The Duran Podcast - Russia Hawks Take Control, Victory Day Stakes Are High. Most Dangerous Moment of the Conflict

Episode Date: May 8, 2026

Russia Hawks Take Control, Victory Day Stakes Are High. Most Dangerous Moment of the Conflict

All right, Alexander, let's talk about the ceasefire. Russia's ceasefire, May 8th, 9th, and 10th. They've added another day to the ceasefire. Ukraine is not adhering to the ceasefire. We have massive Ukraine drone strikes into Russia, especially the fixed wing drones. hitting Russia on May 8th after the ceasefire went into effect. Ukraine launched around 260 to 300 drones all over Russia.

And of course, this violates the Russian ceasefire and the Russian warnings, essentially, warnings and statements that I believe were the strongest I think we've ever seen from Russia. And these are not warnings and statements coming out of Medvedev or Putin, which I believe many people in the collective West, all of the collective West would simply ignore if these are statements coming out of Medvedev or Putin, any warnings. But coming from the Russian military, these were very strong warnings to Ukraine. Don't you dare attack Russia during the Victory Day celebrations, or else we will strike at the center of Kiev?

And then the warnings were also for diplomats. in Kiev to evacuate, including warnings from the Ministry of the Foreign Ministry and Maria Zaghadova, saying that diplomats should evacuate from Kiev in anticipation of Ukraine strikes. So Ukraine has hit Russia. The ceasefire did not hold. Where do we go from here? Well, first of all, there was never any possibility that Ukraine would abide by this ceasefire. The Ukraine has to say that they have antagonistic views about victory, the victory day, would be an understatement. For the Ukrainians, the Russian celebrations of Victory Day are a massive point of anger and grievance. The Russians say that this is an event which was achieved, the victory was achieved by the Soviet people, by the Russian and Ukrainian people.

people together. That celebrates jointly a victory that the two nations achieved as part of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainians absolutely reject that fiercely, the idea that they have any affinity or kinship with the Russians at all. And as we know, there are plenty of people in Ukraine who quite openly say that in terms of the Second World War, it was the wrong side that won, they support the side that lost, not the side that won. So there was never any chance that Ukraine would accept this ceasefire. Putin regularly announces ceasefires for Victory Day. Ukraine always ignores them. Zelensky came up with an entirely phony ceasefire proposal of his own, which was several days before Victory Day. He wanted to make it seem as if this could be

extended indefinitely. That was never. of course, what the Russians were going to do. So Zelensky, the Ukrainians, are not going to accept the ceasefire. And the Russians never expected them to. And last year, the year before, every year, the Ukrainians have threatened to disrupt the Victory Day celebrations. Up to now, they have held back from doing so. This year one senses that the stakes are much higher because the situation on the front lines

for Ukraine is getting very bad. We've discussed this in many programs and maybe we don't need to go over that in more details. The Ukrainians also are beginning to become very concerned about continued American support. The Europeans are becoming concerned about American support and about the whole situation with NATO. And the Ukrainians over the last few weeks have become increasingly aggressive with their drone attacks. There was the attack on Tuatse, that we've discussed, and which you've discussed extensively

on your programs. There have been attacks on other places. There's been now confirmed confirmation from the Baltic states that Ukrainian drones do indeed overfly the Baltic states in order to conduct attacks inside the Baltic states. Russia. I think it was the Latvian government. The reason they don't shoot them down is because that would cause damage on their own territory. And they're blaming Russia for it. And they're blaming Russia for it, exactly. I mean, Finland, in fairness, has taken a different line. But Latvia at least has made no secret that it's allowing the overflight of these drones,

and they're not criticizing the Ukrainians. They're criticizing the Russians. So everything sets us up now for this showdown. And the Russians, these warnings and threats that you have mentioned are totally unprecedented. They're saying that they're going to attack central Kiev. They said they've never done this before in the kind of way that they're threatening to do now. They have actually conducted sort of minor attacks on particular buildings, but nothing on any big scale. Ukrainian air defences around Kiev have all but collapsed. They have no ability to withstand attacks by Orrashnik missiles, if that's what the Russians use. And the original warning from the Russian Defence Ministry, even if he didn't mention the Orashnik,

