Now that's some fine sane-washing, trying to retrofit coherence and strategic intent onto what was largely bumbling behavior.
Since I have discussed this a few times before I will keep it short: I fully concede that Trump is pre-programmed to give Putin what he wants. Nevertheless, I say over and over and over again that Putin needs to watch his ass. This is a very treacherous time for him. Trump is upbeat and giddy about getting a quick win here in regard to settling the war. And if either Ukraine or Russia make him look like a fool he will be vicious. Ukraine knows that is going to have to settle for less. Putin, however, does not give a sh#t about "the killing" which Trump keeps mentioning as the primary reason to end the war. Putin will try for the whole enchilada, ie. getting all sanctions lifted, Ukraine completely demilitarized, blah, blah, blah. Basically Russia is preparing to rest up and re-arm to take the rest of Ukraine when/if a democrat is elected in the U.S in 2028. Be careful Vlad. Trump may be your buddy but he will not let you make a fool out of him. You can easily get most of what you want. But don't fuck with him beyond the little dance that everyone know you must do. The world and the U.S. are wall-to-wall with leaders and people who used to be Trump's friends. If you humiliate Trump back home, it will not be pretty. Your shit-hole economy is very fragile. And no your economy is not going to collapse but you have burned through all of your reserves and are having to pull rabbits out of your hat to patch things together.
A Russian captain rammed (no avoidance attempt) and put the American fuel ship Stena Immaculate on fire off the coast of UK on Monday: https://news.sky.com/story/captain-...ash-is-russian-national-company-says-13326888 Coincidentally that ship is about 10% of American military fuel transport capacity.
They have now arrested the captain of the container ship, Solong, for manslaughter. It is likely that the arrest is merely a method to hold him so he can be questioned in detail about the incident and the ownership of the ship. As outlined on the other thread, there are reports that the cargo ship which rammed the U.S military oiler ship, Stena Immaculate, is owned by a Russian corporation via a chain of less than transparent business entities. The entire incident is starting to look like a deliberate attack according to most maritime industry experts. There was no way -- with all the modern navigation equipment -- that the container ship could have rammed the U.S. military fuel ship in this manner unless it was deliberate. The proper response for this should be the seizing of all Russian ships worldwide and the blockading of all Russian ports. This won't happen, of course, because we have a President who is in bed with Putin.
Let's catch up with the latest regarding the 30 day ceasefire. "Punishment", eh? I assume Trump is packing his dog leash and Putin is packing his S&M whip. READY FOR SHOWDOWN Trump says US is sending people to Moscow ‘right now’ as he warns Putin of ‘very bad’ punishment if he rejects ceasefire https://www.thesun.ie/news/14852775/zelensky-saudi-arabia-ukraine-war-talks-trump/ PRESIDENT Trump said the US is sending people to Moscow "right now" as he warns mad Russian leader Vladimir Putin of a "very bad" punishment if he rejects the 30-day ceasefire. The Republican and Zelensky have both agreed on the long-awaited Ukraine truce, cornering the Russian tyrant to act soon. Trump has threatened Russia with "devastating" trade and economic pressure from the US if Putin doesn't agree to the ceasefire. The President made the chilling warning as he spoke of administration efforts to end the bloody war in Ukraine in the Oval Office with Irish prime minister Micheal Martin. Trump revealed: "There are things that wouldn't be pleasant in a financial sense. "I can do things financially that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do it that because I want to get peace." Upon being asked what the US could do to pressure mad Vlad, the President added: "In a financial sense, yes we could do things that would be very bad for Russia, that would be devastating for Russia. "But I don't want to do that." Following the US proposal of an immediate ceasefire made during crunch talks with Ukraine in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, Trump said the US had “some positive messages”. The Republican told reporters: “Hopefully we can get a ceasefire. “It is up to Russia now.” Trump also revealed “we have people going to Russia right now” and that he hopes to “get a ceasefire with Russia”. It comes soon after the Kremlin said it will not make a decision on the US-proposed 30-day ceasefire until it hears from the White House. Kremlin insiders have reportedly said Putin is now looking to meet Trump around April or May, according to The Moscow Times. This potential meeting, which could also be held in Saudi Arabia, might coincide with Trump's visit to the Middle East which he said would take place "within the next month and a half". This comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on mad Vlad to "end all hostilities" and the Ukrainian President said "everything depends" on Russia now. Rubio put the heat on Putin and told reporters outside Shannon Airport that "If [Russia] says no, it will tell us a lot about what their goals are and what their mindset is". German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also put direct pressure on the warlord calling the ceasefire "an important and correct step towards a just peace for Ukraine", adding: "Now it's up to Putin." This comes as Russia has continued to pummel Ukraine with deadly drone and missile strikes just hours after Zelensky agreed to a US-backed ceasefire. On Tuesday, Dnipro faced “massive shelling” from intense aerial attacks which left four people dead, according to local press. A blistering Russian double missile strike also hit Kryvyi Rih - where Zelensky was born - and sparked several dangerous fires to erupt. Horrific footage showed the moment a missile hit a hotel in the city and left it crumbling with piles of debris piled up on the streets below. The Druzhba Hotel is the fourth high-rise holiday block to be attacked in Kryvyi Rih across the past week. Russia went on to unleash their Iranian-designed Shahed drones on Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv later in the night. (Article has pictures.)
So I guess the international warrant for PuPu is not enforced in Saudi Arabia, which is why talks have been held there. And why he possibly might make a trip there soon?