All posts tagged "ukraine"

Jared Kushner's 'absolutely abhorrent' Ukraine proposal slammed by security expert

Comments by Jared Kushner about a possible "win-win" situation for Ukraine and Russia were slammed by an appalled national security expert.

During a Monday appearance on CNN, Alex Plitsas responded to Kushner's idea that Russia can get a win out of the war in Ukraine without infringing on territorial rights and sovereignty. Kushner suggested a "win-win" outcome while meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday as part of President Donald Trump's envoy, along with Steve Witkoff, to Ukraine and Russia.

"The sound bites that came out of Kyiv and Moscow from this trip, I'm sorry, were nothing short of embarrassing for the United States and were absolutely abhorrent," Plitsas said. "The idea that we should give in to Vladimir Putin's aspirations as part of this is absurd."

The weekend visit by Kushner and Witkoff marked the envoys' first trip to Kyiv since the war began, but no major breakthroughs were announced.

Plitsas said that Putin's troops have "killed hundreds of thousands across Ukraine" and noted "documented heinous war crimes, including raping and pillaging and hundreds of thousands dead." Those actions are meant to meet Putin's "aspirations to take the rest of the country," Plitsas explained.

"So while there's a recognition that there may have to be some territorial swaps, the language that is used in diplomacy is important," he said.

Plitsas also ripped into Witkoff for comments he made while meeting with Putin on Saturday. Witkoff said that he and Kushner plan to reminisce about his meeting with Putin after their retirements.

"The language that was used about what fond memories they would have of negotiations in Moscow, followed by the idea that Vladimir Putin's aspirations are valid to be taken into account, is absolutely absurd," Plitsas said. "I was actually pretty disgusted with what I heard."

Plitsas added, "It's the first time I've used that type of language to describe this, but this was embarrassing."

'Stop pretending': MAGA firebrand unloads on Jared Kushner for Russia visit

A MAGA firebrand put Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in her crosshairs just hours after the pair landed in Russia for peace talks.

On Saturday, Kushner and Witkoff arrived in Moscow to meet with special representatives for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Trump said on Friday that Kushner and Witkoff are carrying a proposal to "end the war" in Ukraine, adding, "We have an idea for peace."

Trump loyalist and MAGA diehard Laura Loomer wasn't buying the Trump administration's message, however. She took to X to cast doubt on the Trump envoy's mission and rally more of MAGA against them.

"Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are in Moscow, Russia," Loomer wrote. "They just arrived for more 'peace talks' despite the fact that Putin is aiding the Iranians in killing US soldiers."

Loomer notably used to be fiercely anti-Ukraine, a country she once claimed was "full of Nazis," PBS reported. She visited the country in July, and since then, has reversed course. She said that she was "bamboozled by Russian propaganda" and "came to believe a lot of untrue things about Ukraine," CNN reported. She called out Russia in her Saturday rant.

"Meanwhile, Russia continues to pummel Ukraine with ballistic missiles and shows no sign of stopping anytime soon," Loomer wrote. "Everyday, Ukrainian civilians are slaughtered and Putin has shown no good faith in ending the war."

She then added that Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky "has offered to travel to the US to sign a peace deal to end the war, but Putin continues his aggression against Ukraine." She then tied Putin to Iran again, writing that he hasn't stopped "his support for the Islamic regime of Iran despite pretending to support President Trump."

Loomer demanded, "We should stop pretending like Russia isn't a terrorist state," and mentioned that "Russia is still holding 10 Americans hostage as well," although groups like the Foley Foundation report that at least six Americans are detained in Russia.

Trump 'completely spiraling' as war reaches point where 'no end in sight': CNN

President Donald Trump's comments about the Iran war and scaling back military exercises with ally South Korea amid his talks with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un were raising serious questions on Monday.

CNN White House correspondent Kristen Holmes, who Trump had snapped at during an Oval Office press conference earlier, pointed to why the president's comments were fueling concerns.

"President Trump there saying that he had had some kind of communication or opened the door to communication with Kim Jong Un," Holmes said. "And then shortly afterward, this announcement that they were scaling back the military exercises with our ally, South Korea."

Holmes compared the move to when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the White House, and it was anticipated he would request the U.S. help provide more missiles.

"The day before, President Trump talked to President Putin," she said. "And because of that phone call the next day, he denied giving Zelensky Patriot missiles, citing conversations that he had had with Vladimir Putin. So this is a real and justifiable question."

Holmes added that this has also triggered scrutiny over "the other crisis that he is facing" — the Iran war.

