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Zelensky Says War in Ukraine Will End Sooner with Trump in Office
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/42318
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|u/qubitwarrior - 1 day
|
|Here's the relevant quote: “It is certain that the war will end sooner
|with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This
|is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelensky said in an
|interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne.


  |u/lucky5150 - 1 day
  |
  |"The war will end soon with this administration, because Trump said he
  |would end the war"  Yup, sounds legit to me  I think I forgot this ...
  |/s


    |u/GeneralZaroff1 - 23 hours
    |
    |I mean, what is he going to do, insult trump? He’s fighting for the
    |survival of his people. He knows trump is a child who needs constant
    |praise or will turn on him.


      |u/kittenshart85 - 23 hours
      |
      |imagine being the leader of a beleaguered country whose survival
      |hinges on the whims of a petulant, narcissistic man-child.


        |u/fiendlylobster - 22 hours
        |
        |You've made an excellent summary of world history!


          |u/Leege13 - 21 hours
          |
          |Half of Rome’s emperors were exactly like this.


            |u/piffelations479 - 20 hours
            |
            |Hey man, don't blame me. I voted for Caligula.   Now if
            |you'll excuse me I have to go attack the body of water near
            |my house.


              |u/SteveSeppuku - 20 hours
              |
              |Make sure you pick up the prettiest of the sea shells.


                |u/Wild_Harvest - 18 hours
                |
                |Sure thing, right after I ask this fine Gallic gentleman
                |what he's doing with his buddies outside my abode.


                  |u/KGBFriedChicken02 - 17 hours
                  |
                  |We're here for your stuff. And We're Germans, not
                  |Gauls. Now fork it over you greasy, no-pants-wearing,
                  |sacred-forest-cutting, latin bitch.


                  |u/RockstarAgent - 17 hours
                  |
                  |This may or may not ^bode well for you


                |u/DadJokeBadJoke - 18 hours
                |
                |This guy doesn't know how to use the three shells...


              |u/UsernamesAllTaken69 - 19 hours
              |
              |Could you ask the tides to retreat?


                |u/My51stThrowaway - 18 hours
                |
                |If I pray to the moon god at the right time, they will.


                |u/Practical-Ball1437 - 14 hours
                |
                |that's Cnut.


                  |u/UsernamesAllTaken69 - 14 hours
                  |
                  |I know. I'm glad at least one person knows what I was
                  |sayin lol


              |u/jfrs759 - 13 hours
              |
              |I voted for Caligula ☠️   Lol


              |u/SalamanderCake - 19 hours
              |
              |I nearly choked on my breakfast! I hope you're proud of
              |yourself.


              |u/The_Brofucius - 17 hours
              |
              |You fisted us all!!!


              |u/UltraVioletUltimatum - 16 hours
              |
              |I heard his horse was top tier!


              |u/subhavoc42 - 12 hours
              |
              |Collects some shells when you get to the shore!


            |u/jjandre - 20 hours
            |
            |Yeah, but they're doing great right? The Roman Empire, I
            |mean.


              |u/EqualContact - 18 hours
              |
              |For as much of a mess as they were, they existed for far
              |longer than any current nation’s system of government.


              |u/behavedave - 14 hours
              |
              |Lasted for about 1000 years, it was an incredible run.


                |u/ngojogunmeh - 8 hours
                |
                |When you think about it, few emperors did made SPQR
                |great again.


                  |u/Leege13 - 7 hours
                  |
                  |Some would argue the empire actually continued under
                  |the guise of the Catholic Church.


              |u/jfrs759 - 13 hours
              |
              |Did pretty great for over 2000 years so yeah. By Far far
              |far the most of any civilization


            |u/asdf_qwerty27 - 18 hours
            |
            |All. The ones we remember well were just the ones who got to
            |write their own history. The ones we remember poorly were
            |written by people who didn't like them.


            |u/OddShelter5543 - 19 hours
            |
            |Remember that time Nero castrated a slave boy and made
            |forcibly married him as his wife? Pepperidge farm remembers.


            |u/joeitaliano24 - 17 hours
            |
            |We need more Diocletians, just say no to being all powerful
            |and grow some sick giant cabbages


            |u/gimmo30 - 16 hours
            |
            |You watched gladiator II last night didn’t you….


              |u/Leege13 - 15 hours
              |
              |Nah, I’ve read about ancient history all my life.


          |u/mgj6818 - 21 hours
          |
          |The last 200ish years have been the exception, not the rule.


            |u/yiliu - 20 hours
            |
            |And apparently people were looking back with nostalgia...


            |u/ItsFuckingScience - 16 hours
            |
            |>the whims of a petulant, narcissistic man-child.  Hitler
            |was in the last 200 years and this describes his leadership


          |u/Chris266 - 21 hours
          |
          |Thank you history of Rome!


          |u/DeeJayEazyDick - 17 hours
          |
          |Yeah trump is an idiot, but so many leaders in human history
          |grew up knowing one day they would be in charge and were very
          |conceited.


          |u/DregsRoyale - 16 hours
          |
          |And the corporate world


          |u/kamesha - 15 hours
          |
          |Now cut to a sped up video of all wars spliced together played
          |to Yakety Sax


        |u/Velocoraptor369 - 22 hours
        |
        |Welcome to the new America!


          |u/SpiritualSyrup8610 - 16 hours
          |
          |You mean new Russia!


          |u/blahblah19999 - 20 hours
          |
          |We had this 8 years ago


            |u/GrizzLeo - 17 hours
            |
            |Yeah but it's had time to ferment in the closet for the past
            |few years, I'm not expecting the next four years to be
            |similar to his first term.


            |u/blolfighter - 16 hours
            |
            |Meet the new America  Same as the old America


            |u/soapinthepeehole - 15 hours
            |
            |What’s old is new again.   If we don’t learn from history
            |we’re doomed to repeat it.   Yadda yadda yadda.


          |u/Ok-Elephant7557 - 17 hours
          |
          |Welcome to the Jungle!


        |u/pleasedonteatmemon - 22 hours
        |
        |It's almost like there wasn't a lead up, say in 2014, that
        |should have triggered European nations (particularly those in
        |Western Europe) to put some more effort into Ukraine. But alas..
        |Nothing major happened then & it's all one big mystery.


          |u/randylush - 21 hours
          |
          |It’s not a mystery to me at all.   Russia buys politicians in
          |the US. Full stop, just pays for them. They are cheap.   I
          |don’t know much about European politics but I’m sure there are
          |plenty of Euro politicians and talking heads that are paid by
          |Putin. And I’m sure the Russians moved the needle on Brexit
          |too.


            |u/slackfrop - 17 hours
            |
            |Buys em?  Hell, he manufactures them. Pick a chump, get him
            |or her elected. Takes the guesswork out of it.


            |u/RepulsiveCelery4013 - 19 hours
            |
            |As a european I consider this to be be 99.9999% probable.


              |u/flexxipanda - 19 hours
              |
              |As a german, not only AfD has too many ties too russia.
              |Its obvious.


                |u/bothering_skin696969 - 18 hours
                |
                |Its always these extreme right parties, same with SD in
                |Sweden.


            |u/64590949354397548569 - 14 hours
            |
            |>Russia buys politicians in the US. Full stop, just pays for
            |them. They are cheap.   In THE US of A, you don't buy
            |politicians. You lobby them.  And be sure to talk to your
            |accountant, not lobbying are tax deductible.


        |u/Glad_Firefighter_471 - 19 hours
        |
        |You play the hand ur dealt; to do otherwise would be silly


        |u/ladymorgahnna - 12 hours
        |
        |Two petulant, narcissists man-children. He’s juggling Putin’s
        |megalomania on one hand and Drumpf’s megalomania on the other
        |hand. God bless Zelensky. He’s been a really amazing man and
        |leader.


        |u/IcyBookkeeper5315 - 20 hours
        |
        |Whose already in Putin pocket. Lose lose I’d say sadly


        |u/Competitive-Care8789 - 20 hours
        |
        |Sounds like my adolescence.


        |u/en_pissant - 17 hours
        |
        |if ur American, you don't have to imagine 


        |u/PilgrimOz - 15 hours
        |
        |And he's gonna be in office again. So it's gonna be more than
        |one country's fate.  For those who are gonna say 'you're an
        |Aussie. No skin in the game!'. Oh, it's gonna affect the entire
        |planet. And we send our young 'Defense Force' members to kill or
        |die right beside Americans. Every time. Not my skin. But
        |definitely worried for my fellow Aussies. And fellow humans.
        |It's getting real out there. And, there's a narcissistic,
        |petulant child who is like gonna screw it all up.


        |u/unruled_circumstance - 22 hours
        |
        |Two man-child’s including Putin


        |u/BigReaderBadGrades - 20 hours
        |
        |Plus you can see how many decades Zelenskyy has aged since his
        |first meeting with Trump, in the Oval, slumped in that chair
        |with his boyish face...


        |u/Character-Teaching39 - 17 hours
        |
        |“Petulant, narcissistic man-child”…whose ass is also owned by
        |the very adversary you’re fighting against.


        |u/creedokid - 21 hours
        |
        |Hell imagine being a citizen of a country whose president is a
        |petulant child and who survival hinges on his whims


          |u/kittenshart85 - 21 hours
          |
          |can't say it hasn't been at the back of my mind for a week or
          |two.


        |u/Ass_feldspar - 21 hours
        |
        |Who owes Putin?


        |u/Vashsinn - 20 hours
        |
        |It's a little more unsettling than that. We have the biggest
        |airforce in the world ( us airforce.) the second largest, is the
        |US navy.     Think about that. We have more air ships in our
        |navy than the rest of the world in their home lands.     And we
        |gave all this power to someone who throws tantrums if he is not
        |praised like a fucking child.     We live in a country that if
        |the entire rest of the world were to attack us combined, we
        |would easely win, with little to no damage due to our location
        |and surrounding lands.      Simply 4 of our 8 Ish submarines can
        |litteraly nuke the rest of the world.    And we put a man child
        |in charge of it.


      |u/Bender_2024 - 23 hours
      |
      | >I mean, what is he going to do, insult trump? He’s fighting for
      |the survival of his people. He knows trump is a child who needs
      |constant praise or will turn on him.  This was my take as well.
      |Trump is on record repeatedly saying "I don't like people who
      |don't like me."  Zelenski is trying to placate the man child and
      |hopefully continue to get military aid.  I don't have much hope he
      |will succeed but good luck to you Zelenski.  Keep fighting the
      |good fight.


        |u/politicalthinking - 21 hours
        |
        |The problem is that Zelensky is not only going up against Trumps
        |ego he is also going against whatever blackmail Putin has on
        |Trump.


          |u/ThandiGhandi - 19 hours
          |
          |At this point what blackmail material could Putin have that
          |could harm Trump?  Nothing sticks to the guy.  I doubt
          |whatever Putin has will either


            |u/Local_Initiative2024 - 18 hours
            |
            |If they leaked a video of Trump having sex with a twelve-
            |year old, then what? Fake news. Putin has to become yet
            |another sycophant if he wants to benefit from Trump.


              |u/Innalibra - 14 hours
              |
              |People would just claim it was an AI video. AI video is...
              |[really quite insanely good already](https://www.reddit.co
              |m/r/aivideo/comments/1gcp47j/chef_gordon_ramsay_takes_on_t
              |he_greatest_horror/)


            |u/BannedByRWNJs - 18 hours
            |
            |Maybe it’s not even kompromat. Maybe he just stops helping
            |him. Russian banks stop funding his businesses and
            |campaigns, his army of trolls and bots turn the cult against
            |him… his entire house of cards falls apart, he’s impeached
            |and removed from office in disgrace, and he dies a poor,
            |lonely loser. 


              |u/-something_original- - 17 hours
              |
              |Oh man. That’s some of the best fanfic yet! I want that
              |timeline next!


              |u/SnooPuppers1978 - 12 hours
              |
              |Don't think he'll have any monetary issues from working
              |with Elon now.


            |u/scarletpepperpot - 17 hours
            |
            |I think you might be underestimating the FSB’s methods and
            |capabilities.   They’ve spent decades fully focused on
            |Kompromat as *a governing strategy*.   Combine that with
            |zero checks, balances or moral compass, and the sky is the
            |limit.


            |u/Innalibra - 15 hours
            |
            |People have been publishing dirt on Trump since 2016. It's
            |just noise at this point. The man is a cult of personality.
            |The only thing that's gonna hurt him is the perception that
            |he's weak.


          |u/Sirveri - 16 hours
          |
          |They show nude photos of Melania on Kremlin TV while Solvioff
          |(sic?) makes comments and Putin snubbed him by not calling him
          |gives me a very small amount of hope he might act petulant to
          |Putin.


          |u/paris86 - 16 hours
          |
          |And a grudge. Trump doesn't like Zelensky since the "perfect"
          |phone call.


          |u/Vincent_VanGoGo - 19 hours
          |
          |Mmmm yes. Just like all that blackmail material against
          |Congress, right?


            |u/politicalthinking - 19 hours
            |
            |I suspect that some is floating around the Kremlin on some
            |of the people in Congress and they vote as told.


              |u/Vincent_VanGoGo - 19 hours
              |
              |Beijing is more likely. We don't build factories in
              |Russia, probably haven't since the 1930s.


        |u/Icy-Suggestion-8662 - 18 hours
        |
        |but how does trump do that and not piss off Russia? He can kiss
        |Trumps ass all he wants, its not happening


        |u/BannedByRWNJs - 18 hours
        |
        |Trump tried to use the threat of Putin crushing Ukraine’s
        |democracy as leverage in an extortion scheme pressuring
        |Zelenskyy to help Trump undermine American democracy. Trump
        |would have sold out Zelenskyy, the entire country of Ukraine,
        |and American democracy, just to get re-elected in 2020.
        |Obviously, Zelenskyy was smart enough to say no, and he knows
        |Trump is not an ally. 


