Putin Sets Conditions for Ukraine Peace Talks - Full Ukrainian Withdrawal From New Russian Regions

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Russia is ready to begin negotiations with Ukraine at any moment, but on one condition, President Vladimir Putin has said.

Russia today presents yet another concrete peace proposal for resolving the conflict in Ukraine. However, if the West and Kiev reject this offer as they have before, the responsibility for continued bloodshed will rest on them, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated at a meeting with top diplomats at the Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow.

"Today, we make another specific, real peace proposal. If Kiev and the Western capitals refuse it, as they have previously, then ultimately, it is their matter. Their political and moral responsibility for the continuation of bloodshed," he said.

But for this to happen, Ukrainian forces must withdraw from the entire territory of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

"Ukrainian troops must fully withdraw from Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions – specifically from the entire territory of these regions within their administrative borders as they existed when they joined Ukraine. Once Kiev announces its readiness for this and begins the actual withdrawal of troops from these regions, as well as formally renounces plans to join NATO, we will immediately cease fire and start negotiations," said the head of state.

Additionally, Russia requires Ukraine to adopt a neutral, non-aligned, and non-nuclear status for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

"Our fundamental position is as follows: a neutral, non-aligned, non-nuclear status for Ukraine, along with its demilitarization and de-Nazification. These parameters were broadly agreed upon during the Istanbul negotiations in 2022," he said.

Putin emphasized that Russia is prepared to enter negotiations with Ukraine as soon as possible, acknowledging the complexities involved: "We are ready to sit at the negotiation table tomorrow, fully aware of the unique legal circumstances. Despite these, there are legitimate authorities, even according to their constitution, with whom we can negotiate."

However, Putin noted that the presidential term of Volodymyr Zelensky has ended, and his legitimacy cannot be restored by any means: "The presidential term of the previously elected head of Ukraine has expired, along with his legitimacy, which cannot be reinstated by any stratagems."

According to Putin, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) remains the only legitimate authority in the country, unlike Ukraine's executive power. He added that the cancelation of elections reflects the nature of the current regime in Kiev, with its attempts to cling to power being prohibited by the Ukrainian Constitution.

"The situation with the cancelation of elections is a reflection of the very nature of the Kiev regime, which has its roots in the 2014 armed coup and is intertwined with it. The fact that, by canceling elections, they continue to cling to power – these actions are prohibited by Article 5 of the Ukrainian Constitution," Putin declared.

He also claimed that there is an ongoing attempt to usurp power in Ukraine: "The current tragic chapter in Ukraine's history began with the violent seizure of power, the unconstitutional coup in 2014. The source of power of the current Kiev regime is the armed coup, and now the circle has closed: executive power in Ukraine is once again, as in 2014, usurped and held unlawfully."

A top US senator has betrayed Washington’s worst kept secret about Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: Lindsey Graham.
©Susan Walsh - Pool/Getty Images

By Tarik Cyril Amar, a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul, on Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, the history of World War II, the cultural Cold War, and the politics of memory

US Senator Lindsey Graham, a reliably hawkish Republican who loves provocative statements, has caused a fresh stir by saying the quiet part out loud. In a recent interview on the CBS program “Face the Nation,” Graham argued that Washington must not permit Russia to win the war in Ukraine because of the rich deposits of critical minerals on Ukraine’s territory, which are worth 10 to 12 trillion dollars, according to the senator.

In particular, Graham made three claims: First, that Russian control over this “gold mine” would enrich Moscow and enable it to share the extracted minerals with China; second, that Ukraine, if it retains control over them, could be “the richest country in all of Europe” and “the best business partner we ever dreamed of”; and, third, that therefore the outcome of the war in Ukraine is a “very big deal.” Indeed, according to Graham, the stakes are so high that the US must help Kiev win “a war we can’t afford to lose.”

There were other striking statements in that interview, but it is this passage that has attracted most attention and condemnation: Graham, critics point out, has revealed what the Hindustan Times, for instance, calls the “real reason why the US is aiding Ukraine.” That reason, as it turns out, is commercial, selfish, and strategic. So much for all that talk about Kiev’s “agency,” “democracy,” and “freedom.”

Ukraine, for the US, is an asset to be used – and used up – in a much greater, global geopolitical game, or to be precise a collection of assets: Apart from a strategic location, critical minerals, black-earth soil, and some gas as well, there are, of course, people. Graham also has a record of calling for more military mobilization in Ukraine. He is infamous as well for his May 2023 comment, in a conversation with Vladimir Zelensky, that “Russians are dying” in the war, while US aid was the “best money we’ve ever spent.” Apart from the general nastiness of Graham’s proudly brutal way of thinking, to make those Russians “die,” plenty of Ukrainians, of course, have to die as well. Zelensky did not seem to mind.

