Scott Ritter: The U.S. Wants All-Out War Again — How Should Iran Respond?

Welcome back to the show everyone and welcome back to Scott Ritter to help me cover the latest news. Iran has punched back at the United States for claims that everything is going well in the end of this war. Right now what we are seeing is that Muhammad Alib, chief negotiator of Iran has said that there will be no talks with the United States uh further until the US uh meets its commitments to theou. We also have JD Vance uh not JD Vance but we also have uh Donald Trump being briefed uh uh for options for allout war and he has decided and I guess we should praise him for this Scott to not go back to war. Uh this all comes Scott as uh Putin has gone unplugged and unleashed on the claim that Ukrainian drone attacks are making a difference on the battlefield saying well let's wait and see as he says Russia is making great progress. So Scott where would you like to begin? How about we start with Iran? What is going on here? What is your reactions to these developments?

Well I think what we're seeing right now is that the United States um can't be trusted. You know, the the key takeaway here is JD Vance um basically admitting that the president views theou as an interim measure, not not a foundation for a final piece of settlement, which is supposed to be, but simply a mechanism to buy time so that uh you know they can re refill the oil tanks, I think is what JD Vance said. Uh this means that none of this is worth the paper it's written on. None of this is real. The United States isn't seeking peace. the United States is uh it's just buying time. So, you know, a strategic pause. Uh no, it's it's supposed to be a path to peace. And the fact that the United States is keeping its military options open means that the United States isn't seeking peace.

Now, you talked about the Wall Street Journal briefing um the president. Uh I would say that that's a lie. And I'll tell you why I think that that's a lie. Um because what military options can the president be briefed on right now? There are no military options. There is no allout war option. That's just just an absurdity. We already did allout war. We threw everything we could at Iran and we lost. There's nothing more we can throw at Iran because we're not ready to throw anything at Iran. Um we, you know, what are we supposed to do? Put uh armored divisions on the ground in Iran. Um you know, it takes us six months to mobilize one heavy armor brigade for deployment to Europe. That's under ideal peace time conditions. Six months. And now what we're supposed to mobilize, you know, it's going to take us 700 to 900,000 men uh to go into Iran and even that's not going to be enough. We don't have those. We'd have to basically mobilize the reserves. Um get everything out of mothballs. We're talking, you know, a process that would take years to do. So there is no war option. The president, by the time we prepared to go to war with Iran, the president would be out of office. It would take more than two years to mobilize the United States to be prepared to go to war, all out war with Iran. So, it's a straightup lie, a straightup fabrication that the Wall Street Journal, that the Wall Street Journal, and they know it because they're not stupid. These people know what the truth is. They just are simply mouthpiece for the government. Their job is to help the government shape public opinion. You see, the president wants people to believe that he's a strong man, that he has the option to go back to war anytime he wanted. He doesn't have the option. He lost the war. He lost. He just can't admit that he lost. And so, you know, there we are. But the other thing is he's not looking for peace. We now know that to be the case. So, what good is theou?

No good. If the Iranians had a brain on their shoulder, they'd just start bombing right now because if there's noou, there's no ceasefire. If there's no ceasefire, why let the United States continue to build up its strength? JD Vance said he wants to refill the oil tanks, empty the oil tanks, shut down the straight hormuz, shut down the Baba Mendde Straits, and make the United States and Europe scream until Donald Trump acknowledges that uh there must be a path. But you can't trust Donald Trump. You can't trust anything this administration says. That's that's where we're at today. That's my takeaway.

Yeah. Well, the question is then, why is Iran still very much committed to this? Here is what JD Vance exactly said on the Michelle Nolles show. So, I think what the president has told us to do is use thisou to sort of refill the world's oil economy.

Yeah.

To refill some stocks and then to see where the hand is. And so well when he says uh stocks Scott uh that could mean I guess stocks in the stock market. It could also mean oil stocks. It could also mean weaponry.

I don't think he means stock I mean I think he means stock piles. I think he means you know to fill the tanks. Um

but it could mean you know anything. But the point is, it uh it means nothing.

Because again, if I were an Iranian and I heard that, I'd say you will never refill anything ever again in your life because today you just told me that the MOU is not in effect. So I'm I'm going to resume military op. The war is still on. Sink every ship you can get. Shut down every oil production facility you can hit and make the world scream in pain. That's the only thing Donald Trump will understand. But they're not doing it because Iran um is a pragmatic country. Again, you know, thank God the Iranian leadership doesn't think like a Marine. Um because if they did, we'd be in perpetual war. Um thank God there's people out there who have uh a more pragmatic mind. You know, every once in a while when I'm not mad. You caught me today when I'm tired and a little bit angry. So, um you know, I'm thinking like um you know, I want to go out and kill something. But instead, um, the right way to think, and this mirrors, for instance, the thinking of Vladimir Putin. Um, you know, Vladimir Putin, everybody's like, "Why aren't you bombing Europe? Why aren't you shooting the dog?" Somebody said that once. Um, I think it was me. Um, why? Because he's smarter than I am. Because he knows that, you know, the Russia isn't going to be defined by this conflict. That Russia has to look forward. That, you know, he wants people to invest in Russia. And to vest in Russia, you have to have stability. Um, and stability isn't just about domestic stability in Russia. It's about the overall global situation. Russia doesn't want to expand this conflict. Russia is winning a war of attrition against Ukraine and its western proxies or it's Ukraine is a proxy of the West. Um, so what the last thing Vladimir Putin wants to do is expand the conflict. And I think the Iranians are doing now. For the first time in 50 years, Iran is able to talk about, you know, getting its economy back on track. They're selling oil. Um they're they're able to talk about internal and domestic investments and also external economic relations. Um and from the Iranian perspective, you know, letting Donald Trump play stupid word games is, you know, doesn't cost them a scent. If they're attacked, they'll respond. But notice how quickly Iran, you know, doesn't follow through on its uh previous threats of, you know, if they're going to start the war, we got a thousand missiles lined up, ready to go. Well, they haven't launched a thousand missiles. And the war has been restarted what, three times now already. Uh Iran doesn't want to restart the war. Um because Iran understands the United States can't back up the rhetoric with action at this point in time. And so they're seeking to maximize their econom their economic, you know, potential during this time period. And that's what the United States is doing. So they're both going to play games. That's this is how I see this playing out. There will never be anou um executed between Donald Trump and Iran. Donald Trump is incapable of executing mo. He just proved it. He just proved it. And even if he pretends now suddenly that he Oh, I'm ser No, we know Donald Trump is a liar. He just admitted he lied. He signed a document. He signed a document that's supposed to be an agreement and he just said that nothing in that document makes any is worth the paper it's written. Nothing. He only signed it to buy time. So, it's a lie. Straight up lie.

And uh when you say playing a game, I can kind of see that game shaping up because Iran is uh behaving quite confidently. Uh they they you know not only with strong statements but even those statements have a reality to them. For example, Muhammad Ali also said to your point about oil that they are charging a 20% premium and have brought in a massive num amount of revenue just in thisou period alone. while at the same time saying that there's only 60 days for this thing. So after the 60 days is up and none of these commitments are met then uh you know there's a big question mark but the one thing that's not a question mark in their eyes or at least in what they're saying is that they will uh you know uh they're going to enforce control of the straight of hormus but uh perhaps that control gets a little more stringent given that the US as you said Scott is not meeting any of these commitments which there are commitments you said it on prior programs theou isn't just uh you know It's not just to play around and to pause, but there are commitments that are supposed to be met so that there's a phase two. So, your reaction to this?

