Victory Day, Defeat, & Deceit: Russia Advances, US Cashes In, The Orchestrator Plays Peacemaker

Russia tightens its grip on victory, while Washington-the architect of the war-exerts full control of Kiev, aiming to salvage a crushing military defeat into a business deal. But stakes are rising.

On August 6, 2024, Ukraine, fully supported by US weapons including precision-guided HIMARS systems and various armored vehicles, launched a massive attack into Russia’s Kursk region, ending in one of the only incursions they can claim as mildly successful this entire war. The aim was for Russia to divert its resources away from the Donbass front line and into Kursk, its weak area. Instead Moscow’s troops retreated to focus on advancing in the front line, increasing their numbers, unleashing a devastating push in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), capturing multiple settlements—many with minimal resistance—and seizing over 400 square kilometers. These events which Western media positioned as a failure for Russia and the beginning of Ukraine’s victory, was off-set by the staggering territorial loss Ukraine faced at the front, plunging them into an operational crisis, as Russia claimed it would return to recapture Kursk anyway. Less than a year later Moscow has not only regained full hold of the region, it’s taken everything Kiev has in artillery, troops, and political power, while advancing deeper into Ukraine. Now, Russia’s pursuing a resolution to the conflict—one welcomed by some in Washington who wish to extricate themselves from the mess, seeking to turn a loss into a win by repositioning pieces on the Grand Chessboard to their advantage.

While mainstream media and Western pundits fell for the delusion that Ukraine had a chance, the majority of level-headed independent media saw the truth a year ago—and now the reality that this war is already lost on the battlefield is crashing down on Ukraine, including its puppet leader Zelensky. What remains isn’t strategy but politics, which has been at the core of this entire journey: the slow, stubborn theater of denial, bargaining, and finally acceptance. In all of the back and forth between Washington and Russia on a coming end to the saga, lies the geopolitical chess game unfolding silently in the shadows of back channels and closed-door meetings, and this is where observers must focus to discern what comes next.

I’ve stated from the beginning to the disappointment and disagreement of many, that regardless of Zelensky’s latest outbursts, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s antics, Trump’s threats to walk away, and the latest millions sent to Kiev, both the White House and the Kremlin want this war to end for now—that’s evidenced by backchannel signals from both sides. But don’t mistake this for Western goodwill or permanence, but rather a cold, tactical task at hand. While Russia readies in celebrating the 80th Anniversary of Victory Day festivities, it feels no urgency to end this, holding all the key cards in the deck, but Washington desperately needs resolution—at least for the time being.

Trump Needs A “Win”: Washington’s Calculated Pivot Toward Momentary Peace in Eurasia, Signals Trouble With China, West Asia and Global South

At the funeral of the late Pope Francis at the Vatican, which gathered many world leaders except from Israel, Trump and Zelensky exploited the event to perform a theatrical production of Peace Talks. Inside St. Peter’s Basilica, seated side by side on ornate red-and-gold chairs, the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents met for the first time since their fiery Oval Office dramatics in February, with Trump downplaying their past dispute and calling the Vatican meeting "beautiful" multiple times, joking about their televised former spat: "We had a little disagreement—cameras were rolling." National security adviser, Mike Waltz, went further, declaring the moment "iconic" and praising Trump’s push for peace "in the heart of the Vatican." Zelensky agreed, calling the talks "symbolic" with a potential to become historic if results were delivered. European leaders Emmanuel Macron and Keir Starmer also attended the conversations, a bone thrown to all by Trump who’s largely kept them at bay. The U.S. President who recently praised Putin, expressed disappointment over the Western narrative of alleged Russian attacks on civilians, "I want him to stop shooting, sit down and sign a deal," adding that he sought a resolution in two weeks time. Trump also claimed Zelensky was "ready to give up Crimea,"something we’ve never heard from Kiev, but for Russia isn’t even part of the conversation as this was decided over ten years ago. Marco Rubio said the coming days were critical, admitting, "We’re close, but not close enough,” to a resolution. State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce, told Fox News that that while the U.S. hasn’t yet reached the point of abandoning its mediator role in Moscow-Kiev negotiations, a lack of progress could force a shift—a decision ultimately resting with Trump and Rubio.