I think strongly hinted at the possibility that an irashtnik might indeed be used. And the Russians have told the EU to remove their diplomats from Kiev. And of course, the EU is refusing to do that. So there is a possibility that these, this defiance from the Ukrainians, we're going to see that it's a bluff, that the Ukrainians will not, in the end, interfere with the victory parade in Moscow or in other places, that the Europeans are keeping their diplomats in Kiev because they know that the Ukrainians aren't really going to attack that victory parade, which Putin, of course, is going to be attending. But there is the other

possibility, that the Europeans are ignoring these warnings, that Zelensky is going to try and use this in order to mount this massive provocation, that he wants this big attack on Kiev to take place because he still wants to find some way to escalate the war, to get the war intensified in some form, to get the Americans back in the game, something of that kind, so that. this is looking like a very, very dangerous situation indeed. By the way, this warning from the Russian Defense Ministry and from the Russian Foreign Ministry, and you're right to say, it's important that it's coming from the Defense Ministry, not from Putin or Medvedev or Lavrov or anybody like that. It is the Defense Ministry themselves. And they're saying, not that they may do it, but that

they will do it. So I think we need to take this warning very seriously. I mean, it reinforces my view that there has been a major discussion about where everything is going with diplomacy, with Ukraine, with the Europeans in Moscow, and that those advocates who still talk about diplomacy, Putin, in other words, and his inner circle are losing ground. Anyway, over to you. Zelensky issued, I was just going to say that Zelensky issued a statement saying that representatives, diplomats that are going to be attending the Victory Day in Moscow, should not attend the Victory Day in Moscow. So he issued his own counter, his own warning to diplomats going to Moscow. He said that there are messages from some states close to Russia, that their representatives intend to be in Moscow,

an odd desire at a time like this. We do not recommend it. Of course, he could be bluffing, but he might not be, he might not be bluffing. Would it be fair to say? Just a quick question. He has said that before in connection with previous Victory Day parades. So this is not unprecedented from Zelensky, but then this is a particularly fraught moment. And one should not ignore what Zelensky says. I mean, you remember before the Valdai attack, he came out and made a Christmas address to the Ukrainian people in which he quite obviously indicated that the Ukrainians were trying to assassinate Putin, wanted Putin killed.

So, you know, when he says these things, he comes with form and you can't just disregard and ignore it. Well, people are telling him to say these things. He's getting information from people. He's getting advice from people to say these things because they're basically telling him, we're going to do X, Y, and Z. Like with Valdai, go out, say whatever you want about Putin. In your Christmas message, we got a surprise for Putin in Valdai.

And so he did that, right? Just real quick, a very quick question. Would it be fair to say that the, the Ukraine ceasefire that they announced in reaction to the Russian Victory Day a ceasefire, that they were aiming for Russia to agree to that, and therefore that would have been their type of off-ramp or face saving so that they would not go after Russia on May 9th. In other words, Russia says, don't attack us on May 9th.

We're calling a unilateral ceasefire. Don't you dare attack us or else? And so they come up with this counter-narrative, well, we're going to call our ceasefire on May 5th and 6th. And they were probably hoping that Russia would agree to it. And that way they could say, OK, well, Russia agreed to our ceasefire. So we're going to agree to theirs. I mean, was that the plan? Was that their thinking at first?

Yeah, I think that's exactly what their thinking was. I mean, I will say something else. The Ukrainians have been trying to get the Russians to agree to a ceasefire. I mean, not a ceasefire connected with the Victory Day celebrations. or a ceasefire connected with the Easter Day celebrations, but a ceasefire altogether. And Zelensky actually said that if the Russians will agree to this ceasefire, then we can work with the Russians with a view to extending the ceasefire and to making it permanent, which is what he urgently desperately wants and needs to see happen.

That's Zelensky's priorities, what he's been pushing. and advocating since March of last year. But obviously the Russians were not going to agree. And I think maybe it was intended as a kind of off-ram. But I also think it was intended more than anything else, as is always the way with Zelenskyy. Basically, as a PR move, he doesn't want to just appear to reject ceasefires when he's advocating them all the time. So he advocates his own ceasefire. in a format that he knows the Russians are going to ignore. Yeah, exactly. It now looks like the collective West NATO and Zelensky,

they're looking to call Russia's bluff. They believe Russia's bluffing. I mean, I've seen articles out of Germany, which quote the foreign minister of Germany, saying as much, saying that these warnings from Russia are being made out of panic, and they're not serious warnings.

