Russia-Ukraine negotiations actually happened today.
The Ukrainian source told the news agency that Russia’s demands were “detached from reality and go far beyond anything that was previously discussed”. They included “non-starters and non-constructive conditions.”
Zelensky met Erdogan in Ankara while Russia-Ukraine negotiations are scheduled to be held pretty far away in Istanbul. Would be funny if he took this opportunity to call in his golden parachute and disappear.
Kaliningrad oblast, a Russian exclave surrounded on all sides by NATO members including Poland, is in a very precarious position. It’s why Europeans are always talking about Putler invading and annexing the Baltic states.
I don’t think Russia will take military action unless forced to, by a blockade or whatever.
When he loses the libs are gonna say it was because he was gay and what they really need next time is a straight white male
NYT: Why Trump Suddenly Declared Victory Over the Houthi Militia
Several American F-16s and an F-35 fighter jet were nearly struck by Houthi air defenses, making real the possibility of American casualties, multiple U.S. officials said.
A reminder that even the best stealth technology doesn’t magically make planes undetectable.
Though perhaps the carrier’s F-35 wasn’t in the best condition.
Probably useful for surprise strikes on high value targets like HIMARS and air defense. Ukraine can get advance warning for a lot of Russia’s other options.
I expect Russia’s bare minimum requirements will be:
Still a very good chance that Ukraine rejects that, in which case Russia will keep fighting and the final peace deal will look much worse.
The main thing is that he openly rejected the 30 day ceasefire demand, softening the blow by offering the immediate start of negotiations with no preconditions.
It’s coinciding with the end of the Victory Day ceasefire, at midnight.
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If anyone was wondering the reason for the Oreshnik missile threat: Starmer, Macron, and Merz are in Kiev for talks on the “coalition of the willing” to potentially enter the war against Russia. Clearly Russia sees this as a serious threat this time.
I think they are orchestrating the coalition stuff, the 30 day ceasefire demand, and Trump’s sanction threats to create a situation where there is no easy response for Russia. They can either accept a defeat, or lash out and look like the bad guy.
Another way this India/Pakistan confrontation benefits the US is that it provides more precedent for the possibility of hot conventional war between nuclear powers.
This could make US intervention over Taiwan more plausible, increasing deterrence, while also diverting the Chinese military industrial complex to replace and reinforce exports to Pakistan (particularly air defense).
Moscow Victory Day parade livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVEiz-floKY
The actual parade begins in about an hour.
Western insecurity about Victory Day is palpable. Historical revisionism abound, while European countries desperately try to threaten and obstruct leaders traveling to the Moscow celebration.
Once again I may be too conspiracy brained, but the timing of this India/Pakistan stuff seems awfully suspicious.
He said he will make a huge announcement before going to the Middle East next week. Imagine if it was dropping Israel as an ally 
Probably the opposite, though 
Russia supplies India’s military while China supplies Pakistan’s. It’s in the US’s interest for a large scale conventional war to happen there. Would not be surprised if they are stoking the flames in the background.
https://deadline.com/2025/05/trump-movie-tariffs-hollywood-1236384980/
100% tariffs on all foreign movies. Did someone just tell him about Ne Zha 2?
PHOTO COLLECTION: Russia Victory Day Parade Rehearsal
This is a few days old, but now we know top-of-the-line T-90M tanks will participate in this year’s Victory Day parade. First actual (non-WW2-era) tanks since 2022.
If Russia had truly run out of steam, they would have taken whatever peace deal they could get from the US. They’re in it for the long haul now, which means they must have a plan for victory.
https://xcancel.com/M_Simonyan/status/1923384537112789260#m