NO ONE LEFT BEHIND

In the prisoner swap, Putin signals that Russia won't forget its security operatives abroad

In the biggest East-West prisoner swap since the Cold War, Russian President Vladimir Putin is sending a clear, morale-boosting message to his security services: If you get caught, Russia will bring you home

ByJOANNA KOZLOWSKA

 Associated Press
August 2, 2024,

President Vladimir Putin strode along the red carpet between two rows of rifle-toting honor guards and warmly greeted intelligence operatives freed in the biggest prisoner swap with the West since the Cold War.

“The Motherland hasn’t forgotten about you for a minute,” Putin said, embracing each of them after they walked down the steps of the jetliner that ferried them home.

Putin, who rarely — if ever — travels to the airport to greet foreign heads of state these days, was delivering a clear, morale-boosting message to his security services: If you get caught, Russia will bring you home.

For the Kremlin, Vadim Krasikov, the hitman imprisoned in Germany for killing a former Chechen militant in Berlin, was perhaps the most important component in the exchange that saw eight Russians swapped for 16 Westerners and Russian dissidents who had been imprisoned in recent years.

Moscow freed American journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and a group of top dissidents.

Washington extolled it as a major diplomatic victory. But so did Moscow.

“Putin is sending a signal that those working abroad will have maximum protection, and that if they are arrested, the state will fight for their return and roll out the red carpet for them,” said Tatyana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

She noted that Russian and Western perceptions of the deal were starkly different.

“In the West, it’s being viewed from a humanitarian and political perspective, closely followed by media, significant for society," Stanovaya told The Associated Press. "In Russia, it’s not an issue for society, it’s an issue for the state.”

The average Russian probably "doesn’t even know the names of those who returned," she added. “But for Putin, those who returned to Russia are real heroes, patriots who worked for the state and defended the national interest.”

Krasikov was convicted in the Aug. 23, 2019, killing of Zelimkhan “Tornike” Khangoshvili, a 40-year-old Georgian citizen who had fought Russian troops in Chechnya and later claimed asylum in Germany.

At his sentencing to life in prison in 2021, German judges said Krasikov had acted on the orders of Russian authorities, who gave him the resources to carry out the killing.

In 2019, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied any Russian involvement in the killing. But on Friday, he said Krasikov is an officer of the Federal Security Service and once served in the FSB’s special forces Alpha unit, along with some of Putin’s bodyguards.

By including Krasikov in the deal, “Putin has shown how important it is to him to secure the return of imprisoned Russian spies,” said Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.

He noted the Russian leader's “determination to get Krasikov back was key to this exchange.”


Russia released twice as many people as the West in what Gould-Davies described as a “striking departure from the strict parity (or better) that Russia always insisted on in previous swaps.”

When it suits him, Putin has occasionally accepted unequal exchanges.

In September 2022, Ukraine agreed to free jailed opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk, whom Putin had personally known, and dozens of other people in exchange for over 200 Ukrainians and foreigners in Russian captivity.

Gould-Davies said Putin, a KGB veteran, could have been driven by a strong personal loyalty to the undercover agents in Thursday's swap.

"Putin now places such a high value on his spies that he is prepared to agree to an unfavorable exchange,” he said.


Abbas Gallyamov, a political analyst and former Putin speechwriter, described the swap as a way to ensure the loyalty of Russian operatives abroad and make them realize that he "will make every effort to pull them out of prison.”

“Putin showed to all his spies, killers and other people who he uses abroad that he’s like their father,” Gallyamov said. “It’s important because it ensures their loyalty.”

Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Putin-chaired Security Council, declared on his messaging app channel that while “it would be desirable to see the traitors of Russia rot behind bars ... it's more useful to get our guys out.”

The anti-Western hawk added ominously that “the traitors should now frantically be choosing new names and hiding under witness protection programs.”

Among those released by Russia were Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer serving 25 years on a treason conviction widely seen as politically motivated; opposition activist Ilya Yashin, imprisoned for his criticism of the war in Ukraine; associates of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and Oleg Orlov, a veteran human rights campaigner.

While some have voiced hope the freed activists could reinvigorate Russia's beleaguered and fragmented opposition that has lacked a charismatic leader since Navalny's death, others point to steep challenges they will face.

Stanovaya said it would be hard for them to make their voices heard in Russia, where most people lack access to independent media and liberal views are shared by a relatively narrow segment of the public.

She predicted the Kremlin will portray them as serving Western interests, especially Kara-Murza, a dual Russian-British citizen who was a vocal supporter of sanctions against Moscow.

Gallyamov also said the Kremlin doesn't view the freed activists as a major threat.

“Released opposition figures won’t cause any additional issues" for the Kremlin, he said, adding that the messages that Yashin and others sent from prison evoked more sympathy and interest. “The Kremlin wins from this deal.”

___

Associated Press journalist Kostya Manenkov in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

Behind the scenes of US-Russia prisonner swap deal

Issued on: 03/08/2024 -

02:25  Video by: Tom CANETTI

The United States and Russia completed a 24-person prisoner swap on Thursday, the largest in post-Soviet history, with Moscow releasing Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan in a multinational deal that set some two dozen people free, according to officials in Turkey, where the exchange took place. How was this deal set? FRANCE 24 journalist Tom Canetti explores the behind the scenes of the agreement.

How Putin might gain or lose from the prisoner swap


By AFP
August 2, 2024


Putin had long pushed for Krasikov to be included in a prisoner swap deal

 - Copyright POOL/AFP Kirill ZYKOV

When eight Russian citizens including a convicted hitman touched down in Moscow on Thursday in a historic prisoner swap with the West, President Vladimir Putin greeted them like heroes.

“I want to congratulate you all on your return to your Motherland,” Putin beamed, assuring the group that also included cybercriminals and spies that Russia had not forgotten them for “even a minute”.

Putin’s message — both to those released on Thursday and his agents across the world — was clear: Even if you get caught, the Kremlin has your back.

A total of 24 people were freed in Thursday’s exchange — 16 headed to the West and eight to Russia — in the biggest prisoner swap deal since the Cold War.

Russia released US journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, ex-marine Paul Whelan as well as high-profile domestic dissidents.