Look, the Iranians need to understand this, and I'm sure they do. Um, yeah, the MO talks about 60 days, and Iran's going to maximize what they can get out of that 60 days. Well, the United States can't win a war. The United States can undo whatever Iran has accomplished in 60 days and they can undo it in less than 60 days. Um just like Iran by squeezing the straight hormuz can undo whatever economic um you know benefits the United States in the world have accured by replenishing their oil stocks. Neither side wants to go back to full-scale war. Um the United States can't win it and Iran you know can't afford to sustain it. Um, you know, because I mean, how does Iran when all the United States has to do is disengage and Iran will be isolated as well? Um, is Iran willing to destroy the state of Israel? So far, the answer is no. Uh, so what is what is the purpose of going to war um and continuing the war? None. And the United States can't admit that it lost, so it can't negotiate peace in good faith. I I think what we're looking at is when the 60-day comes, you're going to see an extension, then an extension until we get past the midterm elections. And it doesn't matter because Donald Trump will either have won it and therefore be liberated of the um you know, the political harm that will, you know, acrewue by telling the truth. And um although he can't tell the truth, but at least, you know, he will be able to take certain actions and not have to pay a price at the polls. um or he'll lost and he'll be impeached and the last thing he'll be worried about is um what's going on in Iran. Um, you know, so the Iranians I I just don't see the Iranians, you know, going back a full-scale war. I don't think they want it. Um I don't see the United States going down that path because we can't win it. Um and, you know, that's where we're at. I think we're just going to be in this perpetual state of um you know playing games while Iran maximizes its economic benefit and the United States seeks to as JD Vance said re replenish global oil stocks.

but that leads to inevitably I guess uh back to square one except the United States as you said a lot of these shortages uh that the US is uh experiencing takes a bit longer than it takes a pretty long period, correct? For the US to even think about uh conducting the kind of strikes that it conducted uh after February or February 28th and beyond.

Look, the United States is not going to be able to reconstitute the military force that it brought to bear on February 28th for some time now. Um and that's another reason why this is just going nowhere. Um I you know th this wouldn't be the first time that a a hot war um degenerated into or coalesed into a warm war and then became a cold war. That's what I see happening here. I don't see uh permanent peace being established. What I see is um reality, real politic clicking in and you're going to see uh nations, you know, making making decisions about their future. Um I don't think the Gulf Arab states are going to be, you know, saying, "Oh, we're safe behind an American umbrella of security anymore." They're going to be looking for alternative security arrangements. Uh, I don't see Iran, you know, being invited back into the, uh, Western economy anytime soon, but that's okay. They'll make adjustments by, you know, realigning themselves with the East. Uh, I I, you know, the United States will be happy with just keeping, um, the the flow of oil going. Um, but they're not, you know, they're not going to make uh the concessions um that that Iran would seek. And so, you're going to have a whole bunch of things not happening, and that's going to define the new reality. The new reality will be founded on the notion that both sides need to maximize the economic potential that of that that they can acrue um in this, you know, compromised situation. The straight hermuz you know being open but you know always has the potential being closed um, you know, the United States has military forces you know, you know poised to strike. every once in a while they do strike and then that causes a a tanker to get hit and then they stop. I think this is the permanent state of affairs until we get um a political change in the United States. And of course that um will hopefully happen sometime in November, you know, um and it manifests itself with a new Congress on January 1st and uh the termination of Donald Trump as a political power here in the United States. But uh I just don't I don't see the United States capable of peace. And of course, we're aligned with Israel, which is totally incapable of peace. So, um, you know, that's just real. I don't I don't see peace happening. I I just see a permanent state of lukewarm war.

Uh, and speaking of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has said in the last 24 hours that uh uh Israel is ready to go back to war with Iran uh whenever uh they give the green light to themselves, not needing the United States. This is what Netanyahu claims. Uh what does all of this mean though from what you just said and you know this factor of Israel to for not just Iran but Lebanon and the entire fronts because that clause number one and you know if we have lukewarm war it's likely that there is a pretty hot war going on in Lebanon no cessation there and of course we have the disaster of the US uh Israel Lebanon deal that happened since the last time we spoke. your thoughts and reactions.

I just need to remind your audience, I probably don't need to remind them that Lebanon has beat Israel several times in the past. That Israel is incapable of defeating Lebanon. Hasn't shown itself capable of defeating Lebanon. Is currently losing to Lebanon on the battlefield and that uh when this ends, it'll end with um Israel being kicked out of Lebanon. That's how this ends. There's no other ending. um how we get there, how long it takes uh is a different question. But the the the stupid games being played by Israel right now where with the America's backing, they've uh bought um you know, a Lebanese presidency, which is then uh you know, say they've normalized relations with Israel to the extent that Lebanon now greenlights Israel's continued occupation of uh Lebanon. Therefore, it's not an occupation. Therefore, Hezbollah loses all legitimacy. I mean, this kind of stupidity only reinforces the the the absolute legitimacy of Hezbollah. Hezbollah is today far more legitimate in the eyes of many Lebanese than the Lebanese government because Hezbollah is the only organization today willing to fight and die for protection of, you know, this the sovereign territorial integrity of Lebanon. Where's the Lebanese army? You know, playing stupid games. Um, so Hezbollah is not going to quit and Iran will never quit supporting Hezbollah. This is just the reality of it. Um, you know, Israel will be defeated and eventually this defeat will manifest itself in the political demise of BB Netanyahu and then Israel will have to go into a postb Netanyahu spin uh where anything is possible. Remember in September of uh 2023 prior to October 7th, the president of Israel was warning everybody that Israel's on the the cusp of civil war. Not civil disobedience, civil unrest, civil war. That means Jew killing Jew inside Israel. That's where they were. That's where they still are. Um Netanyahu's been able to, you know, use the security argument as a mechanism to hold uh Israel together, but he's now run out of places he can go to war with. And um if he continues, you know, there there will be uh economic consequences, national security consequences, and political consequences. um Netanyahu one day, very soon, is going to not be the prime minister. Whether he dies of natural causes, whether he's killed by an Iranian strike, whether he is kicked out of office and arrested or he's kicked out of office and allowed to retire peacefully, there won't be a prime minister named BB Netanyahu. And when that happens, you know, Israel right now, I don't believe is capable of readily replacing him. He has been a cult of personality for such a long time now that you know Israel is is defined by his presence and when you remove him there will be a vacuum created and that vacuum can probably cause Israel to implode um politically and that's the future of Israel. There's no more greater Israel. I mean they could talk about it all they want but it's not going to happen. Uh Israel is in retrograde now. Israel's as strong as it's ever going to get from now on. is just going to get weaker and weaker and weaker and weaker as it feeds upon itself because there is no future for Israel that Benjamin Netanyahu has made that a harsh reality for Israel. Um, and so, you know, in a way, you know, Hezbollah and Iran have the upper hand. Of course, you know, you we have to deal with the day-to-day reality of the information war that's being waged by, you know, pro-Israeli uh elements in the social media camp and mainstream media who seek to suppress alternative voices. uh so that it appears that uh there isn't support that they suppress an alternative reality. When I say alternative reality, alternative meaning fact-based as opposed to the fi fantasybased reality that's propagated by Israel and their you know pro-western allies uh here in western mainstream media. Um, you know, but the Israelis are operating on pure propaganda and um, you know, that's that can only carry you so far. At some point in time, you know, reality rules, truth matters and um, you know, Hezbollah will, you know, emerge from this victorious not only militarily against Israel, but, you know, this will enhance their standing politically inside Lebanon. Remember, Hezbollah is a political party now. they have uh people in government and they are a very important part of the government and uh you know because they're the only ones maintaining faith with uh the the you know structural integrity of Lebanon um, you know, they're going to have far more credibility going forward than you know President Aun or any of his Christian Sunni uh, you know, co-conspirators and that's what they did they conspired against Lebanon in supporting this non-deal deal with Israel.

