Tucker Carlson Show Interview: w/ Viktor Bout (Transcript)

Heck no. They would immediately attack them. That is the difference.

The Risk of World War III

So sometimes in the West, they think that restraint on our leadership is a weakness. But look at what’s going on in the world. We’re really now very close to an all-out World War III in its hottest stage, and then there would be no brakes to stop it.

And honestly, as you said, you’ve been too busy with Iran — and rightly so — because think of this: if this conflict in Iran will not stop and protract, what kind of economical damage it’s already caused? Because we’re talking about — yes, it’s clear that the most visible is oil, which is not flowing through the Hormuz Strait. But as important, this is the fertilizer which was cut out of production there. And Iranians have been very big producers of some kinds of fertilizer worldwide. So it’s already affecting American farmers.

And now, according to the forecast of the United Nations, there should be a shortage of food and eventually hunger, first of all in Africa. And we’re also talking about all kinds of different chemical precursors necessary for the technological supply chain in China, which goes all over the world. So this will affect all of humanity.

Thank God President Trump made — maybe very late, but still — a decision to extricate himself from this conflict, and it’s good news for humanity. Otherwise, we’re still on the balancing edge where one wrong move by Europeans, encouraging Ukraine to attack Russia, can cause a reaction where Russia would have to respond with all its might just to stop it, and then it will cause an eventually unpredictable reaction. And we can very quickly escalate to a nuclear exchange, and then nobody knows what will be left of humanity.

The Loss of Responsible Politicians in Europe

And for me personally, what I’m watching looks like we lost a generation of responsible politicians, especially in Europe. First of all, Europe, just as we speak, on our eyes, is transitioning from basically a dictatorship. And it’s not only a dictatorship in each country like happened before World War II, but it’s a double dictatorship.

Many of them are basically unpopular, but they still cling to power by manipulating elections. Like we saw recently in Romania — this is the best example where basically nobody was even considering the opinion of the people. They just installed the government which the globalist or European leadership desired more. The same is true for other countries.

And then you have a Brussels bureaucracy or dictatorship who basically make all these countries deprived of their sovereignty. And this is with all the crisis and economical situation, because Europe already committed economic suicide by cutting themselves off from reliable and relatively cheap Russian energy sources like pipeline gas. Now they’re forced to buy LNG from all over the world and they have to compete at higher prices.

Germany’s Militarization

German industry is no longer competitive, and we know that for the first time in the past 80 years, the German automotive industry is basically on its final deathbed. So what are they doing? They’re converting the ex-Volkswagen and Audi plants into lines to produce weapons and militarizing the country.

Germany introduced a law where the male population cannot leave the country without first registering at special military recruiting points. They openly say that they need to have the strongest army in Europe in 3 years. Well, we already heard a similar situation — and it was right before World War II started with Hitler in power. And by the way, Hitler was also elected democratically. And what kind of consequences did that leave for the entire world?

Russia’s Security Concerns and Nuclear Doctrine

So observing these processes and understanding that our government really tried all possible ways and means to bring some idea — “Hey, let’s negotiate, let’s mind our own businesses, let’s rediscuss, rearrange, and have a proper security structure in Europe which would allow preventing any future conflict” — this whole proposal has been denied for the past 20 years.

We’re seeing that militarization and preparation for a bigger war and the extension of NATO — especially the recent one when Finland and Switzerland became part of NATO — is really causing concern. It’s our national security concern. So Russia already reacted by forming a new military district near that border, and our border with Finland is about 1,500 miles. So we have to put our resources there.

And Finland recently voted that they would allow nuclear weapons to be brought into and stored on their territory. Well, it looks like the European elites are seriously considering an all-out, full-blown war with Russia. And they’re thinking that they’re going to win in a conventional war.

Well, let me tell you, there is bad news for them. Russia will not answer conventionally for their attempts to attack us. In our military doctrine, there is a postulate or formula where if we feel that any attacks against us are threatening our existence, we will answer with nuclear weapons. And believe me, Russia has a second-to-none nuclear and most modern arsenal in the world. We can definitely with one missile completely obliterate and destroy all life on the territory of a country like England or France.

