President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> announced another $2.5 billion in military aid for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ukraine</a> on Monday as he continues ramping up financial support for the country in the final days of his presidency before President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in for his second term. 
The assistance includes a $1.25 billion military aid package from the Defense Department and a $1.22 billion Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. 
&#8220;Since Russia launched its further assault against Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has rallied the world to stand with the Ukrainian people, and it has been a top priority of mine to provide Ukraine with the support it needs to prevail,&#8221; Biden said in a statement.
&#8220;I’ve directed my Administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible—including drawing down older U.S. equipment for Ukraine, rapidly delivering it to the battlefield, and then revitalizing the U.S. defense industrial base to modernize and replenish our stockpiles with new weapons,&#8221; Biden added.
The military aid includes air defense munitions, artillery ammunition, Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems munitions, ammunition for rocket systems, air-to-ground munitions, missiles, communications equipment, and demolition equipment.
“This support is crucial to stabilizing the front lines—every additional supply from our partners means more saved lives of our soldiers,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky <a href="https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1873454861645197577" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Sunday, anticipating the aid. “We are also working to ensure that other partners maintain their support at the necessary level.”
Biden <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-administration-announces-another-725-million-in-ukraine-military-aid" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> an additional $725 million in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine earlier this month and another $275 million last month. Under Biden, the U.S. has committed more than $183 billion to Ukraine. 
The Treasury Department also announced Monday that it would be given Ukraine $3.4 billion in direct budget support for &#8220;maintaining the critical government services.&#8221;
Trump has promised to wind down the war in Ukraine and negotiate a quick peace settlement. Earlier this month, he met with Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, where they spoke about bringing the war to a close. 
“He wants to make peace,” Trump <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/12/08/us-news/trump-says-zelensky-is-ready-for-peace-as-he-dishes-to-post-on-meetings-with-world-leaders-and-jill-biden/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the New York Post about his conversation with Zelensky. “That’s new.”
“He wants to have a cease-fire,” he added. “He wants to make peace. We didn’t talk about the details. He thinks it’s time, and Putin should think it’s time because he’s lost — when you lose 700,000 people, it’s time.”
Trump has also been critical of Biden&#8217;s recent policy changes, such as allowing Ukraine to launch long-range American-supplied missiles into Russia. He described Biden&#8217;s decision as a &#8220;very stupid thing&#8221; to do.
Trump has maintained that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine had he been president, blaming the Biden administration for the costly war.

US-POLITICS-BIDEN-CARTER

Biden Sends Ukraine Another $2.5 Billion In Military Aid Before Trump Takes Office

Department of Defense

Donald Trump

Executive

Global Politics

Joe Biden

Politics

Ukraine

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

Russian President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vladimir-putin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vladimir Putin</a> &#8220;apologized&#8221; on Saturday to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev after an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed in Russian airspace this week, the Kremlin said in a statement.
The Kremlin acknowledged what officials had alleged shortly after the flight crashed, that Russia &#8220;repeatedly&#8221; denied the plane permission to land at Grozny Airport.
&#8220;At that time, Ukrainian unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) attacked Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz, and Russian air defence systems were repelling these attacks,&#8221; Russia claimed.
The Kremlin said that the Russian Investigative Committee initiated a criminal investigation over the incident in which they are questioning civilian and military personnel.
Putin stopped short of taking responsibility for the airline being shot down.
Azerbaijan Airlines <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/azerbaijan-airlines-says-external-interference-caused-plane-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement that the Embraer 190 aircraft crashed on Christmas because of “physical and technical external interference.”
The company suspended flights to several Russian cities following the crash due to safety risks.
“The bodies of passengers and crew members who lost their lives in the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft near Aktau, Kazakhstan, will be delivered to Azerbaijan in the near future,” the country said in a joint statement with the airline.
Of the 62 passengers and 5 crew members on board, 38 were killed and the rest were injured, many of whom are listed in critical condition.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said that there were “some early indications that would certainly point to the possibility that this jet was brought down by Russian air defense systems.”
“That said, there’s an ongoing investigation right now,” he added. “Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are conducting this jointly. We have offered our assistance to that investigation.”
Rasim Musabayov, a member of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, said on Friday that the evidence pointing to Russia shooting down the plane was overwhelming.
“If someone thinks that we are allies with Russia and therefore we would close our eyes on everything, then they are mistaken,” he told The New York Times. “There aren’t that many countries that are on good terms with Russia now,” he added. “If Moscow doesn’t make the right steps in this situation the list might get shorter.”
He also demanded that Russia explain why the plane diverted out of Russian air space and was not allowed to land.
Sources familiar with the investigation told The Wall Street Journal that Russia not only refused to allow the plane to land on its soil, it intentionally jammed the plane’s GPS.
A local Azerbaijani publication said that the plane was redirected to land in the Kazakh city of Aktau.
“It can be assumed that this recommendation was given with one goal: to have the aircraft crash into the Caspian Sea, where all witnesses would perish and the aircraft would sink,” the publication said.
Because the plane had been targeted with GPS jammers, it stopped sending radar information about its location, which would have made it difficult to find had it crashed in the Caspian Sea.

