DNI Tulsi Gabbard Eliminates $700 Million in IC Spending, Reducing Staff 40 Percent

August 21, 2025 | Sundance1/2

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has announced a major shift in reducing the role of the Intelligence Community and eliminating the politization of intelligence information.

As we have discussed on these pages for several years, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence was created shortly before the Obama administration took power,and subsequently the fledgling organization was weaponized for domestic influence operations. DNI Tulsi Gabbard takes a major step in addressing this problem.

In the era shortly after 9/11, the DC national security apparatus was constructed to preserve continuity of government and simultaneously view all Americans as potential threats. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) were created specifically for this purpose.

What Barack Obama and Eric Holder did with that new construct was refine the internal targeting mechanisms so that only their ideological opposition became the target of the new national security system.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard announced a long-overdue transformation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to refocus on executing its core national security mission with integrity in the most agile, effective, and efficient way.This will reduce ODNI by over 40% by the end of fiscal year 2025 and save taxpayers over $700 million per year and better enable ODNI to focus on fulfilling its critical role of serving as the central hub for intelligence integration, strategic guidance, and oversight over the Intelligence Community.

ODNI was created after the horrific Islamist terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, exposed systemic failures across the Intelligence Community (IC). Its purpose was to integrate intelligence from and provide oversight over all IC elements (currently 18) in order to ensure the intelligence provided to the President and policymakers is timely, accurate, and apolitical.

Unfortunately, two decades later, ODNI has fallen short in fulfilling its mandate.

“Over the last 20 years,ODNI has become bloated and inefficient, and the intelligence community is rife with abuse of power, unauthorized leaks of classified intelligence, and politicized weaponization of intelligence,” said DNI Tulsi Gabbard. “ODNI and the IC must make serious changes to fulfill its responsibility to the American people and the U.S. Constitution by focusing on our core mission: find the truth and provide objective, unbiased, timely intelligence to the President and policymakers. Ending the weaponization of intelligence and holding bad actors accountable are essential to begin to earn the American people’s trust which has long been eroded. Under President Trump’s leadership, ODNI 2.0 is the start of a new era focused on serving our country, fulfilling our core national security mission with excellence, always grounded in the U.S. Constitution, and ensuring the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.”

Tulsi Gabbard Cuts $700M From ODNI

https://youtu.be/Tkv_guk57i0?si=cujkifdn7t3_Yme_

8:05

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/08/21/dni-tulsi-gabbard-eliminates-700-million-in-ic-spending-reducing-staff-40-percent/

>>23490286

2/2

You can find an ODNI 2.0 fact sheet here.

ODNI 2.0 eliminates redundant missions, functions and personnel, and makes critical investments in areas that support the President’s national intelligence priorities, and focuses on rebuilding trust, exposing politicization and weaponization of intelligence, holding bad actors accountable, saving American tax dollars, and focusing on our core mission: protecting the safety, security, and freedom of the American people.

Washington DC created the modern national security apparatus immediately and hurriedly after 9/11/01. DHS came along in 2002 and within the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 the ODNI was formed. When Barack Obama and Eric Holder arrived a few years later, those newly formed institutions were viewed as opportunities to create a very specific national security apparatus that would focus almost exclusively against their political opposition.

The preexisting Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Dept of Justice (DOJ) were then repurposed to become two of the four pillars of the domestic national security apparatus.However, this new construct would have a targeting mechanism based on political ideology. The DHS, ODNI, DOJ and FBI became the four pillars of this new institution. Atop these pillars is where you will find the Fourth Branch of Government.

We were not sleeping when this happened, we were wide awake. However, we were stunningly distracted by the economic collapse that was taking place in 2006 and 2007 when the engineers behind Obama started to assemble the design. By the time Obama took office in 2009, we sensed something profound was shifting, but we can only see exactly what shifted in the aftermath. The four pillars were put into place, and a new Fourth Branch of Government was quietly created.

As Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard has begun to take down the political surveillance system.