And that’s definitely not the way we want to go. But if they’re considering that they can conquer us, split us into — what they want — 32 small parts, make them their resource colonies, it ain’t happening.

Tucker’s Assessment — Is Putin a Force for Restraint?

TUCKER CARLSON: What do you think? I mean, this is all — you’re not the first person I’ve talked to who said this. I think everything you’re saying is real. I think in the West we imagine that President Putin is the most radical person in Russia. I think he’s been a force for restraint, but that may not be possible for much longer. So I believe everything that you’re saying. I don’t understand why Europe — European leaders — would want to have a war with Russia. What is the motive?

The War as a Religious and Civilizational Conflict

VIKTOR BOUT: Well, the way I see it, all these leaders — look on Macron, look on this, you know, Merz or Starmer, who just resigned today, basically as we speak. These people are most unpopular in their countries. Yes. Think of the European bureaucracy in Brussels. So for them, the war is maybe the only way to cling to power, to stay at power, to keep their influence. If they go to war, they can declare emergency — what do you call it — declare the war regime in countries and say, “Okay, we postpone the election,” and then they grab power completely.

Another one, you know, we talk about that the globalists basically fully control Europe, especially Soros. For the last 30 years, he invested heavily into, grew up all these leaders since their early teens. They become students, they’ve been paid to study in the universities, then they become activists, then they become politicians. And finally, they become leaders of their countries who have basically no even feeling to their own, you know, native countries. They don’t care about their own future. They are all part of this suicidal satanic cult.

And this is where we come. For me, this conflict with Ukraine has basically become a religious conflict. And this is where we feel like this is maybe a final battle with the evil forces, because what these people are doing, how they’re treating even all population.

The Public Tribunal and Testimonies from Liberated Areas

Last week, I was taking part in the press conference where we have a public tribunal. It’s a not official tribunal, you know, for the crimes of the Ukrainian Nazi regime. And every time the group of volunteers goes to freshly liberated areas, towns and villages in Ukraine, and questioning local population who stay there, who remain and waited for the Russians to come and liberate them. And their stories, it’s horrific how the Ukrainians coming to them, threatening them to say, “Oh, you stay there, you want to see the Russian army come and liberate you. You are traitors, we kill you.” And they deprive them from the water, they just shoot anybody who move on the street just for fun. They treat them really like an occupational force. And on many, many occasions, even more ferocious or more horrific than used to be during the Nazi or German army occupation during World War II.

By the way, today we have a national remembrance day of the first day when Germany attacked Soviet Union at 4 o’clock in the morning on June 22nd. So for Russians, for all, even many republics of all ex-USSR — Belarus, you know, Central Asian Republics — this is a very somber day when we, with full, you know, trembling, remember our grandfathers, like my one, who died in the fight in the Kursk battle. And this is really, really huge for us.

The Civil War Within a People

So we are Russians, we know what a war is, we know what consequences it comes with. And for all of us, because we’re basically the same people as the Ukrainians — the soldiers in both trenches are speaking the same language. For us, it looks more like a civil war than a war with this. And knowing how quickly, for literally less than 20 years, the brainwashed propaganda was able to prepare a huge mass of these neo-Nazis, Banderites, who are now acting like Nazis, like SS divisions, who are proudly celebrating.

Just recently, Zelensky brought leaders of the Ukrainian Bandera movement from Europe, their remains, and with full honors buried them in a special memorial cemetery near Kyiv. This, of course, sparked some conflict with Poland because these Ukrainian nationalists — which we call Bandera troops — or gangs responsible for ethnic cleansing, not only of Jews and Russians, but also Poles. Over 100,000 of the Poles have been killed by them in the areas.

Europe’s Blind Eye to Neo-Nazism

So, now thinking that Europeans who’ve been swearing that they would not allow any more rebirth of fascism — and by the way, the funny fact: in Germany, for instance, it’s forbidden to display any swastikas or any Nazi symbols. But they are blind to see that in Ukraine there are many divisions, many military units openly wearing Nazi insignia. And there is, you know, like crickets from the German investigative journalists, all those there present. So for them, as long as they are fighting Russians, it’s good.

