(Image by NEIVANMADE)
As of 7:00 PM EST/2:oo AM local time in Ukraine, all of eastern and central Ukraine is under air raid alerts for drone swarms.
The Trump natsec delegation is preparing to negotiate with Russia. I’m not sure why given that the US is not a party to Russia’s genocidal re-invasion of Ukraine – as in it is not one of the two sides actually fighting – and because the Trump natsec team has decided to do so without the Ukrainians. You know, the people that have been fighting the genocidal Russian re-invasion for just shy of the past three years.
They’re walking back already because they know Putin’s goals remain maximalist. Let’s see whether US starts pushing for ceasefire while details are supposedly hammered out. Ukr army will not stop defending before it has a clear, feasible deal w security guarantees. Anything else leads to surrender
— Maria Popova 🇨🇦 (@popovaprof.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 2:08 PM
BREAM: Given the cost that the Ukrainian people have paid, why would they not have a direct seat at the table?
WALTZ: President Trump is clear it needs to come to an end.
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 16, 2025 at 10:10 AM
President Zelenskyy was traveling to the UAE today, so there’s no address. However, he did sit for an interview with NBC News.
Zelenskyy: “I will never accept any decisions between the United States and Russia about Ukraine. Never.”
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) February 16, 2025 at 10:16 AM
And that settles that.
Here’s the full video:
Waltz also had some thoughts about what the US is “owed” by Ukraine:
I’d like to remind you that there was no deal or agreement on that. However, Ukraine did sign a written agreement in which the U.S. provided “security assurances” in exchange for Ukraine giving up its nuclear weapons. We would now like our nuclear weapons back
— Tatarigami (@tatarigami.bsky.social) February 16, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Waltz is a retired US Army Special Forces/a Green Beret. The motto of the Green Berets’ is de oppresor liber: to liberate the oppressed. COL (ret) Waltz seems to have forgotten this.
We also now know more about the US proposal regarding Ukraine’s mineral resources:
⚡️’A colonial agreement’ — former Ukrainian official slams US minerals deal, AP reports.
The U.S. delegates in Munich did not offer any security guarantees in exchange for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals, current and former senior Ukrainian officials said.
— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 16, 2025 at 4:32 PM
From The Kyiv Independent:
The United States offered Ukraine “a colonial agreement” on exchanging Ukrainian rare earth minerals for U.S. military aid, a former senior Ukrainian official told the Associated Press (AP) on Feb. 16.
The comment comes after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent delivered a draft of the agreement to President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 12. Zelensky refused to sign the document, saying it did not sufficiently protect Ukraine’s interests.
“For me is very important the connection between some kind of security guarantees and some kind of investment,” Zelensky said.
The president did not give details as to the problems with the document.
“It’s a colonial agreement and Zelensky cannot sign it,” a former senior Ukrainian official told the AP. The former official spoke under the condition of anonymity in order to speak freely.
The current and former senior Ukrainian officials who spoke to the AP said that the U.S. delegates at the Munich Security Conference did not offer any security guarantees in exchange for Ukraine’s rare earth minerals.
According to the senior Ukrainian official, the U.S. delegates were more focused on the commercial aspects of a future partnership and did not have “ready answers” to how Ukraine’s mineral deposits could be protected in the event of ongoing Russian aggression.
White House National Security Council Spokesperson Brian Hughes said Zelensky’s refusal to sign the agreement was “short-sighted.”
National Security Adviser Mike Waltz also encouraged Zelensky to take the deal in comments to Fox News on Feb. 16.
“Zelensky would be very wise to enter into this agreement with the United States,” he said.
“We’re talking about growing the pie for the Ukrainian economy.”
Waltz has previously said that the U.S. needs to “recoup” the costs of former military aid packages to Ukraine.
Ukraine has signaled that it is open to developing a partnership in resource extraction with the U.S. and other partners in exchange for security guarantees.
After his address to the Munich Security Forum yesterday, President Zelenskyy sat for a question and answer session with Christiane Amanpour. I have the video of his address from yesterday, which includes the Q&A session, queued up to start at 27:46, when the interview starts.
War for Ukraine Day 1,088: More Drone SwarmsPost + Comments (9)