quote:

Originally posted by Carpentermaass84:
It sounds insane on the surface but even one symbolic transfer of munitions to Russia would a) prompt Ukrainian oligarchs and politicians to panic and overthrow Zelensky and b) quickly motiviate European countries to meet Trump's 5% target for defense spending as it would remove any illusions about the US always being the arms supplier and big stick to fall back on.

It doesn't sound insane. It is insane. Trump has pulled military aid to Ukraine. And now, you want him to arm Russia. Oh, it's just one "symbolic" transfer. You want Trump to give the leftists/globalists and warhawks more ammunition (pun intended) to call him Putin's puppet? What planet are you living on?

Stopping aid to Ukraine then giving it to Russia, doesn't show you want the conflict to stop, it shows you are switching to support Russia to win. That makes no sense from our perspective.

quote:

Originally posted by Carpentermaass84:
It sounds insane on the surface but...

Don't post whacky shit in this thread. Clear enough for you? Everyone here- including you- knows that the US is not going to give weapons to Russia. It's your masturbatory fantasy and that's all.

quote:

It doesn't sound insane. It is insane. Trump has pulled military aid to Ukraine. And now, you want him to arm Russia.

It is insane.

However... Trump can signal a policy shift by lifting sanctions:

Trump Orders Plans Drawn Up For Russia Sanctions Relief

The Trump administration is drawing up plans to drop some sanctions on Russia and Kremlin officials, Reuters reports Monday, offering some fresh details on what this easing of restrictions might look like.

The White House has over at least the past week teased this possibility to the media, as it engaged in two sessions of bilateral dialogue with Russian representatives in Riyadh and Istanbul, but this is the first known time specific plans have been ordered to be drawn up.

"The White House has asked the State and Treasury departments to draft a list of sanctions that could be eased for US officials to discuss with Russian representatives in the coming days as part of the administration's broad talks with Moscow on improving diplomatic and economic relations, the sources said," according to the report.

"The sanctions offices are now drawing up a proposal for lifting sanctions on select entities and individuals, including some Russian oligarchs, according to the sources," Reuters continues. And more:

"So-called options papers are often drafted by officials working on sanctions, but the White House's specific request for one in recent days underscores Trump and his advisers' willingness to ease Russian sanctions as part of a potential deal with Moscow."

The fresh development of potentially moving forward with the sanctions-easing comes within hours after headlines saying preparations for a summit between Presidents Trump and Putin are being fast-tracked and accelerated. This in the wake of the explosive row with Zelensky, which saw him booted from the White House before a planned lunch was to take place Friday.

CNN said in the Monday report, "Whether it was orchestrated or not, Moscow – which reacted with glee to the White House slanging match – is now anticipating talks aimed at rebuilding the US-Russia relationship will continue, even accelerate, in the weeks ahead."

https://www.zerohedge.com/geop...sia-sanctions-relief

quote:

Originally posted by Carpentermaass84:
It sounds insane on the surface but ...

"But...?" Heh.

It doesn't just sound insane on the surface, but below the surface, above the surface—from all angles of and distances from the surface.

It is insane. Period.

I am sure that at one point there was some advantage or benefit to the American people from being the world’s policeman. I think that we are a long way from that now, and have been for a long time. And yet we continue to spend money we don’t have playing policeman to the world and giving aid (dollars, food, weapons, and I’m sure other, perhaps less obvious things) to other countries, borrowing into existence money we don’t have to do so.

I can imagine a time when the bubble bursts, we are no longer the world’s reserve currency, and have no hope of exporting our inflation by sending our bonds overseas. I don’t think that time would have been far off at all had the results in last November’s election been different. If that happens, does one think all the countries to which we sent aid will rush to send aid to us, or does one think that they’ll rush to pick over the carcass?

I don’t claim to be half as smart as President Trump, but it seems to me that any action we take on the international stage should have clear benefit to the American people. And when I say the American people, I mean a broad swath of Americans, not just the folks making and selling weapons or the folks getting their “10% for the big guy.” I doubt it would happen, but an interesting thought experiment would be to reduce America’s contribution to NATO to be the same percentage of our GDP as whatever the lowest percentage of any other member nation’s contribution is of their GDP. If the other members want significant funding for NATO from us, they *all* need to provide significant funding. Our number may be bigger as our GDP may be bigger, but no more carrying everyone else on our back. It is probably as much of a fantasy as simply getting out of NATO, but to me it makes more sense than continuing to write checks that our grandchildren and great grandchildren will be stuck trying to pay off.

