(February 12, 2025 at 2:31 pm)TheWhiteMarten Wrote: In positive news, Trump has been calling both Putin and Zelenskyy today and seems to be on the path to reopening negotiations for peace - meanwhile we have a SoD no longer making demands like, "Crimea be returned to Ukraine" that will never be accepted.
That rather depends on whether both Zelenskyy and Putin are earnest. I don't think Putin is; agreeing to a ceasefire and abandoning his totalist aims will be seen as a defeat in domestic Russian eyes, especially after losing almost 1 million casualties. Putin will be ripe for an overthrow at that point -- and more importantly, he knows it.
He may make nods to negotiations, but his acceding to any compromise will be the end of his power.
Zelenskyy, too, will suffer greatly politically if he allows Russia to keep its ill-gotten gains. He also knows that it will not forestall further Russian aggression, but rather provide them time to rearm and reinvade.
(February 12, 2025 at 2:31 pm)TheWhiteMarten Wrote: The money laundering at the expense of Ukrainian and Russian lives might finally be wrapping up, thank god.
