A reporter tried to get retired Admiral John Kirby to say that ousted Fox News host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/tucker-carlson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tucker Carlson</a> had been trafficking in pro-Russian propaganda until the network let him go on Monday.
Kirby, who is currently serving as the National Security Council&#8217;s Strategic Communications Coordinator, briefed reporters via Zoom on Wednesday — and Mediaite reporter Tommy Christopher used the time to attempt to tie Carlson to Russia.
Mentioning that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had <a href="https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2023/04/25/tucker-carlson-out-fox-news-lavrov-russia-ukraine-war-ebof-vpx.cnn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already responded</a> to the popular Fox News host&#8217;s ouster — calling the news &#8220;curious&#8221; and suggesting that Carlson was being silenced — Christopher asked Kirby to weigh in on his reaction.
&#8220;I also wanted to ask you about the reaction in Russia to the firing of Tucker Carlson. Russian state television called it a disgrace. The foreign minister seemed pretty disappointed as well,&#8221; Christopher began, adding, &#8220;I’m wondering if you have a reaction to their reaction, and if there’s like an equal and opposite reaction given the effect of the firing, possibly, on the spread of Russian propaganda here.&#8221;
&#8220;Those are two very different questions,&#8221; Kirby replied. He went on to say that he had not seen any of the reactions from Russian officials, but that even if he had, he would not have a comment on what they thought of Carlson&#8217;s exit.
&#8220;This was, this was obviously not a decision that we certainly had anything to do with. It’s for the network to see to. And we certainly wouldn’t weigh in one way or the other,&#8221; Kirby continued, adding that he had nothing to say about the development either.
&#8220;Like nothing, nothing about it?&#8221; Christopher tried again. &#8220;I mean, when he was on the air, he was spreading Russian propaganda. You don’t have any opinion on him not being able to do that now?&#8221;
Kirby shut the question down once more, saying, &#8220;Again, I think it’d be much, much better for us to simply let the network speak to their decision-making. We’re — well, I think I’m just going to leave it there. I think I’ll just leave it there.&#8221;
<a class="c-link" href="https://onelink.to/dwapp" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://onelink.to/dwapp" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-describedby="sk-tooltip-9125">CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILY WIRE APP</a>
Christopher was not the only one to make that suggestion — largely based on Carlson&#8217;s repeated questioning of U.S. support for Ukraine in the ongoing conflict with Russia. Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia (2012-2014) Michael McFaul implied it as well.
&#8220;Saying it out loud — Lavrov praises Tucker Carlson,&#8221; McFaul tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Saying it out loud &#8212; Lavrov praises Tucker Carlson. <a href="https://t.co/2BkNj17FZl">https://t.co/2BkNj17FZl</a>
&mdash; Michael McFaul (@McFaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/McFaul/status/1651247370154414081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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MSNBC&#8217;s &#8220;Morning Joe&#8221; mentioned it as well, with both hosts and guests suggesting in a panel discussion that Carlson had &#8220;done the bidding&#8221; of Russia and China and asking why Lavrov had an opinion on his departure at all.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Why does Russia&#39;s foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, have an opinion on Tucker Carlson&#39;s Fox News departure? <a href="https://t.co/nKXG6bzIlB">https://t.co/nKXG6bzIlB</a>
&mdash; Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) <a href="https://twitter.com/Morning_Joe/status/1651243987515080705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 26, 2023</a></blockquote>
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White House Holds Press Briefing

Reporter Tries To Get John Kirby To Say Tucker’s Show Was Russian Propaganda. He Fails.

Reporter Tries To Get John Kirby To Say Tucker's Show Was Russian Propaganda. He Fails.

John Kirby

Media

Russia

Sergei Lavrov

Tucker Carlson

U.S.