      |u/bobbyrba - 23 hours
      |
      |this is the only correct response


        |u/big_duo3674 - 23 hours
        |
        |Yep, he's a brilliant leader and knows exactly what he needs to
        |do. If he has to get a nasty taste in his mouth from sucking up
        |to Trump he's more than willing to do it for his people, which
        |is awesome. It may not work still, but it's awesome


          |u/zerobomb - 22 hours
          |
          |I am glad someone else agrees with me. I have watched this guy
          |go from congenial sitcom star to battle hardened leader of his
          |people through the horrors the invaders have wrought. His
          |people should be proud of him.


            |u/YetagainJosie - 21 hours
            |
            |How many current world 'leaders' could convincingly swallow
            |their pride and their rage and do what they need to do to
            |help their nation.   If aliens landed and demanded we send
            |our best leader to negotiate earth's future  I'd probably
            |send Zelensky.  Or Buttigeggegeg.


              |u/Interesting_Cow5152 - 19 hours
              |
              |Booty-Judge.   It is what it is.


            |u/Adorable-Bike-9689 - 21 hours
            |
            |It took me a bit of time to realize Zelensky's backstory
            |wasn't a made up internet joke. A comedian type dude thrust
            |into one of the biggest roles of this era. Living up to it
            |too


            |u/sybann - 20 hours
            |
            |Unlike OUR reality tv failure.


            |u/lilbittygoddamnman - 21 hours
            |
            |I was just thinking of this the other day. He's a modern day
            |hero man.


          |u/keypusher - 21 hours
          |
          |I doubt it matters what Zekensky says or does, Trump will
          |likely cut all funding to Ukraine very quickly.


            |u/Snickims - 20 hours
            |
            |Honestly, I'm not sure. Trump is the epitome of wild card.
            |People say trump won't cause of Russian blackmailing, and I
            |do think Russia has dirt on trump, but honestly, what dirt
            |could they have that would matter?  I'm seriously struggling
            |to think what evidence putin could show that would effect
            |trump anymore.


              |u/okhi2u - 20 hours
              |
              |Trump is so vain that all sorts of dirt could matter. Even
              |if they showed he was worth $900 million and not 1 billion
              |or more that would devastate him.


                |u/Snickims - 20 hours
                |
                |A very good point. He's a fucking insane, egotistical
                |wild card.


              |u/nullpointer- - 19 hours
              |
              |I'm thinking more and more like this as well: it's clear
              |now that Trump is so deep in the post-truth world that
              |there's no piece of information that could tarnish him
              |with his base nor further delegitimise him AND any
              |information coming from Russia will have no credibility
              |among the west. In addition, Russia certainly has less
              |resources available to blackmail and take action against
              |Trump now than 4 years ago.  Of course, Trump might as
              |well favor Russia because he likes it, but considering he
              |has thrown multiple former allies under the bus and
              |changed his rhetoric in a whim, it wouldn't be too
              |surprising if he decided to screw Putin out of nowhere and
              |then gloat about his ingenius 4d chess play.  (in
              |addition, someone might convince him of tipping the scales
              |in favor of Ukraine and forcing a peace deal so he can get
              |a Peace Nobel Prize - it wouldn't even be the most absurd
              |one, if it happened!)


          |u/slackfrop - 17 hours
          |
          |Turnps best relationships in life are all people with their
          |backs against the fire and have to appease him. Could you
          |imagine that being your only source of solace in life?  His
          |soul is withered to black.


      |u/SendStoreMeloner - 23 hours
      |
      |It's what former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg did for 4 years with
      |Trump and all the other allies loved it.


        |u/goodsby23 - 19 hours
        |
        |Which brings up another point... Why did someone who had been
        |impeached twice get elected again... Faith in humanity lowered


          |u/Mateorabi - 17 hours
          |
          |Because they wouldn’t convict him. “He’s finished, whats the
          |point, he’s already out” was part of their reasoning. Ignoring
          |that it prevents future runs too.   They thought he couldn’t
          |come back anyway politically and didn’t want to piss off his
          |followers for two news cycles ages away from any next
          |election. 


      |u/SakaWreath - 22 hours
      |
      |Not only praise, but Trump wants retribution for not manufacturing
      |dirt on Biden during the 2020 campaign.  >*”Trump blocked payment
      |of a congressionally-mandated $400 million military aid package,
      |in an attempt to obtain quid pro quo cooperation from Ukrainian
      |president Zelenskyy.”*
      |https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump%E2%80%93Ukraine_scandal
      |Europe will need to fill the void that the US will leave behind.


        |u/natetheloner - 18 hours
        |
        |That fact the he was not removed from office for that is
        |infuriating


      |u/Unnamedgalaxy - 21 hours
      |
      |Yeah he's definitely intentionally saying nice things to butter
      |him up so Ukraine doesn't get royally fucked. They are still
      |fucked but sucking up to trump might give them a better chance.


      |u/ArticulateRhinoceros - 22 hours
      |
      |A child inclined to side with his enemy.  At this point, Zelensky
      |has to kowtow or he starts losing chunks of Ukraine to Russia in
      |the peace deal.  The more he resists the worse Trump will make the
      |treaty for him.  He has little choice.


        |u/Comfortable_Gur8311 - 21 hours
        |
        |It hurts to think, but I don't see any deal where he doesn't
        |lose every inch of land they've already lost.


        |u/RecklesslyPessmystic - 20 hours
        |
        |You're saying, "Pray I don't alter it further" like Darth Vader?


          |u/ArticulateRhinoceros - 19 hours
          |
          |Trump is.


      |u/phonartics - 21 hours
      |
      |Americans voting for Trump basically confirmed that they’re okay
      |with giving up everything to Putin, so that’s just the way things
      |are now, unfortunately


        |u/Hairy_Practice_4186 - 19 hours
        |
        |The rest of the surrounding Countries will fall. Europe is next.
        |Thank you, Trump voters!!! Hope you like autocratic, fascist
        |rule! Just look at the clowns he’s nominated for Cabinet
        |posts!!!


      |u/quickblur - 22 hours
      |
      |This is exactly it. He knows Trump holds the keys so he's going to
      |have to do anything he can to get the best deal possible. What
      |else can he do when he's literally trying to defend the lives of
      |his entire country?


      |u/formala-bonk - 20 hours
      |
      |I think he is smart enough to just give trump some strong words
      |and praise and then play his ego against putins public behavior.
      |Kind of like “see you’re the stronger leader who can show Putin
      |that you can win any war… by supporting us”. It would definitely
      |work on trump but you gotta convince his so strongly he just
      |ignores his handlers


      |u/AsleepTonight - 22 hours
      |
      |Also, he’s not wrong. With trump in office I think the weapon
      |deliveries from the US will stop, thus Ukraine will be weaker and
      |that’s why the war will end sooner with trump in office


      |u/Dray_Gunn - 22 hours
      |
      |Yep. Dude is just speaking politics and saying what he has to win
      |over the people who can help him protect his people. He is putting
      |his people before his pride.


        |u/GeneralZaroff1 - 22 hours
        |
        |Yup. This is what actual leaders do. Put the lives of their
        |citizens in front of their own ego or personal profit.   It’s
        |disgusting that we’ve gotten so used to the opposite that this
        |is a surprise. He can literally kiss Trump’s shoes and I
        |wouldn’t lose an ounce of respect for him because he’s doing it
        |for his country.


      |u/intisun - 22 hours
      |
      |Zelensky would endure any public humiliation if it meant saving
      |more of his people. That's what true leaders do.  Trump would
      |rather let a million people die than have his ego bruised.


      |u/Beefmagigins - 23 hours
      |
      |Yup, he isn’t dumb. You have to flatter the dipshit or he will
      |fuck them over hard.


      |u/d4ve3000 - 22 hours
      |
      |Imagine having to grovel to this guy 🥲 gonna be afk the next 4y, i
      |cannot take another round i think


      |u/lucky5150 - 22 hours
      |
      |I agree,  as unfortunate as it is


      |u/MuteCook - 22 hours
      |
      |People are so wrapped up in it yet don't understand politics AT
      |ALL. It's all emotion for them.


      |u/sybann - 20 hours
      |
      |THIS. He's fully aware he needs to kiss the Excretion's ass to get
      |ANYTHING.  Please god, four years flies by and it doesn't kill us
      |all.


      |u/choleric1 - 19 hours
      |
      |I have such respect for Zelensky. I don't know what kind of peace
      |time president he was or could be, but as a war time leader the
      |man seems to have been unflappable and a constant rock for his
      |people. He has barely put a foot wrong diplomatically. This is
      |what a leader should be like, no ego - just doing what is required
      |for your people. The contrast between these two men couldn't be
      |more different.


      |u/RayMckigny - 21 hours
      |
      |Because trump is going to give Russia whatever they want


      |u/Logic-DL - 20 hours
      |
      |Been wild to see people demonise a man for doing what he can to
      |keep his country independent lmao     When it was Biden in office,
      |it was all "go Ukraine go" and now he's praised Trump because he
      |literally has to in order to keep getting help, it's now "I hope
      |Ukraine dies" basically.


      |u/SkiAMonkey - 23 hours
      |
      |Exactly


      |u/SomeGuyNamedPaul - 23 hours
      |
      |Meanwhile it's also an insult to Biden which at this point might
      |probably get a response favorable to Ukraine.


      |u/Critical_Mass_1887 - 21 hours
      |
      |He may as well, trumps already told zelensky there will be no more
      |weapons or aid from US.


      |u/theWizzzzzzz - 21 hours
      |
      |THIS! ⬆️


      |u/FunctionBuilt - 20 hours
      |
      |One of my facebook “friends” used this as a reason why he voted
      |for Trump. Essentially the people are afraid to cross him because
      |of how vindictive he is.


      |u/Honey-and-Venom - 19 hours
      |
      |It'll end sooner and with a far worse outcome. He's right and he's
      |pointing clearly to why


      |u/Kalicolocts - 19 hours
      |
      |Exactly, nobody knows what will happen but this is the right play
      |by Zelensky. If he can make Trump a hero all the better for
      |everybody.


      |u/clarity_scarcity - 19 hours
      |
      |Love it. Zelensky continues to consistently prove himself as a
      |leader in a nation’s ultimate time of need. Undoubtedly the only
      |true hero in my lifetime. If only the Western leaders had a
      |fraction of this resolve for his people.


    |u/GalumphingWithGlee - 23 hours
    |
    |Is he really even saying the war will end sooner? He's saying "The
    |war will end sooner, according to Trump's promises." It's not clear
    |to me that he's aligning himself to agree with those promises, just
    |reiterating the promise here.


      |u/rupertavery - 23 hours
      |
      |Yes, as a leader, he knows diplomacy.


        |u/satireplusplus - 22 hours
        |
        |And he knows how to play someone like Trump. But it should be
        |obvious that he was hoping for a madame president, but also made
        |contingency plans before the election. Like meeting with Trump
        |before the election.


      |u/ilikepizza30 - 22 hours
      |
      |Plus 'the war will end sooner' could also quite easily mean
      |because Ukraine will lose due to less weapons/money/support and
      |the United States helping Russia.


        |u/_Nicktendo_ - 22 hours
        |
        |Exactly, feels like that quote came with an unspoken "one way or
        |another".


        |u/OsmeOxys - 20 hours
        |
        |That's Zelensky's point, buried in the obligatory praise for
        |Trump. He's not being subtle about it either, but it doesn't
        |matter because Trump has always been too stupid and narcissistic
        |to realize anything beyond the ass kissing.  Unfortunately I
        |don't see it doing much good since Putin not only kisses his
        |ass, but spreads his soiled cheeks, gives him plenty of money,
        |and got him elected twice.


      |u/bruce_lees_ghost - 23 hours
      |
      |He needs Trump’s support and won’t get it if he doesn’t bend the
      |knee. Sad, but true.   Fuck all the flaccid dicks that put Trump
      |in office.


        |u/Mr_Coily - 20 hours
        |
        |And dry vaginas! Fuck them too


      |u/Vylaer_ - 21 hours
      |
      |There's some genuine optimism for pro Ukraine diplomats in Europe
      |because Biden's administration has been calibrating support to
      |prevent a Russian battlefield or society collapse. If Trump isn't
      |making progress finding a diplomatic solution quickly and the
      |Ukrainians convince him they can just win with some more arms and
      |the freedom to use them in Russia... Who knows.


    |u/Professional-Box4153 - 23 hours
    |
    |"Can't have a war in Ukraine if there is no Ukraine." - Trump
    |probably.


      |u/addictedskipper - 22 hours
      |
      |Can’t have a war if Ukraine is fully conquered.


        |u/Hyperpoly - 21 hours
        |
        |Why do people reply to a comment and just reword the comment
        |weirdly?


          |u/SigmundFreud - 19 hours
          |
          |/r/yourjokebutworse


    |u/Magi_Rayne - 23 hours
    |
    |I went over to r/conservative and their responses were scarily naive
    |in his response. A top comment was “yea that’s because adults are in
    |charge now.” And I was like in my head:  “Are you fucking joking me?
    |Did you not see who Trump just nominated for AG? It’s gonna be a
    |circus if anything…”   I don’t think people in r/conservative can
    |see past their noses. Zelensky is clearly being professionally
    |sarcastic in that Trumps inaction for the help of the Ukrainians
    |will be the end of the war.


