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ARTICLE

Republican legislators reject Trump’s claim to give in to Russia
2·20·2025 · 21:34
OUTONO.NET
https://www.outono.net/elentir/2025/02/20/republican-legislators-reject-trumps-claim-to-give-in-to-russia/

In recent days, the US president has made a series of unusual statements in line with the Kremlin’s theses.

-Trump offers Putin a clumsy excuse to regain the former Russian territory
-A Ukrainian parliamentary opposition deputy defends Zelensky against Trump

First Trump blamed Ukraine for the Russian invasion, for not wanting to make a deal with the invaders and accepting to lose territory. Yesterday he called Zelensky a “dictator”, something he has never said about Putin. Today it is news that The US opposes talking about “Russian aggression” in the G7 declaration on Ukraine. This irresponsible behavior of Trump, aligning the US with Putin’s Russia, has fed up many legislators of the Republican Party, to which the current US president belongs.

ON THURSDAY, REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN BRIAN FITZPATRICK POSTED A STATEMENT ON TWITTER in which he gave voice to other lawmakers in his party who are not happy about what Trump is doing with Ukraine. For its interest, I transcribe the full text of his statement here:

“President Volodymyr Zelenskyy need not, and must not, have any deal forced upon him by any outside nation that does not guarantee the security and the sovereignty of the Ukrainian people, the people who elected him with over 73% of the popular vote, in an election that was recognized as free and fair by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), where I served as a Commissioner and Congressional Appointee. Russia has never held such elections.

President Zelenskyy, and all negotiators, need to know this: There is an outcome-determinative number of Members of the United States Congress, from both parties and in both Chambers, who are ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to prevent Communist Dictator Vladimir Putin from being rewarded for his illegal invasion, raping, kidnapping, torturing and murdering of the Ukrainian people, including so many women and children. We will use every lever and every vote at our disposal, regardless of the personal or political consequences. This matter is that time-sensitive and it is that existential. It is legacy-defining.

We all want an immediate end to this brutal Russian invasion and killing. For a peace agreement to be fair and lasting, it must be done in a way that holds the Russian invaders accountable, protects the dignity of the Ukrainian victims, and provides for fair and equitable cost-sharing amongst all European nations. To do otherwise would be to encourage future invasions and to perpetuate future heartache and bloodshed.

This is about Peace Through Strength. This is about Patriotic Common Sense. And Patriotic Common Sense is what America must always stand for.”

ARTICLE

In pushing for Ukraine elections, Trump is falling into Putin-laid trap to delegitimize Zelenskyy
Lena Surzhko Harned
theconversation.com
February 19, 2025 4:52pm EST
https://theconversation.com/in-pushing-for-ukraine-elections-trump-is-falling-into-putin-laid-trap-to-delegitimize-zelenskyy-250003

“Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was shut out of the discussions concerning the future of his country, which took place in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18, 2025. In fact, there were no Ukrainian representatives, nor any European Union ones – just U.S. and Russian delegations, and their Saudi hosts.

The meeting – which followed a mutually complimentary phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin just days earlier – was gleefully celebrated in Moscow. The absence of Ukraine in deciding its own future is very much in line with Putin’s policy toward its neighbor. Putin has long rejected Ukrainian statehood and the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government, or as he calls it the “Kyiv regime.”

While the U.S. delegation did reiterate that future discussions would have to involve Ukraine at some stage, the Trump administration’s actions and words have no doubt undermined Kyiv’s position and influence.

To that end, the U.S. is increasingly falling in line with Moscow on a key plank of the Kremlin’s plan to delegitimize Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government: calling for elections in Ukraine as part of any peace deal.
Questioning Zelenskyy’s legitimacy

Challenging Zelenskyy’s legitimacy is part of a deliberate ongoing propaganda campaign by Russia to discredit Ukrainian leadership, weaken support for Ukraine from its key allies and remove Zelenskyy – and potentially Ukraine – as a partner in negotiations.

Claims by the Russian president that his country is ready for peace negotiations appear, to many observers of its three-year war, highly suspect given Russia’s ongoing attacks on its neighbor and its steadfast refusal to date to agree to any temporary truce.” (Excerpt)