Archive for the ‘Ukraine’ Category

Tucker Carlson exposed Putin’s true war motive: For Russia to own Ukraine – The Washington Post

KYIV Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, thought Vladimir Putin went to war in Ukraine because he feared an imminent attack by the United States or NATO. Instead, after a two-hour interview of the Russian president in Moscow, Carlson said he was shocked to learn that Putin invaded for a different reason: Vladimir Putin believes that Russia has a historic claim to parts of Ukraine, he said.

What you are about to see seemed to us sincere, Carlson told his internet viewers before the interview was broadcast on Thursday evening: A sincere expression of what he thinks.

For Carlson, and the American audience that the Kremlin was aiming to reach by agreeing to the interview, that may have been a surprise. But for Ukrainians, who have been living for more than two decades with Putin denying Ukraines right to exist as a country separate from Russia, the interview sparked only fury.

For them, perhaps the one shock was that conservative American voters might fall for Putins litany of lies, half-truths and distortions, including a claim that he wants to negotiate with Washington to end the war, which would mean forcing Ukraine to surrender its territory. Ukrainians accused Carlson of being a Kremlin pawn, giving a platform to a warmongering dictator with strategic designs on influencing this years U.S. presidential election.

The only thing that genuinely triggers certain reactions is that Putin, a war criminal with an arrest warrant from The Hague Tribunal, is being interviewed instead of being interrogated as he should by an investigator, said Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. That is the only thing he should be doing in the remaining days of his life, no matter how many he has left.

Ukrainians, however were not the Kremlins intended audience. Putins message, including a 30-minute falsehood-studded history lecture, was aimed at Carlsons demographic: Republican supporters of former president Donald Trump, many of whom have expressed admiration for the Russian leader and questioned U.S. support of Ukraine.

Putin seemed eager to convince them that Ukraine rightly belongs to Russia, and that President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are the ones prolonging the war. Whether he succeeded remains to be seen. But what is already clear is that Putin dominated the interview from start to finish.

Carlson made no mention of the war crimes allegations against Putin, and at times the host seemed out of his depth, struggling to keep up with Putins history lecture, with its list of dates and unfamiliar names, such as the Varangian Prince Rurik of Scandinavia stretching back to the 10th century.

Putin, a trained KGB agent, easily sidestepped Carlsons infrequent attempts to elicit a direct answer.

Are we going to have a serious talk or a show? Putin snapped at one point, after Carlson tried to prod Putin to say that he invaded Ukraine because he felt NATO might launch a surprise attack. (Carlson noted that these were Putins actual words to justify his invasion in 2022 one of the few times he tried to hold the Russian leaders feet to the fire.)

Putin also proved himself better prepared than Carlson, bringing up, to the ex-Fox News presenters apparent surprise, the fact that Carlson majored in history in university and had attempted and failed to join the CIA.

We should thank God they didnt let you in, although it is a serious organization, I understand, Putin said, in what appeared to be a dig at Carlson. Putins remarks were translated into English and a transcript was published on Carlsons website.

Subtle taunts aside, however, Putin used each question to hammer home his main arguments: that Russia was the aggrieved party, a victim of repeated false promises by the West. Despite this, Putin insisted, Moscow was ready to negotiate an to end the war but with the United States, underscoring his insistence that the Ukrainian government is an illegitimate puppet of the West. Biden has repeatedly said Ukraine must decide when, or if, to make peace.

Dont you have anything better to do? Putin asked in response to a question about the possibility of U.S. troops being sent to Ukraine a prospect that, contrary to Carlsons query, has never been on the table in Washington.

Wouldnt it be better to negotiate with Russia make an agreement? Putin said, adding, Russia will fight for its interests to the end.

We are ready for this dialogue, Putin told Carlson.

The supposed willingness to negotiate, however, contrasts sharply with Russias long insistence that only Ukraines total capitulation, including a broad surrender of occupied territory, will end the war.

But it was also just one of Putins many misrepresentations during the interview. He also suggested, for example, that Russia troops pulled back from trying to conquer Kyiv as part of a peace deal, which was later violated by Ukraine. In fact, Russias forces were defeated and retreated after suffering heavy losses.

