Ukrainian disabled defender: Ukraine has given enough

From CBS / Yahoo!News:

""How much more can we give?" asks one wounded Ukrainian warrior

Duarte Dias, December 2, 2025

Ukrainian soldier Pavlo Martsenyuk has lost count of the friends and comrades he's lost since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of his country almost four years ago. The 34-year-old says he does his best to keep alive the memories of the men he fought alongside.

Speaking from a rehabilitation center in the western city of Lviv called "Unbroken Hospital," he told CBS News about the long, painful process of recovering from the impact of an anti-tank mine explosion that robbed him of his sight in both eyes.

"I couldn't calm myself down and control my stream of thoughts," Martsenyuk said. "Everything was buzzing, until I started working actively with my mental health."

A year on, doctors have reconstructed his face and he's adapting to what he calls "an entirely new life."

Martsenyuk says his priority now is to carry on as a civilian and serve as an example to his children. He's also a living example of the human costs of Russia's ongoing invasion, and he believes many people outside Ukraine don't really understand his country's sacrifice, or the broader importance of its fight.

President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff were due to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in Moscow to discuss a U.S.-backed proposal to end the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, is holding meetings with various European leaders in the hope of shoring up continued support for his country's defense.

Details from the high-level discussions remain vague, but one key obstacle to a deal that has emerged is Ukraine's resistance to a Trump administration proposal for it to accept ceding some territory to Russia in exchange for peace.

Mr. Trump argued over the weekend that his peace proposal did include Russia "making concessions."

"They're big concessions," he told reporters. "They stop fighting, and they don't take any more land."

Zelenskyy and some of his European supporters have spoken out against this approach, arguing that granting Russia dominion over any currently occupied Ukrainian land would set a dangerous precedent, effectively rewarding Putin for a unilateral, unprovoked invasion.

For Martsenyuk, who bears the scars of this long conflict, it's a difficult question.

"We have already given up territory — we have given part of ourselves. How much more can we give?" he asks.

European leaders, including Poland's, have recently alluded to the risks highlighted by Europe's 20th century history of appeasing the unilateral landgrabs of autocrats.

"Can't we analyze history? It all smells like something done before," Martsenyuk said.

In late October, with President Trump pushing hard for Ukraine to make concessions to get a peace deal done — though without any clear requests for Russia to bend on its key demands — Polish Minister Donald Tusk warned: "None of us should put pressure on Zelenskyy when it comes to territorial concessions."

"We should all put pressure on Russia to stop its aggression. Appeasement never was a road to a just and lasting peace," said the social media post by Tusk — whose nation was occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II.

But Martsenyuk is also keenly aware that with the high cost being paid by his country every day, Ukraine will need help to continue withstanding Russia's onslaught, let alone repel it.

Ukrainian authorities have not released official numbers of soldiers killed in combat since the start of the invasion, but an investigation released in June by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that between 60,000 and 100,000 of the country's troops have died.

"Pity is not needed," he said. "Understanding is needed. There is very little understanding.""

Vance's versus Trump's love to Russia

From MS Now / Yahoo!News:

"Why JD Vance keeps trying to help Russia win the war with Ukraine

Nicholas Grossman, December 2, 2025

Marco Rubio is the only American other than Henry Kissinger to serve as secretary of state and national security advisor at the same time, but he was mostly absent from high-stakes diplomacy over Ukraine.

Trump envoy Steve Witkoff negotiated the recent, Russia-friendly 28-point plan to end the war, and its main advocate in the White House was Vice President JD Vance. Working to help Russia win aligns with Vance’s far-right worldview, and with Trump an aging president who has never prioritized policy, the VP’s views will remain influential.

Witkoff basically repackaged a Russia-written plan, even coaching the Russians on how to talk to Trump and undermine upcoming U.S. meetings with Zelensky.

Trump officials reportedly timed this effort to a domestic corruption scandal in Ukraine, thinking it would force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to swallow unfavorable terms. But instead of sending Rubio or another State Department official, the Trump administration had U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, Vance’s friend and classmate at Yale Law, deliver the plan to Ukraine as an ultimatum.

It didn’t work. When the details came out, European countries were appalled, and with their support, Ukraine responded with a reasonable counteroffer that Russia unsurprisingly rejected because Putin seeks conquest, not peace. Rubio reportedly scrambled to say it was a Russian wishlist the U.S. was factoring in, not an American proposal, before getting roped back in and saying it was a U.S. plan after all. Evidence emerged that Witkoff basically repackaged a Russia-written plan, even coaching the Russians on how to talk to Trump and undermine upcoming U.S. meetings with Zelensky, and the effort fell apart.

But Vance will likely keep searching for ways to get Ukraine to surrender because that’s always been his approach to the war. His online commentary continuously shows sympathy for Russia’s cause, such as by asserting that Russian victory is inevitable no matter what the U.S. does. Sometimes he uses blatant lies, such as claiming that Ukraine-supporting Americans’ position is “Let’s send your kids to die in Russia” (no U.S. troops have been deployed to fight in the war, and virtually no American advocates sending them). 

In a late February meeting with Zelenskyy in the Oval Office that was supposed to announce a U.S.-Ukraine mineral mining arrangement, Trump and Vance ambushed the Ukrainian president, with the VP absurdly blaming Zelenskyy for the war Russia started and perpetuates, chastising the Ukrainians as “ungrateful.”