"The idea that North Korea has been stockpiling illegal nuclear weapons — what message is that sending to Iran that he is willing to support North Korea in this, as they stockpile these illegal nuclear weapons, or at least look the other way?" Holmes asked.

"Now, all of this is coming at a point where President Trump seems to be at least foreign policy-wise, completely spiraling," she added. "And that is likely due to what we are seeing here at home. There is no end in sight to this war in Iran. And in fact, President Trump is saying the same thing today that he said five months ago: that they want to negotiate, that they're not going to come up with a deal that he likes, and that the baseline premise of this entire war is to make sure Iran doesn't get nuclear weapons."

As the unpopular war has dragged on for five months, Americans have become more frustrated.

"Now, part of the reason he is likely having so many issues, particularly when it comes to Iran and answering these questions, is this poll, the poll that we did at the end of last month in which we asked voters if they believe that the Iran war was worth both the U.S. lives lost and the financial cost. And 74% of Americans said no," Holmes said. "Those polls are not lost on this White House."

Raging Trump pal unravels at Fox News CEO with vomit of sexist profanities

Far-right activist Laura Loomer erupted at Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott with a string of sexist profanities Thursday after the network canceled a podcast appearance at the last minute.

Loomer had been invited by an unnamed Fox host to discuss her recent reporting trip to Ukraine, where she made headlines this week by reversing her longtime support for Russia.

The recording was set for 4 p.m. — then Fox pulled the plug with 20 minutes to go.

"I was just supposed to record a podcast episode with a Fox News host who invited me on their podcast to discuss my reporting in Ukraine," Loomer wrote on X. "I was supposed to record at 4 pm EST, but then they canceled on me 20 minutes before our interview because Fox News management said they can't have me on."

"What a miserable b—!" Loomer wrote.

Loomer claimed the snub is part of a decade-long pattern, alleging Scott placed her on a blacklist in 2017.

"I've been on this blacklist since 2017," she claimed. "When Pete Hegseth and Judge Jeanine worked for Fox News and tried to have me on, Suzanne Scott (a liberal) told them they couldn't have me on and would be reprimanded if they interacted with me on X," referring to former Fox host Jeanine Pirro.

"I'm told she allegedly directed the entire network to not cover my trip to Ukraine," she added.

CNN reported in September 2024 that Fox mentioned Loomer just once the week she flew with President Donald Trump to his presidential debate.

Loomer has previously called Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) a "lunatic hooker" and a "harlot" during a social media feud, and has lobbed profane insults at other women in public life.

Associated Press reported this week that Loomer traveled to Kyiv and interviewed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, reversing years of pro-Russia rhetoric. Fox News, she said, refused to cover any of it.

"Censorship is alive and well at Fox News," Loomer wrote.

Questionable Trump insider's rise began with a 3 a.m. ham-and-swiss sandwich: report

President Donald Trump's relationship with peace envoy Steve Witkoff started in an unusual way — over a deli sandwich, according to a Slate report on Wednesday.

Journalist and author Andrea Bernstein described her encounter with Witkoff, the Trump insider, whose financial ties have come under scrutiny as he works as "Special Envoy for Peace Missions."

"He looks like a grandpa, and sounds a little like a Jewish sidekick in a Pixar movie," Bernstein wrote. "I’d known of him as a New York real estate mogul from covering Trump’s first presidency, and New York politics and real estate before that, but only vaguely. One day, I leaned forward to ask Witkoff what brought him to the courtroom that day. He told me he’d come for his friend. That word stuck with me: friend."

That friendship started in the 1980s, around 3 a.m. in New York City, Witkoff has said.

“And he was—I knew who he was. He didn’t know who I was. And he didn’t have any money with him, and I was ordering from a local delicatessen for the people who were on my team. And he asked me if I would order him a ham-and-Swiss sandwich,” according to the report. "Witkoff did. Years later, when the two ran into each other again, Witkoff said, 'he actually remembered who I was, and remembered the sandwich incident. And we just, you know, had just developed a, you know, a friendship as a result of it.'”

That relationship eventually led him into Trump's administration. Since then, a number of questions have surfaced over Witkoff's business dealings amid his negotiating role representing the Trump administration with Ukraine and Russia, and in the Middle East.

"The Iranians see Witkoff’s business ties to the UAE, and Jared Kushner’s ties to the Saudis, not to mention Israel, as cause for deep suspicion as well, people familiar with Iranian negotiators told me," Bernstein wrote. "Saying that Kushner 'is a volunteer' with a 'record of success in helping the President,' Kelly maintained that 'his private business activities have nothing to do with the President or the administration.'"

