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Ukrainian strikes have reportedly crippled the air defense and electronic warfare systems protecting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s lavish Black Sea estate, leaving the sprawling compound vulnerable to additional attacks, according to a new report.

The estate, widely known as “Putin’s Palace,” was recently targeted in separate attacks that damaged both its electronic jamming equipment and nearby anti-aircraft missile systems, The Times of Moscow reported.

Military analyst Yan Matveyev said satellite imagery indicates that key defensive assets have been destroyed.

“Satellite imagery shows the destruction of at least one launcher … Now Putin’s ‘palace’ is left unprotected,” military analyst Yan Matveyev told the outlet.

According to the report, the first significant strike occurred on Aug. 7, when Ukrainian weapons hit a Volna Kupol Garant electronic warfare system positioned near the Black Sea compound.

The system, which reportedly protects an area of more than seven square miles, is designed to disrupt Starlink satellite communications, which Ukrainian forces rely on to coordinate military operations.

After the jamming system was disabled, Ukrainian drones were able to strike nearby S-400 air defense batteries, according to Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.

The Times of Moscow reported that the attack on the S-400 system took place on Aug. 9. The missile launcher reportedly burned for roughly three hours before being destroyed.

Matveyev said the damage has significantly weakened the defenses surrounding the estate and could leave it exposed to future Ukrainian strikes.

The expansive residence, reportedly spanning approximately 190,000 square feet, sits on Cape Idokopas near the Black Sea resort city of Gelendzhik, not far from the Crimean Peninsula.

Public attention was first drawn to the property in 2021 through an investigative documentary released by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in a Siberian penal colony in 2024.

According to Navalny’s investigation, the estate includes a casino, theater, hockey rink, vineyard, and even a “hookah lounge” that he alleged functioned as Putin’s private strip club.

Navalny also claimed the compound was protected by extraordinary security measures, including heavily fortified fencing, a private port, its own security force, a no-fly zone, and an independent border checkpoint, effectively making it “a state within a state.”

Putin has consistently denied owning the property. Reports indicate he has rarely visited the estate in recent years as Ukraine has expanded attacks targeting Russian-held Crimea and military assets along the Black Sea coast.

{Matzav.com}

A devastating head-on collision near Beit Shemesh claimed the lives of two men early Wednesday morning, including Rav Meir Turgeman z”l, a 42-year-old father of nine who had celebrated his son’s bar mitzvah just days earlier. A 35-year-old woman was also injured in the crash and was transported to the hospital in moderate condition.

The fatal accident occurred at approximately 2:03 a.m. on Highway 383, south of Zecharyah, when two private vehicles collided head-on. Emergency responders arriving at the scene found extensive destruction, with both vehicles heavily damaged.

Rav Turgeman, a resident of Beit Shemesh, is survived by his wife and nine children. His sudden passing has left family and friends in profound mourning, coming only days after the family’s joyous bar mitzvah celebration.

Large forces from Magen David Adom, United Hatzalah, and ZAKA rushed to the scene, where they encountered two men with no signs of life. One of the victims was trapped inside his vehicle, requiring a lengthy rescue operation.

MDA paramedic Tzuriel Meyers, senior EMT Yehoshua Gottlieb, and EMT Shmuel Arieli described the devastating scene.

“This was a very severe traffic accident involving two vehicles,” they said. “We found a man in his 40s lying on the side of the road unconscious, without a pulse or breathing, suffering from significant injuries. Another man was trapped inside his vehicle, also unconscious.”

The paramedics added, “We conducted medical examinations, but tragically both victims showed no signs of life, and we had no choice but to pronounce them dead at the scene. At the same time, we treated a woman who sustained moderate injuries and evacuated her to the hospital.”

United Hatzalah volunteers Moishy Siruka, Mordechai Dovid Goldman, and Dudi Wertheimer also described the scene.