RUSSIA-POLITICS-PUTIN

Putin Apologizes After Airliner Shot Down, Stops Short Of Taking Responsibility

Plane Crash

Russia

World

With the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the search for an American journalist who has been imprisoned for over 12 years has intensified.
Austin Tice, 43, was detained at a checkpoint while traveling from a suburb of Damascus to Lebanon in 2012. He was working as a freelance journalist for various publications including The Washington Post. A month after his capture, he appeared in a video sent to his family showing him with armed men, titled “Austin Tice is Alive.” It included no other information. It is believed that Tice escaped weeks after he was kidnapped but was recaptured by Syrian intelligence.
The toppling of Assad created new hope in the efforts to find Tice, as one of the rebels&#8217; first priorities was to break into Syria’s prisons and release political prisoners.
Western journalists and NGO workers are inspecting prisons, Israel is refraining from bombing areas where Tice may be, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he will get involved in the effort to find Tice, who U.S. intelligence officials believe is alive.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is currently offering a <a href="https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/austin-bennett-tice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1 million reward</a> for information leading to Tice’s return home.
The U.S. government is operating under the belief that Tice is alive and was imprisoned by the Assad regime in one of its detention centers, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/12/18/netanyahu-austin-tice-israel-syria" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Axios reported</a>. Tice’s parents — who have been constantly fighting for his release — said they received assurances he is alive.
One prisoner, an American, appeared in initial videos following his release lying on a mattress, sparking speculation that he might be Tice, until it was later confirmed that he was Travis Timmerman of Missouri. <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/mother-american-journalist-imprisoned-syria-sees-hope-following-news-travis-timmermans-release" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mrs. Tice said</a> seeing Timmerman’s release felt “like a rehearsal” for her son’s future release.
&#8220;It was almost like having a rehearsal &#8230; an inkling of what it&#8217;s really going to feel like when it is Austin walking free,&#8221; she told NBC television&#8217;s &#8220;Meet the Press.”
<div id="attachment_847061" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-847061" class="size-large wp-image-847061" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/12/GettyImages-2150698068-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Debra Tice (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
The rebel group — which is designated as a terrorist organization — led by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-is-syrian-rebel-leader-mohammad-al-jolani" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mohammad al-Jolani</a> (Ahmed Hussein al-Shara), has reportedly agreed to cooperate with the U.S. government in the search for Tice. Al-Jolani’s group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has been given a list of former Syrian officials who may have knowledge about Tice, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/18/us/politics/austin-tice-missing-syria.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported The New York Times</a>. The list was reportedly short because only a small group in Assad’s government were informed on Tice.
Since the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has launched air strikes to destroy Syria’s weapons and military infrastructure including its air defenses, aircraft, missiles, UAVs, radars, and more.
Mrs. Tice, worried about the bombing campaign’s interference in rescuing her son, sent Netanyahu a letter on Tuesday stating that she has “credible information” that her son might be in a prison near Damascus, and asked him to pause until Tice is rescued, Axios reported.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured Mrs. Tice that the Israeli Defense Forces are not targeting areas where her son may be located.
“In response to your letter, please rest assured that Israel and its intelligence agencies are fully coordinated with the relevant American authorities on the matter and that the IDF is not active in the area where Austin may be located,” Netanyahu wrote.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu&#8217;s letter to Austin Tice&#8217;s mother.
&#8220;In response to your letter, please rest assured that Israel and its intelligence agencies are fully coordinated with the relevant American authorities on the matter and that the IDF is not active in the area where… <a href="https://t.co/pu72sF3HYQ">pic.twitter.com/pu72sF3HYQ</a>
— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) <a href="https://twitter.com/KassyAkiva/status/1869776806858887411?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
“I hope that you find a measure of comfort in that knowledge that your son’s courage and dedication as a journalist have not gone unnoticed,” Netanyahu added. “His commitment to the truth and to shining a light on the war in Syria have inspired so many people.”
Mrs. Tice spoke at the National Press Club earlier this month, stating that she was given reassurances that Tice is alive and has been treated well.
“We have from a significant source that has already been vetted all over our government that Austin Tice is alive. Austin Tice is treated well, and there is no doubt about that,” she said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Debra Tice: &#8220;We have from a significant source that has been already been vetted all over our government: Austin Tice is alive. Austin Tice is treated well, and there is no doubt about that.” <a href="https://t.co/Iqj5h971io">pic.twitter.com/Iqj5h971io</a>
— CSPAN (@cspan) <a href="https://twitter.com/cspan/status/1865128039983497295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> 
NGO Hostage Aid Worldwide, <a href="https://x.com/HostageAid/status/1866195214865690881" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sent its president</a>, Nizar Zakka, to Syria to assist in the search for Tice.
During a press conference this week, Putin said he would ask President Bashar al-Assad — who fled to Russia following his regime’s collapse — about Tice’s whereabouts.
“I haven’t met with President [Bashar al-]Assad since his arrival in Moscow, but I plan to do so, I will definitely talk to him,” Putin said, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/19/europe/russia-putin-austin-tice-comments-conference-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported CNN</a>.
But Putin expressed doubt that Tice could be found, citing the lengthy time since his detainment.
“But you and I are adults, we understand, right?” Putin said. “12 years ago, a man disappeared in Syria, 12 years ago! We understand what the situation was there 12 years ago, there was active military action, and on both sides. Does President Assad himself know what happened to this American citizen, a journalist who was doing his journalistic duty in a combat zone? Nevertheless, I promise that I will ask this question to those people who control the situation on the ground in Syria today.”
Putin was asked the question following Mrs. Tice requesting his help in a letter, due to his strong ties to the Syrian government.
“The current situation in Syria compels us to ask for your help in finding Austin and safely reuniting our family,” she reportedly wrote in the letter. “You have profound connections with the Syrian government, which can be a great benefit for our unrelenting efforts to find our Austin and reunite our family.”
In August 2024, the twelfth anniversary of Tice’s abduction, Secretary of State Antony Blinken <a href="https://www.state.gov/12-years-of-captivity-for-austin-tice/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reiterated the calls</a> for his release in a statement.
“For more than a quarter of his life, Austin has been separated from his family and kept in unknown conditions,” Blinken&#8217;s statement reads. “We know that the Syrian government has held Austin, and we have repeatedly offered to find a way to bring him home.”
In August 2020, on the eighth anniversary of his capture, President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement calling for Tice&#8217;s release and urged the Syrian government to assist in his return.
“There is no higher priority in my administration than the recovery and return of Americans missing abroad,” <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/DCPD-202000606/pdf/DCPD-202000606.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump wrote</a>. “The Tice family deserves answers. We stand with the Tice family and will not rest until we bring Austin home.”
The Tice family praised Trump for sending Kash Patel to Syria to open a dialogue about Tice’s return. The <a href="https://www.austinticefamily.com/family-statements/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">family said</a> they were closer than they “have ever been to having Austin safely home” at the time.
The family also met with President Joe Biden, who they said made “significant, encouraging commitments” in the efforts to bring Tice home.
A Houston native, Tice served as a captain in the Marine Corps, is an Eagle Scout, and graduated from Georgetown University. He has won several journalism awards, including the 2012 George Polk Award for War Reporting, the 2012 McClatchy Newspapers President’s Award, and the 2015 National Press Club John Aubuchon Freedom of the Press Award, <a href="https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/trending/article/captive-austin-tice-family-washington-19953579.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Houston Chronicle reported</a>.
Tice traveled to Syria to freelance in the summer of 2012 before his last year at Georgetown Law School. He is <a href="https://www.austinticefamily.com/#about" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> the longest-held journalist in captivity, according to the National Press Club.

