The “massive” Russian attack killed a mere 12 people. About an average morning in Gaza. Trump shouldn’t worry himself over it and should focus on evicerating turncoats like Ron Johnson here at home
Good points. Trump is still Commander-in-Chief, and leader of the so called free world. NATO is his toy. Zelinski is his employee. Everything is theater. Trump asked Putin not to respond to Biden’s missiles into Russia before the election when it looked like Trump would win. Trump is still trying to salvage property rights to Project Ukriane; however, the Russians have paid for it with blood and sweat. The EU just has to print more money. Get your Bitcoin like Blackrock and insulate yourself from the coming write offs in Ukraine of the assets underpinning the loans, which are increasingly under Russian Management.
Has anyone heard from the little green gnome zelensky?
Maybe he is dead. Wouldnt that be a shame.
“The “massive” Russian attack killed a mere 12 people. About an average morning in Gaza. “
Chances are good that Chicago will match that this weekend.
What this negotiating process has made clear is that neither Zelensky nor Putin wants this war to end unless it ends with their side achieving their maximum objectives. If one side was willing to see it end with the current boundaries, whether that be Russia or Ukraine, it would make Trump’s job a lot easier, for a number of reasons.
The problem for Trump isn’t that he has no leverage, it’s that leverage being brought to bear against one side would require cooperation from the other side in order for it to make sense. If Zelensky had shown Trump and the United States respect and a willingness to follow Trump’s lead rather working counter to him, Trump might have been more willing to amp up pressure on Russia or even resume some limited military assistance to Ukraine. But that doesn’t work when he can’t trust Zelensky to not try to leverage us for more than that.
Likewise, if Zelensky was the only obstacle, Trump could make things easier on Russia in order to amp up pressure on Ukraine and force them to the bargaining table. But Putin has made it clear that simply bringing Ukraine to the bargaining table for a ceasefire based roughly on the existing front lines does not interest him.
Ultimately from the perspective of U.S. national interest, the most important objective is to see the Russia/Ukraine border stay approximately where it is. A complete Russian takeover of Ukraine would not be good for the balance of power, for a number of reasons. From a humanitarian point of view, ending the death and destruction is a priority, but not from a strategic point of view.
If both sides are committed to continuing to kill themselves then the best strategy for the U.S. is to let them continue to do so until they both exhaust themselves and in the mean time, do what we can to prevent either side from getting the upper hand.