Lucy Fellowes

Trump is opening the White House ever wider to Russian citizens and people connected to the Russian authorities. He has offered UFC chief Dana White the position of press secretary and suggested that he bring six fighters with him as “assistants.” White announced that he would meet Trump on November 9 to discuss the offer. UFC, which White heads, has a business connection to the fund run by Kirill Dmitriev. In 2018, the company established a joint venture to operate in Russia. Its investors included the UAE’s Mubadala and the Russia-China Investment Fund, whose co-founders include the Russian Direct Investment Fund, headed by Dmitriev. Among the proposed “assistants,” Khabib Nurmagomedov has the most prominent political connections. He met Putin in 2018 and 2019 and has repeatedly visited Kadyrov. Trump is now proposing to employ him at the White House. White himself has spoken about the material rewards Nurmagomedov received from the Russian authorities. In a 2024 episode of the Games with Names podcast, he claimed that, after Nurmagomedov’s victory over McGregor, Putin gave him and his father property worth approximately $20 million. Another proposed “assistant,” Islam Makhachev, maintained contacts with Kadyrov’s circle after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. In October 2022, he brought his championship belt to Chechnya and posed for photographs with Kadyrov. In 2026, Makhachev became a global sambo ambassador for FIAS. The federation is headed by Vasily Shestakov, Putin’s longtime judo partner, who has himself spoken about their friendship. Among the Americans named, Justin Gaethje has the clearest documented contact with Kadyrov’s infrastructure. In November 2022, he visited Chechnya alongside Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo, where they fired weapons at a training facility for Russian security forces. Gaethje also confirmed attending a birthday celebration for one of Kadyrov’s sons. Kadyrov’s sporting network is directly connected to the war. The US Treasury has explicitly linked his MMA clubs to recruitment for military operations against Ukraine. Akhmat MMA and Absolute Championship Akhmat are subject to US sanctions as entities owned or controlled by Kadyrov. Contacts with this network give the Russian authorities international visibility, prestige and opportunities to use athletes’ standing to advance their interests. Four of the six fighters named are connected through Ali Abdelaziz’s agency, Dominance MMA: its official website lists Nurmagomedov, Makhachev, Gaethje and Kayla Harrison among its clients. Abdelaziz has publicly defended Nurmagomedov’s contacts with Kadyrov and has his own access to Trump. On May 6, 2026, Reuters photographed him in the Oval Office during the president’s meeting with UFC representatives. A personnel bridge between UFC and the administration already exists. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung worked for UFC from 2013 to 2016 and publicly supported the offer to White. Trump is now proposing government positions for people from a milieu where Russian political patronage and commercial interests intersect. This creates additional channels for Kremlin influence within the US administration. With this approach to selecting candidates, Trump might as well simply offer Kirill Dmitriev a part-time position as his deputy.

💥 RUSSIA LAUNCHES FOURTH BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK ON KYIV IN A SINGLE NIGHT AS EXPLOSIONS ROCK THE UKRAINIAN CAPITAL

Lots of russian missiles are currently crashing into Kyiv. 24 hours after Putins envoy uses the White House podium to tell everyone about how peaceful they are

Milorad Dodik, pro-Russian Bosnian Serb nationalist who repeatedly threatened Bosnia’s territorial integrity, is at Mar-a-Lago. Trump admin lifted US sanctions against him in 2025. Dodik, a longtime Putin ally, says he was invited to meet “influential Americans”.

One of the most shameful moments in White House history, presented to the world as a humanitarian achievement. ➡️ Above: Putin’s special envoy, sanctioned by the United States, welcomed and praised. Representing a president wanted by the International Criminal Court for the alleged war crimes of unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children. A transaction sold as humanitarianism. ➡️ Below: three mothers of Oleshky holding photographs of their children with disabilities, abducted by Russia in 2022. Four years later, they are still fighting to bring them home. Ironically, these pictures were taken just one month apart in Washington, DC: the mothers at the Capitol, the oppressor at the White House. At Emile Foundation, we work nonstop alongside these mothers, left to rely on independent organisations. We found their children. We verified their locations. We submitted complete humanitarian case files requesting their return. Instead of an answer, we got this event. They silenced the mothers and gave a platform to the oppressor. In a few days, I’ll travel to Ukraine to see these mothers again and bring the supplies they need to survive winter: generators, power banks and warm blankets. Russia has destroyed the infrastructure they depend on for electricity and heating. These mothers are trying to stay warm while waiting for children Russia still refuses to return. How much more are we prepared to tolerate? When authoritarian regimes can invade, deport, torture and destroy without effective accountability, impunity becomes an invitation to repeat those crimes. Other leaders are watching. They are learning what the world is prepared to tolerate. We will not stay silent while the truth is buried beneath another PR campaign. We will keep standing alongside these families and demanding their children’s return. Please continue to support Emile Foundation and donate. Your support pays for this work and helps us keep these families warm, housed and supported. We can only continue because of you. ‼️Please share this as widely as possible. People need to know who is being welcomed and praised, and what these families are still being put through. It is appalling.

