Today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Berlin to meet with President Trump emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner ahead of the previously scheduled Monday summit with the Coalition of The Willing, U.K, France and Germany.

The wording used by Zelenskyy tells the dynamic: “We are currently preparing for meetings with the U.S. side and our European friends in the coming days. Berlin will host many events.”

The “U.S side” and “European friends”, a notable distinction in the terminology as Zelenskyy notes his friendship with his European stakeholders.

Today, Sunday, Zelenskyy notes, “I am already in Germany. Today’s agenda includes a meeting with the American negotiating team. We are focusing on how to reliably guarantee Ukraine’s security so that the experience of the Budapest Memorandum and Russia’s invasion are never repeated. We are counting on constructive talks.”

For President Zelenskyy and his EU coalition, everything revolves around the security guarantees.  As noted by Politico:

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Generally, the Washington Post is the outlet for interests and concerns of the CIA or international elements of the U.S. intelligence community.  Narratives from the Washington Post usually shape storylines against scrutiny of the Intelligence Community.

It has been widely reported that the FBI has been working closely with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) in detecting and discovering corruption amid Ukraine officials who have skimmed money from various international aid programs.  However, the Washington Post is suddenly concerned that FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino have held “secret meetings” with lead Ukraine peace negotiator Rustem Umerov.

This becomes interesting if you have followed along and noted that during negotiations the reports of Rustem Umerov indicated his concurrence with the peace agreements structured by Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.  Indeed, based on feedback during these meetings President Trump has said the Ukraine delegation appeared “quite happy” with the terms of the Witkoff/Kushner proposals, while Ukraine President Zelenskyy was less accepting.

Between the lines of statements following the consultations, it is easy to get the sense that Rustem Umerov is in alignment with the U.S. proposals, but Volodymyr Zelenskyy is not.  Hence, Zelenskyy keeps returning to his U.K, France, Germany and EU support network for counterproposals despite his officials like Umerov working with the U.S. team directly.

This paragraph from within the WaPo (CIA) framework seems to tell a background story:

[…] “The meetings have caused alarm among Western officials who remain in the dark about their intent and purpose. Some said they believe Umerov and other Ukrainian officials sought out Patel and Bongino in the hopes of obtaining amnesty from any corruption allegations the Ukrainians could face. Others worry the newly established channel could be used to exert pressure on Zelensky’s government to accept a peace deal, proposed by the Trump administration, containing steep concessions for Kyiv.” (more)

The FBI working with NABU to uncover Ukraine corruption.  The FBI is meeting with Ukraine lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov.  A massive corruption scandal has just taken down Zelenskyy’s main aide, Andriy Yermak.

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NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte and German Chancellor Frederich Merz hold a press conference as a meeting in Paris this weekend (13th) and Berlin on Monday (15th) are scheduled to finalize EU terms for a negotiated Ukraine-Russia ceasefire.

Within the remarks Merz notes a preliminary document outlining possible land concessions has recently been sent to the Trump administration, and that set of documents likely includes an outline for ‘security guarantees’ assembled by the coalition of the willing (Germany, France and UK). “It mainly concerns the question of what territorial concessions Ukraine is prepared to make,” Mr Merz said. He stressed that any decision on land concessions was up to the Ukrainian government and its people.

Chancellor Merz said, “If we continue as imagined, there will be talks with the US administration over the weekend and there might be a meeting at the beginning of next week in Berlin. Whether the US administration will take part in the meeting depends on the papers we are working on [at present].”

Speaking to an audience together with NATO Secretary Rutte, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, emphasized the 28-point outline originally created by Trump, Rubio, Witkoff and Ukraine/Russia officials was dead. “As the 28-point plan was mentioned, it is no longer existing,” Wadephul said. “We had some influence on it” he remarked, seemingly bragging about how Europe destroyed the U.S plan.

Another report on Thursday said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged Volodymyr Zelensky to accept “painful concessions” for a peace deal. According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, tensions surfaced between the two leaders as Ms Meloni pressed Mr Zelensky to accede to US demands.  “There is sufficient evidence indicating that not everything went smoothly and that some differences were clearly expressed for the first time by both parties,” the newspaper stated.

