On October 17th, British political commentator David Vance wrote that there was panic in Brussels (NATO and EU headquarters) and Kyiv as a result of Donald Trump’s change in policy regarding Ukraine.

Thereafter, Kirill Dmitriev — Vladimir Putin’s special envoy for economic cooperation and the man who regularly welcomes Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow — responded with a single word posted on X:

“CHECKMATE”

To my fellow Americans, the good people of Ukraine, and the rest of Europe, I can only say:

We have been well and truly screwed.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/19/26