Trump’s Misguided Notion of Parity

In the final minutes of today’s press conference about the US attack on Venezuela and seizure of the Maduros, President Donald J. Trump unexpectedly touched on the topic of the Russian war against Ukraine and his misguided, dangerous notion of parity.

In about the 55^th minute of the 58-minute morning press conference, a reporter asked Trump if he spoke with Russian führer Putin about the US action against Venezuela. He replied no. The reporter persisted by asking “Are you mad at him now?”

In his well-known lackadaisical manner he replied “I am not thrilled with Putin. He is killing too many people.” It would have been acceptable if Trump ended his comment at that point but he didn’t. The 47^th President of the USA continued explaining his unproductive role in settling the nearly four-year brutal Russian war versus Ukraine.

According to the C-Span unedited transcript, he said he had thought that one of the easier wars that he would have to settle would be the one Russia launched against Ukraine. “It is not. They both have done some pretty bad things,” he said assigning equal blame and responsibility to Moscow and Kyiv, when international organizations, the free world and others know that Russia is solely responsible for invading Ukraine in February 2022 and the ensuing inhuman bloodshed and destruction of cities, homes, and energy infrastructure.

“Look, this is Biden’s war. That is not my war,” Trump continued passing responsibility to his predecessor. Did you see last month 27,000, the month before, 30,000 mostly soldiers were killed last month? 30,000. I want to stop that. I got NATO to pay 5% instead of 2% they were not paying. They were not paying 2%, now they’re paying 5%,” Trump claimed without offering any citations.

Indeed, Russia has lost more than 1 million of its invading cutthroats. In addition to Ukrainian soldiers killed in action, Ukraine has also lost due to Russia’s war thousands of civilian men, women and children, and tens of thousands of Ukrainian children were stolen from their parents and forcibly transported to Russia. Many towns have been flattened by Russia.

“We send them a lot of things, missiles and various other things, a lot. And they pay. The United States is not losing money. We are probably making money. It is the last thing that I care about. I want to stop all those people. We are losing 30,000 human beings that came from places very far away,” he said, making a very important admission that the United States is not losing money on helping Ukraine militarily as some in Washington and Moscow have claimed but rather it’s making money.

“If I can stop, because it is something I have been pretty good at doing, deals, I guess, it is all a deal, life is a big deal. But if I can stop that war and stop 30,000 young people, in addition to the fact people are being killed in Kyiv, in other cities, a much smaller number but they are being killed, viciously killed,” he said. “I am not happy about it. I thought that would be something that would get solved.”

After nearly a year after his involvement with the peace negotiations, Trump still believes that “we are making progress that is a war that should never have happened. If I was president, it never would have happened. Putin says it, everybody says it. If I was president that never would have happened. I inherited that war. That was Joe Biden, Zelenskyy, and Putin. I came into the situation and it is a mess,” he said exonerating himself.

President Trump has not been able to settle the war because he lacks the knowledge and understanding of the reasons for this latest Russian aggression against Ukraine and all of the previous ones. Furthermore, he is playing both sides against the middle by standing with his buddy Putin rather than taking a firm stand on behalf of Ukraine’s victory. Until he does, this war and the bloodshed will continue.

Kharkiv

Russia Continues to Strike Civilian Residences

The New Year for Ukraine has begun as it had ended. Russia continues to strike residential areas in its bid to demoralize Ukrainians ahead of its intended occupation of the entire country.

This time the target was Kharkiv with two missiles striking the eastern Ukrainian city on Friday, January 2, President Zelenskyy wrote on his Telegram page. He said Moscow’s forces “continue the killings, despite all the efforts of the world, and above all the United States, in the diplomatic process.”

At least 19 people in the eastern city were injured, including a 6-month-old, said regional administration head Oleh Syniehubov.

Earlier Friday, Russia conducted what local authorities called “one of the most massive” drone attacks at Zaporizhzhia. At least nine drones struck the city, damaging dozens of residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure but causing no casualties, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of the regional administration.