Graham’s critics are, of course, correct. But most of them, I suspect, would also acknowledge that there is nothing surprising or unique here. In essence, the senator’s statement is simply a form of brutal honesty: While he is provocatively shameless about his cold and mercenary approach to politics, he represents the mindset of the Washington elite. At the same time, however, there is also something deeply misleading about his position, if in less obvious ways. Let’s try to separate the cynical frankness from the persisting dishonesty.

Disregarding his specific figures, Graham is right that, unlike most other European countries, Ukraine has substantial reserves of critical minerals, and there is no doubt that these raw materials are of great significance. In general, the term refers to “elements necessary to produce the chips and batteries found in high-tech devices such as smartphones and laptops” and “for the manufacturing of renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines, electric vehicles and solar panels.” At the same time, the global supply of many critical minerals is complicated because they are concentrated in limited locations, which makes them objects of geopolitics. Oil 2.0, if you wish.

The importance of these substances for the US, for instance, is so great that its Secretary of Energy has established a precise list of 50 minerals considered “critical” (mostly overlapping with a second list of 18 “critical materials for energy”). Driven by its desire to diminish its reliance on China, the EU as well has shown intense interest in Ukraine’s critical minerals, which are at the core of its official strategic partnership on raw materials with Kiev, formally set up in 2021. Since 2022, the Ukrainian Geological Survey has partnered with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development, to, in essence, catalogue and digitize Ukrainian deposits for Western investors. Ukraine’s environmental impact assessments rules have been “simplified” for the purpose, that is, most likely, loosened. In 2024, the EU solidified these operations with its Critical Raw Materials Act.

At the same time, even despite the ongoing war, international investors from the West have already been lining up, including from as far away as Australia. Indeed, it is an American-Ukrainian venture, the BGV Group, “that has the largest and most diverse stake in Ukraine’s critical minerals.”

So, here is the first point Graham is wrong about: If anyone has been busy securing Ukraine’s critical minerals (and, more broadly, materials), it is actually the West. We see a classic case of projection, with a loud accusation directed at Moscow betraying what the West has been up to. Nothing very surprising there, either. Consider “spheres of influence,” for instance, a thing Russia must not be allowed to claim – even right up on its border – while that of the US extends to east of Kiev and Taiwan, for instance.

Yet there is a larger point here, beyond the senator’s run-of-the-mill hypocrisy. What is perhaps most fundamentally misleading about his claims is their implicit premise, namely that there cannot be a way in which the West and Russia – and others – could share Ukraine’s resources, obviously under conditions of international trade and investment no worse than usual, so that Ukraine as well would benefit.

It is not Russia that has insisted on making economic warfare a routine tool of geopolitical competition, but the West. Graham is not only a rather vile cynic. He is also shortsighted; blinded by his poor man’s realpolitik. He has lost sight of the simple option of cooperation, even among competitors. In that respect as well, he is representative of America’s sadly declining elite.

Houthi missile attack severely injures sailor on cargo ship

The Houthis have been targeting vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since November 2023. (AFP/File)

Two cruise missiles launched by Yemen’s Houthi have struck a bulk cargo carrier in the Gulf of Aden, severely injuring one of the crew. The armed Houthi group sees itself "axis of resistance" against Israel, the US and the wider West.

The Houthis say the action is in solidarity with the Palestinians over Israel’s war on Gaza, in which at least 37,232 people have been killed.

The Houthis said it had carried out attacks on three ships over 24 hours, including on the Verbena, “in retaliation to the crimes committed against our people in the Gaza Strip, and in response to the American-British aggression against our country”.

It added that crew members were fighting a fire on board the MV Verbena - a Palauan-flagged, Ukrainian-owned, Polish-operated ship.

Russia Condemns US, UK ‘Pointless Strikes' in Red Sea

Russia condemns the United States' and United Kingdom's strikes in the Red Sea and considers them "pointless," Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said on Thursday.

"We condemn the strikes by the US- and UK-led coalition targeting the sovereign territory of Yemen. This aggression is being perpetrated in violation of the UN Charter. It is pointless insofar as it cannot stop the attacks in the Red Sea," Nebenzia said during a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation concerning Yemen.

Nebenzia said that these "reckless instances" of the use of force by NATO countries leave behind them a stain of blood.

On June 7, United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the Allah Ansar movement in Yemen - whose supporters are popularly known as Houthis - had detained 11 UN personnel. Three days later, the Houthis said they detained spies linked to the US Central Intelligence Agency for allegedly carrying out intelligence and sabotage activities in Yemen.