Ukraine-Russia War

In a telling indication of the brewing discontent among Russians regarding the invasion of Ukraine, a Russian diplomat to the United Nations in Geneva bashed the war as he resigned.
Boris Bondarev, counsellor at the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations, confirmed his resignation on Monday, saying he had delivered his message to Gennady Gatilov, the permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the U.N. Office in Geneva.
“For twenty years of my diplomatic career I have seen different turns of our foreign policy, but never have I been so ashamed of my country as on February 24 of this year,” Bondarev wrote in a letter addressed to his colleagues.
“The aggressive war unleashed by Putin against Ukraine, and in fact against the entire Western world, is not only a crime against the Ukrainian people, but also, perhaps, the most serious crime against the people of Russia, with a bold letter Z crossing out all hopes and prospects for a prosperous free society in our country,” the letter continued.
“Those who conceived this war want only one thing — to remain in power forever, live in pompous tasteless palaces, sail on yachts comparable in tonnage and cost to the entire Russian Navy, enjoying unlimited power and complete impunity,” he charged. “To achieve that they are willing to sacrifice as many lives as it takes. Thousands of Russians and Ukrainians have already died just for this.&#8221;
Bondarev targeted the Russian Foreign Ministry in his letter, snapping, “I regret to admit that over all these twenty years the level of lies and unprofessionalism in the work of the Foreign Ministry has been increasing all the time. However, in recent years, this has become simply catastrophic. Instead of unbiased information, impartial analysis and sober forecasting, there are propaganda clichés in the spirit of Soviet newspapers of the 1930s. A system has been built that deceives itself.&#8221;
“Minister Lavrov is a good illustration of the degradation of this system,” Bondarev said of Sergei Lavrov, the Foreign Minister of Russia. “In 18 years, he went from a professional and educated intellectual, whom many my colleagues held in such high esteem. to a person who constantly broadcasts conflicting statements and threatens the world (that is, Russia too) with nuclear weapons!”
“Today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not about diplomacy,” Bondarev concluded. “It is all about warmongering, lies and hatred. It serves interests of few, the very few people thus contributing to further isolation and degradation of my country. Russia no longer has allies, and there is no one to blame but its reckless and ill-conceived policy. I studied to be a diplomat and have been a diplomat for twenty years. The Ministry has become my home and family. But I simply cannot any longer share in this bloody, witless and absolutely needless ignominy.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: 🇷🇺 Russia’s Counsellor to the United Nations in Geneva has resigned. 
Boris Bondarev: “Never have I been so ashamed of my country.” 
UN Watch is now calling on all other Russian diplomats at the United Nations—and worldwide—to follow his moral example and resign.
🧵: <a href="https://t.co/ZuKqq0gJO8">pic.twitter.com/ZuKqq0gJO8</a>
&mdash; Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) <a href="https://twitter.com/HillelNeuer/status/1528668629482541057?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, lauded Bondarev for his public admission, calling him a “hero” and adding, “We are now calling on all other Russian diplomats at the United Nations—and worldwide—to follow his moral example and resign.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Exclusive: Russia’s counsellor to the UN resigned, the most senior diplomat to defect since the war began. &quot;Boris Bondarev is a hero,&quot; said UN Watch&#39;s Hillel Neuer. &quot;We call on all other Russian diplomats worldwide to follow his moral example and resign.&quot;<a href="https://t.co/MRVbUkZaSj">https://t.co/MRVbUkZaSj</a>
&mdash; UN Watch (@UNWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/UNWatch/status/1528704990637867008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Bill Browder, the founder of Hermitage Capital, also praised Bondarev, writing, “This is an unbelievable letter below from a top Russian diplomat denouncing Putin in no uncertain terms. This is the language that all Russian officials and oligarchs should use if they have any chance of being treated gently by the West.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
This is an unbelievable letter below from a top Russian diplomat denouncing Putin in no uncertain terms. This is the language that all Russian officials and oligarchs should use if they have any chance of being treated gently by the West. <a href="https://t.co/r0LqH3RQRg">https://t.co/r0LqH3RQRg</a>
&mdash; Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) <a href="https://twitter.com/Billbrowder/status/1528695937874501632?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Russian President Vladimir Putin Attends The Summit Of Collective Security Treaty Organisation

Shocking Public Resignation: ‘Never Have I Been So Ashamed Of My Country’ Says Russian Diplomat

