Summary

After a tense Oval Office encounter with Donald Trump and JD Vance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy received a warm UK welcome, including an official audience with King Charles at Sandringham.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened a defence summit with European and NATO allies to reaffirm solidarity with Ukraine, discuss unlocking frozen Russian assets, and counter the rift caused by Trump’s accusations of Zelenskyy’s ingratitude.

European leaders fear the spat endangers Western unity and peace efforts and are vowing no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukrainian involvement.

  • @takeda@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    209
    edit-2
    17 days ago

    Events from yesterday are sad, not just for Ukraine or even Europe, but they will also hurt US long term.

    US right now is on the path of losing its dominance. All the soft power US is losing, China is stepping in. Russia also believes it can once again become a superpower hopefully EU get’s its security seriously and won’t let them.

      • @NegativeLookBehind@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        8717 days ago

        Really tired of people saying “this is so bad for the US!”

        Yea…no shit. That’s literally the whole point of all these insane actions.

        • @parody@lemmings.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          317 days ago

          Doesn’t that mean they care about the US?

          If they care about themselves, the point is self enrichment. If self enrichment is the point and they don’t care about our country, the fact it is bad for the US is simply a tragic externality.

          Maybe they’re stupid enough not to realize they’re doing permanent damage. The supporting evidence there that I can think of is that they themselves and their families are less safe. How will they spend their Bitcoin if things go south, will they enjoy living in Russia or China?

    • @9point6@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      5317 days ago

      It’s gone. The USA is a superpower only because of its allegiances. In the past week it’s been demonstrated that the US no longer wishes to be a part of that arrangement.

      • oce 🐆
        link
        fedilink
        English
        3
        edit-2
        17 days ago

        I wish it was given their current government, but it still is the number one military and economy, so they can do a lot of damage. It will depend on what happens after Trump, if they continue spiraling down or not.

    • @JOMusic@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      35
      edit-2
      17 days ago

      The BRICS partnership (Of which China is a key player) encompasses almost 50% of the world’s population, and their Belt and Road initiative is a soft power wet dream.

      The world has actually already become multipolar, but most Western media won’t make that clear because they are still stuck in the old Colonial mindset of Captialist-Democracy = 100% civilized / Not-a-Capitalist-Democracy = 100% backwards.

      • @boredtortoise@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        917 days ago

        Trump is just switching gears from the slow decline harder towards the Capitalist-Not-a-Democracy segment BRICS’s most namesakes inhabit. He just doesn’t bother to mask the racketeering into something like the Belt and Road

    • @zephorah@lemm.ee
      cake
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1917 days ago

      The US has already lost its dominance. Anything you think you see to that end atm is general inertia. People are mentally prone to incredible inertia in behaviors.

      The signs of power vacuum between first trump term and second trump term are there. China. Israel. Russia. And now the world is already rallying together against the new world bully.

      Because that is who Trump is. A bully with a giant war chest. No one likes a bully. Incidentally, on the psych side, they usually have daddy issues and/or have been abused at home.

      The brunt of it ends when Trump dies in his sleep from his medical ailments (he doesn’t look good). And then we see the real agenda of the people around him in this admin, in full force. Likely less erratic with the war chest though, and more focused on destroying any and all remnants of power and will to live in the working class.

    • @Pilferjinx@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      1117 days ago

      Russia can be a superpower if they didn’t rob the nations resources instead of investing in it and its people.

      • @seejur@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        817 days ago

        Aka Russia will never be a superpower. Russia history motto is “and somehow, it got worse”

    • @TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      417 days ago

      US right now is on the path of losing its dominance.

      That may present an opportunity to develop international democracy, to replace the violent, hegemonic rule of any one nation.

  • @taanegl@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    12417 days ago

    The motivation now is for Europe to finance the entire war… to ensure Zelensky doesn’t need to go back to the US.

    Such disgrace. I’ve heard of “ugly Americans”, but this is ridiculous.

    • @CitizenKong@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      7017 days ago

      I mean we had to get off the US’ teats at some point, it’s been 80 years. A pity that it had to happen like this, but we have to look forward and turn Europe into the beacon of democratic ideals that the US refuses to be anymore. It will be a hard and rocky road for sure, but we can come out the other side stronger and better in every way.

        • @MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
          link
          fedilink
          English
          616 days ago

          Wait, in Europe? What’s the new privacy nightmare policy? I thought y’all enjoyed the GDPR. Did I miss something recent? :(

          …but also I’m posting from the U.S where privacy is “whatever you can encrypt yourself”, which isn’t much… it’s a very low bar.

      • @Damage@feddit.it
        link
        fedilink
        English
        115 days ago

        The US wanted an obedient Europe but now they no longer want pay for it … Guess obedience time is over.

    • @margaritox@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      4317 days ago

      Yea, it’s a shame that the American people elected this clown to represent them. I’m really heartbroken they/we didn’t choose better.

          • @MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
            link
            fedilink
            English
            1116 days ago

            I agree, but also if we follow the 'pubbicans PR pattern of “Loudly accusing you of doing what I’m actually doing right now in front of everyone.”

            …it’s almost hard not to believe it was tampered with from their end. Not on the vote counting side, like they accused “the libs” of doing (and just ended up harassing a bunch of poll workers, after all, they hate anybody who works.) but this mutated monster GOP never plays a fair game if they can help it.