Yesterday,it was announced that Tulsi Gabbard fired twenty of the “according to those familiar with the matter” people. Another ten from the group “who spoke on the condition of anonymity.” And seven of the “officials close to the issue.”

Her work continues.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/08/21/dni-tulsi-gabbard-eliminates-700-million-in-ic-spending-reducing-staff-40-percent/

FBI Director Kash Patel Outlines Current Status of FBI Reform Effort to Include Internal Investigations

August 21, 2025 | Sundance |

FBI Director Kash Patel appeared on Fox News Business with Larry Kudlow to discuss the current status of several FBI efforts, including the targeting of international terrorists.

Within the interview, Director Patel notes there is an ongoing review of any/all information that surrounds the weaponized use of the FBI under previous leadership. Kudlow narrows in on the FBI raid to Mar-a-Lago, and digs down for details as to whether Patel is investigating the targeting of President Trump post 2020 election. WATCH:

In recent joint appearances with Kash Patel, there appeared to be frustration by President Trump as the Director waxed philosophically about the excellence of his agency while the American electorate looked on with great suspicion. Shortly thereafter came an announcement that Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey would be joining the FBI leadership team as a Co-Deputy Director.

The current appearances by Director Patel follow the announcement of Bailey’s addition to the team.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/08/21/fbi-director-kash-patel-outlines-current-status-of-fbi-reform-effort-to-include-internal-investigations/

Kash Patel exposes the ‘weaponization’ of Biden’s DOJ and FBI

14:30

https://youtu.be/YMEaK3uzcuQ

Leticia James and Engoron are Fucked

Trump half-billion-dollar civil fraud fine overturned by New York appeals courtPublished Thu, Aug 21 202510:57 AM EDTUpdated

Key Points

• A New York state appeals court voided a more than $500 million civil fraud penalty imposed on President Donald Trump.

•The appeals court said “injunctive relief” ordered by the trial judge in the case filed by state Attorney General Letitia James was “well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture” at the Trump Organization.

• But the order that “directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the appeals court said.

A New York state appeals court on Thursday threw out a more than $500 million civil business fraud penalty imposed on President Donald Trump and other defendants in connection with a lawsuit by state Attorney General Letitia James.

The appeals court said that the penalty, “which directs that defendants pay nearly half a billion dollars to the State of New York, is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

However, the court in the same ruling said that other non-monetary sanctions imposed by a Manhattan Supreme Court judge on Trump, the Trump Organization, and other defendants were “well crafted to curb defendants’ business culture.”Trump crowed about the decision in a post on Truth Social.

“TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case! I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State,” Trump wrote.

“Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before,” Trump wrote.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron in February 2024 ordered Trump to pay around $454 million in total penalties after holding him liable for business fraud.

Engoron found that Trump’s statements of financial condition, signed between 2014 and 2021, overvalued his assets from between $812 million and $2.2 billion.

With interest, the penalty imposed on Trump and other defendants in the case has grown to more than $500 million.

CNBC has requested comment from James and the Trump Organization on the decision, which was issued by the First Judicial Department of the New York State Appellate Division.

Eric Trump, the president’s son, and one of the defendants in the lawsuit, reacted to the decision in a social media post.

“Total victory in the sham NY Attorney General case!!!After 5 years of hell, justice prevailed!” wrote Eric Trump, who, with his brother Donald Trump Jr., operates the Trump Organization.

In a concurring opinion with the decision, Appellate Division Judge Peter Moulton wrote thatJames “did not carry her initial burden” of establishing the rough total of the profits “causally connected” to the defendants’ violation.

“Indeed, the calculation of the disgorgement in this case was far from a reasonable approximation,” Moulton wrote.

James and the defendants can appeal Thursday’s decision, which kept in place non-monetary penalties imposed on President Trump and his company.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/21/trump-fraud-new-york-appeals.html

CNN 8/21/2025

Trump DOJ is investigating whether DC crime stats were manipulated

By Hannah Rabinowitz, Holmes Lybrand, CNN

Updated: 8:22 PM EDT, Wed August 20, 2025

The Trump Justice Department is investigating whether Washington, DC’s Metropolitan Police Department manipulated crime data, according to two sources.

