Designer Molecules.

The empty arsenal of America.

“I can’t do my job without News Items.” — Jim Cramer.

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1. Institute for the Study of War:

The Financial Times (FT) reported on April 22 that sources familiar with the matter stated that Putin told US Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff during their April 11 meeting that Russia could relinquish its claims to the Ukrainian-controlled parts of the four oblasts that Russia has formally laid claim to and illegally annexed. European officials briefed on the US efforts to end the war stated that Putin would probably use this to lure US President Donald Trump into accepting Russia's other demands and force these demands onto Ukraine as a fait accompli. Russia's "other demands" referenced by FT likely include Russia’s public demands for Ukrainian neutrality, regime change, and demilitarization — Putin's pre-war demands that Kremlin officials have consistently reiterated throughout the war and during negotiations about possible ceasefires and a peace deal. (Source: understandingwar.org. The full ISW assessment, dated 22 April, is worth reading in its entirety.)

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2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pushed back on a U.S. proposal to recognize Russia’s control of Crimea as part of a cease-fire agreement, throwing into doubt President Trump’s efforts to bring an end to the war. “Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea,” Zelensky said at a press conference here on Tuesday. “There’s nothing to talk about here. This is against our constitution.” Zelensky’s dismissal upends Trump’s latest gambit to halt the war in Ukraine—now in its fourth year—and casts new uncertainty on the future of the relationship between Kyiv and Washington, which Trump has made conditional on a quick deal. (Source: wsj.com)

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