The War in Ukraine

[QV]

The Big Cod seems to approve of Trump's approach on twitter.

That must really grate some of your gears..

 

[suffolkowner]

I thought he was Putin's pal. His enemies repeatedly made that claim.

sometimes you just have to sack York

 

[MrWhyt]

I thought he was Putin's pal. His enemies repeatedly made that claim.

giving vlad time to kill more Ukrainian civilians instead of implementing his 24 hour solution does seem to give some support to that claim

 

[brihard]

Trump vs Putin could get spicy. I doubt Putin’s particularly inclined to get pushed around on this.

 

[MilEME09]

Trump vs Putin could get spicy. I doubt Putin’s particularly inclined to get pushed around on this.

Trump loves to do things put of pettiness, which makes him dangerous for Putin

 

[Czech_pivo]

Trump loves to do things put of pettiness, which makes him dangerous for Putin

True, but he also comes across as cheap as f*ck. Starting a shooting war with Russia or arming Ukraine all costs money, lots of it and The Donald doesn't want to spend any of it. So, where does this leave him?

 

[quadrapiper]

Trump loves to do things put of pettiness, which makes him dangerous for Putin

He may also feel more untouchable this term; no idea what leverage (financial opportunity, reputational damage, whatever) Putin might have had, but it may have expired, or Trump might simply not care any more.

 

[quadrapiper]

True, but he also comes across as cheap as f*ck. Starting a shooting war with Russia or arming Ukraine all costs money, lots of it and The Donald doesn't want to spend any of it. So, where does this leave him?

The US arms industry may be able to put things into terms Trump would understand, like "kickback" and "bribe."

 

[Cloud Cover]

Some things are worth fighting for, but unless this was Elk sausage one needs to give up…

Surrendering North Korean soldier refuses to drop sausage at gunpoint — The Telegraph

Ukrainian troops capture two soldiers who will be interrogated with the help of South Korea’s spy agency

apple.news

 

[GR66]

True, but he also comes across as cheap as f*ck. Starting a shooting war with Russia or arming Ukraine all costs money, lots of it and The Donald doesn't want to spend any of it. So, where does this leave him?

He'll arm Ukraine to the gills and make Russia pay for it!

 

[Czech_pivo]

He'll arm Ukraine to the gills and make Russia pay for it!

Through a wonderful. the best, the most beautiful tariff on potatoes.

 

[MilEME09]

He'll arm Ukraine to the gills and make Russia pay for it!

pass laws to use seized russian assets to buy Ukraine arms, seize russias shadow tank fleet, and sell them either as a ship or scrap metal.

 

[QV]

He may also feel more untouchable this term; no idea what leverage (financial opportunity, reputational damage, whatever) Putin might have had, but it may have expired, or Trump might simply not care any more.

Or.... there was no leverage.

Russia's puppet indeed!

 

[Maxman1]

Some things are worth fighting for, but unless this was Elk sausage one needs to give up…

Surrendering North Korean soldier refuses to drop sausage at gunpoint — The Telegraph

Ukrainian troops capture two soldiers who will be interrogated with the help of South Korea’s spy agency

apple.news

Good thing it wasn't a hero sandwich.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Trump latest news: President tells Putin ‘stop this ridiculous war’ or face consequences

Donald Trump has ordered Vladimir Putin to stop his “ridiculous war” with Ukraine or face fresh tariffs and sanctions from the US.

www.telegraph.co.uk

A bit more detail from POTUS47's info-machine ...

Nitpicking pedant alert ...

Why the quotes around "deal" and "make a deal"?

Where's the "60M USSR 1.0 dead" come from? Usual suspect # I keep seeing is ~20M-27M civvies & troops.

World War II casualties of the Soviet Union - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Soviet deaths in the Great Patriotic War: a note - PubMed

Soviet deaths in the Great Patriotic War: a note

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Final nitpick: While "Russia" lost most of the civvies/troops in question in gross numbers, the USSR losses were spread across more than just Russia. Given where most of the punch-up's happened, Byelorussia, Ukraine and Latvia lost more per capita than Russia (given a lot of Russia wasn't "in contact")

Estimated losses for each Soviet Republic – U.S.-Ukraine Foundation

usukraine.org

The Big Cod seems to approve of Trump's approach on twitter.

Yup ...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1882127491319656658

I thought he was Putin's pal. His enemies repeatedly made that claim.

Biggest fans'll say "see - he's pushing back." Harshest haters'll say "being in Putin's pocket =/= being his pal."

Also, some might say political opponents, detractors and those who disagree with someone aren't necessarily "enemies"

 

[McG]

What is the US still buying from Russia that can be meaningfully subjected to taxes and tariffs?

 

[YZT580]

What is the US still buying from Russia that can be meaningfully subjected to taxes and tariffs?

Didn't Hilary make a deal to buy up Uranium from Kazakhstan? Far as I know that deal still stands and Russia holds a lot of sway over the Kazak's

 

[KevinB]

What is the US still buying from Russia that can be meaningfully subjected to taxes and tariffs?

Depends of what you define as buying, as well as what you define as taxes and tariffs.

My understanding is that President Trump is attempting to clearly articulate to Putin that he needs to accept a ceasefire but not do so in a way that publicly tells Putin he’s going to get ass raped without lube if he doesn’t play ball.

I think the West misses the point that Putin is likely well past the point of return and doesn’t believe he would survive a ceasefire, as Russians would start to question their sacrifices for him without the mission being completed.

So Trump can (will) double down on whatever he feels needs to. At this point he could send the majority of the stocks at Sierra Army Deport or airplane boneyard at DM, and congress won’t bat an eye.