delivered more life-saving assistance and supplies from the [State Department’s] disaster response warehouse in Miami to Medellín for distribution to hard-hit communities in Colombia,” the command said.

“SOUTHCOM is actively supporting the [State Department-led] humanitarian response following the Aug. 10 earthquake in western Colombia. The United States stands in solidarity with the Colombian people during this crisis.”

Heavy Rain in Peru

Heavy rains attributed to El Niño caused flooding in Peru on Aug. 19, resulting in flooded homes, collapsed sewage services, and school closures in the capital, Lima.

Authorities also closed the main route to Machu Picchu, the ancient Inca citadel, due to the overflow of waterways.

There were also road closures from landslides in the southern regions ​of Arequipa and Moquegua.

Peruvian President Keiko Fujimori, who took office on July 28, said that tackling the impact of the weather phenomenon is a priority.

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/21/2026 - 05:00

Supposedly “evidence-based” bail reforms, diversion programs and alternatives to incarceration aren't nearly as successful as America was told — and a new analysis reveals the real data.

"I do really love math. It’s genuinely one of my favorite things."

Bessent: Aim Is To 'Collapse' Iran Regime Through Economic Warfare, But US Unlikely To Restart Major Combat Summary

• US shifts toward economic warfare, away from military strikes: Bessent says maximum sanctions likely mean no major new military campaign for now.
• Regime change rhetoric persists: Bessent says Washington intends to "collapse" Iran's regime.
• USS George Washington arrives: A new US carrier is now operating in the Middle East, relieving the over-extended USS Lincoln.
• Iran rejects US threats as a Trump "diversion": Tehran calls the campaign "economic terrorism" and says Washington is seeking an exit.
• Axios claim of 'stealth corridor' where oil is moving steadily through Hormuz results in skepticism & some pushback.

//--> //--> //--> Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by September 30?
Yes 6% · No 95%
View full market & trade on Polymarket

*  *  *

Bessent: Going to 'Collapse this Regime'

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a CNBC appearance seemed to give additional confirmation that further Pentagon operations targeting Iran are unlikely to happen down the line. He also furthered Trump's 'Economic D-Day' plan and threat.

"If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart," Bessent said in a "Squawk on the Street" interview. 

He previewed a press conference which the administration plans to give Monday to "talk about exactly what we're going to do." Apparently the White House is keen on resurrecting Bush-Cheney era talking points in the effort to push global countries to comply with a full economic siege and strangulation of the Islamic Republic. According to CNBC:

In a preview of the plan, he said that the U.S. will be telling all of its allies, “You are either with us or against us.”

“If you insist on doing business with [Iran], either transferring money, buying their oil or doing seaborne ship transfers, then the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. government ... will put its full might and force toward enforcing against you,” Bessent said.

“This is going to be the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world,” he said.

He also said in the interview at one point that "we are going to collapse this regime." Of course, none of this is necessarily new in terms of talking points'...

Bessent: "I'm not sure why oil has popped up on this, because for now -- and it's at the president's discretion -- if we're doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large scale kinetic restart. But I would emphasize that is for now ...… pic.twitter.com/IYsWhsomgN

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 20, 2026 USS Washington Carrier now in Region

The US Central Command (CENTCOM) has on Thursday confirmed the USS George Washington is now deployed in the Middle East, following the lengthy, over-extended deployment of personnel onboard the USS Lincoln, which has sparked crisis and media frenzy over poor conditions, lack of supplies, and worsening morale.

"The George Washington Carrier Strike Group is operating in Middle East during a scheduled deployment after arriving in the CENTCOM theater yesterday," the command said in a statement posted on X.

CENTCOM image of the USS George Washington flight deck

The USS Washington will now be the military's frontline carrier leading the mission in regional waters, which has featured an ongoing blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran Responds to Trump's 'Economic D-Day'

President Trump had the evening prior issued a Truth Social post describing a new "ECONOMIC D-DAY" against Iran, declaring that his total economic war against Tehran will be the "MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY."

