President Donald Trump’s selection as Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, has undergone rigorous questioning from the Senate Intelligence Committee.
All, however, did not go smoothly.
"Senators from both parties expressed serious concerns about whether they trust Gabbard in that crucial role." (Time on MSN: 30 January 2025) (my emphasis)
This 'mistrust' of Gabbard stems partly from the fact that she,
"...refused to recant past comments justifying Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. “Can’t we do better than somebody who can’t answer whether Snowden was a traitor five times today, who made excuses for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine?” (ibid Brian Bennett)
"At the very moment that Russian tanks were rolling across the peaceful border of Ukraine for the first time, you tweeted at 11.30 pm, your time, "This war and suffering could have easily been avoided if the Biden administration/NATO had simply acknowledged Russia's legitimate ... legitimate ... security concerns regarding Ukraine becoming a member of NATO." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 30 January 2025: YouTube )
Let us recall that in November of 2024,
"Tulsi Gabbard, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the U.S. intelligence services, in 2022 endorsed one of Russia’s main justifications for invading Ukraine: the existence of dozens of U.S.-funded biolabs working on some of the world’s nastiest pathogens." (David Klepper, Ellen Knickmeyer and Edith M. Lederer: AP: 17 November 2024) (my emphasis) (cf. also: Rolling Stone: 5 December 2024)
And following on from Tulsi Gabbard's justification of Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Russian TV (cf. at end of Russian Media Monitor) extolled Tulsi Gabbard's antipathy towards Ukraine, and her support of Putin's arguments for re-invading Ukraine in 2022.
Let us now recall, as reported by Aamer Madhani and Will Weissert, that,
"Trump publicly sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence officials on whether Russia had interfered in the 2016 election to help him, and Trump has praised the Russian leader and even called him “pretty smart” for invading Ukraine." (AP: 31 January 2025) (my emphasis)
Which puts into perspctive Trump's choice of Tulsi Gabbart to become the Director of National Intelligence; Tulsi Gabbart who, "...refused to recant past comments justifying Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine." (ibid Brian Bennett)
Aamer Madhani and Will Weissert also report that,
"President Donald Trump on Friday (31 January 2025) said his administration has already had “very serious” discussions with Russia about its war in Ukraine and that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the grinding conflict." (ibid Aamer Madhani and Will Weissert)
These “very serious” discussions with Russia about its war in Ukraine, according to Redstateobserver, included,
- Central to the proposal is a call for a ceasefire by Easter, which falls on April 20. This ceasefire would require Ukraine to withdraw its military presence from contested areas, signaling a new approach to resolving the ongoing conflict. (Redstateobserver: 31 January 2025) (my emphasis)
- The proposal includes stipulations for Ukraine to refrain from seeking NATO membership while aiming for European Union integration by 2030. (ibid Redstateobserver)
- Ukrainian military operations could continue under U.S. support, provided the terms favor a peace negotiation that acknowledges Russia's territorial claims. (ibid Redstateobserver)
- France will deliver Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of the first quarter of 2025, according to the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, who made the announcement on January 28 during a broadcast on Sud Radio. (Amira Barkhush: United24 Media: 28 January 2025)
So, in effect, Putin can continue to try to expand his invasion of Ukrainian territory through bombings and killings of Ukrainians until Easter, to satisfy his expansionist dream of re-creating "Novorossiya" on the lands of Ukraine.
But as reported by Kate Nicholson (right),
"North Korean troops are no longer fighting on Russia’s behalf in Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, according to reports.
…
Anonymous Western sources told the BBC earlier this month that there were 4,000 North Korean losses after just a few weeks of fighting, including 1,000 deaths. (HuffPost UK on MSN: 31 January 2025) (my emphasis)
Kim Jon Un, it would seem,
"... considers the 40% loss of North Korean troop deployed in Russia to date "unacceptable" "
Furthermore,
- About 90 Patriot missiles from Israel are being sent to Ukraine in a transfer facilitated by the United States, according to a US defense official. (Oren Liebermann: CNN: 28 January 2025) (my emphasis)
- Sweden will provide Ukraine with 13.5 billion kronor (US$1.23 billion) in funding and equipment in its biggest military aid package yet, the government said on Thursday.(Rudy Ruitenberg: Defence News: 30 January 2025) (my emphasis)
- YLE News reports that, "President Alexander Stubb has approved another military aid shipment to Ukraine, Finland's 27th since the Russian attack began nearly three years ago. He signed off on the government proposal on Friday." (YLE News: 31 January 2025) (my emphasis)
"Russia has suffered a major economic setback, after China and India halted their purchases of Kremlin oil.
…
Compounding Putin's problems, Indian banks have blocked payments for Russian oil imports due to the new sanctions." (Express: 29 January 2025) (my emphasis)
Putin is not alone in causing Russia to suffer economic setbacks because of his war with Ukraine.
It turns out that the American Enterprise Institute has determined that the US could have to increase their military budget by $800 billion if Trump allows Putin to defeat Ukraine.
"Analysis conducted at the American Enterprise Institute has determined that Russia defeating Ukraine would cost American taxpayers an additional $808 billion over what the U.S. has planned to spend on defense in the next five years. This is about seven times more than all the aid appropriated to the Pentagon to help Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion.
This estimate is based on a scenario in which the U.S. stops providing aid and the resulting Russian victory requires us to adapt our military capabilities, capacity and posture in order to maintain our security." (The Hill: 30 January 2025)(my emphasis)
This is a bill that Trump may be saddled with in the next four years of his presidency.
Indeed, is Tulsi Gabbard even aware of this possible cost to the US of her support for a Putin success in Ukraine?
So the question is :-
"Whither the support of Putin's "Novorossiya" dreams by Trump?"
UPDATE: 2 February 2025
In an interview Zelenskyy says talks between US and Russia that exclude Ukraine would be ‘very dangerous’.
As AP reports,
"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that excluding his country [Ukraine] from talks between the U.S. and Russia about the war in Ukraine would be “very dangerous.” Speaking on Saturday in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press, Zelenskyy also asked for more discussions between Kyiv and Washington to develop a plan for a ceasefire." (AP: 2 February 2025) (my emphasis)
"NATO fighter planes were scrambled today amid a Russian barrage of drones and missiles on civilian, energy and military sites in Ukraine." (Mail Online: 1 February 2025) (my emphasis)
Folker goes on to report that,
"The massive strikes may be a sign that Putin has no intention of ending the war on Ukraine which approaches its three-year mark this month." (ibid Robert Folker)
As Charlie Bradley (left) also reports,"Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning new attacks on Ukraine that could extend the war by another nine months, experts have claimed.
The move comes despite US President Donald Trump's attempts to get the Kremlin chief to the negotiating table for a peace plan.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a respected Washington DC-based think tank, said that Russian forces plan to surround Kupianks, Kharkiv oblas, as well as other operations.
ISW claimed that this is proof that Putin has no intentions to end the war yet." (Daily Express on MSN: 1 February 2025) (my emphasis)
(to be continued)
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