Russian diplomat publicly bashes Ukraine war, resigns

diplomat

resignation

Ukraine

Vladimir Putin

On Wednesday night, the editor of the Russian state broadcaster RT blithely discussed the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin would initiate a nuclear war, telling viewers, “We will go to heaven, while they will simply croak.”
Margarita Simonyan told her television audience her opinion of what might happen next in the Russia-Ukraine war: “Either we lose in Ukraine or the Third World War starts. I think World War Three is more realistic, knowing us, knowing our leader. &#8230; The most incredible outcome, that all this will end with a nuclear strike, seems more probable to me than the other course of events,” <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10762143/Ukraine-war-Russian-state-TV-says-nuclear-strike-probable-losing.html">The Daily Mail</a> reported.
Addressing a panel on the show, she continued, “This is to my horror on one hand, but on the other hand, it is what it is. We will go to heaven, while they will simply croak&#8230; We&#8217;re all going to die someday.”
Simonyan’s rhetoric came the day after foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/russian-foreign-minister-warns-of-real-and-considerable-possibility-for-nuclear-world-war/">asked</a> on Russian state TV whether he could compare the tension between Russia and the West to the Cuban missile crisis during the Cold War. Lavrov answered, “The risk is serious, real. It should not be underestimated. Under no circumstances should a third world war be allowed to happen.”
“There can be no winners in a nuclear war,” he continued, then <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18375080/nuclear-world-war-real-danger-britain-nato-target/">mentioned</a> NATO weapons shipments to Ukraine as he added, &#8220;NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war.&#8221;
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded by writing on Twitter, “Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. Thus the talk of a ‘real’ danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine. Therefore, the world must double down on supporting Ukraine so that we prevail and safeguard European and global security.”
Putin himself told legislators in St. Petersburg, “If someone intends to interfere in what is going on from the outside they must know that constitutes an unacceptable strategic threat to Russia. &#8230; They must know that our response to counter strikes will be lightning fast. Fast. We have all the weapons we need for this. No one else can brag about these weapons, and we won’t brag about them. But we will use them.”
&#8220;“Russia conducted its first test of the Sarmat, an intercontinental ballistic missile that carries a heavy nuclear payload, on April 20. Vladimir Putin and his advisers have issued nuclear warnings throughout the war in Ukraine, threatening the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization with attack if they escalate their involvement,” <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-us-show-it-can-win-a-nuclear-war-russia-putin-ukraine-nato-sarmat-missile-testing-warning-11651067733?mod=opinion_lead_pos6">The Wall Street Journal</a> noted on Wednesday.

‘We Will Go To Heaven While They Will Simply Croak’: Leading Russian State TV Broadcaster Calm About Putin Launching Nuclear War

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused NATO Monday night of escalating the war in Ukraine and warned of a “considerable” threat for a nuclear world war.
Lavrov said the West has escalated tensions by providing weapons to Ukraine as the Russian army continues its assault on the European country, the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/russias-lavrov-says-nato-is-in-proxy-war-in-ukraine-11650965583">reported</a> Tuesday. 
“The risk is serious, real. It should not be underestimated,” Lavrov told Russian state-run TV. “Under no circumstances should a third world war be allowed to happen.”
Lavrov then mentioned the possibility of nuclear weapons being used. “[T]here can be no winners in a nuclear war,” he commented, while also stating Russia wants to avoid a nuclear war.
According to The Sun, Lavrov specifically <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/18375080/nuclear-world-war-real-danger-britain-nato-target/">mentioned</a> NATO weapons shipments to Ukraine, saying they “would be a legitimate target” since they aid Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. 
&#8220;NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy,” Lavrov accused. “War means war.&#8221;
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba responded to Lavrov’s words by claiming Russia fears their campaign against Ukraine is ending in failure. 
He wrote in Twitter post Monday, “Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. Thus the talk of a ‘real’ danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine. Therefore, the world must double down on supporting Ukraine so that we prevail and safeguard European and global security.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. Thus the talk of a ‘real’ danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine. Therefore, the world must double down on supporting Ukraine so that we prevail and safeguard European and global security.
&mdash; Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) <a href="https://twitter.com/DmytroKuleba/status/1518698466758864898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 25, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Russia’s invasion <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-russia-begins-full-scale-invasion-into-ukraine-putin-confirms-military-operation-underway">began</a> in the early hours of February 24, when President Vladimir Putin ordered “a special military operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine. Soon after the order, explosions were heard near the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. 
Two months into Russia’s invasion, Putin’s army has failed to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60506682">overtake</a> and control major cities such as Kharkiv in the east and the capital city Kyiv.  
This is not the first time Russia has mentioned nuclear weapons while discussing the war in Ukraine. In late March, a spokesman for Putin did not rule out using nuclear weapons to take out an “existential threat,” The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/putin-spokesman-wont-rule-out-using-nuclear-weapons-in-response-to-existential-threat">reported</a>. 
“We have a concept of domestic security, and it’s public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used,” Dmitry Peskov said. “So if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept.”
Experts have also expressed concern over Russia possibly using nukes if it becomes clear its army will fail to take over Ukraine. &#8220;Russian military doctrine envisions use of nuclear weapons in a first use scenario if it is losing a conventional conflict. Ukraine is exactly the scenario for which this was developed,” Defense Intelligence Agency officer Rebekah Koffler <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/live-news/ukraine-russia-live-updates-03-22-2022">said</a> in March according to Fox News.