And it’s also very, very serious that Germany is openly talking again of another big campaign against Russia. So we know how it ends up. And believe me, if we need to repeat what our grandfathers did, we have to do it, we will do it. But we rather try to find those with the sober minds and to say, “Hey, do you know the consequences? Do you really want to see again Europe destroyed till demolished and then want to rebuild again?” I don’t think so.

The Will of the People vs. the Will of Their Leaders

The population are not even being asked. I’m almost sure that in every European country there is a majority of normal people who, like you, like me, like many normal people everywhere in the world, are willing to have peace, prosperity, and some normal cooperation. And all problems or disputes we can solve through negotiations, whether it’s commercial, whether it’s other ones.

But apparently, despite thinking that we are at an advanced level of our civilization, that we can be proud of our achievements in technology and science or medicine — look how we are different from what happened, let’s say, 2,000 years ago, 3,000 years ago. We are still again in these vicious cycles of war, vicious cycles of the ego of our leaders, vicious cycles of people who just grab and — what do you call it — the treasures which they can go and grab in other countries as a result of their invasion or attack.

The Threat of Techno-Fascism and the Future of Humanity

We’re basically exactly the same mentality, and this is maybe the problem of humanity. And unless we change it, we’re basically doomed if we don’t see some drastic changes in the next couple of years. Because look, drones have changed a lot. Now we see what’s happening with the AI and this manifesto — what they call it — the technocratic manifesto of Alex Karp, which is basically techno-fascism.

And now think of this: if Musk produces an army of drones and these drones would be unleashed on the battlefields, where really the full control on the surveillance system, social credit control over all the population, which they want to introduce — now we as humans are really left with very little opportunity.

In this case, Russia may be the last, I would say, holdout, which is by fighting in the front lines of this conflict, not only defending our future, our sovereignty, but maybe the future of entire humanity, the way we know it, the way we want it to be in the future.

Tucker Asks About the Religious Dimension of the Conflict

TUCKER CARLSON: Well, I can understand why Barack Obama wanted to put you in prison. Now I understand perfectly well. May I ask you to explain something that you said? You said at the beginning this is fundamentally a religious conflict. Can you expand on that a little bit?

The Religious War and Ukraine’s Future

VIKTOR BOUT: Think of this, majority — I would say 80% of population of Ukraine was a Russian Orthodox Church of Ukrainian Patriarchate, which got their own autonomy but was an integral part since, you know, ancient times when — and remember, Kiev was the city where the Russians received their Christianity. So for us, Kiev is a part of our national, I would say, cultural code.

And so artificial creation of Ukraine appeared literally less than over 100 years ago, and it was invented by the Austro-Hungarian, I would say, leaders, military ones who trying to control Russian-speaking population of the empire. So they created this nationalistic movement and try to brainwash them that they’re different. And basically, this population identified themselves as Orthodox and as Russians. They’ve been speaking on the dialect of Russian, they’ve been believing in the same church. So for us, the church was exactly the same.

And then since this coup, bloody coup in 2014, they start to decide that they need to make a reform. They need to abolish the Russian Orthodox Church and create Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They’ve got the separatists, they’re a smaller church, and then for the past, what, 12 years, they just using the police, using the gangs of these neo-Nazis who are, by the way, never been a Christian. They are, what you call it, the pre-Christian believers, similar to the — they have their own pantheon of the gods, not the Jesus Christ.

So with their help, they try to go to each church and force the original priest out, put a new lock and say this is now Ukrainian Orthodox Church, not the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. So there is the war against them. And then for us, the Kyiv Pecherska Lavra, it’s a monastery which has most ancient history, uninterrupted service on the Russian Orthodox Church with a lot of the relics buried in there. Underground tunnels — they shut it down, they evict the monks, and now they pillage whatever relics and bodies of the saints which been buried in this and mummified in this huge system of underground caves. All those now pillaged and sent to Europe.

So all the priests been evicted, and what they did in the biggest temple there, they just created a military canteen and doing some Satanist performances. So for us, this is also a big deal, religious war.

Ukraine’s Population Under a Police State

VIKTOR BOUT: Think of this, those Ukrainians who eventually living in the police state, they can’t express their different opinion. Their government hunting the people on the street, all males who capable to hold the arm and sending them to the frontline because Ukrainian army losing a lot and they need manpower.

