Tag: Ukraine

Did Ukraine Poke Donny In The Eye?

After weeks of back and forth and Donny putting in his two cents worth (mostly in favor of the Russian point of view) Zelensky has crapped on Donny’s attempt to a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia….

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made clear on Monday that Ukraine will not give up any territory to Russia, firmly rejecting a central demand from Moscow that has been echoed in President Trump’s latest peace proposal. Zelensky made the statement after meeting with leaders of Britain, France, and Germany in London, the Washington Post reports. The development could signal the end of Trump’s proposal, which has been criticized as basically reflecting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s wish list.

“Under our laws, under international law—and under moral law—we have no right to give anything away,” Zelensky said. “That is what we are fighting for.” Trump’s plan reportedly includes provisions that would bar Ukraine from joining NATO and grant Russia control over portions of Ukraine it does not occupy now. Ukraine and its European allies have argued the plan is too favorable to Russia and lacks sufficient security guarantees for Ukraine. Zelensky said Ukraine is receptive to a deal, telling reporters that “explicitly anti-Ukrainian provisions” have been removed from Trump’s plan.

Trump was critical of Zelensky over the weekend for not having already agreed to his plan, and European leaders backed up Ukraine’s president on Monday. “We stand with Ukraine,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, per the Hill. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron also went to London. The group has been united in saying Russia should not benefit from new international boundaries imposed by force, per the Post. Putin makes the illegal case that Russia has annexed four regions of Ukraine, as well as Crimea, which it took over a decade ago. Russian forces have occupied nearly that much land during the war on Ukraine.

May I see a show of hands…..how many of you thought Donny could pull this off?

Personally I thought he was peeing in his chili…..

Oh well shall he try again?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ukraine Back In The News

AS this year draws to a conclusion and all the work being done with the conflict….is there any hope of some sort of deal before Christmas….a Christmas miracle if you will.

Some say we are closing in on a deal….but how many times have we heard that particular piece of manure?

Ukrainian officials made significant changes to a US-drafted peace deal during negotiations with their US counterparts in Geneva on Sunday, The Guardian has reported.

The original 28-point plan leaked to the media was substantially altered during the talks, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the US side and Andriy Yermak, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the Ukrainian side, and was reduced to 19 points.

“As of now, after Geneva, there are fewer points, no longer 28, and many correct elements have been incorporated into this framework,” Zelensky said on Monday.

It’s unclear exactly what changes were made to the plan, but the main objections from Ukrainian officials and their European backers were the provisions requiring Ukraine to cede territory it controls in the Donbas to Russia and the guarantees that Ukraine won’t ever join NATO.

According to a report from the Financial Times, the US and Ukrainian officials left the most sensitive details, including territorial lines and Ukraine’s relationship with NATO, to be decided by Zelensky and President Trump, who are expected to meet soon.

(antiwar.com)

Ukraine will head to DC to meet with what-his-name soon…..according to reports….

It looks like a deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war is genuinely close—at least on Ukraine’s end. CBS News and the BBC report that Ukraine has agreed in principle to a US-brokered peace deal after lengthy talks. The development comes after the US and Ukraine “significantly changed” the original 28-point plan, which was widely seen as favorable to Russia, per the Washington Post. The question now is whether Moscow will accept the new terms. No details were released on the latest version of the peace plan, particularly on the thorniest issue of all: territorial concessions.

However, “many of the controversial provisions were either softened or at least reshaped,” Oleksandr Bevz, part of the Ukrainian team, tells the Post. A US official tells CBS that “there are some minor details to be sorted out, but they have agreed to a peace deal,” referring to Ukraine. Meanwhile, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is reportedly in Abu Dhabi to meet with Russian officials about the deal.

Of course his majesty has to weigh in…..

President Trump announced Tuesday that his administration has made significant progress toward a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, with only “a few remaining points of disagreement” to be resolved. Trump said he has dispatched special envoy Steve Witkoff to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, while Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll will meet separately with Ukrainian officials, CNN reports. Trump indicated he may meet with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but only when a deal is nearly finalized.