Overall, Russia fired 116 long-range drones at Ukraine, according to Ukraine’s Air Force, with 86 intercepted and 27 striking their targets.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses intercepted 64 Ukrainian drones overnight in multiple Russian regions.

Sadly, negotiations with Moscow won’t work. Russia must be subdued by other means.

The Greatest Impediment to Ending Russia’s War against Ukraine

During his election campaign, Donald Trump repeatedly boasted that he expected to solve the war against Ukraine “within 24 hours” of taking office. However, since becoming president again Trump has walked back that specific timeline, calling it “sarcastic” and acknowledging that it is a “very complicated” process. 

Indeed, it has been almost as complicated as was Russian führer Putin’s expectation to seize Kyiv within two or three days of starting the war in February 2022.

After nearly four years of this hot war, the longest in Europe in recent memory, President Trump is now quietly living the grim reality of his ignorance of the ancient issues, disregard of Ukraine’s needs, coupled with Russia’s hatred for Ukrainians, and Moscow’s desire to subjugate the country while turning Ukraine into a prison regardless of the course of the talks.

His stubborn reluctance to consider Ukraine’s point of view as well as the opinions of Eastern and Western European leaders has brought the negotiations to a standstill while Moscow visibly edges out all participants.

Ironically Trump had said Ukraine started the war in 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a “dictator” even though he won a fair election in 2019 and ridiculed him during that infamous ambush in the White House in January 2025. But Trump doesn’t say the same about Putin, even though his main opponent died in jail a few weeks before Putin won a rigged election last year.

In the past few weeks, Trump and his team have also undermined NATO, backed far-right politicians in Europe and vowed to hit the European Union with a trade war for its “very unfair” treatment of the US. No wonder a growing number of European officials and diplomats think the American president is really on Russia’s side. Pundits have counted that Trump has sided with Putin, who maintains his stubborn position on subjugating all of Ukraine, in his first month back in power 29 times.

Within a few months of his inauguration it became evident that Trump is paving a new path in his foreign policy considerations. He is veering away from the decades-long American tradition of advocating on behalf of the captive nations of Russian aggression and comprehending the ongoing danger posed by Russian aggression. The 47^th President of the United States of America has panicked NATO member-states and the international community by ignoring their entreaties on behalf of Ukraine and Eastern Europe while throwing the newly independent countries under the proverbial bus.  Furthermore, the countries that experienced Russian subjugation and their advocates have vociferously warned that after Ukraine’s complete collapse Russia will set its sights on expanding its conquest of all of Europe.

All of this has fallen on President Trump’s deaf ears. His obnoxious support of Russia is endangering the free world.

For example, Trump said on December 29 that Russian führer Putin told him Ukraine had tried to attack Putin’s residence in northern Russia, an accusation Kyiv has denied.

“I don’t like it. It’s not good,” Trump told reporters when asked whether the alleged attack could affect efforts to broker peace. “I learned about it from President Putin today. I was very angry about it."

"It's a delicate period of time,” he added. “This is not the right time. It’s one thing to be offensive, because they’re offensive. It’s another thing to attack his house. It’s not the right time to do any of that,” he said exonerating Moscow’s good intentions.

While Trump said it’s not the right time for Ukraine to attack Russia, he has said nothing about Russia’s continuous bombardment of civilian homes and infrastructures and murder of unarmed Ukrainians.

When asked whether there was any evidence of such an attack, Trump said, “We'll find out.” Don’t count on it.

Russian forces launched a large-scale drone attack on Odesa overnight December 30-31, striking residential buildings, leaving parts of the city without heat, electricity or water, and injuring six people, including three children, local officials said, was also overlooked by Trump. More than 170,000 people are without power after the attack, Ukraine's Energy Ministry said on Wednesday morning. “Another proof that Russia is targeting civilians,” Serhii Lysak, the head of Odesa City Military Administration wrote on social media following the strike on the building.

