UPDATE: Monaco Backpack Bomb Targeted Ukrainian Oligarch Sanctioned by Zelensky – Vadim Ermolaev, His Wife and Son Being Treated in a French Hospital
June 30, 2026
Vadim Ermolaev – Screengrab Social Media/Telegram
Is the Ukraine war expanding throughout Europe?
The first terrorist attack in Monaco is developing to be more mysterious than previously thought.
The suspected victim, Vadim Ermolaev, was a Ukrainian oligarch sanctioned by Volodymyr Zelensky’s regime for his ties to Russia through his business in Crimea.
Given their habit of targeting enemies with bombs, it’s not a big stretch to imagine Kiev may well be behind the attack.
Assassination attempt on Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Yermolayev in Monaco
On the evening of June 29, a powerful explosion rocked a residential building near the French border.
Yermolayev himself was injured with burns and shrapnel wounds. A woman next to him, supposedly his wife,… pic.twitter.com/i7cjjJAmC0
“One of Ukraine’s richest men was injured after a bomb detonated in the lobby of a residential building in Monaco. Vadim Ermolaev, who is sanctioned by Kyiv, sustained life-threatening injuries from the explosion at around 9pm on Monday.
His partner is believed to have lost both feet in the blast.
The attacker was seen fleeing on foot to Beausoleil, France, after detonating a suspected parcel bomb inside the lobby of the property on Rue du Révérend Père Louis Frolla, according to Monaco’s prosecutor-general.”
JUST IN: Blast in Monaco injures at least 3 Ukrainians as suspect plants explosive and flees pic.twitter.com/gHh0AfnwEw
“Police in Monaco have launched a manhunt for the suspect. An aide to French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said authorities were working ‘to find the perpetrator, who has fled’. More than 100 police officers and emergency responders were sent to the scene following the explosion.
One witness recalled seeing a young boy lying on the ground covered in blood as someone rushed to help him. Emergency crews also treated four other people for shock and cuts caused by shattered glass from the blast.
[…] Christophe Mirmand, Monaco’s Minister of State, initially described the blast as ‘an attack’ before later referring to it as a ‘deliberate explosion’.”
The wife of sanctioned Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolayev lost both legs in an explosion in Monaco. The attack is likely linked to call centers in Dnipro, according to law enforcement sources.
Iraq’s Anti-Corruption Purge and America’s Strengthened Position in Iraqi Oil
June 30, 2026
Iraq’s sweeping anti-corruption purge is disrupting Iranian oil-smuggling networks and creating new opportunities for U.S. energy companies, but entrenched Iran-backed political factions continue to threaten long-term reform. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 1st Class Arlo K. Abrahamson, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Iraq’s sweeping anti-corruption purge is disrupting Iranian oil-smuggling networks and creating new opportunities for U.S. energy companies, though entrenched Iran-backed political factions continue to threaten long-term reform.
The return of ExxonMobil, Chevron, and BP to Iraq, backed by Trump administration diplomatic engagement, sanctions enforcement, and support for improved commercial terms, marks another step in Washington’s effort to strengthen American influence in the global oil system.
Paired with mounting pressure on Iran’s oil exports, renewed sanctions against Iranian smuggling networks, closer energy cooperation with Gulf partners, and efforts to strengthen U.S. control over key maritime trade routes, these developments point to a broader reversal after years of expanding Chinese, Russian, and Iranian influence.
Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi took office on May 16, 2026, after months of political deadlock following the November 2025 elections, and has since launched the most sweeping anti-corruption campaign in the country’s modern history, with the oil sector at its center.
The investigation began with the arrest of Oil Ministry Undersecretary for Refining Affairs Adnan al-Jumaili on May 30. After the arrest, authorities seized roughly $86 million in cash, 70 properties, 21 vehicles, and about three kilograms of gold jewelry tied to the case. They also recovered a cache of assault rifles and ammunition.
