And Putin playing the role of the big bad wolf ready to tear the house down by killing off so many, maybe a hundred thousand boys, marching for the salvation of Russia ,or maybe to satisfy his sadistic urges?!
and even in part constructing pliable masochistic sheeple on account,
As President Trump makes an abrupt pivot toward Russia, upending generations of American foreign policy, he is also defying members of his own party in Congress, many of whom have spent their careers arguing for a hawkish stance against Moscow and strong backing for allies in Europe facing its most immediate threats. They’ve become NPCs.
Try to imagine being this dumb, to say something like this. I mean REALLY reallyyy try to imagine it.
Because “muh Russia bad” and “muh Ukraine and NATO guuuuuud” is a tired old meme. Not tracking any truths anymore, geopol has moved on. Truth was bored by your silly neolib NWO simping.
But you utilized the conceptual meme of ‘NPC’, so good for you. At least some part of you is trying to break free. Even as you make a mockery of your own attempt, but we all do that at first. Truth can be a cruel mistress, at least when it comes to those who ignored and hated her for so long. But don’t worry, it DOES get easier!
I mean,… Kissinger geopol? Really, THAT is what you want to invoke here as your baseline?
FFs man.
Again… Trump represents a minority part of the deep state…
The part that sees US policy since the 60’s as becoming self-destructive.
This part includes big-tech and only a part of the republicans…and their handlers.
This part wants to prepare the US for the multipolar world, only for them multipolarity means speres of influence - like in Huntington’s model.
That’s not what China means by multipolarity.
US majority elite suffered a defeat, but this does not mean it is defeated.
This is why trump is moving fast to dismantle tis power base, its power in America’s institutions.
Majority elite = Hollywood, legacy media, and all of the democratic most of the Republican parties and their handlers, and neo-cons…
Europe has been cut loose.
US vassals, cultivated for decades by America’s majority elite, is now being punished by the minority elite.
Americanism = Globalism.
this was the project the US failed to finish.
Wokism was a means of weakening he world’s resistance to America’s soft-power.
this is why all NGO’s funded by the US were promoting transgenderism, homosexual rights, feminism, and Wokism across the world, and was even flying the LGBTJEWMNOP+ flag on US embassies.
And yet the alternative appears as allusive that they may even surpass the direction we’re heading, meaning good old uncle same, for reasons close to the depth that the other side is hiding under.
The medium, the in between has not fared well, so a simulated version sprung up, not really out of a political desert ed landscape, but foreseen maybe even with the turn of the 20 th century.
Who could prove either position?
It’s so super close that it frightening
()
meanwhile:
February 21, 2025 12:04 AM UTC
US envoy meets Zelenskiy as Trump officials keep pressure on Ukrainian leader
Summary
Trump envoy Kellogg meets Zelenskiy
No word yet on outcome of meeting
NATO leader says any peace deal needs robust security guarantees
Waltz urges Zelenskiy to sign minerals deal, says Trump frustrated
U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy for the Ukraine conflict met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on Thursday but there was no immediate word on whether their talks had helped smooth over an unprecedented wartime rift between the once firm allies, and key U.S. officials indicated that major frustrations remain.
Zelenskiy had earlier struck a conciliatory tone after accusing Trump of repeating Russian disinformation in response to the U.S. president’s accusation that Ukraine had started the three-year-old war with Russia. Trump went on to refer to Zelenskiy as a “dictator” who should act fast or lose his country.
Trump, in office for just a month, is pushing for a quick deal to end the war and has alarmed Washington’s European allies by leaving them and Ukraine out of initial talks with Russia.
His vice president, JD Vance, said on Thursday he believed that an end to the conflict was near and there was no stopping the war without speaking to Russia. U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, meanwhile, told a White House press briefing that Zelenskiy’s insults were unacceptable and that the Ukrainian president needed to come back to the table and discuss a previously floated deal to give the United States access to Ukraine’s minerals resources.
Trump’s Ukraine and Russia envoy, Keith Kellogg, had arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday and said at the time he was there to listen.
Following the meeting, Zelenskiy wrote on X that he had a detailed and productive conversation with Kellogg about prisoners of war, effective security guarantees that would be part of any peace agreement and the battlefield situation.
But there were few additional details available, and a planned joint press conference was cancelled at the U.S.'s request, Zelenskiy’s office said.
Trump is seeking to reestablish ties with Russia and also invest in Ukraine’s mineral resources critical to the energy transition. Ukraine rejected an initial U.S. plan as it did not include security guarantees.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that the Trump administration was considering presenting a simplified minerals deal to Zelinskiy, though the Ukrainian president made no mention of the revised agreement in his social media remarks.
SECURITY GUARANTEES
European leaders have responded to Trump’s stance on Ukraine by pledging to step up spending on defence and some are considering a U.S.-backed European peacekeeping force for the country.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is due to meet with Trump in Washington on Monday, said on Thursday he would tell Trump not to be “weak” on Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“How can you be credible with China if you’re weak with Putin?” Macron said, during a question-and-answer session on social media.
Waltz, for his part, said the U.S. would welcome European-backed security guarantees for Ukraine, and he pushed for all NATO members to be spending at least 2% of their GDP on defense by the alliance’s next summit, set for June.
The Kremlin says the European plan is a major cause for concern but Zelenskiy and NATO have welcomed it.
