quote:

Originally posted by Fed161:
I'm not at all convinced Zelensky would lose. It appears the dust up between President Trump and Zelensky triggered a "rally around the flag" response among Ukranians.

Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/0...aine-popularity.html

Ahh yes because the NTY is the epitome of honest reporting...

What Ceasefire?
: European Gas Prices Jump After Ukraine Blows Up Key Gas Pumping Station In Russia In "Act Of Terrorism"

So much for that ceasefire.

European natural gas prices jumped after an attack on a pumping station in Russia’s Kursk region (formerly held by Ukraine mercenaries until their recent hasty retreat), which formed part of a link that sent fuel to the continent until recently, and which Moscow accused Ukraine of attacking in an "act of terrorism".

Russia on Friday accused Ukraine of deliberately blowing up the key gas pumping and measuring station in the Kursk region near the Ukrainian border which was under the control of Ukrainian Armed Forces since last August before the area was reclaimed by Russian forces this month, in what it called "an act of terrorism."

Meanwhile, Ukraine as always played the idiot card, and accused Russia of attacking its own energy facility: the country's General Staff of the Armed Forces confirmed the Sudzha gas metering station was shelled, but said it was Russians who struck their own facility (just like Ukraine previously accused Russia of blowing up the Nord Stream), pointing to previous instances in which Russia appeared to send soldiers through a disused natural gas pipeline.

In a post on Facebook, the General Staff said the accusations were "baseless," and part of a "discrediting campaign against Ukraine...The mentioned station was repeatedly shelled by the Russians themselves."

The transit point is part of a Gazprom pipeline link that, until the start of this year, brought Russian gas to Europe. Some countries that previously depended on those flows had hoped they would eventually resume. NASA satellite imagery indicated wide-scale fires covered the gas-station area and the surrounding territory.

“Those in the gas market that hope Russian exports may resume along this transit line when the war ends will now be looking to gauge the extent of the damage to the infrastructure and crucially how quickly it could be repaired by Gazprom,” said Tom Marzec-Manser, an independent gas analyst.

Whoever was behind the attack, the damage will make the resumption of Russian gas supplies more unlikely, a prospect that was already in retreat after a 30-day ceasefire didn’t immediately emerge as a first step toward a peace deal. Russia and Ukraine’s leaders indicated they’d agree to a ceasefire on attacking energy infrastructure, but so far that has not led to a halt in attacks.

Dutch front-month futures (TTF), Europe’s gas benchmark, were 2.3% higher at €43.84 a megawatt-hour by 12:07 p.m. in Amsterdam. Earlier they rose as much as 6.2% in early trading on Friday. But price gains eased in the course of the morning as traders digested the limited short-term impact from the blast. In addition to the link not being used currently, damage could be repaired if there were a political decision to resume flows.

“A fix could range from weeks to a year or two, depending upon the availability of replacements and the severity of the damage,” said Ronald Smith from Emerging Markets Oil & Gas Consulting Partners LLC.

“The major issue here remains one of finding a political resolution to the conflict and restarting full economic relations between Europe and Russia, not so much in the infrastructure.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/mark...mping-station-russia

He knows this cannot happen. Therefore, the only conclusion to be drawn is that he wants the war (and the grift) to continue. He's going to have his ass handed to him, either by outright, decisive defeat on the battlefield, or by being deposed by his own people.

President Trump won't help him and Europe is incapable of helping him, so, he's choosing to go out the hard way.

https://x.com/gatewaypundit/st.../1903063552350359708

If this is true...

https://x.com/OwenGregorian/st.../1903402104880091384

Trump announces drafts of 'contracts' are being drawn up that divide land in Ukraine war

"I believe we’re going to pretty soon have a full ceasefire, and then we’re going to have a contract, and the contract’s being negotiated, the contract in terms of dividing up the lands, etc., etc. It’s being negotiated as we speak," he said.

President Donald Trump on Friday told reporters that negotiations for dividing up the land between Russia and Ukraine was underway, which would be part of a final deal to end the war between the two countries.