Meanwhile back in Washington, DC, President Trump delivered remarks on the Ukraine-EU negotiations yesterday, noting his discussions with the European team and the potential for Trump’s emissaries to attend either the Paris or Berlin meeting if something productive can be gained from it.

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Lyndon LaRouche (1922-2019) was a rather eclectic fellow in the world of American politics for several generations. Some of his perspectives were sound and nationalistic, and some of his perspectives slipped into the realm of geopolitical conspiracy theory finding British Imperialism under every rock and blaming Queen Elizabeth II for assassination attempts against him.

Susan Kokinda and Barbara Boyd of Promethean Action continue the LaRouche tradition while smoothing out some of the more outlandish elements the originating political movement was known for. Barbara Boyd is the spokesperson and treasurer of the LaRouche Youth Movement. Boyd’s partner, Susan Kokinda, maintains a belief that eliminating British Imperialism is the objective of President Trump’s America-First policy agenda.  This is where I disagree.

While the outcome of President Trump’s policy does factually lead to the result LaRouche advocated, I strongly doubt “eliminating British imperialism” is the prism through which Donald Trump’s thought process flows.  That said, in the overall picture of American politics, the Kokinda and Boyd analysis of Trump’s opposition is generally accurate.

In their most recent update, Susan Kokinda discusses how President Trump’s recent national security strategy marks a significant departure from over a century of British-influenced American foreign policy.  Their review delves into the geopolitical friction between the U.S. and the UK, particularly regarding their strategies toward Russia and Ukraine.

Mrs. Kokinda underscores the broader clash of worldviews between America-First sovereignty and British-led internationalism, highlighting the latest developments including reactions from Russia and European elites. The episode also examines the opposition Trump faces from both within the U.S. political establishment and British geopolitical strategists and emphasizes the importance of maintaining political support to ensure the success of Trump’s transformative policies.  WATCH:

The divergence between the worldview of the European Union and President Trump is accurately presented as above.  The Ukraine/Russia war serves as a case study in how the two worldviews conflict.  The core of U.K policy and national security strategy continues to view Russia as the biggest threat; the national security outlook by President Trump does not.

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President Trump had previously said that Zelenskyy has until Christmas to make a decision on the negotiated ceasefire and peace plan organized over weeks of discussions between the U.S., Ukraine and Russian intermediaries.

Ukraine President Zelenskyy then rushed to Paris, London, Brussels and Rome to coordinate with European stakeholder interests. [Notably, he never prioritized discussion of the proposal with the people of Ukraine.]

Zelenskyy then announced his European partners were close to finalizing a counterproposal deal.

Interestingly, the leaders of Germany, U.K., France and Ukraine then leak they had a 2-hour phone call with President Trump.  It’s interesting, because President Trump chose to stay quiet about the call as the “coalition of the willing” plotted their next move to keep the USA attached to their collective destiny.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they “agreed that this was a critical moment – for Ukraine, its people and for shared security across the Euro-Atlantic region”. A White House official confirmed the call took place but did not give details. {link}

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke with the other heads of state, declaring that they were at a “critical moment,” according to a spokesperson for Downing Street. “The Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke to the president of the United States, Donald Trump, the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the Chancellor of Germany, Friedrich Merz today,” they said. {link}

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz then announces the “coalition of the willing”, which is specifically Germany, Great Britain and France, will reassemble with President Zelenskyy to solidify the next steps in the “security guarantee” part of their proposal. Previously, the trio would only commit to be “willing” if the USA agreed to protect their military forces on the non-NATO territory of Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine, together with American and European partners, is working on three separate documents related to security and the country’s postwar development. {link}

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The premise of this interlocutory exchange is beyond bizarre when you think about it.

President Trump’s negotiation team worked with Ukraine officials and Russian officials to establish the parameters for a ceasefire proposal. Representatives from the U.S, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, working as moderators for a cessation of hostilities, held multiple meetings with high level Ukraine and Russian officials, including Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin, and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

As a consequence, President Trump’s team (Rubio, Witkoff and Kushner) have spent hundreds of hours, including nine entire days over the last two weeks, in detailed face-to-face discussions with Ukraine officials.

Zelenskyy then goes to Paris, London, Brussels and Rome, to consult with European leaders, and then has the audacity to say he will present a counterproposal from the Europeans to President Trump.