“It is vital that … Russia will never again try to take one more square kilometre of Ukrainian land,” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said.
Russian forces have laid Ukrainian cities, towns and villages to waste and are edging forward along parts of the 1,000-km (600-mile) front line across eastern and southern Ukraine. Moscow controls a fifth of Ukraine and claims ownership of more.
Ukrainian officials say a ceasefire would just give Russia time to prepare for further aggression. However, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence agency said on Thursday there could be a ceasefire this year, while casting doubt on its durability.
UKRAINIANS RALLY ROUND
At the center of Trump’s charge that Zelenskiy is a dictator is that Ukraine has not held elections because of martial law, which it declared when Russia unleashed its invasion on February 24, 2022.
Martial law, which provides authorities with emergency powers for the war effort, prohibits holding elections. Zelenskiy won office in 2019 and his mandate would normally have ended last May.
Trump’s comments spurred some, though not all, of Ukraine’s opposition figures to rally around Zelenskiy.
Ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Zelenskiy was Ukraine’s legitimate leader until someone else was elected, and that it was “impossible and immoral” to hold elections during the war, as the military would not be able to take part.
Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the ex-army chief who is Ukraine’s ambassador to London and whose popularity makes him a possible presidential candidate, said winning the war with Russia to preserve Ukraine, not elections, was the priority.
The most prominent opposition figure who has not pushed back on Trump’s latest election call is Petro Poroshenko, the former president whose relations with Zelenskiy are acrimonious.
Poroshenko previously opposed calls for wartime elections in the name of national unity but remained silent this time after the government imposed sanctions on him last week, something he said was a blow to unity.
Iryna Herashchenko, a lawmaker for Poroshenko’s party, has been calling for a government of national unity and urged Zelenskiy to stop what she called “political repression against those he does not like”.
Serhii Prytula, who runs a major charity supporting the Ukrainian army and is another possible presidential hopeful, advised Ukrainians on X not to read Trump’s comments before bed.
“Remember that here in Ukraine, only we - the people of Ukraine - determine who is a dictator and who is not.”
Additional reporting by Yuliia Dysa in Gdansk Writing by Tom Balmforth, Philippa Fletcher and Gram Slattery Editing by Angus MacSwan, Frances Kerry and Diane Craft
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles
This is an unofficial warning urging you to find a better way of expressing disagreement than this.
Throwback to Kissinger? I’m sure he’ll plead novelty as a novice, maybe?A point
It’s no longer a German play on the continent, it’s a French play, not really certain of that relevance…
Latest
N Korea is rattling sabers again for US forces stationed in South Korea, aware of the superior strategic/ideological position that changes the global balance of power, saying it can match the power of the current US position, not even blinking to recall that it was Trump that visited North Vietnam in his first administration, ha
It’s clear that hardline communism is no longer even mentioned in high places international places, say how backward can a man be brought up in the palaces of luxury , living Hollywood music, and rock.
I guess he rolled with the punches, as son as a sharp right will land him on bed rock in the first round.
)(.
Tomorrow is a very important international flurry and the UN is going to vote on an alternative resolution favoring the Ukraine-Europe one of support for Ukraine.
And o
Here it is, that day waited eagerly, no punches pulled , but now the question arises now : how now brown cow?
And why and where is this new New World Order will arrive to? Too many questions, repressions, ambiguities are ahead, dangerous curves .
)( )( )(
US joins Russia to vote against UN resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine
12:55 PM EST February 24, 2025
The United States joined Russia to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s war against Ukraine Monday in a stunning shift from years of US policy.
The vote against the Ukrainian and European-backed resolution saw the US at odds with its longtime European allies and instead aligned with the aggressor in the war on the three-year anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
It came as the Trump administration has pursued discussions with Moscow about ending the war as the President Donald Trump has ratcheted up his rhetoric towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The resolution was adopted by the General Assembly with 93 votes in favor. It notes “with concern the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation has persisted for three years and continues to have devastating and long-lasting consequences not only for Ukraine, but also for other regions and global stability” and “calls for a de-escalation, an early cessation of hostilities and a peaceful resolution of the war against Ukraine.”
The US had introduced a rival General Assembly resolution, which did not call Russia the aggressor or acknowledge Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
It “implores a swift end to the conflict and further urges a lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.” It mourns “the tragic loss of life throughout the Russia-Ukraine conflict” and reiterates “the principal purpose of the United Nations, as expressed in the United Nations Charter, is to maintain international peace and security and to peacefully settle disputes.”
The US is expected to introduce the same draft resolution at the UN Security Council later on Monday.
Prior to the vote in the General Assembly, Ambassador Dorothy Shea, the charge d’affaires at the US Mission to the UN, had urged “all Member States, including Ukraine and Russia” to back the resolution.
“A simple, historic statement from the General Assembly that looks forward, not backwards. A resolution focused on one, simple idea: Ending the war. A path to peace is possible,” she said.
“Mr. President, that is why the United States opposed putting forward another resolution. And that is why we cannot support Ukraine’s resolution, and we urge its withdrawal in favor of a strong statement committing us to end the war and work towards a lasting peace,” Shea said.
The US ended up abstaining on the vote for its own resolution at the General Assembly after several amendments were passed ahead of the vote to strengthen the language against Russia and reaffirm Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
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CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network.
