Negotiations with Putin never yield results

From the Dialog, Dec 15, 2025:

"Butusov expressed a harsh and unambiguous opinion about the peace talks: "Putin always does this..." 

Military journalist Yuriy Butusov recalled that the negotiations have been ongoing since 2014 and have still not yielded results

"What can I say? So far, I don't see any logic in the negotiations. The enemy continues its offensive, as it has for the past four years of the Great War, and there are still eight years to go before that, and negotiations (this is already our twelfth year of negotiations). Putin always does this to continue the offensive," Yuriy Butusov commented on the peace talks.  

The military journalist wrote about this on his YouTube channel. 

"For Putin, negotiations are a way to block diplomatic escalation, block further sanctions, and a tool for dividing the united anti-Russian front in NATO countries, Europe, and America. That's why Putin needs negotiations. If negotiations were real, then they would need to be negotiated with real terms. When they declare that Ukraine, even before sitting down at the negotiating table, must decide to renounce a large part of its territory, important and very advantageous defense lines, and surrender them, then what will happen next?" the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier explained the essence of what's happening. 

Butusov noted: "What about Putin? Putin will later say he's not satisfied with the terms, as was the case with the Minsk agreements. He wasn't satisfied with the Budapest Memorandum or the interstate agreements with Ukraine. He wasn't satisfied with any of this, and he tore up all of these agreements one after another. Friends, let's be realistic. The reality now is war. Everything else is just talk (diplomatic and political) that's been going on for twelve years, and it hasn't affected the intensity of the fighting in any way."" 

Netanyahu: Recognizing Palestinian state fuels anti-Jewish terror

From ABC News:

"Benjamin Netanyahu lashes out at Anthony Albanese over Bondi Beach shooting

By Middle East correspondent Matthew Doran, 15 Dec 2025

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has laid responsibility for the deadly Bondi shooting attack at the feet of Anthony Albanese, accusing the Australian leader of pouring "fuel on the antisemitism fire" by recognising a Palestinian state.

It is not the first time Mr Netanyahu has criticised Mr Albanese, in a repeat of previous allegations of weak leadership levelled by the Israeli prime minister.

The Israeli prime minister has launched an extraordinary personal attack on Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, saying he has "betrayed" Israel.

In a fiery address overnight, Mr Netanyahu said "antisemitism is a cancer" and that it "spreads when leaders stay silent".

"I call upon you to replace weakness with action, appeasement with resolve. Instead, prime minister, you replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement," Mr Netanyahu said.

 

"Your government did nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism in Australia. You did nothing to curb the cancer cells that were growing inside your country. 

 "You took no action. You let the disease spread and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today."...

Mr Netanyahu praised the actions of a bystander, believed to be a Sydney greengrocer, who intervened and wrestled a gun from one of the attackers and was later taken to hospital with serious injuries.

"We saw an action of a brave man — turns out a brave Muslim man, and I salute him — that stopped one of these terrorists from killing innocent Jews," he said.

"But it requires the action of your government, which you are not taking. And you have to because history will not forgive hesitation and weakness. It will honour action and strength.

"That's what Israel expects of each of your governments in the West and elsewhere. Because the disease spreads and it will consume you as well."

The Israeli prime minister also said his country would "fight those who try to annihilate us"..."

How Russia plans to militarize the planned demilitarized zone

From UNIAN:

"The Spectator: The Russian National Guard could become Putin's "Trojan horse" in Donbas  

Yuri Kobzar, 12/14/25 

The Americans are trying to turn political statements into a peace agreement without delving into the details

One of the main, if not the main, stumbling block in the US-brokered peace talks between Ukraine and Russia is the Donbas issue. The proposal to make it a "demilitarized zone" cannot be implemented because Russia already has a ready-made plan to violate this condition, writes Mark Galeotti, political analyst and Emeritus Professor at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at the University of London, in The Spectator. 

