Expect Trump and Zelensky to sign a deal over minerals soon. Then what? 
An Offer You Can’t Refuse
The Wall Street Journal editorial board comments on a Mineral Deal Ukraine Can’t Refuse
Volodymyr Zelensky visits the White House on Friday to nail down a mineral rights deal between the U.S. and Ukraine.
The country has Europe’s largest supply of uranium, second-largest supply of natural gas, and substantial reserves of lithium and other rare-earth minerals. These resources are valued at about $1 trillion, and about a third are in Russian-occupied territory in eastern Ukraine.
Mr. Trump wants a share of those resources as repayment for the aid the U.S. has provided Kyiv during the war. This is the transactional way Mr. Trump views the world and it smacks of reparations, but Mr. Zelensky had little choice other than to oblige if he wants to secure a credible “peace” with Russia. Mr. Zelensky was at least able to negotiate better terms than Mr. Trump first demanded.
Under the final deal, Ukraine will pay half of all revenue from developing these resources to an investment fund jointly owned with the U.S. The agreement says contributions will be invested “to promote the safety, security and prosperity of Ukraine.” The details will be worked out between the economic ministries, and Ukraine’s Parliament will have to ratify it.
The war has caused enormous destruction in Ukraine, which will need hundreds of billions of dollars to rebuild. Foreign taxpayers can’t be expected to cover this cost, and Ukraine will need private investment. Other investors might be more inclined to help Ukraine rebuild if the U.S. is involved.
The deal won’t apply to resources that have already been developed and contribute to Ukraine’s budget. That’s important because Ukraine uses domestic revenue to fund its military, including soldier pay and weapons. Russia wants a peace deal that limits Ukraine’s military.
The mineral deal includes no U.S. security guarantees but says the U.S. “supports Ukraine’s efforts to obtain security guarantees needed to establish lasting peace.” It’s hard to know what that unspecific promise means, but in Mr. Trump’s mind it probably means Europeans help first.
By the way, Mr. Trump on Thursday walked back his claim last week that Mr. Zelensky is a “dictator.” Press question: “Do you still think Zelensky is a dictator?”
Mr. Trump: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that. Next question.”
Flashback November 20, 2023: Is a NATO Backing a Negotiated Deal Between Ukraine and Russia?
What’s Guaranteed to Happen?
I have written about this many times before. There is going to be a negotiated settlement that is not going to fully please anyone.
When? It will happen after both sides have had enough of destruction and lives lost, likely accelerated by political events in the US.
Ukraine Already Lost the War But the EU Hasn’t Figured That Out
February 24, 2025 I posted Ukraine Already Lost the War But the EU Hasn’t Figured That Out
A negotiated settlement, land for peace is what I said in 2022. Terms now include mineral rights.
The Goal and a Mission
Like it or not, we now have a goal and a mission. They are one and the same, end the war. The war will end as I repeatedly stated since 2022, a negotiated settlement.
You can agree or disagree with Trump’s approach or the appeasement of Putin. But you cannot change the facts.
The longer Zelensky holds out the more territory Ukraine will lose.
The EU said it is willing to commit troops, I said no. My no was in reference to before there was a deal.
Trump will force the EU to commit troops for any peace deal Ukraine signs.
A Third of the Way There
What the EU wants doesn’t matter. Russia will be the hard half, or two-thirds as I see it.
Trump can easily threaten Putin with weapons for Ukraine if Putin won’t go along.
In return, Trump will agree with Russia’s key red lines: No NATO or EU membership for Ukraine, land for peace, and the end of sanctions.
Russia desperately needs the end of sanctions. And Trump would also be happy to pay Russia to develop the minerals the US wants.
The hard part of the negotiation will be the number of peacekeeping troops. Whatever number Trump negotiates, the EU will have to provide most of them. The EU won’t have much say in this.
Howls Over Sanctions
Europe will howl over the end of sanctions, and so will the WSJ editorial board.
So what?
Trump wants the price of oil to come down and he wants to develop the land Ukraine cedes to Russia. Those will require an end of sanctions.
A Binding UN Resolution Does Not Blame Russia for War in Ukraine
I suspect we are closer to the a peace deal and the end of sanctions than most think.
On February 24, I commented A Binding UN Resolution Does Not Blame Russia for War in Ukraine
The US [China and Russia] torpedoed a UN resolution blaming Russia. A US counterproposal passed when France and the UK abstained.
Putin has to be tired of this war now too. And he needs more money from oil and minerals to rebuild.
Mish 2022 and Again in 2023: “It [a negotiated settlement] will happen after both sides have had enough of destruction and lives lost, likely accelerated by political events in the US.“
Q: When?
A: Now
Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in exchange for protection assurances. I’m sure this is why its important for them to get it in writing this time.I don’t see an end of conflict unless Europe steps up its game, but I don’t think its in the cards.
