Must watch
Jeffrey Sachs with probably the smartest and most accurate assessment of the Ukraine war, and American foreign policy more broadly, ever caught on tape.
(20:17) Why did America push for Ukraine to Join NATO?
(58:34) What is a Neocon?
(1:25:28) Regime Change Never Works
(1:36:27) Who Blew up the Nord Stream Pipeline?
(2:01:45) COVID Origins
NATO is preparing for a protracted war with Russia but there is still a chance to prevent it, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said at a ministerial meeting of the military bloc in Prague on Friday.
NATO member states have been granting approval for Kiev to use Western-supplied weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia. Earlier in the day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine had the right to defend itself, which includes the right to strike legitimate military targets inside Russia.
These steps are being taken in preparation “for a long, many-year war,”Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet quoted Szijjarto as saying.
“The express train of war has departed from the penultimate station,” and the question is whether there is still a chance to stop it, he added.
The Hungarian foreign minister said there was “only one emergency brake left,”referring to the European Parliament elections in June. The European people “can make it clear to their governments that they do not want to live with war in Europe for a long time,” Szijjarto added.
Hungary had previously called for a ceasefire and peace talks to resolve the Ukraine conflict. Budapest has refused to send military aid to Kiev and has repeatedly delayed EU sanctions on Moscow.
The Hungarian foreign minister has been a vocal critic of NATO’s position on the conflict. Before the meeting in Prague, he said anti-Russia “war hysteria” was making Western leaders adopt increasingly “crazy ideas” that could lead to grave consequences.
Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned that Brussels and Washington could be warming up for a direct military conflict with Russia. Budapest was working to “redefine” its NATO membership status to allow it to opt-out of the military alliance’s “activities outside the bloc’s territory,” Orban stated.
A number of other NATO member states such as Norway, Finland, Latvia, Poland, and reportedly Germany have spoken in favor of Kiev using long-range missiles against targets on Russian territory.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden was reported to have secretly given Ukraine the green light to use American-provided weapons to strike targets in the part of Russia that borders Kharkov Region.
via RT
Chinese scientists were the first in the world to cure a patient with type II diabetes, reports the South China Morning Post.
A 59-year-old man who had lived with diabetes for the past 25 years and required several insulin injections a day received an innovative cell transplant.
The Chinese modified the man’s pancreatic stem cells and performed a transplant, after which the body began to independently produce insulin.
After this, the patient has not taken insulin or other medications for 33 months.
Let us remind you that recently Chinese scientists also managed to freeze and unfreeze brain tissue, which brings closer the possibility of preserving the eternal life of the human brain.
Excerpts
A recent statement by Israel’s Ministry of Defense specifies, “Samidoun organization was designated as a terrorist organization as it is part of the PFLP.”
“Representatives of the organization are active in many countries in Europe and North America, led by Khaled Barakat, who is part of the leadership of PFLP abroad. Barkat is involved with establishing militant cells and motivating terrorist activity in Judea & Samaria and abroad,” MoD said.
Barakat is married to leftist radical Charlotte Kates, the coordinator of Samidoun and a Rutgers University School of Law graduate.
According to NGO Monitor, PFLP and Samidoun “had a strong presence at encampments, demonstrations, and riots on American college campuses. Students have been documented carrying PFLP posters, flying the PFLP flag, hosting PFLP-linked speakers, and reading PFLP publications.”
via ZeroHedge
Last September, we told readers that the US national debt was skyrocketing at a staggering $1 trillion every three months—roughly every 100 days.
Total US Debt surpasses $33 trillion for the first time.
For those keeping tabs, the US added $1 trillion in debt in three (3) months. pic.twitter.com/9eJVnX1YnZ
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) September 18, 2023
Since then, the debt spending has gotten worse.
And we’re off: US debt rises by $89BN on the last day of February, to $34.471 trillion, a new record high
Debt has increased by $280BN in February and by $470BN in the first two months of the year.
