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Welcome back to Political Misfits on Radio Sputnik, where we bring you news, politics and culture - without the red and blue treatment. I’m John Kiriakou here with Michelle Witte.
The United States is angry with Russia today–angrier than usual. Why” Because the Russians had the audacity to purchase drones from Iran and new missiles from North Korea. Iran has reportedly developed a new drone that can travel 932 miles–perfect for Russian use in the conflict with Ukraine. But the real reason the US is upset is severalfold: First, Russia has been attacking Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, where the Ukrainians have had some success in manufacturing products to meet their own military needs. Second, Russia is able to rearm itself while Congress fights internally over whether to continue arming and supplying Ukraine at all. Third, as the Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign correspondent says in his latest book, the war is essentially over. Russia won. The West is fractured. And it’s time to move on. // Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is in Lithuania today as part of an unannounced trip to the Baltics. He is seeking a commitment to provide the kind of arms and materiel that the US over the past several weeks has been unable to provide because of disagreements between the White House and the Congress. // Meanwhile, in Washington, Republican senators are fighting amongst themselves over whether to try to tie additional military aid to Ukraine to funding for the border. House Republicans hate the very idea of aid to Ukraine, but Republicans in the Senate are seeking a middle road. The White House, however, sees these as two separate issues: Fund Ukraine and fund the border. // Alexei Navalny says that he is being held in a so-called “punishment cell” in an arctic prison in Russia. How do we know this? Because Navalny made a helpful video telling us. I almost never say anything about Navalny, who is far better known in the United States than he is in Russia. But it’s time to put a stop to the double standard, whereby the US Bureau of Prisons transfers prisoners who are kept incommunicado and it is a normal routine transfer. But when the Russians transfer a prisoner it is somehow an affront to the human rights of every incarcerated person in the world. With that said, I don’t know of any incarcerated people in the United States who have access to a video camera. // And finally, Yemen’s Houthi government yesterday launched an unprecedented barrage of 18 suicide drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ship ballistic missile at vessels in the Red Sea. All of them were repelled by US and British warships. On Friday, US and British diplomats will present a United Nations Security Council resolution to condemn the Houthi attacks on international shipping and will call for an international naval peacekeeping force in the Red Sea.
Mark Sleboda is an international affairs and security analyst.
GOP senators clash over conditioning Ukraine aid on border results - Live Updates - POLITICO
As U.S. Support for Ukraine Falters, Europe Splits on Filling the Gap - The New York Times
Ukraine’s War Effort Is Stuck. This Heroic Battlefield Failure Shows Why. - WSJ
Questions:
Thanks for joining us, Mark. It’s good having you. Let’s start with the Russian purchase of Iranian drones and North Korean missiles. First, tell us what it is the Russians are buying and what they’re used for. And second, why the loud protestations from the United States, other than because Washington has dropped the ball vis-a-vis Ukraine?
Russian attacks on Ukrainian production facilities over the past several weeks seem to have been successful. What is it that the Russian have hit, and how does it impact the Ukrainian war effort?
We mentioned on the show yesterday that the Wall Street Journal’s chief foreign correspondent has published a book saying that the war is over, that Ukraine lost, and that the west has to accept the fact that Ukraine’s only hope for peace is to negotiate territorial concessions to Russia. We’ve said this a million times on the show. Do you agree with this conclusion? And if so, how can it be implemented when the US is still on record as opposing a negotiated settlement?
Volodymyr Zelensky is in Lithuania today as part of a Baltic trip. What’s this all about? Is it just window dressing or is it substantive? What can the Lithuanians provide him?
Can Ukraine make up its US arms and aid deficit? If the US is unwilling or unable to provide additional aid, can the Ukrainians get it anywhere else? The UK? Germany?
Is there an agreement in Congress to be had? It seems that the very least that the Republicans will agree on is tying Ukraine aid to border security. Is it possible to connect the two?
I have long made it a point to not discuss Alexei Navalny. An international Gallup poll from a few years ago showed him with under five percent support in Russia. He’s not a player. He never has been. There are credible accusations that he is a fascist. But he’s become some sort of odd symbol of freedom in the US. The US press reports breathlessly every time he’s moved or every time he makes a statement. He was recently transferred to another prison in the east, something that happens literally every single day in the United States. But in the Russian case, Navalny was “MISSING!!” As an American in Russia, can you explain to us why Navalny is at all important in the West? Why should anybody care about him or what happens to him? And also, how in the world does he get access to a video camera in prison?
I’ve been saying for weeks that Yemen’s Houthis are biting off more than they can chew. Yet they continue to poke the hornet’s nest in the Red Sea. I will agree with you that the Houthis heroically fought the forces of Ali Abdallah Saleh. They fought valiantly against the Saudis. But why risk destroying all that attacking commercial ships while pretending it’s in solidarity with Palestine? I don’t think that the Filipino, Chinese, Malaysian, and Thai sailors they’re now holding hostage in Aden would agree that this supports the Palestinian cause. What do the Houthis get out of this?
Beyond Gaza: How Yemen’s Houthis gain from attacking Red Sea ships | Features | Al Jazeera
Houthi Leader: Ships Should Renounce Israel or Risk Attack (maritime-executive.com)What do you think the Russian and Chinese positions will be on a proposed UN Security Council resolution on Red Sea shipping that we expect to be debated on Friday?
The Houthis Have Become Global Rock Stars, US Furious Over Iran & North Korea Sending Arms to Russia, Break Out of Binary Win/Lose Mindset to Understand Continuation of Ukraine Conflict, more...