[guest post by Dana]

One thing we can say with certainty concerning Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent war, is that the very thing that Vladimir Putin is definitely not interested in, is peace. Especially not with President Zelensky and the Ukrainian people. The reason we know this is that Russian troops have not been ordered out of Ukraine and the illegally occupied territories are not under Ukraine’s authority. Moreover, when Putin is aggressively continuing the advance on Ukraine every single day and with another attack on Kyiv tonight, what makes anyone think he wants peace? What a childishly dangerous notion.

Additionally, while there has certainly been “totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION,” it’s vital to name the one who caused it in the first place. And in this case, without a doubt, all of the responsibility and guilt lay solely with Vladimir Putin. Full stop. To not make this unequivocally clear at every opportunity is to intentionally insinuate that President Zelensky also caused “totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION,” which is not accurate.

Thus, President Trump’s comments about the situation, while unsurprising, are troubling. Some might excuse him, saying that he is just trying to be even-handed before peace talks happen, or perhaps he is making sure he doesn’t irk his pal Vlad, with whom he chatted with for 90 minutes on the phone. Regardless, I can’t give him the benefit of the doubt. He doesn’t deserve it: his history gives proof of that. Especially, especially when he equates President Putin with President Zelensky:

I just spoke to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The conversation went very well. He, like President Putin, wants to make PEACE. We discussed a variety of topics having to do with the War, but mostly, the meeting that is being set up on Friday in Munich, where Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will lead the Delegation. I am hopeful that the results of that meeting will be positive. It is time to stop this ridiculous War, where there has been massive, and totally unnecessary, DEATH and DESTRUCTION. God bless the people of Russia and Ukraine!

Plus:

REPORTER: Do you view Ukraine as an equal member of this peace process?

TRUMP: Ummmm … it's an interesting question. I think they have to make peace. That was not a good war to go into. pic.twitter.com/zKHEyCQmXd

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 12, 2025

Dumb Ukraine, choosing to go to war with Russia!! What a bunch of chumps!

With each passing day, I fear more and more for Ukraine’s future. Watching the President of the United States make an absolutely insane statement like the one above, and being too afraid (or too complicit with Putin) to put the blame for the war where it belongs, is utterly demoralizing. This, especially when coupled with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s comments yesterday that the U.S. does not believe that Ukraine becoming a member of NATO is a “realistic outcome” of any negotiated peace settlement and that Russia should be allowed to keep some of Ukraine’s territories.

There is only one way for this war to end with Ukraine not being subsumed by Russia and Europe not having to prepare for war.

"They're celebrating in the Kremlin right now, they're popping Champagne."

Putin critic and financier, Bill Browder, says Trump's announcement about the war in Ukraine is his 'worst nightmare' come true. #Newsnight pic.twitter.com/CUYUsNWHa3

— BBC Newsnight (@BBCNewsnight) February 12, 2025

—Dana

[guest post by Dana]

Confirmed:

The Senate has voted, 52-48, to confirm Tulsi Gabbard as Trump’s director of national intelligence. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was the only Republican to vote no on her nomination. Every Democrat voted no.

From McConnell:

“Tulsi Gabbard failed to demonstrate that she is prepared to assume this tremendous national trust. The nation should not have to worry that the intelligence assessments the President receives are tainted by a DNI with a history of alarming lapses in judgment.”

Too bad there wasn’t anything McConnell could’ve done a few years back to prevent Tulsi from ever becoming even a nominee for the director of national intelligence…

Anyway, no word on whether she received a congratulatory call from pal, Bashar al-Assad, but I hear that her confirmation is a dream come true for Putin.

—Dana