  • “I will be briefed on all progress made, along with Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles,” Trump said in a Truth Social post. “I look forward to hopefully meeting with President Zelenskyy and President Putin soon, but ONLY when the deal to end this War is FINAL or, in its final stages.”

Trump highlighted the progress on a US-drafted 28-point peace plan, which he said has been “fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides.” “I think we’re getting very close to a deal. We’ll find out,” Trump said during the White House turkey pardon on Tuesday, per the AP. “I thought that would have been an easier one, but I think we’re making progress,” he said. One key sticking point appears to be Ukraine’s potential NATO membership, a demand the initial proposal asked Ukraine to abandon.

Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told CNN that Ukraine may need to signal it won’t seek NATO membership for now but warned that peace should not come “through surrender.” He said Ukraine will join the European Union instead, “which probably makes more sense at this point.” Ukrainian officials have called the NATO demand unacceptable, though Panetta believes a workable compromise is possible.

  • Zelensky, for his part, said his country’s negotiating team is making progress but that Russia’s war against Ukraine continues. “Every day, Russia kills our people on the front lines and attacks our cities and energy infrastructure,” he said in a post on X after at least seven people were killed in strikes on Kyiv.
  • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron echoed concerns about Russia’s intentions, with Macron accusing Moscow of “pretending it wanted peace” while continuing attacks.
  • Russia, meanwhile, signaled that it might resist changes to the plan, with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov saying it would be a “fundamentally different situation” if the changes “erased” the agreements made during Trump’s summit with Putin in Alaska, New York Times reports.

I hope that they are truly finding a path to end this conflict….but we have heard too many times that a deal was close…..so please forgive me if I await a signed deal before I give anyone an ‘ata boy’….

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

This Ukraine Thing…..

Russia/Ukraine conflict has been going on for years and just last year we were promised if Donald the Orange was elected he would end it on Day One….

Now we had a deal brewing to end it and Donny was all a tither about his plan….then over the weekend things went from thumbs up to in the crapper….or so the story goes.

American and Ukrainian officials met in Geneva on Sunday to discuss a new draft of the US proposal to end the war on Ukraine, while President Trump criticized Ukraine and his administration pushed back against charges that it’s really Russia’s plan. At the talks, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that progress had been made, the Washington Post reports. “We’ve had probably the most productive and meaningful meeting so far in this entire process,” he said, adding that changes have been made to the plan. Despite the president’s earlier complaint, Rubio said Trump is now pleased with the way the talks are going, per the BBC. Developments include:

  • Trump’s post: As the talks began, Trump reissued a criticism of Ukraine’s leaders, per the New York Times, posting in all caps that “Ukraine’s ‘leadership’ has expressed zero gratitude for our efforts.” He also criticized Joe Biden and European nations, but not Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky answered a few hours later, posting, “We are grateful for everything that America and President Trump are doing for security, and we keep working as constructively as possible.”
  • Russia’s role: Ukraine was not involved in drafting the plan presented by the US, but there are accusations that Russia was. A group of senators who were in Canada for a security conference on Saturday said Rubio had told them on the phone that the drafting of the plan was not led by the US, per the AP. “It is essentially the wish list of the Russians,” Independent Sen. Angus King said. Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, who also was on the call, said: “It is not our recommendation. It is not our peace plan.”
  • Administration answers: “The peace proposal was authored by the US. It is offered as a strong framework for ongoing negotiations,” Rubio posted later on X. A State Department spokesman called the senators’ account “blatantly false,” and White House officials said the plan “was authored by the United States, with input from both the Russians and Ukrainians.”
  • Democratic opposition: Sen. Mark Warner ripped the Trump plan on ABC News’ This Week, saying that it looks like a list of “Russian talking points,” per the Post. “It would make Neville Chamberlain’s giving in to Hitler—the outset of World War II—look strong in comparison,” he added, per the Hill. The US plan reportedly would require Ukraine to reduce its military, surrender territory, and bar NATO troops from the country.
  • Zelensky’s appeal: The president wrote a lengthy social media post that said Russia started the war and refuses to stop it, warning other nations could face its aggression next. In addition to thanking Trump and the American people, Zelensky expressed gratitude to the European and G20 nations that have provided assistance, per the BBC. He then added: “It is important not to forget the main goal—to stop Russia’s war and prevent it from ever igniting again. And to achieve that, peace must be dignified.”

