The Duran Podcast - Deep State Maximum Pressure on Russia as Ukraine Crumbles

Episode Date: August 27, 2026

Deep State Maximum Pressure on Russia as Ukraine Crumbles

All right, Alexander, let's talk about CIA director Ratcliffe in Moscow. Why was he in Moscow? Why was he on board a massive C-17, a globe master plane from Latvia? What do you think is going on here? There's so many rumors, and there's so many people who claim they know what this meeting was about. Politico is citing officials familiar with the matter say this, and the Wall Street Journal is citing there. people familiar with the matters who say that. And everyone has their speculations. Trump says it was a semi-routine trip. That's what Trump told Glenn Beck in an interview. What are your thoughts as to

what are the possible scenarios or reasons or whatever is going on with the CIA and Radcliffe in Moscow? Okay. So the official story, if you like the semi-official story, which we're getting both in the American government. And by the way, now from the Russian government is that this meeting was no great, no big deal. You know, the fact that the director of the CIA gets on a giant plane flies to Moscow. This thing, the sort of thing happens all the time. You know, we shouldn't get over-excited about it. He came to meet with Naryshkin and the other heads of the Russian intelligence agencies. And this is a very useful meeting that had in Moscow to discuss and agree all sorts of things and that this wasn't any of any great importance.

And the fact that then he returns to the United States and he meets Trump himself and Heggseth and a whole lot of other people and that they have a sort of meeting immediately afterwards to discuss what took place. Well, that's obviously because you see you have these routine meetings and you have these discussions then directly with the president of the United States. So that's the official line. Now, if you believe that official line, then I have a bridge to sell you. This is not a routine visit.

I mean, I think that's the first thing to say, especially involving someone like Radcliffe, who is clearly one of the most powerful people within Trump's government, the administration, who's obviously a very, very hardline figure, whose authority has grown now that he's managed to get Tulsi Gabbat removed from the scene and who, to be straightforward about, this is running the war in Ukraine on behalf of the United States because the war in Ukraine is largely a CIA operation.

I mean, they are the people who are providing the Ukrainians with intelligence. They are the people who are arranging the drone technology to be provided to Ukraine. They are guiding the drones to the targets inside Russia. They are the people who are facilitating the dirty war. The Ukraine war, to a very great extent, is the CIA war. So those are the things firstly to say. The other thing is that Trump has used Radcliffe to conduct hard-nosed, tough guy diplomacy for him before. It was Radcliffe, for example, who went to Cuba and met with the Cuban leadership a few weeks ago, trying to get the Cubans to capitulate.

So he obviously went to Moscow on a diplomatic myth. mission. And the point is the mission failed because clearly he wasn't just there to meet Sergei Naryshkin, the chief of Russian intelligence. If he wanted to meet Naryshkin, if he wanted to meet other senior officials of the Russian intelligence leadership, you can arrange meetings in all sorts of other places. Once upon a time, you'd have done it in Dubai, for example, or Qatar. That might be a little bit more difficult nowadays because of the situation in the Persian Gulf. Or you could have met in Turkey, like the CIA director, William Burns, did. When he met Seragin Naryski, they had a Russian external intelligence in the autumn of 2022, again, trying to get the Russians.

to capitulate after Ukraine's Harsson and Khalkov offensives. You could have arranged it in all sorts of ways. Radcliffe went to Moscow because he wanted to meet with the top people in Russia. He wanted to meet the Lavrov, undoubtedly, and he wanted to meet with Putin, undoubtedly. And the reason he went to Moscow is two reasons. Firstly, things are going very badly for Ukraine. As we have discussed in program after program, the Ukrainian army is being pushed back right across the front lines. The Russians are now establishing a very powerful bridgehead in northeastern Ukraine. The city of Oreckho, the town of O'Rejov in Zaporosia, is. soon going to fall and the city of Zaporozia will be next. Above all, the fortress belt,

the line of cities built up over such a long period of time by the Ukrainians with American help in Dombas. The fortress belt is crumbling. Ukraine itself is crumbling. The Ukrainian economy is in deep crisis. The ports are shattered. The Black Sea is blockaded. The Russians are striking Kiev repeatedly. They did so again the night before we made this video. There are no air defense missiles to spare. So the situation with this war is going terribly wrong. The drone offensive that the CIA and Zelensky and Fyodorov all cooked up together against the Russians has mostly failed. In fact, it's completely failed, in my opinion.

