Ukraine.

[Wolf]

Temporary Ukraine ceasefire unacceptable – Moscow​

The Kremlin will only accept a solution which will resolve the crisis for good, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said

FILE PHOTO. A general view of the Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow, Russia. © Getty Images / Anadolu Agency / Evgenii Bugubaev


Russia will not accept a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, since it will only be used by the collective West to reinforce Kiev until hostilities break out again, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
Moscow is seeking only a lasting solution which will put an end to the ongoing crisis, Zakharova relayed on Thursday during a regular press briefing.
“A temporary ceasefire or, as many say, freezing the conflict, is unacceptable,” she stressed. “We need reliable, legally binding agreements and mechanisms that would guarantee that the crisis will not recur.”
Zakharova warned that a mere pause in the fighting “will be used by the West – the collective West as a whole or its individual representatives – to strengthen the military potential of the Kiev regime and, of course, to attempt an armed revanche,” she warned.
Moscow maintains a reserved position on the repeated pledges by the administration of US President Donald Trump to bring the conflict to an end, Zakharova signaled.
READ MORE: Russia ready for ‘tough’ talks with US – deputy FM
“Everything will depend on specific actions and on the plans of the new administration, embodied in these very actions. Right now there are a lot of words, a lot of statements. There is no clarity or precision regarding the steps being taken,” Zakharova explained.
Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said engagement with Washington has increased since Trump took office. There have been contacts between “certain departments” of the two countries, he said, without providing any further detail.
Last Friday, Trump said that communication is ongoing between his administration and the Russian government and reiterated his goal of putting a swift end to nearly three years of hostilities.
Moscow has repeatedly signaled its willingness to settle the conflict through diplomacy, rather than on the battlefield, stating the potential negotiations must accept the “reality on the ground.”
Russia’s readiness for “tough” negotiations with the US was reaffirmed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.
“The first step toward normalizing bilateral relations – based on the principles of mutual respect and equality – should be taken by the United States,” Ryabkov said, adding that the plans hatched by the administration of previous US President Joe Biden to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia have been foiled.

 

[clarke-connolly]

Shocked, I am.....

Zelensky can’t account for more than $100 billion in claimed US aid​

Kiev has received far less than the amount cited by President Donald Trump and other US officials, the Ukrainian leader says

© AP / Efrem Lukatsky


Washington has provided Kiev with just over $75 billion in military and other types of assistance, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has claimed, adding that he has no idea where US President Donald Trump’s estimate of $200 billion originated or where it could have vanished.
Trump, who has been highly critical of his predecessor Joe Biden’s generosity toward Ukraine, has argued that NATO states and the EU should “equalize” their contributions with Washington’s support.
“We are in there for $200 billion more than the EU. I mean, what are we, stupid?” Trump said last month. US Vice President J.D. Vance referenced the figure as early as last July, saying, “We have now spent $200 billion. What is the goal? What are we trying to accomplish?”
In an interview with AP published on Sunday, Zelensky insisted that Ukraine never received even half of that sum.
“When it is said that Ukraine received $200 billion to support the army during the war – that’s not true. I don’t know where all that money went. Perhaps it’s true on paper with hundreds of different programs – I won’t argue, and we’re immensely grateful for everything. But in reality, we received about $76 billion. It’s significant aid, but it’s not $200 billion,” Zelensky said.
READ MORE: Musk accuses USAID of ‘covering up corruption’
Since 2022, the US Congress has authorized roughly $175 billion for Ukraine, but a significant portion of that funding has reportedly gone to American industries and various US government activities related to the conflict. According to Germany’s Kiel Institute, as of October 2024, the US had allocated approximately $92 billion in financial and military aid to Ukraine, while EU countries and the UK had allocated $131 billion.
Zelensky also insisted that he has seen little actual cash, as more than $70 billion of the aid came in the form of direct military assistance.
“There are also many other humanitarian programs I’m uninformed about, except for knowing of their existence. Perhaps the US president’s administration will audit these programs and find additional billions, but I don’t know where those funds went,” he said.
READ MORE: Ukraine must be held accountable for ‘stealing’ US aid – retired Naval officer
Among his first actions upon returning to office, Trump suspended US foreign aid for 90 days to review its alignment with his administration’s objectives, vowing to put “America first.” The cut affected many Kiev-related initiatives, particularly those funded by grants from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Over the weekend, USAID’s official website went offline, and its X account disappeared, amid reports that the White House was considering merging the agency into the State Department. The newly created US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, has reportedly sent inspectors to audit USAID’s activities.
“USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” Musk wrote on Sunday. In a brief comment the same day, Trump also criticized the agency as being “run by a bunch of radical lunatics and we are getting them out.”