Beyond the diplomatic dancing, the reality is Trump envoy Steve Witkoff has been coming to Moscow for months, meeting with Putin a verified minimum of 4 times, and most recently Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, confirmed that Witkoff came to Moscow with messages from Trump to Putin and would leave with messages for the U.S. president from the Russian leader, calling this "shuttle diplomacy" as part of the Washington’s mediation efforts to settle the situation in Ukraine. The latest meeting between Putin and Witkoff lasted 3 hours and was according to both parties, “constructive,” with the two statesmen discussing the possibility of resuming direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine among other things. The meeting coincided with the 80th anniversary of the meeting of the Elbe, the day Soviet and American troops met at the Elbe River, near Torgau in Germany, marking an important step toward the end of WWII.

While Witkoff met with Putin, Lt. General Yaroslav Moskalik, staff deputy chief of operations, was assassinated via a placed car bomb in the Moscow suburb of Balashikha. Russia’s Investigative Committee said the device was packed with metal fragments and 300 grams of TNT. A suspect was caught and admitted to having been recruited by Ukraine’s SBU, but while Moscow condemned the terror act, this has not deterred their intent toward a resolution to the conflict. Trump was recently asked what concessions Russia offered up thus far to get to the point of being closer to peace and comically answered that the point was Russia ending the war, and stopping short of taking the whole country, which was big concession. In spite of the latest military aid, including a $310.5 million contract for F-16 maintenance for Ukraine, Washington is continuing talks with Moscow, just days before May 9th celebrations. Trump admitted he was in talks with Putin but refused to provide details to the Wall Street Journal reporter asking him, because he disliked the outlet: “I wouldn’t tell the Wall Street Journal because I’d be wasting my time. There are talks going on, but I don’t want to talk to the Wall Street Journal.” While this brutal honesty is what makes Trump a more cunning leader than Biden, the truth is Trump is simply tasked with getting out of the mess.

Trump ran on ending the Ukraine war in “24 hours,” a claim later dismissed as a joke in a Time interview. Yet he now needs the conflict to subside if only temporarily, so Washington can spin it as a success rather than the strategic disaster it truly is for the U.S. and NATO. Additionally, Washington is ramping up tensions with Iran, seeking regime change and threatening attacks, while simultaneously bombing Yemen and engaging in a tariff war with China. There’s simply no bandwidth left for Eurasia, the solution is to simply kick the can to the next Democrat-backed administration, because U.S. foreign policy thrives on continuity, not change. Trump isn’t pivoting because he’s "different" or “anti-war”—he’s tasked with winding down Ukraine to refocus on Iran, China, and Latin America. We’re also witnessing the most Zionist administration to date focus on expanding Greater Israel, which has fully admitted they will not stop attacking Gaza and that it will be “entirely destroyed”—all with Washington’s approval. In fact, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth affirmed this aim back in February, alluding to a focus away from Ukraine and onto US borders and China. The illusion is that Trump’s "cleaning up Biden’s mess,” when in reality is he’s pushing war onto another theater and the money pipeline never stops—not under Obama, Trump, Biden, or whoever comes next; interchangeable actors with some minor superficial vestiges, executing a different chapter of the same military-intelligence playbook.

Russia Wants to End on Their Terms But They Are Keen To Move On

No Matter what anyone says, wars are costly for both the victors and losers, be this economically, militarily, humanely, mentally and morally. Three years of war have brought thousands of dead Russian soldiers, crippling sanctions, travel bans, civilian bombings and relentless censorship. Yet despite the onslaught, Russia has demonstrated remarkable resilience by circumventing the sanctions, developing domestic industries, and forging critical partnerships in energy, trade and transport with China, India, Iran, North Korea and across the Global South. Still, this endurance has its limits in logic and exhaustion. Russia now faces the dual challenge of sustaining while expanding its economic influence, carefully cultivating new alliances and investing in key relationships to cement its position as a formidable global powerhouse, especially as Moscow now ranks second in economic size, behind New York and right before Shanghai.