Today’s WH ‘state-of-the-art-of-the deal’ presidential meeting with the mouse that roared (a sizeable mouse with 900K AD troops, 1.2 mil reserves, and European backing) was a sad day for NATO, the prior 80 year’s of US hegemonic world order, the US dollar, and a likely Mar 2025 Oct-1987-prospect for global equities. In Wikipedia there is a reference to #45 as an example of an Ugly American. Maybe W will add a reference video link to today’s #47’s disastrous exchange between Bucha’s president and Jan 6’s president.
Well Trump and Vance just threw a huge hissy fit in the white hose at Zelenskyy. If anyone had a single ought that Trump is a Russian asset it’s all but disappeared now. What an embarrassing day to be an American.
lol, moronic
Trump’s deals so far have been total crap. As he himself will gladly tell you: he trashes the amended/new NAFTA agreement which he is now openly trashing as a bad deal–a deal he is entirely responsible for.
i am not opposed to a deal with Ukraine, though i think it could have been addressed differently so we don’t look like we’re literally saying sign this or we help Russia, but i have zero confidence the deal will be a good one because he is completely inept and so is his administration. As a comedian noted, the only qualified person Trump ever hired is Story Daniels.
This Trump guy has certainly set fire to the world’s imagination. Its a testament to the man, at his age, he can still shake the world with a word.
These are interesting times, and we have 47 months to go before he builds a big beautiful presidential library, and people will still be talking about him..
a curious time to be alive in a curious world..
I read the draft on Naked Capitalism, and this is a classic case of an “illusory promise” that would not hold up in any court as a legal contract that binds both sides. There is also the phrase “intends to” in the first clause, which means it’s more like an agreement to have an agreement, or a M.O.U.
Of course the final language could change. But it appears to be a joke, mostly. The main objective appears to be to give Zelensky some legitimacy and to give Trump a narrative-shaping assist, eg “see, I got something in return for the billions of dollars wasted in Ukraine and burned out weapons!”
I don’t think Russia “desperately” needs the end of sanctions, but spoken like a true neo-con. IMO the US should just stay out of this war and the final ending. We have enough to do right here in the US.
we had no problem instigating the war, I think the USA owes all parties a negotiated settlement, and putting the whole thing behind us to concentrate on our own problems domestic and foreign.
I’m drinking coffee and wearing my “Victoria Nuland started a war in the Ukraine, and all I got was this crummy t-shirt” t-shirt today, maybe that is affecting my outlook, although several fashionistas have already complimented my garb and Vogue keeps leaving messages on my machine..
Trump’s not horsing around …
Having read Mish’s reasoned take on this I think he has called it correctly, the final outcome will please no one.
US is greedy. He wants to eat all the Ukraine cake. Russia is having deliciously too. European are watching and salivating. They also want to have a piece of cake. Paris is trying to reach a piece. Latvia is complaining he is not getting anything. Soon everybody will try to snatch.
“Trump can easily threaten Putin with weapons for Ukraine if Putin won’t go along.”
How well has that worked in the last 3 years for the Biden administration (and the collected West at large), which actually was hell-bent on destroying Russia..?
The West has already given what it can and nothing has worked. Russia has been demilitarizing not only Ukraine but the West at large.
Trump has no stick with which threaten Russia, he has only carrots.
“Russia desperately needs the end of sanctions.”
So desperately that when they even mention it it’s the last point of their requests…
There are large sectors of the Russian state and of the economic actors which actually want them to stay because of the extremely positive effects they have had in reviving national production, national industries and investments and because they have made many new “oligharcs” interested in the internal market while weakening the pro-West ones.The only part of the sanctions they would like to see gone are indirect sanctions, those against “third parties” (Russia’s commercial partners).
“The hard part of the negotiation will be the number of peacekeeping troops.”
There will be no Western troops with any role whatsoever because all of the Russian authorities from the President on down have been saying and repeating that they will never be allowed whatever the pretext or flag they are under and will be considered enemy combatants and destroyed.
The very first reason for the Russian intervention in Ukraine is kicking out any and all NATO presence in Ukraine and never ever allowing them back.
Besides, as I have been saying since forever, there will be no ceasefire anyway:
The Anglo-Euro-NATO war to Russia in Ukraine is coming to its natural end: capitulation of the extremist and illegitimate regime put in power by the Americans in 2014.
My wife, who is from the Donbas where we also have an apartment in one of its major cities, has a bottle of spumante ready.
The US-Russia negotiations will be around the new security architecture (basically a new Yalta) asked for by Putin for the last time at the end of 2021, in the face of ever growing NATO expansion and Anglo-American “color revolutions” and destabilizing terrorist activities.
