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Is Russia too obvious an answer, or is this a trick question?
What the Russian ‘man on the street’ is experiencing, or in the case of returning military personnel, what bastardry they’re committing.
As an avowed atheist, I don’t know that my opinion of religion and the religious right-wing could fall any further.
Farking neo-liberal capitalist Repugnican’t bastards, selling their souls, (and Ukraine) for profits. No sense of morality whatsoever.
" Secretary of State Marco Rubio praises the “extraordinary opportunities” in economic and geopolitical terms that the US and Russia can seize after the end of the war in Ukraine."…
Talk about sticking the knives in.
“There are precedents for dictators making friendships of convenience until they decide to fall out”…
…“Let’s be clear. It doesn’t seem as though Trump is capable of sustaining a relationship with anyone. Just look at the people who served him during his first term in office. Most of them lasted little more than a year in the post to which they were appointed.”…
…"Trump is not a reliable friend.
I very much doubt in fact that he actually knows what friendship means because as he says, everything is to him a deal and there is no such thing as human empathy that even comes remotely close to his psyche."…
…“These two psychopaths - and it’s very hard to describe them as anything else - are unlikely buddies.”…
…“This is a relationship of Trump having to do what he is told to keep his master happy.”…
Is Chancellor Merz shaking Germany awake from a Russian induced slumber? The time is nigh.
Will Chancellor Merz agree with Germany’s top General?
Putin should just fold Hungary back into its USSR dominion. Hungary wants the benefits of the West while openly supporting Russia. The EU, NATO and the UN should boot them to where they belong - with Russia.
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What are the odds China steps in for a peace broker move.
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is buying 
instead of 
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I thought he was usually quiet.
Occupy Democrats is preusmably playing to a US audience. Trump has been complaining for years that Europe is not doing its part. The message sent by OD refers to “major world players”, including the deputy Irish PM and the Luxembourg PM, pledging to support Ukraine. So if all those movers and shakers stick to their words, isn’t Trump achieving exactly what he wanted- get Europe to pay for a European war?
Im the first to admit, I aint real bright.
But can someone explain to me as if I’m like maybe 12, why another country has to to be the peace broker? Or why there even has to be one at all.
The natural moron in me (which there is an abundance) suggests it’s because its basically like separating toddlers, and like a parent has to step in. And as a father of twin 8 year old daughters, I can relate.
But then the so called parent wants a slice of the birthday cake for ending it? Am I missing something?
But surely Im over simplifying.
…please tell me I’m over simplifying.
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But he is smelling up the good’ol US of A big time in the process. Wait until you try and watch a America saves the world movie, you will see what i mean
Adam Kinziger could have got that news from Blitz days ago.
The same reason they wanted everyone to pay by us dollars, to control. They nominated themselves and encouraged everyone to jump on the freedom train. They have always had self interest in mind. Even ww1 and WW2 they were slow to the party because of the exact same reason that Trump is doing now - isolationist mentality. they stayed out of all the skirmishes around the world, they didn’t want to get involved. that was OK until it came to a point that USA would not be able to export and sell stuff. Their superior authority was needed to smash who ever was destroying their interests.
And from there it seemed easier to be the controller, rather than jumping into a war and loose lives every time arguments started, and interfering in their interests. Trump wants the isolationist mentality again. See how long it lasts.
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It’s not for no reason that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had the confidence to stand up to U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance during their disastrous Oval Office press conference on Friday, during which Trump and Vance falsely accused the wartime leader of being ungrateful for past U.S. aid.
Despite Trump’s insistence that Zelensky and Ukraine “are not in a very good position,” Ukrainian forces are counterattacking along at least two of the most important sectors of the 800-mile front-line of Russia’s wider war on Ukraine.
As recently as a few months ago, the Russians had the momentum in their three-year wider war. That’s no longer the case, especially in and around the city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast. The site of bitter urban fighting for much of last year, including the deliberate demolition of towering highrises by both sides, Toretsk—or what was left of it—fell to Russian forces in early February.
A mining city with a pre-war population of 35,000, Toretsk is important. It straddles high ground overlooking important supply lines threading along the Ukrainian side of the front line.
Which is why the Kremlin celebrated the city’s fall on Feb. 7. “As a result of active offensive operations … the city of Dzerzhinsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic [sic] was liberated," the Russian defense ministry announced, using a Russian name for the city.
But Russian control of the city didn’t last long. Two weeks after the Russians fully occupied the ruins of Toretsk, the Ukrainians counterattacked—and swiftly advanced back into the city.
A Ukrainian drone operator in Pokrovsk.
Via Militaryland.net
Accidental reveal
One Russian military blogger inadvertently revealed the extent of the Ukrainian advance during a botched effort to downplay the advance on Monday. “The crests decided to counterattack, flew in on Feb. 23 in their American armored vehicles to the border areas of the city of Toretsk,” the blogger wrote, using a slang term for Ukrainian troops. “The enemy was eliminated!”
In fact, the video the blogger posted alongside his missive revealed Ukrainian troops in central Toretsk—and not just in the “border area,” as the Russian claimed. A week later, western Toretsk was again contested, according to the definitive Ukraine Control Map. And it was possible a few Russian troops were clinging to an exposed salient jutting into the urban no-man’s-land.