OP-ED-USSYRIA-JOURNALIST-COMMENTARY-ADV25-FT

Inside The Search for Kidnapped American Journalist Austin Tice

Bashar Assad

Benjamin Netanyahu

Journalism

Syria

According to sources for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/11/10/trump-putin-phone-call-ukraine/">The Washington Post</a>, President-elect Donald Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and warned him not to escalate his war against Ukraine while stressing that the United States has forces in Europe.
Trump spoke to NBC on Thursday; the media outlet <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-says-no-price-tag-mass-deportation-plan-rcna179178">reported</a> that Trump said he had spoken to about 70 world leaders since his election victory, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Putin congratulated Trump on his electoral victory on Thursday, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/11/07/putin-trump-russia-us-election/7d539e08-9d3b-11ef-b90e-a2320192900f_story.html">saying</a>, “His behavior at the moment of an attempt on his life left an impression on me. He turned out to be a brave man. &#8230; He manifested himself in the very correct way, bravely as a man.” He added that Trump’s statements “about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to help end the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, deserves attention at least.”
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“Trump’s initial calls with world leaders are not being conducted with the support of the State Department and U.S. government interpreters,” the Post complained, adding, “The Trump transition team has yet to sign an agreement with the General Services Administration, a standard procedure for presidential transitions. Trump and his aides are distrustful of career government officials following the leaked transcripts of presidential calls during his first term.”
“President Trump won a historic election decisively and leaders from around the world know America will return to prominence on the world stage,” Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, stated. “That is why leaders have begun the process of developing stronger relationships with the 45th and 47th President because he represents global peace and stability.”
“Trump talked during his campaign about how he sees everything through deals, that he can make a deal that will lead everyone to peace. At least he talks about peace, not about confrontation and the desire to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, calling Trump “less predictable” than President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and adding that it was “less predictable to what extent Trump will stick to the statements he made during the election campaign. Let’s wait and see.”
In September, <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-talks-about-protecting-workers-in-north-carolina-campaign-stop">speaking</a> in North Carolina, Trump said of the Russia-Ukraine war, “Any deal — the worst deal — would’ve been better than what we have now. If they made a bad deal it would’ve been much better. They would’ve given up a little bit and everybody would be living and every building would be built and every tower would be aging for another 2,000 years. &#8230; What deal can we make? It’s demolished. The people are dead. The country is in rubble.”

