The Ukraine war thread

taiwan_girl

Has the clock started on the "24 hours to end the war" guarantee?

Renauda

The spring on that clock was wound then immediately seized up last May when Trump’s Special Dummkopf arrived at the Kremlin without a US vetted interpreter to meet with Putin.

Wim

Interesting article on Sino-Russian relation:

https://www.saratoga-foundation.org/p/kitaizatsiya-china-in-russia-newsletter-082

Mik

Interesting but I seriously doubt western forces would try to occupy the region.

Renauda

Normally I doubt there would much appetite for a Western megapower but nowadays…who knows? Perhaps certain a region like Chukotka for purely strategic reasons but nothing much else.

Russian far east though is definitely a desirable backyard sandbox for the Chinese.

Renauda

Ukraine groans a collective “WTF?” to Trump’s latest Putin comments:

https://kyivindependent.com/kyiv-groans-a-collective-wtf-to-trumps-latest-putin-comments/

Mik

FFS

Renauda

General Keith Kellogg speaks:

https://kyivindependent.com/keith-kellogg-says-he-left-trumps-white-house-to-be-free-to-talk-about-ukraine/

Wim

And again: the Trump 'kompromat'. Si non e vero, e bene trovato.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/69648

Mik

This is an old claim. I doubt he would be stupid enough to misbehave in Russia.

Renauda

@Wim

I saw that earlier today. There have been other articles published the past year or so citing Mussayev’s claims. He appears to have been at this for some time.

I am of the opinion that there is nothing there and that Mussayev is conjuring this up to get attention in the hope of gaining recognition as an “expert/influencer” and cashing in on what that role offers in the charged populist dichotomy of our times. Even if there is a grain of truth in his claims, I highly doubt any serious kompromat on Trump involves women of any age group. Rather, it would be of a financial nature involving investments of ill gotten Russian money into Trump family owned properties. Essentially Putin knows and has the paperwork showing who, when, where and how much to the penny was involved in laundering money via the Trump syndicate.

Mik

I think you're quite right that financial shenanigans would be much more likely.

Wim

The claim that Kazakhstan tried something on Trump in 2017 was -at least for me- a new element.

Renauda

New to me as well but, all the same, not at all compelling for the simple reason it places too many people in the know.

Renauda

WTF, is he talking about?

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump on Tuesday said Ukraine had "better come to the table fast."

Trump has previously signalled his impatience with the lack of swift progress in solving the four-year conflict.

I wonder why, the lack of progress?

Wait a minute…..

Anne Applebaum gets it. Why can’t the WH narcissist demagogue?

Mik

Insanity.

Renauda

Cleese cuts out an important portion of the interview - an even better short of the interview with Applebaum:

Axtremus

Yeah ... quite likely the alternative will put in a better team to deal with this. (And yes, I also saw the AOC thread.)

Renauda

Indeed, Nikki Haley would have had professional diplomats and security specialist take the lead. Nor would she have let Putin con or intimidate the US.

Axtremus

NYT's news analysis starts leads with this headline:

Trump Bets on Diplomacy Without Diplomats

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/us/politics/trump-witkoff-kushner-diplomacy.html

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The Ukraine war thread