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He apologised the very next day.
And for the record I didnt feel he should have either. But obviously what happened in the press conference was the result of what was arrived at behind closed doors before that. You could see how he played along hands wringing gritted teeth. He knew.
In any case it's a clear sign of how far up sh1t creek Ukraine is.
And Zelensky himself. He reminds me of your man in Ozarks. Managing/stumbling from one catastrophe into an even worse one the next day, any of which could be very bad for him personally.
Yes, I personally think he's caught personally. He knows it's bad and he knows he wont get Russia out of territories and he knows dragging it out will make the military position worse and worse. Thats not even counting US suspending support. Maybe he can wiggle something joined/interim for some mainland territories but Crimea no way. And NATO membership he can completely forget about. They will have to step off their maximum position. There is not going to be a victory, only survival.
But I dont think he is allowed to acknowledge that. I dont want to get into CTs but he's obviously not solely in charge. Nobody ever is in any government/country and I would wager whoever other people hold power bands behind his front they may not all be the most savoury kind.
I was talking with the chap in charge of tank production in the US a couple weeks ago. Lima is running flat out filling M1 orders for four customers. Only one (Poland) is European.
There are a number of reasons why the US is one of the dominant weapons manufacturers in the world. Europe can fill a lot of the gap on its own, but if you look at the proportion of M1s or Patriots or F-16s etc built in the world, and then compare with how many are in European service (and then factor in things like UK-built Apaches or Belgian-built F-16s), the loss of orders would be noticed but would not be catastrophic. And that's only for things which Europe is capable of building itself. Face it, European attempts at attack helicopters or modern fighters have not been as successful as their American counterparts.
Of course he didn't apologise. He didn't do anything wrong
A test perhaps. Will Donald Putin agree to it?
I can't see the Russians going for it. UKR is much weakened without US support so the obvious time for Russia to press UKR is now.
If VZ had agreed to a truce while he had US backing then it would be different. Or if this gets the US back into the fold it would also be different.
The question is if the US just wants out to focus elsewhere or it's opting out due to vindictiveness.
He didn’t apologise though, rightly so.
Nice move from Zelenskyy, what will Trump say now? Whine about needing a personal apology? Repeat Russian propaganda?
Looks like Zelensky has bowed to Trumps demands
Regardless of personal opinion, if it's what he and the people of Ukraine feel is best for them I wouldn't be overly critical
New from Zelensky - reiterating Ukraine’s commitment to peace.
"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.
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.
We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this.
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.
Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format. We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively."
Grovelling to Trump won't get you anywhere. He's beholden to Putin now, and there's no amount of grovelling will change the orders Trump is getting from the Kremlin. This much should be obvious. I'd prefer he didn't waste his time abasing himself and his country before the terrible human being that is Trump. Ukraine, represented by Zelenskyy, is a sovereign nation, and should not be grovelling to anyone.
Trump is working with Putin now. You might as well get used to it.
More news on this proposed month long ceasefire. Is this a runner? As a tester? Out of little acorns oaktrees grow .. perhaps? No need for USA/TRUMP then in this one:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to confirm his agreement to a Partial-Ceasefire which was being discussed between the U.K. and France during the recent Summit in London, stating, “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.”
I think Trump resigning would be more constructive.
I think Zelenskyy will need to resign before the Americans engage again.
Mineral deal. Sure. Condition that should be attached that American personnel start working within 3 months at a location chosen by Ukrainians
The working assumption going forward from Europe will have to be that the US is a permanently hostile state and that we have entered a new Cold War. It's hard to see how the Democrats can regain power, given how crazy the current US setup is and how the American public (the MAGA half anyway) appear to have totally lost the plot.
Apols if this posted already, did look back at previous page, didnt see it. From the Financial Times. This guy VANCE is one seriously dangerous individual in a position of serious power and next up as president of USA if trump crokes it OR the 2028 election or if USA goes all NK and just has perpetual Republican govs
"US vice-president JD Vance has provoked outrage in Britain after belittling a UK-France plan for European peacekeepers to guarantee peace in Ukraine"
US vice-president JD Vance tried to head off a transatlantic row on Tuesday when he insisted he was not insulting Britain and France when he said peace in Ukraine was unlikely to be secured by “some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.