Do you think they're going to actually go that route? I mean, they have gone that route. Yes. Strictly speaking, the ceasefire was from the eighth to the ninth to the tenth. These are the three days of the ceasefire. And if you go off of the military statements, these are the days that they're telling Ukraine do not strike us or else. Now, you can make the case that what really concerns Russia is May 9th, right? don't send drones into Moscow on May 9th.

That's the big warning. So they could say, well, they sent drones on May 8th or they sent drones on May 10th. We're not going to strike the center of Kiev because May 9th is the day that really concerns us. But Ukraine has broken. The ceasefire, at least they went against Russia's warnings in a big way. This is a big drone strike into Russia. which is happening almost every day, it seems. We're getting these big drone strikes into Russia.

So is the plan now from Zelensky, from the Europeans? You know what? Let's strike Russia. The scenario is either Russia does nothing, in which case it's going to be extremely embarrassing for Russia. It is what it is. They're the ones that issued the warning. They issued it.

So if they don't do anything, if they're hit and they don't do anything, obviously that's going to be very embarrassing for the Kremlin. If they do something and they go after the city center of Kiev, then the Europeans and Zelensky, NATO, may see it as a way to unify NATO, to bring Trump or the United States back into NATO, more alliance. with NATO and then expand the war to be a NATO versus Russia. Right. Well, the Russian warning, the warning from the Russian Defense Ministry was specifically about an attack on the victory parade on the 9th of May in central Moscow. So these other attacks that the Ukrainians are conducting across Russia, they violate the Russian ceasefire. Absolutely. They are an active defiance by. Ukraine against the ceasefire, but they don't actually trigger the Russian warning itself.

Now, if we go back to what the Germans are saying, I mean, one way to read, it is exactly the way that you have, that the Germans think that this is all bluff from the Russians and that they can call the bluff and that it really doesn't matter. And what Zelensky does need to do is to call the bluff. and probably they are thinking in much the way that you're saying. In other words, if the Russians don't respond to an attack on the Victory Day celebration in Moscow, then the Russians look weak and ridiculous. Alternatively, if they do, then this is an effect of declaration of war by Russia,

in which case NATO is at war with Russia the United States is engaged all of those things which as we know some people in Europe actually actually want to see many people in Europe want to see

now my own personal view going back over a comment that you made by the way in one of your videos is that I personally think these statements from Germany are not as simple symptoms so much of Germany aiming to call Putin's bluff and wanting, as they would put it, and assuming that Putin and the Russians are bluffing. I'd say it's more a symptom of panic, actually. And I think what's more likely to be the case is that there are calls from Germany,

people on the phone to Zelensky and saying, look, we do understand that you want to attack the Russians and do by all means attack the Russians on the 8th and 9th and 10th of May, wherever you want, we're all over 100% behind you there, but don't attack the Victory Day parade in Moscow because we don't want to be put in a situation where some of our own people in Kiev are attacked and killed and we find ourselves in the confrontation that we are absolutely not ready for. I think that is the more likely explanation of what is going on in Berlin at the moment, and that these statements about the Russians bluffing are basically bluster from the Germans themselves who are trying to do everything

they possibly can at this moment of time to get a very dangerous situation to spiral out of control, from spiraling out of control. But if I was to come along and say that that is the thing in Berlin, I would be saying more than I know, because as you correctly said just now, there are absolutely people in Europe who do want to see a major conflict between Russia and the West. And the fact that the Russians have made this, given this warning now, have said, if you attack our parade, you know, we will strike and we will strike hard at central Kiev and diplomats there, and civilians too, will be killed, and that comes down to you. This is perhaps either, you know, the Germans don't want to see that happen because they're bluffing

and their talk about Russian bluffs is that Germany doesn't want, or rather, Mertz doesn't want His bluff called, or alternatively as a city could be because they do want this escalation and this war, and they want it now, before the Americans basically do walk away. I mean, we've had the Europeans very dismayed, more dismayed, I think, than some of the reporting suggests by Trump's decision to pull 5,000 troops out of German. I mean, this has already worried them. Now, Trump is talking about pulling out even more troops from Europe. This is already causing an underground subcurrent of panic across the EU and across the European

members of NATO. So you could see, you know, the eddies and currents and worries and fears and anger and all of that going on. Some people probably advocating, let's go for broke, let's attack Moscow on Victory Day, let's try and cause as much disruption there, let's humiliate Putin, or let's provoke the Russians into this reaction, let's do something that will keep the Americans in, and others saying, for heaven's sake, what are you talking about? We can't afford a crisis with the Russians now. We've got to try and get Zelensky reigned in. And we're going to tell him, don't do this thing. And when we say that the Russians are bluffing,

