Trump & Zelensky?

[aussie_aussie_oi_oi]

As the Trump administration begins preliminary talks with Russian officials about ending the war in Ukraine, intelligence from the United States and close allies shows that Russian President Vladimir Putin still wants to control all of Ukraine, according to four Western intelligence officials and two U.S. congressional officials. “We have zero intelligence that Putin is interested in a real peace deal right now,” one of the congressional officials said.
Putin is sending representatives to Saudi Arabia for negotiations Tuesday with the U.S. that are aimed at ending the war. But, the six officials said, current intelligence shows Putin still believes he can wait out Ukraine and Europe to eventually control all of Ukraine.
“He thinks he’s winning,” one of the Western intelligence officials said, adding that Russian losses on the battlefield are not pressuring Putin to stop fighting. All of the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the intelligence.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/nation ... rcna192524

[peregrinator]

One of the reasons our life expectancy is 8 years more than the USA.

Probably closer to 4 years now, I don't think it was ever as high as 8.

[aussie_aussie_oi_oi]

Fair call periginator.

[Tired]

aussie - your post about Trump/Putin and Trump's followers was hilarious, if not sad. It's hard to even argue/discuss with such cluelessness.

[Stella]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwFZz_U3aVA

What do posters here think about Trumps claim that Putin won't violate the terms of an agreement. Is Zelensky right to be skeptical? He cites 25 other times during this conflict that Putin has ignored his own signature. When a reporter asks how will the US respond if he does violate, Trump just reconfirms that he won't violate. That doesn't seem to make any negotiation worth the paper its written on.

[anawim]

Everyone knows...including Trump...that Putin will violate any agreement. It's a verbal line in the sand. You need to learn to read Trump.

[Stella]

Everyone knows...including Trump...that Putin will violate any agreement. It's a verbal line in the sand. You need to learn to read Trump.

If Ukraine hands over 50% of it's mineral income to the US, but had so guarantee that the US will resist Russia continuing to attack despite an agreement, how does that benefit Ukraine in anyway. They will be in no better position and in fact have less funds having given 50% of mineral wealth away. Would you sign a deal like that? Or how would reading Trump give you confidence to sign the deal?

[anawim]

Everyone knows...including Trump...that Putin will violate any agreement. It's a verbal line in the sand. You need to learn to read Trump.

If Ukraine hands over 50% of it's mineral income to the US, but had so guarantee that the US will resist Russia continuing to attack despite an agreement, how does that benefit Ukraine in anyway. They will be in no better position and in fact have less funds having given 50% of mineral wealth away. Would you sign a deal like that? Or how would reading Trump give you confidence to sign the deal?

Trump just wants the guarantees first.

Have you ever read "Art of the Deal"? If not, go read it, then you'll understand a bit better.

[aussie_aussie_oi_oi]

Poland’s democracy hero Lech Wałęsa and dozens of other former political prisoners in Poland have written a letter to President Donald Trump, telling him that his treatment of Ukraine’s president at the Oval Office last week filled them “with horror and distaste.”
Wałęsa, who served as president soon after Poland embraced democracy, and the others tell Trump that they found it offensive that he expected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to show respect and gratitude for the material assistance the United States has given Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s invasion. “Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed blood in defense of the values of the free world. They are the ones who have been dying on the front lines,” they say.
The White House has demanded that Zelenskyy show more openness to potential concessions in order to bring the fighting to an end, but Zelenskyy has been resistant, saying Monday that any deal with Russia is still “very, very far away,” while seeking greater security guarantees from Washington.
Wałęsa posted the letter on Facebook on Monday along with a photograph of himself with Trump. It was signed by himself and 38 other former democracy activists who were imprisoned by Poland’s Moscow-backed communist regime before 1989. Among the others who signed are Adam Michnik, Bogdan Lis, Seweryn Blumsztajn and Władysław Frasyniuk.