At this pace debt will hit $37 trillion by year-end and $40 trillion by the end… https://t.co/eETiO355MG pic.twitter.com/GFbkzkY7oE
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) March 2, 2024
Lesson 1: how to increase total debt by $1 trillion every 100 days pic.twitter.com/rzANo8e7Ro
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) April 8, 2024
And by “strong economic performance” you mean $1 trillion in debt every 100 days https://t.co/HamDPdS7tx
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) May 23, 2024
Out-of-control spending has delayed the US economy’s day of reckoning in this year’s presidential election cycle. But it has become very evident an economic crisis looms in the years ahead.
One River Asset Management CIO, Eric Peters, recently said, “I have a growing conviction that in the coming 2-5 years, we’re going to face a US debt sustainability crisis, sparking a major global market event.”
BofA CIO Michael Hartnett recently noted what we said previously about the unsustainable debt explosion…
And now, fresh comments from Andrey Kostin, CEO of Russia’s second-largest bank, have emerged—comments that Western mainstream media dare not share with their audiences. Why is that? … Well, the Washington censorship blob wouldn’t allow it.
Russian state-owned news agency TASS cited Kostin’s interview with the Fontanka publication, who warned if it wasn’t for the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, a sovereign debt crisis would’ve already been underway in the US. No matter what, he warned the US economy is on the verge of an economic crisis.
“I am thoroughly convinced that America is inevitably headed for a serious economic crisis. The amount of debt currently held by the US today has reached inconceivable, astronomical levels. And the dollar’s monopoly on the global stage is the only thing enabling the Americans to maintain such a level of debt. If the Chinese or the Arabs took their money out of the US, a complete collapse would ensue for the financial sector and the government,” he said.
Kostin added:
“If the West fails to revise its policy I think that the move toward the collapse of the colonial system will only accelerate.”
Kostin noted that China has been disposing of US government debt. Last month, we asked: “Is China’s ‘Dumping’ Driving US Treasury Yields Higher?”
China’s Treasury holdings are back to levels not seen since June 2009.
It’s not just China. Treasury holdings are ‘relatively’ flat (based on Fed custody data), while according to The IMF, the world’s sovereign nations have been panic-buying gold.
It’s not just Kostin sounding the alarm about a looming US debt crisis — Wall Street analysts have echoed the same dire warnings.
Here’s a question: What ever happened to the economic collapse of Russia via endless Western sanctions?
by Andrew Korybko via Substack, Excerpt
[ . . . ]
As was explained in this analysis here about why Russia is presently undertaking tactical nuclear weapons exercises, it hopes to deter NATO from a conventional military intervention in Ukraine, barring which it wants to signal that it could resort to these arms if those forces cross the Dnieper.
From Russia’s perspective, the reportedly 100,000-strong force that NATO is preparing to invade Ukraine if its “red lines” are crossed could pose a threat to its territorial integrity if they attack its newly unified regions.
So long as they stay on the western side of the Dnieper, then there’d be no reason for Russia to countenance using tactical nuclear weapons, but they could realistically be employed in the event that they cross the river and credibly appear to be approaching that country’s new borders. In that scenario, Russia would have reason to drop them on the invading forces as a last resort out of self-defense to preemptively neutralize this threat in accordance with its nuclear doctrine.
Having brought the reader up to speed about the context within which Sikorski shared the US’ planned response to Russia potentially exploding nukes in Ukraine, it should now be easier to understand why this amounts to a dangerous game of nuclear chicken.
Essentially, the US wants Russia to stand down from its signaled intent of possibly using tactical nuclear weapons if NATO’s reportedly 100,000-strong invasion force crosses the Dnieper, which could occur if Russia achieves a military breakthrough.
If this sequence of events unfolds – the front lines collapse, NATO conventionally intervenes in Ukraine, its reportedly 100,000-strong invasion force crosses the Dnieper, Russia drops tactical nukes on them, and then the US hits all of its forces in the newly unified regions – then World War III would break out. There’s no way that Russia would sit back and let the US directly attack any target within its borders since it’ll either respond in a tit-for-tat fashion or jump to the chase by launching a nuclear first strike.
The only way to avoid this worst-case scenario is for NATO to eschew its invasion plans under any circumstances, including a potential Russian military breakthrough. If they still go through with them, however, then they should keep their forces on the western side of the Dnieper and ideally rely on a neutral mediator like India to convey to Russia that they don’t intend to cross even if they approach it. Anything less is a dangerous game of nuclear chicken that could literally provoke the apocalypse.