the reality is that it's we who are. But isn't Russia in a difficult position now in that say they don't strike Moscow, right? So they don't go after Moscow. But they go after celebrations in other cities, right? That can be spun by the West, and it will be spun by the West and by Ukraine and Zelensky as a sign of Russia's weakness. In other words, they will say, you know, we went after Russia on May 9th during their Victory Day parade. We sent in drones and Russia did nothing. We stayed away from Moscow, but the rest of Russia was fair game. And we acted on that. And Russia then is put in an awkward, a difficult position, aren't they? Yeah, they are put in an awkward and difficult position.

And there's been criticism of Putin about the fact that there's been these Ukrainian drone attacks. And there are rumors that General Lov, the head of the Russian aerospace forces, has been sacked and has been replaced by someone else. And Almas-ante, the company that is in charge of radars and missiles and all of these things, they're saying that they've actually working on this and they have a system ready to deal with it. So, yes, the Russians would be embarrassed by it, but it would not be the same at all as an attack on the Victory Day ceremonies in Red Square itself. It is impossible to overstate how important Red Square is in the Russian mind. I mean, I've had it described to me by Russians as a sacred space.

It's the place where the first ever Victory Day celebration took place in, I think, was the 4th of June, 1945. I mean, a massive and massively important event in Russian history, in itself. So an attack on those celebrations in Moscow, that is something on a completely different scale from an attack on a celebration, say, in Krasnodar, or Pern or Varanage, or someplace like that. So yes, it would be infuriating. It would be embarrassing. It would create more criticism of Putin, especially if people were killed, but it would not be the same thing as an attack on Mosca. So why did they issue this statement then? I mean, if at the end of the day, you give your enemy the ability to embarrass you in such a way. I mean, why would you issue this?

statement. Wouldn't you just go about the victory day and if Ukraine hit, hit Moscow, then you retaliate? Why do you telegraph what you're thinking of doing? Well, I think there's multiple reasons. Firstly, I mean, if you give no warning and the Ukrainians, the Ukrainians might be more likely to do that, which might cause more pressure on you to conduct a counterstrike on Kiev, The whole idea, the whole point of a warning is to deter an attack on Moscow. And we mustn't assume that that act of deterrence is going to fail, just to say. So that's the first thing to say about this. The other thing I would say about this is that there is clearly an internal discussion

underway in Moscow at the present time about the whole course of the war and the direction of it that it's taking and about whether negotiations to end the war continue to be worthwhile. And this is part also of the internal conversation. The Defence Ministry and the Foreign Ministry clearly don't believe in negotiations. They made that absolutely clear. And to some extent, them giving out this warning forces Putin's habits. Now, I say that Putin, of course, has authorized these warnings. They won't have been given without his agreement, but he will have been put under pressure

to do that. So there is this domestic, internal, political component to this as well. By the way, there's been more comments about negotiations. From Ushikov. Ushikov has made a statement. He's basically said the negotiations are dead, that the Ukrainians aren't doing any of the things that they were supposed to do, so that there's no point in conducting or even thinking about negotiations at the present time. He caged it in very careful words, but it follows very much in the line of what we've been talking about. And then the Financial Times has put out this nonsense report, claiming that the Europeans now want to speak with Russia, or they're starting to prepare.

the ground for dialogue with Russia. When you go through the article, I mean, it's clear that what they mean is they're hoping for Russia's capitulation. And they want to be there when they see Putin sign the surrender paper. I mean, that's pretty much what they're talking about. You're absolutely, it's absolute and complete nonsense. I mean, there is no sign there of any serious wish or desire to conduct negotiations with the Russians. The Financial Times article gives no indication of this. Probably the reason it's been put out is that there does seem to be some concerns on the part of some European leaders. Bart de Véva was mentioned in the article.

