Yesterday, Trump paused all military aid to Ukraine after a disastrous meeting with Zelensky last Friday. Now what? 
U.S. Pauses All Military Aid to Ukraine
Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reported U.S. Pauses All Military Aid to Ukraine
The U.S. will pause all military aid to Kyiv until President Trump determines that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is making a good-faith effort toward peace negotiations with Russia, according to a White House official.
“The president has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution,” a White House official said in a statement.
The White House didn’t announce under what conditions the U.S. would resume military aid, which drew from U.S. stockpiles, or whether it would be at the same pace. While there isn’t a clear understanding of what Washington wants from Kyiv, the move was the most demonstrative shift yet from Ukraine’s once top ally.
A senior administration official said all of Trump’s top national security advisers agreed with the decision to pause the aid after several meetings on the issue. Trump, enraged by Zelensky’s comments that he thought the end of the war was far away, felt the need to show he was serious about getting Ukraine to the peace table.
“The Ukrainians didn’t think we were serious,” the administration official said. “We had to make a demonstration.”
The official said Trump would decide what constitutes Ukraine showing that it is serious about peace talks, adding that it is unclear whether Zelensky signing a rare-minerals deal sought by the Trump administration would be enough to restart arms deliveries.
Trump on Monday said Zelensky should be “more appreciative because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin.” A proposed mineral-rights deal between the U.S. and Ukraine would provide Kyiv with added security—even without explicit U.S. defense guarantees sought by Zelensky—because the U.S. would have a “presence there,” Trump said.
He lashed out at Zelensky for saying the war with Russia was likely to continue for some time. “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” Trump wrote on his social-media platform Truth Social, using the different spelling of the Ukrainian leader’s name.
Trump-Zelensky Meeting Implodes, Trump Says “Come Back When You Want Peace”
On Friday, I commented Trump-Zelensky Meeting Implodes, Trump Says “Come Back When You Want Peace”
Put a minerals’ deal with Ukraine temporarily on hold, but Zelensky “has no cards”.
Plenty of Blame to Share
At the meeting, Zelensky tried to pressure Trump to militarily enforce peace. Vice President J.D. Vance then blasted Zelensky and the signing blew up.
This was supposed to be a rah-rah signing, instead it turned into a contentious media circus. There is plenty of blame to share for the fiasco. That is something I failed to mention.
And why wasn’t Secretary of State Marco Rubio there instead of Vice President J.D. Vance? The meeting would have been smoother with Rubio. [ Edit – Rubio was there but silent]
Note to deal signers: Work out an agreement in advance and short statements in advance. Don’t make stupid comments about continuing war in a peace deal, and don’t try to get more at the signing than you agreed to.
European Leaders Renew Support for Ukraine
On March 1, NPR reported European Leaders Renew Support for Ukraine after Zelenskyy’s Stormy Meeting with Trump
Volodymyr Zelenskyy got a warm welcome in London on Saturday as leaders across Europe rallied to his defense on the heels of an extraordinary Oval Office clash in which President Trump accused the Ukrainian leader of “gambling with World War III.”
French President Emmanuel Macron was among the most pointed in his public statements, distinguishing between what he called the “aggressor” — Russia — and the “victim” — Ukraine. He said that countries including France that had helped Ukraine and sanctioned Russia three years ago after its February 2022 invasion were “right” to continue to do so.
France’s prime minister, François Bayrou, praised Zelenskyy as the honor of Europe for “refusing to bend,” despite the televised criticism he faced from both Vance and Trump. “It remains for us to decide what we Europeans want to be,” Bayrou wrote, in light of the new Trump administration’s impact on Europe’s defense. “And if we want to be at all.”
Meanwhile, the Eiffel Tower was lit up on Friday night in the Ukrainian flag colors of blue and yellow.
The European Union’s most powerful leader, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, told Zelenskyy in a message posted on social media on Friday that his “dignity honors the bravery of the Ukrainian people,” adding an encouragement that he “be strong, be brave, be fearless,” and concluding “you are never alone.”
I read that and thought. So what? What is Ukraine going to do without the US?
I did not think European solidarity changed anything. And that turns out to be correct.
Zelensky Calls Trump Clash ‘Regrettable’, Says ‘Time to Make Things Right’
Today we learn Zelensky Calls Trump Clash ‘Regrettable’, Says ‘Time to Make Things Right’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he regretted last week’s extraordinary Oval Office clash with Donald Trump and wanted to “make things right“, adding that Kyiv was ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible.
In a fulsome statement issued a day after Trump halted military aid to Ukraine, Zelenskiy said he was ready to sign “any time and in any convenient format” a deal giving the United States access to Ukrainian minerals. He had left the deal on the table when he abandoned a visit to Washington after an Oval Office argument with Trump on Friday.
The statement made no mention of the pause in U.S. military supplies, the latest move by Trump to upend U.S. policy on Ukraine and adopt a more conciliatory stance towards Russia.