The United States is conducting military drills with its allies near the South China Sea as a congressional delegation visits Taiwan in America’s latest attempt to undermine its official one-China policy.
“Marines from the US and the Philippines have been carrying out ominous war games on small islands a short distance from Taiwan,” according to British media, citing reporting by the Wall Street Journal from correspondents embedded with a US military regiment.
“The developments are a disturbing glimpse into the perspective of US military leaders… Any direct conflict between the US and China could easily spiral into World War Three, with both nations in possession of nuclear weapons that could destroy the planet.”
The United States’ historical position on intervention in Taiwan has been one of so-called “strategic ambiguity,” with the country refusing to clarify whether it would send armed forces to the territory. However, President Joe Biden has broken with tradition by affirming he would be willing to send US troops.
US media correspondents reported from an attachment to the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment, which has undertaken numerous exercises on Philippine islands after being created two years ago. American armed forces are restructuring to prepare for a major war in the Pacific after decades of combat against irregular forces in the Middle East, it has been reported.
“We’re moving away from counterterrorism and counterinsurgency,” said Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, referring to roles which have been in high demand in US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria. “We want to be postured for large-scale combat operations.”
America prepares for war with China amid latest provocation from US Congress (Part 2)
Figures within the US armed forces have predicted the United States must confront China militarily within the next fear years in order to stem its economic rise.
“Rand Corporation warned about 10 years ago that they needed to go to war with China by 2025 in order to prevail,” noted analyst KJ Noh. “General [Mike] Minihan [said] that we will go to war in 2025. Admiral [Philip] Davidson said we’ll go to war in 2027. Whatever it is, the question in Washington right now is not if we will go to war, but when, and they want it sooner rather than later.”
Meanwhile, a delegation of lawmakers has arrived in Taiwan to meet with local authorities in the United States’ latest provocation over the thorny issue of the territory’s status. The bipartisan group was led by Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) who chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
The visit comes amidst cross-strait tensions, with China conducting military drills after Taiwanese politician William Lai Ching-te made statements perceived as promoting separatism. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin urged the United States to “seriously abide by the one-China principle” and “not arrange for any visit by members of the Congress to Taiwan.”
The United States officially adopted a “one-China policy” regarding Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué, issued amid former President Richard Nixon’s efforts to normalize relations with the PRC.
The policy was reaffirmed in the 1979 Joint Communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, with the US recognizing the government of the PRC as the sole legal government of China and Taiwan as a part of it. The position was affirmed once again in a joint agreement reached in 1982.
via Sputnik
Authored by Alexandra Roach via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),
Recently, I gave a presentation about edible plants at my local library. Kitchen herbs, in fact, that double as medicinals, which people can easily grow in their gardens or on window sills. While preparing my presentation, I was reminded that this topic is immense in its breadth and depth. One number especially stood out and even stopped me in my tracks.
(Nataliia Sirobaba/Shutterstock)
There are 50,000 – 80,000 plants used medicinally worldwide, according to the Center for Biological Diversity. What a number! I feel a bit inadequate with my limited knowledge of several hundred of them.
The millennia-old knowledge of herbal medicine is practiced in all regions of the world and backed up by much international research—the Near East, Russia, East Africa, North East India, and even Transylvania. The list clearly goes on.
In recent years, scientists have re-discovered their urge to learn more about our floral companions. This rekindling of passed-down wisdom is possibly driven by the need to find remedies for diseases that otherwise modern medicine seems unable to prevail over.
A 2024 review, published in the journal Pharmaceuticals, appears to follow this direction. The new release highlights 15 medicinal plants with potential anti-tumorigenic qualities, meaning these plants have active compounds that fight abnormal cell growth.
Interesting to me was the selection of plants featured in the review. Some of them, we are familiar with—much having been written about them—for instance, dandelion, nettles, or Curcuma longa, better known as turmeric.
Others, like the Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), the tropical soursop, and even a houseplant with the name of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, we find less familiar.
