RSnake Report 20260606

Putin admits Oreshnik still being tested, Hormuz still closed, etc.

June 6, 2026

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Hello, and thanks for reading! It was a relatively quiet week on the home front, which was nice. The rain storms were really pretty on and off, and even the threats of 50 mph windstorms ended up doing little more than blowing over a couple of things outside. But it was nice enough to swim, and so we got some good use out of the pool, which was nice, and the wildlife seemed to be loving these regular small summer rainstorms.

In Russia/Ukraine News, if you recall, Ukrainian drones struck the Sarat oil refinery on May 30, damaging the EU-AVT-6 primary processing unit and two storage tanks. The same night, operators from the 1st, in coordination with Special Operations Forces and the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, hit a Baltic fleet corvette Boykiy while it was stuck at dry dock undergoing repairs. This ship was responsible for a lot of protection runs for the dark fleet, and it's been severely damaged. Ideally it won't be completely destroyed, but take years to repair, which would actually be more destructive over that term. Inserted media

By the looks of it, the ship is not in good shape. The overhead visuals show that it's being hosed down with water cannons, which means it's under extreme fire duress, which will make for a very lengthy repair. Water below deck for prolonged periods will cause all kinds of problems, even if the fire is extinguished.

A couple of days later, it looks like the Ukrainians may have hit the same base again and as many as three different facilities.

Ukrainian drones hit the Antipinsky oil refinery in Tyumen on June 6. The facility has a capacity of 9 million tons. also ignited fuel storage depots in-Labinsk Krasnodar Krai, which burning into the afternoon. Inserted media

Ukraine conducted 59 strikes with Darts drones and 11 strikes with Dovbush T20 drones against Russian logistics targets up to 150 km behind the front line. This is a classic battlefield isolation strategy, as former FSB officer Igor Girkin lamented. These are nasty attacks because they are both easy targets and really do degrade the ability of the Russian advance and defense for the entire region. Not to mention, the civilians are having an increasingly difficult time finding fuel and food, and limits on purchasing are in place. Good old Soviet era food rationing is happening now, it seems. The Crimea diet fad is about to come into vogue, I guess. 👎 There are huge lines when there is fuel at all. Inserted media

Fuel storage depots are being hit left and right as well, like in Krasnodar Krai, in order to degrade operations near the front, forcing trucks to be used. Inserted media

We're also seeing passenger transportation being stopped, so that only military equipment can pass through, which actually makes targeting operations a lot easier, because every target on those roads is now a military target. This includes rail, which seems like an unintended consequence. Someone didn't think that one through. People are telling one another to stay far ahead of or far behind trucks as they drive for their own safety. There are tons of videos and images from random passengers in their cars driving by it all. Just a reminder here that Crimea is a key destination for the wealthy, a bit like Sochi, and therefore this means that the average wealthy Russian is going to be seeing these sights en route to their favorite beach holiday. That's not going to be something Putin can cover up.

At some point, Russia is going to run out of trucking, you may be thinking. Well, there is some news on that front. It has a huge surplus of old, rotting trucks that can theoretically be brought into service, but most of them are very poorly maintained and have been left to the elements for decades, and are only somewhat likely to be serviceable. Behold the rust! It does appear as an example that the Russians may finally be running out of T-80 tanks, having to switch to older, crappier models, because they have finally run low on the massive ancient stockpiles. Not that tanks are the main issue here, it's trucking, but it's a good example of how the deep supply reserves work in Russia. Inserted media

People are having to leave Crimea in order to find stations that will sell them fuel. Also, 5% of online bookings have been canceled for Crimea hotel destinations, which is really just the beginning of hard times. There is a new hotline set up to deal with stranded tourists in Crimea, which really feels like a great opportunity for a honeypot operation to me, getting Russians to call Ukrainians to get better HUMINT of life on the ground there, giving bad advice, etc. But if it's real, that's pretty telling of the humanitarian situation that is beginning to unfold there, where some are fearing there won't be anything to subsist on soon enough.

It's not just limited to near the front, too. We're seeing huge hits across all of Western Russia. For instance, the Lazarevo oil pumping station, which is 1,200 km from the front, was hit.

There are Russian predictions that there will be no remaining fuel depots by Autumn. That means that Russia will have to find international buyers for all their oil, since it will have far fewer refinery operations and no place to store the refined oil. So oil revenue may actually stay high, especially due to the ongoing situation in the Straight of Hormuz driving up oil price, but that is not a good indication of where Russia actually is with their own oil reserves and access to petrol, if that makes sense. Inserted media

Additional strikes damaged five ships in the Sea of Azov in a single night. That is a pretty huge number of successful strikes. Though these ships are huge and the drone payloads are rather small, I don't have a good sense of the damage inflicted. That said, the video had at least one example of where a second follow-up drone followed after the first, and the damage was visible on thermal, and it seemed rather small. Hard to say! All of them were cargo ships so this goes to further isolating Russia. Inserted media

Putin has come under fire from his own friends due to his statements about the odd use of Oreshnik in Ukraine. Keep in mind all the videos about their use have shown no actual damage at all, but Putin apologists said that they didn't target or hit barns, and that was Ukrainian propaganda, and that they used the Oreshnik as a retaliation for previous Ukrainian strikes against Starobilsk. Now Putin is saying, no, it did hit barns, so that they could test how well it works. So there was no retaliation for Starobilsk, and no damage done in any manner that could be measured that would improve their war standing. Just a complete waste of some extremely expensive munitions. The comments about it from his own side were pretty funny, though, "The barn was indeed impressive. It was 350 by 170 meters. It's perfect for testing ballistic missiles." 🤣 This also de facto means that the Oreshnik is not yet fully operational if it's still being tested, which looks bad in a different way.

