John Miles | The Russian president has again insisted the country is open to pursuing peace with Kyiv, but a cessation of hostilities runs counter to the interests and objectives of Western elites. | Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated the country’s conditions for an end to the Ukraine conflict during a lengthy address at the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Friday. ■ Moscow’s central demands are the same as those put forth during previous rounds of negotiations sabotaged by the United States: Ukraine must become a neutral state not aligned with Western powers’ crusade against the Russian nation. Additionally, Kyiv must be demilitarized and de-Nazified, Putin stated, and the country must formally renounce plans to join NATO. ■ The offer was rejected almost as soon as it was extended, leading Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to jokingly ask whether it had even yet been translated into Ukrainian. “With such statements, they want to deprive the citizens of Ukraine of a real chance for peace,” said the Russian official. ■ But a deeper analysis of the conflict and its history reveals why a peaceful resolution remains so elusive. Sputnik’s The Critical Hour program hosted a series of guests to discuss the Russian president’s proposal, breaking down the context of the Ukraine crisis and Western elites’ deep-seated interest in its continuation.

👉 Four conditions for negotiations with Kyiv: what Putin said at Foreign Ministry (TASS)
👉 President of Russia Vladimir Putin’s speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow, June 14, 2024 (Russian MFA)
■ Russia makes another real peace proposal to Kyiv — Putin (TASS)
■ Putin: The West is Pushing World "To the point of no return" - Lays out Terms for Ukraine PEACE (Hal Turner)
■ Putin names conditions for Ukraine peace talks (06/14/24)
■ Kyiv rejected the ultimatum -Russia: 'There will be only a narrow strip of land left of the former Ukraine (E. L.)

Israeli media outlets are reporting a "difficult" event in Rafah, explaining that eight soldiers were burned to death in the Gaza Strip. | The Palestinian Resistance killed eight Israeli occupation soldiers who were reportedly asleep in an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) in the southern Gaza Strip, Israeli media outlets reported on Saturday. The news has emerged as Israeli occupation forces are launching an invasion into the western neighborhood of al-Sultan in Rafah. ● Relating a slightly different course of events but with the same end result, the al-Qassam Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement in which it announced that on the morning of the day of Arafat Day, its freedom fighters carried out a complex ambush against Israeli vehicles penetrating the area of ​​the Saudi neighborhood in Tal al-Sultan, west of the city of Rafah. The cab of a D9 military bulldozer, according to the Resistance group, was targeted by an al-Yassin 105 shell, causing it to catch fire and resulting in casualties among its crew. Immediately upon the arrival of the rescue force, a Namer APC was targeted with an al-Yassin 105 shell, which led to its destruction and the killing of all its crew members.

■ Palestinians ‘denied protection, dignity’ as 28 killed in attack on homes (Al Jazeera)
■ 'You just want to cry': Ex-Israeli cmdr. says Galilee lost to Hezbollah (PressTV)