The investigation, which is being run by the US attorney’s office in DC, is an escalation in the city’s battle against a federal law enforcement takeover from the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump appeared to confirm the probe in a social media post, writing that “D.C. gave Fake Crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety. This is a very bad and dangerous thing to do, and they are under serious investigation for so doing!”

The New York Times was first to report the investigation. The Justice Department declined to comment on the investigation.

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and Police Chief Pamela Smith said Wednesday that they will cooperate with the probe – and expect subpoenas may be issued.

“Any questions about data from DOJ we will happily answer,” Bowser said during a school event, while maintaining that crime in the nation’s capital has gone down over the last two years.

Smith said she has not yet been contacted by DOJ about its investigation. “But, I am aware that there may be or will be subpoenas issued, I don’t know to whom, but that’s all I know at this point.”

The investigation comes following reports that an MPD commander was placed on administrative leave amid accusations that the department was falsifying crime data in one district, marking offenses as lower-level crimes than they might actually be.

Smith said MPD’s probe into the allegations of manipulating crime statistics is ongoing.

“It was an investigation that was initiated by me,” Smith said. “We have not yet completely finalized the investigation.”

Trump and other administration officials have for months slammed the capital city, alleging that its Democratic leadership has allowed violent crime to run rampant for years. When federal police descended just over a week ago, the president said it was necessary to combat what he said was skyrocketing crime rates.

City officials have pushed back on the allegation, and the MPD’s public statistics say that violent crime has dropped almost 30% from this time last year. And in January the DOJ said that in 2024, violent crime dropped 35 % from the previous year, marking the lowest it had been in more than three decades.

Asked about the federal takeover of the district’s police department and deployment of the National Guard, Smith on Wednesday said it has been “a cohesive process.”

“We have met with our federal partners. We’ve given them different areas across the city where we would like to see resources allocated. And today, I will tell you, it’s been a cohesive process. We speak every single day,” she said.

https://lite.cnn.com/2025/08/19/politics/doj-is-investigating-whether-dc-crime-stats-were-manipulated

Bower is hiding a lot!

Walmart hikes sales and earnings outlook even as it says tariff costs are rising

(The SKY didn’t fall with Tariffs) Published Thu, Aug 21 202512:01 AM EDT

Key Points

• Walmart raised its full-year earnings and sales outlook, even as it said costs from tariffs continued to rise.

• The company has started to raise prices on some items, but has kept others unchanged.

• Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told CNBC that one of the company’s strategies has been bringing in inventory early.

Walmart hikes sales and earnings outlook even as it says tariff costs are rising

Walmart on Thursday raised its full-year earnings and sales outlook as its online business posted another quarter of double-digit gains, even as the company said costs are rising from higher tariffs.

The big-box retailer topped Wall Street’s quarterly sales estimates but fell short of earnings expectations, the first time it missed on quarterly earnings since May 2022. The company said it felt pressure on profits for the period, including from some one-time expenses, such as restructuring costs, pricier insurance claims and litigation settlements.

Walmart said it now expects net sales to grow between 3.75% and 4.75% for the fiscal year, up from its previous expectations for 3% to 4%. It raised its adjusted earnings per share outlook slightly to $2.52 to $2.62, up from a prior range of $2.50 to $2.60 per share.

In an interview with CNBC, Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said the company is working hard to keep prices low – including speeding up imports from overseas and stepping up the number of Rollbacks, or limited-time discounts, in its stores.

“This is managed on an item-by-item and category-by-category basis,” he said. “There are certainly areas where we have fully absorbed the impact of higher tariff costs. There are other areas where we’ve had to pass some of those costs along.” But he added “tariff-impacted costs are continuing to drift upwards.”

Even so, Rainey said Walmart hasn’t seen a change in customer spending. For example, sales of private-label items, which typically cost less than national brands, were roughly flat year over year, he said.