COMBO-US-POLITICS-VOTE-RUSSIA-INTELLIGENCE-TRUMP

Trump Warns Putin Not To Escalate Ukraine War: Report

President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Joe Biden</a> blamed former President Barack Obama for Russia invading Ukraine in 2022, according to a new book from Bob Woodward, saying that the former president&#8217;s weakness in 2014 led to Russian President Vladimir Putin feeling emboldened to go further.
During a moment of political upheaval in February 2014, Russian soldiers, wearing uniforms with no insignias, seized government buildings throughout Crimea and later seized its airports. Russia illegally annexed Crimea the following month.
In his new book, &#8220;War,&#8221; journalist Bob Woodward says that Biden blamed Obama for Russia invading Ukraine.
“They f***ed up in 2014,” Biden said to a friend, according to Woodward. “That’s why we are here. We f***ed it up. Barack never took Putin seriously.”
“We did nothing. We gave Putin a license to continue!” Biden reportedly fumed. “Well, I’m revoking his f***ing license!”
Obama infamously decided <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-barack-obama-didnt-arm-ukraine-vladimir-putin-russia-angela-merkel-11646692058" target="_blank" rel="noopener">against</a> sending weapons to Ukraine to help them repel the invading Russian forces. Ukrainian officials today also <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-slams-us-barack-obama-for-excuses-over-russia-policy-war/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">point</a> the finger at Obama&#8217;s weak foreign policy as being the reason that Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1726313279401000&amp;usg=AOvVaw115_qPFFEePDP86-Fvo-Vd">Am I Racist? Is In Theaters NOW — Get Your Tickets Here!</a>
The book states that the Biden-Harris administration learned in October 2021 of Putin&#8217;s plan to invade Ukraine with a large military force.
“It was an astonishing intelligence coup from the crown jewels of US intelligence, including a human source inside the Kremlin,” the book states. “It was as if they had secretly entered the enemy commander’s tent and were hunched over the maps, examining the number and movement of brigades and the entire planned sequence on the multifront invasion.”
Having a human source inside the Kremlin that had access to the type of classified information that was relayed to U.S. officials indicates that the source was likely a senior-level official.
Biden was reportedly enraged by Russia&#8217;s plan and confronted Putin about it during a video conference call in December 2021 that lasted nearly an hour.
The call was discussed as &#8220;hot,&#8221; so hot that it reached a boiling point with Putin threatening &#8220;nuclear war.&#8221;
Roughly six months after Putin invaded Ukraine, &#8220;exquisite&#8221; U.S. intelligence reports indicated that an increasingly unnerved Putin was becoming desperate over the loses he had incurred inside Ukraine to the point where officials believed that there was up to a 50% chance he would use tactical nuclear weapons.

FILES-US-RUSSIA-DIPLOMACY-INTELLIGENCE-HACKING

Book States Biden Blames Obama For Russia Invading Ukraine: He ‘F***ed Up’

