From Foreign Affairs magazine
Quote:
Russian forces have largely pushed Ukrainian forces out of Kursk oblast—territory in Russia that Ukraine had occupied since August 2024—and are now restarting major offensive operations toward the key Ukrainian towns of Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk. Although the Ukrainian military is ensuring that Russia loses many soldiers and much equipment in making these territorial gains, the Ukrainians are also struggling to recruit and train enough personnel to avoid ceding territory. Both countries, meanwhile, are exchanging nightly long-range strikes targeting infrastructure and military logistics.
Bottom line ;the longer that a cease fire and a settlement is delayed ,the worse shape Ukraine will be in it's bargaining position.
Quote:
Europe should have seen this coming. Going back to the Obama administration, the United States has been consistent in acknowledging that it views its primary security competitor as China. Washington’s growing interest in the Indo-Pacific has meant that successive U.S. administrations have wanted to deprioritize the U.S. commitment to Europe. For that to happen, the Americans have urged European countries to build up their armed forces to ensure conventional deterrence against Russia—and thereby free up American capacity to pivot to Asia.
And yet the belief is that it is exclusively Trump who is changing US relations with Europe. The truth is that until now Europe never took it seriously .
Quote:
Even the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, while prompting a great deal of tough rhetoric in Europe, did not push governments to make the necessary investments to regenerate their hollow forces. European leaders were reluctant to bear the cost of this process and feared that a large increase in European defense spending would accelerate the United States’ withdrawal from the continent, making the burden for Europeans permanent.
If you look at what Jeffrey Goldberg released yesterday from the administration's group chat ; you hear that the US patience with Europe is at an end .
Vance said that Europe had more at stake in defending shipping through the Suez Canal than the US .He threw out the option of delaying US strikes to send a message
Quote:
.“I think we are making a mistake,” wrote Vance, adding that while only 3% of US trade goes through the Suez canal, 40% of European trade does. “There is a real risk that the public doesn’t understand this or why it’s necessary,” he added. “The strongest reason to do this is, as [Trump] said, to send a message.”..........“I am not sure the president is aware how inconsistent this is with his message on Europe right now,” Vance wrote. “There’s a further risk that we see a moderate to severe spike in oil prices. I am willing to support the consensus of the team and keep these concerns to myself. But there is a strong argument for delaying this a month, doing the messaging work on why this matters, seeing where the economy is, etc.”
Stunning Signal leak reveals depths of Trump administration’s loathing of Europe | Europe | The Guardian
If it weren't for the obvious mistake of releasing attack plans on an insecure chat ;I would believe the release of this conversation was intentional.
The message should be plainly clear to Europe by now . Take care of yourselves.