In return, it secured the largest number of alleged Russian spies freed in a single exchange for over a decade, as well as FSB security service assassin Vadim Krasikov.

“For the target audience, Putin brought back his soldiers, the heroes of a hybrid Third World War,” said Russian political analyst Konstantin Kalachev.

“And the audience is not just special services, but millions who feel like citizens of a country at war with a stronger enemy,” he added.

Among those returning to Russia were two sleeper agents living on false documents in Slovenia, a prolific hacker and an alleged Russian colonel posing as a Brazilian researcher in Norway.

For Putin, the main prize was Krasikov — an elite FSB officer arrested in Germany in 2019 for murdering a former Chechen separatist on what Berlin said was Moscow’s orders.

A former FSB officer himself, Putin had long pushed for Krasikov to be included in a prisoner swap deal, an idea that Germany had resisted.

The deal will have “strengthened loyalty” among other spies and assassins, said Abbas Gallyamov, an independent political analyst and former Kremlin speechwriter.

“Putin can count on them to work with greater dedication,” he added.

– ‘Win-win’ –

For the West, the exchange has raised fears Putin could become even more emboldened to take prisoners in what it blasts as “hostage diplomacy”.

The Kremlin said Friday it was determined to see the release of more Russians it believes are wrongfully imprisoned in the West.

Over the last two years, Russia had been “blatantly” detaining Westerners for a possible swap “as negotiations with the West stalled” amid the Ukraine offensive, said Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.

Russia and the West have a long history of swaps, including in 2022 when US basketball star Brittney Griner was exchanged with Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

But with Thursday’s deal involving not just foreigners but Russian dissidents, Moscow reminded “the whole world of its repression, lawlessness and cruelty against critics of the authorities,” Stanovaya said in an article.

Before the 2022 agreements to free first US Marine Trevor Reed and then Griner, deals had usually involved swapping spies for spies.

Moscow has tried to present this deal in similar terms.

Gershkovich and Whelan were both convicted of “espionage” — charges rejected as baseless by the White House — and the FSB said on Thursday that the Russians it released had “acted in the interests of foreign states to the detriment of Russia’s security.”

But to the West, the arrest of Gershkovich in particular — the first “espionage” charges levelled at a US reporter in Russia since the cold War — showed the Kremlin was willing to cross red lines.

Russia may see the exchange as a great success and “wonderful victory”, political analyst Ekaterina Schulmann said in an interview with Russia’s independent TV Rain.

But the reality was more nuanced.

“Russia is getting eight clumsy losers who couldn’t do their job and got caught,” she said.

“While it is giving away people who, if they want to and if they are able, will become significant political public figures.”

Activists celebrate LGBTQ Olympians in ‘city of all loves’


By AFP
July 30, 2024

DJ Tim Zouari gets the party started - 

Copyright AFP STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

Toni Cerda and Zoe Dert-Chopin

On the shores of the River Seine, a fan zone dotted with rainbow-themed paraphernalia hopes to draw in the crowds to celebrate a record number of openly LGBTQ athletes at this year’s Olympics.

The event’s Pride House, which was first set up during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, opened on Monday in Paris.

“The idea is to welcome everybody,” organiser Jeremy Goupille told AFP.

“With a platform like the Olympics, we know we can change things.”

The Summer Games this year include 193 openly LGBTQ athletes, up from 186 in the 2020 Games and 53 in 2016, specialised website Outsports says.

They include openly gay British diver Tom Daley, who on Monday won silver with partner Noah Williams in the 10m synchronised platform to give him a fifth medal in five Olympics.

US basketball star and LGBTQ activist Brittney Griner is back on the court after spending a gruelling nine months in a Russian jail in 2022.

Her team won gold in the last two Olympics in Rio and Tokyo.

Brazilian judoka Rafaela Silva, who won a gold at the Rio Games in 2016, will also be competing.

– ‘Welcoming’ space –

Pride House has been a feature of most Games since Vancouver, excluding the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia in 2014.

Organisers hope the LGBTQ athletes in Paris will provide inspiration for members of the community worldwide.

At least 67 countries criminalise same-sex relations between consenting adults, Human Rights Watch says.

Violence and harassment against LGBTQ people in Europe have reached a “new high” in the past few years, the European Union’s rights agency says.

“Paris is the city of love, of all loves,” exclaimed deputy mayor Jean-Luc Romero-Michel at the opening on Monday night.

In the crowd, 23-year-old Lucas and 26-year-old Remy, neither of whom wished to share their surname, had painted their cheeks with a French flag and were excited.

“After the backlash of the right and the far right, it’s important to have a space that is welcoming, whatever a person’s gender or sexual orientation,” said Lucas, a student.

Australian skateboarder Poppy Starr Olsen said she was not competing this year after taking part in the Tokyo Games, but was there to cheer on the initiative.

“Skateboarding itself is really queer. So it’s been a super awesome place for me to grow up as a queer person,” the 24-year-old said.

“But you definitely experience hate sometimes, even if the people don’t mean it… It’s still there, which is why it’s really important to have a Pride House.”

– ‘We are all equal’ –

French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said she too thought having the venue was key to “a message of inclusion”.

“It’s important for us to keep fighting against all types of discriminations,” she said.

“We are all equal and we all deserve to be respected,” she added.

She spoke after the Olympics opening ceremony on Friday sparked some controversy.

The sequence, a Greek mythology-inspired celebration including members of the LGBTQ community and a semi-naked singer painted in blue, had intended to promote diversity.

But Catholic groups and French bishops have accused it of being a disrespectful parody of the Last Supper between Jesus and his apostles.

US presidential candidate Donald Trump has called the segment “a disgrace”.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the ceremony for “immorality against all Christians” and said he would report it to Pope Francis.

Oudea-Castera said the aim was not “to have any sort of provocation against any type of religion”.

“It was a message of inclusion, reconciliation and celebration of the Olympics god Dionysos,” who was father of Sequana, the goddess of the River Seine, she said.

Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese headline WNBA All-Star team that will face US Olympic squad


Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) is fouled by Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) during the second half of an WNBA basketball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Las Vegas. 

 (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) defends against Las Vegas Aces guard Jackie Young (0) during the first half of an WNBA basketball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Las Vegas. 