Vance marinates his brain in the far-right slop of X (née Twitter), the website Elon Musk turned into a swamp of misinformation and propaganda, and engages with the no-longer-fringe users driving it. He follows a little more than 1,000 accounts — a fairly standard amount for active users — and at various times, several of them have been outright supporters of Nazism and fascism...

The online right pushes a white nationalist conspiracy theory called the “Great Replacement”... Musk also pushes that extremist theory, and manipulates X’s algorithm to promote it. Vance has pushed variations on it for years, including as vice president, trying to put an intellectual spin on paranoid gutter racism. While Trump fuels and uses the online right, Vance is actually one of them. 

And the online right loves Russia, seeing Putin as a culture war champion. To them, Russia’s “manly” military just has to defeat Ukraine’s “they/them” military backed by the “woke” West, both to advance the far-right cause and to validate their worldview.

Trump has always looked positively at Putin and Russia, and shown sympathy for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine. When Russia invaded in 2022, Trump publicly gushed that it was “savvy” and “genius.” After becoming president again, he shifted U.S. policy in a Russia-friendly direction, cutting military aid to Ukraine, aping Russian propaganda and telling Ukraine to make concessions. But while Trump clearly admires and envies Putin, and prefers a world in which bullies get what they want, his evident top priority is ending the war quickly to get praise and financial benefits.

Taking his information diet and public behavior seriously, Vance’s Russia sympathies appear deeper.

Trump authorized additional arms sales to Europe knowing the weapons would go to Ukraine, has made noise about sanctioning Russia — though never really follows through — and hasn’t taken the more drastic step of directly assisting Russia’s military effort, such as with intelligence sharing on targets in Ukraine.

Vance might. Taking his information diet and public behavior seriously, Vance’s Russia sympathies appear deeper. Trump’s authoritarianism is personalist, centered around a cult of personality, focused on attention, power and money for himself. Vance appears to be a genuine far-right ideologue. He cites aggressively anti-democracy billionaire Peter Thiel, “neo-monarchist” Curtis Yarvin and various self-identified “post-liberals” as intellectual influences. Like the extremes of the online right he hangs out with, the VP defines “us” not as the United States and its allies against authoritarian adversaries like Putin’s Russia, but as a transnational white Christian nationalism against democracy, wokeness and the broadly defined left in their own countries and around the world. It’s a sort of Fascist Internationale.

The most logical explanation for why Vance keeps trying to help Russia win is because he sees Putin as on his “team,” with Ukraine, the European Union, pro-democracy Americans and an international order that values freedom on the other side.

This article was originally published on ms.now."

***

I cannot understand today's white American racists. They approve the killings of fellow white Americans (including young women) who have different views, and they admire the psychopath Putin who has killed tens of thousands of white people and has even brought North Koreans to Europe to kill white Europeans. What self-respecting racist could adhere to such nonsense? These are not true racists, just generic evil scum! 

Europe must seek security guarantees

Ukrainian military expert Ivan Stupak in the Obozrevatel:

"Following Putin's remarks today, Europe must consider security guarantees for itself

December 2, 2025 

Three big "IFs" from the Russian dictator today: 

1. "If Europe suddenly wants to fight us and starts, we are ready right now." 

2. "If Europe itself decides to start a war with Russia, a situation could quickly arise in which we will have no one to negotiate with." 

3. "If this continues, we will consider the possibility of retaliatory measures against the ships of those countries that are helping Ukraine commit these piracy acts." 

It is at this stage that EU countries should actively offer and consider security guarantees. But not for Ukraine, quite the opposite. Ukraine itself can become the guarantor of security for that beautiful and vibrant Disneyland called the European Union. 

It is currently extremely difficult for the EU to carry out military reforms in its countries, and even more difficult (for political reasons) to increase the size of its own armed forces. 

One option (but not the only one) for such guarantees could be an agreement between Ukraine and the EU on the provision of security services for the EU's eastern borders, for a period of 5-10 years. 

Under the agreement, the EU funds the upkeep of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at a rate of 500-800,000 (or as agreed) and based on salaries, for example, as in Poland: 

Private - €1,037 

Sergeant - €1,187 

Officer - €1,452. P.S. 

Considering what Putin said today on behalf of the rusty country, paying in cash would be the cheapest and easiest option for the EU."

Marc Champion explains why the EU is the wrong player for Ukraine

From UNIAN:

"The EU cannot become a geopolitical player that will resolve the Ukrainian issue, Bloomberg says 

Karina Bovsunovskaya, 02.12.25 

In late summer 1939, Soviet and German foreign ministers Vyacheslav Molotov and Joachim von Ribbentrop signed the infamous non-aggression pact, which divided Eastern Europe between their countries and allowed Hitler to invade Poland just days later. Meanwhile, the proposed US-Russian plan to end the war in Ukraine suggests that the major military powers have once again conspired to divide the continent to their advantage, according to Bloomberg columnist Mark Champion. 

"This should have been clear a long time ago. I've been saying since at least February that the Trump administration was interested not so much in concluding a peace agreement for Ukraine as in resetting relations between the US and Russia at the expense of Kyiv and its European allies. The publication of the 28-point US-Russian proposal made this impossible to ignore," the author noted.

According to Champion, now that European leaders have finally acknowledged that they are left alone on the Ukraine issue, the question arises: can the European Union become a geopolitical player capable of standing up to Russia, China, and its nominal ally, the United States? The observer believes the honest answer to this question is "no."

