The Guns of May

Yesterday’s post By Larry Johnson: “Lavrov Tells Rubio, Russia Will End the War with Ukraine and the West” related the warning from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to the supposed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio regarding the coming attacks on Ukraine. Following the warning strikes Sunday, May 24, the present quiet spell is to allow foreign delegations to leave before further action begins. Here are the warnings, from Larry Johnson’s report:

Today’s Lavrov-Rubio call was a highly significant and alarming diplomatic communication, covering three major topics. The call took place at Lavrov’s request, with Rubio currently on a four-day trip to India attending the QUAD meeting in New Delhi. State Department Spokesperson Tommy Pigott confirmed: “Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke today with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Minister’s request. The parties exchanged views on the Russia-Ukraine war, bilateral relations, and the situation in Iran.”

Message 1: Imminent Systematic Strikes on Kyiv — By Direct Order of Putin

The most alarming element of the call was its primary purpose. By direct order of President Vladimir Putin, Lavrov informed Rubio that Russian armed forces are launching systematic strikes on facilities in Kyiv used for the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The strikes are described by Moscow as a response to the Kiev regime’s continued attacks against civilian population and infrastructure in Russia — specifically citing a recent deadly attack on a college dormitory in the Russian town of Starobelsk which killed at least 21 people, mainly teenage girls, which Moscow described as “the last straw.”

Russian troops subsequently launched a massive strike on Kyiv using Iskanders, Zircons, X-101 cruise missiles, and Oreshnik hypersonic missiles — approximately 50 missiles and 700 drones.

Message 2: Evacuate US Diplomats from Kyiv

Lavrov drew Rubio’s attention to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement issued on May 25 recommending that the United States, along with other states with missions in Kyiv, ensure the evacuation of their diplomatic personnel and other citizens from the Ukrainian capital in anticipation of the impending campaign of systematic strikes.

Message 3: The Anchorage Agreements Are Being Undermined

Lavrov reminded Rubio of the agreements reached at the highest level at the suggestion of the US in Anchorage in August 2025 regarding the Ukrainian conflict, and expressed regret that the “high-handed efforts of the European elites and the Kiev regime” are undermining these agreements, which Moscow says “paved the way for a sustainable long-term settlement based on a balance of interests.” This is Russia’s formal notification to Washington that it holds European capitals and Kyiv — not Moscow — responsible for the collapse of the Anchorage framework.

Some have asked, “Why has Russia waited four years to do this?” I think there are two reasons: First, I believe that Russia has intelligence assets in all of the key Ukrainian military and intelligence units in Kiev and did not want to risk killing them or exposing them by attacking those sites without warning. Second, Russia wanted to avoid killing US and other NATO military and intelligence personnel who were working alongside Ukrainian counterparts to avoid provoking a military confrontation with the West.

In light of the terrorist attack on the children at the school in Lughansk, and faced with the reality that this attack was facilitated by Western intelligence and technology, Russia has reached the limit of its patience and is going to put an end to Ukraine’s ability to carry out further terrorist attacks, even if it means killing US and European personnel. They have been warned. Russia is giving them time to withdraw. Any who remain in place are likely to die. That was the essence of Lavrov’s message to Rubo.

Subscribe to Larry Johnson here: https://substack.com/@larrycjohnson - Larry C Johnson, Managing Partner of BERG Associates, former CIA Officer and State Department Counter Terrorism official. His site is: SONAR-21 - Son of the New American Revolution - Dedicated to the pursuit of truth without regard to partisan advantage.

Thus the Special Military Operation (SVO) enters a new phase. For more detail on why this has been such a long military exercise, note the length and complexity of the front on Ruslan Belov’s YouTube channel, and daily updates on activities provided by Borzzikman.

War is never a good human activity. However, these affronts to Russian security can end instantly if The West ends their absolute loathing of Russia and ends their desire for even greater war against Russia. This could all end at any minute of the day when the Banderite government in Kyiv resigns and the fools in Brussels end their aggressive behaviour and perhaps turn that EU Commission Centre into a memorial garden.

Here is an excellent music channel from Ukraine on YouTube that deserves many more viewers, Likes and Comments: Pizzicato&Cantabile:

In other news:

Pepe Escobar: Beyond the Chokepoints: Eurasia’s 2030 Masterplan, on Dialogue Works Highlights May 25, 2026: New Gulf security architecture facilitated by Pakistan working with GCC kingdoms, backed, in the background by Russia and China. Note that Pakistani troops are already on Saudi military bases, in their security cooperation agreement.