So Day One slipping away yet again…..

But not to worry the meetings will go on….and on…..and on….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

What’s The Secret?

The news has broken that the US and Russia are in secret meeting hammering out a ceasefire deal for Ukraine….

The Trump administration has been secretly collaborating with Russia on a new peace plan to end the war in Ukraine, according to officials from both countries who spoke to Axios. The proposed plan, which consists of 28 points, is said to be inspired by the Gaza peace deal brokered by President Trump. It covers four main areas: peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, broader European security, and the future of US relations with both Russia and Ukraine, according to Axios’ sources. They say Ukraine has not been involved in the negotiations.

The details on how the plan addresses issues such as who controls what territory in eastern Ukraine remain unclear, especially as Russian forces continue to make slow gains in the region. The drafting process is being led by Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, who has spent considerable time in discussions with Russian counterpart Kirill Dmitriev. Dmitriev, who oversees Russia’s sovereign wealth fund and is heavily involved in Ukraine diplomacy, told Axios he spent three days meeting with Witkoff and other Trump team members in Miami in late October.

We expressed optimism about the plan, saying “the Russian position is really being heard” in this round of negotiations. Dmitriev said the US effort is unrelated to a separate, UK-led push for a Gaza-style plan, which Dmitriev dismisses as disregarding Russia’s positions. Witkoff was expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey, but that meeting has been postponed. However, Witkoff did discuss the plan with Zelensky’s national security adviser, Rustem Umerov, in Miami. A Ukrainian official acknowledged awareness of US efforts, saying, “We know the Americans are working on something.”

The White House has begun briefing European officials about the plan and believes there is a realistic chance of garnering support from both Ukraine and its European allies, Axios reports. Sources tell Reuters that the US is pressuring Zelensky to accept the main points of the plan, including giving up territory and reducing the size of the country’s military.

Where is Ukraine in all these meetings?

Say there is a deal will Ukraine honor it?

This is a lame attempt to make Uncle Don look like a statesman…..that ship sailed long ago.

Why is Europe not more involved?

At what point is this a fart in the wind?

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You KNow

“lego ergo scribo”

Let’s Try Something New For Ukraine

For months, probably for years, the rhetoric from Donny and his band of incompetents has been that Ukraine, to achieve peace, may need to consider swapping land for peace.

With Donny in NYC for the big UN speech (which was something to laugh about) it appears that the Trump administration has a new way forward for Ukraine.

President Trump said Tuesday that he believed Ukraine could win back all territory lost to Russia, a dramatic shift from his repeated calls for Kyiv to make concessions to end the war. Trump posted on Truth Social soon after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly gathering of world leaders, the AP reports.

