Russia Attacks Ukraine - 23 Feb 2022 #12

[Simply Southern]

Trump to discuss potential suspension, cancellation of military aid for Ukraine on March 3

An unnamed administration official told NYT that Trump will meet on March 3 with his top national security aides, including Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth.

kyivindependent.com

U.S. President Donald Trump will discuss on March 3 the possible suspension or complete cancellation of military aid to Ukraine, including weapons pledged by the Biden administration, The New York Times (NYT) reported, citing an undisclosed source.
....
An unnamed administration official told NYT that Trump will meet on March 3 with his top national security aides, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to review and potentially act on a range of policy options for Ukraine.

 

[JennieM]

He made it plain he wanted Zelensky out before the fiasco last Friday. Maybe thats why that all occurred. Who knows

They want someone who will follow their Russian-friendly orders.

 

[keek]

They want someone who will follow their Russian-friendly orders.

Always been the plan!

 

[JennieM]

Always been the plan!

They never expected Z would have put up the fight he has. He has not stopped fighting since this war started three years ago & he has defended his country and his people admirably. They want someone weak or someone money driven and greedy like them. Someone who will sell Ukraine to them and let them dig in their dirty fingers. Z is not letting them do that and he is a big problem to their plans.

 

[Stunned]

So IMO elephant in the room is the question: What are you gonna do about this America? Stand up for what we've always stood for, or watch another country lose itself to an enemy of democracy

 

[Simply Southern]

UK-France tensions over plan to seize $350bn Russia assets for US arms

Macron fears approach would breach principle of immunity of sovereign assets and undermine efforts to strengthen European defence

www.theguardian.com

Tensions have surfaced between France and the UK over whether $350bn of frozen Russian assets can be seized and then offered to the US to buy defence equipment, binding America closer to the defence of Europe.
......

However, in common with the European Central Bank and Germany, Emmanuel Macron opposes the move over fears that it would breach the principle of the immunity of sovereign assets and thereby have a deterrent effect on investment in the eurozone area by countries like Saudi Arabia and China.

 

[Simply Southern]

What are the hurdles to Europe's peace plan for Ukraine?

Whatever words are used to frame the plan, enormous challenges lie ahead, the BBC's Frank Gardner writes.

www.bbc.com

......
Can Europe put together a sufficient deterrent force?

First, can Europe's depleted armies and half-empty arsenals muster anything approaching a substantial deterrent force to deploy to Ukraine? What nations, other than the UK and France, will be willing to send forces into such an uncertain scenario given the doubts over US support?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said it would need an international force of up to 200,000 troops to sustain a ceasefire along the 600 mile (960km) line of contact between the two opposing armies, Russia and Ukraine.
.....
In reality, Europe will struggle to come up with even a third of that number, such is the effect of decades of running down its militaries, years after the post-Cold War peace dividend should have ended.

 

[branmuffin]

It is now clear that Zelensky does not want peace and less deaths in Ukraine. He is addicted to the billions given to him with no accountability and no return of funds. He now thinks he can waltz into any western country and be treated like a rock star. Well the issue as Trump clearly stated is that there is no clear path to victory unless US and NATO are directly involved and that is WW III. So compromise is the key. Live and fight another day. USA companies in Ukraine mining minerals is the defacto security guarantee. Now Europe can deal with him and we stop funding a bottomless pit.

How can there be a clear path to victory for Ukraine with the US' direct involvement when it's clear that there is an obvious bias of Trump and his administration toward Russia. We all know Trump's known Putin for a long time and during that fateful meeting last Friday he illustrated his relationship with him unconsciously siding with Putin in very subtle ways; being sympathetic to Putin saying he suffered under the Russia hoax. He tells people to stop worrying about Putin. We're talking about a prior KGB agent, a man who excelled in propaganda and subversive cyber attacks using it for his own personal gain. We're talking about a man who has murdered hundreds of people who talk the truth about his methodology, the last once most Americans know about, Navalny. And please don't say Navalny died of an illness. Navalny's Russian mourners were detained. Trump talks about both sides being hostile. Huh? Russia was hostile, not Ukraine. Is it hostile to protect your self?

So to tie all these elements together that suggest Trump isn't interested in a peace plan please explain to me the reason why Pete Hegseth suspended cyber operations against Russia. Why do you think Hegseth did that? In what world would the 'leader of the free world' instruct his Defense Secretary to suspend operations? Why doesn't Trump care about what Russia is doing? Especially if he's supposedly involved in a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, since he's positioned himself as the mediator. You don't go into negotiations with a hostile government without having information to support your negotiation points. Which begs the question, what are Trump's real negotiation points? This suspension is of one of many edicts that Trump has implemented since January 20th that has cemented his collusion with the Russian oligarch. I guess those guys like to stick together. Here the list for your perusal.

Hegseth halts cyber operations against Russia, adding to an ugly pattern

The problem is not just the Pentagon halting offensive cyber operations against Russia. It's also the series of related steps in the same direction.

www.msnbc.com

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

At the White House Monday, Waltz pointedly told reporters that “we welcome the Europeans taking a lead in European security.”

“The American people’s patience is not unlimited, their wallets are not unlimited, and our stockpiles and munitions are not unlimited,” Waltz told Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom” Monday.

“So the time to talk is now.”
(…)
Trump responded Monday morning on Truth Social to Zelensky’s statement that a peace settlement between Moscow and Kyiv is “very, very far away.”

“This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy [sic], and America will not put up with it for much longer!” the president said.

