On October 25 2024 a number of main-stream media outlets were spreading an anti-Chinese propaganda campaign launched by U.S. national security sources.

The immediate occasion was an incident in which some hacker had gained access to a number of call records.

NBCnews headlined:

China targeted phones of Trump, Vance and Harris campaign affiliates, sources say
The FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the federal government is investigating.

A broad Chinese hacking campaign against U.S. telecommunication networks targeted the phones of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, two sources familiar with the matter say. Another source told NBC News that people affiliated with the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris were also targeted.

The staff of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was also targeted, a Democratic source said.
…
In a joint statement, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the federal government “is investigating the unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China.”
…
The U.S. government recently concluded that China has hacked three American telecommunications companies: AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies. Lumen declined to comment. AT&T didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Telecommunication companies keep metadata records of all calls made through their networks. The records include which number called what number at what time and from where. If one gets access to those records one can search for all calls a number associated with a person has made or received. But one (unless one is the NSA) does not get access to the content of those calls.

It is totally conceivable that someone got illegitimate access to call record databases. That person could publish selected real records or fake some to make it look as if some person communicated with some other without that having been the case.

To conclude though that some specific actor, for example China, has done such requires some evidence. None of the October reports contained any. The claims of Chinese involvement were solely based on U.S. government sources.

Media repeated those claims without any qualifications.

They were wrong.

Only ten week later the old reports are falling apart. Now a U.S. soldier is accused of hacking into the call data record databases and of publishing parts of them, presumably on his own behest.

The New York Post provides:

US Army soldier allegedly linked to hacked Trump, Harris phone records charged by feds

Cont. reading: Indictment Debunks China Hacking Claim

The well regarded Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov has published the background story (in Ukrainian) of the newly crated 155th brigade which had recently failed when it was hastily deployed to fill some holes in the Ukrainian positions on the eastern front near the city of Pokrovsk.

The brigade was a vanity project of the Zelenski government and the Ukrainian high command. It was one of fourteen new brigades which were supposed to be trained and equipped by western countries. The 155th was designated to be trained by and in France.

Systemic disorganization by the high command led to its failure. Many of its assigned troops deserted even before reaching the frontline. A criminal case has been opened. But it is unlikely that anyone responsible for the mess will ever be held to account.

The brigade was stood up in March 2024. In September 2024 its core was sent for training to France while a large number of other recruits to the brigade were (more or less) trained in Ukraine. In late November,  while the brigade command staff was still in France, a large share of the brigades infantry was sent to Pokrovsk where it immediately faltered.

As Butusov writes (edited machine translation):

Cont. reading: Ukraine – The Story Of The 155th Brigade

In 2023 the situation in Ukraine had developed into what looked like a stalemate. But 2024 proved that bigger things had been in the making. In 2024, after taking Avdivka, the Russian forces began to deliberate and steadily move forward.

The introduction of FAB bombs, precision ammunition delivered from airplanes flying outside Ukrainian air defenses, broke the Ukrainian defense fortifications. Russian infantry, covered by ample artillery and with the help drones, infiltrated and overwhelmed Ukrainian lines. An ever increasing shortage of Ukrainian troops helped to increase the tempo of progress.

Diversion action, by Russia in the Kharkiv region and by Ukraine itself due to its attack into the Kursk region, further weakened the Ukrainian lines. A high number of casualties, unmotivated troops and a lack of heavy equipment have since diminished the Ukrainian forces. The downward spiral the Ukrainian army is currently in is likely to continue.

During the last six month the main frontline in south-east Ukraine has changed significantly.

July 1 2024

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Six cities on the above July 1 map that are or were of military-logistic importance are marked with blue numbers.

The current map below is showing that these have either been captured or are in danger of immediate falling.

Cont. reading: 2025 – Ukraine On The Verge Of Defeat