Trump said that with Tehran's military and military-industrial base reduced to "now rubble" and its "currency worthless," he will unleash severe economic consequences against "ANY country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government entities to provide any type of lifeline to Iran."

On Thursday Iranian leaders responded to the D-Day threat, with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stating on X that Trump’s announcement is designed to distract from Washington’s "unprecedented debt & surging interest costs". He said the new economic measures will "bring further defeat" to the US. He added that "US economic terrorism threatens [the] global economy and sovereignty worldwide.

US Desperately Seeks Exit, Says Iranian Official

Another top Iranian official elsewhere asserted the US seeks exit from the region:

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf visited Iraq on Wednesday and said that the US was seeking to exit the region, comments that come following a report from The Washington Post that said the Pentagon is considering pulling back from the Persian Gulf after many of its bases in the area were heavily damaged by Iranian strikes.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also weighed in with another message, saying Washington is headed towards its next defeat. "They claim Iran is on the verge of defeat, hanging by a thread, yet they are begging all their allies to help them," he posted on X.

Meanwhile Qatar is still seeking mediation and de-escalation, with Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani having said Thursday that traffic in the Strait of Hormuz must go back to what it was before. He urged that no party go back to "blackmailing" the other.

"The consequences of this war were grave, not only on the Gulf region but elsewhere in the world," Sheikh Mohammed told reporters at a press briefing following high-level discussions in El Alamein, Egypt.

"We need the situation to go back to what it used to be before" he said. "We condemn any threats in this regard in any obstacles."

Axios Report on 'Stealth' Hormuz Corridor

On the question of global shipping flows through the strait, much remains to be seen following a controversial Axios report issued Wednesday which said the Pentagon has successfully established a stealth corridor in and out of the strait. Here are the key untested claims, which await verification:

• Under the operation, which has been underway for the last several weeks, 15–20 tankers have entered and exited the strait each night through a southern channel along the coast of Oman.
• About 10 million barrels of oil a day — roughly half the pre-war volume — are being transported out of the strait and injected into the global energy market, the officials said.

If this is the case, then it's likely to lead to further rounds of war, given Iran is unlikely to sit back and allow the corridor to run smoothly...

I fully agree: "Iran is unlikely to accept a situation in which it cannot export oil while other Gulf producers continue to do so. Paradoxically, therefore, America’s relative operational success could become a driver of further Iranian escalation." https://t.co/I2IuU0deyU

— Hamidreza Azizi (@HamidRezaAz) August 20, 2026 'Stealth' Corridor Story True?

Of course, many analysts have pointed out that Axios has not been reliable on oil and Iran related reports, which tend to come out at sensitive moments timeline-wise, perhaps for maximum impact on markets.

Regional watcher and Atlantic Council author Danny Citrinowicz writes, "There is a fundamental paradox at the heart of the current U.S. approach to Iran: Washington wants to avoid another major military campaign, yet the very strategy it is pursuing to achieve that goal may make renewed military escalation increasingly difficult to avoid."

"The administration appears to believe that it can dramatically intensify economic pressure, including through aggressive enforcement of secondary sanctions, while keeping the confrontation largely within the economic domain," he continues. "But that assumption misunderstands both Iran’s position and the incentives facing its current leadership." Indeed Washington has seemed to miscalculate and underestimate Tehran at every turn of this nearly 6-month long conflict.

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/21/2026 - 04:39

The organization announced Wednesday that it had terminated Li’s reign and released her from the “Miss Grand USA Title.”

Sunao Takami set fire to the crowded pachinko parlor in Osaka by spreading gasoline and throwing a lit match.

Popular Ukrainian Official Raises Stakes Against Zelensky With Election Call: Democracy Held 'Hostage'

Ukrainian President Zelensky is once again under immense internal pressure, amid new corruption investigations which run straight through the presidential office as well as growing calls to finally hold elections despite the ongoing war with Russia.

