As U.S. and Ukrainian officials prepare to meet in Saudi Arabia this week, President Donald Trump has privately made clear to aides that a signed minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv won’t be enough to restart aid and intelligence sharing with the war-torn country, according an administration official and another U.S. official.
Trump wants the deal, which would give the U.S. a stake in Ukraine’s mineral resources, signed. But he also wants to see a change in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s attitude toward peace talks, the officials said, including a willingness to make concessions such as giving up territory to Russia. Trump also wants Zelenskyy to make some movement toward elections in Ukraine and possibly toward stepping down as his country’s leader, the officials said.
Elections in Ukraine have been paused under the country’s constitutional provision for martial law, which has been in effect since Russia invaded in 2022.
I don’t think there’s any doubt about Trump is up to. He appeared with Maria Bartiromo this morning:
On Sunday, Trump reiterated that he thought Zelensky wasn’t “grateful” and added that he “took candy from a baby” — his description of the Biden administration’s policy of military and political support for Ukraine’s military.
The president also seemed to deride the Ukrainian leader’s assertion that his country’s armed forces were serving the country bravely, as he dismissively recalled Zelensky “talking about the fact that they have fought and there’s […] bravery because somebody has to use those [US-supplied] weapons.”
General Bonespurs says what?
Trump on Zelensky: "I just don't think he's grateful. We gave him, in my opinion, $350 billion…He's talking about the fact that they have fought and there's a bravery because somebody has to use those weapons." pic.twitter.com/b1KBefZyQi
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) March 9, 2025
He claimed that nobody has been harder on Russia than he has and blathered on again about the “Russia, Russia, Russia” hoax because he is consumed with anger and resentment that people saw what a dupe he was. His oppositional defiance disorder leads him to go even closer to Putin in response. (Also, he might just be a Russian asset… or something. Who knows?)
He once again took “credit” for stopping the Nord Stream II pipeline which is bs since he was forced by Congress to impose the sanctions. (Remember when Congress used to do things like that?)
And guess what?
And some reports have indicated that his administration could be interested in cutting a deal with Russia in 2025 that would allow for the project to resume…
Referring to Trump throwing Zelenksy out of the White House before a minerals deal could be signed, Bartiromo asked the U.S. president: “Are you comfortable with that, the fact you walked away and Ukraine may not survive?”
Trump replied: “Well, it may not survive anyway. But, you know, we have some weaknesses with Russia. You know, it takes two.”
Bartiromo: "Are you comfortable with that? The fact that you walked away and Ukraine might not survive?"
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) March 9, 2025
Trump: "Well, it may not survive anyway. But we have some weaknesses with Russia, y'know? It takes two." pic.twitter.com/m3SPakxHW2
He is a monster. And some people love him for it:
“The new (U.S.) administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations,” Peskov said in an interview aired Sunday on Russian state media. “This largely coincides with our vision.”
Indeed it does.