Ukraine and Russia are supposed to be on the verge of peace, but the question remains if peace is really what Russia wants.
For months, Trump has been saying they are close, but the moment he says something, it seems as though Russia carries out a strike to undermine him.
And it just happened again, as an overnight strike was launched against Ukraine with nearly three dozen ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones.
In December, it seemed like a deal was imminent, as Trump was as positive as he has ever been about a possible end to this war.
Trump, at the time, claimed the peace deal was “95%” of the way done, and that he thought they were “closer than ever with both sides” ready to ink the deal.
Trump later added, “The two leaders want it to end. I think we can move pretty rapidly. Otherwis,e it’s going to go on for a very long time.”
Trump then gave President Zelensky some praise, adding, “This gentleman has worked very hard, and is very brave, and his people are very brave.”
One would think that with a peace deal near, Russia would back off so as not to risk the deal, but that is not happening.
Russia just launched hundreds of long-range drones and nearly six dozen missiles, 34 of them ballistic missiles, aimed at wiping out Ukraine’s infrastructure, specifically targeting power plants.
Zelensky stated, “Taking advantage of the coldest days of winter to terrorize people is more important to Russia than diplomacy.”
So, as I said… every time they think they are close, Russia does something that puts the entire deal at risk. It is very reasonable to ask if Russia is serious about wanting peace or just playing everyone.
As you can see from Zelensky’s comment above, he was not happy about the strike, and it now sounds as though he has something up his sleeve to hit Russia back.
When he was asked about a counterstrike, Zelensky responded, “As for any military steps we take, we usually try not to inform the aggressor about our plans or our actions.”
This war has been a thorn in Trump’s side since the outset of this administration, as Trump promised he could have this war over on day one, if not before then.
I wish I had the answer for Trump on this one, but I don’t. He has to figure something out to put the squeeze on Russia to the point that Putin has no choice but to back off. Perhaps the deal with India regarding oil sales will be it, but Putin is more of a wildcard than Trump these days. I do know one thing… Trump and the GOP cannot afford to have this carry into the midterm elections. There are enough challenges already without this war being added to them.