"This would require a significant demonstration of force, and that simply isn't in the bloc's DNA. The European project was designed to ensure that its members would never again fight among themselves, as they did during two catastrophic conflicts and for centuries before that. The EU accomplished this so well that it won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012. But when it comes to defending against external threats, the path to the modern EU is littered with failed cooperative security projects, dating back to the Western European Union of 1954, if not earlier. That task was quickly handed over to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, i.e., the United States, and remains so to this day," the author explained.

In particular, Kiran Klaus Patel, head of the department of modern history at Germany's Ludwig Maximilian University, noted that asking the EU to demonstrate hard power is like "telling a professional footballer that from now on he will play rugby."

According to Champion, the EU's unpreparedness for a world of "geopolitical rugby" has no clear institutional solution. However, Europe has no choice but to bridge the gap if it doesn't want to be "torn to pieces." 

"The key is to make Europe—not the EU—the driving force behind diplomacy and the projection of hard power. A hard foreign policy should be pursued outside the EU, preferably within NATO, and if that's not possible, through specially created coalitions," the commentator wrote...   

Champion added that this may also be the only way for Europe to act effectively, as too many geopolitically important players in the region, including NATO members Norway, the United Kingdom, and Turkey, are not part of the EU. 

"As is often said, Europe is returning to history after several decades of utopian respite, so its first priority is rearmament. But Europe has always united against external threats only when they were perceived as common and extreme, obvious examples of which are the Soviet Union during the Cold War and the Ottoman Empire in the late 17th century," the observer recalled. 

 Champion also concluded: "Finding a way to do both—preserve peace at home while projecting strength abroad—may be the most significant challenge European leaders have faced since the fateful Russian-German 'peace' agreement of 1939." "

Russia's nuclear deterence is aggressive, aimed at scaring other forces into abandoning aggression victims

From the Telegraph / Yahoo!News:

"Putin’s Satan II missile explodes on take-off

Antonia Langford, December 1, 2025 

Russia’s “Satan II” intercontinental ballistic missile exploded after crashing back to earth in yet another failed test.

The nuclear-capable hypersonic missile, dubbed the “world’s deadliest weapon”, was launched from the Yasny test site in Russia’s Orenburg region.

Just seconds after lift-off, the Sarmat RS-28 rocket veered off course emitting black plumes of smoke, before the fiery wreck plummeted to the ground.

The missile landed near the launchpad in a huge fireball, emitting a purple cloud of smoke into the sky.

During a previous test launch the munition exploded at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome 500 miles north of Moscow in September 2024, leaving a huge crater at its launch site.

Despite this, Vladimir Putin expressed hopes weeks ago that the Sarmat would be ready next year, saying: “This year, we will put [the Sarmat] through combat trials, and next year, deploy it on combat duty.”...

Vyacheslav Volodin, a member of Russia’s security council, previously claimed it could hit the European Parliament in Strasbourg in under four minutes...

Etienne Marcuz, an associate fellow at France’s Foundation for Strategic Research think tank, said: “This would be the fifth failure in a row for this strategic missile, presented as the new flagship of Russian nuclear deterrence. Its submarine-launched counterpart, the Bulava [SLBM], does not seem to be in much better shape.

“Yet it is precisely this nuclear deterrence that allows Russia to engage in what is called ‘aggressive sanctuarisation’, that is, to wage wars of aggression like the invasion of Ukraine while threatening any potential supporters of the aggressed countries with nuclear retaliation.”"

The real danger of any limitation of Ukrainian army

From UNIAN:

"This won't be the main problem: expert identifies key threat of limiting the size of the Ukrainian Armed Forces 

Nikita Shenderovsky, 01.12.25 

Ukraine won't be able to maintain an army of 800,000 after the war, according to Ivan Stupak 

Any restrictions on the Ukrainian Armed Forces during peace talks will have consequences for Ukraine, regardless of their numbers. Ivan Stupak, a former Security Service of Ukraine officer and military expert, expressed this opinion on Channel 24. 

"We must understand that what's being implied is that special groups will be created to control the numbers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This isn't just about personnel; there will also be restrictions on aircraft and missiles. And there's a 95% chance that representatives of the Russian Federation will be present in these groups... This is a completely unacceptable option for Ukraine," Stupak said. 

He also responded to the statement by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas that if the Ukrainian Armed Forces are limited, Russia should also reduce its own army. According to the expert, Russia is unlikely to reduce its current 1.5 million troops.

"This is a huge army. For comparison, Poland has 200,000. Ukraine, before a full-scale invasion, has 250,000. The German army, with a population of 80 million, has 180,000. Numbers aren't an issue, even for us. Even if there's a limit of 800,000, it won't be a big problem. The problem is what we can sustain, what numbers. 800,000 is a lot; we simply can't handle such an army on our own," the analyst stated. 

He explained that after the end of hostilities, the size of the Ukrainian army will be reduced to what funding allows. At the same time, according to the expert, Ukraine can cooperate with the EU in this regard. Stupak added:  

"If the Europeans want to see us as a country that defends the Alliance's eastern borders and they're willing to pay for it, then no problem. We can maintain a million-strong army to defend the Europeans, but they'll pay for it. In my opinion, that would be a fantastic agreement. The downside to all these restrictions is in the details."" 

(Emphasis mine - M. M.) 

