ALEXANDER KAZAKOV
- Russian President Vladimir Putin held his annual phone in Thursday.
- He gloated about Western support for Ukraine fading.
- House Republicans are holding up a $61 billion aid bill.
It's usually hard to detect strong emotions in Vladimir Putin's public speeches.
But at his annual marathon phone-in today, the Russian president showed a hint of glee when he spoke about the dwindling prospect of Ukraine getting US aid.
"Today Ukraine produces almost nothing," he said, according to a BBC translation. "Excuse my vulgarity, but everything is being brought in as a freebie. But those freebies could run out at some point. And it seems that they are gradually running out.".