I think that PDJT is going to move us in the right direction, and I am really enjoying watching the winning play out. Sometimes it happens in unexpected ways, sometimes it takes a beat to figure out how/why he pulled something off, but the winning continues to be delicious. Whether “little Z” gets whacked, cuts a deal and runs to some country with no extradition with whatever he can loot, or figures some way to spin peace that he thinks he can survive, I suspect that PDJT is shoving him into a corner where there will be a peace whether he’s around to enjoy it or not.

Looks like Zelenskyy's starting to get the picture.
Trump made it crystal clear when he pulled the plug on the aid and a day after a lot of boastful talk by several Europeans, reality has set in.
The Europeans don't have the hardware without buying much of it from the US and won't really spend the money or send their own troops to die needlessly.
Should be an interesting speech tonight, and the next week will have a lot of backtracking by the left here and abroad.
So how will they spin this one?

https://www.foxnews.com/politi...-meeting-regrettable

Five Takeaways From Trump’s Fateful Decision To Freeze All Military Aid To Ukraine
Andrew Korybko

Transatlantic ties, Russian-US relations, and the nature of American hegemony are all transforming before everyone’s eyes as Trump makes bold moves to force Zelensky to the peace table with Putin.

An unnamed senior Defense Department told the media on Monday evening that Trump decided to freeze all military aid to Ukraine until its leaders demonstrate a good-faith commitment to peace. This comes just several days after Zelensky picked his fight with Trump and Vance at the White House. The Wall Street Journal earlier predicted that Ukraine could only continue fighting at its current level till this summer in such a scenario. Here are five takeaways from this monumental development:

----------

1. Trump Is Serious About Brokering Peace

Zelensky made it clear during his disastrous visit to the White House last Friday that he’s dead-set on fighting till the last Ukrainian unless his country either gets NATO membership or Western troops. Neither of those demands is acceptable to Trump since they’d risk World War III, but so too could that risk continue rising if the conflict doesn’t soon end. Trump therefore realized that the only way to force Zelensky to the peace table with Putin is to freeze all military aid until he moderates his extreme stance.

2. He & Putin Likely Have A Secret Agreement

Trump said last week that “A ceasefire could take place immediately”, which was arguably an inadvertent admission of a secret agreement with Putin. No lasting peace can be reached until after the next Ukrainian presidential elections, but they can’t be held during martial law, ergo the need for a ceasefire. Although Putin earlier conditioned this on Ukraine withdrawing from the disputed regions, he might support a ceasefire to justify the US’ curtailed aid to Ukraine and legitimize Russian-US economic deals.

3. But It’s Not Yet A Comprehensive One

If the aforesaid speculation is accurate, then it doesn’t mean that those two have a comprehensive agreement. Serious issues such as the final Russian-Ukrainian border and the question of peacekeepers have yet to be agreed to and might not be resolved till after the next Ukrainian presidential and parliamentary elections. It’s therefore premature to predict that the Line of Contact will become the final border and that Western peacekeepers will be deployed there, especially since Russia opposes both.

4. Poland Might Have A Pivotal Role To Play

About 90% of Western military aid to Ukraine transits through Poland so Trump might ask it to stop the Europeans from using its territory to arm Ukraine during a ceasefire in exchange for post-conflict perks. He doesn’t want the Brits, French, or Germans emboldening Ukraine to violate the ceasefire or provoke Russia into doing so and can incentivize Poland to prevent this by promising to keep American troops there, possibly redeploy some from Germany to Poland, and turn Poland into its top partner in Europe.

5. The “New Détente” Is Trump’s Top Priority

Every major move that’s taken place since Trump’s call with Putin in mid-February has been predicated on advancing his grand strategic goal of a Russian-US “New Détente”, the gist of which is to revolutionize International Relations through a game-changing comprehensive partnership between them. Readers can learn more about its details from the three preceding hyperlinked analyses, but it’s the pursuit of this goal that ultimately drove Trump to make the fateful decision to freeze all military aid to Ukraine.

----------

Transatlantic ties, Russian-US relations, and the nature of American hegemony are all transforming before everyone’s eyes as Trump makes bold moves to force Zelensky to the peace table with Putin. His latest one was literally one of the worst-case scenarios from Ukraine’s and Europe’s perspective but there’s little that they can do in response other than capitulate to his demands. The US holds all the cards like Trump reminded Zelensky last Friday and those who think otherwise risk paying the price.

https://korybko.substack.com/p...-from-trumps-fateful

https://www.theepochtimes.com/...XyIATCxHOrAxa8Io0%3D

Zelenskyy Expresses Regret Over Trump Meeting, Willingness to Sign Deal

The Ukrainian president delivered his first public remarks since the Trump administration paused military aid Monday night.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed regret over last week’s clash with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House and has pledged to sign a minerals deal with the United States.