According to Kremlin Speaker Peskov, the conflict in Ukraine would end instantly if Kiev withdrew its troops from the four regions enshrined in the Russian constitution: Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporozhye. This was echoed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s comments at a BRICS meeting among Foreign Ministers in Rio, Brazil, ahead of the BRICS Summit this summer. Lavrov outlined Russia’s Conditions for a Ukraine Peace Agreement, saying the ball is not in Russia’s court, meaning Ukraine and its allies need to come to a fair agreement with Russia, not with delusional demands from positions they lack. As Russia has been repeating since the start, they seek a removal of Ukraine’s ban on negotiations with Moscow, which is common sense, a formal rejection of NATO membership by Ukraine, international recognition of Russia’s newly incorporated territories, measures to eliminate anti-Russian activities by the Neo-Nazi regime, and security assurances to protect against threats from NATO and the EU.

At another speaking event Lavrov expressed that Russia will develop relations with the United States without harming its partners, adding that everyone will soon see that Russia and the United States have a mutual interest in constructive dialogue. The diplomat also told CBS in an interview that Donald Trump has been the only world leader who has acknowledged the need to address the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and that Russia maintains contacts with Washington on the issue. In a recent interview with French publication Le Point, Peskov addressed the potential for economic cooperation with Washington, emphasizing that if the US takes control of the gas network linking Russia with Europe, Gazprom is ready to discuss a gas supply contract with the new owner. Moscow recognizes that a number of European countries are ready to buy Russian gas, and Russia is ready to negotiate based on market conditions. Very recently, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, revealed to Ria Novosti, that Russia and U.S. talks on normalizing relations are much broader than on resolving the Ukrainian conflict, and this normalization would be “in the interest of the entire world”.

Attending an exhibition at the Victory Museum on Poklonnaya Hill, Putin spoke at the educational marathon “Knowledge First,” and outlined his belief that there are people in the West who share Russian values, with some fighting in the special operation on Russia’s side. He noted that many others privately support Moscow’s stance in the conflict but don’t express their point of view. The Russian leader even proclaimed that sooner or later relations between Moscow and Europe will be restored. Going even deeper in an interview for the documentary, Russia. Kremlin. Putin. 25 Years Old, Vladimir Putin told reporter Pavel Zarubin that reconciliation with the Ukrainian part of the Russian people is “inevitable” and a “matter of time.” These remarks, straight from the source should dispel any doubts on Russia’s willingness to normalize relations with the West—especially Washington.

Of course Moscow would be foolish to trust Washington and doing so would betray every lesson of history about who truly pulls the strings in the Swamp. Yet many of America’s adversaries—in West Asia, the East, Global South and even Eurasia—still cling to naive illusions. They ignore the unbroken continuity of U.S. foreign policy, a machine that chews up presidents and spits out the same agenda. Nations that value sovereignty must grasp this: As the American empire declines like Rome before it, its collapsing gravity threatens to pull the entire world down.

Deconstructing The Significance of Moscow’s Military Partnership With North Korea & Why It’s Not The Same with Iran

After months of silence, Moscow’s finally disclosed that North Korean troops have been on the ground in Kursk, helping Russia defeat Ukraine, which is not surprising after they signed the Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Footage obtained by TASS depicts North Korean soldiers undergoing combat training, before participating in Kursk’s liberation.

According to Kim Jong Un this was necessary as the situation required the enactment of Article 4 of the Treaty, with the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea revealing in a statement that this was "a sacred mission" aimed at strengthening friendship with Moscow. Reminder that this treaty was signed June 18, 2024 in Pyongyang and implemented protocols that enabled the Russian military to intervene in a crisis on the Korean Peninsula. In turn, the treaty would enable North Korea to provide military support or intervene if the Russia-Ukraine war were to escalate.

Article 3 of the treaty, which contains 23 articles and covers political, trade, investment, and security cooperation, states "in case a direct threat of armed invasion is created", the two nations "shall immediately operate the channel of bilateral negotiations for the purpose of adjusting their stands" and "discussing feasible practical measures". Article 4 of the treaty states that should either nation "put in a state of war by an armed invasion," the other "provide military and other assistance with all means in its possession without delay" in accordance," with Article 51 of the UN Charter” and the laws of the DPRK and the Russian Federation. As I’ve outlined before, Russia always follows the UN Charter when it comes to its diplomacy. This sets it apart from the automatic intervention provision in the 1961 treaty between the DPRK and the USSR, but the Soviet Union was a more ideologically driven entity that existed in a different geopolitical climate.

