Posted on 08/05/2025 6:24:24 AM PDT by RandFan
Has the relationship between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin gone off the rails? A popular Russian newspaper thinks so. It turned to trains to illustrate the current state of US-Russian ties.
"A head-on collision seems unavoidable," declared tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets recently.
"The Trump locomotive and the Putin locomotive are speeding towards each other.
"And neither is about to turn off or stop and reverse."
For the 'Putin locomotive', it's full steam ahead, with the so-called 'Special Military Operation': Russia's war in Ukraine. The Kremlin leader has shown no desire to end hostilities and declare a long-term ceasefire.
Meanwhile, the 'Trump locomotive' has been accelerating efforts to pressure Moscow into ending the fighting: announcing deadlines, ultimatums, threats of additional sanctions against Russia and hefty tariffs on Russia's trading partners, like India and China.
Add to all of that the two US nuclear submarines which President Trump claims he's repositioned closer to Russia.
When you switch from talking about locomotives to nuclear subs, you know things are serious.
But does that mean the White House is really on a "collision course" with the Kremlin over Ukraine?
Or is a visit to Moscow this week by Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, a sign that for all the posturing, a deal between Russia and America to end the fighting is still possible?
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
Putin has ideological thinking, which never allows for reconsideration of policy, once established, and besides, his forces are still advancing in the field. Why stop when one is making headway.
Putin no longer trusts Trump. The relationship between the 2 isn’t getting any better on the contrary it’s getting worse. Putin just released Melania’s nudes on Russian state TV. I wonder if the Russians are in possession of the Epstein files too?
Either he still believe in the professed mission of the invasion or he faces internal pressures that will depose/kill him if he veers off from the mission. Can we be certain in the West that Putin does not risk “falling” out of a 4 or 5 story window if he deviates from the current course?
By the way, what dos Russia get out of “winning” this thing that is arguably worth what it is losing and using up by fighting it? Wouldn’t they have to occupy and garrison a hostile Ukraine to keep its territory after the war and exploit its agriculture and minerals? How many forces would that take and would it even be worth what they exploited? Thin the West would not fund a guerilla resistance against the Russian occupiers? Trying to understand the Russian benefits of staying in the fight and “winning”, whatever that looks like to them. Surely not stubborn-ness alone?
This will end when Russian casualties reaches a breaking point with the populace in Russia and sentiment turns against Putin.
Russia are just going to pummel them with drones by the looks of it. Did you see the pictures of their drone factories? They’re pumping them out for fun with assembly lines, etc. and what I saw they looked to be ramping up production.
This is why Ukraine need the missile defense from the US (it’s the best).
Is it an unreasonable request? I dont know but they should be honest about it and if Trump does it he needs to make sure nothing is lost to notorious corruption/grift
With a missile defense system it can be tightly controlled but please no more general “aid” because we all know what happens
Agree, and it sounds like they are going to get it.
Sorry I meant defense system *. They do need it but I hope they dont get any more billions that inevitably go missing ...
Are Russian drone factories immune to attacks?
Does Russian drone production require materials unavailable due to sanctions? I wonder if Russia is making all their own now or still able to purchase Iranian-made drones? Or Chines?
You are thinking like a westerner.
George S. Patton expressed disdain for Russians, stating, “The difficulty in understanding the Russian is that we do not take cognizance of the fact that he is not a European, but an Asiatic, and therefore thinks deviously.”
In WWII they sent unarmed men, shouting Hoorah!in waves against German machine guns.
>That’s racism
That’s racial realism.
That’s wishful thinking. Polls show Putin still has support of 85% of Russians. If anything the Russian people have become more supportive of the Ukraine war after Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s interior. Putin has framed this war as an existential attack by the West against Russia and most Russians have come to accept this.
Russia stated its 4 goals to end their “SMO” and none of those havent been addressed.
France and the UK keep throwing in comments like there must be “NATO peacekeepers” in Ukraine, which is probably just an attempt to sabotage talks.
Russia are beating Ukraine and NATO on the battlefield, so why stop now?
They showed some pics of like hundreds being pumped out of the factories. Sheer scale they have could be overwhelming and those attacks are increasing so it looks like this is how they want to do it.
If Ukraine get a better defense system it would be a stalemate I think.
How long will this go on for!
Russians have evolved over the past 75 years - their society has modernized and their people have changed. A Mom and Dad value their son over some Western Ukrainian territory.
Eastern Ukrainian territory
Eastern Ukrainian territory
—————
All ethnic Russian provinces, hence the name “ The Donbass”, “ The mighty Russian Donbass” for centuries upon centuries.
It will remain the Russian Donbass, no matter what. The West needs to realize this.
I don’t think Trump needs any advice from the BBC.
My opinion is that Putin still has dreams of conquering all of Ukraine (and I'm not saying that's impossible).
In his latest social media pronunciamento, Dmitri Medvedev said something like “I would remind Mr. Trump that his past indiscretions may come back to haunt him. It isn’t just Tel Aviv that has copies of the Epstein tapes.”
“”””Putin just released Melania’s nudes on Russian state TV.””””
He released those immediately after the election, in November of 2024, and weren’t they the same ones that were already public from year ago?
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