"We are ready to put UK boots on the ground in part to reassure Ukrainians but in part to secure safe skies, safe seas and regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces."

"It is obviously welcome that President Trump has paved the way for vital US security guarantees.... The quicker you can bring about an end to the conflict and translate that into a lasting peace the better. We applaud President Trump’s efforts to bring about an end to the killing. We want to see an end to the killing if you can bring about an end to the killing and a sustained peace in one go all the better."

Said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, quoted in "Ukraine-Russia latest: Putin ‘should not be rewarded’, Zelensky says/Ukrainian leader has denounced ‘cynical’ Russian attacks before his meeting with Trump in Washington, which have killed at least nine" (London Times).

Let that stand in for all the many headlines I'm seeing this morning about the White House meeting today. It's more optimistic than most. There are reasons to go negative before the meeting, but I think it's bad form. 

"I thank everyone who is helping."

We had a long and substantive conversation with @POTUS. We started with one-on-one talks before inviting European leaders to join us. This call lasted for more than an hour and a half, including about an hour of our bilateral conversation with President Trump.

Ukraine reaffirms… pic.twitter.com/64IPVhtFaB

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) August 16, 2025

Trump talks about the "land swapping" that he says will take place in ending the war in Ukraine.

 

From the transcript of his press briefing yesterday, Trump talks about the "land swapping" that he says will take place in ending the war in Ukraine:

We're going to change the lines, the battle lines. Russia's occupied a big portion of Ukraine. They've occupied some very prime territory. We're going to try and get some of that territory back for Ukraine. But they've taken some very prime territory. They've taken largely, in real estate we call it oceanfront property.

The most powerful man in the world — attempting to manage what he's just called "by far the worst that's happened since World War II" — seems comfortable reverting to real-estate mogul mode.

That's always the most valuable property. If you're on a lake, a river or an ocean, it's always the best property. Well, Ukraine, a lot of people don't know that Ukraine was largely a thousand miles of ocean. That's gone, other than one small area, Odessa, it's a small area. There's just a little bit of water left. So I'm going to go and see the parameters. Now, I may leave and say good luck, and that'll be the end. I may say this is not going to be settled. I mean, there are those that believe that Putin wanted all of Ukraine. I happen to be one of them, by the way. I think if it weren't for me, he would not be even talking to anybody else right now. But I'm going to meet with him. We're going to see what the parameters are, and then I'm going to call up President Zelensky and the European leaders.

ADDED: The very next headline I read was: "For Trump, Cities Like Washington Are Real Estate in Need of Fixing Up/'It’s a natural instinct as a real estate person,' he said in announcing his federal takeover of the capital’s police, despite falling crime" (NYT).

"Last year, by some estimates, Ukraine’s factories turned out more than three million drones...."

"The drones that I examined were remarkably simple: a lightweight square frame, four propellers, a video camera, a battery-powered motor, and room for a bomb. The attack drones, known as F.P.V.s, for 'first-person view,' are guided by an operator watching a video screen that shows what the drone is seeing; other members of the unit monitor feeds from reconnaissance drones.... The Russians are terrorizing the Ukrainians with drone attacks of their own. Towns and hamlets have been largely pulverized along the front lines and for miles beyond; even American air defenses are mostly useless, because setting them up invites an immediate Russian attack. Iranian-made Shahed drones, capable of carrying large warheads long distances, have pummelled Kyiv and other cities with hundreds of strikes. Under the constant threat of attack, the Ukrainians have found it difficult to supply their front lines, and evacuation is sometimes impossible. The prevalence of drones appears to have given the advantage to the defense. Along the seven-hundred-mile front, soldiers on both sides are huddled in fortified trenches, separated by a no man’s land known as the 'gray zone.' With drones circling day and night, surprise attack is impossible, movement suicidal. If soldiers venture out, they are attacked immediately by drones or artillery...."

Writes Dexter Filkins, in "Is the U.S. Ready for the Next War With global conflicts increasingly shaped by drones and A.I., the American military risks losing its dominance" (The New Yorker).

"I just don't understand how people think that if we allow a dictator, a thug, to decide he's going to take significant portions of land that aren't his, that that's going to satisfy him. I don't quite understand."