President Zelenskyy dismissed Putin’s claim as “another lie,” warning that Moscow could use the allegation and Trump’s belittling of Kyiv’s accusations of Russian attacks to justify more potential strikes, most likely targeting Kyiv.

Putin relayed the allegation during a phone call with Trump, which came after Trump’s recent meeting with Zelenskyy in Florida. Trump described his bookend calls with Putin as “very good,” a regular nod toward the Russian dictator.

Trump's ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker cast doubt on the accusations on December 30, telling Fox News that it was “unclear whether it actually happened.”

Trump’s remarks came as Russia, feeling the warmth of the American President’s words, has continued near-daily attacks on non-military targets in Ukraine’s capital and other cities. In its latest mass attack on December 26-27, Russia launched nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles targeting Kyiv’s energy infrastructure, killing two civilians and injuring 32 others.

Zelenskyy said a “sick” drone attack on Kyiv by Russian forces revealed Putin’s “true attitude” as he is set to meet his Trump last Sunday. About a third of Ukraine’s capital was left without heat in sub-zero weather conditions after Moscow’s air force launched almost 500 drones, largely shaheds, and 40 missiles in a large air strike. The air force said Russian drones were targeting the capital and regions in the North East and the South.

In a post on X, Zelenskyy said: “Russian representatives engage in lengthy talks, but in reality, Kinzhals and ‘shaheds’ speak for them. This is the true attitude of Putin and his inner circle.”

In mid-December 2025, Zelenskyy said Kyiv will not recognize the temporarily occupied part of the eastern Donbas region as legally or de facto Russian. The Ukrainian president also appeared to reference the “historical lands” comment that Putin made in his address this past month. “There are other countries in Europe that someone in Russia may one day call their ‘historical lands,’” Zelenskyy warned. “We need real protection from this Russian history of madness.”

Trump should take note of the latest poll about Ukrainian citizens’ views of their future that echo those of their President. Fortunately for Ukraine, the opinion poll, conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation (DIF), found that 76% of the 2,000 adults surveyed nationwide consider it unacceptable to recognize occupied Ukrainian territories as part of Russia. To spell it out for the American President and Russian führer, Ukrainians, the ultimate rulers of their nation, country and destiny, do not recognize Russian seizure their homes and will not give them to Moscow.

Negotiations will come and go, Zelenskyy will thankfully not budge from his pro-Ukrainian positions, and Trump will remain the greatest impediment to a lasting and just peace in Ukraine after it emerges victorious from the war that Russia started.

Republican & Democrats on The Hill Buck President’s anti-Ukraine Policies

A growing number of senators and congressmen of both sides of the aisle are bucking President Trump’s anti-Ukraine policies by introducing their own pro-Ukrainian, anti-Russian resolutions.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-SC) is one of nine in a group of bipartisan senators — three Republicans, five Democrats and one independent — also trying to be heard. Their message to Trump is simple: Don’t trust Putin, according to a statement released today by his office.

As families across the United States gathered for the holidays, Tillis and his eight colleagues focused on a four-year-old child in Ukraine who was killed in a Russian drone strike with six other people.

Putin escalated his war against Ukraine last week with a barrage of drone strikes and long-range missiles, causing those deaths, at least 39 injuries, widespread power outages and destruction across the region.

Zelenskyy had agreed to a Christmas ceasefire.

Putin refused.

“Today’s decision by Putin to launch attacks rather than hold fire is a sobering reminder for us all: Putin is a ruthless murderer who has no interest in peace and cannot be trusted,” the senators wrote to Trump.

The letter and the attack came after Trump administration officials drafted a 20-point peace plan between Russia and Ukraine and are helping the two countries negotiate the terms.

New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, initiated the letter Tillis signed. Describing Putin as a “ruthless murderer” echoes words Tillis has long used since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Shaheen and Tillis both created and chair the Senate’s NATO Observer Group. The bipartisan group, focused on strengthening Congress’ work with NATO, initially began in 1997 but disbanded in 2007, before Shaheen and Tillis reestablished the group in 2018.