So in this condition, of course, population in Ukraine are completely, I would say, under the strictest and most probably most harsh condition. I would compare it to the biggest prison on the open sky because you can’t leave Ukraine unless you are not belonging to the elites. You be caught and sent to the front line to use as cannon meat.

And then you last about couple days if you’re lucky, if you surrender to Russian army. We seeing every time that they losing so much that every body exchange between the Russia and Ukraine usually goes like the recent one. Russia transferred to Ukraine about 1,000 bodies and received back about 27 bodies of fallen soldiers. And this proportion tells you about the huge, basically, demographic problem. There is no future because several generations been killed by this policy of this leader.

The Question of Zelensky’s Legitimacy

VIKTOR BOUT: By the way, there is a problem with Zelensky because his term has expired. So he didn’t want to announce new election. His so-called parliament, their terms are also expiring. And very rightful question, with whom negotiate? Who has a legal authority even to sign any, I would say, agreements or peace deal from their name?

And this is also another question to ask, why Zelensky don’t want to have an election? Why all these people are talking much, but they disregard a desire of Ukrainian people? Accordingly, recent polls, which is done, by the way, by the Western journal, by the Western organization — I think it was American and British — they found and they double-checked several times that over 80% want the peace deal with Russia. This is the problem.

Nuclear Threats and the Kursk Incursion

VIKTOR BOUT: So what would be future? We don’t know, but we really, really worried because look, Ukraine now trying to attack nuclear power plants. This was their attempt several times to hit hard Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and entire their endeavor to the Kursk region of Russia. You remember it’s happened in what, 2024, I guess. Yeah, 2024, when they by surprise went to the Russian territory. The entire target was the Kursk nuclear power station. They wanted to hijack it, occupy it, and then try to, what do you call it, try to negotiate with Russia or swap with the Zaporizhzhia or something else. It ain’t happen.

Now we’re seeing also worrisome rhetoric going from Zelensky that he threatening to Belarus. So they’re trying also to basically do some kind of the lightning strike operation in Belarus. Well, I don’t know if his army is capable to open another front line over about 1,000 miles in the lakes. Looks like suicidal, but I think we are living in the age where the logic or pure logical calculation are not working anymore.

Europe’s Leadership and the Collapse of Civilization

VIKTOR BOUT: All these leaders in Europe looking more like, I don’t know, buffoonish, like clowns. Well, Zelensky at least openly been a clown. We saw all his performances, so what you can expect from him? But I think what France or Germany or, in matter of fact, Britain cannot have somebody more decent than those despicable personalities whom when you’re seeing how they behave, what they’re doing — well, it’s just, I feel very, very much sorrow for the proud people of France or Germany, matter of fact, or in England, what’s happening there.

Basically, their fabric or even civilization, European, are being demolished, are destroyed. There is a huge replacement of the population happening with this uncontrolled immigration. Unfortunately, it’s also happening in America for a very long time. I guess this is one of the points of the globalist elites — let’s replace basically white Christian population with somebody who we can easily control, use them as foot soldiers for their expansion campaign.

You know, you discussed, talking for, I would say, very long time, there is a connection between the jihadism, Islam, and this extreme left movement. Basically Trotskites have a lot of fun with the jihadists and all this fundamentalists, especially the Islamic ones. And this is really, really dangerous.

The Collapse of International Law and Rules of War

VIKTOR BOUT: Another very important point I want to share with you, apparently we lost some kind of the limits of the dignity. Look on this, what’s happened with this conflict with Iran when they first — they just openly killing the innocent children in school. Same happening by Ukrainians. And all the international law, all rules written and unwritten of the conflicts, all the military kind of the unwritten rules of conduct — when two army fights, when you put the white flag, you surrender — it’s all thrown to the garbage bin. Nobody anymore abide by these rules except Russia.

And you know, for us, we can’t just be as despicable as our enemies. So our army behave very decently. Think of this, I think you reported it, there was many cases when our soldiers who’ve been captured and become prisoners of war, of being forcefully sterilized, killed by the doctors. What kind of doctor you are if you have to help the injured soldier? Yes, he is captured, but it’s still your duty to treat them. He is prisoner of war, he’s not criminal.