However, all these plants have one common characteristic —they work “against the Majority of Common Types of Cancer,” reads the review’s headline.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer describes the worldwide cancer situation as dire. Their 2022 report states that globally most people died from lung cancer (18.7 percent), followed by colorectal cancer (9.3 percent), and liver cancer (7.8 percent). A total of 3,480,213 individuals.
Therefore, researchers of the current review call for an immediate development of “more targeted and efficient treatment plans.” In their eyes, “Plants and products derived from them have promising potential as a source of less toxic anticancer drugs.”
To accomplish this goal, herbs are employed to keep the immune system strong, kill off carcinogens, and improve antioxidant levels in our bodies. Scientists see new nanomedicines and bioengineering techniques for immune cell therapies as innovative approaches to treating the disease.
As a community herbalist, I view things with the eyes of longevity. What traditional wisdom about these herbs has been passed on for centuries? How can the two worlds of novel research and ancient knowledge be combined for the benefit of the patient?
There are several herbs the recently released review mentions, which might grow abundantly in our gardens—often, we might even see them as annoying weeds that need to be fended off. Such is frequently the case for dandelions.
In the back of my head, I hear my herbal teacher repeat over and over, “Often, the herbs show up where we need them.” This holds true for one of the most robust herbaceous perennials that is native to Europe but grows all over the world in gardens and lawns, along roads and fields, and even waste areas.
Taraxacum officinale, commonly known as dandelion, is not only a medicinal herb but an edible vegetable. Especially young leaves are tender and round out the taste in any salad, gifting it a slightly bitter flavor—which is a sign of assisting digestion.
The Taraxacum genus includes over three hundred species. These have been discovered and utilized in traditional and folk medicines for centuries. German botanist Leonhart Fuchs, for example, featured the healthy properties of the plant in the 16th century in his herbal compendium, “De Historia Stirpium.”
Dandelion was also known as a drug in Arabian medicine. There, physicians recorded its utilization as early as the 10th century. Indian and Chinese medicine treated liver and digestive diseases with the common dandelion, states an article about the plant published in the National Library of Medicine.
Dandelion is a true all-rounder. Featuring among others, vitamins A, C, B, and D, the minerals potassium and calcium, and traces of iron, magnesium, manganese, and zinc.
A 2023 review carefully examined the dandelion and remarked upon its bioactive compounds. “Sesquiterpenoids, phenolic compounds, essential oils, saccharides, flavonoids, sphingolipids, triterpenoids, sterols, [and] coumarins” are sources for “therapeutic potential, including anti-bacterial, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and anti-rheumatic activities.”
Korean research showed that the amount of phenols and flavonoids in the plant drives its anticancer and antioxidant activities. This varies in different taraxacum species but exists in the common dandelion.
Researchers investigated a dandelion extract combination in a 2023 study. The results, published in the journal Scientific Reports, highlight the importance of inhibiting the “rapid proliferation of cancer cells and its invasion into healthy tissues” specific to breast cancer. This is exactly what dandelion extract does—it inhibits their spread and “induce death in them.”
Photodynamic Therapy is another method to target cancerous tissue. In it, a photosensitizing agent is stimulated by light, for instance by a laser. In a 2023 article in Nanomedicine, this process was tested with dandelion for “synergistic chemotherapy and photo-dynamic cancer therapy.” This transportation method succeeded in the delivery of the active compound to the cancer cells and disrupted their homeostasis, thus portraying anti-cancer and anti-tumor effects.
(Alfonso de Tomas/Shutterstock)
Runner-up in the title of highly medicinal weeds is Urtica dioica. In many temperate places, nettles grow like a pest and are unwanted wildflowers by many.
Contrary to popular reason, I recently transplanted some nettles into my garden and even spread nettle seeds in my best effort to establish them there. Nettles are delicious plant nutrition and are a great addition to soups and salad dressings, as the hairy stingers lose their power when processed.
Full of provitamin beta-carotene, vitamins A, B, and C, minerals iron, magnesium, potassium, and calcium, this protein-rich perennial herb is loaded with health benefits. But the loaded weed can do more.
A 2020 research article features the potentially anticancer properties of nettles. When evaluated, the extract of Urtica dioica showed promising effects on the proliferation rate of “hepatocarcinoma and colon-cancer cell lines at specific doses.”