Yeah, we'll have to keep uh our eyes on that situation. Uh because I 100% agree with you that uh there will be no this deal does not settle anything. It likely just accelerates what is inevitable, which is that there will be continued resistance and that resistance will not go well for Israel uh visav Hezbollah. Uh Scott, now I want to get to the Ukraine situation. Uh in particular, there have been more drone attacks, right? It's like the saga continues. Uh more drone attacks into Moscow. Now the mainstream media from uh uh Al Jazzer to of course publications like the Independent are all saying that Vladimir Putin has now admitted that Russia is facing problems in the Ukraine war because of these drone attacks in particular fuel shortages. But what I want to do is I want to play the words from the man himself uh to to get your reaction to uh what I believe is a very strong uh really a very strong counter to these claims. Here is uh let me just pull it up here and we'll just listen to it. Uh here is him to the media after a briefing on the military situation.

"That is obvious. We are currently observing a certain deficit, but it is not critical as I will explain now. There are several tasks here that we must solve. My colleagues and I have just been discussing this. The first task is to quickly and significantly increase the production of the most in- demand air defense systems to constantly improve them in accordance with the needs of conducting combat operations and covering the relevant facilities. Taking into account what is being used by the enemy and taking into account what is being transferred to them from Europe such as new unmanned aerial vehicles with new technologies. We actually have all of these means of protection. The question is the speed of scaling up their production and delivering them to the troops or for covering facilities of critically important infrastructure. It is clear and what needs to be done in order to ensure normal supply and get rid of this temporarily arisen deficit. We need to complete repairs faster. We need to establish the necessary volume of imports and as I have already said reliably cover these facilities. It is also necessary to coordinate the work of all levels and structures involved in repelling attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles on our infrastructure and most importantly on people. The main task here is the protection of people, the civilian population and the minimization of damage to the economy, to individual sectors of production and to industry. As I have already said, there is damage but all damaged facilities are restored fairly quickly and the emerging problems are not of a critical nature. Everything of ours is working stably and with a large margin of safety."

As for the supplies of energy resource,

Scott, your reaction to this discrepancy here?