While both the 1961 and 2024 treaties establish grounds for military intervention, key differences exist in carefully crafted limitations that redefine the Russia-DPRK partnership. The 1961 pact mandated immediate, unconditional assistance, whereas the 2024 agreement relies on Article 4's conditional framework, which tethers intervention to both UN Charter provisions and domestic legal processes. By invoking Article 51's self-defense clause - which remains subject to Security Council oversight - and incorporating constitutional safeguards mirroring those in NATO-U.S. agreements, the treaty creates deliberate ambiguity where its predecessor demanded automaticity. Cleverly this set-up serves dual purposes: providing Moscow with influence over DPRK decision-making while maintaining plausible deniability, allowing Moscow a get out of jail free card. Still, the treaty acts as a functional counterweight to Western alliances, complete with its own version of Article 5-style commitments and fundamentally undermines and mirrors Seoul's strategic posturing with Washington.

In this way as I’ve stated before, contrary to the ideological fantasy of a “Communist alliance against the West” peddled by YouTube pundits dreaming of an inaccurate version of a “multipolar world” through hopium-clouded lenses, Moscow’s calculus is purely logical. Capitalist Russia is acting pragmatically to secure its interests, hedging its bets that if things go really sour with the West it has a strong, reliable partner, uninvolved in West Asia, while retaining deniability via Article 51 if it sees no urgent need to involve itself should Pyongyang’s tensions with the West escalate. The treaty's true innovation lies not in its military promises but in its institutionalized crisis management, offering Moscow both influence and insulation as Northeast Asia's security landscape grows increasingly volatile.

Back in February, I outlined, to the dismay of many, how Russia’s partnership Treaty with North Korea was very different from the one with Iran. Moscow’s Iranian–Russian Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Tehran, explicitly excludes military intervention and dictates that if a power attacks it, Russia will not respond but only go along the UN charter. This was confirmed by Russian deputy foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko in April, who reiterated that a US attack on Iran would bring dire consequences for the region and while Moscow would offer help in negotiations between Tehran and Washington, they would not be obligated to aid Tehran in the event of an attack. While some Russian media highlighted Russia’s 20-year-partnership with Tehran as the closest ever military ties, the fine print reveals no actual defense commitments—proving the military partnership to be more rhetorical than strategic.

All of these developments further signal to Russia’s incoming role in West Asia. Russia will remain “neutral” when it comes to Israel, therefore not fighting the U.S. in terms of their full intent to expand Greater Israel, and as I’ve pointed out in other podcasts, interviews and former articles, this can be seen by the current survival of their bases in Syria as well as their current relationship with the Jolani regime. Even if we do see a Palestinian state it won’t ever be anything of power or equity alongside an Israeli state, and as we’ve seen Israel eradicate Rafah, the supposed refugee area for Gazans, we see that being neutral on Israel is essentially allowing it to continue its ethnic cleansing. In truth, beyond the momentary doomed ceasefire the plan has been this all along, to the point where even the Israeli minister proclaimed that Gaza WILL BE destroyed and outright stated that Palestinians will be forced into other countries.

Russia appears to seek a stable, diplomatic region and relationships with as many sovereign nations as possible for its own advancement not for an ideological fight against the West. The problem for Moscow is Israel has an incestuous relationship with the West and has consistently supported them over Russia, especially when it comes to the Ukraine war, not fully but enough. This makes clear that Iran cannot depend on Russian military intervention against a U.S. attack- Tehran must either stand alone or find new allies but it does not mean their economic or geopolitical alliance is gone, as it still sees Moscow as a vital partner. The Resistance as a whole has been monitoring these developments and has increasingly turned its attention toward Yemen.

Recent reports in both Russian and U.S. media reveal Putin and Trump share an understanding: Iran must never gain the capability to destroy Israel. This unsurprising alignment reflects Russia's historical ties with Israel and their shared ethnic connections. More vitally, it explains Moscow's reluctance to forge full military cooperation with Tehran—being caught between sworn enemies, Israel and Iran, creates an untenable geopolitical position for Russia. The fourth round of US-Iran talks on Tehran’s nuclear program is set to take place between May 10-11, according to Steve Witkoff, who is also handling those talks apart from Ukraine-Moscow. Iran is not coming to the festivities though the President Masoud Pezeshkian had a telephone conversation with Putin on May 6th, while Israel's ambassador, Simona Halperin, is said to attend the Victory Day events.