Nuclear Missile

Russian Foreign Minister Warns Of ‘Real’ And ‘Considerable’ Possibility For Nuclear World War

Nuclear

Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine&#8217;s Ambassador to the United Nations, called on the Russian diplomats currently stationed in London to seek mental help during a Monday speech at the UN&#8217;s headquarters.
Kyslytsya held up a printout of a tweet that was posted on Monday by the Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom, reading it aloud.
&#8220;FM #Lavrov: The goal of Russia’s special military operation is to stop any war that could take place on Ukrainian territory or that could start from there,&#8221; the tweet read.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
FM <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lavrov?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Lavrov</a>: The goal of Russia’s special military operation is to stop any war that could take place on Ukrainian territory or that could start from there. <a href="https://t.co/tLf7798DIh">pic.twitter.com/tLf7798DIh</a>
&mdash; Russian Embassy, UK (@RussianEmbassy) <a href="https://twitter.com/RussianEmbassy/status/1500886096837849099?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Kyslytsya then suggested that anyone who believed the claims coming from Russia that alleged the occupation forces were there to either prevent violent conflict or to liberate the Ukrainian people must be in need of mental help.
&#8220;Let me remind the Russian diplomats that in London, in case of need for mental help, you can dial NHS line 1-1-1,&#8221; Kyslytsya said.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya prints out propaganda tweet from the Russian embassy in London:
“Let me remind the Russian diplomats that in London, in case of need for mental help, you can dial NHS line 1-1-1.” <a href="https://t.co/RepqYsaTvj">pic.twitter.com/RepqYsaTvj</a>
&mdash; The Recount (@therecount) <a href="https://twitter.com/therecount/status/1500967356746682375?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Kyslytsya noted that a colleague had said the United Nations looked a bit like group therapy, adding that he agreed with that assessment.
&#8220;One of my colleagues, after the last security council session, said, you know, the colleague said it looks like group therapy. We&#8217;re all here trying to bring to sanity one member,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And indeed when I listen to this member, to this representative from that country, I think it&#8217;s absolutely right that the department of health of the city of New York is called the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.&#8221;
&#8220;Because it is very difficult after these meetings where we listen to the persistent lies and delusion, delirium coming from that particular country,&#8221; Kyslytsya continued. I think that it&#8217;s not only the Russian diplomats in New York who need mental assistance, but also those who posted today this text.&#8221;
He held up the printed tweet with the quote from Russian Foreign Minister Sergiy Lavrov and read it aloud, noting that the tweet had been posted by the Russian Embassy in London.
&#8220;Let me remind Russian diplomats that in London in case of need for mental help you can dial NHS line 1-1-1,&#8221; Kyslytsya concluded.
You can watch Kyslytsya&#8217;s remarks below:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
UN &quot;looks like group therapy. We&#39;re all here trying to bring to sanity one member&#8230;It&#39;s not only the Russian diplomats in New York who need mental assistance..Let me remind Russian diplomats that in London in case of need for mental help you can dial..&quot;<a href="https://twitter.com/SergiyKyslytsya?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SergiyKyslytsya</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/UKRinUN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UKRinUN</a> <a href="https://t.co/SxPoNW7LLV">pic.twitter.com/SxPoNW7LLV</a>
&mdash; Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) <a href="https://twitter.com/HowardMortman/status/1500967324521799683?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos interviewed Foreign Minister Lavrov several days earlier, and he made similar claims with regard to the reason Russian forces were in Ukraine.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/how-can-you-defend-them-stephanopoulos-grills-russian-foreign-minister-over-kremlins-lies-attacks-on-ukrainian-civilians/">reported</a>:
<blockquote>Lavrov denied outright that there were any Russian troops in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv — which has been under attack for several days.
As Fox News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin tweeted, “Sergei Lavrov with a straight face: ‘in Kharkiv there are no Russian troops….You like the word murderer. Kyiv regime, those are real murderers. Zelensky, yes, he is a Nazi and a neo Nazi because he’s on their side.’ Orwell weeps.”
Ukrainian Member of Parliament Lesia Vasylenko tweeted a photo of the carnage in <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/watch-russia-missile-strikes-hit-key-ukrainian-television-tower/">Kharkiv</a> after days of Russian rocket attacks, adding, “#Kharkiv will never forget #Ukraine will never forgive. The scale of destruction grows every day. The amount of reparations to be paid by #Russia — unimaginable. #StandwithUkraine.”</blockquote>

