THREAD: Extraordinary. What has so long been talked about appears to be finally happening. Israel is attacking the Iranian nuclear sites.

I spent over a decade studying and analysing Iran's nuclear program. I will be posting my thoughts here as news comes in.

Most immediately, what has happened? Israel has struck multiple targets inside Iran. These include the commander-in-chief of the IRGC, & former head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization.

Critically, Israel has also struck the Natanz uranium enrichment facility at Natanz.

Uranium enrichment is at the heart of any Iranian path to a nuclear bomb. Natanz is the nuclear programme's centerpiece: striking it is both a military & a symbolic move: it says unambiguously, we are trying to destroy your nuclear capabilities.

Right now, much remains unclear, especially if Israel has also struck the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, another underground uranium enrichment facility.

Right now, Iranian state TV is awash with reports of martyred generals and images of the destruction. It said it was struck several times, with pictures showing black smoke billowing from the site. See here Subashi Radar Site in western Iran.

What can be said, if this is, finally, the all-out attack on Iran;s nuclear program: it is a historic day in the Middle East.

And also a surprising one. Why?

x.com/Doranimated/st…

As the revolutionaries enter regime buildings they discover hilarious photos of idiot tyrant Bashar al-Assad, which are then spread by laughing Syrians on WhatsApp. This one is a particular favourite it seems. This one was discovered a few days ago...and has already achieved great fame on the Syrian internet.

I’m in #Israel 🇮🇱 for @unherd as war with #Hamas intensifies. Follow me for updates from the ground. This am I attended a session where Israel is releasing “raw footage” of the 7th October massacres. Devices were banned from the initial session. Here is my report. THREAD IDF Spokesman: “we want people to understand what we are fighting for. This is something else. Something has happened to #israel 🇮🇱. This is a crime vs humanity. This is good v bad. Death v life. These will will do anything. [commot any crime]. And it’s nothing to do with Islam.

THREAD: I've returned from the frontlines of #Ukraine. There, I followed a soldier delivering supplies to his comrades, which meant running through the front as shells fell all around us.

Please watch & read to understand life for 🇺🇦soldiers. I did it once. They do it every day. We set out in the battalion 4x4 and headed toward the front. As we approached, it began to become clear just what exactly we were driving toward.

THREAD: I spent last week in #Bakhmut, reporting for @unherd. This video was shot in the centre of the city, 200m from the Russian🇷🇺 positions. Listen with sound UP.

I was fortunate to embed with Ukrainian🇺🇦 special forces, here are my thoughts (& photos) from the front here. Bakhmut itself is a hellscape of destruction. The city is almost deserted save for the odd, usually older, civilian who refuses to leave. 🇷🇺 forces are pounding it relentlessly. They are clearly targeting everything regardless of whether it is civilian or not.

Nine years on, it’s evolved into the biggest land struggle in Europe since World War II. I think of all the friends I have made, and the ones that I have lost. #Ukraine🇺🇦 At midnight we make do with a brief toast in the office. As the phone’s glowing numbers hit 12:00 glasses of tea are raised - Slava Ukrainii…Heroyam Slava! We roar. And then as an addendum: “Fuck #Russia!”

“Yeah, and fuck Putin too,” says Oleg.

THREAD: I was fortunate enough to spend new year in a trench on the frontlines of southern #Ukraine just kilometres from the #Russia positions. I must be careful about locations etc. What follows are my observations on the war here. Read the full story this Saturday in @unherd. The position here is under pretty much daily attack: from rockets, artillery and drones including since August, Iranian Shahids. Drones have now become a key component of the war in #Ukraine🇺🇦. The soldiers here have various means to repel them, including heavy machine guns.

The explosion on the Crimea🇺🇦 bridge is a strange story. Short Thread.
t.me/lachentyt/20359 First 🇷🇺 said tanker train with fuel blew up. Than they said it was a truck that exploded - you can see this from the video. But the amount of flame and smoke etc. seems large for just one vehicle.

Massive blast in #Odessa. The entire hotel shook. Several blasts now. Incoming and outgoing.

