It looks as if Trump may intend to hand Ukraine to Russia on a plate (and possibly the Baltics, etc.), if this recent US hostage release by Russia is anything to go by, and given Trump's comment that Ukraine "may be Russian someday" (“They (Ukraine) may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian someday, or they may not be Russian someday.”).

And now Pete Hegseth has poured cold water on Ukraine regaining lost territory or joining Nato and on US troops being posted to Ukraine.

Hegseth says return to Ukraine's 2014 borders 'unrealistic'

Pete Hegseth, the new US defence secretary, has said it is "unrealistic" to expect Ukraine to return to its pre-2014 borders, when Russia first captured Crimea and Moscow-backed proxies pushed into eastern Ukraine. ..

During an uncompromising speech, he also downplayed the prospect of Ukraine joining Nato, ruled out deploying US troops to Ukraine under any future security arrangement and said European nations needed to spend much more on defence.

The Nato military alliance has previously pledged Kyiv an "irreversible path" to membership.

Hegseth's comments will be met with dismay in Ukraine - which has repeatedly called for Nato membership and has rejected ceding territory as part of any peace deal - and will be welcomed by Moscow. ...

Nikita Khrushchev USSR prime minister 1959:

"We do not have to invade America, we will take you from within".

The US is at breaking point right now (from within)

With judges turning over some of Trump's Executive Orders on the basis many of these programs were voted for by Congress and those Executive Orders are illegal..if Trump /Musk defies even just one judge, it's game over.

That's the end of the USA and the separation of powers.

To be fair at least Trump holds the Ukraine in the same lowly regard as Gaza. Unlike our government who quite sanctimoniously condemn Putin's actions but have consistently aided and abetted the appalling actions of Israel since October 7 2023. You simply cannot support one and condemn the other. You condemn both and you seek a peaceful resolution for both. Starmer and Co are pathetic

Downing Street Cat wrote:
To be fair at least Trump holds the Ukraine in the same lowly regard as Gaza. Unlike our government who quite sanctimoniously condemn Putin's actions but have consistently aided and abetted the appalling actions of Israel since October 7 2023. You simply cannot support one and condemn the other. You condemn both and you seek a peaceful resolution for both. Starmer and Co are pathetic


It shows that Musk and Trump don't need to wash and hide money in Ukraine to keep an ever war going, it was resolved by Trump picking up the phone. Does he get Nobel Peace Prize?

Trump's Ukraine logic is simple.


www.dailybreeze.com/2025/02/11/ukraine-r...arth-deal-trump/amp/

the war was solved by Trump handing Ukraine over the Putin always was the plan.

Those who delude themselves that Ukraine is still not a target for Russian absorption as now Trump will neuter Nato.

Putin has the goods on TRUMP.whatever they are Netanyahu must have the same info

I wonder if Xi Jingping does? properly not but now has the green light to eventfully take Thawain

Interesting talk by former Oz PM Malcolm Turnbull how e observed Trump around Putin.

x.com/RpsAgainstTrump/status/1889791594628325844

That was a really troubling and powerful comment by the former Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull.

No American President should be in awe or feel deferential in any way to any Russian leader, even less so this murdering bastard of one.

Trump does appear to have a naivety on foreign affairs. Appeasement just feeds the monster. The UK found that out in 1938.

This was the one aspect of Trump's re-election that always bothered me.

Fascinating comments from Malcolm Turnbull, hedda.

‘I don’t trust Putin an inch, he will rearm and be back’ warns Ben Wallace



I wonder if Turmp/Putin/Xi will do a deal that Putin won't return to Ukraine or attack another European country and Xi won't attack Taiwan until after Trump has left office.

The BBC correspondent Vitaly Shevchenko was on the news yesterday saying that Russian state TV is cock-a-hoop about Trump's moves and is laughing at the Europeans.

I don't trust any Western globalist, Jo.

From BBC rolling coverage, 12:08:

Putin does not want peace - Zelensky

Sticking with Zelensky’s news conference in Munich, the Ukrainian leader reiterates his claim that Russia carried out a “very dangerous” strike on the Chernobyl nuclear plant overnight - which the Kremlin denies.

A drone flew too low to be detected by radars, he says, adding the alleged attack was deliberately timed to coincide with the start of the Munich conference. “Putin definitely does not want peace,” he says.