U.N. Security Council Discusses Humanitarian Crisis In Ukraine

‘Dial NHS 1-1-1’: Ukrainian Ambassador To The UN Tells Russian Diplomats To Seek ‘Mental Help’

ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos grilled Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a press roundtable that aired on Russian television, and he did not hold back in asking questions that challenged Russia&#8217;s actions directly.
&#8220;The world is seeing civilians being killed in Ukraine by Russian bombs. The world is hearing the lies Russia is telling about those attacks. The world is uniting to contend those attacks &amp; those lies. How can you defend them?&#8221; Stephanopoulos asked.
&#8220;I cannot comment — conjectures and there is a great deal of these now,&#8221; Lavrov replied through an interpreter, appearing to suggest that claims of Russian lies and <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/you-waited-until-putin-started-killing-innocent-people-ukrainian-parliament-member-calls-for-help-says-her-country-is-living-a-nightmare/">attacks on Ukrainian civilians</a> were little more than &#8220;conjecture.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
George Stephanopoulos: &quot;The world is seeing civilians being killed in Ukraine by Russian bombs&#8230;.The world is uniting to contend those attacks &amp; those lies. How can you defend them?&quot;
Russian FM Lavrov: &quot;I cannot comment &#8212; conjectures &amp; there is a great deal of these now.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/971rjcyjQ3">pic.twitter.com/971rjcyjQ3</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1499386502471630852?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Lavrov went on to complain that the western nations were attempting to shut down Russian media, claiming, &#8220;Europe, mostly, and the United States are trying to close down all of the outlets, media outlets and information sources broadcast by Russian — from Russia on how the special military operation progresses and advances and how the Ukrainian army and the neo-Nazi battalions behave towards the peaceful civilians. They rob and rip off the Donbas settlements. When they fall back they take vehicles and property from Ukrainian residents living there. They behave like pillagers and marauders.&#8221;
Lavrov continued to refer to the Ukrainian government as the &#8220;Kyiv Regime,&#8221; calling them neo-Nazis on several occasions and repeatedly directing Stephanopoulos to a Russian website that he said would provide the real truth.
Stephanopoulos continued to press, asking Lavrov about his — and Russian President Vladimir Putin&#8217;s — repeated assertions that Ukraine was riddled with neo-Nazis and this invasion was not an attempt to seize control but rather to &#8220;de-nazify&#8221; the region.
&#8220;Do you believe that President Zelensky, the first Jewish president of Ukraine, whose famil[y] [was] killed in the Holocaust, is a Nazi?&#8221; he asked.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
ABC&#39;s George Stephanopoulos to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: &quot;Do you believe that President Zelenskyy, the first Jewish president of Ukraine, whose famil[y] [was] killed in the Holocaust, is a Nazi?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/CynhNcH5d4">pic.twitter.com/CynhNcH5d4</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1499398190889533447?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I think that the Nazis and neo-Nazis manipulate him. Otherwise, it is hard to account for how President Zelensky can preside over a society where neo-Nazis make strife, they make marches and torch processions,&#8221; Lavrov replied, suggesting that Zelensky&#8217;s role in building up and training the Ukrainian military in urban warfare tactics was proof that he was sympathetic to neo-Nazis. &#8220;How can not a neo-Nazi president support laws banning the Russian language at school?&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Russian FM Sergey Lavrov says Zelenskyy is a Nazi: &quot;I think that the Nazis &amp; neo-Nazis manipulate. Otherwise, it is hard to account for how [he] can preside over a society where neo-Nazis make strife&#8230; How can not a neo-Nazi president support laws banning the Russian language?&quot; <a href="https://t.co/J5pem6mWCD">pic.twitter.com/J5pem6mWCD</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1499399256553127951?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 3, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Lavrov denied outright that there were any Russian troops in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv — which has been under attack for several days.
As Fox News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin tweeted, &#8220;Sergei Lavrov with a straight face: &#8216;in Kharkiv there are no Russian troops….You like the word murderer. Kyiv regime, those are real murderers. Zelensky, yes, he is a Nazi and a neo Nazi because he’s on their side.&#8217; Orwell weeps.&#8221;
Ukrainian Member of Parliament Lesia Vasylenko tweeted a photo of the carnage in <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/watch-russia-missile-strikes-hit-key-ukrainian-television-tower/">Kharkiv</a> after days of Russian rocket attacks, adding, &#8220;#Kharkiv will never forget #Ukraine will never forgive. The scale of destruction grows every day. The amount of reparations to be paid by #Russia — unimaginable. #StandwithUkraine.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Kharkiv?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Kharkiv</a> will never forget <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ukraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ukraine</a> will never forgive. The scale of destruction grows every day. The amount of reparations to be payed by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Russia?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Russia</a> &#8211; unimaginable <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StandWithUkraine?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StandWithUkraine</a> <a href="https://t.co/C48gSiUCD2">pic.twitter.com/C48gSiUCD2</a>
&mdash; Lesia Vasylenko (@lesiavasylenko) <a href="https://twitter.com/lesiavasylenko/status/1499140793713541123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