The cuts, highlighted on an earlier version of the “wall of receipts” posted by Elon Musk’s team, contained mistakes that vastly inflated the amount of money saved.
Nearly 40% of the federal contracts that President Donald Trump’s administration claims to have canceled as part of its signature cost-cutting program aren’t expected to save the government any money, the administration’s own data shows.
The Department of Government Efficiency, run by Trump adviser Elon Musk, published an updated list Monday of nearly 2,300 contracts that agencies terminated in recent weeks across the federal government. Data published on DOGE’s “Wall of Receipts” shows that more than one-third of the contract cancellations, 794 in all, are expected to yield no savings.
That’s usually because the total value of the contracts has already been fully obligated, which means the government has a legal requirement to spend the funds for the goods or services it purchased and in many cases has already done so.
“It’s like confiscating used ammunition after it’s been shot when there’s nothing left in it. It doesn’t accomplish any policy objective,” said Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor and expert on government contracting law. “Their terminating so many contracts pointlessly obviously doesn’t accomplish anything for saving money.”
Maybe it’s placing principle before substance or is it in reverse, ?
I’m confus(ed)
Today is the day, that is crucial and even essential to the progress being made on all fronts to build a credibly constructed peace plan, that not only concerns Ukraine, but Gaza , Europe, and in fact the whole global phenomena of a many leveled Peace.
Some bored do nothings, heavily fortified in their well protected and survival modeled basements , in the depth of their depravity, could possibly wish to fix the interminable state our world is in , by pushing a button, (rather then taking a sedative) to make all this go away.
But most don’t feel this way, they’d rather trudge on working their boring eight to five, in a near miraculous belief in a brighter tomorrow.
So with this in mind is the aforementioned event, that could eclipse anything which has gone down so far in international dignificance.
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“In search of security guarantees, Zelenskyy agrees to negotiate mineral deal with Trump
Updated 9:25 am EST Feb. 28, 2025
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has been browbeating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy into signing a “breakthrough agreement” that would give the U.S. access to his country’s minerals, oil and natural gas.
Both nations have agreed to the deal in concept: Ukraine would deposit 50% of the revenues earned from future investments in government-owned natural resources into a jointly controlled fund.
But the framework agreement does not currently include security guarantees that have been insisted on by Ukraine.
A battle of wills is expected to ensue between the leaders on Friday, when Zelenskyy gets his first-ever, sit-down in the Oval Office with Trump. In one chair, Zelenskyy, who has forcefully advocated for firm guarantees of American military support. In the other, Trump, who wants Ukraine to repay the U.S. for its previous contributions.
First, a mineral deal signing, Trump has said. Then, a discussion about potential U.S. military support for Kyiv could take place. That conversation would come later in the context of talks with Russia to bring its yearslong assault on Ukraine to an end.
He said Thursday that the presence of American workers in Ukraine would be the backstop against future Russian aggression.
“I don’t think anybody’s going to play around if we’re there with a lot of workers,” Trump said.
The agreement to establish a jointly owned venture would be the start of a complicated process. Ukraine’s infrastructure would need to be rebuilt, and private companies would have to agree to open mines, experts say. The U.S. may not see proceeds from the deal for up to two decades.
More: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer willing to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine after war
Ukraine also needs to conduct updated geological mapping. As it stands, mining companies could dig and find out Ukraine does not have viable minerals, Trump acknowledged on Thursday.
Even so, he called it a “breakthrough agreement” that would effectively allow taxpayers to be “reimbursed” for the military hardware it has already sent to Ukraine. The deal would also help the U.S. to refill its own stockpiles, Trump said.
Trump has been fixated on recouping money America spent on the war before he took office — especially when it comes to how much the U.S. has spent compared to its European allies. He has been particularly vexed by a funding mechanism that could see Europe collect some of the money it sent Ukraine back by structuring it as a loan.
The U.S. has provided roughly $106 billion to Ukraine since the war started, roughly $9 billion of which was forgivable loans. The European Union says it has spent $145 billion, almost 65% of which came from grants or in-kind support. The other 35% came from loans. The amount includes refugee assistance. Europe and the United States are also sending money to Ukraine that it makes off Russia’s frozen assets.
Zelenskyy has said that as part of his talks with Trump, he would discuss using the frozen assets to purchase weapons. He said he also planned to ask Trump directly whether the United States intends to halt it military support.
Trump softens criticism of Zelenskyy
The agreed upon framework for the minerals deal is a climbdown from the $500 billion agreement that Trump had been pushing. Zelenskyy rejected that bid outright.
His refusal prompted an onslaught of criticism from Trump, who called him a “dictator without elections” amid a days-long back and forth.
At the White House on Thursday, Trump said they would be having a “good conversation." Trump said he wants to work with his counterpart. “The president and I actually have had a very good relationship. It maybe got a little bit testy because we wanted a little bit of what the European nations have.”
Does he still think Zelenskyy is a dictator? “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that. Next question," Trump said, giving a slight grin as he backtracked.
More: Europe’s Trump-whisperer makes the case for Ukraine over Putin
Zelenskyy’s visit to the White House on Friday will be his second in-person meeting with Trump since the election. They also met in December in Paris.
The Ukrainian leader infamously sought but never obtained an invitation to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue during the Republican president’s first term. Trump was impeached in the House but acquitted in the Senate of high crimes and misdemeanors after he pressured Zelenskyy to investigate his political opponents.