Sean Foo: China CANCELS US Stock & Bond Investments as Its Global Gold Plan Starts THIS JULY - China is telling brokers to draw down their investments in US markets by the end of two years starting at the end of July, ringfencing about US$5TB away from the US markets.

Sean Foo: Tipping Point: EUROCLEAR Joins China’s Financial System as Iran Triggers U.S. Debt Crisis - Japan 10Y govt bond exceeds 2.8% first time in history, yen collapsing. All imports cost more, such as oil. Then they have to sell more US govt bonds. Euroclear plans to accept HK-traded Chinese bonds as collateral. They are then treated equivalent to cash. Could be up to 5T euros to be available as collateral in trade. Russian investors will be able to buy fixed-coupon bonds denominated in yuan with 10Y maturity with face value of 10,000 yuan, starting May 28. Chinese lenders have US$51T in deposits, more than the combined holdings of banks in US, EU and Japan. There is high demand for high-quality Chinese dollar debt. A financial arm of state-owned Aluminum Corp. of China has offered an $800M 3Y dollar bond, at just 22 basis points over Treasuries. They can outlast the US in any bond war. Every day Iran holds out for its deal, the US bond market falls a bit more. And every day China gains. And G7 long-term borrowing costs continue to climb.

“Where Is CNN? Where Is BBC?” Russia’s Human Rights Commissioner Blasts Media Over Starobelsk - Times Now World, May 25 - Excellent coverage of the heavy drone attack on the dormitories in Lugansk People’s Republic.

And additional coverage on TASS: Media outlets that refused to go to Starobelsk cannot be called unbiased — Kremlin - This decision does not add credibility to the information they provide, Dmitry Peskov said.

MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/ Western media outlets that refused to travel to the site of the recent Ukrainian attack on a college in Starobelsk, in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR), cannot be called unbiased, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

“This [the decision against going to Starobelsk under various pretexts] does nothing good to the image of these media outlets, it does not add credibility to the information they provide. It definitely does not allow them to be called objective media in their coverage of the Ukrainian developments,” Peskov said at a news briefing.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced on May 24 that over 50 media representatives from 19 countries visited the site of the tragedy in Starobelsk, in the wake of the Ukrainian military attack on a local college.

The Ukrainian military launched drones at the academic building and dormitory of the Lugansk Pedagogical University’s Vocational College in the city of Starobelsk in the early hours of May 22. As many as 86 students aged from 14 and 18 years were inside at the time of the attack. According to the latest official reports, 21 people were killed and over 40 more wounded. According to LPR Head Leonid Pasechnik, up to 65 children were injured in the attack.

The BRICS Plan to Build a Completely Parallel World Economy: Washington Can’t Stop It:

Think BRICS and BRICS Business - May 25:

Jeffrey Sachs on why the dollar is “weaponized beyond repair.”

Alexi Overchuk - Russia’s deputy prime minister on Russia’s blueprint for financial survival and technological sovereignty.

Dilma Rousseff and the NDB’s “Golden Decade” plan to fund deep tech, nuclear energy, and AI.

This isn’t just reform; it’s construction. While the G7 struggles to maintain its grip, BRICS is assembling the digital and financial infrastructure for a truly multipolar world. Real sovereignty isn’t granted—it’s financed.

A strategic shift is happening inside the New Development Bank (NDB). From de-dollarization and programmable tokenized finance to a new BRICS-led sovereign insurance system, the Global South is no longer just complaining about Western hegemony—they are building a parallel stack to bypass it entirely. What happens when the “Rules-Based Order” is no longer the only game in town? For decades, Washington has held a financial “kill-switch” over the global economy—but that era is officially ending.

If you would like some deep detail on the Zelenskyy situation, see Zelensky at Seven.

China has identified AI as a threat to civilization, “China’s most influential AI standards body released a comprehensive articulation of how technical experts and policy advisers in China understand AI risks and how to mitigate them,” from How China Views AI Risks and What to do About Them - A new standards roadmap reveals growing concern over risks from abuse of open-source models and loss of control over AI, by Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.