I thank all friends of Ukraine and everyone who helps us obtain important information and supports Ukrainian intelligence operations. Our intelligence agencies reported on the results of their work to assess the internal situation in Russia and obtain documents that end up on the Russian leader’s desk. We understand that Putin rarely receives information that is entirely truthful and unvarnished. But even what he sees in the documents that reach him still allows conclusions to be drawn. In particular, the so-called “projected indicators” of Russians’ dissatisfaction with Putin will continue to rise steadily, and he is already being conditioned to accept the idea that this growing dissatisfaction cannot be stopped and that this indicator “will not plateau” by September, when parliamentary elections are scheduled in Russia. As for the level of support for Russia’s ruling party, a steady downward trend is being recorded, which means significantly greater electoral fraud will be needed. They are also reporting a substantial rise in protest sentiment in Russian regions. We believe these reports also do not yet take into account the potential events of June, July, and August, which are bound to further affect the situation in Russia. The entirely justified pressure on Russia over this war will continue and intensify – and it won’t be just our pressure. So by September, Putin will be facing significantly worse indicators. Unfortunately, to all the public and non-public peace proposals we have made, the only response has been words about continuing his war. The internal situation in Russia should convince him of the opposite: that peace is needed. Ukraine is proposing to negotiate a dignified peace. Obviously, the trends will not change, and over time this may mean that an agreement will have to be reached with someone else from Russia – someone who will not shut themselves off from reality. Glory to Ukraine!

AN ACTUAL GOOD THING TO COME FROM AI In today’s newsletter, I wrote about our new chat with @aidenjohnsonn_ and how stories like his are far more white-pilling than the typical “one day this might cure cancer” form of AI boosterism.

look I think it’s fine to say some books aren’t for you but there is this impulse among Male Literary Intellectuals to dismiss Austen as just a silly girl gossip book, when it is, in fact, about surviving as a woman in a world that views them as inherently silly

“I have tried reading this book maybe seven times so far, and each time I make it only 40 or so pages before I have this urge to do … anything but live inside upper middle-class concerns about who marries who among the 18th-century English gentry.” —“Shelf Life: Ocean Vuong”

a bus every 6-7 minutes is the entire secret of good transit. no schedule, no app, you just show up. the kids have been screaming the answer at us for over a year. six seveeen. headways. they're talking about headways