Don’t Expect Russia to End Fighting in Ukraine 

The Russians are being quite forthcoming at least on these issues regardless of how many bilateral or multilateral meetings are held about ending Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Earlier Putin told President Trump that he won’t end the war until Kyiv capitulates and surrenders Donbas.

Now Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has emphasized like others before him that Russia will never stop fighting in Ukraine despite European leaders’ calls for an immediate ceasefire. Lavrov explained that an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine would, in the words of the Kremlin’s playbook, mean “preserving the Nazi regime” and “banning the Russian language,” according to RAI Novosti and TASS as reported by Ukrayinska Pravda.

After more than three years of fighting in Ukraine, a Russian leader has resurrected the debunked Kremlin claim of Nazis ruling Ukraine. Moscow used this ruse to substantiate its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In the course of the war no one found any Nazis in the Ukrainian government. However, more than 1 million killed Russian rapists and cutthroats have littered the Ukrainian countryside.

As for banning the Russian language, at least half of Ukraine speaks Russian at a time when Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine. On the other hand, Ukrainians and their language are persecuted if not banned in Russia.

Lavrov told gullible journalists listening to him: “A ceasefire now would mean only one thing – that a vast part of Ukraine remains under the control of a Nazi regime. It would be the only place on Earth where an entire language is legally banned, not to mention that it is an official UN language and spoken by the majority of the population.” 

He also denounced European leaders, who genuinely supported Ukraine and President Zelenskyy that his “European patrons and masters…persuaded Washington to change its stance and avoid seeking a long-term settlement, instead opting to “simply stop and let history decide.”

Since the ill-fated Alaska summit, at which Putin turned down Trump’s insistence that he return to discussing peace, Russia stepped up its aerial attacks against Ukrainian towns and energy infrastructures and unarmed civilians.

Russia launched a large-scale air attack on Ukraine early Wednesday, October 22, that was reported by CNN and the AP, causing power outages across most of the country, setting homes ablaze and killing at least seven people, including a six-month-old baby, her 12-year-old sister and their mother, Ukrainian authorities said.

The attack, which involved drones, missiles and fighter jets, targeted vast swathes of the country, including the capital Kyiv, and came as the upcoming Budapest meeting was scrapped.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said energy infrastructure, as well as “ordinary cities” were targeted in the attacks. The strikes had killed seven people and wounded 17 across Ukraine, he said.

Russian leaders have revealed their plan and proclaimed their goal: no let up in the fighting and re-subjugation of Ukraine and Ukrainians. Why then hasn’t President Trump recognized this?

World Talks about Putin and Trump Deciding the Fate of Ukrainians

Russian Führer Vladimir Putin, President Donald Trump’s friend and confidant, has “won certain property” during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and should be expected to take Ukrainian territory as part of a peace deal, Trump said in an interview with Fox News that aired Oct. 19.

In other words, the American president allowed the Russian president to take what’s not his. Theft entitles Putin to his booty.

https://thetorncurtain1991.blogspot.com/?m=1

Since I wrote about this outrageous claim, this story has circulated the world, boggling the minds of readers. How can the so-called leader of the free world trifle with the existence of a free country and the lives of a free nation? How can he authorize an invader and murderer to keep what his rapists and cutthroats stole just because they’re occupying Ukrainian land?

In one fell swoop, Trump has upended rule of law, denigrated national borders, empowered rapists and cutthroats, endorsed thieves, and sanctioned their seizure of foreign property.

He is no better than the perpetrator of this crime, Vladimir Putin. Putin did not create Russia. Russia created Putin and his predecessors.

Yes, this offense has made the rounds. But even if it is repeated a dozen more times, it would not be enough to denounce and discredit Putin and Trump for horse trading people and their ancestral land.

Trump is Destroying International Order and Democracy by Saying Putin is ENTITLED to Keep Stolen Ukrainian Land

As I wrote in my previous post about President Trump being aware of Fuhrer Putin’s intention not to end his war against Ukraine unit Kyiv surrenders, now he says that Putin is entitled to the land he stole from Ukraine.

