Russia - Ukraine “peace negotiations”

[theel4life]

Why we should stop worrying and learn to love Putin:

Don’t forget to cup those balls Donald.

 

[BlueSmoke]

A couple weeks ago, when the Administration started its talks with Russia in Saudi Arabia, there was great consternation that Ukraine would have to sign onto a bad deal because it was losing. Well it didn't. Seeing the glass as half full, perhaps Ukraine is not so desperate. That's a good sign.

 

[CFordUNC]

This is definitely trolling. How are we declining currently?

Lmao at “definitely trolling.” You are so unbelievably soft if you think *that* post constitutes trolling.

The last 80 years have been the safest, most prosperous in world history. Why do you think that is, primarily? Google ‘Pax Americana.’ Read. Educate yourself. Learn a little. Think critically. Analyze.

Then, after doing that, your homework assignment is to read this opinion piece linked below and come back to tell the rest of the class whether you agree or disagree with it and why. We’ll have a classroom discussion on why or why not you believe that the U.S. intentionally abdicating its leading global role does or does not constitute ‘decline.’

Happy reading and learning!

Pax Americana is over. What comes next will be worse.

For nearly eight decades, humanity has benefited from an international order built and maintained by American power.

thehill.com

 

[Mulberry Heel]

Marco has his little lips puckered up nicely and already attached to Dear Leader's butt, I see. Next he'll be telling us that Dear Leader is a true Prince of Peace and the greatest negotiator and diplomat of all times!

 

[nycfan]

 

[Mulberry Heel]

LOL. Democrats didn't "give" anything to Russia, Putin just moved in and took it. And during his first term Trump did nothing to help Ukraine regain the Crimea. And unmentioned in that post is that he is now willing to let Russia keep those parts of Ukraine that they've already taken and basically turn Ukraine into little more than a Putin puppet state. Good going, Donald!

 

[nycfan]

LOL. Democrats didn't "give" anything to Russia, Putin just moved in and took it. And during his first term Trump did nothing to help Ukraine regain the Crimea. And unmentioned in that post is that he is now willing to let Russia keep those parts of Ukraine that they've already taken and basically turn Ukraine into little more than a Putin puppet state. Good going, Donald!

 

[nycfan]

 

[nycfan]

 

[WaynetheDrain]

He's living in an alternate reality than the rest of the human race. And you are dumb enough to believe everything he says.

 

[nycfan]

Background from Human Rights Watch on her closed churches claim, which is not without an underlying issue but framed for distortion:

Ukraine: New Law Raises Religious Freedom Concerns

Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom.

www.hrw.org

“Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could effectively ban congregations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukraine’s largest religious body.

The law, adopted August 20, 2024, prohibits the Russian Orthodox Church from operating in Ukraine and bans any religious organization in Ukraine with ties to it or any other religious organizations based in countries “engaged in armed aggression against Ukraine.” It authorizes the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience to identify links between Ukrainian religious organizations andthe Russian Orthodox Church. If found to have links, anorganization would have nine months to sever them,otherwise the agency can petition a court to shut it down.

“Ukrainian authorities understandably want to address state security concerns in the context of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But the law interferes with the right to freedom of religion and is so broad that it could violate the rights of Ukrainian Orthodox Church members.”

The Ukrainian government should suspend implementation of the law and request the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe’s’ Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to provide expert analysis of the law that would be the basis for its rights-respecting revision, Human Rights Watch said.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was established in 1990 as an autonomous branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leadership supports Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war, and in May 2022 took steps to ensure its independence and full autonomy from the Russian Orthodox Church. Yet, in January 2023, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience found these steps insufficient, stating that the “status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a structural subdivision of the Russian Orthodox Church... remains unchanged.”

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church exists alongside the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was established in 2019 under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The law does not impact the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. …”

 

[nycfan]

Background from Human Rights Watch on her closed churches claim, which is not without an underlying issue but framed for distortion:

Ukraine: New Law Raises Religious Freedom Concerns

Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom.

www.hrw.org

“Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could effectively ban congregations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukraine’s largest religious body.

The law, adopted August 20, 2024, prohibits the Russian Orthodox Church from operating in Ukraine and bans any religious organization in Ukraine with ties to it or any other religious organizations based in countries “engaged in armed aggression against Ukraine.” It authorizes the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience to identify links between Ukrainian religious organizations andthe Russian Orthodox Church. If found to have links, anorganization would have nine months to sever them,otherwise the agency can petition a court to shut it down.

“Ukrainian authorities understandably want to address state security concerns in the context of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But the law interferes with the right to freedom of religion and is so broad that it could violate the rights of Ukrainian Orthodox Church members.”