Said Joe Biden, quoted in "Five takeaways from Biden's BBC interview" (BBC).

"He remember... the night he thought his hair would turn white listening to the sound of Russian guards battering prisoners with fists and metal piping..."

"... knowing it would be his turn in the morning. Or the feeling of constant hunger, and the terrible disappointment of waking from a dream in which he was eating his favourite meal. Or the Russian pop song Forever Young, Forever Drunk, which one commandant would play as he selected who to beat...."

From "I was a PoW in Russia — guards played pop music before beatings/Ukrainians released in prisoner swaps with Putin struggle to understand or even remember the horrors they experienced" (London Times).

And here's a YouTube link, if you want to listen to Forever Young, Forever Drunk, the song chosen to intensify the fear of torture.

"The war has given enormous public exposure to what’s known as Russia’s 'Z community' — pro-war volunteers, military bloggers and ultranationalists..."

"... who want to see a total subjugation of Ukraine.... The 'turbopatriots'... fought on the front lines and were rewarded with an increased social status in wartime Russian society. For decades regarded by the Kremlin as a volatile source of potential opposition, these ultranationalist figures were harnessed to advance the government’s message on the necessity of the bloody, grinding war. But they have also emerged as a rare source of criticism of… Putin.... The Z community and Russia’s ultranationalists have been especially critical in recent weeks of the euphoric response in Russia to Trump’s seemingly more Moscow-friendly approach — and even more so since this week’s talk of a possible ceasefire.... 'What is our specific Russian joy here?' asked nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin on Telegram after the widespread Russian delight over last month’s Oval Office confrontation between Zelensky and President Donald Trump.... The confusion has been felt especially keenly along the front, where many Russian soldiers believe that rather than just taking on the Ukrainians, they have been fighting a war against NATO and the United States, having experienced firsthand the devastating impact of U.S.-provided weapons to Ukraine."

From "If peace comes, Putin could face the ire of his most hard-line backers/Vladimir Putin and his propagandists convinced many in Russia that there was an existential battle against the U.S. Now they have to deal with a thaw in U.S.-Russian relations" (WaPo).

"Russian special forces have hiked through nine miles of gas pipeline to ambush Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region..."

"... as Moscow claims it retook three new settlements from Kyiv on Sunday. The Kremlin fighters allegedly spent days hiding inside a gas pipeline connecting Russia to Europe before emerging late Saturday to attack Ukrainian soldiers stationed near the border city of Sudzha, according to Russian bloggers on Telegram.... Sudzha, which had about 5,000 residents before the war began, remains one of the key cities Ukraine managed to take during its surprise counter-invasion last year in Kursk, with the conquered cities constituting a major bargaining chip against the Russian invaders...."

The NY Post reports.

ADDED: For the annals of Things I Asked Grok: "What are some movies or books where a military attack is made after marching through a pipeline?" And then, noting this NY Post report, "Do you think that really happened?

"It's been very clear from the beginning that President Trump views this as a protracted stalemated conflict. And frankly, it's a proxy war..."

"... between nuclear powers — the United States, helping Ukraine, and Russia. And it needs to come to an end. And no one has any idea or plan to bring it to an end. The plan of the Ukrainians up to now — and their allies on Capitol Hill and people you talk to in other countries — is let's just keep giving them as much as they need for as long as it takes. That's not a strategy." 

🚨Update: Secretary Marco Rubio stated - Ukraine conflict is a ‘PROXY WAR’ between US and Russia; Ukraine has no plan to end the war!! pic.twitter.com/n9L01s5bIh

— US Homeland Security News (@defense_civil25) March 6, 2025

Trump and Vance get remarkably intense with Zelensky.

ADDED: The scene is described by Peter Baker for the NYT: "Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance castigated Mr. Zelensky for not being grateful enough for U.S. support in its war with Russia and sought to strong-arm him into making a peace deal on whatever terms the Americans dictate. With voices raised and tempers flaring, Mr. Trump threatened to abandon Ukraine altogether if Mr. Zelensky did not go along. Talking over the Ukrainian leader, Mr. Vance told Mr. Zelensky that it was 'disrespectful' for him to come to the Oval Office and make his case in front of the American news media and demanded that he thank Mr. Trump for his leadership. Mr. Trump jumped in and told the Ukrainian leader, 'You’re not really in a good position right now” and that “you’re gambling with World War III.' 'You’re either going make a deal or we’re out,” Mr. Trump added. “And if we’re out, you’ll fight it out and I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.' The exchange in front of television cameras was one of the most dramatic moments ever to play out in public in the Oval Office...."