  • “I think Ukraine, with the support of the European Union, is in a position to fight and WIN all of Ukraine back in its original form,” Trump wrote. “With time, patience, and the financial support of Europe and, in particular, NATO, the original Borders from where this War started, is very much an option.”
  • “Russia has been fighting aimlessly for three and a half years a War that should have taken a Real Military Power less than a week to win,” Trump wrote. “This is not distinguishing Russia. In fact, it is very much making them look like ‘a paper tiger.'”
  • Trump said that when people across Russia find out “what is really going on” with the war and their economy, “Ukraine would be able to take back their Country in its original form and, who knows, maybe even go further than that!”
  • Trump had previously warned that any peace deal would likely involve Ukraine giving up some land, the BBC reports. He said Tuesday that he had changed his position “after getting to know and fully understand the Ukraine/Russia military and economic situation.”
  • The strengthened support from Trump, if it sticks, is a huge win for Zelensky, who has urged the American president to keep up the pressure on Vladimir Putin to end his brutal war.
  • Trump’s previous suggestions that Ukraine would never be able to reclaim all the territory that Russia has occupied since seizing the Crimean Peninsula in 2014 had disheartened Zelensky, Europeans, and Ukrainians and called into question the US commitment to UN principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. But now, Trump’s view of the battlefield coincides more with Ukraine’s, Zelensky said. “Trump is a game changer by himself,” Zelensky told reporters after their meeting.
  • “In the event that Russia is not ready to make a deal to end the war, then the United States is fully prepared to impose a very strong round of powerful tariffs, which would stop the bloodshed, I believe, very quickly,” Trump told the General Assembly. However, he repeated his calls for Europe to “step it up” and stop buying Russian oil, the engine feeding Putin’s war machine.” On Truth Social, he wrote, “Putin and Russia are in BIG Economic trouble, and this is the time for Ukraine to act.”

Is this the final word on Ukraine…..or will the Donny yo-yo be put into play yet again?

The “Z” man has to be jerking off in the bath for the money and aid will keep rolling.

Since the war did not end on day one I guess he has to try and smooth his stands to be more likeable for the coming mid-terms.

Any thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Was It A Breakthrough?

First Donny and Vlad made nice in Alaska then the Z man and the big cheese from NATO came to town a few days later…..and it would appear that some down the line of talks someone convinced the Z man that territory must be relinquished.

We may now be closer to a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia—but “the road to any settlement seems long,” reports the Washington Post, noting that while European leaders seem to have convinced President Trump that granting Russia a chunk of Ukrainian territory is not immediately necessary, Moscow is uneasy with the direction of talks, especially around security guarantees for Ukraine.

  • Potential meeting: Trump said he was trying to arrange a one-on-one meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the next couple of weeks, to be followed by a trilateral meeting involving Trump, per NBC News. But Russian officials said only that they had agreed to “explore the possibility” of a meeting, per the Post.
  • Fast timeline: Zelensky on Tuesday suggested that some of the thorniest issues could be worked out in 10 days. “Security guarantees will probably be ‘unpacked’ by our partners, and more and more details will emerge,” he said, per Reuters. “All of this will somehow be formalized on paper within the next week to 10 days.” A meeting with Putin would presumably follow.
  • Security guarantees: Trump said the US would be “involved” in keeping peace in Ukraine once a deal is reached, though he has ruled out the idea of sending ground troops. “We will give them very good protection and very good security,” he said, per the New York Times. Moscow had said Monday that it would not accept any peacekeeping efforts involving NATO members.
  • Analysis: CNN‘s Stephen Collinson suggests Putin will never agree to NATO-like security guarantees for Ukraine after “fighting a war to crush his neighbor’s NATO aspirations.” He also questions whether Western nations are prepared to fight a war against Russia to save Ukraine from another invasion. Russia, of course, has broken prior pacts not to invade Ukraine, per the Wall Street Journal.
  • Land swap: Putin on Friday suggested Ukraine should surrender its eastern Donbas region, including parts remaining under Ukrainian control, which Ukraine’s constitution prevents. That would “mean telling thousands of Ukrainians they have must leave home or become Russians,” writes Collinson, noting “land swaps create epochal upheaval and seed future feuds—as the Middle East shows.”
  • Putin’s intentions: Some European officials question whether Putin is playing for time or negotiating in good faith, which would mean accepting that he’s failed his mission in Ukraine. By proposing terms unacceptable to Ukraine, Russia may be trying to shift “blame for a breakdown in talks to Kyiv,” allowing it to continue the war, per the Journal. It has rejected calls for a ceasefire during the talks.
  • Kudos to Trump: Even if it all falls apart, Trump deserves credit for trying, writes Collison. “Monday’s meetings were the most compelling sign yet that the president really means it when he says he wants to stop the killing in Ukraine,” he notes. “He may deserve more credit than he gets for his energy and commitment so far.”

