Category: Volodymyr Zelensky

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donald trump politics Volodymyr Zelensky

A weakened, docile Donald Trump met with Pres. Zelenskyy & European leaders

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Here are some photos of poor President Zelenskyy meeting with Donald Trump on Monday. First, they met in the Oval, and let me tell you, Saddam Hussein’s palaces were less gaudy than the current Oval Office. Then after the photocall/Oval presser, they moved into a larger meeting. This was Zelenskyy’s first visit to the White House since February, which is when Trump and JD Vance whine-raged at him and cried about how he’s never said “thank you” (he has, many times). This time, Zelenskyy came prepared and he brought the European Avengers – the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, Finland, Italy, NATO and the EU. My current opinion is that this situation is less about Europe trying to “convince” Trump of anything, and more about the visual of Europe outflanking this gibbering moron and showing Putin that they’re still in charge, regardless of whatever kompromat he holds on Trump.

Reportedly, Keir Starmer “coached” Zelenskyy on what to say to Trump, and the meetings did seem to go a lot better than the February mess. It was clear to everyone involved that Trump’s physical and mental decline is profound, so Europe is working him over and just trying to nullify him internationally. One notable thing is that Putin apparently emphasized to Trump that under no circumstances should Ukraine be allowed to join NATO. Trump said that in the Oval too, that Putin doesn’t want that, and it sounds like Trump is convinced that he doesn’t want it either. Too bad – other NATO countries want it, and they want to treat Ukraine like it is already a NATO signatory. The whole point of NATO is that they don’t need “permission” from Russia to do a g–damn thing.

Within the larger discussions between Trump and the European leaders, it sounds like they basically tried to reprogram him after Putin had his way with Trump. A weakened, docile Trump listened as Macron and Chancellor Merz discussed the details of any potential ceasefire, and Macron took the public position that no matter what, they should remember that Putin is not negotiating in good faith. Apparently, as soon as the larger meetings were over, Trump called Putin (his handler) and they spoke for close to an hour. The Europeans were successful to a certain degree, although this emergency meeting in DC shows that Europe doesn’t trust Trump AND they all know how to work him over.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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King Charles III politics royals Volodymyr Zelensky

King Charles ‘may be just a little bit hurt’ by Prince William’s loud kingship plans

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On Monday, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy was back in England, and he was given yet another photo-op with King Charles. British sentiment has always been solidly behind Ukraine, and Charles seems to always be up for anything to do with supporting Ukraine and Ukrainian interests. Charles hosted Zelenskyy at Windsor Castle, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosted Zelenskyy at Downing Street. These meetings and photocalls occurred ahead of a two-day NATO summit at The Hague. Notably, Donald Trump is already on his way to the summit too. Get comfortable with the phrase “Trump is in The Hague.”

As I noted in an earlier story about Prince William’s plans to attend some football matches in July, I find it interesting that William wasn’t invited to participate in this photocall with Zelenskyy. Was William not invited, or did he just refuse to go? No one is saying, but this is exactly the kind of soft-diplomacy which Charles was known for when he was Prince of Wales. William would rather tell everyone that he has no respect for his father or his father’s reign, and that William plans to do everything differently when he’s king, including barking at prime ministers and aiming for a Medieval-vibe at his coronation. Well, two Charles-loyalists have come out to note that Charles was very likely displeased with William’s “I’m gonna be king soon” birthday profile.

King Charles III “may be just a little bit hurt” by briefings to a major U.K. newspaper that Prince William wants to transform the monarchy, a royal author has told Newsweek. The Sunday Times reported that, according to sources close to William, he wants “an evolution not a revolution” when his time on the throne arrives and wants to make sure the Monarchy has “even more impact.”

Ingrid Seward, author of Charles book My Mother and I, told Newsweek: “His father may be just a little bit hurt by some of these remarks. Understanding but yes, William is right that in order to survive the monarchy has to adapt, as Prince Philip said. This is exactly what William is going to do, he’s going to adapt and I think he’s right to do this. His father hates change, everyone tells me Charles hates change so I don’t think he’ll be 100 percent happy about what William is saying but I think he’d understand. It probably would have been best unsaid. Maybe these views are a little bit insensitive but it’s understandable that he should wish to express them.”

