Russia Direct

Lavrov: Russia has exhausted hope for a negotiated Ukraine solution with the West and will continue pursuing the war aims outlined by Putin in June 2024. 🔗 Source

The Russian people demand peace through victory, says President Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov. 🔗 Source

RT chief Margarita Simonyan expresses frustration at Russia’s hesitation to strike Europe, and notes that Vladimir Putin’s place in history hinges on the outcome of the war in Ukraine. 🔗 Source

The average life expectancy of a Russian soldier upon arriving on the battlefield in Ukraine is between 20 and 30 minutes, says CIA Director John Ratcliffe, citing U.S. intelligence. 🔗 Source

Trump is “hugely impressed and enthusiastic” about Ukraine’s expanding deep-strike campaign inside Russia, enabled by U.S. intel support, and has privately told Zelensky to act “more boldly,” according to the Financial Times and The Kyiv Independent. 🔗 Source 1 & 2

Putin responds to Zelensky’s provocative letter with a clear message to the Russian troops: “Keep fighting, brothers, the entire country is counting on you!” 🔗 Source

As ground advances prove extremely difficult, Russia’s stated shift toward expanded and systematic air strikes is aimed at compelling Kiev to end the war on Moscow’s terms, writes RIAC President Dmitriy Trenin. 🔗 Source

Given the current battlefield situation, a decisive victory is possible only through the use of weapons of mass destruction, which Russia should deploy without delay, writes influential businessman, investor, and media entrepreneur Konstantin Malofeev. 🔗 Source

Russia has neither tactical nor technological solutions to achieve a breakthrough in Ukraine, making the initial goals of the SMO unattainable, writes foreign policy analyst Vasily Kashin. 🔗 Source

Russia is no longer taken seriously by its adversaries after too many red lines were crossed without consequence, says political scientist and retired intelligence colonel Andrey Bezrukov. 🔗 Source

“We are approaching a dangerous threshold, and with the current elite, the chances of victory — or even of simply holding Russia together — are critically low,” warns philosopher Aleksandr Dugin. 🔗 Source

Influential Russian public figure Ekaterina Mizulina, wife of pop star Yaroslav Dronov (Shaman), condemns the Tate brothers’ invitation to Russia as “absurd,” citing their dubious reputation and the pending criminal investigations in the U.S., UK, and Romania. 🔗 Source

Russia is on a losing trajectory, says senior Russian lawmaker Valery Gartung, citing economic stagnation and a technological disadvantage on the battlefield. 🔗 Source

Bloomberg: Senior Finance Ministry and Central Bank officials have privately warned Putin that Russia’s war economy is unsustainable. 🔗 Source

Putin: By deliberately targeting children, the Kiev regime has chosen to escalate the conflict to a new level. So be it. 🔗 Source

AfD Saxony party leader Jörg Urban says Russia is needed as a guarantor of peace and prosperity in Europe. 🔗 Source

Medvedev: Citizens of EU states will no longer be able to sleep peacefully, especially in places where UAV production for Ukraine is taking place. 🔗 Source

Economics and geography will sooner or later force Europe to resume purchasing Russian energy, says new Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar. 🔗 Source

Multiple quantitative models of attritional warfare predict inevitable collapse of Ukrainian defenses, with one forecasting a tipping point in July–September 2026. 🔗 Sources 1 & 2

Based on his recent statements, President Putin appears to believe that Ukraine is on the verge of military defeat. 🔗 Sources 1, 2, & 3