Comment: From the RT, there were a week ago, two articles on the a related topic:

13 Apr, 2024 13:07
No point in Russia signing peace deal with Zelensky - Lukashenko

A new administration in Kiev could axe any agreement reached between the outgoing president and Moscow, Belarusian leader has warned

There's no use for Russia to sign a peace agreement with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky as his term in office is nearly over, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has suggested.

During a meeting with Lukashenko on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that a peaceful end to the Ukraine conflict is "exactly what we're inclined to do," but stressed that Russia would not accept any imposed agreements that ignore its interests.

At a press briefing on Friday, Lukashenko noted that the Ukrainian president's term ends in May, which means that any deal reached with him would be futile because it could easily be overturned by the new administration.

"A situation may arise when Putin says: 'Guys, who should we sign an agreement with?..' The powers of the president of Ukraine have expired," Lukashenko stated, adding that it would actually be unwise to ink a deal with the Ukrainian leader.

"Today we will sign with him, let's say, some kind of agreement, tomorrow you will come to power, become president, you won't like it... You will discard this: it was signed by an illegitimate president, and I don't condone this at all, the new president will say," he told journalist Pavel Zarubin.

Lukashenko added that Ukraine's Western backers could also force a new president to abandon any peace deal reached between Moscow and Zelensky. According to Lukashenko, this is what happened with the now-defunct Minsk accords. Former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko and ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both admitted that the agreements brokered with Moscow in 2014 were reached to allow Kiev re-arm its forces in the aftermath of the hostilities triggered by the Maidan coup.

It is currently unclear what will happen after Zelensky's first five-year term is over, as he has repeatedly ruled out holding a presidential election, citing martial law. Kiev's Western backers have urged Zelensky to hold the elections within the mandated time frame, but the Ukrainian president has said he would only do so if Western nations were willing to fund them.

In 2022, Zelensky signed a law which declares peace talks with Russia illegal as long as Vladimir Putin remains in power. According to a peace formula presented by Zelensky the same year, negotiations also can't be held unless Russian forces withdraw from all territories that Kiev claims as its own.

Russia has repeatedly said it was ready to engage in peace negotiations with Ukraine but considers Zelensky's demands unrealistic.

But even if a new leader comes in Ukraine, what is the position of one of the Western leaders? There was this article:

13 Apr, 2024 17:34
German leader sets conditions for talks with Putin

Moscow should first "abandon" its military campaign for negotiations to be possible, Olaf Scholz has said

Negotiations between Germany and Russia are possible but only after Moscow gives up on its goals in the Ukraine conflict, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday. The German leader told the newspaper TAZ that he would only talk with President Vladimir Putin if Russia "abandoned" its campaign.

When Russia started its military operation against Kiev in February 2022, it cited the need to protect the people of Donbass, eradicate Nazi ideology in Ukraine, and prevent Ukraine from joining NATO.

On Saturday, Scholz reiterated his pledge to "support Ukraine for as long as it is necessary." When asked about when he thinks the conflict could end, the chancellor replied that "nobody can answer this question."

When further pressed on whether the West should "push harder for negotiations and compromise," the chancellor hit back by saying that "Russia must not win this war." Asked by TAZ when the last time he talked to Putin was, Scholz said it was in December 2022.

The interviewer noted that "many people, particularly in eastern Germany" would like to see an agreement with Russia and asked why Scholz had not tried talking to the Russian president since late 2022.

"Such conversations are useful when you feel like you can make a difference," Scholz replied, adding that he would do so "when the time comes." When asked to provide more details about a potential time frame for negotiations, the chancellor said that any talks could take place only after "Russia realizes that there will be no dictated peace" and "Putin understands that he has to abandon his campaign and withdraw troops."

In March, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the newspaper Argumenti i Fakty that Moscow has new regions that need to be protected against encroachments by Kiev and that it cannot allow a state on its borders that has a stated aim of seizing Crimea and the new territories, he said, referring to the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.

Moscow has never stated that it planned to seize all of Ukraine but has explained that it sought to ensure that the Ukrainian military could not pose a threat to Russian citizens or territory. Russian officials have also repeatedly expressed a willingness to engage in peace talks at any time as long as the reality on the ground was taken into account.

Kiev has repeatedly insisted that it would only consider any peace talks with Moscow after Russia withdraws its troops from all territories that Ukraine claims as its own. The Kremlin has brushed those demands off as absurd.

On Saturday, Scholz also said that many Germans were afraid of a potential escalation and called such fears "understandable." But Berlin still would not abandon its support for Kiev, he said, adding that Germany "cannot accept" Russia prevailing on the battlefield.

The above last lines indicate it is the Western Elites that have a problem more than the people.

