Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Armenia might formally withdraw from the CSTO and then replace Russian troops with American PMCs.

US Ambassador to Turkiye Tom Barrack proposed in mid-July that his country lease the Zangezur Corridor for 100 years as a means of breaking the deadlock between Armenia and Azerbaijan over this issue. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova reacted negatively to his suggestion by accusing the US of trying to take over the peace process and jeopardizing regional stability. Her remarks followed a report alleging that a secret memorandum had already been signed for creating the “Trump Bridge”.

The Spanish outlet Periodista Digital claimed that members of the Armenian diaspora procured this document from their state contacts, which will also see the deployment of around 1,000 American PMCs to secure this route. RT chief Margarita Simonyan, who’s ethnically Armenian and passionate about her ancestral homeland’s affairs, popularized the report by sharing it on X. She’s also been very critical of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whom she earlier accused of selling Armenia out to Turkiye.

If agreed to, and the report remains unconfirmed for now, the “Trump Bridge” could lead to Russia’s expulsion from the South Caucasus. The last clause of the Moscow-mediated November 2020 ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan calls for Russia’s FSB Border Guards to secure what Baku has since taken to calling the Zangezur Corridor through Armenia’s southern Syunik Region. Replacing them with American PMCs could precede the expulsion of Russian troops from Armenia.

Alexander Dugin
AGDchan (Telegram)

AI is not universal. It was created in the West and represents a structure of Western thinking, namely a colonial network imposed on all societies, subordinating them to Western meanings, goals, and procedures. AI has a civilizational identity. And it is Western. We will not be able to create Russian AI until we have clarity about Russian civilizational identity. Gigachat and other Russian creations are import substitutes, simply copied from ChatGPT with a few additional restrictions to please the authorities.

Zakharova raised an important topic: the sovereignty of AI. But she immediately reveals another topic about the sovereignty of intelligence in general, about Russian sovereignty of spirit and mind. It is impossible to talk seriously about AI without an equally serious conversation about Intelligence.

For three hundred years, we have been living in an intellectual context shaped by the West. This is reflected in our science, our politics, our culture, our economy, and our technology. It is a borrowed life. We are not living our own lives. The West is not just entering us now, along with AI, which Zakharova correctly interprets as imperialism. The West entered us long ago as I. We are not living in our minds. Considering Russia to be part of Western civilization, which began not with the Bolsheviks but with Peter, we have lost our Russian meanings and have no intention of restoring them. Everything we understand by science, politics, culture, and art is Western, imported, and copied. "Creative" development comes from the fact that we only partially understand borrowing, because we do not understand the contexts of origin; it is not our experience. Russia, since Peter, is a pseudomorph, an archaeo-modern, a cargo cult.

But that was not all. There were Slavophiles and Eurasianists, there was John of Kronstadt and Anthony (Khrapovitsky), there were Tikhomirov and Solonevich, there was Florensky with his Christian physics and S. Bulgakov with his Christian economics. And they made desperate attempts to make Russia Russian again, to de-Westernize the Russian consciousness. Each of their steps was worth its weight in gold for a civilization whose identity had been stolen and replaced with something foreign.

Jeffrey Silverman
New Eastern Outlook (Part 1)

The West’s attempts to politicize and rewrite the memory of Victory in World War II threaten historical truth and deepen divisions in Europe, where some countries follow the EU’s dictates while others defend their sovereignty and the right to honor the past without geopolitical filters.

It’s true that many European countries have distanced themselves from the 9th of May celebrations, allegedly as a direct result of the geopolitical context—Russia Bad, West Good, supposedly because of Russia’s SMO in Ukraine. But for many in the former Soviet space (and even beyond), that day is still sacred, a commemoration of immense sacrifice and the defeat of Nazi Germany and its likeminded minions.

Unfortunately, Europe itself, is acting more and more like the hundreds of thousands of willing collaborators and executioners who served as volunteers, mostly in the infamous SS.

Divergence in perspective is what’s creating these political and symbolic clashes. There is a deeper worry here: when the remembrance of historical events is shaped more by present-day alliances than by historical truth, the danger is that history gets rewritten—or forgotten. That’s a point scholars like Tony Judt, Timothy Snyder, and others have discussed in their writings on “memory politics” and the weaponization of history.

The memory of WWII, fascism, and communism shaped postwar Europe’s political structures—but these memories are deeply contested and selectively used. It must be remembered that the “Great Patriotic War” is burned into Soviet and now Russian memory and identity as a heroic and sacrificing people, who saved humanity. But it has different meaning for different nations, and some would like to rewrite their own histories.

Maria Zakharova / Мария Захарова (Telegram)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

On March 24, the international community - that part of it that knows history and has not lost the notion of justice and humanism - recalls the 26th anniversary of the beginning of the NATO aggression against Yugoslavia.

