Start every day off the right way with the great taste of Blackout Coffee. It's a proud American company. Blackout Coffee is family-owned, and they're all about premium coffee, fresh-roasted and shipped out within 48 hours of roasting. Go to blackoutcauffy. Com, promo code PDB for 20% off your first-time purchase. It's Tuesday, 13th, august. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world's stage. Let's get briefed. First, Russian President Putin is lashing out over Ukraine's surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region, vowing retribution and claiming that the West is waging war on Moscow by using Ukraine as a proxy, says the guy Jones in to rebuild the Soviet Union. Also, Iranian officials have issued an ultimatum regarding their potential retaliation on Israel, saying they will only forego a direct attack if a ceasefire deal is reached in Gaza. Now, far be it from me to point out the obvious, but I'm about to. The need for a ceasefire deal in Gaza is because Hamas, which is controlled by Iran, launched a brutal series of attacks on Israel, which is what ignited this current conflict for which Iran is now insisting on a ceasefire deal.

But first, our afternoon spotlight. Russian President Putin is pointing fingers at the West for his military's ongoing challenges in the war on Ukraine, as Kyiv's cross-border incursion into Russia, into the Kursk region, continues to advance after seven days of fighting. In a speech on Monday to regional governors and national defense officials, Putin blamed the West for Russia's failure to subdue invading Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region. The Russian leader emphasized that external interference, such as Western-provided military equipment is a key reason for Moscow's floundering response. Putin, who spoke from his residence near Moscow, claimed that the US and NATO are using Ukraine as a proxy to wage war against Russia, saying, The West is fighting us with the hands of the Ukrainians. Despite the Ukrainian military's campaign in the Khrushchev region, Putin assured his officials that it would not impact Russia's negotiating position regarding a potential future peace deal. Putin emphasized that the Russian Defense Ministry's primary task is to dislodge the enemy from our territories. That sounds just like the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's primary task. The Russian leader also accused Western powers of trying to sow discord and fear within Russian society. In a rebuke to Putin, Ukrainian President Zelensky said that the war is now, quote, Coming home to Russia.

Zelensky added, As long as there's no peace in Ukraine, the Russian people will not sleep peacefully either. In a post published Tuesday on Zelensky's Telegram account, Commander and Chief of the armed forces of Ukraine, Alexander Siersky, confirmed Ukraine has taken control of nearly 390 square miles of Russian territory, and that's a figure supported by an assessment from the Institute for the Study of War. The latest advancements from Ukraine's offensive represent a dramatic shift in Kyiv's wartime strategy, and this prompted Putin to bow a, worthy response. Now, over the weekend, there were conflicting reports about the intensity of the fighting in the Kursk region. While some Russian military bloggers reported a decrease in Ukrainian offensive activity, a prominent Kremlin-affiliated blogger refuted such claims on Monday. The Kremlin blogger cited ineffective command and control structures within the Russian military. The Institute for the Study of War echoed the Kremlin-affiliated blogger's report that Ukrainian forces continue their advance into the Kursk region despite Kremlin claims of stabilizing the front line. Russian sources near the front line claimed that Ukrainian troops had seized control of several villages, and geo-located footage confirmed the Ukrainian advancements. Additional footage from Monday shows Ukrainian forces operating in Tsoudza, where satellite images show destruction at the prominent gas metering station in the town.

Russian military bloggers claim Ukrainian forces have seized the town. Alexi Smirnov, the acting governor of the Kursk region, told Putin on Monday that the conflict has led to the evacuation of approximately 121,000 Russians from the region. Coming up after the break, Iranian officials have laid down an ultimatum regarding their anticipated retaliation, saying only a ceasefire deal in Gaza will prevent them from directly striking Israel. I'll be right back.

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Welcome back to the Afternoon Bulletin. As Iran's potential retaliation against Israel lingers on the horizon, senior officials within the Islamic regime have issued an ultimatum to the West. Three unnamed Iranian officials exclusively told Reuters on Tuesday that only a ceasefire deal in Gaza would delay a direct attack on Israel over the death of former Hamas leader Ishmael Haneia in Tehran two weeks ago. The warning puts new urgency on emergency ceasefire negotiations called by the US, Egypt, and Qatar that are slated to begin on Thursday, where a final bridging proposal will be presented, according to a report from Reuters. Now, the unnamed Iranian officials may have forgotten that the new Hamas political leader, Gargash Sinuar, who took over from the dead Ishmael Hanei, has just recently stated that Hamas would not be returning to the negotiating table. Perhaps the Iranian officials should coordinate better with their proxy puppets before issuing ultimatums to the West. It's not clear how long Iran will give negotiators, but one Iranian source said Iran would move forward with an attack in coordination with their proxy, such as Hezbollah, if a deal fails to materialize or they feel Israel is dragging out talks.

Iran has vowed a severe retaliation against Israel, and despite reports over the weekend that the regime had scrapped or at least delayed their response, intelligence had shifted by Monday, predicting Iran may launch a major attack within days. The White House issued a formal warning Monday night, saying the attack is expected to be, quote, significant. Given the ultimatum from Iranian officials, it appears ceasefire mediators may have basically one shot at finalizing an agreement this week before Iran makes a move. The problem, however, as noted, is that Hamas is not playing ball. While Israel immediately agreed to send a delegation to Thursday's talks when they were announced late last week, Hamas rejected the invitation on Sunday. The group claimed such talks will only, quote, provide cover for the occupation's aggression. Instead of further negotiations, the terror group has demanded that mediators present a plan to implement a ceasefire proposal that Hamas claims they tentatively agreed to in early July. If you'll recall, back in July, Hamas reportedly dropped a demand for a full binding ceasefire at the outset, agreeing instead to a six-week pause, though their full demands were never made public. In recent weeks, however, the group's leadership has indicated they will not budge from their demand for a full end to the war, contradicting the reports from early July.

The negotiations in July would later sour after Hamas accused Israel of introducing new conditions, though the details around those claims were never clear. While Hamas will not send a delegation to Thursday's talks, the BBC reported that the terror group is open to resuming talks on the proposal that they sent in early July before the alleged new conditions were introduced. It It appears the Iranian regime may be trying to leverage the threat of the retaliation against Israel to pressure the West into capitulating to Hamas's demands. Regarding Iran's possible response, the US has been making defensive preparations in the region in coordination with Israel, redeploying forces from the Gulf of Oman to the Red Sea, and mobilizing additional combat aircraft to the region to help intercept Iranian missiles. In a clear signal of deterrence to Iran, the Pentagon also announced on Sunday that they're sending the USS Georgia to the region, and that's a nuclear-powered submarine armed with cruise missiles, and also accelerating the arrival of the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to the region. Israel, meanwhile, is also preparing for retaliatory attacks from Hezbollah to their north. That, my friends, is the PDB Afternoon Bulletin for Tuesday, 13 August.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb@thefirsttv. Com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool.

Every week, there's a new video, stay safe, stay cool.