Tucker Carlson: Ukraine cannot win

“The population of Ukraine has been decimated. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have died, and the country itself is a mess. It's been wrecked, as countries are in war,” he said during an introductory monologue on his show.

“Russia is a far bigger country. It's got 100 million more people and a far deeper industrial capacity. Ukraine can't win. Everybody knows that around the world, people are very clear on that. There's not one informed person outside the United States who thinks that somehow Ukraine is going to beat Russia because it's not.”

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s key statements from the round table with over 70 ambassadors focusing on the Ukrainian crisis:

◾️The West ignores the views of the Global South when discussing "Zelensky's formula”, insisting only "marginal changes" are possible;

◾️Ukraine's decision not to disclose the identities of those who allegedly were victims of the Bucha events attests to the Kiev regime’s impunity;

◾️Kiev is aware that it lacks a credible record when it comes to reporting to the UN on human rights observation, so it avoids this responsibility;

◾️No investigation into the tragedy in Odessa has been conducted, revealing the ineffectiveness of the Council of Europe.

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Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on NATO:

🔺Russia-NATO relations have descended into direct confrontation.

🔺The Alliance is involved in the Ukraine conflict.

🔺NATO keeps moving towards the Russian border.

🔺NATO continues to demonstrate its role as a tool of confrontation on the European continent.

🔺NATO's activities do not contribute to the security and stability of the continent.

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Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has appealed to Israelis in Hebrew

"With God's help we will make the Zionists repent of their crime of aggression against the Iranian consulate in Damascus," he said in a post on X.

On Tuesday, Khamenei said Iran would make Israel regret the attack on the consulate, while he wished "peace and mercy" for those who had been killed.

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UK defense secretary says world has moved from “post-war” to “pre-war” mode. But who is to blame? 

NATO states should accept the reality that the world is in “a pre-war” state, UK Defense Secretary Grant Shapps wrote in The Telegraph on the 75th anniversary of the alliance. “Paying tribute to NATO’s past is not enough. Today, we must give urgent thought once again to the alliance’s future. We have moved from a post-war to a pre-war world,” he underscored. 

Shapps delivered a dose of typical Western fear-mongering, sending out a warning to NATO countries that fail to spend two percent of their GDP on defense: 

“We must look beyond that target to shore up our defenses. Yet some nations are still failing to meet even two percent. That cannot continue. We can’t afford to play Russian roulette with our future.” 

The hypocritical “warnings” come as none other than London has gone the extra mile to fan the flames of the Ukraine conflict. These efforts have ranged from former Prime Minister Boris Johnson thwarting efforts to achieve a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine in the spring of 2022 to the UK government sending billions’ worth of lethal and non-lethal weaponry there. Moscow has reiterated that London is using the nation as "a geopolitical instrument against Russia" and therefore depriving Kiev of the chance to end the conflict through negotiations. 

The bloc’s encirclement of Russia has been in high gear for decades. After a sweeping post-Cold War expansion in violation of the West's commitment to not move any closer to Russia’s borders, the alliance more recently absorbed Finland and Sweden in 2023 and 2024, respectively. The bloc’s activities in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region are part of preparations for a possible conflict with Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik in March.

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A Ukrainian soldier who was discharged due to the loss of his arm almost up to the elbow was considered lightly wounded, so he had to spend almost all of the compensation from the state on treatment, leaving his family without a livelihood, his wife said.

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Key points from Sergey Lavrov’s statements:

◾️The West acknowledges that Zelensky's "peace formula" is being presented as an ultimatum;

◾️The West is attempting to draw the majority of the world’s nations to a conference in Switzerland aimed at establishing peace in Ukraine, using primitive and deceitful tactics;

◾️Following the talks in Istanbul, Russia came to the realization that it was useless to negotiate with Zelensky on Ukraine;

◾️Currently, the West is not prepared for negotiations on Ukraine;

◾️Lavrov deemed discussions centered solely on "Zelensky's formula" as a fruitless waste of time when it comes to settling the conflict in Ukraine;

◾️Russia drew the attention of foreign ambassadors in Moscow to the inadmissibility of Israeli methods in the Gaza Strip;

◾️The Israeli Ambassador to Moscow confirmed the need to respect the norms of international law, and the Israeli military must recognize this.

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⚡️There are all reasons to believe that the main goal of those who ordered the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall was to damage the unity of Russia, said Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia cannot be the target of terrorist attacks made by Islamic fundamentalists, the president added.

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⚡️Russia is not transferring its economy to wartime mode, despite the difficulties of today, Putin noted.

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⚡️Russia has been put in situation where it has to defend its interests by force, said Russian President Putin.

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❗️The Russian military has hit a temporary deployment point for foreign mercenaries in the Kharkov region — Russian MoD

🇷🇺🪖 More statements from the Russian MoD's daily briefing on the progress of the special military op in Ukraine:     

🔺Russian air defence systems downed a Ukrainian Su-27 near Kramatorsk.

🔺Ukraine has lost up to 105 militants to the south of Donetsk.

🔺Ukraine has lost up to 305 militants near Avdeyevka.

🔺Russian air defence systems have shot down 196 Ukrainian drones and intercepted 18 HIMARS shells.

🔺Ukrainian losses in the Donetsk region amounted to 340 militants and one tank.

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