"Even in Witkoff’s earliest encounters, 'there were concerns about Witkoff business ties,' including his earlier dealings with Qatar and the UAE, said Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian diplomat who moved to the U.S. and became a scholar at Princeton University," Bernstein wrote. "'They knew he had close ties to Netanyahu.' The Iranians believed that 'Witkoff had meetings with high-level Israelis before and immediately after' he met with them, Mousavian said."

The White House has denied any conflicts of interest.

"Mr. Witkoff, like all Administration officials, takes seriously his compliance with the government ethics rules," the White House counsel, David Warrington, told Slate. "As Special Envoy for Peace Missions, he has not and does not participate in any official matters that could impact his financial interests. He has also divested from World Liberty Financial, notwithstanding his ability and willingness to recuse."

Leaked emails reveal King Charles ‘jittery’ over Trump's UK visit: ‘Did not want to do it'

King Charles was reportedly nervous about hosting President Donald Trump for a state visit to the UK, according to a report from The i Paper on Thursday.

Leaked emails and messages have revealed that the King was concerned for one main reason: the president's contentious meeting with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in February 2025, where Trump and Vice President JD Vance ridiculed the Ukrainian leader for not showing enough gratitude for support from America.

"The monarch’s private reservations over the visit left officials scrambling, fearful that a royal snub of President Trump could detonate into a full-blown diplomatic crisis," according to The i Paper.

"Multiple senior Whitehall sources have told this newspaper that the King was reticent about hosting Trump at this time because of his treatment of Zelensky," The i Paper reported.

A source told the outlet that the King was "jittery" about Trump's appearance. Another source said he "did not want to do it."

"A flurry of emails and texts exchanged between Peter Mandelson, then US ambassador, and officials in March 2025 reveal a behind-the-scenes diplomatic scramble to alleviate Charles’s concerns over the visit," according to The i Paper. "In one message, the peer thanks the most senior civil servant in Foreign Office for his 'cool handling of the last 48 hours on the SV [State Visit],' and in another exchange five days later Mandelson discusses how he is awaiting an update following the weekly audience between the King and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer."

The incident has exposed the tough diplomatic situation over Ukraine and the fears that the United States could halt its support of Ukraine amid the ongoing war. The King's private worries over the visit were included in the Mandelson files, which contained redacted documents, hundreds of private WhatsApp messages and emails exchanged between current and former UK Cabinet ministers, senior civil servants and advisers, The i Paper reported.

"The messages which have been published indicate that officials and diplomats were working intensively behind the scenes to allay the King’s concerns, and suggest that Starmer was due to discuss them with Charles at their weekly audience," according to The i Paper. "The key email and text exchanges took place between March 14 and 19, 2025 – a period of intense diplomacy over the war in Ukraine and just weeks after Trump had an explosive row with the Ukrainian President on 28 February."

Hundreds of diplomats fired by Trump in 'unprecedented' move amid global crisis: report

Hundreds of diplomats are being forced out of their jobs by the Trump administration despite ongoing crises around the world, according to a new report.

According to CNN, the State Department finalized the firing of nearly 250 foreign service officers via email on Friday.

"Your reduction in force separation will be effective today," the email read. "Thank you again for your service to the Department."

The reduction in forces also impacted staff that would have been able to "provide guidance on the war in Iran," former officials told CNN.

On top of that, "unprecedented numbers of people are choosing to leave" U.S. foreign services, David Kostelancik, a retired diplomat, told CNN.

"Roughly 2,000 foreign service officers left the State Department last year," CNN reported based on numbers from the American Foreign Service Association.

Another 100 diplomatic posts around the world in tense areas like the Middle East, Ukraine and Russia still lack a Senate-confirmed ambassador, CNN added.

"The most sensitive diplomatic negotiations, on fraught topics like ending the war in Iran and securing an end to the Ukraine conflict, are being led by business associates and family members of President Donald Trump," CNN reported. "Often without teams of experienced diplomats with regional expertise."

Marco Rubio MIA as he quietly remakes key agency into MAGA-first operation: columnist

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has gone missing from public view and has shifted his attention away from diplomacy amid "America's global collapse," an analyst pointed out on Tuesday.

Salon's Chauncey DeVega described how Rubio's focus appears to be on the State Department — and altering its previous emphasis on "cultural pluralism, secularism and inclusiveness in its public messaging and other communications" — and not on international peace negotiations, including the Iran war, or Ukraine and Russia war.