On the low-tech front, it looks like the Russians have begun packing the new version of the Geran-2 warhead with something that appears to be incendiary - a napalm-like jelly pack. I think this makes a ton of sense, and while it decreases the payload weight slightly, second-order fire effects can be extremely powerful in lots of situations. The initial blast can punch a hole in something, but the fire can spread to much greater effect than even the initial blast. Inserted media

The Russians were also out showcasing a new Tunguska-M1 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. Almost everything on this thing looks janky. The movements of the servos don't look clean at all, compared to, let's say, what Rheinmetall is putting out these days. Pretty weak sauce. I'm surprised they'd show this off. It looks like they used the same servos from animatronics with lots of bouncing, etc. It does, however, look to also be armed with anti-tank missiles, which could be pretty useful if they're ever close enough to use them. Inserted media

Russian forces launched more than 20 Iskander and Tsirkon missiles at Kyiv. Additionally, hits were Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Kamianske. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted a high number of the incoming missiles, but only a handful slipped through to cause serious damage. Inserted media

The Russian port of Mariupol was also hit in at least what looks to be two different places. This is a pretty major shipping hub, but it's not clear what the damage actually was either.

Oh, yeah, and Tyumen was also hit or just caught fire - it's not clear at this point. This was a processing unit. This to me shows another uptick in Ukrainian drone activity, back to what we saw a couple of months ago or maybe even higher, given that they have switched their attacks to largely going after logistics, which may actually be hurting Russia worse than oil and military-only targets. Inserted media

But it's not like they aren't going after military targets as well. The Donetsk airport was hit this week as well, it seems. This airport was the main launch point for many of the attacks against Ukraine, so incapacitating it, even temporarily, is a big win for Ukraine.

In absolute absurdity, Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev announced an agreement to build a tunnel linking Chukotka and Alaska. The project is described as a major infrastructure initiative between Russia and the United States. Not only is this technically a nightmare to build, due to the awful climates, the terrible terrain, etc. But there are basically no people along any of these routes, so there's not much utility either. It's a fantasy, as far as I can tell. Inserted media

Meanwhile, while the Russians plan to build a bridge to the Americas, the US has decided to vote in favor of supporting the Ukrainians in the war once again, increasing funding to support Ukraine. This has been a fairly partisan issue, but 18 Republicans reached across the aisle to give their support. So the war shall continue with US support. This is an interesting situation because we may need Russian support when it comes to getting Iran to the negotiating table, but this won't be a sign of that proverbial bridge building to the Russians. Inserted media

Oh, and before we move on, I saw a funny thing about the MAX mobile spyware app that Russia forces people to install. Well, Apple just banned it on its app store. That means anyone with an iPhone can't install it. Imagine all those young Russian influencers in Moscow who are going to be forced to buy and use an Android, complaining endlessly! 🤣 Oh, the humanity!

In European News, Iranian operatives planned an attack on the Bank of America building in Paris on March 28 while Ivanka Trump was visiting the city. The plot was linked to Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, which released a propaganda video previewing the target. I am sure that will make waves amongst the family, and the secret service, not to mention probably authorize direct attacks against them as retaliation.

There was a pretty graphic report done to the UK, which covered the scourge of immigrant rape gangs. The testimony collected from many women across the region is really, really awful to hear. Grooming children, filming rape performed by dogs, torture with insertion of bottles and breaking them, etc. Evil people, and it should really be a much larger uproar than it has been. It's worth a listen, not because it's somehow enjoyable to listen to, but because it's the kind of thing every adult should know is happening so that we can dispel the illusion that the immigrants flowing into the UK are behaving themselves. This should not be a partisan issue, but of course it will be. Inserted media

A huge explosion occurred at the Ta’ Lourdes fireworks factory in Magħtab, Malta, on June 1. Residential buildings and vehicles nearby sustained damage, with no reported casualties. But shows how dangerous these fireworks factories actually are. It seems like this happens every couple of years, and always the same result. Inserted media

Spain, France, and Italy have warned private aviation operators jet fuel supplies may be unavailable this summer due to the situation in the Straight of Hormuz. Commercial carriers face potential disruption or of 30 to 50 percent of flights after 97 consecutive days of inventory draws. Inserted media

In Southeast Asia News, China increased crude oil imports by 1 to 2 million barrels per day for more than a year before it started slashing its consumption by 6 million barrels per day in recent months. The drawdown from strategic reserves reached 6 million per day for 90+ days, totaling more than 550 million barrels. The fact that they can and did weather a long-term draw down is pretty telling about their ability to act strategically with regard to oil and gas. At least so far!