The US-Russia negotiations will not be about Ukraine, Trump is clearly positioning himself to be able to drop Ukraine like the used condom that it is and walk away nominally leaving this failed project to the deranged EUropeans and the even more deranged Brits, which is totally fine by Putin since today’s NATO, against a peer adversary, has proved to be a paper tiger, NATO without the US is a wet paper tiger and everybody of real consequence around the world now knows it…
All of Trump’s moves (Canada, Greenland, Ukraine, tariffs etc etc) show that he is aware of the realities of the new “multipolar” world and of the failing USA and he is seeking to carve up and consolidate the best zone of influence possible for a much scaled down US and he will reach some agreement with the other two (re)emerging super-powers: Russia and China.
Just about everyone now believes that Putin is not interested in peace but wants all of Ukraine and the Baltics as well. Trump even said that he doubts Putin wants peace the other day in public so this offer is on the table only to confirm that Putin does not want peace. We he rejects it as not enough then Europe will have to rearm in a serious manner. The Scandinavians have already understood and upped their spending and preparations. The chock of Putin’s rejection will cause the big economies of Europe to do the same. Right now their spending is at ridiculously low levels. If they rise to the level of the Scandinavians then Europe would become rapidly a real military powerhouse like it was during the Cold War.
To be brief Trump is giving Russia a stark choice. Either peace now and become a partner of the US and Europe or prepare to become a complete colony of China. Europe equally has to understand that if Putin truly wants war then they will have to contend with the possibility of having a couple of hundred thousand Chinese troops on their border helping Russia in the war. XI plays Putin like a flute but maybe even he thinks this is going too far. The decision is not Putin’s in reality, it’s Xi’s.
“Just about everyone now believes that Putin is not interested in peace but wants all of Ukraine and the Baltics as well.”
“Everyone” who? Those like you swallowing whole the BS the Western MSM is feeding them you mean..?
But you are right in one thing: the fate of Ukraine (ALL of Ukraine) will be decided by Russia and Russia only. Ukraine, a fake Frankenstein country created by the Soviets and which had never historically existed, will go back to never existing and will be most likely dismembered into its (3) original constituent parts…
“Trump even said […]”
Trump is all over the place, he is saying everything and its opposite (a bit like Biden, Macron and all the rest of the clowns we have ruling the West today). As the Russians say nowadays, they disregard everything he says and only pay attention to what he does.
“so this offer is on the table”
WHAT offer?!? There hasn’t been any yet, actual negotiations haven’t even started!
The Saudi Arabia meeting was the first contact, they just probed each other and agreed to properly re-establish normal channels of communications and yesterday in Turkey there was a technical meeting to get each other Embassies to work normally again.
” Right now their spending is at ridiculously low levels. If they rise to the level of the Scandinavians then Europe would become rapidly a real military powerhouse like it was during the Cold War.”
As a EU subject: there is ZERO chance of that happening.
Leaving aside the many other issues: the EU and the UK are dead broke, the EU+UK governments are already extremely unstable and short-lived as things are today (in large part thanks to this very NATO-Russia war in Ukraine and to the sanctions), any of the major countries’ government trying to significantly raise its defense spending (cutting the already declining welfare spending) will instantly collapse.
Not that the US is any better by the way, haven’t you heard Trump proposing that the US, Russia and China make a deal cutting 50% of their defense budgets..?
Meanwhile, by top NATO commanders’ admission, Russia’s military industrial complex produces in 3 months what THE WHOLE OF NATO produces in 1 year and China is rapidly catching up to the Russian and the American militaries (both in the conventional and the nuclear sphere).
EU+UK are done as world powers and the US is going to be just one of the three global superpowers, each limited and balanced by the others and confined to its own area of influence.
“The decision is not Putin’s in reality, it’s Xi’s.”
And that’s your final gem…
You do not realize that Russia is more important for China than China is for Russia. China knows that in the possibly coming confrontation with the US without Russian resources (and military help in the form of hypersonics, a technology which the Russians have started to share with them) they are done because every other source can be blockaded by the Americans while Russia is the only country on Earth that in extreme circumstances can actually be fully autarchic. As for possible serious, existential future military menaces from China to Russia (very hard to see but that’s what the West likes to talk and dream about), Russia is the biggest nuclear power in the world and the one with by far the most advanced delivery systems today, they are untouchable.
Xi owns you. Thank Putin for that.
Besides your nonsensical comment, I do have things to thank Putin for:
At home we fly the Russian Federation flag to the side of the Italian flag and I painted the EU flag to the bottom of our cat’s litter box.
Learn Chinese comrade. They are you masters now.
I already speak Italian, English and Russian, I’m good.
A bit of Spanish, on the other hand, may definitely help you, gringo.
Sure you can. I totally believe you.
Are you 6 years old? What’s that supposed to mean?
What is it, exactly, that you find so unbelievable: that I can speak 2 other languages besides my own or specifically that I can speak Russian?
