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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

 

Roman Sheremeta is a Professor of Economics, Board Member at Save Ukraine and Ukrainian American House and former founding Rector at American University, Kyiv

 

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Es ist offensichtlich, dass wir Europäer uns im Zuge der antieuropäischen Politik von Trumps USA neue Freunde suchen müssen. Die Auswahl ist gering: Die einzigen möglichen zukünftigen Verbündeten sind Russland, China und die BRICS-Staaten.
Russland hat sich durch den Krieg in der Ukraine unmöglich gemacht. Die BRICS-Staaten, zu denen Russland und China gehören, sind zu heterogen und widerspenstig, um als Partner für Europa in Frage zu kommen. Bleibt also China.
Warum nicht eine Partnerschaft mit China? China besitzt keine umstrittene Grenze zu Europa. Wir sind vor Chinas geografischem Expansionismus durch die Existenz Russlands geschützt, das groß genug ist, um Chinas Eroberungsdrang ins Leere laufen zu lassen.
Der Wettbewerb mit China um die Rolle der größten Wirtschafts- und Militärmacht der Welt ist Amerikas Problem, nicht das Europas. Es geht einzig und allein darum, die marode europäische Wirtschaft zu sanieren, um beim Wettbewerb mit China und den USA nicht unter den Tisch zu fallen.
Das amerikanische Sägen an den Wurzeln der NATO hat bereits zur Bildung einer neuen, auf Europa ausgerichteten Koalition der Willigen geführt. Dieses Bündnis sollte in der Lage sein, mit China auf Augenhöhe über eine Zusammenarbeit nicht nur in Klimafragen, sondern auch in der Rüstung zu verhandeln.

Ziel könnte es sein, amerikafreie Rüstungsgüter zu kaufen: Chinesische Jets statt US-Jets, zum Beispiel. Warum nicht: Sie sind ja offensichtlich gut und modern und könnten Frankreichs und Schwedens Modelle ergänzen.

Heinrich von Loesch
 
Natürlich würde Peking versuchen, in Europa mitzuregieren. Chinesische Techniker auf europäischen Luftwaffenstützpunkten, chinesisches Militärpersonal in europäischen Kommandostellen: Peking weiß dann alles, ohne spionieren zu müssen. Washington wäre gezwungen, aus Angst vor Pekings Spionage alle Drähte nach Europa zu kappen. Traurig, aber: 

Tu l'as voulu, Donald Dandin

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Seine Rede am Dienstag, den 4. März, auf der Besuchertribüne des Senats über die Unterstützung der Ukraine und die Haltung von Donald Trump.

Indem er ihn als „Brandkaiser“ bezeichnete und die US-Regierung kritisierte, gelang es Claude Malhuret, die Aufmerksamkeit der Medien und der sozialen Netzwerke, insbesondere in den USA, auf sich zu ziehen (während seine Rede in den amerikanischen Sendern keine Schlagzeilen machte).

 

"Europa befindet sich an einem entscheidenden Punkt seiner Geschichte. Der amerikanische Schutzschild entgleitet, die Ukraine droht aufgegeben zu werden, und Russland wird gestärkt. Washington ist zum Hofstaat Neros geworden: ein aufbrausender Kaiser, unterwürfige Höflinge und ein Possenreißer auf Ketamin, der mit der Säuberung des öffentlichen Dienstes beauftragt ist.

Dies ist eine Tragödie für die freie Welt, aber in erster Linie eine Tragödie für die Vereinigten Staaten. Die Botschaft von Donald Trump lautet, dass es sinnlos ist, sein Verbündeter zu sein, denn er wird euch nicht verteidigen, er wird euch mehr Zölle auferlegen als seinen Feinden, und er wird damit drohen, eure Territorien zu beschlagnahmen, während er die Diktatoren unterstützt, die bei euch einmarschieren.

Der König des Deals zeigt, dass die Kunst des Deals auf dem Boden der Tatsachen liegt. Er glaubt, dass er China einschüchtern kann, indem er vor dem russischen Präsidenten Wladimir Putin kapituliert, aber Chinas Präsident Xi Jinping beschleunigt angesichts dieses Scheiterns zweifellos seine Pläne für eine Invasion Taiwans.

Noch nie in der Geschichte hat ein Präsident der Vereinigten Staaten vor dem Feind kapituliert.Noch nie hat er einen Aggressor gegen einen Verbündeten unterstützt, noch nie so viele illegale Dekrete erlassen und so viele Militärs auf einen Schlag gefeuert. Noch nie hat jemand die amerikanische Verfassung so mit Füßen getreten und gleichzeitig damit gedroht, Richter, die sich ihm in den Weg stellen, zu missachten, die Gegengewalt zu schwächen und die Kontrolle über die sozialen Medien zu übernehmen. 

Das ist kein Abdriften in den Illiberalismus, das ist der Beginn der Eroberung der Demokratie. Erinnern wir uns daran, dass es nur einen Monat, drei Wochen und zwei Tage dauerte, um die Weimarer Republik und ihre Verfassung zu stürzen."

RTL

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"If you are silent about your pain, they'll kill you and say you enjoyed your pain"  (Zora Neale Hurston)

Trump and Musk are wanting to privatize Social Security. Then they want to sell off everything in the building. They are hoping to get their greedy hands on the $1.7 trillion in the Social Security fund.

