Putin’s Masterstroke

Putin’s demand for the entire Donbas is no mere bargaining chip. It is the opening move in a calculated strategy: slip past Ukraine’s fortified lines, reach the Dnipro without firing a shot, then push on to Kyiv.

Anders Åslund
The remaining democratic Western power - the EU, UK, Canada, Japan & Ukraine - need to declare asap that Trump has no mandate to negotiate on behalf of or on Ukraine.
Anything agreed between Putin and Trump in Alaska on Friday must be declared nul & void before that meeting.

Ukraine’s New Drone Boss and the Kill Zone The new commander is giving drone units a new focus and a new target — to kill and wound 35,000 Russian soldiers a month.

russians have taken notice. In late July, Brovdi hinted that Moscow tried to assassinate Ukraine’s top drone commanders during a meeting of elite units.

If the name Magyar’s Birds scares Russian troops, says one soldier, “we’re moving in the right direction.”
cepa.org/article/ukra...

Brovdi’s rise began in 2022 when he bought his first drone out of pocket -- breaking regulations -- and started testing grenade drops.

His videos went viral, donations poured in, and Birds of Magyar became Ukraine’s most famous drone outfit.

haun Pinner
@olddog100ua
President Sell Out
History will remember him not as a peacemaker but as the worst President in modern history, one who rewarded genocide, legitimised aggression, and tried to trade away a nation’s freedom for his own ego.

Shaun Pinner
The Prize
What’s driving this? Trump’s deep desire for the Nobel Peace Prize. Not justice. Not Ukrainian sovereignty. Not ending the war on fair terms. He wants the handshake photo with Putin, the headlines, and the trophy for his shelf. He has even got others to beg for it.

The “killer sanctions” never existed outside of Trump’s speeches. Lindsey Graham oversold a non-starter, even convincing the sceptical among us to pay attention. Every delay, every softening of language, every “we’re making great progress” was just stalling while Russia bombed, occupied, and killed.

Trump has already given up any claim on Ukrainian territorial integrity.
He has stopped all US aid to Ukraine & all US complaints about Russia violating international law.
He wants to end Western sanctions on Russia, but the remaining West can block that.

Shaun Pinner
@olddog100ua
1/6 Trump has officially sold out Ukraine.

He came in with talk of “killer sanctions” on Russia, sanctions he had no intention of ever implementing. It was always theatre, designed to sound tough while keeping Putin comfortable.

This is the same man who claimed “peace through strength” and promised he’d stand firm against Putin. Instead, he’s using Ukraine’s survival as a bargaining chip for his own political stagecraft, “The Art of the Kneel”

Shaun Pinner
Trump has officially sold out Ukraine.
He came in with talk of “killer sanctions” on Russia, sanctions he had no intention of ever implementing. It was always theatre, designed to sound tough while keeping Putin comfortable.
Shaun Pinner

Shaun Pinner
@olddog100ua
1/6 Trump has officially sold out Ukraine.

He came in with talk of “killer sanctions” on Russia, sanctions he had no intention of ever implementing. It was always theatre, designed to sound tough while keeping Putin comfortable.

there have already been public statements.
no need to repeat yourself each time there's a US-russia meeting month after month.

there have already been public statements.
no need to repeat yourself each time there's a US-russia meeting month after month.

Anders Åslund
@anders_aslund
EU, the UK, Canada & Japan & Ukraine need to prepare actions to make Trump's possible gifts to Putin ineffective:
No easing of any sanctions on Russia, but a further hardening of them.
Sharp joint public statements.
Fast arming of Ukraine

Trump has already given up any claim on Ukrainian territorial integrity.
He has stopped all US aid to Ukraine & all US complaints about Russia violating international law.
He wants to end Western sanctions on Russia, but the remaining West can block that.

Ukraine will be given no seat or voice.
Putin will make no real concessions, possibly limiting warfare where Ukraine has an advantage, which Trump will try to enforce on Ukraine.
Trump is likely to de facto accept Russia's current occupation of Ukrainian territories.

Dear Mr. Rubio: a drug fuelled assailant attacks you in the street and severely injures your arm. You settle with him by letting him cut the whole arm off. Fair settlement? Justice?

Unfortunately, there are no more great British politicians who would be able to smash Putin's criminal head...

Norwegian Wolf
@WolfKB2
THIS WAR ruzzia STARTED MUST END ON UKRAINE & UKRAINIANS' TERMS.

ruzzia HAS NO RIGHT TO ATTACK ANYONE.
ruzzia IS USING PRECAUTIONS FOR WAR, KILLING, STEALING CHILDREN, +++

Zelensky Is a Threat to the Kremlin’s Propaganda

Putin sells the idea of “denazification,” “Ukrainian collapse,” and a puppet regime. Zelensky, a Jewish, elected war-time leader with global recognition, shatters all of that. Standing beside him would be a propaganda disaster and ultimately .

Ruth Deyermond
Since the end of the Cold War, summits have been used by US presidents as a mark of approval and withheld when they disapprove of Russian actions. Trump is, once again, signalling the value he places on Putin's friendship. It's a profound humiliation for the US.

www.ft.com/content/69ab...

Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia may become Putin's next target - because of this, the leaders of the Baltic countries criticized any attempts to force Ukraine to cede territory, writes FT.

ADAM

@AdameMedia
BREAKING: Spain and Switzerland CANCEL their F-35 fighter jet orders

Trump calls it “very unfair.”

Swiss leader Balthasar Glättli says: "Those who hurl rocks at us in trade shouldn't expect gifts in return."

Kash Patel, Donald Trump's nominee for FBI chief, at his confirmation hearing in the US Senate on January 30. Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via AP

Karen Piper
@PiperK
Good God. I totally forgot that FBI Director Ka$h Patel (that's how he spells it) made an anti-Ukraine documentary with two Russian filmmakers.
t.co/cEsDbEesFg
link.motherjones.com/public/38550...

Every day I’m inspired by the bravery of these courageous ICE agents.

EU arms production roars into higher and higher gear and the sanctions hitting harder and harder. US even wants a slice of the pie eyeing giant arms sales to NATO members that is then donated to Ukraine. Time is ticking for the Russians and the clock is not on their side