Al-Jumaili’s alleged network spanned refineries in Beiji, Doura, Maysan, and Shuaiba, with investigators pursuing billions in kickbacks tied to refinery contracts. His confessions led to the arrest of former Salaheddin governor Raed al-Jubouri.
The campaign escalated sharply on June 28, when security forces detained 47 high-profile individuals, including sitting Members of Parliament, party operators, executives, and businessmen, in a pre-dawn operation codenamed “Phase One.”
Among those detained was Ali Maarij al-Bahadly, deputy oil minister for distribution affairs, along with Muthanna al-Samarrai, leader of the Sunni Al-Azm Alliance. Al-Zaidi also cancelled a $764 million Baghdad airport project on suspicion of corruption. He created the Supreme Sovereign Council for Integrity, Oversight and Recovery of Public Funds, which he chairs personally.
He has also ordered mandatory economic feasibility checks on all projects. In addition, he directed the formation of audit sub-committees, with a central committee, including the Board of Supreme Audit, reviewing contracts before they are signed.
Washington had already moved against Iraq’s oil bureaucracy before the broader purge began. In May 2026, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned al-Bahadly, alleging he controlled oil-smuggling financing, dealt directly with the IRGC’s Quds Force, and negotiated shipments of Iranian oil mislabeled as Iraqi to evade sanctions.
The U.S. controls Iraqi oil export revenues because the funds are routed through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. This gives Washington direct leverage, alongside sanctions on the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and the ability to halt portions of Iraq’s oil export revenue.
The PMF is an umbrella organization of predominantly Shia paramilitary factions. It was formed in 2014 to fight the Islamic State and was later formally incorporated into the Iraqi armed forces. However, most of its constituent groups remain Iranian-backed and operate outside genuine state control.
Washington also told Baghdad that the new government could not allow affiliates of Iran-backed militias to hold cabinet posts.
Despite this pressure, the Coordination Framework retained control of both the Oil and Finance Ministries in al-Zaidi’s partial cabinet, and unnamed Iraqi and Western sources have alleged that Deputy Oil Minister Khudair has served as Iran’s key interlocutor inside the ministry.
Set against this purge is a parallel and largely separate development: the return of major U.S. oil companies to Iraq after years of retreat. ExxonMobil withdrew from Iraq in November 2023, exiting the West Qurna 1 project. Chevron had also pulled back from the country after Iraq’s older technical service agreements, with their fixed per-barrel fees, drove away Western investors. Those terms favored Chinese and Russian firms, which were willing to accept thinner profit margins.
That began reversing in 2025. On October 8, 2025, ExxonMobil signed a non-binding Heads of Agreement with Iraq’s Oil Ministry to develop the 240,000 barrel-per-day Majnoon field in Basra and to support modernization of the country’s oil export infrastructure, including potential storage capacity in Asia.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called the deal an important step for strengthening economic relations with the United States. Chevron separately signed a memorandum of understanding in August on the Nasiriyah project, covering four exploration blocks and development of the Balad oil field, and BP signed a preliminary agreement in February 2025 to invest in fields around Kirkuk.
The terms driving the U.S. return are substantively different from the contracts that pushed American firms out in the first place. The older technical service agreements, introduced by Iraq’s Oil Ministry in 2009, offered fixed per-barrel fees with limited upside, which drove away investors including Chevron.
The new agreements instead grant U.S. firms a larger share of overall profits and access to physical barrels of crude they can trade directly. Iraq’s commercial logic is straightforward: it offers some of the cheapest-to-produce oil in the world at a scale matched by few other countries, and Baghdad is aiming to raise crude production capacity to roughly 6 million barrels per day by 2029, up from around 5 million barrels per day. For ExxonMobil and Chevron specifically, Iraq also functions as a geopolitical hedge against potential contract disputes in Kazakhstan, where the government is seeking to revise terms to capture more state revenue.