And those doctors in Ukraine who’ve been just amputating their genitalia, killing them, harvesting their organs, threatening them, putting the swastika on their bodies — who they are? Or those soldiers, when the Russian soldiers surrender because he has run out of ammunition or something, they just kill him and they kill him in most vicious way, openly making footage of this and then post busting by this footage. “Yeah, this how we kill this one.” So this is why I’m telling you, it’s becoming not only conflict where two sides are really very angry to each other, but this become now a religious war.

How to Stop the War: Trump’s Role and Ukraine’s Dependencies

VIKTOR BOUT: Well, look, there is two ways. Of course, now there is a lot of push inside Russia. We saying to our government, “Hey, why we don’t using the proper — why we don’t killing Zelensky?” Because we have all the means. So of course, how you deal with the satanic cult? Well, sooner or later you need just eliminate them because there’s no way you can negotiate with them.

Another situation, think of this. There was last year negotiation in August in Anchorage, Alaska, where Putin and Trump met and basically discussed. And Trump make promises how to settle this conflict, and Russia accepted this. And we’re still waiting when Trump is going to do his part of the deal. And apparently there is no result. He can’t either force or don’t willing to do it.

Then, recently, Russia decided, “Well, we finish it by ourselves with our military.” Of course, it would be easier to finish it by the negotiations. Well, Trump can stop this war very quickly.

The Two Factors Keeping Ukraine in the Fight

VIKTOR BOUT: The Ukraine heavily depends on two factors. Without these two factors, they can’t fight even a day.

First of all, this is Starlink, which is their key communication system. If you switch it off, then Ukrainian army has no any communication, has no any control of their drones. They can’t attack deep inside Russia. All signals, everything go through Starlink. So all these long-range drones who killed our children in the buses, or who killed the coach of the Belarusian soccer team which was traveling from Belarus to Black Sea resort — and the Ukrainian drone attack it knowingly that this is a kids, no single soldier in that bus — they all been using Starlink technology. So this is number one.

Second one, no any single attack are possible if United States will not share the intelligence information from satellites. Because every time Ukrainians attacking, it’s online approach, online access to the all a group of American spy satellites who telling where is the air defence, where the radar coverage, where the new passage open because Russians move something. And this is very critical.

Think of this, if these two factors are removed, basically, I guess within one day there is Ukrainian army would in complete chaos and they can’t even communicate among them. Everything from the commanding, choosing the targets, everything there, it’s system integrated to the NATO system. And basically people in Pentagon has a full access to battlefield in their cabinets because they are providing the system to Ukrainian soldiers. So Ukrainian army can only exist when this communication and intelligence are flowing to them. The moment it stops, they just blind, they stop fighting.

Weapons Deliveries and Terrorist Tactics

VIKTOR BOUT: Another one, despite that Trump refused to provide any new delivery of weapons to Ukraine, he still — I guess he still finish whatever the Biden administration supposed to deliver to them, all armaments. And now they’re talking of approving new package. And Trump says, “Okay, if you buy, I send you.”

Well, I don’t care if this HIMARS who will kill innocent civilian in the Crimea, or they’re threatening to attack Crimean Bridge, or they again now threatening to use chemical weapons or even biological ones. There is already several documented cases when Ukrainian was using a poisonous gas or using the white phosphorus, which is forbidden by international convention, or matter of fact, try to spread some biological bugs with the hope that this would be spread and cause a severe damage. So this is all the terrorist, basically, approach.

Of course, if Ukrainian regime are in agony and they have no other resource just to start an all-out terrorist war against Russian population, well, they would not achieve it because it only will make us more angry and more resilient to finish this war the way we wanted to from first day of this conflict.

TUCKER CARLSON: I have to ask, because you were in the armaments business for so long and know a lot about weapons systems, how do you think drones, drone technology will change warfare going forward?

The Drone Revolution and Changing Tactics

VIKTOR BOUT: Well, it’s already changed drastically. So the tactics are completely, for 4 years, changed incredibly. And if somebody would say 4 years ago this would be the war, nobody would believe from military. I have many friends who are in the front lines who are dealing with this. And they’re telling me every 2 weeks there is a change in tactics because of the drones. Every 2 weeks there is a new, either improvement in technology, either improvement in something, and they have to find countermeasures to tackle it.