That said, the oil and gas imports from the straight of Hormuz are still not improving. Will this make them blink when it comes to a Taiwan invasion? If they are truly cut off from all imports of oil via water, and assuming they can only refine whatever comes overland from Russia, how long can they survive? It's an interesting question. The reserve was built to withstand a Taiwan-related embargo rather than a closure of the Strait of Hormuz. So China may be in a far weaker strategic situation now, and worsening every day that Iran refuses to come to the table.

On other drone-related stuff, there were a few things of note. First, China is selling off-the-shelf anti-drone interceptors now on eBay and other places. For $7k, you can buy your own AI interceptor that likely has all sorts of backdoors in it. Buyer beware! Inserted media

There was also a new firefighting drone swarm that takes a handful of drones to fly up to a very specific location and let off some sort of chemical that appears to disperse and suffocate the fire. You can see the effect here, but these are robotic systems, it appears, which almost certainly makes them dual-use. They could just as easily drop other sorts of chemicals or spread fire, etc.

The Pakistani military took control of either the second or third submarine built for them by the CCP. This solidifies their alliance and dependency upon China, I'd say. It also further isolates China from India, I'd guess, given the very long, sordid past between China and Pakistan. This is the Hangor-class AIP sub. Inserted media

A researcher showed an interesting example of using DeepSeek to write code related to China, and it intentionally neutered the code to cut out things about Tianamen Square and disavow Taiwan as a country. Etc. Be very careful with these free Chinese models. You get what you pay for. Inserted media

Oh, yeah, and there was a funny/awful video of a dumb Chinese robot that kicks a by-standing Chinese kid in the stomach by accident. So much for Aisamov's rules, huh? We're in such a hurry to bring these things to market, and make them flashy, that honestly, but yet they are still wildly ill suited for interacting with people. Inserted media

In African news, Algeria, Niger, and Nigeria began construction on the 4,128 km-Saharan Gas Pipeline. The project is designed to deliver 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Europe. If it works, it may help the situation that Spain, France, and Italy have been warning about. However, these are not exactly areas known to be free of conflict, so there's a pretty huge gamble, and likely a lot of fighting will occur against it and to control it, and meter it, I'd guess. Inserted media

There was also some pretty troubling footage of what the Ebola outbreak and cleanup look like from the ground. The native population is far, far too cavalier around these infected bodies, and actively trying to interrupt the cleanup operations, which is horrifically dangerous. Watching the villagers swarm the HAZMAT team is pretty scary. The beginning of a pretty bad POV B-movie, and it's real. Inserted media

In Middle East News, Iran announced it is ending negotiations with the United States and will block the Strait of Hormuz... again. And while there was a brief uptick in movement through the Straight, it's back to almost impassable again. Inserted media

The decision follows reported Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Iran also threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Of all of the places in the region, it would have a far greater effect on Israel, which would have one of its two major paths to the ocean metered by the Iranians.

It seems Iran is really upset about the attacks against their proxy, Hezbollah, at the moment, and the increasing momentum of Israeli movements northwards. This will likely be a huge sticking point in negotiations. Inserted media

For their part, the US seems to indicate that negotiations are ongoing daily. But the sentiment on the ground is snarky, with people putting up missing persons fliers saying that the supreme leader is missing, when in fact he is likely brain-damaged and in a hospital.

In other silly middle east news, apparently one cleric is stated that practicing gay anal sex in order to widening one's anus for the purposes of inserting bombs should be allowed by Allah as long as you ask for forgiveness and martyr yourself. 🤡 Look, you don't need to go through so much mental gymnastics to be gay, guys. Geez.

People on the ground are also asking to be provided with weapons to help them fight the IRGC. This information is only leaking out in drips and drabs as the Internet slowly comes back online here and there.

At least one ship was hit, the MSC Sarisky V, by what appears to be some sort of underwater vehicle or low-yield mine of some sort. It created a pretty nasty hole on the side of the ship. It is guessed that this was targeted and not an accident because of the affiliation with the Israelis. Inserted media

Iran launched seven ballistic missiles at U.S. bases in Kuwait and Bahrain. Six were intercepted, and one failed to reach its target. No damage to the bases was reported. Also, the Kuwait airport was attacked, and there was some footage of that.