Republican Sens. John Barrasso, of Wyoming, and Jerry Moran, of Kansas also signed. Foreign Relations committee Chairman James Risch, a Republican from Idaho, did not, nor did most of the other Republicans on the committee. To do so would break from Trump, who at times has been supportive of Putin and critical of Zelenskyy.

Democrat Sens. Jacky Rosen of Nevada; Chris Coons of Delaware; Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland; and Sen. Angus King, an independent of Maine, also signed the letter that condemned Russia’s “killing of civilians as Christians around the world celebrated the Christmas holiday.”

“It bears repeating that President Zelenskyy agreed to a Christmas truce, but Putin declined, yet he directs soldiers to continue to commit brutal crimes of aggression on one of Christianity’s holiest days,” the senators wrote to Trump. “Even for countries at war, there is a long history of Christmas ceasefires, including notably during World War I.”

On December 12, Senator Tillis released a statement praising the European Union’s decisive support for Ukraine:

“Today’s decision by European leaders to provide a €90 billion interest-free loan to Ukraine, backed by the strategic use of revenues from immobilized Russian state assets, sends an unmistakable message and demonstrate the kind of strategic clarity and resolve necessary to confront ongoing Russian aggression.

“Vladimir Putin is a thug and a war criminal. It is only fitting that Russia be held financially responsible for the death and destruction he unleashed. This decision to keep Russian assets frozen until Ukraine is fully compensated is not just about economics; it is about accountability. This is a policy reflects the kind of transatlantic leadership we need at a time when some are still looking for ‘off-ramps’ instead of results.

“Predictably, Putin has reacted to this news with his usual brand of propaganda, calling these actions ‘robbery.’ Coming from a man who invades sovereign neighbors, targets innocent civilians, and steals children, these claims are hollow. More importantly, his rhetoric serves as a reminder that he views any hint of Western hesitation as an invitation to go further.

“The lesson here is simple: appeasement never works. Putin only understands strength. Europe understands that, and America must, too. The world is watching—our allies are looking for resolve, and our adversaries are looking for weakness. We must continue to lead with the strength and clarity that this challenge demands.” 

Mr. Trump, Your Buddy’s Cutthroats are Killing Civilians & POWs

Mr. Trump, Your Buddy’s Cutthroats are Killing Civilians & POWs

Russian cutthroats are continuing their killing spree against Ukrainian civilians and surrendered soldiers. 

Two Russian soldiers have shot dead seven civilians in the city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, after demanding alcohol, according to  Khochu Zhyty ("I Want to Live"), a project of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

A father and son, Oleksandr Zavadskyi and Yaroslav Zavadskyi, came out to speak to the Russian soldiers, who demanded alcohol. When they were told that there was no alcohol in the basement, the Russians opened fire and killed the father and son.

After that, having gone down into the basement, the Russian soldiers killed the family who were there: the father, Dmytro Hulko; the mother, Oksana Hulko; their son, Dmytro Hulko; and Oksana's mother, Nadiia. Another man named Oleksandr was also killed, while one more – Petro Merontsev – was wounded and pretended to be dead.

Russian cutthroats also executed two Ukrainian defenders who had been captured in the village of Shakhove in the Pokrovsk district in Donetsk Oblast on December 27, according to the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor’s Office.

“On 27 December 2025, during an assault on positions in the village of Shakhove, Pokrovsk district, representatives of the aggressor state captured two soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces who had been carrying out a combat mission at one of the positions. 

The occupiers, threatening them with firearms, forced one of them to partially undress, after which they shot both unarmed defenders. After seeing that the prisoners of war had died, they removed the clothes from the second defender who had just been killed."

