FLASH
Shkruar nga Pierre Haski*
No one in their right mind believed for a moment the words of the American president after his phone call with Vladimir Putin last week; they sounded more like an abandonment of Ukraine.
Over the past three days, Russia has sent over 1,000 drones and missiles to bomb Ukrainian cities, especially the capital Kyiv, causing widespread death and destruction. This is a significant escalation at a time when, according to Donald Trump, Russia and Ukraine should have been negotiating to end the war.
No one in their right mind believed for a moment the words of the American president after his phone call with Vladimir Putin last week; they sounded more like an abandonment of Ukraine.
At that moment, I compared Trump to Pontius Pilate washing his hands of responsibility. And indeed, it was only when Volodymyr Zelensky openly expressed concern about the “silence” of the United States in the face of the brutal escalation of bombing that Trump emerged from his lethargy over Ukraine with a sudden post on X. “Putin is completely out of control ,” he wrote, adding that “ something has happened to him…” . As if the Russian president’s behavior had suddenly become irrational, when in fact he is continuing a war he started over three years ago.
Donald Trump often uses the word “loser” to describe people he despises, and he never wants the word associated with him. However, Putin acts as if Trump’s words have no value, risking making him look like, well, a “loser”! This explains the American president’s surprise at his Russian friend’s behavior, a comment that Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov sarcastically described on Monday as the result of “ emotional overload . ”
Attempt to save face
To add insult to injury, Trump took another jab at Zelensky, the victim of all those bombings, saying that he talks too much!? All this would be pathetic and pointless if the issues of war and peace in Ukraine, of life and death, were not at stake. The failure of Trump, who claimed to resolve the Ukrainian conflict within 24 hours, is complete: the President of the United States has just been openly challenged by Vladimir Putin and is now desperately trying to save face.
From Vietnam, where he is on a visit, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed hope yesterday that Trump’s “anger” will “turn into action.” In other words, by imposing tougher sanctions on Russia, as Trump seemed ready to do ten days ago, if Putin rejected a ceasefire and negotiations. Here we are, and Trump is in a difficult position.
Merz's position
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday that, in the face of Russian escalation, there are no longer any restrictions on the use of Western missiles sent to Ukraine, including the possibility of their being used on Russian territory. If confirmed by the Americans, it would mark a real turning point. Merz declined to clarify whether Germany would send Taurus missiles, which his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, refused to give to Ukraine, saying he did not want to give Russia specific information, a stance that seemed to hint at a positive response.
The German leader predicted that the war is likely to drag on for a long time. Trump’s shadow boxing round with Putin is over: it is more than a setback, it is the end of illusions about his ability to reshape the world with his own will. It remains to be seen what lessons he will learn from this, for Ukraine and for the world. / Adapted from “Pamphlet” by “WorldCrunch”
Lini një Përgjigje