“Everyone is looking to see if there are any creaks in the armor or anything that’s happening with the consumer, but it’s been very consistent,” he said. “They continue to be very resilient.”

Yet on the company’s earnings call, CEO Doug McMillon said middle- and lower-income households have been more sensitive to tariff-related price increases, particularly in discretionary categories.“We see a corresponding moderation in units at the item level as customers switch to other items, or in some cases, categories,” he said.

Here’s what the big-box retailer reported for the fiscal second quarter compared with what Wall Street expected, according to a survey of analysts by LSEG:

• Earnings per share: 68 cents adjusted vs. 74 cents expected

• Revenue: $177.40 billion vs. $176.16 billion

He said one of the company’s strategies has been bringing in inventory early, particularly for Sam’s Club as it gets ready for the second half of the fiscal year and its crucial holiday season. At the end of the quarter, inventory was up about 3.5% at Sam’s Club, Rainey said. It was up 2.2% for Walmart U.S.

On the company’s earnings call, McMillon said the impact of tariffs has been “gradual enough that any behavioral adjustments by the customer have been somewhat muted.”

“But as we replenish inventory at post-tariff price levels, we’ve continued to see our costs increase each week, which we expect will continue into the third and fourth quarters,” he said.

Yet even with higher costs from tariffs, Walmart has fared better than its retail competitors as it has leaned into its reputation for value, competed on faster deliveries to customers’ homes and attracted more business from higher-income households.

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/21/walmart-wmt-q2-2026-earnings.html

The Vitamin D Paradox: What They Don't Tell You About Cholecalciferol

An Essay Unbekoming Aug 17, 2025read all of it, very long and confusing

Preface: Before We Begin

The same molecule in your morning vitamin D supplement is the active ingredient in rat poison.

Not a similar compound. Not a chemical cousin. The exact same molecule: cholecalciferol. At 0.075% concentration, it kills rats. In your supplement bottle, it's supposed to make you healthier.

This should be a simple story of dosage – but the more I investigated, the stranger it became. The vitamin D in supplements isn't extracted from fish or produced by sunlight.It's manufactured from sheep's wool using benzene and chloroform in Chinese chemical factories. The same factories that produce industrial solvents.

Meanwhile, studies show vitamin D supplements reduce multiple sclerosis progression by 34%. They lower cancer mortality. They help ICU patients recover faster. How does rat poison mixed with industrial chemicals improve health outcomes?

This essay is my attempt to reconcile what shouldn't be reconcilable. To understand how we arrived at a place where medicine and poison share the same molecule, the same manufacturer, the same mechanism of action – but somehow produce opposite results.

What you're about to read might challenge everything you believe about supplements, nutrition, and how we decide what's "healthy." That's the point. Sometimes the most important questions are the ones that make us uncomfortable.Ready?

One more thing: this isn't meant to frighten you. If you're taking vitamin D and feeling better, I'm not saying you're poisoning yourself.The truth is more complex - some people probably benefit, others might be harmed, and many are likely wasting money on unnecessary supplements. The goal is to help you make informed decisions, not to create panic.==

Some people do have genuine, severe deficiencies that need medical attention. This essay isn't about them – it's about the rest of us being told we're all deficient based on questionable tests and ever-shifting standards.

1. The Paradox That Shouldn't Exist

Here's a puzzle that keeps me awake at night: Multiple studies claim vitamin D supplementation produces measurable health benefits. A 2025 trial in France reported that high-dose vitamin D reduced multiple sclerosis progression by 34%. A meta-analysis found 15% lower cancer mortality. ICU patients allegedly had better survival rates. These studies exist, complete with control groups and statistical analyses, circulating through the medical establishment's usual channels.

Same substance, different context: Rampage rat poison. Active ingredient: 0.075% cholecalciferol. That's vitamin D3. Not mixed with vitamin D3, not containing vitamin D3 as one of many ingredients. The only active ingredient that kills rats is the exact same molecule we're told to supplement for our health. The remaining 99.925%? Seeds and grain – rat food. The vitamin D is what makes it lethal.