      |u/Allegorist - 22 hours
      |
      |There are still Russian state "information warrior" accounts
      |around pushing pretty deliberately bad takes. There are also those
      |that believe them and repeat them, which is obviously their goal.
      |The past few days particularly I have seen the narrative that not
      |only did the US have chemical weapons facilities in Ukraine, but
      |that Russia had no choice since Ukraine cozying up to NATO is an
      |existential threat to Russia, that it was "encroaching on their
      |borders", and that it doesnt matter because it's all "historically
      |Russia" and has some Russian demigraphics. A bunch of neatly
      |verbatim Russian misinformation propaganda.  Keep an eye out for
      |accounts less than a year old almost exclusively pushing these
      |takes, particularly 6 or 7 months for some reason. There are older
      |or younger accounts for sure, but there seems to have been waves
      |around that time.  Also here is a well written paper by the US
      |Army War College on Russian information warfare:   https://publica
      |tions.armywarcollege.edu/News/Display/Article/3789933/understandin
      |g-russian-disinformation-and-how-the-joint-force-can-address-it/
      |They cite a former KGB disinformation chief that 75% of their
      |budget is spent on  “a slow process focusing on what we called
      |ideological subversion or active measures.” They state that Russia
      |was behind pushing AIDS disinformation and conspiracies decades
      |ago, and  September 11 conspiracies, so even in it's current form
      |it is hardly new, just increased efforts and improved tactics.
      |This goes a lot further with the midern internet though, so don't
      |underestimate their volume or persistence.


        |u/TaylorMadeAccount - 20 hours
        |
        |I don't understand.  American conservatives believe that "the US
        |have chemical weapons facilities in Ukraine, so Russia must
        |destroy our weapons"? I mean, why would our enemy (Russia)
        |destroying our own weapons (US) in a foreign country (Ukraine)
        |be beneficial to us? Can they not see how absurd it is?  And how
        |is NATO expansion bad? I mean, if anything, Russia being kept in
        |check is actually a good thing considering how they finance the
        |media in surrounding countries to give them a good image and try
        |to sway them into their side.


      |u/Luph - 23 hours
      |
      |you have to understand that conservatives believe nuance is a
      |place in france


        |u/lilbittygoddamnman - 21 hours
        |
        |I've never heard this phrase, but I love it. Reminds me of the
        |one, "tipping is not a city in China."


        |u/Floatella - 22 hours
        |
        |...and don't understand that cancel culture comes from the
        |Cancel region of France and is nothing to be afraid of if you
        |aren't xenophobic.


        |u/edu5150 - 21 hours
        |
        |And that denial is in Egypt.


      |u/DangerousGoose7576 - 22 hours
      |
      |I saw this same post and was like 🤔  Before I even read the quote,
      |I could make an educated guess about what he was actually saying,
      |and it looks like I was right. The ignorance truly gets more
      |astounding by the day.


      |u/BreakMeDown2024 - 23 hours
      |
      |You're talking about conservatives as if the majority understand
      |how tariffs work.


        |u/TotalNonsense0 - 20 hours
        |
        |Why do we let them say "tariff?" It's a tax. There is no
        |meaningful definition by which they are not a tax.


      |u/ratherbealurker - 23 hours
      |
      |I feel bad for anyone who thinks of Trump or his cabinet picks as
      |adults. It tells me you never fully grew up to be an adult and
      |never really met an adult. It’s the same for people thinking he’s
      |tough. How the hell can the guy who whines all day long and
      |constantly has to act like he’s tough be tough? You never met a
      |real strong person, and that’s sad.


        |u/ArticulateRhinoceros - 22 hours
        |
        |They never grew up enough to gain the perspective that the bully
        |isn't tough, he's painfully, obviously insecure. They still see
        |temper tantrums as a demonstration of raw power and not a sign
        |of poor emotional regulation.


          |u/ratherbealurker - 22 hours
          |
          |True but the same people complaining 10-15 years ago that
          |there are no more “strong silent types” fell head over heels
          |for the exact opposite.   I have family that used to say that.
          |They also love to say how street smart they are while they
          |reject any and all proof that the things they believe are lies
          |and fall for obvious cons.


      |u/SendStoreMeloner - 23 hours
      |
      |If you invite a clown into a palace you don't get a king you get a
      |cirkus.


      |u/Velocoraptor369 - 22 hours
      |
      |The lunatics are now in charge of the Asylum. Welcome to Gotham we
      |jut put the joker in charger of the country.


      |u/Due-Current-7817 - 22 hours
      |
      |A significant portion of comments there, like here, are by bots.
      |By "significant", it could probably be a majority.


      |u/Disastrous_Visit9319 - 21 hours
      |
      |Lol they love all of Trump's picks.  I saw one person say it was
      |like watching trump assemble a dream team.  These people are not
      |intelligent the only metric they consider is if the person is a
      |rabid maga that regularly gets headlines for publicly sucking off
      |trump.    What I always love about the conservative sub is
      |watching reactions to things right after they happen versus a day
      |later when they've had time to consume rightwing media telling
      |them what to think.  When gaetz name first came out there was
      |actually a ton of posts saying they didn't understand it and that
      |it's a bad choice but the next day it was all holy shit matt gaetz
      |is the best he's gonna do so much good law stuff!


      |u/paiute - 21 hours
      |
      |> I don’t think people in r/conservative can see past their noses.
      |I guarantee meme guy says that if 90% of the people in that sub
      |see past their noses they probably are looking at the Kuskovo
      |Estate Museum.


      |u/The_Elusive_Dr_Wu - 21 hours
      |
      |Here's a concept. Get ready.  It's coming.  A nation which cannot
      |defend itself is a failed state.


      |u/NewestAccount2023 - 19 hours
      |
      |It's not just that sub. Tens of millions of their voters are
      |exactly like that too. Go watch street interviews of the average
      |Republican. Also remember how trump got 70 million votes a few
      |weeks ago?


    |u/pennylanebarbershop - 22 hours
    |
    |Right, it's hard to think of a promise made by Trump that's ever
    |been unfulfilled.


      |u/Twister_Robotics - 20 hours
      |
      |/s  You dropped this  And yes, it IS necessary.


    |u/Fluffcake - 23 hours
    |
    |What else can he do? Blowing smoke up Trump's ass is his only play.
    |Trump may be stupid and incompetent, but he is vindictive and very
    |much have the power to *delegate* coming up with ways to hand Russia
    |the win as fast a possible to someone competent if you piss him off.


    |u/TheBigLebroccoli - 22 hours
    |
    |And Mexico will pay for it. Just like happened in his last term.


    |u/Leraldoe - 22 hours
    |
    |I got bad news for him……8 years ago Trump promised ACA was out “day
    |one”


    |u/cienderellaman - 22 hours
    |
    |Americans rally behind your president challenge: impossible.


    |u/Critical-Climate-623 - 22 hours
    |
    |What else can he go off of? He trusts the words of the people that
    |keep him alive


    |u/Fun-Wallaby-8393 - 22 hours
    |
    |Didn’t he promise Arabs he would do a ceasefire when he won haha.
    |Look what happen there


    |u/Plucky_ducks - 23 hours
    |
    |The same Trump who never even met that woman?


      |u/mmmmpisghetti - 23 hours
      |
      |She wasn't his type.  Especially after he confused her with his ex
      |wife.  🤣


        |u/Plucky_ducks - 22 hours
        |
        |Who Melany?


          |u/mmmmpisghetti - 21 hours
          |
          |Marla Maples


    |u/Specific-Day-255 - 22 hours
    |
    |Trump is going to surrender to Russia 


    |u/Apprehensive-Adagio2 - 21 hours
    |
    |I mean, zelensky isn’t wrong, the war will end sooner because trump
    |is much more willing to let ukraine lose.  Zelensky also doesn’t
    |wanna peeve off trump, he relies on american support, he’s gonna
    |suck up to trump to maintain ukraine, and that’s totally fair.


    |u/Annonomon - 21 hours
    |
    |I laughed while listening to the Joe Rogan podcast when Trump
    |claimed that the war would never have happened on his watch. When
    |Joe asked him how he would have stopped it, Trump replied with “I
    |would have said to Vladimir “you’re not going in…..you’re not going
    |in”.”They way he said it was hilarious


    |u/donall - 20 hours
    |
    |Trump said it and he's not a liar right?


    |u/Low-Woodpecker-5171 - 20 hours
    |
    |I mean, Trump did say Putin could do whatever the hell he wanted to
    |Ukraine. Promise kept, sovereignty lost.


    |u/guestHITA - 19 hours
    |
    |If it does will you come back here and make an apology ? Or will you
    |then start saying the whole war was a hoax putin had to get trump
    |elected blah blah blah ? No need to answer cry harder


    |u/Sanhen - 17 hours
    |
    |Unfortunately for Ukraine, what Trump says matters the most in this
    |matter. US arms supplies/funding are critical to Ukraine's war
    |effort. Europe hasn't done enough to put itself in a position to
    |fill that void, so Ukraine can't defy Trump while counting on Europe
    |to pick up the slack. So if Trump ceases arms shipments, Ukraine's
    |hopes of a positive outcome drop tremendously.  America voted for
    |Trump, and in the end, that probably killed Ukraine's hope of
    |preserving its territorial integrity. Now it's just about trying to
    |minimize the loss by appeasing Trump as best possible.


      |u/lucky5150 - 14 hours
      |
      |100%.  This right here.


  |u/EternalAngst23 - 1 day
  |
  |So… essentially giving lip service to Trump?


    |u/MatticInYoAttic - 1 day
    |
    |To me it sounds like he is holding Trump accountable to his words he
    |said over and over on his campaign trail. Seems like a smart move,
    |unfortunately for him he doesn't know that people don't give a fuck
    |if trump was lying the entire time.


      |u/SourcingCrowd - 1 day
      |
      |He knows. But he is playing with the cards that has been dealt.


        |u/00ezgo - 1 day
        |
        |He definitely knows.  He's just trying to keep innocent people
        |alive and he doesn't have the luxury of choosing sides.


        |u/tingkagol - 1 day
        |
        |Definitely. He knows Ukraine is most likely screwed with Trump
        |in office and is using power of suggestion as a last ditch
        |effort to coax Trump and a pro-Putin white house into doing the
        |right thing.


          |u/Balc0ra - 1 day
          |
          |The one thing Trump's campaign did show, was that he is easily
          |motivated to do the opposite if his ego gets hurt


            |u/username_elephant - 1 day
            |
            |“A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust
            |with nuclear weapons.”  That's really the main thing anyone
            |needs to keep in mind about Trump.  It stuck in my head
            |after the first run and I'm sure it remains applicable
            |today.


            |u/checkthisoutson - 23 hours
            |
            |It would be amazing to see if a coalition of world leaders
            |could use that knowledge for good and just pull him in every
            |direction until he gives up lol.


            |u/BubsyFanboy - 23 hours
            |
            |Let's hope Ukraine convinces Trump that Putin is talking
            |smack about him 24/7 then.


              |u/Tirras - 23 hours
              |
              |Which is almost certainly happening already. Say what you
              |want about Putin, but he definitely knows what an easily
              |manipulated dumb ass Trump is.


            |u/The_Bard - 23 hours
            |
            |Trump has no core values but narcissism and never admitting
            |he is wrong. Trump said he will fix Ukraine, Zelensky
            |agreed. His hope is that he will dig his heels in and
            |actually work to end it sooner.


          |u/OderusAmongUs - 1 day
          |
          |That would be insanely naive of him. Trump is going to hand
          |Ukraine to his handler on a silver platter.


            |u/XanLV - 1 day
            |
            |So he shouldn't try?


              |u/OderusAmongUs - 1 day
              |
              |Of course. His country is at stake. All the headway
              |they've gained is. But any American knows for a fact who
              |Trump is beholden to and it's not the guy who he got
              |impeached over the first time.


                |u/XanLV - 23 hours
                |
                |I'm so sleepy this morning, I can not understand if
                |people agree with me or not, because I have framed it as
                |"so he shouldn't?" and people answer with "yes." As in,
                |he shouldn't.  So I am not sure where folks are aiming
                |right now and waht's what. All I know for sure is that
                |there is nothing much else he can do. As you said, the
                |country is at stake.


                  |u/Skyler827 - 21 hours
                  |
                  |For what it's worth, I agree with you, the incoherent
                  |reply above adds nothing to the conversation.


              |u/Tina_ComeGetSomeHam - 1 day
              |
              |Zelensky should liberate America we're being held captive
              |by fascism he's the hero we don't deserve!


              |u/pimpmastahanhduece - 1 day
              |
              |Precisely, that's what separates statesmen from cowards.


            |u/Livid_Advertising_56 - 23 hours
            |
            |He knows. But he's trying to do everything to MAYBE buy time
            |with sweet words.... or at worst, show the world he wasn't
            |antagonizing Trump, and he STILL left them to die.


            |u/Slytherin23 - 1 day
            |
            |U.S. isn't the only game in town.  Europe, Korea, and Japan
            |can do something still.


              |u/OderusAmongUs - 23 hours
              |
              |Take a look at who has given the most aid to Ukraine. EU
              |as a total has given slightly more than the US, but as a
              |standalone, the US is dwarfing other countries regarding
              |aid.  European leaders are currently coming up with a plan
              |to continue helping Ukraine if Trump backs out. They're
              |talking about possibly having to put NATO boots on the
              |ground for instance.


        |u/heyzeto - 1 day
        |
        |Exactly, you need to work with what you have. We have a saying
        |in my country that translates roughly to "unshit yourself" and
        |it is what he is doing.