I suspect Maloney as well that negotiations with the Russians are not taking place, despite the fact that the war is not going well. and we've got this enormous global crisis. And maybe in Germany, too, there, I can say definitely that there are now increasing criticisms of the current policy in Germany. So you say, yes, we're going to negotiate, we're talking about thinking about, talking about discussing and negotiations with the Russians, but when exactly what you say, when you actually read the article itself, the only negotiations that they're serious about,

are negotiations in which the Russians capitulate. And that's it. So just a final question. Let's go back to Ushikov. So Ushikov basically said that that what needs to happen now is Ukraine. If there's going to be any talks between Ukraine, the U.S. and Russia, Ukraine needs to leave Dombas. He didn't say that specifically, but that's what he was getting at. That's what he was hinting at in his statement. The one move that Ukraine needs to make in order to get back to talks is that they have to leave, the military has to leave Dombas. I think that is probably right.

But I have to add the caveat that that isn't actually what Uschakoff said. He didn't, in fact, mention the word. No, he didn't mention the word. He didn't mention the word. That's what I'm saying, yeah. So you could argue that he's basically repeating what Putin said on the 14th of June in 2024, which is that the Ukrainians withdraw from Dombas and Saperosian has some truth. I mean, it's a typical diplomat's ambiguity.

But the point was that it threw it on the Ukrainians to make the next move. They must retreat, be it only from Dombas or other places, who's to say? The Ukrainians are not going to retreat, and the Russians know that perfectly well. And Ushikov also said that the Americans of the moment are far too busy with Iran to be really interested in negotiations. So there's no point in having him. No, he didn't. He wasn't specific as to what Ukraine needs to do. He just said Ukraine needs to make a move in order to make a certain move in order to get the talks back on.

But he didn't specifically mention what that move is or what region they have to leave or anything like that. I have to say, I find this deeply frustrating, actually. I think this is this game that the that Putin is playing with everybody about what happened in Anchorage is tiresome in the extreme. I think we are long overdue a clear explanation from Putin about what exactly he did agree with Trump in Anchorage. And then we can actually not just, you know, analyze. things better from our point of view, which is obviously we're commentators. But I think Russian public opinion, Russian domestic opinion, can then conduct an honest conversation with itself, a proper conversation with itself, about whether the anchorage process has any future.

Putin playing this game, I think, has actually diminished him in the eyes of many people in Russia itself. I agree with you on that one, no doubt about it. I'll take a guess and say, and we've talked about this in videos in the past, I'll take a guess and say that what was agreed on in Anchorage was Istanbul Plus with the Russian concession. In other words, Trump agreed to Istanbul Plus. I do believe that the Russian concession made to the United States was that in terms of Zaparozeg and Herzegn, specifically Zaporosia, they're going to free the conflict along the contact line with the stated goal of Ukraine eventually over time leaving all of Zaporosje oblast.

But at that moment, yeah, at that moment, they probably agreed, look, Donbass, Lugans, Donetsk, Trump probably said, yeah, Ukraine can leave there. I don't know what they discussed with her son, but with Zaporosia, they probably agreed. okay, let's just freeze it for now. Yeah. And Trump probably told Putin, yeah, over time, I'll get Zelensky or Ukraine to phase out of Zaporosia, to leave over time. Yes. And I agree.

I think that was the concern. That would be my guess. That would be my guess as well. And Putin, just arrived at a thought, and Putin got burned because Trump walked everything back the next day. Yeah. And to add insult to injury, the drones were sent it to Valdei. Yes. And when you say that diminished Putin, that absolutely diminished Putin.

Absolutely. That would be my guess is how everything unfolded there. Absolutely. Anyway, in my opinion, it is long overdue that he provides a proper explanation of what this deal in Anchorage was. The foreign ministry, you can see that Lavrov, if you read his statements, is very unhappy about this. There's clearly been an order given that we do not disclose. what was agreed in Anchorage. But I think that that is wearing thin

with many, many people, actually. I mean, that comes to my final question. You have the Ministry of Defense, which is now taking a hardline approach. No surprise there. But the foreign ministry is with the Ministry of Defense, taking a hard line position when it comes to the conflict.

Absolutely. And so is the vice chairman of the Security Council. Okay. So who are... Right. Okay. Well, yeah, you can make the argument that Medvedev for the past four years has been playing this role of the hardliner. You can make that argument going by his tweets, by his ex post, which are very extreme. And that's been the assignment that he's been given. That's been the part that he's playing in all of this. But the foreign ministry, which is all about diplomacy and talks and negotiations, is basically saying enough already. Yes. Right? No more. Yes. Yes. And they're siding with the Ministry of Defense.