USA must stop negotiating with itself and repackaging Russian ideas

From the Kyiv_Post:

"Miami Takeaways: Trump Admin Urged to Stop ‘Negotiating With Itself,’ Start Pressuring Moscow

In an interview with Kyiv Post, veteran US diplomat Daniel Fried warns: Russia won’t negotiate seriously until Washington decides it’s done negotiating with itself

by Alex Raufoglu | Dec. 1, 2025

HALLANDALE BEACH, Florida – The US administration cast Sunday’s five-hour Florida session with top Ukrainian officials as another step toward what President Donald Trump says is a real possibility: “There’s a good chance we can make a deal.”

But beyond the upbeat talk of “progress” and “prosperity,” one of America’s most experienced diplomats is issuing a pointed warning – the US will get nowhere unless it begins pressuring Moscow instead of haggling with itself.

Ambassador Daniel Fried, the former assistant secretary of state and longtime Russia expert whose career spanned seven administrations, told Kyiv Post following Sunday talks that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s messaging in Miami was right – but the follow-through had been lacking.

Rubio “outlined the overall principles right,” Fried said, welcoming the emphasis on “an independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine.”

But, he added pointedly, “now we need to mean it.”

What “meaning it” requires

Pressed on what Washington must do, Fried said the US needs to demonstrate actual security assurances and the kind of sustained security backup that prevents Russia from attacking Ukraine again.

He added the US must also stop what he called “negotiations with ourselves,” since Ukrainians, Europeans, and Americans have spent the past two weeks debating among themselves while Russia has “sat back with their arms folded,” offering nothing and maintaining maximalist demands.

And he argued that Washington must undo the early structural advantage Russia gained when US-Russian back-channels helped shape the original “28-point plan,” giving the Kremlin far too much influence over the starting framework...

He pointed directly to Witkoff’s performance: “Witkoff does not seem to have a grasp of the details, and he’s often operated sort of on the fly,” Fried said – a dangerous approach in talks of this magnitude.

Rubio’s takeover of the Miami session, he argued, may finally give the American team “a reasonable negotiating mandate – instead of simply taking and repackaging the Russian ideas.”

 

 

Ukrainian veteran assesses the "peace plan"

From UNIAN:

"Dyky: Russia will only agree to "peace" with guarantees that it can then return and finish us off 

Alena Utkina, 01.12.25 

UNIAN spoke with former serviceman Yevhen Dyky, who discussed... possible paths for Ukraine's future...

"The first unacceptable option is to sign the capitulation they're proposing. This is what's for some reason being called a peace plan, but it's an ultimatum to capitulate. And even if it contains 24 or 19 points instead of 28, the essence of the document won't change. Moreover, it's an ultimatum to capitulate, which essentially already lays out all the conditions for Russia to very soon violate even this temporary, shameful peace and simply "finish us off."  

These points already spell out in advance how we must disarm, how we must prepare for the next aggression so that we cannot resist, and even outline the pretexts under which Russia would violate them (the point that states that even one missile from Ukrainian territory is a pretext for continuing the war – ed.). This is a plan that will give us a few months' respite before we are finished off completely and this time without any chance."" 

Hodges: USA sees Europe as inconsequential

From Euronews:

"'Washington sees Europe as inconsequential,' former US commanding general in Europe tells Euronews

By Jakub Janas & Méabh Mc Mahon, 01/12/2025

 

In an interview with Euronews’ flagship morning show Europe Today, former commanding general of US Army Europe General Ben Hodges warned that... the European continent is “slowly waking to the realisation” that it cannot count on Washington as a fair partner.

“The United States really sees Europe as inconsequential except maybe for some business purposes,” Hodges told Euronews on Europe Today programme.

In his view, the US administration’s approach to the conflict was “doomed from the start” because they treated the war like “a massive real estate deal”.

Hodges pointed to recent revelations involving Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, as evidence that Washington’s primary interest is “business with Russia after this is all concluded”.

“If it goes the way that Mr Witkoff and Jared Kushner wanted to go with the Russians, (it) is going to be a massive problem for Europe”, he said, warning of millions of more refugees if Ukraine is forced into an unsatisfactory deal.

This shift in priorities was laid bare this week as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to skip a key NATO meeting in Brussels.

“It is unusual but that’s part of the problem,” Hodges noted, adding that under the current administration’s list of priorities, “Europe is number four” behind the western hemisphere, the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East.

Despite the grim outlook, the general insisted that the situation is not hopeless. He rejected the premise that Ukraine is losing, noting that after 11 years of war, Russia occupies only 20% of the country and parts of its economy are “in deep trouble”.

According to Hodges, “Ukraine and Europe together” have the industry, wealth and population to stop Russia.

“There’s no reason that Europe, including Ukraine, cannot stop Russia,” he said. “What they lack is the self-confidence and the political will.”"

Polish president explains why no real agreement with Russia is possible

From an address by the Polish president Karol Nawrocki on the 195th anniversary of the outbreak of the November Uprising, Nov 30, 2025: 

"Historical events also offer a lesson for Poland and Poles today: there were no agreements with the Muscovites [i.e. Russians - M. M.], neither in the 19th century, nor in the 20th century, nor in the 21st century. There are only lies, a desire to take life, and a desire to destroy. This is a lesson we must all learn, with deep faith in Polish cadets, officers, and generals."

Kasparov: Putin is arrogant because he has Trump as an ally

From the Dialog, Nov 30, 2025:

"Kasparov explained in simple terms what lies behind Putin's words and the reason for the Kremlin leader's insolence

Chess player Garry Kasparov warned Ukrainians that peace will not be achieved anytime soon, citing Putin's words. 

The Russian dictator is openly stating that he wants not only Donbas but all of Ukraine, which will become a springboard for attacks on European countries, Garry Kasparov explained. Discussions of a peace plan may yield no results, as nothing has yet been done beyond rhetoric, and Ukraine needs real help to resist Russia.  