        |u/Eowaenn - 1 day
        |
        |What choice does he even have? Americans just elected a russian
        |asset into the highest position of power in their country. He
        |will do his best to get along with this mf to save his people.
        |Literally the hardest job in the world.


          |u/Accomplished_Bid3322 - 23 hours
          |
          |Heavy is the head that wears the crown


        |u/Mixels - 18 hours
        |
        |Gotta remember this is just the public message. I'm sure his
        |tone is very different when speaking with leaders inside of
        |Ukraine.


        |u/agumonkey - 1 day
        |
        |Putin is eating the dogs


          |u/Javayen - 22 hours
          |
          |He’s eating the cats


            |u/Desperate_Squash_521 - 21 hours
            |
            |Hide yo gerbils


        |u/AmeriBeanur - 1 day
        |
        |We need to tell Trump that Putin thinks he’s a bitch


          |u/InterestingTry5190 - 1 day
          |
          |He just needs to tell Trump he has some information on Biden
          |he will release.


            |u/shugo2000 - 1 day
            |
            |Is Hunter Biden's laptop going to make a comeback?


          |u/Classified0 - 1 day
          |
          |We definitely shouldn't do that, we don't want to start a
          |nuclear war


        |u/hexcor - 1 day
        |
        |With alot of flattery


        |u/Njorls_Saga - 1 day
        |
        |That’s one reason why it’s been alleged that Putin invaded while
        |Biden was in the White House. Putin thought that Biden would be
        |more reasonable and easier to come to terms with because he’s an
        |experienced foreign policy operator. Trump doesn’t have a clue
        |what is going on…supposedly Putin hated talking to him because
        |he had to keep explaining basic concepts to him. Putin wasn’t
        |sure what Trump would do because he’s so fucking stupid.


          |u/jirashap - 23 hours
          |
          |I agree with this sentiment in other cases, but it seems
          |pretty clear that Putin knows how to manage Trump, and helped
          |him get elected (e.g. all these bots that were tied to Russia)


            |u/Sokjuice - 23 hours
            |
            |Well, most presidential candidates are wily old bags and/or
            |cowardly in terms of radical moves.  Trump is not wily and
            |isn't afraid of setbacks because he doesn't even think past
            |his whims. Putin definitely would prefer a president like
            |Trump to do a majorly stupid thing than another candidate
            |that will never entertain a crazy shit show.  Even if he
            |don't think he can control Trump, there's still a higher
            |chance something crazy happens under him. The rest most
            |likely play safer for legacy/consequences.


      |u/jimicus - 1 day
      |
      |More to the point, Trump said he'd end the war.  Trump did not say
      |how he would end the war.  It's almost certainly "cede vast
      |amounts of territory to Russia with nothing in return".


        |u/joat2 - 23 hours
        |
        |>Trump did not say how he would end the war.  He has, It's
        |basically give putin what he wants, or at least the vast
        |majority. Which is land they already hold. Then on top of it,
        |make sure Ukraine can't join Nato.    If this happens or looks
        |close to happening we might see NATO with boots on the ground in
        |Ukraine. It will be NATO without US involvement. Other than
        |leaking the plans to putin.


          |u/Mixels - 18 hours
          |
          |I'm not sure how Trump will stop Ukraine from joining NATO if
          |he forces the US to leave NATO.


            |u/QualifiedApathetic - 12 hours
            |
            |Good point. I wonder if Putin would rather Trump keeps us in
            |NATO and vetoes Ukraine joining. But he's got Orban and
            |Erdogan for that. Still, the US has a lot more weight to
            |throw around; if Harris were president-elect, we might be
            |looking at kicking Hungary and Turkey out, as it's
            |increasingly clear that they are not really on their allies'
            |side.


      |u/Sutech2301 - 1 day
      |
      |He knows how Trump works and that there is a slight chance that he
      |will support whatever country whose leader he vibes best with on a
      |personal level. That's why Putin is brown nosing him even though
      |you can bet that he (Putin) probably deeply disdains Trump.  The
      |odds for Zelensky are still pretty low, because Trump probably
      |will team up with the one who has the bigger guns, which is Putin,
      |but you got to work with what you have


        |u/Shivalah - 1 day
        |
        |Putin showed Melanias nude photos from the 90s, ofc he disdains
        |him.


      |u/NedRed77 - 1 day
      |
      |Or that trump never specified who the victors would be.


        |u/Shamino79 - 1 day
        |
        |I think there’s a non zero chance that Putin is the one that
        |Trump throws under the bus because it would actually be good for
        |popularity.


      |u/itsdajackeeet - 1 day
      |
      |Oh he knows, he's just trying to hold him accountable, as you
      |point out. He knows its doomed to fail


      |u/BubsyFanboy - 23 hours
      |
      |Especially his fans.


      |u/Exact_Insurance7983 - 21 hours
      |
      |Thing is most of Trump supporters are pissed the US keep sending
      |aid to Ukraine…I live in a deep red area in PA and I constantly
      |hear people bitch about it.


      |u/Andrew8Everything - 16 hours
      |
      |I hope the voters do too.  No taxes on tips or overtime   Deport
      |30 million people day one  End all wars day one  Build the wall
      |and make Mexico pay for it - oops


    |u/angusshangus - 1 day
    |
    |Yep. He’s going to try to appease whoever is our president because
    |he’s not stupid. The funny thing is all he has to do is complement
    |Trump and he’ll get what his country wants.


      |u/Beggarsfeast - 1 day
      |
      |This is a huge compliment to Trump. Simply agreeing with his lie
      |gives it more validation. Zelensky could offer to polish his
      |cufflinks every morning, but Trump will never fight against Russia
      |to give any land back. Ukraine will likey not get what they need
      |from Trump.


        |u/neohellpoet - 1 day
        |
        |He absolutely could.  If Russia got him elected and he owes them
        |it's actually more in character for him to fuck them over than
        |to replay them.


          |u/Sure-Sympathy5014 - 22 hours
          |
          |Trump never pays anyone after the works done.


          |u/starlordbg - 23 hours
          |
          |I hope Zelensky knows this and will try to play him somehow.


          |u/Guy_GuyGuy - 21 hours
          |
          |It’s in character for Russia to fuck Trump over too. A
          |cooperative USA is nice for Putin, but a cooperative and then
          |humiliated USA is even better.  Putin knows not to make his
          |stooge in the White House feel too powerful.


          |u/Another-Mans-Rubarb - 20 hours
          |
          |Yeah, Russia got him elected, clearly fucking then over won't
          |end poorly for trump.  Do you know what blackmail is?


      |u/LoveAndViscera - 1 day
      |
      |I think that’s what he’s going for. This sounds a lot like how
      |Trump talks. He is using the playbook his predecessor used with
      |Putin.


    |u/epsilona01 - 1 day
    |
    |> So… essentially giving lip service to Trump?  The best/only way to
    |deal with Trump is to blow smoke up his ass.


    |u/Mostlygrowedup4339 - 1 day
    |
    |I've worked with governments all around the world. A smart leader
    |knows how to be pragmatic to optimize their objective outcomes
    |within the constraints they are faced.  While very difficult to do,
    |the rational actor with 0% ability to feel emotions whose only goal
    |was to maximize the objective outcome for his citizens would make a
    |cognitive profile of Donald Trump, and identify exactly what to say
    |to maximize their own outcome. And Trump has an incredibly sensitive
    |ego that makes him do very irrational things when his ego is
    |attacked. But that sensitive ego also makes Trump very manipulable.
    |If Zelenksy is clever and able to handle what his citizens may think
    |if him, he may even start saying Trump is really smart and is too
    |smart to get outsmarted by Putin, and now he can see how much of a
    |political genius Trump is to play Putin like a fiddle so that he can
    |be sure Russia doesn't get what they want. And now he knows that
    |Trump is too smart and clever to let Putin take Ukrainian territory
    |etc. It would leave Trump's subconscious in a bit of a pickle to
    |either reject the compliments to his ego or do what Zelenksy says
    |and start advocating more for better outcomes for Ukraine. And Trump
    |probably would prefer the compliments.   Pragmatism can look
    |irrational.


      |u/bennitori - 1 day
      |
      |You gotta admit it would be absolutely hilarious if Zelensky
      |managed to steal Trump right out from Putin's nose just by playing
      |him better.


        |u/Mostlygrowedup4339 - 1 day
        |
        |Comedians love irony. I do comedy on the side too. It's actually
        |a really useful and applicable skill. Zelensky is probably using
        |his toolbox. You learn language, nuance, how to play people's
        |subconscious thinking patterns, how to break tension, how to de-
        |escalate, how to think outside the box, etc. Don't underestimate
        |how invaluable comedic skills are in "serious" subject matters.


          |u/johnp299 - 23 hours
          |
          |I think this is an amazing insight.


            |u/Mostlygrowedup4339 - 22 hours
            |
            |I appreciate that! I actually LOVE external validation.


        |u/agumonkey - 1 day
        |
        |Putin has the ~powerful leader aura though, I don't see trump
        |not responding to that


          |u/Mostlygrowedup4339 - 22 hours
          |
          |Imagine telling Trump the world can see him strong arm the
          |political leader. Imagine telling Trump this já his chance to
          |secure his legacy and admiration. That he could prove all
          |those pesky liberals wrong. Animals and humans actually
          |respond really well to positive reenforcement.


    |u/TheNippleViolator - 1 day
    |
    |The inverse as I interpret it. The war will end unfavorably for
    |Ukraine due to the lack of support from the US under his
    |administration


    |u/wizardinthewings - 1 day
    |
    |Nah he’s been paying attention and fully understands Trump’s
    |weakness: his love of flattery.  You want the childish id to do
    |something for you? Tell everyone he’s a god.  Just don’t tell them
    |he liked your blow job, or you’ll disappear like Laura Bloomer.


    |u/GroundbreakingAd8310 - 1 day
    |
    |Them or the media apparently


    |u/CALM_DOWN_BITCH - 1 day
    |
    |I think he has good advice in this case, there have even been
    |reports of republicans on Trump's side offering guidance to Ukraine
    |on strategy for dealing with Trump.   For Trump it's a win-win
    |situation, his base would follow him either way. However, Trump
    |*has* to do something and by any measure he does seem to be poised
    |to take "decisive" action. The whole point is to show how important
    |and smart he supposedly is, the one thing Trump couldn't accept
    |would be being ignored or contradicted.   I think Zelensky is being
    |smart. He offers a solution and phrases it in a way that Trump can
    |save face. Remember he also is offering business incentives,
    |economic ties and perhaps a degree of dependency so Trump might have
    |his "successful businessman" moment. We know that Putin won't be
    |able to pander or offer as much and he won't give in to Trump
    |either. There has even been a suggestion the EU might switch
    |entirely to American LNG further pulling Trump back towards the
    |union and away from Russia, it's biggest fossil fuel competitor,
    |with another campaign promise win if he goes that way in reference
    |to his bid to "drill baby, drill!.  It's a bit scary but I think
    |Trump could actually be good for Ukraine, and good for the EU as
    |they are all kind of waking up now.


    |u/jaytee158 - 1 day
    |
    |A bit but not entirely. It's [well reported
    |](https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/11/07/why-volodymyr-
    |zelensky-may-welcome-donald-trumps-victory)that he was getting
    |annoyed with Biden's restrictions on what can be done with weaponry,
    |particularly the limitations of launching into Russia and the slow
    |disbursement of funding.   A lot's been fairly made about Trump's
    |potential volatility, but it wasn't like the relationship with the
    |US was perfect prior.


  |u/rwietter - 1 day
  |
  |> This is their approach, their promise to their citizens.  Well,
  |that's an ironic tone.


    |u/corruptredditjannies - 21 hours
    |
    |>They have weapons and ammo, but they don't have men.  Uh, no. They
    |haven't had ammo/weaponry parity pretty much the entire war. You're
    |just making shit up. Ukraine isn't losing the battle of attrition,
    |the whole West is (edit: for lack of will, not capability).
    |>There's a reason you haven't been told the number of Ukrainian
    |casualties literally ever. They're doing just as poorly as Russia,
    |who have throughout the conflict largely enjoyed an advantage in
    |artillery, which is *huge* in the type of conflict being fought.  Ah
    |so Ukraine doesn't have enough ammo/weaponry after all? We have been
    |told casualty numbers, you just choose to ignore them. We also have
    |OSINT, and there has always been evidence that russians are losing
    |more.


      |u/DrakonILD - 18 hours
      |
      |"I need ammo, not a ride."


  |u/02C_here - 1 day
  |
  |I JUST watched CNN cover this. The way they presented the quote was
  |very different.


    |u/iwellyess - 19 hours
    |
    |Which was…?


  |u/YeastGohan - 22 hours
  |
  |>This is their approach, their *promise* to their citizens,”  Hooo
  |boy, is anyone gonna tell him? lol


  |u/WithBothNostrils - 21 hours
  |
  |Finishing fast isn't the brag you think it is


  |u/ZormkidFrobozz - 21 hours
  |
  |With just enough read-between-the-lines subtlety that the unspoken
  |"because Trump will sell us out to Russia" is loud and clear.


|u/celloyellow74 - 23 hours
|
|Psychological warfare here


  |u/pajason - 23 hours
  |
  |This is exactly what he is doing, weird most can’t see that. Making
  |him put his money where his mouth is.


    |u/PortugalTheHam - 21 hours
    |
    |Every world leader knows this now. Many have watched his first term
    |carefully. Youre about to see a bunch of world leaders charm him
    |from both sides of the isle. And him too stupid too see what is
    |happening.


      |u/dodo91 - 14 hours
      |
      |This is well known - trump is vulnerable to public praises - such
      |is the way his narcissism works.  Every authoritarian leader plays
      |him like a fiddle. In my country turkey, they openly talk about
      |how erdoğan will praise him and win him over.