“This was a difficult accident involving two vehicles,” they said. “We performed resuscitation efforts on two men in their 30s and 40s, but due to the severity of their injuries they were pronounced dead at the scene. We also treated a 35-year-old woman who was moderately injured before she was transported to the hospital for further care.”

Volunteers from ZAKA’s Beit Shemesh unit worked throughout the night to ensure kavod hameis and recover all remains from the scene.

Avremi Kapp, commander of ZAKA Beit Shemesh, together with deputy commander Yosef Chaim Hauzi and volunteers Shlomi Kapp, Shlomi Peretz, and Arel Pintz, said, “This was an extremely difficult accident involving two vehicles. When we arrived, both vehicles were completely wrecked and had come to rest on opposite sides of the roadway.”

They added, “One of the vehicles required a lengthy and complicated extrication by the Fire and Rescue Service. The two men, both around 40 years old, suffered catastrophic multi-system injuries and showed no signs of life. MDA personnel were forced to pronounce them dead at the scene. We are now ensuring kavod hameis and recovering all remaining evidence from the site.”

Israel Police said officers from the Yerushalayim District, Traffic Division, and Border Police responded to the scene near Tel Azekah on Highway 383.

According to the preliminary police investigation, the crash appears to have been a head-on collision between two private vehicles. Authorities confirmed that two people were pronounced dead at the scene, while a third victim was transported to the hospital in moderate condition. Police have opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatal crash.

{Matzav.com}

The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will move forward with a new federal rule ending the use of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funds for gender-transition medical treatments provided to children and adolescents.

President Donald Trump revealed the policy in a Truth Social post, saying he instructed Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz to halt federal funding for gender-transition hormones and surgeries for minors.

“Today, at my direction, Dr. Mehmet Oz announced that Medicaid will NO LONGER fund gender transition surgeries and hormones for minors,” Trump wrote.

“We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies,” he added.

Trump also said his administration’s efforts over the past year and a half have already prompted numerous hospitals to discontinue what he described as “so-called ‘gender-affirming care'” for minors, adding that he believes additional hospitals will do the same.

“Just think about all of the young, innocent, and perhaps confused children who will be spared!” Trump wrote.

According to CNBC, the regulation is scheduled to take effect on Oct. 13. Under the new rule, federal Medicaid and CHIP dollars could no longer be used to pay for puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or gender-transition surgeries for minors.

Individual states, however, would still have the option of funding such treatments with state money if they choose.

Gender-transition surgeries involving minors remain relatively uncommon.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said the new policy follows a review conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services examining both American and international research on medical gender-transition treatments for children.

According to CMS, that review found “significant evidence gaps, documented serious safety concerns, and concluded that the evidence supporting these interventions for children remains insufficient to justify federal taxpayer funding.”

The administration did not release additional details Tuesday regarding the specific studies or evidence underlying those findings.

Gender-transition care may include mental health counseling as well as medical treatments intended to align a person’s physical characteristics with his or her gender identity.

Some of the medications involved in such treatment, including puberty blockers and hormones, are also prescribed to children for unrelated medical conditions.

The new rule does not change federal coverage for mental health services provided to children.

Several major American medical organizations continue to support access to gender-transition treatment when provided in accordance with established clinical guidelines.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness has said existing research suggests that access to such care can improve mental health outcomes, including for young people, while denying treatment may worsen mental health symptoms and increase the risk of suicide.

The announcement comes as Republican-led states continue advancing restrictions on gender-transition treatments for minors. According to health policy research organization KFF, 27 states have enacted laws limiting such care for children.

Trump also framed the policy as a key issue ahead of November’s midterm elections, drawing a sharp contrast between Republicans and Democrats.

“While the Dumocrat Party wants your kids to be able to chop off their reproductive organs before they are old enough to vote, President Donald J. Trump (ME!) and the Republican Party say that is ABSURD, and we will protect America’s children,” Trump wrote.

“Please remember this when you are casting your vote in the Midterm Elections in November,” he said.

{Matzav.com}