Mykhailo Fedorov, the country's popular young former defense minister and a longtime political ally of Zelensky - who was dismissed just last month largely as a result of tensions between him and army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi - stunned Kiev's political establishment this week by issuing a video address urgently calling for a path to elections.

"We have to answer a fundamental question – how should a state function, if the war has lasted for years?" Fedorov said in the nine-minute-long YouTube video.

via Reuters

"Can Russia actually be entitled to define when Ukrainians can elect their authorities next time? I’m sure it’s not. Democracy can’t be Russia’s hostage," he said.

Zelensky has long argued that martial law must stay in place, leaving no room for new elections based on the current constitution.

The 35-year-old Fedorov's message was unexpected, and is being widely seen as a stab in the back to Zelensky. Al Jazeera has noted, for example:

Since he was fired, Fedorov has repeatedly emphasized his loyalty to Zelenskyy and refused to accept other jobs such as a presidential aide in charge of reforms.

He also claimed to have turned down a project with Palantir Technologies, a controversial, US-based software company that began collaborating with Ukraine’s military during Fedorov’s tenure.

But Federov is now calling for "a legal, safe and realistic mechanism" to restart a full democratic process "even in the conditions of a long war" - which flies directly in the face of the Zelensky government's stance.

This marks the first time a high-level political ally of Zelensky has publicly pushed national elections since the war's start.

It is also significant given Federov remains well-liked among the Ukrainian public. There was a lot of anger and confusion, including rare wartime protests, upon his mid-July dismissal.

His plea has sparked a little momentum:

Former foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba reportedly backed Fedorov’s idea, saying on Tuesday that elections "after war will not be more civilized, than during it."

"We don’t know when [the war] ends. What if it lasts for another three years? We will be living under the political model that was formed in 2019, which has already been emotionally exhausted," Kuleba, who helmed the Foreign Ministry in 2020-2024, was quoted by the Interfax Ukraine news agency as saying.

Back in December of last year, at a moment it was clear that the Ukrainians were backing away from Washington pressure to get to the negotiating table with Russia, President Trump had unleashed rare criticism on the Zelensky government.

Ukraine's ousted defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov called for wartime elections in a video address, arguing the nation faced a crisis of governance, in the biggest internal challenge to ‌President Volodymyr Zelenskiy since Russia's invasion https://t.co/DJRxjcWH6t pic.twitter.com/b72CVNvj4Q

— Reuters (@Reuters) August 19, 2026

"They haven’t had an election in a long time," Trump said at the time to Politico. "You know, they talk about a democracy, but it gets to a point where it's not a democracy anymore."

But the reality is that American taxpayer funds, as well as US-made weaponry, continue to flow largely uninterrupted to Kiev. Trump had vowed to quickly wind down the war and achieve peace, but that has remained elusive.

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/21/2026 - 04:15

"She was like ‘No I’ve been kidnapped.'"

The "ugly" Chinese animated film "Niu Lai" has become a surprise box-office hit, raking in $2.5 million after viral online mockery.

Ceuta Invaders Are Now Eating The Cats And Birds: Report

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

Volunteer caregivers in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta report that cat colonies are vanishing, dead animals are turning up cut apart, and birds such as pigeons and seagulls are being found half-devoured in the weeks since tens of thousands of migrants poured across the border from Morocco.

Nearly three weeks after the mass invasion, local reports describe cats displaced or missing, and carcasses discovered in disturbing conditions. Caregivers who have continued feeding the animals daily say the damage is already severe.

One volunteer administrator, identified as Merelo, told La Gaceta she has found "many dead cats, cut," some missing half their body or pierced with a punch, along with mistreated animals.

? ÚLTIMA HORA | Aparecen gatos masacrados y palomas y gaviotas devoradas en Ceuta tras la invasión migratoria: «Están acabando con las colonias»

Por Unai Cano (@unaicano10)https://t.co/JuDyccN0wf

— LA GACETA (@gaceta_es) August 19, 2026

She has also located pigeons and seagulls that were half-eaten, though she said she did not personally witness anyone consuming them.