Still, some of Putins supporters said they believed his message would be heard in America, helping Trump win in November and encouraging congressional Republicans to continue blocking any new aid to Ukraine.

The result of Putins interview with Carlson could be that a few million Americans will say, yeah, so Putin is for peace. And Trump is for peace. Only Biden and Zelensky are for war, pro-Kremlin political analyst Sergei Markov said. So we should vote for Trump and against Biden and then there will be peace and no threat of nuclear war.

Markov added that as a result of the interview, Trump will convincingly win the election and become president of the United States, Trump and Putin will quickly agree on peace in Ukraine, and the war will be over.

Putin also told Carlson that a main reason for the invasion, and one of Moscows continuing chief goals, is the denazification of Ukraine part of Putins continuing false allegation that Kyiv is controlled by Nazis. Ukraine is a democracy, and Zelensky, who was overwhelmingly elected president in 2019, is of Jewish descent, as are other top officials. Putins real goal, many analysts say, is to oust Zelensky in favor of a Russian puppet regime.

The rest of the interview contained an array of Kremlin falsehoods or half-truths including Putins insistence that NATO and U.S. military bases started to appear on the territory, Ukraine, creating threats to us. In fact, NATO before the invasion had rebuffed Ukraines efforts to join the alliance largely out of concern about antagonizing Russia.

Mixing truth with complete falsehoods has been the Kremlins propaganda strategy for decades, the Russian opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky tweeted. Its what made the invasion of Ukraine possible.

The heart of the interview was Putins lengthy lecture covering more than 1,000 years of history, from the creation of Kyivan Rus a state that provided the foundation for modern Ukraine, Russia and Belarus to the present.

Although initially promising to speak just 30 seconds on the subject, the answer lasted nearly a half-hour all to make Putins case that Ukrainians are actually Russians living on the edge of the Russian empire.

However, Putins version of the history of Ukraine as well as that of Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Hungary was riddled with inaccuracies, experts said. This included his false assertion that Poland pushed Nazi Germany to attack it and start World War II.

Putin just took a couple of hours to say: I must destroy Ukraine because I have no idea what Russia is, Timothy Snyder, a Yale historian who has written extensively on Ukraine and Eastern Europe, posted on X.

The point of his ramblings may not have been accuracy but rather to overwhelm viewers with a tsunami of facts and dates, and impress them with Putins seeming erudition with references to Kyivan Rus or the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Ukrainians said that Carlson was irresponsible and ineffective as an interviewer.

The propagandist Carlson spread a stream of idiotism, lies and heresy, former Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk wrote on Facebook, adding: Freedom of speech and freedom to lie should not be confused, Comrade Carlson.

Ebel reported from London and Ilyushina from Riga, Latvia. Robyn Dixon and Natalia Abbakumova in Riga contributed to this report.

correction

A previous version of this article gave the wrong year that Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president of Ukraine. It was 2019. The article has been corrected.

Excerpt from:
Tucker Carlson exposed Putin's true war motive: For Russia to own Ukraine - The Washington Post

Putin Calls on U.S. to ‘Negotiate’ on Ukraine in Tucker Carlson Interview – The New York Times

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has worked for decades to win allies in the West, using his spy agencies to interfere in elections and deploying diplomats to build links with Kremlin-friendly politicians.

On Thursday, the world witnessed a new, verbose chapter in those efforts: Mr. Putins two-hour interview, taped in a gilded hall at the Kremlin, with one of Americas most prominent and most divisive conservative commentators.

Speaking to Tucker Carlson, the former Fox News host, Mr. Putin called on the United States to make an agreement to cede Ukrainian territory to Russia in order to end the war. He sought to appeal directly to American conservatives just as Republican lawmakers are holding up aid to Ukraine on Capitol Hill, echoing the talking points of politicians like former President Donald J. Trump who say that the United States has more pressing priorities than a war thousands of miles away.

Dont you have anything better to do? Mr. Putin said in response to Mr. Carlsons question about the possibility of American soldiers fighting in Ukraine. You have issues on the border, issues with migration, issues with the national debt.