I am an ex-expat from Italy who has lived and worked all over the world for over 15 years including 5.5 years in the US (which is where I really learned English, which also was the working language in all of my other contracts in all of the other places) and 1.5 years between Russia and Belarus. My children are half-Russian and bilingual and when we want “privacy” among us we speak Russian while in Italy and Italian while in Russia.
I am sorry that your world is so small and your horizons so limited that you find incredible to be able to speak a grand total of 3 languages…
Game, set, match to…si vis pacem, para bellum.
Why do you find it so hard to believe he is trilingual? In India over 8% (that’s over 10 million people) are trilingual – mother tongue, Hindi and English. It’s not uncommon to meet people who can speak 4 or 5 languages.
I said I believe him. With language skills like that he can make the same comments on blogs in many different countries.
Love it! Sovereignty of nations!
here’s more you can thank Puti for:
The reveal how awfully weak Russia is
The utter disdain China has for Russia
Recognition from China that they should only fear the USA
The better (bitter?) comprehension by all the USA power
Good to see some Realism here. What do you think of the YouTube channel The Duran?
They are of no value to me but they are very good for the average brainwashed ignorant Westerner with no easy access to any serious media and reliable sources.
They are one of those doing a great job at awakening the masses, I have recommended them many times to normies.
What are your serious media and reliable sources that are widely available?
With regard to the NATO – Russia war in Ukraine between I and my wife we have family and friends all over Russia and Ukraine (aside from having lived in both countries and worked in Russia and regularly visiting, having an apartment in the Donbas, and a plot of land in Russia where we are planning to move back to) and I have access to all of the Russian speaking media and analists. I know those places and those people very well and I know what’s actually happening “on the ground” and how things work there and I keep my finger on the pulse of the economic, social and political situation in both countries.
If you want good English speaking analisys and reporting (which in great part use my same sources) look for Simplicius the Thinker, Black Mountain Analisys, Gilbert Doctorow, John Helmer, Alex Kreiner (and I stop here but there are others) websites/Substacks.
Thanks. Following Simplicius on Substack.
Gilbert Doctorow on Judge Napolitano’s Judging Freedom on YouTube recorded two days was good to see. Thanks.
None military keyboard, backseat warriors don’t understand that wars are won and lost with logistics.
That includes manpower.
Russia won the war the day it started despite all the training and weapons the US and and the West gave Ukraine up to and including the prosecution of the war because it was unsustainable.
Furthermore the US and the West has severely depleted their weapons inventory on a dumb war which will impact them for years to come
And that means any near ter large conflict involving the US and other Western countries will also be lost because of that same logistics problem.
Putin got a security zone that protects the Crimean peninsula and that is probably good enough for him. In the Crimean war – between1853 and 1856 – British, French and Ottoman troops defeated Russian Troops. When the Russian army parked 15 miles from Constantinople – where Ataturk airport is today – Disraeli threaten the czar with a Crimean war II in order to protect his Mediterranean and his Suez canal from any threat from a competitive empire. That led to Berlin congress 1878. Narodnaya Volnya (the People Will) assassinated Alexander II in 1881, a super liberal czar. The media blamed the Jews. It started a wave of pogroms that led to Jewish immigration from Russia and Eastern Europe to Prussia, the US and to Palestine.
“Disraeli threaten the czar with a Crimean war II”
There was a Crimean War II indeed, and the Russians started it: 12 years after the combined forces of the British, the French and the Ottomans managed to boot the Russians out of Crimea, the Empress Catherine the Great declared war and the Russians defeated the Ottoman Empire, retook Crimea (among other lands) and kept it ever since.
“Putin got a security zone that protects the Crimean peninsula and that is probably good enough for him.”
It may have been good enough in April 2022 when the Western puppets signed and promptly reneged on the Istanbul agreements, it is not anymore today.
Not for Putin and especially not for the Stavka and not for the Russian people.
Odessa and Nikolayev are among the regions which after the Ukraine’s (and by extension the West’s) capitulation are guaranteed to go back home to the Russian Federation.
The Russian view is to never let a good crisis go by without using it to justify another pogrom.
I so wish it were true. Sadly, you are just talking out of your ass as always.
Unfortunately, Putin actually likes Jews and under him the Jewish community has much grown its influence and power in Russia and Russia has been exceptionally benevolent and forgiving to Israel even against its own national interests.
Putin’s family lived together with two Jewish families on the top floor of a Soviet building divided into 3 different apartments but with communal facilities, like it was the norm for the working class of the time.
As you may imagine in that environment the relationships between the families were very close, each parents looked after each other’s children and Putin has very good memories of how he was treated by them growing up.
That’s not what it said on Hunter’s laptop, it was mostly about making sure China had many backdoors into the us government and business. Didn’t see much about Russia, except the Mayor of Moscow’s wife giving Hunter a Million dollars cash cause he’s such a swell guy.