The Russian opposition leader expressed his vision of the peace plan on the YouTube channel "Free Russia Forum." 

The world chess champion commented on Putin's statement made in Bishkek: "I don't know what decision Ukraine will make, because words and good wishes won't hold the line. Putin senses all this, and Putin is becoming brazen, as always. This has always been linked to his sense of impunity. He demands everything and understands that with an ally like Trump, he can get a lot."

"The point is, this isn't the end of the war. He reiterated in Bishkek, for those who continue to live in a world of illusions, that Russia's goal is to continue its confrontation with the free world. What he wants in Ukraine is a foothold. The Russian economy is in a critical situation today, and a respite is needed. A respite. There will be no peace. This is Putin's mockery: I'll give you a piece of paper saying I won't attack Europe. How many of these pieces of paper has he given? That's how Europe interpreted it: everyone understands it's just a piece of paper," Kasparov warned Europe of the danger."  

Putin confident that he can destroy Ukraine

From the Dialog, Nov 30, 2025:

"Portnikov answered the question of what awaits us in the next six months in one sentence: "I don't think..." 

Publicist Vitaly Portnikov expressed confidence that Putin intends to fight until he destroys Ukraine 

We would like to hope that peace treaty terms will soon be found that will satisfy both sides and the war will end, at least temporarily, but this is unlikely to happen, said Vitaly Portnikov. The point is that Putin has no intention of stopping, as he believes he can destroy Ukraine and has the resources to do so.

The journalist voiced his forecast for the near future in an interview with OBOZ UA on YouTube. 

When asked what awaits us in the next six months, the political analyst responded briefly and unequivocally: "We will be searching for ways out of the war, which can only be successful if we manage to break Russia's economic backbone. We need to believe that if the US tightens sanctions and enforces them, or if some countries are afraid to violate sanctions for fear of angering Trump, which is also possible, this will indeed impact Putin's economic opportunities." 

"I don't think Putin is ready to end the war in Ukraine. He's not ready because he believes his goal—Ukraine's disappearance from the world's political map—will be achieved; people around him are telling him so. Departments are being prepared in Russia to work on the Russification of Ukrainians. They're preparing books and training people. They're working on what will be here when Ukraine is gone," Portnikov warned his fellow citizens."

New step by China in its military alliance with Russia

From the Dialog, Nov 30, 2025:

"China has committed a new, unprecedented act of villainy against Ukraine – FT 

China has acquired direct ownership of a Russian company involved in supplying drones for the war against Ukraine. 

The Financial Times has found that a Chinese businessman has become a co-owner of a Russian military equipment supplier for the first time. This unprecedented move demonstrates that Beijing has gone far beyond its previous secret schemes and has effectively joined the Kremlin's military machine.  

The Chinese government of Xi Jinping, which controls absolutely all processes in China, did not put up any barriers to the deal, effectively supporting it. 

The scandalous deal was uncovered by insiders. Chinese businessman Wang Dinghua, owner of Shenzhen Minghuaxin, a major drone component supplier, acquired a stake in the Russian company Rustakt. Rustakt is the manufacturer of the BT-40 kamikaze drones, the equipment Russia is using against Ukrainian cities and Ukrainian Armed Forces positions.  

Corporate filings revealed that Dinghua owns 5% of Rustakt. The very next day after the FT requested comment, Russia hastily suppressed all ownership information. The data disappeared from public records: so toxic was the deal..."

Secret business negotiations between Russia and the USA

From the Dialog, Nov 30, 2025:

"Plan Without Peace: Putin's Friends Have Begun Secret Business Talks with the US - WSJ

Dictator Vladimir Putin's inner circle, in the midst of war, is conducting secret talks with the United States about joint business projects in Russia. 

The Kremlin is conducting highly active, secret talks with US officials. They are focused not on ending the Russian-Ukrainian war, but on joint business projects, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal. 

According to sources, the private US-Russian meeting in Miami discussed not only ending the war but also a radically new model of cooperation – joint US-Russian economic projects that could pave the way for Moscow to reenter the global economy. The discussion focused on US access to frozen Russian assets, multibillion-dollar investments, and raw material extraction in the Arctic. 

Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian sovereign wealth fund and now the Kremlin's key negotiator, was at the center of the negotiations. According to the newspaper, he presented the Americans with a plan to utilize the Russian Central Bank's frozen state assets in the West.  

It was envisaged that American corporations would be able to use these funds for joint projects with Russia and, possibly, participate in Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.  

Another point under discussion concerned the development of Arctic resources and even a potential joint mission to Mars through Elon Musk's SpaceX. 

The Kremlin's strategy, according to the publication, originated before Trump took office and was aimed at circumventing traditional US security structures. By offering lucrative contracts in energy and rare earth metals mining, Moscow attempted to shift the perception of Russia as a military threat and present it as an economic opportunity. According to sources, the position was that business interests could overshadow geopolitics.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the key intermediaries in these contacts were entrepreneur Steve Witkoff and the US president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Witkoff, describing the desired outcome, said that Russia, Ukraine, and the US could become partners, arguing that prosperity itself could reduce the likelihood of future wars. He explained that "if everyone is involved in shared growth and profits, that will become a natural barrier to new conflicts."

