“Russia wants to see Ukraine succeed.”
Sure, Donald. Whatever you say.
Catching up on some items from the last couple of days, here’s a gem from POTUS.
Because it is known that the best way to demonstrate one’s desire for a neighboring state to succeed is to invade it, kill tens of thousands, and do billions in damage.
And, sure, Russia would love to make Ukraine dependent on them for energy. How generous!
I am clearly no fan of Trump and find him intellectually wanting, to be kind. But sometimes his game-show level acumen for international relations really shines through.
********************@
He probably learned international relations from the anodyne answers given in beauty pageants.
This reminds me of the oft asked question: Trump may not be a stooge for Putin, but how would he behave differently if he was?
Oh, bullshit.
As Jonathan Pie said:
“Supplying energy, electricity and other things at very low prices.”
Other things including death, at wholesale rates.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I really don’t think there has ever been a leader of a major modern democracy as incontrovertibly stupid as Trump.
Even compared to most daft dictators and idiot inbred absolute monarchs, he’s at among the trailing end of the curve.
Seems to me Zelenskyy hasn’t countered the ploy Putin has used with great success, but maybe he has, under the table. Has Zelenskyy tried Trump Tower Odessa? That’s the only kind of negotiating that Trump understands
@gVOR10:
This always tends to happen when Ukraine and the US are in bilateral mode: Trump and his courtiers fantasise that a sensible settlement is achievable, and is being frustrated by the infuriating and inexplicable stubborness of Ukraine in refusing to turn belly-up.
Plus the ingrained “negotiating” mindset of Trump, Witkoff, Kushner etc: that the easiest way to get a “deal” is to pressure the “weaker party” to concede to the basic terms of the stronger.
Therefore coercion is to be applied to the “weaker” party to capitulate , not on the “stronger” to adjust its terms.
@JohnSF: Indeed. Plus a deal is a success to them because deal. Nevermind the qualitative success thereof.
I have seen no commentary analyzing what kind of technology Russia would gain if it conquered Ukraine, despite the fact that I see many tripping over themselves in awe at Ukraine’s cutting edge drone technologies.
Think of the impact of those skills becoming Russian skills, especially after what we have seen in Ukraine’s attacks on the Russian navy. Apply those skills to Trump class warships and watch what happens. I think we want to keep Ukraine a free and stable U.S. ally for the same reason we wanted European rocket and nuclear engineers in the 1930s and 40s.