💬 “The European Union has completely lost its political sovereignty, and its bureaucratic elites are dancing to someone else’s tune, accepting whatever they are told from above, causing harm to their own population and their own economy....Such a detachment from reality, from the demands of society, will inevitably lead to a surge of populism and the growth of radical movements, to serious social and economic changes, to degradation, and in the near future, to a change of elites...It is a mistake to suggest that the times of turbulent changes can be waited out and that things will return to normal; that everything will be as it was. It won’t...The West’s elites cling to the shadows of the past. They believe that the dominance of the West in global politics and economy is a constant, eternal value, but nothing is eternal.” — Vladimir Putin, St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, June 17, 2022

Putin: Unipolar Order Has Ended, West Headed For "Change Of Elites" As Russia Emerges Stronger (ZeroHedge)
FM Sergey Lavrov’s interview with the BBC TV channel (Russian MFA - Telegram)
FM Sergey Lavrov’s interview with the NTV network (Russian MFA - Telegram)

The Wikileaks founder faces 175 years in prison. The extradition of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the US moved a step forward on Friday after British Home Secretary Priti Patel gave the green light to hand the transparency activist over to American custody.

💬 “The UK courts have not found that it would be oppressive, unjust or an abuse of process to extradite Mr. Assange,” the Home Office said. “Nor have they found that extradition would be incompatible with his human rights, including his right to a fair trial and to freedom of expression, and that whilst in the U.S. he will be treated appropriately, including in relation to his health.”

Julian Assange has 14 days to appeal. WikiLeaks called the development a “dark day for Press freedom and for British democracy,” and added that “the decision will be appealed.”

A dark day for Press freedom and for British democracy. The decision will be appealed (Wikileaks -Twitter)
'Hard to Believe': Snowden Slams Degradation of Human Rights in UK's Decision to Extradite Assange (Sputnik News)
WikiLeaks Slams Priti Patel as 'Accomplice to US' as UK Greenlights Julian Assange's Extradition (Sputnik News)

Taylor Hudak | |Award-winning journalist Julian Assange must not be extradited to the US. Under section 91 of UK Ext Act of 2003, it is oppressive to extradite Assange to US. If extradited, he would be tried in the Eastern District Court of VA - a corrupt, secret court. VIDEO

In the end, neither double masks nor double boosters could save him: NIAID director and unflushable turd Anthony Fauci, who in 2021 declared that “When people are vaccinated, they can feel safe that they are not going to get infected,” has tested positive for Corona. Like all the other celebrities to catch SARS-2, he is reported to be suffering “mild symptoms,” and he’s on Paxlovid.

💬 Hendrik Weber: "As a politician, I tried to be a voice of reason on Ukraine. For that, my party expelled me."

Western countries have found themselves in a difficult situation since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine. Almost all of their governments condemn the “invasion of Ukraine” by Russian troops. I am convinced that the current situation in Western countries is very tense and aggressive. However, a fact-based analysis of the situation is hardly possible, as the debate is conducted extremely emotionally. This would be more understandable if we had not seen a coup d'état in Ukraine in 2014 and a civil war that continued for almost eight years.

The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics proclaimed their independence from the Ukrainian central state in 2014, after in April of that year Kiev’s military launched its so-called “Anti-Terrorist Operation” against them. Then, this February, almost eight years after the start of the civil war, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to recognize the two republics as independent states. While people in Donbass were asking why the recognition had taken so long, Western states and governments were outraged.

When Kiev’s guilt in attacks on a maternity hospital cannot be denied, it’s simply brushed under the carpet.

Following intense Ukrainian shelling of Donetsk on June 13, some Western media sources, in tandem with outlets in Kiev, unsurprisingly claimed that the attack – which killed at least five civilians and struck a busy maternity hospital – was perpetrated by Russian forces. Why Moscow would launch rockets at its own allies wasn't explained, nor would it make much sense. The Donetsk People’s Republic's foreign ministry reported:

💬 “Such an unprecedented. in terms of power, density and duration of fire, raid on the DPR capital was not recorded during the entire period of the armed conflict [since 2014]. In two hours, almost 300 MLRS rockets and artillery shells were fired.”