But the statement was clearly aimed at stressing Kyiv’s gratitude amid the fallout from the explosive confrontation at the White House on Friday, during which Trump and Vice President JD Vance upbraided Zelensky for being insufficiently appreciative of U.S. backing and their efforts to end the war.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said afterwards that Zelenskiy should apologise.
“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence,” Zelenskiy wrote. “Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right.”
Zelenskiy outlined a path towards a peace agreement, which he said could begin with a release of prisoners and a halt to air and sea attacks, if Russia did the same.
“Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the U.S. to agree a strong final deal.“
The Kremlin, for its part, said cutting off military aid to Ukraine was the best possible step towards peace, although it was still waiting to confirm Trump’s move.
France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayou was sharply critical of Trump’s move.
“Suspending aid during a war to a country under attack means abandoning the country under attack and accepting or hoping that the aggressor will win,” he said during a parliamentary debate.Ukrainians, who have endured three years of war against a more powerful foe, were stunned by a move many described as a betrayal. Oleksandr Merezhko, head of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said it looked like Trump was “pushing us towards capitulation”.
“Yes, it is betrayal, let’s call it like it is,” said lawyer Olena Bilova, 47 in Kyiv. “But let’s hope that American civil society and the elites of the European Union will not leave us alone.”
Meaningless EU Solidarity
Regrettable is a huge understatement. As I stated, all sides made huge mistakes, ruining what should have been a great signing moment.
EU solidarity is meaningless as the lead chart suggests. And now Rubio demands an apology.
It should not have been this way.
When you are losing territory, greatly outnumbered, and struggling to find soldiers, maybe it is time to rethink strategy and save what you can..
Weird use of a term “bilateral aid” in the first chart.
What does “bilateral aid” mean?
Looks like military aid to me. If we don’t like the word military, how about just “aid”?
What is “bilateral” doing in there?
Regardless of what you think of Trump, Zelensky demonstrated his diplomatic incompetence, and advertised potential incompetence elsewhere. It’s not as if he has any kind of serious background to be in the position that he is, Ukraine deserves better than a literal clown for leader.
Maybe ask yourself why the Ukrainians elected him in the first place. Perhaps as commentary on the previous crop of leaders inserted by the US, thanks to the global genius Bidum, and Nuland.
Lots of unsubstantiated stuff on here about the US deep state. Howabout some facts.
Pressure on Ukraine
Pressure on Putin
Surely if Trump actually wanted Peace he would be putting pressure on both sides.
So is this really
The US has been the leader of the free world for the last 80 years. Nobody outside the US sees it that way anymore.
Disagree
Trump understands Putin’s red lines and he has not ruled out weapons to Ukraine.
True. However Ukraine surely has red lines too. Which include having a US backed military threat. Think through the proposed US involvement of having mineral miners on the ground. Yes this may well stop Russia from launching a full out attack but their modus operandi is to use plausible deniability, which means the “little green men” in Crimea or drone attacks and claiming they were false flag attacks. At some point they use these as an excuse to rescue fellow countrymen or remove terrorists.
In order to get all parties to agree, the US needs to step up with a military threat. I know that plays badly to your libetarian inclination (totally respected) – however I think the reality is that we will not see people round the table unil there is more of a threat on Putin.
At the moment we seem to be heading for Europe standing on its own with Ukraine which would be a total disaster and political shit show. At that point I worry that Ukraine goes nuclear (which they have ample material and know how for).
Trump made clear in that Oval Office meeting that he was not on anyone’s side, and I believe him. I do not think that he is on Ukraine’s side or Russia’s side, but Trump understands leverage, and Russia has Nukes, thus has leverage in Trump’s equation. Ukraine does not have Nukes and is dependent upon “the West,” thus having “no cards to play,” as Trump likes to say. Trump has no ideological loyalty; therefore, he will always act transactional, and in a transactional negotiation, what is right or wrong does not come into play; it is simply who has the most leverage. I am not saying this in a complimentary way toward Trump. This mindset is why I believe that Trump is the most unfit person in the history of our country to hold the office of the Presidency. Nixon was morally and ethically challenged in many ways, but he did share many of the core principles that our leaders have governed by; Trump does not.
I’m not so sure about Trump not having sides. I think he hates Zelensky starting from the phone call in his first term. However, that is only speculation.
I think you are right. In reality Ukraine is a long way from the US and what does the US really gain from supporting it. More to the point what does Trump get from it. So I suspect we are heading to a rather dark place in Europe.
The most inept president was Biden. The mess in Ukraine is 100% his doing.
Why pressure Russia when you want them onside against China? A better idea would be to end US Russia-phobia once and for all. Maybe invite Russia as a member in the EU/NATO. as useless as they are. Meanwhile, Trump keeps options open.
Pressure Ukraine by all means–they are incompetent and corrupt.Make them an independent/unaligned state and assist in rebuilding. More war will not end well.
