Trump doesn't negotiate, he abandons Ukraine without demanding anything in return. He has destroyed the most important weapon in war: trust.
What levers does Volodymyr Zelensky have left to turn things in his favor?
For the time being, it's Trump and Putin together, and Zelensky is on the sidelines, just like the European Union. The American president sees this war as a transaction. For him, for example, Kursk is a piece of land that doesn't belong to him, so it must be returned to Russia. He talks about negotiations, but in reality, he's applying Putin's story word for word. What's even more cynical is that he justifies all this by saying, “This is what happens when you take on someone stronger than you.” It's mind-boggling to see an American president adopt such a posture against an ally who is supposed to be supported by the United States. He claims to be a champion of negotiation... Personally, I see a champion of betrayal.
Trump's America will protect neither Ukraine nor Europe. It's time for Europeans to take their security into their own hands. We have the military and financial means to do so, but our problem is political: we have 30 different armies and no unified command.
We need to build a real European defense. Today, we are 500 million Europeans asking 300 million Americans to defend us against 140 million Russians. It's absurd! Europe must stop being a mere spectator. Otherwise, we'll continue to be the menu at the geopolitical banquet, instead of being at the table.
Russia was absent from Trump’s list of countries facing new tariffs, yet Ukraine—an ally fighting for survival—was slapped with a 10% levy, according to a White House fact sheet. Reuters reports that Trump is frustrated with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for allegedly delaying a rare earth minerals deal. The pattern of Trump’s sanctions is revealing. This appears to be economic blackmail, pressuring Zelensky to accept a lopsided minerals deal—one many argue would reduce Ukraine to an economic colony—after falsely accusing him of stalling negotiations.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Vladimir Putin even seems to take a malicious pleasure in playing for time, as demonstrated by his staging on Tuesday March 18, at the very time his meeting with Donald Trump was scheduled. Comfortably installed in an armchair, the Russian president was on stage at an economic forum bringing together leading figures from the world of business, and when the conference host reminded him that he had an appointment, he responded with a smile, pretending not to know, in front of a hilarious audience.
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Das ist es, womit wir es zu tun haben: Nikolai Patruschew (ex-Chef FSB) hat in letzter Zeit auch Geschichtsunterricht über Finnland erteilt und behauptet, die finnische Bevölkerung sei eigentlich pro-russisch eingestellt, und nur die Eliten seien gegen Moskaus Ziel der globalen Dominanz. Sie alle hätten einst glücklich zusammen im Großherzogtum Finnland gelebt! Diese Art von Fantasiedenken liegt Russlands Bestreben zugrunde, die Ukraine zu zerstören, und sie stößt auf einige harte Wahrheiten, nämlich dass alle Länder an der Ostsee mit Ausnahme der Russischen Föderation jetzt der NATO angehören. Diejenigen, die Finnland immer noch für eine Art sicheren, grauen, neutralen Raum und Estland für *gefährdeter* halten, sollten noch einmal nachdenken.
Das Problem mit der Denkweise des Kremls ist, dass sie nicht der Realität entspricht. Aus diesem Grund ist ihr Krieg zur Übernahme der Ukraine weitgehend gescheitert. Es ist ihnen gelungen, einige Grenzstädte einzunehmen, aber der Rest war im Grunde ein Krieg der verbrannten Erde und der totalen Zerstörung, der jedes „gewonnene“ Gebiet unbewohnbar gemacht hat. Wo sind die prorussischen Ukrainer, die nur darauf brennen, von Putin regiert zu werden?
Es ist klar, dass Putin dachte, er würde von kleinen Mädchen mit Blumen empfangen werden. Diese Fantasie ist auch im Weißen Haus am Werk, wo Trump glaubt, die Grönländer wollten sich den USA anschließen, obwohl die Chefs aller Parteien im Parlament gerade ausdrücklich gesagt haben, dass sie den USA nicht beitreten wollen.
Die Welt wird von den Wahnvorstellungen alternder Männer, die zu viele Dokumentarfilme über den Zweiten Weltkrieg gesehen haben, in einen Kaninchenbau geführt. Denn sie alle sind unterwegs zum Untergang. Patruschew ist 73, Putin wird bald 73 sein, Trump wird 79 sein. Ihnen geht die Puste aus. Mit Ausnahme einiger weniger historischer Persönlichkeiten wie Adenauer, De Valera oder Kekkonen bewirken gealterte Politiker in der Regel nur noch sehr wenig. Wir haben noch etwa 5-10 Jahre mit diesen Typen zu tun, und dann sind sie alle erledigt.