North Korea on the other hand remains detached from these tensions. Once the Ukraine conflict concludes, Russia will be positioned to rebuild relations with the United States while simultaneously making it very clear that its partnerships with China and North Korea will continue without interruption. The U.S. State Department has hypocritically demanded an end to North Korea’s military presence in Russia and cessation of Moscow's support for Pyongyang - as if Washington holds any authority over sovereign nations' strategic partnerships. Moscow’s wisdom in also putting Washington in a uncomfortable position with its troops in North Korea speaks volumes of its calculated moves. After all, European and U.S. troops have long been on the ground in Ukraine, so Washington’s flustered feathers do nothing but expose their duplicity. By forming a strong alliance with North Korea, Russia demonstrates its strategic autonomy in choosing its Asian alliances while carefully avoiding pressure on Israel, and maintaining a pragmatic, economically-motivated openness to Western relations.

The U.S. Now Owns More of Ukraine’s Carcass with Timely Minerals Deal

Washington and Ukraine just signed a long-awaited agreement on mineral resources via the establishment of a United States-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, for which the U.S. could receive more than 350 billion dollars. While Washington frames this as “rebuilding Ukraine,” and proclaims that Kiev as a sovereign state has full autonomy over its economic zones and natural resources, the truth is Ukraine’s not only losing land to Russia, but has long lost control of its economy, politics and management to the West—this deal merely formalizes that surrender. The first $50 million military aid package for Ukraine (of Trump’s second term), while presented as assistance, is actually another high-interest loan Ukraine must repay. This isn’t about prolonging the war’s financial drain but a strategic morsel thrown at Kiev as the conflict winds down. Now, many analysts argue that this is proof the U.S. isn’t serious about negotiations and has abandoned diplomacy with Moscow. But I’d argue the opposite: these moves signal desperation, not strength.

According to the White House itself, the deal with Ukraine is designed to make Kiev compensate the U.S. for its assistance. This undeniably strengthens Ukraine’s dependence on American military and economic aid, securing short-term survival while realistically jeopardizing its long-term sovereignty—Washington’s strategic interests will inevitably overshadow Kiev’s own. At the same time, the U.S. solidifies Ukraine as a geopolitical proxy, expanding its influence in Europe. Having orchestrated this war from the onset, Washington’s role as a mediator is deeply disingenuous as it now seeks to exploit the situation after Ukraine has served its purpose. Those of us who labeled this a U.S.-NATO proxy war have been vindicated as "peace talks" are firstly being held between Russia and the U.S., not Ukraine.

On Thursday, former President and senior Russian security official, Dmitry Medvedev, claimed the newly signed U.S.-Ukraine minerals deal proves President Trump is finally forcing Kiev to pay for future military aid. Little else says this is really over more than this treaty, because the U.S. isn’t about to allow Russia to destroy its newly acquired resources and surely Russia, who’s also gained much more of these resources from the Donbass acquisition, seeks to protect their own assets from devastation.

Ukraine will never be the same nor recuperate even if the war ends tomorrow. Under U.S. stewardship, the private international corporate sector including giants like BlackRock, are now leading Ukraine’s reconstruction via an investment initiative, which has carved out a pound of flesh off Ukraine, garnering more external foreign control over Kiev via its alleged recovery. This is classic “disaster capitalism” in action, as BlackRock’s "advisory" role is less about rebuilding Ukraine and more about positioning Western finance capital to profit from its destruction.

The firm’s reconstruction plans prioritize the privatization of the country’s assets—energy grids, farmland, infrastructure—under the guise of "efficiency," giving the country off to vulture investors. Meanwhile, proposed financial instruments like war bonds, insurance schemes and more aren’t charity, but predatory financial instruments that will likely burden Ukraine with long-term debt obligations as it’s already drowning in IMF loans and may face more austerity measures shackling it to decades of debt.

