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Kremlin: Putin Open to Peace Talks to End Ukraine War, but Only if West Offers Concessions

Russian President Vladimir Putin is open to negotiations to end his country’s war in Ukraine, Kremlin officials said Saturday, though the prospects for talks remain dim amid Moscow’s insistence that any resolution includes recognition of its territorial claims in Ukraine‘s eastern Donbas region.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian media over the weekend that Mr. Putin seeks a “peaceful” resolution to the conflict but signaled that any ceasefire hinges on the West offering significant concessions to Russia.

Such a scenario so far has been a non-starter for Ukraine, the U.S. and NATO.

“President Putin has been, is, and will be open to any contact in order to attain our objectives by other means than the special military operation. If it is possible, it would be preferable,” Mr. Peskov told Russia‘s Rossiya-1 TV station on Saturday.

His comments come amid continued fighting in eastern Ukraine, particularly in and around Bakhmut, which Russian troops say they control even as Ukrainian military officials say fighting continues on the outskirts of the city. (Read more from “Kremlin: Putin Open to Peace Talks to End Ukraine War, but Only if West Offers Concessions” HERE)

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UK Endorses Ukraine’s Right to Attack Russian Territory Despite US Anxiety

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly affirmed Ukraine’s right to attack “legitimate military targets” in Russia, in contrast with American unease about such operations on the day of an apparent drone attack near Moscow.

“It’s important to remember that Ukraine does have the legitimate right to defend itself,” Cleverly told reporters while traveling in Estonia. “It has a legitimate right to do so within its own borders, of course, but it does also have the right to project force beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to project force into Ukraine itself.”

That general endorsement came as Russian media buzzed with the shock of an apparent kamikaze drone attack that “caused minor damage to several buildings,” according to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. Cleverly emphasized that he could not comment on the drone incident — “I don’t have details, and I am not going to speculate about the nature of the drone attacks in Moscow,” he said — but his supportive tone contrasted with the response from President Joe Biden’s administration.

“As general matter, we do not support attacks inside of Russia,” a State Department spokesperson said Tuesday. “We have been focused on providing Ukraine with the equipment and training they need to retake their own sovereign territory, and that’s exactly what we’ve done.” (Read more from “UK Endorses Ukraine’s Right to Attack Russian Territory Despite US Anxiety” HERE)

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Head of Russian State Media Calls for Senator to Be Assassinated

The head of a Russian state broadcaster absurdly threatened Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in the wake of the Republican’s recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a video from their May 26 meeting, Graham is heard telling the Ukrainian leader U.S. aid to support Ukraine was the “best money we’ve ever spent.”

“If [Lindsey] Graham really said that the money for the killing of Russians is the best money the U.S. ever spent — I hope that in our country, the sons or grandchildren of Sudoplatov [the lieutenant] are alive, Sudoplatov’s pupils, or the descendants of his pupils,” Margarita Simonyan said, according to a translated video posted by Russian Media Monitor.

“It’s not even hard. We have his address. We have his telephone number,” Simonyan said. (Read more from “Head of Russian State Media Calls for Senator to Be Assassinated” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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Russian Lawmaker Threatens Missile Strikes on Alaska

By New York Post. A Russian lawmaker suggested the country launch a pre-emptive missile attack on Alaska in a television segment that surfaced just as Senator Lindsey Graham appeared to say Russian deaths from United States’ funding to Ukraine was “the best money we’ve ever spent.”

Duma Deputy Andrey Gurulyov said there were missiles stationed near the US “quite capable of scouring Alaska to the ground,” and that Russia should move with them instead of waiting for aggression from its enemies to attack.

Gurulyov’s comments came during an appearance on a state-run Russian news show hosted by Olga Skabeyeva, a commentator so known for her gleeful propaganda she’s earned the nickname the “Iron Doll of Putin TV.”

On the show, Gurulyov — who has previously suggested Britain be wiped “off the face of the Earth,” according to Newsweek — said Russia needed “not for us to respond to the threats we are confronted with, but for them to rush around with no idea what to do next.”

“We have a strategic nuclear force that holds America’s territory. Let me remind you, there’s Alaska across the strait,” he said, before listing off a number of different types of missiles Russia had at the ready. “It doesn’t take much, a couple of brigades will suffice,” he added. (Read more from “Russian Lawmaker Threatens Missile Strikes on Alaska” HERE)

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Russian Lawmaker Threatens Alaska With Missile Strikes

By Newsweek. Russia State Duma Deputy Andrey Gurulyov recently threatened to attack Alaska with an array of different missile strikes. . .

“There are our operational Iskander missiles, ballistic, cruise missiles are quite capable of scouring Alaska to the ground,” Gurulyov said. “It doesn’t take much, a couple of brigades will suffice.”

When another commentator chimed in and asked why Russia would attack Alaska, Skabeyeva responded by saying “to make them feel scared.”

The comments by Gurulyov and Skabeyeva come amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which has lasted over a year with intense fighting between the two nations in several different parts of Ukraine. (Read more from “Russian Lawmaker Threatens Alaska With Missile Strikes” HERE)

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US Officials Believe Ukraine Orchestrated Kremlin ‘Assassination Attempt’ Attack

A drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month was most likely orchestrated by Ukraine, which has conducted a series of attacks on Russian targets, U.S. officials said.