No Deal so far after Trump-Zelenskyy Talks in Florida

No Deal so far after Trump-Zelenskyy Talks in Florida 

Despite projecting a positive, optimistic mood about prospects for peace in Ukraine after almost four years of war, the meeting between President Donald J. Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ended the way it began: inconclusively.

With the USA playing both sides against the middle in this war, the chances of a just and lasting peace for Ukraine are slim. 

The talks today concluded without settling the two main divisive points: security guarantees for Ukraine and surrendering land to Russia.

During a news conference following their talks at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, Trump and Zelenskyy continued their optimism while acknowledging that challenges remain.

“You can say 95%, but I don’t like to say percentages. I just think we’re doing very well,” Trump said feigning enthusiasm. “There are one or two very thorny issues, very tough issues, but I think we’re doing very well. We made a lot of progress today.” Trump didn’t create not elaborate.

For Ukraine, those two issues are non-negotiable. Many political and civic leaders said that giving in on security and land would equal capitulating to Russia. After all, Zelenskyy had noted, what will the USA, NATO and Europe do when — not if — Russia again invades Ukraine.

Zelenskyy also expressed optimism at the press conference.

“We had a really great discussion," he told reporters. "We discussed all the aspects of the peace framework."

He added that the deal as a whole was 90% agreed to, saying U.S., Europe and Ukraine security guarantees are “almost agreed.” Before the meeting, Zelenskyy had given a similar measure of progress, telling journalists in a WhatsApp chat that a 20-point peace plan they had been working on was “90% ready.”

The latest flurry of diplomacy comes after a massive Russian attack launched against Kyiv the previous that killed at least two people, wounding dozens and leaving many without residential heating amid freezing temperatures in the Ukrainian capital.

If the USA continues to favor Russia and refuses to understand Ukraine’s side, nightly bombings of Ukrainian cities and murders of Ukrainian civilians will continue.

No, Mr. President, You Can’t Dictate Ukraine’s Destiny

In his misguided, pro-Russian style, President Donald J. Trump declared this week that despite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hopefulness ahead of their meeting in Florida tomorrow he has the final word on Ukraine’s peace plan.

While Zelenskyy said his 20-point peace plan is 90% ready, Trump poured cold water on his optimism by telling Politico that “He doesn’t have anything until I approve it. So we’ll see what he’s got,” Trump told Politico. 

His remarks were uttered a couple of days before his planned Sunday in-person meeting with Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president is rightfully adamant about forgoing land cessation while including security guarantees during peace discussions to end the nearly four-year war with Russia. Trump and Russian führer Putin have an opposing opinion.

No, Mr. President, you don’t decide independent, sovereign Ukraine’s destiny. Only the Ukrainian nation is empowered to decide its future, if it will accede to NATO and the European Union, and if its national language will continue to be Ukrainian.

Not you, not Putin.

Throughout history, the Ukrainian nation has shown that it is the master of its land and country that it established and defended despite Moscow’s repeated, brutal, bloody military and political attempts to quash the establishment of a free, democratic Ukraine. For Ukraine, it is a matter of living, existing. For Russia, it’s a matter imprisoning or annihilating the Ukrainian nation and colonizing Ukraine.

Zelenskyy’s 20-point draft proposal outlines a plan to have Russian forces withdraw from the Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv regions and build an $800 billion fund for post-war recovery efforts.

“Every meeting and every conversation brings us closer to the desired result,” Zelenskyy hopefully told the Kyiv Post, ahead of his planned face-to-face appointment with Trump.

At a State Department press conference on December 19, Secretary of State Marco Rubio demonstrated typical Americans’ deep lack of knowledge and understanding of the issues at stake. He said, “This is not just about ending a war this is about ending a war in a way that creates a mechanism and a way forward that will allow them to be independent and sovereign and never have another war again.”

First of all, independence and sovereignty pertain to Ukraine rather than Russia because Moscow is militarily seeking to liquidate Ukrainian independence and sovereignty, not the other way around.