 (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) is defended by Phoenix Mercury guards Sophie Cunningham (9) and Sug Sutton (1) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game Sunday, June 30, 2024, in Phoenix.

 (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) and guard Marina Mabrey (4) battle Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) and forward NaLyssa Smith (1) for a rebound during a WNBA basketball game, Sunday, June 23, 2024, in Chicago. 

(Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune via AP)

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) and Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) chase after a rebound during the first half of an WNBA basketball game Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Las Vegas.

 (Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

BY DOUG FEINBERG
 July 2, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese will team up on the WNBA All-Star team to play against the U.S. Olympic team led by A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart.

The pair of remarkable rookies were selected Tuesday by a combination of votes from the media, players and fans as well as the league’s 12 coaches to play in the game in Phoenix on July 20. It’s the 20th All-Star Game in the league’s history.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been her teammate before, even at USA Basketball. I know people will be really excited about it, but I hope it doesn’t take away from everyone else,” Clark said. “This is a huge accomplishment for everybody on Team USA and everyone on Team WNBA. They all deserve the same praise. I don’t want it to take away from any of that and be the focal point of All-Star weekend because that’s not fair to them.”

Clark was the leading vote-getter from the fans, receiving 700,735 with her Indiana teammate Aliyah Boston finishing second 72,000 votes behind. Reese was fifth with 381,518 votes. Wilson and Stewart were third and fourth. Wilson garnered 607,300 votes and Stewart had 424,135.

Clark and Reese have been a boon for the WNBA in ratings, merchandise sales and attendance. They are also playing well on the court with Clark third in assists with 6.9 and Reese leading the WNBA in rebounds at 11.4.


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“They just told me I’m an All-Star. I’m just so happy,” an emotional Reese said after her Sky beat the Atlanta Dream. “I know the work I’ve put in. Coming into this league so many people doubted me and didn’t think my game would translate and I wouldn’t be the player I was in college, or better, or would be worse, or wouldn’t be where I am right now. But I trust the process and I’m thankful I dropped to No. 7 (pick in the draft) and was able to come to Chicago.”

Paris Olympics

The Olympics are more than fun and games. They’re a billion-dollar business with political overtones.

Breakdance will make it’s debut as an Olympic sport in Paris.. Here’s what else will be different at this year’s games.

It’s the eighth time that two rookies have been on the team. The last was Shoni Schimmel and Chiney Ogwumike in 2014.

Joining the rookies on the WNBA team were DeWanna Bonner and Brionna Jones of Connecticut, Allisha Gray of Atlanta, Dearica Hamby of Los Angeles, Jonquel Jones of New York, Kayla McBride of Minnesota, Kelsey Mitchell of Indiana, Nneka Ogwumike of Seattle and Arike Ogunbowale of Dallas.

Ogunbowale was the MVP of the 2021 All-Star game which featured the same format of the U.S. team playing a league All-Star team. The WNBA team won that game.

“She’s had an incredible season to this point,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said of McBride. “She’s doing everything for us, so deserving of this All-Star nod.”

The U.S. team, which will be going for an eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal in Paris later this month, also features Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi. The pair of Phoenix players will get a chance to play in front of their home crowd in the exhibition game. Taurasi will be vying for a record sixth Olympic gold medal.

Three of Wilson’s Las Vegas teammates — Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young — are on the U.S. team. Gray was on the Tokyo Olympic squad while Plum and Young both helped the Americans win the inaugural 3-on-3 gold medal.

Other returners from the Tokyo Games include Napheesa Collier and Jewell Loyd. Several first-time Olympians will join the team with Alyssa Thomas, Sabrina Ionescu and Kahleah Copper. All three played on the American team that won the World Cup in Australia in 2022.

Every player chosen for either the U.S. team or the WNBA squad is considered an All-Star making this Taurasi’s 11th time in the game. She’s now alone in second behind Sue Bird for most all time. Bird was a 13-time All-Star.

The league will have a 3-point challenge and skill contest the night before the All-Star game.

Missouri pol says ‘unpatriotic lesbian’ Brittney Griner should be in Russian jail, not Olympics

Valentina Gomez made the inflammatory remarks about the WNBA star in a video posted on social media platform X.

MIKE LAWRIE/GETTY IMAGES; LEV RADIN/SHUTTERSTOCK

CHRISTOPHER WIGGINS
JUNE 12 2024 

AMissouriRepublican candidate for secretary of state, Valentina Gomez, has called WNBA star Brittney Griner an “unpatriotic lesbian” and said she should be back in aRussian prison rather than competing in the 2024ParisOlympics. Gomez commented in a 20-second video posted to X, formerlyTwitter, on Monday.

“Brittney Griner should be rotting in a Russian prison, not going to the Olympics,” she said. “Caitlin Clark is the only reason why we even watch women’s basketball,” Gomez continued. “She deserves to go to the Olympics, unlike this unpatriotic lesbian.”



Gomez captioned the post with “The Olympics are about meritocracy, not DEI.”

USA Basketball cited experience as the reason that Clark was not included on the U.S. women’s Olympic roster, according to the Associated Press. Despite Clark’s immense popularity and skill, the selection committee felt she lacked high-level experience. The team includes seven players from the group that won gold in Tokyo, including Griner.

Gomez has a history of inflammatory remarks against LGBTQ+ people and policies she deems “weak and gay.”

Griner, who was arrested in Russia in February 2022 for possessing vape cartridges with cannabis oil, spent 10 months in detention before being released in a high-profile prisoner exchange. During her detention, Griner faced severe conditions and homophobic treatment.

Gomez’s remarks have drawn significant backlash on social media. One user commented, “Nobody should be ‘rotting in prison’ for marijuana,” while another wrote, “I like you but no one should be rotting in prison over weed.”

In May, Gomezurged Americans not to be “weak and gay” in a campaign video, saying, “In America, you can be anything you want, so don’t be weak and gay. Stay fucking hard.” The footage showed her running through a neighborhood of St. Louis with high LGBTQ+ representation while holding a gun. Earlier this year, she posted a video of herself using a flamethrower to burn LGBTQ-themed books, promising to “BURN all books that are grooming, indoctrinating, and sexualizing our children” if elected.