"When the people entered, the cats left their habitat, as happens in any natural space," she explained. Merelo noted that Muslims traditionally show respect for cats, but among the new arrivals are people of sub-Saharan origin from various backgrounds.

The same pattern of disappearance is detailed in an account published by El Faro de Ceuta. Author Ángel Ruiz, writing in support of the volunteer caregivers, stated that the harm caused to the cat colonies "is great and, in many cases, irreparable."

Cats have left areas now occupied by migrants. "It can be said clearly that cats are missing. Where are they? As of today, no one knows," the caregivers summarize.

Affected sites include the area near the desalination plant, which caregivers describe as a disaster after occupation made it uninhabitable for the territorial animals. The same has happened in Huerta Téllez, Carmelitas, Calle Goya, and the neighborhoods of Príncipe, Sidi Embarek, and Punta Blanca, now turned into improvised settlements.

The volunteers are calling for the city government and central authorities to provide provisional housing outside the urban core so migrants stop occupying spaces that belong to the city's community animals, and for immediate eviction of unauthorized camps.

Desaparecen gatos de las colonias felinas de Ceuta como consecuencia de la invasión https://t.co/sFldDUnaUY

— Pablo Haro Urquízar (@pabloharour) August 19, 2026

The animal reports fit a pattern repeatedly documented in other places hit by rapid, large-scale irregular migration.

In British cities, migrants have been filmed hunting pigeons with fishing rods and bare hands in public streets.

Similar clips have shown people catching and butchering swans and ducks in the UK and Ireland.

In one case a Nigerian migrant was caught cooking a cat in a public park next to a children's playground.

In Springfield, Ohio, the city manager acknowledged hearing reports that Haitian migrants were eating pets.

These incidents are not isolated curiosities; they surface with depressing regularity where cultural norms around animal welfare, public space, and food sources collide with sudden demographic change that authorities refuse to control.

This is the latest chapter in the chaos that has gripped Ceuta since the late-July avalanche. Estimates of the initial crossing ranged into the tens of thousands - figures comparable to a large share of the enclave's roughly 84,000 residents - many of them young men who swam or climbed around the border.

Thousands have remained. Reception capacity collapsed. Beaches and open spaces are now filled with shacks, garbage, and human waste. Children's parks were left smeared in feces.

Reports of sexual assaults have mounted, including cases involving minors. Spanish mothers have been filmed weeping in the streets, packing children off to the mainland, and describing daily fear of leaving home without protection.

We also now have reports from local police of migrants dragging women off the streets, taking them into the surrounding mountainous territory and gang raping them.

Spanish authorities have deployed extra police and troops at points, yet the underlying policy of managed openness continues.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/21/2026 - 03:30

Her Jehovah's Witness upbringing felt out of place in the fast-paced entertainment industry.

Her Jehovah's Witness upbringing felt out of place in the fast-paced entertainment industry.

Houthis Claim Fourth Attack On Saudi Aramco Refineries This Month

Yemen's Houthis, or the Ansar Allah movement, released a statement Thursday announcing new military operations against Saudi Arabia which targeted an Aramco facility and an airport in Najran province, saying that forces "carried out two military operations using two drones."

"The first targeted a sensitive target belonging to the Saudi enemy at Najran Airport, while the second targeted Aramco in Najran. Both operations successfully achieved their objectives, by God’s grace," the Houthi statement declared.

LinkedIn/Reuters 

Najran is a mid-sized city of around 400,000 and is located in southwest Saudi Arabia, bordering Saada province in northwest Yemen. The Saudis didn't immediately acknowledge the attack, or whether there's been damage or casualties from the launches has not been quickly forthcoming.

The Houthis are still complaining of Saudi airspace violations, while in the midst of a "siege for siege" operation. 

