Brian McDonald
@BrianMcDonaldIE • 30,808 subscribers
Irish. Long time Russia-based journalist. Interested in facts and objectivity. Not interested in ideology or wishful thinking.
Shorts
![Latvian PM Andris Kulbergs has urged EU citizens to drink less beer to help finance Ukraine. “Supporting Ukraine costs money, it's one beer less for one European [sic] a year, we can afford that, but Ukraine needs it now,” he told reporters in Brussels.](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2110728649980666253/amplify_video_thumb/2110686659943514112/img/iLMIOHLJ6bIM5vjs.jpg)
Videos
Back in 2012, an Airbus A320 took off from Moscow with snow on its wings, leaving aerodynamics to perform the de-icing. The footage caused outrage, although Aeroflot insisted it was harmless. One pundit called it an excellent way to turn a flight into a Wikipedia article.
Brian McDonald652,750 views • 4 days ago
Zelensky says the latest US peace proposal includes security guarantees for Ukraine modelled on NATO’s Article 5 collective defence clause, and that American envoy Steve Witkoff will present the document to Russia (tomorrow). “We have discussed security guarantees, and I’m grateful to the American side for emphasising once again that they will be strong,” Zelensky said following talks in Oslo. “We discussed NATO, Article 5 and Article 5-like guarantees. Different types of security guarantees are included in the document, which Steve will share with the Russians, and we will hear their feedback.”
Brian McDonald214,655 views • 3 days ago
This 65-year-old fisherman from Russia’s Far Eastern Primorye region survived a bear attack by fighting the animal off with his fists and a fishing rod, according to SHOT. Vladimir suffered serious wounds to his face, chest and arms before losing consciousness, which may have saved him. When he awoke, the bear was gone. Despite heavy bleeding, he walked half a kilometre to his car and drove himself home before being taken to hospital.
Brian McDonald974,490 views • 16 days ago
A “horror” wedding video from 1995 has gone viral in Russia after a filmmaker discovered the old VHS tape and digitised it. The footage shows a modest wedding celebration held in the common room of a vocational school in the Moscow region, complete with Soviet-era posters, cheap decorations and the unmistakable atmosphere of the Yeltsin-era. The tape has been labelled “Horror Film: Wedding in Uvarka,” a joke that feels oddly appropriate given the grainy VHS quality and surreal surroundings.
Brian McDonald2,402,276 views • 2 months ago
Putin has mocked remarks by Estonia’s defense minister about the possibility of pre-emptive strikes on Russian territory. “The circus has left town, but the clowns have stayed behind. This is political clownery,” Putin said. “Estonia’s population is, I believe, 1.3 million people. The Russian army, just the Russian army, numbers 1.535 million. And Estonia’s 1.3 million includes everyone, from babies to the elderly.” “It is complete nonsense, utter absurdity. But unfortunately, these are the kinds of people we have to deal with today.”
Brian McDonald692,441 views • 28 days ago
Putin says Moscow has informed Washington that it's ready to resume trilateral negotiations involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine, aimed at reaching a comprehensive peace settlement rather than a temporary ceasefire. “We're ready to resume these contacts to achieve that goal,” he said. Putin added that US officials had acknowledged the need to discuss the broader European security architecture alongside future security guarantees for Russia and Ukraine. “We shall see how the situation develops over the coming days.”
Brian McDonald18,027 views • 1 day ago
Ursula von der Leyen has linked this summer’s migration crisis in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave bordering Morocco, to her accusations that Russia and Belarus are weaponising migration. “This summer, we witnessed the tragic scenes in Ceuta. And we have seen how Russia and Belarus have weaponised migration.” She offered no evidence connecting either country to the events in Ceuta.
Brian McDonald25,594 views • 2 days ago
Russian media is noting that Putin appears to have received a higher-level airport reception in Beijing than Trump did last week. Putin was personally greeted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, a serving Politburo member, whereas Trump was met by Vice President Han Zheng, who no longer sits on either the Politburo or the Communist Party’s Central Committee. Some Chinese protocol analysts explain that sending a Politburo member to the airport signals that Beijing considers the visitor an especially important guest.
Brian McDonald2,651,098 views • 5 months ago
The first deputy head of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency, General Vladimir Alekseyev, has appeared in public for the first time since surviving an assassination attempt in Moscow on February 6, when he was shot three times. He said doctors at a federal medical centre had saved his life, TASS reports.
Brian McDonald82,611 views • 7 days ago
Horrifying scene in Russia's Voronezh: a drunk father reportedly lowered his underage son from a 7th-floor balcony on a rope as some kind of “stunt” while friends filmed instead of stopping him. Prosecutors say it posed a real threat to the boy’s life. Police are investigating. The child, incredibly, wasn’t physically hurt.