They have tussled over U.S. military support for Ukraine ever since, with Trump putting precious post-inauguration political capital toward making a deal with Russia to end the war.
In a social media post confirming his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy on Wednesday stressed the importance of continued military support.
“Peace and security guarantees are the key to ensuring that Russia can no longer destroy the lives of other nations,” Zelenskyy said. “For me and for all of us in the world, it’s important that U.S. support is not stopped. Strength is needed on the path to peace.”
European officials were aghast at Trump’s attacks on Zelenskyy and his administration’s unilateral talks with Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron rushed to Washington on Monday, in an attempt to steer Trump toward a deal that can last and a post-war security framework that would involve U.S.-backed peacekeeping troops.
More: Ukraine minerals deal success depends on President Trump, says President Zelenskyy
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer tried his hand on Thursday. Starmer said the UK would play its “full part” if there is a peace agreement and the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air.
“The British don’t need much help, they can take care of themselves very well,” Trump said. “But if they need help, I’ll always be with the British,” he added.
Trump insisted that the security guarantees would be “the easy part,” while the difficult part would be getting a peace deal made. “You’re talking about a peacekeeping force, we have to make a deal first. Right now we don’t have a deal,” Trump said.
But he suggested he was open to a discussion. Trump said after he was asked about the potential for intelligence cooperation. “We’re open to many things.”
NATO membership is ‘not going to happen’
Trump’s team had been hoping to strike a deal to end the war by the end of April. But the U.S. president acknowledged on Thursday during his appearance with Starmer that a peace agreement may not ultimately pan out.
“If it doesn’t happen quickly, it may not happen at all,” Trump said, repeating the sentiment more than once.
Were a deal to come through, it would not include NATO membership for Ukraine, Trump said, ruling out a significant security guarantee ahead of Zelenskyy’s arrival in the United States.
“Look, it’s just not going to happen. It’s just not going to happen,” Trump said.
As for the territory that Russia has taken from Ukraine, dating back to its 2014 invasion of Crimea, Trump made no explicit promises. “We’re going to certainly try and get as much as we can back,” he said.
Originally Published 5:12 am EST Feb. 28, 2025
Updated 9:25 am EST Feb. 28, 2025
Incapsulated within the many layers that the war in Ukraine has brought together, in one sense, the desire to make America great again has extended to a worldly desire for peace, and in that sense it presents a stark image of ingruency between todays’ gestalt and that echoed and filtered down from pre-war sentiment.(WW2)
And here this essential film of a thinly layered process in international relations, as that meeting between Trump in his home turf the Oval Office has just happened, to meet with Zelinski, and the word(s) are re(pro)ported out:
What are the ramifications and opinions spinned off ?
)(
Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting grows heated, as Vance berates Zelenskyy
An Oval Office meeting with President Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy grew contentious Friday, as Mr. Trump threatened Zelenskyy to make a deal with Russia, or “we’re out,” and Vance accused the Ukrainian leader of being “disrespectful.”
The heated exchanges came ahead of what was an anticipated rare minerals deal signing between the two countries, and as Mr. Trump pressures Ukraine to end the war Russia began.
Vance said during the course of the meeting that the world has reached this point in part because of the Biden administration’s actions, and said it was time for diplomacy.
“What kind of diplomacy, JD, you are speaking about,” Zelenskyy asked Vance, suggesting that Russia has broken its promises before in prior agreements.
Vance retorted that it’s “disrespectful” for Zelenskyy to try to “litigate” his case in front of the American media.
“You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict,” Vance told Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy asked Vance if he’d ever been to Ukraine.
Vane said he’s watched videos of what’s happened in Ukraine, accusing Zelenskyy of bringing people on a “propaganda tour” when they visit Ukraine.
“Do you think that it’s respectful to come to the Oval Office of the United States of America and attack the administration that is trying to prevent the destruction of your country?” Vance asked.
Zelenskyy, noting that for now, the U.S. is separated from the fighting by an ocean, said of the war, “You don’t feel it now, but you’ll feel it in the future.”
“You don’t know that,” Mr. Trump retorted. “You don’t know that. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel. We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re gonna feel, because you’re in no position to dictate that. You’re in no position to dictate what we’re going to feel. We’re going to feel very good.”
“You don’t have the cards right now,” Mr. Trump said, as Zelenskyy continued to interject and disagree. "With us, you start having cards. Right now, you don’t have your playing cards,you’re playing cards — you’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. “You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III.”
“Have you said thank you once, this entire meeting? No, in this entire meeting, have you said thank you?” Vance said.
Zelenskyy kept his voice measured throughout the entire exchange, even as Mr. Trump and Vance at times raised their voices.
“Please,” Zelenskyy said. “You think that if you will speak very loudly about the war—”
Mr. Trump cut off Zelenskyy and said his country is in “big trouble” but “you have a damn good chance of coming out okay because of us.”
Zelenskyy said his country has stayed strong from the beginning of the war, and Ukrainians are thankful.
“It’s going to be a very hard thing to do business like this,” Mr. Trump said, as Vance again chided Zelenskyy about saying “thank you.”
Mr. Trump said it’s “good” for the American people to see what’s going on.
“You have to be thankful,” Mr. Trump said. “You don’t have the cards. You’re buried there, people are dying, you’re running low on soldiers.”
