Pentagon spox responds to Blaze News reporter on Ukraine saying aid reduction will embolden Russia



On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Pentagon explained the president's rationale to end some military contributions to Ukraine in the Russian war.

Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell opened the media briefing with a statement about the decision to stop some military aid to Ukraine as part of a "capability review" that sought to maintain U.S. military readiness.

'The president's strategic outset with respect to Ukraine and Russia has been one of peace. He campaigned on this.'

"Let it be known that our military has everything that it needs to conduct any mission anywhere, anytime, all around the world. We have the most lethal fighting force in the world," said Parnell at the end of his statement about Ukraine.

When Parnell went to accept questions from reporters, Blaze News politics reporter Rebeka Zeljko went first.

"With respect to Ukrainian aid, the United States announced that they're going to be withholding certain aspects of aid," said Zeljko. "Ukraine responded by saying that this is going to embolden Russia. What is the department's response to that argument?"

"Well, the president's strategic outset with respect to Ukraine and Russia has been one of peace. He campaigned on this. When he was asked on a town hall with CNN about that war, he said he wanted to just stop people from dying," Parnell responded.

"And so peace has been the president's highest aspiration, and we here at the department support those goals and those missions," he added. "But it's important to remember that the stuff that I mentioned in my topper, what we've done here at the Department of Defense is create a framework to analyze what munitions we're sending where, to help the president and the secretary of defense make decisions."

RELATED: 'Audacious' Ukrainian drone attack on Russian bombers stuns ahead of peace talks in Istanbul

"And so ultimately our job here at the Department of Defense is to pursue the president's America First agenda and make sure that we keep peace through strength throughout the world," Parnell concluded.

The U.S. announced a pause in munitions and air defense missiles being sent to Ukraine over concerns that the U.S. stockpile had grown low. The announcement was praised by Russia, but a Ukrainian official warned that the decision would lead to more "war and terror" from the "aggressor," rather than peace.

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'Audacious' Ukrainian drone attack on Russian bombers stuns ahead of peace talks in Istanbul



Officials from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul, Turkey, to negotiate on a possible peace deal after a stunning drone operation dubbed "Spider's Web" destroyed Russian bombers over the weekend.

Ukraine launched an attack through drones that had been secreted into the country and hidden in the roofs of wooden sheds on 18-wheelers parked near military bases deep inside Russia. When the command was given, hatches opened and the drones flew out and sought to bomb their military targets.

'What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD.'

Video on social media reportedly showed footage from drones striking at the Russian planes. Ukraine said about 41 planes were destroyed or damaged, while Russia claimed far fewer were hit.

The attack was dubbed by some as Russia's "Pearl Harbor" moment, although the losses were a fraction of what the U.S. base in Hawaii suffered under the Japanese. Other media outlets called it "audacious" and "stunning."

Despite the devastating attack, Russian officials pressed on with demands of extensive concessions from Ukraine in order to agree to a ceasefire during negotiations in Istanbul. President Donald Trump has been calling for peace between the two countries and has threatened sanctions against Russia if a deal is not reached.

The two sides met for only an hour before breaking up the talks in Istanbul. Ukrainian officials reportedly rejected the offer from Russia and described it as tantamount to surrender.

However, the two warring nations did agree to an exchange of prisoners of war as well as the return of about 12,000 bodies of war casualties.

RELATED: Trump says participation in World Cup could be 'good incentive' for Russia to end war with Ukraine

Negotiations in Istanbul. ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the drone operation on social media.

"Today, a brilliant operation was carried out — on enemy territory, targeting only military objectives, specifically the equipment used to strike Ukraine. Russia suffered significant losses — entirely justified and deserved," he wrote.

He said 117 drones were used in the operation and 34% of "strategic cruise missile carriers stationed at air bases" were hit.

"Not for a single second did we want this war," he added in part. "We offered the Russians a ceasefire. Since March 11, the U.S. proposal for a full and unconditional ceasefire has been on the table. It was the Russians who chose to continue the war — even under conditions where the entire world is calling for an end to the killing."

Ukraine security services estimate the attack cost Russia upwards of $7 billion in damage.

On Tuesday, Trump had warned Russia about continuing the war on Ukraine.

"What Vladimir Putin doesn’t realize is that if it weren’t for me, lots of really bad things would have already happened to Russia, and I mean REALLY BAD," he wrote on social media. "He’s playing with fire!"

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Natalie Winters EXPOSES neocon warmongers stopping peace in Ukraine



The son of former U.S. diplomat Victoria Nuland has some explaining to do.

Nuland’s son, David Kagan, attempted to stop Zelenskyy from signing the rare-earth minerals deal with Trump to end the war in Ukraine.

“He’s listed as a researcher contributing to the Center for European Policy Analysis,” Natalie Winters, co-host and White House correspondent of “Steve Bannon’s War Room,” tells Jill Savage and Christopher Bedford on “Blaze News Tonight.”

“This shows you how it is not just a family grift, but it really is the Washington consensus,” Winters continues. “Everyone in the Nuland family makes a paycheck off of killing young American boys and girls in the name of democracy.”


Victoria Nuland was the third-highest-ranking U.S. diplomat and served as the undersecretary of state for political affairs from 2021 to 2024.

“Now we know that days before the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting that this group that her son is involved with, the Center for European Policy Analysis, was actively opposing a deal that could have eased tensions,” Savage comments.

Of course, ending the war in Ukraine would save countless lives — but that’s not at the top of these bureaucrats' minds.

“They do not care about the lives of young men, young women, young Americans. They just want to continue these forever wars, and they’ve identified Ukraine as sort of their next avenue to do that,” Winters comments, noting that in the case of the Nulands, this lack of care for human life seems to run in the family.

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