The “BID” in Biden, stands for the highest bidder…. and 10 percent for the big guy (joe) poor Frank he had to live on management fees on the grift from the rest of the family.
Did I mention Burista where Hunter was suddenly an energy expert on the board of directors? What a talented family…
Ruski : Trump promised to stop the illegal crossing and he did. He imposed tariffs as he promised. He doesn’t like wars. He likes total victory. One night he might strike Maduro like a Bibi or Putin.
Amerimutt: let’s see how he fares “against” the last true European statesman, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, and then we will talk.
Trump’s second term beginnings are truly exciting and to be applauded (I do) but his first term was a total disappointment while Putin has consistently been Making Russia Great Again since over 20 years…
The deal sets up a way to keep the US interested while Europe provides the troops and is self-financing so not subject to the whims of political winds. It’s a very good deal for Ukraine.
Excellent! Zelenskyy got played by the Biden administration and the U.S. taxpayers took it in the shorts. What a waste of human life too…
“It’s dangerous to be an enemy of the US, but it’s fatal to be their friend.” (Henry Kissinger)
Zelensky might cut his losses before they accumulate. Trump shows the world how
smaller countries and mini regional powers need the US. Without us they disintegrate or break. They need us more than we need them. Trump doesn’t need congress to finance the gov. Tariffs are his new friends. He along with the supreme court will rule this country.
Geopolitics makes the world go round. In the end the lowest people on the totem pole end up suffering the most.
US oil co increased DUCs production, but DUCs inventory is down in 2024, Trump needs Putin and Ukraine to increase oil and NG production to reduce prices. Trump’s flipping worry Israel, Japan and Taiwan. Taking over Taiwan is one of PRC constitution main targets. If China invades Taiwan their constitution – PRC “core creed” – will deflate. Xi cannot rule 1.4 billion Chinese with a defected creed. They want to want Taiwan more than we want….
When first hearing about this I flashed to the movie scene “my father assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract”.
A country is usually pillaged by the victor, not by its defender. Unless …
Churchill signed land lease agreement. He used the US to save him from defeat, but he paid the price. Churchill II will pay the price too.
Trump is the businessman. He clearly doesn’t want to repeat Afghanistan again. After Afghanistan was abandoned by US, China took over and extract minerals. This time Trump grab the Ukraine’s mineral resources early. He won’t let anybody including European come for mineral resources. This is for US, other problems are for European to clean.
Boris Johnson, UK prime minister destroyed peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine and started the Ukraine war. Europe and NATO enlargement up to Russian border are responsible for the war. They want to be peace keeper in Ukraine. No way. They are the trouble maker. Just look at the history. Where did European and NATO made peace in any part of the world?
Always war.
The UK has no military to speak of, but they have the most venal intelligence service in the world, always false-flagging and instigating. 10:1 they were behind the Crocus theater attack. To think that we’re in the Five Eyes with those bastards. Shameful. If Trump could disconnect Five Eyes, it would be great.
Are you anti-James Bond?
Love the Bond films. Also Matt Helm (Dean Martin). I wish the UK government were what Hollywood shows.
The villains are better too.
You really do write some bollocks, engage brain before hitting keyboard.
I’m not against the UK. The Brits brought many good things to the world including Common Law and the rule of law generally. India, countries in Africa, the US have court systems and property rights because of England. It’s a rich culture and language. The Brits should be proud. The problem is that as their influence has waned, the government uses MI6 to retain relevance by shady schemes, often to manipulate the US into doing what they want. Like Mossad.
The legal system in the West comes from the Roman Empire.
But look how good they were (are) at producing spies for the Soviet Union (Russia
My wife says I am polyanna, but I truly believe both sides are about tired of war. I am 95% in agreement with Ben Franklin who said “There is no such thing as a good war or a bad peace.” If the minerals could fund a big part of Ukraine’s rebuild … that would be great. Maybe being $36T in debt … this is a good time for us to stop funding a war (that we could end) and a good time to not put ourselves on the hook to pay for the rebuild. Europe is now rattling their sabres (which is a joke) … but let them create this military might they keep talking about. They don’t have the willingness to commit the needed funds … so it is likely all virtue signaling … but I welcome NOT being the one who picks up the tab (in human lives and $s) for the world’s wars.
“Q: When? A: Now”
Nope. The war will continue. Trump promised a peace treaty, but there are powers above him that won’t allow it. Not gonna happen.
Check out Judge Napolitano’s latest videos on YT.
It’s not going to end yet because Russia needs to – at least – finish taking control of the four new oblasts. Plus any interlopers sent by any NATO country will need to get blowed up.