Zelenskyy said Ukraine wants the war to end but must have security assurances along with any sort of ceasefire agreement.
Amid the chaos, a reporter asked — what if Russia violates a ceasefire?
“What if anything?” Mr. Trump responded. “What if a bomb drops on your head right now? Okay?”
Earlier in the Oval Office meeting
Earlier in the meeting, Mr. Trump said he and Zelenskyy would sign the agreement at a joint news conference after lunch. Mr. Trump said the U.S. would be “digging, digging and digging” to access Ukraine’s rare minerals, in a deal Mr. Trump has described as payback to the U.S. taxpayers for their financial assistance in Ukraine.
Mr. Trump told Zelenskyy at the beginning of their Oval Office meeting that “it’s an honor to have you here.” But disagreements remain between the two leaders. Mr. Trump recently called for modifications to funding for Ukraine and blasted Zelenskyy as a “dictator,” without applying the same label to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In the Oval Office, a reporter asked Zelenskyy if he thinks the U.S. is on his side. Mr. Trump called it a stupid question. The Ukrainian president said the U.S. has been on his country’s side the whole time.
What to know about Zelenskyy’s White House visit
Mr. Trump mentioned earlier this week that the U.S. had reached a deal with Zelenskyy on a broad framework for sharing Ukraine’s mineral resources, and that the Ukrainian leader was coming to the White House because he “would like to sign it together with me.” Negotiations over the minerals continued despite public tension between the two leaders in recent days. Mr. Trump appeared to blame Ukraine for the war Russia started and labeled Zelenskyy a “dictator,” while declining to say the same of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
One Ukrainian official told CBS News Kyiv hopes the signing of the agreement would ensure the continued flow of security support that Ukraine needs. Mr. Trump said Thursday the deal would help pay back American taxpayers for supporting Ukraine over the past three years.
In a post on X Wednesday, Zelenskyy wrote, “Peace and security guarantees are the key to ensuring that Russia can no longer destroy the lives of other nations.” He added, “For me and for all of us in the world, it’s important that U.S. support is not stopped. Strength is needed on the path to peace.”
Mr. Trump spoke with Putin earlier this month and said the Russian leader wants an end to the war. Last week, the president said he trusts Russia to negotiate in good faith, as top Trump administration officials met with Russian negotiators in Saudi Arabia without a Ukrainian representative. The president on Thursday said he believes Putin would comply with any peace agreement reached.
“I don’t believe he’s going to violate his word,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Trump last week called Zelenskyy a “dictator,” referring to the fact that the Ukrainian leader’s five-year term expired last year, and no new election has been held. Ukraine has been under martial law since soon after the war started in 2022, and the country’s constitution bans elections during martial law. On Monday, during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr. Trump was asked whether he views Putin as a dictator, since he called Zelenskyy one.
“I don’t use those words lightly, I think that we’re going to see how it all works out,” he replied. “Let’s see what happens.”
Mr. Trump has even cast blame on Kyiv for being invaded by Russia.
“You should have never started it, you could have made a deal,” Mr. Trump said of Ukraine last week.
Top Trump administration officials have also been reluctant to criticize Putin. National security adviser Mike Waltz didn’t answer directly when a reporter asked him if Mr. Trump views Putin as a dictator. He also sidestepped a question about who bears more responsibility for the war, Russia or Ukraine.
Referring to Mr. Trump, Waltz replied, “His goal here is to bring this war to an end, period.”
The president frequently says the war never would have started if he had been president, rather than Joe Biden. On the campaign trail, Mr. Trump vowed he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine before even taking office.
“Before I even arrive at the Oval Office, shortly after we win the presidency, I will have the horrible war between Russia and Ukraine settled,” Mr. Trump said at a June rally. “I will get it settled before I even become president.”
But after winning the election, Mr. Trump suggested that reaching peace between Russia and Ukraine might be more difficult than forging peace in the Middle East.
“I think actually more difficult is going to be the Russia-Ukraine situation,” Mr. Trump said in December. “I see that as more difficult.”
Earlier this week, Zelenskyy said he would give up the presidency if doing so would achieve lasting peace for Ukraine and membership in NATO.
“If to achieve peace, you really need me to give up my post, I’m ready,” Zelenskyy said at a forum marking the three-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
How to watch Trump Zelenskyy minerals deal signing and news conference
****What: President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sign a rare earth mineral deal and hold a news conference.
**Date: Feb. 28, 2025
**Time: 1 p.m. ET
**Location: The White House
**Online stream: Live on CBSN - in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device
First published on February 28, 2025 / 8:51 AM EST
© 2025 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The essential ‘heart of the matter’ is, the world wide perception that the mineral deal was more important to Trump then the Fate of the Ukraine people, so as to tell the world, hey, democracy, human kindness, is a products which are consumed indifferently , except to those, who know the differences entailed in commercial enterprise.
The problem is confounded by a lack of negotiable, transactible terms, which draw the conclusion that a naively realistic view may even be denigrated as unusable.
Doesn’t make much sense to denigrate the very basic almost apologetic defense that turned around axiomatically, after the last world war, does it? If
Now the above is a promised addendum to the published opinion that has been published since this forum started, under the assumption that ‘staged’ may include a representative understanding qua opinion of uncertain origin, since both- left and right were suspect to that method or argumentation.