All of these so-called recovery efforts for Ukraine would not be necessary had the U.S. not interfered in Ukraine’s affairs in 2014 and pushed them into a war they’d never win against Russia—but Washington knows this very well. These actions could be compared to Afghanistan or to post-2003 Iraq, where foreign-led reconstruction fueled corruption and inequality, clearly in a purposeful way to mandate more western control. The US-BlackRock plan is largely a classic example of the cheap mergers and acquisitions of devalued war assets— resource extraction disguised as "development". In actuality, BlackRock is operating for US/EU dominance over Ukraine, excluding BRICS members and the Global South, aligning with NATO, in spite Ukraine not being a member. Essentially Ukraine is now more than ever, nothing more than a colony of NATO, neither getting the full benefits of being a part of the club nor the sovereignty of being free of it—and ordinary Ukrainians will foot the bill.

Ukraine Truly Has No Cards, It’s Finished, But Russia Isn’t Off the Hook—Deal or No Deal...

Westernized minds have begun pushing the narrative that everything has shifted because of this mineral deal, as if Kiev now holds the upper hand. It’s both laughable and tragic how they deceive themselves—Ukraine remains chained to the West, as nothing more than a proxy, colony, and pawn used as a means to an end—one we’ve nearly reached. No paltry $50 million nor this thinly veiled financial and political coup of Ukraine masked as a mineral deal, is going to restore Ukraine to 2014. This even echoed by Marco Rubio who said Ukraine will be unable to push Russia back to these borders.

Washington, the architect, active participant and continuous catalyst of the war cannot truly be a mediator or the peacemaker its masquerading as, and that should be understood by everyone pretending otherwise. Because while many cling to the illusion that Zelensky holds power or that Europe’s antics have any hold, the puppeteer here is Washington. Vice President JD Vance asserted that both countries have presented their peace proposals and are looking for common ground, and that the United States is ready to allow Ukraine and Russia to have one on one direct negotiations.

The U.S. and NATO lost and now they’ve seen Russia’s capabilities but they’ll never admit defeat—merely quietly move onto the next. The EU’s been the scapegoat, left to drown alongside Ukraine’s corpse, as Victoria Nuland accurately stated, “F**k the EU!”. Europe’s rage therefore is not directed at Washington—the hand that feeds—but at Moscow, puffing its chest as if theres any life left to salvage, waving the mineral deal in glee. But as the guns eventually fall silent for a moment, America will shelve Ukraine only temporarily— not fully abandon its ambitions. The groundwork is already laid against Russia: Moldova, the Balkans, Poland, Germany—all primed for the next act. This is also supported by the U.S.’s emerging increased presence in Ukraine not just via its money and weapons but now resources it has rights to via the mineral deal, lying right next to the Russian Federation.

The State Department and White House have both stated that Ukraine and Russia are closer but not there yet when it comes to reaching a deal, with many in D.C. urging Trump to place more “pressure” on Putin. Ukraine for its part has continued its drone campaigns most recently around Crimea, as well as Moscow and the Donbass. Just hours away from the proposed ceasefire period by Putin, Russia thwarted the largest Ukrainian drone attack in history with a total of 524 Ukrainian drones, 5 Neptune missiles, 6 JDAM bombs and 2 HIMARS rockets intercepted in 24 hours. Ukraine’s Zelensky has said they do not plan to respect the short truce.

And while like Europe, the U.S. congress threatens it is readying new economic sanctions, including banking and energy measures on Russia, both Trump and the “deep state” aka the military-intel apparatus in Washington, know full well that sanctions have not worked in manipulating Moscow. Putin shows no concern about prolonging the war because they have already won and stands only to gain more territory, which benefits neither Ukraine nor Washington.

Washington will permanently stop acting against Russia if it can conquer it from within via regime change, otherwise, this will be resolved at a later time. The goal remains unchanged: Russia’s Balkanization, to extract untapped rich resources, and empower itself against the ultimate goal, China. This conflict isn’t avoidable if like may nations who’ve faced confrontation with the West, China or Russia wish to stay sovereign. It’s merely delayed. True peace won’t come until Washington’s uniparty controlled by the military intelligence apparatus collapses and is replaced by leaders who don’t see the world as a chessboard of vassals. We may get a ceasefire soon—but anyone thinking this is over hasn’t been paying attention. Trump’s desire to end the war is not in good faith but a cop out for the U.S. and a way to force Ukraine into perpetual repayment under subordination, while refocusing on China and Iran among other “adversaries” and leaving the door open for the next administrations to build up power-holds in the region to later use against Moscow.

