Starmer Finally Quits; BBC Admits Kiev Faces Donbas Crisis Losing Konstantinovka; Neocons Iran Rage (Alexander Mercouris)

Alexander Mercouris delivers a comprehensive breakdown of the most consequential stories of the day: Keir Starmer's long-overdue resignation as British Prime Minister, the BBC's belated admission that Konstantinovka is effectively under Russian control and that the entire Donbas is on the verge of collapse, and the deepening neocon fury in Washington over the Iran nuclear negotiations led by JD Vance. As the western narrative that Ukraine is winning the conflict crumbles under the weight of battlefield reality, Alexander Mercouris also unpacks the latest intelligence on the Oreshnik hypersonic missile system, China's escalating rare earth sanctions against the United States, and the very real danger that neocon and Israeli pressure will push the US toward a second, far more devastating confrontation with Iran. Is the collective West finally being forced to face the truth about where this war is actually heading?



Time Stamps:

00:00:00 Introduction and Barbarossa Anniversary
00:01:06 Starmer As Prime Minister: A Final Assessment
00:03:17 Ukraine Policy and Britain's Economic Crisis
00:05:26 Starmer's Delayed Exit and Andy Burnham
00:07:22 The British Constitutional Problem
00:10:07 Why Burnham Should Become PM Today
00:13:17 Ukraine, Iran and the Need for Effective Leadership
00:17:01 BBC Finally Admits Konstantinovka Crisis
00:23:32 What the BBC Gets Wrong About the Front
00:29:28 Russian Strikes and Ukrainian Drone Attacks on Moscow
00:33:51 Zaporizhzhia, Crimea and the Fuel Shortage
00:43:24 Lyman Update and the Road to Donetsk
00:46:28 Russia Reframes the Conflict Beyond Proxy War
00:49:04 Peskov on Starmer and British Russian Relations
00:52:17 Belarus Threat and the Oreshnik Missile Briefing
01:03:31 Geneva Talks: Vance and Iran Nuclear Deal
01:07:25 Diesel Crisis and the Strait of Hormuz Leverage
01:08:29 Trump, Lindsey Graham and Neocon Revenge Drive
01:15:11 China Sanctions and the Rare Earths Escalation
01:17:53 Closing Summary

[Posted at the SpookyWeather2 blog, June 23, 2026.]