Brent crude averaged around $104 per barrel in May. Commercial inventories fell by approximately 100 million barrels per month in April and May. Analysts project prices could average between $130 and $140 per barrel in June if the supply draw continues. For now though it's stable, but based on all other previous dates based on production it's a little bouncy, so I don't expect it to stay stable, even if everything else stays as-is in the middle east. Inserted media

In South of the Border news, Mexican authorities discovered an 869-foot tunnel in Tijuana believed to connect to a street in San Diego. The tunnel is under investigation for cross-border smuggling. It has some kind of sled that makes traversing it much faster than crawling, and likely makes moving contraband much faster as well. Inserted media

U.S. Southern Command conducted yet another strike on a vessel operated by a designated terrorist organization, killing two individuals. The operation was carried out by Joint Task Force Southern Spear. I have to imagine at some point this won't make economic sense for the cartel who is losing huge shipments each time. Inserted media

Venezuelan crude exports have shot up since the US attacked and arrested Maduro, which is a really good sign for what happens when authoritarian regimes step aside and let commerce function to the levels the market demands. But it's also showing that in a time of increasing need for oil, Venezuela can step in to fulfill a lot of the need once the infrastructure is ready. The problem is that it won't be fast enough to make a dent in the current situation. Inserted media

It's not even back to the same levels that it was in the 2010's though, so there is a long ways to go before even the deficit has been dealt with, let alone increasing the supply to augment whatever we loose from the war with Iran. Inserted media

In North America News, President Trump signed an executive order requiring artificial intelligence companies to provide the administration access to powerful models 30 days before public release. It also came out that the NSA has had access to and has been using Mythos for some time. Anthropic embedded approximately six engineers inside the NSA to customize its Mythos model for offensive cyber operations against networks in China and Iran. The model was withheld from public release due to its autonomous discovery capabilities. This is the same Anthropic who was sitting pretty high on its horse just a couple of months ago with regard to working with the administration. I guess they got a stern talking to and realized that the money is worth whatever ethics and hand wringing had to happen to get them to deliver the models. Pretty silly.

The U.S. Senate rejected the SAVE America Act, which would have required voter identification and proof of citizenship for federal elections, by a 48-50 vote. Four Republican senators voted against the measure. I have a feeling there was a lot of inside baseball happening here, for those four Republicans to vote against something the public overwhelmingly wants to fix. One of the Senators was Mitch McConnell, who has definitely been around the block, so it would be unlike him to vote against his own party unless there was something else at stake here. I don't have a good line of sight on what that might be, though. So for now, Americans can mail in their votes. Inserted media

A new executive order authorizes the Treasury Department to freeze and seize bank accounts tied to illegal immigration, human smuggling, and welfare fraud by undocumented migrants. This is probably one of the most aggressive sanctions I've seen because it puts the banks and employers in very, very bad positions if they don't comply. No one wants to be de-banked. It's almost a death sentence. And if the US can just go in and take all the money tied to illegal aliens who have been difficult to extradite, it's going to make it extremely hard for them to stay here in the United States without external support. Inserted media

There was quite a bit of reporting about the new wave of creating fake protests, funding extremism, and how extremist funding is happening over the last few months. Basically, the whole web of NGOs is starting to get a lot more transparent, both from activists who infiltrate the organizations to see what they pass out and how they train the activists, and through clever analysis of the movement of money. The Southern Poverty Law Center allegedly paid $300k to transport people to the Charlottesville rally and other awful things. For instance, a new app just announced that wholesale lets people rent out humans like a task rabbit, but for graffiti and protests, etc.

The U.S. Air Force designated the GBU-57A/B Massive Ordnance Penetrator as the G-76/B. Service is seeking contractors for full-cycle development of a 20,000- to 30,000-pound next-generation penetrator. I suspect it will have to invest a lot more in these. They're rare, they're expensive, and all major countries saw how the US used them at Fordow and will likely be going deeper, with more byzantine air ducting designed to capture and deflect large blasts, etc. That adds a lot of cost to bunker design, naturally. Inserted media

On the cutting-edge research side, the US also built the Mark-O nuclear microreactor prototype, which proves the tech and will be used as a model to scale. up. Pretty cool stuff!

Oh, and the X-59 super-quiet supersonic test broke the sound barrier for the first time. Pretty awesome, though they didn't deliver the measurements for how quiet it was. That may be classified information, but if it ever makes it to a Concord-esque design, it will surely be extremely public information with regard to any sort of passenger craft. The craft seems much more maneuverable than I had expected it to be, which I found interesting. Inserted media

In Tech News, SpaceX signed a $920 million per month agreement with Google for access to compute capacity, including approximately 110,000 NVIDIA GPUs, from October 2026 through June 2029. That's around $10B ARR. Not too shabby! SpaceX’s planned $75 billion IPO is scheduled to occur within days, adding to recent large equity raises in the technology sector. We are seeing a sell-off in the market at the moment, but that could be a lot of people getting out of the market so that they are ready for this IPO too. Hard to say. Inserted media

Meta is considering raising billions of dollars through a stock offering to fund AI development, following a similar $85 billion equity raise by Google. This also caused a huge sell-off when they announced that, which is interesting. A lot more bearish reaction than I think they were expecting with that little announcement. Inserted media

On the hacking front, there was a JSON formatter company that apparently logged everything people inserted, and researchers were able to dump out the plaintext from all of the previous attempts to beautify your JSON. Sad.