The political dimension of the U.S. return is explicit on the Iraqi side. According to Bloomberg reporting, Baghdad views cooperation with American companies as a way to gain favor with the Trump administration, and Washington has backed Exxon and Chevron in their Iraq negotiations alongside parallel talks in Libya, Algeria, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan.
Iraqi officials cited in that reporting believe U.S. oil investment demonstrates independence from Iran. They also argue that it could help shield Iraq from regional conflict risk. Some officials have expressed frustration with the slower pace of development by Russian and Chinese partners.
Further progress on these U.S. deals was reported to depend on the formation of a new Iraqi government. That process concluded with al-Zaidi’s confirmation in May.
The purge and the U.S. corporate return remain separate tracks rather than directly linked developments. None of the officials arrested in the anti-corruption sweep have been publicly tied to the ExxonMobil, Chevron, or BP negotiations. The new contracts under discussion were negotiated as preliminary, non-binding agreements before most of the June arrests.
For Washington, the more direct connection runs through sanctions enforcement rather than corporate deals. Removing officials implicated in Iranian oil-smuggling networks, including the sanctioned al-Bahadly and the arrested al-Jumaili, advances the U.S. objective of cutting off Iranian sanctions evasion routed through Iraqi infrastructure. A prime minister willing to prosecute these networks also raises the prospect of tighter compliance going forward.
That said, the Coordination Framework’s continued hold on the Oil and Finance Ministries means Iran-aligned political forces remain embedded in the institutions governing contract awards and revenue flows. Those same revenue flows help fund the Popular Mobilization Forces. As a result, the purge has targeted individuals without dismantling the underlying political structure Washington has long sought to curb.
The trajectory of both the purge and the American oil return depends on the same underlying variable. The question is whether al-Zaidi’s government can consolidate enough authority to sustain reform against Iraq’s patronage-based political system. If not, it may remain constrained by the same factional structure it is nominally targeting.
Recovering stolen funds, whether held domestically or abroad, remains difficult under Iraq’s 1969 penal code. The code does not adequately address financial crimes committed after 2003.
For U.S. companies now re-entering Iraq on improved commercial terms, this unresolved tension remains the central risk. Reformist intent may not be enough to overcome entrenched patronage networks or guarantee the durability of their new positions.
Elon Musk Shares that AOC is an Actress – How Many Other Politicians Are Actors As Well?
June 30, 2026
Elon Musk Shares that AOC is an Actress – How Many Other Politicians Are Actors As Well?
Elon Musk shared a post this morning that tells how AOC won a contest for Congress, and her brother put her name in.
Elon Musk just posted “AOC is an actor”
He’s 100% correct, and here’s the proof. AOC was chosen to be in Congress by a Democrat casting call. She’s a political actor that was picked out of 10,000 applicants
AOC’s brother submitted her application and she was chosen by the Executive Director of Justice Democrats Out Of 10,000 Candidates
It’s all on camera. There is even footage of AOC and Alexandra Rojas both confirming this on camera
“Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is not really the congresswoman of New York’s 14th congressional district. She is essentially an actress. She’s merely playing the part of a New York congresswoman. I know this sounds crazy, but bear with me. In 2017, a group called the Justice Democrats held auditions for potential congressional candidates that they would run on their platform for various congressional seats throughout the country. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s brother Gabriel submitted her for the role”
– In 2017 Justice Democrats, a progressive PAC founded by former Bernie Sanders staffers and allies put out a public call for congressional candidates
– They received over 10,000 nominations
– AOC’s younger brother, Gabriel Ocasio-Cortez, submitted her name. AOC was working as a bartender
Justice Democrats vetted nominees and chose AOC. They then trained her and installed her as their candidate
Elon Musk just posted “AOC is an actor”
He’s 100% correct, and here’s the proof. AOC was chosen to be in Congress by a Democrat casting call. She’s a political actor that was picked out of 10,000 applicants
In July 2021 we reported that Georgia’s corrupt Secretary of State Raffensperger, his corrupt CFO Sterling, and his corrupt deputy secretary of state Fuchs weren’t upset about Democrat election wins in Georgia, they wanted it that way. Instead, they slandered President Trump for calling out obvious fraud in their state.
