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As we approach the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it feels like everyone has been sucked into a strange world.
► Two years ago, in February 2022, Tucker Carlson was a Fox News host still adjacent to the mainstream of American politics.
► U.S. support for Ukraine appeared ironclad and unwavering as Russia invaded.
► Russian President Vladimir Putin was trying to isolate himself around the world as an outcast.
► Elon Musk immediately Committed to supporting Ukraine with the Starlink satellite internet system.
► Former President Donald Trump is still plotting his escape from the political wilderness, and his presence is barely felt by most of the country.
Some developments this week:
► Putin got a platform thanks to Carlson’s softball interview, which got him kicked out of Fox News last year, and is the platform Musk bought and renamed X to spout right-wing conspiracy theories. Moved to Twitter.
► U.S. aid to Ukraine has become a real question as U.S. politicians, especially House Republicans, are questioning the investment. Note: President Trump this week helped kill a bipartisan border policy bill, putting at risk the aid to Ukraine that President Joe Biden has been seeking for months.
► President Trump’s emergence from the wilderness is complete. He has all but erased any doubts he would become the Republican presidential nominee for a third time and is planning a return to the White House.
Incidentally, the Pentagon is currently paying Mr. Musk’s SpaceX for Ukraine’s use of Starlink.
02:06 – Source: CNN
Russia expert says this is what Putin was trying to get out of Carlson interview
Propaganda broadcast on X
Karlsson was stomped on by President Putin during an interview in Moscow. CNN’s Oliver Darcy called this a “propaganda victory” for Putin.
From Darcy:
Instead of pressing Putin on a number of issues at hand, including credible accusations that Russia has committed war crimes and the imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Karlsson has asked the dictator to manipulate the public and deceive him no matter how deceptive. It gave him a free passage to tell his own interpretation of the history, even if it was a historical matter. That might have been the case.
At times, between expressions of dissatisfaction, Putin would appear to educate Karlsson about historical events while the host looked on in bemusement. More plainly, Carlson provided President Putin with a platform to spread his propaganda to a global audience with little or no scrutiny of his claims.
In one notable exchange, Carlson refuted the idea that Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been held in Russia since last March, is a U.S. spy. CNN reported that Russia has offered to exchange both Gershkovic and Paul Whelan, another American held in Russia since 2018, for a number of Russian nationals held abroad. Rejected.
Putin told Karlsson that he could possibly replace Gershkovych with Vadim Krasikov, a former colonel in Russian domestic espionage who was convicted of killing a former Chechen militant in broad daylight in Berlin in 2019. Ta.
CNN’s Nathan Hodge, Katarina Krebs and Helen Regan have more. They also fact-checked Mr. Carlson’s claim that U.S. news organizations have not sought to interview President Putin. From their report:
Indeed, journalists have repeatedly requested interviews with Putin, but the Russian president has refused to grant them access. And Putin has not only refused to participate in interviews with Freedom of the Press, but has waged war against the media over the past two years. imprison a journalist, fine big tech companies For providing “false” information about the invasion of Ukraine. Forcibly breaking the censorship law Something that cracks down on news organizations.
02:13 – Source: CNN
Amanpour refutes Tucker Carlson’s claims about Putin interview
Putin still faces isolation in the West, despite a free platform from Karlsson. CNN reporters noted that the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for President Putin over an alleged plot to take Ukrainian children to Russia. And on Thursday, there were new calls for President Vladimir Putin to open a war crimes investigation into Russia’s attack on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which killed thousands of people.
Reporters also used the word “revanchist”, which I had to look up, perfectly describes Putin’s distorted view of history and obsession with occupying Ukraine.
From Merriam-Webster: of or relating to a policy aimed at recovering lost territory or status (re··vanch·ist).
Meanwhile, significant progress has been made in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy replaced the military’s top commander, General Valery Zarzhiny, this week.
From CNN’s report: The president’s move comes as Ukraine’s much-vaunted counterattack has failed, the country faces a new onslaught from Russia, is running out of personnel and ammunition, and U.S. aid is stalled in Congress. It follows tensions between him and a hugely popular military commander.
But assuming the presidential election is between Trump and Biden, many of the concrete choices Americans will face in November will be about how the U.S. president approaches Putin. It is.
Biden built his presidency around the idea of a global struggle between democracy and authoritarianism. Trump frequently expresses admiration for dictators and dissatisfaction with democratic alliances like NATO.
The Pentagon has essentially exhausted all the funding Congress has allocated to Ukraine over the past two years.
It’s unclear when more will be done, especially after a proposal to tie U.S. border policy to Ukrainian funding ended this week.
The Senate supports support for Ukraine. A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday cleared the 60-vote threshold for a $95 billion aid bill for Ukraine and Israel. One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, plans to use arcane procedural tactics to delay the final vote for several days.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader, pushed back against criticism from right-wing lawmakers that the money was charity for Ukraine. Most of the money will be spent on producing military equipment in the United States, he said.
“This is about rebuilding the arsenal of democracy and showing that we are serious about using American power against allies and adversaries alike,” he said on the Senate floor Friday.
The House of Representatives poses an even more formidable obstacle to additional funding for Ukraine. Republican Chairman Mike Johnson has not ruled out approving the Ukraine bill, either as a standalone proposal or in conjunction with aid to Israel. But he certainly doesn’t support it either.
Johnson, like other Republicans, is calling for more transparency and accountability in how the money is spent. And he would likely need Democratic votes to pass further aid into law, which would anger hardline Republicans who have the power to oust him.
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