For Those Who Might Be Wondering Why We Might Be In Ukraine

Russia is introducing donkey's to the Russian Army. Meanwhile in Ukraine.....

UKR ARMO TECH’s debut participation at the IDEX 2025 arms exhibition is showcasing the UAT.GYURZA-02 - ready to compete in the highly competitive MRAP market. Unlike foreign alternatives, Ukrainian solutions inherently possess an advantage because they survived natural selection in the most intense and bloody conflict since World War II. The Gyurza is an armored 4x4 all-wheel-drive vehicle currently used by the Armed Forces, National Guard, and State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

UKR ARMO TECH is capable of producing hundreds of Gyurza-02 class vehicles, alongside other models like the armored combat vehicle TISA, also showcased at IDEX-2025.

https://en.defence-ua.com/weapon_an...r_armo_tech_premieres_at_idex_2025-13580.html
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President Trump’s Masterclass: Blundering A Ukraine Peace Deal​

I'd have been a bit more impolite myself. He's fucked it up and there will be no peace deal.

Over the past week, the Trump administration has begun outlining its approach to brokering an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. These ideas have raised consternation in Kyiv and among U.S. allies in Europe, however, Moscow seemed elated. Administration officials have made basic negotiating errors when rolling out their approach that, left uncorrected, will doom their bid to end the war.

Trump’s first call on ending the war went to Putin. It should have gone to Zelensky. Ukraine has been a U.S. partner for thirty years, while Putin has made Russia an adversary of America. Ukraine is the aggrieved party, the victim of Russian neo-imperialist aggression. Trump should have talked to Zelensky first to understand where Kyiv has flexibility and where it does not. Trump’s second set of calls should have gone to senior European leaders, whom he wants to provide military force to back up any deal that he brokers. It would have been smarter not to surprise them with a string of abrupt U.S. policy changes. Trump should have waited to call Putin until after completing these conversations. His inexplicable eagerness to engage weakens his hand with his Russian counterpart. Trump also should have gathered leverage with Putin before calling the Russian leader, who shows readiness to discuss only his terms for Ukraine’s capitulation.

Seeing as Ukraine’s need for American support gives Washington plenty of leverage with Kyiv. Trump has ample ways to build that leverage: ask Congress to approve new military assistance for Ukraine, work with the G7 to transfer frozen Central Russian Bank assets to a fund for Ukraine, and tighten sanctions on Russia. Thus far, he has taken none of these steps. The Trump administration’s shambolic efforts took a turn for the worse over the weekend, when Washington announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss, among other things, the Russia-Ukraine war without Ukraine at the table. Putin would like nothing more than to engage Trump in a bilateral negotiation to settle the war and on Europe’s broader security architecture, ideally, one-on-one, in which he could cajole and manipulate Trump.

If his mediating effort is to work, Trump would do well to remember that Zelensky must agree to the terms. On February 16, Zelensky said he would “never accept” a settlement reached by just the United States and Russia. Ukrainians are ready to continue fighting rather than consent to a fait accompli negotiated over their heads. The administration’s opening miscues make it unlikely that it can broker a just and durable end to the war, in which case, Ukraine will just keep on fighting.

Trump would do well to remember that Ukrainians and the Ukrainian military picked up whatever weapons they had and fought the Russians to a standstill in 2022. The Ukrainian military is now exponentially stronger and gaining strength with each week that passes. They've made mistakes, but they're learning and reorganizing, their defense industry is continually expanding and has a lot of underutilized capacity. Those Gyurza MRAP's above are a good example - being produced in the hundreds now - the company can manufacture 2000 of these annually now - and this is only one company. There are all sorts of others producing everything from these to mortars to artillery and now Lynx's and Fuch's as well as ammo - the joys of capitalism at work. The EU is also scaling up and Rheinmetall in particular is all in.

Nope. Trump has his blinkers on, he's gone down the wrong track from the start and he needs an immediate change of course if he hopes to succeed. He won't make it - he's too full of himself - and the end result will be his peace agreement with Putin will be a piece of paper that only Trump and Putin take any notice of. Ukraine will keep fighting with European backing, and possibly with the EU buying weapons and munitions from the USA for Ukraine. But in the meantime, Trump will have antagonized a lot of people and countries for no good reason.

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/president-trumps-masterclass-blundering-a-ukraine-peace-deal
 

President Trump’s Masterclass: Blundering A Ukraine Peace Deal​

I'd have been a bit more impolite myself. He's fucked it up and there will be no peace deal.

