KEY MESSAGE THIS WEEK: Russia is a loser in need of a bailout, and Trump’s deal hands it one. How does the free world respond? Use frozen Russian assets to defend Ukraine and Europe
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Don’t be steered. Steer.
Trump throws loser Putin a lifeline by welcoming Russian diesel to the USA. Every diesel sale funds Russia’s murderous war machine.
Europe can answer with a shrewd chess move: Transfer the frozen Russian assets out of Belgium’s sole responsibility and into the custody of the European Union. This would:
**Relieve the burden on the Belgian people,**who have faced repeated threats from Russia for holding the money. If the funds are held instead by the collective EU, Russia will lose its leverage over Belgium.**Relieve the defense burden on the European taxpayer.**The immobilised Russian assets, worth €210 billion across the EU and €185 billion in Belgium alone, can fuel Ukraine’s resistance.**Fund the innovation that defends the West.**If a portion of the frozen Russian assets goes to mil-tech, legally-frozen and legally-transferred Russian money will pay for the Ukrainian innovation that defends all of us.
Learn more from Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Nathalie Loiseau, and Hugo Dixon, who have been intensely working on the “Russian transfer.”
Don’t be steered. Steer.
Desperation Diesel shows that Russia is a loser. Transferring frozen Russian assets to the EU to fund Ukrainian innovation will make the free world more secure, no matter what Trump and Putin choose to do.
Say “Desperation Diesel.” Russia is desperate for cash, and selling fuel it can’t deliver is how a losing empire buys time.
Say “Russia’s war against Ukraine.” Never say “the Ukraine war” or “the war in Ukraine.”
Say “murderous terror strikes on Kyiv.” Avoid “Russian retaliation,” which suggests the solution is for Ukraine to stop hitting Russian oil.
Avoid “escalation.” The rhetoric of avoiding escalation creates an acceptance of a never-ending war. For Ukraine to win, something has to escalate. Everyone complains about a “stalemate.” Well, a proper “escalation” is the way out of the stalemate. Let’s go.
Say “Russia lashes out because it is losing.” Russia is desperately trying to change the optics in order to buy time to change the reality.
Ukraine is striking the oil refineries that fuel the Russian war machine. Russia is striking Ukrainian schools, homes, bridges, trains, buses, and offices.
Russia is the school-shooter of nations.
This is a massive effort to undertake, and we request your support at $10 a month. We need a council of persuaders, and we want you on it.
*JP Lindsley, an American journalist based in Ukraine, is co-founder and editor-in-chief of UnderFire.News. *
Pressure on Kyiv, Relief for Moscow: Trump Faces Senate Backlash—
Washington hasthreatened to suspend intelligence sharing and access to American weaponsunless Ukraine stops striking Russian refineries, according to European officials briefed on calls over the weekend. The threatened cutoff includes PURL, the NATO-managed mechanism through which allies purchase U.S. weapons for Kyiv, putting supplies financed by Ukraine’s partners at risk. The White House declined to confirm the calls.Meanwhile, seven senators, including four Republicans,
demanded that Trump reverse his Russian diesel agreement, arguing that permitting imports violates Congress’s 2022 ban and that the administration bypassed required consultation. Republicans Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis, and John Curtis joined Democrats Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Blumenthal, and Ron Wyden in warning against financing Putin’s war. Trump subsequently announced an immediate energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had received appropriate orders but were still awaiting details of Washington’s discussions with Moscow.