I mean, how do you say horseshit politely? Um, you know, because that's that's what this Western media spin is. I I just got back from three weeks in Russia, including 10 days uh in the SMO uh territories um where I witnessed firsthand, sometimes up close and personal, closer and more personal than I wanted to perhaps the reality of drone drone warfare and what's happening there. There can be no doubt that Ukraine has launched a massive uh drone campaign against Russia that is basically designed to accomplish a couple things. First and foremost, it is to create the perception of um Ukrainian resilience. uh that then feeds into the notion of a shifting in uh strategic uh initiative away from Russia to Ukraine and then helps u promote the notion of uh the potential of Ukrainian victory. And this has all been in place since May um designed to you know reach the crescendo um uh right before the NATO summit um so that you know we can get the United States in Europe to commit to the inevitability of Ukrainian victory and provide resources that would extend this conflict even longer. and the vain hope that um the wishful thinking that uh attaches itself to this propaganda that Russia is becoming weaker actually becomes reality. Um, you know, perceptions do create their own realities in the minds of those who perceive but it doesn't mean it translates that way onto the ground. Um, you know, I can't speak to the specifics of Russia's uh energy situation. The president of Russia has addressed those issues and I have no reason to doubt him. Um I I can say this that uh I arrived in St. Petersburg on the morning of um June 5th or 3rd and um the city was attacked by over 50 drones that morning. The targets and constat were on fire. Black smoke in the sky. I didn't see it. By the time I got off the train, it had already cleared away and uh the people of St. Petersburg scured along their normal selves not worried about this. It was uh you know entertainment for a moment but uh you know if you looked at uh the headlines in the west I mean St. Petersburg was on fire ablaze um, you know defenseless Russian people cowering in their basement. Um no that's not the case at all. Uh the day I left St. Petersburg, June 6th. Uh, the city was once again under Ukrainian drone attack. Um, I don't think the people of St. Petersburg even noticed. Um, that's how much this meant. You get to Moscow and again it's under drone attack. Um, u I head to uh the the special military operation and I have to tell you, we arrived in Lugansk um on the evening of June 8th. Um, we went to the restaurant and the entire meal was interrupted by air raid sirens, including explosions. The city was under attack, drone attack, part of the Ukrainian drone offensive. We went to Starbell the next day to visit the college that had been attacked by Ukrainian drones on May 22nd, murdering 21 sleeping students. Um, and the Ukrainians attacked um, Starbell about a block and a half away from where we were. Two drones struck um, prompting our evacuation. So, you know, it's real. Um, we went to Gorlovka. Um, had to drive under the drone nets. Had to do a sprint through an area where there was imminent threat of Ukrainian drone attack. We had to scan the sky for drones. We had a a plan of action if the drone was spotted, how to get the hell out of the car and hope uh that we could get far enough away not to absorb shrapnel. Um, it's a real thing. There were burned out cars, burned out trucks, burned out gas stations, burned out uh gasoline vehicles. This is the reality of it. Uh the same thing when we when we got to uh Milotop um I was supposed to go visit the the um the Zepparisia nuclear power plant couldn't uh the road connecting uh Milotop with the um the nuclear power plant was under constant drone attack. It was just deemed to be far too dangerous even though I said I don't care. I want to visit was an irresponsible thing for me to say because if the Ukrainian if the Russians had um said, "Okay, we'll take you." That means they're putting other people's lives at risk for my pride, for my hubris, for my arrogance. Uh thank God they're rational people. And they said, "No, it's just too dangerous." Uh in Melotop, the city was attacked every night we were there. Most of the city was without electricity, without water. But the city lived on. I spoke at uh Meltop State University and uh there were students, hundreds of students in the audience. These are students that go home to houses without power. These are students who go home with homes without water. These are students who live in an environment where they understand that therefore for the grace of God go them. Meaning that the 21 students who died in Starbells could very well have been 21 students from Meltop State University. But they don't give up. And that's the point in all of this. Everything the Ukrainians are doing. The Russians are just shrugging it off. Is it inconvenient? Yes, it is inconvenient. Is it scaring the Russians? Well, I mean, I'm not going to pretend the Russians aren't concerned, but I'm telling you, they wake up every morning and they just get on with their lives. Um, and it just is what it is. And then I met with Russian military people specializing in drone warfare. That was one of the main focuses of uh this tour was to visit Russian drone units and talk about the reality of drone warfare, making a documentary film that hopefully will manifest itself sometime in the near future. Um the the the Russians are fully cognizant of what's going on. They I had open conversation with them about drone warfare. You know, they acknowledge the difficulties that they face. The Ukrainians are very good, very skilled operators and they are receiving a tremendous amount of advanced technologies uh from the west. Um and drones are all about technologies and if you can bring in uh sufficient qual quantities of high technology uh drones, you're going to have an advantage. and the Ukrainians are just flooding the zone with drones. The Russians make up for it with grit, determination, and skill, and they've evened out the playing field, but it's a very tough uh touchandgo uh situation there. Um, you know, the drones that struck Starbell are were guided in by Starlink antennas provided by Elon Musk. So, yes, Elon Musk, you're a murdering sack of [ __ ] son of a [ __ ] who deserves to um cry in hell for what you've done. There's no forgiving you for what you've done. Um, you you claim that Starlink is a civilian um network uh providing internet connectivity for the masses. You murdered 21 sleeping girls. Elon Musk, that's on you. You sack of manure. Um the, you know, we were in Meltopyl and the convoy we're in got hit by hornets. Hornets are drones uh that are created, funded by Eric Schmidt, the head of Google. Eric Schmidt, you and I are going to have a meeting one day and I'm going to remind you just how stupid and criminal your actions are. You murdering. Again, I have no love lost for these guys. There's no excuse for what they're doing. They are empowering the Ukrainians to commit acts of terrorism against Russian civilians. The Hornet drones are being used almost exclusively against civilian targets. Uh there's no military rationale or no military justification for what's to be done. It's purely an act of terrorism designed to, you know, strike fear into heart of a people who can't have fear struck into them. Let me remind people that the people of the Dombas have been living under fire since 2014. It's not like they woke up, you know, four years ago and went, "Oh crap, war." No, they they've been at war for a long time and they know war. And this just isn't bothering them. The Russian forces are kicking ass. Seriously, straight up crushing the Ukrainians. Um, you know, the Ukrainians are flying all these drones, but one thing that that's happening is the Russians are sitting there monitoring them and they're taking hits. Let's I'm not pretending otherwise. I'm not here saying the Ukraans aren't doing Ukraines are blowing up a lot of stuff, killing a lot of people, mainly civilians on the front line. It's very tough. Very tough. But, you know, people in the West, I I I I read the the stupidity of the chat, not yours. I'm not picking on them today because I haven't read them yet. Maybe I will uh because I'm in a really bad mood and I'd love nothing more to get in a fight with somebody over a stupid chat. But um the point is, yeah, I gotta calm down. Um the um the the fact is though that there's people out there who are like, "Oh, the Russians are only advancing a kilometer. They're very slow pace." you know, in the when the war first started, the the gray zone that separated uh the militaries was defined by the the maximum range of the weaponry available. So, if it's an infantry-based war, you're basically the the zone separating you is the maximum effective range of your machine guns or your rifles. You bring in your armor, um, you know, now you extend that. So, you're talking about a gray zone of one to two kilometers separating zone. So if I were to attack you, I've got to cross my line of departure and advance through a gray zone one or two kilometers where I'm going to come under fire from your, you know, in World War I, you've seen the World War One movies where the guys go over the trench line. They have to go through a gray zone to get to the other trench. That's the gray zone. And while you're doing that, you get hit with artillery, machine gun fire, etc. Today with drones, the gray zone is 60 kilometers wide. Sometimes 60. So in order to advance in you've got to go through 60 kilometers of hell, drone strikes, artillery strike, artillery strikes guided by drones observing. Um so when we say the Russians are advancing a kilometer a day, two, they're advancing 62 kilometers a day because they have to go through the gray zone, fight through the gray zone, close with the Ukrainian positions, and then continue their advance. People have no clue what they're talking about whatsoever about the reality of this war, how hard it is. It's extraordinarily hard, but how good the Russians are. And I don't mean good just in terms of their military proficiency. But as the Russians advance, they're coming upon village after village after village of um, you know, places that were populated by civilians, Russian speakers who consider themselves to be Russian who don't want to leave. The Ukrainians mocked them. They call them uh the waiters. Um and mainly these are old people or kids and um they hide in basements and the Ukrainians mock them and laugh at them and when they come out for water the Ukrainians kill them. They let them starve to death there. Uh the Russian soldiers come in and rescue these people. They come in and they realize you can't evacuate them initially. So they secure the position then they bring in food and water and medicine to care for these people. When the time comes they try to evacuate them. oftentimes they get attacked and the Russians cover the bodies of these elderly uh with their own bodies, absorbing the bullets, absorbing the shrapnel, absorbing the drones, getting wounded, dying. Um I I went to a refugee camp where I talked to, you know, a room full of elderly people, people who should be retired, tending to their gardens. Instead, they've lost everything and they're now sitting in a dormatory being well cared for. But you lost everything. These people, some of them couldn't even talk about. I tried to engage them. they just break down in tears. But um when they talk about the Russian soldiers, you know, and they're funny because they're like, "Ah, the bureaucracy is slow. Ah, I need more of this. Ah, I need more of that." I mean, just like anybody would do. It's normal old people complaints. I complain like that. I'm an old person. But but so they they're complaining, but then as soon as you mention the Russian soldiers, they just well up in tears. They're like, "These guys saved our lives." And they talk about how the Russian soldiers surrounded them with their bodies and and my god um the Russian soldiers are good. They're good people. They're good soldiers. Uh they're good warriors and they're winning. And that's what this entire Ukrainian propaganda exercise can't undo. You can have, you know, people spin Vladimir Putin's words any way you want. What you can't undo is the fact that yesterday Russia liberated a number of villages and towns. that Russia eliminated several brigades of Ukrainian manpower, the Russia advance another several kilometers deep in and Russia's closing in on the final urban defensive belt that exists in the Donbass and um they will take Slaviance, they will take Kromac course and then and then the the Dumbbas will be captured and they'll keep advancing because Ukrainians can't stop them. And now for the Ukrainian drone operators, uh the drone operators there, you know, they're very good, but drone operators operate from a fixed location. That's one thing that um, you know, came came across to me. I thought the drone operators would be mobile and maneuvering in there. No, the drone operators pick a fixed location and they get locked in there and then they offset their antennas with uh, you know, wires and lines and all that stuff. But they're they're they're running their drones. They have to be careful though because the enemy is looking for them. The Ukrainians are looking for the Russians and Russians are looking for the Ukraine. The Russians have a specialty unit called Rubicon that specialize in this sort of thing. And so when the Ukrainians launch this big drone attack, understand there's a drone operator somewhere guiding it and he's going to be in that position for 10 to 14 days before he rotates out. And one of those days he's going to [ __ ] up. All right. He's supposed to have a trash bin where he drinks his water and then he's supposed to put the empty plastic bottle in the trash bin to disguise his presence. But they get lazy. About day eight, he's drinking the water. He's focused on some and he throws it at the trash bin. It hits the lid, rolls out underneath the tree cover and a Russian drone operic bottle. Got to you son of a [ __ ] And then they track it in immediately. Three to five FAB 500 kilogram bombs on the scene and kill everybody. This happens over and over every single day. It's the most dangerous job in the world. Ukrainian drone operator. They're dying by the bushful because they they're out there flooding the zone, but they're flooding the zone in a marketplace where the Russians are monitoring everything they do and the Russians are singularly focused on killing them. Now, the Russians make mistakes, too, and the Ukrainians kill them. It's a hard war being fought, but the Russians are winning this war. Winning this war decisively. I went to drone drone development centers and looked at what the Russians are doing in terms of developing uh the technology that Vladimir Putin spoke of to shoot down uh, you know, Ukrainian drones and you know, they they have the technology now they just have to take it to uh to scale and that's what the Russians are working on. Uh we went to one's place, the Arc Angles drone research center. They've recently uh signed a deal with Kalishnikov out of their design and massproduce it and get it in the hands of the soldiers. And there's other innovation centers. Rego, Demitri Rego, the head of the former head of Roscosmos, runs a a combat unit called Bars Sarmat. Bars is the Russian abbreviation for reserve forces. Sarmat is um the name that he picked for it because he helped develop the Sarmat heavy ICBM and you just brought that along with him basically implying that I'm going to kick your ass and he is u and there's other research centers too. The the Russians are on top of this and uh that's what people don't understand. You're out there reading the Wall Street Journal. You're out there reading the Kiev Post. You're out there reading the New York Times. You're out there reading just stupidity. Guys, don't believe me. go yourself if you have the balls. Okay? Because I'll tell you what, it takes a pair of balls to go there right now. Um, had I realized how bad it was going to be, I may not have done it because there were there's a period of time where you're sitting there going, "Wow." Um, if this goes bad, I mean, when when look, my driver was a a veteran special forces guy, this sort of a Russian Delta Force type equivalent. uh cool character, but when he is sitting there when because if it you know basically if a drone's coming at you head on, you're dead. There's nothing you can do. You're going to die. And so don't even bother looking in front of you because if you see the drone coming at you, just wave. Maybe they'll catch you on camera and your mom can see your face. Put a smile on it because the Ukrainians love to record your face and put it out there. So rather than looking scared, just smile, hi, give them the finger. Do something. But you're going to die. That's just the way it's going to be. But if you scan to your left and your right, you can catch the drone coming and you may have time to get out to bail out of the car. Uh the drone's coming after the vehicle, not necessarily the people. So if you could get out in time and separate when they hit it, you might only get a couple holes in your back and your ass and your legs. Um, you know, that's the reality. But uh if the that's if the drone comes in on the horizon, but if the drone comes in on the tree line, um by the time you see it through the tree line, it's too late. It's right there on you and you're about two seconds away from dying. Um, well, we're driving in parts of Zaparosia where it's relatively flat, but you have tree lines. Um, and you know what looks like a like a drone coming at you? A freaking crow flying straight out of the tree line. And there were a couple times where we're driving all of a sudden, here comes a crow and this guy's like, you know, parish because he just thought he was dead. He was like, I'm dead. Because that's what it looked like. We all just jumped. We're like, [ __ ] we died. No, we didn't. Thank god it was a bird, but it could have been a drone. We only had to go through one day of that getting out of there. The people that live there go through this every single day. And they don't quit. They tell jokes. They have great humor. Um, you know, gasoline is tough. There's no doubt about that. The Ukrainians have been blowing up gas station. The the convoy that we're in, the reason why it got hit was that there were five um, you know, gasoline tankers there. Now, they had the the thing that saved us is that they had the gun trucks and the gun trucks were able to shoot down the drone. But, um, you know, the Ukrainians were targeting that, but the thing about these drones that Eric that Eric Schmidt provided with them, the these Hornet drones, is they have AI built into them. So, they um they come in and they they they get guided in there and then they get into a search routine. And so, basically, it's just freaking Russian roulette. um you're driving down a highway of death and you just, you know, it's when the drone pattern if you're under the drone pattern when it when it's there, it got you. You're dead. Um or you can bail out of your car and run. If it's out maneuvering past and you drive through there, you get to live. It's Russian roulette every single day. Now, the AI and the drone is telling it give it certain things to look for. So, it's you'll prioritize military uh, you know, vehicles, gas tankers, things of that nature. But drones, especially like a Hornet, they're battery driven. It's the battery life. And as the battery comes down to around 20%, the AI clicks into automatic kill mode, which means it's no longer searching for something that could be military. It says kill the first thing you see, which more often than not is