Researchers, for the first time ever, claim they wrote an AI computer worm. People have been fearing this for a while, but it's just a toy model, and, unsurprisingly, it sucks. It's extremely slow and takes a ton of VRAM to power. Not exactly a stealthy operator. Doable but not exactly practical at scale. Inserted media

Researchers demonstrated an HTTP/2 remote denial-of-service attack that can pin 32 GB of server memory on nginx, Apache httpd, Microsoft IIS, Envoy, and Cloudflare Pingora within 10 seconds. And Slowloris (code that I wrote) got a shout-out, because this is sort of like a mix of Slowloris and a compression bomb. Two unrelated denial-of-service techniques shoved together into a single thing. Pretty cool!

Okay, onto the articles!

Geopolitics

Australia is set to acquire three in-service Virginia-class submarines as part of its AUKUS agreement with the U.S. and U.K., a decision viewed as an adjustment rather than a fundamental change. This acquisition aims to maintain Australia's path toward developing its own nuclear-powered submarine capability, which is crucial to its maritime security interests.

Australia is acquiring three in-service Virginia-class submarines to bridge its submarine capabilities.
The acquisition aligns with Australia's long-term goal of establishing a nuclear-powered submarine capability.

[RSnake: Probably wise. That will force China to think a lot harder about how they interact with Australia, giving them first strike capabilities against China.]

Source: https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2026/06/05/aukus_virginia-class_switch_is_a_fix_not_a_failure_1186856.html

A US journalist, Thomas Weir Pauken II, has pleaded guilty to acting as an illegal agent for the People's Republic of China, admitting to gathering sensitive information for Chinese intelligence. Pauken received over $100,000 for his activities, which included meeting potential intelligence assets and facilitating cyber espionage efforts on behalf of Chinese operatives.

A US journalist worked for Chinese intelligence, gathering sensitive information.
He's facing a maximum of 10 years in prison for his actions.

[RSnake: Wow, talk about a bad actor. Not only acting against his country, but acting as a mouthpiece for the enemy at the same time. Ten years doesn't quite sound long enough to me.]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmpmxg1ym4o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

Kuwait has faced multiple attacks from Iran amidst escalating tensions following clashes between the U.S. and Iran. The recent attacks have resulted in civilian casualties and disruptions, particularly at Kuwait International Airport, as negotiations for a peace deal stagnate. Iran has targeted U.S. allies in the region, leading to concerns about broader aggression in the Gulf area.

Kuwait has been directly attacked by Iran in response to U.S. military actions.
Iran's attacks on Kuwait and other Gulf states are increasing amidst stalled peace negotiations with the U.S.
Kuwait's economy is suffering due to the conflict, with a projected budget deficit significantly impacting its GDP.

[RSnake: I'm not sure where Saudi lands on all of this, because it seems like they have had a beef with Kuwait for some time now. I'd be curious what the backroom conversations are like.]

Source: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/44223-kuwait-bears-brunt-of-iranian-response-to-us-ship-attacks

Russia has developed a new missile system that employs submunitions designed to explode 20-30 minutes after impact, targeting first responders and civilians who arrive at the scene of an attack. This tactic aims to increase casualties among those responding to strikes, including paramedics and neighbors. The Iskander-M ballistic missile with cluster warheads has been used against civilian targets in Ukraine, resulting in significant loss of life, particularly among children.

Russia's Iskander-M missile features a timed detonation for submunitions that targets first responders.
Recent strikes using this munition have resulted in high civilian casualties, including the deaths of children.

[RSnake: This is one theory about what the Oreshnik was testing - burying itself deep underground to have some other, second-order effect. Maybe earthquakes, or maybe attacking people who come to investigate it far later, etc. More like a long-term area denial or a long-term mine of some kind? Really hard to say.]

Source: https://euromaidanpress.com/?p=409803

On June 5-6, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using 272 drones, with Ukrainian air defense successfully destroying or jamming 249 of them. Despite the defense efforts, some drones remained in Ukrainian airspace, and reports stated that 19 UAVs caused hits at 11 locations. Additionally, Ukraine lost 1,380 soldiers, killed and wounded, in just one day.

Russian forces executed a significant drone attack on Ukraine.
Ukrainian air defense systems were largely effective but still faced challenges.

[RSnake: It doesn't seem like Ukraine is getting higher ratios out of their air defense. We can blame the lack of Patriot missiles, but it feels like there really is just a slight improvement in the Russian side, that always just slightly evades whatever the state of the art is, in at least capacity, if not tech.]

Source: https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/06/06/8038015/

India's energy security is significantly threatened as the Strait of Hormuz faces blockades, causing oil prices to spike and limiting access to essential energy imports. The situation has prompted India to seek alternatives for energy supply and explore deeper cooperation with the United States to diversify its energy sources and enhance its energy security. This development is crucial as India is a major global oil and gas consumer, and its energy import dependencies expose it to geopolitical risks.

India's dependence on energy imports makes it vulnerable to disruptions in supply routes like the Strait of Hormuz.
The closure of key maritime routes is prompting India to seek stronger energy partnerships, particularly with the United States.
This scenario highlights the geopolitical implications of energy security on a global scale, especially for major importing nations.

[RSnake: Yeah, no joke. They're like China but without the Russian friends. At least we have a good relationship with the Indians, so that will ease things.]