This is good news indeed that the people of Ukraine could actually realize some peace for a change….but is it good news?

I mean after years of war and the solution is something proposed before and dismissed….it still sounds like the US and NATO will be ass deep in Ukraine for years to come.

Is this truly a breakthrough or just another shot in the dark hoping for something that may never be?

I have reservation but I will give the process a chance and I wish all involved success.

So was it a breakthrough or much ado about nothing?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The “Z” Show Comes To Town

Yesterday the big day for meetings….Ukraine and NATO came to visit with Donny and the Boyz…..Putin is gone (for now) and the other side of the conflict came to have their say….

Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived at the White House for his high-stakes meeting with President Trump. The US president greeted him with a handshake at the White House entrance, and, when asked if he had a message for the Ukrainian people, responded, “We love them,” reports the New York Times.

  • “It’s an honor to have the president of Ukraine with us,” Trump said in opening remarks to reporters. “We had a good meeting just a while ago with the president of Russia,” he said. “Today’s meeting is very important.”
  • Zelensky, for his part, thanked Trump for his personal efforts to end the war.
  • Just before he arrived, Zelensky wrote that the goal was to achieve “a reliable and lasting peace” and to establish a “new security architecture,” reports the BBC.

  • After the Trump-Zelensky meeting ends, Trump will greet European leaders in the State Dining Room, then meet with them and Zelensky, per the Hill. Among those present, per the AP:

    • NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte
    • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
    • British Prime Minister Keir Starmer
    • French President Emmanuel Macron
    • German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
    • Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni
    • Finnish President Alexander Stubb

Zelensky was given the ultimatum by Donny to wear a suit and tie…..and he relented….

It was a light moment before the most serious of talks: President Trump complimented Volodymyr Zelensky’s dark suit as he greeted him Monday at the White House. “Best I have,” said Zelensky, reports the Wall Street Journal. “I cannot believe it, I love it,” Trump responded. The subject may seem trivial, but “the bonhomie evinced during the exchange suggests that this meeting could go far better than the last one,” per the Journal.

  • Background: Zelensky’s attire had been a source of speculation because he wore a military-style sweatshirt—in homage to his troops—before his last White House visit, the one that ended disastrously. Trump reportedly viewed the lack of formal attire as a sign of disrespect.
  • Another compliment: Brian Glenn, chief White House correspondent for Real America’s Voice, told Zelensky, “You look fabulous in that suit,” and Trump added, “I said the same thing.” At the last meeting, Glenn aggressively questioned Zelensky’s decision to forego a suit.

One very important part of the meeting met…..the suit.

Then the meeting, the very important meeting, took place and all went well(?)

President Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky have wrapped up their one-on-one meeting and have moved on to a larger meeting with European leaders. How far things have progressed toward ending the Russia-Ukraine fighting remained unclear, though both leaders sounded optimistic about the next steps.

  • Trump said he planned to call Vladimir Putin immediately after Monday’s meetings had finished, reports the Wall Street Journal, and he seemed confident about arranging a three-way meeting with Putin, himself, and Zelensky. “We’re going to try and work out a tri-lat after that and see if we can get it finished,” he said, per the Washington Post.
  • Zelensky, for his part, said he had a “very good conversation” with Trump about “sensitive matters including security guarantees,” per the BBC.
  • Trump did not answer directly when asked if the US was prepared to send troops to Ukraine as part of any security agreement. “We will give them very good protection, very good security. That’s part of it,” Trump said, per Axios. “We’ll be involved.”
  • Zelensky seemed open to the idea of a three-way meeting, at one point telling reporters that the thorny issue of territorial concessions could be worked out at a face-to-face summit with the Russian leader, per the New York Times. (Putin, to be clear, has yet to agree to any such meeting.) The Times also notes that Zelensky said, “Thank you for the map, by the way,” after his meeting with Trump, suggesting that the idea of land swaps had been broached.
  • Though Trump again said he didn’t think a ceasefire was necessary before a more permanent agreement, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had a different view. “To be honest, we all would like to see a ceasefire, the latest from the next meeting on,” he told Trump, per the BBC.

