LOS ANGELES.–Speaking with 72-year-old Russian President Vladimir Putin today, 78-year-old President Donald Trump listen to Putin tell him that all options were on the table responding recently to attacks deep inside Russia by Ukraine. Russia’s strategic bombing fleet at multiple bases were hit in a carefully planned drone operation by Ukraine’s 47-year-old President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky boasted to the press the operation was planned over a year-and-a-half under top secrecy, blindsiding Trump and Western allies. Trump said the Putin asked the U.S. and U.K. to try to restrain Zelensky with his ongoing attacks, something that prompted Putin to say he would respond at a time of his choosing. No one knows the exact number of air assets destroyed by Zelensky’s drone strike but most likely far less that the 41 aircraft claimed by the Kiev government.
Zelensky said maybe now President Trump would take Ukraine seriously in its war against the Kremlin with hurt feelings still lingering over Trump’s Feb. 28 lecture to Zelensky about “not having the cards” to call the shots in the peace process. Zelensky’s strikes at Russia’s strategic bombing fleet prompted 81-year-old senior Fox News political pundit Brit Hume to say gleefully, well maybe Zelensky really does have some cards. Hume takes any opportunity to swipe at Trump, often critical of his domestic and foreign policy. When it comes to the Ukraine War, Hume backed former President Joe Biden’s proxy war with the Kremlin, showing his Neocon propensities as a good anti-Russian crusader. Trump has been trying to restore normal U.S.-Russian diplomatic relations after Biden allowed relations to deteriorate into post WW II and Cold War lows.
Russian officials urged the U.S. and U.K. to deescalate the situation rapidly ramping up into a major escalation. “We urge London and Washington to react in such a way as to stop further escalation,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Rybakov. Rybakov was quoted by the Interfax new agency. Trump sees the dangers of escalation but it’s welcomed in some Neocon circles on Capitol Hill. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has been pushing to escalate the war, seeking to go back to the Biden proxy war strategy with the Kremlin. Trump has done everything to keep a cool head while Zelensky undermines the peace process worked on diligently by the White House. Trump and his special envoy Steve Witkoff have done everything possible to meet with Putin and get the real conditions for a ceasefire and peace talks over the last two months.
Zelenksy decided in his consultation with the EU, especially 69-year-old German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, to take a harder line on any negotiation with Putin. Merz, who’s only been prime minister for a month, takes a more belligerent tone with Putin. Merz has encouraged Ukraine to take a hard line on any negotiation with the Russian Federation. Zelensky, especially when it comes to territorial concessions, refuses to negotiate. After three years of war, Zelensky has lost some 20-25% of Ukraine’s sovereign territory, killed thousands of citizens and exiled millions. Trump wants Zelensky to cut his losses and end the war by trading land-for-peace. After consultations with the EU, Zelensky decided he would make no territorial concessions to Moscow, instead continuing the war indefinitely at great risk to the European Continent and to the world.
Putin knows where Trump stands, no longer pointing fingers at him for not jumping on the ceasefire and peace talks bandwagon. Trump understood that Putin cannot let Ukrainian attacks deep inside Russia go unpunished, realizing that Zelensky was now emboldened by the EU. “All options are on the table,” Rybakov said when asked about Russia’s response to recent attack on strategic bombers. “This is a question for our military,” Rybakov said, without saying what Putin was considering in way of an action. When asked whether Russia thought the West was involved in planning attack on Russia’s strategic bombing fleet deep inside Russia, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova the West supplies the weapons and the intelligence. Trump and all other foreign leaders said they were blindsided by Zelensky’s recent attacks, denying any involvement.
Trump’s call with Putin shows that Zelensky opened up a can of worms attack Russia’s strategic bombing fleet, then, a day later, trying the blow up the Kursk bridge joining Russia to Crimea. Whether or not the West knew about Zelensky’s attacks, Zakharova blames the West for supplying the weapons, technology and the intelligence to pull off such an attack. “There’s are several areas that prove the fact of the involvement, both direct and indirect, and the guilt of the West for the terrorist attacks that are taking place against civilians and civilian infrastructure facilities by the Kiev regime,” Zakharova said. So, no matter how much Trump reassures Putin, Russian officials still see a coordinated attack from the West. Zelensky has dragged the collective West into the war, one way or another. Trump can only speak sincerely to Putin of what the U.S. can do to mediate peace.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor Onlinecolumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
