Waltz tells what happened after the fight in the Oval Office - the Ukrainian team was in tears, but Zelensky stayed argumentative
Q: After the press left, you and Rubio told Zelensky he should leave the White House?
Waltz: We had a meeting, and advised the president that after that insult in the Oval Office he shouldn't engage further. We told Zelensky and his team.
To be clear, this was not an ambush - that claim is categorically false.
1/
Waltz: We had a beautiful setting in the East Room ready for both leaders to sign that would have bound the US and Ukraine together economically for a generation.
It involved critical minerals, investment, and commitments from the UK and France to put boots on the ground.
This could have been a step toward ending the war and stopping the destruction. 2/
Waltz: The President [Trump] was frustrated and angry because it’s unclear if Zelensky truly wants to stop the fighting. The President and VP said enough is enough.
This [lecturing] was the wrong approach, wrong time, and the wrong president to try to do this kind of a thing. This is not Joe Biden. The entire world saw that, crystal clear.
3/
Q: How did Zelensky react after press left? Was he surprised?
Waltz: No. His team was. His ambassador, and adviser were practically in tears, wanting this to move forward. But Zelensky was still argumentative.
I said “Mr. President, time is not on your side here, on the battlefield, and in terms of the world situation. And most importantly, USAID, and the taxpayers' tolerance, is not unlimited”.
4/
Waltz: I think Zelensky is used to hearing that “as long as it takes” and blank check from Biden.
He has not gotten the memo that this is a new sheriff in town.
This is a new president, and we are determined to take a new approach towards peace. 5/
Waltz: Zelensky did his country a true disservice. If you disagree with how we're gonna end the war - fine.
But you do that behind closed doors, not the way this was done. It was wholly unacceptable. 6X
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Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s new Minister of Defense: Our goal is to kill 50,000 Russians per month. Last month, 35,000 were killed — all losses verified on video.
Zelenskyy has set a clear task: to make the cost of war for Russia unbearable — Babel. 1/
Fedorov: We want to change the paradigm that the Ministry of Defense is only about procurement and logistics.
It is about civilian oversight and coordination. Management must be built around those who can achieve goals. If people do not deliver results, they will have to go. 2/
Fedorov: As early as this month, 40k interceptor drones will be delivered to the military. Ukraine will have its own Mavic analogue with a longer range. We opened markets for drones, missiles and launched Brave1 marketplace — now the largest investor in Ukrainian defense tech. 3/
Stubb: Putin has not achieved his strategic goals. We are almost four years into the war. His advancement now — 20% of Ukrainian territory, in the past 1000 days — roughly 1% of territory. It's a war of attrition. I feel fairly comfortable from military perspective. 1/
Stubb: Politically we are in better place. We're on the same page with the Ukrainians, Americans and the Europeans. We're now kind of united in our resolve in trying to find a solution. The big question here is that where's Russia and all of this? I can't give you an answer. 2/
Stubb: Peace agreements are always a compromise. It will then create a new scenario as well. What do you do with 1M Russian soldiers? A lot of them will go to the Finnish border. But of course, peace is what we're all working towards. 3/
Today is the Day of Remembrance for the Defenders of Donetsk Airport.
The defense of Donetsk Airport lasted 242 days — from September 2014 to January 23, 2015 — and became one of the most brutal battles of Russia’s war against Ukraine. 1/
Ukrainian forces held the old and new terminals, the control tower, and surrounding infrastructure under full encirclement.
They faced regular Russian army units, tanks, artillery, MLRS, and mortars. The airport was shelled every day, sometimes for hours without pause. 2/
This was a fight for concrete that Russian forces destroyed by direct fire.
Floor by floor. Section by section.
Buildings collapsed in real time. Debris buried both the wounded and the living. Soldiers fought inside structures no longer fit for human survival. 3/
There is no good Russians on the screen of a thermal scope — Daria “Hilka”, commander of the Ukrainian all-women Typhoon drone unit.
Those who come onto our land with weapons are only temporarily alive.
Their thoughts or dreams don’t matter to me.
They must get out. 1/
Hilka: We’re seen as a curiosity because we’re a female crew.
We work the same way, with the same principles and equipment. There’s no open sexism — but the ‘they’re girls’ attitude exists.
We deal with it by doing the job and proving we’re at the same level as men.
2/
We organized an exhibition “Unissued Diplomas” in uni, to honor students killed by Russia.
Not long ago we were skipping classes and drinking coffee together. Now we’re honoring them - Oleksandra “Smakolyk” on one of the moments that motivated her to join the army. 3X
Sikorski: The way Putin has treated people on occupied territories is unbelievable.
Cruelties, stealing children, arresting at the slightest sign of resistance, russifying the culture.
Ukrainians understood that this is an existential war for them. 1/
Sikorski: When Putin continues to say Zelenskyy is the problem, he wants to create a political crisis in Ukraine, which would allow him to place someone in charge that would follow his wishes.
It's not just about territory, it's about the geopolitical orientation of Ukraine. 2/
Sikorski: Putin has sent us death squads. People have died [killed by Russian agents] in Germany, Britain, Qatar.
They recruit one-time agents on social media, pay them to photograph a target and then to set fire to it. All over Europe, we've had a number of such incidents. 3/