A report at the Georgia Record this weekend uncovered the many connections between top Republicans in Georgia who were connected to a firm that groomed Democrats for Republican jobs. No wonder these individuals did all they could to prevent President Trump from winning reelection.
Landmark Communications of Atlanta, GA bills itself as the ‘go to’ firm for GOP candidates to get elected in Georgia.
The founder, Mark Rountree, says this about himself on Landmark’s website:
Mark Rountree
President
Mark Rountree is President of Landmark Communications, Inc., which he founded in 1991.
Campaigns & Elections Magazine has recognized Mark as one of Georgia’s five “Top Influencers” as well as “the go-to man for GOP legislative candidates.”
Unfortunately, Landmark has a history of helping Democrats get elected running as Republicans. This phenomenon may have contributed to the absolute cesspool of corruption in the Peach State when it comes to the performance of Republican officials during the 2020 election cycle. Some of these candidates have ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
We believe there has been a concerted effort among Democrat operatives to do just that – infiltrate the GOP and run ‘progressives’ as Republicans, who are lying about their beliefs and views on the issues. All of the information below is from publicly available information.
Nazeera Dawood
The report lists Asian American Nazeera Dawood as an individual who lost her race where she billed herself as a fiscally conservative Republican, but lost after a picture of her was found on the Net where she attended a far-left gathering labeled, tacos, beer, and abortions.” It was then found out that she wasn’t a doctor as she claimed, either.
Jordan Fuchs
Jordan Fuchs, the GA Deputy Secretary of State who leaked the phone call with President Trump and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, is a former Vice President of Landmark. Fuchs lied about the phone call to the press, and then deleted the original audio file, which was later found by an investigator.
Brad Raffensperger
GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was also represented by Landmark during his elections. This morning GA SoS Candidate David Belle Isle released data on Democrat contributions to Raffensperger’s campaign. The behavior of Raffensperger since Nov 3rd has been bizarre for a Republican to say the least. More to come on that in another article.
According to David Belle Isle, around 20% of Raffensperger’s donations came from out-of-state Democrats.
Jay Lin
Landmark also represented Taiwanese immigrant ‘Jay Lin’ (not his Asian name) in his race for JC City Council, and follow-on race for a GA state representative seat. We have written extensively about Jay Lin here. Jay Lin somehow made it onto Governor Brian Kemp’s transition team and was appointed to at least three other government board positions in GA, including one with influence over the Savannah Port.
In 2015 Jay Lin paid Landmark $65,000. This was a CITY COUNCIL RACE! A lot of money to say the least.
Jay Lin also ran as a conservative in JC. However, he had a reputation of not showing up for meetings, not paying attention, and voting opposite of Republican views. Jay Lin and Nazeera Dawood held political events together as they both ran for JC City Council in 2015
Brad Raffensperger’s wife donated the max to Jay Lin’s campaign for state rep, and Raffensperger helped push Jay Lin and Nazeera during 2015.
Brad Raffensperger is on record saying he had to support Jay Lin because he owed the Chinese community for his previous election and fundraising. The man below next to Brad Raffensperger is Yale Xiao. Yale was Jay Lin’s campaign manger. On Chinese social sites his nickname is ‘Old Money’.
Gabe Sterling
In addition to the individuals listed in the Georgia Record piece, we identified another crooked so-called Republican connected to Landmark Communications. On the LinkedIn portfolio of Mark Rountree, the President of Landmark Communications, Gabe Sterling endorses Rountree for his work with ‘political campaigns’.
Looking a bit further we noticed that Sterling was a Vice President at Landmark Communications in 2005.