      |u/commradd1 - 17 hours
      |
      |Which isle are you referring to


        |u/PortugalTheHam - 17 hours
        |
        |world leaders, democracies vs dictatorships.


          |u/PluotFinnegan_IV - 12 hours
          |
          |I think he was being a little cheeky because you said "isle"
          |(another word for island) vs "aisle", which is what you meant.
          |English is dumb.


            |u/PortugalTheHam - 12 hours
            |
            |Gotchya. Thanks for the heads up.


      |u/buffilosoljah42o - 16 hours
      |
      |Kinda sounds like the emperors new  clothes to me.


        |u/PortugalTheHam - 15 hours
        |
        |Yes, that is exactly what it is. Literally a world leader in
        |2024 susceptible to the lessons of a children's story


    |u/gitathegreat - 21 hours
    |
    |Gotta hand it to him. He cares about his people enough to do this.
    |👍🏽


      |u/nibbyzor - 16 hours
      |
      |Right? So many people are criticizing him for this, but he's doing
      |what he needs for the survival of his people... Kissing Trump's
      |ass.  I highly doubt he likes it, but right now it's necessary. He
      |has dealt with Trump before, he knows he's a narcissist that needs
      |his ego stroked constantly.


    |u/hahajadet - 21 hours
    |
    |Crazy to think Trump will care though lol


      |u/deltabay17 - 21 hours
      |
      |If Zelensky keeps praising him like this trump might care very
      |much this is what he lives for lol


        |u/shrekerecker97 - 21 hours
        |
        |It's true. Harris was able to manipulate Trump like this during
        |the debate and it was clear for all to see. Dude is smart


    |u/z_e_n_a_i - 20 hours
    |
    |Really? Because "the war ending sooner" makes no promise about the
    |war ending in Ukraine's favor.  It looks like Russia is occupying
    |27% of Ukraine, the war can be over right now if Trump forces them
    |to accept that loss.


    |u/Tooterfish42 - 19 hours
    |
    |Yes he's not got anything else he can do but prepare for Europe's
    |constitutional saving throw


  |u/misguidedsadist1 - 14 hours
  |
  |I'm surprised it took people so long, but thankfully it seems folks
  |are wising up.   Kamala prepared heavily in how to deal with him--bait
  |him, attack his ego, get him off kilter by leading him around by the
  |nose to keep him distracted from the issues.   Putin has known this
  |about Trump for years and that's why Trump is in his back pocket.
  |Rather than trying to "win" with Trump by proving dominance, which is
  |a strategy some foreign leaders did try in the past,  it's interesting
  |to see a new strategy emerge.   Wouldn't it be fascinating to steal
  |him away from Putins singular clutches?   Interesting and delicate
  |balance. Trump is also purely transactional, and if he owes Putin it
  |would be hard for him to screw him over if Putin has him by the balls
  |(something tells me that the second he pisses off Putin bad enough, he
  |can engage his bot army and minions in the GOP to turn on Trump and
  |influence public perception against him).   This is why I also hate
  |the "Sane washing" debates over all his cabinet picks. The endless
  |discussion of reputation, speeches, intentions, backgrounds,
  |investigations....Trump isn't picking based on capability, he's
  |assigning positions of power and influence to people who kissed the
  |ring. That's literally it. His intention, and the intentions of every
  |single one of his cronies, is not to govern. It's to manipulate power
  |for their own gain.   Why do legit media outlets spend so much time
  |trying to rationalize and pretend there is some logic behind anything
  |he does?


|u/blighander - 1 day
|
|I honestly respect how Zelensky rolls with the fucking punches, he does
|what he needs to do, and says what he had to say to get what his country
|needs to have a chance of survival.  Edit: Spelling


  |u/Dnny11 - 22 hours
  |
  |True that, Zelensky turned out to be a true hero for his country. I
  |hope he has figured out how to adapt to the new situationship at the
  |white house.


    |u/Mecos_Bill - 20 hours
    |
    |He holds all the cards right now. He has a chance to effectively end
    |Trumps friendship with Putin, it would be glorious to see


      |u/errorsniper - 18 hours
      |
      |You cant end a relationship held together by blackmail.


        |u/Mecos_Bill - 18 hours
        |
        |I hope it ends with Putin realesing whatever the hell he has on
        |Trump


          |u/WindowsCrashedAgain - 18 hours
          |
          |Even if he did, it wouldn't matter, This is the last term
          |Trump can serve, so it won't hurt his political career. He
          |wouldn't lose any popularity either since his supporters
          |didn't give a shit that he's a convicted felon and rapist who
          |tried to overthrow the government. Anything Putin has wouldn't
          |affect Trump much, if at all.


            |u/mister_newbie - 17 hours
            |
            | >This is the last term Trump can serve  We hope.


            |u/kndyone - 17 hours
            |
            |I see people say this but the reality is thats not true, a
            |fascists doesnt obey terms and trump has already proven that
            |he not only will break laws but has also cultivated a cult
            |of people who will believe anything he says and will be
            |willing to break laws for him.   You are correct that no
            |normal blackmail will work on trump because his followers
            |believe anything positive no matter how ridiculous. But its
            |also possible that Putin was the one who put him in power
            |through the use of social media and can leverage that social
            |media to knock him out. Its also possible that Putin isnt
            |doing that at all and his power is something far more
            |exploitive like a threat to kill members of his family or
            |literally him.


              |u/WindowsCrashedAgain - 16 hours
              |
              |You're right, I didn't consider him killing Trump as
              |assassinating a sitting president is an act of war. But I
              |could see Trump "falling out of a window" once he leaves
              |office if he disobeys Putin.


                |u/kndyone - 16 hours
                |
                |Or what about just knocking off one of his kids in an
                |accident. Or simply pulling the funding he uses for
                |everything he does so they lose their wealth. There are
                |lots of options, its also highly possible that he has
                |money in Russian banks that could be seized he uses to
                |illegally hide.


            |u/cpt_rizzle - 17 hours
            |
            |Wishful thinking. Trumps already trying to figure out how to
            |extend his stay and they control every branch and the
            |Supreme Court so nothing is going to stop them


        |u/sabin357 - 18 hours
        |
        |Sure you can, by eliminating the blackmailer or the blackmailee.
        |All relationships end.


        |u/Ill-Description3096 - 16 hours
        |
        |What could Putin possibly have that would make any sort of
        |difference? It's not like Trump has some squeaky clean
        |reputation to maintain.


      |u/petit_cochon - 16 hours
      |
      |How exactly do you figure that he can do that?   Thing about
      |Trump's "friendship" with Putin us that Trump is too stupid
      |understand that Putin is manipulating him. He just takes the money
      |and fucks off and that's how Putin wants it.


        |u/Mecos_Bill - 13 hours
        |
        |This is all hypothetical of course, but if he can convince Trump
        |that pulling all resources from Ukraine would make the US appear
        |incredibly weak, because it would entice China to invade
        |Taiwain, and Taiwan being invading is something the US cannot
        |afford since it would essentially send the world economy into
        |turmoil and furthermore show the US' dependency on China 


    |u/drunk_with_internet - 18 hours
    |
    |No matter the outcome, this man will go down in history as one of
    |the greatest heroes of our time.


  |u/ropahektic - 1 day
  |
  |He is truly a historic person from our time


    |u/Humbler-Mumbler - 1 day
    |
    |Ukraine is lucky to have him. They have a history of corrupt leaders
    |and they just happened to elect a really good leader at the time
    |they needed one most.


      |u/limasxgoesto0 - 23 hours
      |
      |It's funny, before the war he wasn't seen as that great and was
      |set to lose the next election. But when the war came he absolutely
      |stepped up


        |u/TStronks - 23 hours
        |
        |Churchill was also quite unpopular in the British parliament
        |before the war started. He didn't have the best track record in
        |the navy and wasn't especially highly regarded. Interesting how
        |bitter times changed that.


          |u/D597 - 23 hours
          |
          |Churchill was poetic, love when I’m watching documentaries or
          |movies and they use sound bites of him.


            |u/TStronks - 23 hours
            |
            |Oh definitely. He was quite a character; poetic, clever and
            |stubborn as can be. But he also suffered from depression and
            |alcoholism, and smoked more cigars in a day than most people
            |do in their lifetime. And still lived to be 90. Fucking
            |madman


              |u/WhoIsTheUnPerson - 23 hours
              |
              |The grim reaper was probably afraid of him, waited until
              |he was literally too frail to fight back.


              |u/I_W_M_Y - 22 hours
              |
              |He also did horrific shit like taking food from India to
              |feed the army which resulted in a famine that killed
              |millions.


                |u/TStronks - 22 hours
                |
                |Oh yeah he was a racist scumbag as well. And his stance,
                |while debated, on women's rights is also questionable to
                |say the least. Unfortunately at the time, his stance on
                |such matters wasn't particularly outrageous.


        |u/supersockcat - 19 hours
        |
        |His approval rating had fallen before the full-scale war, but he
        |was still ahead of other politicians. See this [last](https://ki
        |is.com.ua/?lang=eng&cat=reports&id=1100&page=1&y=2022&m=2) poll
        |from KIIS in February 2022 before the war, or [this one](https:/
        |/ratinggroup.ua/files/ratinggroup/reg_files/rg_ukraine_022022_20
        |00_press.pdf) from Rating Group (page 12) - 19.1% and 21.8%
        |respectively said they would vote for him in the next election,
        |but this put him in first place because all other candidates
        |were even less popular.


      |u/BubsyFanboy - 23 hours
      |
      |"I need ammo, not a ride"


      |u/captain_dick_licker - 23 hours
      |
      |it's funny, I have ukranian family by marriage and when we have
      |dinner, the sister doesn't like zelenski but the brother does, and
      |apparently the sister's complaints (something about corruption)
      |are commonly held ones among the wealthy where they come from.
      |from my position the guy is one of the few leaders I have nothing
      |but respect for and I wonder if there is anything to her
      |complaints about him or if it is just sour grapes and propaganda.


        |u/germanmojo - 22 hours
        |
        |It's funny that 'the wealthy' Ukrainians are calling him
        |corrupt. How did they get wealthy anyway?


        |u/Mephzice - 22 hours
        |
        |mean Ukraine has always been corrupt, Zelenski is probably not
        |completely clean on that, but regardless he is very clean
        |compared to former leaders.  If Ukraine were to try to join EU
        |it would have to crack down on corruption in the country after
        |the war, it's definitely there by all metrics.  If the sister
        |thinks he is more corrupt or something that is definitely
        |propaganda, nothing points to that.


    |u/thankyoumrdawson - 22 hours
    |
    |Absolutely is one of the people today


      |u/sbo-nz - 11 hours
      |
      |But man, his yesterday was definitely in the past.


    |u/Karnaugh_Map - 21 hours
    |
    |Historic is more commonly used to refer to greatness. Historical
    |usually just means past.


      |u/ropahektic - 20 hours
      |
      |thanks for the heads up, edited the post to reflect what i meant


    |u/Ryike93 - 1 day
    |
    |“Great general unlocked”


  |u/shmorky - 1 day
  |
  |He'll probably have to cede Donbas, Crimea and Luhansk to Russia. If
  |he can hold onto Zaphorizhia and NATO membership maybe that isn't such
  |a bad deal. Without US military support (and Elon flipping to Russia)
  |there is no way Ukraine is winning this war on the battlefield.


    |u/whatproblems - 20 hours
    |
    |they’ll never allow nato membership so it’s a nonstarter


    |u/GladiusNuba - 23 hours
    |
    |Luhansk is part of Donbas.


    |u/Mephzice - 22 hours
    |
    |> cede Donbas, Crimea and Luhansk to Russia  literally never going
    |to happen, he has said that already.


      |u/ninjapro98 - 21 hours
      |
      |He has to say that if he wants his soldiers to have a reason to
      |fight. But Ukraine will lose this war eventually, and he’s going
      |to have to get the best terms he can get before the war really
      |deteriorates


    |u/SimpleSurrup - 21 hours
    |
    |If NATO gives them membership it'll be without the US in it anymore.
    |I can't see Trump not leaving NATO this term.  It's a massive
    |Russian policy objective and something he continually trial
    |balloons, and is always sort of making the case to do it any time
    |the subject comes up.


      |u/IllIllIlllll - 20 hours
      |
      |What incentive would trump have to leave nato?


    |u/no33limit - 1 day
    |
    |Exactly, but the war will be over.


      |u/PJ7 - 1 day
      |
      |Well, for now. Big treaty of Munich vibes.  Anyone who believes
      |Putin's expansionist plans will end at that point, is hopefully
      |naive.


        |u/sixtyfivewat - 23 hours
        |
        |It’s funny how we’re repeating history like this. All of this
        |same shit was said by Chamberlain dealing with Hitler.
        |Appeasement doesn’t work.


          |u/Icekiller2 - 22 hours
          |
          |I'd say the difference would be the NATO inclusion. If there
          |is genuinely a chance for peace with Ukraine losing the
          |territory they haven't really controlled since 2014 AND they
          |get fast tracked NATO membership? That would be an absolute
          |win for them.   But that's not what's going to happen. What'll
          |happen is that they will be required to give up those lands,
          |at least, and then promise to be a neutral nation. Which will
          |indeed lead to another war further down the line, except this
          |time Ukraine will be forced to rebuild its military using
          |nothing but domestic production.


        |u/nastojaszczyy - 22 hours
        |
        |Of course it won't be over, it will be frozen. Russia will
        |regain power and will be back in a couple of years. Putin is
        |old, maybe he wants to be remembered as someone who managed to
        |restore the empire.