He went on: Wouldnt it be better to negotiate with Russia?

Much of the interview constituted a familiar Kremlin history lesson about Russias historical claim to Eastern European lands, beginning in the ninth century, that Mr. Putin made little effort to distill for American ears. He opined on artificial intelligence, Genghis Khan and the Roman Empire. He also laid out his well-worn and spurious justifications for invading Ukraine, asserting that Russias goal was to stop this war that he claims the West is waging against Russia.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit andlog intoyour Times account, orsubscribefor all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?Log in.

Want all of The Times?Subscribe.

More here:
Putin Calls on U.S. to 'Negotiate' on Ukraine in Tucker Carlson Interview - The New York Times

The Senate Moved to Salvage Ukraine Aid – The New York Times

Democrats in the Senate are pushing to advance a package that would send billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine and Israel, after Republicans blocked similar legislation that paired the foreign aid with stringent border security measures.

A vote on the measure is expected later this evening.

Members of both parties have privately said that they believe the legislation could eventually receive support from at least 60 senators, putting the measure on track to pass in the Senate within days. The bill would send about $60 billion to Ukraine for its war against Russia, $14 billion in security assistance to Israel and $10 billion in humanitarian aid for civilians in global crises, including Palestinians and Ukrainians.

But even if lawmakers succeed in resurrecting the aid bill in the Senate, it still faces stiff headwinds in the Republican-led House, where right-wing lawmakers oppose sending additional assistance to Ukraine. Some have even threatened to oust Speaker Mike Johnson if he brings any bill to the floor that includes aid for Ukraine.

The effort to revive the aid was a glimmer of hope for members of both parties who have warned that the fate of Eastern Europe and Americas reputation on the world stage hang in the balance if Congress fails to move ahead.

Original post:
The Senate Moved to Salvage Ukraine Aid - The New York Times

Opinion | What a Russian and Ukrainian general agree on: This battlespace is different – The Washington Post

As top Russian and Ukrainian generals assess the battlefield after nearly two brutal years of stalemated positional warfare, they draw the same lessons: Tanks, manned aircraft and traditional maneuver forces are sitting ducks, while advanced drones and digital battle-management systems can have a decisive impact.

Russia has come to realize what Ukraine recognized more than a year ago: This is an algorithm war, one where digital intelligence and targeting systems have rewritten the rules of conflict. The fog of war experienced by commanders for centuries has cleared. In the newly transparent battlespace, movements by large units are instantly visible and vulnerable.

This look into Russian and Ukrainian military assessments is possible thanks to commentaries published in the past two weeks by two veteran commanders, Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, a former chief of the Russian general staff, and Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, head of the Ukrainian military. They appeared, respectively, in Army Standard, a Russian publication, and on the website of the Ukrainian defense ministry.

The commentaries were flagged to me by Kevin Ryan, a retired Army brigadier general who served as U.S. defense attach in Moscow and then taught at the Harvard Kennedy Schools Belfer Center. He translated the articles and circulated them this week among Russia specialists. Zaluzhny made similar comments about the importance of drones in an interview published in November in the Economist, but the Russian analysis is new and startling.

These two adversaries see many of the same lessons, Ryan writes in an email summarizing the commentaries. The generals recognize that in the Ukraine battlespace, no concentration of troops, large or small, can escape the ever-present reconnaissance by unmanned aerial systems and satellites, he notes.

The tactical revolution underway in Ukraine underlines why a congressional failure to approve continued U.S. military support for Kyiv would be so devastating. As Russia gains increasing mastery of digital warfare, Zaluzhny worries that Ukraine is hobbled by exhaustion of our partners stocks of missiles and ammunition and the difficulty of our allies in determining the priorities of support.

Baluyevskys comments read like a wake-up call to his fellow Russian officers. He argues that the so-called special military operation in Ukraine has been an unprecedented test of literally all components of military affairs and military construction. His analysis came in the foreword for an anthology of essays about the war, which was then summarized in Army Standard by Russian journalist Sergey Valchenko.