AND: "This is gonna be great television — I'll tell you that."

"We weren’t just listening to each other, but we heard each other. I have reason to believe that the American side started to better understand our positions."

Said Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, quoted in "U.S. and Russia Pursue Partnership in a Head-Spinning Shift in Relations/The two sides met in Saudi Arabia for their most extensive discussions in years. In addition to Ukraine, business ties were on the table" (NYT).

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, American officials did not dwell on Russia’s violation of international law in attacking Ukraine, its alleged war crimes or the three years of devastation that Russian shelling and bombardment had wrought in parts of Ukraine. Instead, they repeatedly lauded Mr. Trump for trying to stop the fighting by talking to Russia in a way that his predecessor did not.

“For three years,” Mr. Rubio said, “no one else has been able to bring something together like what we saw today, because Donald Trump is the only leader in the world that can.”... 

“We were not invited to this Russian-American meeting in Saudi Arabia,” Mr. Zelensky said while on a visit to Turkey. “It was a surprise for us — I think for many others as well.”

"I just had a lengthy and highly productive phone call with President Vladimir Putin of Russia."

"We discussed Ukraine, the Middle East, Energy, Artificial Intelligence, the power of the Dollar, and various other subjects. We both reflected on the Great History of our Nations, and the fact that we fought so successfully together in World War II, remembering, that Russia lost tens of millions of people, and we, likewise, lost so many! We each talked about the strengths of our respective Nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together. But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine. President Putin even used my very strong Campaign motto of, 'COMMON SENSE.'"

Writes President Trump, on Truth Social.

"600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever."

"Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success. Likewise, Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness. They have ridiculously lost 400,000 soldiers, and many more civilians. There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being so needlessly wasted, too many families destroyed, and if it keeps going, it can turn into something much bigger, and far worse. I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!"

Writes Trump on Truth Social.

The NY Post writes about that statement in "Trump calls on 'weakened' Russia to enact ceasefire in Ukraine after Kremlin ally Assad is toppled in Syria." Excerpt: "Trump, who has at times expressed a fascination with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, remarked about how feeble Moscow appeared in Syria after the shocking and swift fall of Bashar al-Assad, whom Russia backed with troops, aircraft and navy ships."

"Somewhere in a Kyiv bunker a former comedian is quietly whimpering. But if the show that is unfolding will remain just a show, we will say 'thanks for the popcorn' and move on."

Said "an op-ed published by state-run news agency RIA Novosti, referring to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s past as a TV personality."

Quoted in "The Russian guide to Trump’s Cabinet picks/Who’s good for Russia and who’s going to be a problem among Trump’s choices according to Russian commentators" (WaPo)(free-access link).

In other Ukraine news: "Biden admin urges Ukraine to lower draft age to conscript 18-year-olds/Ukraine already lowered draft age to 25 in April" (Fox News)(it "already" went all the way down... to 25).

And: "Overnight, Russia carried out a horrific aerial attack against Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities report that Russia launched nearly 200 missiles and drones against Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure, depriving Ukrainian civilians of access to electricity" (Statement from President Joe Biden on Russia’s Attack on Ukraine).

"They’ve asked for these, and so I think it’s a good idea."

Said Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, in a stunning feat of moral reasoning, quoted in "Biden Administration Approves Ukraine’s Use of Anti-Personnel Mines" (NYT). The U.S. did not merely approve the use of land mines. We are supplying them. 

The Biden administration’s decision came despite widespread condemnation of mines by rights groups that cite their toll on civilians, which can stretch for years or decades after conflicts end as the locations of minefields are left unmarked or forgotten.... Russia has seeded mines throughout vast swaths of Ukraine since 2014 as front lines have swayed over forests, farm fields and villages. It has also set many so-called victim-activated booby traps, such as explosives rigged to detonate when a car door is opened, a category of weapon also prohibited in the mine ban treaty.