The Ukrainian government should suspend implementation of the law and request the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe’s’ Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to provide expert analysis of the law that would be the basis for its rights-respecting revision, Human Rights Watch said.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was established in 1990 as an autonomous branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leadership supports Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war, and in May 2022 took steps to ensure its independence and full autonomy from the Russian Orthodox Church. Yet, in January 2023, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience found these steps insufficient, stating that the “status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a structural subdivision of the Russian Orthodox Church... remains unchanged.”

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church exists alongside the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was established in 2019 under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The law does not impact the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. …”

More background/history of a thorny issue in Ukraine politics for years:

Holy War: The Fight for Ukraine’s Churches and Monasteries

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church will never be able to return to its prewar position. There are only two options now: swear allegiance to the new national consensus, or become a pro-Kremlin collaborator.

carnegieendowment.org

 

[UNCBAdookJD]

This is definitely trolling. How are we declining currently?

Market is down. On pace for for contraction this quarter followed by a deep recession. We have become an unreliable partner to our allies to the point our national anthem gets booed when we play them in sports. We have pretty much ceded the cyber domain to Russia. We have idiots firing people who manage our nukes and then scrambling to rehire them when they realize what those people actually do and then failing because they didn’t even conduct a proper exit interview to make sure they had follow-on contact information.

 

[nycfan]

Background from Human Rights Watch on her closed churches claim, which is not without an underlying issue but framed for distortion:

Ukraine: New Law Raises Religious Freedom Concerns

Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom.

www.hrw.org

“Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could effectively ban congregations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukraine’s largest religious body.

The law, adopted August 20, 2024, prohibits the Russian Orthodox Church from operating in Ukraine and bans any religious organization in Ukraine with ties to it or any other religious organizations based in countries “engaged in armed aggression against Ukraine.” It authorizes the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience to identify links between Ukrainian religious organizations andthe Russian Orthodox Church. If found to have links, anorganization would have nine months to sever them,otherwise the agency can petition a court to shut it down.

“Ukrainian authorities understandably want to address state security concerns in the context of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But the law interferes with the right to freedom of religion and is so broad that it could violate the rights of Ukrainian Orthodox Church members.”

The Ukrainian government should suspend implementation of the law and request the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe’s’ Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to provide expert analysis of the law that would be the basis for its rights-respecting revision, Human Rights Watch said.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was established in 1990 as an autonomous branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leadership supports Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war, and in May 2022 took steps to ensure its independence and full autonomy from the Russian Orthodox Church. Yet, in January 2023, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience found these steps insufficient, stating that the “status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a structural subdivision of the Russian Orthodox Church... remains unchanged.”

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church exists alongside the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was established in 2019 under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The law does not impact the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. …”

As for her crocodile tears for a free press in Ukraine, the media in Ukraine has definitely been targeted- by Russia:

Ukraine: press freedom after 3 years of full-scale war - ipi.media

IPI presents a report on media freedom violations committed over the past three years in the context of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

ipi.media

“… Killings and injuries of journalists reporting in Ukraine spiked during the first six months following the full-scale invasion, but incidents of physical attacks continue at a high level, according to IPI’s Ukraine War Press Freedom Tracker, which has documented threats to journalists in Ukraine since February 2022. IPI documented 24 incidents in 2024, in comparison with 25 in 2023. Nearly all of these attacks have come from Russian shelling or at the hands of Russian forces.

At least 14 journalists have been killed in Ukraine in relation to their work since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, nearly all in Russian shelling or at the hands of Russian forces. Ten were killed in 2022, two in 2023, and two in 2024. This figure also includes journalist Victoria Roshchyna, whose death in Russian captivity last year shocked the Ukrainian media community.

At least 50 journalists have been injuredsince February 24, 2022, according to IPI’s data. Of these, 18 sustained injuries during the most intense period of violence between February and September 2022. Eleven more were wounded in 2023 and 18 in 2024, underscoring the continued high and stable level of risk that journalists face.

Destruction of media infrastructure

Immediately after the full-scale invasion started, Russian forces targeted media infrastructure and offices in Ukraine, including the March 1, 2022 attack on the Kyiv TV tower. The attack on the tower also led to the first wartime killing of a journalist on duty, camera operator Yevhenii Sakun. Russian attacks on Ukrainian media offices and infrastructuredipped in 2023 before intensifying again in 2024, with 15 such attacks last year.

Arrests by Russian occupying authorities

The first months of the full-scale war, amid the overall informational and security chaos which reigned at the time, saw frequent arrests of Ukrainian journalists by Russian occupying authorities. In some cases, journalists and media workers were eventually released, while others remain in custody.