A civilian vehicle. And um, and that's the reality. That's why you see cars hit and all that. So, you know, these these these drones are literal, they're they're literal terrorist tools. So, Eric Schmidt is a terrorist. Google is a terrorist organization, and um, I wish the United States would prosecute them to the full extent of the law.

Yeah. And uh, uh, Scott, if you could, uh, now, you know, you mentioned the battlefield situation, and I, and I wanted to just pull up, um, this, this is from the Institute, uh, for the Study of War, of course, Victoria Nuland's, uh, PEP project, uh, constantly, of course, uh, spreading the same narratives you outlined there. But, uh, here we see, uh, some major progress, uh, going towards Slavian and Kramatorsk, you mentioned, and of course, the, the, the person who posted this said, "Ukraine is winning, Russia's collapsing, Putin is panicking," and that Russia, the reality is, is 10 kilometers away from breaking the fortress belt. What does this mean, and, uh, how significant is this?

First of all, understand this map is totally meaningless. Um, the, uh, the Russians have things called DRGs. Ukrainians use them as well, deep reconnaissance groups. Um, basically, these are special forces, reconnaissance forces that are searching for the seam in the Ukrainian defenses. So they push forward, identify your Ukrainian strong points, and then they'll bring drones in. Um, what, what, what, what you're not seeing here right now is in Kramatorsk, that city, the Ukrainians are, or the Russians are operating, um, fiber optic FPV drones. So the gray zone is already pushed into right now. Makes it look like Ukraine's in control of Kramatorsk. Ukraine's in control of [ __ ]. They don't control anything. Uh, Kramatorsk is a dead zone. Um, Sloviansk, the Russians have already advanced into it. You have, uh, DRGs that have closed within the, the city limits, and again, the drones are, they've cut off Sloviansk. It's, uh, it's unsustainable. Um, you know, this is the reality of it. This map doesn't show you the reality of this war. This war is a very fluid war. Um, you know, and it, the, the advances too. You know, the day of, um, you know, I couldn't fight and win this war. That's the thing. Um, maybe I, I could learn and adapt. Um, but, you know, the war I learned to fight isn't what's happening here today. I can't take a Marine company online and advance. Uh, you know, with three platoons of breast or two platoons moving in, the third in reserve. If I put a platoon of Marines online, the drones would come in and kill us all. So you advance in terms of threes and sixes. I mean, you're down to small units of men who are given very limited objectives at a time. Seize this particular null. Seize this strong point, and you have a drone support plan that comes in with you, providing fire support, and you're, the war becomes one strong point at a time, and you take it, uh, or you don't take it. I mean, if you screw up, the Ukrainian drones come in, and you have a bad day. It's, uh, that's the nature of war. Um, it's a very fluid thing. All these lines that you see, these aren't lines. Says they, they, they're meaningless. It's actually a blur of activity, but almost all of the activity is based upon Russian movement, and the Ukrainians in static positions. Ukrainian troops have lost the ability to maneuver. They've lost the ability to support their troops. When they counterattack again, you, you keep hearing, "Oh, the Ukrainians advance, took back, you know, X amount of territory." They're, they're punching into the gray zone. So, they're taking back no man's land. Uh, and they're not taking it back. They're just advancing into a kill zone, and they all die. Nobody ever talks about that. Today, the Ukrainians counterattacked and they recaptured village X, village Y, and they took this amount of square meter territory, and then tomorrow you say, "Well, what happened?" Well, they're all dead. Why? Well, they advanced into a kill zone. They advanced into the gray zone, and the Russian drones came and cut them off and killed everybody. Russian troops are mopping them up, and, uh, and, you know, ripping the chevrons off the bodies as souvenirs. Um, this map is meaningless, but the one thing that you get out of this map is the inexorable advance of the Russian forces. The Ukrainians can't stop them. They won't stop them. This war is over.

When, when's it going to be over, Scott? You said it's be over three weeks. [ __ ] you. Um, you, I mean, I'm just going to straight up say that, you know, when I said that, along with others, you know, like the director of the CIA and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, we thought Russia was going to war. Russia didn't go to war. Russia carried out a special military operation. It took us a while to figure out what the hell that was. And once we did, we realized that we're dealing with something totally different, and we have to readjust all the algorithms that we use for war. And I did. In fact, is, if you remember, Danny, back in, uh, April and May, when the United States promised $48 billion injection of, uh, of funding to Ukraine, I said, "This is a game changer."