In a 2022 study published in the Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, plant medicine proved its anticancer qualities against three different types of cancer cell lines. Testing of urtica dioica’s cytotoxicity was performed in vitro (via mycoplasma testing) and in vivo (in a living organism, in this case, rats). Findings were positive and showed that nettles may work against breast cancer through their anti-tumoral properties.
According to another study, directed to research the herb’s potential healing qualities in regards to human colon and gastric cancer, nettles also induced apoptosis and “inhibited proliferation of gastric and colorectal cancer cells,” while not having any toxic side effects on normal cells.
Continuing to feature weedy wildflowers that grow in many disturbed areas around the United States, and are surely to be found in an empty parking lot, pasture, or along fields and roads in your area, is burdock.
Like Dandelion, burdock is a member of the Asteraceae family (the Aster family) and grows seemingly everywhere. Similarly, the medicinal parts of burdock include roots and leaves, with the addition of seeds.
Arcticum lappa is likewise high in minerals and vitamins, including the B vitamins thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin. However, it also features lignans in roots and seeds, amino acids in the roots, phenols, sterols, and fatty acids in the seeds, and a “plethora of biological activities and pharmacological functions.”
One of burdock’s compounds, lappaol F (a natural lignan), is an anticancer agent that “inhibits tumour cell growth by inducing cell cycle arrest,” states a 2021 study while noting that the underlying processes of burdock’s anticancer qualities remain unclear.
Nevertheless, the plant is effective and researchers suggest that a potential anticancer drug could be developed from the medicinal herb.
A review published in Inflammopharmacology, emphasizes the century-old traditional medicinal uses of burdock in Europe, North America, and Asia. It highlights the plant’s anti-inflammatory qualities and detoxifying effects, as well as anti-tumor properties, especially its “potent inhibitory effects on the growth of tumors such as pancreatic carcinoma.”
Burdock has even proven effective against “multi-drug resistant cancer cells.” A study investigated six lignans present in the burdock seed and combined them as non-toxic chemotherapeutic agents. Results showed that they “possess promising MDR [multidrug resistant] reversal activities.” The study also tested and verified this effect in combination with a chemotherapy drug named doxorubicin.
The remaining 12 plants examined in the recent review are soursop (Annona muricata), black calla (Arum palaestinum), hemp (Cannabis sativa), Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus), turmeric (Curcuma longa), licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra), moringa (Moringa oleifera), hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), milk thistle (Silybum marianum ), oleander (Nerium oleander), kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana ), and ashwagandha (Withania somnifera L).
Turmeric, licorice, hibiscus, hemp, ashwagandha, and milk thistle are well known—beyond the ears of an herbalist. Soursop might fall into this category for some, especially those living in tropical regions.
Then, some might make us pause, as we see the plants more as blooming decoratives in the garden or house plants, like oleander, the black calla, Madagascar periwinkle, or kalanchoe. Being native to the Indian subcontinent, and being used mostly in Southern Asia, moringa may be the most foreign of them all.
Yet, in total, they are acclaimed plant medicines.
A 2022 review, for instance, hails the healing qualities of soursop. Its “pharmacological effects of anti-cancer, anti-microbial, antioxidant, anti-ulcer, anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, and wound healing” are impressive.
Another review features a study in which patients were given 300 milligrams of soursop extract (leaf water) in capsules after breakfast. This restrained colorectal cancer cell growth.
A phytotherapeutic that likewise targets colorectal cancer is ashwagandha. A 2023 study found that the herb and its bioactive compounds “kill cancer cells via at least five separate routes.”
It has even been named “a wonder drug” in the alternative field and has shown remarkable bioactive compounds that function as “anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, apoptotic, immunomodulatory, antimicrobial, anti-diabetic, hepatoprotective, hypoglycaemic, hypolipidemic, cardio-protective and spermatogenic agents,” as outlined in a comprehensive review.
Numerous studies and reviews, however, stress the unfortunate fact that further research is needed due to “the lack of established quantities and concentration measurements,” or simply the lack of wide-ranging medical research about our floral surroundings.
In general, phytopharmaceuticals are powerful medicine.
