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    Former NATO Commander Goes On CNN To Mock Trump’s Plea To Putin

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    2
    CNN Headquarters via Wikimedia Commons

    Retired U.S. Gen. Wesley Clark, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, took a swipe at President Donald Trump’s Truth Social message to Vladimir Putin, calling the public plea unlikely to influence Russian military behavior.

    Clark’s comments came during a Thursday appearance on CNN’s “Situation Room,” shortly after Trump had posted:

    “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV. Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”

    “Do you think a post from President Trump on social media will actually wind up stopping Putin from launching more attacks on civilians, like in Kyiv, for example, where civilian men, women and children were just killed in big numbers?” asked CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

    Clark replied bluntly: “Well, I think it would be very surprising if President Trump’s tweet would have any real impact on President Putin.”

    The retired Army officer argued that Putin sees a strategic opening, particularly as the U.S. appears to be retreating from some of its longstanding commitments in Europe.

    Mediaite further reports:

    “So this is a moment for Putin, really. It’s what he’s been waiting for,” he continued. “This gives him a clear field to bring pressure to bear against Ukrainian population like this missile strike, and also to go to his allies, China, North Korea, and Iran, and say, ‘Give me more, give me more. This is the moment we can go.”

    “We know there are exercises being prepared for this summer in Belarus. Rumors of brigades being ready to attack from Belarus into Kaliningrad to open that gate. This is a really perilous time for Europe. And it’s the opposite time to be pulling back,” he said.

    “What President Trump should be saying is, ‘Since you did this, I’m reinforcing U.S. Military assistance to Kyiv, and you can forget about it. We’re going to stay with it until you realize you’re not going to win militarily,’” Clark advised Trump. That’s what it’s going to take to bring peace to Ukraine.”

    Trump had pledged to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine within 24 hours of being elected, but he and his diplomatic team have thus far found it difficult to broker a peace agreement with Russia and Ukraine, going so far as to suggest they will give up any efforts recently.

    READ NEXT: Trump Pushes To Revive Sweeping Ban – Supreme Court Now Involved

    Musk Fantasizes About Jailing Zelenskyy After Trump Pauses Aid To Ukraine

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    2
    By President Of Ukraine from Україна - Joint Statement of the fourth Ukraine - Nordic Summit in Reykjavik., CC0, curid=156221560

    The rift between President Trump and Ukraine leader Volodormyr Zelenskyy is growing wider…

    On Monday, the Trump administration paused all aid to Ukraine, including weapons in transit or in Poland, until Ukrainian leaders show more appreciation for U.S. support and a commitment to peace.

    “President Trump has been clear that he is focused on peace,” a White House official told Fox News. “We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”

    A senior Trump administration official also told Fox News that military aid will remain on hold until Ukrainian leaders show a commitment to good faith peace negotiations.

    “This is not permanent termination of aid, it’s a pause,” the official emphasized. “The orders are going out right now.”

    Zelenskyy’s meeting with Trump and Vice President JD Vance last week erupted into a shouting match that was seen worldwide. The Ukrainian president traveled to the United States to meet with Trump after the commander-in-chief said a peace negotiation to end the war between Ukraine and Russia is in its final stages. 

    Zelenskyy was apparently presented with a minerals for security agreement by the Trump administration prior to the press event, but the deal included no security guarantees to protect Ukraine from another Russian invasion. 

    Minutes after reporters in the Oval Office asked their first questions, an aggressive spat unfolded between the heads of state.

    The Biden administration gave billions in military aid to Ukraine to fend off Russian forces amid its three-year war following Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor. 

    When asked Monday about the status of the rare-earth minerals deal, Trump told reporters that he would disclose where the deal stands when he addresses a joint session of Congress Tuesday in a speech akin to the annual State of the Union. He added that he would like to see the Ukrainian leader express more gratitude for U.S. support during the war in order to rekindle peace negotiations. 

    “I just think he should be more appreciative because this country has stuck with him through thick and thin,” Trump said. “We’ve given them much more than Europe, and Europe should have given more than us because, as you know, that’s right there, that’s the border.” 

    Later on Monday, President Trump spurred extreme reactions from senior advisers such as Elon Musk after responding to Zelenskyy’s comments signaling the end to Ukraine’s conflict with Russia is still “very, very far away.”

    “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!” wrote Trump on Truth Social. “It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing and, Europe, in the meeting they had with Zelenskyy, stated flatly that they cannot do the job without the U.S. – Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia. What are they thinking?”

    On X, Musk shared Trump’s post and argued that “Zelensky wants a forever war, a never-ending graft meat grinder. This is evil.”