PRESIDENT ZELENSKYY – “Today, we already discussed with our negotiating team the results of yesterday’s work in London, which was conducted at the level of the National Security Advisors of our European partners. This was agreed upon yesterday at the leadersʼ level.

We are working very actively on all components of potential steps toward ending the war. The Ukrainian and European components are now more developed, and we are ready to present them to our partners in the U.S. Together with the American side, we expect to swiftly make the potential steps as doable as possible.

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President Trump sat down for an extensive interview with Dasha Burns of Politico.  Despite the ideological outlook of Politico, the interview itself was remarkably absent of combative antagonism. The result is a good review of the current positions of President Trump as they relate to the rest of the world.

The Ukraine-Russia conflict is the immediate issue that is discussed within the interview.  President Trump answers some direct questions about who is currently most responsible for continuing the conflict and is asked his opinion directly on Ukraine not holding elections.

President Trump notes Russian President Vladimir Putin is in the strongest position within the conflict and carries the strongest leverage into any ceasefire negotiations.  Trump also frames the need for the bloodshed to end with a much greater sense of urgency than any of the EU leaders or Zelenskyy.  Additionally sharing the opinion that Ukraine needs to have an election to showcase the will of the Ukrainian people in the leadership of Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  WATCH:

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Yesterday, Ukraine President Volodymr Zelenskyy traveled to London to meet with British PM Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron.

As expected, part of the Zelenskyy meeting with the “coalition of the willing” included a briefing by Ukraine negotiator Rustem Umerov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, who held detailed consultations for three days last week in Miami with Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

President Zelenskyy then departed London traveling with his media entourage to Brussels for the next round of discussions with the European Union stakeholders, financiers and politicians. During the trip Zelenskyy told his media stenographers, “Under our laws, under international law — and under moral law — we have no right to give anything away. That is what we are fighting for.”

The U.K, France and Germany support Zelenskyy’s position that he is not going to concede any territory to the Russian Federation, specifically the 30% of the Donbas area in Eastern Ukraine currently at the heart of the physical conflict.

The 30% issue surrounds the Donetsk region in Ukraine, which includes the cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. Russia is currently pushing deep into fortified Ukraine resistance in this region with a population of around 100,000. Zelenskyy claims losing this area would allow Putin to invade the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv regions.

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Following three days of negotiations in Florida (Thur, Fri, Sat) between President Trump emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and Ukraine emissaries Rustem Umierov and Andrii Hnatov, the group then held a 2-hour phone call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

No substantial progress was reported.  However, military officials Umierov and Hnatov then flew to meet Zelenskyy in London where French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are assembled to discuss alternatives to ending the conflict.

Starmer, Macron and Merz form the core of the “coalition of the willing,” an EU group who have unilaterally proclaimed they were willing to send the military of the U.K, France and Germany into Ukraine so long as President Trump would backstop their troops with promises of U.S. intervention if things went badly.  Trump would not make that commitment.

Zelenskyy Inc, Macron, Starmer and Merz do not want to end the proxy fight against Russia.  Together with the EU leadership of NATO, the coalition of the willing want to retain the conflict.  However, the problem for the four leaders is that without strong USA support, the citizens of their EU countries will rise up against them.

Even with NATO missiles and transferred technological assistance, they ultimately need the American military in order to ensure Putin doesn’t squish them.  President Trump wants the proxy war to end – loggerheads are reached.

Russian President Vladimir Putin does not seem to be paying too much attention to the bureaucratic speeches and instead is continuing forward advancement [SEE HERE] to secure the territory in Ukraine with or without a negotiated settlement.

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President Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy is outlined in a detailed 33-page report.

In addition to setting the priorities for the United States focus, the report details the Trump administration perspective on the world as broken down into specific regions.  The report is a brutally honest review of the current state of geopolitical benefits, risks and threats as they pertain to vital U.S. interests.

[Full pdf Here]

In addition to outlining a critically renewed focus on the Western Hemisphere, the Trump administration also notes the practical position of Europe, as it pertains to NATO and dependency on the U.S.A.

In a brutally honest review of the situation, the Trump administration notes Europe is increasingly losing their own identity.  The fear the Europeans express about being vulnerable to Russian strength is hypocritical, in the sense that in practical outcomes the EU is purposefully weakening itself and simultaneously demanding assistance against their own weakness.

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