Baluyevsky echoes many Western commentators who have argued that defense has trumped offense in Ukraine. Air defense has won an unexpected triumph over military aviation, which has lost the ability to operate en masse over enemy territory and even must fly with caution over its own territory.

The tank has become one of the main casualties of the combat experience of the last two years, he explains, since it was an easily detected and easily hit target and turned out to be very vulnerable to mines. Similarly, the impossibility of concentrating troops forces us to conduct combat operations with small units and separate combat vehicles.

Baluyevsky has some scathing comments about the performance of Russian weapons. The qualitative superiority of NATO artillery is evident, he contends. Ukraine has revealed a significant lag in Russian artillery and missile systems and requires their priority radical rearmament in the next few years.

The winners in this war are drones. Unmanned aircraft have rapidly and unconditionally conquered the airspace, Baluyevsky argues. Zaluzhny agrees that unmanned systems, along with other new types of weapons, are almost the only tool for getting out of the stalemate of trench warfare.

Zaluzhny bemoans Russias manpower advantage and Ukraines inability to improve the state of staffing of the Defense Forces without the use of unpopular measures, such as a nationwide draft. His disagreement with President Volodymyr Zelensky about the need for such an all-out mobilization is one reason for recent tension between the two men and Zelenskys reported readiness to sack his commander.

Ukraine, as I wrote after visiting Kyiv in October, is exhausted by war and slowly bleeding out. Zaluzhny implicitly recognizes this war fatigue in arguing for increased use of unmanned systems to reduce the level of losses reduce the degree of participation of traditional means of destruction [and] limited involvement of heavy equipment.

The lesson for the United States, beyond the simple but urgent need to continue military assistance for Ukraine, is to focus that support on the high-tech weapons that matter. The weapons that have generated endless debate, such as tanks and F-16 fighters, are less important than drones, antiaircraft systems and electronic-warfare jammers.

The best weapons today, agree the Russian and Ukrainian generals, might be small, cheap systems such as first-person view, or FPV drones that fly into targets like tiny suicide bombers and can be almost impossible to stop. The chilling fact is that these silent killers can be bought and used by almost any combatant, anywhere on Earth. It is, as the generals agree, a new day in warfare.

Read more:
Opinion | What a Russian and Ukrainian general agree on: This battlespace is different - The Washington Post

Tucker Carlson Says His Putin Interview Will Be Shown on Thursday – The New York Times

Tucker Carlson said late Wednesday that his much-anticipated interview with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia would be broadcast on Thursday night, even as a bill to send tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine remains hung up in Congress.

Mr. Carlson, the former Fox News host, made the announcement in an Instagram post, which said the interview would be broadcast on tuckercarlson.com at 6 p.m. Eastern time. It would be Mr. Putins first formal interview with a Western media figure since the start of his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, despite multiple requests from a variety of news outlets.

The interview was conducted on Tuesday, said the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov.

Mr. Carlson has spent several days in Moscow, according to Russian state media, which has delivered a blow-by-blow account of his visit, raising anticipation of a potential interview. He confirmed on Tuesday night that there would be one.

Were here to interview the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, Mr. Carlson said in a video apparently shot from a high-rise building in central Moscow and posted to X, the social media platform. Well be doing that soon.

Mr. Putins government has drastically reduced the ability of Western journalists to cover Russia, and it has imprisoned a Wall Street Journal correspondent, Evan Gershkovich, for more than 10 months on espionage charges that he, his employer and the United States government vehemently deny. The Kremlin has referred to Western countries as having been stupefied by anti-Russian propaganda.

The interview comes at a critical time for the war in Ukraine, with American aid to Kyiv stalled in Congress. On Wednesday, the Senate adjourned without moving forward on an aid package for Ukraine and Israel, after Republicans blocked a compromise that would have paired the aid with stringent border security measures.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit andlog intoyour Times account, orsubscribefor all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?Log in.

Want all of The Times?Subscribe.

View post:
Tucker Carlson Says His Putin Interview Will Be Shown on Thursday - The New York Times