Over the past week, the Trump administration has begun outlining its approach to brokering an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. These ideas have raised consternation in Kyiv and among U.S. allies in Europe, however, Moscow seemed elated. Administration officials have made basic negotiating errors when rolling out their approach that, left uncorrected, will doom their bid to end the war.

Trump’s first call on ending the war went to Putin. It should have gone to Zelensky. Ukraine has been a U.S. partner for thirty years, while Putin has made Russia an adversary of America. Ukraine is the aggrieved party, the victim of Russian neo-imperialist aggression. Trump should have talked to Zelensky first to understand where Kyiv has flexibility and where it does not. Trump’s second set of calls should have gone to senior European leaders, whom he wants to provide military force to back up any deal that he brokers. It would have been smarter not to surprise them with a string of abrupt U.S. policy changes. Trump should have waited to call Putin until after completing these conversations. His inexplicable eagerness to engage weakens his hand with his Russian counterpart. Trump also should have gathered leverage with Putin before calling the Russian leader, who shows readiness to discuss only his terms for Ukraine’s capitulation.

Seeing as Ukraine’s need for American support gives Washington plenty of leverage with Kyiv. Trump has ample ways to build that leverage: ask Congress to approve new military assistance for Ukraine, work with the G7 to transfer frozen Central Russian Bank assets to a fund for Ukraine, and tighten sanctions on Russia. Thus far, he has taken none of these steps. The Trump administration’s shambolic efforts took a turn for the worse over the weekend, when Washington announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio would meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss, among other things, the Russia-Ukraine war without Ukraine at the table. Putin would like nothing more than to engage Trump in a bilateral negotiation to settle the war and on Europe’s broader security architecture, ideally, one-on-one, in which he could cajole and manipulate Trump.

If his mediating effort is to work, Trump would do well to remember that Zelensky must agree to the terms. On February 16, Zelensky said he would “never accept” a settlement reached by just the United States and Russia. Ukrainians are ready to continue fighting rather than consent to a fait accompli negotiated over their heads. The administration’s opening miscues make it unlikely that it can broker a just and durable end to the war, in which case, Ukraine will just keep on fighting.

Trump would do well to remember that Ukrainians and the Ukrainian military picked up whatever weapons they had and fought the Russians to a standstill in 2022. The Ukrainian military is now exponentially stronger and gaining strength with each week that passes. They've made mistakes, but they're learning and reorganizing, their defense industry is continually expanding and has a lot of underutilized capacity. Those Gyurza MRAP's above are a good example - being produced in the hundreds now - the company can manufacture 2000 of these annually now - and this is only one company. There are all sorts of others producing everything from these to mortars to artillery and now Lynx's and Fuch's as well as ammo - the joys of capitalism at work. The EU is also scaling up and Rheinmetall in particular is all in.

Nope. Trump has his blinkers on, he's gone down the wrong track from the start and he needs an immediate change of course if he hopes to succeed. He won't make it - he's too full of himself - and the end result will be his peace agreement with Putin will be a piece of paper that only Trump and Putin take any notice of. Ukraine will keep fighting with European backing, and possibly with the EU buying weapons and munitions from the USA for Ukraine. But in the meantime, Trump will have antagonized a lot of people and countries for no good reason.

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/president-trumps-masterclass-blundering-a-ukraine-peace-deal
The issue is that he assumes that 47 cares about Ukraine at all. It's just another transaction for him. There's not a single ally or adversary that means anything to him....his ego won't allow that.
 
The issue is that he assumes that 47 cares about Ukraine at all. It's just another transaction for him. There's not a single ally or adversary that means anything to him....his ego won't allow that.

Yep, I agree. And he's gone whacko on this one. The latest is that Erdogan of all people has now come firmly down on Ukraine's side. They have a lot going on between Ukraine and Turkey and we could be seeing a regional alliance in the making here that will dominate the Black Sea and the Caucasus in the future

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Trump can suck on this one and fuck him and the horse he rode in on....

European aid is structured differently to US aid packages - 5 billion in European weapons will be a lot more then a 5 billion dollar package from the US because most of it won't be spent on replacing the stockpiles but on new purchases for Ukraine

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I think Trump has actually succeeded in galvanizing Europe into life..... 700 billion Euro's!!!! No wonder European defense stocks are climbing.

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Hitting the news now.....

