BREAKING: Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe has been pronounced dead after being shot earlier today. He was shot from behind by a lone assassin that used a homemade double barreled shotgun. A motive for the killing has not been found, but the gunman said he had no political grudge against the politician. Assassinations are rare in Japan, the last one was in 1960, 62 years ago.

PUTIN: WEST'S DESIRE TO FIGHT "TO THE LAST UKRAINIAN" IS A TRAGEDY FOR THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE

Vladimir Putin held a meeting with party leaders. The main point:

- After February 24, everyone needed to act coherently and decisively. The Duma did just that;

- Sanctions do not create the kind of difficulties the West would like to see;

- The West, led by Washington, has been behaving aggressively for decades; All of Moscow's attempts to engage in dialogue on topics of concern to it have been ignored;

- The West, not Russia, unleashed the hostilities in Donbass;

- Because of the Western policy the world order has broken down and it is impossible to stop it, the ruling elites abroad use despotism and censorship in politics, trying to impose a model of totalitarian liberalism and widespread prohibition all over the world;

- The West's desire to fight "to the last Ukrainian" is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but this seems to be the way things are going;

- Russia has not yet started anything in earnest in Ukraine;

- They want to defeat us on the battlefield - let them try.

Vladimir Putin called the situation in the LNR and DNR over the past 8 years isolation and genocide

"People there found themselves between heaven and earth. Many of them had no passports - neither Ukrainian nor Russian. They couldn't even buy a plane ticket. They couldn't send their children to school," the Russian president said.

THEY'RE DONE WITH IT ALL - AFU GROUP COMPLETELY GIVES UP - THROWS AWAY THEIR WEAPONS & ARMOR

Vsushniks from the 1st rifle battalion of the 1st company, who refused to participate in hostilities as part of the 24th brigade, voluntarily surrendered their weapons.
It slowly dawns on them that they are being sent to certain death."

UKRAINIAN SOLDIERS COMPLAIN ABOUT BEING 'CANNON MEAT' AND REFUSE TO GO TO THE FRONT LINE
Fighters of the Ukrainian armed forces continue issuing appeals about the disastrous situation at the front
Personnel of the 24th AFU Brigade complain that they are being thrown "to the meat" with machine guns in their hands against tanks, artillery and aircraft, as well as how they are being hit by the Russian army.
Because of this, Ukrainian servicemen refused to perform their duties as part of the units of the 24th Brigade.

IT'S HAPPENING 🇮🇹: Italian farmers are rising up in protest, threatening to take their tractors to Rome. "We are not slaves, we are farmers! We cannot make ends meet!" pic.twitter.com/FAznWFXmM0

— Keean Bexte 🇳🇱 (@TheRealKeean) July 7, 2022

The executive arm of the European Union is blocking a 1.5 billion-euro ($1.5 billion) loan for Ukraine as caution prevails over the country’s urgent needs, according to officials.
The impasse amounts to a Catch-22 for Ukraine. The country is pushing for help to keep its economy afloat as it counters the Russian invasion, but has seen the proposed loan blocked by the European Commission’s budget unit because of concerns over its financial reliability, said the officials who declined to be named on a confidential issue.
Bloomberg
Translation: They are very aware of the fact that there may not even be a Ukraine in the future to pay back the loan.

Great thread: https://t.co/UKKTZFTti3>— spook (@spook_info) July 7, 2022

pic.twitter.com/fdMW1BPlnn

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) July 8, 2022

Beating the drums of war:
US Sen. Graham meets with Ukraine president, declares Russia is state sponsor of terrorism | Stars and Stripes

The US Senate is preparing a bill that would recognize Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.