questioner who remarked on an air raid siren during the interview with the following :-
Quesioner: "So there's an air raid alert going on right now. How do you feel every time you hear that noise ...."
Zelensky: "I don't have much time to feel .... It became the part of our life ... I hope we will have peaceful time No.. I'm sure that we will have peaceful time ... It depends on what alllies will be ready, and how they are ready to support us... " (UATV: 12 March 2026) (my emphasis)
Zelensky went on to respond to a later question.
"Middle east is always trying to balance because of the long history of economic relations withe Russians. They try to balance ... yes .. They understand ... that this [Russia] is an agressor. ... Now they begin [to understand] what does it mean to live under attacks [from Iran]. They [are now] attacked by Iranians and Russians.... Even [by] "Shaheeds" ... My intelligence showed me images where we see this [Shaheeds] is made in Russia ...." (ibid UATV English)
Furthermore, in my last blog entry I reported that,
"Sources tell CNN that Russia is aiding Iran's war effort by providing intel on US military targets. When President Trump was asked about this, this is how he reacted :-
Trump: That's an easy problem compared to what we're doing here. But .. but .. Can I be honest. It's just ... I have a lot of respect for you ... You've lways been very nice to me ... What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time ... We're talking about something else..." (CNN: 7 March 2026) (my emphasis)
And 5 days ago (10 March 2026), Rachel Maddow (left) reported that,
"Iran has been getting help in targetting American personel and military ... help from a sophisticated ally [Russia] in targetting American personel and US military capabilities all over the Middle east. ... "Russia is providing Iran with targeting information to attack American forces in the Middle east". (MS Now: 10 March 2026: YouTube) (my emphasis)
She went further on to report just how Iran's closing of the Straits of Hormuz is affecting the economies of, amongst others, Pakistan, Japan, Bangladesh, and the the Phillipenes. (ibid Rachel Maddow)
"The UK says it will not follow the US in easing sanctions on Russian oil after Washington authoried sales of Russian oil in an attempt to reign in soaring energy prices caused by the US/Israeli war with Iran.
Reacting in Moscow, a Kremlin spokesman said Russian and US interests were aligned on the need to stabilise oil prices, but the European Union said, "It is deeply concerned by that decision". (BBC News: 13 March 2026) (my emphasis)
"Donald Trump has urged the UK and other nations to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help secure the key shipping route out of the Middle East.
…
"Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint will send ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a nation that has been totally decapitated." (BBC News: 14 March 2026) (my emphasis)
Now bear in mind that,
"Trump's message came a week after he said the US did not need the UK to send aircraft carriers to the region and accused Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer of seeking to "join wars after we've already won".
He also told the BBC's US partner CBS that he "couldn't care less" whether allies could do more to assist with the war, adding: "It's a little bit late to be sending ships, right? A little bit late." (ibid Maia Davies)
Now whilst Putin, his Kremlin propagandists, and his "siloviki" are "cock-a-hoop" over Trump's "easing of sanctions" on Russia, Konstantin Samoilov (right) paints a rather different picture about whether Trump's easing of sanctions against Putin will be the "windfall" that Putin now expects to re-fill his empty economic coffers.
As he reports,
"Russia's economy is now so battered, so distorted, by war and sanctions, that it can only breathe when the Middle East is on fire.
That's not strength. That is dependency.
And when this panic fades, the Kremlin goes back into the hole. Only a way deeper one." (Inside Russia: 11 March 2026: YouTube) (my emphasis)
And it is now ironic that Trump, and even Saudi Arabia and other Middle East Gulf nations are knocking on the door of Zelensky to help them defend themselves against Iranian/Russian drones. (cf: BBC News, AP News, France 24)
"Volodymyr Zelensky has offered to help Gulf states counter Iranian drones if they can convince Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire.
The Ukrainian president said he would send his top military experts to the Middle East in a long-shot offer after the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia were all hit by Iranian drones." (The Telegraph on MSN: 8 March 2026) (my emphasis)
So the "cock-a-hoop" excitement of Putin and his cohorts about Trump lifting sanctions against Russia, and thereby re-filling Putin's empty economic coffers, may be very short-lived indeed.
And we should be reminded what Zelensky said in his recent interview with UATV English,
"It's understandable that this is the biggest risk when the world had during this year, during the last years, because it can be World War Three [WW3] ...
If this war in the Middle East will not stop, like the West had to stop Putin at the very beginning [in his war with Ukraine] .... It can be long war .... It can be world war ..." (idid UATV English)
Putin is now frantically biting his nails that the war in Iran continues to be his economic saviour.
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