Another Perfect Phone Call

Trump held a two-hour call with Putin to reignite ceasefire talks. “Trump also spoke with with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders in hopes of making progress toward a ceasefire. ‘The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.'” (OK, well that clears that up.) AP: Following his call with Putin, Trump says Russia and Ukraine will begin ceasefire talks ‘immediately.’ JD Vance added more ridiculousness to the discussion: “It takes two to tango…if Russia is not willing to do that, then we’re eventually just going to have to say, this is not our war. It’s Joe Biden’s war, it’s Vladimir Putin’s war.”

+ Feeling optimistic? Not too many Ukrainians are. Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Nobody in Ukraine Thinks the War Will End Soon. “I asked the audience at the Lviv Media Forum whether any of them expected a cease-fire soon. About 200 journalists and editors were in the room. No one raised their hand. Many laughed.”