Her platform also includes “protecting children against the transgender agenda,” “securing the Second Amendment,” and opposing vaccine mandates. Gomez’s primary election is set for August 6, where voters will decide if her provocative campaign tactics will secure her a place in the general election. She is one of several candidates seeking the Republican nomination for secretary of state. The current officeholder, Republican Jay Ashcroft, is running for governor to replace term-limited fellow GOPer Mike Parson.

Missouri Republican tells Black Americans to ‘kindly’ leave US if they don’t like country

WHY WHITE AMERIKA NEEDS CRT

Valentina Gomez, 25, called Juneteenth the ‘most [wretched]’ of holidays as she slammed the idea of reparations for slavery

Gustaf Kilander
Washington DC


A Missouri Republican told Black Americans to “kindly” leave the US if they “don’t like” the country in a message posted before the Juneteenth national holiday celebrating the end of slavery.

Trump supporter Valentina Gomez has become well-known for her controversial and attention-grabbing stunts, such as when she told followers not to be “weak and gay” while running in a bulletproof vest.

On Tuesday, she called Juneteenth the “most [wretched]” of holidays as she argued against reparations for slavery.

Gomez, who is running for secretary of state, posted the video just days after the Trump campaign announced an effort to attract Black voters as the race against Joe Biden heats up.
“Reparations from slavery and Black victimization is about to be shoved down our throats for the most [wretched] holiday in America,” Gomez says in the video, wearing a shirt saying “Don’t be weak and gay.”

“[Black Lives Matter] raised millions. And what did they do for Black lives?” she asks.

“It is outrageous to see people ask you for reparations, even though they never went through slavery. These ungrateful people should be celebrating because they were born in the greatest nation to ever exist,” Gomez adds. “Here’s a tip – If you don’t like America, kindly, get the f*** out.”

At the end of the video, Gomez, a 25-year-old who migrated to the US from Colombia, appears in an image holding an assault rifle, dressed in military-style clothes. She has never served in the armed forces, Newsweek noted.

Gomez is facing seven other Republicans in the 6 August primary to become the GOP nominee for Missouri secretary of state. So far, Trump has not issued an endorsement.

President Joe Biden recognized Juneteenth as a federal holiday in 2021. It became the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr Day was instituted in 1983.

In May, she posted a video of herself running in a bulletproof vest.

“In America, you can be anything you want,” she says in the footage. “Don’t be weak and gay. Stay f****** hard.”

Previously, she has also posted a video of her using a flamethrower to set fire to LGBT+ books.

Gomez faced mockery on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show this week for her comments about LGBT+ people such as saying that WNBA star Brittney Griner “should be rotting in a Russian prison – not going to the Olympics.”

“Caitlin Clark is the only reason why we even watch women's basketball. She deserves to go to the Olympics, unlike this unpatriotic lesbian,” she added.

“I love that she's super into women's basketball but she's angry that there's a lesbian in the WNBA – is someone gonna tell her?” host Desi Lydic said.

'Two days and it's over': Russian arms dealer endorses Trump amid call for U.S. civil war

David Edwards
June 3, 2024 

Alex Jones and Viktor Bout (InfoWars/screen grab

Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer dubbed the "merchant of death," endorsed former U.S. President Donald Trump and suggested a new American civil war was needed.

While guest-hosting with Alex Jones on Monday, Bout was asked about his views on Trump.

"Look, one thing is clear," Bout said. "That Trump is for real. He is real, and he is alive."

The arms dealer said President Joe Biden was "like a zombie."

"We can discuss all the points, but at least he is a real person who is honestly, full-heartedly, not willing to see America being ruined and killed by the globalists," he continued.

"So this is a, you know, situation where we all hope that Trump finally will quickly act after he was inaugurated, and literally make sure that this deep state or those globalists who are fully controlling the American administration would be unable to make more harm to the human being on the planet and stop killing, first of all, Americans."

Bout, who was freed from a U.S. prison in 2022 Bout in a swap for basketball star Britney Griner.

Later in Monday's show, he agitated for a second American "revolution."

"They're gonna try to really attempt on the life of the Trump, and they said, oh, sorry, you know, we killed him," he warned. "Who knows, maybe they're gonna get hostages of Trump's family and put him to negotiate some."

"So in this level, I guess all American people have to do their maximum to really show to the globalists," he added. "If you mess up with this, it would be, you know, our strong response. Look, if people go to the street in America, the real America, who they are, it's over."

"It's two days, and it's over. Forget about January 6th, it was a joke."

Jones argued that Jan. 6 was a false flag operation.

"Yeah, exactly, but think of this, if people everywhere will go on the street, not only in D.C., but everywhere, that's it," Bout agreed. "Who, police gonna attack all people, hell no. Military, they're gonna send military against American people."

"But this is a moment for another American revolution."

Watch the video below from the Alex Jones Show.

Brittney Griner says she considered suicide in Russian jail

Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner spoke for the first time about her detention


Patrick T. Fallon/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images US basketball player Brittney Griner, of the Phoenix Mercury, speaks during a news conference at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona on April 27, 2023.

 (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) 

By ASSOCIATED PRESS | ap@dfmdev.com
PUBLISHED: May 2, 2024 

If you or someone you know is struggling with feelings of depression or suicidal thoughts, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline offers free, round-the-clock support, information and resources for help. Call or text the lifeline at 988, or see the 988lifeline.org website, where chat is available.

PHOENIX (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner said she thought about killing herself during her first few weeks in a Russian jail after her 2022 arrest on drug-related charges.

Griner spoke for the first time about her monthslong detention in Russia during an hourlong interview that aired Wednesday night on ABC. Her memoir, “Coming Home,” is set to be released on May 7.

Griner was detained after arriving at a Moscow airport after Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges allegedly containing oil derived from cannabis.

“I wanted to take my life more than once in the first weeks,” Griner told interviewer Robin Roberts. “I felt like leaving here so badly.”

She decided against it in part because she was afraid the Russian authorities wouldn’t release her body to her family.

Her plight unfolded at the same time Russia invaded Ukraine and further heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S., ending only after she was freed in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner said before she was released, she was forced to write a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“They made me write this letter. It was in Russian,” she said. “I had to ask for forgiveness and thanks from their so-called great leader. I didn’t want to do it, but at the same time I wanted to come home.”