Some People are just Not good with money

 

[jpc]

Shocked, I am.....

Zelensky can’t account for more than $100 billion in claimed US aid​

Kiev has received far less than the amount cited by President Donald Trump and other US officials, the Ukrainian leader says

© AP / Efrem Lukatsky


Washington has provided Kiev with just over $75 billion in military and other types of assistance, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has claimed, adding that he has no idea where US President Donald Trump’s estimate of $200 billion originated or where it could have vanished.
Trump, who has been highly critical of his predecessor Joe Biden’s generosity toward Ukraine, has argued that NATO states and the EU should “equalize” their contributions with Washington’s support.
“We are in there for $200 billion more than the EU. I mean, what are we, stupid?” Trump said last month. US Vice President J.D. Vance referenced the figure as early as last July, saying, “We have now spent $200 billion. What is the goal? What are we trying to accomplish?”
In an interview with AP published on Sunday, Zelensky insisted that Ukraine never received even half of that sum.
“When it is said that Ukraine received $200 billion to support the army during the war – that’s not true. I don’t know where all that money went. Perhaps it’s true on paper with hundreds of different programs – I won’t argue, and we’re immensely grateful for everything. But in reality, we received about $76 billion. It’s significant aid, but it’s not $200 billion,” Zelensky said.
READ MORE: Musk accuses USAID of ‘covering up corruption’
Since 2022, the US Congress has authorized roughly $175 billion for Ukraine, but a significant portion of that funding has reportedly gone to American industries and various US government activities related to the conflict. According to Germany’s Kiel Institute, as of October 2024, the US had allocated approximately $92 billion in financial and military aid to Ukraine, while EU countries and the UK had allocated $131 billion.
Zelensky also insisted that he has seen little actual cash, as more than $70 billion of the aid came in the form of direct military assistance.
“There are also many other humanitarian programs I’m uninformed about, except for knowing of their existence. Perhaps the US president’s administration will audit these programs and find additional billions, but I don’t know where those funds went,” he said.
READ MORE: Ukraine must be held accountable for ‘stealing’ US aid – retired Naval officer
Among his first actions upon returning to office, Trump suspended US foreign aid for 90 days to review its alignment with his administration’s objectives, vowing to put “America first.” The cut affected many Kiev-related initiatives, particularly those funded by grants from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Over the weekend, USAID’s official website went offline, and its X account disappeared, amid reports that the White House was considering merging the agency into the State Department. The newly created US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, has reportedly sent inspectors to audit USAID’s activities.
“USAID is a criminal organization. Time for it to die,” Musk wrote on Sunday. In a brief comment the same day, Trump also criticized the agency as being “run by a bunch of radical lunatics and we are getting them out.”

Check under the back of the sofa!

 

[clarke-connolly]

I assume a lot of this missing money in the Ukraine, is just resting in the Accounts of some dodgy Jews some-where ! ! !

 

[Esatdigiwank]

Some People are just Not good with money

But he’s j e w i s h ; he should be good with money!

 

[Wolf]

But he’s j e w i s h ; he should be good with money!

He is.....other people's money.....

Like Mehole Martin, that developer's money was just 'resting' in his wife's bank account.....