RUSSIA-DIPLOMACY

‘How Can You Defend Them?’: Stephanopoulos Grills Russian Foreign Minister Over Kremlin’s Lies, Attacks On Ukrainian Civilians

George Stephanopoulos

Volodymyr Zelensky

According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/us/politics/trump-russia-comey.html?action=Click&amp;contentCollection=BreakingNews&amp;contentID=65326241&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;smid=tw-nytimes&amp;smtyp=cur&amp;_r=1&amp;mtrref=t.co">The New York Times</a> &#8211; and another one of the Times&#8217; now-infamous anonymous sources &#8211; President Trump told Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov that the firing of FBI director James Comey had &#8220;relieved &#8216;great pressure&#8217; on him.&#8221; The meeting at the White House was held the day after Comey&#8217;s ousting.
Here&#8217;s the Times report:
<blockquote>
&#8220;I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,&#8221; Mr. Trump said, according to the document, which was read to The New York Times by an American official. &#8220;I faced great pressure because of <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/russiaandtheformersovietunion/index.html?inline=nyt-geo">Russia</a>. That&#8217;s taken off.&#8221; Mr. Trump added, &#8220;I&#8217;m not under investigation.&#8221;
</blockquote>
While the Times attributed the account to a &#8220;White House document&#8230;based on notes taken from inside the Oval Office,&#8221; confirmed by two sources, the White House didn&#8217;t bother to deny it &#8211; Sean Spicer &#8220;did not dispute the account.&#8221; Instead, he stated that Comey had &#8220;put unnecessary pressure on the president&#8217;s ability to conduct diplomacy with Russia on such matters as Syria, Ukraine and the Islamic State.&#8221;
Here&#8217;s Spicer:
<blockquote>
By grandstanding and politicizing the investigation into Russia&#8217;s actions, James Comey created unnecessary pressure on our ability to engage and negotiate with Russia. The investigation would have always continued, and obviously, the termination of Comey would not have ended it. Once again, the real story is that our national security has been undermined by the leaking of private and highly classified conversations.
</blockquote>
Spicer isn&#8217;t wrong that these leaks continue to jeopardize the health of the Trump administration. It&#8217;s unclear how Comey had impacted relations between Trump and Russia, given that he had merely testified about the continuation of an ongoing investigation.
This is the second questionable remark attributed to Trump during this short conversation with the Russians; earlier this week, The Washington Post reported that Trump had spilled classified information to the Russians that put an Israeli resource in danger.
Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/russia-probe-reaches-current-white-house-official-people-familiar-with-the-case-say/2017/05/19/7685adba-3c99-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html?tid=ss_tw&amp;utm_term=.91a97c45630e">The Washington Post</a> reports that a &#8220;current White House official&#8221; is a &#8220;significant person of interest&#8221; in the probe on Russia and Trump. The Post &#8211; once again, citing anonymous sources &#8211; said that the person was &#8220;someone close to the president&#8221; and that the investigation would continue to focus on former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn and former campaign manager Paul Manafort as well. The report also states that subpoenas will be coming as the investigation escalates. This story will only confirm administration concerns about the &#8220;deep state&#8221; attempt to sink the legitimacy of the White House.