      |u/hryipcdxeoyqufcc - 15 hours
      |
      |Not really. It’d just be giving Russia time to re-arm, just like
      |what happened after last time.  Ukraine already gave their nukes
      |to Russia in exchange for peace. There’s no such thing as a peace
      |deal with Russia. The only solution is to make it so expensive for
      |Russia that it no longer makes economic sense for them to keep the
      |war going.


    |u/Preussensgeneralstab - 21 hours
    |
    |Ukraine could regain Luhansk and Donetsk since Ukraine still has
    |good chunks of Kursk as a bargaining chip. Freezing frontlines
    |currently would be detrimental to Russia since the RuAF is still
    |struggling to push out Ukraine, even getting their own troops
    |encircled in another idiotic push.    Ukraine still has more
    |bargaining power than Russia would like yet the RuAF simply cannot
    |change that.


  |u/-WaxedSasquatch- - 21 hours
  |
  |A true leader.  Just really fucking sucks these punches he has to roll
  |with.  Imagine Ukraine still had nukes.  This is a precedent that will
  |be etched in human history and there will never again be another
  |country that voluntarily gives up its nuclear arsenal……that’s not
  |great.


    |u/The_Elusive_Dr_Wu - 14 hours
    |
    |Refusal to willingly disarm oneself is a long standing precedent in
    |human history. Anyone who forfeits or neglects their ability to
    |defend themselves is a fool. A nation which cannot defend it's own
    |borders or territory is a failed state.


|u/Glimmu - 23 hours
|
|Zelensky is not stupid, and hes willing to kiss ass to get US support. A
|small price


  |u/tobekibydesign - 20 hours
  |
  |He's not kissing anyone's ass. He's pressuring Trump to keep true to
  |his word back when he said that under him, the war would end very
  |quick. If anything he's doing the opposite of kissing ass.


    |u/drivel111 - 16 hours
    |
    |I read the statement as meaning the war will end sooner bc Trump
    |will stop giving aid and the war will end by Putin taking Ukraine
    |back


      |u/erdna1986 - 16 hours
      |
      |That’s what trump meant by it. But Zelensky used these words
      |against trump to imply something different, so it has the
      |potential to sway trumps actions to stay true to his “word” -
      |hence the psychological warfare.


    |u/SwordfishOk504 - 16 hours
    |
    |The war ending quickly means giving enormous concessions to Russia.
    |The war continuing means Ukraine has a chance to retake land lost.


    |u/MarioSmash08 - 14 hours
    |
    |Except trumps way (is probably) pulling support so Putin can just
    |steamroll threw it


    |u/SporksRFun - 16 hours
    |
    |Exactly he is laying the fact that the war won't end quickly right
    |at Trump's feet.


  |u/TheDeadEndKing - 17 hours
  |
  |So…someone who is willing to put the lives of his people above his own
  |ego? Must be nice to have a President who would do that…


|u/Any-Ad-446 - 23 hours
|
|Zelensky is putting Trump on the spot since Trump said he can end the
|war within days as being the president. If Trump says Ukraine has to
|give up land that Russia currently holds no way Ukraine would accept
|those terms.


  |u/superbhole - 18 hours
  |
  |take it with a grain of salt but i've been reading that Putin is not
  |vibing with peace talks ending things as they are now because Ukraine
  |has taken control of some previously Russian terroritories


    |u/imunfair - 17 hours
    |
    |> take it with a grain of salt but i've been reading that Putin is
    |not vibing with peace talks ending things as they are now because
    |Ukraine has taken control of some previously Russian terroritories
    |He's been saying for a while now that any deal needs to *"reflect
    |the realities on the ground",* basically that Russia has been
    |winning ground faster and faster since he started saying that.
    |It's up to something like 50 sq km per day now and quickly rising
    |due to Ukraine's crumbling defenses, so Putin is basically saying
    |*"unless you're going to give me something I don't already have, why
    |would I stop when I have the upper hand?"*  He's making it clear
    |that mere frozen lines are going to be an unacceptable outcome for
    |Russia.    I suspect Trump will have difficulty finding a deal
    |that's acceptable to Russia and Ukraine at the negotiating table.
    |He'll either need to figure out a way to bully Russia and scare them
    |into stopping, or pull all US aid to Ukraine and let them crumble,
    |since even with US aid they're barely holding it together right now.
    |That would probably be the least dangerous and quickest way to stop
    |it, but I get the feeling that's not the route he's taking.  He
    |seems to have some misconceptions that he can actually broker an
    |actual deal.


      |u/bearbarebere - 14 hours
      |
      |I know this is honestly wishful thinking but it would be nice if
      |he did somehow broker some kind of deal that actually worked. Let
      |at least one good thing come out of this fucking cactus dildo of
      |an admin that is about to occur.


      |u/MaxCantaloupe - 16 hours
      |
      |Pulling all US aid to Ukraine could merely defer this whole thing,
      |though AND lead to US boots on the ground in the future.   If the
      |US just pulls all aid, that doesn't necessarily mean the war
      |stops. It could get significantly worse and end up on the doorstep
      |of NATO allies.   I wish all of NATO would've just given Ukraine
      |the help they needed when they needed it. All NATO leadership is
      |6-12 months behind on getting Ukraine what they need. If we'd just
      |done in the beginning what we've done recently then there could've
      |been the chance for a decisive Unrainian victory.   Who the hell
      |knows what's gonna happen now


    |u/lxgrf - 17 hours
    |
    |Which is exactly why they took those territories. As bargaining
    |chips at the inevitable peace talks. 


  |u/qwembly - 18 hours
  |
  |Yep.  Then he can say "you promised to end the war quickly.  We need
  |ammo and tanks to do so."


|u/Friscogonewild - 1 day
|
| Zelenskyy knows the only way to even have a shot is to blow smoke up
|Trump's ass.  Trump already blamed Zelenskyy for starting the war
|(before he was even in office), shamed him for not placating Russia by
|ceding some of Ukraine's territory, and has joked about Ukraine scamming
|the U.S. out of billions of dollars.  He's been preaching global
|isolationism.  He's friends with Putin, has been bailed out with loans
|by Russia as recently as 2022...  and remember when he was impeached for
|threatening to withhold aid from Ukraine unless they fabricated dirt on
|Joe Biden?  It's possible he does a complete 180 on the whole situation
|and gives Ukraine all the money and weapons they need to defeat Russia,
|but he has said he has solutions for issues in the past, and we either
|have yet to see them (his 2016 health care plan) or they blew up in our
|faces (his rushed Afghanistan withdrawal plan that his military advisors
|warned him about and he ignored).  I'll believe it when I see it.


  |u/GoofyKalashnikov - 1 day
  |
  |Afghanistan was wild, keeping Afghanistan government out of the talks
  |while negotiating with the Taliban and then forcing them to release
  |5000 Taliban prisoners ... Truly a mastermind at work


    |u/Friscogonewild - 1 day
    |
    |I truly believe timed the last troop pull just to fuck Biden over.
    |Dropped our military presence to a skeleton crew (against military
    |advice and common sense) the week before Biden took office,  leaving
    |him to either finish the last 10% of the shitty plan, or send the
    |necessary troops *back* to Afghanistan and be publicly crucified.
    |How anyone still trusts Trump to do something important well baffles
    |me.  I wouldn't lend the man my lawnmower and expect to ever get it
    |back.


      |u/WeaponisedArmadillo - 1 day
      |
      |Either way it fucking worked, both left and right blamed Biden for
      |the fire in the end. 


        |u/murgador - 23 hours
        |
        |Repblicans are fucking traitors to the state that actively
        |undermine the people and lives and the above posts just fucking
        |prove that.


        |u/PrudentFinger1749 - 23 hours
        |
        |In the world of media being biased and average population being
        |stupid.  We have leaders like Trump.


      |u/dCLCp - 1 day
      |
      |Viewed from the lense of being an asset to China and Russia as a
      |means of tearimg down western alliances and prestige everything
      |Trump does makes perfect sense. Viewed from any other lenses it
      |does not.


      |u/Rlchv70 - 23 hours
      |
      |He literally said “Yeah, we lost, we need to let that issue go to
      |the next guy.” In regards to the Afghanistan pull out.


      |u/frostysbox - 1 day
      |
      |I think you’re giving Trump too much credit - Trump believed he
      |would be in office when it happened.  Pulling out of Afghanistan
      |was always going to end the way it did - Trump just believed it
      |had to be done and he would have talked his way out of it.


      |u/Tokemon_and_hasha - 22 hours
      |
      |Yep sounds like a Harkonnen


      |u/290077 - 17 hours
      |
      |Political rug pulls are Trump's thing. Remember his tax cuts? They
      |also lowered withholding amounts, and they conveniently didn't
      |publicize that fact. Coming into the 2018 midterms, people thought
      |the tax cuts were saving them way more than they actually were.
      |Then in April, after the midterms were settled, tons of people got
      |surprise tax bills. I know one friend who was a rabid Trump
      |supporter who had to take out a personal loan to pay his income
      |taxes in 2018.


    |u/EmergencyCucumber905 - 1 day
    |
    |It was worse than that. Under the agreement US forces were not
    |allowed to attack Taliban forces. Taliban was able to overwhelm the
    |Afghan army and US was not allowed to provide any assistance.


    |u/InternationalPut4093 - 1 day
    |
    |And successfully put the blame on Biden. All my MAGAt friends belive
    |it was Biden who did that.


    |u/Kradget - 1 day
    |
    |Yeah, telling the other side that you're just looking to get out of
    |there immediately from the jump is high level shit.


    |u/BubsyFanboy - 23 hours
    |
    |That's Trump negotiations for ya.


  |u/Parking_Abalone_1232 - 1 day
  |
  |And maybe the horse will sing.


  |u/rd1970 - 1 day
  |
  |Even if Trump specifically told Zelenskyy he was going to pull all
  |support and pressure the rest of NATO to do the same, I think
  |Zelenskyy would still come out afterward and say "Good news! Trump's
  |got our back!".  Saying anything else would be terrible for morale for
  |Ukrainian soldiers on the front line and strengthen that of Russia's.
  |Lying about having Trump's full support would also make Putin question
  |how much control he really has over Trump and how the war is going to
  |play out.  Whatever is going on behind the scenes, Zelenskyy has to
  |make it sound like America isn't going anywhere.


  |u/Klarthy - 1 day
  |
  |To bribe him, really. A Trump Tower in Kyiv might be tempting as Putin
  |hasn't permitted Trump one in Moscow.


    |u/macrocephalic - 1 day
    |
    |He can have one in Donbas.


  |u/Gasten95 - 1 day
  |
  |Don't forget about his wonderful meeting with Kim Jong-un that went so
  |badly that North Korea entirely gave up on a normalized relation with
  |USA and has since removed all mentions of peacefull reunification with
  |South Korea from their constitution, razed the monument for the same
  |thing and has destroyed all their connected roads and railroads. You
  |could probably say that Trump's actions didn't change much but he for
  |sure didn't make things better.  Kim's letter to Trump was very
  |telling of what kind of negotiator Trump is, not that there was much
  |doubt even before that.


  |u/JamIsBetterThanJelly - 1 day
  |
  |He's *owned* by Putin, not friends with. Get it straight. I doubt the
  |PeePee tape is the only dirt Putin has on Trump.


    |u/earther199 - 23 hours
    |
    |It really doesn’t matter what dirt anyone has on Trump. He doesn’t
    |care and crucially they don’t care. We know exactly who Trump is, he
    |conducted a coup on live TV, and he still won.


    |u/LivedLostLivalil - 1 day
    |
    |I'm not sure there is any dirt that Putin can have that could hurt
    |Trump at this point. It has to be believed but anything can be
    |written off as fabricated these days, even video. 


      |u/PalmTreeIsBestTree - 22 hours
      |
      |I don’t even think he has anything on Trump. Trump is just so dumb
      |and easily gullible that any flashy, “masculine” dictator
      |impresses him.


  |u/l_i_t_t_l_e_m_o_n_ey - 22 hours
  |
  |> It's possible he does a complete 180 on the whole situation and
  |gives Ukraine all the money and weapons they need to defeat Russia
  |The crazy thing is, he might as well. (I mean, assuming Russia doesn't
  |have the kompromat they definitely have).  What I'm trying to say is,
  |he could do it, and his supporters would just adjust their outlook on
  |the situation and cheer him on. They get to feel like the underdogs in
  |a fight, which they love.


  |u/Judoka91 - 21 hours
  |
  |>Trump already blamed Zelenskyy for starting the war (before he was
  |even in office), shamed him for not placating Russia by ceding some of
  |Ukraine's territory, and has joked about Ukraine scamming the U.S. out
  |of billions of dollars. He's been preaching global isolationism. He's
  |friends with Putin, has been bailed out with loans by Russia as
  |recently as 2022...  I dislike Trump for many reasons, but his blatant
  |lies and disrespect over Ukraine is absolutely in the top 5.


  |u/MotherSpell6112 - 1 day
  |
  |It's a different situation from 2020. If Trump were in for the Russian
  |invasion he could have caused absolute carnage for Ukraine and burned
  |NATO with flaky support when Putin sat right across the border in
  |Belarus and Ukraine.   As it stands now, Ukraine has managed to put up
  |stiff resistance thanks to the US and Europe being aligned on the
  |goals of the defence of Ukraine and strengthened NATO by bringing the
  |Finns and Swedes being on-board.  It could now be worth more to play
  |the peacemaker, incorporate what's still held in Ukraine and bring US
  |and European loans in to rebuild what is held. He gets to look strong,
  |give Putin the victory he needs to sell, and further US business
  |interests while freeing the military to focus west into Taiwan and the
  |Pacific to ward off China.  A long-term strategy it probably isn't.
  |But it looks strong right now, plays to his base and works in
  |something for Putin. Republicans want quick notable wins straight
  |after taking office for the same reason they lay land mines like
  |Afghanistan after they leave office, first impressions matter.