He recalls that the Americans are currently trying to find an acceptable formula by which Russia can obtain the remaining part of Donbas. The Ukrainian leadership is concerned not only about the very fact of handing over this territory without a fight, but also about the threat that Russia will use it as a springboard for a further offensive deeper into Ukraine.

One potential workaround being discussed is the creation of a demilitarized zone: the Ukrainian army would withdraw from the rest of Donbas, but the Russian army would not enter. Public order in these cities would be maintained by the police. But this isn't so straightforward, and the Americans seem to be missing the main problem.

Putin's aide, Yuri Ushakov, has already told journalists that Moscow has agreed not to deploy its troops to the demilitarized zone, and that instead, only Russian police and the National Guard will be stationed there. It is this National Guard that poses the main problem, Galeotti writes.

The Russian National Guard is a separate law enforcement agency that reports directly to the President of the Russian Federation. Unlike the Ukrainian National Guard, the Russian National Guard is not part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, although it performs essentially the same functions – it is a militarized organization focused primarily on maintaining domestic law and order in cases where regular police forces are insufficient.    

The Russian National Guard has approximately 180,000 personnel. These are primarily heavily armed rapid response units known as SOBR, OMON, and the Internal Troops. The latter are closer in nature to a full-fledged army than a law enforcement agency. For example, the 1st Separate Operational Division of the Internal Troops has its own tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery.

As Galeotti notes, the Russian National Guard participated in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and is now primarily responsible for repression in the occupied territories. 

If these units enter Kostiantynivka, Druzhkovka, Kramatorsk, and Slovyansk under the peace agreement, they will terrorize the civilian population there, as they did in the other occupied territories. Furthermore, although the Russian National Guard is formally a law enforcement agency, it is de facto an army, with all the attendant risks.  

"This is, in many ways, an example of how complex the peace process in Ukraine is, and also an example of how illogical Trump's diplomacy is. Usually, grand public statements are the result of months or years of painstaking work behind the scenes; now, people are trying to translate general political statements into realistic plans. The idea of ​​creating a demilitarized zone may have seemed like an elegant way to reconcile Putin's demands and Ukraine's interests, but it's much more complicated," the analyst concludes."

Roman Olexiv, one of the countless war victims

From People / Yahoo!News:

"Interpreter Starts Sobbing as 11-Year-Old Testifies About Last Time He Saw His Mom Before She Was Killed in Missile Strike 

Roman Oleksiv was seriously injured and his mother died when Russian missiles struck a hospital in central Ukraine in 2022

Sam Gillette, December 12, 2025

 

 An interpreter broke down in tears while translating an 11-year-old Ukrainian boy’s testimony about his mother’s death in a Russian missile strike.

Recently, Roman Oleksiv testified at the European Parliament in Brussels of his last moments with his mother before she was killed by Russian forces in central Ukraine in 2022.

In footage that has since by shared across the globe, an interpreter became so emotional while translating for the young boy that she struggled to continue.

“Hello to everybody, my name is Roman, I am 11 years old, I’m from Ukraine, and I’m now living in Lviv,” the interpreter began after Oleksiv introduced himself to the audience, according to video shared by the BBC and The Independent.

“On the 14th of July 2022… Sorry, I am a bit emotional as well,” the woman said as she stopped to use a tissue before continuing to speak on behalf of the boy.

However, when Oleksiv spoke calmly in Ukrainian about "the last time I saw my mother," the interpreter paused and shook her head as her eyes filled with tears.

“I will help you, no worries,” a man off-camera told the interpreter, before translating the child’s statements.

Visibly still emotional, the woman put her hands on the little boy’s shoulder and then nodded her head at him to continue.

Oleksiv has become a symbol of the carnage of the war in Ukraine, which began when Russia invaded the smaller country in February 2022.

Since then, more than one million Russian troops have been killed or injured, while Ukraine has lost between 60,000 and 100,000 troops, with total casualties nearing 400,000, The Guardian reported in June.