Barack Obama

Bob Woodward

Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that he backs Democrat presidential nominee Kamala Harris for president, matching previous sentiment that he has expressed about the Democrat Party.
Putin made the remarks on Thursday while attending the plenary session of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia.
&#8220;We had Biden as a favorite, but he was dropped from the race. He recommended that all his supporters should back Harris, so we will, too,&#8221; Putin said. &#8220;She laughs so expressively and infectiously that it means that everything is fine with her.&#8221;
Former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Rebekah Koffler <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/putin-says-he-backs-harris-over-trump-adds-hes-ready-talks-ukraine?intcmp=tw_fnc">said</a> that Putin prefers that Harris wins because &#8220;Putin believes that he can manipulate Harris easily, unlike Trump, whom the Russians profiled as unpredictable and difficult to read.&#8221;
The Trump campaign responded to the endorsement by posting a graphic on social media touting Putin&#8217;s backing of Harris.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<a href="https://t.co/V8WcQPnIQj">https://t.co/V8WcQPnIQj</a> <a href="https://t.co/zbvEPpgdSs">pic.twitter.com/zbvEPpgdSs</a>
&mdash; Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1831704307600650625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;In fact, President Putin would much rather see Comrade Kamala Harris in Office, as he strongly said just this morning,&#8221; Trump added in his own post on Truth Social.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724361346607000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ZhyOQfEkxcMH_D1Ago3CQ">Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.</a>
Koffler said that Putin aimed to &#8220;unbalance&#8221; Harris by making statements &#8220;mocking, teasing, and pleasing&#8221; her.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
JUST IN: Vladimir Putin says he supports Kamala Harris for president, says he finds her laugh “fascinating.”
The comments come after the DOJ accused Russia of funding Tenet who then paid conservative influencers for videos.
At the moment, it’s unclear what exactly Russia’s goal… <a href="https://t.co/ciXyZ4MCyU">pic.twitter.com/ciXyZ4MCyU</a>
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1831676844422443236?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
Back in 2020, Putin <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/putin-democrats-insulting-trump-enhances-our-prestige-plays-into-our-hands-trumps-been-hard-on-us-communists-and-democrats-have-common-values">acknowledged</a> the Democrat Party is much more closely aligned to Russia, specifically the former Soviet Union than the Republican Party is.
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724211156439000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2xQ8bdTcpfdrPBAzczIuck">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>
“First, the Democratic Party is traditionally closer to the so-called liberal values, closer to Social Democratic ideas, if compared to Europe,&#8221; he said. &#8220;And it was from the Social Democratic environment that the Communist Party evolved.”
“After all, I was a member of the Soviet Communist Party for nearly 20 years, or more precisely 18 years. I was a rank-and-file member, but it can be said that I believed in the party’s ideas,” Putin said. “I still like many of these left-wing values. &#8230; Yes, they are difficult to implement, but they are very attractive, nevertheless. In other words, this can be seen as an ideological basis for developing contacts with the Democratic representative.”

Eastern Economic Forum 2024

Putin Says He Backs Kamala For President, Cites Her ‘Infectious’ Laugh

Elections

Kamala Harris

On Friday, in a case that the United States government and his employer have denounced as a sham, a Russian court found Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, the first U.S. journalist to face such a charge since Nicholas Daniloff in 1986, guilty of espionage and sentenced him to 16 years in a high-security penal colony.
Gershkovich was arrested in March 2023 in Yekaterinburg and later accused of being a CIA spy; Russian prosecutors alleged that “under instructions from the CIA” and “using painstaking conspiratorial methods,” Gershkovich “was collecting secret information” regarding a Russian defense contractor. The U.S. State Department called for his immediate release; no public evidence has been presented by Russia that supported its case. He was held in Moscow’s infamous Stalin-era Lefortovo Prison in a small cell and only <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/19/media/evan-gershkovich-espionage-trial-verdict-intl/index.html#:~:text=Evan%20Gershkovich%2C%20the%20first%20American,have%20denounced%20as%20a%20sham" target="_blank" rel="noopener">allowed</a> one hour of walking every day.
“This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist,” Journal publisher Almar Latour and Editor-in-Chief Emma Tucker <a href="//B6C39C40-81A7-4C4B-91B7-13445197898B/v" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a>,  “We will continue to do everything possible to press for Evan’s release and to support his family. Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This must end now.”
Russia rebuffed a request from Gershkovich’s legal team that he be moved from the prison to house arrest or be granted bail.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted that he would swap Gershkovich for Russians held in other countries, referencing Vadim Krasikov, an FSB operative. But on Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the idea of an exchange by asserting, “I’m leaving that question without an answer. There is a charge of espionage, so this is a very, very sensitive area.”
“Penal colonies are usually located in remote areas far from densely populated regions,” the Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/evan-gershkovich-penal-colony-transfer-69b5d482" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted.</a> “Due to their location and inaccessibility, colonies are less frequently inspected by human-rights groups. When they have visited, observers report poor conditions, including mold in the cells and problems with food and medical care, as well as ill treatment of inmates by prison staff.”

