Summary
A Russian presidential plane from the Kremlin’s Rossiya Special Flight Squadron visited New York and Washington, D.C., in late December, sparking speculation amid tense U.S.-Russia relations.
Moscow claimed the flight carried rotating diplomats, but its timing raises questions about Trump’s potential dealings with Vladimir Putin.
Trump has promised to end the Ukraine war in a day, alarming NATO officials who fear a deal that could harm Kyiv and alter NATO’s eastern border dynamics.
The flight highlights ongoing diplomatic maneuvering ahead of Trump’s January 20 inauguration.
Wut? No it doesn’t - it supports the theory that MAD is “working” since nobody has launched any nukes. Why hasn’t Putin nuked Ukraine? I thought Putin was insane right?
Because I doubt NATO would be wiling to retaliate on their behalf. Trump sure as fuck won’t and Europe would be far to weak to do so IMHO.
Frankly I believe the way Russia “wins” this whole thing is to simply show Ukrainians that siding with “the west” was a bad idea. Once Trump withdraws US support the war will go very badly. Public opinion will turn on “the west” for abandoning them and towards Russia.
There’s still time! Reminds me of the investing advice adage - current performance does not predict future results. My opinion is that they are all insane. But then again I naturally distrust people who seek authority. And re Putin’s insanity specifically, are you aware of his backstory of how he came into power in Russia? He’s shady as hell to his own people.
That’s a fair point. But IMO that’s another move towards further conflict (which would ultimately pop off to nuclear war after either side got tired of attrition) rather than towards peace.
Also I don’t see how the west “abandoning” Ukraine would make them suddenly buddy buddy with Russia who’s currently killing them. That makes no sense.
Stalin also had nukes BTW.
Nuclear weapons are very political. In the US it’s the only weapon whose use is authorized by the president alone. Putin may not care about a NATO response but he does care about keeping those under him in check. A nuclear response could be very bad for them which would also be bad for Putin. He still needs to keep the fat cats fat.
Not buddy buddy per se - but you need to remember that some people in Ukraine are still sympathetic to Russia and think Ukraine should have sided with them. This would give them a lot of rhetorical ammo for some time.