The Times (December 14)
“Time is running short for Europe to stand together. The worst-case scenario is that America walks away from its commitments entirely. Ukraine’s allies cannot afford to project weakness.” The “crunch point” has come for Europe. “Can it act in a confident, bold, unified manner? Or will it be riven by internal disagreements and petty rivalries?”
Tags: Allies, Bold, Commitments, Confident, Crunch point, Europe, Internal disagreements, Petty rivalries, U.S., Ukraine, Unified, Walks away, Weakness, Worst-case
The Economist (December 6)
“EUROPE is breathing a sigh of relief” now that “the risk of such an odious stitch-up” initially put forward by Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump, “now seems to have receded a bit.” But it is not time to rest or squabble. “Enough dithering. Europe must pay to save Ukraine. America will not. Europe’s security depends on agreeing” on how to save Ukraine.
Tags: Agreeing, Dithering, Europe, Odious, Pay, Receded, Relief, Rest, Risk, Security, Squabble, Trump, U.S., Ukraine, Witkoff
Wall Street Journal (November 29)
“Anti-Ukraine voices in Congress, the Administration and the pundit class cite Kyiv’s corruption as worthy of unique condemnation.” But they are simply using it as an “excuse to abandon Ukraine,” which they hold to an artificially high standard. “Corruption deserves to be policed and punished. But U.S. support for Ukraine deserves to be judged by overall American interests, and the highest interest is national security.”
Tags: Abandon, Condemnation, Congress, Corruption, Excuse, Interests, National security, Policed, Punished, Support, U.S., Ukraine
Washington Post (November 25)
“President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is unconventional, but it’s also becoming predictably unpredictable.” Fortunately, Volodymyr Zelensky “has grown more astute at handling Trump.” He knew how to handle Trump’s latest “gambit and acted accordingly.” It seems Zelensky has transformed the lopsided peace proposal. “Ukraine could still come out ahead at the end of this nerve-wracking exercise.” While “there’s nothing wrong with talking,” American negotiators should “never forget who is really to blame for this awful conflict.”
Tags: Astute, Blame, Conflict, Foreign policy, Gambit, Handling, Lopsided, Negotiators, Nerve-wracking, Russia, Trump, U.S., Ukraine, Unconventional, Unpredictable, Zelensky
Washington Post (March 1)
President Trump’s “gambit to take control of Ukraine’s deposits of lithium, graphite, cobalt, rare metals and so forth — after calling for buying Greenland and taking over Canada, in part to nab their vast troves of critical minerals — suggests that he is fashioning a 19th-century strategy to work in the 21st.” While he may like this strategy, “holding a gun” to other nations “seems unwise if the United States wants to avoid becoming an international pariah and pushing erstwhile allies into the arms of its adversaries.”
Tags: 19th-century strategy, Adversaries, Allies, Canada, Cobalt, Control, Deposits, Gambit, Graphite, Greenland, International pariah, Lithium, Minerals, Rare metals, Trump, U.S., Ukraine
The Economist (February 20)
“The past week has been the bleakest in Europe since the fall of the Iron Curtain. Ukraine is being sold out, Russia is being rehabilitated and, under Donald Trump, America can no longer be counted on to come to Europe’s aid in wartime. The implications for Europe’s security are grave, but they have yet to sink in to the continent’s leaders and people.”
Tags: Bleakest, Europe, Grave, Implications, Iron Curtain, Leaders, People, Rehabilitated, Russia, Security, Sold out, Trump, U.S., Ukraine, Wartime
Fortune (November 11)
“Russia’s inflation has gone from bad to worse as it continues to wage war against Ukraine, causing even everyday goods to feel out of reach for the average person.” For example, “the price of a slab of butter has increased by 25.7% since December, prompting a slew of thefts across Russia and highlighting the state of the wartime economy.” To prevent shoplifting, supermarkets and retailers are now “attaching anti-theft tags to cans of meat… butter and other grocery staples.”
Tags: Anti-theft tags, Butter, Economy, Grocery, Inflation, Meat, Price, Retailers, Russia, Shoplifting, Supermarkets, Thefts, Ukraine, War
Financial Times (October 10)
“Germany is facing its first two-year recession since the early 2000s as the government downgraded its 2024 growth forecast for the eurozone’s largest economy.” Hurdles have included “soaring inflation, high interest rates and energy costs driven higher by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” along with longer term “structural problems, such as Germany’s dire skills shortage, years of under-investment in infrastructure and excessive red tape.”
Tags: Economy, Energy costs, eurozone, Germany, Growth forecast, Hurdles, Inflation, Infrastructure, Interest rates, Recession, Russia, Skills shortage, Structural problems, Ukraine, Under-investment
New York Times (August 25)
“Given the war in Ukraine, the risks of a larger war in the Middle East and China’s accelerating challenge to American primacy, Europe needs the United States more than it has since the end of the Cold War. And America still has a unique and valuable asset that its growing list of rivals and adversaries don’t: reliable allies and partners in Europe.” No two ways about it: “America and Europe need each other.”
Tags: Adversaries, Allies, Asset, China, Cold war, Europe, Middle East, Primacy, Reliable, Risks, Rivals, U.S., Ukraine, Unique, Valuable, War
The Guardian (August 13)
Ukraine’s attack on Russia has boosted momentum and may undercut “Putin’s strongman image,” possibly “prompting doubts among the elite” or “encouraging squabbling over who is to blame for this embarrassment.” Ultimately, however, “the final judgment on Kyiv’s bet” remains to be seen. “Taking the enemy by surprise is a short-term win. But the consequences of this bold gamble are still playing out.”
Tags: Attack, Blame, Consequences, Doubts, Embarrassment, Momentum, Putin, Russia, Short-term win, Strongman, Surprise, Ukraine, Undercut