The Ukrainian shelling began late morning, resumed in the afternoon, and continued for another two hours in the evening, a deafening series of blasts throughout the city, terrorizing residents and targeting apartment buildings, civilian infrastructure, the aforementioned hospital, and industrial buildings.

M. K. BHADRAKUMAR | The New York-based Council on Foreign Relations held a videoconference on May 31 titled "Russia’s War in Ukraine: How does it end?" The president of the think tank Richard Haas chaired the panel of distinguished participants — Stephen Hadley, Prof. Charles Kupchan, Alina Polyakova and Lt. Gen. (Retd) Stephen Twitty. It was a great discussion dominated by the liberal internationalist stream that has so far guided President Biden’s national security team, which wants to help Ukraine fight a long war against Russia.

The striking thing about the discussion was the acknowledgement candidly articulated by an ex-general who had actually fought in wars that there is no way Russia can be defeated in Ukraine, and, therefore, there has to be some clarity as to the stated endgame to “weaken” Russia. The gloomy prognosis was that European unity apropos the war is no longer holding.

[O]ne plausible scenario would be that Russia turns Ukraine into a “frozen conflict” once the current phase of the war reaches the administrative boundaries of Donbass, connects Donbas to Crimea and incorporates Kherson and a “strategic pause and a stalemate in the not-too-distant future” may open the door for diplomacy.

Eric Zuesse | During the period from 28 April to 11 May of 2022, the European Council on Foreign Relations polled 8,172 respondents who were in ten European countries, on the question “Who is mainly responsible for the outbreak of the war in Ukraine?” and here were the options that were presented:

● “Russia”
● “Ukraine, the EU, or the US”
● “None of these”
● “Don’t know”
● MORE

People want the conflict in Ukraine to end, even if it means Kiev making concessions, a survey suggests.

The unifying European drive to support Ukraine against Russia and punish Moscow for attacking its neighbor is at risk of losing momentum, the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) warned on Wednesday.

An increasing number of people want to see the conflict end, even if it means getting Kiev to make concessions, the think-tank said based on an opinion poll it conducted. The survey suggested that many people, who want to be tough on Russia, are also concerned with the cost that European nations will have to pay to pursue what the authors called “justice” for Ukraine.

The Party of Shariy and the Left Opposition movement bring the total number of banned political parties to nine.

Two more political movements, the Left Opposition and the Party of Shariy, have been banned by a Ukrainian court. Both featured on a list of the 11 political factions suspended in March by Ukraine’s Security Council. Thursday’s announcement brings the total number of outlawed parties to nine.

According to rulings by the Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, all activities of the Left Opposition and the Party of Shariy have been prohibited, with “funds and other assets” set to be nationalized. As Justice Minister Denis Malyuska explained, the two join other banned “pro-Russian” parties, whose activities were allegedly aimed at “undermining the sovereignty” of Ukraine. Explaining the court decision, the minister cited the law “On political parties” and amendments to it, adopted in the wake of the Russian military offensive, and simplified procedures to ban a political party for the duration of martial law.

Israeli forces killed three young Palestinians and injured at least 10 others during a military raid on the Jenin refugee camp in the northern part of the West Bank in the wee hours of the Friday morning, reports said.

The latest aggression came amid growing tensions in the occupied territories fueled by a wave of incursions, arrests, and arbitrary killings by the Israeli army.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the Israeli troops stormed the eastern neighborhood of the Jenin refugee camp early on Friday and opened fire on the vehicle in which the men were traveling. The report added that the incident triggered a gun battle with local residents, leaving at least ten people injured. They were ferried to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Palestinian medical sources identified the victims as Youssef Nasser Salah, 23, Baraa Kamal Lahlouh, 24, and Laith Salah Abu Srour, 24.

UN rights chief urges Israel to open criminal investigation into Palestinian journalist’s death. (PressTV)