President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives at the Munich Security Conference

Even before President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives at the Munich Security Conference tomorrow to renew his case  to the  United States for defending Ukraine's independence, his country's fate  already seems sealed.
He had created a sense of  fear. The day before Donald  Trump's phone  call with Vladimir Putin, the  American leader  had remarked pragmatically that "Ukraine  could one day become Russian."
Not a valid attachment ID.
The extent of what he meant became clear  when the two presidents  invited each other  to a summit during  their 90-minute  conversation yesterday. Forget NATO  membership or  the presence of American troops on the ground. Ukraine  is expected to  give up territory that Russia began  occupying in  2014. Zelenskiy was  warned almost  for informational purposes. His worst fear — that  the terms and conditions of a peace  deal would be agreed behind his back —  has come true.
His offers of essential minerals to  Ukraine in  exchange for protection  have carried little weight.  U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent  has brought  to Kiev an  economic cooperation agreement  that Ukraine  signed "in exchange" for continued  support.
With Trump making major concessions before negotiations  begin, stunned European allies  are facing a $3 trillion bill to  bolster their  defense and rebuild  Ukraine after the war. There is a bitter irony  in the fact that it was in  Munich in  1938 that the Western powers believed they could  stop Nazi aggression by  agreeing to Germany's annexation of part of  Czechoslovakia.
Not a valid attachment ID.
Some see echoes of  this failed  appeasement policy  today and predict  that Putin will  continue to test NATO's eastern flank. Critics say Europe has only itself to blame for  hoping that the  United States will protect it  indefinitely.
Ukraine has been under martial law since  Russia invaded in 2022, but the future of its  warlord is  uncertain. Trump  has highlighted Zelenskiy's "not great"  poll numbers and the need for  an election, a not-so-subtle hint that he wants  out. This is another thing  Putin would  like. - Flavia Krause-Jackson

[attachment deleted by admin]