I came to Kharkiv (& the villages beyond) to report for @unhered. On the northeastern front Russian guns were firing from 2 sides, while Russia itself is just over 20km away. Out here you really understand the scale of #Russia's 🇷🇺 war on #Ukraine 🇺🇦. THREAD "We call #Kharkiv the city of broken windows" says @NatalieZubar who documents #Russia war crimes in the city. Bomb damage is everywhere throughout the city. And when buildings haven't been directly hit, shockwaves from the bombs have smashed windows of the surrounding buildings.

We bow our heads to the martyrs of Odessa who were burned alive; to the martyrs in Donbas who have died fighting Fascists." Calls for a minute of silence. Russia strength is in its multi ethnicity - you are fighting for what your grandparents fought for. Name checks the Donbas veteran present. This who defeated nazism in WWII.

“Glory to our glorious armed forces, glory to victory!

On a press call with the last fighters inside the steelworks in #Mariupol: “we are under constant shelling, including three strikes with fighter keys in the last 24 hours.” Mariupol fighter: “we have spent two months asking the international community to evacuate civilians. Only just now it happened.”

Kharkiv, #Ukraine’s second city, is very much a city at war. Large parts including its main squares, are almost deserted.

The sound of shelling is, if not constant, frequent. Shelled buildings are everywhere.

The soldiers here are ready for a long fight if need be. They have big stories of ammunition. Once more: this is the return of industrial-scale army versus army war in Europe. Nearby a Lenin bust that was once erected in a nearby town stands by a door. "Our commander is keen to give the old boy a good burial" saya Dima.

THREAD: I’ve come to the #Donbas & onto the frontlines of eastern #Ukraine for @unherd. I was lucky enough to spend time in a - covert - Ukrainian base right near the front. I must be careful about locations etc. What follows are my thoughts & observations on the war in the east. You get a sense of the atmosphere in Donbas where fighting is intense from the flag someone has hung on the Donetsk Oblast sign: “Russian occupiers make the best fertiliser.”

THREAD: I’ve arrived in Dnipro to begin covering the battle for eastern #Ukraine. Dima has been fighting since early March.

“It’s like WWII but with modern technology. 2014 was a playground compared to this.”

* I have permission to tweet his photo & all comments. “Our greatest ally in this war is #Russia corruption & the nature of its army. The soldier in the field briefs his officer: ‘it’s not good but we’re holding’; next guy reports up: ‘we’re holding’; the next guy: ‘it’s going well! This is why Putin doesn’t know how bad things are.”

I’m reporting from on-the-ground in #Mykolaiv, which is now suffering more shelling than at any point in the war as #Russia ramps up attacks. Here a row of offices has been struck. Across the road are houses.

“Are there any military targets near here?” I ask.
“No,” is the reply. There are huge water shortages in #Mykolaiv. Here, a crowd of people lines up for water from a truck in the parking lot of a supermarket.

Just spent a very interesting evening with Nikolay viknianskyi, adviser to the mayor. He has been coordinating volunteer efforts out of what once the #Odesa food market. This is how civilians are aiding the #Ukraine. THREAD The Food hall is a central feature oh Odesa atm and is protected accordingly.

I interviewed Mayor of Odesa, Gennadiy Trukhanov about #Russia's war in #Ukraine, and the nature of this city. THREAD “This is a war of aggression and conquest started by Russia. What is terrifying is that increasingly the Russians are talking about genocide. They say there is no such thing as #Ukraine️; that our country should be dissolved.”

🧵 on the (social) media ‘battle’ around #Ukraine, which is controversial/misunderstood. This began for me 8 years ago when I first covered the war in Ukraine & I’ve watched it ever since. So what does the “media war” mean, how important is it, & how can u best support UA? 1/10 First, if you are determined to support FLAG in the long-term: define for yourself *why* you support Ukraine (beyond largely impersonal words like “sovereignty’). If you can do that you will probably last the course. Which is great – bc they will need you. 2/10

Ukrainians continue to send me footage of the destruction being visited in their country. 🧵

1. The center of Mykolaiv, one of the main shipbuilding centers of the Black Sea, after night fighting. 2. The results of shelling in Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv (Buchma Street). One woman died, two people were hospitalized, the apartments on the 4th, 5th and 6th floors were destroyed..