Brian McDonald4,032,249 views • 8 months ago
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Porn creator Sonya Marmeladova struggled to keep a straight face as a Russian judge read out the list of sex toys to be returned to her after sentencing, this morning. “A leatherette collar resembling a choker, connected by a silver-coloured metal chain; one pink vibrator; three phallus-shaped objects in brown, beige and flesh colours respectively; one blue anal plug; and one black leather harness… shall be deemed returned.”
Brian McDonald1,053,086 views • 2 months ago
Those afraid of heights, look away. A base jumper in Russia’s Ingushetia lost control almost immediately after opening his parachute, was spun through the air and carried towards the rocks. Convinced he was finished, he shouted: “That’s it, I’m f*cked.” He was saved by landing in a snowdrift and escaped without injury.
Brian McDonald1,009,451 views • 2 months ago
![Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who died in 2022, warned more than a decade ago that the US would eventually strike Iran and predicted a fallout far bigger than Washington expects (my translation): "I’m the only one making predictions while everyone else stays quiet. So ask your questions now. I’ll be gone soon, and you won’t get another chance to hear the real answers. Then in 20 years you’ll say, 'You know, Mr Zhirinovsky was already telling us back then what we should’ve done, and we didn’t listen?' "So what’s their plan? Occupy another bunch of Arab countries, finish off Syria, then hit Iran by force. What’s the trigger here? Where is the pressure on Iran really coming from? It's under the banner of 'democratisation by force,' but in reality it’s about taking control of energy resources. Because the crisis everyone talks about as being in the future is already here." "The US needs to weaken China. If Iran is attacked, oil goes to $200 a barrel. China can’t handle that. The EU can’t either. One strike on Iran weakens both Europe and China at once. But then there’s Russia. How do you weaken Russia? Iranian refugees can only go one way [and that's] north. To the south is Syria, where a pro-American regime would already be in place. To the south is Iraq, where they’ve been fighting for years and can easily stir things up again. So north it is, through Azerbaijan."](https://image.24vids.com/tw-2027706733867462736/amplify_video_thumb/2027705745274216449/img/Z1AE2DX-MnRv0X07.jpg)
Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who died in 2022, warned more than a decade ago that the US would eventually strike Iran and predicted a fallout far bigger than Washington expects (my translation): "I’m the only one making predictions while everyone else stays quiet. So ask your questions now. I’ll be gone soon, and you won’t get another chance to hear the real answers. Then in 20 years you’ll say, 'You know, Mr Zhirinovsky was already telling us back then what we should’ve done, and we didn’t listen?' "So what’s their plan? Occupy another bunch of Arab countries, finish off Syria, then hit Iran by force. What’s the trigger here? Where is the pressure on Iran really coming from? It's under the banner of 'democratisation by force,' but in reality it’s about taking control of energy resources. Because the crisis everyone talks about as being in the future is already here." "The US needs to weaken China. If Iran is attacked, oil goes to $200 a barrel. China can’t handle that. The EU can’t either. One strike on Iran weakens both Europe and China at once. But then there’s Russia. How do you weaken Russia? Iranian refugees can only go one way [and that's] north. To the south is Syria, where a pro-American regime would already be in place. To the south is Iraq, where they’ve been fighting for years and can easily stir things up again. So north it is, through Azerbaijan."
Brian McDonald2,395,354 views • 7 months ago
Baza sent reporters to Kitay-Gorod, one of central Moscow’s most chaotic nightlife areas, packed with bars and young revellers, to see whether things have calmed down with the arrival of autumn. They found masked and armed security officers patrolling the streets on Friday night, though even their presence was not always enough to prevent drunken disorder.
Brian McDonald141,269 views • 17 days ago
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It seems the crackdown on Russia-adjacent porn content has reached the United States. Nikita Tyukalo, a 21-year-old Russian-American former basketball player, has pleaded not guilty in Washington state to four counts of second-degree human trafficking and leading organised crime. According to FOX 13 Seattle, prosecutors allege that Tyukalo recruited young women to produce adult content while controlling their accounts and finances. KOMO News reports that the alleged operation was based at a luxury mansion in Bellevue known locally as the “OnlyFans house,” while KING 5 says he is being held on $5 million bail.
Brian McDonald659,449 views • 2 months ago
In Russia’s Ekaterinburg, two passersby beat up an electric scooter rider after he collided with a woman pushing a pram carrying her two-year-old daughter. Local media says the 36-year-old rider struck the pram after the woman turned off the pavement onto a cycle lane while heading towards a bench. Immediately after the collision, two bystanders attacked the rider and beat him. The little girl suffered bruises to her forehead and legs.
Brian McDonald27,708 views • 4 days ago
A surreal scene from St Petersburg: a Russian police officer briefly kept playing the VR game Beat Saber while his colleagues arrested a young Belarusian wanted back home for avoiding military conscription, 47news reports. The man was celebrating his birthday with friends. Staff say police had already come looking for him twice before.
Brian McDonald1,704,964 views • 7 months ago