• Other nations aren't unfriendly, their elites are unfriendly - Putin
• SOTT Focus: 'Your Vampire Ball is Over' - Putin to Western Elites
• George Galloway is not a threat to democracy - only to the elite hypocrites running the UK
• Neil Oliver: 'Self described elite' are 'deliberately DISMANTLING' Western democracy
• Lavrov: Nothing will change after US election, ruling elites will still control US foreign policy

See also:

• Washington banned Kiev from signing truce with Moscow - Russian security chief
• West plotting to assassinate Zelensky - Medvedev
• West preparing to 'dump' Zelensky - Lukashenko
• Western tycoon claims Zelensky associates trying to extort millions of euros
• West has 'backstabbed' Ukraine - Lukashenko

Comment: See also:

• Russia tests Iskander-M missiles during large-scale drill
• Nothing to hide: Russia intentionally exposed sending Iskander missile systems to Kaliningrad
• Russia may put Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad if U.S. upgrades nuclear arms in Germany
• Russian MoD: Iskander-M missile system test-launched advanced rocket at maximum range
• Russia confirms tactical missile deployment on NATO borders

Comment: Once again Club UN stands ineffective when it matters most.

Comment: Scott Ritter provides some analysis on the incident:

Reports of an Israeli retaliatory strike on Iran appear to be related to a very limited attack in the vicinity of the Iranian city of Isfahan on military targets not related to Iran's nuclear program. The weapons used in this strike are unknown at this point, although Iran claims to have shot down at least three drones of an undetermined type. Israel has not taken public credit for the attack. Indeed, the only link to Israel comes from anonymous statements from sources claimed to be US officials. While Iran has stated it would strike Israel with immediate and decisive force if Israel were to attack, the extremely limited and anonymous nature of this attack may provide Iran with the opportunity to dismiss this attack as nothing of consequence, thereby eliminating the necessity of an Iranian retaliation. The Iranian Foreign Minister had issued a statement about decisive retaliation at the UN which constitutes official declaratory policy on Iranian deterrence policy which may be deemed sufficient for the moment. If the action in Isfahan is the limit of the Israeli action, then this matter may be concluded.

At least one of the missiles allegedly landed in Iraq:


The following is fake news Israel has been circulating as proof of its attack:


To which Iran responded:

BREAKING: NO STRIKES FROM OUTSIDE OF IRAN "There are no foreign airstrikes against Iran and what is being circulated are lies and a misinformation war of confusion. The complicit and suspicious American media is conducting a proxy misinformation war on behalf of the "israeli" occupation."

Comment:
1) The information in the article that "some 90% of frontline troops suffer from a gambling addiction" is disturbing, add some drugs and alcohol to the picture, and it is clear why there is not more resistance from the people on the ground. Taking a step back, in many western countries teenagers loose class time and memory restoring night sleep due to computer games, helped along with legal and illegal drugs. Is it called zombification?

2) The German paper, Berliner Zeitung posted and article about the case, beginning, if translated:

German investor accuses Ukraine of corruption: "Reminiscent of Yanukovych's darkest times"
The owner of a large gambling platform in Ukraine sees himself being blackmailed by high-ranking officials in Kiev. The corruption is said to extend into government circles.

One of Ukraine's largest investors claims that corrupt Kiev security officials and people close to the government are blackmailing him. It's about tens of millions of euros. At least that's what the always well-informed Financial Times, based in London, reports.

3) From this page, Arnulf Damerau, there is in the about section:

Arnulf Damerau is a serial entrepreneur and globally active philanthropist. He is chairman and founder of the EuroAtlantic Group and the EuroAtlantic Institute which hosts the annual EuroAtlantic Security Dinners during the MSC Munich Security Conference and the WEF World Economic Forum. Arnulf is a shareholder in Crowdstrike, the leading global CyberSecurity firm that protects the Cybersecurity of 10 largest financial institutions the world. . Arnulf studied and worked in Europe, United States and Japan, and graduated from the Wharton Business School in 1991. He is a competitive sailor and pilot.

Mr. Damerau is undoubtedly a very sharp businessman, though the above expression "serial entrepreneur" is less familiar than "serial killer", but how come he did not realize what he was getting into when he began business in Ukraine, as in when you play in the dirt you get dirty. Can he not take a lesson from the people addicted to the games he has earned fortunes on, accept a big loss, and get over with it, rather than being a sorry looser? One could counter such pessimism and criticism with saying that there is always money to be made, also in war, and that it was courageous of him to step into the Ukrainian market after the war had begun. Counting on the war ending at some time is realistic, even if it could draw out, and being into a market early is always an advantage.

Alternatively one might argue, that taking risks is fine, but the amount of money he might loose is perhaps small compared to what he has or controls, so why did he not just leave, when he was threatened, and why this public whining now? Was one intention to entice the corrupt to show their face, so he would later be able to raise a voice against what is going on, given how difficult it has been for many German and European businesses, business people after the US and its EU lackeys pushed the confrontation with Russia through their front line NATO dressed up Ukrainian Nazionalists?

Whatever the case may be, considering how connected Damerau is, and his comparing of the current government with what they toppled could point to regime change being on the horizon. Zelensky assumed office on May 20, 2019 intended to last five years. Zelensky knows this as well as anyone else, and now Damerau, by going public with his complaint, has played the ball over to Zelensky.

4) See also:

• West plotting to assassinate Zelensky - Medvedev
• West has 'backstabbed' Ukraine - Lukashenko
• West preparing to 'dump' Zelensky - Lukashenko

Comment: See also:

• Middle East redefined: Iran's retaliatory attack on Israel signaled a major change in the region
• NewsReal: It's Armageddon! Iran Strikes Israel, World Trembles!
• Israel's defence against Iran attack overnight 'likely cost over $1bn'