 

[Mad as Fish]

Temporary Ukraine ceasefire unacceptable – Moscow​

The Kremlin will only accept a solution which will resolve the crisis for good, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said

FILE PHOTO. A general view of the Russian Foreign Ministry building in Moscow, Russia. © Getty Images / Anadolu Agency / Evgenii Bugubaev


Russia will not accept a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine, since it will only be used by the collective West to reinforce Kiev until hostilities break out again, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
Moscow is seeking only a lasting solution which will put an end to the ongoing crisis, Zakharova relayed on Thursday during a regular press briefing.
“A temporary ceasefire or, as many say, freezing the conflict, is unacceptable,” she stressed. “We need reliable, legally binding agreements and mechanisms that would guarantee that the crisis will not recur.”
Zakharova warned that a mere pause in the fighting “will be used by the West – the collective West as a whole or its individual representatives – to strengthen the military potential of the Kiev regime and, of course, to attempt an armed revanche,” she warned.
Moscow maintains a reserved position on the repeated pledges by the administration of US President Donald Trump to bring the conflict to an end, Zakharova signaled.
READ MORE: Russia ready for ‘tough’ talks with US – deputy FM
“Everything will depend on specific actions and on the plans of the new administration, embodied in these very actions. Right now there are a lot of words, a lot of statements. There is no clarity or precision regarding the steps being taken,” Zakharova explained.
Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said engagement with Washington has increased since Trump took office. There have been contacts between “certain departments” of the two countries, he said, without providing any further detail.
Last Friday, Trump said that communication is ongoing between his administration and the Russian government and reiterated his goal of putting a swift end to nearly three years of hostilities.
Moscow has repeatedly signaled its willingness to settle the conflict through diplomacy, rather than on the battlefield, stating the potential negotiations must accept the “reality on the ground.”
Russia’s readiness for “tough” negotiations with the US was reaffirmed by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov.
“The first step toward normalizing bilateral relations – based on the principles of mutual respect and equality – should be taken by the United States,” Ryabkov said, adding that the plans hatched by the administration of previous US President Joe Biden to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia have been foiled.

It's going to take more than a day but at least they have started talking.

 

[Declan]

Russia will snatch defeat from the jaws of victory now, when all it has to do is press ahead til the money runs out.
The US is entering a massive depression here. The gravy train has dried up and people have gone from earning 150000 a year to being basically unemployable.

not to mention the myriad of lawyers who are used to making about $300 an hour off the federal tit

 

[jpc]

I think I mentioned this as a possible consequence a while back.
Anyway!

Ukraine's Traumatized Troops Could Pose A Security Threat To All Of Europe | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

 

[Mad as Fish]

I think I mentioned this as a possible consequence a while back.
Anyway!

Ukraine's Traumatized Troops Could Pose A Security Threat To All Of Europe | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

If they are of criminal intent then I’m not sure that merely denying them a visa will stop them crossing unchecked borders.

 

[jpc]

If they are of criminal intent then I’m not sure that merely denying them a visa will stop them crossing unchecked borders.

There you go!
Won't make any difference!
There are arsenal's of unaccounted weapons out there.

 

[jpc]

Our idiots get attention.

After Kyiv? Taoiseach’s European Tour Incites Russian Warning | The Burkean

Taoiseach Micheal Martin flew to Brussels February 10th to meet European Union’s top liberal technocrats from Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, to Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament. The trip further saw Martin attending French President Emmanuel …

www.theburkean.ie

 

[clarke-connolly]

Our idiots get attention.

After Kyiv? Taoiseach’s European Tour Incites Russian Warning | The Burkean

Taoiseach Micheal Martin flew to Brussels February 10th to meet European Union’s top liberal technocrats from Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, to Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament. The trip further saw Martin attending French President Emmanuel …

www.theburkean.ie

Did somebody send for, the Eu's Village Idiot ? !

 

[Mad as Fish]

Did somebody send for, the Eu's Village Idiot ? !

They'd be spoilt for choice.

 

[jpc]

Did somebody send for, the Eu's Village Idiot ? !

They remind me of the time Fr Dougal got on TV in Fr Ted.

 

[jpc]

The jying is still going on.
The NYT needs to get up to speed on the current state of affairs.

Vance Hits Back At Headlines On US Military Action As His Meeting With Zelensky Begins | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

 

[SwordOfStZip]

Our idiots get attention.

After Kyiv? Taoiseach’s European Tour Incites Russian Warning | The Burkean

Taoiseach Micheal Martin flew to Brussels February 10th to meet European Union’s top liberal technocrats from Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, to Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament. The trip further saw Martin attending French President Emmanuel …

www.theburkean.ie

The less we have to do with the Ukraine the better.