Donald Trump told a Fox News anchor and MSN also reported that he expected Ukraine to make territorial concessions in any peace agreement his administration could potentially orchestrate between Kyiv and Moscow.

In an interview that aired on Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, the Trump indicated that under the terms of a deal authored by the White House, Russia would likely be allowed to retain territory it has occupied since February of 2022. Two foreign entities shouldn’t be allowed to decide the fate of a third party, Ukraine, an entity that has suffered more than others in Russia’s prison of nations. Nazis should have demanded rights to the land they seized in World War Two.

Trump spoke with Putin by phone for two hours on Thursday, then met the following day with Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House where all public signs of the tension between the two men which had erupted at a meeting this spring had vanished. Privately, however, the Financial Times reported on Sunday that the conversation between Trump and Zelensky repeatedly devolved into a “shouting match” with the Trump warning Putin that Russia would “destroy” his country if he didn’t accept territorial concessions.

On Sunday, Bartiromo asked Trump whether he’d gotten a sense from Putin during that conversation that he was “open to ending this war without taking significant property from Ukraine?”

Cutting in, Trump responded, “I did, I did.” But his answer shifted as the Fox host finished her question and asked whether Putin would return Ukrainian territory.

“Well, he’s gonna take something. I mean, they fought and he has a lot a lot of property... He’s won a certain property,” Trump said.

Trump also said he cannot provide all the weapons Ukraine wants because Washington needs them for itself. He added that he cannot put the United States at risk.

“We can’t give all of our weapons to Ukraine. We just can't do that. I've been very good to President Zelensky and to Ukraine, but we can’t give. If we're going to be sure, I don't want to do that. I can't jeopardize the United States,” Trump concluded.

Just read that over and over again. Trump is singlehandedly destroyed the international order by allowing his friend, Putin, to upend law and order and allow the thief its ill-gotten gains, not by fairly acquiring it.

Ukrainian American voters will certainly remember this betrayal, insult, offense, slap in the face by the President of the United States against Ukrainians and Ukrainian Americans on Election Day this November, in 2026 and 2028.

Putin to Trump: No Peace until Ukraine Surrenders

I’ve written about this here many times. Peace in Ukraine and an end to Russia’s war are not on the table regardless of how many bilateral and multilateral meetings are held. Russian fuhrer Putin will never allow peace in Ukraine until Kyiv surrenders and he told this to President Donald Trump in Alaska.

Putin’s goal is to seize all of Ukraine and subjugate all Ukrainians in a renewed prison of nations.

According to the Financial Times, as cited by Ukrainska Pravda, during the summit on August 15, 2025, the issue of ending the war was to be discussed between Trump and Putin. However, the Russian despot began by attempting to show that Russians and Ukrainians are a single people by referencing Grand Prince Rurik, Grand Prince Yaroslav Mudryi and Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky. This irritated an already confused Trump, the Financial Times said, who threatened to walk out of the meeting if Putin wouldn’t talk about peace. Putin balked but ultimately declared angrily that there will never be peace in Ukraine until Kyiv capitulates and permanently returns Crimea and Donbas to Russia.

Furthermore, Trump later revealed that he was angered by the global notion that the Alaska Summit was Putin’s triumph.

Putin’s admission about his plan for Ukraine should open everyone’s eyes about Moscow’s real goal in Ukraine: re-subjugation of 45-or-so million Ukrainians in a rebuilt prison. The Kremlin has never quietly or publicly denied that but nobody cared to listen. Trump who enjoyed making flippant comments about Ukraine’s chances of defeating Russia and admitted to sharing with Putin his inside information is the least capable intermediary in this matter. Why? Because he doesn’t care and he’s ignorant of history and the issues. He seems to be unaware that this isn’t about sealing a deal about building a skyscraper in Manhattan. This is about 45 million red-blooded, breathing human beings who call Ukraine their home.

During their latest meeting on October 17, President Trump called on Kyiv and Moscow to “stop where they are” and end their brutal war following a lengthy White House meeting with President Zelenskyy. 