Something doesn't add up here.

Now, I don't trust the medical publishing complex. After watching them gatekeep dissenting voices, rubber-stamp fraudulent studies during the pandemic, and memory-hole inconvenient data, I know they're captured by industrial medicine. But here's what makes this paradox interesting: even if these vitamin D studies are manipulated, even if the benefits are manufactured, even if the whole thing is pharmaceutical propaganda – we still have the other side of the equation. The rat poison. The safety data sheets. The "fatal if swallowed" warnings from the actual manufacturers.

https://unbekoming.substack.com/p/the-vitamin-d-paradox-what-they-dont

>>23490423

Comments from professionals on this article on Vitamin D

Unbekoming

From Jeff Bowles

The whole problem with this article is that the author starts off with no understanding of Vitamin D3's cofactors.

The reason D3 can be used as a rat poison is because it depletes the rats' vitamin K2 levels, which then triggers hypercalcemia. If you added vitamin K2 to the rat poison, it would no longer be a poison—in fact, it would make the rats healthier. Yes, it also depletes magnesium. And if someone experiences negative effects from taking a high dose of D3 immediately, it is always due to triggering symptoms of magnesium deficiency. At very high doses that some humans take—like 100,000 to 300,000 IUs per day—it usually takes about 4 to 6 months to trigger a toxic vitamin K2 deficiency, leading to hypercalcemia. After even longer periods of high-dose D3, you eventually get induction of boron and zinc deficiencies, as well as vitamin A. These are all cofactors that D3 uses up in its processes. In fact, there is no such thing as vitamin D3 toxicity—that is just an old doctor’s tale. What you are really seeing are just various cofactor deficiencies induced by high-dose D3 consuming them. D3 itself is completely non-toxic. The author would be better off if he would spend some time reading the book "The Miraculous Cure for and Prevention of All Diseases—What Doctors Never Learned."

From Robert Yoho, MD

D is the most important wonder vitamin, and we have substantial backing for this.

Here is my D draft post due out in 10 days or so

https://robertyoho.substack.com/p/072c884b-918f-4525-8a14-8d646bc0785e

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Thomas A Braun RPh

4d

Edited

I am sure, big Pharma loves your discussion about vitamin D being a poison. If I give my dog chocolate, he will die. If I drink too much water, I will die lifestyle issues and lack of exposure to sunlight in the northern temperature zones and the southern temperate zones reduces the bodies required amount of vitamin D for maintaining good health. Studies in the 1930s in the 1940s in the USA demonstrated the safety of vitamin D for consumption.. It is 10 times safer than what it’s being expressed. The VA ran a study in the USA Midwest area that demonstrated that they reduced veterans health issues by 50% by providing them with increased levels of vitamin D.. They ignore the studies because it doesn’t grow the bureaucracy that they are managing. Harvard ran a vital study and never measured blood value of vitamin D to determine its true contribution to good health, and the study was purposely designed to discredit the true value of vitamin D.. for those that are interested in the true value of vitamin D I recommend very highly www.vitamindwiki.com that documents, the true value of vitamin D in maintaining good health. Many of the prescription drugs that are consumed chronically by humans that are pushed by the drug trade deplete key nutrients in the body and are they causes of ill health. The one that I am aware of that is ignored by medicine is a proton pump inhibitors chronic consumption destroys vitamin D, which is essential for good health, and the average American carries about half of the blood value of what is required to stay healthy and is demonstrated by the research at vitamin D wiki. I will continue to take 5000. IU’s vitamin D daily and maintain a blood value of a round 70 ng’s. There is sufficient evidence that 80% of the breast cancer cases would not exist if every woman had a blood value over 50 ng’s. Pushing the fear that vitamin D is a poison benefits our bloated healthcare system in the USA.. the endocrinologist in the USA understand the true value of vitamin D and their viewpoint is ignored by big medicine because it again doesn’t grow our bloated healthcare system.