TWO MORE BOMBSHELLS: ‘Current White House Official’ Under Investigation, Trump Told Russians Comey Ouster Relieved ‘Great Pressure’ On Him

Donald Trump

Sergey Kislyak

After an evening of absolute confusion surrounding a Washington Post story alleging that President Trump spilled highly classified details surrounding an ISIS plot to Russia, thereby endangering intelligence sources, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster stepped to the podium to attempt to quell the controversy.
Last night, McMaster suggested that the Washington Post story was &#8220;false,&#8221; and said that Trump had not revealed any intelligence sources or methods &#8212; neither of which was alleged by the Washington Post. But McMaster was careful not to deny that Trump had revealed classified information to Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov.
On Tuesday morning, McMaster clarified his story. Now, McMaster said, he was simply saying that Trump didn&#8217;t reveal any information that created danger in any way. &#8220;I stand by my statement that I made yesterday,&#8221; McMaster said. &#8220;What I&#8217;m saying is that the premise of that article is false, that the president had any kind of conversation that was inappropriate or that there was a lapse in national security at all.&#8221; He then said Trump &#8220;wasn&#8217;t briefed on the source of the information&#8230; The president wasn&#8217;t even aware of where this information came from.&#8221;
This a different argument than the one made by the White House on Monday night: instead of denying that Trump had revealed classified information, now the argument is that it just wasn&#8217;t inappropriate or important. This new defense raises several more questions and issues, unfortunately:
<ul>
<li>If Trump didn&#8217;t say anything inappropriate, why not just declassify the transcript of the conversation with the Russians?</li>
<li>If Trump isn&#8217;t aware something is classified, isn&#8217;t that slightly more problematic than if he purposefully dropped classified information he found unimportant?</li>
<li>If the information was unimportant this time, that still does not answer the broader question as to whether Trump knew it was unimportant, or whether Trump will drop more important information in the future.</li>
<li>If nothing bad happened, why did the Homeland Security Advisor reportedly contact the CIA and NSA to clean up after Trump?</li>
<li>Why didn&#8217;t McMaster just say this last night, rather than give a vaguely-worded statement, then waiting for Trump to tweet something and following up on it?</li>
</ul>
The media may be out over its skis on the information Trump gave the Russians &#8212; perhaps it was entirely innocuous. But it&#8217;s difficult to tell when the story keeps changing, and when we don&#8217;t know what the information was.

McMaster: Trump Didn’t Do Anything ‘Inappropriate’ In Russian Conversation, No ‘Lapse In National Security’

Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster

After last night&#8217;s Washington Post blockbuster story alleging that President Trump dropped highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador during their highly-publicized meeting last week, National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said that the story, as reported, was false; so did Dina Powell, the deputy National Security Advisor; Secretary of State Rex Tillerson issued a half-rebuttal, stating that &#8220;the nature of specific threats were discussed, but they did not discuss sources, methods or military operations.&#8221; As I mentioned last night, McMaster&#8217;s statement was deliberately worded to deny aspects of the Washington Post story that did not exist &#8211; namely, to mirror Tillerson&#8217;s statement, even though the Post story didn&#8217;t allege that Trump had revealed sources, methods, or military operations.
This morning, President Trump took to Twitter again.
And once again, members of his administration look foolish. Here&#8217;s Trump:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
As President I wanted to share with Russia (at an openly scheduled W.H. meeting) which I have the absolute right to do, facts pertaining&#8230;.
&#8212; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/864436162567471104">May 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
&#8230;to terrorism and airline flight safety. Humanitarian reasons, plus I want Russia to greatly step up their fight against ISIS &amp; terrorism.
&#8212; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/864438529472049152">May 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
This is about as close to a confirmation of The Washington Post story as Trump could tweet. Trump is, of course, infamous for his use of the phrase &#8220;fake news.&#8221; It doesn&#8217;t appear here. Trump doesn&#8217;t deny any aspect of The Washington Post story at all, actually &#8211; he just says that he had the right to do it (true) and that it was a good idea (no way of knowing). (UPDATE: The White House is now denying that Trump&#8217;s tweets mean that he&#8217;s confirming The Washington Post story. That&#8217;s not particularly credible in light of Trump&#8217;s tweets, which as the White House constantly says, speak for themselves.)
But just as Trump did last week, he undercut the public position of multiple high-ranking members of his own administration in order to take public relations into his own hands. Last week, he made fools of his vice president and press secretary by trotting them out to claim that FBI director James Comey was fired on the advice of deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, then telling NBC&#8217;s Lester Holt that he was going to fire Comey anyway and deliberately mentioning Russia. This week, he&#8217;s deployed his team to deny The Washington Post report, then tacitly admitted its contents.
Trump&#8217;s continuing ability to shred the credibility of those who are supposed to be able to speak for him means that he remains the sole source of information from the White House. And that means that he&#8217;s going to be answering every question, since nobody will believe his surrogates. It even means that people are going to start trusting media again &#8211; an awful development given the fact that they, too, err and lie for political purposes.
But most important, Trump&#8217;s newest tweets will open the door to more questions about Trump&#8217;s handling of classified information, just as last week&#8217;s interview opened the door to more questions about his firing of Comey. Trump may be doing all of this out of ignorance of how the job works, but ignorance isn&#8217;t going to save him from the dogs of the media and the Democrats if he can&#8217;t come up with some more plausible answers.
Meanwhile, the Republican legislative agenda stalls.
Ugh.

BREAKING: After Team Trump Denies Trump Shared Classified Information With Russia, Trump Tweets That He Did ‘Share With Russia’

Employees of The Washington Post erupted in applause when they learned of the widespread reading of an anonymously-sourced <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-revealed-highly-classified-information-to-russian-foreign-minister-and-ambassador/2017/05/15/530c172a-3960-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html">Monday-published article</a> entitled, &#8220;Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador,&#8221; accusing President Donald Trump of compromising sensitive intelligence regarding the Islamic State during a meeting with the Russian ambassador and foreign minister.

Glenn Kessler, a &#8220;fact-checker&#8221; at The Washington Post, <a href="https://twitter.com/GlennKesslerWP/status/864231063295582209">noted the celebration</a> at his employer&#8217;s newsroom, comparing it with the news media&#8217;s push of the &#8220;October Surprise&#8221; <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_and_Billy_Bush_recording">2005 Hollywood Access video</a> during 2016&#8217;s presidential campaign season:

<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" alt height="416" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/glenn_kessler_tweet.jpg" width="780" /></div>

The aforementioned article features an infographic resembling a family tree-style flowchart from the Mafia Commission trial, hyping the narrative of Trump as an operative of political subversion in conspiracy with or compromised by the Russian state:

<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" alt height="531" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/wapo_russia_infographic.jpg" width="780" /></div>
Also on Monday, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/us/politics/trump-russia-classified-information-isis.html">The New York Times</a> claimed to confirm The Washington Post&#8216;s report, also citing anonymous sources in an article entitled, &#8220;Trump Revealed Highly Classified Intelligence to Russia, in Break With Ally, Officials Say.&#8221;

In January, The Washington Post adopted a new slogan featured on its published newspapers and website: &#8220;Democracy Dies in Darkness:&#8221;

<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" alt height="101" src="https://dw-wp-dev.imgix.net/2019/09/washington_post_democracy_dies_darkness-4.jpg" width="444" /></div>

The Washington Post and The New York Times present themselves as politically objective and non-partisan news media outlets. Both enjoy business relationships with cable news networks as well as ABC, CBS, and NBC.


H/T <a href="https://twitter.com/mzhemingway/status/864271061763936256">Mollie Hemingway</a> of The Federalist and Fox News Channel.
Follow Robert Kraychik on <a href="https://twitter.com/kr3ch3k">Twitter</a>.

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