Crimea Air Base Strike Leaves 30 RU Dead, 80 Wounded; Johnson Sets Saturday Vote on Ukraine Aid; HERE’S WHAT’S IN THE BILL; UKR UAV Attacked Voronezh-RU; RU Air Defense Systems Struck In Crimea; 71 C-Clashes at Front, UKR Repeals 48 Attacks in 5 Sect-24 hrs; RU Loses: 710 Sold, 15 Art-Sys, 4 Tanks, LIVE UPDATES and LOTS MORE

Crimea Air Base Strike Leaves 30 Russians Dead, 80 Wounded: Report:

Up to 30 Russian personnel may have been killed and another 80 injured, according to a new report, after dramatic footage appeared to show explosions at a Russian military base in northern Crimea overnight.

“About 30 Russian servicemen were killed and about 80 were wounded at the airfield in Dzhankoy,” a Crimean-based Telegram channel called Crimean Wind reported on Wednesday. Crimean Wind is a pro-Ukrainian monitoring group that focuses on Crimea and generally offers reliable information.

Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern forces, described Dzhankoy as a legitimate military target on Wednesday but declined to offer up further details.

A prominent Russian military blogger, Rybar, said Ukrainian forces had attacked the Russian air base at Dzhankoy using around a dozen Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, missiles. The missiles were launched in two waves, the blogger said.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry and the Ukrainian military for comment.

Footage widely circulated on social media by Russian and Ukrainian sources early on Wednesday showed bright flashes of light and explosions, with sirens wailing in the background. Data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System, which tracks fires across the world, showed six blazes just outside Dzhankoy overnight.

Several Telegram channels reported a series of explosions beginning shortly before 4 a.m. local time and said nearby roads had been closed. —>READ MORE HERE

Mike Johnson sets Saturday vote on Ukraine aid as House Republican foes threaten to oust him:

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Wednesday he plans to break through a high-stakes impasse on Ukraine aid with a Saturday night vote — as opponents of new funding for Kyiv threaten to oust him in protest.

The $95 billion package includes $60.84 billion in funding to assist Ukraine against Russia, along with $26.38 billion for Israel and $8.12 billion for countering China, about half of which would be for Taiwan.

“I’m a child of the ’80s. I regard myself as a Reagan Republican. I understand the concept of maintaining peace through strength,” Johnson (R-La.) said in a Wednesday interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.

“We’re not going to get 100% of what we want right now because we have the smallest majority in history and we only have the majority in one chamber,” Johnson said.

“But we got a great product here at the end, much better than the alternative that came in the Senate supplemental. And now everybody gets to vote their conscience, up or down.”

Johnson unveiled the spending plan — which is roughly the same size as an aid package that passed the Senate in February — in a message to Republicans that said the Ukraine funds include “a loan structure for aid, and enhanced strategy and accountability,” in apparent concessions to skeptics like former President Donald Trump.

The House speaker also said the package will be considered along with bills to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction with seized Russian assets and opposing TIkTok, the app that the House voted in March to require divestment from its Chinese owner, though the Senate has yet to follow suit.

Johnson said the House also will vote Saturday on “a border security bill that includes the core components of H.R.2, under a separate rule that will allow for amendments” — reflecting a more loose pairing than what Johnson and other Republicans had long sought between Ukraine and US-Mexico border funds.

“By posting text of these bills as soon as they are completed, we will ensure time for a robust amendment process. We expect the vote on final passage on these bills to be on Saturday evening,” Johnson informed colleagues.

President Biden quickly endorsed the Johnson-backed aid package.

“I strongly support this package to get critical support to Israel and Ukraine, provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” Biden said in a statement.

“The House must pass the package this week and the Senate should quickly follow. I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed.”

The precise path forward for the foreign aid bills was not immediately clear as the House Rules Committee prepared to hash out the framework for floor proceedings. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

++++++HERE’S WHAT’S IN BILL- $ 61B and ATACMS: US House unveils Ukraine aid bill++++

+++++Ukrainian UAV attacked Voronezh, Russia +++++

+++++Ukraine Situation Report: Russian Air Defense Systems Struck In Crimea+++++

+++++Frontline update: Ukrainian troops repel 19 attacks in Bakhmut sector over last day+++++

+++++Ukrainian defense forces repel 48 attacks in five sectors in past 24 hours+++++

+++++Russian army loses 4 tanks, 15 artillery systems and 710 soldiers per day — Ukraine’s General Staff+++++

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