Then, much to the surprise of the audience and even President Trump, Rubio  said, “ Suffice it to say – let me just put it to you this way – there can’t be a peace deal unless Ukraine agrees to it.  And there can’t be a peace deal, of course, unless Russia agrees to it.  But remember that.  Any peace deal is one that Ukraine has to agree to because they’re a combatant.  If Ukraine says, ‘We don’t agree to it,’ there won’t be peace. 

This contradicts what Trump has said because he feels that he has the sole authority to endorse peace in Ukraine.

Another detrimental nuance expressed by Rubio was the perception of parity. There is no difference between Russia and Ukraine, between aggressor-invader and victim, between evil and good in his mind. Rubio said, “A negotiated settlement requires two things: both sides to get something out of it, and both sides to give something.  And we’re trying to figure out what can Russia give, and what do they expect to get; what can Ukraine give and what can Ukraine expect to get.  In the end, the decision will be up to Ukraine and up to Russia.  It will not be up to the United States.” Again, not in line with Trump’s policies.

Russia, like Nazi Germany eight decades ago, does not deserve to get anything out of an end to the war that it started. Peace must be fair, just and secure for Ukraine while Russia is merely allowed to leave without additional losses.

While officials continue to discuss an end to the war, soldiers and innocent civilians are dying for peace, for their Ukraine.  At least five people were killed and 23 others injured in Russian attacks against Ukraine over the past day, local authorities reported on December 26.

Russia launched 99 drones and one Iskander ballistic missile at Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 73 drones. At least 26 drones and the missile made it through, striking 16 locations.

In Chernihiv Oblast, a drone struck a five-story residential building in the city of Chernihiv, killing an 80-year-old woman. Ten others, including three children, were injured, Governor Viacheslav Chaus said.

In Kherson Oblast, Russian attacks killed one person and injured six people over the past day, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, one person was killed and four people suffered injuries in Russian strikes against the region, Governor Ivan Fedorov reported.

In Donetsk Oblast, one person was killed and two were injured due to Russian strikes against the city of Kostiantynivka, one person was injured in a separate attack on Druzhkivka, Governor Vadym Filashkin said.

In Kharkiv Oblast, a 63-year-old man was injured as a result of Russian strikes, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.

Zelenskyy said last night’s strikes on Kyiv, like strikes against other cities in the past, are “Russia’s answer to our peace efforts” as he says more pressure on Moscow is needed to secure an end to the war.

Zelenskyy said that two things are needed to stop the war: “pressure on Russia” and “sufficient, strong support for Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian capital was hit by a fresh wave of Russian missiles and drones, killing at least two people and injuring 32 others, according to the authorities.

Former US Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker seems to comprehend the issues. Volker said Friday, December 26, on Newsmax that Putin has no intention of agreeing to a genuine peace deal with Ukraine, noting that diplomatic efforts are ultimately about aligning Washington and Kyiv against what he described as Putin’s maximalist demands.

Volker said that renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine are unlikely to produce a lasting peace because Putin remains unwilling to compromise on his core objectives.

“First off, I think that there is a very good chance that this weekend will end with the United States and Ukraine in alignment about security guarantees, about a proposal on territory, about a proposal on a ceasefire and elections, all of these things that keep the US and Ukraine working together and that will be supported by European allies,” he said.

“The problem, as always, is Vladimir Putin and Russia. Putin doesn’t want any part of this. He wants all of Ukraine. He wants Ukraine to withdraw from Ukrainian territory. He wants to subjugate the government there. He will not agree to a ceasefire unless he's promised everything in advance. So this is really not about getting the peace deal, because Putin is never going to agree to a peace deal. This is about getting the U.S. and Ukraine in the right position together to present Putin with a united front and to continue working together for Ukraine’s security, prosperity, and democracy going forward. Even if Putin decides to continue the war,” he said.

For the sake of peace and security of the free world, Trump must understand and give in to Ukraine’s position about why it will gratefully accept American weapons and financial aid but not his harmful political advice.