A New Chapter with Russia

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Over the weekend, President Trump made his feelings about Ukraine’s President Zelensky clear.

On Truth Social, POTUS wrote a lengthy post about Zelensky and the war. Needless to say, he is furious that Ukraine keeps striking Russian oil infrastructure. It’s contributing to higher prices worldwide.

Before the war, Russia was the second-largest diesel exporter. But Ukrainian drones keep blowing up the country’s refineries, tankers, and oil storage.

Here’s an excerpt from Trump’s Truth Social post:

[Zelensky] could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead.

Harsh but true. Ukraine is running out of options. Weapons, food, energy, and money are all in short supply. Blackouts in Kiev are common. Zelensky’s thug-squads roam the streets abducting scarce civilians to fill the trenches.

It is likely that 900,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in action so far. Overall the population has fallen from 41 million pre-war to around 28 million today (mostly due to migration).

Zelensky just demanded another $155 billion from the EU, but European governments have problems of their own right now.

However, if Zelensky doesn’t get the money, the country collapses and a new refugee crisis begins. Then Europe ends up paying for it anyway. They are stuck.

The war is not going well for Ukraine. Despite occasional successes, Russia intercepts more than 99% of Ukraine’s long-range drones (provided by the EU). Up to 300 drones are launched for a single successful attack on Russian infrastructure. It’s not sustainable.

It’s going to be a cold and brutal winter in Ukraine. I hope the war ends soon for the sake of its people.

The only positive way to spin this is Trump’s statements give me hope that we can finally repair our relationship with Russia.

A Missed Opportunity

In 2000, Russia tried to join NATO.

A young Vladimir Putin pitched Bill Clinton on the idea, and apparently Slick Willie was initially open to it.

But once President Clinton talked with his “advisors” (bosses), the answer became clear. Nyet. No deal. Putin continued to pursue NATO for a while, but didn’t get anywhere.

If Russia had joined NATO, the world would be a very different place today. For one thing, Putin’s alliance with China would never have been necessary.

But America’s deep state chose another path. And they drove Russia directly into the waiting arms of China.

NATO’s Expansion

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, much of Eastern Europe was thrown into chaos.

Suddenly, 15 new independent countries were born.

America didn’t waste time. Russia could not join NATO. It would be swallowed by it.

The map below shows the expansion of the NATO military alliance. Note how most countries joined in 1990 or later, as the USSR disintegrated.

Since this map was published, Finland and Sweden also joined NATO in 2023 and 2024.

NATO’s goal was simple. Surround Russia, choke it off economically, break the country up into parts from within, and take it over.

In 1999, the great Pat Buchanan wrote:

“By moving NATO onto Russia’s front porch, we have scheduled a twenty-first century confrontation. … America will face a hellish dilemma: risk confrontation with a nuclear-armed Russia determined to recreate its old sphere of influence, or renege on solemn commitments and see NATO collapse.

Offering NATO memberships to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and, as some urge, Ukraine is rashness bordering on madness.”

Buchanan’s prediction came true, of course. The man has an uncanny track record.

The Failed Ukraine Project

Ukraine was to be the cherry on top of NATO’s expansion. The country was to be NATO’s front line of defense (and offense) against Russia.

To this end, Obama’s State Department executed a coup in 2014. The Maidan Revolution, which installed a pro-Western government.

But the plan to expand NATO to Ukraine (and Georgia) has been active for a long time. In 2008, NATO officials stated it plainly at the Bucharest Summit:

“NATO welcomes Ukraine’s and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO.”

This was the last straw for Putin. He simply could not allow Ukraine to join NATO, a country just 280 miles from Moscow. That’d be like us letting China build missile silos in Mexico.

By the time Putin invaded, a NATO training center in Ukraine had already trained 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers to alliance specifications.

The war Pat Buchanan predicted happened. It has been a horrible tragedy. Ukraine has probably lost 900,000 soldiers killed in action. Russia has probably lost 190,000. These are my best estimates based on open source analysis. Neither side will confirm anything officially.

So… what now?

A Russo-American Partnership?

Earlier this month, Trump signed an energy deal with Russia. Putin got sanction relief, and we (hopefully) will be getting 300,000 tons of diesel, to start.

Is this the beginning of a new chapter with Russia? I hope so. Throughout history, Russia has proven to be a good ally and a bad enemy.

The country wants a productive relationship with the U.S. And in those rare instances in history where we worked together, amazing things have been accomplished.

The International Space Station is Exhibit A. Neither country could have done it alone, but together we built something truly remarkable.

The ISS. Source: NASA

But powerful forces have consistently spoiled any progress.

Is a breakthrough possible now? I think so. Russia has proven it is not going to be defeated militarily. We’re not going to overthrow Putin, and if we did, someone not as nice would replace him. Reality is setting in.

Interestingly, a trade envoy for Putin, Kirill Dmitriev, posted the following message on X recently:

Source: X

An image of an American Eagle and a Russian bear facing off against the UK and EU? Now that’s provocative. The post got more than a million views, and 6,300 likes.

The screenshot shows an article by James Kunstler on ZeroHedge. It’s an interesting piece about how Russia might make a better ally than the EU or UK.

The article hints that modern Russia is the new Europe. And that modern Europe is the new USSR:

Europe is now tyrannized by the unelected EU commission, much as the old Soviet Union was tyrannized by its politburo. An Orwellian switcheroo has occurred.

Kunstler also points out the mess the UK finds itself in:

And outside the EU – which it voted to exit in 2016 – you have our so-called “mother country,” Great Britain (the United Kingdom) committing suicide in the most extravagant way, turning over prime ministers like they were jacks in a game of whist, jailing their own people for impure thoughts, while allowing the wholesale rape of its womenfolk by foreign invaders.

Wow… I don’t agree with everything Kunstler says in his piece, but it’s fascinating food for thought.

The idea of starting a new chapter with Russia is gaining traction. Because it makes all the sense in the world.

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