Yes. Who are the doves? Who are the people in the Security Council or the Kremlin? What ministries are still pushing for diplomacy with Trump still believe that they can talk to the United States and make a deal with the United States that still believe that they can talk to the Europeans and make a deal with the Europeans? Who are the doves that are saying, let's not go hard in this war? Let's continue to to, to make a deal with the Europeans. And we're the doves that are saying, manage it. Let's continue to go slow. Let's continue to try and engage with our European partners and our European friends. Let's trust Trump. Trump is the president of peace. He's the president of the Nobel Peace Prize. Who are the doves in all of this? Right. Well, Kenes it straight away, I don't think there's anybody in Moscow anymore who believes in dialogue with the Europeans. I mean, when Macron sent his representatives to Moscow at the end of last year, I mean, they got a very, very cold reception. They met Ushakov and Kostakov, the head of the GRU. And they basically, the Russians basically showed them the door. And with Putin himself, I do. I, I, I, I get the sense that he has basically given up on the Europeans entirely. I think the doves are in relation to the United States to a possible deal with the United States are entirely and exclusively now, Vladimir Putin and some of the people close to him. Like Pescoff or these guys?

Peskof, exactly. Well, I mean, Pesikov. Ushikov. I think basically mostly it has been Putin himself in the sense that last year he engaged extensively with Trump. He thought that he might find a way back with Trump. I think after Anchorage, he saw that it all fell apart. I think after Valdei, he saw that the Americans, as well as the Ukrainians were trying to get him killed. I think he's hugely, massively embarrassed about this and that he's very isolated on this issue in, well, I think he is isolated on this issue in the

Kremlin now. And that's why he's basically absented himself from the scene. But he's, he's, I don't think it goes far beyond him. I know some people say that Nebulae in the central bank, Siluana, of the finance ministry, some of the oligarchs, the energy oligarchs, people like that. I don't believe these people have any real influence or any ability to shape policy in the Kremlin.

The decisions are made in the Security Council, and these people aren't there. And if we're talking about Nabilina and Siluanef, and those people. To be frank, I don't get the sense that they have any different views about the war than anybody else within the Russian political elite does. The energy complex, maybe they do. Putin does listen to them.

Some people within Russian business maybe do. But overall, I don't think these people exercise the great deal of influence some policy. So you're basically saying that it's it's a matter of the executive of the Kremlin, the executive, which still believes in in some sort of dialogue with Trump or with the United States. And then you have the ministries, the two big ministries, defense and the foreign affairs and the foreign affairs and the intelligence agencies as well. I think the intelligence agencies are also hard. Absolutely. They clearly are. I mean, increasingly so. So I mean, I think practically the entire defense security and foreign policy establishment.

I have said this isn't working. They were prepared to run with it last year, in the first half of last year, because everybody wanted to see where it would go. But I have never forgotten their briefing Putin gave to the Security Council and other officials after Anchorage. And I remember seeing the expressions on all their faces. And I mean, it was obvious that they weren't pleased. And to say that they were skeptical would be an understatement.

Just another final, final questions. So if you're the executive, if you're the president, the Kremlin, how do you continue down the path of Trump and diplomacy and all of that? How do you go against all of these ministries? Well, I'm not. Which are saying enough already. I'm not sure that Putin is. I mean, I think this is the thing to say.

I think that he's massively curtailed his contacts with Trump since Valdai. Even before Valtai, his discussions with Trump were becoming increasingly angry and contentious, certainly on Ukraine-related issues. So I think that, as we've discussed many times, I think he's mostly absented himself now from the diplomacy. He's Ushakov, who works for him. said that, you know, the diplomacy now is over, and he's just green-lighted the possibility of an attack on central Kiev to repeat again, the defense ministry would not have given that warning without Putin's agreement. Okay. Any other comments that you want to make about this? I mean, we are in, this warning from the defense ministry, which is from the military itself, is extremely, not just strong, but exactly what you said unprecedented.

It is the most, it's the strongest, it's the most powerful warning the Russians have given up to now, by far. It's the first time that they have formally, officially and publicly said, that Western diplomats might be in line for being killed. Now, that is an extraordinary threat to make it this time, and one that the Russians have never made up to now. And let's not forget about the list that they published a couple of weeks ago. Exactly, exactly. Of the drone facilities as well.

Exactly, exactly. And the warnings that have been made to the Baltic states and all of these things. Yeah. All right, we will end the video there. The durand.com. We are on X. We are on Rumble. We are on Telegram.

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