Russia will fund children conceived from the very soldiers it already sent to die in Ukraine.
The State Duma passed a bill giving their widows fully state-funded IVF and artificial insemination, drawn from the biomaterial these men banked before they deployed — United24. 1/
A widow can claim the state benefit for five years after her husband dies, and she keeps it only if she does not remarry.
She also needs a notarized consent form for the storage and use of his biomaterial, one the soldier had to sign in person while he was still alive. 2/
Russia will deliver the procedures under its program of state guarantees for free medical care, and its Health Ministry will write the detailed rules.
The bill funds both IVF and artificial insemination for these widows, but it still draws the line at surrogate motherhood. 3/
CNN: Russian hackers spent a year targeting nuclear scientists, defense firms, governments, police, schools and energy.
They tested tools on Ukrainians first, then used them against NATO to seek Western military, logistics and policy intelligence. 1/
The campaign focused on email servers used by nuclear installations and the U.S. defense industrial base. Researchers say the hackers appeared interested in nuclear fusion and intelligence useful to Russia’s war against Ukraine. 2/
The exploit was unusually dangerous because victims did not need to click a link. Opening an email on a vulnerable system could let hackers steal three months of communications and an organization’s full email directory. 3/
Laura Loomer: I said I didn’t care if Putin conquered Ukraine, had no problem with Putin, and mocked Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit.
People urged me to delete those posts, but I left them online so people could see what I said before and how I feel now. 1/
Loomer: We joked that after receiving billions, Zelenskyy could buy the most expensive Italian suit. I later realized it was much more serious than joking around.
I had been consuming a lot of Russian media and was influenced by Russian propaganda. 2/
Loomer: After the 2020 election, many conservatives were banned from social media and shut out of US news outlets.
RT [Russian state media] offered me a platform. It felt like I finally had a voice again. I took no money, but I regret accepting the offer. 3/
Laura Loomer: I apologize to Ukrainians for what I said about their country. People here were kind to me.
I doubt Putin would sit down with me or Moscow would welcome me if I criticized its government. Zelenskyy answered every question I asked. 1/
Loomer: I expected Kyiv to have far more destruction and rubble.
Instead, people were living their lives. Nobody was hiding. They were smiling, walking their dogs, and the city looked far more put together than I expected. 2/
Loomer: During the 15-hour train ride, I saw areas that had been destroyed.
The conductor told us Russia tries to bomb train stations to disrupt people’s ability to travel freely. What surprised me most was how resilient Ukrainians are. 3X
Volker: There will never be a real peace agreement with Putin. That requires him to accept Ukraine as sovereign, Zelenskyy as its legitimate leader, and a real border.
He'll never agree to that. The best we'll get is a ceasefire, made as durable as we can. 1/
Volker: Putin isn't motivated by peace, lifted sanctions, or money.
He's motivated by rebuilding the Russian empire and subjugating Ukraine. Trump didn't fully grasp that at first, but the more he's dealt with Putin, the more he's realized Putin is lying to him. 2/
Volker: Putin doesn't want an off-ramp, and he's willing to inflict enormous suffering on Russia's own people to keep chasing his goal.
But oil and gas money will eventually stop covering the war, and he can't replace the roughly 30,000 soldiers he's losing a month. 3X
Former Ukrainian FM Kuleba: We're heading toward drone and ballistic-missile parity with Russia, but neither side will have enough air defense.
2026 and 2027's decisive battles get fought in the air, not on the ground. 1/
Kuleba: There are no Patriot interceptors, and there won't be enough soon. I've heard an optimistic end-2026 date for our own licensed production, but I don't believe it — even running, we're missing components.
We'd be an assembly shop, not a real manufacturer. 2/
Kuleba: The idea that de-escalation works if we just stop striking back is wrong. Putin isn't in a negotiating mindset — he'll end up wrecking Russia before he backs down from Ukraine.
That's good news, but a very long-term process with very long-term consequences. 3/