Scott, you're flip-flopping. I'm not flip-flopping. I'm identifying a new reality. $48 billion worth of, uh, you know, military assistance changes the nature of this game. And, uh, now it's going to be extended, and Russia's going to have to respond, and Russia did, and that changed the game, and we've been looking at the back and forth game. But one thing that hasn't changed is that Russia has retained the strategic initiative throughout, and that Russia's winning, not just against Ukraine, but against the collective West. Uh, 1993, George Soros wrote an article where he said that it's inevitable that NATO will go to war with Russia. Inevitable. 1993. So all the people out there saying NATO wasn't looking for war. 1993, NATO was looking for war. Um, but he said that it, it won't be a war that NATO fights directly with Russia, because NATO's, you know, European societies can't handle the body bags coming home. Um, that NATO will have to find a source of Eastern European manpower and, um, provide them with technology, with weapons. Well, that's what's happening today. Ukraine is the source of Eastern European manpower. NATO is supplying it with technology and weapons and funding. And now we're into a gigantic war of attrition where Russia is, you know, being compelled to basically terminate the DNA, uh, you know, the DNA reservoir of Ukraine. Ukraine will never be the same. Ukraine will never recover from this war. Ukraine has lost so many men. It will never recover from this war. Ukraine is a dead nation. Um, not just a dying nation. They're dead. It's, you know, we, we've passed the point where Ukraine can be revived. It's a dead nation. It's a fake nation, is a false nation, uh, you know, propped up by Western support, Western money, Western funding, etc. But, um, Russia is not just fighting Ukraine. Russia's fighting the collective West, the United States, Europe, the economic potential of all. People tend to forget that Europe has, you know, a much larger population than Russia, and Europe has a much larger, um, gross domestic product. Uh, that Russia is, you know, fighting, you know, from an inferior position and winning, and winning. People never focus on that. Russia is outproducing the defense industrial potential of the collective West, inclusive of the United States. Um, and their forces are, are burning through Western stockpiles. People keep saying, "Oh, Russians ran out of tanks." I don't think the Russians, the one that ran out of tanks. When was the last time Germany deployed a, uh, you know, delivered a Leopard 4 to, uh, to Ukraine? A long time ago, because Russia killed them all. The Russians are still producing a lot of T-80s, T-90s. Um, they may even resume production of the T-14 once they, you know, get the, the drone issue, you know, once they develop technologies that make maneuver viable on, in, in the current drone reality. Um, but, you know, the, the, the fact of the matter is that Russia has done a, a hell of a job here. Vladimir Putin, everybody's critical of him. You know, I was at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. I actually got a great seat. I was in the second row of the plenary session. So, got to see the bead of sweat on Vladimir Putin's forehead. I'm joking. He didn't sweat. But the point is, um, the speech that he delivered didn't make any mention of the war whatsoever. None. And this is right after Starbell's 21 murdered students. This is after a Ukrainian drone attack on the opening day of the St. Petersburg forum. And you thought that it would, you know, that this would dominate. Everybody thought, I thought, I thought he'd come up there and just be breathing fire and brimstone. Uh, it was time to, you know, shoot the dog. Um, but he didn't. He said, "No, my focus is the economy. My focus is Russia. My focus is the growth and the development of the welfare of all Russians." Um, he did talk about the war. And he basically said that it will be continued until we win on our terms. Uh, but he's not letting the war define this. And people tend to forget, because there's people out there right now, I mean, you, you know him, uh, you know, uh, Dr. Row, my favorite step gener, um, who's basically saying that, you know, Vladimir Putin is under pressure, that the military is ready to revolt, and that this, Vladimir Putin under pressure. I mean, what his, uh, approval rating went from 81 to 78. Western politicians would kill for a 78% approval rating. Kill. Um, this man is under no political threat whatsoever inside Russia. Um, are there people upset? Sure, there's always going to be people upset. Doesn't mean that they're going to be screaming for a My Lai moment in Moscow anytime soon. Um, there are people who say that Vladimir Putin should strike more decisively, but they forget that he's winning the war. I mean, this is the one thing people tend to forget. Everybody who says, "Let's bomb Europe tomorrow," including me, has to stop and take pause and ask the question, then what? Because if you bomb Europe tomorrow, you run the chance of expanding a conflict that you're winning. Why do you want to change the algorithm of attrition that you're winning? Um, because some bloggers are pissed off that, you know, Ukraine gets to publish propaganda that resonates in the West. It's an echo chamber. You know, all the Gilbert Doctor is doing is echoing Western propaganda and echoing it back and breathing life into it. But the reality is, Vladimir Putin, as you saw, you know, is it having an effect? Yes. But Russia will adapt. Russia will adjust. Um, and Russia will not stop doing what it's doing, which is winning this war. And at some point in time, that, uh, urban belt that you showed, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, is going to fall, and when it falls, that's the end of the Donbas. Russia occupies it. When the Donbas breaks, the Ukrainian army breaks, and, uh, we begin a cascading effect of, uh, you know, of collapse, and, you know, that's it.

When's it going to happen, Scott? I don't know. The other fiction out there is that, uh, the, um, the Russians have put timelines out there. Vladimir Putin has missed 15 self-imposed deadlines and timelines. There's been no timelines. I challenge anybody to find me one statement from the Russian government that says the Russian army needs to do this by this date. Hasn't happened. The Russians aren't looking at the calendar. The Russians are looking at, you know, objectives. Accomplish this objective, that objective. And that's what's driving this war. And it drives people in the West crazy because the people in the West want things to happen on a calendar. And if it doesn't happen on a calendar, then they determine, you know, victory or defeat. Ladies and gentlemen, Russia doesn't operate on the Western calendar. Russia doesn't give a damn about the Western calendar. If you go to Milltopal, you'll understand the only calendar they care about is their calendar of their own personal reality. That personal reality is to get up in the morning and do what you need to do to survive. And hopefully you make it through the day, that you go to bed at night, you wake up the next morning, you do the same thing. And you keep doing that day after day after day until the war is over. Um, and the war, if the war doesn't end the way you want it, then the war continues. That's the other thing people don't understand. They just aren't going to quit. Anybody who thinks that Russia is going to quit, you haven't been to Russia and you don't know the Russians. Gilbert Doctor has been to Russia, but he's talking to the wrong people. I think. Hey, Gil, let's talk about it. You're in Brussels, right? Sort of like NATO territory. Um, how much contact do you have with MI6? I mean, are you echoing their, uh, their talking points? Because it sure seems like you are. Sure seems like you're playing into the game book that's being written by MI6. Uh, you know, Moscow House in London station. Uh, and I think that's exactly what Gilbert Doctor is doing, whether he knows it or not. It's a 100% guarantee that Gilbert Doctor is being used by Western intelligence to feed a, you know, this, this absurd propaganda that Russia's losing, that Putin's under pressure, and that the military's about to quit. Um, Gil, go visit the Donbas and come back and tell me Russia's about to quit. There ain't no quit in Russia.

And Scott, so to your point about Russian approval of Vladimir Putin, the Levada Center, it's a very interesting graph, uh, about, uh, given the dates, uh, when you look at from the beginning of his tenure as Russian president in 2000, and then of course, subsequent elections. But you see quite a lot of variation here. But one thing that is quite certain is that approval rating has dramatically increased since the Ukraine conflict began. And yes, it has gone down a bit, but that's relative to these massive numbers. I mean, 88% in 2025, 80% all through, and then now 79%. So, not.

Oh, 79. It's, it's, it's a collapse. Collapse.

I know. Yeah. It's like, not the, that graph does not signal collapse. That graph looks very, um.

Good.

