Yes, you read that correctly. At least, that’s the plan as of this moment. With Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, however, one can never be certain of anything until it actually happens.

The details are being fed to the media in bits and pieces from both sides; but as things now stand, a meeting is set for next Friday, August 15th, somewhere in Alaska, with a final itinerary yet to be ironed out.

My first thought upon reading about this development was of the outstanding ICC criminal warrant against Putin charging him with war crimes; so I did a little fact-checking. I was most surprised to learn that, although the U.S. did sign the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court in 2000, we never ratified it, and formally withdrew in 2002 over concerns that it would have left U.S. citizens — and specifically our military deployed overseas — vulnerable to political prosecution by other countries.

So the U.S. is not obligated to act on the ICC warrant, and Putin is free to come to the U.S. without worrying about being arrested.

And what a propaganda coup this is for him — not only being at the big kids’ table again, but on American soil to boot. The only thing better would have been an invitation to a state dinner at the White House . . . but maybe next year.

In the meantime, we have learned that Wednesday’s meeting between Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff resulted in “a sweeping proposal [from Russia] for a cease-fire in Ukraine, demanding major territorial concessions by Kyiv and a push for global recognition of its claims in exchange for a halt to the fighting.” [Bojan Pancevski, Alexander Ward and Robbie Gramer, The Wall Street Journal, August 8, 2025.]

Putin is said to have told Witkoff he would agree to a complete ceasefire in return for Ukraine’s withdrawal of its forces from all of its eastern Donetsk region, leaving Russia in control of Donetsk, Luhansk, and the Crimean Peninsula. No decisive information has been provided as to the two other regions partially controlled by Russia — Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — which geographically lie, side by side, between Donetsk and Crimea.

Neither was any indication given as to the status of Russia’s other earlier demands, which included Ukraine’s giving up its ambition of joining NATO, agreeing to limit its military capabilities, and calling for new elections.

Nor has there been a statement as to any further concessions, other than the ceasefire, on Russia’s part.

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I’m sure you’re familiar with that creepy feeling you get when you know something is amiss but you can’t quite put your finger on it. For me, it manifests as a tingling sensation that starts somewhere in the pit of my stomach, works its way upward to my chest, and hovers there — unshakable — like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, waiting for the psycho with the knife to pull aside the shower curtain.

And that’s what I’m experiencing now: something doesn’t feel right. What does Vladimir Putin have up his sleeve that he’s been hiding and now decided to spring on us? For that matter, why is Trump suddenly so optimistic? What has he offered or suggested to Putin that we — and, more importantly, Ukraine — aren’t going to like?

Brushing aside the expiration of his Friday deadline, Trump told the media on Friday that “It’s going to be up to him [Putin]. We’re going to see what he has to say.” He added that he, Trump, is close to reaching a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, but that it is “very complicated. . . We’re going to get some back; there will be some switched.” [Sarah Ewall-Wice, The Daily Beast, August 8, 2025.]

And he said further: “I think we’re getting very close. You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for three and a half years. There’ll be some swapping of territories to the betterment of both.” [Id.]

“Swapping of territories”? “To the betterment of both”? What does that imply? Is Russia going to offer Ukraine some sort of compensation for stealing its rich farmlands, valuable mining regions, and strategic Black Sea territories — say, a few thousand square miles of frozen Siberian tundra? Or will Putin offer to back out of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia . . . for now?

But regardless of what is offered, how can this conflict possibly be resolved to the “betterment” of Ukraine, when so much of it has already been decimated by three and a half years of relentless bombardment, and still more of it may simply be taken away?

What guarantees will Ukraine have against a future invasion? Putin’s word is meaningless.

And what sort of agreement will resurrect the thousands upon thousands of lives lost, or repair those that have been irreparably shattered?

No matter how hard you try, you can’t un-ring a bell.

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And one other niggling little thought won’t go away, though it’s admittedly an odd one: Why suddenly choose to meet in Alaska, instead of Turkey or the Middle East? The Kremlin said the location is “quite logical” in view of Alaska’s relative proximity to Russia. Well, yes . . . if you live in Chukotka. But from Moscow, in western Russia, to the far east coast is a time difference of 11 hours.

So again, why Alaska? Is Putin planning to lay claim to our 49th state as well, reminding Trump that Alaskan territory — like Ukraine — was once part of the Russian Empire?

Remember what Putin recently said: “Wherever a Russian soldier sets foot, that’s ours.”

We might want to make sure that no one in his entourage holds a military rank.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
8/9/25