In November 2023, the Houthis vowed to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. The attacks prompted the United States to form a multinational coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea as well as to strike Houthi targets on the ground.

In November 2023, the Houthis vowed to attack any ships associated with Israel until it halts military actions in the Gaza Strip. The attacks prompted the United States to form a multinational coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea as well as to strike Houthi targets on the ground.

Watch Russian Drone Hunt Down Abrams Tank

A drone operator of the Russian Armed Forces told the story of the hunt for the Abrams tank in the special military operation zone. He believes that destroying the US steel behemoth is no big deal, provided you hit it in the right place.

The crew spotted the Abrams tank during a regular nighttime reconnaissance, or what they call a "free hunt. They had been tracking the machine for some time, looking for an opportunity to dive directly at it. They hit it below the turret and set the Abrams ablaze. The machine continued to burn for several hundred meters until it reached the forest, where the Ukrainian crew fled. Russian soldiers immediately launched the second drone, which made short work of the Ukrainian troops.

The footage was provided by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Watch Russia, Belarus Launch Second Phase of Joint Non-Strategic Nuclear Drills

Russia was the second nation in history to acquire nuclear weapons. As a responsible nuclear state, Russia vows to use nukes as weaponry of last resort in a critical situation when national sovereignty and survival is at stake.

Missile units of the Leningrad Military District practices electronic launches of nuclear-armed projectiles, while Navy conducted maneuvers in open sea.

Earlier Ministry of Defense reported that Russia and Belarus embarked on the second stage of non-strategic nuclear drills aimed at ensuring the sovereignty of the Union State of Russia and Belarus.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov explained that the nuclear drills should be understood directly in the context of recent hawkish statements by Western politicians about their "readiness" and "intention" to deploy NATO troops in Ukraine.

West has declared ‘war without rules’ on Russia – Medvedev

Moscow should use every opportunity to inflict “maximum damage” on Western nations that have declared a “war without rules” on Russia, former president Dmitry Medvedev has argued.

Every weakness of the US and its allies should be exploited to undermine them and obstruct life for their citizens, the Russian official said on Thursday, reacting to the latest round of sanctions announced by Washington earlier this week.

”Are they afraid that we would transfer our arms to the enemies of the Western world? We should send every kind of weapon, except nuclear (for now)!” Medvedev wrote on social media. “Are they afraid of anarchy and crime waves in large cities? We should help disrupt their municipal authorities!”

Russia could trigger a war in space, wage a psychological warfare campaign against Western citizens so that they “tremble under blankets in their cozy homes” and unleash a tsunami of fake news “to turn their life into a never-ending nightmare, in which they cannot distinguish reality from the wildest fiction.”

Moscow should “obliterate their energy infrastructure, industry, transport, banking and social services. Instil fear over an imminent collapse of all critical infrastructure,” according to Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy chair of the Russian Security Council.

The latest round of American restrictions against Russian entities targets energy, metals and mining as well as the financial sector. Among other things, it has forced the Moscow Stock Exchange to suspend all trade in the US dollar and the euro.

The package is one of the biggest since the Ukraine conflict escalated into open hostilities in February 2022, impacting over $100 million in trade between Russia and its foreign partners, according to estimate from the US Department of the Treasury.

Medvedev claimed that a campaign of “maximum damage” as outlined in his post was preferable to simply ignoring the Western pressure, and urged Russian citizens to act accordingly.

Watch Russia's Northern Fleet Warships Arrive in Cuba

The Cuban Foreign Ministry noted that the visit of the Russian vessels fully complies with international rules. None of the ships carry nuclear weapons and their deployment does not pose a threat to the region, the ministry stressed.

The naval strike group of the Russian Northern Fleet - which includes the Kazan submarine, the Admiral Gorshkov frigate and a rescue tugboat of the Russian Navy Nikolai Chiker - has entered the port of Havana as part of a long-range cruise, a Sputnik correspondent has reported.

Two welcoming ceremonies for the ships will be held in the port - separately for a frigate and a submarine.

A diverse tactical group of four vessels, including support vessels that previously practiced the use of high-precision missile weapons in the Atlantic, are on an official visit to the port of Havana from June 12 to 17. The Russian sailors plan to meet with the Cuban Navy command and the Governor of Havana, as well as visit historical and cultural sites.

Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Alexander Moiseev told Sputnik that the visit to Cuba is only one among the tasks of a large-scale Russian-Сuban cooperation.

Russian warplanes deliver strikes on ten militant hideouts in Syria’s Homs, Deir ez-Zor

The Russian Aerospace Forces delivered strikes on ten militant hideouts in hard-to-reach mountainous regions of Syria, the deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria (a division of the Russian Defense Ministry) said.