Of course, Sterling is the pudgy guy the Secretary of State’s Office sent out to meet the media while the state was being stolen from President Trump and moved to Joe Biden.
AOC acted her way into politics; this is why she has no substance.
Is Thune really a radical Democrat? Is Judge Amy Coney Barrett as well?
How many other communists are pretending to be Democrats? How many GOP politicians are actors as well?
WATCH: GOP Rep Tom Kean Reveals Diagnosis That Led to His Nearly Four Month Absence
June 30, 2026
Rep. Tom Kean returns to Congress after a 117-day absence
Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ) returned to the House of Representatives on Tuesday and broke his silence on his mysterious health issues that led to nearly four months of absence from Congress.
Kean was last seen on Capitol Hill on March 5, 117 days ago.
In a speech on the House Floor on Tuesday, Kean revealed that he was diagnosed with depression and that doctors recommended he stay hospitalized for the illness.
“This is not an easy speech for me to give,” Kean began. “I am a private person by nature, and I’ve spent most of my life talking about the people that I represent, the issues facing our communities, and the work that continues to be done. Talking about myself has never come naturally, but I believe that I owe an explanation to the people of New Jersey’s seventh district, to my colleagues in this chamber, and to the American people for my absence.”
He continued, “Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression.”
“Now, when people hear the word depression, many people think it means feeling sad, but depression is so much more than that. It is physical, it is emotional, and until you experience it yourself, it’s difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be,” Kean said.
“The doctors recommended that I remain in the hospital to address my illness. They explained to me that this would be the fastest way to recovery, and to be honest, I was hesitant. I didn’t think that I had time for it. I had responsibilities to my family, I had responsibilities to my constituents, I had responsibilities to this institution, and like many people, I believed that I could simply push through. But I agreed to follow my doctor’s recommendations, again, not believing that it would result in a long-term stay, I began to understand not only my diagnosis but how long depression had been affecting my life.”
Kean described himself as “healthier, stronger, and excited to return to the work that I love,” he said, and with “deeper appreciation for the millions of Americans who face these challenges each and every day.”
He went on to thank his constituents, his staff, his family, and his doctors.
WATCH:
Kean had been absent since early March, missing over 135 votes.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told ABC in April that Kean was “attending to a personal health matter and expects to be back to 100% very soon.”
Kean previously announced that he planned to return today, June 30, but did not disclose his ailment.
JUST IN: Trump Responds to Blockbuster Ruling on “Trans” Boys Playing in Girls’ Sports – “That Takes That Ridiculous Situation Off the Table!!!”
June 30, 2026
(Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)
President Trump responded to the Supreme Court’s Tuesday ruling allowing states to block biological boys from competing in girls’ scholastic sports.
Trump described it as a “BIG WIN,” adding, “That takes that ridiculous situation off the table!!!”
In a statement on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “BIG WIN: The United States Supreme Court just RULED AGAINST MEN PLAYING IN WOMEN’S SPORTS. Wow! That takes that ridiculous situation off the table!!!”
As The Gateway Pundit reported earlier, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of West Virginia and Idaho’s laws banning biological males from girls’ sports after two biological male athletes, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Cooley Legal, sued the states to allow them to compete with girls.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion.
In a concurring opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas went off on the lie that biological males with gender dysphoria can call themselves females “even if they believe that they are.”
Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson and Justice Sonya Sotomayor wrote dissenting opinions.
Jackson, the Biden appointee who famously couldn’t define what a woman is, argued in her opinion that the court was wrong to hold that “Title IX protects against discrimination solely on the basis of ‘biological sex,’” and that it “should have assumed as much while leaving open the possibility that Title IX’s definition of ‘sex’ is more capacious.”
The ruling is expected to impact up to 27 states with similar laws on the books.
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The wife of sanctioned Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Yermolayev lost both legs in an explosion in Monaco. The attack is likely linked to call centers in Dnipro, according to law enforcement sources.
(@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) June 30, 2026
(@PJJacks68613363) 