Robert Jobson, author of Catherine, the Princess of Wales: The Biography, told Newsweek: “It’s nothing really new. A bit odd his people keep talking about his reign. Normally not the thing to do. All monarchs can, and generally do, do things their own way within the constitutional perimeters.”

[From Newsweek]

It really feels like William is his father’s biggest opp, even more than Harry. Harry’s comments about not knowing how much time Charles had left were emotional, and a heartfelt plea for reconciliation. Meanwhile, Charles’s actual heir has been behaving as if Charles already has one foot in the funeral pyre and good riddance. Anyway, “A bit odd his people keep talking about his reign. Normally not the thing to do” is actually pretty scathing from a Charles loyalist, as is “It probably would have been best unsaid.”

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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Keir Starmer King Charles III politics royals Volodymyr Zelensky

King Charles met with President Zelenskyy at Sandringham over the weekend

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Last Friday, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy sat in the Oval Office with Donald Trump, JD Vance and Marco Rubio. Zelenskyy, who has survived multiple assassination attempts and has kept his country together through three years of Russia’s deadly invasion and warfare, had to listen as Vance and Trump disparaged him and his country. Trump and Vance childishly berated him using Vladimir Putin’s talking points and it was one of the most grotesque spectacles in modern history. It was completely humiliating for all Americans, that Trump and Vance behaved that way and spoke the way they did to a man who was supposed to be our ally.

What happened next was a panic from Europe, from NATO and from all of America’s allies. European leaders reacted instantly to show their complete support for Ukraine and Zelenskyy, and there were several huge setpieces thrown together quickly. Zelenskyy was immediately invited to England, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with him at Downing Street less than 24 hours after the repulsive scenes in the White House. Starmer also quickly arranged for a photo-op between Zelenskyy and King Charles – Zelenskyy was invited to Sandringham, and he met one-on-one with King Charles for several hours at Charles’s private home. This was a complete diplomatic masterclass by Starmer and Charles, honestly. It helps that Charles has already shown significant support for Zelenskyy personally and Ukraine broadly – there’s a lot of history there.

Not only did Starmer get Zelenskyy the Downing Street and Sandringham photocalls, he also brought more than a dozen world leaders together over the weekend in England to show their unwavering support for Ukraine. Among them: Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, Netherlands’ Prime Minister Dick Schoof, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Czech Republic’s Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Romania’s Interim President Ilie Bolojan, Finland’s President Alexander Stubb, France’s President Emmanuel Macron and Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk. This is officially the end of the US’s influence in Europe, if not the symbolic end to a century’s worth of NATO alliances.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.

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donald trump J.D. Vance politics Volodymyr Zelensky

Donald Trump & JD Vance childishly berated President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office

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In recent weeks, I’ve seen MAGA-apologists try to say that the millions of people who voted for Donald Trump didn’t “expect” him to act this way or do these things. Trump voters absolutely cast their votes for all of this, and the MAGA apologists need to stop infantilizing this cruel, dangerous and childish cult. On Friday, something utterly predictable happened. Everyone paying attention last year knew exactly what would happen if Trump was reelected, and what that would mean for America’s century-old NATO alliances. We knew what it would mean for Ukraine, which was invaded by Russian forces in 2022. The Biden administration stood side-by-side with Ukraine and President Zelenskyy, and President Biden even made a historic visit to Kyiv in 2023 to show that Americans stand with Ukrainians. Kamala Harris made it clear that she would continue to support Ukraine 100% and continue the Biden-era policies towards Ukraine. Everyone knew that Donald Trump, Putin’s puppet, would radically change course on Ukraine.

Since Trump was reelected, many of America’s NATO allies have tried to flatter and cajole Trump into standing with Ukraine, with few results. Emmanuel Macron has been especially diligent in trying to appeal to Trump, specifically on Ukraine, in the past three months. On Friday, all of those efforts were blown up in a spectacularly humiliating, screeching, infantile tantrum from Donald Trump and JD Vance. President Zelenskyy visited the White House with his team, but without the buffer of another world leader. During the press pool in the Oval Office, things got extremely ugly between Trump, Vance and Zelenskyy.

