The Ukraine war thread
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Putin refuses to face Zelensky directly in any armistice negotiations:
"If [Zelensky] wants to participate in the negotiations, I will send people to take part," Putin said in comments to state TV journalist Pavel Zarubin, calling the Ukrainian leader "illegitimate" since his presidential term expired last year during martial law.
Putin will stop at nothing to pit Zelenskyi against Trump in the negotiation process. This is only his opening
gambitsalvo. -
The Kremlin continues to win the hearts and minds of Ukrainians:
Russia launched a large-scale attack on several regions overnight, hitting residential buildings in Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Presidential Office head Andriy Yermak said. "Attacks on residential buildings, civilians, typical tactics of the Russian army," he wrote on Telegram.
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https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0rqj171zzvo
The leader of a pro-Russian paramilitary group in eastern Ukraine has died in hospital after being injured in an explosion in Moscow on Monday morning, Russian media have said.
Armen Sargsyan, the leader of the "Arbat" battalion, was severely injured following a blast in the entrance hall of a residential building in north-west Moscow, 12km (7 miles) from the Kremlin.
He was evacuated to a hospital by helicopter and placed in intensive care after the explosion, but eventually succumbed to his injuries, according to usually reliable Telegram sources.
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But-but-but his friend Putin wants them too...
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Zelenskyi should consider offering them to Trump in exchange for becoming the 51st state. He offered that option - we also
have huge untapped reserves of rare earths- to us just a few hours back, but we refused.Zelenskyi might just take him up on the offer. Under the present circumstances, if I were Zelenskyi, I would give it serious consideration. Certainly a long term end to the war and one the EU would be perfectly ammenable.
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Zelenskyi should consider offering them to Trump in exchange for becoming the 51st state. He offered that option - we also
have huge untapped reserves of rare earths- to us just a few hours back, but we refused.Zelenskyi might just take him up on the offer. Under the present circumstances, if I were Zelenskyi, I would give it serious consideration. Certainly a long term end to the war and one the EU would be perfectly ammenable.
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Something is coming down between the Kremlin and Washington in weeks ahead:
Curious whether Washington sees fit to ensure that Zelenskyi will be an in-person part and at the table throughout the process.
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According to Kyiv, the Norks are back again for more punishment:
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that North Korean troops were back on the front line in Russia's Kursk region, after reports Moscow had withdrawn them due to heavy losses.
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Hegseth begins laying out US position to bring about an armistice:
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"But we must start by recognising that returning to Ukraine's pre-2014 borders is an unrealistic objective.
"Chasing this illusionary goal will only prolong the war and cause more suffering."
That is what I hear from everybody who seems serious on the subject.
Education is extremely important.
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You are correct. The past year and a half or so of attrition has erased any illusions of a return to 2014 borders. Likewise NATO membership in the foreseeable future.
The challenge in the armistice negotiations will be limiting Putin to what he already has occupied militarily and not a yard more. Likewise, the question of what Russia will demand as reparations from Ukraine and the West.
Then the security guarantees for Ukraine. There can be no illusions on the part of the US that Russia will negotiate or agree to anything in good faith.