  |u/Necessary_Owl8542 - 22 hours
  |
  |you could give Ukraine all the fucking artillery on Earth & they still
  |couldn’t win this war. shells are useless with no men left to fire
  |them


|u/_Weyland_ - 1 day
|
|I think that Zelensky is in a position where saying things Ukrainians
|need or want to hear often comes before being truthful.


  |u/oldsecondhand - 1 day
  |
  |The other aspect is that there's no point in him antagonizing Trump;
  |his citizens might blame him, not Trump for the souring relationship.


    |u/IC-4-Lights - 1 day
    |
    |Yeah, absolutely. Do what you gotta do to try to have it work out in
    |your favor. That's literally his job, and lives depend on it.


  |u/Humbler-Mumbler - 1 day
  |
  |Yeah he’s making the smart play. It’s gotta be tough. He probably
  |loathes Trump personally.


  |u/P2029 - 23 hours
  |
  |He does what he knows is best for a free and independent Ukraine, full
  |stop. He's playing the hand he's been dealt.


    |u/_Weyland_ - 15 hours
    |
    |I guess he does. I gotta respect the man for doing what he does, but
    |I am not sure if there is a win for him in the end. Even if Russia
    |doesn't win, Ukraine is fucked for the rest of its history.


  |u/nagrom7 - 23 hours
  |
  |He's also in a position where brown-nosing Trump might actually make a
  |big difference to the future of his country. He doesn't really have
  |much of a choice here.


|u/DarkenedSkies - 1 day
|
|Ending sooner because   \- US aid to Ukraine is going to dry up  \-
|They'll likely pressure their allies to do the same  \- The Trump
|administration will pressure Ukraine to accept a one-sided peace deal
|where Russia keeps its gains so far and preventing Ukrainian acceptance
|into NATO.  And then in 4 years, Russia will try again.


  |u/BubsyFanboy - 23 hours
  |
  |And this time start at an advantageous position.


    |u/I_W_M_Y - 22 hours
    |
    |Russia is running out of available manpower, look he is resorting to
    |bring in North Koreans!


      |u/TheOneWhoSendsLetter - 21 hours
      |
      |They're not running of available manpower. They want to diminish
      |the political cost of the war.


      |u/deseven - 21 hours
      |
      |That's just wishful thinking. North Koreans are useful as an
      |additional force, but that's pretty much it, there is no shortage
      |of volunteers anymore. Previous reports about the influx of new
      |meat from NYT and others recently got confirmed by other sources
      |such as https://zona.media/news/2024/11/15/krediti (use google
      |translate).


  |u/thenewyorkgod - 22 hours
  |
  |we all know this is the result of a trump presidency. War will end
  |with ukraine ceding all gains to russia and promise of no Nato. Then
  |Russia will have four years to replenish its weapons and soldiers. The
  |big question is will trump just half ass his treason, or go full bore
  |and remove all sanctions against Russia since "peace has been
  |achieved"?


  |u/entropy_bucket - 22 hours
  |
  |I thought they were saying obama was weak for giving up Crimea.


|u/pnellesen - 23 hours
|
|He’s probably not wrong, but not in a good way either, sigh.


  |u/the0rthopaedicsurgeo - 21 hours
  |
  |I wouldn't put it past Putin, knowing how disastrous this war has
  |been, to let Ukraine "win" in some way, guiding Trump to make it look
  |like the US ended the war.   It makes Trump and the Republicans more
  |popular in the US, creating more instability, it allows Putin an
  |excuse to pull out, and it does what Putin always loves to do: say one
  |thing and do another, undermining reality so that no one knows what to
  |believe anymore.  Putin and Trump are known to be best buddies but
  |suddenly Trump secures Russian's defeat? Surely they can't be working
  |together after all.


    |u/pnellesen - 21 hours
    |
    |Whatever happens, if Putin does not get everything he wants, he will
    |not stop until he does (or until he's gone). That's just how guys
    |like him roll.


|u/oberynmviper - 22 hours
|
|He knows that kissing up to Trump is the only thing he listens to.   No
|shame on that if he can protect his people. I am just hoping that
|“ending the war” is positive for Ukraine and not for Russia.


|u/justalittlepigeon - 12 hours
|
|Poor fucking Zelensky. I watched the entire trial over the quid pro quo
|stuff and barely anyone remembers. That whole thing was one of the most
|frustrating and disgustingly disingenuous things I've ever seen play
|out. He got so screwed over. After being thrown into the role of a
|wartime leader he gets hardly any support. And now, after years of
|struggling and just... endless devastation, families broken apart,
|leaving everything behind... I can't imagine how he must feel. How the
|people of Ukraine must feel. Just horrible...


|u/Teabagger-of-morons - 1 day
|
|Putin will try again in 10 years. All the 8-9 year olds that are in
|school now, getting indoctrinated and doing weapons training, will be
|ready to join the army. His army will be replenished.


  |u/B00STERGOLD - 1 day
  |
  |Putin will be 82 in 10 years. I bet he is deposed before then.


    |u/nodnodwinkwink - 23 hours
    |
    |When they most recently invaded Ukraine there was a lot of rumours
    |about his health but these days it looks like it was wishful
    |thinking...


      |u/B00STERGOLD - 22 hours
      |
      |Right, but age can't be beat in an area where leaders go out of
      |their way to look strong.


    |u/darklion15 - 23 hours
    |
    |And you think the next lider Will do what ?


    |u/kndyone - 16 hours
    |
    |reddit cope, Putin is rich he can live a long time, and second putin
    |has not been deposed yet. When are redditors going to stop drinking
    |the koolaid, they said Ukraine would crush Russia, but here Russia
    |is doing better than ever, they said Russia would collapse, but it
    |didnt and its still going. They said Russia would run out of men but
    |again they have plenty of armed men with gear out there fighting.
    |They said all sorts of propagandized bullshit and now its all
    |backfiring.   Ukraine needed help so bad and westerners needed to
    |know what was really happening. Not to live in delululand.


  |u/Nomnomnipotent - 22 hours
  |
  |Russia can't afford another war like this for decades. They just lost
  |600,000 - 700,000 young men that could've been working to drive their
  |economy - that's not including the ones that emigrated to avoid
  |conscription. There's now a massive gap in that age range, so they
  |can't afford another war in 10 years.   Russia fucked themselves hard
  |with this war, and will be feeling it in the coming decades. If they
  |don't conquer Ukraine now to fill that void, they'll have to wait a
  |long time before they can afford to wage war at this level again.


    |u/OdaNobunaga69 - 21 hours
    |
    |You're thinking from a western perspective where prosperity is the
    |priority.   History has shown that Russians will endure all sorts of
    |pain and misery as long as they can hurt someone more. Plus
    |authoritarian dictators like Putin or Un don't need approval from
    |their subjects and they will be sacrificed if necessary, no matter
    |if hospitals or whatever becomes dysfunctional


|u/ifhysm - 22 hours
|
|In 2019, Trump withheld military aid to Ukraine in an effort to pressure
|Zelensky to go on CNN and just announce that Joe Biden was being
|investigated in order to help Trump win the 2020 election. This was his
|first impeachment. I guarantee he wants revenge


  |u/kndyone - 16 hours
  |
  |yep Trump is that kinda guy who wants everyone to be do whatever he
  |instructs or he punishes you and anyone caught in the crossfire he
  |doesn't care about.


|u/ManlyEmbrace - 21 hours
|
|Flattering Trump is the smart play.  With Russia showing Melania’s nudes
|on tv and Putin starting to sound disrespectful toward Trump, Zelensky
|fawning over him might actually pay off.


|u/Monster_punkin - 1 day
|
|Yes, because he’s going to give Ukraine to Russia


|u/RamitInmashol1994 - 1 day
|
|If somebody told me 10 years ago, that a US president would be a Russian
|puppet, I would have laughed them in the face. Snap back to reality…


  |u/Fast_Raven - 1 day
  |
  |Even Tom Clancy wouldn't have written something this farfetched


    |u/c4p1t4l - 1 day
    |
    |Unfortunately dugin did


    |u/DharmaBird - 1 day
    |
    |A Clancy's plot would never be as hopelessly disgusting as our
    |unfortunate reality.


    |u/perturbed_rutabaga - 19 hours
    |
    |in tom clancy novels there is someone with the means and desire to
    |stop the bad guy  i wish this were a clancy novel that means we
    |would probably have a happyish ending


  |u/skinte1 - 1 day
  |
  |As would most republicans during the cold war if someone said their
  |whole party would support Russia...


  |u/RedWing83 - 1 day
  |
  |... A russian puppet while North Korean soldiers are fighting in a war
  |in Europe.


  |u/Carlos----Danger - 21 hours
  |
  |10 years ago Putin walked into Crimea


  |u/Street_Buy4238 - 1 day
  |
  |Oop there goes gravity...


  |u/GingerStank - 1 day
  |
  |10 years ago Obama said the Russians weren’t our enemy, everyone
  |applauded and Romneys head exploded on national TV. I still think
  |trump is more useful idiot than puppet.


    |u/nagrom7 - 23 hours
    |
    |Obama didn't say that, he just denied that they were the US's
    |*biggest* enemy, which was probably true then and is still arguably
    |true now in that the only state that can realistically threaten the
    |US (without also destroying itself in the process via nuclear
    |Armageddon) is China.


      |u/Lordborgman - 18 hours
      |
      |Indeed, America's biggest enemy, is America.


      |u/ulyssessgrant93 - 22 hours
      |
      |Russia’s disinformation campaign has damaged us much more than
      |anything China’s done. Russia is absolutely our biggest enemy.
      |Wars aren’t only fought on the ground


    |u/corbyns_lawyer - 1 day
    |
    |He said they weren't the biggest threat.


  |u/TotalConnection2670 - 23 hours
  |
  |only idiots think that trump is russian puppet


  |u/SwissBliss - 1 day
  |
  |Imagine Russia invading under Biden and then calling Trump a puppet


  |u/Shas_Erra - 1 day
  |
  |*Insert “two nickels” meme here*


|u/capzi - 12 hours
|
|This headline is misleading, as usual.  Funny how MAGA cultists are
|trying to spin this as positive for Trump.  This isn't a win.  It's
|actually a loss for Ukraine and Europe at large.


|u/toosinbeymen - 8 hours
|
|I agree with Zelensky. It will end quicker because Biden was never
|interested in Ukraine winning the war. Biden was only interested in
|Ukraine surviving.   I don't doubt that Biden and his advisors were
|scared that Putin would/might launch a nuclear missile at a far northern
|corner of Finland sparking Article 5. It's a fair point. But in
|addition, IMO, Biden was never invested in Ukraine. Trump is only
|interested in Trump but perhaps Zelensky can make victory overwhelmingly
|interesting to Trump.


|u/Parking_Abalone_1232 - 1 day
|
|I think all the rational people expect the war to end sooner with Trump.
|They excited it to end sooner because they expect Trump to cut Ukraine
|off from US weapons and money. Europe doesn't have the capacity to
|replace the US.   Ukraine either surrenders or collapses. Either way,
|Putin wins and the US looks weak.


  |u/Margotkitty - 1 day
  |
  |The US looks corrupt. Which they’ve always been, it’s just in FULL
  |display now. Y’all can quit pretending. Sounds harsh, but the majority
  |voted for Trump (not voting is a de facto vote when even more chose
  |not to vote at all)   The ideals of “America” are not held by 2/3 of
  |its citizens. So what ARE the ideals then? Time to start looking in
  |the mirror and asking the hard questions.   I’m Canadian. We are
  |facing our own hardline shift to right wing populist politics. If we
  |don’t quit the bullshit of allowing culture wars to divide us the
  |oligarch and corporations will own everything and we will take steps
  |so far back we may never see social progress like this again.


    |u/Moozipan - 1 day
    |
    |Turns out the American dream is 1933 Germany.


  |u/Thehappycachorro - 1 day
  |
  |Why would US look weak? Wouldn't that be a bigger prove of how reliant
  |the world is on American involvement? If all of Europe can't replace
  |US in Ukraine's support then everyone who voted Trump will be proven
  |right, Europe will be the one left looking weak and we'll have a grim
  |decade ahead of us.


    |u/twidget1995 - 21 hours
    |
    |The US will look weak because we abandoned a client state just
    |because Administrations shifted. All the bad guys need to do to win
    |is wait out the President opposing them and work hard to install
    |someone else that will back down. Trump, in cutting aid to Ukraine,
    |backing down. He looks like the coward he is because he won't see
    |the fight to the finish.  He also looks like a puppet of Putin.
    |Europe unprepared. Well, that's not a new thing. They've been
    |unprepared since the end of WW II. They were unprepared to stop
    |Milosovec in Kosovo in 1999 - when the US intervened. This isn't a
    |new thing. Trump seems to have inspired Europe to start spending
    |more on their militaries - but that's through a threat of US
    |abandonment rather than statesmanship.  Since the end of WW II,
    |Europe has been, mostly, peaceful. And that's because they don't
    |have large standing armies, the US has an emormous presence in
    |Germany and throughout Europe and they haven't worried about a
    |neighbor invading them - well, at least one not named USSR or
    |Russia.


|u/8349932 - 1 day
|
|It'll end with trumps knife in Ukraine's back


  |u/EenGeheimAccount - 1 day
  |
  |It's not backstabbing when they're not hiding it.