So this is a huge development and it’s really the future. Now there is a race of the technological capacities — who will outproduce more drones, which drones would be cheaper, more efficient, and which drones would not be subject to jamming or other countermeasures. So this is a war, unless there would be some possibility that a technological solution would be found when you can just make sure that no single drone can be operating using some high-frequency weapons, or certain other weapons using other physical principles.

We don’t know yet, but definitely it’s all now on the test, on the fire testing, on the battlefield testing. And believe me, improvements are happening so quickly. For instance, many military units have now their own workshop where they’re producing necessary spare parts, 3D printing, assembling the drones, adjusting them, reprogramming. There are even many where they’re putting their control units with the microchips themselves. It’s becoming mind-blowing.

It’s really becoming now a competition, not only for foot soldiers who are more physically fit, but now also a fight for the more skilled soldiers — those who can operate drones, those who can quickly assemble them, produce them, those who can quickly repair them, those who can quickly use them properly. So this is a huge change.

And now I think there is a new arms race in the world where many countries are now trying to study this experience in this conflict and using this experience to adapt their own forces for that. And we’re seeing that Ukrainians started since get-go to sell the armaments, which the West is supplying them, on the black market. There are many reported cases of delivery, including to Hamas, including to Hezbollah, including to Mexico cartels. And I’m not even talking about — and nobody knows how much illegal arms are now in the criminal circles in Europe. So that would be another time bomb, which unfortunately European countries planted themselves for their own future. Think of this, if you get—

Weapons Sales to Terror Groups and Israeli Silence

TUCKER CARLSON: May I ask you one question though? Okay, so what you just said, I believe is factually true. Elements of the Ukrainian military sold weapons systems that they received from the West, the United States, NATO, to a bunch of different terror groups around the world, including Hezbollah and Hamas. Now, Israel has a very close relationship with the Zelensky government. Israel has to know that. If you and I know that, the Israelis know it, but they’ve said nothing about it. Why would the Israeli government allow the Zelensky government to sell weapons to Hamas and Hezbollah?

VIKTOR BOUT: Well, that’s a $1 million question, I would say. Another one: why on earth would Israelis send over 2,000 instructors to train the Ukrainian army at the beginning of the conflict? How come they refused to really condemn what’s happening with this reburial of the Banderaite leaders in Ukraine? So the country who are celebrating or defending the memory of the old victims of the Holocaust, apparently in cahoots with the Nazi regime — and they defend that this Zelensky is a Jew — are not working anymore.

If the Jew who betrayed the memory of his family, of his grandfather, who by the way was a colonel of the Red Army and fought the Nazi Germans, would maybe now be turning in his tomb knowing that his grandson basically sold out his nation, his memory, and what he did by fighting German Nazism, defending the future. So his grandson would go and destroy Ukraine, and sell it out for the Nazis again? It’s unbelievable.

So definitely Israelis knew it, but by some means, we’re living in the world where hypocrisy has become a norm. Where sometimes, even before — I would say 20, 30 years ago — you see the leaders when they’re lying, they feel themselves uncomfortable. I think now for them lying and being hypocritical has become completely the norm. And if you’re honest and open-minded, it looks like almost a deviation.

Drone Warfare and Civilian Populations

TUCKER CARLSON: It’s an amazing, amazing moment. It’s very hard to understand what’s happening. It does seem like drone technology means that no civilian population is safe.

VIKTOR BOUT: Correct. And Ukrainians have a special tactic — whenever they abandon a certain village or small town, they immediately start terrorizing the civilian population with the drones. They’re hitting kids, they’re not allowing elderly women to go and get water, they’re not allowing them to get humanitarian aid. They’re really terrorizing with no military sense whatsoever. What are you doing? And since they’ve got a lot of drones, would you believe that for each soldier, sometimes there are up to 20-30 drones sent just to kill one soldier?

Casualties and the Human Cost of the War

TUCKER CARLSON: That’s how many — how many Ukrainians and Russians have been killed in this conflict? Do you know what the real numbers are?