A wise man once said:
So Zelensky/Ukraine or whomever on the planet for that matter can sign whatever deal they want with Trump and simply refuse to honor it either when it conveniences them or after Trump leaves office and claim it was done under duress. That’s the global playbook now for dealing with the U.S. under Trump. Just “agree” to whatever nonsense then delay on implementation until he’s gone then fail to honor just like Trump.
Trump has set a new (low) bar where no nation on earth needs to abide by any agreement, treaty or other contract. It will take decades to re-establish that trust after he leaves office.
That in a nutshell is the story of Trump’s life. Do things to cause the masses to perceive a grievance and light it on fire. Trump is an arsonist who yells fire after causing the fire.
As if the EUropeans+UK and the previous Biden administration haven’t been doing EXACTLY THE SAME… Minsk 1 and 2 and the Istanbul accords ring a bell?!?
As Putin famously said (and that was *before Trump*): “The West is agreement incapable and an Empire of Lies”.
[1D] ES, since Dec 17 ES plunged until Dec 20 low. Jan 10 closed > Dec 20 low. Yesterday (Feb 27) closed > Dec 20 low. The stock market is a casino. CSPAN will never know what will happen next.
This ignores the fact that the US is hegemonic. Other nations flout the will of the US at their own peril. This is not to say that those nations will suffer war or regime change (wink, wink), but harsh economic pressure can always be brought to bear cheaply and easily — threats even more cheaply and easily.
EU’s puny little army will take up position so that Ukraine can divert resources to the offensive. Neither Russians nor Ukrainians will honor the cease fire. The most important result is USA stops paying for the war. Europe pays or loses its ‘army’.
Road to peace is getting paved with economics.
Ukraine may end up having something in common with Russia which would be making some bucks. Certainly going to need mola to rebuild that which has been destroyed.
Ending a War which never should have happened.
Permanently Neutral Ukraine would end the Killing.
Some similarity to rebuild of Gaza in approach process.
This is what I call WINNING! Great deal for the US – we help them rebuild and get much needed minerals in return! Good deal for the people of Ukraine! Bad deal of Europe (who cares). Good deal for Russia.
Reparations? We just gave Ukraine a metric ton of money.
Trump can threaten Russia with weapons for Ukraine?
That would require him to pass a bill through Congress for more billions for the Ukraine war. If he did so, he would lose support from a LARGE portion of his base and his fringe base including people like me. I do not think that is a realistic possibility
And Russia will under NO circumstances accept European “peacekeepers”. In which case they are not peacekeepers but war troops who will be obliterated. And then Trump will have to send US forces?
He will have destroyed his presidency if he does that
Bannon of all people has the idea, just get out
The US has few spare arms to send to Ukraine and Russia can continue to out produce the US.
As for sanctions, sure Putin would like them to end, but not desperately so.
And Russia can develop the minerals in the Donbas with little US involvement.
It’s Ukraine itself that will be desperate for US investment to develop its minerals.
Russia decides, and Trump needs to offer a good deal to get Russia to agree.
Agree. This isn’t over until the fat lady sings. Lavrov just stated that there was no discussion for European (NATO) forces to be peace keepers. Russia is doing fine. They have friends in China, India and a zillion other countries that hate our guts. Mish, you are celebrating too soon.
The Trump card that Trump gave Putin is that if Zelensky signs this agreement, Trump stated they will be protected by what? Of course, US soldiers like the oil fields in Syria. So, we are getting a toe in Ukraine.
Putin would be best to continue fighting and stretch these talks for four more years. Trump just extended the Russian sanctions another year. Screw him. If I was Putin, I’d go for it all and divide Western Ukraine with a peace deal with Romania, Poland and Slovakia that all are on Ukraine’s western border and can’t wait to get that Western Ukrainian land!
And whereever you are, Midnight … 10 year is down to 4.25. What Trump wants, Trump gets. Its the nature of the autocrat.
Its the Kamala Krash!
4.22
This just isnt the America I thought I belonged to. When the US Army defeated Hitler, we didnt ask the Europeans to pay for it after their countries had been destroyed. So now we are just mercenaries, who believe in nothing, no ethics, no morals, nothing to teach the kids in school about American exceptionalism. We are nothing but guns for hire.
So now Ukraine is akin to occupied France? Tell me about the graft in Ukraine. Gimmie a break.
There arent good dictators and bad dictators. They are all the same.
You mean like Joe Biden in his CIA and Neocon controlled US Empire? The one who tried to force an untested medical shot into everyone in the country? The one who destroyed the Rule of Law and tried to imprison his political opponent and then the CIA tried to kill him as they are doing in Romania and had tried in Slovakia as well? And I could go on. It was telling when Biden asked Trump “Why did you move your head?”
Fox News claptrap
Fox News is part of the CIA Network. I watch zero of it.
Faux News is organized media to counter the Leftists. All garbage news.