Zelensky also claims intelligence shows Russia is preparing for a war against Nato next year.

On upcoming talks with US Vice President JD Vance, Zelensky says: “There are some decisions which can be only on the level of presidents.”

Negotiations means there has to be a compromise. Starting to wonder if Zelensky wants peace. He was happy enough dragging the rotw to the precipice of global annihilation. The only way forward to peace is to stop fighting and find a way. Territory talks are vital, as well as Putin withdrawing
.. the sticking point is NATO membership. But aggression and bombs is not the answer. For every missile Zelensky has fired, 20 Ukrainians have been killed.

The BBC's Frank Gardner has an interesting piece written here - www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjex5w1z02do

1000 Russians a day being lost. Quite revolting to me. I'm amazed large sections of Russia haven't risen up against this.

In a few days time it will be the 40th anniversary of Mikhail Gorbachev's arrival as Soviet leader, a man who won the Nobel peace prize. How and all that positivity with the USSR and Russia. How did it all go so badly wrong? Yeltsin enabled this in the end.

That is an interesting article, Rich.

I suspect that the Russian population must either be brainwashed by state media or apathetic or, if they haven't left the country, cowed by the very real threat of ending up in jail for displaying even the slightest opposition to the war or of ending up dead like Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny.

I seem to remember reading that Yeltsin did realise he had made a mistake in handing over to Putin, but it was too late by then to do anything about it.

Trump is like a bull in a china shop. Hegseth too comes across as dumb. Slick, articulate and confident but dumb.

Jo wrote:

Trump is like a bull in a china shop. Hegseth too comes across as dumb. Slick, articulate and confident but dumb.

I can't believe out of a country of over 300 million Trump & Co are picking such dead heads. It's a scandal.

I don't think the Tesla implosion is far off which will expose the scam of Musk's alleged wealth although he is certainly a billionaire made wealthy by US government grants of billions.

He has 2 companies teetering on the brink, Tesla and X, both with plunging share prices.

What a world and some applaud it: the USA threatening long term neighbors and allies like Canada.

Trump simply announce he will take ownership of Gaza and people applaud it.

I've had people tell me what a good idea this is completely oblivious to the complex ME politics.

I just can't imagine what terror groups are now being formed and yes, Europe wil be their target.

Trump will give a foreign territory like Ukraine to Russia for free and people applaud it like he's a genius.
He actually said Russia had lost a lot of people as if this justifies what he will do.

It's like sympathizing for Hitler because Germany lost so many people as though it wasn't his fault.

He will set up NATO to go bust and allow Putin to do whatever he wants in Europe. It's terrifying. China will take Taiwain as no-one will defend it.

A dementia lunatic and a drugged goofball he thinks he's a Bond film villain are running the world.

Has he fired the sane Generals yet?

The only truth he told : I'll be a dictator on day one.

What utter drivel you talk Hedda.

So do you GM but Hedda is less rude.

I think you make good and interesting points, hedda. Maybe you're going to be the only surviving poster on KoH in due course, safely tucked away in Australia!

It's hard not to believe that the situation in Gaza is going to boost terrorism, with Trump's cack-handed meddling surely likely to give Hamas and its supporters even more of a boost. Trump speaks about giving Palestinians "parcels of land" outside Gaza. Doesn't that sound rather like the "homelands" created for South Africa's black population during apartheid? They were apparently moved there too.

www.sahistory.org.za/article/homelands

There's a recent Times Radio interview with John Bolton on YouTube (titled "Trump's desperate bid to be Putin's friend shows…") where he says that Trump doesn't have strategies or policies, but that everything's about personal relations with him. So he think's Putin's his friend, but dislikes Zelensky. He apparently doesn't think much of Taiwan either. Bolton had been with him in the Oval Office when he'd pointed to the tip of his sharpie and said "this is Taiwan" and then pointed to his desk and said "and this is China".

JK2006 wrote:
So do you GM but Hedda is less rude.

A bit rich JK, when Hedda has been nothing but to rude me but you turn a blind eye.

There are degrees of rudeness and when it becomes too personal and pointless I erase it. I don't think there is a place for any of it on a civilised forum actually.

JK2006 wrote:
There are degrees of rudeness and when it becomes too personal and pointless I erase it. I don't think there is a place for any of it on a civilised forum actually.

Only if it's your narrative.