Then Donny moved on to those from NATO…..

  • Next meetings: Zelensky said at a press conference in Lafayette Park after the White House sessions said he’s willing to meet with Putin. He said whether Trump would join them later would depend on the first meeting, per the New York Times. He said no date or location had been set. Putin’s foreign policy aide said his boss and Trump had agreed only to have senior aides conduct direct Russia-Ukraine talks.
  • Europe’s lobbying: French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and other leaders tried to cast their goals as the same as Trump’s, per the Washington Post—suggesting a ceasefire and US security guarantees for Ukraine are supported by Trump. But the president suggested the war can end without a ceasefire, and wouldn’t quite say what he might do to aid Ukraine’s defense in a peace deal. Trump again described Putin, who rejected a ceasefire at the Alaska summit, as eager to stop the fighting. Of a ceasefire, Trump told the Europeans, “As of this moment, it’s not happening.”
  • Security guarantees: The Europeans stressed the need for security guarantees for Ukraine to protect against future aggression and seem to see it as important to their nations, as well. “When we speak about security guarantees, we speak about the whole security of the European continent,” Macron said, per the AP.
  • Trump’s response: “During the meeting we discussed Security Guarantees for Ukraine, which Guarantees would be provided by the various European Countries, with a coordination with the United States of America,” Trump wrote afterward on Truth Social. He also generally described the day’s talks as productive.
  • Territory: Trump had a map of Ukraine displayed on an easel during the meeting showing front lines and combat areas. Zelensky said later to reporters that he later had a long conversation with Trump in which he told him he did not fully agree with the percentage of Ukrainian territory the map showed as under Russian control, per the Times.
  • Doubts: “I am not convinced that President Putin also wants peace,” Macron told reporters after the meeting. “His ultimate goal is to gain as much territory as he can, to weaken Ukraine.” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany returned to a stalemated issue: “The next steps ahead are the more complicated ones,” he said. “I can’t imagine the next meeting will take place without a ceasefire.

It is said that the talks were stalled while Donny ran to the nearest phone to call his pal Vlad……what was that about?

All in all the meeting was a typical meeting with Donny….a bunch of lollygagging and little substance.

And once again nothing to help end this conflict…..does any involved really want it to end?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ukraine Comes To Donny

The disastrous meeting between Vlad and Donny was a bust….nothing was accomplished which is pretty much what well figured, and today enter from stage right will be Zelenskyy and NATO notables in tow (my guess is that it is more about continuing the war than looking for a possible solution…..

Volodymyr Zelensky will make his case in person on Monday to President Trump at the White House, and he won’t be alone. So far, the leaders of the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, NATO, and the European Commission have pledged to attend the follow-up meeting to Trump’s summit with Vladimir Putin, reports CNN.

  • “The trip serves as an exchange of information with US President Donald Trump following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska,” said the office of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
  • In the meantime, Kiev’s European allies will meet Sunday to discuss ways to secure Ukraine’s security as part of a potential peace agreement. That could involve stationing Western troops in the country: The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump told European leaders Putin has accepted the possibility.
  • After his meeting with Putin, Trump backed off his demand for an immediate ceasefire. Instead, he is now pushing for what he calls a more permanent peace agreement, a move aligned with Moscow’s wishes. Putin is demanding that Ukraine give up its eastern Donbas region, which Zelensky has long called a nonstarter, in exchange for a halt to fighting elsewhere.

This smells like yet another ambush to me….

But that aside is there a solution to the war raging in Ukraine?

There is but NO one will like the answers….

After the summit in Alaska between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to produce a breakthrough in negotiations, a couple of potential outcomes top the list of likely resolutions to the fighting over Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reports. Ukraine could:

  • Lose land but survive as a secure and sovereign but smaller nation.
  • Lose territory and its sovereignty, returning to life in Moscow’s sphere of influence.

