‘Open Sesame’ – ‘Ceasefire Sesame’

Declarations about an energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia are getting weirder and weirder; they border on the juvenile parody of the famous magical phrase “Open Sesame” from “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”

It’s often blurted out by kids trying to command doors to open or mock someone making an arbitrary or bossy command—much like declaring something into existence just by saying it.

On “Good Morning, America” this morning I caught this crawl along the bottom of the screen that made that ridiculous observation.

Reporters pressed President Donald Trump outside the White House on why neither Kyiv nor Moscow had actually confirmed or agreed to his announced energy strike freeze, as reported by outlets such as The Washington Examiner and The Kyiv Independent: Their exchange went this way:

Reporter: Asking why neither side confirmed the agreement.

Trump: “Well, they agreed. You know why? Because I said, ‘You agree.’ That's why. They agreed because I said they agree, and that thing has to get settled.”

In public declarations, Trump doubled down on asserting that the ceasefire is in effect simply because he commanded it and expects compliance.

On the ground, neither side has formally agreed to a signed or operational ceasefire agreement. As noted earlier, Russian forces continued targeting energy infrastructure in Ukraine, and drones and missiles continued killing innocent Ukrainian civilians right after the announcement, and Kyiv confirmed no formal deal was inked.

President Trump’s absurd pro-Russian declarations are only meant to help Putin and Russia, certainly not Ukraine and Ukrainians. The only way to have peace in Ukraine is by subduing Moscow and pushing their cutthroats back to Russia, regardless of how many Russian sad sacks have been killed, fighting for something that is not theirs.