The development comes as negotiations on an "energy and infrastructure ceasefire" is already being discussed. An energy and infrastructure ceasefire appears to refer to a cessation of attacks on those types of facilities. They are also discussing a maritime ceasefire that would presumably spell the end of Ukrainian strikes on the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

Trump did not outline when the ceasefire would take place, but indicated that it could come "pretty soon," per The Hill.

“They are fighting against each other,” the president told reporters in the White House. “I think we’re going to have ceasefire on a lot of areas and so far, that’s all held very well. In getting that ceasefire, they had a lot of guns pointing at each other. You had some soldiers unfortunately surrounded by other soldiers.

"I believe we’re going to pretty soon have a full ceasefire, and then we’re going to have a contract, and the contract’s being negotiated, the contract in terms of dividing up the lands, etc., etc. It’s being negotiated as we speak," he added.

Zelensky Declares Ukraine Will ‘Never Cede’ Occupied Territories to Russia, Suggests Trump Being Naive About Putin

https://www.breitbart.com/euro...g-naive-about-putin/

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday evening that Ukraine will “never cede” the occupied territories to Russia while expressing doubts about the Trump-led efforts to bring peace and suggesting the President is being deceived by Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to the French paper Le Figaro ahead of yet another summit in Paris, Zelensky once again appears to have been emboldened by European allies as they expressed a hardline position towards Moscow in the ongoing U.S.-led negotiations.

“One thing is certain: we will never cede our occupied territories to Russia. These lands belong to the Ukrainians,” Zelensky said.

“When will we get them back? Probably not right away. This may have to be done diplomatically. Diplomacy causes fewer victims,” he added.

Since the 2022 invasion, Russia has seized most of the territories in the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, in addition to having taken over Crimea in 2014.

While Ukraine showed surprise early successes against the much larger Russian army, after three years, the initially mobile war soon descended into trench-like conditions and became relatively static. Since, Ukraine has failed to take back much more territory militarily, even at a high cost of lives. Yet, despite seemingly being in the weaker position, Zelensky and his European backers have demanded that Russia abandon the hard-won territories.

The Russians, for their part, try to assert these regions are rightfully theirs, noting that many in the areas are Russian speakers although, of course, by this stage most Ukrainian speakers will already have fled.

Ahead of peace talks in Riyadh earlier this week, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said that Ukraine’s, and indeed the rest of the world’s, willingness to acknowledge that it had lost the territories to Russia would be key to whether a peace settlement could be reached between Moscow and Kyiv.

The Ukrainians raged at Witkoff’s comments and demanded that President Trump sack his top envoy over the conflict. Continuing his doubtful stance towards the U.S. leader, with whom he infamously clashed in the White House last month, Zelensky suggested that Vladimir Putin and the Russians were conning Trump.

“Donald Trump tried to create good diplomatic relations with Russia. But this kind of method doesn’t work with a man like Putin… If Donald Trump eases sanctions against Russia, he will only deduce one thing: that he is a weak president and can therefore take the next step,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian leader accused Moscow of stalling during the negotiations, claiming that his side was willing to accept an unconditional ceasefire during the talks in Saudi Arabia, but that the Russians had laid out a list of preconditions, such as the lifting of economic sanctions. This, Zelensky claimed, demonstrated that Vladimir Putin is not serious about seeking a peace settlement.

Zelensky went on to claim that “Putin is trying to buy time and that he is preparing for a spring offensive” and that Kyiv has shared “intelligence with our allies” about plans from Moscow to launch further attacks in the Sumy and the Kharkiv regions.

“[Putin] already wanted to launch this operation eight months ago, but we prevented him thanks to our intervention in Kursk. That’s why today he needs time,” he said.

Zelensky’s comments came ahead of another summit of European leaders in Paris on Thursday, during which they will further discuss the prospect of a British and European peacekeeping force being deployed to Ukraine in the event of a peace settlement.

In a press conference ahead of the talks, French President Macron announced an additional two billion euros in military aid to Kyiv, saying: “The goal is to keep Ukraine on its feet. France will continue its commitment, in consultation with its European partners and allies.”