 

Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty

Pope Francis meeting with Roman Oleksiv in Rome in May 2024.

When the Ukrainian hospital was hit in the summer of 2022, Oleksiv suffered dangerous burns. In total, 28 people died, including his mother, and more than 200 were injured, according to the Vatican's news service.

Following the devastating strike, Oleksiv met with the Pope Francis three times as part of the “Alliance Unbroken Kids” before the leader of the Catholic Church’s death.

Oleksiv, an aspiring ballroom dancer, had to undergo multiple surgeries after the bombing. He was later featured in an award-winning short film, Romchyk, which was shot by students at Goldsmiths, University of London, the BBC reported. The film was later shown to the Pope during the Vatican's International Summit on Children's Rights, according to the outlet.

 

REUTERS/Roman Baluk

Oleksiv at a ballroom dance competition in Lviv, Ukraine in December 2023.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Kostiantyn Bidnenko was inspired to create the film after he read an article about the injured child, who dreams of becoming a professional dancer.

He told the BBC, "For me, he became a symbol of all children who suffer because of war.”

Read the original article on People."

The newest Axis of Evil

From the Obozrevatel:

"Is a new "axis of evil" forming before our eyes?

Serhiy Grabovsky, December 13, 2025 

"Who is whispering pro-Russian instructions into Trump's ear?" - some rack their brains. "The USA is the largest democratic state, and Trump is its president," - others claim. "And aren't you tired of it? Trump has once again received a negotiating stick from Putin," - others rhetorically ask. "The new US National Security Strategy is designed for only three years, because Trump is mentioned there more than once," - others reassure. "Has he gone crazy?" - others ask. 

Before outlining the answers to these explicit and implicit questions, let us recall what the Ukrainian mass media have already written about. Namely, the fact that on December 10, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution initiated by Ukraine on expanding international cooperation and minimizing the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. The document addresses the long-term consequences of the Chernobyl disaster and the need for further support for the affected territories. The resolution expresses concern about the damage to the new confinement during the attack by a Russian drone on February 14, 2025, which jeopardized international efforts to protect the facility. The document confirmed that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is a Ukrainian facility.

Someone will say – so what? Don't rush… The resolution was supported by 97 states, another 39 abstained. And the USA, Russia, Belarus, China, Cuba, DR Congo, Nicaragua and Niger voted against.

Once again, the full list: USA, Russia, Belarus, China, Cuba, DR Congo, Nicaragua and Niger. Congo is a satellite of the USA, Niger is a satellite of Russia. 

A kind of global manifestation of the newest "axis of evil".  

True, the American representative mumbled something there, saying that the US did not support the resolution because of the mention of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which supposedly promotes a model of "soft global governance" incompatible with national sovereignty. We have an argument for clinical idiots, since the UN is an instrument of "soft global governance", and UN Security Council resolutions are mandatory for all states, and this is "hard global governance". Moreover, if the proposed resolution contains some questionable position for someone, in such cases they abstain by pressing the appropriate button. And to show solidarity with those totalitarian states that are guaranteed to vote against the fact that the resolution was initiated by Ukraine is a position dictated from the highest offices of power. And the frightened babbling of the American representative, who understood that her "argument" was worthless, is additional proof of this.

And a clear proof of the direction in which the United States of America is currently evolving (or rather, involutionary, or simply degrading). 

 

And also an extremely eloquent symbol. Meanwhile, a symbol, in the words of the Russian philosopher Pavel Florensky, who was shot by the Chekists in 1937, is "a reality that is greater than itself." 

 

But let's talk about everything in order, albeit briefly, in the form of a thesis. Let's return to what was discussed at the beginning of the article.

