Europe, the UK, and international allies now stand alone with Ukraine against Putin and Trump.

The three wise monkeys are a Japanese pictorial maxim, embodying the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil".

There are at least two divergent interpretations of the maxim: in Buddhist tradition, it is about avoiding evil thoughts and deeds.

In the West, however, it is often interpreted as dealing with impropriety by turning a blind eye. (Wikipedia) i.e. ignoring of undesirable information. (Wikipedia)

 

PBS NewsHour: 17 October 2025: YouTube

As I wrote in my blog entry (17 October 2025) after Trump's call with Putin,

"It is interesting to note that, as reported by S.V. Date,

"In the days following Putin’s invasion in 2022, Trump praised the Russian leader as a “genius” and “savvy” for having sent in troops to kill Ukrainians and seize their land.

In the months to follow, including following his return to office nine months ago, he blamed Zelenskyy for his country getting invaded and former President Joe Biden for letting it happen." (HuffPost on MSN: 18 October 2025).

Following his meeting with Ukraine's President Zelensky this past Friday (17 October 2025), Trump has underscored his "admiration" of Putin for having invaded Ukraine, "killing Ukrainians and seizing their land", by urging President Zelensky to simply "give in to Putin's demands"

As Christopher Miller, Max Seddon, Henry Foy, and Amy Mackinnon report, 

"Donald Trump urged Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accept Russia’s terms for ending its war in a volatile White House meeting on Friday, warning that Vladimir Putin had said he would “destroy” Ukraine if it did not agree. (Financial Times: 20 October 2025) (my emphasis)

 

(Left to right: Christopher Miller, Max Seddon, Henry Foy, and Amy Mackinnon)

They further added that,

"They added that the US president tossed aside maps of the front line in Ukraine, insisted Zelenskyy surrender the entire Donbas region to Putin, and repeatedly echoed talking points the Russian leader had made in their call a day earlier." (ibid Christopher Miller, Max Seddon, Henry Foy, and Amy Mackinnon) i.e. "Trump ignoring of undesirable information" (cf. Three Wise Monkeys above)

And Gavin Blackburn (right) also reports that,

"According to Zelenskyy, Trump said during their meeting that Putin's maximalist demands, that Ukraine cede the entirety of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, was unchanged.

…

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (left) and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (right) spoke by phone on Monday to discuss next steps toward ending the war, following conversations last week between presidents Trump, Zelenskyy and Putin."

…

The Russian statement described Rubio-Lavrov call as "constructive" while the US statement said that Rubio had "emphasised the importance of upcoming engagements as an opportunity for Moscow and Washington to collaborate on advancing a durable resolution of the Russia-Ukraine war." (EuroNews: 20 October 2025) (my emphasis)

 

ABC News: 20 October 2025: YouTube 

Is it, therefore, any wonder that following the Friday meeting between Trump and Co. and Zelenbsky, Tim Ross, Nette Nöstlinger, Veronika Melkozerova and Emilio Casalicchio report that,

• "Ukraine’s allies are racing to reinforce Kyiv’s position ahead of talks between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, amid concern that the two leaders could stitch up a bad ceasefire deal that would weaken all of Europe.

• The renewed urgency among Kyiv’s allies comes after Trump once again flipped his position on the war, saying he’d be open to freezing the conflict along its current battle lines — less than a month after he suggested Ukraine could win back all its territory. His comments have revived concerns that he could force Zelenskyy to hand over territory to Russia.

• That outcome, European officials say, would be a disaster, not just for Ukraine but also for them.

• For Europeans, the big fear is that Trump will again side with Putin in determining what peace will look like and will pressure Zelenskyy to accept Russian terms — potentially ceding swaths of territory in the east of the country. They worry that Putin’s two-hour call with Trump left the U.S. president less willing to help Zelenskyy when they met in Washington last week (Politico: 21 October 2025) (my emphasis)

                                (Left to Right: Tim Ross, Nette Nöstlinger, Veronika Melkozerova, and  Emilio Casalicchio)

Putin is critically aware that these ongoing political developments are happening against a backdrop of :- 

• the Russian economy imploding faster and faster, 
• Putin's 'siloviki' more earnestly sharpening their knives, 
• Russians now experiencing long queues to obtain meagre supplies of petrol, 
• and rampant inflation causing an escalation of food prices in Russia.

Having painted himself into a tight corner in Russia itself, it is imperative for Putin that he presents the people of Russia with a victory in Ukraine to prevent himself from being toppled from power.

It is now Europe, the UK, and international allies that stand with Ukraine against Putin and Trump.            

 (to be continued)