The Repubs that ran on the promise to end open end support for Ukraine have now got their chance to show their cajones…..personally I think they will waffle and do what the M-IC demands.

Biden has promised to do what it takes to support Ukraine…..and to me that means a bottomless pit of cash……

The Pentagon announced that it is setting up a new command, based in Germany, to oversee the training and equipping of Ukraine’s military during its fight with Russia, the New York Times reported on Friday. The command is named Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, or SAG-U.

The news came soon after the announcement of another $400 million arms package to Ukraine, including tanks and drones. These weapons will be used to retake territory Russia has annexed, according to Kiev. Current and former US officials told the Times these moves suggest that Washington “expects the threat from Russia to Ukraine and its neighbors to persist for many years.”

Sabrina Singh, the deputy Pentagon press secretary, told reporters the new command will “ensure we are postured to continue supporting Ukraine over the long term.” She added the US remains “committed to Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

(antiwar.com)

I read that Zelensky was open to talks with Russia….open yes but actually probably not….but the idea is to give us the illusion that things are slowing….

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said late Monday that he is open to talks with Russia but only under conditions that are non-starters for negotiations with Moscow.

According to The Associated Press, Zelensky’s conditions include Russia withdrawing from the territory it has captured, Russia paying compensation for war damages, and the prosecution of alleged Russian war crimes.

Missing from Zelensky’s demands was his previous stance that talks could only happen if Vladimir Putin was no longer Russia’s leader. Zelensky previously signed a decree ruling out peace talks with Russia as long as Putin is president, and media reports said that the US was privately encouraging Ukraine to drop this position for public relations purposes.

Sources told POLITICO on Tuesday that Zelensky changed his position after being nudged by the US for several days. The effort included in-person talks between Zelensky and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan that took place in Kyiv last week.

A senior Biden administration official told POLITICO that even though they were pushing Zelensky to drop the position, they don’t actually want peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. “That doesn’t mean they need to go to the negotiating table right now. We don’t even think right now is the right time based on what Russia is doing,” the official said.

The US was concerned that it looked bad for Ukraine to take such a firm stance against negotiations while Russian officials, including Putin, continue to say they’re open to talks. The US still expects the war to last for years and is setting up a command to oversee arming Ukraine based in Germany that is expected to be up and running in early 2023.

(antiwar.com)

It is this announcement was issued to placate naysayers only….there is NO intention on talks.

The belief that with the on-set of Winter that the war will slow and be a possible opening for some sort of diplomacy…..

Some US and Western officials believe this winter will provide an opportunity for diplomacy between Russia and Ukraine as they don’t think either side can fully achieve their goals in the war, NBC News reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources.

“In the winter everything slows down,” one Western official said. “The potential for talks, we would like to see that happening.” The report said Western military officials don’t believe that Ukraine can drive Russia out of all the territory it has captured.

Also on Wednesday, Russia announced that it was pulling out of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. US and Western officials told NBC that if Ukraine retakes Kherson, it could put the government of Volodymyr Zelensky in a “better position to negotiate.”

The Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported this week that the US and NATO might think peace talks are possible if Ukraine retakes Kherson. The paper said the Western powers are considering diplomacy due to the threat of tactical nuclear weapons being used and the fact that if Russia is defeated in Ukraine, it may become closer to China.

(antiwar.com)

Many have asked, including me, how this conflict will end?

It is cruel to realize that the overwhelming likelihood is that this war ends in some negotiated settlement where each side gets something its wants and neither side gets everything it desires. That result could have been achieved prior to February 2022. It was possible again in March at the Istanbul meetings. A negotiated settlement is possible now, before the winter.

Each time the opportunity for a peaceful end was rejected by the two sides, more people died and more cities were destroyed. That vicious cycle will continue, as I project we’ll be in the same no-win position this summer when the next opportunity comes to find a negotiated settlement – after God-only-knows how many more people have been killed or maimed in a pointless striving for the unattainable. Wisdom says the parties should end the war now, on the best possible terms for each side.

But wisdom is an attribute in frighteningly short supply among today’s senior leaders.

There Is Only 1 Way the Ukraine War Can End

This conflict will end when the industry says it is over….not until.

In closing I ask the same question I have asked for months….Just what does the US hope to gain for their investment in Ukraine?

It has been asked and so far no answer has been forthcoming.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”