EU considers historic € 700 billion aid package for Ukraine as Trump signals reduction in Kyiv’s support​

The European Union is reportedly preparing a multibillion-euro aid package for the purchase of military equipment for Ukraine with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock provided an insight into its scale, stating that the amount could reach approximately €700 billion, according to Berliner Zeitung. The new package could be financed through joint borrowing by EU member states, a mechanism previously tested during the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/02...-as-trump-signals-reduction-in-kyivs-support/
 

Is Putin stringing Trump along? US right-wingers turn on deal while Ukrainians say 'they'll fight to the death' as bombs rain down on civilians​


LOL. Yes indeedy! American right-wingers have begun turning on US president Donald Trump's Ukraine deal currently being negotiated with Russia, defiantly saying that despot Vladimir Putin is a 'war criminal who should be in jail for the rest of his life.' This is 100% correct!!!!! Trump's allies in the Republican Party have now begun turning on him. Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker told CNN when asked whether Putin can be trusted during negotiations: 'No. Putin is a war criminal who should be in jail for the rest of his life, if not executed.' He added that the Russians will try to do 'anything to their advantage'. A congressional official backed Wicker's comments, telling NBC: 'We have zero intelligence that Putin is interested in a real peace deal right now.'

Nope, Trump's delusional on Ukraine.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-theyll-fight-death-bombs-rain-civilians.html
 

Is Putin stringing Trump along? US right-wingers turn on deal while Ukrainians say 'they'll fight to the death' as bombs rain down on civilians​


LOL. Yes indeedy! American right-wingers have begun turning on US president Donald Trump's Ukraine deal currently being negotiated with Russia, defiantly saying that despot Vladimir Putin is a 'war criminal who should be in jail for the rest of his life.' This is 100% correct!!!!! Trump's allies in the Republican Party have now begun turning on him. Senate Armed Services Chairman Roger Wicker told CNN when asked whether Putin can be trusted during negotiations: 'No. Putin is a war criminal who should be in jail for the rest of his life, if not executed.' He added that the Russians will try to do 'anything to their advantage'. A congressional official backed Wicker's comments, telling NBC: 'We have zero intelligence that Putin is interested in a real peace deal right now.'

Nope, Trump's delusional on Ukraine.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-theyll-fight-death-bombs-rain-civilians.html
He's delusional on everything because it's always about himself.

This should provide leverage to Ukraine and get them to the table. Truly up to Putin who is also delusional because it's always about himself.
 
Poignant (sorry, didn't realize it was limited to non subscribers)
From the Dispatch - Rooting for Laundry, Patriotism in an age of villainy
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/boilingfrogs/donald-trump-patriotism-america-2/
The problem, per the Telegraph, is that the terms offered to Zelensky were tantamount to loan-sharking. In return for the $175 billion in support we’ve given, the White House is demanding the equivalent of $500 billion in mineral rights, access to ports, control over infrastructure—the “U.S. economic colonization of Ukraine, in legal perpetuity,” in short. Author Ambrose Evans-Pritchard called it “a burden of reparations that cannot possibly be achieved” and compared it unfavorably to the penalties paid by the Axis powers after World War II and even to the notoriously draconian burden placed on Germany after World War I

Using Ukraine’s fight for national survival as a pretext for an unprecedented shakedown is cartoonish villainy, like withholding an organ transplant from a dying man until he signs his children into slavery. But Trump isn’t letting up: On Tuesday Fox News reported that the U.S. and Russia will propose a three-step peace process requiring a new presidential election in Ukraine, an obvious ploy to unseat Zelensky and have him replaced with a Russian stooge who’ll capitulate to Moscow.
 
Poignant (sorry, didn't realize it was limited to non subscribers)
From the Dispatch - Rooting for Laundry, Patriotism in an age of villainy
https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/boilingfrogs/donald-trump-patriotism-america-2/

The corollary of this is that any agreement will need massive numbers of peacekeepers, and no-one will go on without US boots on the ground and Trump won't put the, there because as everyone knows, Putin has never yet kept an agreement he signed. A ceasefire will supposed to be started at 09:00am and at 09:05am the Russians will break it and start shooting. Trump can sign all the paper he likes but that won't stop the war. And now the EU seems to be REALLY committing, Zelensky and Ukraine can and will simply ignore whatever's signed between Trump and Putin as irrelevant. Zelensky reacted in the only way one should react to such zombie idiotism, and explained that, essentially, any kind of agreements between the USA and Russia reached without Ukrainian involvement, are worth nothing.