Only American move that matters to Zelensky now is whether they continue to provide military support, whether to fight an ongoing war or for a security guarantee as part of a peace deal. So to maximise the chances of securing that, Zelensky needs to grovel to Trump, tell him whatever he wants to hear etc.
is it though?
What Putin wants, Trump will give to him. Article V is probably no longer worth the paper it's written on.
It was the Baltic & ex Soviet States were telling people for years the dangers of Russia & Putin, and until Ukraine 2022 happened no one listened to them, despite them having the (not too distant) experience of Soviet/Russian life previously.. (we are an early 40's couple, yet her 1st 7-8 years of life were as a Soviet).
They understand that they are in an extremely precarious position right now.
Not exactly. Putin and Trump talked multiple times. Their representatives were talking for the last several months at least. As many others said, Trump doesn't care about Ukraine. He likes Putin, he knows that Putin won't stop the war unless he gets what he demands from Ukraine, so the simple, demented Trump pushes Zelenskyy to agree to the "deal".
Some people naively think that the "deal" is the publicised mineral deal. It is not, the real deal is the "diplomatic solution" alluded by Vance. Zelenskyy had to agree to capitulate to Russia during the recent meeting in Washington. Then Trump would bring the deal to his master Putin who would gracefully help his friend Donnie to achieve "peace" by agreeing to take over Ukraine. Win-Win for Putin and Trump. If only the pesky little Zelenskyy didn't argue and did what he was told.
Can't see Putin fcuking up to that extent twice in the same decade. If Russia attack Lithuania, that's article V and Poland get back Królewiec. It's quite likely the US will remain isolationist, but Poland would definitely support Lithuania. Better to fight Russia on Lithuanian soil than on Polish. The only thing that might prolong that conflict is if the US nerfed the Polish F-16s.
I haven't seen any process to speak of, Trump seems to be worshipping Putin and Russia gets off scott free. So nope, Trump is not to be trusted and him holding lives to ransom as he is, is abhorrent.
"Give Trump whatever he wants and hope for the best" is not a strategy I would recommend. Unless you are Putin.
But the disagreement in the Oval Office was not about the mineral rights deal (Zelensky wanted to sign it that day). There is no actual peace deal on offer from Trump or Putin or anyone else at the moment - negotiations on a ceasefire and peace deal haven't even started yet.
In Lithuania they are fully expecting this to happen (an attack), and for Trump to refuse to get involved… (he’ll simply victim blame - they provoked the attack).
Geographically Lithuania are fcuked given how close their capitol Vilnius is to Belarus/Kaliningrad. Latvia & Estonia’s capitals are much further away from their borders with Russia.. I've been down that way, further past Vilnius in a spa town and you can pick up Belarusian radio stations.. If Russia go in they'll go for the Suwalki gap 1st, cutting off the Baltics land bridge to the rest of NATO.
I’m on the lookout for some sort of basic orienteering/weapons training courses for myself there as I’d like to at least know how to load & shoot a gun…
I already have a ‘grab bag’ set up with various items in it in the event of suddenly having to leave…
Who’d of thought a few years ago when we were buying the house we’d be making plans like this in 2024/2025?
What difference would it make, I doubt Zelensky gives a toss about the minerals one way or another. Only move in his circumstances is to give Trump whatever he wants and hope for the best
Trump would just say Poland was being provocative by wearing short mini skirt
What exactly is the deal Ukraine will be signing? What are the terms?
Trump and Zelensky need to meet on neutral ground , without the Great Pretender War Veteran J.D Vance
Maybe in Spain, with King Felipe VI, neutral setting, sign the deal, and worry about the security later.
I'm sure the King has a lot to say to Trump about him trying to make Spanish language vanish in the US
A Russian invasion of Poland or of the Baltic States would cause a public outcry worldwide, including in the US. There is no evidence that Trump intends to withdraw US military personnel or nuclear weapons from Europe.
When Trump makes a decision, I think analysing the rationale behind it is simply giving the man & the team he has assembled too much credit.
In a warped way, he might make the world a better place just not for his own people.