            • @SLVRDRGN@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              English
              115 days ago

              Trump has never played fair. The majority of Americans wanted a person like this. Many Americans don’t care about being fair anymore, just being right.

          • @CaptnNMorgan@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            English
            12
            edit-2
            16 days ago

            Trump has implied it himself a handful of times, and the fact is Elon Musk was paying people started a sweepstakes for people in Pennsylvania to win $1million each, to vote for trump.

            • @MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
              link
              fedilink
              English
              7
              edit-2
              16 days ago

              Not each, it was a sweepstakes, but that was absolutely manipulation. Man what a blatant way to insult the working class by dangling a chance at table scraps at them in exchange for their integrity…and no doubt many went for it.

              I wonder if any actually got paid?

              • @CaptnNMorgan@lemmy.world
                link
                fedilink
                English
                416 days ago

                Thank you for the correction. It’s annoying being the one saying something inaccurate, but I always appreciate it being pointed out.

            • @xye@lemm.ee
              link
              fedilink
              English
              516 days ago

              That’s absurd and it’s this kind of misinformation that has led our country to be the joke it is today. Do better.

  • @zephorah@lemm.ee
    cake
    link
    fedilink
    English
    46
    edit-2
    17 days ago

    It’s interesting that conservative circles are lauding Trump for removing the US from wars in “matters that don’t concern us”. Their take, not mine.

    And yet. All of this feels like a seismic shift prefacing going to war.

    Even the first term I always had the sense Trump wanted to play with war toys. Akin to him acting like a little boy playing with toy truck when behind the wheel of a construction vehicle. Now he’s more erratic than ever before, and has the people around him willing to do his bidding.

    And this is not an administration that would hesitate to draft people.

    • oKtosiTe
      link
      fedilink
      English
      917 days ago

      a seismic shit

      Despite the tone of this thread, this made me chuckle. Thank you.

    • @Wahots@pawb.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      817 days ago

      All this you feel? It reeks of the stuff leading up to WW1. Just waiting on the Zimmerman telegram now.

      We’re going to backslide to the prewar days where violence was the only way to amass power, before the days of the UN, USAID, NATO, and the rest.

      And that isolationist shit is consistent with America pre WW1 and the interwar period before WW2.

      • @zephorah@lemm.ee
        cake
        link
        fedilink
        English
        517 days ago

        Preaching to the choir.

        The billionaires in America don’t care though. They don’t care about our Constitution either. They just want to play ball so they’re not monopoly busted by Trump in retaliation and so they get a place at the feeding trough as these assholes dismantle us and our country.

    • @margaritox@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      717 days ago

      Yea, this whole “matters that don’t concern us” take is really scary to me. It scares me that people don’t want to learn from history and realize that it eventually will.

      • @zephorah@lemm.ee
        cake
        link
        fedilink
        English
        317 days ago

        There will always be people who feel if it doesn’t touch their family circle, their immediate living situation, then it’s unimportant.

        This take happens more in the living paycheck to paycheck set which may as much as 60% of Americans at present.

    • @AES_Enjoyer@reddthat.com
      link
      fedilink
      English
      217 days ago

      And yet. All of this feels like a seismic shit prefacing going to war

      And what’s the solution to that? Further militarization of the US and Europe? Or diplomacy and negotiations?

  • Jo Miran
    link
    fedilink
    English
    3817 days ago

    I hope the UK & EU get all of those tasty mineral rights and Trump get left holding nothing but his limp mushroom dick.

    • @Wahots@pawb.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      3017 days ago

      I hope Ukraine keeps its mineral rights, and we all fund their war. We should be thanking them for kicking Russia in the cunt, not taking away their resources while they fight a war for the EU and NA.

    • @JacksonLamb@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      115 days ago

      Taking advantage of someone being attacked so you can extort their mineral rights is a low thing to do. No need to act like vultures.

  • @LeFantome@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    English
    3416 days ago

    “Keir Starmer will also host European heads of government and the leaders of Canada and Turkey at a special defence summit aimed at presenting a united front on the Ukraine crisis.”

    So….a defence meeting with Great Britain, Europe, Turkey, and Canada without the US. This sounds an awful lot like a NATO meeting without the US.

    Trump may not have to worry about leaving NATO. They may do it for him.

  • Sigilos
    link
    fedilink
    English
    2617 days ago

    Thank goodness, I’m embarrassed that the walking cheeto would melt down like that while holding one of the most prestigious offices in my country, although unfortunately I’m not surprised by it. I’m glad Ukraine has other places it’s leadership can turn too in this time of need. Sadly, I can only hope that the dark spector of mortality does it’s work swiftly in the oval office and this geriatric orange is done for good sooner rather then later.

    • @floofloof@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      English
      617 days ago

      Then you get President Vance, but maybe his lack of charisma woyld start to turn the public away.

    • @zonnewin@feddit.nl
      link
      fedilink
      English
      416 days ago

      He didn’t melt down. This was a performance, theater, or as he himself said: great television. It was a planned insult and betrayal of Zelensky. Putin couldn’t be more pleased.

  • Lit
    link
    fedilink
    English
    10
    edit-2
    17 days ago

    This Jerking Dick Vanker is a piece of shit, can’t even make a simple deal. He only had 1 job to do.