Quote · The MeidasTouch Podcast
Thursday Afternoon Breaking News Updates with Ben - 7/2/2026
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Ukraine Under Ballistic Missile Attack: The Patriot Gap Trump Created
At 43:40 · chapter starts 42:20
Meiselas pivots to Ukraine, insisting the story not be drowned out by the state fair spectacle. Russia's latest strategy is chillingly logical: having assessed that Ukraine can shoot down Shahed drones but lacks Patriot interceptors for ballistic missiles — stocks depleted by the Iran war — Russia has pivoted to a ballistic missile swarm. [1] — Ben Meiselas "Russia ballistic missile strike: 20+ killed, hundreds injured: Russia launched a massive ballistic missile strike on Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Zap…" 42:25 The strike hit Kyiv's Premier Palace Hotel and multiple other sites across Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, killing more than 20 people and wounding hundreds. Ukrainian President Zelensky confirmed they lack the Patriot missiles that were promised. Trump's stated plan — to sell interceptors to European NATO allies who would then provide them to Ukraine — has quietly been abandoned, with the Iran war stock depletion used as cover. The detail that Witkoff keeps a framed letter from Putin describing his vision for eastern Ukraine displayed in his office ties together the administration's Russia orientation with its Ukraine policy in a single, damning image.
Russia has adapted its strategy to exploit Ukraine's Patriot interceptor shortage — caused by the Iran war — and launched a massive ballistic missile strike on Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia, killing over 20 people. Trump has refused to supply more interceptors, even as Witkoff reportedly has a framed Putin letter in his office.
Russia launched a massive ballistic missile strike on Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia, killing over 20 people and injuring hundreds, amid Ukraine's lack of Patriot interceptors.
