I don't think Trump is that focused on Ukraine. As long as the Europeans buy the arms so the Ukrainians will get resupplied, he's fine with that.
Peace would be nice. But apparently, Putin is not interested in that.
There exists on youtube channels devoted to celebrating the military situation on both sides. They get viewcounts because they have identified their audience. If they have been talking about Ukraine triumph and then get viewcounts, then they would be stupid to talk about anything other than Ukraine triumph.
If they have been getting viewcounts talking about Russian triumphs, then they are going to do that. The result of this is there will be entertainment on youtube for people to watch that tells them what they want to hear, whatever that is.
What do I see? I don’t see Russia pleading for a ceasefire.
They didn’t look, as a group, at all grim-faced in Alaska. Putin had the occasional smile riding in the same car as Trump. Kirill Dmetriev nodded with a smile at Witkoff.
Contrast the photo of the entire Euro contingent, including Zelensky, sitting in a semi circle in front of Trumps Oval Office desk. They did not look happy.
The source of casualty numbers is an important question. They are almost certainly coming from Ukraine — probably with a small print caveat saying these numbers are not confirmed by independent sources. Tulsi would have come forward with a comment about NRO source. She has not done that.
The Continuing Resolution upcoming is going to distract Trump from all this, and that fight could go months.