    Right-wing social media personality Rogan O’Handley then shared Musk’s post along with a theory:

    Zelensky knows if the war ends, his power ends

    Elections will resume and he’ll lose

    Then his adversary will investigate his money laundering and he’ll be sent to prison

    Zelensky is sending innocent Ukrainians to die in his meat grinder so he can stay in power

    Dictator

    “True,” replied Musk. “As distasteful as it is, Zelensky should be offered some kind of amnesty in a neutral country in exchange for a peaceful transition back to democracy in Ukraine.”

    Trump Nominates Former Pence Military Aide For Key Ukraine Role

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    1
    Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

    President-elect Trump on Wednesday announced his appointment of Keith Kellogg, a retired lieutenant general who served as chief of staff on Trump’s National Security Council during his first term, as special envoy to Ukraine and Russia.

    Trump praised Kellogg as being with him “right from the beginning” and noted his distinguished military and business career. 

    “Together, we will secure PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, and Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN!” the president-elect said in a statement.

    Trump has promised to bring a swift end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, leveraging his relationships with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin. That has raised anxiety among Kyiv’s supporters that the president-elect will seek a quick deal that would cede Ukrainian land or jeopardize the country’s future security. 

    Kellogg served as former Vice President Mike Pence’s national security adviser and was spotted at the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago club on Tuesday, according to the New York Post.

    Kellogg is currently the co-chair of the Center for American Security at the America First Policy Institute – which is led by several now-nominees within the new Trump administration.

    In June, Kellogg offered Trump a proposal for how to end the Russian invasion of Ukraine should he become president. “Under the plan drawn up by Kellogg and Fred Fleitz, who both served as chiefs of staff in Trump’s National Security Council during his 2017-2021 presidency, there would be a ceasefire based on prevailing battle lines during peace talks, Fleitz said,” Reuters reported at the time.

    This is a breaking news story. Click refresh for the latest updates.

    ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ – Trump Blasts Putin Over Deadly Strikes On Kyiv

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    3
    Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

    In a dramatic public rebuke of Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social on Thursday morning to condemn Russia’s latest missile and drone assault on Kyiv, which killed at least nine people and injured more than 70.

    “I am not happy with the Russian strikes on KYIV,” Trump wrote. “Not necessary, and very bad timing. Vladimir, STOP! 5000 soldiers a week are dying. Let’s get the Peace Deal DONE!”

    The Hill has more:

    The Trump administration has been pushing for a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, but top officials have in recent days signaled they are prepared to walk away from negotiations if the two sides don’t reach a deal soon.

    Fighting has been ongoing in Ukraine since Russian forces invaded in February 2022 after amassing troops near the border.

    Trump has vacillated between criticizing Russia for its continued assault on Ukraine and lashing out at Zelensky.

    Trump’s comments came just hours after he slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for vowing that Ukraine would never recognize Russia’s occupation of Crimea — a strategic peninsula that was illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014 and is home to more than 2 million people.

    By President Of Ukraine – https://www.flickr.com/photos/165930373@N06/54169325552/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156221279

    “Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian territory,” Trump posted Wednesday. He added that such declarations from Kyiv “make it so difficult to settle this war.”

    The White House recently announced that Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, will soon visit Moscow for a fourth round of negotiations with Putin, underlining ongoing diplomatic efforts.

    Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

    Meanwhile, European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, have squarely blamed Putin for prolonging the war, stating that Russia alone prevents peace. Macron emphasized that only Putin’s agreement could stop the violence, underscoring the international community’s call for a resolution.

    READ NEXT: Legal Firestorm Erupts: US States Sue Trump Over Emergency Powers

    Trump Touts ‘Major’ Prisoner Swap Between Ukraine And Russia

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    1
    Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

    President Trump is on the verge of a huge accomplishment…

    President Donald Trump announced on Friday morning that Ukraine and Russia were completing a “major” prisoner exchange as the United States continues its push for peace between the two warring countries.

    The deal, which was agreed to last week, swaps 1,000 prisoners each between Ukraine and Russia, making it the largest prisoner exchange of the war, The New York Times reported. Trump congratulated the countries on the agreement and hinted that it “could lead to something big.”

    “A major prisoners swap was just completed between Russia and Ukraine. It will go into effect shortly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Friday morning. “Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???”

    Earlier this week, Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to begin ceasefire negotiations with Ukraine, adding that the talks could be held at the Vatican. Trump made the announcement after a two-hour phone call with the Russian despot.

    “Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War,” Trump said on Monday. “The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.”

    During recent talks in Turkey, Ukraine and Russia agreed to the prisoner swap, but Russian officials reportedly said they would not agree to a ceasefire unless Ukraine withdraws from four regions in eastern Ukraine that Russian forces took over in 2022.