Reportedly, Trump’s frustration with the conflict has surfaced repeatedly in the nine months since he returned to office, but with his latest comments he edged back in the direction of pressing Ukraine to give up on retaking land it has lost to Russia. He teased Zelenskyy with on again, off again support for Ukraine only to return to Putin’s flock.

“Enough blood has been shed, with property lines being defined by War and Guts,” Trump said in a Truth Social post not long after hosting Zelenskyy and his team for more than two hours of talks. “They should stop where they are. Let both claim Victory, let History decide!”

How arrogant and obnoxious of Trump to quip in such a manner.

Later, soon after arriving in Florida, Trump urged both sides to “stop the war immediately” and implied that Moscow keep territory it’s taken from Kyiv. 

“You go by the battle line wherever it is — otherwise it’s too complicated,” Trump told reporters. “You stop at the battle line and both sides should go home, go to their families, stop the killing, and that should be it.” 

No, Mr. President, you don’t deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.

On social media, Zelensky said: “I spoke with our European partners – the leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Finland, Norway, and Poland, as well as with the heads of the EU and the Secretary General of NATO.

“I shared details of my conversation with US President Donald Trump. We discussed many important issues. The main priority now is to protect as many lives as possible, guarantee security for Ukraine, and strengthen all of us in Europe. That is exactly what we are working for.

“Our national security advisors will discuss the next steps. We are coordinating our positions. I am grateful for the conversation, for all the support, and for the readiness to stand with Ukraine.”

Indeed, Europe’ fate is in Ukraine’s hands. If Ukraine wins, Europe and the United States and the free world will win. Otherwise, hell will spread across the world.

Fortunately, European leaders reiterated their steadfast support for Ukraine in a virtual call with Zelenskyy after his meeting with Trump at the White House.

The European leaders gave “their unwavering commitment to Ukraine in the face of ongoing Russian aggression,” the UK’s Downing Street said in a statement.

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “A just and lasting peace for Ukraine was the only way to stop the killing for good, they agreed.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also took part in the call, the spokesperson said.

“Further discussions about how they could support Ukraine in the lead up to, and following, a ceasefire would continue this week, including in a Coalition of the Willing call on Friday, the leaders agreed,” the spokesperson added.

As painful as this is, Ukraine again is being betrayed by the leader of the free world. Trump, who always pushes back his deadline for Putin, is to meet the Russian dictator in Budapest in two weeks. That surely can turn out to be an Alaska Part 2.

Russia Maintains Lies and Drones

What do you call someone who looks you square in the eyes and says he’s interested in peace but nonetheless continues bombing a neighboring country, its cities and towns, and residential neighborhoods with impunity?

Some may say extreme recidivist.

But the shorter answer is Russia.

Russia continued bombing Ukraine’s energy facilities with 300 drones and 37 missiles in its latest heavy, virtually daily bombardment of the country’s power grid, authorities said Thursday, October 16.

But hope for peace has not evaporated, at least not in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has already arrived in Washington, is prepared to ask President Donald Trump at a White House meeting on Friday for more American-made air defenses and long-range missiles that have filled Putin and his cronies with concern and trepidation.

As he considers Zelenskyy’s push for US missiles, Trump said after Thursday’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin that they will meet in Budapest, Hungary, to try to bring the war to an end. No date for the meeting has been set. 

Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he will discuss his call with Putin “and much more” when he meets Zelenskyy on Friday, adding that “I believe great progress was made with today’s telephone conversation.” 

Trump is either naive or thinks Zelenskyy and everyone else are morons. Trump reportedly raised the issue of ending his war against Ukraine countless times, claiming have no fear, all is going well. He has also told Zelenskyy, after berating him in the Oval Office, yelling that the Ukrainian president doesn’t have the cards to pursue a victory, that all is going well, the Tomahawks will help, and he’ll tell Putin the same later. But Russia is continuing bombing Ukraine and making the American president look foolish.

The aerial attack against Ukraine continues in between meetings, conversations, paragraphs, sentences and words. Moscow’s strategy is death and destruction.