This is all about the US and Saudi’s stealing the nat gas business from Russia. Thats it. I don’t want to hear about this Democracy horsepoop. Biden blew up the Nordstream2 and now we are boating nat gas to Europe. High carbon footprint
I concur… it’s particularly egregious to hear unelected eurocrats like Von der Leyen spout drivel as if they have some kind of mandate to spend the money of the citizens of the member states and drag them into a war that nobody can afford. The whole thing seems like a great geam of geopolitical jockeying for position over energy and minerals, with the backdrop of a future conflict between an imploding CCP-controlled China and it’s fellow Bond-villain countries, and the “white man” “West”.
From Day 1 I have been trying to figure out why the U.S. has an interest in supporting a corrupt SH country like Ukraine. Could it be that the metals and natural resources were the reason all along? Lindsey G seems to be saying yes.
Kaja Kalas of Estonia, current EU foreign minister, talked recently about splitting up Russia into smaller countries. She didn’t just pluck that idea out of the air. It’s been bouncing around places like RAND Corporation for years. And it’s not like Russia doesn’t know that. It’s not about Ukrainian resources. It was about using a war between Ukraine and Russia to “weaken Russia” as Lloyd Austin said. It was an attempt to enact regime change in Russia. Biden said that out loud at the start of the war. “Putin must go.” The West wants a compliant stooge in charge of Russia – or, better yet, several countries cut out of the Russian Federation. It’s not about Ukrainian resources. It’s about Russian resources.
Trump’s a fool who insists on transparently engaging in a fool’s errand. He’s doing his best to destroy America, Ukraine and NATO. How much in untraceable gold bars would Putin pay to make sure Trump doesn’t send weapons to Ukraine? How much would Putin pay to damage the economies of the West. He’ll pay a lot. And Trump has chased money all his life. Trump tried to overthrow the American government in 2021, so he’d do anything. We know he pays bribes, but would he take a bribe in untraceable gold.
Trump is probably in deep debt to Russian oligarchs who are threatening to kill him unless he does a “little” favor for Putin.
That’s rich considering some element within the U.S. Deep State tried twice (so far) to kill him because he wouldn’t continue the impossible project of Ukraine trying to defeat Russia – a county that now has 6 or 7 times the population of Ukraine and immeasurably more weaponry – including the world’s largest nuclear arsenal.
Jeff and Jojo sounds like the two cheeks of the Democrat policy foghorn – farting rancid discredited old ideas into cyberspace.
More high-level critical thinking. I’m impressed.
Putin, Putin, Putin…does he live rent-free in your head? Here’s the plain truth – Russia has no interest, desire or capacity to roll into Europe and take it over. The reason d’etre for NATO disappeared once the Soviet Bloc. The only thing NATO is doing is filling the pockets of a few – the continued gravy train is why NATO is so vociferously defended publicly. Ukraine is being destroyed because Zelensky is a corrupt puppet who is doing what he is told to do to keep that special gravy train running. NO ONE in power gives a shi!t about common Ukrainians or the Ukraine itself except as means to get what they want – regime change change in Russia so they can exploit the vast natural wealth of that country too.
“The West led Ukraine down the primrose path and encouraged it to confront Russia, with disastrous results.” John Mearsheimer said more than 10 years ago. European are still not happy.
So, let me guess. All of the Trump haters on Mishtalk are going to find a way to blame Trump for holding firm and potentially pushing Z closer to a deal. At least Trump is in the game. Brandon was on vacation and couldn’t even figure out where Ukraine is on a world map.
What deal….sign away mining rights for 50% of the profits and no new weapons or support or protection. That was not a good deal and just more TrumpSpeak with lots of noise and meaningless acrimony.
we GAVE, not lent, Ukraine over 300 billion, thats billion with a B, not million dollars. we could reasonably ask for those minerals for nothing, since we’ve already given them 300 billion dollars.
But we are not asking them to give them to us, we are trying to make a permanent deal, to have an economic interest in the Ukraine.
If you don’t understand a permanent interest means it will be protected and supported, you probably want to switch to the cartoon channel, cause any thing else will be too stressful.
Ukraine cannot and will not defeat Russia no matter how much weaponry we give them. So unless the U.S. wants to fight Russia directly – which even Biden refused to consider and which we will NOT do – Ukraine needs to accede to Russia’s terms before they lose more oblasts than the four and another million men and go into a demographic death spiral. Their women are already in Western Europe bearing children for Italians and Nigerians and Frenchmen. The mineral deal is kind of irrelevant. If the Ukrainians were smart they’d cut an armistice with Russia, fully exit Zaporozhye, Kherson, Lugansk and Donetsk and retain 100% ownership of all resources in what’s left of Ukraine.
Trump holds the cards. With luck, Zelensky might survive assassination.