VIKTOR BOUT: Well, no, I cannot tell you exact numbers, and eventually it’s very difficult to estimate. But one thing is clear — that Ukraine suffered at least 3 to 1, if not 5 to 1, comparing to the Russian losses. Just analyze how many cemeteries appeared in Ukraine, how quickly they are filled up.

And this Ukrainian army does not care about how many soldiers they’re going to lose. They’re just doing everything to suit their nice photo op or any propaganda purposes of the Zelensky regime. When he wants to report that he’s sending endless waves of soldiers, basically they have no chance to survive, but they’re still sending them. Whenever they surrendered and it’s time to remove them, they never give the order to get out unless they would be encircled. They let their own soldiers literally perish. They never remove many of the bodies.

There are several reasons. First of all, we know that for every fallen soldier, the Ukrainian government has to pay a significant amount. So for them, accepting any one dead is kind of painful. So they basically have a practice where they are considering the majority of the dead people as missing in action, and when the Russians return their bodies, the family has to go through the painful process in Ukraine to prove that he is dead and the government owes them money. Then they’re saying, “Okay, you’re going to get this money within 10 years by small installments.” So even they are basically fooling their own people who believed them, who sent their sons to fight. This is a horrible strategy.

Ukraine’s Demographic and Infrastructure Collapse

Look, demographically, Ukraine cannot be the same anymore because their population, especially the male one, especially of the reproductive age, is basically destroyed. Now they start to bring immigrants from India or from Bangladesh or Pakistan trying to replace them. According to certain data, there are now over 300,000 there. And they want to replace more because basically the villages are empty. There are only elderly women left there.

And since the war is protracting and we are forced to destroy the infrastructure in Ukraine, which is feeding their military installations, there is no water, no electricity, no communication. So it’s a very grim future. Especially look — Russia being forced to destroy their central thermal stations, which are responsible for heating in the big cities. So now what Ukraine is not telling, and they’re trying to sell to the West that they are winning on the front lines, trying to attack some refinery deep inside Russia — that Ukraine cannot even anymore keep, during the winter, a decent temperature in the house. We’re not even talking about hot water supply.

Their capital is in such a decimated state with the attacks, with the corruption, with the negligence prior to this conflict, that it wouldn’t be livable during the winter. And it’s not only the capital, but many other cities in Ukraine.

Ukraine as a Hub for Corruption and Political Influence

So this is a huge history — when Ukraine became a black hole for corruption and money laundering, the hugest laundering machine in history. We know that Ukraine has apparently been involved in all political scandals for the last 10, 15, 20 years in the United States. How many impeachments were there and they had a Ukrainian connection. Since around 2002, 2004, Ukraine heavily invested in lobbyists in the United States. And we know everything from Hunter Biden, Burisma, employment. And apart from Hunter Biden, there are also many others who are not that well known yet who have been on the pay list of the Ukrainian corrupt regime.

Plus, we never know the exact amount, but think of this — definitely certain, I would estimate maybe one-third of everything that was sent to Ukraine was recycled back to political slush funds in the United States, especially the Democratic Party. We know that there are many senators who are so happy to go to Ukraine. We know many cases when the Ukrainians are paying lavish honorariums and premiums to come to Kyiv, walk through, and make photo ops with Zelensky. So they tried to buy their influence. So they corrupted the West, they corrupted the United States.

And eventually, there is a lot of similarity with Epstein. Basically, Zelensky is using the same tactics. Let’s not only corrupt by money, but let’s provide such a facility when all the visitors can have everything they want. You want drugs? It’s there, plentiful, free. You want underage girls? It’s free. You want something else more satanic? You’re welcome.

I think this is an issue for the Americans who are really now suffering themselves. And instead of minding their own problems — like unrepaired bridges, making sure that at least the water is clean in all small towns in America, infrastructure that corresponds not to the third world but at least to the superpower level — they would be shocked to know that all their money instead of this was sent to Ukraine, and this was basically not for a good purpose. The majority of this was stolen by Ukrainians, another part was given back as a bribe, and whatever is left was somewhat used for the so-called defense of the independence of the Ukrainian people who are suffering from Russian aggression. Yeah.

