THREAD 1/6 The very possibility of a coup after 23 years of rule, and in the second year of the Ukraine war -- a campaign supposed to cover Putin and his regime in glory -- puts his grip on Russia into question. My fresh piece in the @FT [_link]

— Alexander Baunov (@baunov) June 26, 2023

'Sapere aude'

Our relationship with the American President is more than just two leaders; it's a historic and solid bond between our peoples. That's why I always begin with words of gratitude from our nation to the American nation.

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 1, 2025

Attempt to change the narrative ... you lost the plot ... war YES ... peace NO ... choosing the weaker partnership.

'Sapere aude'

It is imperative to watch the full 50 minute video. Pay attention to every word and to how the conversation unfolds.

Trump wants the war to end. He says the US can't afford it. He says it risks WW3. He says that Ukraine is losing and doesn't have troops and can't last without US help. He says the US can help with "rebuilding" in exchange for minerals. This is the best deal Ukraine can get. And Trump has talked to Putin and thinks this is possible. In fact, the terms of a deal are better than most people think. Trump offered a US financial stake "on the inside" of a peace deal. He says troops and weapons won't be needed.

Zelensky came with a different agenda -- to keep fighting with US support.
Zelensky was opposed to a ceasefire, not to mention a peace agreement! He said specifically: we know what our European allies are prepared to offer -- ie, troops and weapons from England and France -- and wanted US support to drive out the "occupiers." He pulled out photos of soldiers and children and tried to manipulate Trump in front of the cameras.

Zelensky eventually starts shaking his head and looking around in fury.

The warmongering media weighs in and amplifies the tensions.

Trump and Vance figure out that Zelensky is refusing their deal of peace.

At that point, the journo asks about Zelensky's lack of a suit and all things spiral out of control, with Vance playing bad cop and asking why Zelensky isn't grateful to the US and Trump.

Zelensky is kicked out before lunch. No private meeting occurs. Trump posts on social media that Zelensky insulted the US in the White House.

Europeans freak out and issue desperate statements.

Rumors swirl about the US cutting off assistance to Ukraine and NATO.

Historic turn of events.

Trump offered a fair plan based on reality and compromise. It was rejected by Ukraine and Europe. Russia will now impose what it wants and the US will supersede the European clown show and turn to bigger things.

Posted by: Crumchy | Mar 1 2025 13:10 utc | 568

Trump-Zelensky summit explodes: "He can come back when he is ready for peace". @DavidLawler10 and I report for @axios [_link]

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) February 28, 2025

NATO chief says Zelenskyy must mend ties with Trump | Anadolu Agency  |

'It is important that President Zelenskyy finds a way to restore his relationship with the American President and with the senior American leadership team,' says Mark Rutte

In an interview with the BBC, Rutte said he had spoken twice over the phone with Zelenskyy following a heated exchange between him and US President Donald Trump at the White House.

Noting that he also spoke with Trump over the phone, Rutte said that he was not authorized to say what was discussed in the talks.

The NATO chief said that he told Zelenskyy that "what Trump has done for Ukraine so far should be respected."

Rutte said the previous day's spat between Trump and Zelenskyy was "unfortunate" and that they needed to repair their relationship.

"It is important that President Zelenskyy finds a way to restore his relationship with the American President and with the senior American leadership team," Rutte said.

He said he raised this issue in telephone conversations with Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Rutte also recalled that during Trump's first presidency, the US approved the sale of the Javelin anti-tank missile system, which enabled Ukraine to respond to Russia.

New on MoA:
The Oval Office Shouting Match - Wrap-Up [_link] pic.twitter.com/oJ0uDqoSBn

— Moon of Alabama (@MoonofA) March 1, 2025

Chihuahuas, Not Dobermans

This thieving som-a-gom bears front-line responsibility -- along with his masters, of course -- for the deaths of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers somewhere in six figures and the ruination of the country and the citizenry to which he purports to dedicate himself.

Donald Trump's démarche toward Russia and a determination to end the Ukraine war he shares with President Vladimir Putin, leave Zelensky marooned on an island made of out-of-date propaganda ops.

And now we find Europe's neoliberal elites, having war-mongered their way into the Ukraine morass because the Biden regime told them to do so, wandering on the beaches with him.

As of Trump's Feb. 12 telephone call with Putin and the Munich Security Conference, held in the Bavarian capital Feb. 14-16, the Continent's leaders and their repellent mascot have been left holding a very big [empty] bag.

Zelensky's fall is significant but was a matter of time. Europanic, as I call it, is the big news of the week.

Zelensky has been the papier mâché creation of others since he was plucked from a sit-com and re-costumed to succeed Petro Poroshenko, a chocolate magnate -- Is there not a serious pol anywhere in Ukraine? -- who moved into the presidential palace after the U.S.-cultivated coup 11 years ago this month.

He, Zelensky, was financed by one of Ukraine's countless megacrooks and coached by American image-crafters during the craven chicanery of his presidential campaign back in 2019.

As readers may recall, the propaganda got so far out of hand after Russia began its military intervention three years ago that Biden regime ideologues, with corporate media dutifully parroting the trope, had the great broad masses believing Zelensky was "a 21st century Churchill."

Tell me, I recall thinking, somebody please tell me they are not serious.
In his now-famous dismissal of Zelensky last week, Trump marked him down as "a modestly successful comedian." Sometimes even what we quaintly call reality has its appeal.

As Max Blumenthal astutely observed in The Grayzone the other day, Trump had it wrong when he charged in his contra-Zelensky broadside that the Ukrainian president started the war in Ukraine. No, he provoked it.

I like the distinction. The modestly successful comedian has effectively served -- very effectively, indeed -- as a sort of agent provocateur enabling those with the money and the guns to send extravagant amounts of both into the sinkhole of corruption over which Zelensky presides without the worry of domestic revolts.

What @POTUS wants at the end of the day is for this war to end. He's been as consistent as anyone can be about what his objective is.

I had a conversation with @kaitlancollins on @CNN last night about ending the war in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/QKQeyuOjWS

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) March 1, 2025

Donald Trump and the Military-Industrial-Tech Complex
by @normansolomon [_link]

— TomDispatch (@TomDispatch) February 27, 2025