Source: https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/?p=927948

Washington's confrontational policies toward Tehran have severely disrupted global oil trade, leading to skyrocketing prices and economic turmoil in Pakistan. The country, heavily reliant on oil imports and strategic alliances, is now facing a looming economic crisis exacerbated by its structural vulnerabilities and dependence on foreign aid.

Pakistan's economic situation is critically affected by rising oil prices resulting from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
Dependency on oil imports and insufficient structural reforms have exacerbated Pakistan's economic fragility.

[RSnake: I am really curious how this will play out closer to November!]

Source: https://www.eurasiantimes.com/?p=290586

Cybersecurity

A researcher has demonstrated that a USB-connected speaker can be exploited to infect a connected computer without physical interaction, using its Bluetooth and USB functionalities. The investigation revealed that the speaker's firmware could be remotely altered, enabling unauthorized commands to be executed on the connected device, posing potential security risks to users nearby.

A USB-connected speaker allows for remote code execution via Bluetooth, affecting connected devices.
The vulnerability relies on the speaker's lack of authentication measures for Bluetooth connections.

[RSnake: Interesting. That's a pretty unlikely attack and almost certainly would require someone who was incredibly close by, or even with direct access to initiate, though.]

Source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/06/highly-reviewed-speaker-can-be-hacked-over-the-air-to-infect-connected-devices/

The White House has issued an executive order aimed at enhancing cybersecurity through collaboration with the private sector on artificial intelligence (AI) models. The order establishes a voluntary framework for companies to share advanced AI systems with the government for security assessments, while also mandating prioritization of cyber defense across federal systems.

The executive order promotes collaboration between the federal government and the private sector in the cybersecurity domain.
It establishes a framework for early access to AI models for government security assessments.
The order calls for increased resources and hiring in cybersecurity roles within the federal government.

[RSnake: I am not a huge fan of these lock-ins, but some very smart people that I respect seem pleased with this as a possible stop-gap instead of full-on regulation. So I may begrudgingly agree, but this had better not be a path to regulation or we will fall behind quickly.]

Source: https://www.darkreading.com/cybersecurity-operations/trump-ai-order-seeks-voluntary-frontier-model-testing

Hackers are actively exploiting a recently patched high-severity vulnerability in SolarWinds Serv-U software, which can crash servers without requiring user authentication. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has ordered federal agencies to patch this vulnerability by June 19 and is urging the private sector to take similar precautions due to ongoing attacks targeting this flaw.

Hackers exploiting a SolarWinds Serv-U vulnerability can crash servers without authentication.
CISA mandates that federal agencies patch the vulnerability by a specified deadline.

[RSnake: Not great, but it's unusual for CISA to warn people about a crash. Typically, they only focus on things that can cause infiltration.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/cisa-hackers-now-exploit-solarwinds-serv-u-flaw-to-crash-servers/

A Chinese espionage group known as UNC5221 has been exploiting vulnerabilities in Microsoft 365 environments using sophisticated malware called Brickstorm and associated tools. This group has been infiltrating victim networks for at least 18 months before detection, utilizing techniques that evade conventional security measures and showing a capability to re-establish access even after remediation efforts.

UNC5221, a Chinese espionage group, has exploited Microsoft 365 environments using advanced malware.
The group maintained access for over a year, compromising managed services providers to infiltrate networks.

[RSnake: I am starting to uncover more data about similar groups. They tend to get caught quite easily, and those cases cause claims due to regulatory fines and customer lawsuits. So the non-financial adversaries end up causing financial harm by accident.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/chinese-apt-deploys-new-malware-to-keep-access-to-hacked-networks/

Over 900 automatic tank gauge systems in the United States are exposed online and under threat from ongoing cyberattacks. U.S. federal agencies have issued a warning regarding these vulnerabilities, advising critical infrastructure organizations to secure their systems to prevent potential manipulation and disruptions.

Over 900 ATG systems monitoring fuel and chemical storage in the U.S. are exposed online.
Federal agencies warn that threat actors are exploiting vulnerabilities in these systems, potentially leading to hazardous situations.

[RSnake: Great. Great great great. It's amazing to me people still stick stuff straight on the Internet at all anymore.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/over-900-us-gas-station-tank-gauge-systems-exposed-to-attacks/

As the FIFA World Cup 2026 approaches, over 4,300 fake domains and various cyber scams targeting fans have emerged, including phishing operations and malware spread through unofficial streaming apps. Cybersecurity firms and the FBI have issued warnings about this extensive fraud network that capitalizes on the excitement and urgency around the tournament, which begins on June 11, 2026.

Over 4,300 fraudulent FIFA domains have been registered, leading to ticket and merchandise scams.
Cybercriminals are using sophisticated phishing techniques and malware disguised as streaming apps to exploit fans.

[RSnake: Good luck out there if you are traveling to watch the World Cup!]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/fifa-world-cup-2026-scams-phishing-malware

A former IBM cybersecurity executive has accused the company of covering up multiple breaches by foreign hackers over a decade. Specifically, it is alleged that the Chinese hacking group APT 10 compromised IBM's core network thousands of times without proper notification to government authorities, raising significant concerns about cybersecurity practices in a major vendor for the U.S. federal government.