How can an electoral victory become systematic change? Join me for "Now We Act" – a series of conversations about what comes next. Beginning tomorrow, Friday, 11/6, on snyder.substack.com For more info: snyder.substack.com/p/now-we…

Join live now and check in for more conversations later today and Monday. Now We Act. snyder.substack.com

Let’s talk about Kirill Dmitriev. Who is he, and why the hell is Putin’s sanctioned envoy being welcomed into the White House? It’s not for peace talks. Dmitriev isn’t a career diplomat. He’s a former Goldman Sachs banker who has run Russia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Russian Direct Investment Fund, since 2011. He is a close Putin associate and was appointed Putin’s special presidential envoy for international investment and economic cooperation in 2025. The US Treasury sanctioned him and his investment fund in February 2022, explicitly identifying him as a close Putin ally and describing the fund as an instrument of Putin’s inner circle. He’s been building financial relationships with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and China. He’s also been a recurring back-channel contact with Trump’s inner circle. In 2017, he sought access to Trump’s incoming administration. His reconciliation proposal reached Jared Kushner through intermediaries. He also met Erik Prince in the Seychelles. This is documented in the Mueller investigation. In 2020, reporting revealed that Kushner maintained a private communications channel with Dmitriev. They discussed investment opportunities, international negotiations and even the Russian-funded ventilator shipment to New York. In 2025 and 2026, Dmitriev became a central figure in Trump’s negotiations with Putin over Ukraine. He’s also been pushing for sanctions relief for Russia’s investment fund. And now he’s back in Washington, welcomed into the White House, where Trump met with him privately. There’s another part of this story that deserves scrutiny. The White House is giving Melania Trump considerable credit for the Oleshky ceasefire. But Pope Leo had already been working on this humanitarian crisis. He personally called Putin on October 16 to request a ceasefire, humanitarian assistance and safe evacuation. He spoke with Zelenskyy three days later. Cardinal Zuppi had been pressing the issue for weeks. The Vatican’s diplomatic intervention is documented. The precise extent of Melania’s subsequent negotiating role has not been independently explained. And somehow, the central figure at the White House celebration is Putin’s sanctioned economic and diplomatic envoy. Why is he here? What is he negotiating? What is he offering? What is Putin expecting in return? And why is the American president privately meeting with Putin’s representative while Ukrainian officials are left out? This man isn’t here simply to celebrate a humanitarian evacuation. He’s here representing Putin’s economic and political interests. Americans deserve to know what is being negotiated in our name.

BREAKING: Alexei and Maria Moskalev win the 2026 Magnitsky Award for Courage Under Fire. Masha was 12 when her anti-war drawing led to their persecution. Her father was jailed and they were torn apart. Today, they're reunited. #MagnitskyAwards

“The death penalty carries a risk no system can remedy: executing an innocent person. Neither post-mortem evidence nor formal apology can repair such a catastrophic error.” - Christina Swarns, Innocence Project Executive Director Today, Governor Gavin Newsom commuted the death sentences of all 548 people on California’s death row. No one in California will be executed for a crime they didn’t commit. Since 1989, six people condemned to death in California have been exonerated. Nationwide, more than 200 people have been exonerated from death row. The governor’s decision saves lives and brings us closer to a legal system that is fair, compassionate, and equitable for everyone. Read the full statement from Innocence Project Executive Director Christina Swarns: bit.ly/3Um7PFD

We remember. As thousands of poppies cascade down the Senate of Canada Building, we honour our Fallen. The Poppy Drop is on from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. daily, and until midnight on November 10 and 11.