“Fighting continues in the city center, and the enemy is losing control,” the Estonian analyst WarTranslated noted. “There are reports of complete encirclement of Russian occupiers in several areas.” In pushing back the Russians, the Ukrainian brigades around Toretsk—including the 92nd Assault Brigade and the 100th Mechanized Brigade—join sister units that recently successfully counterattacked on the eastern edge of the 250-square-mile salient Ukrainian forces occupy in western Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
What’s especially ominous for the Russian field armies in Ukraine is that they’ve been reprioritizing the Toretsk axis after getting repulsed outside the fortress city of Pokrovsk, 25 miles southwest of Toretsk. “The Russian command in the theater of war is focusing its main attention not on Pokrovsk but on the adjacent Novopavlivka and Toretsk directions,” the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies explained.
But the reinforcements haven’t helped in Toretsk. At least not yet. Even bolstered by troops transferred from the Pokrovsk axis, the Russian regiments in and around Toretsk are falling back.
In so doing, they make a mockery of Trump’s claim, in his combative White House meeting with Zelensky, that the Ukrainian president is in a weak position. “You have to be thankful,” Trump raged. “You don’t have the cards. You’re buried there. You people are dying. You’re running low on soldiers. Listen, you’re running low on soldiers.”
It’s true that Ukraine has struggled to mobilize enough infantry to keep its best brigades fully manned. But it’s not true that Ukrainian forces are getting “buried.” In fact, in recent weeks they’ve advanced in at least as many sectors as they’ve retreated.
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Sources:
Archangel “Legion” Foundation
Center for Defense Strategies
Ukraine Control Map
WarTranslated
Foreign Policy
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Norway is considering tapping its sovereign wealth fund to dramatically increase its support for Ukraine amid signs that US military backing is waning.
Europe is in crisis mode after a bitter clash between Trump and Zelenskyy at the White House, and the Trump administration is reportedly considering cutting off all military supplies to Ukraine.
Norway is sitting on €1.7 trillion in the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, including an estimated €109 billion in war-related profits from increased gas prices in 2022 and 2023.
The Nordic country has so far spent €3.35 billion on support to Ukraine - an amount described on Thursday as “pathetic” and “reprehensible” by the editors of major Swedish and Danish newspapers, whose countries, according to the same data, have contributed €5.41 billion and €8.05 billion respectively.
“Norway is one of the few countries that has large amounts of money readily available, and we must therefore multiply our support for Ukraine immediately,” Liberal Party leader Guri Melby said on Saturday.
Norway’s support should be increased “significantly” and “fast”, Norway’s former Conservative prime minister, Erna Solberg, said in a statement. “The government can safely assume there is will in Parliament to give more,” she added.
The Liberal Party and the Socialist Left Party called for an emergency parliamentary session, but Euractiv understands they are now waiting for the government’s proposal instead.
Norway should spend 3% of GDP on defence, currently at around 2%, by 2030, Sylvi Listhaug, leader of the conservative Progress Party, Norway’s second-largest in recent polls, said today.
The leader of the Greens, who are currently polling at 2.7%, reiterated their proposal that Norway should pledge €85.5 billion to Ukraine.
“Norway is among the largest donors to Ukraine. We have so far committed at least NOK 167 billion (€14.7 billion) in support until 2030,” a foreign ministry spokesperson told Euractiv.
The long-term nature of the investments is appreciated by Ukraine and NATO allies, the spokesperson added. “For 2025, based on a cross-party agreement in Norway’s parliament, we have so far pledged and allocated 35 billion NOK.”
“We will present a proposal to increase Ukraine support for parliament soon,” said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, who will also attend tomorrow’s meeting of European leaders in London.
Time to tap the bank?
Since 2001, Norway has carefully followed a budgetary rule of spending no more than 4% and then 3% of its sovereign wealth fund each year. The rule was introduced by Jens Stoltenberg’s first cabinet with broad cross-party support. Known as a former NATO secretary general, Stoltenberg is now Norway’s finance minister, just as the rule comes under scrutiny.
The idea of using the fund more actively to support Ukraine and European defence spending is gaining ground in Norway.
One idea is to convert some €300 billion of the fund’s €450 billion in liquid bonds into European defence bonds, on the condition that the money is used exclusively to build Europe’s defence.
On Friday, Solberg said Norway must increase its use of “oil money” to improve the country’s defence. High-ranking members of her party previously called for stricter rules on how the money can be spent.
“Peace is more important than shortsightedness and inflation,” she said.
But Stoltenberg warned against tampering with the budget rule. “It is a dangerous idea to break the budgetary rule to give more money to Ukraine,” he said on 7 February.
Numbers?
Even without breaking the rule, Norway has deep pockets.
“We currently have a proposal in the Storting to increase support by 100 billion Norwegian kroner this year,” Sveinung Rotevatn, deputy chair and responsible for financial policy in the Liberal Party, told Euractiv.
For 2025, this would increase support for Ukraine from €3 billion to €11.5 billion.
Norway’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment further on how much it wants to increase aid, referring instead to Støre’s statement.
“It has become unequivocally clear that all of Europe must shift gears in our support and policy towards Ukraine and to ensure security in Europe,” said Rotevatn.
“All other policies we pursue assume that we are a free and independent country and that we have a functioning international world order,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide.
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Bump!
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