Moscow Calling – July 15

Medvedev: Russia does not care about Trump’s “theatrical ultimatum”

U.S. President Donald Trump’s statements about Russia’s military action in Ukraine and his threat to provide weapons to Ukraine if Russia refuses to engage in peace talks are a theatrical ultimatum that Russia does not care about, Deputy Chair of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev wrote on X in English. This is Moscow’s first official reaction to yesterday’s statements from Washington. “Trump issued a theatrical ultimatum to the Kremlin. The world shuddered, expecting the consequences. Belligerent Europe was disappointed. Russia didn’t care,” Medvedev added (TASS).

Strelnikov: Trump’s ultimatum to Russia will accelerate Ukraine’s defeat

Donald Trump’s “ultimatum” to Russia over the war in Ukraine caused a spike in Russian markets, but, according to Russian commentators, it turned out to be nothing but a theatrical gesture, Russian political commentator Kirill Strelnikov echoes Medvedev’s narrative in his article on RIA Novosti. According to him, Trump offered to supply Patriot missiles with European money and threatened 100% tariffs if there was no peace within 50 days, but even Western experts consider these measures to be empty threats. Trump, according to Strelnikov, is playing a double game: pretending to exert pressure, but in reality, distancing himself from the conflict. The U.S. is shifting the costs to Europe, which is causing irritation among its allies, he writes. According to the author, the Kremlin views these actions as evidence of the unwavering American stance and believes that the absence of negotiations will only accelerate the military defeat of Ukraine. Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Russia was ready for such a scenario, Strelnikov emphasizes (ria.ru).

Dugin: Trump has taken a pause, but Armageddon with Russia is just around the corner

Commenting on Donald Trump’s statement, Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, considered one of the main ideologues of the Kremlin regime, notes in his article on the website of the pro-Orthodox propaganda TV channel Tsargrad that the expected sharp escalation with Russia has not happened. According to him, instead of tough sanctions and new supplies to Ukraine, Trump made an ambiguous statement, effectively taking a 50-day pause. Dugin said that Trump found himself caught between pressure from the neocons and disappointment from his own MAGA electorate, losing support due to his refusal to make the Epstein case public. The article notes that Trump did not decide on “Armageddon” to distract attention, but still signaled a threat. Dugin contrasts Trump with the “tough and honest” Putin, saying that Russia should prepare for war regardless of U.S. decisions. Armageddon, according to Dugin, did not begin today but it could begin tomorrow (tsargrad.tv).

EADaily reports growing discontent with Zelenskyy in Ukraine over refusal to exchange bodies of the dead

There is growing discontent among Ukrainians over Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s refusal to exchange the bodies of the dead with Russia, Russian propaganda outlet EADaily reports. Notably, this is a popular narrative in Russia today, as if President Zelenskyy is refusing to implement the agreement reached with Russia on the exchange of prisoners of wars and bodies of the dead, which is being actively promoted by both official Russian representatives and Kremlin media and propagandists of various ranks. EADaily writes that ordinary citizens in Ukraine are openly expressing their outrage, including in street conversations and by using offensive nicknames for the president. According to the outlet’s “sources,” the Ukrainian authorities are in a state of panic because they are not prepared to pay compensation to the families of 6,000 dead soldiers, which amounts to about 90 billion hryvnia. The article claims that these funds have already been squandered and that officials are looking for ways to delay payments for years. There are examples of public criticism of Zelenskyy in markets that the police even ignore. Public anger is growing amid suspicions of corruption and inaction by the authorities on issues of compensation and respect for the dead (EADaily).

Poll: Only 3% of Russians consider migrants useful for economy

Only 3% of Russians consider migrants useful for the development of the Russian economy, Gazeta.ru cites the results of a poll conducted by Novosti Mail. Most respondents expressed concern: 40% pointed to growing tensions in society, 23% to the need for migrants to obey the law, and 22% said that migration was overburdening the infrastructure. Only 15% of respondents expressed a positive attitude toward migrants: 12% believe that decency is more important than origin. In addition, 91% of Russians support restricting the rights of illegal migrants, and 61% oppose state funding for them to learn Russian. Against this backdrop, MP Sardana Avksentyeva proposed introducing a new condition for obtaining citizenship: paying taxes of at least 10 million rubles. Notably, the term “migrants” in Russia mainly refers to residents of Central Asian republics who come to Russia to work (Gazeta.ru).