Quotes
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What did catch my attention was his unhealthy interest in Ukraine, even though he explained it to me by acting on [former President Barack] Obama's instructions. Over time, those instructions turned into an obsession – the transformation facilitated by political mistakes, plain corruption, and poor judgement stemming from historical ignorance and failure to appreciate the nature of 'Ukraineness.' At some point, the old man went off the rails and essentially unleashed a war between the collective West and Russia, which almost led to a nuclear exchange with NATO,
Medvedev wrote
[Preparing for war] has been shown by the decisions made at NATO summit held in July of this year."
Russia's defense minister Andrei Belousov warned in December of a direct conflict between Moscow and NATO within the next decade
As I committed earlier this year, the Department of Defense has now allocated all remaining USAI funds appropriated by Congress in the supplemental that I signed in April, and my Administration is fully utilizing the funding appropriated by Congress to support the drawdown of U.S. equipment for Ukraine."
President Joe Biden said in a statement earlier this monthHe's been clearly out of it lately. While it's true that this war benefits the US economically, political costs and the real danger of a fatal conflict are far more important. It is something the old dude was not prepared for. This is a case where the head of a major world power lost control of the situation completely, resulting in a crushing electoral defeat for the Democrats."
He added
Trump could be crucial. I think this is the most important thing for us. His qualities are like that. He can be decisive in this war. He can stop Putin,
Zelensky told United News, Ukraine’s wartime TV network, earlier this month
Of course, Ukraine would want to recapture all land it lost. However, after three years of this exhausting war, recapturing all land is nowhere in sight. With a heavy heart, Ukrainians are slowly coming to accept this,
Hosa saidHe [Zelensky] faced a choice: flatter Trump or be forced to capitulate to Putin,
Hosa saidUnfortunately, Zelensky does not have the luxury to be hostile towards Trump,
Joanna Hosa, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations told CNNI think he genuinely believes that Trump can make bold moves, and this is where this hope comes from, and not only in Zelensky’s mind but in Ukraine more broadly.”
She told CNNThis is the game; whether Trump will believe this is a viable strategy is another question,
she saidThey tend to think in the West that Putin will get scared and agree to a ceasefire,
wrote Poletaev, the Moscow-based analyst
Moscow believes that a recognition of Russia’s new borders by Ukraine is necessary to preclude the basis for a military revanche,
political analyst Vladimir Frolov said in a commentary
The Russians are seeing that Trump is going to push for some kind of resolution or some kind of settlement, and they want to grab as much as they can,
said Kurt Volker, who served as special representative for Ukraine in Trump's first termI think those things would be aimed at driving Putin to conclude, ‘OK, it’s time to stop,
Volker saidMoscow is betting on the physical exhaustion of the Ukrainian armed forces and the Ukrainian state’s meltdown,
Poletaev wrote recentlyPutin has tied his war to achieving this and is unlikely to retreat,
Tatyana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center wrote in a commentaryMoscow views any military support for Ukraine as inherently hostile,
she saidI think what people need to understand — he’s not trying to give something to Putin or to the Russians. He’s actually trying to save Ukraine and save their sovereignty, and he’s going to make sure that it’s equitable and that it’s fair,
Kellogg said this month
The very fact that people have increasingly started to mention the realities on the ground deserves welcome,
Lavrov said
War with Russia is more important for Europe than it is for us. We have a little thing called an ocean in between us,
he told NBC News’ Kristen Welker in December