I don’t know if you have experience making deals, but I do. There are two ways to make deals. One uses coercion, and the other uses finding common ground and mutual benefit. One uses coercion when the agreement is purely transactional, and the driving motivation is winning; the different types of negotiation involve common values and a long-term relationship where the motivation is to find a win/win outcome. Donald Trump only knows one kind of deal: a transactional agreement where leverage and coercion lead to a winning outcome.
Ukraine has zero leverage against Russia or the U.S.
You are exactly right! But Ukraine should not need leverage to bargain for our support. Our support is fundamental to who we are as the most significant economic and military democratic superpower in the world. We built the free world through example and hard and soft power. This has made the U.S. the shining city on the hill and the indispensable nation.
What a load of crap. The US is $37 trillion in debt, and can’t balance it’s budget–ie headed to bankruptcy.
As a general rule, when you give something away, its value is ZERO! All it does is bring more countries with their hands out.
Know Trump personally, do you? Seen him in the Boardroom?
What kind of ‘deals’ did Biden make?
Zelensky is a kleptomaniac who has stolen hundreds of millions or billions from the hundreds of billions Biden sent to Ukraine. America needs to follow George Washington’s wise advice to avoid foreign entanglements.
Ukraine’s done pretty well against Russia. 10,000 tanks destroyed, 20,000 armored vehicles destroyed, 35,000 trucks destroyed, hundreds of thousands of dead or maimed Russian soldiers, 370 jets destroyed, 230 helicopters destroyed. It goes on an on. Ukraine has degraded the vaunted Russian military.
And Ukraine has proven that “the vaunted Russian military” was actually a paper tiger, another reason that both Putin and Trump hate Zelensky.
that makes no sense…..
well they did have lots of us and british weapons systems and training, which Russia did not.
Jeff: Yes, congrats. The hundreds of thousands or dead Ukrainian soldiers can take that to heart.
Ukraine has done well. eh? I guess all that Western European and especially American money, material, and intelligence had very little to do with it…
Seriously? Why are Ukrainian troops being pushed back?
Trump has stolen $billions form all the customers of his business he has cheated over the years. And now he is stealing from the citizens of the USA. Bet on it.
Why do you and other insist on painting Trump as some uniquely corrupt creature? How much corruption has existed in Washington DC over the past decades that no one seems to care about?
Take off your blinders and see the real world.
That didn’t take long.
I’m not following what you’re saying, Mish? “It should not have been this way”? I’m tired of funding wars.
France’s Prime Minister Francois Bayou was sharply critical of Trump’s move.
“Suspending aid during a war to a country under attack means abandoning the country under attack…”
Not if it brings a rapid end to the war. It will end the killing. At Christmas 1914, the warring troops held an impromptu Christmas truce. However, the political leaders and generals didn’t want the war to end. “Some 8,500,000 soldiers died as a result of wounds or disease during World War I. Perhaps as many as 13,000,000 civilians also died.” Was that worth it, when it lead to WW2? Imagine if the impromptu truce had caused the governmental leaders to reconsider the foolishness they were doing, after the murder of 2 people, Archduke Ferdinand and his wife.
The War in Ukraine after three years of destruction, $200 billion of U.S. taxpayer funds wasted and over 700,000 Ukrainian dead.
And then…The Ukranian Kill List.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9MVoS1iYNE&t=1s
I think it went exactly as planned. I suspect this was a well-rehearsed “Apprentice” moment.
Probably another “Apprentice” moment was Elon Musk’s DOGE pitch at Trump’s cabinet meeting. In this way Trump manipulated his cabinet.
Trump understands how to amuse, distract and persuade the masses, just as FDR understood how to use radio with his “fireside chats.” Both understood the importance of going over the heads of the press corps, Congress and even his own appointees. We can expect more of this.
The Democrats don’t watch reality TV, WBO boxing, etc. Therefore, they don’t understand how to reach the masses. I wish it wasn’t so, but dumbing down the message is necessary to avoid coming across as elitist.
Neil Postman’s vision in his 1970’s-era book Amusing Ourselves to Death has come true.
“Note to deal signers: Work out an agreement in advance and short statements in advance.”
I made my living as a negotiator. This is exceptionally good advice. A term sheet or “heads of agreement” is an essential step in working toward agreement. I advised this hundreds of times.
But nobody ever listened. I will leave it to you to consider why that is. 😎
Has Donald Trump ever negotiated anything without threats and/or manufactured leverage by holding something of importance hostage? I have mediated and negotiated many business matters, and I cannot remember when I ever heavily relied upon threats and/or “hostage-taking” to bring two parties together. Yes, all negotiations contain a certain amount of give-and-take, but leading with threats and hostage-taking is usually a sign that the threatening party implicitly has a weak hand or very poor negotiating skills.
Zelensky had no cards but acted like he did expecting he could bullshit Trump like he bullshiited Biden and the Europeans. The stakes are way too high for niceties and time is short. Many lives hang in the balance and Zelensky was playing around.
