Say bye to your land Ukraine. Sucks to be you.

[Smit]

What changed? A year ago, Ukraine was making a counter-offensive into regions of Russia, that looked like it would give them leverage in the negotiations. that has since failed. That is one thing that has changed.

The second thing that has changed is they are no longer just needing military aid, they are running low on soldiers. So the next logical step is that to keep fighting they are going to have to involve soldiers from other countries.

the third thing that changed is that one of the presidential candidates ran his campaign on the premise that he will end this war, the other candidate did not run on that, she ran her campaign on supporting Ukraine to keep fighting. She lost.

That's one (your) way to look at it I guess. 

[Jeff]

they are running low on soldiers.

Rumor has it that he's grabbing young men off the streets to fight.

And didn't he say in an interview that the U.S. will have to send over soldiers to fight? Fuck this guy.
He's a pompous arrogant fuck puppet that just wants more and more money to line his pockets and buy more coke.

[Jim at Gentex]

Jim, not to be argumentative...but that is not what was said...it's noted that "they will not accept" but nowhere does it say that he was told to not take the deal...

That is what Jeff is claiming and there, at least not that I have seen, ANY supporting information for that...all we do know is the deal blew out....

Everything else is being claimed is just hot air...

Maybe it did, maybe it didn't but we don;t "know"

Well people who were in that meeting said that was the gist of it.
How Murphy worded it in his X post isn't as relevant as the overall tone of the actual meeting.

He has been opposed to EVERYTHING Trump all the way back to 2016, so this is par for the course for him.

[Jim at Gentex]

That's one (your) way to look at it factual I guess. 

Fissed that one up for ya. 

[JParis]

Well people who were in that meeting said that was the gist of it.

Who? Where is that report?

I have seen a bunch of people speculating but to this, I haven't seen a credible report stating it.

[Jim at Gentex]

Who? Where is that report?

I have seen a bunch of people speculating but to this, I haven't seen a credible report stating it.

I saw other posts on X yesterday from other Senators who were in the same meeting.
I'm not going to run down every one of them because the fact is that Chris Murphy is dead set against ANYTHING Trump does, so torpedoing the mineral deal would be at the top of his list.

Zelensky claimed he was ready to sign the mineral deal, but something changed.
He had that meeting with those Senators 45 minutes before his meeting with Trump.
2+2 still equals 4.

[JParis]

I saw other posts on X yesterday from other Senators who were in the same meeting.
I'm not going to run down every one of them because the fact is that Chris Murphy is dead set against ANYTHING Trump does, so torpedoing the mineral deal would be at the top of his list.

Zelensky claimed he was ready to sign the mineral deal, but something changed.
He had that meeting with those Senators 45 minutes before his meeting with Trump.
2+2 still equals 4.

I saw the Chris Murphy picture of the meeting, that tweet contained no info....I'll dig back again...

Still seems a lot of people are reading into it...

Listen, after the initial reports, I was think Trump was just a tool again but after watching the entire video, it completely flipped that narrative....

I am open to believing it but I need more than just people saying so cus it fits with their beliefs

[Jim at Gentex]

I saw the Chris Murphy picture of the meeting, that tweet contained no info....I'll dig back again...

Still seems a lot of people are reading into it...

Listen, after the initial reports, I was think Trump was just a tool again but after watching the entire video, it completely flipped that narrative....

I am open to believing it but I need more than just people saying so cus it fits with their beliefs

Well SOMETHING apparently changed Zelensky's mind, because this White House meeting was supposed to be mostly a formality but it went off the rails quickly.

Common sense suggests his mind was changed by the previous meeting which was actually only 45 minutes earlier.
Do we 'know' for sure?
No, because we can't read minds, but it sure seems like a huge coincidence Zelensky backed out of the deal right after a meeting with one of Trump's worst political enemies...  

[Smit]

Common sense isn't common. 🤔

What exactly was in this deal for the Ukraine?

Why would Zelensky sign that deal?

Security agreements?

Any kind of assurances from the US?

[Jeff]

Common sense isn't common.

You're right. If it was you'd have some.

[Incogneeto]

But..?

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/europe/zelensky-trump-argument-comment-ukraine-intl/index.html

[Jeff]

But..?

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/04/europe/zelensky-trump-argument-comment-ukraine-intl/index.html

Is this before or after Trump paused all military aid to Ukraine?

[Jim at Gentex]

Common sense isn't common. 🤔

What exactly was in this deal for the Ukraine?

Why would Zelensky sign that deal?

Security agreements?

Any kind of assurances from the US?

Having a cooperative partnership with the US in Ukranian mining operations puts American workers on Ukranian soil.
That in itself is a deterrent to Putin's ideas of future aggression.
Is it a guarantee?
Nothing is guaranteed, but it WILL make him think twice if his future actions threaten American interests and American lives.

Also, everything I have seen so far indicates that Ukraine has only tapped a small percentage of their rare earth minerals, obviously because there is a war going on, but also because their mining technology is antiquated and inefficient.

Again, introducing better technology makes them more efficient, and thus able to realize profits from the joint venture much sooner, which will help them be able to rebuild their country faster.

Trump is basically offering Zelensky a lifeline here, with the alternative being more fighting and loss of life in a war he knows he can't win.

Trump has also made it clear that the mineral deal is a first step of good faith on Ukraine's part, with the second step being a cease-fire at some point, and the third, albeit most difficult step which is a permanent, lasting peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

[Del.]

I bet the SOTU address tonight will be crazy.

[JParis]

I bet the SOTU address tonight will be crazy.

I'll read the transcript tomorrow.