 

[jpc]

The less we have to do with the Ukraine the better.

Meehole talking shyte right now!
And pushing being a participant in European defence and a more federal Europe.
Little weasel.

 

[SwordOfStZip]

Meehole talking shyte right now!
And pushing being a participant in European defence and a more federal Europe.
Little weasel.

The amount of sheer stupidity though about the Ukraine that you had in the 26 counties outside of him was a painful and depressing sight to behold.

 

[jpc]

The amount of sheer stupidity though about the Ukraine that you had in the 26 counties outside of him was a painful and depressing sight to behold.

Should look at how Singapore does its business.
It's beyond pathetic watching the ego tripping.

 

[Hunky Monkey]

Meehole talking shyte right now!
And pushing being a participant in European defence and a more federal Europe.
Little weasel.

Leinster House has decided that we are going to join NATO and embrace the role of a military auxiliary. The question is whether they can do this without the consent of the nation. Is there enough visceral support among the public to break any effort to shoehorn us in?

Hopefully the topic was brought to the attention of the citizenry with enough time for a settled opinion to have taken root. We have to remember that public discourse has been undertaken under the influence of poppers for the last decade or so, and this is only beginning to wear off now. If they try to do something it will happen in the near future. This is an issue to turn out for.

 

[jpc]

Leinster House has decided that we are going to join NATO and embrace the role of a military auxiliary. The question is whether they can do this without the consent of the nation. Is there enough visceral support among the public to break any effort to shoehorn us in?

Hopefully the topic was brought to the attention of the citizenry with enough time for a settled opinion to have taken root. We have to remember that public discourse has been undertaken under the influence of poppers for the last decade or so, and this is only beginning to wear off now. If they try to do something it will happen in the near future. This is an issue to turn out for.

There's no questions from the media about your well made observations.
Too meek to utter a squeak so to speak.
Wonder why?

 

[Hunky Monkey]

There's no questions from the media about your well made observations.
Too meek to utter a squeak so to speak.
Wonder why?

The media aren't independent, they're party members organised along the internationalist design. This is why the study of cult dynamics is essential to any serious effort to discover what the hell is going on. That's also why it's such cringe to watch them - cults sap talent. It wasn't always like this. If you look at how Trump deploys his VPs you can see how a confident executive behaves - his XO is an asset, not a threat.

In any case, that's where the socialist revolutionary class went (there and into institutional and political sinecures) after their spectacular failures during the C20th. The trauma of these failures made them psychological failures who deliberately proliferate failure - agents of chaos so to speak.

Their only agency is in their ability to stampede public opinion - remove this and they're crippled. They align themselves as events dictate, 304s to the grain.

Difficult to describe in a few sentences.

Everyone seems confused by the rapidity of action by Trump 47 but it's not difficult to see the overall topography of his Administration's activity. What the Whitehouse is doing now is to fill back in America's geopolitical position. The previous administration atrophied the US power profile and Trump is doing what he needs to do to reverse that. The brazenness of their failed effort of hamstringing his election has given him the political capital and personal grit to seek deeper into the rot. America is preparing for war all the better to avoid it. We'll see if they manage to right the ship in time. A war against the cartels is a good one, an important one to win (this time).

 

[bormotello]

It looks like very soon will see stories of how Americans were fighting together with Russians against Nazis in Ukraine

View: https://x.com/nellserenitynow/status/1890496154573365309

 

[clarke-connolly]

It looks like very soon will see stories of how Americans were fighting together with Russians against Nazis in Ukraine

View: https://x.com/nellserenitynow/status/1890496154573365309

Talk about ~ ~ Over-estimating their own importance !

 

[jpc]

It looks like very soon will see stories of how Americans were fighting together with Russians against Nazis in Ukraine

View: https://x.com/nellserenitynow/status/1890496154573365309

Trying to instill something called reality maybe?

 

[Mad as Fish]

An excellent summary here which I have borrowed from elsewhere -

And here’s the thing about Trump : he’s not interested in running an expensive, failing war operation just to make Lockheed Martin happy. He wants an exit strategy, and Putin wants clear territorial boundaries. Both of them are power players negotiating a hard, final deal. And in that conversation, Zelensky doesn’t even exist.