No, he had cards and he had a pot of chips on the table he was playing for, and Mish missed it.
What he missed is there is $250 billion in seized Russian assets on the table that Europe wants and it does not get that money if the Ukraine war comes to an end. The solidarity in Europe comes with stealing that money.
So Zelensky has his spat and goes right to the EU who sing his praises. All of Europe hails Zelensky and trashes Trump. Democrats trash Trump because that is their mission in life and even Mish gets in on it with his negative comments about Vance.
So the goal was to created a wedge between Congressional Republicans and Trump and to create another wedge between the public and Trump, and the cards played obviously failed.
Remember the UK stopped peace before and those British scumbags were at it again. This was the plan of UK PM Keir Starmer. Zelensky just stupidly went along with it.
Did you notice how everyone yells at Trump and Putin while the British scum, the people responsible for so many deaths, walk away clean?
the british infiltrated the us state department prior to world war II, and have been quite deft in influencing policies and decisions every since.
what better than use a colonies resources without having to spend the time,money and effort controlling the population?
simply control the government, and do it quietly.
And he wasn’t dressed right either ; )
he just wears whatever Central Costuming says is appropriate for the script and role. Its in his Ukraine Actors Guild contract.
Zelensky should not need “cards.” Just like Britain did not need cards in 1941, Britain needed ships and planes. Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Poland did not have cards, and look what happened when their more prominent democratic allies left them hanging out to dry. This all is not a business deal; it is a decision to defend shared values against a belligerent authoritarian nation that is the ideological natural enemy of the free world.
This time Trump did what he needed to do. Ukraine had no leverage and misread the situation. If anything blame Biden for setting the expectation that the U S was easy pickings.
What other plan was out there? Warring forever ain’t a plan.
Hmmm, I have never needed to “leverage’ my friends or family. This is what you miss. The U.S. has always made the right foreign policy decisions when guided by shared values. We have almost always failed when decisions are made more transactional, such as the concept of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
This is not a topic I would be ‘both-sides’-ing.
Zelenskyy messed up big time. Considering he has already lied in trade talks before, why should anyone believe what he says now? Fool me once.
Ukraine needs to make peace with Russia, but frankly I was glad that the mineral deal with Zelensky didn’t go through.
Its yet another sell out of Ukraine, and I think that part is a huge mistake. I don’t think Zelensky is someone who actually gives a damn about real Ukrainians, but the whole mineral deal fiasco is just a scheme for Western big business to steal more resources out of Ukraine.
Surely others can see this. Surely Ukrainians can see this.
Of course everyone knows that. It’s up to Ukraine to make sure many of the Western businesses end up on the east border with Russia.
If there’s so much opportunity why hasn’t Ukraine already done something to take advantage of it?
ist very much easier to smuggle out suitcases of cash, than train cars full of rare earth ores.
Trump knows that Zelensky already sold those same mineral rights to the UK to get their 100 year security pledge.
Just saw a headline that Trump is announcing a minerals deal with Z tonight. If actual, that was quick.
I can’t understand why the left wants to help Ukraine when they didn’t want to help South Vietnam.
Today’s left is not the left of yesteryear for sure. Leftys of today love big gov. I’ve held firm in my detest of government and war.
Because intelligent people recognize the danger of Putin. Also, Americans often standby the little guy and Ukraine is the little guy in this parable. It was Ukraine that was attacked.
It was Ukraine that wanted to join NATO and put American nuclear weapons on Russia’s doorstep. Russia has a right to defend itself, just like the USA does. We don’t have a right to destroy Russia or put nuclear weapons on their border, unless you’d like Russia to have nuclear weapons in Canada and Mexico.
We attacked Russia in 1962 for putting missiles in Cuba, and we would have gone to war with them had they not backed down. So Russia is just doing what we did as they don’t want missiles in their back yard. Had Ukraine backed down from joining NATO, Putin would not have attacked. They were warned not to join NATO more than 15 years ago but for some reason the powers that be ignored them.
I keep saying Trump is always negotiating. And it’s still working. Mexico and Canada will soon cave on trade too 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Nobody tells the US what they are going to do. We have the consumers, we print the money, we buy stupid crap we don’t need, we have resources, warm water ports, thousands of miles of tributaries, farm land. This also includes China. Who else is going to buy their stuff? That would be nobody enough to matter. I respect you Mish but end of the day the US wins any trade, tariff whatever war. Doesn’t matter. Even when we lose we still win. We don’t even fight wars to win the ACTUAL WAR.
“we have the consumers” – Well, we used to have citizens. How far the mighty have fallen.
Agree 100%. We have the consumers. The world finally understands that it’s not resources or production. Just the consumers. If you don’t have stupid greedy consumers you already lost no matter what you do. Who are you going to sell stuff to? Peasants, slave labor? NO.
