Let's talk about Trump, Putin, Zelenskyy, and Ukraine.... - Belle of the Ranch [View all]

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about Trump, Putin, Zelenskyy, and Ukraine.

Okay, Trump and Zelenskyy had their meeting after Trump called Putin first, of course. Reminder, a few months ago, it certainly appeared that Putin talked to Trump before a meeting with Zelenskyy and talked Trump out of providing Ukraine with the tools to defend itself. Since it's Trump, we have to kind of go through a little deeper than his initial statement to get a gauge on how things went.

His initial statement was standard Trump PR with all of the superlatives you would expect. He said, “we have a great achievements, a 20 point peace plan 90% agreed and US Ukraine security guarantees 100% agreed, the US Europe Ukraine security guarantees almost agreed, military dimension 100% agreed, prosperity plan being finalized, and we also discussed the sequencing of the following actions and we agree that security guarantees is the key milestone in achieving lasting peace and our teams will continue working on all aspects.” That'll be the lead announcement because even after all this time, the media still hasn't figured out how to cover Trump.

So, let's dig a little deeper into his other statements. When he was asked more direct questions. He was asked about a demilitarized zone in Ukraine. He indicated that maybe agreed was too strong a word to use. Well, at least he didn't just declare his desired outcome, as he's tried in other conflicts.

When he was asked about whether Putin would even agree to a ceasefire for long enough for Ukraine to hold a referendum on any potential deal, Trump didn't really seem enthusiastic, saying, “he feels that look, you know, they're fighting and to stop and then if they have to start again, which is a possibility, he doesn't want to be in that position. I understand that position.”

He was asked about the territorial integrity of Ukraine in general and said, "Well, I think the land you're talking about, some of that land has been taken. Some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months. And are you better off making a deal now?"

I'm sure Ukrainians were glad to hear their country is up for grabs. What started off with Trump announcing with confidence that almost everything was agreed to 100% eventually devolved into talking about the chances of success by saying, “but you know in a few weeks we will know one way or the other.”

All that being said this was not a breakthrough, but at first glance doesn't appear to be an abject failure. While Trump and his base might not like it, this uncertainty and slow grind is the closest to anything that even resembles actual diplomacy that has come out of the administration. Look, it's Trump--he got the names of the countries right and the Chinese didn't have to come in and clean up after him. It counts as a Trump win.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.