It has cost huge sums of money. So Radcliffe went to Moscow to talk to Lavrov, to talk to Putin, to try to persuade the Russians to stop. And he would have done so with the usual mixture that the Americans always bring to this kind of thing. threats of escalation, undoubtedly, offers, which might be unrelated to Ukraine, offers of financial economic benefits, sanctions relief, that kind of thing. And of course, he also had an offer on the table about Ukraine itself. And it's the offer that we discussed in our last program, the buffer zone in Donbass, the free economic zone. There were reports a few days before Ratcliffe went to Moscow that the Americans were going to present this offer to the Russians.

On the very day that Radcliffe was in Moscow on Tuesday, it was going to be handed to Loveroff personally. Whit Goff and Kushner have been shunted to one side. The Russians don't want to see these people. They're not taken seriously. So Radcliffe came to Moscow with our offer in his pocket. He went with all the threats. He went with all the bribes and the key people in Moscow refused to meet him. That's the story of this visit. That is, I am sure, what took place. Yeah. Winter is coming and we're seeing a lot of panic in the Collective West. Exactly. I think you make an excellent point by pointing out that the CIA has been running this proxy war. Right. And the fact that the head of the CIA is in Moscow is basically you have the one party that's running this war traveling to Moscow to try and figure out a way out of this. this collapse. Yes. And there is a lot of panic. Yes. With regards to the upcoming winter and the fact, everything that you said, no air defense, the Odessa port, Russia advancing across multiple vectors on the front line. Everything that you said is causing a whole lot of panic.

There are now more reports and more statements coming from various European officials, Macron, for example, claiming that Russia is going to make some sort of move against Europe, against the UK. Politico in their article, according to their sources, familiar with the matter. They claim that Radcliffe was there to deliver a warning to Putin, not to make a move against the Baltic nations because Russia obviously meets the Baltic nations because they have a lot of resources. Russia needs to survive. But anyway, that's what Politico says.

This was all about the Baltic nations. Other outlets are running with the UK that this is about, that Ratcliffe's trip was there to warn Russia about the UK. I have a bad feeling that there could be more false flags coming in order to try and, and drag the United States deeper into this conflict. And those false flags could be targeted at Europe in order to prop up this narrative about Russia, Russia starting some sort of operation or an attack or hybrid war against Europe, which they used to use the word, hybrid attack, right, whatever that even means.

But what do you think about all of those reports? You are absolutely right. That is exactly what this is all about. Can I just say something? I mean, Radcliffe will not have gone just with an offer in his pocket. He will have gone with bribes and he will have gone with threats. And what kind of threats does the CIA director bring with him? Escalation, escalation of hybrid wars. So you're going to say to the Russians, look, if you don't stop, we're going to find all kinds of ways to involve you and all kinds of problems in Europe. You know exactly what we mean. We're going to start ramping up further the stories about the fact that you're threatening Europe.

And that, of course, gives us the cover to threaten you. It's not the Russians intending to march on Vilnius or Paris. It is the Americans threatening the Russians at this time. The CIA telling the Russians, if you continue, carrying on as you're doing in Ukraine, if you're going to smash up Ukraine in the way that you've seen to be intent on doing. Now, we are going to take counteraction on a big scale against you. And all of this talk about Radcliffe, warning the Russians against an attack on Europe, it shouldn't be seen in that way at all. It is the other way around. It is,

Radcliffe threatening the Russians and putting out the story, the story being put out there, that as I said, the Russians are going to march on the Baltic states, on, you know, whomever, Finland, Britain, all of those sort of things. So this is what this is all about. We are, by the way, in a moment of great tension, great danger, precisely. because Ukraine is going down and going down fast. They're getting desperate. They're pulling out all the stops.