However, the leak of the draft provoked a sharp reaction in Europe and Kyiv. Politicians saw the document as a near-complete set of Russian approaches that cross Ukrainian "red lines." European countries fear that Moscow could reap commercial benefits despite armed aggression and the forcible redrawing of borders. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk characterized the situation as "not about peace, but about business."

The White House views the possibility of economic agreements as a tool for stabilization. Sources close to the White House, cited by The Wall Street Journal, claim that the president's inner circle sees an opportunity for American companies to gain advantageous positions in post-war Russia. In conversations, Russian business representatives openly stated that they would prefer a partnership with the US over Europe, where the peace plan has been criticized.

The article notes that the negotiations offer enormous opportunities: the resumption of Arctic projects, gas production, and the purchase of Nord Stream 2 were discussed, while oil giants, including ExxonMobil, consulted on a possible return to Sakhalin projects. According to European intelligence agencies, business groups close to Putin are holding informal talks on rare earth metal production in Siberia and on the Arctic shelf..."   

Bacon: US foreign policy must be based on moral clarity, not on greed

From the Politico / Yahoo!News:

"Rep. Don Bacon says White House lacks 'moral clarity' on Ukraine

Jacob Wendler, November 30, 2025

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) called Sunday on the Trump administration to refocus its energy on defending Ukraine’s sovereignty in peace talks with Russia.

Bacon said the White House was sending “mixed signals” regarding the ongoing negotiations with Russian and Ukrainian officials as bipartisan criticism of an initial 28-point peace plan grows louder.

“I would like to see the president be a stronger advocate for the free country, the sovereign country of Ukraine that wants to be a democracy, wants to be allied with us, and have a little more clear-eyed view of who Putin is, that Putin is the invader,” Bacon said during an interview on ABC’s “This Week” with Jonathan Karl.

“He's the dictator. He has murdered all of his opponents. But I just don't see that moral clarity coming from the White House.”

The initial proposal — which Bacon described as “a surrender document” — echoed many of the key demands of the Kremlin, including territorial concessions from Ukraine and limits on the size of its military.

That plan sparked bipartisan backlash and skepticism from Europe as U.S. allies warn that the proposal lacks key security guarantees for Ukraine... 

Bacon — who sits on the House Armed Services Committee — said he hopes for President Donald Trump to more forcefully call out Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression.

"We need moral clarity dealing with Putin," Bacon said. "He does not want a peace agreement with Ukraine that leaves Ukraine a sovereign country, that can be allied with the West, that can be part of the EU and free markets. He wants to control another third of Ukraine. He would like to make Ukraine a vassal state. So I don't know why the administration keeps pursuing the pointless here."

He added that the U.S. should be focused on arming Ukraine with the weapons and air defense systems it needs to fend off Russian attacks as opposed to “a foreign policy based on greed” that centers agreements on rare earth minerals and natural gas pipelines."

***

In other news, the Hill cites the very valid concerns of another Republican politician, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio): 

"...The orchestration of inserting [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s voice before [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky’s is very concerning, and I think the White House should be very concerned about any efforts to orchestrate Putin’s voice at the White House before Zelensky’s because Ukraine’s sovereignty and security needs to be preeminent..." 

***

Update: the Hill added more details from Bacon's speech: 

"The moderate Republican said the White House has given “mixed signals” since proposing the initial 28-point peace plan earlier this month, which was widely criticized as being heavily favorable to Russia...

“It really was a surrender document that would’ve left Ukraine weak and vulnerable to Russia for decades to come,” Bacon said about the initial proposal... 

Bacon also expressed concern about a Wall Street Journal story suggesting billionaires close to the president are hoping to benefit financially if they get a favorable agreement with Ukraine, saying, “That alarms me tremendously... We see The Wall Street Journal that there’s evidence, it’s all about trying to make agreements on rare earth minerals and natural gas pipelines and things like that, which Ukraine has no part of in this. And so, Putin does not want peace. The president should see it.”" 

Summary of the negotiations between US and Ukraine

From the Obozrevatel:

"How to understand whether peace can be made with Putin

Igor Eisenberg, Blogger, Professor of Computer Science

November 30, 2025 

...What you need to know to understand whether peace can be made with Putin: 

The Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov has departed for Florida, where it will hold talks with Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner. 

The composition of the American delegation is determined by Trump's political style. In this sense, it's surprising that, along with the 47th president's friend, business partner, and golf buddy, Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Kushner, a real professional official—Secretary of State Rubio—will be participating in the negotiations. In other words, the American side will be represented by one adult. However, he must act prudently, lest the son-in-law complain to the father-in-law. 

The reality is that Vitkoff and Kushner will try to persuade Ukraine to accept as many of Russia's conditions as possible (preferably, all 28, in their view), while Ukrainian representatives must politely insist, expressing gratitude to the 47th president for his extraordinary efforts at every turn. 

 

The reality is that the war can only end in one of two ways: either Ukraine agrees to all Russian conditions, meaning it agrees to capitulate (which is what Vitkoff and Kushner would prefer), or Russia is faced with the fact that it no longer has the resources to continue the war due to a collapsing economy and a lack of money. 

 

Those looking for something in between these two options will find only some version of the infamous Munich Agreement of September 30, 1938, which opened the gates to the hell of World War II..."

Russian 84-yr-old woman, survivor of Leningrad Siege, arrested for protesting against the war

From the Obozrevatel:

"An 84-year-old survivor of the siege of St. Petersburg was detained for an anti-war picket  

Olga Ganyukova, November 30, 2025 

In St. Petersburg, police detained 84-year-old Lyudmila Vasilyeva for holding a solo anti-war picket on Palace Square. The retiree, a survivor of the Siege of Leningrad, refused to remove her poster, despite demands from three officers.