Yeah, but I was, I was, I was in Moscow and, uh, walking around and, you know, everybody in the, in the, uh, Telegram chat and everything, where, oh, Moscow's, I mean, talking about, you know, burning fires and, you know, I mean, just panic. I was on Arbat Street. I mean, it was just like, yeah, panic. There ain't no panic. I mean, it was, the street was full of people just living their lives. Um, no panic, no running, just people living their life. Um, and this is the reality of it. You know, like anything, you know, if you, people get tired of to pretend that the war is not having an impact on the Russian economy is is absurd. Of course, it's having an impact on the Russian economy. And to pretend that after four plus years of war that people aren't tired of it. Of course, they're tired of it. And if I go to a cafe and talk to people, they're going to tell me they're tired of this war. Do they want the war to end? Who doesn't want the war to end? I mean, that's just the reality of it. And so on any given day, you can have people go, "Ah, you know, Vladimir Putin is not doing a good job." You know, uptick on the Vladimir Putin disapproval rating. Um, you know, and, um, I, I'm, I'm, I don't know. I watched Ksenia Sobchak the other night, and I've decided I'm against Vladimir Putin. Oh, damn. It goes down to 79%. You know, you know, but Ksenia So, I did a three-hour interview with her that she still hasn't aired. Ksenia, what's going on? Call me if you have a problem. We can, we can sort it out. Um, I think she tried to ambush me, and it didn't work. Uh, but, you know, she's somebody who is, you know, embraced the anti-Putin narrative, is not, you know, in support of this war. And she tried to create the, uh, impression that many people in Russia weren't in support of this war. That mothers throughout Russia were hesitant to send their sons off to fight and die. Well, what mother isn't hesitant to send their son off to fight and die? Um, but, you know, I think most Russian mothers identify with the Motherland Calls statue at the Kurgan Mamayev, where, you know, the, the Mother Russia is telling the sons to go forward and fight the fascists. Uh, you know, the Russians understand what's going on here. Uh, they know what the stakes are, and, uh, Russians will defend Russia. And the Donbas is Russia, and Zaporizhzhia is Russia, and Kherson is Russia. It's populated by Russians, and Russians will defend Russia. There's a handful of people who, um, you know, still believe in a time when, uh, the West provided the, uh, the shining city on a hill for the Russians to aspire to be like, you know, people like Gilbert Doctorow, who brought in their Western technology and their Western business practices, and they made the Russians kneel in subservience to the wisdom of these all-knowing Westerners. Those days are over. The, the West is no longer holds any sway over the Russian people, and people like, uh, Ksenia Sobchak are out of time. Um, they're, they're, they're, but again, Russia doesn't have any free speech. Well, Ksenia Sobchak certainly can get up there and say the crap that she says, and says it regularly. Um, she worked for Rain TV, which is, you know, an opposition-funded organization. Um, you know, there's plenty of dissenting voices in Russia today. That's one of the reasons why people like Gilbert Doctorow, you know, resonate here in the West, because they can echo off of, uh, certain chambers. But the, again, we just get down to the, the, the fact at the height of the Ukrainian drone offensive, at the height of the Ukrainian drone offensive, Vladimir Putin's approval rating is 79%. You know, what was George H.W. Bush's approval rating after he won Desert Storm? Was it close to 79%? Um, my point is, you know, people literally don't know what the hell they're talking about. They really don't know what the hell they're. And you won't know unless you go to Russia. Go. It's not illegal. Get a damn passport. Go to the consulate office. Pay $180 bucks. They'll give you a, um, give you a visa and go. Police state ain't going to grab you at the airport. Taxi driver will try to drive you into Moscow, um, in cash. Can't use credit cards yet, but, um, it's affordable. The people are nice, and, oh gosh, you can't leave Moscow or, or St. Petersburg. Yeah, you can travel. Don't, don't try to go to the special military operation without permission. They will stop you at that border. But, um, it's a war zone, after all. But, um, you know, you can go to Bulgar, you can go to Kazan, go to Chechnya. Hell, go to Grozny.

They have a great restaurant there. Go to the third floor. They have great chicken soup. Um, I mean, it's, it's good stuff. Russia is a great country, and people need to see it to believe it. Uh, but stop listening to the naysayers. Stop listening to the propagandists. Uh, Vladimir Putin said it right. It's difficult right now. But it doesn't mean, you know, difficult doesn't mean it's over. Difficult doesn't mean you're losing. Difficult just means it's not easy anymore. Difficult means you got to, you got to change what you're doing. You got to adapt. Russia's populated by the, the people who are more capable of adaptation than anybody else in the world.

And then my final, uh, question to you, Scott, is, uh, regarding, uh, the NATO summit. It's coming up next week, and, uh, you know, Russia has not been striking Kyiv as hard as it has, let's say, in recent weeks and months. Uh, there are reports actually that there might be a pretty significant strike, uh, very soon, but even as soon as today. But, uh, do you think Russia will try to send a message? Because, you know, Putin has made clear that he's very well aware of the, uh, uh, European and NATO, uh, support for Ukraine's drone attacks on Russian civilians. Do you think, uh, Russia will make a statement during this summit that, uh, yeah, it can hit very hard, and maybe coordinate its, uh, more heavier strikes on Ukraine with this summit?

You know, I, I can't speak for the Russian government. I definitely won't speak for Vladimir Putin. Um, Russia is not in the business of making statements. They're in the business of winning a war. Um, you know, uh, an S-400 missile costs, you know, millions of dollars. Um, so to make a statement by throwing away a S-400 missile means that you've thrown away production that is supposed to be used to achieve a specific military task, and the Russians are very, you know, pragmatic when it comes to that. You don't expend a missile for a statement, you expend the missile to kill people, to blow up things. So when Russia strikes, it's because the intelligence information suggests that there's a target worthy of the strike. Um, the other thing is that Vladimir Putin has been assiduous in avoiding meaningless escalation. Um, he's winning. What the West wants, what Ukraine wants, is escalation. They're trying to provoke him. He's avoiding the provocations because he's winning. Why change the, the system that you're, you're prevailing in? Why create the opportunity for the system to change into one that you may not be prevailing in? Why, you know, throw away victory? Um, it's a very politically sensitive time right now, and I'm sure many in the West would like Russia to send a signal. I mean, how convenient would it be for NATO to be meeting in Kyiv to go, "Those dirty Russians, see what they've done?" Because what are they going to say? They're not going to say it's inevitable that Russia wins. They're going to say, "Look at the Russians once again striking defenseless Kyiv. We need to give more air defense to Ukraine." So, how effective was the Russian statement at that point in time? Um, so I, I don't see the Russians, you know, doing a statement. If, uh, in the middle of this, the Russians decide that, um, the target has made itself available, they may strike. But then again, they may not, because again, you have to play out the political disadvantages of striking during this politically sensitive time. Why would Russia want to strike NATO right now? I mean, let's just think. Let's, let's walk through this one, because NATO is certainly saying we're all coming together. We got a G7 meeting where everybody agreed we're going to build weapons and provide munitions to the Ukrainians. Hey, we're awesome. You're not that awesome, guys. Um, let's put it in the perspective of, of, uh, of NATO for a second. 9/11, the United States compelled NATO to invoke Article 5. The United States compelled NATO to do it. We didn't need to do it, but we compelled them to do it. And then from that, um, you know, compelling, uh, we got NATO engaged in a 20-year conflict in Afghanistan. 20-year conflict, which we then withdrew from unilaterally. You know, when you generally, you're dealing with a NATO environment, you know, we people about Article 5, collective self-defense, but, you know, the more important article is Article 4, which requires, you know, consensus and, and collaboration, uh, consultation. We withdrew from Afghanistan without any consultation. We abandoned our NATO allies, and they were forced to leave on their own. That left a bitter taste in their mouth, where the United States invokes Article 5 but refuses to engage in Article 4, which means that NATO is nothing more than an extension of the United States. I think that's the reality, but nobody likes to, you know, have that thrown in their face. And now we have a situation where the United States entered a unilateral war against Iran, uh, outside the framework of international law. No justification whatsoever. Um, and now they want to invoke an Article 5 type response from NATO. Now, the United States hasn't been attacked. The United States did the attacking, but we demand that NATO rally to our cause as if it was Article 5. But we're doing this without any consultation. NATO was never told that the United States is going to attack. And so NATO isn't doing it. So there's a lot of resentment in the United States right now, and a lot of resentment in Europe. You really want Russia to do something that brings these two, two sides together? This resentment is real. Turkey, Turkey's the host. Last time I checked, just a few years ago, uh, Turkey was sending, uh, shipment of weapons to Libya when a French frigate attempted to intercept the Turkish convoy, and the Turks threatened to sink the French ship. That's NATO on NATO violence. Last time I checked, um, Turkey was involved in supporting, uh, Azerbaijan, uh, against Armenia. Armenia backed by the EU. Armenia that wants to join, uh, NATO. That's a little problematic too. Uh, Turkey went into Syria, was attacked by Russia. Uh, went to NATO and said, "We need help." NATO said, "We're not going to help you on this one. You're on your own." Um, Turkey, you know, has done a number of things to protect itself and ended up getting sanctioned by the United States. Right now, Turkey is talking about building an F-35, um, you know, type fighter. All they want is old F-16 engines, but we won't give it to them. The Turks feel like second-class citizens. Uh, on July 15th, 2016, there was a coup against Erdogan backed by the United States and NATO. A coup backed by the United States and NATO trying to get rid of Erdogan, but now Erdogan's, you know, hosting NATO. Anybody who thinks that NATO is going to come rolling into Ankara, this is going to be just one big kumbaya party, has no idea what's going on. Vladimir Putin's best bet at this point in time is to sit back, pop up some popcorn, and enjoy the show, because it's going to be a [ __ ] show. I mean, NATO is just going to fall in on itself. Trump's going to say, "Where's your 5%? Why haven't you come to help?" NATO's going to say, "Why aren't you helping us with Ukraine?" Zelensky is going to be there, and he's going to do something stupid and piss Trump off, and then Trump will reverse course on the G7 commitment, and the Russians are going to sit there and go, I mean, because that's it. Maybe it's entertainment. Um, so for all the people saying Russia's got to act now, send a statement, why? Why would Russia do that? Now, I'm not saying they won't, but if they do, they're going to have a reason. But the best statement is to sit there and say NATO is dysfunctional and watch NATO prove that that that that that assessment.