By attacking a sovereign country, the United States and its satellites abused international law undermined the foundations of security in Europe, and provoked a crisis in inter-State relations that has not been resolved to this day.

Much has been said about the terrible events of 1999, the chronology of the invasion by the Western coalition has been analyzed minute by minute, and the consequences have been thoroughly documented. But this does not mean that, as time passes, the massacre of Yugoslavia fades into memory or loses its formidable symbolism. No matter how much the NATO allies call on the Serbian people to forget the past, to "turn the page", the memory of that bloody spring lives on.

NATO's so-called "humanitarian intervention" is an example of modern barbarism (and of the "rules-based" world order), of the unfounded belief in one's superiority. Even before the strikes on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Western propaganda was turned on full blast to make Serbs feel guilty, to make them perceive the bombing as a "deserved lesson". The alliance presented the case as bringing the values of freedom and democracy to the Balkans along with depleted uranium munitions.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Russia would remove what the interim Syrian authorities consider to be a “problem” from their hands, it could more quickly settle its new regions, and their ongoing base talks would no longer be overshadowed by these atrocities.

The latest sectarian violence in Syria killed almost 1,000 members of the Alawite minority at the minimum, with many of them still sheltering in place or hiding somewhere outside of their homes due to their fear of being murdered like their co-religionists just were if they step into the street.

RT published a detailed report about what one of the survivors described as this “safari hunting Alawites”, while the UN confirmed that “entire families, including women and children, were killed” over the past week.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that around 9,000 Syrians – presumably mostly Alawites – sought shelter at her country’s Khmeimim airbase to escape the violence that she very strongly condemned. On that topic, Reuters cited two sources who were briefed on last week’s closed-door UNSC meeting on Syria to exclusively report that Russian Permanent Representative Vasily Nebenzia “lambasted” what happened by comparing it to the Rwandan Genocide.

Harold Turner
Hal Turner Show

The Russian Government has completely rejected proposals for a one-month halt in fighting in Ukraine. This rejection also includes a proposed pause in aerial and naval attacks. The fighting will continue.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made it clear: Russia won’t accept a “respite” without firm agreements on a final settlement.

Turkey ready to deploy troops to ukraine if needed

The government of Turkey, NATO’s second-largest military power, has indicated it is willing to join a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine to ensure regional stability.

The move, still conceptual, would follow a ceasefire and involve non-combat units to monitor peace. The proposal was made despite Moscow’s full rejection of NATO forces entering Ukraine for __any__ military purpose, though U.S. President Donald Trump believes Russia might agree.

Turkey, balancing ties with both Kyiv and Moscow, has mediated past deals like the Black Sea grain export agreement.

For Russia, none of these proposals make sense for multiple reasons. First, Russia is winning. If they agree to a "halt" or a "pause" or even the entry of "peacekeepers" both Ukraine and teh collective West, operating as NATO, have proven they simply cannot be trusted. The Russians believe any halt to the combat would be immediately used to re-supply, re-arm present Ukrainian troops, and add more troops, for a continued fight, later.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Trump will implement a comprehensive economic, diplomatic, and military pressure campaign against Russia if Putin rejects a ceasefire, but it’s unclear whether Trump will coerce Zelensky into territorial concessions first in order to make it easier for Putin to compromise on his prior demands for this.

Trump’s Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg told the New York Post more about how his boss plans to bring Putin to the peace table. According to him, the US might ratchet up its energy-related sanctions on Russia and associated secondary ones on its clients if he refuses. This would occur together with more diplomatic pressure, likely upon China and India to have their leaders convince Putin to reconsider, and “some type of military pressures and levers that you’re going to use underneath those”.

The immediate goal is “to stop the killing — just stop it — and then you go from there”, so in other words, the abovementioned approach would be aimed at getting Russia to agree to a ceasefire. This aligns with what was assessed here in late January about Trump’s plans. The problem though is that Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed on the same day as Kellogg’s interview that “A temporary ceasefire or, as many say, freezing the conflict, is unacceptable” for Russia.

One day earlier, however, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov suggested that his country’s position on not holding talks with Zelensky due to the Ukrainian leader’s illegitimacy might be reversed for pragmatism’s sake so it’s possible that the aforementioned one about rejecting a ceasefire might be too. That could occur if Trump coerces Zelensky into withdrawing from at least Kursk and Donbass along with declaring that Ukraine won’t join NATO, thus satisfying some of Russia’s goals as recently explained here.

Ukraine would then lift martial law and finally hold its long-delayed elections, which could potentially lead to the US replacing Zelensky like Russia’s foreign spy agency claimed last week is supposedly in the cards. That scenario sequence aligns with Russian and US interests, but it can’t be ruled out that some of the last administration’s Russophobic hawks remain in positions of influence within the US’ “deep state” and end up dissuading Trump from coercing Zelensky into territorial concessions first.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

A view of a scene of an explosion in Moscow, Russia, 17 Dec.
ember 2024. According to a statement by the Investigative
Committee of Russia, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and
his assistant were killed in a blast outside of an apartment
building in Moscow. [EPA-EFE/YURI KOCHETKOV]

The SBU’s cowardly assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov won’t stop his agency’s work.

