https://gilbertdoctorow.substack.com/p/news-x-world-zelensky-threatens-russian
Can we believe anything that Vladimir Putin says these days?
At the close of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan yesterday, Vladimir held a press conference with the Russian journalists in his suite.
He gave a very detailed answer to the question of one journalist requesting information on the status of the war on the ground in Donbas. He said that he had just prior to this meeting spoken to Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff, who briefed him on the situation at each of the military commands – North, South, Center which he then repeated to the journalists. He declined to give time lines for accomplishment of the tasks before each group such as the capture of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, saying that the war is very tough and he wouldn’t want to raise false expectations, but he assured his audience that Russia is advancing on the ground on all fronts in Donbas in a faster tempo than hitherto. There was a vague look of frustration on journalists’ faces with this evasion.
But evasion was the common characteristic of Putin’s responses to each of the questions put to him, even regarding the quite innocent matter of the plans for further developing the SCO: would it be by expanding to bring in new members or by creating greater alignment and coordination internally. Putin responded with words devoid of content.
The most striking feature of the press conference was with respect to prospects for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Here we heard the statements which led me to assign the given title to this essay. Putin said that Russia welcomed the efforts of all parties to assist with setting up meaningful talks with Ukraine, so long as this would not mean just spinning the wheels as hitherto. And then he added that he welcomed the further involvement of President Trump’s emissaries Witkoff and Kushner, who are ‘trustworthy men’ who enjoy the confidence of Trump, which is of decisive importance. “Trustworthy men”? I do not believe that a single reader of these lines will agree. What can on say? Putin is licking Trump’s boots – again.
It is interesting that the question of negotiations was wrapped within a journalist’s remark that CIA director Ratcliffe had come to Moscow to deliver Washington’s insistent advice that the Russians sit down with Ukraine and the USA to end the conflict. That this was Ratcliffe’s message was not denied by Putin, giving us at last an answer to the puzzle raised by the 8 hour visit to Moscow a week ago.
It is interesting to note news of today from the Kievan authorities as reported by The Financial Times. The mayor and other officials acknowledge that the constant Russian drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital are disrupting entirely the economic and governmental functions. They expect these attacks to continue up to the Russian elections to the Duma on 18-20 September for the purpose of demonstrating to the Russian electorate that its government is doing something forcefully. Accordingly, the Ukrainians are putting in place measures to alleviate this hardship including carrying on the legislative work of the Rada in its underground bunker and allowing the metro to function in its open-air segments, as for example, on the Dniepr river crossings, even during air attack alerts. We know from many different sources, including this morning’s BBC, that Zelensky has just issued a threat that no one traveling to or inside Russia can ignore: he has declared Russian civil aviation airspace to be fair game in the war, warning airlines, insurers and the general public that planes will now be attacked by Ukrainian drones.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2026
News X World morning broadcast: Zelensky complains that Russians attack Kiev on the first day of school!
minutes 6 – 25
News X World: Kiev under attack
minutes 22 – 37
My recommendation to Alt Media consumers: open your eyes to valuable information available on Mainstream
New Kremlin War Strategy: make Kiev uninhabitable, create flood of refugees to destabilize Europe
News X World: Modi, Putin Join SCO Leaders in Bishkek
An extract from this morning’s interview on Press TV (Iran)
The segment presented in the podcast below is part of a 30 minute discussion of the latest exchange: yesterday’s US attack on an Iranian held island in the Strait of Hormuz and the Iranian revenge attack on the main US air base in Jordan. I shared the microphone with a Press TV journalist in their Tehran studio
RIA NOVOSTI : Russian ambassador Denis Gonchar – Russia has no reason to attack Belgium or any other NATO country
This morning’s news ticker on the Russian internet channel dzen.ru has carried a succession of excerpts from the day’s articles about the interview that Russian ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium Denis Gonchar has just given to RIA Novosti. These snippets from RIA Novosti, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Rossiiskaya Gazeta appear on dzen.ru for a few moments and then disappear, making it difficult to take down texts, but I have succeeded with the posting coming from Ria Novosti itself:
Quote
Russia has neither the desire nor the reason to attack Belgium or any other NATO country. Westerners stir up this theme in order to justify in the eyes of their population expenditures on militarization, Russian ambassador in Brussels Denis Gonchar has told RIA Novosti in an interview
I emphasize yet again that Russia has neither the desire nor the reason to attack Belgium or any other NATO country. This is all whipped up for the purpose of justifying militarization and degradation of the socio-economic situation,’ said the ambassador.