"He has not visited the Middle East since last October, nor has he played a direct role in diplomatic negotiations over Ukraine and Gaza," DeVega explained.

Instead, Rubio has been restructuring his "department as a tool of MAGA."

"While also attending to Trump’s needs, Rubio has been busy remaking the State Department in the MAGA image — an act that is undermining democracy at home and accelerating strategic failures abroad," DeVega wrote. "What the administration calls 'America First' is, in practice, white racial authoritarianism and white Christian nationalism that governs who and what is deemed to be in America’s vital interests."

Under Trump, the State Department has dropped its recognition of Islamic holidays or other non-Christian religious observations that it previously celebrated on social media. Now, Rubio has been pushing a MAGA agenda forward.

"Since Trump’s return to power, the United States has been repositioning itself as an explicitly Judeo-Christian nation — and government departments and agencies are following suit," DeVega wrote. "On Easter Sunday Rubio shared a video on social media in which he passionately described the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The department’s Instagram account has featured images of Christian crosses and references to 'Christ’s sacrifice.'"

Trump has reportedly asked Republican allies whether he should endorse a Rubio or Vice President JD Vance 2028 presidential nomination, with focus groups apparently favoring Rubio for the potential run.

"Many see him as a stabilizing force, as well as a more presentable and traditional representative for their 'America First' nationalism and so-called conservative values," DeVega wrote.

"Rubio sacrificed his values and the storied institutional legacy of the State Department itself to be in closer proximity to Donald Trump, a chaos agent — and America’s reputation and power are collapsing," DeVega added.

King Charles just delivered a pointed message to Trump in 'very British' way: CNN analyst

An analyst was surprised after King Charles III directed comments at President Donald Trump in his address to Congress on Tuesday.

David Chalian, senior vice president, Washington bureau chief and political director for CNN, commented that King Charles encouraged Trump to support Ukraine, praised his country's Navy and military after Trump had questioned it, and reinforced his dedication to preserving the world's environment, areas where Trump has disagreed with the monarch.

Chalian described the significant moment in a conversation with CNN anchor Jake Tapper.

"And did not hide from them at all," Chalian said. "I mean, I think a speech that was putting democratic values, the rule of law, the power of alliances, even a specific — on the support of Ukraine's defense — these stand in complete opposition. And in fact, some of them are the very things that Donald Trump sort of rails against when he's complaining about Europe or the UK, specifically."

The move highlights the ideological differences between the two leaders, Chalian explained.

"Now, King Charles doesn't come in here itching for a fight on it," Chalian added. "He comes in with his position to be above it a bit and in his you know, very British, stiff upper lip kind of way. It's not that he was trying to get in a fight with President Trump, but he couldn't have seized the opportunity more to really stand clear on the importance of these things with a value system underneath it that is in contrast to a lot of what Donald Trump has been presenting on the world stage as it comes to these alliances."

Insider admits Iran is distraction Trump needed from big failed campaign promise

The recent US strikes on Iran proved to be a successful distraction from peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, a European diplomat believes.

The unnamed insider claimed Donald Trump's recent shift in focus to war with Iran is a distraction from his failings in Eastern Europe, particularly in brokering peace between Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Ukraine and Vladimir Putin's Russia. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, entered peace talks held by the US last year, but a proposed peace deal has cooled off in recent months.

Trump's commitment to brokering peace in Eastern Europe has now been brought into question, with one diplomat suggesting the president simply does not have the focus necessary to contend with more than one geopolitical struggle.

A European diplomat told Politico, "It's going to be challenging to keep the bandwidth. Before the war against Iran - the Americans were already showing less interest and losing patience with Ukraine. Were they leading anywhere anyhow?"

European Union staffers are said to be working on rescheduling a meeting to bring Ukraine closer to membership status in the EU, which was set to take place in Cyprus later this week. The meeting has been suspended after an Iranian drone struck a British air base.

“It’s important not to lose the momentum,” the diplomat said. “We don’t want to allow the situation in the Middle East to affect this.”

Yehor Chernev, deputy head of the national security and defense committee in the Ukrainian parliament, believes the war in Iran will run parallel to the war in Ukraine, with the conclusion of peace talks with Russian diplomats now dependent on the US' strikes in the Middle East.

Chernev said, "They are interconnected. The faster and more effectively the U.S. acts against Iran, the more chances there are to achieve progress in peace negotiations with Russia.

"The only risk for us will be if the U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran drags on and does not achieve any goals. Then, indeed, attention to Ukraine may weaken."