"In the past day, the Russian Aerospace Forces delivered strikes on ten hideouts, used by militants who left the Al-Tanf zone and took refuge in hard-to-access areas of the El-Amor mountain ridge in the Homs Governorate and El-Bishri in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate," Maj. Gen. Yury Popov said.

The official also said that aircraft of the so-called international anti-terrorism coalition, led by the United States, continue to set dangerous precedents in skies above Syria, flying in breach of deconfliction protocols and violating the airspace of the Arab Republic.

Over the past 24 hours, the Russian military registered six violations of the December 9, 2019 deconfliction protocols. The reported incidents were related to flights of unmanned aerial vehicles that were not coordinated with the Russian side.

Besides, the coalition’s planes violated Syrian airspace in the al-Tanf zone eight times in the reported period. The violations were committed by a pair of F-15 fighter jets, a pair of Typhoon fighters and two pairs of A-10 Thunderbolt attack aircraft.

Russia Day to be celebrated as continuity symbol of its millennia-old history — Putin

The Russia Day must be celebrated as a symbol of firmness and succession of statehood of the country, President Vladimir Putin said at the award ceremony for Heroes of Labor and laureates of state awards for 2023.

"This is the holiday in honor of our Motherland," the President said. "We celebrate it with respect to our country, with reverence for its centuries-long history, commandments of our ancestors, their achievements and victories," Putin said.

All the stages of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union are the integral whole with modern Russia, the head of state noted. "I therefore consider necessary, historically proper to celebrate the Russia Day as the symbol of continuity of the millennia-old way of our Fatherland," Putin added.

WATCH Russian military strike Ukrainian airfield

Source: Telegram @ReklamaRudenko

Moscow has conducted long-range strikes and drone attacks against various Ukrainian Armed Forces targets including a military airbase, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated Wednesday, without providing location details.

Earlier, Ukrainian media reported blasts in the city of Mirgorod in Poltava Region, where a large military airfield is located.

Russian war correspondent Andrey Rudenko published a brief video on his Telegram channel on Wednesday which apparently showed a Su-27 fighter jet being destroyed by a short-range Iskander ballistic missile. The clip was filmed from a bird’s-eye view by a surveillance drone. He added that it was the airbase in Mirgorod.

“Nearby you can see a dump of aircraft debris from previous attacks on this airfield,” Rudenko pointed out.

The Defense Ministry also published footage showing an Iskander strike on an S-300 air defense system in the area near the Mirgorod airfield, located in the village of Polyvyanoye. The system covered the airfield located to its west. Drone footage showed a blast and large plums of billowing smoke.

Source: The Russian Defense Ministry

The clip also showed a secondary detonation, the ministry added. It reported destroying two launchers, two radar stations and a combat control cabin in the attack.

The S-300 is a Soviet-designed surface-to-air defense battery which has been in service since the late 1970s; several versions have been produced. This marks the ninth time Ukraine has lost such a system this year.

The strikes come as Kiev prepares for the long-expected transfer of US-designed F-16 fighter jets by a group of European NATO members. Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and the Netherlands are expected to donate several dozen of the aircraft from their respective fleets.

The head of Ukraine’s Air Force Command, Sergey Golubtsov, said in an interview last week that Kiev intends to station some of the fighter jets at foreign bases. Ukraine does not have enough pilots to operate them all, he claimed, so spare planes would be redeployed from NATO nations as needed.

Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, warned on Monday that any base from which Ukraine deploys F-16s for combat missions would be considered a legitimate military target by Moscow, regardless of which country it is in.

Ukraine Loses Up to 600 Soldiers in Battles With Russian Southern Troops

Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported on the progress of the special military operation and the key achievements of the Russian Armed Forces in the last 24 hours.

Ukraine has lost up to 600 soldiers in clashes with Russia's Yug (South) grouping of the Russian armed forces in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"The enemy lost up to 600 military personnel, two armored combat vehicles, 10 cars [among other military losses in clashes with the southern group over the past 24 hours]," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the group has also repelled two counterattacks.

The central group has repelled seven counterattacks in the DPR and Kiev has lost up to 350 soldiers, while Ukraine has lost up to 115 soldiers in battles with the eastern group of the Russian forces.

In battles with the western group, Kiev has lost more than 500 soldiers, the ministry said, adding that the norther group has repelled six counterattacks and Ukraine has lost up to 190 soldiers.

Additionally, on Wednesday morning, the Russian forces attacked Ukrainian armed forces' aircraft parking and aviation base infrastructure, as well as a temporary deployment point for foreign mercenaries, the ministry said, adding that all targets were hit.