Zelenskyy, in his first statement since the Trump administration said it would pause military aid to Ukraine amid its war with Russia, said that Ukraine does not want “an endless war” and that “nobody wants peace more than Ukrainians.”
“We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence,” the Ukrainian leader wrote in a statement, released on social media platform X. “And we remember the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins. We are grateful for this.”

During the meeting with Trump and Vance, both the president and vice president admonished Zelenskyy over comments that he made as well as his attitude toward their efforts to end the war. Trump later said that he would continue to deal with Zelenskyy once the Ukrainian leader expresses a desire to end the war with Russia.

“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,” Zelenskyy wrote, adding that he wants to sign a rare earth minerals deal with the United States and be part of peace talks with Russia.

Zelenskyy’s comment were made just hours after Trump directed a pause of U.S. assistance to Ukraine.

Ukraine has relied on U.S. and European military aid to hold off its bigger and better-armed foe throughout three years of warfare that has killed and injured hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides and flattened Ukrainian cities.

Trump, meanwhile, has said that he wants to end the war in Ukraine and said he believes the death toll on both sides is far higher than what has been officially confirmed. Before the election, Trump said he would end the war in 24 hours, but his administration has since signaled that it could take months.

After the pause in U.S. military aid, Europeans indicated they are racing to boost their own military spending and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday unveiled proposals to boost spending on defense in the EU. She said the move could mobilize up to 800 billion euros ($840 billion). The EU is holding an emergency summit on Thursday.

Since Russia’s invasion three years ago, the U.S. Congress has approved $175 billion in total assistance for Ukraine, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

On Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state-run media outlet TASS the U.S. decision that stopped aid to Ukraine “could encourage” Kyiv to “lean toward attempts to resolve the situation by peaceful means.”
Trump suggested on Monday that a deal to open up Ukraine’s minerals to U.S. investment could still be agreed upon. The deal was meant to be signed in Washington on Friday before Zelenskyy departed the Oval Office early following the breakdown in talks.

“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format,” Zelenskyy said. “We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively.”

In an interview on Fox News, Vance called on Zelenskyy to accept the deal.

“If you want real security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine,” Vance said.



https://www.newsmax.com/newsfr...dkt_nbr=010102g1xz4a

Zelenskyy Wants Back In: 'Time to Make Things Right'

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just hours after President Donald Trump paused U.S. aid to his war-torn country, posted what could be considered a conciliatory message and an attempt to get back into Trump's good graces after last week's blowup in the Oval Office.

"Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be," Zelenskyy posted in a lengthy statement to X. "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."

At the end of the message, Zelenskyy expressed hope Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will restore the paused minerals deal that was pulled off the table after Friday's meeting.

"Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format," Zelenskyy's statement concluded. "We see this agreement as a step toward greater security and solid security guarantees, and I truly hope it will work effectively."

Trump accused Zelenskyy for being ungrateful for his administration's work to achieve peace in Ukraine and bringing Russia's Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table, something Trump said is made difficult if Zelenskyy continues to demonize the other party he needs to bring peace in his country.

"I would like to reiterate Ukraine's commitment to peace," Zelenskyy said at the start of the statement after Trump cut off talks Friday, saying Zelenskyy would be welcome back when he is ready to achieve 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.

cont...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: 6guns,

quote:

“Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it in any time and in any convenient format,” Zelenskyy said.

Easily send and sign documents with Docusign eSignature...

I doubt that you'll be invited back to the White House.

Putin Agrees To Mediate Iran Nuke Talks After Trump Request

https://www.zerohedge.com/geop...-after-trump-request

A very unexpected and unlikely development and plan is being widely reported Tuesday: Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to help the Trump White House broker talks with Iran on curtailing the country's nuclear program.

Trump reportedly relayed the request for Putin to play a direct role in new negotiations with Iran during their February phone call. The topic was further broached and more details were discussed during the US-Russia Riyadh talks which followed, reports Bloomberg on Tuesday.

More at link

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:


Zelenskyy Expresses Regret Over Trump Meeting, Willingness to Sign Deal

A saying that was a favorite of my Dad's comes to mind with this guy:

"I trust him about as far as I can throw him"

quote:

"Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be "

Mr. Sweatsuit is so goddamn stupid, I'm convinced as moronic as Kamala. He thought the U.S. power structure was still with guys like Schumer, Rice, Murphy, etc and believed their lies that Trump was nothing, off the rails, a poor leader, etc., that he was in the driver's seat in the Oval Office. And the fucker fell for it hook line and sinker.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe Confirms President Trump Paused “Intelligence Sharing” (ie The Drone Targeting System) With Ukraine

Two sources informed the Financial Times that President Trump paused “intelligence sharing” with Ukraine. In a follow-up another source told Sky News the “intelligence sharing” with Ukraine was paused, but the intel is still shared with the U.K.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe appeared on Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo and confirmed President Trump instructed a pause in “intelligence sharing.” However, it’s a little funny because everyone is using the term “intelligence sharing” to avoid saying what is actually happening.