I’m not proud of it but that is the reality. Chinese are not buying grills, patio furniture, lawn mowers and other lawn and pool crap this spring. Only people in the US by a long shot. Now what? Who is going to buy all this STUFF!!! Oh, it’s me. I win. Thanks for making my stuff. I will buy more of it next year. Thanks for playing.
Now what? Zelenski is kowtowing to Trump and is on his knees attempting to brown nose his way back into Trump’s favor. It’s embarrassing.
Let’s not forget that Ukraine is where it is because of the games that the Biden administration played in holding back needed weapons out of fear of crossing Putin’s many “red lines”. I’m hoping to see some mea culpas from Blinken and Austin on this subject in the future, not that this would help any but for the historical record.
You’ll get mea culpas from Blinken and Austin after Biden scores above 300 on his verbal SATs.
Russia never issued any red lines. Just like they never promised they would conquer Ukraine in 3 days. All western spin.
Ukraine is where it is, because the war was always about what benefited the U.S. government. “F the EU”. “Yats is our guy.” “Ukraine should join NATO,” provoking 2 days before the Russian invasion. Johnson putting the kybash on the April 2022 Russia/Ukraine negotiations.
Five minutes each to Trump and Vance for roughing. Zelenski scores on his own net.
Damn, that’s the best summary I’ve seen of this fracas.
Trump should demand that the piano player wear suit and tie next time, online or in person. The Euro chihuahuas might be fine with sweatshirt, but this disrespectful theatre prop has jumped the shark.
It’s very likely Trump requested Z to wear a suit last Friday. That’s why Trump’s first comment to Z was about Z’s attire.
In Z’s defense, maybe he only has that one stinky green shirt.
its very disappointing, the selection is sparse when you have to buy your clothes in the boy’s department of the Men’s Stores. Also you need something that will hide your 3 inch soles on your shoes, or you look like you need a ladder to put on your shoes.
But don’t you know…he just came from a foxhole, and didn’t have time to change. (He’s a poser, like most politicians.)
“Biden lost his temper, the people familiar with the call (with Zelenskyy) said. The American people were being quite generous, and his administration and the U.S. military were working hard to help Ukraine, he said, raising his voice, and Zelenskyy could show a little more gratitude.” CNN, Oct. 31, 2022
I have to say that I chuckled at all of the “Ukraine supporters” who cheered loudly for Europe’s strong support of Ukraine. They’ve been a drop in the bucket compared to what the US has spent and they are paper tigers. If virtue signaling could win this war, then the European stern faces would have already had Putin surrendering. Unfortunately, virtue signaling has very little impact on Mr. Putin.
As a citizen of the USA, I do fault Zelenskyy for his presumptuous attitude, and reneging on the minerals deal. But I’m also ashamed of our country, since our state department caused the Maidan Color Revolution and installed Zelenskyy as president. I also am ashamed of our prior elected officials and bureaucrats who never had any intention to honor the Minsk Agreements with Russia. The USA is at fault for this whole mess, along with the leaders of the European countries who also lied to the Russians.
Wow someone gets it.
More honorable mentions in the warhawk camp: John McCain, Victoria Nuland and Boris Johnson.
I only regret that I have but one thumbs-up to give to this comment.
Everyone but Zelensky and some Idiot European leaders realize that there’s no military solution to the conflict and that continued resistance will only lead to more dead and possibly WW3. This was a proxy war all along started by the Biden Administration, Ukraine was just a tool . . . its time for the Big Boys to negotiate a settlement . . . Trump is now making that crystal clear to Zelensky, our so-called allies, the Dems and the Deep State . . . US-NATO military intervention will not be part of it. Trump turned up the screws by stopping all funding . . . As Trump said No Cards . . its time to fold . . .
Now if only someone can stop Rubio’s 4 billion dollar emergency shipment to Israel.
https://il.usembassy.gov/military-assistance-to-israel/
I do not know what percentage of Rubio’s shipments are MOABs, but those are a clever way of giving something without actually giving something. Israel has no aircraft big enough to carry MOABs. It’s not as if you can sneak one into a Palestinan tent in the dead of night.
They will sit in warehouses until Israel decides to send them back. If stuff must be sent to appease The Lobby, this is a clever way to go about it.
I think Mish overlooks a significant difference between what the peace deal that Trump wants and what Zalensky is saying.
Trump wants no security guarantees and Ukraine to agree to the terms set by the US and Russia (which will likely be just Russia).
Zalensky is saying they want first a cease fire, then a seat at the table, and finally US involvement in maintaining the peace. He’s not saying he’s ready to agree to peace with Russia, he’s saying he’s ready to negotiate what the peace negotiations will look like with Trump.
Whether Trump is willing to negotiate is unknown (but unlikely), but likely his audience is more the European leaders.
We don’t negotiate with terrorists.
Who is the terrorist here? Trump?
Ukraine wants a cease fire first. Well, people in hell want ice cubes.