I’ll be honest, this made me sick to my stomach to the point where I couldn’t even watch the full video. The way these two flaccid, weak, pathetic lunatics (Vance and Trump) berate one of our supposed allies. Their screeching and whining and lying… Jesus. Trump, Vance and America are global embarrassments. This was humiliating for every American, the fact that Vance and Trump behaved this way and openly spouted Kremlin talking points. It’s horrifying and revolting.

The reaction from the international community has been abject horror at what went down. Leaders from around the world publicly came out in support of Zelenskyy and Ukraine, and he sat on Twitter and thanked every single leader (just as he has thanked the United States hundreds of times in the past three years). Europe will stand with Ukraine, as will NATO. Which means that Trump will likely pull the US out of NATO any day now.

After the Trump people kicked Zelenskyy out of the White House, he flew to England. He met with Keir Starmer on Saturday, and he’s meeting with King Charles today in what will probably be a series of highly coordinated photo-ops with European leaders.

After Vance accused Zelensky of not saying thank you, Zelensky is now tweeting individual thanks to every single world leader expressing solidarity with Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/ClTCENxJyz

— Kareem Rifai ???? (@KareemRifai) February 28, 2025

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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donald trump Emmanuel Macron Jill Biden politics Prince William royals Volodymyr Zelensky

Prince William met Donald Trump & Jill Biden at the Notre Dame reopening

prince-william-met-donald-trump-&-jill-biden-at-the-notre-dame-reopening

From what I hear of France’s domestic political situation, President Macron is getting his ass handed to him on a regular basis. But his presidency has been marked by his internationalism, and his ability to showcase France in the best light on an international stage. He is, frankly, really good at the diplomatic and foreign policy part of his job. It was so smart for the French government to stage a huge celebration for the reopening of Notre Dame, after a five-year restoration-and-repair job following the 2019 fire. Macron invited world leaders and titans of business to attend. Every major attendee got a photo with President Macron and Madame Macron inside the cathedral. Special VIPs also got a special greeting at Palais de l’Élysée.

Well, Prince William did not get the special VIP greeting at Elysee. That was seemingly reserved for Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. First, Macron outmaneuvered Trump’s stupid handshake sh-t, then Macron made Trump and Zelenskyy pose together. This speaks volumes about Macron’s concern and NATO’s concern about what the incoming Trump administration is going to do about Ukraine. Macron is openly trying to influence Trump to NOT do whatever Putin tells him to do.

The Macrons did give Prince William his own photo-op inside the cathedral. In case you’re looking at President Macron and William and wondering what the age difference is… Macron turns 47 years old in two weeks. William just turned 42 in June. William looks about ten years older. William was supposed to meet with First Lady Jill Biden before the reopening ceremony, but that meeting was canceled because of the weather. They did speak inside the cathedral, and Trump and William also shook hands on camera. Kensington Palace briefed everyone far and wide that William is an emerging statesman and that he met with Jill Biden and Donald Trump to “discuss the special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K.” Some people theorized that William probably brought up deporting Harry from the US. Sh-t, I don’t know. It sounds like something he would do.

The Prince of Wales has become the first member of the Royal Family to meet @realDonaldTrump since he became President Elect. The pair have met in Paris at the re-opening of Notre Dame. The PE told the media William ‘was doing a fantastic job’. pic.twitter.com/LxPoyzrAjn

— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) December 7, 2024

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Photos courtesy of Getty, Cover Images.

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Elon Musk Social Media Volodymyr Zelensky

Elon Musk tried to mock Zelenskyy with a bad meme, got clowned

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As has been well-established for years now, Elon Musk fancies himself both the smartest and funniest person in the room. He is, of course, neither. Because he’s been surrounded by “yes” men for his entire life, I genuinely think he was surprised when he found himself outwitted and out-trolled after buying Twitter last year. Space Karen’s latest grift for attention is parroting Russian or Republican talking points (is there a difference?), disguising it as concern for the American taxpayer.

On Sunday evening, Musk continued his Putin Puppet Show by posting a meme to The Artist Formerly Known as Twitter that mocked Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The meme showed a picture of Zelenskyy with the caption, “When it’s been 5 minutes and you haven’t asked for a billion dollars in aid.” Cue the Ukrainian government and rest of the Internet pointing out, “When it’s been 5 minutes and you haven’t said or done something stupid on the platform that you managed to devalue by 90% within just one year of buying it.”