Now, given that, let’s turn to the disastrous Oval Office meeting, again gross uncertainty pending from not only both sides of the isle, but indeed from Ukraine It’s self , as if such attrition from political to social discourse could be had, at hand.
( this again may be. Presumption crying to heaven for validity)
With the above comments, if a new just published analysis should/must be studied, in light of where we are heading, and where we may return over and over again, in shortened gaps’ turning in more and more superfluously felt information with less and less coherence. ( incidentally both the late St. James, along with the former member Arminius both agreed with, and his wife, who also seemed to disappear when things heated up.
So here is this opinion:
()
It didn’t take long for Democrats to fall back on their failed ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ playbook – but here we are.
On Sunday, Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy accused Donald Trump of running his White House like an ‘arm of the Kremlin.’
(Comparing Lectric eBikes® vs. Aventon | Lectric eBikes®)
(Comparing Lectric eBikes® vs. Aventon | Lectric eBikes®)
Sound familiar?
After deploying the ‘Russian Collusion’ lie – financed by Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign and spread by a negligent mainstream media – in 2021 to derail the first months of Trump’s first term, the Left is at it again.
But now, beyond sabotaging a duly elected president and needlessly dividing the country, their underhanded tactics are standing in the way of peace – and even flirting with World War III.
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Here’s the undeniable truth: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a serious mistake in his Oval Office meeting with the president on Friday.
All he had to do was put on a tie, say ‘thank you,’ eat lunch and sign an agreement providing for US involvement in the development of Ukrainian raw earth minerals.
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It’s a deal that would have come with a tacit US security guarantee. And if Zelenskyy had grasped that then he would have set his country on a possible path to resolving the conflict with Russia.
It didn’t take long for Democrats to fall back on their failed ’ Russia , Russia, Russia’ playbook – but here we are. (Pictured: Kamala Harris and President Zelenskyy in June 2024).
Here’s the undeniable truth: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a serious mistake in his Oval Office meeting (pictured) with the president on Friday.
Instead, he decided to lecture and become argumentative with Trump and his cabinet. The results were predictable.
But if you listen to many Democrats and those in the pundit class, they seem to be cheering Zelenskyy on – and accusing Trump of all manner of traitorous behaviors.
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Trump is a ‘coward who is Vladimir Putin’s puppet,’ said Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton. And, he claimed, Zelenskyy is a ‘hero.’
‘Trump sides with dictators bc [sic] it legitimizes his plan for America: a Russian-style kleptocracy where the rich steal from us to enrich themselves,’ Senator Murphy tweeted on Sunday.
It’s rhetoric that rivals the most deranged Democratic smears of 2020.
But even Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin grudgingly conceded to me on CNN Friday night that I was right and Zelenskyy made a terrible misjudgment. And Rogin is as pro-Ukraine as they come.
So, what’s really going on here?
By Murphy’s own admission, he was with Zelenskyy before that disastrous Oval Office meeting. I can’t claim to know what he said – but judging from Murphy’s tweets I can hazard a decent guess.
I suspect that he and others on the Left are – at the very least – stoking Zelenskyy’s fears that Washington is selling him out.
Now, I am one to respect those who hold high elected office, but I wouldn’t hire Murphy to blow up balloon animals at a kid’s birthday, let alone discern the finer points of diplomacy, or, perhaps most importantly, the mood of the America.
A new CBS News poll shows that a majority of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the Russia-Ukraine war, while Biden’s rating at the end of his term was 22 percentage points underwater.
In August of 2022, only 31 percent said they supported a deal that allowed Russia to keep some of the land it has already captured in return for a quick end to that war. Today, 50 percent want the war to end under those terms.
It’s a sea change. And if Zelenskyy doesn’t ignore the Democrat clown show – and comes to grips with this new reality than he risks losing US support entirely.
Ukraine is not going to secure a US security guarantee by which the United States agrees to put boots on the ground. Ukraine is not a member of NATO and won’t be anytime soon.
Surely, Zelenskyy must recognize the dire position he’s in. At this point, he must send a clear message that he wants to partner with the United States on Trump’s terms. And for goodness sakes, he must stop airing his grievances in public.
But on Monday, Zelenskyy appeared to double-down on obstinance – telling the Associated Press that, ‘an agreement to end the war is still very, very far away.’ In response, President Trump called a meeting of his cabinet to reportedly consider a possible suspension of US military aid to Ukraine.
Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy (pictured) accused Donald Trump of running his White House like an ‘arm of the Kremlin.’
That’s, no doubt, a worst-case scenario. But lest you think that Trump is being unfairly harsh with his Ukrainian counterpart, it’s worth noting that former President Joe Biden also lost his patience with Zelenskyy.
NBC news reported that during a 2022 phone call, Biden lost his temper and instructed Zelenskyy to ‘show a little more gratitude’ to his American patrons.
Additionally, Friday’s public meltdown allegedly followed 10 days of Zelenskyy being difficult in private, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Even I, a supporter of Ukraine and someone who believes that Putin is a murderous, evil thug who cannot be trusted, have begun to question whether Zelenskyy is truly ready to take off the military fatigues — literally and figuratively — and don the cloak of diplomacy.
He’s running out of time to prove – and he should be more cautious who takes advice from.
Latest: Trump halts Ukraine intelligence and weapon supply pause, since Zelenskyy came to terms with US proposed ceasefire !