Trumpski uses Russian talking points constantly. He doesn’t give a shit about anything but a Russian talking point “victory” “peace” agreement that when it falls apart he can simply blame on someone else.
Russia, Russia, Russia. The country with the largest population of Orthodox Christians is vilified by the synagogue of satan controlled media. Shocking.
Why then did Trump send Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine in 2017, over Democrat objections? The “Trump is Putin’s puppet” tripe is fodder for swallowers of the state-sponsored media only.
Did Putin get a 1-bedroom, or is he living in the penthouse in your head?
I believe this is the correct answer to this hi-heeled Napoleon complex Zelenski drama. We pay the government salaries and the pensions of all government leaders. That should get all Americans furious once they realize how Ukraine screws us under Biden. The EU does not.
The EU and the Biden administration were under Neocons’ control, and now that Trump is in charge, the Neocons are doubling down in the EU. The US Neocons met with hi-heeled Zelenski right before the drama, telling him they were behind him and that he should destroy the mineral deal. The EU leaders all made public their support for Z after the drama, exact sentences were even used.
Cut off funding, and the real Ukraine will show itself; the most corrupt country will be exposed to the world.
The point here is that the EU wants war. The EU is crumbling and needs a villain to wash over the mess the politicians made over the years.
So, to you Napoleon lovers, do you want to spill more American blood and money into another European mess for a third time?
Russia, this, Russia that, is all Neocon propaganda. It’s weapons of mass destruction all over again.
Agree with KGB. Ship has sailed. Totally disingenuous comments by the puppet. He is saying what his minders are telling him to say. Trump will not be fooled.
No more money. No troops. No deal. Let the EU deal with it.
Putin and Trump are really two tough guys, they will crush Ukraine. If they can’t, maybe will call iran or Afghanistan, who knows?
But maybe they are not the smartest boys in the school.Germany wants to rebuild his army, and probably will forge an alliance with China and Turkey, the old owner of Crimea.
Ukraine burned another Russian refinery last night. The main distillation column was hit at the foundation not the tower. Russia has been repairing their distillation columns. Ukraine got tired of that. It looks like oil under pressure spread on the ground throughout the refinery and burned.
The attack drones flew overhead for some time before choosing their target. Russia does not defend the refineries because Russia lacks the resources. For this reason alone there is no way Ukraine will make a peace settlement until the Russian economy is zilch or Russia leaves Ukraine. The odds favor zilch. Russia would always attack again after a peace settlement unless Ukraine exterminates the Russian culture. One refinery every few days is a terminal case for Russia. Putin and Zelinski are both rational men. President Trump correctly says Putin wants peace and Zelinski does not. President Trump is smart enough to know the war cannot end soon so he stopped financing the war. Europe of course finances the war by purchasing oil and gas from Russia. President Trump has let Europe finance both sides of the war. Europeans are uncomfortable with their new responsibility. Cognitive dissonance? I predict Europe will continue to finance both sides of the war until European economic collapse.
For those not paying attention – substitute Israel for Ukraine & Gazans for Russians. “There is no way Israel will make a peace settlement until the Gazan economy is zilch or Gazans leave Gaza. The odds favor zilch. Gaza would always attack again after a peace settlement, unless Israel exterminates the Gazan culture.” Some folks only understand overwhelming strength.
Yet those who possess the strength would rather subject their own people to future aggressions than endure the “strong words” from all of the bleeding hearts in the world. That is, those who don’t have their dog (their cat, and their asses) in the fight.
Gee, what else would make Israel-Gaza number two on the NY Times opinion list?
Ukraine is losing land at the rate of 500 sq km per week. It had better get peace quickly before it loses more land.
MI6 / Ukie propaganda.
You can always rebuild refineries. You can’t make more land.
Russia is steadily taking more and more each week. Eventually there will be nothing left. If all Ukrainians are dead and Russia has no more oil refineries, who do you think wins?
Resign already!
For Ukrainian’s and their Men/Boys, who are getting slaughtered! You are a worthless and useless scammer, who values Money & Power over Peoples Lives!!!
Russian talking point.
Zelenskyy is presiding over a country in a war they cannot win. The US has committed billions of US taxpayer dollars with no clear vision or strategy for victory or peace. Hundreds of thousands have died and thousands more will die until peace is restored.
Zelenskyy was on record in the days before his oval office meeting with Trump, that he was unwilling to sign a mineral rights deal unless it contained security commitments from the US to defend Ukraine in the event of another Russia invasion. Trump obviously feels that a US presence and vested interest in the mineral rights in eastern region of Ukraine was adequate security.
Knowing that he was not going to sign the deal with Trump, Zelenskyy’s only mission in that meeting was to express his country’s appreciation for US support and listen to the Trump team. He could have graciously expressed his need to secure added security in the agreement before final execution.