 

No, Trump has not gone crazy - he is no more crazy than Hitler or Stalin were at one time. No, no one whispers anything like that in Trump's ear - he consistently implements his own political course towards a close alliance with Russia, and some "showdowns" with Putin are a banal clarification of which of the guys in this group is the coolest. No, the USA is no longer the largest democratic state in the world, although it is still semi-democratic (hey, a couple of decades ago India was called the "largest democracy in the world", and who will repeat it now?). The "negotiating bullet" is only from an outsider's point of view, in fact, we are talking about a completely logical geopolitical game within the "axis of evil", which covers up the Russian offensive, strikes on the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine and the deployment of the Russian military-industrial complex. And, finally, who told you that the mentions of Trump in the US National Security Strategy indicate that it is designed for only three years? Do you think that under certain circumstances Donald Trump will not be able to become the leader of the United States for life? It is no coincidence that he constantly speaks enviously about the indispensable totalitarian leaders who, in his opinion, are "strong guys" - from Luka to Kim; the most recent mention in this context is Comrade Xi.

What is interesting: the aforementioned Strategy states that the United States will not approach other countries with its own standards for the development of democracy. This obviously refers to the totalitarian partners of the United States. After all, states with real, albeit imperfect, democracy (only something dead is completely perfect) have become objects of harsh criticism in the Strategy, and a whole series of claims are made against them. This also applies to Ukraine (immediate elections, legitimacy of the government) - but not to Russia. There, obviously, everything is in order with the elections and legitimacy of the government. And in Belarus too. Well, there can be no talk of North Korea.

As for the newest "axis of evil", compare the list of those voting against with the list from the drafts of the Strategy, which talks about replacing the G7 with a kind of C5 that will solve global geopolitical and geoeconomic problems - the USA, Russia, China, India, Japan. The project is quite bizarre (India has its own vision of the world, it is no coincidence that it voted for the aforementioned General Assembly resolution), and Japan obviously does not fit into the community of totalitarian and semi-totalitarian states - bizarre, but indicative. As indicated in the draft, an important goal is the liquidation of the European Union with the help of Italy, Poland, Hungary and Austria. By the way, these states are obviously selected there not as national subjects, but only as instruments for implementing the policy of the Washington "great leader".

Currently, Trump is putting pressure on Ukraine in an ultimatum style, demanding two things that are designed to destabilize the latter from within and thereby ensure a complete victory for Russia. First, these are immediate elections during the war, and second, the immediate withdrawal of all Ukrainian troops from Donbas. To remove Zelensky from office and put a team loyal to Putin and Trump in power is the obvious goal of elections during the war. And to do this, at least split society (for Russia, it is also desirable to provoke a civil war in order to occupy all of Ukraine as a "peacemaker"). Well, the withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the unoccupied part of Donbas, which will result in the transfer of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians to Russia (at the beginning of the year, almost a million lived there) - is this from the point of view of elementary morality (I am silent about international law, for Trump and Co. it does not exist)? What is this, if not a reward for Russia for aggression (along with Crimea and most of Donbas)? The last such reward in Europe was received in 1947, when Finland, which the USSR attacked without a declaration of war on June 25, 1941, was forced to cede territory (the Arctic port of Petsamo) and real sovereignty to Moscow totalitarianism under a peace treaty, becoming a de jure and de facto component of the Soviet bloc.

Note that Italy has reduced its support for Ukraine with weapons, officially declaring that "when peace talks are underway, weapons are not needed, now we will support diplomatically." Is the destruction of Odessa by the Russians on the night of December 12-13 evidence that "weapons are not needed"? In addition, Italy has joined those EU states that block financial assistance to Ukraine from frozen Russian assets. Well, Trump's influence has turned Italy into a satellite of the "axis of evil." And Israel is going to stop protecting refugees from Ukraine from January 1, 2027 (local media say - at Trump's request), making these refugees illegals with all the corresponding consequences.