[Zelenskyy] and his top lieutenants have appealed to their allies throughout the war to secure billions of dollars of military aid to weather and push back Russia’s invasion. The speaker of Ukraine’s parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, hit out at Musk’s jibe with his own post on X.

“The case when …(Elon Musk) tried to conquer space, but something went wrong and in 5 minutes he was up to his eyeballs in shit,” an apparent reference to SpaceX’s failed rocket launch in April.

Ukraine’s parliament, on its official page on X, accused Musk of spreading Russian propaganda, posting its own version of the meme with a picture of Musk and the caption: “When it’s been 5 minutes and you haven’t spread Russian propaganda”.

A Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, who has criticised some of Musk’s statements in the past, said in a post on X that being silent or ironic about Ukraine played into the hands of Russian propaganda.

“Unfortunately, not everyone and not always, while being significant media figures, but being thousands of kilometres away from the war’s epicenter, is able to realize what the daily bombardments and cries of children losing their parents are.”

Ukrainian officials criticised Musk earlier in the war for suggesting that they should consider giving up land for peace, a position that Kyiv has staunchly rejected.

[From Reuters]

That’s some solid burn from Speaker Stefanchuk and the Ukrainian parliament. Too bad Elno has no shame and continued posting more dumb sh– on Monday, like a conspiracy theory about the Deep State wanting to silence him, anti-vax nonsense, and a picture of two dogs that implied that he was “teabagging” the media. He thinks he’s been redpilled, but he is actually a deeply unserious moron being used by authoritarians to spread dangerous propaganda. Apartheid Clyde was way more fun when he was making a fool out of himself with the Zuckerberg cage match thing.

Meanwhile, Musk decided it was a good idea to visit Texas border town Eagle Pass in cowboy cosplay last Thursday. Eagle Pass is the town where Gov. Abbott cruelly placed coils of razor wire in the water. Musk posted videos from his trip and shared his opinion on immigration despite no one asking for it. Shockingly enough, he’s all for building a wall. Musk is one of the richest men in America and an immigrant himself, yet he still doesn’t know when to have a seat. Between the Zelenskyy post and the border stunt, Elon is getting high marks as the right’s newest rich, dumb puppet.

pic.twitter.com/W9i9YEM8uA

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 1, 2023

bitch, your own companies have received more subsidies than Ukraine ever has… go ahead & take many seats https://t.co/lJ1qLXYn3Q

— LeGate ???? (@williamlegate) October 2, 2023

pic.twitter.com/kHMRO28Fav

— Ukrainska Pravda in English (@pravda_eng) October 2, 2023

As a Ukrainian citizen and a US legal person, I am outraged

Elon Musk mocks the Ukrainian president asking for help to fight off Russians murdering Ukrainians

I wonder if Musk would find asking for help funny if his country was invaded and his friends and relatives killed pic.twitter.com/Z70r0rCmez

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) October 2, 2023

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Categories
Joe Biden politics Volodymyr Zelensky

President Biden spent ten hours on a train to make his surprise trip to Ukraine

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One year ago, Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Ukrainians refused to surrender, supplicate or capitulate. They fought back, they dug in, they went to war and sought allies. The EU is on Ukraine’s side. NATO is on Ukraine’s side. President Biden is on Ukraine’s side. On Monday, Presidents Day, Joe Biden turned up in Kyiv and did a series of photo-ops with President Zelenskyy, including a walk outside as air-raid sirens blared.

So, I actually believed that Dark Brandon and the Secret Service had found a way to land Air Force One in or around Kyiv, but it turns out that Dark Brandon actually took a nine-and-a-half-hour train ride into Ukraine’s capital. That’s so… Joe Biden. The man LOVES his trains. Apparently, this is the first time a sitting president has visited a war zone not controlled by American troops. Biden and his team planned this for months, even though his security was telling him not to go. But he saw other world leaders making the journey and that man said “it’s happening, kiddo.” Apparently, Vladimir Putin and his people were super-salty about it. Biden humiliated them by managing to get into Kyiv to do this.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.