Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani says he is canceling his planned June 21–22 visit to Washington after Trump insulted PM Giorgia Meloni, saying she “begged” for a photo with him and that he “felt sorry for her.”
Last night, our long-range sanctions once again reached the Moscow region – for the second time this week, the Moscow oil refinery was hit. Targets were also struck in the Rostov region and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. This is a fully justified response to Russian attacks on our cities and communities, and another important result of our warriors’ work against facilities that sustain Russia’s war machine. I thank our Defense and Security Forces of Ukraine for their coordinated efforts – the Security Service of Ukraine, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces, Defense Intelligence, and our missile brigade for their precision.
In recent days, all of our partners have noted the precision and effectiveness of our mid-range strikes and long-range sanctions. It is time the war ended, and Russia must take the necessary steps in diplomacy.
“You paid Iran $300 billion dollars to re-open a Strait that was open the entire time?”
“That’s right, Dave.”
“And this was after you defeated them 50 times?”
“That’s correct, Dave.”
I thank all friends of Ukraine and everyone who helps us obtain important information and supports Ukrainian intelligence operations. Our intelligence agencies reported on the results of their work to assess the internal situation in Russia and obtain documents that end up on the Russian leader’s desk. We understand that Putin rarely receives information that is entirely truthful and unvarnished. But even what he sees in the documents that reach him still allows conclusions to be drawn.
In particular, the so-called “projected indicators” of Russians’ dissatisfaction with Putin will continue to rise steadily, and he is already being conditioned to accept the idea that this growing dissatisfaction cannot be stopped and that this indicator “will not plateau” by September, when parliamentary elections are scheduled in Russia.
As for the level of support for Russia’s ruling party, a steady downward trend is being recorded, which means significantly greater electoral fraud will be needed. They are also reporting a substantial rise in protest sentiment in Russian regions. We believe these reports also do not yet take into account the potential events of June, July, and August, which are bound to further affect the situation in Russia.
The entirely justified pressure on Russia over this war will continue and intensify – and it won’t be just our pressure. So by September, Putin will be facing significantly worse indicators. Unfortunately, to all the public and non-public peace proposals we have made, the only response has been words about continuing his war.
The internal situation in Russia should convince him of the opposite: that peace is needed. Ukraine is proposing to negotiate a dignified peace. Obviously, the trends will not change, and over time this may mean that an agreement will have to be reached with someone else from Russia – someone who will not shut themselves off from reality. Glory to Ukraine!