They sent Radcliffe to Moscow. They sent someone from the Vatican to Moscow as well. The Europeans can't go because the Russians don't want to talk to the Europeans. And the Europeans don't want to be humiliated. So they found someone from the Vatican to send as well. So they sent someone from the Vatican too. They are spreading all these stories about the threats from Russia as well. We've had, you know, was it explosives or drones or whatever it is found in German and airports and things of this.

A drone. A drone. Exactly. So all of this is happening now. And it's all part, as I said, of some massive effort to get the Russians to stop. even a story now circulating in the Italian media from La Republic, a big Italian newspaper. Macron and Maloney have agreed to send stamp and Aspeat missile systems to Ukraine, which is absolutely true. No doubt that is the plan. The problem is most of these systems

don't yet exist. So they won't be in Ukraine for years. That which is what La Republica isn't really telling you. But the threats, the warnings are coming from the Americans to the Russians, not to get the Russians to stop some kind of aggressive attack on Europe. It is to get the Russians to stop in Ukraine. And by the way, someone else turned up as well. And that was Keith Kellogg. He was also in Kiev.

He also was part of this orchestra. Mike Pence as well. and Mike Pence, they're all there. They're all trying to keep Ukraine in the battle and to try to get the Russians to stop. It's clearly a massively organized and orchestrated operation, but the key thing to say is the Russians said no. I mean, they refused the top Russians,

Lov and Putin, declined to meet Radcliffe. They weren't accepting his proposal the Russians, they know that they are winning and they're not going to stop. Yeah. Everyone's been activated, Alexander. The deep state has activated everybody. Everyone. Maloney, Kellogg, Pence, the Vatican, flying the Vatican.

The deep state has activated everybody. Everything. They're pulling out. They are pulling out the stops because they can see the person who knows best in the West, how bad the situation in Ukraine actually is. Put aside all, you know, the stories that we've been hearing about Ukraine gaining the initiative and all of that. The person who knows it and understands it best is the man who's running the war in Ukraine, who is the director of the CIA.

That's why he is there. That's why he went to Moscow. It's not about Iran. I know a lot of people that are saying this. It's not about Iran. It's not about Russian weapons deliveries to Iran. The Americans of all kinds of ways of conveying that kind of message to the Russians about Iran. In fact, they're on dialogue with the Russians all the time about Iran.

It is about Ukraine and about the crisis that is playing out there. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the Swedeners that Ratcliffe threw in there were connected to Iran. Indeed, yeah. Telling Russia, look, if we agree on Ukraine and then we could find something to do with their Iran, then you guys can get cut in on some of the action with Iran or something like that. And I'm sure he also threw threats at Russia with regards to Iran. I'm sure he brought up Iran and tried to tie it into some big, big ultimate deal, you know, peppered with threats, but also with with some bonuses and benefits as well, some carrot and stick stuff. So I'm sure he did that.

Exactly. But yeah, you're right. It's all about Ukraine and the panic about Ukraine. I have a really bad feeling about this. We're going to enter a very bad, dangerous, covert war. Absolutely. No doubt about it. And yeah, you're right.

Forget about all the noise. Who got on the plane and flew to Moscow. Yeah. That's how you know who's winning and that's how you know who's losing. Exactly. It's as simple as that. Exactly. Do you have a bad feeling about all of this?

because I have a really bad feeling. I have an extremely bad feeling about all of this. I think this is the single most dangerous moment in the war because the fact that they are pulling out all the stops in the way that they're now doing absolutely tells you that the situation is becoming critical and they're going to do everything they possibly can now to try to get the Russians to stop.

The Russians show no interest. no intention of stopping. But people who are desperate, are people who are frightened, people who are frightened, are people who are angry, decisions made in anger, and we're going to see a lot of those over the next few weeks are extremely dangerous decisions, because people don't take a step back, they don't think things through.

Radcliffe is, I'm going to say straightforwardly, and near him, his fingertips, What do we always say about neocones? They have no reverse gear. Yeah, and you've got to imagine that Trump is also in a panic, the Trump White House, and Trump himself, Trump the man, because he's looking at losing two wars in one term. Yes. Two wars in one term because he owns the Ukraine war now.