Reuters cited a source in Ukraine’s SBU on Tuesday to report that they were responsible for assassinating Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia’s Radiological, Chemical, and Biological Defense Forces (RChBZ). RT reminded their audience that he was instrumental in informing the world about the WMD threat posed by Ukraine. This includes its American-backed bioweapons experiments, dirty bomb plans, and the use of chemical weapons against Russian servicemen in the special operation zone.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted on Telegram that Kirillov “has been systematically exposing the crimes of the Anglo-Saxons for many years, with facts in hand: NATO provocations with chemical weapons in Syria, Britain's manipulations with prohibited chemical substances and provocations in Salisbury and Amesbury, the deadly activities of American biolabs in Ukraine and much more. He worked fearlessly. He did not hide behind people's backs.”

Her country is correspondingly expected to continue raising maximum global awareness of these issues. They’d somewhat faded out of the media limelight over the past year as attention shifted to the scenario of conventional Western escalations in Ukraine such as the decision to authorize Kiev to use the ATACMS for carrying out strikes deep inside of Russia and the possibility of deploying troops there under the cover of peacekeepers. All the while, however, Ukraine’s WMD threats never fully went away.

A lasting peace is therefore only possible if the solution includes mechanisms for dismantling this clandestine infrastructure and monitoring compliance afterwards. Trump would have to be on board for that to happen, but since some of his surrogates have talked about this issue before, it can’t be ruled out that he’d agree to this proposal if they convince him that the problem veritably exists. He also has an axe to grind with Hunter Biden, some of whose companies have been implicated in these schemes.

Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter

Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian military
intelligence services (© Serhiy Morgunov for WaPo via Getty)

The US’ internal policymaking dynamics have shifted since the start of Russia’s special operation.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the Rossiya 1 TV channel that the US heeded his country’s demand last month to force Ukraine to call off a major provocation that his country believed had American backing and which would have dramatically escalated tensions if it happened. He strongly hinted that this was supposed to be an assassination attempt against Putin and new Defense Minister Andrey Belousov at St. Petersburg’s Naval Day Parade on 28 July in order to generate a “media effect”.

Ryabkov’s remarks follow Belousov’s call to his American counterpart Lloyd Austin on 12 July, the content of which was first reported by the New York Times (NYT) on 26 July, where he conveyed Russia’s demand for the US to force Ukraine to call off its plans. One day later on 13 July, which was coincidentally the same day that an assassination attempt was made against Trump, Ukrainian military-intelligence chief Kirill Budanov confirmed that his country had indeed tried to kill Putin in the past but obviously failed.

His candid admission prompted Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to accuse the US of funding such attempts and allege that Western countries had also directly participated in them. This scandalous development wasn’t given the attention that it deserved due to the fallout from Trump’s attempted assassination, which took priority in the global media cycle, hence why most observers weren’t even aware of Budanov’s admission and Zakharova’s response.

Ricardo Nuno Costa
New Eastern Outlook

On 16 July, Jürgen Elsässer (67) woke up startled at 6 a.m., opened the door of his house while still in his dressing gown, and in front of him were dozens of police officers, some with their faces covered, heavily armed, in a surreal image befitting any authoritarian state. However, it was in Brandenburg, on the outskirts of Berlin, in the Germany of the tragicomic Scholz government, aka the ‘Traffic Light’ coalition.

The police were about to raid his house, while more than 200 federal and Brandenburg state agents were deployed to carry out further searches in eight other houses and offices in the region. Other raids were carried out in the states of Saxony, Hesse and Saxony-Anhalt, ordered by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), who had ordered Compact to be closed by decree as an ‘association’, when it was legally a publishing house. She also banned any activity by the audiovisual company that produced Compact’s content, such as its YouTube, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The minister later explained that Compact ‘incites hatred against Jews, against people with a history of migration and against our parliamentary democracy in an indescribable way’. According to the Ministry, the legal basis is the Law on Associations, according to which organisations that are directed against the free and democratic basic order can also be banned.

‘The ban shows that we are also taking action against intellectual arsonists who are fuelling a climate of hatred and violence against refugees and migrants and who want to bypass our democratic state,’ the minister explained. “Our message is very clear: we will not allow ethnicity to define who belongs in Germany and who does not. Our rule of law protects all those who are harassed because of their faith, their origin, the colour of their skin or even their democratic position.

As early as 2022, the German intelligence services (BND) considered that Compact, ‘as a multimedia company, conveys anti-democratic positions in society and against human dignity’, and since then, it has been classified as far-right by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and under suspicion.