IBM allegedly faced multiple major data breaches from foreign state actors over several years.
The company is accused of failing to disclose these breaches to the public or to relevant authorities.
The allegations raise concerns about the security practices of a significant cybersecurity vendor.

[RSnake: IBM is far from alone here. Go down into the IT department of any major company and look at the stacks and stacks and stacks of machines that are "running slow" or have "weird popups" or whatever. Every one of those companies is compromised. This is not unique or rare.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3130083

Technology

Microsoft has introduced an extension called pg_durable for PostgreSQL that enables durable execution of long-running SQL functions. This extension allows teams to define workflows in SQL, ensuring that executions can be checkpointed and resumed after failures, thereby streamlining background tasks in data engineering and AI pipelines.

pg_durable allows SQL functions to execute reliably, minimizing the need for external service infrastructure.
The extension enhances PostgreSQL's fault-tolerant workflows by supporting checkpointing and resumption.

[RSnake: That's a good idea. Outages are a real mess when it comes to databases that do long writes.]

Source: https://github.com/microsoft/pg_durable

A new solar-powered desalination method has been developed, converting ocean water into drinking water without producing harmful brine waste. This energy-efficient system collects useful minerals and salts, including lithium, which has significant applications in battery technology, addressing the global shortage of clean drinking water for billions of people.

Solar-powered desalination technology converts ocean water to fresh water without harmful waste.
The process extracts valuable minerals, such as lithium, from seawater, offering an environmentally friendly alternative for resource extraction.

[RSnake: There is no good photo of this, but I am curious what this will end up looking like. I have always liked this idea, especially when it uses the water from the air in more humid environments.]

A blue gloved hand holding two pieces of laser-etched superwicking black metal.

Source: https://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/what-is-desalination-definition-ocean-water-704732/

Google has released new versions of its Gemma 4 models optimized with Quantization-Aware Training (QAT), which dramatically reduce memory requirements and enhance performance on mobile and laptop devices. This advancement in AI enables more efficient on-device processing through specialized quantization techniques, delivering high-quality performance while minimizing memory usage.

Gemma 4 models are now equipped with QAT for better efficiency on consumer hardware.
The new models significantly lower the memory footprint, enabling them to run effectively on mobile devices.

[RSnake: Available only on Google Colab. So not a model you can download and use locally. At least not yet.]

Source: https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/technology/developers-tools/quantization-aware-training-gemma-4/

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is establishing a new AI lab focused on user interaction and design, directly competing with OpenAI, led by Sam Altman. This shift marks a growing trend among tech founders, indicating a departure from relying solely on existing AI models and a desire to develop proprietary AI capabilities tailored to specific applications. The initiative follows significant developments and investments in AI within the travel and commerce sectors, reflecting a broader push for innovation in user-centric technology.

Chesky is backing an AI lab to emphasize user interaction over existing model capabilities.
This move signals a trend where prominent tech leaders are seeking to build their own AI research capabilities.

[RSnake: That's good - as much as a chat interface is clever, it's not really a great interface to tons of things, and interactions with it are clunky in many use cases.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/chesky-airbnb-ai-lab-openai-altman

Mira Murati, former CTO of OpenAI, recently re-emerged in public to introduce Thinking Machines Lab's new 'interaction models' designed for real-time AI communication. She also expressed concerns about the lack of governance in the AI industry while reflecting on her experiences during the controversial firing of Sam Altman from OpenAI. Additionally, the competitive landscape is evolving rapidly with high-profile departures from AI firms and ongoing debates about the balance between innovation and responsible AI governance.

Mira Murati presented new AI interaction models aimed at enhancing real-time communication.
She raised concerns about insufficient governance structures in the AI industry, citing recent leadership changes.
The AI competitive landscape is changing, illustrated by significant talent exits and the impact of major companies like OpenAI.

[RSnake: Okay, maybe this is going to be a re-think of what I consider to be a completely failed tech... the MCP. It works; it's just worse than unreliable. It's almost the opposite of deterministic. I have no idea if it's going to work or not. It's like asking an elementary school kid to buy you twenty very specific items at the store and giving them a $100 bill. Are you going to get what you asked for when they come back? God only knows.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/mira-murati-resurfaces-after-18-months-with-a-warning-about-ai-governance-and-a-product-no-one-expected

The competition in physical AI technology is intensifying, with Chinese startup Spirit AI surpassing Nvidia's model in a benchmark test. Chinese firms are currently leading various benchmarks in physical AI, supported by significant investment and a favorable environment for data collection compared to the West.

Spirit AI's model scored higher than Nvidia's in a key industry benchmark, marking a significant shift in the competitive landscape.
Chinese companies dominate multiple physical AI benchmarks, supported by robust investment and effective data collection methods.