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Alex Marlow

@AlexMarlow

🚨 BREAKING: Appeals court throws out $515 million(!!) civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump.

The judge ruled the penalty was cruel and unusual, violating the Eighth Amendment.

This is EXACT argument I made in my NYT bestseller BREAKING THE LAW!

Great news.

Now lets investigate Tish James!!

11:11 AM · Aug 21, 2025

·

15.7K

Views

Hm Tish being investigated for mortgage fraud, and her fraudulent prosecution of Trump burns up. She's got a problem with fraud, and it's coming back to bite her big ass.

https://x.com/AlexMarlow/status/1958547442108084443

Russia: ‘Road to Nowhere’ to Discuss Ukraine Security Without Kremlin Present, European Boots on Ground ‘Absolutely Unacceptable’

Oliver JJ Lane 21 Aug 2025

Russia says it wants to be part of Ukraine security talks, warning any bid to make decisions by “clumsy” European nations without Moscow is a “road to nowhere”.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov followed up comments dismissing Europe’s bid to arrange security guarantees for Ukraine as utopian and a “road to nowhere” with fresh remarks on Thursday that may amount to a fresh bid to slow or derail peace talks by introducing new demands.

While President Trump had revealed on Monday that “President Putin agreed that Russia would accept security guarantees for Ukraine”, it was never made clear what it was Putin had signalled his consent to and now Russia is finessing its conditions in public. Lavrov said today that any foreign military deployment to Ukraine — the very core of what European nations have in mind for Ukrainian security guarantees — would be “absolutely unacceptable for Russia”.

The Russian career diplomat who has been in the foreign ministry since the days of the Soviet Union accused European states of wishing to “exacerbate” tensions by creating an “anti-Russian” alliance “based on aggressive intentions towards our country”. Security guarantee talk amid the Coalition of the Willing is “further attempts to inflict a strategic defeat on us” and a bid to “undermine” Putin-Trump peace talks, he claimed.

These remarks follow others, as previously reported, made by Lavrov on Wednesday when he declared that any attempts to cater for Ukraine’s future safety without Russia at the table are doomed to failure. He said claimed the West “understand perfectly well” that talking security without Russia at the table is “a road to nowhere”.

Lavrov said: “We cannot agree with the fact that now it is proposed to resolve questions of security, collective security, without the Russian Federation. This will not work… I am sure that in the West and above all in the United States they understand perfectly well that seriously discussing security issues without the Russian Federation is a utopia, it’s a road to nowhere.”

Meanwhile, European nations are champing at the bit to get troops in Ukraine, although all so far have demurred from actually coming into contact with Russian troops. As reported on Wednesday, ten European states of 31 members of the ‘Coalition of the Willing’ say they are ready to deploy, although most are unnamed and what exactly they would contribute is still under discussion.

The United Kingdom is the keenest of all to get involved, but even London insists it will only support Ukraine far behind the front lines, saying its troops could be committed to reach-echelon roles like logistics and training.

The area most likely to be taken up by Western partners, from European players like the United Kingdom, France, and Poland to the United States itself is air patrols to enforce a ceasefire or peace deal long-term. President Trump said the air domain would be where American power was applied given the USAF has such overwhelmingly superior equipment.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2025/08/21/russia-road-to-nowhere-to-discuss-ukraine-security-without-us

I agree, EU will violate anything and blame it on Russia. Plus if they are supposed to work together, they should openly do it.

21 Aug, 2025 17:38

Ukraine not interested in peace – Lavrov

Kiev plans to demand that Russia be weakened through sanctions even after a peace agreement is reached, the Russian foreign minister said

Kiev is openly demonstrating it has no interest in long-term peace with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, pointing to recent remarks by Ukrainian officials.

Following the summit in Alaska between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, and subsequent talks in Washington with Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky and European leaders, the US administration said a peace deal had become more feasible. The White House described the outcome of the talks as progress, noting there was “a light at the end of the tunnel.”