One of the very worst- the timing is so telling. They have lost status and will be required to be Putin puppets and mouthpieces more openly now

This political circus is one of the most surrealistic scenes I’ve ever seen. On one side, you have a Ukrainian official forced to smile, stand straight, and hand out one of his country's highest state awards to the wife of Trump. Why? Because when a brutal invader is starving your people, you do whatever it takes to drag even a few dozen children and trapped villagers out of hell. On the other side, you have a top Kremlin envoy—a direct representative of putin, the man raining missiles down on schools and hospitals—standing right there in the Oval Office, handing out "gifts" and playing the role of a gentle diplomat. It’s a grotesque, heartbreaking circus. Think about how twisted this dynamic is. Trump’s political movement has two years trying to cut off aid to Ukraine, echoing Kremlin talking points, and pushing for a quick, dirty "ceasefire" that rewards putin for stealing land. Trump wants a cheap PR win, pretending he can fix a war his personal friends are actively helping Russia win. And who pays the price for this theater? Ukraine. Ukrainians are forced to bow, say "thank you," and pin medals on the wife of the very man who treats their national survival like a reality-TV negotiation. They have to play nice with a sanctioned Russian hawk in Washington just to secure a tiny, temporary pause in a humanitarian catastrophe. It’s a textbook bully’s trick: create a disaster, starve a town like Oleshky of water and medicine, and then demand a round of applause when you occasionally turn off the fire hose. Everyone knows a glossy White House photo-op isn't going to stop putin’s war machine. While cameras flash and officials hand out gifts, hundreds of innocent civilians are still dying under Russian bombs. The harsh truth is that this isn't about saving Ukraine, it’s about saving face for American politicians who want to look like peacemakers while handing victory to an autocrat on a silver platter. It turns human suffering into a backdrop for a PR campaign. It is deeply sad. A sovereign nation fighting for its very life shouldn’t have to kiss the ring of the people enabling its destruction just to save its own children. That is the grim reality of a world where big powers play games, and the victims have to smile through the tears.

They come to your home, destroy everything, take people to Russia, and then say: “Here’s a drawing from a child who chose to live in Russia.” The height of cynicism.

Congratulations to my dear friend @EerikNKross on this well deserved recognition of his moral leadership and long list of achievements in defending human rights, freedom and democracy. Palju õnne! @MFAestonia @Riigikogu @Billbrowder @PACE_News

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivers a blunt message to Russia: “You cannot bomb Ukrainian cities and then send your junior players to Alberta to play hockey as if you were civilised people. No Russian or Belarusian teams at the World Junior Championship. Not under your flags. Not under any other flags. Period.”

BREAKING: Farkhunda Muhtaj wins the 2026 Magnitsky Award for Outstanding Young Human Rights Activist. A former Afghan national team captain, she helped evacuate more than 300 Afghans after the Taliban returned to power. #MagnitskyAwards

Another proud day for the Canada flag as @Astro_Kutryk takes the maple leaf out into the vacuum of space on his second spacewalk with @astro_anil to install the last new solar array. Proud to see @Astro_Jenni supporting this complex and risky endeavour again from @NASAJohnson Mission Control. Stay safe. Watch live: youtube.com/watch?v=25JEQqgv… ——— Une autre journée de fierté pour le drapeau canadien alors que Josh emmène la feuille d’érable dans le vide spatial lors de sa deuxième sortie extravéhiculaire, accompagné d’Anil, afin d’installer le dernier des nouveaux panneaux solaire. C’est vraiment un plaisir de voir Jenni soutenir une fois de plus cette mission complexe et risquée depuis le centre de contrôle des missions de la NASA, au Centre spatial Johnson. Prenez soin de vous et restez en sécurité! Regardez en direct: youtube.com/watch?v=25JEQqgv…

This is Olha Tverdenko. She was one of the killed in the Russian aerial bomb strike on the underground school in Komyshuvakha on November 2🕯💔 She was in the middle of distributing humanitarian aid when the attack occurred.

Russia’s continued strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are creating increasingly serious risks for nuclear safety. During its latest massive attack, Russia targeted a substation essential to the stable operation of the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant. By striking infrastructure that supports nuclear facilities, Russia is creating risks whose potential consequences extend far beyond Ukraine and concern the entire European continent. We have informed the @iaeaorg and call on our international partners to respond firmly. The priority is to prevent further attacks and strengthen the protection of infrastructure essential to the safe operation of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.