He did it. He decided to take ownership of it. Exactly. And that project Ukraine is going down for him. And he's looking at a very difficult situation with Iran as well. So you've got to imagine that the Trump White House, the PR team, the media operations, Donald Trump are in a panic about all of this as well. Absolutely. Absolutely.

Of course, if you'd listen to what we were saying back in the summer of 2024 and had walked away from all of this mess and had had. had not engaged in overcomplicated negotiations, which were probably deceptive negotiations. He hadn't appointed people like Keith Kellogg as his envoy and John Ratcliffe as his director of central intelligence. If he had been much more realistic and honest with himself and with his voters about the situation in Ukraine, he would not now be in the situation. that he is in. And I'm very glad you mentioned, by the way, the fact that he's losing two wars, because the people who advocated these two wars, and this is something that we always need

we need to remember and never forget, the people who encouraged Trump to attack Iran are the same people who have been encouraging Trump to go on fighting the Russians in Ukraine. In the United States, in Washington, It is the same neocon crowd who have backed both wars. And when both wars end in disaster, who is going to be the pansy? Who's going to get all the blame? It's going to be Donald Trump, exactly as we foresaw two years ago. Just some breaking news, Alexander. A car was blown up in St. Petersburg, and there was a Russian military official.

Allegedly, this just happened. Yeah, well, there you go. We need some time to confirm this, obviously. But I'm seeing it right now all over the place that the covert war is going to ramp up. There's no doubt about it. Absolutely. Absolutely. Just a final question.

How do you think Russia's going to handle all of this? What are the risks with countries like the UK, which continues? to push Russia. Yeah. I mean, are there risks there or will Russia just continue to focus on business at hand? I think the Russians are going to do three things. Firstly, they're going to continue to advance in Ukraine. I mean, that is a given that we can all assume.

They're not going to be, I mean, an assassination in St. Petersburg is not going to divert them from their course. It looks like a very high military official. I'm just reading it right now. It looks like a very, very high. I'm sure, I'm sure. But they're not going to be, whoever has been killed, they will not be diverted from that course. They will continue with the war. That is one.

The second is that they are already taking more and more steps to beef up their nuclear deterrence. We've had major exercises, and this might be, this assassination might be connected to these exercises. major naval exercises at the moment in the Arctic and the White Sea, and apparently the Poseidon submarine drone torpedo, call it what you will, nuclear torpedo, is now being brought into service and a particular new class of submarine is being deployed. These are enormously powerful weapons, and they're always as a reminder that Russia does have this overriding deterrence capability. But The third thing is that sooner or later, and I've said this many times, the Russians are going to join the dirty war.

They're not going to simply sit back and let their people be assassinated indefinitely. Already there was apparently a very angry meeting some months ago between Putin and the military, in which the military demanded further action and were criticizing the FSB because they weren't protecting Russian military people sufficiently. The best defense in this kind of thing is attack, and I'm afraid we're going to see it. I think it's going to get very ugly. I'm going to say it again one last time. Trump could just walk away from all of this.

Of course. Tell Ratcliffe to just forget about it. You could sack you. The war's over. I'm done. I'm out of this. Exactly. Exactly.

I mean, he can do that, right? Exactly. Exactly. The fallout will be best. bad for him. Yeah. But he could probably withstand it. Yeah, absolutely.

Absolutely. Yeah. Yes. This is the other thing, which is, I think, it's something that I've heard from many, many people now. Ukraine is an all-consuming, obsessive topic in Europe, amongst the political class here. It is an obsessive topic for a small group of people within the political class, the neocons in Washington. The vast majority of the American people don't care.

They care slightly more about Iran and the Persian Gulf, and they don't like what's going on there at all, and they would prefer that it stopped. And about Ukraine, frankly, it's not something that they're. are very interested in. So, yes, he could pull out of Ukraine and I doubt that it would have any big impact at all overall on his popularity. But Trump is a very insecure personality, as we've discussed in many programs. He's easily manipulated, as we've unfortunately also seen. He's made mistake after mistake on Ukraine and he's going to continue. All right. We'll end the video there. The durand.com.

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