Friday's the big day. Putin will fly to Alaska and meet Trump for cup of tea and biscuit.
They'll negotiate the terms of ceasefire for what the Russians are calling a 'Ukraine crisis', rather than a bloody war they started.
The body count is as astonishing as the fact there's a war raging in Europe in 2025.
One million Russian soldiers killed or injured. 400k Ukrainian casualties, including between 60 and 100k dead.
Moscow now occupies 20% of the country.
And the guy responsible for this hellfire is not being dragged by soldiers into an international criminal court to face charges, he's about to be welcome, wined and dined by the most powerful man in the world to discuss terms for a ceasefire, which includes keeping land he's not entitled to.
If we put ourselves in Ukrainian shoes for a second, if war returns to the Pacific theatre.
It would be like Washington and Beijing meeting to decide that China can keep and occupy all the land north of Auckland simply because they took it.
And you're meant to sit back grateful that at least the fighting will stop?
Ukrainians certainly aren't ready to roll over on territory.
The Europeans are huddling round Zelensky now to give him some moral support.
But, they need more than huddles and handshakes to bandage over what must feel like an insult to their country and sovereignty - two global superpowers meeting far, far away in Alaska to decide their fate.
Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.
9 comments:
We can all sit back in our comfortable armchairs and say "Hey, don't give an inch Zelenski"! At least the US are trying to put an end to the carnage. Relinquishing a few areas of soil is preferable to having your own loved ones killed. Bear in mind as well, many Ukrainians are okay with Russian rule. The mineral deal with the US, if it eventuates, is also good for the Ukrainians as it ties in the US-Ukraine relationship and repairs a war-torn nation. China has a monopoly on essential minerals and that's not great for western nations.
I see the history of this conflict differently from the writer and anything i say with verification would be dismissed as lies anyway so i will say just this. Russia's socalled narrative is correct .
Dear Ryan, Why are TV anchors like yourself who are simply meant to read the news writing this rubbish? So you're keen on thousands of Ukrainians & Russians continuing to be slaughtered on a weekly basis?Since European countries refuse to remotely provide the military funding & arms to win the war for Ukraine. Their leaders just have big mouths, like you. The lions share of funding comes from the US. Why is stopping the slaughter through a territorial deal so repugnant to you, Ryan? How can Ukraine ever get that land back? Why don't you get off your arse and fight there yourself, Ryan? How repugnant of you to write, "the guy responsible for this hellfire [Putin] is .. about to be welcomed, wined and & dined by the most powerful man in the world to discuss terms for a ceasefire, which includes keeping land he's not entitled to". Given the Americans are funding most of Ukraine's war effort, isn't the US entitled to its view on a deal? A deal that would stop the killing? You're not paying 10 bucks for this war, Ryan. Your opinion is so worthless you're best sticking to business & economics, of which you also know nothing. By the way, my ancestors are from both Russia and Ukraine.
Do you really think that Russia will stop at Ukraine?
Elite American troops have been operating behind Russian lines in this war assisting Ukraine. Ukraine has been largely propped up by American military hardware. Let's not pretend Ukraine would have lasted long without US help.
Pity a significant amount of the minerals Janine finds so exciting appear to be in the Russian controlled part of Ukraine. I bet those are the bits of territory Trump wants Russia to give back. I wonder which bit of Ukraine he will offer Putin in return. Trump's not trying to put an end to the carnage. He's trying to cut a deal, and demand a Nobel Peace Prize on the side. Stopping the carnage is a bonus.
And as for "many" (such a precise metric don't you think) Ukranians being OK with Russian rule, last time I looked Ukraine was a democracy and its current government had been elected by a majority of voters expressing anti-Russian sentiment. Yet Janine seems to approve of letting the pro-Russian minority prevail anyway. What an awful precedent for the Baltic States to contemplate. Or to reframe the position closer to home, "many" New Zealanders are OK with tribal rule, (remind me how many votes Te Pati Maori won) but that doesn"t make it a good governance model for the country, and it will never happen. Why should Ukraine be held to a different standard?
So "Jones Boy". You seem so full of wisdom always, not. What is your answer to the war? More bloodshed? An endless battle? The US invading Russia? You seem to contradict most views but have no answers. In an ideal world no country would invade another would they? We do not live in an ideal world. Who is going to rebuild Ukraine? Ukraine is okay with, and has already signed the mineral deal with the US. The US will protect their interests obviously. What's your solution pray tell?
There can only be one honourable outcome in this war and it is that Russian forces return forthwith to their homeland and subsequently help Ukraine rebuild what they have destroyed. Such is likely to happen, but Russia has no claim of Ukraine or its minerals. If Trump can at least bring about a ceasefire then good for him. That’s a start. He can have his Nobel Peace Prize, but pay for Ukraine’s resources. But in these negotiations, he has one thing going for him; Putin is heading down a no-exit road in this war and must realise it. It has been suggested, though, that the Russians have something on Trump that could be a problem for him. Who knows? In any case, a forfeiture of territory to bring about peace didn’t work at all well with Czechoslovakia in 1938, did it? And it was a deal that was done by superpowers in the absence of the victim.
Zelensky doesn't want the money to run dry. He forgets that when you're not winning you don't get to dictate the terms. He needs to end sending his population to the meat grinder and cede lost ground to end this unwinnable war.
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