I would go a step further and add that this idiocy of Trump's is not even worth attention and should be as ignored as Putin’s threats of using nukes.

‘Sending peacekeepers’ to far smaller Kosovo, back in 1999, required 50,000 troops - which the EU (even the European part of NATO, nowadays) is (still) likely to experience massive problems just with finding, to start with. Ukraine as over a million troops in their Army. Russia has 600,000 in Ukraine. Any peacekeeping force, to be effective is going to need at least a couple of hundred thousand, and they'll need to be prepared to respond effectively, and prepared to fight Russia too, because the Russian's won't keep any agreement.

Nope, this initiative of Trump's will collapse and fade into a well-deserved oblivion, however loudly Trump rants and raves. I suspect Zelensky and Ukraine will simply keep stating the obvious, which is that any agreement reached without their participation is worth less than the paper it's written on, and meanwhile Ukraine will keep on inflicting massive losses on the Russians. The ZSU has fought Russia to a standstill, the Russians are falling back on donkey's for logistics, they cannot achieve any strategic victory, the ZSU is reorganizing into a far more effective corps structure which should help in resolving some of the issues they have been having, making them more effective. It sounds very much as if the EU is going to empty the cupboards to provide equipment, as well as providing massive funding....

Trump and Putin between them have succeeded in waking the sleeping giant, and a militarily resurgent Europe is something to be feared. You're looking at the most warlike region of the planet here, and once the Germans, British, and French begin to seriously remilitarize (the Poles already are)....and together, focused on external enemies, well, Putin's toast. The EU dwarfs Russia in capacity and size, and taken together, exceeds the US - and they haven't outsourced all their industrial manufacturig to China either.

To quote Churchill, "....this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
 
rotflmao. The likely outcome of any Ukrainian election....

But in any case, Elections are NOT possible under the Ukrainian constitution and it's unlikely they will change their constitution to accommodate American backstabbing, so however amusing the thought, it's not an option.

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This, by the way, was a poll from December 2024. In the poll (there's more than the below), we see 3 key results.

First, a large majority of Ukrainians do not support holding elections during martial law but more interestingly, Zelensky wins or loses depending on the opponent.

According to the results, 4-star Ukrainian general and diplomat Zaluzhnyi beats Zelensky (68% to 32% in the 2nd round) in both polls.

And Zelensky beats Poroshenko (67% to 33% in the 2nd round), if Zaluzhnyi does not participate.

The results would not be as desired by either Trump or Putin.


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This, by the way, was a poll from December 2024. In the poll (there's more than the below), we see 3 key results.

First, a large majority of Ukrainians do not support holding elections during martial law but more interestingly, Zelensky wins or loses depending on the opponent.

According to the results, 4-star Ukrainian general and diplomat Zaluzhnyi beats Zelensky (68% to 32% in the 2nd round) in both polls.

And Zelensky beats Poroshenko (67% to 33% in the 2nd round), if Zaluzhnyi does not participate.

The results would not be as desired by either Trump or Putin.


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So in conclusion, not 4%.

I was not a huge fan of 46's foreign policy decisions but he held the values of democracy and western values in a much higher regard than 47 who I expect will be telling Xi to take Taiwan tomorrow.
 
So in conclusion, not 4%.

I was not a huge fan of 46's foreign policy decisions but he held the values of democracy and western values in a much higher regard than 47 who I expect will be telling Xi to take Taiwan tomorrow.

Well, say what I will about 46, which is a lot and most of it disparaging LOL, he did leave all the work to the professional political-managerial class, who preferred the established way of doing things and not shaking up anything radically. They may have been timid and wrong on a lot of things, but they obviously preferred the status quo. Yes, it's obvious in hindsight the Biden Administration withheld any military aid that would be substantial enough for Ukraine to win, and it's also obvious in hindsight that Biden's initial response gave Putin the idea that he could go ahead with the invasion - and the initial reactions of Biden and Scholz more or less confirmed that. But in the end they did step up, half heartedly to be sure, but they didn't try to throw Ukraine under the bus the way 47 seems intent on doing.

I think 47 has met his match in Zelensky and Ukrainians tho. This is just one more obstacle they face and it ain't gonna work.
 
And this is why the Russians are falling back on donkey's for logistics....all Ukraine needs to do is keep this up and as the Russian logistical tail disintegrates, the end will come. There won't be any grand offensive until the end, when things suddenly collapse......

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