She had previously been detained and fined multiple times for participating in similar protests, according to Russian media reports. 

 It was reported that Vasilyeva was immediately taken to the police station after unfurling a poster during a solo picket. 

Earlier in the spring, she was fined 10,000 rubles for a poster that read, "People, stop the war! We are responsible for peace on planet Earth." 

In April, the survivor of the siege was already charged with "discrediting" the army due to anti-war pickets. This elderly woman, who survived the war and the siege, now faces trial for her anti-war stance, which highlights contemporary realities in Russia."

The BBC has a report about Vasilyeva's previous (spring) protest.

Hodges explains why Russia sends drones over Europe

From Faktor:

"Gen. Ben Hodges Explains Why Russia Is Launching Drones Over Europe and How to Stop It 

November 30, 2025 

Russian drones over European countries – this is not yet the beginning of World War III, but Russia will do it until it feels real consequences, and so far it does not feel any consequences. This opinion was expressed in an interview with Novosti.LIVE by the former commander of the US Army in Europe, Ben Hodges. 

 

“The same applies to the shadow fleet, the underwater infrastructure and all the ‘gray’ operations. This is done, firstly, to distract European countries and scare the population, so that they say: ‘Do not support Ukraine, we do not want war with Russia’. This is the main goal of the Kremlin,” said Hodges. 

 

Secondly, in his words, the Russians are doing this “to check the reaction, to study the defense of Europe – logistics, bases, reaction time.”

 

“And this will continue until European leaders start talking to their people like adults: ‘Russia is doing this, this is a threat, this is a war against us,’” he noted. Only then, Hodges said, will the Kremlin feel the real consequences.  

 

He expressed hope that Europe will act before there is “a real catastrophe somewhere near the airport in Munich, Frankfurt, Copenhagen or Brussels.”"

Failing to conquer Ukraine, Putin will try to turn it into a desert

From the Dialog, Nov 29, 2025:

"Portnikov voiced Putin's new goal for Ukraine, which many don't want to understand: "All of this will happen" 

Journalist Vitaly Portnikov suggested that Putin has changed the war's goals in an attempt to destroy Ukraine's energy sector 

Vitaly Portnikov warned Ukrainians about a plan to completely destroy our country, which may now be a priority for the Kremlin: "I think that Russia currently has such plans to create uninhabitable territories. This is the main challenge for the coming years of the war."  

The political analyst voiced his forecast for Ukraine in the coming years of the war during a conversation with Igor Eidman on YouTube. 

"Of course, there are risks. Constant missile attacks on Ukraine continue. Russia is trying to destroy the Ukrainian energy grid and thus freeze Ukraine. Attempts will be made to carry out further attacks, ultimately destroying the Ukrainian energy system. At the very least, there will be an attempt to divide Ukraine energetically along the opposite banks of the Dnieper. All of this will happen. This kind of activity will continue," the publicist confidently stated.

Portnikov also noted: "It's absolutely clear that Putin is trying to replace the advance of his army in the East, which is proceeding at a snail's pace and where Putin has been forced to retreat several times, with the transformation of Ukraine into a lifeless desert, although many don't want to understand this. What's so special about this? That this is the first territory conquered by Russia that is turning into a lifeless desert? Look at Siberia, look at the territories Russia took from Finland after the Winter War.""  

For Trump and his ring, Russia is like any other country

From UNIAN:

"The Guardian: Trump's policies make Europe realize it's left alone with Russia, 

Karina Bovsunovskaya, 11/29/25 

Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who currently represents the United States on the world stage and advises Russia on how to defeat the American leader, admitted to having little knowledge of history, and in May, he even told the Atlantic magazine that he watched several documentaries on Netflix to correct this. 

According to The Guardian, judging by his four visits to Moscow, he generally treats Russia like any other country, and Russian dictator Vladimir Putin like any other world leader. 

Specifically, Witkoff told interviewer Tucker Carlson that he was confident that Russia would not want to seize new territory in Europe once it had four regions of Ukraine.

"I think there's this idea: 'We should all be like Winston Churchill—the Russians are going to sweep across Europe.' I find that absurd," Trump's special envoy emphasized. 

Witkoff also added: "I don't think Putin is a bad person. It's a complicated situation, this war, and all the circumstances that led to it. You know, it's never just one person, right?"  

In his view, Russia sincerely strives for peace, and Trump also holds a similarly benevolent view of Putin. US Vice President J.D. Vance, in particular, ridiculed the idea that Putin has expansionist plans.

According to him, the Russian dictator is not Hitler.

For Europe, this means that no matter how often it tries to push Trump away from Russia, he always returns to his natural sympathy for Putin. Every time Europe feels it's on the verge of convincing Trump that Russia is an aggressor threatening European security and, by extension, the United States, Trump gives Putin another chance, "two more weeks," another phone call. Trump's only unwavering conviction is that Ukraine can't win the war and must minimize its losses.

At the same time, former French President François Hollande stated: "We are living through a historic and dramatic moment. Historic because this plan not only signifies Ukraine's capitulation, but also the transfer of Europe to the custodianship of a Russian-American condominium. Dramatic because for Ukraine, it means the final loss of a third of its territory and offers no security guarantees that would protect it from further Russian aggression. It is also dramatic because this plan is nothing more than Trump's acceptance of Vladimir Putin's demands, reducing Europe to the role of besieged observer."

