Breakthrough in Ukraine Negotiations?

Michael Tracey and I discuss the reported peace plan the Trump administration has been selling to Russia and Ukraine. If you take what Putin and Zelensky say publicly at face value, there really isn’t much hope of settling this conflict any time soon. If, on the other hand, they are just putting forward maximalist demands as negotiating ploys or for political reasons, there may be some hope.

The Trump plan is basically trying to recreate the process that ended the Korean War. The idea is for everyone to go, look, the line is stuck, let’s just all stay where we are and call it a day, as both sides get to claim that they gained something. We discuss the indicators regarding whether either Zelensky or Putin is willing to bend for the sake of achieving peace, along with ambiguities in the agreement and what happens to US support to Ukraine if negotiations don’t go anywhere. I come up with an optimistic best case scenario of how the current proposal could lead to an outcome that is acceptable for both sides.

We then go on to talk about the chaos at the Pentagon. This Politico article and this Tucker interview both come up. I find Hegseth to be an extremely disturbing figure. See here and here for some previous takes. Michael and I agree that this seems to be a clash of personalities within the Pentagon that Tucker and others are trying to spin as being about ideology.