conspiracy theories in the post-soviet war. i spoke to him earlier. thanks so much for joining us. i want to talk about your new york times op-ed in just a moment. vladimir putin said russia and ukraine achieved serious negotiations in istanbul but the situation changed, in his words, dramatically following the allegations against russia of war crimes in bucha. does it come as any surprise to you that putin is completely denying responsibility for what happened in bucha? not at all. i think it is done specifically to muddy the wars again. there is a clear war lobby in russia that probably pressures putin and delivers reports and certain information so he can make a decision. and certainly the massacres in