RUSSIA-US-JOURNALIST

Russia Sentences WSJ Reporter Evan Gershkovich To 16 Years In Penal Colony

Espionage

Evan Gershkovich

Media

Wall Street Journal

President Joe Biden once again added to growing concerns on Thursday that he is not mentally fit for office when he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as Russian President Vladimir Putin during a press conference at the NATO summit in Washington.
The screw up comes as Biden has faced growing calls to quit his re-election campaign from members within his own party and throughout the media over the last two weeks following his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
&#8220;Now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination,&#8221; Biden said. &#8220;Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.&#8221;
The mistake is even more embarrassing considering that Putin started a major war in Europe with his invasion of Ukraine two years ago.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
JOE BIDEN: &#8220;Now I want to hand it over to the President of Ukraine, who has as much courage as he has determination. Ladies and gentlemen, President Putin.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/91Rw2B25GR">pic.twitter.com/91Rw2B25GR</a>
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveGuest/status/1811518751273287887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 11, 2024</a></blockquote>
A House Democrat responded to the clip by telling ABC News: &#8220;This is the greatest introduction of all time … It would be like introducing Winston Churchill and saying ladies and gentlemen Hitler.&#8221;
After walking away from the microphone for a brief moment, Biden realized that he screwed up Zelensky&#8217;s name and stepped back up and offered an excuse for why he messed it up.
&#8220;President Putin? We’re gonna beat President Putin,&#8221; he said. &#8220;President Zelenskyy! I&#8217;m so focused on beating Putin. We got to worry about it — anyway, Mr. President.&#8221;
Following the mistake, a longtime adviser to Biden told CNN: &#8220;I just think there is an unfortunate inevitability to all this. I am sad because I have known him a long time and he is a good man. I am angry at his inner circle who have not served him well and at times committed malpractice in their service. And I am frustrated at the family for not expanding the circle so there would be a truth teller or two in their midst. They created a perfect storm of an echo chamber and it is biting them all in the a*s.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/george-clooney-joins-chorus-of-stars-telling-biden-its-time-to-drop-out-of-race">George Clooney Joins Chorus Of Stars Telling Biden It’s Time To Drop Out Of Race</a>

World Leaders Attend NATO Summit In Washington, D.C.

Biden Screws Up On World Stage, Introduces Zelensky As ‘President Putin’ At NATO Summit

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, where, on Wednesday, the two dictators signed a mutual defense agreement.
Putin&#8217;s North Korea trip marks his first visit to the Hermit Kingdom in 24 years, and the Russian president was greeted with fanfare and crowds of North Koreans chanting his name, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-meets-kim-north-korea-rcna157665" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Following his meeting with Kim, Putin said the leaders signed &#8220;a truly breakthrough document&#8221; that boosts security, trade, and humanitarian agreements. Kim <a href="https://apnews.com/article/vladimir-putin-kim-jong-un-russia-north-korea-summit-ukraine-a6b8d2c12de7ee2ab6716d4747c9850e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> the agreement the &#8220;strongest ever treaty&#8221; between the two countries.
The Russian president said U.S. allies Japan and South Korea were &#8220;hostile to North Korea&#8221; and labeled U.S. policy toward Kim as &#8220;confrontational,&#8221; according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/19/asia/north-korea-russia-putin-visit-thursday-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>. Biden administration officials have expressed concern that increased ties between Russia and North Korea will help boost Kim&#8217;s nuclear capabilities and help supply Putin&#8217;s forces with ammunition as it continues its assault on Ukraine.
Putin thanked Kim for continuing to support Russia in its “fight against the imperialist hegemonistic policies of the U.S. and its satellites against the Russian Federation.” Kim <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/kim-jong-un-expected-to-meet-with-putin-for-weapons-talks-reports" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visited</a> Putin in the Russian port city of Vladivostok last September to discuss weapons shipments to Russia.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken <a href="https://apnews.com/article/vladimir-putin-kim-jong-un-russia-north-korea-summit-ukraine-a6b8d2c12de7ee2ab6716d4747c9850e" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Tuesday that Putin&#8217;s visit to North Korea shows the Russian leader is trying &#8220;in desperation, to develop and to strengthen relations with countries that can provide it with what it needs to continue the war of aggression that it started against Ukraine.”
Six senior U.S. officials told NBC News that the Biden administration believes Russia is sending North Korea ballistic missile technology in exchange for munitions the country is supplying to Russian troops. The U.S. <a href="https://www.state.gov/imposing-measures-in-response-to-navalnys-death-and-two-years-of-russias-full-scale-war-against-ukraine/#:~:text=Since%20September%202023%2C%20the%20DPRK,conflict%20since%20early%20October%202023" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in February that North Korea has sent &#8220;10,000 containers of munitions or munitions-related materials to Russia&#8221; since the Kim-Putin meeting in September of 2023.
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While details of the new agreement are still not fully known, the Russia-North Korea security treaty appears to be the strongest between the two countries since 1961, when the former Soviet Union promised to aid North Korea if it was attacked, the Associated Press reported. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia and North Korea agreed to a weaker security deal in 2000.

Vladimir Putin/Kim Jong Un

Putin Signs ‘Breakthrough’ Mutual Defense Agreement With Kim Jong Un

Putin Signs 'Breakthrough' Mutual Defense Agreement With Kim Jong Un

Biden Administration

Kim Jong Un

North Korea

Henry Kissinger was my professor at Harvard, back in the early 1960s. The biggest thing I remember from many courses with him was his statement that Americans excel in our capacity for self-criticism, including exploring our weaknesses. What we aren’t good at is assessing the vulnerabilities of our adversaries. 
 
This is a thought that would resonate with <a href="https://www.justsecurity.org/author/arnonatalia/">Natalia Arno</a>, founder of the Free Russia Foundation, an organization that advocates for democracy in Russia. In her view, Putin has an unending collection of weaknesses, and we in the West aren’t giving these weaknesses enough attention. 
 