Yeah. Well, uh, what is the, oftentimes on social media shared regarding China, but the, uh, statement of "do nothing and win." You know, I think, I think, uh, that can be applied here to Russia. NATO is, uh, not looking well. It has not been looking well for many years. Uh, Scott, uh, I want to make sure everyone knows that your website is in the video description, scottr.com, where they can follow you and support your work. I also want to mention quickly, uh, the case of Dan Kovalik, mutual friend of ours. He was detained by UK authorities under the terrorism act, uh, in the UK. His things were taken. He's been on the show before. Uh, we have done a lot of work together, both Scott and I, with him. Uh, all of his devices were taken away. I, I believe he is out now, but, uh, nonetheless, they have seriously violated his, uh, both constitutional and human rights. Um, so I just want to put that out there. Uh, I'll give it to you, Scott, for the final words, as I think I'll put up the new members and super chats, uh, on the way, but final word for you, Scott.

Well, let's just deal with Dan real quick. If you go to skyroder.com, you'll get to my, um, my Substack page, and on there, you'll see a section called Ritter's Rant. It's actually my YouTube channel, and I did a, uh, a rant yesterday about Dan. Um, you know, and the, the point is that, uh, you know, Great Britain likes to talk about a special relationship with the United States, but a special relationship is predicated upon, you know, common values. And today, Great Britain, United Kingdom has no common value with the United States. Uh, Dan Kovalik was, this is a lawyer, an international lawyer, a man who defends human, human rights. He's the good guy. He's on the right side of history, and he was detained because of what he spoke about. He spoke out against the genocide in Gaza. He spoke out against the illegal war of aggression in Iran, and the British pulled him aside. Now, you can disagree with Dan Kovalik, but you can't suppress this speech if you call yourself pro-American. Now, England is a sovereign state. United Kingdom is a sovereign state, and they can do what they want, but there should be consequences. The United States has values. We stand for something, and one of the things we stand for is free speech, and, uh, I would just hope that, uh, all American citizens would rally around the cause of Dan Kovalik and let the British government know that they screwed up, that this will not be tolerated, that you've identified yourself as an enemy of the United States, an enemy of free speech, and you should be treated as such. Um, so that's that. Dan, if you're watching, stay strong, buddy. Uh, we, we got your back as much as we can at this juncture, but, uh, you haven't been forgotten. Um, and then I just want to point out again that, uh, I just came back from a three-week trip to Russia. It's a mind-blowing trip. Um, I've written some about it. I'm getting ready to write more about it. Uh, we have two documentary films that are going to be produced based upon, uh, this, um, and, um, you know, it couldn't have happened without your support. This is, I'm an independent journalist who, um, operates on a budget that's defined by your donations. And so far, your donations have been fantastic. They also got me to Turkey for a three-day, uh, summit, um, in preparation for the NATO, the big NATO summit. I just wrote an article about that today on my Substack. Substack's free. If you subscribe, you pay my salary, but if you donate, you, uh, you actually fund the next trip. But, um, today was an amazing day because, uh, a trip I thought I was making in September to do one thing has turned out to be something else. Something mind-blowing. And, um, you know, but again, it can't happen without your support. So the coffers are down to zero. Thank you. I spent your money wisely, and you will see the product of your investment. But, uh, if you can, if you can help me rebuild it so that, um, I'll be able to take the September trip, um, you won't be sorry. Um, you know, I went and, um, went to the special military operation, spent, uh, you know, 10 days there, uh, because of you, in, you know, because of your support, but also because of you, because the goal is to gather information and be able to bring it back to you. And, uh, in September, the opportunity to, uh, pursue the, the next phase of, um, of potential conflict between Russia and Europe, um, you know, whether or not there will be a flare-up in the Baltics or a flare-up in the Arctic. And, um, if, if you guys think that's cool, go to the Substack page and, uh, and donate if you can. But again, I want to thank everybody for all the support they provided. Uh, none of this would happen. And I want to thank you, Danny, for bringing me on. Um, and I just want to encourage your audience to support you as well. Um, you know, Dan Kovalik is a friend of ours. Um, you know, has just been proven, they're trying to silence us. They're trying to shut us down. They're trying to prevent all this from happening. They want you to be able to do nothing more than tune into the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and all the other crap that's out there that echoes the lies of the Trump administration, echoes the lies of the war party. If you believe in peace, if you believe in the potential of peace, if you believe that, uh, truth is power, um, then you have to support people like Danny Hyong and Dan Kovalik and, and others. So, thanks.

Yeah, thank you, Scott. Everyone, uh, make sure you hit the like button before you go. That's a free way, uh, to support this channel, and it helps boost the show so more people get to hear this. Uh, without further ado, everyone, uh, make sure you go to the video description after the show, after you hit that like button. You can find Scott's work. You can also find Dan Kovalik's X account, and make sure you check out his books. He's got a lot of books. He's got a whole host of books, um, on all of the topics that you're so interested in, what, what brings you to this show. Uh, so do check his work out. All right, everybody. Uh, also in the video description is where you can support this channel. And tomorrow, I'll be back 2 p.m. Eastern. I'll let you know when that, who will be joining me shortly. Uh, July 2nd, 2 p.m. Eastern. All right, everybody. See you then. We're out of here together. Bye-bye.