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Feeling Emboldened After Attacks On Moscow, Zelensky Threatens Belarus With Military Action

Ukraine is feeling more confident of late as its long-range drones have made the Moscow area - as well as dozens of oil refineries across the country burn.

Zelensky if seeking to flex yet again in recent days by issuing an ultimatum to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, threatening that close Russian ally and 'Union State' Belarus could face attacks out of Ukraine if it fails to dismantle the air defense radar array along its southern border.

The Ukrainian leader even issued a timeline and deadline, in a social media post on Friday night telling Lukashenko to "remove that equipment."

Reuters/Sky News

"I think a week is enough for him to do that… If he doesn’t do it, we will," Zelensky threatened. Zelensky added that "Russia will keep pushing him further into this war" - but that Lukashenko now "understands that Ukraine will respond."

Belarus has been involved in Russia's 'special military operation' from the beginning, having played the role of staging area and logistical hub for the initial invasion and some subsequent attacks.

Importantly it is also hosting Russian tactical nukes, which is clearly a loud warning and threat to NATO.

Addressing these factors, Zelensky also alleged that the Belarusian army "adjusts fire on our people." He stressed in the statement that "today, Belarus is one of the key suppliers for the Russian army."

A major incident just unfolded due to a Ukrainian drone strike on Belarusian civilians, which Lukashenko dubbed an act of terrorism:

The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it summoned a senior Ukrainian diplomat to protest a deadly drone strike on a bus carrying a Belarusian youth soccer team.

Belarusian and Russian authorities accused Ukraine’s military of targeting the vehicle as it traveled through Russia’s western border region of Bryansk on Wednesday. A woman accompanying the team was killed, and six others, including four teenagers, were wounded.

Following the incident, federal investigators in Russia launched a terrorism probe. Russia’s Foreign Ministry denounced the attack as “another monstrous crime.”

Ukraine, for its part, has rejected that its forces were behind the attack, dismissing the whole incident as a "provocation" and suggesting a false flag or manufactured event.

Attack on Belarusian bus. MAX/Moscow Times

Days ago Lukashenko demanded answers for the bus attack, accusing Ukraine of seeking to drag his nation into the conflict and that it "will have to pay dearly for that."

Throughout the war there's actually been surprisingly little in the way of direct Ukraine-Belarus fighting and confrontation, but this could change. Officials fear this would catapult the over four-year long conflict into a bigger regional war.

Tyler Durden Sun, 06/21/2026 - 12:15

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Billionaire Tax Officially Heads To Nov. 3 Ballot

Authored by Madeline Shannon via The Center Square,

The controversial union-backed billionaire tax in California is officially heading to the Nov. 3 ballot.

Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced the California Billionaire Tax Act exceeded the number of signatures it needed to qualify for the general election.

The initiative aims to impose a one-time 5% wealth tax on the Golden State’s billionaires to generate $100 billion in revenue. The tax would apply to assets like art, stocks and bonds. That money would be used to help backfill reductions in federal funding to K-12 schools, health services provided by Medi-Cal and aid from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as CalFresh in California, according to previous reporting by The Center Square.

Representatives from the advocacy group Billionaire Tax Now and the union backing the tax, Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West, did not respond to The Center Square before publication time.

However, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle spoke to The Center Square on Thursday about the tax measure advancing to the midterm election ballot in November.

“If you want a budget deficit in perpetuity, pass this,” Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, told The Center Square. “What happens is, these folks are now going to Florida and everywhere else, and not only are they leaving, but they are the ones investing in a lot of these jobs. Those jobs now are fleeing California, and we’re going to lose them, dramatically, going forward.”

The Golden State’s billionaires will take their billions and create jobs in other parts of the country – not in California, Strickland added.

“The minute this passed, we would be in a budget deficit in perpetuity,” Strickland said. “If you care about funding education, if you care about funding health care, if you care about funding transportation infrastructure, you’ll vote no on this initiative, because we won’t be able to fund essential services in California.”

California’s ongoing budget deficit, which the Legislative Analyst’s Office recently projected would amount to $16.9 billion, is largely due to expenditures exceeding revenues under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s most recent budget proposal. That was in spite of the fact that Newsom attempted to solve the state’s budget deficit through 2028, according to previous reporting by The Center Square.

While some, like Strickland, see the potential passage of the billionaire tax making the state’s budget woes worse, there is still support for the measure.

“I agree with the proposal overall,” Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, D-Pasadena, told The Center Square. “I agree overall with the idea that billionaires and corporations need to pay their fair share. We’ve seen inequality grow in an alarming way, and frankly, I think most Californians are sick of it.”

No one was available from Billionaire Tax Now or Service Employees International Union – United Healthcare Workers West to answer questions about the ballot measure’s progress. When asked if anyone was available to answer questions, a representative from Billionaire Tax Now sent a press release via email.

According to previous reporting by The Center Square, even the potential passage of the tax has sent some billionaires packing who previously called California home. Earlier this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg bought a mansion in Florida. Other billionaires also relocated to other states, including Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Palantir Technologies and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel and venture capitalist David Sacks.

A February 2026 report from the National Taxpayers Union Foundation found that the mere proposal of the wealth tax could be costing the state $1 trillion in revenue with the departure of multiple billionaires already. One economist predicted that passage of the tax could eventually cost the state $25 billion in revenue, The Center Square previously reported.

However, a healthcare worker who advocate for the measure previously told The Center Square that if billionaires leave the state, they are only showing their own greed.

“We need to put humanity first over greed,” Debru Carthan, a radiologic technologist for Kaiser, told The Center Square in March. “This is about being our brothers’ keeper. Those who leave California – they are showing their greed. They’re showing their selfishness. And the very patients who will die are the ones who helped them make the billions that they have now.”

According to Business Insider, there are more than 200 billionaires who live in California.

Tyler Durden Sun, 06/21/2026 - 11:40

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