[p.falk]

Poland’s democracy hero Lech Wałęsa and dozens of other former political prisoners in Poland have written a letter to President Donald Trump, telling him that his treatment of Ukraine’s president at the Oval Office last week filled them “with horror and distaste.”
Wałęsa, who served as president soon after Poland embraced democracy, and the others tell Trump that they found it offensive that he expected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to show respect and gratitude for the material assistance the United States has given Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia’s invasion. “Gratitude is due to the heroic Ukrainian soldiers who shed blood in defense of the values of the free world. They are the ones who have been dying on the front lines,” they say.
The White House has demanded that Zelenskyy show more openness to potential concessions in order to bring the fighting to an end, but Zelenskyy has been resistant, saying Monday that any deal with Russia is still “very, very far away,” while seeking greater security guarantees from Washington.
Wałęsa posted the letter on Facebook on Monday along with a photograph of himself with Trump. It was signed by himself and 38 other former democracy activists who were imprisoned by Poland’s Moscow-backed communist regime before 1989. Among the others who signed are Adam Michnik, Bogdan Lis, Seweryn Blumsztajn and Władysław Frasyniuk.

Do you think that Zelensky shouldn't show gratitude? We've sent them over 60 billion dollars. Is that not something to show some gratitude for?

It's almost comical that another country would be filled with "horror and distaste" that Trump wanted some gratitude shown. "Horror"? I wonder if they threw the back of their wrists to their foreheads and began to swoon.

[Irenaeus]

Putin & Trump are cut from the same cloth - nasty and evil bullies.
Trump and his supporters can f*ck off.

<sarc>Oh. I guess, then, that, instead of Trump, I should have voted for Harris who supports unlimited direct abortion and whose party supports the infanticide of babies surviving botched abortions or born with severe birth defects.</sarc>

[aussie_aussie_oi_oi]

Just days after a stunning public clash with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today underscored that he wants to "make things right" with Trump and wanted to work under his "strong leadership" to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine.

"Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive," Mr Zelensky posted on X in his first public comments since Trump halted US military aid to Ukraine.

"None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts," said Mr Zelensky.
"We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky - ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure - and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same. Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal." said Mr Zelensky.

[Signum Crucis]

Everyone knows...including Trump...that Putin will violate any agreement. It's a verbal line in the sand. You need to learn to read Trump.

If Ukraine hands over 50% of it's mineral income to the US, but had so guarantee that the US will resist Russia continuing to attack despite an agreement, how does that benefit Ukraine in anyway. They will be in no better position and in fact have less funds having given 50% of mineral wealth away. Would you sign a deal like that? Or how would reading Trump give you confidence to sign the deal?

Americans will be working in Ukraine, with security. If Putin attacks, then the American military will respond. Is that not safe enough for you? Do you think it's fair that the US is the only country not being reimbursed for the billions sent to Ukraine? The US funding of Ukraine is outrageously more than any other country. Germany might be second in contributions, but not without payback. Are you okay with the US sending $20 million to Ukraine for Ukrainian models and clothing designers to attend fashion week in Paris? I'm not. I'm still hoping to get a check from FEMA for my losses as a result of a hurricane named Helene.

[p.falk]

Just days after a stunning public clash with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today underscored that he wants to "make things right" with Trump and wanted to work under his "strong leadership" to secure a lasting peace in Ukraine.

"Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right. We would like future cooperation and communication to be constructive," Mr Zelensky posted on X in his first public comments since Trump halted US military aid to Ukraine.

"None of us wants an endless war. Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians. My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts," said Mr Zelensky.
"We are ready to work fast to end the war, and the first stages could be the release of prisoners and truce in the sky - ban on missiles, long-ranged drones, bombs on energy and other civilian infrastructure - and truce in the sea immediately, if Russia will do the same. Then we want to move very fast through all next stages and to work with the US to agree a strong final deal." said Mr Zelensky.

Reassuring to read this. I hope it plays out for the best.

[BobCatholic]

No, Zelensky was acting like an entitled jerk, and demonstrating contempt by refusing to wear a suit in the White House,

The irony?

Zelenskyy wore a suit when he went to see someone he respected, Klaus Schwab.

Trump knew this.