Meanwhile, eight Ukrainian regions experienced blackouts after the barrage, Ukraine’s national energy operator, Ukrenergo, said. With the cold weather just around the corner, DTEK, the country’s largest private energy company, reported outages in the capital, Kyiv, and said it had to stop its natural gas extraction in the central Poltava region due to the strikes. Natural gas infrastructure was damaged for the sixth time this month, Naftogaz, Ukraine’s state-owned oil and gas company, said. 

Rest assured that Ukraine and Zelenskyy will not budge in the negotiations. Russia invaded Ukraine for its own imperial reasons. Fear and panic are not part of that. Moscow simply wants to re-subjugate Ukrainians and rebuild its prison of captive nations.

To return peace and stability to the region, the US and other countries must ensure that Russia is disarmed, that it is forced to pay reparations, and that Ukraine is allowed join NATO or any alliance that it wants.

Russia Continues Bombing Ukraine ahead of Presidents' Meeting on Friday

Even with a bilateral meeting between President Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this Friday, October 17, Russia is not silencing its attacks against Ukraine and its unarmed civilian population. There is no contribution or regret.

At least three people were killed and 17 others injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over the past day, local authorities reported on October 14.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 69 out of 96 Shahed-type attack drones and other drones launched by Russia overnight, according to the Air Force. Twenty-seven drone strikes were recorded at seven locations, with drone fragments striking another location, according to the report.

Russian forces launched powerful glide bombs and drones against Ukraine’s second-largest city in overnight attacks, hitting a hospital and wounding seven people, an official said Tuesday.

The Russian attack on Kharkiv in Ukraine’s northeast, 25 miles from the Russian border, hit the city's main hospital, forcing the evacuation of 50 patients, regional head Oleh Syniehubov said. The attack’s main targets were energy facilities, Zelenskyy said, without providing details of what was hit.

“Every day, every night, Russia strikes power plants, power lines, and our (natural) gas facilities,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

Russian long-range strikes on Ukraine’s power grid are part of a campaign since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022 to disable Ukraine’s power supply, denying civilians heat and running water during the upcoming bitter winter.

Zelenskyy urged foreign countries to help blunt Russia’s long-range attacks by providing more air defense systems for the country, which is almost the size of Texas and hard to defend from the air in its entirety.

“We are counting on the actions of the U.S. and Europe, the G7, all partners who have these systems and can provide them to protect our people,” Zelenskyy said. “The world must force Moscow to sit down at the table for real negotiations.”

According to the UN, Russians also hit humanitarian mission trucks in the Bilozerska community. Russian forces deliberately targeted them with drones and artillery, said Ukrainian officials.

Four WFP-marked trucks delivering aid to civilians were hit. As a result, one vehicle was burned, another was severely damaged, and two others managed to escape the strikes. No one was injured.

“Today, the ‘second army’ of the world defeated several tons of humanitarian aid. Terrorists — there’s nothing more to say,” officials said.

Zelenskyy prepared to travel to Washington and ask President Trump for more American military help. The talks are expected to center on the potential US provision to Ukraine of sophisticated long-range weapons that can hit back at Russia.

Trump has warned Moscow that he may send Tomahawk cruise missiles for Ukraine to use. Such a move, previously ruled out by Washington for fear of escalating the war, would deepen tensions between the United States and Russia.

But it could provide leverage to help push Moscow into negotiations after Trump expressed frustration over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s refusal to budge on key aspects of a possible peace deal.

Tomahawks would sharpen Ukraine’s ability to fight back against Russia, though its long-range attacks are already taking a toll on Russian oil production, Ukrainian officials and foreign military analysts say.

Its strikes using newly developed long-range missiles and drones are causing significant gas shortages in Russia, according to Zelenskyy.

Russians Intensify Aerial Attacks against Ukraine

Ukrainian government and news media sources have tabulated a marked increase in Russian aerial attacks on Ukrainian civilian residences and energy facilities.

Kyiv reported a 38% jump in combined Russian drone and missile attacks through September compared with August, Ukrainian Air Force data analyzed by ABC News showed, as Moscow intensified its nightly long-range barrages across the country. Most recently, Russia has begun daytime bombing runs against Ukraine.

