Will Putin Invade Ukraine?

[the_antithesis]

Vance is Yiddish for bedbug?

[Hydra009]

Btw, the next day, Trump went golfing, Vance went skiing, and Zelenskyy went to the UK to continue his efforts to save his people.  Also, a slew of government officials went on TV denigrating Zelenskyy and praising Trump.  This looks very much like a pre-planned disinfo campaign against Zelenskyy.

After hitting the links - important priorities - Trump congratulated himself and talked about himself in the third person (always a sign of good mental health).  I'm not kidding, he said, "Trump played both sides like a master chess player"  One side gets whatever they want and the other gets belittled and threatened and told to take whatever deal is offered.  Real fair and balanced.

Seriously, so much 3rd person ego-stroking that I'm pretty sure that tweet is NSFW.  What a weird PoS.  People who are actually great or even good don't need to do any of that stuff.

edit - Oligarch Muskovich saw a photo of Zelenskyy with other European leaders and bemoaned that they were wining and dining as people die.  What a disingenuous PoS.  Zelenskyy is there for aid, obviously.  Aid to help save the lives of his people.  While Trump and his hanger-ons dither and insult and refuse aid - refusals that will definitely get people killed - and whine about who's wearing a suit and who's not.  If Zelenskyy had worn a tan suit, I bet they'd find fault with that, too.

[Hydra009]

The inevitable betrayal: Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine

People will die because of this.

[Dark Lightning]

The inevitable betrayal: Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine

People will die because of this.

Even more unnecessary deaths will result.

[Hydra009]

Trump looking to roll back Russian sanctions

Trump in January threatened to ramp up sanctions on Russia if Putin was unwilling to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. But more recently, Trump administration officials have openly acknowledged the possibility of easing sanctions on Moscow.

Putin of course did absolutely nothing to end the war and in fact, escalated it by trying his hand at nuclear terrorism with an attack on Chernobyl, which fortunately didn't have much of an effect.  Trump did nothing with Russia but cave in to their demands, including suggesting that they rejoin the G7 and is now working on rolling back sanctions.

On the other side, Trump ambushed Zelenskyy and then threatened him afterwards, threatened the EU with tariffs when European countries came to Zelenskyy's defense, and stopped military aid to Ukraine.

These actions line up incredibly well with the idea that Trump isn't advancing American interests, but Russian interests.

He's certainly of a like mind with Putin, which redhatters have always vociferously denied - usually with wishful thinking more than actual facts - yet here we are.  I can't believe I took what they said with any seriousness.  They don't know what they're talking about at all and the whole world is feeling the effects of that grave miscalculation.

It's entirely possible for Ukraine to fight on without the US - but that will prolong the war with thousands or more additional deaths, possibly tens of thousands or more.

This is unforgivable.

[Hydra009]

[Hydra009]

US suspends intelligence-sharing with Ukraine

The US has reportedly somehow also blocked the UK from sharing its intelligence with Ukraine as well.

Intelligence is often the unsung hero is war - vital not just to the success of missions, but often the first step in making those missions a reality.

Once again, people will die because of this.

[Unbeliever]

We'd better start learning to speak fluent Russian!

[Hydra009]

Since the US has ceded its leadership role - to Putin's delight - I guess I'll have to cover EU/NATO countries more closely, since they're the new leaders of the free world.

[Hydra009]

[ferdmonger]

I just totally fucking despise everything about this sickening abdication of everything we've ever stood for. Vlad needs a little lebensraum, doncha know.

[Hydra009]

And the hits keep coming:

Trump lackey Mike Flynn says the US should leave NATO and calls NATO a thing of the past

Tellingly, he also urged Trump to have a closer relationship with Putin.  Not possible!

And something that really grinds my gears:

Joe Biden never called Putin once, not once."

There was this little thing that happened about a year into his presidency called the invasion.  Some leaders, like Macron and Erodogan did talk with Putin with no avail.  After that, world leaders urged each other not to talk to Putin because he clearly wasn't interested in talking, only in airing his many grievances towards the "fictional" state of Ukraine and threatening whoever asked him to deescalate, no matter how gingerly they asked.  "Mad Vlad" is a nickname for a reason.  That guy is a true warmongering nutcase and nothing good will ever come with siding with him.

Trump lackey Rubio calls Russian invasion of Ukraine a "proxy war" between US and Russia - verbatim Kremlin talking point

Trump allies hold secret talks with Zelenskyy rivals  I'm scratching my head thinking of a legitimate reason to want to talk to these people.  I suppose I'll hear some pretzel-shaped logic from Tucker about it, but the obvious explanation is that he wants to replace Zelenskyy with someone more vichy - someone more "grateful" about having his country annexed by Putin.  Good luck finding one and good luck getting the Ukrainian people to back them.

Trump plans to revoke legal status of 240,000 Ukrainian refugees in the US

[Hydra009]

I realize YouGov isn't necessarily the best polling source, since it's entirely online and voluntary, leading to self-selection bias.

But jeez, the master really does control the puppets, huh?  The Democrats - much like the Ukrainians - rallied around the wartime leader being bullied by Comrade Bonespurs and his mouthpiece.  But the Republicans really lapped it up and asked for seconds.  No wonder that guy says he could shoot people and not lose votes.  Obviously, they're a lost cause, that's no surprise, but worryingly, normal Americans are similarly vulnerable to manipulation - though somewhat less so.  After Trump's meltdown, US officials trashed Zelenskyy on the TV, and that no doubt made an impression, though people should've been able to see right through that.  No wonder we're where we are.

[Hydra009]

Things aren't all bad.  Europe is really stepping up.

France is still providing Ukraine with intelligence

UK planning "coalition of the willing" to send peacekeeping troops to Ukraine

I can't say I'm a fan of the name, since Iraq wasn't exactly managed correctly or even presented accurately from the start.  But Europeans working together is the only way they'll be able to keep the peace without US support, so coalition-building it is.

The UK and France have proposed a one-month truce "in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure", backed up by a coalition of supportive western countries, but this has been rejected by Russia.

Quelle surprise.

Ukraine receives first tranche of funds from UK taken from frozen Russian assets - $970 million usd

Putin lackey whines abut it, declaring that the UK will have to pay Russia back
I agree, Russia is in dire need of payback.  If money is what Putin values most, he shall have it.  Putin will get his money back when he returns all Ukrainian children back to their families and all Russian and Ukrainian soldiers back to their families.

Italy proposes Article 5 protection for Ukraine, even without NATO membership
Based on Russian reactions, they truly fear direct NATO confrontation, so this might actually work.

And last, but not least, Norway more than doubles its Ukrainian aid

[Hydra009]

And the free countries of Europe aren't the only ones stepping up their aid - Russia is also stepping up its aid, graciously presenting families of slain Russian troops from Murmansk with their very own...drumroll please!...meat grinders!



They must've had Vance over there, because they all look so grateful.