Good news or not so good?
How will EU, Britain, and Russia react?
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U.S. lifts pause on Ukraine aid as Kyiv agrees to ceasefire proposal
The agreement followed an expansive meeting in Saudi Arabia. It remains unclear if Moscow will accept the ceasefire terms.
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — The Trump administration lifted its pause on military and intelligence support for Ukraine on Tuesday after Kyiv endorsed an ambitious U.S. ceasefire proposal aimed at initiating an end to the three-year war.
The agreement, resulting from more than eight hours of meetings between U.S. and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia, dramatically improves Kyiv’s war footing and lessens a transatlantic divide between U.S. and European allies that had plunged to new lows.
“The Ukrainian delegation today made something very clear, that they share President Trump’s vision for peace, they share his determination to end the fighting, to end the killing, to end the tragic meat grinder of people,” White House national security adviser Michael Waltz said after the meetings.
The mere fact that U.S. and Ukrainian officials were able to agree on a joint statement, much less one of substance, marked a significant improvement in relations after the contentious row between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office and the abrupt suspension of U.S. support for Kyiv.
Ukrainian officials came to the meeting offering a limited ceasefire that would ban Kyiv and Moscow from launching aerial and sea-based long-range attacks. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who led the talks, made clear that the U.S. proposal for a 30-day ceasefire governed the entire conflict, including the front lines, where the vast majority of fatalities have occurred.
“You have to stop shooting at each other, and that’s what the president has wanted to see, and that’s the commitment we got today from the Ukrainian side,” said Rubio.
“We’ll take this offer now to the Russians. We hope the Russians will reciprocate,” Rubio added.
It is far from clear if Moscow will accept the proposal, but analysts called the agreement a savvy move by Zelensky, whose position of strength had been greatly diminished by the public chasm between Ukraine and its most powerful backer, the United States.
“It effectively puts the onus on Russia to accept an arrangement they otherwise would have rejected out of hand or risk Trump’s ire,” said Sam Charap, a senior political scientist at Rand, a think tank.
Once implemented, the ceasefire can be extended “by mutual agreement of the parties,” said the joint statement issued by Ukraine and the United States.
The statement also said the two countries agreed to conclude as soon as possible a “comprehensive agreement for developing Ukraine’s critical mineral resources to expand Ukraine’s economy and guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security.”
Absent from the statement is the type of security guarantee Ukrainians say is necessary to deter Russia from invading following a cessation of hostilities.
The Trump administration has ruled out allowing Ukraine into NATO, viewing that as placing new burdens on the United States and obviating a path to peace with Moscow.
The agreement Tuesday was immediately praised by U.S. allies in Europe, including the leaders of the European Commission and the European Council.
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“This is a positive development that can be a step towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace for Ukraine,” said the leaders in a joint statement. “The ball is now in Russia’s court.”
Many challenges to concluding a deal remain, as evidenced by the uptick in fighting between the two sides.
Russian authorities said Ukraine targeted Moscow and other cities with a massive drone attack Tuesday, killing three people.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down 337 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions overnight. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said it was the largest drone attack on the city during the war.
The attack came days after intensive Russian missile and drone strikes that killed 20 Ukrainians and injured dozens more.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have retaken more than 38 square miles from Ukrainian forces in Kursk, in southwestern Russia, an area seized by Kyiv in August as a possible bargaining chip in any peace talks.
A critically important aspect of Tuesday’s agreement is the resumption of weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The United States had stopped the transfer of any of the $3.85 billion in remaining military equipment available for Ukraine and halted delivery of weapons already in transit that had been approved by the Biden administration. Waltz said that aid will now “proceed to the Ukrainians.”
Also crucial to the deal is the perception that the United States still backs Ukraine after Trump and Vice President JD Vance derided Zelensky as an obstacle to peace.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha hailed the agreement as a “step that proves Ukraine is ready to move forward on the path to a just end to the war. Ukraine is not an obstacle to peace; it is a partner in its restoration.”
Charap said the agreement “goes a long way toward repairing the U.S.-Ukraine relationship given that Kyiv and Washington are now on the same page on the war.”
Dixon reported from Riga, Latvia. Catherine Belton in Kyiv and Ellen Francis in Brussels contributed to this report.
John Hudson is a reporter at The Washington Post covering the State Department and national security. He was part of the team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. He has reported from dozens of countries, including Ukraine, China, Afghanistan, India and Belarus.
Robyn Dixon is a foreign correspondent on her third stint in Russia, after almost a decade reporting there beginning in the early 1990s. In November 2019 she joined The Washington Post as Moscow bureau chief.
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This is Zelensky calling Putin’s bluff. People thought Russia would bring down Ukraine in three weeks. Yet they haven’t been able to do it in three years. Still I don’t believe that Ukraine will be willing to give up territory like Rubio said they must. So it’s hard to imagine that the ceasefire would lead to a treaty. Perhaps with the Trump’s obvious sympathy for Putin and contempt for Europe, he can reassure Putin that he doesn’t need to worry about NATO expansion. If so, is it possible that he would make any kind of concession? Again, that’s hard to imagine.
Maybe Zelensky will give in some again, after declaring and agreeing with Trump that the ball is in Russia’s court.