She was disappointed when she got on the plane for the trade and that Paul Whelan, another American who has been detained in Russia, wasn’t with her.

“I walked on and didn’t see him, maybe he’s next. Maybe they will bring him next,” she said. “They closed the door and I was like, are you serious? You’re not going to let this man come home now.”

Griner plays for the Phoenix Mercury. The WNBA season begins on May 14.

Two years on, what does the Ukraine war mean for the Middle East?

Analysis: Russia's invasion of Ukraine has accelerated East-West bifurcation in an increasingly multipolar world, with Arab states striking a delicate balance

The deadliest conflict in Europe since 1945 rages on in its third year. So far, tens of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have lost their lives in this war.

Many Ukrainian cities are destroyed while millions of displaced Ukrainians live as refugees in other countries. Moscow remains committed to achieving its objectives in this war while Washington’s continued military support for Ukraine is in question amid an election year in the US.

For Arab states, Russia’s overt invasion of Ukraine has represented both challenges and opportunities. This war has served to accelerate East-West bifurcation in an increasingly multipolar world, requiring Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members to strike delicate balancing acts when navigating shifts in the global geopolitical order.

The conditions created by the shock of 24 February 2022 empowered GCC states in various ways. Their economies benefited from record revenues attributed to high oil prices.

Furthermore, the challenges before Western policymakers reinforced the centrality of Gulf Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia in terms of global energy, security, and geopolitics, underscoring Washington, London, and European capitals’ need to involve Riyadh in the formulation of their responses to global challenges of the 21st century.

"For Arab states, Russia's overt invasion of Ukraine has represented both challenges and opportunities"

In November 2019, Joe Biden, as a presidential candidate, called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” and he refused to speak directly with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) throughout the start of his term. Yet, by July 2022 Biden controversially visited Jeddah to meet with MbS.

One of the White House’s objectives behind that trip was to try to pull Saudi Arabia away from Russia’s orbit of influence several months after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is reasonable to interpret Biden’s decision to go to Jeddah within the context of Saudi Arabia being successful in terms of maximising the benefits afforded to the Kingdom in an increasingly multipolar world defined by great power competition.

Put simply, the Ukraine war helped the Saudis make Washington view the US-Saudi partnership differently. Rather than assuming that Saudi Arabia depends on the US, and that Washington can make demands of Riyadh, multipolarity has afforded Saudi Arabia the means to do more hedging amid a time of intensifying East-West animosity while reinforcing to the US how much Washington needs Riyadh - arguably as much as vice versa.

At the same time, the Ukraine war also created instability that negatively impacted GCC members. For example, massive interruptions to supply chains posed serious challenges to the Gulf Arab states, especially concerning food security.

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Ahmed Alqarout

Divergent positions within the Gulf

The six GCC states have not all had identical responses to Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine. On one side of the spectrum, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia have been most accommodating of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government since February 2022.

On the opposite side, Kuwait and Qatar have been most critical of Russia’s violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereign rights. Oman and Bahrain have been in the middle. Nonetheless, all six GCC members have spent the past two years attempting to maintain their close relations with both Moscow and the West.

“Given its history, it is unsurprising that Kuwait has been the most outspoken against Russia's invasion of Ukraine and most supportive of Western states' responses,” Dr Neil Quilliam, an associate fellow in the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, said in an interview with The New Arab.

“Similarly, Qatar has taken a strong position in favour of Ukraine. For the other GCC states, however, Russia's invasion of Ukraine is ‘somebody else’s issue’- it is either seen as a European or NATO issue and one that does not directly affect the Gulf, though the consequences of the invasion, of course, have been felt all over,” he added.

“The Gulf states do not subscribe to Western narratives about Russia’s move posing a challenge to the rules-based order or see it to be of major consequence and this should be no surprise, as the region has experienced punishing wars and occupations for the past 100 years and more. Consequently, it is just another war.”

No GCC state has implemented any of the West's sanctions on Russia since Moscow's invasion. 

A careful balancing act

As a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the UAE joined China and India on 25 February 2022 in abstaining on a US-drafted resolution condemning Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine.

Nonetheless, all six GCC members have consistently voted with the West in UN General Assembly resolutions that called out Moscow for its invasion, occupation, and annexation of Ukrainian territory.

Gulf Arab officials have also diplomatically engaged their Ukrainian counterparts, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and given Ukraine much humanitarian and non-lethal assistance over the past two years. Indeed, Zelenskyy’s been in Saudi Arabia more than once since the full-fledged Russian invasion and many important officials from GCC states have come to Kyiv amid this war.

At the same time, no GCC state implemented any of the West’s sanctions on Russia. The UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed along with other leaders and high-ranking officials from Gulf Arab states have made trips to Moscow since February 2022. Late last year, Putin was a welcome guest in the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

"The Gulf states do not subscribe to Western narratives about Russia's move posing a challenge to the rules-based order or see it to be of major consequence"

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, in particular, have maintained close working relations with Moscow across a host of domains. Saudi-Russian energy cooperation via OPEC+ is a case in point. The UAE also played a major role in enabling Russia to weather the West’s financial warfare. Since February 2022, Emirati authorities have permitted Russian oligarchs and Kremlin-linked figures to park their wealth in Dubai.

As the most Russia-friendly GCC member, the UAE’s willingness to play this role in helping Moscow withstand Western pressure stands to contribute to the long-term strengthening of the Abu Dhabi-Moscow partnership.

“From the onset of the Ukraine war, Gulf States - individually, not collectively - had made conscious and calculated decisions to not take strong positions on the conflict,” Dr Mira al-Hussein, an Emirati sociologist and research fellow at the Alwaleed bin Talal Centre, University of Edinburgh, told TNA.

“As the US’ focus on the region began to gradually wane, Gulf states continued to wisely hedge on other regional powers, while simultaneously attempting to re-engage the US and ensure a prolonged security commitment to the region,” she added.

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“If there is a shift in the balance in Moscow's favour because of diminishing Western support for Ukraine, then Gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will feel vindicated for hedging against US commitment to their security,” said Dr Quilliam.