I am sure that despite the blatant playing along with Putin (Russian attacks on Ukraine have intensified under Trump, and the number of civilians killed has increased, that is a fact) and the tangible demoralization of the Ukrainian front and rear caused by Washington's actions, there will be those who want to deny the US involution from democracy to autocracy and further to semi-totalitarianism; in particular, they will insist on the reformist potential of the US president. The potential is there. Just like the Reich Chancellor of Germany in 1933. Unlike Trump, Adolf Aloizovich was a successful reformer: he quickly and effectively improved the welfare of the country's Aryan population, and the social legislation created during his time quietly crept into the post-war era. That world war was made inevitable by Hitler's policies, although he wanted to limit himself to a series of victorious local wars that would expand the living space of the Aryan race in order to achieve the main thing - to make Germany great again.  

However, the situation is not hopeless. In the United States, there is such a thing as the Deep State. It is no coincidence that Peskov ("the voice of Sauron") expressed fears that this factor would devalue Trump's agreements with Putin. Let's hope, not only them."

Below is the result of the UN vote (source):  

 

Russia pays tribute to the degenerate CIA offspring who died fighting for it

From the Insider:

"School in occupied Donetsk unveils monument to son of CIA deputy director who fought for Russia in Ukraine

The Insider, 10 December 2025

 

 

Monuments to Russian national Ivan Kokovin and U.S. citizen Michael Gloss, the son of high-ranking CIA official Juliane Gallina, were unveiled in front of a school in Russian-occupied Donetsk on Dec. 10. Photo: Alexei Kulemzin (@kulemzin_donetsk / Telegram)

A school in the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine has unveiled monuments to two servicemen who were killed while fighting on Moscow’s side in the full-scale invasion: Russian national Ivan Kokovin and U.S. citizen Michael Gloss...

The mother of Michael Gloss, Juliane Gallina Gloss, is the CIA’s current Deputy Director for Digital Innovation. Michael’s father, Larry Gloss, a U.S. Navy veteran, heads Security Information Systems, a company that develops software for clients that include the Pentagon.

A plaque on Gloss’s monument reads: “A soldier is not a profession, but a calling. There is no foreign land for someone who fights for justice.” It also says he was killed “in fierce fighting for Chasiv Yar,” where he “assisted a wounded comrade.” The inscription ends with a line in English: “May the heroes be glorified!”

Gloss ended up in the Russian military in 2023 after several months of traveling. According to an investigation by the independent outlet Important Stories, he left the United States no later than the winter of 2023 after dropping out of college. He first lived in Italy, then went to Israel. After being deported from there, he spent several months in Turkey, where he attended the Rainbow Family “Balkan Gathering” and helped to clear debris after a Feb. 20, 2023 earthquake in Hatay Province.

mportant Stories’ reporting indicates that Gloss signed a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry later on in 2023 and was subsequently deployed to the front with Russian Airborne Troops (VDV). On social media, Gloss posted photos from Moscow’s Red Square, expressed support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, and criticized “Western propaganda.”

Gloss was killed on April 4, 2024, according to an obituary published by his family. His funeral took place in the United States on Dec. 21, 2024 — eight months after his death. Based on messages shared in Rainbow Family group chats, his relatives appear to have learned of his death approximately two months prior to the funeral.

This past August, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff delivered Russia’s Order of Courage, awarded by Vladimir Putin, to Gloss’s family.

On Dec. 9, the evening news on Russia’s Perviy Kanal (lit. “Channel One”) made mention of the unveiling in Donetsk. According to the Kremlin-controlled outlet, Gloss’s award was “handed over to the United States by Vladimir Putin and delivered by Donald Trump’s special envoy Steven Witkoff.”"

An earlier report by the same source gives more information about Gloss: 

"High-level CIA official’s 21-year-old son killed in Ukraine while fighting for Russian army

The Insider, 25 April 2025

 

 

Michael Gloss in a horizontally striped undershirt known as the “telnyashka” — a distinctive part of the uniform of Russia's Airborne Troops (VDV). Photo: Personal archive / IStories

Michael Gloss, a 21-year-old American citizen and the son of Juliane Gallina Gloss, the CIA’s current Deputy Director for Digital Innovation, was killed in the war in Ukraine while fighting on the side of the Russian army, according to a report by the independent exiled investigative outlet Important Stories (IStories).