It appears more probable then not then withstand this method of argument then not. The latest on this is the folllowing press conference:
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Trump says US wants peace but could do ‘devastating’ things to Russia financially – video
The US president, Donald Trump, says a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia is ‘getting close’ after Ukraine agreed to accept a 30-day break in fighting. Trump says he has people on the way to Russia and is hopeful Moscow will accept the deal. However he also makes veiled threats that Russia could face ‘devastating’ financial repercussions if it decides to continue the war
15:06 EDT Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Independent journalism
with a global perspective
Not so fast, Putin’s optimism as a result of the Oval office flare up between Trump and Zelensky had an unexpected turn around when the meeting between Ukraine and the US took an unexpected turn;
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OPINION
By Dov S. Zakheim, opinion contributor, 10 hrs ago
The Hill
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Moscow reacted with delight when President Trump clashed with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, at their Oval Office meeting last month. Trump followed up with a warning on his Truth Social platform that “Zelensky disrespected the United States … [and] can come back when he is ready for Peace.”
Two days later, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the new U.S. administration “is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely coincides with our vision.”
Vladimir Putin could not have been happier with the meeting’s tumultuous outcome. The administration seemingly upended Washington’s decades-long support of Kyiv, which it had increased and accelerated after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Moreover, Putin also appeared to have achieved his long-held objective of splitting America from its European allies — who, unlike Trump, were not prepared to jettison their support for the beleaguered Ukrainians.
But Putin and his underlings may have started celebrating too soon.
Shortly after the Oval Office confrontation, Trump ordered a cutoff of all military and intelligence aid to Kyiv. Russia took advantage of the situation by launching a massive attack on Ukrainian oil and gas targets that left 20 civilians dead and scores more wounded. Though Trump stated that he could “understand” why Putin would take advantage of the American-Ukrainian rift, he also threatened to impose sanctions against Moscow. That should have been an indication that the American president was not really siding with Russia, at least to the extent that Moscow thought he would.
Russia surely did not anticipate the events that followed the aid cutoff. Zelensky opted to eat humble pie and agree to negotiations with Russia under Trump’s leadership. The result of preliminary talks between senior American and Ukrainian officials, the former led by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the latter by Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky’s presidential office, were not music to Putin’s ears.
Instead of further friction between the two countries, there emerged a joint statement whose second paragraph averred that “representatives of both nations praised the bravery of the Ukrainian people in defense of their nation” in effect a rejection of Putin’s assertion that Ukraine is not a real country. Moreover, after showering Trump with fulsome praise, the statement went on to outline Kyiv’s “readiness to enact an immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire, which can be extended by mutual agreement of the parties is subject to acceptance and concurrent implementation by the Russian Federation.”
As if this were not enough to rattle Putin, the statement added that “the United States will communicate to Russia reciprocity is the key to achieving peace.” When Rubio then stated that “the ball is in Russia’s court,” he effectively boxed Moscow into a corner that the Russian dictator could not possibly have anticipated after the White House standoff 12 days earlier.
Washington also committed to “immediately lift the pause on intelligence sharing and resume security assistance to Ukraine.” Finally, the agreement put the proposed deal to develop Ukraine’s mineral resources back on the table, “to guarantee Ukraine’s long-term prosperity and security.”
The bewildering change of circumstances should not have come as a surprise to Putin, or to the many observers who had despaired at Trump’s seeming tolerance of Russian aggression. It is widely recognized that Trump is fundamentally transactional, and that he can quickly alter any policy if it no longer meets his immediate or longer-term needs.
Once Zelensky made the difficult decision to kowtow to Trump, and his even more agonizing willingness to accept a ceasefire that leaves Russian forces in possession of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, Trump had achieved his near-term objective of forcing Ukraine to the negotiating table.
His next step is to get Russia to do the same.
Putin has little incentive to negotiate with Kyiv while his forces are gaining ground, albeit slowly, both in eastern Ukraine and in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv launched its counteroffensive last summer. Indeed, only a day after the U.S. and Ukraine issued their joint communique, Russian (and North Korean) forces retook the strategic town of Sudzha. Yet Putin was now being asked to stop any further Russian advances.
Russia initially rejected the ceasefire proposal, though that may only have been a delaying tactic. Indeed, Putin then did a quick turnaround and accepted the ceasefire on Thursday, but spoke of “nuances” that had to be worked out.
Putin may think he can outsmart Trump by delaying his readiness to accept a ceasefire until his forces have captured far more Ukrainian territory. But in doing so, he runs the risk of angering the American president, who not only is impatient, but also does not take kindly to attempts to outsmart him.
Should Trump perceive that Putin is trying to play him, he could decide to accelerate military support for Kyiv, which could include many of the American weapons and munitions that the Biden administration refused to transfer to Ukraine. Trump also could lift the Biden veto of a variety of European arms transfers that have American components. In doing the latter, Washington would even go at least some distance toward closing the breach with its European allies that Putin and his predecessors fought so had to create.
If Putin is as clever as many make him out to be, he will immediately accept the American-Ukrainian offer to negotiate. Otherwise, he could well discover, much to his regret, that just as he thinks he holds more cards than Ukraine, Washington holds more cards than he does.
Dov S. Zakheim is a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and vice chairman of the board for the Foreign Policy Research Institute . He was undersecretary of Defense (comptroller) and chief financial officer for the Department of Defense from 2001 to 2004 and a deputy undersecretary of Defense from 1985 to 1987.
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