“At the same time, it will reinforce the idea that Russia is a dependable and enduring partner and that it has been seen to support its allies, such as Syria, through thick and thin. In other words, a shift in the balance in Moscow's favour would only serve to reconfirm Gulf Arab leader fears that they can no longer rely upon the US and encourage them to hedge further with Russia and China.”

Although Washington and some other Western capitals sought to bring GCC members into closer alignment with NATO and Ukraine against Russia, Gulf Arab officials seem to have played their cards wisely from a strategic standpoint.

With the war in Ukraine now essentially a stalemate with neither side having achieved a decisive victory, staying relatively neutral seems to have been a decision that served the long-term national interests of GCC states.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia have been most accommodating of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government since Moscow's invasion. 


As Dr al-Hussein explained, the Gulf Arab leaders and policymakers look at the current state of this war in Ukraine and are “reassured that their choice to remain neutral was rational and wise”.

Despite the GCC states remaining relatively neutral in this conflict, it can be said that these six Arab countries have had no choice but to view Russia as a global power with nuclear weapons and Ukraine as a much less powerful country on the international stage.

The foreign policy strategies of the GCC states, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, vis-à-vis the Ukraine war have reflected their vested interests in deepening ties with Moscow. Officials in Kyiv have taken note of this, which has probably left Ukraine somewhat suspicious of GCC states - particularly those which most accommodated the Kremlin after the shock of 24 February 2022.

That said, Kyiv has joined the West in taking advantage of Saudi and Emirati diplomatic bridges to Moscow throughout this conflict. Underscored by Abu Dhabi, Doha, and Riyadh’s mediation roles in the December 2022 Brittney Griner-Viktor Bout exchange, prisoners of war swaps, and the reunification of families, Gulf capitals have leveraged their relative neutrality to help the West, Ukraine, and Russia.

“The GCC countries have used their balancing act between Moscow and Kyiv to boost their strategic autonomy versus the US and present themselves as a mainstay for multipolarity,” Ahmed Aboudouh, an associate fellow with the Chatham House and a non-resident fellow with the Atlantic Council, told TNA.

“The past two years have been remarkable in the sense that they helped GCC countries, especially Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, to learn to deal with both sides of the conflict and build political clout on both sides that allows these countries to bring both to a middle ground on peripheral issues such as prisoner swaps,” he added.

"The GCC countries have used their balancing act between Moscow and Kyiv to boost their strategic autonomy versus the US and present themselves as a mainstay for multipolarity"
Balancing ties with Russia and the West

Despite Saudi Arabia and the UAE helping their Western partners with prisoner swaps and hostage releases, their overall accommodation of Russia since February 2022 has fuelled a degree of tension between those two Gulf states, on one side, and the US and other western powers, on the other. However, such tension related to the Ukraine war has not led to any major crisis in either Saudi Arabia or the UAE’s relationship with Washington.

“The US understands the rationality behind Gulf states’ neutrality on this war. There has not been any real effort on Washington’s part to penalise those who facilitate Russia's sanction avoidance, which calls into question the extent to which the US and Europe are interested in isolating Russia, or their desire to further antagonise Gulf states,” Dr al-Hussein told TNA.

Throughout the future, however, there might be some lasting bitterness in the West about these GCC members taking relatively non-aligned positions toward Russia’s full-fledged invasion of Ukraine. But given how quickly new developments on the international stage unfold and how short attention spans are in Washington and other Western capitals, it is not clear how long that bitterness will last.

At the end of the day, the US and other Western countries have to worry about more than Ukraine, and they count on their relationships with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi for help with countless international challenges from Afghanistan to Sudan.

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Gulf Arab statesmen focus on Gaza, not Ukraine

Gulf Arab policymakers are currently much more concerned about the Israeli war on Gaza than Russia’s aggression toward Ukraine. The mayhem in Gaza is impacting Arab societies in ways that Russia’s brutality in Ukraine does not.

Israel-Palestine is also much geographically closer to the Gulf than Ukraine, and for all GCC states the stakes are extremely high when it comes to the Gaza war’s spillover into Yemen, the Red Sea, and the Gulf of Aden.

Israel’s actions in Gaza have the potential to bring GCC states closer to Russia. This is mostly due to how easy it is for Moscow to present itself to the Arab-Islamic world as a power which differs from the US.

The Ukraine war has not led to any major crisis in either Saudi Arabia or the UAE's relationship with Washington. 

Instead of vetoing UN Security Council resolutions to spare Israel from any form of accountability for its crimes, Russia is busy depicting itself as a defender of the Palestinian cause.

“If anything, the war in Gaza accelerated the push for multipolarity as the US credibility and reliability received a blow in the region. While the US will remain the GCC’s main security partner, the double standards and reluctance to revamp its support to Israel creates an opening for Russia and China to advance their standing and rhetorical appeal in the Middle East and the Global South. This will not alter the regional status quo anytime soon, but it will pave the way for deeper ties with Moscow,” said Aboudouh.

As Dr al-Hussein told TNA, “Russia’s statements in support of Palestine in the UN Security Council meetings may serve as good PR for local Gulf consumption to promote Russia as a moral counterpart to the US, if necessary”.

Giorgio Cafiero is the CEO of Gulf State Analytics.
Follow him on Twitter: @GiorgioCafiero

Putin uses Tucker Carlson interview to take shots at Zelenskyy  (AND TRUDEAU)

over Yaroslav Hunka affair 

HUNKA A WW 2 VET OF THE 

UKR NATIONALIST ARMY  (ALIGNED WITH THE NAZI'S)PROMOTED BY UKR NATIONALISTS IN CANADA

CBC
Thu, February 8, 2024 

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke with U.S. media personality Tucker Carlson in an interview conducted in Moscow on Tuesday and released on his Tucker Carlson Network website Thursday evening. (Tucker Carlson Network/Reuters - image credit)

Russian President Vladimir Putin used an interview with U.S. media personality Tucker Carlson to take a shot at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for joining in a standing ovation for a veteran of a Second World War Nazi unit during his visit to Canada.

Zelenskyy gave an address to Parliament during the September visit. He was introduced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and thanked by then-Speaker of the House Anthony Rota.

During his remarks, Rota recognized a man from his riding, Yaroslav Hunka, and praised the Ukrainian Canadian for fighting the Russians during the Second World War. Zelenskyy, Trudeau and the rest of the House rose to applaud Hunka.

