Trump tells Zelensky to give up all of the Donbas now if he wants to get US security guaranties

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Dear readers, you probably have not heard the news that I have posted above as the title for this brief essay, but then you are not in the press pool of NewsX World and I am doing your listening for you there.

Similarly, you did not hear previously and probably do not even know today that yesterday a Russian state-owned widebody jet landed in Kennedy Airport in New York carrying a delegation of Russian parliamentarians from the State Duma headed by Vyacheslav Nikonov, a veteran legislator, consummate diplomat with extensive foreign experience.  This trip may be called a ‘timid exploratory mission’ reestablishing ties between Russian and American medium level politicians that were long ago broken off by the American side per Dmitry Peskov’s description of it earlier today. This may not be newsworthy in the same sense as a president-to-president summit, but it is a promising development nonetheless, a straw in the wind.

And which way is the wind blowing?  For that, let us return to my headline above. Quite remarkable news if true. And it would appear to justify President Putin’s insistence in the face of substantial opposition from his own foreign policy establishment, including his Ministry of Foreign Affairs, that it pays to negotiate with and to draw closer to Donald Trump however repugnant, however contradictory the man may be.

Make no mistake about it: the Russian establishment now considers Trump to be the fool’s fool. They see his conduct of the war of aggression on Iran as disastrous and likely to go very badly for him if indeed he attempts to put feet on the ground on Kharg island or elsewhere in Iran.

I note in passing, that the Russian political establishment, like its American counterpart points to Trump’s reliance on Mossad, on Israeli intelligence for setting his expectations when he decided to embark on his Iran war. What we see here is that despite its reputation as being the most competent as well as bloodiest intel operation in the world, despite its demonstrated ability to blow up hundreds of its enemies with explosive pagers and the like, this same Mossad is worthless for political and military analysis, for setting strategy against chosen enemies.  Worthless! 

Of course, if Trump proceeds with his threat/promise to Zelensky and the Ukrainian president agrees to leave the Donbas, that will drive an enormous wedge between the United States and Europe, between and among Member States of the EU itself.

NB – the podcast of The Bulletin program on News X World which we recorded 20 minutes ago will likely become available later today and I will post it here at that time.

©Gilbert Doctorow, 2026

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Published by gilbertdoctorow

Gilbert Doctorow's latest book, "War Diaries. The Russia-Ukraine War, 2022-2023" is a unique contribution to literature on the war thanks to the author's reports on the Russian home front written during his periodic visits to St Petersburg at a time when Russia no longer issued visas and nearly all Western journalists had left the country. Doctorow's two-volume "Memoirs of a Russianist" published in 2020 also constitutes a category of its own, consisting largely of diary entries rather than reminiscences written decades later.. Volume 2 focuses on the community of 50,000 expatriate managers working and living in Moscow during the 1990s, about which none of his peers has yet to write. Gilbert Doctorow is a professional Russia watcher and actor in Russian affairs going back to 1965. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College (1967), a past Fulbright scholar, and holder of a Ph.D. with honors in history from Columbia University (1975). After completing his studies, Mr. Doctorow pursued a business career focused on the USSR and Eastern Europe. For twenty-five years he worked for US and European multinationals in marketing and general management with regional responsibility. From 1998-2002, Doctorow served as the Chairman of the Russian Booker Literary Prize in Moscow. During the 2010-2011 academic year, he was a Visiting scholar of the Harriman Institute, Columbia University. Mr. Doctorow is a long-time resident of Brussels.

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3 thoughts on “Trump tells Zelensky to give up all of the Donbas now if he wants to get US security guaranties”

  1. I understand that this Russian offer is also about to time-out. A Russian land corridor including Odessa and Transnistria is rumored to be part of the next Russian offer. “Ukraine” would lose Black Sea Access and Odessa, which their UK “ally” very much covets.

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  2. In my humble opinion Russia knew from the beginning going into Ukraine was a trap, but Russia also knew if they did not act their situation would deteriorate even further, they rolled the dice and went for regime change in Kiev, which failed miserably, they were in, the trap was sprung. further in my humble opinion, if Russia just settles for Donbass and the present line of contact without Odessa, the 5 eyed Perfidious Albion will have a permanent base on the Black Sea. with further threatening ramifications for Russia.

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    1. Korrektur zu Ihrer Zusprechung, dass das ‘Unterfangen’ in Kiew “kläglich scheiterte”. Es gab einen Grund, dass sich Russland zurückzog – das ist dokumentiert und wird leider stets vergessen. Kanzlerin Merkel rief umgehend in Moskau an und bat um Deeskalation und Rückzug (dem entsprochen wurde), denn es wurde Istanbul möglich. Wir wissen heute alle, was das Ergebnis war, aber zum besagten Zeitpunkt war W.Putin sicherlich noch der Überzeugung, der Umstand wäre Abschreckung genug gewesen. Er behielt sich also Diplomatie offen, wie in den vielen vielen Jahren zuvor. Heute wissen wir, dass es Verzögerungstaktiken des Westens waren – alle. Sie sassen stumm gegenüber, währenddessen die RF versuchte, diese Metzelei im Donbass zu stoppen und Möglichkeiten der Befriedung zu finden. Im Nachhinein ist man schlauer und offenbar erweist sich die Taktik, sofort seitens Russlands rigeroser gehandelt zu haben – es wäre das nch weitaus Schlimmere möglicherweise direkt im Keim erstickt worden. Putin glaubte an Mässigung und nicht an mehr Tod. Davon bin ich überzeugt. Doch aus der direkten Eskalation hätte man ihm im Westen auch einen Strick gedreht. Es waren bis dahin 8 (!!!!) lange Jahre verstrichen. nachdem VR Donezk und Lugansk PERSÖNLICH nach den massiven Zunahmen der Bombardements Moskau um ein Freundschafts- und Beistandabkommen baten, es nach DUMA-Prüfung usw. unterzeichneten , wurde es zur Pflicht gegenüber Russlands. Die Note liegt der UN vor, auch die Folterprotokolle oder Opferzahlen. Es wurde damals “Genozid” angegeben, was nicht trug und die UN veranlasste, die Intervention auf Wunsch der Donbassstaaten nicht anzuerkennen. Doch man muss sich generell fragen, ab welcher Zahl an Opfern, die der Krieg im Donbass bis 22 forderte, die UN überhaupt interveniert, um noch mehr Tot und Leid zu verhindern. Das ist eine Backpfeiffe an diesen Verein, der es nicht schafft, bei so viel Personal und finanziellem Aufwand, Leid zu verhindern. Das ist das Schmerzhafte prinzipiell. Herzliche Grüße aus Deutschland.

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