Although many of the plants do not have any side effects and often naturally target cancer cells without affecting healthy cells, a mechanism not quite understood by science yet (as mentioned above). At the same time, ingesting the wrong plant or the wrong dosage can harm or even kill.
As for dandelions, nettles, and burdock—there are some guiding principles:
When gathering herbs or plants in the wild or public spaces, please collect your specimens wisely. This means, pick plant matter only away from dirty or polluted areas and wash before eating or processing. Also, never take the whole plant (you want it to continue to live and come back the next year).
For all individualized herbal recommendations and dosages, please consult with your local herbalist. If you are on any medications consult with a physician before taking herbal supplements. The author is writing for informational purposes only and is not acting in the capacity of a doctor or licensed dietitian-nutritionist.
via RT
NATO is trying to surround Russia with a network of cyber laboratories as part of its hybrid war against the country, the Special Representative of the Russian President for International Cooperation in the Field of Information Security, Artur Lyukmanov, has said.
The US-led bloc has long been working on developing ways to take on Russia in the infosphere, Lyukmanov said in an interview with RIA-Novosti on Saturday.
Ukraine has been its “main testing ground,” with hackers from the country “carrying out acts of electronic sabotage under the close guidance of the curators from NATO,” he said.
Russia is aware of “entire units of Western intelligence services and armed forces being sent to Kiev” to assist the Ukrainians with hacking activities, the diplomat, who also heads the Department of International Information Security at Russia’s Foreign Ministry, added.
“It’s no secret that the alliance is forming a whole network of cyber laboratories along the Russian borders – in Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Romania,” Lyukmanov pointed out.
According to the diplomat, in the future NATO also plans to open such facilities in Georgia and Moldova, who are not members of the bloc.
“Under the auspices of the Pentagon, cyber exercises are being carried out systematically, during which scenarios of confrontation with [Russia] in the digital realm are being tested,” he said.
Earlier this month, the US Cyber Command staged the Cyber Flag 2024 exercise, at a base in Suffolk, Virginia. The drills involved American cyber operators and their counterparts from 18 NATO members and partner states, who trained to detect cyber threats and identify solutions to protect networks.
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a state-run data protection system should be set up as the number of cyberattacks on the country has been on the rise since the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict.
“Today we can already say that the cyber aggression against us… failed. In general, we were ready for this attack, and this is the result of the systematic work that has been carried out in the field in recent years,” Putin said.
via RT
There’s little time left to conclude the Ukraine conflict, which risks escalating out of control and inciting a global war, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has said.
The president made the remarks on Friday to the broadcaster Prva Srpska Televizija. The world is standing on the brink of an all-out global conflict, and it is likely already too late to avoid it, the Serbian leader suggested.
“I am afraid that there is little time left for the war in Ukraine to be stopped. I hope it’s still possible, but I’m afraid it’s actually not. I’m afraid that the train has already left the station, started moving, and no one will stop it,” Vucic stated.
In my opinion, things will get worse and worse, and it may happen that we will have a greater tragedy than World War II. I’m afraid we are heading towards a great world conflict, and few want to stop it.
Explaining his doomsday prediction, the Serbian leader said the conflict is being pushed by the global military industry, war profiteers who are interested in expanding and prolonging it rather than seeking a resolution.
“When the war machine starts to heat up, then there is a military lobby and a military industry lobby who want it to intensify, and then there will be no more [peace] effort, it is difficult to stop,” Vucic said.
The president also urged “someone” to do something “real” to stop the hostilities instead of “just shifting the blame to the other side.” He warned that “if this doesn’t happen, I’m afraid we’re headed for disaster.”
While Russia and Ukraine sought to reach a peace deal early on during the ongoing conflict, then-UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was successful in pressuring Kiev not to do so, suggesting it should just keep fighting instead of striking any agreements with Moscow. While Johnson has denied such allegations, his involvement was confirmed by senior Ukrainian officials later on.
While Moscow has repeatedly expressed a readiness to negotiate, Kiev has refused; Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has explicitly banned himself from entering any talks. The prospects of somehow restarting negotiations have now apparently become even slimmer since Zelensky’s presidential tenure expired.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated that Moscow’s readiness to engage in meaningful negotiations must be based on “common sense” and an acknowledgement of “realties on the ground.”