    “The agreement to release 1,000 of our people from Russian captivity became perhaps the only tangible result of the meeting in Turkey,” Zelensky said following the meeting. “We are working to ensure this result is delivered.”

    Peace talks between the countries, however, have hit multiple roadblocks, and the Trump administration has suggested that it is willing to walk away from further negotiations if Ukraine and Russia don’t make progress soon.

    Trump Confirms Direct Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks To ‘Begin Immediately’

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    4
    Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

    President Trump on Monday said that Russia and Ukraine will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire, following phone calls with the leaders of each country. He also noted the Vatican has offered to host the talks.

    The White House said Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin for about two hours, after speaking with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier in the day. 

    Trump has been pushing for a 30-day ceasefire in the war, and the White House said before Monday’s calls that he was frustrated with both sides.

    The president called for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine before entering office, and more than two months of direct diplomacy has failed to get Putin to agree to even basic terms. 

    The announcement of direct negotiations comes after Putin last week skipped appearing at direct talks in Turkey that he proposed. 

    On Monday, Trump described the tone and spirit of his conversation with Putin as “excellent.”  

    “If it wasn’t, I would say so now, rather than later,” he wrote in a post on his social media site, Truth Social.

    Trump said he agreed with Putin that “largescale TRADE” can happen between Russia and the U.S. “when this catastrophic ‘bloodbath’ is ove

    This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

    Retired General Predicts Putin Will ‘Wait Out’ Trump Term Before Final Ukraine Strike

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    4
    By President Of Ukraine from Україна - Joint Statement of the fourth Ukraine - Nordic Summit in Reykjavik., CC0, curid=156221560

    Retired U.S. Army Gen. Jack Keane said he suspects Russian President Vladimir Putin will wait for President Trump to leave office before he launches an attack to unseat the Ukrainian government.

    In an interview on Fox News, Keane said he does not think Putin will ever give up his long-term goal of taking over Ukraine, even if he accepts a peace agreement during Trump’s time in office.

    Keane said he thinks Putin is “willing to, at some point, if the deal is OK with him, to accept a peace agreement and a ceasefire.”

    Kremlin.ru, via Wikimedia Commons

    “But he’s not given up on his strategic goal to topple the government in Ukraine and take over the country,” Keane continued, adding, “So, where is he coming from? He’ll wait out President Trump, I suspect, and attack.”

    Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and national security adviser Mike Waltz met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to discuss an end to the war.

    Asked whether he thinks it will be difficult for Trump “to get the kind of peace” agreement he wants, Keane said in the interview, “No.”

    “I think he can get a peace agreement,” Keane said. “But what I think will happen is … it [is] likely he [Putin] will not take on his goal of toppling the government in Ukraine until after Trump is out of the presidency.”

    Keane nodded to intelligence that suggested Putin anticipated his invasion of Ukraine would happen swiftly and with little resistance. Instead, he encountered a resolute Ukrainian military, backed by a strengthened NATO alliance.

    “Listen, everything is on the line for him. He has strategic failure here. He thought this was going to take place in two to three weeks, that people would capitulate. It did not happen,” Keane said about Putin.

    “And here we are going into a third year,” he continued. “The reality is, his presidency is at stake. And I think also his personal life is at stake if all of this blows up on him.”

    Trump told reporters Sunday that he thinks Putin “wants to stop fighting” and that he is not still aiming to take all of Ukrainian territory.

    Asked about Putin’s territorial ambitions — and whether he thinks Putin wants the whole of Ukraine’s land — Trump said he asked Putin the same question.

    “I think he wants to stop. That was my question to him. Because if he’s going to go on, that would have been a big problem for us, and that would have caused me a big problem, because you just can’t let that happen,” Trump said.

    “I think he wants to end it. And they want to end it fast. Both of them,” Trump continued, noting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “wants to end it too.”

    Trump Announces Plan To Drop Sanctions On Syria

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
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    0
    By The White House from Washington, DC - President Trump and The First Lady Participate in an Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony, Public Domain,

    President Donald Trump announced the United States will soon drop sanctions against Syria.

    During lengthy remarks on Tuesday, Trump laid out his vision for the Middle East, sharing a major announcement: He intends to drop sanctions against Syria.

    “I will be ordering the cessation of sanctions against Syria in order to give them a chance at greatness,” Trump said in a speech in Saudi Arabia, his first stop on the first international tour of his second term in office. 

    “In Syria, which has seen so much misery and death, there is a new government that we must all hope will succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace,” he said. “So I say good luck, Syria.”

    The nation was cut off from the global financial system under ousted President Bashar al-Assad’s government, imposed during 14 years of civil war. 

    Trump called the sanctions “brutal and crippling” but “important” at the time.