The Journal breaks those possibilities down.

The 20% solution: President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected concessions on territory, and European leaders repeated Saturday that Ukraine’s borders must not be changed through force, per the Guardian. But Zelensky has indicated to other leaders that he’d be willing to negotiate once a ceasefire had locked in the existing front lines. And the idea isn’t universally opposed among his people. Under this scenario, Ukraine would lose about 20% of its land and receive Western help ensuring the lasting security of the remaining 80%—an outcome similar to the one to the Korean War in 1953. Putin seems unlikely to be pleased by this resolution: He’d be shut out of his goal of controlling Ukraine for good, which he has not abandoned. “The Russian viewpoint at the moment is that this war isn’t sustainable, but Ukraine is less sustainable, and by the time economic problems would force an end to the war, Ukraine will have lost,” said Janis Kluge, a Russian economy expert at a Berlin think tank.

Russian control: What worries Ukraine most is the realization that a smaller Ukraine might not be able to resist a third Russian invasion and could end up a Russian protectorate. Putin’s demands from the beginning have gone well beyond land and include shrinking Ukraine’s military, and arsenal, as well as changing its leadership, constitution and government policies on language, history, and national identity. That complete capitulation can only be achieved by outlasting Ukraine in battle. “I don’t see the Ukrainian army collapsing,” said Michael Kofman, a military expert at a Washington-based think tank. “But on a long enough timeline, we could get to a point where, if Ukraine fails to address its problems of force generation and force management, it might not be defeated on the battlefield, but it will grow increasingly exhausted.”

I said few will like this solution/s but how long must the war go on and how many Ukrainians must die?

What to do, what to do?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Donny Goes To Russia

There is a supposed meeting between Donny and Putin to negotiate a ceasefire and stop all the BS….in and around Ukraine.

Why Russia?

Well the meeting is not in Russia it is in Alaska….but apparently the ‘stable genius’ does not know that Alaska is a state and no long belongs to Russia.

President Donald Trump appeared to mix up Russia with Alaska ahead of his meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, during a White House press conference about crime in Washington, DC and his plans to deploy the National Guard and put the city’s police under his control.

Trump delivered the news from the podium in the press briefing room — joined by Attorney General Pam Bondi, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and newly confirmed DC U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro — where he decried the level of crime in Washington, DC.

“This is a tragic emergency, and it’s embarrassing for me to be up here,” Trump told reporters. “You know, I’m going to see Putin. I’m going to Russia on Friday. I don’t like being up here, talking about how unsafe and how dirty and disgusting this once-beautiful capital [is].”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-putin-meeting-russia-alaska-ukraine-war-b2805880.html

He’s an idiot!

Then there is VP Vance thumping his weezy chest….

Vice President JD Vance explained that the White House was done funding the war in Ukraine. He said President Donald Trump would allow Europe to buy American weapons for Ukraine.

“The president and I certainly think that America [is] done with the funding of the Ukraine war business,” the Vice President told Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.”

“We want to bring about a peaceful settlement to this thing. We want to stop the killing, but Americans, I think, are sick of continuing to send their money, their tax dollars, to this particular conflict.” He continued, “But if the Europeans want to step up and actually buy the weapons from American producers, we’re okay with that, but we’re not going to fund it ourselves anymore.”

(antiwar.com)

They want to stop the killing but will supply the weapons if the money is right.

The one thing that Ukraine said they would not do to end the conflict is lose land mass….but Donny has another plan….

President Trump said on Monday that there will be “land swapping” between Russia and Ukraine as part of a potential peace deal and pushed back on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s public rejection of ceding any territory to Moscow.

“I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelensky was saying, ‘Well, I have to get constitutional approval.’ I mean, he’s got approval to go into war and kill everybody, but he needs approval to do a land swap — because there’ll be some land swapping going on,” Trump told reporters.