 

[jpc]

An excellent summary here which I have borrowed from elsewhere -

And here’s the thing about Trump : he’s not interested in running an expensive, failing war operation just to make Lockheed Martin happy. He wants an exit strategy, and Putin wants clear territorial boundaries. Both of them are power players negotiating a hard, final deal. And in that conversation, Zelensky doesn’t even exist.

That's the reality.
Here's the question.
If any of the Ukrainian ls,euro idiots or the Brits fo something to fuck this up that actually makes a dent.
What's the response from the US and Russia?

 

[Mad as Fish]

That's the reality.
Here's the question.
If any of the Ukrainian ls,euro idiots or the Brits fo something to fuck this up that actually makes a dent.
What's the response from the US and Russia?

I wouldn't have thought that was likely TBH. Starmer is all mouth and no trousers with nothing to back him up, while the EU can huff and puff as much as it likes but Trump will call up Fond of lying and explain exactly who the boss is.

 

[clarke-connolly]

I wouldn't have thought that was likely TBH. Starmer is all mouth and no trousers with nothing to back him up, while the EU can huff and puff as much as it likes but Trump will call up Fond of lying and explain exactly who the boss is.

They are all Gimps for America = = Gimps have to Gimp = = That's what Gimps do !

 

[bormotello]

An excellent summary here which I have borrowed from elsewhere -

And here’s the thing about Trump : he’s not interested in running an expensive, failing war operation just to make Lockheed Martin happy. He wants an exit strategy, and Putin wants clear territorial boundaries. Both of them are power players negotiating a hard, final deal. And in that conversation, Zelensky doesn’t even exist.

The problem is that EU elites want to fight until the last Ukrainian at expense of the European people

View: https://x.com/MyLordBebo/status/1891554432250233163

 

[Mad as Fish]

The problem is that EU elites want to fight until the last Ukrainian at expense of the European people

View: https://x.com/MyLordBebo/status/1891554432250233163

If Putin and Trump decide to end the war then I don't see that the EU can do much about it. It will require Zelensky or a like minded figure to continue with the conflict and there is a curious history of plane crashes involving fellows that get in the way of American foreign policy.

 

[jpc]

The problem is that EU elites want to fight until the last Ukrainian at expense of the European people

View: https://x.com/MyLordBebo/status/1891554432250233163

Anyone care to remark on the following.
The greens want to return Europe to the Middle ages energy consumption wise because that's all windmills will provide.
They are also blood thirsty lunatics to a the Last Slav.
Why do they have a voter base,?

 

[Declan]

House prices in the DC area are seeing asking prices reduced. It looks like the welfare state money is ending and the budget for f 6 trillion a year could be pared by about 2 trillion.

in that scenario, not being dy cares to send any to zitler.
If europe jumps off the scaffold, it will be the best thing ever to witness from a safe distance.

a wake up call like non other,


zitler will bolt at any minute

 

[Mad as Fish]

Anyone care to remark on the following.
The greens want to return Europe to the Middle ages energy consumption wise because that's all windmills will provide.
They are also blood thirsty lunatics to a the Last Slav.
Why do they have a voter base,?

Bunch of middle class frustrated dictators who want to instruct the lower orders on how thy should aspire to nice leafy suburb values without actually thinking through their toxic notions.

 

[Esatdigiwank]