He indicated that in the last year military budgeting jumped from 9 billion euros almost to 13 billion and came to 2% of GDP. This year the authorities in Belgium have already budgeted military expenses at the level of 3.44% of which 2.01% are direct defense expenses Gonchar explained.
Unquote
I direct attention to the 3 comments that followed
- Popugai Silvera
There is a reason. And a weighty one. – the security of Russia and of its people. No hostile defense blocs on our continent
2. Yevgeni Porshin
Considering even that NATO is fighting with Russia in Ukraine we haven’t the least need for you with your European values. We have only partly gotten rid of your values. Thank heavens. there is a lot of work ahead – a whole generation has been lost.
3. Nikolai Danilov
Our Putin also in an interview with a European journalist said in 2008 that only a madman can speak about Russia attacking Ukraine.
4. (name not recorded)
And the Russian people thinks otherwise. Let’s have a vote.
Roughly the same article appeared in Komsomolskaya Pravda and attracted a great many comments, which had a definite coloration heavily critical of the Kremlin’s conduct of the war. From these I offer a sampling below:
And when precisely will the NATO countries ‘pay dearly’ The bills certainly aren’t reaching them
51
3
That’s really news 🤣🤣🤣 Impunity. They long ago understood everything, that we just engage in empty chatter.
32
4
It is simple logic: if the drones are flying to Russia from Estonia that means Estonia has attacked Russia.
30
Elena Mi
Only men are leaving comments. …Are you ready to fight against NATO? Zelensky is just waiting for that, to draw some NATO country into the war and then Russia will be fighting not only with Ukraine but with all of Europe. Yes, other NATO countries will be drawn in. For the moment we are only fighting against their weapons, but later there will also be…
20
2
Who is naïve? The ambassadors or us? Do the ambassadors think it is we?
21
3
The NATO countries are financing this war and providing weapons. Our response has been delayed, as if we have not finished our red lines. No one takes Russia seriously any more. I am not in favor of a big war, but NATO is openly for it
17
Because they are not afraid of our mumbling
10
Hey, you, in the Kremlin! You could at least break off diplomatic relations with the most odious co-belligerents of Ukraine….You are not even capable of that!
8
Who is listening to our warnings?
8
This got to the ambassador in Belgium only in the fifth year of the SMO. He is a quick-witted fellow..
3
Don’t be shy. Write to us which country when and what was done in relation to this.
2
1
Have they forgotten how to bang on the table with their fist? [reference to Khrushchev at the UN]
Well???????? We express our concern??????? This is banal cowardice
Note at the bottom: the internet algorithms have hidden potentially hostile comments
Indeed, whatever weeding out of comments may have taken place, it is clear that the readers of these news tickers are not stupid, understand very well that what the Kremlin is doing is harmful to Russian national interests. I stand by my earlier observations that it is unclear how long President Putin can resist the people over the conduct of the war if they perceive it to be against the national interest and cowardly. His entire popularity was built almost exclusivity on defending Russia’s national interest.
Also note that in other ticker accounts of Gonchar’s interview we read that he spoke about (unnamed) NATO countries that lend their sea and air space to Ukraine for their terrorist attacks on the civilian infrastructure and population of Russia.
In closing, I remind the Community that Putin’s ‘vertical of power’ is well in place as regards diplomacy. Ambassador Gonchar is only saying what he has been told to say by his boss, Sergei Lavrov, and Lavrov is saying only what his boss Vladimir Putin wants to hear.
©Gilbert Doctorow, 2026
Gilbert Doctorow 