If you were to talk with her, one of the first points she’d bring up is her view that the West has the false perception that Russians don’t want or deserve democracy. “This is, of course, not true,” she states. “The Putin regime keeps people from expressing their true views, and they do it using fear, propaganda, and jail. I know of a case where a woman made an anti-Putin comment on Facebook and ended up with a 20-year jail sentence.” 
 
In her view, a strong and secure regime doesn’t have to use these techniques. She points out that while under the dictator Stalin there were millions of political prisoners, under Brezhnev or Gorbachev the numbers were smaller, in the dozens. Under Putin, however, the number of political prisoners is in the thousands. In the case of the anti-war protestors, 20,000 were detained and many of them jailed. “You could be jailed,” she asserts, outrage in her voice, “just for putting flowers on the grave of the opposition leader, Navalny.” 
 
She knows of individuals who ended up in jail simply for holding up a copy of Tolstoy’s War and Peace. I asked Arno, “Why would a book by one of Russia’s greatest literary figures land a person in jail?” 
 
Her answer? “The book has the word ‘war’ in it, and just that three letter word can get a 15-year sentence.”
Arno knows that jail time in Russia is far more of a threat than it would be in the West. She’s familiar with the experience of her friend and colleague, politician, journalist, and historian Vladimir Kara-Murza. For criticizing Putin, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
<div id="attachment_730803" style="width: 837px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-730803" class="size-large wp-image-730803" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-2021615163-827x576.jpg" alt="Jailed Russian opposition figure and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is serving a 25-year sentence over charges including treason over criticism of the Ukraine offensive, appears in court with a video link from his prison for a hearing in the case against inaction of the Investigative Committee of Russia on his poisoning, in Moscow on February 22, 2024. (Photo by Alexander NEMENOV / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)" width="827" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-2021615163-827x576.jpg 827w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-2021615163-300x209.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-2021615163-768x535.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/04/GettyImages-2021615163.jpg 1024w" sizes="(max-width: 827px) 100vw, 827px" />ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images</div>
His time is being spent in a small, dimly lit cell with bare concrete walls. The food is close to inedible. Often, it’s a mound of spoiled cabbage, covered with brown and black spots, and accompanied by a rank, sour, rotten egg smell that comes from bacteria and molds. 
Mr. Kara-Murza was also poisoned twice, in 2015 and in 2017, adding to his ailing health. Worse, he has severe and painful neuropathy that is a death sentence unless he receives treatment. He’s not getting the treatment. 
 
Arno is certain that a strong and popular regime doesn’t need to hold power using this kind of control-by-fear. Other reasons she cites for seeing Putin’s regime as weak include:
<ul>
<li>Foreign investment has fled</li>
<li>The Western technology Russia needs to maintain important industries, such as petroleum, is no longer available</li>
<li>Millions of the best educated Russian workers have left</li>
<li>Of Russia’s 190 ethnic minorities, many know that they are as much as 40 times more likely to die on the Ukraine battlefield than are the ethnic Russians. This breeds rage and incites calls for leaving the Russian Federation</li>
<li>Russia has to invest so much money in repression that the standard of living is low</li>
</ul>
Natalia and the Free Russia Foundation are working to let Russians know there’s an alternative to Putin’s autocratic rule. She and her colleague are using social media, messengers, anti-war coalition efforts, and partisan means like printing out information from the internet and stuffing these leaflets in mailboxes to let Russians know that with democracy, they can have freedom from fear, freedom from war, and prosperity instead of poverty. 
 
“We are not building bridges,” she says. “We are building tunnels.”
 * * * 
 
Mitzi Perdue, Fellow at the Institute of World Politics, is a journalist reporting from and about Ukraine. She has visited multiple times, has many local contacts, and has more than 100 published articles on Ukraine.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

President Putin Attends An Annual Council of Legislators

Putin Has Vast Vulnerabilities: The Free Russia Foundation Wants To Reveal Them To The West.