As of February 2025, IPI has knowledge of 20 Ukrainian journalists held by Russian authorities. This includes both journalists who were detained while continuing to report in areas seized by Russia following the full-scale invasion, or who had been detained prior to the invasion in areas under Russian control, especially in occupied Crimea.

Especially worrying is the situation of journalists detained in recently occupied regions of Ukraine, namely Kherson and Zaporizhia, where reliable information on their condition is scarce. This includes at least seven young journalists who published on the anonymous Telegram channel RIA Melitopol and who are being held at unspecified places of detention. …”

BUT, TBF, as the war has worn on, there have also been pressure by Ukrainian officials (especially the military) against reporters covering war progress and corruption allegations:

Shrinking press freedom in Ukraine: urgent need to implement a roadmap for the right to information

Pressure against independent media in Ukraine has been growing for several months. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges the Ukrainian authorities to implement the recommendations of its roadmap, presented a year ago, in order to protect independent journalism and the right to information in the...

rsf.org

 

[Batt Boy]

As much as I'd like to see the Euros craft and implement a peace with their resources and blood, it's not going to happen. We may have a tangerine tyrant in office, but any peace has to have US guarantees. Vlad invaded. He continues to say Ukraine doesn't have a right to exist. He can never be trusted beyond what power and threats can make him do. The Euro's can't do it.

The Euros don't have the muscle to do anything without us. Sad.

Europe inches towards Ukraine peace plan, but only baby steps away from US - Euractiv

Europe “must do the heavy lifting” but the “effort must have strong US backing”, UK's Starmer said.

www.euractiv.com

Europe agrees steps to peace in Ukraine, but it needs US backing

At a summit meeting in London on Sunday, European leaders, Canada and Turkey pledged to continue military support for Ukraine. #EuropeNews

www.euronews.com

 

[theel4life]

This man is such a bitch.

 

[theel4life]

Traitor

 

[mynameisbond]

Background from Human Rights Watch on her closed churches claim, which is not without an underlying issue but framed for distortion:

Ukraine: New Law Raises Religious Freedom Concerns

Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom.

www.hrw.org

“Ukraine’s new law banning religious organizations with ties to the Russian Orthodox Church is overly broad and could have far-reaching consequences for Ukrainians’ right to religious freedom, Human Rights Watch said today. The law could effectively ban congregations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Ukraine’s largest religious body.

The law, adopted August 20, 2024, prohibits the Russian Orthodox Church from operating in Ukraine and bans any religious organization in Ukraine with ties to it or any other religious organizations based in countries “engaged in armed aggression against Ukraine.” It authorizes the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience to identify links between Ukrainian religious organizations andthe Russian Orthodox Church. If found to have links, anorganization would have nine months to sever them,otherwise the agency can petition a court to shut it down.

“Ukrainian authorities understandably want to address state security concerns in the context of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine,” said Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “But the law interferes with the right to freedom of religion and is so broad that it could violate the rights of Ukrainian Orthodox Church members.”

The Ukrainian government should suspend implementation of the law and request the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe’s advisory body on constitutional matters, and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe’s’ Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights to provide expert analysis of the law that would be the basis for its rights-respecting revision, Human Rights Watch said.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church was established in 1990 as an autonomous branch of the Russian Orthodox Church, whose leadership supports Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has repeatedly condemned Russia’s war, and in May 2022 took steps to ensure its independence and full autonomy from the Russian Orthodox Church. Yet, in January 2023, the State Service of Ukraine for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience found these steps insufficient, stating that the “status of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church as a structural subdivision of the Russian Orthodox Church... remains unchanged.”

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church exists alongside the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was established in 2019 under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The law does not impact the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. …”

Not that I agree with a church ban of any kind, but the Russian Orthodox Church serves as a proxy for Putin.

 

[aGDevil2k]

We are the new Russia.

 

[CFordUNC]

MAGAts think they dislike a world in which they believe the greatest existential crisis is the fact that five or six transgendered athletes may exist in a nation of 340 million people. They are going to hate far more the world in which the United States is completely isolated from every single one of our allies, a world in which the United States dollar is no longer the international reserve currency, a world in which we are completely cut off from intelligence sharing, a world in which we are no longer looked to have the ability to speak softly and carry a big stick, and a world that is no longer as reliant upon American technology, invention, and innovation.

The United States having been the leading global superpower for the last eight decades is completely non-partisan. It has been a direct result of great policy making and policy implementation by leaders and presidents and congresses of both parties. What MAGAts don’t understand and don’t care to try to understand is that voluntarily abdicating our role as the leading global superpower isn’t just “owning libs.” It’s going to own the MAGAts just as much, and probably even more so.