[RSnake: China is probably ahead of us, but I also think they are flooding the market with crap too. So it will be interesting to see who wins on quality, efficacy, utility, etc.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/spirit-ai-beats-nvidia-roboarena-physical-ai

The World Cup 2026 will introduce several technological innovations, including sensor-equipped match balls that provide real-time data to enhance officiating, AI-enabled 3D player avatars for more accurate tracking, and robotic dogs for improved security measures. Additionally, advanced semi-automated offside technology will allow for quicker decisions on offsides, while mandatory hydration breaks will prioritize player welfare during matches.

Sensor-equipped match balls will provide real-time data to VAR for improved decision-making.
AI will enable the creation of 3D avatars of players for accurate tracking and broadcasting.
Robotic dogs will be deployed for security to monitor and respond to incidents during the tournament.

[RSnake: This will also make it a lot easier for people to build up models based on what works and doesn't work. Improving human performance through better analysis, more or less.]

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2026/6/6/fifa-world-cup-2026-what-is-new-sensor-match-ball-ai-player-avatar?traffic_source=rss

Business

Token prices have drastically fallen by 98%, yet enterprise AI expenditures have increased by approximately 320%, driven by a surge in token consumption. The Linux Foundation has launched the Tokenomics Foundation to develop standards for AI token usage and spending as companies face rising costs and seek to manage their budgets effectively.

Enterprise AI spending has escalated to an average of $7 million annually, despite lower token prices.
The Linux Foundation is creating a new standards body to address the financial challenges associated with AI token usage.

[RSnake: This is both true and not true. Token prices fell for older models, but the models people want to use are even more expensive. And some models disappeared completely. I'm still a little annoyed Grok got rid of all of their old models, as an example. I'll get over it, but the low-cost option is gone. Try to find ChatGPT 3.0 for instance.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/token-prices-fell-98-enterprise-ai-bills-tripled-now-the-industry-wants-a-standards-body-to-explain-why

AirTrunk plans to invest $30 billion to establish a data center capacity of 5GW in India by 2030, following its recent entry into the Indian market through the acquisition of Lumina CloudInfra. This investment reflects a broader trend in India, where significant commitments from tech giants and a favorable policy environment are driving the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure and AI capabilities in the country.

AirTrunk is launching a $30 billion investment plan to develop data centers across India by 2030.
The Indian government is supporting this growth with favorable policies, including tax incentives for foreign tech firms.
India is becoming a key player in global cloud computing and AI infrastructure development.

[RSnake: Big business, but we're going to have to solve the power problem. Fusion reactors really do seem like the future, and I am surprised there hasn't been a flood of investment into that space. The only thing I can think of is that if it works, it may drive the price down so fast that it's just not worth the investment. Expensive power is worth something. Cheap power is worth nothing. Or something like that...]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/airtrunk-blackstone-30-billion-india-data-centres

The ongoing conflict in Iran has led to the closure of a critical waterway, significantly disrupting the global oil supply and causing a rise in jet fuel prices. Airlines are now exploring sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) derived from renewable sources like used cooking oil as a potential alternative to conventional jet fuel due to its escalating costs and scarcity during the summer travel season.

The conflict in Iran is causing a notable decline in global oil supplies.
Airlines are seeking alternatives to jet fuel, including sustainable aviation fuel from used cooking oil.

[RSnake: Explore all you want, but you're not going to keep a fleet of airplanes aloft with cooking oil. Maybe as an additive, or to augment, but not as a solution. There's just not enough of it. And I bet if anything it's way more expensive, not less.]

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/summer-travel-season-sustainable-aviation-fuel/

General Motors has opened a new Battery Cell Development Center as part of a $900 million investment into electric vehicle production, aiming to cut costs of EV batteries by nearly 10%. The facility will enable faster development of a new battery chemistry called LMR, which GM plans to deliver by 2028 in order to compete in the growing global EV market. The center is also designed to bridge the gap between research and large-scale production, helping GM to maintain its position in the rapidly changing automotive industry.

GM's new Battery Cell Development Center aims to reduce EV battery costs and production time.
The company is focusing on a new battery chemistry called LMR to help remain competitive in the global EV market.

[RSnake: There you go. Even out the grid. We have batteries here at the house, and I am never worried about flaky power now as a result. Basically, everyone should have a small battery at least, and even better is battery + solar to weather whatever comes with AI and energy prices, as well as resilience against an unreliable grid.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3129930

U.S. stock markets experienced losses, with the S&P 500 losing $1.8 trillion in value and the Nasdaq recording its largest point drop in history at over 1,121 points, representing a 4.2% decline. This downturn marks the first major setback for the markets following a two-month period of gains.

The Nasdaq Composite faced its biggest one-day point drop, impacting investor confidence.
The S&P 500's losses indicate a broader market correction after recent gains.

[RSnake: Again, this maaay be people prepping for a wave of huge IPOs by withdrawing and getting to cash in prep for whatever happens next. Maybe!]

Source: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/s-p-500-sees-1-8-trillion-wipeout-nasdaq-tallies-biggest-point-drop-on-record-heres-what-investors-need-to-know-about-fridays-selloff-4eb7b490?mod=mw_rss_topstories

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