The French president also demanded that Russia agree to a 30-day ceasefire “without preconditions”. This came as the European Union said that it would not lift its sanctions on Moscow unless the Russians retreat from “the entire territory” of Ukraine.

“The end of unprovoked and unjustified Russian aggression in Ukraine and the unconditional withdrawal of all Russian military forces from the entire Ukrainian territory would be the main prerequisites for changing or lifting sanctions,” a Brussels spokesman said.

"We Will Not Allow It": Zelensky Rejects New Mineral Draft That Would Recognize US Support As Loans

https://www.zerohedge.com/poli...ize-us-support-loans

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a Friday press conference that he won't recognize past US military aid as loans, after Washington sent a new draft of the minerals deal to Kiev.

One Ukrainian lawmaker said on Telegram that the revised mineral agreement is a "horror" that offers no security guarantees from Washington.

Lwwmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a People's Deputy from Ukraine's Holos party, said he obtained a new draft of the mineral deal from the U.S., dated March 23 - which he says would grant the Untied States access to all existing and future mineral deposits across Ukraine, along with oil and gas throughout the country.

According to Zheleznyak, the new agreement contains "not even a hint" of security guarantees - though he did note that the revised draft wasn't final, "and I hope that the Ukrainian side will demand and achieve significant changes to it."

"This is no longer a framework memorandum of intent, like the one discussed before the scandalous Oval Office meeting," said Zheleznyak, adding "This is a full-fledged, very clear agreement. And it's not in our favor."

More at link

The President should send him a fork with a long curved handle.

President Trump is useing the kid gloves on putin because he has no other way to deal with this war, biden and some top military people got us in. This whole thing is a sham for 47 trillion dollars in fossil fuels and minerals which neither belong to the US or that commie trash whole putin rules over. And for all the lining up behind putin to hate on Zekenskyy, this is in fact, the 2nd time in our lives a actor has become the President of his country. I've watched footage on a nightly basis and Russia cannot beat little Ukraine so long as Ukraine has help. Europe will do this as America has turned Coward. An embarrassing God damned mess. My President does not know how to deal with a war. The damned DefSec is a boy with fake grey hair color. We are aiding a commie POS in destroying a people. Fight them hard Ukraine. Send it right into Moscow and St. Pete. Destroy Russian way of life. And who fired first in this cease fire is a damn lie too.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
President Trump is useing the kid gloves on putin because he has no other way to deal with this war, biden and some top military people got us in. This whole thing is a sham for 47 trillion dollars in fossil fuels and minerals which neither belong to the US or that commie trash whole putin rules over. And for all the lining up behind putin to hate on Zekenskyy, this is in fact, the 2nd time in our lives a actor has become the President of his country. I've watched footage on a nightly basis and Russia cannot beat little Ukraine so long as Ukraine has help. Europe will do this as America has turned Coward. An embarrassing God damned mess. My President does not know how to deal with a war. The damned DefSec is a boy with fake grey hair color. We are aiding a commie POS in destroying a people. Fight them hard Ukraine. Send it right into Moscow and St. Pete. Destroy Russian way of life. And who fired first in this cease fire is a damn lie too.

This is wholly absurd.

"absurd" is far too kind.

Man, somebody gets their information from “The View”.

Defsec? Is that anything like the OPSEC the left has been clamoring about as if a memo came out for them all to parrot the same thing on social media? I believe you have your issued liberal talking points confused.

I believe in President Trumps 1st term, he sent 6,000 Javelins to Ukraine right ? Not for entertainment but to destroy Russian tanks. The EU has givin them similar tools. So why all the change of politics now in dealing with Russia ? Because Europe is not going to allow Ukraine to fail. And I hate that little bad boy in Russia. I care not about their gas and oil. It just seems to me, we've turned away from our principals after being in this for 3 years, because President Trump is hell bent on keeping a promise ? He didn't stop the war he too aided in by the first 24 hours. That's not failure, it's reality. It's a lot bigger issue than a campaign promise. I hope Ukraine wins this war and holds onto all their lands.