Had to edit some of this so it would fit. Ukraine set to be America’s economic slave. From the Daily Telegraph: ​ ​ Trump’s confidential plan to put Ukraine in a stranglehold​ ​ ​ By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard World Economy Editor ​ Donald Trump’s demand for a $500bn (£400bn) “payback” from Ukraine goes far beyond US control over the country’s critical minerals. It covers everything from ports and infrastructure to oil and gas, and the larger resource base of the country. The terms of the contract that landed at Volodymyr Zelensky’s office a week ago amount to the US economic colonisation of Ukraine, in legal perpetuity. It implies a burden of reparations that cannot possibly be achieved. The document has caused consternation and panic in Kyiv. The Telegraph has obtained a draft of the pre-decisional contract, marked “Privileged & Confidential’ and dated Feb 7 2025. It states that the US and Ukraine should form a joint investment fund to ensure that “hostile parties to the conflict do not benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine”. The agreement covers the “economic value associated with resources of Ukraine”, including “mineral resources, oil and gas resources, ports, other infrastructure (as agreed)”, leaving it unclear what else might be encompassed. “This agreement shall be governed by New York law, without regard to conflict of laws principles,” it states. The US will take 50pc of recurring revenues received by Ukraine from extraction of resources, and 50pc of the financial value of “all new licences issued to third parties” for the future monetisation of resources. There will be “a lien on such revenues” in favour of the US. “That clause means ‘pay us first, and then feed your children’,” said one source close to the negotiations.

​ ​ ​ It states that “for all future licences, the US will have a right of first refusal for the purchase of exportable minerals”. Washington will have sovereign immunity and acquire near total control over most of Ukraine’s commodity and resource economy. The fund “shall have the exclusive right to establish the method, selection criteria, terms, and conditions” of all future licences and projects. And so forth, in this vein. It seems to have been written by private lawyers, not the US departments of state or commerce. President Zelensky himself proposed the idea of giving the US a direct stake in Ukraine’s rare earth elements and critical minerals on a visit to Trump Tower in September, hoping to smooth the way for continued arms deliveries. He calculated that it would lead to US companies setting operations on the ground, creating a political tripwire that would deter Vladimir Putin from attacking again. Some mineral basins are near the front line in eastern Ukraine, or in Russian-occupied areas. He has played up the dangers of letting strategic reserves of titanium, tungsten, uranium, graphite and rare earths fall into Russian hands. “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” he said.

​

​ Ukraine probably has the largest lithium basin in Europe. But lithium prices have crashed by 88pc since the bubble burst in 2022. Large reserves are being discovered all over the world. The McDermitt Caldera in Nevada is thought to be the biggest lithium deposit on the planet with 40m metric tonnes, alone enough to catapult the US ahead of China. The Thacker Pass project will be operational by next year. The value of lithium is in the processing and the downstream industries. Unprocessed rock deposits sitting in Ukraine are all but useless to the US. It is a similar story for rare earths. They are not rare. Mining companies in the US abandoned the business in the 1990s because profit margins were then too low. The US government was asleep at the wheel and let this happen, waking up to discover that China has acquired a strategic stranglehold over supplies of critical elements needed for hi-tech and advanced weapons. That problem is being resolved. Ukraine has cobalt but most EV batteries now use lithium ferrous phosphate and no longer need cobalt. Furthermore, sodium-ion and sulphur-based batteries will limit the future demand growth for lithium. So will recycling. One could go on. The mineral scarcity story is wildly exaggerated. As for Ukraine’s shale gas, a) some of the Yuzivska field lies under Putin control, and b) the western Carpathian reserves are in complex geology with high drilling costs, causing Chevron to pull out, just as it did in Poland. Ukraine has more potential as an exporter of electricity to Europe from renewables and nuclear expansion, but that is not what is on Donald Trump’s mind.

​

 

[clarke-connolly]

Bunch of middle class frustrated dictators who want to instruct the lower orders on how thy should aspire to nice leafy suburb values without actually thinking through their toxic notions.

Ya can kinda see why People start shooting Communists and Green Communists ! !

 

[clarke-connolly]

Had to edit some of this so it would fit. Ukraine set to be America’s economic slave. From the Daily Telegraph: ​ ​ Trump’s confidential plan to put Ukraine in a stranglehold​ ​ ​ By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard World Economy Editor ​ Donald Trump’s demand for a $500bn (£400bn) “payback” from Ukraine goes far beyond US control over the country’s critical minerals. It covers everything from ports and infrastructure to oil and gas, and the larger resource base of the country. The terms of the contract that landed at Volodymyr Zelensky’s office a week ago amount to the US economic colonisation of Ukraine, in legal perpetuity. It implies a burden of reparations that cannot possibly be achieved. The document has caused consternation and panic in Kyiv. The Telegraph has obtained a draft of the pre-decisional contract, marked “Privileged & Confidential’ and dated Feb 7 2025. It states that the US and Ukraine should form a joint investment fund to ensure that “hostile parties to the conflict do not benefit from the reconstruction of Ukraine”. The agreement covers the “economic value associated with resources of Ukraine”, including “mineral resources, oil and gas resources, ports, other infrastructure (as agreed)”, leaving it unclear what else might be encompassed. “This agreement shall be governed by New York law, without regard to conflict of laws principles,” it states. The US will take 50pc of recurring revenues received by Ukraine from extraction of resources, and 50pc of the financial value of “all new licences issued to third parties” for the future monetisation of resources. There will be “a lien on such revenues” in favour of the US. “That clause means ‘pay us first, and then feed your children’,” said one source close to the negotiations.