At a press conference on Thursday, Lavrov confirmed that significant progress had been achieved during the Alaska summit. However, he underlined that Ukrainian officials continue to comment on a possible resolution “in a very specific way that shows they are not interested in a sustainable, fair, long-term settlement.”

He pointed to a statement by key Zelensky adviser Mikhail Podoliak, who recently stated that Kiev would acknowledge that some regions are “de facto” lost to Russia.However, once Kiev secures security guarantees it would seek to regain them and demand that the West impose sanctions aimed at weakening Russia and damaging its economy.

According to Lavrov, such rhetoric demonstrates that the Ukrainian leadership, encouraged by its Western sponsors, are pursuing goals antithetical to the joint efforts of Trump and Putin to eliminate the root causes of the crisis.

Instead of working toward a settlement, Lavrov argued,Kiev and its backers want to aggravate those causes further by forming anti-Russian military alliances. He suggested that Ukraine’s refusal to discuss a settlement before receiving security guarantees is intended to preserve what he called the “neo-Nazi, Russophobic regime” in Kiev.

The minister also accusedKiev’s European sponsors of trying to “disrupt” the peace agenda by ignoring Russia’s interests and demanding security guarantees for a country “that professes neo-Nazi values, grossly violates the rights of national minorities, legislatively tries to exterminate the Russian language in all spheres of life, prohibits the canonical Orthodox Church."

“I hope this recklessness will fail and we will continue to follow the course agreed upon by President Putin and President Trump,”Lavrov said.

https://www.rt.com/russia/623381-lavrov-kiev-no-peace/

(The fuckers are fucking around, and I’m sure President Trump is already aware of it. They think they can manipulate Trump, think about Zelensky and EU. You have never seen Trump really pissed off. They thought they tricked Trump. Trump had another plan in mind if they did this, so now it will be implemented.)

>>23490649

Kiev, Z, and all others have no intention of letting Russia keep the territories, so the WAR is not over at all

they are only letting that happen for the time being.

Two days later Ukraine and EU thinking of new ways to exclude Russia from discussions.

21 Aug, 2025 14:46

Family of American killed fighting for Russia receives medal from Putin – CNN

Steve Witkoff reportedly delivered the Order of Courage to CIA Deputy Director Juliane Gallina in memory of her son who died in the Ukraine conflict

US special envoy Steve Witkoff has delivered a Russian medal from President Vladimir Putin to CIA Deputy Director Juliane Gallina, whose son was killed fighting for Russia in the Ukraine conflict, CNN reported on Thursday.

Gallina’s 21-year-old son, Michael Gloss, left home in 2023. After traveling through Europe, he secretly enlisted in the Russian military that September, his father previously told the Washington Post.

Gloss was killed on April 4, 2024, in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, according to the Russian death certificate given to his family. His father said the documents listed “massive blood loss” as the cause of death, and that he died while running to aid a wounded comrade during an artillery strike. His remains were repatriated to the US in December and he was cremated in his hometown.

Media reports say Gloss was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage, a decoration typically given to Russian citizens to recognize selfless acts of valor. CBS News reported that Putin handed the medal to Witkoff during his visit to Moscow earlier this month. Russia has not commented on the matter.

CNN said Witkoff has since delivered the decoration to Gloss’ family. A CIA official told the outlet that Gallina “wept with her husband” during the handover. The moment was also deeply personal for Witkoff, who lost his own son Andrew to a drug overdose in 2011. ForWitkoff, the official said, “it was not about who he fought for, but rather the memories of our children and the overarching message of ‘let’s end this war.’”

In an April statement to CNN, the CIA also said it was “heartbroken” for the Gallina family’s loss, stressing that Gloss’ death was “a private family matter” and “not a national security issue.”

Witkoff has traveled to Russia several times this year as part of Washington’s efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict. Russian officials have spoken warmly of him. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “we are always glad to see Mr. Witkoff in Moscow,” calling the meetings “important, meaningful and very useful.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/623374-witkoff-putin-medal-cia/