A couple of easy questions for you-

How much of your money (not tax money) have you sent to support the war,

And;

Have you fought over there or are currently enlisted to go to the front lines and fight?

They are both easy questions and don’t take but a few words (likely only two maybe three) to answer.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
I believe in President Trumps 1st term, he sent 6,000 Javelins to Ukraine right ? Not for entertainment but to destroy Russian tanks. The EU has givin them similar tools. So why all the change of politics now in dealing with Russia ? Because Europe is not going to allow Ukraine to fail. And I hate that little bad boy in Russia. I care not about their gas and oil. It just seems to me, we've turned away from our principals after being in this for 3 years, because President Trump is hell bent on keeping a promise ? He didn't stop the war he too aided in by the first 24 hours. That's not failure, it's reality. It's a lot bigger issue than a campaign promise. I hope Ukraine wins this war and holds onto all their lands.

Bullshit. Besides your anti-Trump tirade, where do you get your figures for the value of mineral / petroleum reserves in Ukraine?

If you're so pro-Zelensky (who would lose in a non-rigged national election in Ukraine by a landslide), then go fucking volunteer to be on the front lines.

It's kind of early in the day to be drinking, isn't it?

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
Man, somebody gets their information from “The View”.

Yeah, phrases like "America has turned coward", "My President does not know how to deal with a war" "The damned DefSec is a boy" are hilarious, Hillary would utter such words herself.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
A couple of easy questions for you-

How much of your money (not tax money) have you sent to support the war,

And;

Have you fought over there or are currently enlisted to go to the front lines and fight?

They are both easy questions and don’t take but a few words (likely only two maybe three) to answer.

No money sent JL and the only Americans involved are those former Vets who claim to be caught in kill mode and the only job they are good at.

quote:

Originally posted by Dakor:

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
I believe in President Trumps 1st term, he sent 6,000 Javelins to Ukraine right ? Not for entertainment but to destroy Russian tanks. The EU has givin them similar tools. So why all the change of politics now in dealing with Russia ? Because Europe is not going to allow Ukraine to fail. And I hate that little bad boy in Russia. I care not about their gas and oil. It just seems to me, we've turned away from our principals after being in this for 3 years, because President Trump is hell bent on keeping a promise ? He didn't stop the war he too aided in by the first 24 hours. That's not failure, it's reality. It's a lot bigger issue than a campaign promise. I hope Ukraine wins this war and holds onto all their lands.

Bullshit. Besides your anti-Trump tirade, where do you get your figures for the value of mineral / petroleum reserves in Ukraine?

If you're so pro-Zelensky (who would lose in a non-rigged national election in Ukraine by a landslide), then go fucking volunteer to be on the front lines.

First, I am not anti Trump so no thanks for your statement. Zelenskyy said he would give up his position and there would be a new leader in Ukraine if anyone, mainly America would provide security for his country. This ain't on me brother, it's one little mad man in russia.

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
I believe in President Trumps 1st term, he sent 6,000 Javelins to Ukraine right? Not for entertainment but to destroy Russian tanks.

No, actually that was a key component of a two pronged foreign policy deterrent...Peace through strength AND President Donald J Trump! AND it worked, as Russia did not invade Ukraine when Trump was in office!

quote:

It just seems to me, we've turned away from our principals after being in this for 3 years

Uhhh, we had NO principals during those three years. That was the problem, and a key part of why Russia was/felt undeterred in invading Ukraine in 2022!

quote:

I hope Ukraine wins this war and holds onto all their lands.

This is fantasy! It ain't gonna happen...NO way, NO how! The Donbas & Crimea (basically Eastern Ukraine) are part of Russia now! People need to accept it!

quote:

Originally posted by David Lee:
Zelenskyy said he would give up his position and there would be a new leader in Ukraine if anyone, mainly America would provide security for his country.

No, he said he would step down in exchange for membership in NATO. Now, just cool it. Enough.