However, as journalists argue, Europe has now learned to react to Trump's periodic attempts to justify and reward Putin.

Regarding the US "peace plan,"... the project was so one-sided and prescriptive about European security that it was indefensible...

Europe must now realize that it must resolve the Russian issue independently. Unlike Alaska, this time the US was drawn into signing on to Russian plans to remake Europe in Russia's interests. Thus, according to French historian Françoise Thom, the US has become complicit in the destruction of international law.

Meanwhile, some figures, such as Kallas, insist that Russia could be pushed to the brink of running out of funds, especially if Europe finds a legal way to provide Ukraine with a reparations loan using the Russian central bank's frozen assets, worth 210 billion euros.

But Europe has so often promised to come to its senses. Its worst enemy may not be Russia, but inertia."         

Witkoff, after making sure that Trump would give Ukraine no Tomahawks, tried to persuade Ukraine to seek zero tariffs instead

From Pravda / Yahoo!News:

"Trump envoy Witkoff suggested Ukraine seek zero tariffs from US rather than Tomahawks – WSJ

Mariya Yemets, KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO, November 29, 2025

 

The  Wall Street Journal has established that Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy, attempted to convince Ukrainian officials that it would be far more beneficial for Ukraine to gain zero-tariff access to the US market rather than receive long-range Tomahawk missiles. 

The article recalls an episode in October when Trump was close to approving Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine, but after a conversation with Russian leader Vladimir Putin – and by the time Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Washington – he changed his mind.

Witkoff reportedly then took it upon himself to persuade the Ukrainian side that the US had a "more interesting offer" for them.

The special envoy argued that a "handful of missiles" would not enable Ukraine to achieve any meaningful results and instead suggested that Ukraine request a 10-year tariff exemption from Trump, which "would supercharge their economy".

It is worth noting that Witkoff's proposal, if he indeed made it, reflects a lack of understanding of bilateral trade realities. The United States ranks only 16th in Ukraine's export structure, accounting for about 2% of total exports. Thus, a tariff exemption would likely have had little impact."

***

For Trump and his minions, everything is about money. Also, note that the perk is supposed to last only for a decade.

Bolton: Trump is selling Ukraine in the most literal sense

From the Telegraph / Yahoo!News:

"Trump is selling out Ukraine, but the tide may be turning

John Bolton, November 29, 2025

 

"Heading into Thanksgiving, Washington’s Ukraine policy had already descended into chaos. Then it got worse.

A leaked phone call appeared to reveal that Steve Witkoff, Donald Trump’s friend and envoy, had essentially connived against Ukraine by advising Yuri Ushakov, Vladimir Putin’s foreign-policy adviser, on how to flatter the president.

Neither the Kremlin nor the White House have denied that the call took place. Indeed, Trump has appeared to admit it...

By the weekend, Volodymyr Zelensky had little good news to celebrate, other than the disappearance of Trump’s initial Thanksgiving deadline to accept his peace plan. What precipitated this latest effort to produce a Russia-Ukraine agreement remained a mystery, as did who was actually functioning as America’s chief diplomat and what the ultimate objectives were.

What is not mysterious is how typically Trumpian it is: no coherent national security strategy, from America’s perspective or Ukraine’s; negotiations conducted haphazardly and asymmetrically, ignorant of facts on the ground; key issues left vague or unresolved; self-defeating deadlines and, like used-car salesmen, endless happy talk of an imminent deal.

First, from the Witkoff-Ushakov conversation we can conclude that the latest chaos was instigated by Witkoff, optimistically broaching it to Ushakov after the recent Gaza deal... Witkoff’s apparent first move after speaking to Ushakov was to conjure a Putin-Trump phone call that derailed Zelensky’s efforts to persuade Trump to supply Kyiv with Tomahawk missiles. This is not normal “honest brokering”. This is simply pro-Russian.

Second, Trump clearly sought to present the “deal” to Zelensky as a “take-it-or-leave-it” proposition. He could either knuckle under, or, as Trump so graciously put it, “continue to fight his little heart out”.

Dan Driscoll, the army secretary, reportedly warned Zelensky that Ukraine was in a difficult position militarily, with NBC News claiming this went so far as to tell Kyiv it was facing imminent defeat, which had not previously been the US assessment...

Third, Trump’s only objective is to make a deal, any deal. Witkoff suggested to Ushakov that Putin tell Trump the two negotiators had, as with Gaza, “discussed a very similar 20-point plan to peace”.

Witkoff added that “the president will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal”... Witkoff’s characterisation of Trump’s mindset confirms that Trump has no substantive policy red lines. His real objective is the Nobel Peace Prize. Perhaps he worries that the Nobel Committee’s rules require he be nominated by January 31 for a Ukraine deal, hence the rush before Thanksgiving.

Accordingly, for whatever bizarre reasons, the West is again faced with preventing this latest Trumpian diplomatic irruption from working to the Kremlin’s advantage. To succeed, Ukraine’s friends must finally acknowledge that Trump couldn’t care less about the impact of any settlement on Ukraine. He cares about its effect on him.

It has been reported that the White House will not consider security guarantees for Ukraine until the “peace deal” is concluded. This makes sense for Trump, since he cares about the here-and-now, not the far-distant future, such as three years from now when he is no longer president. For Ukraine, however, any “peace deal” without embedded security guarantees is not merely hopelessly incomplete, but existentially threatening. Separating security guarantees from a potential “peace deal” is what Russia wants, not Ukraine or presumably NATO..."