Russia has invaded Ukraine

Originally Posted by thenry

Not everybody lives like you Hugh.

What … in the real world?

[thenry]

Originally Posted by Chris

What … in the real world?

Yes although I'd like to add perfect to your real world.

Originally Posted by thenry

Not everybody lives like you Hugh.

Indeed, some live in Ukraine (or try to).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd0n5e1pdz9o

Donald Trump has taken aim at Ukraine after its President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said it was a "surprise" his country had not been invited to talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war with Russia.

Saying he was "disappointed" by Ukraine's reaction, he appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war, saying the country "could have made a deal" earlier.

A full-scale Russian invasion sparked the war in Ukraine almost three years ago.

This doesn't bode well. I don't know why Trump is so accommodating to Putin.

Putin knows where the bodies are buried. They are both gangsters and are behaving according to type.

The only possible saving grace at this point is that Trump is behaving so egregiously that European leaders have been forced to confront the fact that America is now an unreliable partner for at least the next 4 years and should now modify their defence policies accordingly, and second, the ‘peace deal’ that eventually arises from this will be so awful there is no way Ukraine will accept it and no way any serious European politician can recommend they do. At some point Trump is going to have to be confronted with the limitations of his influence in all of this, and he will be.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Damien

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd0n5e1pdz9o

This doesn't bode well. I don't know why Trump is so accommodating to Putin.

Probably for the same reasons that Farage has spouted Putin's line on the invasion of Ukraine being the fault of NATO for over-expanding.

I'm getting more and more depressed.But at the end of the day nothing has worked at calming matters down so far so maybe Putin and Trump and Musk are the alternative vision of sorting out world affairs?


However upon reflection NAH!

[1andrew1]

Bit of self-projection going on here!

Donald Trump has called the Ukrainian president a "dictator without elections," saying he "better move fast or he is not going to have a country left".

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Trump is "trapped in a disinformation bubble".

https://news.sky.com/story/trump-put...atest-12541713

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c62e...30abdc659#post

Trump takes swipe at Zelensky's leadership

published at 16:06

"Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left," US President Donald Trump says in a post on Truth Social.

Labelling Zelensky "a dictator", Trump writes: "I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died."

Trump says in the meantime, the US is "successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia".

For context: Zelensky's presidential term expired last May, however Ukraine has been under martial law since the Russian invasion in February 2022, which means presidential elections are suspended.

Europe has failed to bring peace, says Trump

published at 16:08

Trump has also taken a swipe at Europe, saying the war in Ukraine is "far more important to Europe than it is to us".

"We have a big, beautiful ocean as a separation," he says.

He adds that Europe has "failed to bring peace" in the region.

[thenry]

Donald Trump

"I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues..."

"He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden 'like a fiddle'," he added.

"A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left."

https://news.sky.com/story/trump-put...#liveblog-body

Someone clearly isn't crying more over Ukrainian.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

"With all due respect to President Donald Trump as a leader....he is living in this disinformation space," he says.

"As we are talking about 4%, we have seen this disinformation, we understand it's coming from Russia," he adds.

The comments come after Trump claimed Zelenskyy had a 4% approval rating in Ukraine.

It should be noted Zelenskyy's rating is in fact around 50%, which is similar to Trump's.

https://news.sky.com/story/trump-put...#liveblog-body

Donald Trump

He wrote on his Truth social media platform: "Think of it, a modestly successful comedian, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, talked the United States of America into spending $350 Billion Dollars, to go into a War that couldn’t be won, that never had to start, but a War that he, without the U.S. and “TRUMP,” will never be able to settle.

"The United States has spent $200 Billion Dollars more than Europe, and Europe’s money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn’t Sleepy Joe Biden demand Equalization, in that this War is far more important to Europe than it is to us — We have a big, beautiful Ocean as separation.

"On top of this, Zelenskyy admits that half of the money we sent him is “MISSING.” He refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden “like a fiddle.”

"A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only “TRUMP,” and the Trump Administration, can do. Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring Peace, and Zelenskyy probably wants to keep the “gravy train” going. I love Ukraine, but Zelenskyy has done a terrible job, his Country is shattered, and MILLIONS have unnecessarily died – And so it continues….."

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-...tator-34711053

a dictator

Quite.

In the real world, the US has spent around $100bn, and most of that was spent within the US, on US weapons manufacturers.

And Ukrainian law forbids an election taking place while the country is under the present state of emergency. But seeing as Trump now seems to think that a country’s law is whatever the president of the day says it is, it is perhaps unsurprising that he doesn’t understand why they can’t just have one anyway.

The problem here is that Donald J Trump is not very clever. His one skill is being boorish, and getting away with it thanks to a family fortune he never earned (but which he has managed to dissipate at a prodigious rate). On any given policy area he is at the mercy of whichever group has his ear. And on Ukraine that includes Vladimir Putin himself, plus all the other conspiracy-soaked nut-jobs in the US who have attached themselves to MAGA.

US is now refusing to call out Russian aggression in Ukraine: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...ts-2025-02-20/

I think this is a pretty fundamental shift to the US/Russia backing each other at the UN and G7 against Europe.

What is Europe's arms manufacturing sector like? If all of Europe is now scaling up it's arsenal then can it be purchased within Europe? We probably don't want to buy from Russia/China/US.....

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Damien

US is now refusing to call out Russian aggression in Ukraine: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe...ts-2025-02-20/

I think this is a pretty fundamental shift to the US/Russia backing each other at the UN and G7 against Europe.

What is Europe's arms manufacturing sector like? If all of Europe is now scaling up it's arsenal then can it be purchased within Europe? We probably don't want to buy from Russia/China/US.....

Zoom is banned by some British government bodies because parts of its business are based in China even if it provides reassurances that it won't store their data there. I imagine organisations might be becoming wary of storing data in the US for similar reasons.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...-russia-trump/

U.S. votes against U.N. resolution condemning Russia for Ukraine war

The United States voted with Russia, North Korea, Iran and 14 other Moscow-friendly countries Monday against a resolution condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine and calling for the return of Ukrainian territory. The resolution passed overwhelmingly in the U.N. General Assembly.

The U.S. delegation also abstained from voting on its own competing resolution that simply called for an end to the war, after European-sponsored amendments inserting new anti-Russian language in the resolution also passed the 193-member body by a wide margin. The amended U.S. resolution also passed.

Non-paywall site - https://thehill.com/homenews/5161380...un-resolution/

It's ridiculous how far and fast the pendulum has swung in just over a month. Did anyone see this coming? Russia and America teaming up at the UN to vote against the West.

We are so incredibly screwed if this doesn't rebalance itself. I think Europe was worried that America would disengage from the continent but I don't think it ever seriously considered the prospect the Kremlin would have the backing of the White House.

Putin probably can't believe his luck. Trump backing him at the UN. Defending Russia and blaming Ukraine.