Alexei Navalny

Henry Kissinger

Opinion

Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro broke down the complicated history of Ukraine in the latest “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/facts-the-real-history-of-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Facts</a>” episode, pointing out the flaws in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s justification for invasion. 
Shapiro began the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/facts-the-real-history-of-ukraine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">episode</a>, released Saturday, by talking about Putin&#8217;s recent interview with Tucker Carlson, where Putin said that his reason for invading Ukraine was based on historical claims to the land. In the episode, Shapiro analyzes Putin’s claims and lines them up to the historic record.
“Putin&#8217;s claim is that Ukraine is inherently Russian territory,” Shapiro said. “That&#8217;s a claim that requires two pieces of support. First, the idea that Ukraine is historically Russian controlled and Russian populated. And second, that Ukraine today has no claim to its independence.”
Shapiro explained how a state formed in the late 9th century known as Kyivan Rus which included some of today’s Russia, today’s Belarus, and part of today’s Ukraine. This state lasted for about 300 years before it broke into a series of loose principalities.
After the Mongols destroyed the region in 1349, Poland and Lithuania partitioned the territory now known as Ukraine and the Ukrainian language began to develop. 
For the next several hundred years the area became entangled in a series of European and Russian conflicts with different parts of modern Ukraine being controlled by different powers. During this time a sense of Ukrainian nationalism began to develop, including in parts of Ukraine controlled by Russia.  
After World War I, Ukraine was divided up between Russia and Poland, which was generally how things stood until the end of World War II when it became part of the Soviet Union. After the Soviet Union dissolved, it became independent in 1991.
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“Those borders of Ukraine were essentially set until 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea and occupied the Donbass region. So as you can see, the history of the region is pretty complicated,” Shapiro said. “A lot of moving borders, a lot of territorial claims. But Putin claims that because Ukraine&#8217;s borders have moved over time, because its territory and population was divided repeatedly, because Russia occupied some parts of Ukraine for some swaths of time, this means Ukraine has never existed.”
Shapiro noted that many Ukrainians have wished to maintain their independence despite Putin’s claims. 
“The Putin argument for the invasion of Kiev and the dissolution of Ukraine as an independent entity are not only wrong historically, they are highly likely to lead to continued bloodshed and warfare in the region,” Shapiro said.
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="The REAL History of Ukraine | Facts Ep. 11" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/K3kKSa6Se5U?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Facts Intro Still

WATCH: Ben Shapiro Explains Historical Flaws With Putin’s Argument For Invading Ukraine In Latest ‘Facts’

Ben Shapiro

U.S.

White House Press Secretary <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/karine-jean-pierre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karine Jean-Pierre</a> appeared to short-circuit during Wednesday&#8217;s briefing, struggling to come up with an answer when pressed on President Joe Biden&#8217;s decision not to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve as previously promised.
Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy prefaced his question with a reminder that Biden had promised to refill the SPR, claiming that he was only draining it to compensate for the spike in gas prices that he had blamed on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
&#8220;First, the — so, you guys started draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try and help with ‘the Putin Price Hike’ a few years ago. Said you were going to refill it. But now it doesn&#8217;t seem like that&#8217;s happening. Why?&#8221; Doocy asked.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
DOOCY TIME: “First, the — so, you guys started draining the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to try and help with ‘the Putin Price Hike’ a few years ago. Said You were going to refill it. But now it doesn&#39;t seem like that&#39;s happening. Why?”
KJP: “Well, from — I believe the Department… <a href="https://t.co/K5v77241lM">pic.twitter.com/K5v77241lM</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1775580441791103014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Jean-Pierre delivered a halting response, shifting responsibility to the Department of Energy and suggesting that the issue was not so much whether or not it would be refilled, but how that would eventually come about.
&#8220;Well, from — I believe the Department of Energy is — is responsible for — for that particular component — is refilling — refilling that, so I would refer to the Department of Energy. I know there are certain components to that and how they were going to move forward and refilling — refilling it. Uh — I — they would have had more specifics on that for you,&#8221; she said.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admin-nixes-plan-to-help-refill-strategic-petroleum-reserve" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reports broke</a> earlier on Wednesday stating that the Biden administration would not be refilling the SPR as originally planned, citing the high cost of oil as a barrier to getting that done.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
The Department of Energy has canceled its latest tender for crude oil for the replenishment of the strategic petroleum reserve after oil prices moved higher than the DoE is comfortable with.
Last month, the DoE purchased 2.8 million barrels at a price of $81 per barrel, which… <a href="https://t.co/PDu7IwP7or">pic.twitter.com/PDu7IwP7or</a>
&mdash; Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) <a href="https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1775534236646211929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;We will not award the current solicitations for the Bayou Choctaw SPR site and will solicit available capacity as market conditions allow,&#8221; the Department of Energy said. &#8220;We will continue to monitor market dynamics.&#8221;
Daniel Turner, founder and executive director for Power The Future, released a statement on the move, saying, &#8220;[President] Joe Biden drained the SPR for political reasons, cut our domestic production for his climate agenda, and now he’s leaving our critical reserve more vulnerable because he’s incompetent. As a result, Americans are paying more at the pump, more at the grocery store and our SPR is less full during a time of rising turmoil in the Middle East.&#8221;

White House Press Briefing Held By Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre

Karine Jean-Pierre Scrambles When Asked Why Biden Isn’t Moving Ahead With Plan To Refill Oil Reserves

Karine Jean-Pierre Scrambles When Asked Why Biden Isn't Moving Ahead With Plan To Refill Oil Reserves

Karine Jean-Pierre

Oil and Gas

Peter Doocy

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

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