Media reports later revealed that Hunka fought with the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, also known as the SS 14th Waffen Division and sometimes the First Ukrainian Division. The unit was made up of Ukrainian volunteers from Galicia and was under Nazi command.

Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press

"The president of Ukraine stood up with the entire Parliament of Canada and applauded this man. How can this be imagined?" Putin told Carlson through a translator. Carlson posted the interview on X, formerly Twitter.

While historians say men joined the unit for a variety of reasons — including a desire to fight for Ukrainian independence from the Soviet Union — the incident was a major diplomatic embarrassment for Canada.

Putin has repeatedly claimed he is waging war on Ukraine in order to "de-Nazify" the country and has jumped on the Hunka affair to justify his argument in the past.

Western allies, including Canada, have consistently pushed back against those claims, calling Russia's full-scale invasion a blatant violation of Ukraine's sovereignty.

During the interview, Putin suggested that the Hunka affair is "being silenced in Western countries," despite extensive media coverage of the incident last fall.

The Russian president has greatly limited his contact with international media since he launched the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Western journalists were invited to Putin's annual press conference in December — the first since the war began — but only two were given the chance to ask a question.

Putin's spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters that Carlson was chosen for the interview because "he has a position which differs" from other English-language media.

Before his exit from Fox News, Carlson repeatedly questioned the validity of U.S. support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion and speculated about why Americans are told to hate Putin so much. His commentaries were frequently circulated on Russian state-run media.

Tucker Carlson Network/Reuters

Carlson's trip comes as he aligns himself with former U.S. president Donald Trump in a growing split in the Republican party over Putin and the Ukraine war. Trump has pushed to cut off aid to Ukraine, and the GOP majority controlling the House of Representatives has so far complied.

The U.S. has sent Ukraine more than $110 billion US in aid since Russia invaded in February 2022.

Putin's stance on wider war in Europe

Putin, speaking in Russian with his words dubbed into English, made lengthy remarks about Russia's relations with Ukraine, Poland and other countries during the interview, which was more than two hours long.

He said he had no interest in expanding its war in Ukraine to other countries such as Poland and Latvia.

Asked if he could imagine a scenario in which he would send Russian troops to Poland, a NATO member. Putin replied: "Only in one case, if Poland attacks Russia. Why? Because we have no interest in Poland, Latvia or anywhere else. Why would we do that? We simply don't have any interest."

Putin, who will be seeking a fifth term as president in this year's election, said Western leaders had come to realize it was impossible inflict a strategic defeat on Russia and were wondering what to do next.

"We are ready for this dialogue," he said.

Putin devoted a substantial part of the interview to complaining that Ukraine had been on the verge of agreeing a deal to end hostilities at talks in Istanbul in April 2022, but backed away, he said, once Russian troops withdrew from near Kyiv.

| Vladimir Putin says Russia will intensify attacks on Ukaine:

"Well now let them think how to reverse the situation," he said. "We're not against it. It would be funny if it were not so sad … this endless mobilization in Ukraine, the hysteria, the domestic problems, sooner or later it will result in an agreement."

The Russian leader said the U.S. had pressing domestic issues to worry about.

"Wouldn't it be better to negotiate with Russia? Make an agreement. Already understanding the situation that is developing today, realizing that Russia will fight for its interests to the end," Putin said.

Washington has made clear it has no interest in talking on Putin's terms.


U.S. journalist's release possible

Putin told Carlson that it might be possible to free Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is awaiting trial on spying charges, in exchange for a Russian prisoner.

He said Russian and American special services were discussing the case and had made some progress.

The Russian president suggested that in return, Moscow wanted Germany to free Vadim Krasikov, who was convicted of the 2019 murder of a Chechen dissident in Berlin.

Gershkovich was arrested on March 29, 2023 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and accused of trying to obtain defence secrets. He and his newspaper strongly reject the charges and the U.S. government has designated him as wrongfully detained.

Evgenia Novozhenina/Reuters

Russia and the United States have agreed high-profile prisoner swaps in the past — most recently in December 2022, when Moscow traded Brittney Griner, a U.S. basketball star convicted of a drugs offence in Russia, for Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout.

Putin, without mentioning Krasikov by name, referred to a person who "due to patriotic sentiments, eliminated a bandit in one of the European capitals."

Last month a Moscow court extended Gershkovich's custody by two months. Putin said the reporter had been "caught red handed when he was secretly getting confidential information."

Putin likely chose Tucker Carlson because of his ignorance of Russia, and it showed

Tom Porter

BUSINESS INSIDER
Updated Fri, February 9, 2024 

• The former Fox News host Tucker Carlson interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• Putin most likely chose Carlson because of his ignorance of Russia and its history.

• Putin steamrolled Carlson with two hours of dubious history that he used to justify war on Ukraine.

Tucker Carlson claimed to be venturing into territory no other Western journalist had dared in interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin itself had hyped Carlson's credentials, saying he was the only Western journalist granted permission to talk to Putin in two years because his position was "in clear contrast to the position of the traditional Anglo-Saxon media."

But when the interview was released on Thursday, another likely reason Putin chose the former Fox News host for the two-hour interview became clear.

For much of it, Carlson sat in silence as Putin expounded his dubious historical theories about Ukraine, aired his grievances, and pushed MAGA talking points designed to appeal to Carlson's core audience.

"This is a stage for Big Vlad to showboat," Ian Garner, an expert on Russian propaganda, wrote on X as Putin seized control of the interview.

Putin has used these theories to justify his brutal invasion of Ukraine, where, according to the UN Human Rights Council, Russia has used mass killings, rape, and torture in an attempt to subjugate the country. Putin even published an essay on the theories just ahead of the invasion.

It matters because Putin is seeking to erode support for Ukraine among the GOP voters who form Carlson's core audience as congressional Republicans continue to block a $66 billion Ukraine aid bill.

Carlson seemed to lack the knowledge or willingness to offer even the most cursory pushback. He can perhaps be forgiven for appearing bemused when Putin started lecturing him on obscure historical figures, such as Rurik of Novgorod, but offered no challenge even as Putin discussed more recent events.