The day prior the Houthis laid out three objectives imposed on the Saudis:

• The first was described as “siege for siege,” referring to Ansarallah’s declared naval restrictions against Saudi shipping.
• The second involved “striking Saudi troop buildups wherever they are,” while the third centered on “protecting Yemen’s sovereignty and confronting any enemy incursions.”
• Ansarallah stated that its naval measures had imposed a tight blockade on Saudi interests, asserting that “not a single ship can pass through.”

Aramco facilities have been targeted several times over the past weeks, since the Saudi-Houthi conflict erupted again.

Iran has of late been much more open in boasting that its Yemeni ally is doing damage on US allies in the region. 

For example, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesman Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi told the semiofficial Mehr News Agency this week that the kingdom cannot defeat the group. 

"How can Saudi Arabia, whose military capability is less than that of the Zionist regime, be able to cope with Ansar Allah and the Yemeni fighters? This is not possible," he said.

The Thursday attack marks the fourth offensive on Aramco facilities this month...

🎯 🇸🇦Aramco has now been targeted by claimed Houthi drone strikes 3 times in 11 days.

Jizan refinery caught fire on August 9 (Saudi confirmed the fire, not the cause).

Najran was hit August 14. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree is now claiming a third strike on Aramco… pic.twitter.com/aaiDLuLU8X

— Jack Prandelli (@jackprandelli) August 20, 2026

Like the Iranians, the Houthis have some natural leverage given the geography of oil transit chokepoints. Al Monitor observes this week: "Traffic in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, may be on the rebound despite the Houthi blockade. The shipping data firm Kpler said 46 vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, up 53% from the day prior. Around 50 ships typically crossed before the recent escalation. 

It notes further, "Saudi Arabia has been rerouting oil exports through the Red Sea in response to the disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz."

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/21/2026 - 02:45

Dear Abby advises a reader on how to help an obese friend who needs to lose weight and a daughter who is considering taking a polygraph test to prove her innocence.

A charter aircraft carrying eight people crashed at a remote radar site in western Alaska on Thursday, killing all on board, the US military said.

The new prince now has equal inheritance rights to Laurent's private estate alongside his three half-siblings.

"I would rather do the lesser time than spend the next 53 years of my life behind bars."

Ukraine Corruption Scandal Deepens: 'Operation Forrest Gump' Shocks Zelensky Government With More Searches

Authored by Remix News Staff via Remix News,

Ukrainian anti-corruption services launched searches under codename "Operation Forrest Gump," targeting, among others, the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. The move expands the ongoing anti-corruption investigation which has seen a number of top officials in Zelensky's cabinet flee to Israel shortly before police could raid their homes.

The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) announced they were conducting a special operation involving a criminal organization led by a current and former member of parliament, with the participation of high-ranking officials from the Office of the President of Ukraine.

"NABU and SAPO are conducting a special operation aimed at exposing a criminal organization that operated under the leadership of a current and former member of the Ukrainian Parliament, with the participation of high-ranking officials of the Office of the President of Ukraine and other individuals. Details - coming soon," announced the anti-corruption services on Telegram.

The operation is codenamed "Forrest Gump," also referred to as Forest Gump. Ukrayinska Pravda sources and other media reported that NABU and SAPO are conducting searches as part of this special operation at premises belonging to MP Vadym Stolar, who was elected to parliament on behalf of the currently banned Opposition Platform - For Life party.

In addition, Iryna Mudra, deputy head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, is also targeted in the raids.

Stolar has confirmed the investigative actions at his home and stated he is fully cooperating without obstruction.

Additional figures linked by media and law-enforcement sources include former MP Maksym Mykytas, officials from the Ministry of Justice, and senior management of the state-owned Sense Bank including the chair of the board and supervisory board. Searches were also reported at the bank premises.

NABU has released excerpts of intercepted conversations.

Fragments reference "bags of money," discussions of registering assets or proceeds in the names of children, including high tuition costs, the "Forrest Gump" name itself in a context of concealing theft, and mentions of the Office of the President.

As EuroMaidan writes, "The operation carries a mocking name, Forest Gump, drawn from the suspects' own words. In a 47-second recording of intercepted conversations, one man ties the label to how the group allegedly hid money."