But that money is not the Federal Government's money. Of course it belongs to all people and employers who have paid into it their whole working life.

The richest man in the world has been put in charge of dismantling American programs that were created to prevent elderly poverty. Why should he care? He will never depend on it. 

I am 71 and I need my Social Security to pay my bills. I still work 3 days a week. I didn’t save enough to retire at 62 or 66. I have read that what I have managed to save is about average for a big part of  American workers. EVERYONE WHO READS THIS SHOULD LET EVERYONE THEY KNOW WHO IS DEPENDENT ON SOCIAL SECURITY THAT THEY NEED TO ACT NOW. ALSO TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW WHO HAS PARENTS.

@Bsendejas

 

 

Why is Elon Musk trashing the SS (Social Security) phone system?  He tried this last week and got shot down, but it’s so important to him that he’s doing it again.  And at the same time, why is he closing hundreds of social security offices across the nation?

The answer is pretty simple.

Musk has continuously, without evidence, accused social security as a ‘ponzi scheme’ and ‘rife with fraud’. 

It’s no secret that Republicans have been eyeing this ‘third rail’ for decades, without much success.

But now comes Musk with a double-whammy.

Once the social security phone system is removed, the ONLY recourse SS applicants and current recipients have is to make an appointment at their nearest Social Security office (currently at least a month wait) and come in to plead their case.  All musk has to do is to begin denying new applications or wiping people off Social Security with a message, “we need to verify that you are a US citizen and properly identify yourself.  Please bring in your SS card, a notarized birth certificate, Name change documentation for married women, and a real ID or passport so that your payments can start/resume” 

The majority of SS recipients (new and existing) depend on social security and Medicare/medicaid to survive.  A few months without these payments will wipe them out.

This is fucking evil, if this is really the plan.  Please, show me that I’m wrong in the comments.  I really don’t mind being schooled.

@MsTree

 

Paul Krugman is now posting stuff on a nearly daily basis on Substack, and well worth following:

The Clean Little Secret of Social Security -It’s a pretty good program, and we can afford it

Smears, Sadism and Social Security — Why Elon Musk wants to make seniors suffer

You’ve probably seen Musk claiming that Social Security is a Ponzi scheme and that millions of dead people are collecting benefits? Besides decimating the staff and closing offices at SSA,

The goal is, if you can’t kill Social Security, make it impossible for people to file claims or get help.

Under this plan, beneficiaries would still be able to call the SSA. But they would have to verify their identity either over the internet or through in-person visits to field offices.

Bear in mind that we’re talking about older and/or disabled Americans, many of whom are unable to access the internet and physically unable to visit SSA offices — which would in any case be overwhelmed by the increased traffic, given that the agency is already facing large staffing cuts. So this would be a move of almost cartoonish cruelty, and a nightmare for millions of Americans

Why would Musk do this? Krugman speculates:

My guess, instead, is that it’s an ego thing, that Social Security has become to Musk what Canada has become to Donald Trump. Both men at one point said something stupid, something that would have turned them into laughingstocks if there weren’t so much fear in the air. But both men have been unable to let go, doubling down in what amounts to an attempt to redeem their initial foolishness.

The Washington Post reports that employee cuts at the SSA have led to office managers at field offices being forced to answer phone calls at the front desk in place of fired receptionists. In addition, the agency’s website crashed four times in 10 days in March due to server overloads, preventing millions of retired people and the disabled from accessing their online accounts.

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JD Vance and Donald Trump are “Vladimir Putin’s useful idiots”, the vice-president’s cousin has claimed, after the US suspended military aid to Ukraine.

Nate Vance, the cousin of U.S. Vice President JD Vance and a volunteer fighting on Ukraine's front lines, said he is "disappointed" in his relative's stance on Ukraine.

Vance, a former U.S. Marine, defended Ukraine from 2022 to January 2025 as a member of the Da Vinci Wolves First Motorized Battalion, a volunteer unit.

"Being your family doesn't mean I'm going to accept you killing my comrades," Vance said in an interview with Le Figaro published on March 9.

Vance's remarks come at a low point in U.S.-Ukrainian relations, as Washington has halted intelligence sharing and military aid to Kyiv. The freeze followed a contentious meeting in the Oval Office between U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice President Vance, and President Volodymyr Zelensky.   

Nate Vance said he was disappointed in how his cousin treated Zelensky during the meeting.

"When (JD Vance) criticized aid to Ukraine, I thought it was because he needed to appeal to his electorate, that it was part of the political game," Vance said.

"But what they did to Zelensky was an ambush of absolute dishonesty."

The vice president's continued distrust of Zelensky is unjustified, as are his views on Ukraine, Vance said.

"I thought I was going to choke ... His own cousin was on the front lines. I could have told him the truth, without pretense, without personal interest. He never tried to find out more."

Vance said he tried to get in touch with his cousin several times with no success.

"I left messages at his office. I never heard from him," he said.

Vance volunteered to fight in Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, but left shortly before the U.S. presidential inauguration out of fear of being captured by the Russian army.

"It had become complicated to stay. I couldn't take the risk of being captured," he said.

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