    Trump said both Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Erdoğan had encouraged him to lift the sanctions. 

    “Oh, what I do for the crown prince,” Trump quipped. 

    U.S. sanctions had slapped financial penalties on any foreign individual or company that provided material support to the Syrian government and prohibited anyone in the U.S. from dealing in any Syrian entity, including oil and gas, and Syrian banks were effectively cut off from global financial systems. 

    Trump also revealed he has invited Saudi Arabia to join his historic Abraham Accords.

    “It has been an amazing thing, the Abraham Accords,” Trump said at a Saudi Arabia investment conference. “And it’s my fervent hope, wish, and even my dream that Saudi Arabia, a place I have so much respect for … will soon be joining the Abraham Accords. I think it will be a tremendous tribute to your country.”

    Trump negotiated the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, at the end of his first term in office. Now, he is hoping to see Saudi Arabia join it as well.

    During lengthy remarks, Trump laid out his vision for the Middle East. Minutes later, he made a second major announcement: He intends to drop sanctions against Syria.

    Trump’s Patience With Zelensky Evaporates As White House Issues Dire Warning

    By
    Patrick Houck
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    5
    By President Of Ukraine - https://www.flickr.com/photos/165930373@N06/54169325552/, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=156221279

    President Trump’s growing frustration with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky came to a head on Wednesday. At the center of the tension: a statement from Zelensky demanding full Russian withdrawal — including from Crimea — before even sitting down for peace talks.

    While the Ukrainian leader remains steadfast in his refusal to negotiate without a complete rollback of Russian control, critics argue that this kind of rigid posture may be stalling real progress and prolonging the war’s human cost.

    The Trump team has been exploring more pragmatic solutions to break the deadlock — one of which includes floating the idea of formally recognizing Crimea as Russian territory. It’s a bold play meant to strip away one of the biggest barriers to getting both sides to the table.

    As the New York Post explains, Trump’s dire warning to the Ukrainian president included a particularly ominous comment: settle for a negotiated peace or risk “losing the entire country.”

    Trump, 78, was responding to Zelensky telling reporters Tuesday that “Ukraine will not legally recognize the [Russian] occupation of Crimea” — a key part of a US-proposed peace plan under discussion in London Wednesday, and a condition that has long been a red line for Kyiv.

    “This statement is very harmful to the Peace Negotiations with Russia in that Crimea was lost years ago under the auspices of President Barack Hussein Obama, and is not even a point of discussion,” the president seethed on Truth Social. 

    “Nobody is asking Zelenskyy to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory but, if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?”

    Trump a decade ago criticized Obama for not intervening when Russia annexed Crimea. Kyiv has been working since 2014 to get its territory back and expel Russians from eastern Ukraine.

    In a bid to end the grinding, trench-style war in Ukraine, the Trump administration is preparing to upend more than eight decades of U.S. foreign policy.

    “There’s a doctrine out there called the Welles Declaration, that goes back to 1940, that says the United States will not acknowledge the occupation of a foreign land by another nation,” a senior administration official told the Post. “That’s on the table.”

    The Welles Doctrine, first invoked to condemn the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, has long guided America’s refusal to recognize territorial seizures. Reversing or softening that position would mark a historic shift — one aimed at pressuring Ukraine and Russia toward a negotiated ceasefire.

    The move, while politically explosive, is rooted in realpolitik. Crimea has been effectively under Russian control since 2014, and there’s an argument to be made that clinging to pre-2014 maps may be standing in the way of saving lives today.

    Predictably, the proposal sparked outrage in Kyiv. For Ukrainians, Crimea isn’t just land — it’s a Maryland size chunk of heritage, identity and pride.

    But an important question remains: At what point does principled resistance become strategic blindness?

    READ NEXT: Fox News Star UNLOADS On Democrat Rep In Explosive Clash [WATCH]

    Trump Revokes Elise Stefanik Nomination For UN Ambassador

    By
    Madeleine Jackson
    -
    3

    She’s out…

    President Donald Trump announced that he asked Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to bow out of contention to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

    He cited the House GOP’s slim majority, writing on Truth Social:

    “I have asked Elise, as one of my biggest Allies, to remain in Congress to help me deliver Historic Tax Cuts, GREAT Jobs, Record Economic Growth, a Secure Border, Energy Dominance, Peace Through Strength, and much more, so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.”

    “With a very tight Majority, I don’t want to take a chance on anyone else running for Elise’s seat. The people love Elise and, with her, we have nothing to worry about come Election Day. There are others that can do a good job at the United Nations,” he said.

    Stefanik had been under pressure to take herself out of contention for the role despite appearing poised to sail through Senate confirmation with bipartisan support, CBS News first reported. 

    This is a breaking news story. Please chec

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