"Ukraine’s military used American-made ballistic missiles on Tuesday to strike into Russia for the first time..."

"... just days after President Biden gave permission to do so in what amounted to a major shift of American policy. The pre-dawn attack struck an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of southwestern Russia.... The strike represented a demonstration of force for Ukraine as it tries to show Western allies that providing more powerful and sophisticated weapons will pay off — by degrading Russia’s forces and bolstering Ukraine’s prospects in the war..... The authorization came just months before the return to office of President-elect Donald J. Trump, who has said he will seek a quick end to the war in Ukraine...."

From "Ukraine Fired U.S.-Made Missiles Into Russia for First Time, Officials Say/The attack came just days after President Biden gave Ukraine permission to use the weapons to strike targets inside Russia" (NYT).

"President Zelensky has been pushing for this moment for months. When it finally came, he was a little coy."

"Strikes are not made with words, he said in his nightly address: 'Such things are not announced, missiles speak for themselves.' President Biden has given Ukraine permission to use long range missiles supplied by Washington to strike deep inside Russia."

BBC reports.

"Russian Telegram channels published video of triumphant troops waving the Russian tricolour flag over shattered buildings in Vuhledar."

"In one clip, four soldiers stood inside a gutted highrise flat and placed a flag outside. 'Everything will be Russia. Victory will be ours,' an officer declared. The communist hammer and sickle was also raised. Vuhledar was originally built around a mine in the mid-1960s when it was within the Soviet Union. Before the war it had a population of about 14,000. It is now a sprawling ruin, with apartment buildings smashed apart and scarred...."

From "Ukraine says its forces have withdrawn from defensive bastion of Vuhledar/Eastern city had resisted repeated attacks but Russian troops are close to ‘encircling’ it in Donetsk advance" (The Guardian).

"Well, Kamala Harris, of course, hasn't had a lot of experience in foreign policy, but she's learned a lot at the side of President Biden as his vice president."

"So we're sort of guessing a little bit about her vision and her views. I think our general assumption is that she's pretty close to where Biden is, and I think it's safe to assume that she is basically a pretty conventional center left Democratic, foreign-policy thinker. I mean, to the extent that she brings her own individual perspective, it probably comes from her time as a prosecutor and a lawyer that she believes in the international rules-based order. So she looks at foreign policy in the sense of who is following the rules, in effect, in terms of whether it be trade security or economics."

Said Peter Baker on "Alliance vs. Isolation: Harris and Trump’s Competing Views on Foreign Policy," today's episode of the NYT "Daily" podcast (transcript and audio at that link)(I've tweaked some punctuation, etc.).

How are we to understand Harris as anything other than a continuation of Biden? That's what Peter Baker is doing.

And here's how he contrasts Trump:

"The Democratic party that I grew up with — the Democratic party of John F Kennedy, of Robert Kennedy — does not exist today."

"The Democratic party that I grew up with — the Democratic party of John F Kennedy, of Robert Kennedy — does not exist today. This was the party of Peace. Today, it's the party of war. And we saw President Zelensky come over here. I was so proud of President Trump today who did at a press conference was with Zelensky. And the Democrats had on their own press conference, and you know what he got them to do? He got them to sign artillery shells....  I was so proud of President Trump.... He was the epitome of diplomacy.... He was kind and civil to President Zelensky. He was also firm in his resolve, and he said I've had a nice meeting, but I have not changed my mind. We need a peace, and we need to do it very quickly, and we need to protect US interests, not the interests of a country in which we have no strategic interest, and no treaty. And he was polite he was kind, he was firm in protecting our country, and that's what Donald Trump will always do. And it was especially impressive to me because I know what Donald Trump would was thinking while he was having that meeting he was thinking I want to turn this guy over and hold him by his legs and shake all the money out of his pockets and I hope it adds up to $28 billion?"

Said RFK Jr. at yesterday's Trump rally in Michigan.

To see the clip of Trump with Zelensky, see "Trump meets Zelensky and says it's time to end Russia's war" (BBC).  An excerpt from that article: