I’ll tell you what the problem is — it’s 50 more days of bombs, missiles, drones, and ground assaults . . .

. . . 50 more days of civilians — women, children, the elderly and infirm — being killed or wounded in their homes, in schools and hospitals, or on the street . . .

. . . 50 more days of Vladimir Putin sitting in the Kremlin, strategizing with his military leaders about the best way to take control of a country in seven weeks . . .

. . . and 50 more days for Donald Trump to turn his attention to more “important” matters, like herding immigrants into concentration camps, taking revenge on people who have dared to disagree with him, and causing maximum disruption to the essential services of the very government he swore to protect.

It’s also 50 more days of Vladimir Putin and his flunkies laughing at the United States in general — and Trump in particular — for having handed him yet another gift: the gift of time.

And make no mistake . . . they are laughing.

Publicly, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to make the West think that they consider Trump’s threatened 100% tariffs a “very serious” matter, telling journalists yesterday:

“We certainly need time to analyze what was said in Washington.” [Matthew Chance and Benjamin Brown, CNN, July 15, 2025.]

Sure, take your time, Dima — you’ve got another couple of months.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, on the other hand, was more direct, saying that further sanctions are not that much of a problem:

“We already have an unprecedented number of sanctions against us. We are coping and I have no doubt that we will cope.” [Id.]

And other Kremlin insiders are confident that 50 days will be enough time for their ever-increasing assaults on Ukraine to finish the job . . . or for Trump to completely reverse his Russia “strategy” (such as it is) yet again. One Russian legislator, Konstantin Kosachev, posted on social media:

“In 50 days, oh, how much can change, both on the battlefield and in the mood of those in power in the US and NATO. But our mood will not be affected.” [Id.]

And that sums up the problem. I’ve said it before — just yesterday, in fact — but it bears repeating: Donald Trump does not have the slightest inkling of what Vladimir Putin is really about. Trump is mercurial, reactive, and impetuous; whereas Putin, in typical Russian fashion, is proactive, plays a long game, studies his opponents to find their weaknesses, and plans his strategies in minute detail. But he is also cunning, and able to adapt to changes in circumstances when necessary.

Trump expresses frustration and “disappointment” in Putin; yet he continues to enable his adversary’s manipulations, because his self-interest is more important to him than the lives of the people of Ukraine. He wants desperately to be able to claim success in brokering an international peace agreement — perhaps to offset his massive failures at home — and thinks that he will eventually wear Putin down with sanctions.

But the odds are stacked against him; and until he recognizes and admits it, the people of Ukraine will not know a moment’s peace.

That’s what the problem is.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
7/16/25