As Russia prepares for its 80th Victory Day this May 9th, commemorating the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, the "Great Patriotic War,” the peril ahead for Moscow lies on failing to comprehend that the very nature of Washington’s imperial ambitions. Those who hailed Trump as the peace President are eating crow. The White House revealed Friday that President Trump is demanding a staggering $1.01 trillion for the Pentagon’s (FY2026) defense spending—a 13% surge to bankroll his national security agenda, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon transformation. The bombshell numbers sharply contrast with his push to gut domestic programs. Message clear: firepower over welfare and many in America are less than trilled, especially since this means more war is to come. All it takes is looking at Trump’s latest outburst days away from May 9th, saying that the U.S. did the most to win WWII, to see that the problem was never just Trump or Biden, but rather the deceptive, narcissistic, core military-intelligence apparatus that thinks of itself as the sole dominant player, the winner, the one and only, and this doesn’t change no matter who’s president—and worse it’s further ingrained into the psyche of the American civilian.

In many ways Russia’s better off continuing to win military battles and staying far and clear from any economic ties to the West, especially Washington. Still, based on what’s happening it seems that Moscow is hopeful that some peace can be achieve via the U.S. with both Trump and Putin signaling as much, stating that progress has been made but that Russia and Ukraine need to start talking to each other. Truthfully, genuine peace will be difficult when the same puppeteers remain. The same patterns will repeat at a later time. Until we break the cycle, history will keep rhyming—with blood.

A Tribute to Memory & A Warning Against Empire

This week, I attended a concert that will be live for people to see on May 9th, honoring the Great Patriotic War alongside my partner’s family—Russians who, like so many, lost loved ones in the USSR’s 27 million sacrifices. The tribute was deeply moving with known classic songs and talented performances, as well as interviews of veterans and descendants of all affected. Watching the beautiful but elegiac production, I recalled the recent moment when Trump claimed the U.S. "did far more than any other nation," and arrogantly later added that World War II was won because of the United States. Reflecting on this, it’s more than an insult—it’s a revealing glimpse of a failing empire built on deceit, rewriting history to mask its decline.

America’s mythos of heroic saviors is an outright lie, build on more lies, snowballing into the avalanche of rotten mendacity. We build and arm the very terrorists we claim to fight, destabilizing nations and our own people to feed the predator elite’s endless wars. But change is possible—if we accept and then confront the truth from within our own borders, not looking at the outside for blame.

Russia today isn’t the Soviet Union, yet its people remember. The elite, workers, and youth differ, but one thing unites them: resilience. They’ve faced empires before, they’ve faced war and adversity that many in the West cannot begin to fathom but which others in much of the Global South and West Asia are enduring at this very instance. Still, some in power underestimate U.S. duplicity—a dangerous blind spot. History now rhymes: Neo-Nazis in Ukraine, Zionist fascists in West Asia still committing genocide on Gaza. Fascism adapts but has never truly died. I believe it’s the duty of those on the side of humanity to fight it in every form—whether empire, Zionism, or the arrogance of supremacy. Zionism is fascism, incompatible with peace.

As a journalist in Moscow I reject the expat only bubble, so pervasive in many who come abroad, pompously rejecting the culture, language and truth of actually living like the people here, knowing they have red-carpets laid out before them for merely being Western. You will never truly understand a people until you follow them into the crevices of history, arguments, family meals, dachas, confusion and immerse yourself in it all, despite discomfort. Russians, workers, elders, veterans, many have shared their stories of the USSR’s triumphs—dignified truths erased in the West. Europe, as Zhukov said, "will never forgive the Soviet Union for liberating them." The battle continues, only the actors change. Unlike many from the Monroe Indoctrinated U.S., I have no intention of dictating Russia’s path. But as an American far too aware of the realities existing in the halls of D.C, distrusting every word from Washington is the bare minimum.

A moment from the concert below—memory alive, defiance unbroken.