The president is gearing up for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska this Friday and said that after the talks, he will relay Moscow’s “parameters” to end the war to Ukraine and the US’s European allies. “If it’s a fair deal, I will reveal it to the European Union leaders and to the NATO leaders and also to President Zelensky,” he said. “I may say, ‘lots of luck, keep fighting,’ or I may say we can make a deal.”

According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Putin has conveyed to the US that he would end the war if Ukraine withdrew its forces from the territory it still controls in Donetsk in the eastern Donbas region. The reports suggest Moscow would be willing to accept freezing the lines in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, a potential climbdown from Moscow’s earlier demand for a full Ukrainian withdrawal from both oblasts.

(antiwar.com)

Okay there is the major points of the upcoming ‘summit’…..

Will we have a deal or was this just another waste of time?

And Alaska is still our 49th state no matter what the ‘stable genius’ thinks.

This ought be a fun summit. (Sarcasm in case one missed it)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

When Will It End?

It being the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

Donny is planning to meet with Putin and Zelenskyy to take up the conflict and a possible way to end it….

President Trump is preparing to meet soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the war on Ukraine, administration officials said, picking up on a suggestion made by the Kremlin during the US special envoy’s visit there on Wednesday. Trump is open to including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the talks, the Wall Street Journal reports. Although he praised “great progress” made in Steve Witkoff’s meeting with Putin, Trump acknowledged that a ceasefire would not begin by Friday, the deadline he had imposed.

Trump told European leaders, including Zelensky, in a phone call Wednesday that the meeting could take place next week, per the New York Times. Ukraine and Russia apparently hadn’t officially agreed to the meeting; Trump told reporters later, “There’s a very good prospect that they will.” He didn’t say where a meeting would be held. Trump would be up against suspicion that Putin wants a meeting to drag out peace negotiations to allow attacks on Ukraine to continue and to head off US sanctions on Russia’s energy customers. Hours after the Putin-Witkoff talks, Trump placed another 25% tariff on India, a buyer of Russian oil.

There have been suggestions that Putin would bring up an in-person meeting after making no moves toward peace; Trump has not met with him since retaking office in January. “It seems that Russia is now more committed to a ceasefire,” Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation. “The pressure on them is working.” Interviewed Wednesday on Fox Business, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sounded like a meeting is not imminent, per the AP. “A lot has to happen before that can occur,” he said. A specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations was skeptical of the idea, per the Washington Post, saying Putin has always wanted to meet without having reached any deal. “A bilateral meeting is always a victory for the Russian side,” Liana Fix said, “a very successful diversion for him from the momentum of pressure that was building up.”

So what are the chances for a solution?

My thought is it will be nothing earth shaking….if anything it could be another Trump ambush.

As the war rages on what do the people of Ukraine want….not what “Z” Man wants?

Gallup released a new poll on Thursday that found 69% of Ukrainians favor a negotiated end to the war with Russia as soon as possible, while just 24% want to keep fighting until “victory,” a near complete reversal of public opinion from when Russia invaded more than three years ago.

When Gallup first asked the question to Ukrainians in 2022, it found 72% wanted to continue fighting and just 22% wanted a negotiated settlement. As the war progressed, the number of Ukrainians who favored a peace deal increased, and it became a majority for the first time when Gallup released a poll in November 2024, finding that 52% wanted negotiations to end the conflict.

While the majority of Ukrainians want to see the war end, the new Gallup poll found that they don’t think it will happen anytime soon. Just one quarter of respondents think it’s likely the fighting will end within 12 months, while 68% believe peace is unlikely.

The poll also found that Ukrainians have a significantly less favorable view of the US since the early days of the war. Just 16% of Ukrainians approve of the performance of US leadership compared with 66% in 2022. But the majority of Ukrainians, 70%, still believe the US needs to play a role in peace talks.

https://news.antiwar.com/2025/08/07/poll-69-of-ukrainians-want-negotiated-end-to-war-as-soon-as-possible/

As usual it is not what the people in Ukraine want but what the US desires and that desire is a continuation.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”