The anti-Swasticar guerilla billboard campaign is gathering pace in London.
The 0-1939 poster was the first. Also appearing around London now:
Tesla: The Swasticar. Now with white-power steering.
Thinking about buying a Tesla? You're in for a Nazi surprise.
Tesla: The Swasticar. Autopilot for your car. Autocrat for your country.
Elon's Musk: Parfum de 1939.
Hate doesn't sell. Ask Tesla!
Elon Musk is a bellend.
My favourite is a billboard-sized mock movie advert. The Fast and the Fuhrer! Heil Tesla!". "WWe are informed that the movie is a Nuremberg Film Festival winner and recipient of five Adolf 's. There's even a PG warning: "Parental Guidance: Tesla's CEO is a far-right activist. Don't give him your money".
How can we explain Trump’s recent aggressive actions against Ukraine?
Half a year ago, I predicted that if Trump were elected, his administration would:
1) Block Ukraine from joining NATO.
2) Cut off aid to Ukraine.
3) Force Ukraine to surrender territory to Russia by freezing the war along the front line.
So far, two of these goals have been accomplished. However, the third is more challenging. Putin is reluctant to freeze the war along the front line because it would ultimately mean losing part of Russia.
By now, it should be obvious to everyone that Trump has no regard for Ukraine. To him, Ukraine is merely an obstacle to a strong relationship with Russia. To eliminate this obstacle, he must first ensure that Russia regains control of the Kursk region, so that the so-called “negotiations” could being.
How is he doing this?
First, Trump cut off arms supplies at the most critical moment — just as Russia launched a major counteroffensive in Kursk. Second, he halted vital intelligence sharing with Ukraine.
According to TIME magazine, these moves have been devastating for Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers, with “the worst losses in Kursk.”
So, there you have it: Trump is deliberately crippling Ukraine so that Russia can recapture Kursk. Once that happens, he will have set the stage for Ukraine’s capitulation under his so-called “peace deal.”
Once Trump eliminates the “Ukrainian problem,” he will be free to reunite with his good friend — the war criminal Putin — and rebuild a relationship between the U.S. and Russia.
The deal between the US and Russia could be a modern-day Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact….
And it seems I was right about Trump helping Russia recapture Kursk.
Reports are emerging from Ukrainian soldiers, claiming that “Russian forces in Kursk suddenly have extremely precise coordinates” for Ukrainian troop locations, logistics, and ammunition depots.
They insist that this “cannot be a coincidence” and that “Trump’s administration is trying to hand Kursk to Russia before negotiations begin as part of a secret deal with Russia.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if the newly appointed CIA director, Tulsi Gabbard — a known Russian sympathizer — is sharing sensitive intelligence about Ukrainian troop positions in Kursk with Russia.
Several weeks ago, Politico reported that foreign intelligence agencies have stopped sharing secrets with the US, citing Trump’s administration as highly untrustworthy.
Now, things may be even worse. As Ukrainian soldiers put it: “Russians in Kursk suddenly knowing everything about our forces there cannot be a coincidence….”
The smoking gun
And here is a text from Robin Horsfall, a veteran and an important voice in military strategy:On Aug. 24, 2024, Ukrainian forces became the first nation to occupy Russian territory since World War II. The attack was a raid in force into Kursk oblast, intended as a distraction to pull Russian forces away from Donbas, where attritional warfare was wearing down Ukrainian defenses….
Ukraine was able to hold Kursk because of high-quality U.S. intelligence, which provided real-time information on Russian troop movements and artillery positioning. This vital intelligence allowed Ukraine to pin down Russian forces, as ‘eyes in the sky’ detected every move and countered it almost instantly. For Russia to advance, it needed to blind Ukraine.
On Feb. 27, 2025, a Russian general in Kursk told one of his colonels that their offensive was waiting for Ukrainian surveillance to go down. The colonel relayed this to his wife, who then told her best friend, who passed it on to my source in Eastern Europe…. if it is accurate, it suggests that Russia knew Trump would cut off intelligence support before his official announcement on March 3. The source is genuine, but the individuals in the communication chain risk their lives if their identities are revealed.
This is not enough to convict, but it is enough to warrant close scrutiny. Ukraine and Europe must know who they can trust.”
Roman Sheremeta is a Professor of Economics, Board Member at Save Ukraine and Ukrainian American House and former founding Rector at American University, Kyiv