​ ​ ​ It states that “for all future licences, the US will have a right of first refusal for the purchase of exportable minerals”. Washington will have sovereign immunity and acquire near total control over most of Ukraine’s commodity and resource economy. The fund “shall have the exclusive right to establish the method, selection criteria, terms, and conditions” of all future licences and projects. And so forth, in this vein. It seems to have been written by private lawyers, not the US departments of state or commerce. President Zelensky himself proposed the idea of giving the US a direct stake in Ukraine’s rare earth elements and critical minerals on a visit to Trump Tower in September, hoping to smooth the way for continued arms deliveries. He calculated that it would lead to US companies setting operations on the ground, creating a political tripwire that would deter Vladimir Putin from attacking again. Some mineral basins are near the front line in eastern Ukraine, or in Russian-occupied areas. He has played up the dangers of letting strategic reserves of titanium, tungsten, uranium, graphite and rare earths fall into Russian hands. “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it,” he said.

​

​ Ukraine probably has the largest lithium basin in Europe. But lithium prices have crashed by 88pc since the bubble burst in 2022. Large reserves are being discovered all over the world. The McDermitt Caldera in Nevada is thought to be the biggest lithium deposit on the planet with 40m metric tonnes, alone enough to catapult the US ahead of China. The Thacker Pass project will be operational by next year. The value of lithium is in the processing and the downstream industries. Unprocessed rock deposits sitting in Ukraine are all but useless to the US. It is a similar story for rare earths. They are not rare. Mining companies in the US abandoned the business in the 1990s because profit margins were then too low. The US government was asleep at the wheel and let this happen, waking up to discover that China has acquired a strategic stranglehold over supplies of critical elements needed for hi-tech and advanced weapons. That problem is being resolved. Ukraine has cobalt but most EV batteries now use lithium ferrous phosphate and no longer need cobalt. Furthermore, sodium-ion and sulphur-based batteries will limit the future demand growth for lithium. So will recycling. One could go on. The mineral scarcity story is wildly exaggerated. As for Ukraine’s shale gas, a) some of the Yuzivska field lies under Putin control, and b) the western Carpathian reserves are in complex geology with high drilling costs, causing Chevron to pull out, just as it did in Poland. Ukraine has more potential as an exporter of electricity to Europe from renewables and nuclear expansion, but that is not what is on Donald Trump’s mind.

​

Sure ~ ~ It has always been about America taking control of Ukraine's Minerals / Natural resources.

And Russia's as well if the American's could install some sort of Proxy Puppet.

Why can't People see that America has to take as much as it can from around the World to compete with China / Chyna ? !

 

[bormotello]

Ukraine probably has the largest lithium basin in Europe. But lithium prices have crashed by 88pc since the bubble burst in 2022. Large reserves are being discovered all over the world. The McDermitt Caldera in Nevada is thought to be the biggest lithium deposit on the planet with 40m metric tonnes, alone enough to catapult the US ahead of China.

Ukraine is far from the largest lithium basin in Europe.
Portugal, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic have bigger reserves
The problem is that lithium extraction from European ores is a very dirty process
While in Argentina you drill a hole, pump water, take it back, and let it dry under the sun
Bingo
Ukrainian lithium is 300 meters deep and ore has 1.5% inside
It was not valuable even in the USSR

 

[clarke-connolly]

View: https://youtu.be/WahfwuW76o0?si=wzrpU0dGXQ0gZwMB

Are you warning us about something ? !