The Ukraine war will end this year and someone will get the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping it

After three years of fighting, Ukraine's war with Russia is at a stalemate, Russia controls about 20 percent of Ukraine, and the Ukrainians can't drive them out.

Last August, in a surprise move, Ukrainians staged what the Western media called an incursion into the Kursk region of Russia and captured about 500 square miles of Russian territory. The United States, Ukraine's closest ally, claimed to be surprised by this move, but I suspect the Americans helped plan this mini-invasion. 

Ukraine hoped to use the captured territory as a bargaining chip to improve its position during peace talks, which were bound to occur sooner or later. Unfortunately for the Ukrainians, the Kursk invasion brought North Korean troops into the war as Russian allies, and now Russia has pushed the Ukrainians out of Russian territory. 

President Trump has pushed aggressively to end the Ukraine war--this "ridiculous war," as Trump has described it. He's taken a lot of heat from Democratic politicians and the Trump-hating media for his efforts. His enemies at home would rather continue the senseless bloodshed than allow Trump to get credit for brokering a peace deal.

Trump may have made some tactical errors in his vigorous efforts to push Ukraine President Vladimir Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to the bargaining table. Trump cut off arms shipments to Ukraine for a short time, giving his enemies an opening to accuse Trump of being Russia's ally. 

Nevertheless, Trump's diplomatic pressure, asserted against both Ukraine and Russia, has changed the dynamics of the conflict. This war will end before the year is out.

Ukraine and its allies must face the fact that Russia will control Crimea and much of the Donbas region when this war is over. Crimea has been part of Russia since the 18th century,  and Russia has critical military installations there. Moreover, Russia must control the Sea of Azov and at least part of the Donbas to safeguard its supply line from the Russian Motherland to the Crimean peninsula.

The sooner the warring nations reach a peace deal, the fewer young soldiers will die in this nonsensical conflict.  I predict someone involved in bringing peace negotiations to fruition will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

However, it will not be President Trump. The leftist media, afflicted with a terminal case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, would never allow it.

Cover of Crimean Blunder by Pete Gibbs. Image credit: Amazon 

Reality bites: Trump and Vance aren't buying Zelensky's Joan of Arc routine

Yesterday, President Vladimir Zelenskyy arrived at the White House to sign a mineral rights deal with the United States. This deal was intended to be a prelude to a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, and the media was on hand in the Oval Office for the signing.

Zelensky apparently saw the event as an opportunity to chide the Americans for what he regarded as inadequate support for his nation in its war with Russia. Thus, the little Ukrainian showed up at the Oval Office wearing his signature pajama combat fatigues and a What-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude. Zelensky told President Trump and Vice President Vance that he wanted to end Ukraine's war with Russia but only on his terms, which included an open-ended American security guarantee for Ukraine in perpetuity.

Unfortunately, Zelensky overplayed his hand. The meeting imploded in heated recriminations, and Zelensky left the White House without signing the mineral rights agreement. 

The Democrats--never known to pass up an opportunity to bash Trump--chastised the President for mishandling the meeting and for failing to fully back Ukraine in its war with Russia. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy bluntly accused Trump of being "a lapdog" for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Here's my take on this imbroglio. First, the Trump White House should not have allowed the media to view the mineral rights signing event, given the possibility that Zelensky would go off script and embarrass the President.

Second, as several commentators noted, Zelensky failed to read the room. He woefully miscalculated when he lectured President Trump and VP Vance in front of the TV cameras.

Nevertheless, this little kerfuffle will blow over, and the Trump administration will eventually get a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Negotiations often have heated moments when one party or the other breaks off talks and stalks out of the room. Nevertheless, as football coach Darell Royal famously observed, you gotta dance with who brung you. Zelensky arrived at the Russian war with the U.S. by his side. Put another way, President Trump pays the orchestra, and he gets to call the tune.

"Laws are like sausages,' Otto Bismark is said to have remarked. "It is best not to see them being made.” For good or ill, Americans and the world got a glimpse of the messy negotiations to end Ukraine's disastrous war with Russia. We saw how the sausages get made, and it wasn't pretty.

I have confidence in Trump and Vance to end the bloody conflict in Ukraine. I believe a patriot must support our President as he tries to to bring peace and security to Europe.

Now is the time for the Democrats to set rancor aside and support Donald Trump as he deals with Zelensky and Russian President Putin. To undermine our popularly elected President during these delicate peace negotiations is to promote more bloodshed; in my mind, it is treason.

Why would anyone oppose Trump's efforts to end the Ukraine war?

We must all hang together, or most assuredly, we will all hang separately.

Attributed to Benjamin Franklin 

President Trump is trying to end the Ukraine war, which has brought incalculable misery to both the Ukrainians and the Russians.

I say incalculable because the war's advocates are not telling the truth about military and civilian casualty rates. Nor have they acknowledged the enormous environmental harms caused by the war.

Trump's Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, rattled Ukrainian President Vladimir  Zelensky by observing that Ukraine will probably need to cede some territory to get a peace deal. However, Hegseth was only stating the obvious. 

No credible authority believes Russia will consent to relinquish Crimea. Nor will Vladimir Putin give up the predominately Russian-speaking districts of the Donbas--where fighting has gone on for ten years.

Hegseth also made waves when he said that talking about NATO membership for Ukraine is unrealistic. Again, Hegseth was only stating the obvious. It would be insane to make Ukraine a NATO member now. Indeed, no NATO country is strongly pushing for immediate Ukraine membership. 

Every American should be grateful for Trump's energetic efforts to bring the stupid Ukraine war to a speedy conclusion. Yet, Democratic politicians are spewing vicious vitriol at the President while having no plan of their own to end this disastrous conflict.

Senator Richard Blumenthal's criticisms were particularly odious. He objected to Trump's characterization of Zelensky as a dictator who was doing a "terrible job" of running the war.

"What world is he living in?" Blumenthal asked. 

[Trump's remarks were] not only contrary to the facts and the truth but utterly despicable, a disgusting betrayal of a country that has bled and fought and died for freedom. The president's surrender is pathetic and weak.

Perhaps it was therapeutic for Senator Blumenthal to insult the President, and I'm sure his hissy fit played well with progressive Democrats in New Haven. Nevertheless, what's the Connecticut Senator's plan for ending the slaughter in Ukraine?

Does Blumenthal want the U.S. to follow President Biden's strategy, which was to ship money and weapons to Zelensky in perpetuity?

Will Zelensky's corrupt and venal regime prevail if we keep sending cluster bombs, uranium-enriched artillery shells, antipersonnel mines, Abrams tanks, and F-16s to Ukraine? Or will we eventually stumble into a nuclear war?

I favor putting the Democratic Party's deranged attacks against President Trump aside for a while and supporting his efforts to stop the Ukraine war. There will be plenty of time to slander him as a Nazi after the killing stops.

Senator Blumenthal and cronies