For instance, he allowed Putin to claim that the 2014 Maidan protests, in which Ukrainians took to the streets to demand freedom from Russian control, were a CIA plot. There's no evidence of this.

He also allowed Putin to claim, unchallenged, that Russia sought peace with Ukraine before launching the 2022 invasion. There's no evidence of this, with Russia illegally seizing swaths of Ukraine in 2014 and stoking conflict in the east of the country.

Putin was also able to claim, unchallenged, that the invasion was a bid to "de-Nazify" the country and not the campaign of revanchist conquest it is in reality.

Putin was given a two-hour platform to further undermine Republican support for Ukraine and offer an alternative version of history in which the US and NATO were the true aggressors.

Carlson will probably see a huge boost in his audience from the interview. Since his ouster from Fox News in 2023, he's been reduced to interviewing fringe figures such as an online conspiracy theorist who goes by the name "Catturd."

But in increasing his own profile, he's allowed Putin to present his alternative and vastly destructive historical theories to a whole new audience.

In response to earlier allegations that he was a pawn of Putin, Carlson told Axios in 2022: "I could care less."

"It's too stupid," he added. "I don't speak Russian. I've never been to Russia. I'm not that interested in Russia. All I care about is the fortunes of the United States because I have four children who live here."

That ignorance of Russia may be coming back to haunt him.

Who is Tucker Carlson, the man interviewing Vladimir Putin?

BBC
Thu, February 8, 2024

Tucker Carlson speaks during 2022 FOX Nation Patriot Awards at Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood on November 17, 2022 in Hollywood, Florid

American journalist Tucker Carlson is the first Western journalist to interview Russian President Vladimir Putin since his country's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The televised sit-down will air on Thursday, bringing a fresh wave of attention to Mr Carlson, once one of the highest-rated hosts in US network news and now an industry outsider.

In April of last year, around 8pm on a Friday night, Tucker Carlson addressed his viewers.

During his nightly broadcast on Fox News, he had run through a number of segments, all with his signature right-wing bent.

He lambasted President Joe Biden's plans to address racial biases in housing, attacked Mr Biden's son, Hunter, and mocked a commonly used acronym for gay, lesbian and transgender people.

At the end, he gave a cheery sign-off.

"We'll be back on Monday," he said. "In the meantime, have the best weekend with the ones that you love, and we'll see you then."

But Mr Carlson never returned.

That next Monday, the Rupert Murdoch-controlled Fox announced the network and its most popular personality had agreed to "part ways". Tucker Carlson Tonight was no longer.

For six years, the hour-long prime-time programme had ruled the conservative airways, consistently drawing about three million viewers each evening.

And for Mr Carlson, now 54, the show had marked the peak of a career decades in the making.

The Californian - son of an artist and a roving journalist - had first entered the media world in the 1990s, writing for several prominent publications, including New York Magazine, Esquire and The New Republic.

In 2010, with his former university roommate Neil Patel, he founded the conservative news website The Daily Caller, seen as an alternative to left-leaning websites like Huffington Post. The site promised to emphasise original reporting over punditry, but was criticised for publishing unproven allegations against Democratic politicians and promoting racist and sexist stereotypes.

Mr Carlson cut ties with the site in 2020.

Mr Carlson pictured in the office of the Daily Caller, the conservative site he launched in 2010

As he grew his influence online, Mr Carlson also made a foray into broadcast. He worked as a commentator for CNN in the early 2000s before joining MSNBC to host a nightly programme.

It was here that Mr Carlson sharpened his conservative stances, growing increasingly critical of immigration - which he sometimes called an "invasion" - and becoming a voice for the Republican party's nativist wing.

After moving to Fox in 2009, Mr Carlson bounced around the network's minor leagues, including a 2013 stint as weekend co-host of its morning show, where he once fell asleep on air.

By 2016, he was ready for prime-time, launching Tucker Carlson Tonight just a few days after Donald Trump was elected president.

The debut episode attracted nearly four million viewers. But the host caught an even bigger break the next year, when Fox News fired Bill O'Reilly, its most popular host at the time.

Now there was an opening for the next network star, and Mr Carlson promptly took it.

With Mr Trump in the White House, he rode the wave of populist outrage that fuelled the Republican's political victory. His popularity ballooned, and his programme frequently set the agenda for conservatives and, by extension, the Republican party.

As he became appointment viewing for the political right, Mr Carlson also drew fire from fact-checkers and activists, who accused him of pushing racist and nationalist talking points, including the so-called "great replacement" conspiracy theory which claims a cabal of people is plotting to change the demographics of Western countries.

In one episode, he advocated for the US invasion of Canada. In another, he called the metric system the "yoke of tyranny".

And on several occasions, he used his perch at Fox to defend Russia's President Putin.

His controversial statements did not go unnoticed by Fox, who saw several large companies pull advertisements in protest. But for the most part, the network left him to his own devices.

With Donald Trump in the White House, Mr Carlson's popularity ballooned

Then, in April of last year, Mr Carlson's run at Fox came to a sudden end.

The network gave no formal reason for his dismissal, but Mr Carlson's departure was just days after Fox News paid an extraordinary $787m (£633m) settlement to Dominion Voting Systems over false election claims. The lawsuit revealed, among other things, that Mr Carlson derided Mr Trump's election fraud claims in private messages while backing them publicly on the air.

After a few weeks of quiet, Mr Carlson announced he would begin a new show on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

"Facts have been withheld on purpose along with proportion and perspective. You are being manipulated," he said in the announcement.

That December saw the birth of a paid streaming service, the Tucker Carlson Network, which Mr Carlson framed as free from corporate influence.

His content and guests have become increasingly fringe.

In July, he published a two-and-a-half hour interview with Andrew Tate, the British-American influencer accused in Romania of rape, human trafficking and forming an organised crime group to sexually exploit women.

He also posted a surprise Christmas Eve fireside chat with disgraced actor Kevin Spacey, as he reprised his role as House of Cards lead character, the fictional President Frank Underwood.

Largely, Mr Carlson has failed to re-create the popularity and attention he enjoyed at Fox. Mr Putin's appearance promises be a boon for him, and possibly a way for his star to rise again.

With reporting from Kayla Epstein & Madeline Halpert