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched a total of 5,636 drones and 187 missiles into the country through September. That meant a roughly 39% increase in the number of drones and a nearly 20% increase in the number of missiles versus August.

The air force reported a daily average of nearly 188 Russian drones and just over six Russian missiles in September. Defenders downed or suppressed almost 87% of all Russian drones and over 68% of Russian missiles through the month – rates roughly comparable with previous months.

To date, July 2025 was the busiest month for Ukrainian defenders, who faced 6,443 drones and missiles across the course of the month, per air force data.

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine confirmed that the number of Ukrainians killed and injured in the first five months of 2025 has increased by 1.5 times compared to the same period in 2024. Russian attacks have become significantly more lethal, according to a report by the HRMMU.

“Ballistic missiles, when used in densely populated areas, cause predictable and widespread harm to civilians, as demonstrated by these recent attacks,” Danielle Bell, head of the HRMMU, said.

This deadly intensification comes at a time when the White House, national advocates for Ukraine and even Moscow claim to want peace. If and when peace comes to Ukraine, it must include the evacuation of all Russian cutthroats to Russia and the maintenance of Ukrainian territory and borders, according to international agreements.

Russian troops launched more than 3,100 drones, around 1,360 glide bombs and 92 missiles of various types on Ukraine in the past week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on October 12.

In a renewed effort to disrupt Ukraine’s energy grid ahead of winter, Russia carried out several large-scale missile and drone strikes on energy and gas facilities last week.

An overnight attack on October 10 led to widespread power outages across multiple regions. Civilian infrastructure was also hit, resulting in casualties both in Kyiv and in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

Zelenskyy said Russia is purposefully ramping up attacks as global attention shifts to the Middle East, where Israel and Hamas this week agreed to the first phase of a US-brokered peace plan.

“That is precisely why no weakening of pressure can be allowed,” he said. “Sanctions, tariffs, and joint actions against the buyers of Russian oil — those who finance this war — must all remain on the table.”

In addition to deadly drones and missiles, the number of cyberattacks on Ukraine spiked by 69.8 percent in 2024, reaching 4,315 incidents, compared to 2023, when 2,541 cyber incidents were recorded, the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection reports on their website.

Hackers most often targeted: local authorities, the government and government organizations, the security and defense sector, the energy sector, commercial organizations, and telecommunications.

The most common types of attacks included: distributing malicious software, phishing, malicious connection, and compromising accounts or systems.

The hackers’ goal is to steal sensitive information and to destroy data and information systems, notes the State Special Communications Service.

There is a steady trend towards an increase in cyberattacks today, primarily targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, notes the government’s computer emergency response team CERT-UA.

“The enemy does not abandon their attempts to destabilize our country with the help of cyber warfare. This indicates that confrontation in the cyber realm remains one of the hottest spots in the war,” they noted, suggesting that Russia would continue to employ all possible methods to obtain important intelligence.

Before the weekend, Russian drone and missile strikes overnight Friday, October 10, caused blackouts across large sections of Ukraine, damaged residential buildings and injured at least 20 people in Kyiv, authorities said. A child was killed in attacks in the southeast of the country.

In the heart of the Ukrainian capital, rescue crews pulled more than 20 people out of a 17-story apartment building as flames engulfed the sixth and seventh floors. Five people were hospitalized, while others received first aid at the scene, authorities said.

The Russian “cynical and calculated” strikes targeted civilian and energy infrastructure as Ukraine prepared for falling winter temperatures, Zelenskyy said on social media.

Nonetheless, the people remember and pay tribute to Ukraine’s fallen heroes, according to the Associated Press. Every morning at 9 o’clock, Kyiv stops for a minute.

Traffic lights turn red, and the steady beat of a metronome on loudspeakers signals 60 seconds of reflection. Cars idle in the middle of the street as drivers step out and stand with heads bowed.

Across Ukraine — in cafes, gyms, schools, on television and even on the front lines — people pause to remember those killed in Russia’s full-scale invasion.

The world must also remember and pay tribute to Ukrainians killed defending their homeland as well as protecting Europe.