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And excellent analysis by Kunstler.

An Offer He Can’t Refuse
https://www.kunstler.com/ ^ | Aug 18, 2025 | James Howard Kunstler
Posted on 8/18/2025, 11:44:52 AM by little jeremiah

An Offer He Can’t Refuse “This is not our war. The US is not in a war. Ukraine is in a war. . .” — Sec’y of State Marco Rubio

Volodymyr Zelenskyy is dropping in at the White House today so that Mr. Trump can read him the riot act. It’s that simple. Somewhere to or from Alaska, Mr. Trump concluded that a ceasefire would not work, for the excellent reason that seven previous ceasefires in Ukraine failed, and only reinforced distrust and disappointment between the warring parties. Instead, the goal is a peace settlement, an end to the war.

The USA and Russia cannot make peace in Ukraine because the war is between Ukraine and Russia. The USA can only mediate and propose terms. Ukraine needs help formulating terms that are not preposterous. Russia’s terms have been clear and precise for years, most particularly: no NATO for Ukraine. What part of that is hard to understand? The EU wants missile bases on Russia’s border. It wants to draw Ukraine into its sphere of influence. Ukraine has been in Russia’s sphere of influence since. . . forever.