Ukraine

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/27937132

March 31, 2025

[an excellent, thought-provoking interview, along with a statement by a Ukrainian socialist group]

(I'm not linking the interview in the URL field directly because some context is important)

Beginning at the 52 minutes mark, you can witness are thinly veiled pro-Russian propaganda piece of the current US administration. Some excerpts:

Claiming that Zelenskyy was the one who was "disrespectful" and Ukraine's "arrogance":

STEVE WITKOFF: [...] you saw what happened in the Oval Office with Zelenskyy and the President. Disrespecting him is not a healthy way to have a good relationship.

TUCKER CARLSON: The arrogance of small countries. It’s like, get some perspective. I mean, come on, how can you imagine acting like that?

Making sure Russia is fine:

STEVE WITKOFF: [...] I want to see Russia come out of it okay.

NATO is like Hamas:

TUCKER CARLSON: [...] My certainty is that that still remains the central demand, period. No Ukraine in NATO – can’t have peace without that. In the same way that Israel doesn’t want Hamas on its border, they don’t want that.

Can't even get the names of Ukrainian regions right:

STEVE WITKOFF: Well, first of all, I think the largest issue in that conflict are these so-called four regions. Donbas, Crimea. You know the names.

TUCKER CARLSON: Lugansk.

STEVE WITKOFF: Yeah, Lugansk. And there’s two others. They’re Russian speaking. There have been referendums where the overwhelming majority of the people have indicated that they want to be under Russian rule.

No NATO:

I think it’s accepted that if there’s going to be a peace deal, Ukraine cannot be a member of NATO. I think that’s largely accepted.

Putin being "gracious" and "not the bad guy", "praying for his friend" Trump:

President Putin had commissioned a beautiful portrait of President Trump from the leading Russian artist and actually gave it to me and asked me to take it home to President Trump, which I brought home and delivered to him. It’s been reported in the paper, but it was such a gracious moment.

And told me a story, Tucker, about how when the president was shot, he went to his local church and met with his priest and prayed for the president, not because he was the President of the United States or could become the President of the United States, but because he had a friendship with him and he was praying for his friend. I mean, can you imagine sitting there and listening to these kind of conversations?

And I came home and delivered that message to our president and delivered the painting, and he was clearly touched by it. So this is the kind of connection that we’ve been able to reestablish through, by the way, a simple word called communication, which many people would say, you know, I shouldn’t have had, because Putin is a bad guy. I don’t regard Putin as a bad guy.

The complete thing: https://tuckercarlson.com/tucker-show-steve-witkoff

Excerpts from the transcript at https://singjupost.com/transcript-of-steve-witkoffs-interview-on-the-tucker-carlson-show/

YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPck9TgFiOA

Day 1,127.

Today, as the White House’s Signal data breach controversy unfolds, we examine the details of the alleged Black Sea ceasefire deal, which has sparked differing interpretations from Ukraine and Russia. We also explore the possibility of a secret agreement between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Contributors:

Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.

Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon (Chemical Weapons Expert and Former Tank Commander). @HamishDBG on X.

Content Referenced:

Briefings & Statements (The White House):

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/

Here Are the Attack Plans That Trump’s Advisers Shared on Signal (The Atlantic):

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/03/signal-group-chat-attack-plans-hegseth-goldberg/682176/

Putin is beaten in the Black Sea. Of course he wants a ceasefire there (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/25/putin-defeated-black-sea-ceasefire-naval-victory-ukraine/

Europe’s War in Ukraine (Jack Watling in Foreign Affairs):

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/europes-war-ukraine

EU ethical rules blocking £100bn defence spending boom (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/03/24/eu-ethical-rules-blocking-100bn-from-defence-industry/

How Europe can hurt Russia’s economy (The Economist):

https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/03/24/how-europe-can-hurt-russias-economy

Lukoil Profits Drop Nearly 30% (The Moscow Times):

https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/03/26/lukoil-profits-drop-nearly-30-in-2024-amid-asset-losses-higher-taxes-a88485

Inside Russia’s Gazprom (The Financial Times):

https://www.ft.com/content/5da44f55-d28a-4965-b7a5-bf014d685036?shareType=nongift

Oleg Gordievsky: the loneliest and bravest man I ever met (The Times):

https://www.thetimes.com/world/europe/article/oleg-gordievsky-kgb-double-agent-8cxbpkctk

Archive, no paywall: https://archive.ph/p6av6

YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81HqCm622V0

Day 1,121.

Today, following new Russian bombardments and a huge explosion in Saratov, 600km east of Ukraine after a drone strike, we discuss a new phone call between Presidents Trump and Zelensky, then the row breaking out in Europe about which countries should be ‘considered’ European for vital weapons purchases.

Contributors:

Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.

Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.

Dr Benjamin Tallis (Director, Democratic Strategy Initiative). @bctallis on X.

Content Referenced:

EU shuts Britain out of €150bn rearmament fund (The Telegraph):

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/03/19/european-union-ukraine-russia-defence-britain-150bn-fund/

Benjamin's Report: 'Emerging Defence: Offset and Competitive Strategies for Europe':

https://www.democratic-strategy.net/s-projects-basic

Why Europe cannot rely on French nuclear umbrella alone (Financial Times):

https://www.ft.com/content/7fed8f2b-98c7-43c6-88b3-d66be449bfac