The Prisoner Exchange: Viktor Bout for Brittney Griner

TUCKER CARLSON: And in the meantime, they destroyed one of the last majority white Christian countries on the planet. So maybe that was the point. I have to ask you one last question, because I think it just — I thought about it at the time. So you were released in a prisoner exchange under the Biden administration. You were in American prison for a long time when the exchange happened. So you’re a very famous person internationally and in Russia. The Biden administration traded — released you in exchange for the release of some women’s basketball player on a marijuana charge. Were you surprised by it? It seemed asymmetrical.

The Griner Exchange and What It Revealed

VIKTOR BOUT: Brittney Griner? Yes. Well, by one thing, for me, this was literally some kind of insult. At least they could exchange Paul Whelan, which I was expecting. But on the Biden administration time, this maybe was only choice. And this is why she was Black, she was a lesbian, and she was a basketball fan.

If not for NBA fans who put a lot of pressure on the Biden administration, ESPN was running every day a kind of this stunt to call attention that Brittney Griner is still in Russian prison for almost nothing, for some a small quantity of CBD oil, which is forbidden in Russia. So they put a lot of pressure.

So Biden administration, because they succumbed to the LGBT agenda and they need to bring them in front of center of their attention and policy, was forced by this kind of activism. Where you put by one hand NBA fans, another one LGBT community, for Democrats is basically, you’re done, you can’t even move, you can’t do nothing. These two come to you, you better do what they want. You have no choice.

So for me, it was clear when this started, basically. Of course, negotiations protracted, but I can’t complain. I’m thankful that my government decided to bring me back.

A Product With an Expiring Date

Despite, by other hand, I was already like a product with the expiring date pretty soon. If they don’t exchange me this time, in 4 years by now I would be released, nevertheless. So for Americans, I was kind of losing big value despite they created this dramatic myth about me that I was the biggest arms dealer in the world, that was second to bin Laden, that whatever happened in the world, I was responsible, without any proof.

Well, I have no gringe about it. Whatever happens, happens. It would be maybe subject to different other books or movies or storytellers. But now I’m more concerned not about my past, but about our present and about future.

What Viktor Bout Learned in American Prisons

Because look, I spent what I would say 14 years, almost 12 years in United States prison, lockup. And this time, there was a lot of Americans, real patriots with me. Many of them was political prisoners. And I learned a lot of how the real America lives by their stories.

And I believe that Russia and American people has so much in common. Because of our geography, because we are both two people who are very generous, who are very hardworking, who has basically same mindset. Because when you have this geography, you only can conquer it and live on it by having completely different mindset. And this is our similarity.

The Globalist Agenda and America as a Test Ground

And I do believe if America would be able to free themselves of this control of the globalists who are really using America as a test ground before they run all over the world — because look at the history, they started with American population, deindustrialization, sexual revolution, drugs, all been first introduced in America. Destruction of the normal family in the Black population, then bringing transgender agenda, LGBT agenda, and then it starts spreading all over.

So in this case, for me, American nation is real resistance who trying, despite all the facts, despite all the mainstream media dictatorship and control, there is still independent voices like you, like others, independent journalists like Alex Jones and many, many others who, despite all the problems, are still able to have an opportunity to speak their mind despite every time they encroaching on this liberty of the freedom and expression.

A Vision for Russian-American Friendship

And this is why, in my opinion, we really can not only have a normal relation, which I wish we could, but we can have a really, really good friendship relation with the United States.

And think of this: if our two countries will put our resources, our ingenuity — because Russia, we also invented a lot of stuff the same way like Americans does. And many of your inventors basically came from Russia. If we talk history of television, we call history of Sikorsky, we call of many others. So there is always, I would say, interpollination happening between our cultures.

If we unite and stop fighting, stop becoming sworn enemies and cooperate to solve the problem we have on the planet, then the sky is the limit, or maybe even sky is not the limit. Then together, think of this, if we really can explore the space, if we focus and instead of spending money on how we can guarantee to destroy the planet 100 or 200 times, we put this efforts into science, into modern medicine, into the space exploration, into new physics. I mean, that would be a completely different planet we’re living on.

TUCKER CARLSON: Well, you’re a very wise man. I’m not embarrassed to say that out loud. And you certainly understand this country and what’s happening. Viktor Bout, I appreciate your spending the time. Thank you. Thank you.

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