President Trump paused the drone and missile “targeting system” being used by CIA and Ukraine partners; that’s what the “intelligence sharing” factually consists of. Why don’t they use the term “targeting system”?… Because if they did, they would be admitting the USA has been the military/IC operation firing missiles and drones against Russia.

Within the Sky News report, they go right up to the edge in describing what the “intelligence” being paused actually consists of. “Asked whether it is correct that the US has stopped sharing intelligence, the source said: “Unfortunately, yes, but not completely. It is selective. On the possibility of damage on the territory of the Russian Federation”.

Bottom Line – President Trump has paused “sharing” the U.S controlled targeting system that was being used (by Ukraine and the CIA) to target Russian military forces.

https://theconservativetreehou...ukraine/#more-269820

Marco Rubio says the quiet part out loud:

President Macron Tries to Position France as Replacement Head of NATO in Support of Ukraine

Previously French President Emmanuel Macron refused to commit to putting French troops together with U.K troops on the ground in Ukraine. Politically in France, Macron is on the ropes.

Obviously, such a direct commitment of troops into Ukraine would put tenuously positioned Macron in an even worse position. However, putting French technical support systems into place to replace the withdrawn U.S. targeting system just sounds better.

So, as the optics of French politics present, yeah, yeah, that’s the ticket – Macron goes that way.

Stepping into the spotlight Macron said in an address to the nation on Wednesday that Russia was “a threat for France and Europe”, that the Ukraine was already a “global conflict” and that he would open a debate about extending the French nuclear umbrella to allies in Europe.

Macron also said that he plans next week to hold a meeting of army chiefs from European countries willing to send troops to Ukraine after any eventual peace deal with Russia. Macron told the people of France that his nation needs to be ready if the United States is no longer by its side.

Russia Responds –MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian officials and lawmakers on Thursday poured scorn on French President Emmanuel Macron for saying that Russia threatened Europe and cautioned that such talk could lead the West towards the abyss of a new world war.

[…] the advance of Russian forces in Ukraine in 2024 and U.S. President Donald Trump’s upending of U.S. policy towards Ukraine and Russia and demand for a peace deal to end the war have triggered a crisis among European powers who fear the United States is turning its back on Europe.

“Such an erroneous analysis leads to fatal errors,” said Konstantin Kosachev, a senior Russian senator, who said Macron had mistaken Russia’s reaction to the enlargement and aggression of the U.S.-led military alliance towards Russia.

“Macron maniacally imposes on his citizens, allies and the entire world a completely false concept of what is happening – ‘the Russians are coming!’ Such false conclusions and false suggestions lead to the abyss.”

Russia and the United States are by far the world’s biggest nuclear powers, with over 5,000 nuclear warheads each, followed by China with about 500 and then France with 290 and the United Kingdom with 225, according to the Federation of American Scientists. (more)

“One ping Vasilli“…
Keep in mind, President Trump has withdrawn “intelligence sharing,” the targeting systems used by the elements in control of Ukraine warfighting. This move is essentially leaving Ukraine naked to the possibility of Russia taking advantage of this moment of strategic vulnerability.

However, 36 hours later and Russia is not attacking.

All of this is very interesting.

First, President Trump and President Putin have talked personally via phone. Second, President Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, spent over three-and-a-half hours in a face-to-face meeting with President Putin.

• Witkoff discussed the intentions of President Trump with President Putin, following the phone call between Trump and Putin. • President Trump has paused the long-range “targeting systems” being used by Ukraine. • President Putin is not taking the opportunity to attack. • Putin is restraining himself. “One ping only Vasilli“… can you see it?

Put those points all together and you see a picture of peace being discussed by Trump and Putin, and a potential ceasefire being opposed by Zelenskyy (Ukraine), Starmer (UK), Macron (FR) and the EU leadership.

Yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly said, “for the past three years the U.S and Russia, two nuclear powers, have been in a proxy war.” This is the U.S. Secretary of State saying this on television.

The EU nations are assembled in Brussels today to discuss how to finance a larger EU military.

The U.K is willing to support continued warfighting efforts in Ukraine.

France wants to keep supporting Ukraine warfighting efforts.

German leadership is now proposing changes to their constitution to enable them to spend and assemble a larger military.

It’s a little bit remarkable. Germany is talking about assembling a larger military to support a move through NATO ally Poland putting German troops into Ukraine to fight Russians.

https://theconservativetreehou...ukraine/#more-269854

Wait, you mean the shit talking but ultimately spineless Eurotwats failed to back up their claims? Shirley you can’t be serious.

quote:

Originally posted by Leemur:
Shirley you can’t be serious.