“Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy face pressure from the U.S., which has threatened to walk away from its peace efforts unless some progress is achieved” USA Today
From USA Today: The Kremlin’s top security official said his country reserves the right to use nuclear weapons if it faces aggression by Western countries, as overnight Russian missile and drones strikes on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv killed at least nine people and injured more than 70 others. . . . .Sergei Shoigu, a former defense minister who now heads Russia’s powerful national security council, made his comments on April 24 in an interview with the TASS state news agency.
General Ben Hodges clarifies about halfway through; states the best thing that could happen to Ukraine would be for this administration to get out of the way. . . . .
Trump and his aides want Ukraine to accept a U.S. proposal that would effectively grant Russia all the territory it has gained in the war since 2022. The proposal also appears to call for the U.S. to recognize Crimea, a region of Ukraine that Russia annexed in 2014. Only a handful of countries, including North Korea and Venezuela, recognize Russia’s claim on Crimea.
From USA Today: “The U.S. plan, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has publicly rejected, also appears to block Ukraine’s ambition to join the NATO military alliance. “There is nothing to talk about,” Zelenskyy said in Kyiv on April 22, reiterating that Ukraine would never legally recognize Russia’s control of Crimea. “This violated our Constitution. This is our territory, the territory of Ukraine.” Zelenskyy’s comments angered Trump. He said on his Truth Social platform on April 23 that Ukraine’s president was being “inflammatory” and prolonging “the killing field.
Meanwhile, Team Couch Slouch echoes Putin talking points and per Politico,, looks toward lifting sanctions. . . .