    |u/fotomoose - 23 hours
    |
    |Frontstabbing.


|u/animalfath3r - 22 hours
|
|He's clearly just buttering Trump up.  Zelensky is a smart dude who
|knows Trump can be manipulated with compliments.  Trump on the other
|hand is too dumb to realize he's being manipulated


|u/ComprehensiveJuice77 - 17 hours
|
|Yes.  Trump will cut support to Ukraine and strongly pressure them to
|take a deal decidedly in Russia's favor.  Putin will reload and be ready
|to invade shortly after the 2028 election.  Trump does not care about
|Ukraine any more than he cared about the fate of the Afghan people last
|time.  But he IS completely in Putin's pocket.  I expect he will give
|Putin intelligence on Ukraine as well.  So yes, the Russian aggression
|will win out soon.  But Ukraine can't openly say that or Trump will
|start sending aid to Russia.


|u/Worth-Tank336 - 18 hours
|
|My suspicion is Ukraine will eventually accept losing all the land
|Russia took and in return will allow U.S companies to flock massive
|amounts of investments in Ukraine as well as money from Russia. It will
|be a free for all. I'm not seeing any other way with Trump over it all.


|u/kihraxz_king - 17 hours
|
|This is only true one of two ways.  1: The GOP stops obstructing now
|that they can make it look like a win for their team.  Meaning it could
|always have happened and only didn't due to GOP obstructionism.  2:
|Ukraine is forced to cede territory because we won't give them any real
|help anymore.  There is no way that having Trump in power helps Ukraine
|except for the GOP deciding it's a win for them.


|u/jmi60 - 16 hours
|
|Please say successfully end. Those Russian dogs don't deserve a
|diplomatic solution.


|u/mn540 - 11 hours
|
|It will end sooner because Ukraine will run out of ammunition and
|surrender.  Russia gets to keep all of its illegally occupied
|territories.  Yep - it will end soon


|u/Le_Botmes - 8 hours
|
|"focus on the stone in my hand, and you'll miss the dagger at your
|throat."  I have every confidence that Zelensky is placating Trump in
|public while organizing contingencies with the EU behind closed doors.
|He knows that Trump will try to hand Russia a pyrrhic victory, so he's
|hedging his bets.


|u/BigDigger324 - 8 hours
|
|Zelensky is showing, yet again, incredibly strong and intelligent
|leadership….it’s not surprising that the Trump supporters don’t
|recognize it.


  |u/photocult - 5 hours
  |
  |Dude is savvy, I'm pulling for him.


|u/Puzzled-Dust-7818 - 1 day
|
|Imagine being a Ukrainian and hearing Americans insist the war needs to
|end soon because they’re tired of it…


  |u/lizard_alien2 - 20 hours
  |
  |And you think the Ukrainian people want the war to keep going? Lol


|u/lifesuxwhocares - 20 hours
|
|I'm so pissed at Biden for ""ballless" response to pootin. Sooo many
|fucking people died because of these mother ducking PUSSIES, who went to
|pootin and asked what they should not do, to prevent nukes being
|dropped. Rookies.   Ukraine wanted F16 in March 2022. Biden said now.
|F16 training got approved in March 2024, Ukraine received first f16 in
|August 2024. Wow. They also tied Ukraine's hands so Russia can attack
|Ukraine, but Ukraine cannot attack Russia.  I hate them so much.   Ps.
|Bucha is my hometown.


|u/Mort-i-Fied - 18 hours
|
|It will end sooner because donald will side with Russia and force
|Ukraine to give up.


|u/AnActua1Human - 1 day
|
|If Kamala won and this was said for her, this would have 30k upvotes
|already 😂


|u/Frost_blade - 21 hours
|
|Who Zelensky feels is the better politician doesnt matter, Trump is in
|office and Zelensky has shown how fantastic a leader he is these last
|few years. He will say whatever he needs to for his people. To protect
|them and reestablish his countries borders and end this war. I'm not
|saying he doesn't actually feel this way. I'm saying it doesn't matter
|to him. He'd be saying and doing essentially the same thing if Harris
|had won.


|u/Xerxes_Generous - 19 hours
|
|Forced peace with Russia is just a 20 years armistice


|u/MacTechG4 - 19 hours
|
|The proper way to negotiate the end to the war…  Russia retreats from
|all stolen territories and returns Crimea, and pays reparations to
|Ukraine.  Or…  The US authorizes Ukraine to use ALL supplied American
|weapon systems to strike inside Russian territory,  including ATACMS,
|and F-16’s, also loan them as many A-10’s and Abrams as they need.


|u/Felix_Von_Doom - 14 hours
|
|It's not the end of war were wary of, it's HOW.


|u/notbuswaiter - 12 hours
|
|Yes it will end sooner by Trump cutting Ukraine aid and helping Russia
|destroy Ukraine


|u/wonkalicious808 - 12 hours
|
|It sucks that Zelensky has to deal with Trump because so many American
|voters think prices will go down if they elect the guy promising to make
|prices go up.


|u/ToArtina92 - 11 hours
|
|I hope he realizes that until trump takes the Oath, his words are as
|useless as a diploma from trump University.


|u/WearDifficult9776 - 11 hours
|
|Yes… in defeat for Ukraine.


|u/Complex-Fall3317 - 10 hours
|
|He's not wrong. Of course the war will end soon. Russia now will
|steamrolled them lol


|u/bikebrooklynn - 7 hours
|
|He has to say this and suck up to him because once Biden is gone Trump
|is the only lifeline left to Ukraine.


|u/throwaway-rayray - 6 hours
|
|His only move is to suck up to trump and the First Lady (Elon). At the
|end of the day Zelensky has proven time and again he will put his people
|first - stroking the ego of the Cheeto is a small price to pay really.


|u/DarkLordKohan - 4 hours
|
|He is buttering him up. Dude is doing what he needs to do for his
|country. And if he needs to bootlick an idiot, he will.


|u/Xzenor - 1 day
|
|Oh it'll end sooner but not in a good way for Ukraine.


|u/demonfoo - 1 day
|
|Yeah, it will.  It won't end _well_, but it'll likely end _sooner_.
|Until Uncle Pootie wants more Ukrainian territory, and then it'll be
|back on.


|u/appretee - 1 day
|
|Redditors and convincing themselves that they know better and got it all
|figured out 🥲  The sad reality is that Ukraine is slowly losing ground,
|and no peace deal will end with them regaining control of the
|territories that Russia took, even with Ukraine's capture of Kursk.
|They did very well to keep up for this long, but you're still fighting
|wannabe Stalin who will throw millions more lives at Ukraine in order to
|win.


  |u/Ralphieman - 1 day
  |
  |The Economist podcast from yesterday had a similar take from their
  |reporting in Kyiv where it's actually more optimism than what you see
  |here or other platforms.  Ukrainians have been growing tired of the
  |current administration's rhetoric of 'however long it takes for a
  |Ukraine victory' while the actions said otherwise from the drip drip
  |support they've been getting.  So they are willing to gamble on Trump
  |being more strong and decisive even though they fully realize it could
  |go either way.


|u/08148693 - 1 day
|
|I’m sceptical, but if he does, good  Even if it means giving the Donbas
|to Russia, that land isn’t much good to anyone. It’ll be a deadly
|minefield for decades  The sooner this ends the fewer lives are lost,
|and that’s a good thing


  |u/DogStray - 1 day
  |
  |Donbas region has some of the most fertile land in the world. Big
  |money have so much invested in this that they will not give it up for
  |free. Lives do not matter to big money.


|u/Interesting_Whole_44 - 22 hours
|
|I think he means once the support from the US ends they’re toast.


|u/PrestigiousFlan1091 - 18 hours
|
|Of course. When you handcuff Ukraine and embolden Russia, doesn’t take a
|genius.


|u/N733LK00 - 18 hours
|
|Sure! Because he will let Russia roll over them.


|u/seriousbangs - 20 hours
|
|I mean yeah, Russia won. They're going to keep the land they stole and
|then go rebuild their army so they can come back in 3 years and take
|what's left.


|u/Lister0fSmeg - 1 day
|
|Trump will throw Ukraine under the bus at the first opportunity.
|Firstly, because he is a Russian asset under the Kremlin's command, and
|secondly because Zelensky didn't fabricate fake dirt on Hunter Biden
|when trump tried to extort him for financial aid the first time around.
|As we've seen many times before, saying no to trump makes you a target
|for his childish bullying tactics, and an enemy forever.


|u/mjbcesar - 1 day
|
|That's probably true, but not the way Ukraine would have wanted,
|unfortunately


|u/CyroSwitchBlade - 17 hours
|
|It is likely that Ukraine will be pressured by the Trump administration
|to concede territory in the Donbas to end the conflict. With the
|prospect of financial and material support from the U.S. being cut off
|they may not have much other choice then to accept this resolution.  If
|western Europe decides to step up their support in a considerable way
|the war could continue.


|u/ElvisFan222 - 17 hours
|
|Putin and Zelensky both want to end the war, but they need an out and
|will both say "trump forced our hand"  they're both waiting for that,
|imo  we have family in Donestk Oblast, and want to visit someday so they
|can see finally meet their grand children.


|u/MsNatCat - 15 hours
|
|I feel fucking terrible for Zelensky.


|u/Particular_Row_8037 - 15 hours
|
|Let's hope he takes Putin out before that and that's how the war ends.
|Just to say fuck you to Trump.


|u/bulldogfan513 - 15 hours
|
|I look forward to reading this same article again when it is posted in
|r/leopardsatemyface.


|u/Lupinthrope - 15 hours
|
|That’s a good thing right Reddit?


|u/MrGeek89 - 14 hours
|
|How? It means Putin conditions and Ukraine not joining EU.


|u/Apprehensive_Bit4767 - 12 hours
|
|Zelensky is100 percent correct . Trump will not send a nickle to Ukraine
|or offer any support. So yes he is correct


|u/desmonea - 12 hours
|
|It's a smart statement from Zelensky imho. Trump kind of cornered
|himself when he said he will end the war diplomatically in less than 24
|hours. Doing something that goes against his word - like approving
|military aid to Ukraine, for example - would now cost him virtual
|reputation points. So even if Trump wants to help Ukraine militarily, he
|will hesitate, because it can hurt him politically. This statement from
|Zelensky aims to reduce that reputation cost for Trump. Trump can now
|point at it and say: "See? Everyone agrees it is me who helped to end
|the war, much much sooner than it would without me!" In other words,
|it's about giving political ammo to Trump, so he can more easily send
|some real one back. At least that's how I see it.


|u/ladygagafan1237 - 12 hours
|
|I mean he’s not wrong, but I don’t think he’ll like the outcome with
|that Cheeto in charge. Best case scenario Ukraine doesn’t lose any
|additional land, does not get any of their lands back, does not get to
|join NATO nor the EU. Worst case scenario is there is no sovereign
|Ukraine anymore.


|u/Darth-Shittyist - 12 hours
|
|Yeah, it will end sooner because Russia will annex Ukraine and move on
|to Poland.


|u/LivvyByrdsong - 12 hours
|
|It will end sooner because Trump‘s overwhelming support of Russia will
|allow it to run Ukraine completely in short order


|u/Conscious_Message282 - 11 hours
|
|Ukrainian was brought to their knees because of corruption.  The recent
|administration US intelligence saw the Russian forces being built up
|along the border and did nothing.  We didn’t send them the things they
|needed and promised in a timely manner.  If Ukraine is truly being
|rebuilt as a democracy, then having them as an ally would be beneficial
|for peace keeping and safety in that region, just like Israel.


|u/Jahonay - 11 hours
|
|I'm okay with hypothesizing a 4D chess move here. If Zelenski continues
|to praise trump and conservatives past when it's convenient, and you end
|up being wrong about Zelenski, then don't try to weasel your way out of
|being wrong. I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other, but
|people did this with Kanye and Joe Rogan and Elon musk, and I'm sick of
|white dudes glazing people who end up being Trumpers.


|u/jerryleebee - 11 hours
|
|I mean, didn't Trump want to just let Putin have more of Ukraine? I
|guess technically that would end things sooner.


|u/UncleSlim - 11 hours
|
|This is the only thing he *can say* in this position regardless if he
|actually thinks it or not. He knows Trump has a huge ego and what else
|would he say? "Trump sucks?" "The war will be worse with Trump?" That'd
|a quick way to piss off a child with a hot temper and get all your
|support taken away real quick.


|u/ObviousHuckleberry66 - 10 hours
|
|He didn't say how it would end sooner he just said it would.....I think
|it was a subtle backhand lol


|u/Fair-Interest7143 - 10 hours
|
|And not to Ukraine‘s advantage


|u/falzeh - 10 hours
|
|Better the Devil you know.


|u/Apepoofinger - 10 hours
|
|This shit is going to get messy around the world.


|u/thisiskyle77 - 10 hours
|
|President Trump making his mark


|u/LSDZNuts - 9 hours
|
|Bro knows who about to be his daddy. He’s walking the line for his
|people.  You’d do the same


|u/Toking-Ape - 6 hours
|
|Got to play the cards that ur dealt.


|u/windchill94 - 2 hours
|
|Oh it will end sooner, just very much to Ukraine's detriment.


|u/Snake_Plizken - 35 minutes
|
|Find ways to stroke his narcissistic ego, and you shall profit..


|u/mahonkey - 1 day
|
|What would be hilarious would be if trump was supposed to help Russia
|under threat of some sort of sexual blackmail, but then he just says
|"jokes on you I'm into that shit" and goes all in on Ukraine  Not a
|prediction, just what would make me crack up