Russia has claimed Ukrainian forces attempted to kill President Vladimir Putin in the failed attack on May 3.

Two drones were used in the “assassination attempt” at the president’s residence within the Kremlin compound, but were disabled by Russian defense systems, Russia said.

One drone caused a fire and the second drone exploded. They cause little damage and no one was injured.

U.S. intelligence agencies don’t know which unit carried out the attack, and it was unclear if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine or his top officials were aware of the operation, The New York Times reported. (Read more from “US Officials Believe Ukraine Orchestrated Kremlin ‘Assassination Attempt’ Attack” HERE)

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Ukraine Admits It Assassinated Russian Propagandists

The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service has said in an interview that Kyiv has assassinated Russian propagandists.

Major General Kyrylo Budanov made the admission to the Ukrainian YouTube channel Rizni Lyudi. According to a translation by the independent Russian-language outlet Meduza, Budanov said that Ukraine had “successfully targeted quite a few people” associated with Kremlin propaganda since the start of the war nearly 15 months ago.

Budanov did not provide any names of individuals that Ukraine has allegedly targeted, but several well-known, pro-Kremlin figures have been killed or wounded inside Russia since the start of the war.

Among the more high-profile incidents was last August’s car-bomb killing of Darya Dugina, the journalist daughter of Aleksandr Dugin, an ideologue known as “Putin’s philosopher.” (Read more from “Ukraine Admits It Assassinated Russian Propagandists” HERE)

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China Expands Targeting of U.S With Russian-Style Covert Influence Operations

China’s government is expanding the use of covert influence operations targeting the United States and is expected to exploit the White House-congressional clash over the debt limit crisis as part of growing anti-U.S. activities, the director of national intelligence said.

The most recent DNI annual threat assessment warned that China’s efforts are nearing the aggressive intensity of similar covert disinformation operations from Russia, including the use of intelligence agents, cybertools and social media to meddle in U.S. elections, weaken national security laws and exacerbate domestic divisions.

“Beijing’s growing efforts to actively exploit perceived U.S. societal divisions using its online personas move it closer to Moscow’s playbook for influence operations,” the assessment states.

The report described Russian disinformation as one of the “most serious foreign influence threats to the United States.”

Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, disclosed in congressional testimony on May 4 that China is expected to use the looming government crisis over raising the debt ceiling in its anti-U.S. influence campaigns. (Read more from “China Expands Targeting of U.S With Russian-Style Covert Influence Operations” HERE)

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Trump Vows to End Ukraine War if Elected

Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday at a CNN town hall-style event in New Hampshire that the European Union needs to start paying “a lot more money” to subsidize the war in Ukraine, which he vowed to have “settled in one day” if elected.

A student from Saint Anselm’s College asked the 45th president if he supports the Biden administration’s posture to continue sending military equipment to Ukraine.

Trump responded:

Here’s the thing — have to say it to start off, no longer matters — if I were president, this would have never happened, and even the Democrats admit that. Putin knew it would have never happened, and his pipeline would have never happened. A lot of things would never have happened … and all those dead people, both Russian and Ukrainian, they wouldn’t be dead today. And all those cities that are blown up and disintegrated right to the ground, that wouldn’t have happened.

Now, here’s the problem, we’ve given so far $171 billion. They’ve given — they meaning [the] European Union, which is approximately the same size altogether as our economy — they’ve given about $20 [billion]. So we’re at $170 and they’re at $20, you don’t have to know too much about history … or geography to realize they’re a little bit more affected than we are … so they’ve got to put up a lot more money because they’re taking advantage of us just like every other country did.

(Read more from “Trump Vows to End Ukraine War if Elected” HERE)

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U.S. Patriot System Behind Downing of Russian Hypersonic Missile: Ukraine

Ukraine has confirmed it successfully shot down a Russian Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile over Kyiv on Thursday, clarifying earlier conflicting reports over whether one of the state-of-the-art weapons had been destroyed.

The announcement was made on Saturday by Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, who described it as a “historic event” on the social media platform Telegram.

Russia launched a wave of missile and drone attacks at Ukraine on Thursday, most of which were intercepted by air defense, one day after two drones exploded near the Kremlin in Moscow. Russian authorities said the drones were “a planned terrorist act” aimed at assassinating President Putin, though Kyiv has denied having any responsibility.

The Defense Express, a military-focused Ukrainian website, first reported one of the intercepted missiles was a hypersonic Kinzhal on Friday, publishing photographs it said showed the downed missile. (Read more from “U.S. Patriot System Behind Downing of Russian Hypersonic Missile: Ukraine” HERE)

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Ukraine Denies Trying to Assassinate Putin

Russia said Wednesday it had shot down two drones at President Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin residence in what it called a Ukrainian “terrorist” assassination attempt.

Kyiv insisted it had “nothing to do” with the alleged attack, suggesting it was “staged” by Moscow, while the US said the report should be taken with a “shaker of salt”.

“We do not attack Putin or Moscow,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on a visit to Finland.

“We defend our villages and cities.” (Read more from “Ukraine Denies Trying to Assassinate Putin” HERE)

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