“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy [sic], stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”

Trump mulls ‘pivot’ from European conflicts, building Latin American alliances after Zelensky Oval Office blowup

National security adviser Mike Waltz warned Monday ‘the American people’s patience is not unlimited, their wallets are not unlimited, and our stockpiles and munitions are not unlimited.…

nypost.com

 

[UK Girl]

Has President Trump publicly stated that Zelenskyy needs to resign? I haven't heard that.

He called him an unelected dictator with only 4% favour rating. Neither thing were true. In fact a lot of what he says isnt true not including America has spent wayyy more than Europe on Ukraine than the Eu has.

What are the hurdles to Europe's peace plan for Ukraine?

Whatever words are used to frame the plan, enormous challenges lie ahead, the BBC's Frank Gardner writes.

www.bbc.com

......
Can Europe put together a sufficient deterrent force?

First, can Europe's depleted armies and half-empty arsenals muster anything approaching a substantial deterrent force to deploy to Ukraine? What nations, other than the UK and France, will be willing to send forces into such an uncertain scenario given the doubts over US support?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said it would need an international force of up to 200,000 troops to sustain a ceasefire along the 600 mile (960km) line of contact between the two opposing armies, Russia and Ukraine.
.....
In reality, Europe will struggle to come up with even a third of that number, such is the effect of decades of running down its militaries, years after the post-Cold War peace dividend should have ended.

Thats the thing. Trump said initially we would have to send peacekeepers and some countries are happy to do that but others ie Poland are worried about their own borders and need their military themselves. I actually think hes wrong to say the Eu would do it before we had even said we would...and immediately saying they would not because they were Eu neighbours. They are saying we would need a four shift groups here in UK to provide them. Yes we could recruit but...people don't want to sign up these days.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

They want someone who will follow their Russian-friendly orders.

The US welcomes Europe to take the lead, maybe that would be the best for all involved. imo

 

[sds71]

I had a productive conversation with our Baltic friends – President of Lithuania
@GitanasNauseda, President of Latvia @edgarsrinkevics, and Prime Minister of Estonia @KristenMichalPM
I informed them about yesterday’s summit in London. Together, we must prepare a plan of actions that will bring us closer to real security guarantees. There are concrete initiatives, and we will work on them.For us, unity with all partners is crucial to end the war as soon as possible and ensure a reliable and lasting peace. Ukraine, Europe, the United States – only together can we restore security for all our people, and this is really possible.I am grateful for the support and the decision on new defense packages that will help save the lives of our people.
1:18 PM · Mar 3, 2025

We continue our work with partners. We have already had talks and other steps to come soon.It is very important that we try to make our diplomacy really substantive to end this war the soonest possible.We need real peace and Ukrainians want it most because the war ruins our cities and towns. We lose our people. We need to stop the war and to guarantee security.We are working together with America and our European partners and very much hope on US support on the path to peace. Peace is needed as soon as possible.
12:51 PM · Mar 3, 2025

https://twitter.com/x/status/1896619374469099824

 

[UK Girl]

The US welcomes Europe to take the lead, maybe that would be the best for all involved. imo

Then maybe they should not be negotiating with Putin? after all he isnt in Europe

 

[Snoopster]

The US welcomes Europe to take the lead, maybe that would be the best for all involved. imo

Well the US seems to be deliberately ticking off all of its former allies, isolating themselves. I'm not sure why they are doing that, but I can guess. This plays into the hands of Russia and against the security of the rest of the western democratic world. That's really what the war in Ukraine is about as well IMO.

 

[UK Girl]

The US welcomes Europe to take the lead, maybe that would be the best for all involved. imo

The other issue as I said earlier the Ukraines were promised help if they get the weapons up. Stupid move but the couldnt know how it would end. If I am honest I dont believe Trump can be neutral in these discussions

 

[UK Girl]

Well the US seems to be deliberately ticking off all of its former allies, isolating themselves. I'm not sure why they are doing that, but I can guess. This plays into the hands of Russia and against the security of the rest of the western democratic world. That's really what the war in Ukraine is about as well IMO.

This is what I don't get. People seem to like the idea of America going alone. For me, we have always been told the US is our biggest ally. That we have the same language and the same ideals. But things have changed. Musk says America should leave Nato. Fine tbh. But...several times America have wanted help and the allies have willingly assisted. It is what allies do but if America drives everyone away then who will help them? and thats a genuine question.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Then maybe they should not be negotiating with Putin? after all he isnt in Europe

fwiw this was stated by Waltz after the deal fell through. imo The US doesn’t have to negotiate with Russia on behalf of Europe and they are ready to walk away.

I wish them all the best for the sake of the beautiful Ukrainian people.

 

[UK Girl]

fwiw this was stated by Waltz after the deal fell through. imo The US doesn’t have to negotiate with Russia on behalf of Europe and they are ready to walk away.

I wish them all the best for the sake of the beautiful Ukrainian people.

tbh imo not including Ukraine or the EU when we will be funding this isnt the way to go. Also how can our leaders even trust him?

 

[snarast]

It easy for me to understand how the contractors presence in Ukraine would be a big deterrence to future aggression by Putin.

Together with the promised European troops that Zelenskyy knew about before the PC there's great security assured for Ukraine. JMO.

It’s such an easy solution it’s fantastic nobody thought of it before. Isn’t that the solution in South America - or at least during the cold war? Infiltration, divide and conquer - all that usual jazz.

I guess there are contractors and then there are Contractors.

 

[Jade]

Ok, Neil Young on Ukrainian ground.
This many be our only way; the America that cares.

Neil Young Plots Free Ukraine Gig Ahead of European Tour

Neil Young will truly be "Rockin' in the Free World," announcing plans for a free Ukraine gig ahead of his European tour.

www.billboard.com

All imo