Funny how fox is considered “conservative “….come on Murdock fired tucker Carlson for being truth telling conservative….Sean Hannity on the other hand bowed down and boot licked when told to stop reporting on Seth rich murder…went from aggressive reporting to never mentioning his name again…
That’s what happens during demographic death spirals. Ask your favorite AI chatbot what happens during demographic death spirals and you will see some enlightening information…and recognize many parallels.
“So now we are just mercenaries, who believe in nothing, no ethics, no morals, nothing to teach the kids in school about American exceptionalism. We are nothing but guns for hire.”
Smedly Butler wrote about this a few years back. Just because it’s new to you doesn’t make it a new phenomenon.
“We are nothing but guns for hire.”
Also, this is false. The U.S. is also a supplier and dealer.
US helped Europe post war reconstruction. Germany and Europe prosper under NATO led by US for 75+ years. I mean 75+ years.US paid most of the expense. Now US is in debt – 36 trillions and nearly bankrupt. Do you think Europeans are toddlers? How much do you want to help more?
Oh we made them pay for it.
After WWII ended, the US was the only country left with any manufacturing. So US companies rebuilt Europe and Japan and made fortunes doing so. It’s why the US ran the greatest surplus the world has ever known for a couple of decades after WWII ended.
What’s about to happen in Ukraine is nothing different than what happened then.
Through out history Victor’s have extracted spoils from the defeated thats were saying “to the victors belong the spoils”…somehow we only country must fund war and pay reconstruction…all on the backs of overburdened dwindling number net taxpayer….thankfully trump cares about American interest….zelensky found out today he is not dealing with the corrupt biden pushovers no longer
The US not only collected ALL of their dues from “lend-lease” from the Soviet Union and the UK but GREATLY profited post-war by being the ONLY intact industrial power. That’s how it became the superpower that has been since then.
Also, Europe didn’t have the natural resources that Ukraine has…
This is nothing new and the US has never been exceptional in anything but its arrogance and hubris. Thank God that’s coming to an end…
Agreed with the first half. The US has been exceptional in many technological endeavors. The steam engine, the light bulb, the telephone, refrigeration, the assembly line, the transistor, the internet. We were the first country to pretend to put a man on the moon.
“the telephone”
Antonio Meucci would like to have a word… 😉
“We were the first country to pretend to put a man on the moon.”
Bravo, standing ovation!
Due to natural resources, the U.S. being insulated from European conflicts, and decline of European superpowers, the rise of the U.S. began in the late 19th century and superpower status was inevitable prior to WWII.
“being insulated from European conflicts, and decline of European superpowers”
Which is basically what I said.
And while it’s true that the rise of the US as a superpower was inevitable because of its resources and its human capital (of the same European stock and of roughly equal number BUT economically, politically and linguistically united) it was the two World Wars to rapidly and greatly weaken the European powers and rapidly strengthen the US and allowed the USA to seize the moment of total pre-eminence and occupy Europe militarily, politically, economically and even culturally ensuring that no real European power(s) capable of challenging the US would ever be able to rise again.
Let’s remember the number of military bases the US is keeping to this day (80 years after the end of WWII) in supposedly friendly and allied countries, let’s remember the real purpose of NATO (in the first NATO Secretary General’s very own words “NATO’s purpose is to keep the Americans in, Russia out and Germany down”), let’s remember how the Americans scuttled Italy’s plan to get its SouthStream, let’s remember how the Americans (and it all always was a bi-partisan effort!) went to great lenghts to do the same to NordStream (they even sanctioned “sovereign” German entities, look it up) and when Germany (Europe’s biggest power) finally managed to build it they blew it up at the first occasion before it was even fully operational. If there ever was a good reason for any NATO country to invoke article 5 that was it…
Examples are endless.
Basically what you said? No, it isn’t.
WWI was a war of attrition between the fading superpower and others . U.S. economic supremacy was in effect by the 1920s.
The conflicts I was alluding to were 1868-1914 period (sorry i didn’tstate that plainly) , then into WWI ‘set the sun’, if you will, on a global British Empire and kneecapped German aspiration. WWII didn’t cause U.S. hegemony, but did entrench it.
Your second paragraph is a non-sequiter, but to that end I don’t think most forget the extensive military presence the U.S. has in foreign lands.
Then no, we are not in agreement. Until the two World Wars the European powers were THE all-around global powers, the US wasn’t.
If WWI and WWII never happened the US, in time, would have still become a global superpower but Europe (with access to the Russian natural resources, which Russia has always been reliably willing to sell to Europe even at the height of the Cold War) would have continued to be another, and Russia itself another still (which in fact it was even going through the wars and suffering a huge lot…).
World history would have been much different. The World Wars have been a boon for the US, that’s undisputable.
Russia couldn’t handle Japan before WWI.