The meeting was firm but largely civil until Zelenskyy played the “politics of fear” card by arguing that while an ocean separates the US from Russia, that in time the US will “feel” Russia’s wrath. That of course is a direct insult to a leader such as Trump. Trump has many tools at his disposal to offset Russia aggression toward the United States and that such tools would be used well before the US would “feel” Russia’s wrath.
Trump has his warts, but shame on Zelenskyy for not fully understanding the dire situation he is in and the need for tactical diplomacy.
More Russian talking points.
Soviet disinformation campaigns only worked because they included mostly true elements. So you’re saying that these talking points are real.
Logical fallacy. Specifically, association fallacy
Men don’t hold grudges. Figure it out and sign it. Move on.
Saw a picture yesterday claimed Chuck Schumer meeting with Zelensky before he met with Trump.
Claimed Schumer queered the deal made with Rubio.
Would explain a lot about what took place and forcing Trump getting tough with Z about what he intends.
“Saw a picture”?
It has been commonly reported Zelensky met with many Congress members – both Democrat and Republican – before going to the Oval Office, as he had multiple times before when visiting the US.
Rubio was in the Oval Office during this blow-up. If he had made a deal previously with Zelensky that was blown up by Schumer, why didn’t he speak up? OMG, he’s fourth in line for succession if something happened to Trump.
Seriously, you should turn off these conspiracy sites where you’re finding these pictures
Sounds like there was touching going on.
I put post up in case someone else had come across the item so there would be confirmation.
Schumer is a slime bag but interfering in foreign policy should be a no go even for him. Then again he is deranged enough to do something like that.
Will wait and see tonight Trump speech just how far gone Dems are.
Let’s clarify one thing. The US has provided most of the military aid in the form of 20-40 years old equipment that Pentagon wishes to replace anyway. So the money goes to the US companies producing the NEW equipment (which also costs more) while sending the OLD stuff to Ukraine. So the large amount of “military aid to Ukraine” is not really equal to the value of the old equipment that actually ends up in Ukraine. It would be interesting if you did more research on this.
So? Ukraine is Flounder:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYQCb3qrBpo
Well, they were fighting against mostly 60 year old Russian tanks and rifles developed in the 1950s so …
…so they lost the war.
“It would be interesting if you did more research on this.”
You should follow your own advice.
Patriot PAC-3s, ATACMS’s, HIMARS’s, M777s, shells and on and on are the best the US has and Biden began to take them out from active units because Russia after demilitarizing Ukraine 2 times over (the original Soviet gear they had plus all of the Soviet gear the anglo-EU-americans managed to find/buy from ex-Soviet countries and around the whole world) started to demilitarize NATO at large and you had nothing more to give from reserves and depots… The war criminals from the Biden administration didn’t even manage to use all of the funds the uniparty allocated because there is nothing much left to give without seriously compromising the US readiness and capabilities and because the Pentagon grew more and more opposed to give anything else for this very reason (especially after they were forced to give stuff to Israel too).
And the EU+UK are in a WAY worse condition after they too gave a lot of the very best stuff they have, from tanks to artillery to AD systems to Storm Shadows and Scalps etc.
After 3 years, as the top NATO commanders have admitted, the Russian military industrial complex produces in 3 months what ALL OF NATO produces in 1 year.
The bulk of the “old stuff” (but still comparable to what you use today) that the US gave is basically armor and general mobility vehicles (APCs, IFVs, Humvees etc) because you have a ton of them in storage and because they were being destroyed on the battlefield literally in industrial quantities.
At the start of the NATO – Russia war in Ukraine the armoured component of the Ukrainian military was bigger than all of the EU+UK military combined…
NATO has been defeated and Trump is just trying to deal with this fact and not end up like the EU+UK who seem determined to go down with the ship.
Rubio was there on the couch…next to Vance
Yes I missed it. Silent
Thanks
He was sitting right next to Vance, sinking into the couch and looking embarrassed. Didn’t open his mouth except later to come out and blame the whole fiasco on Zelenskyy.
Thanks
I missed that
You can watch Rubio enactment here:
Rubio knows that America instigated the war and that he’d been part of it. Trump & Vance know America instigated it, too, but they won’t say it because almost the entire US foreign policy establishment was a part of it. The goal was for Putin to be swept from power so another pushover like Yeltsin could be installed to allow the West to rob Russia blind – again.
More Russian talking points.
Neville Chamberlain had nothing on our piece-makers. The Brits didn’t even get mining rights in the Sudetenland. I wonder how much reparations Lavrov will negotiate for and the Russia-Woke Crowd will concede – maybe a 50/50 share of the Mar-a-Lago rare earths{raw earths ..(sic)} in Western Ukraine – piece on (of) earth for the two Extortionist-Life’s-Matter. ( sigh … more negative votes…)
Which is weird because Putin was Yeltsin’s protoge …
Secretary of State is a nothingburger job in this Administration.
Diplomacy not needed.
Trump: My offer is this – nothing.
(… said the corrupt mafioso to the corrupt politician – good film analogy)