IStories reported that Michael Gloss signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense after traveling to Russia in 2023. Prior to that, he had studied at the private liberal arts College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine — at one point named “the greenest college in America.” While there, Gloss took part in anti-war protests and was an advocate for women’s rights and combating climate change.

In 2023, he dropped out of college and began traveling around the world. He joined the anarchist group Rainbow Family — which describes itself as “the largest best coordinated nonpolitical nondenominational non-organization of like-minded individuals on the planet” — and took part in humanitarian efforts to rebuild areas in Turkey devastated by earthquakes.

As iStories notes, Gloss’s views changed dramatically during his travels. He gave himself the nickname Hamza, expressed interest in the Palestinian cause, became engrossed in conspiracy theories, and adopted ideas of a “multipolar world” and resistance to “Western hegemony.” After arriving in Russia in the summer of 2023, he created a profile on the country’s domestic social network VK, subscribed to groups about Stalin and Lenin, and posted videos featuring Vladimir Putin.

Sources told IStories that Gloss voluntarily walked into a military recruitment office on Yablochkova Street in Moscow and signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense.

After two weeks of training, Gloss and his group — which largely consisted of Nepali citizens — were transported by bus to a military unit, IStories writes. Gloss was assigned to the 137th Guards Airborne Regiment (Unit No. 41450), based in Ryazan. A fellow soldier told the outlet that Gloss had “his own vision of how he could be useful at the front,” noting that he had studied construction and engineering in college and was focused on “inventions and innovations.” Gloss was deployed to the combat zone in December 2023. “If I’m not mistaken, after training he was assigned to an assault unit,” the soldier added. At the time, the 137th Regiment was active northwest of Soledar in Ukraine’s Donetsk Region.

Those interviewed by IStories include Gloss’s friends from the U.S., activists who traveled with him, and a fellow soldier. They recounted how the young American, who grew up in a family with military and intelligence backgrounds, transformed from a hippie and climate activist into a Russian soldier.

A fellow serviceman from his unit in Ryazan told the outlet that Gloss’s motivation for going to war was “easy to understand”: “He was a passionate supporter of Russia and loved the country. Once in Moscow, he decided for himself that he wanted to be useful in this special operation, but he didn’t intend to take up arms.”

Michael himself reportedly told Mert, a member of the Balkan Rainbow Gathering group, that his reason for enlisting in the army was to obtain a Russian passport — not to fight. He believed that Russian citizenship would help him achieve his “life’s purpose.”

Gloss described it as follows: “My life’s purpose is to build supercritical water oxidization infrastructure. In order to end ecological pollution and pollution related illness and death i.e: cancer, lymphoma, and all the hormonal problems related to microplastics and estrogenics in the water.”

Michael was killed on April 4, 2024, according to an obituary published by his family. His funeral took place in the United States on Dec. 21, 2024 — eight months after his death. Based on messages shared in Rainbow Family group chats, his relatives appear to have learned of his death approximately two months prior to the funeral.

“His family was contacted by the Russian government,” wrote Michael’s Balkan Rainbow Family friend, who spoke to his sister. “It was announced that he died within the borders of Ukraine. We do not know whether he participated in the war. They did not provide any other detailed information.”"

***

I do not say that Gloss' mother is to blame for his crimes, but I think that she should be removed from her position. On the other hand, it would feel unjust to fire Ms. Gloss for it, given that both presidents of the USA in the last decade have degenerate sons who hate Ukraine. Biden has Hunter, and Trump has Donald Jr. The only difference is that the presidential scions have enough sanity to stay away from Russia, while Michael Gloss went right there and applied for the Darwin Award. I hope that he didn't kill anyone before biting the dust.