Britain was still a global power, but there certainly weren’t any other global European powers. The U.S. was on par with Britain economically had been expanding its empire before WWI.
I worte that the U.S. benefitted from the global conflicts, why bother writing that the boon is indisputable?
“Russia couldn’t handle Japan before WWI.”
When Japan treacherously attacked (without declaring war first, which was a big shock at the time) Russia was already facing a revolt in Poland and was internally in turmoil (The Russian Revolution of 1905 happened during the war with Japan) and throughout the war maintained a bigger army in Poland than the one sent to face the Japanese since the territories involved there were much less important for the Empire than Central Europe.
And by the way, while Russia lost that war, the victory was so costly for Japan and the Japanese lost so many more soldiers than the Russians that the General in command, Nogi Maresuke, committed suicide (and his wife too!).
“Britain was still a global power, but there certainly weren’t any other global European powers.”
France too had colonies all around the world, many of which retained almost to this day (they were just recently evicted by most of their African ex-colonies by the Russians).
Oh and by the way, talking about global empires and navies, during the American Civil War, both London and Paris supported the South with the intent of breaking up the US and “balkanize” it preventing the rise of the powerful behemoth which was clear that a united USA was going to become. Zar Alexander II sent the Russian navy both to the American East and West Coasts to signal to the British and the French that he would not have allowed help and supplies from Europe to the Confederates.
“I worte that the U.S. benefitted from the global conflicts, why bother writing that the boon is indisputable?”
Because it doesn’t look like it’s clear to you that If WWI and WWII never happened the US and Russia (in the form of the Soviet Union) wouldn’t have been the only two global superpowers for the decades to come. Europe would have continued to be a superpower too, and one not occupied by and subjugated to the USA like it was at the end of WWII.
Unless you want to march on Moscow you will have to settle for something resembling the Korean peninsula.
We were not 36 trillion in debt denial after ww2…amazed how many want continue the madness…trump trying to get us out of mercenary business save lives…mitch McConnell even stated when the Ukrainian grifter was receiving one of his aid packages that all this war profitering is benefiting 38 states who provide military hardware Ukraine…beautiful willing to kill 100s of thousands to support military industrial complex…
below, you will see Judge Napolitano present a deeply disturbing fresh clip from a Trump press briefing to his guest, Colonel Douglas Macgregor. Many of you may recall that Macgregor was a military adviser to Trump during his first term. This segment confirms what has been warned about, yet quite a few members of the commentariat seem unwilling to accept: that the Ukraine minerals deal, if consummated, will commit the US to involvement in and therefore support of Ukraine.
Put it another way, there’s no value to this arrangement, and high embarrassment to Trump, if peace negotiations fail (perhaps more accurately, fail even to get started). Russia will continue to eat up Ukraine and may eventually occupies Western Ukraine. Even if the expressed intent is simply to assure a Russia friendly regime in whatever territory Russia deems to be rump Ukraine, Trump will look like a fool and/or powerless. https://www.youtube.com/live/svq55tP3MCM?si=UcPTrfSYmTrVyAKm
Hopefully he is trying to get Zelensky to reject it so he can reject Zelensky. We shall see in the coming days.
Word is that Z already signed over mineral rights to the UK to get their worthless 100 year security pledge. Now he wants to sell the same rights to Trump for an even worthlesser security pledge. That midget’s got some brass balls. Hopefully whoever wins an election there (Zaluzhny?) will repudiate any agreements signed by Zelenskyyyyy after his term ended last year. Trump’s already called him a dictator; if he’s illegitimate, all agreements should null and void.
Zaluzhny is a Banderist. So that will not work. Every time Zaluzhny appeared in a picture, there was a photo of Bandera over his shoulder.
Zaluzhny is a Nazi fanatic. Same garbage as Zelensky. Ukraine needs a pragmatic leader that can make Ukraine independent like Switzerland used to be. Also, this moderate needs the help of the Russian intelligence to finish off the Banderists so they don’t create chaos again. The Russians will kill them or send them off to Siberian work camps until their useless old men.
Russia can conquer the whole Ukraine but if that happen anti-Russia sentiment will be very high and it will be very difficult to rule even with Russia friendly Ukraine government. For Russia, it will be best to let it in current status. US and Europe support the Ukraine war and now they abandon Ukrainian. Ukrainians are helpless and no gratitude to US and Europeans.
Current status isn’t adequate for Russia. They need to get full control of all of Zaporozhye, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk. Those oblasts all held referenda and have been incorporated into the Russia Federation. Russia will not cede any part of those four oblasts.
Russia should push for Odessa and Kharkov. Russia needs to get a hold of the Black Sea in order to prevent NATO fanatics from causing problems in that arena. I read that Russia would then have to do a major conscription to have the troops to do this and the country totally get in a war mood. Let it be.