The suspect mocks that one of the co-conspirators used his children's own name to register the stolen money.

"We've got Saving Private Ryan, right? But only an idiot would register the theft of money - and their tuition on top of it - on their own children. That's why, Forest Gump," he said.

Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators reportedly chose the name "Forrest Gump" to mock these statements from their own criminal targets.

Other parts of the conversation reference cash and the presidential administration directly. "Well, there are four bags of money there," one voice says on the tape.

Another chimed in, saying: "If we do this, you can drive to the Office of the President yourselves. Believe me. I can see it."

Investigators allege the group gained effective control over Sense Bank around early June 2026.According to NABU/SAPO details released as part of the operation, the group organized money laundering of $3.5 million in cash (UAH 150 million).

The funds were introduced into legal circulation through accounts of shell companies and Sense Bank to post bail for one of the defendants in the earlier "Midas" case, which was linked to former Energy and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko.

Cash was reportedly delivered in tranches, processed via controlled entities, and partially directed toward the High Anti-Corruption Court bail account. Allegations include that Mudra was expected to help arrange the raising of these funds and that unidentified individuals from the President's Office tasked her with efforts related to bringing Sense Bank under greater control.

Investigators also seized a document described as an anti-crisis communications playbook outlining steps and messaging to shape public opinion around a Verkhovna Rada temporary investigative commission, framing it as an "audit, not attack" while shielding President Zelensky and his cabinet.

The probe has also documented alleged attempts to place controlled individuals in NABU and other law-enforcement bodies.

Incredibly, NABU has already posted these documents directly to Telegram.

Who is involved in the broader corruption scandal in Ukraine?

One of the main suspects in the related investigation is businessman Tymur Mindich. He is the co-owner of the Kwartal 95 production studio, which was founded and headed in the past by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Fearing arrest in the Energoatom affair (Operation Midas), Mindich fled to Israel. The Midas case centers on alleged large-scale kickbacks, approximately 10-15 percent of contract values, at the state nuclear company Energoatom, involving roughly $100 million in illicit funds, with the group using code names and cash deliveries.

During searches of Mindich's premises in November 2025, investigators found large quantities of cash and a golden toilet, along with a golden bidet, in one of the bathrooms of his opulent Kyiv apartment - details that became a public symbol of excess and were widely referred to as the "golden toilet scandal," which Remix News reported extensively on.

Mindich was not the only key figure to flee to Israel. His close associate, Oleksandr Tsukerman, also fled. The country does not extradite its citizens but Ukraine later imposed sanctions and issued international arrest warrants.

Among the suspects in the Midas scandal was the former head of Volodymyr Zelensky's office, Andriy Yermak. The former head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office has been charged under the Criminal Code of Ukraine with laundering property obtained as a result of a crime. The alleged laundering of UAH 460 million, about $10.5 million, allegedly occurred during the construction of the Dynastia luxury housing complex in Kozyn near Kyiv.

According to investigators, some of the funds used for the construction may have come from corruption activities at Energoatom. The court then issued an arrest warrant for Yermak.

It stipulated that he would be able to be released if he paid bail of 140 million hryvnias. In mid-May, Andriy Yermak was released from custody after posting bail.

The Forrest Gump operation is now being presented as connected to the wider Midas network of allegations involving high-level influence over strategic state enterprises, money laundering, and related luxury projects. Developments remain ongoing, with NABU indicating further details would be released.

Polish state media outlet TVP reported: "The latest operation could further intensify scrutiny of the political establishment as President Volodymyr Zelensky's government faces pressure to demonstrate progress in tackling corruption while Ukraine continues its war with Russia. It also poses a fresh headache for Zelenskyy after ousted defense chief Mykhailo Fedorov called for wartime elections in a bombshell statement late on Tuesday."

The question now remains: Is the noose tightening around Zelensky himself, or will he emerge from this massive corruption scandal of close associates squeaky clean?

Tyler Durden Fri, 08/21/2026 - 02:00