APPLEBAUM: Trump administration wants to do business with Russia, and war in Ukraine is an obstacle. They treat it like trivial problem that could be solved if Zelenskyy would just step aside.
It’s profound arrogance, ignorance, and hubris all wrapped into one.
Re-upping from 10 years ago:
Mr. Trump, NATO is an alliance, not a protection racket wapo.st/4tonuQx
NATO keeps expanding in our neighborhood! Oh no, they’re attacking and annexing countries into NATO?? No, the countries are asking to join NATO themselves. But why would those countries want to join NATO?
NATO did not expand into “Eastern Europe.” Czechia, Poland, and Hungary in 1999 and the Baltic countries among others in 2004 actively sought membership in the alliance. This is not just semantics. For the historical reasons mentioned above, the West has been a desired political direction associated with prosperity, democracy, and freedom—despite the limitations of Western liberal capitalist democracies and the implementation of that model in Eastern Europe. Being at the receiving end of Russian imperialism, many Eastern Europeans looked forward to membership in NATO as a means of securing their sovereignty. NATO, in other words, would not have “expanded” into Eastern Europe if the Eastern European nations had not wanted it and actively pursued it. The American Pundits Who Can’t Resist “Westsplaining” Ukraine https://newrepublic.com/article/165603/carlson-russia-ukraine-imperialism-nato
OTD in 2004: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia *finally* joined NATO.
Trump polices have triggered a divide between Europe and the US. Europeans, please remember that Trump policies have also triggered a deep divide between Americans. We don’t all think alike.
The Trump administration is literally going to kill its supporters, and still they cheer the circus.
I am a Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. I have a question.
Why has Trump's year of negotiations been the deadliest for civilians in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion? The number of deaths and injuries has increased by 31 percent compared to the previous year.
"I was only following orders" wasn't an acceptable excuse at the Nuremberg trials & won't work now.
#AccountabilityIsComing
Nobody in America is safe. If Trump’s secret police force will execute a government employed VA nurse on camera for us all to see and then lie about it, then they won’t hesitate to kill you next and lie about you.
This is fascism. They are Nazis.
Trump seems to have forgotten, or never knew, that our NATO allies WERE there for us when we were attacked on September 11, 2001. His continued denial of this fact, including in his speech today, is embarrassing to me and insulting to our allies.
Sunday. Went to church and now am planning how to further a genocide by freezing millions of people.
Traditional values, folks.
Mubashir and his family came to the United States as refugees from Ethiopia when he was a child, and they all became naturalized citizens in 2019.
Despite being a U.S. citizen, Mubashir was targeted by ICE, assaulted, and detained. Listen to his story:
Pressing face sadly against window of the USA, looking at cool kids in Europe and South America. apnews.com/article/merc...
Trump’s Greenland idea isn’t just absurd, it’s dangerous. It risks destroying NATO, empowers China and Russia, and drags the U.S. back toward 19th-century imperial thinking. We have to stop this, as I told @stephruhle.bsky.social
Happy new year Kate ! 🎉🥂
US Security guarantees to Ukraine are meaningless if I can lie this blatantly to Donald and he just believes me.
Trump is putting his name and face on government buildings, on money, on warships, and pushing his MAGA cult of personality on all Americans.
Only dictators do this, not democratic leaders.
American social media platforms are banned in Russia. Have you noticed Donald isn't sanctioning anyone over that?
Ukraine is now striking Russian shadow fleet tankers in the Mediterranean Sea. There is nothing Russia can do to stop this. Russia's economy is a sinking ship.
Putin isn’t fighting for Russia's security, he’s fighting for a place in the history books. Tragically, Ukraine is paying the price for his vanity.
The Kremlin likes to exercise rhetorical dominance over Trump and they say this in the safe knowledge that we won’t invade or that if we do it will be a disaster. Trump might think of Putin as a friend but that’s not how Russia sees the US. The US is to be humiliated, fragmented, and weakened.
Every Ukrainian defender knows what they are fighting for
Effective diplomacy requires both engagement and pressure. The Trump administration has favoured engagement with Moscow, and it hasn’t worked. Only when Ukraine can stop Putin on the battlefield will he have any incentive to negotiate. As I told @morningjoe-msnow.bsky.social
Trump does not care about Ukrainian sovereignty or democracy. Trump does not frame this war as one between good vs evil, democrats vs autocrats, or the colonized vs the imperialists. He just wants the war to end so he can take credit. The details don't matter to him at all.
"Militarily, there is no justification for demanding such sweeping concessions from Ukraine compared to Russia": several thoughts from Danish military expert Anders Puck Nielsen regarding the 28-point plan.
The proposed "peace plan" looks like a genuinely harsh ultimatum.
Pope Leo XIV voiced support for Ukraine, expressing concern over renewed strikes on cities. He called for prayers for a just and lasting peace, noting the toll on civilians, especially children, and the destruction of homes as winter sets in. “I stand close to those who suffer so cruelly,” he said.
Engage with autocrats, yes, but don’t check your values at the door. That’s how Secretary of State (and my mentor) George Shultz approached the Soviets when he served under President Reagan. And it’s how we should approach China and Russia today
Is it just me or does this feel like Groundhog Day?
Why is it called the Department of War and not the Department of Ultimate War-Man Warring? Are we losing our edge? Can we get truck nuts on the tanks, perhaps?
