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A humiliation at the White House and what does it tell us? Trump would make a colony of my country | Andrey Kurkov
"It’s warming up in Kyiv. The temperature has risen from -5C to 4C. Sometimes, the sun peeps through breaks in the clouds, but Kyivites are not much cheered by the sunshine. They are not watching for signs of spring as they usually do at this time of year. The atmosphere in the city and in the country as a whole has been one of nervous expectation. This was not an expectation of an end to military action or the signing of a peace treaty with Russia – nothing so specific. Indeed, it was not at all clear what we were waiting for, but it was something connected withDonald Trumpand the change in US policy towards Ukraine.
Clarity emerged at today’s macabre theatre at the White House: handshakes, a thumbs up and some fist pumps from the US president, before Trump sat side by side with Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss a minerals-for-war-support deal and to humiliate him. At the same time,air raid sirens were soundingin northern and eastern Ukraine. Soon the talks were off and Zelenskyy was gone.
What proceeded, in front of TV cameras, was chilling, extraordinary. Zelenskyy grave, angry, desperate – as befits a leader being obliged to bargain away his nation’s birthright. Trump claiming to be the honest broker, saying: “I am not aligned with anybody. I am aligned with the world.” Be thankful, he tells a man who has seen his people murdered, his territory captured and besieged. “Make a deal or we’re out.”
It got worse. Zelenskyy showed him photos of war atrocities. “I think President Trump is on our side,” he said, with no genuine hope and certainly no expectation that that was true. The vice-president, JD Vance, attacked Zelenskyy for being disrespectful. Both Trump and Vance verbally pummelled him for the cameras, for this is the art of the deal now: loaded, hectoring, callous, bloodless.
But then Ukrainians’ belief in a concrete proposal from Trump to end the war had already been replaced by the conviction that the president had no such plan, but rather, many different ideas about US involvement in the region – ideas that often relate toUkraine, but sometimes conflict with each other and are never focused on supporting a country that is a victim of Russian aggression.
During the past two weeks, we have watched as the issue of ending the Russian-Ukrainian war has transformed into the issue of rare earth metal mining in our country. As it turned out, in Saudi Arabia the participants in the Russian-US negotiations also discussed the extraction of rare earth metals, only they focused on resources in Russian territories and in the occupied territories of Ukraine. These rare earth metals have pushed the topic of the war and military aid to Ukraine out of the media space. That space is filled with dollars now.
Older Ukrainians, who grew up in the Soviet Union, have recognised in this situation the US that was depicted by Soviet propaganda cartoons as a nation of greedy, irresponsible, grab-what-you-can capitalists, who spat on complex problems and had eyes only for dollar superprofits.
This is an existential war, and a new reality. Trump says Zelenskyy is “not ready for peace”, but Ukraine has no choice but to fight on, whatever the cost. Aid that was previously given for nothing must now be bought. If there is no money, then it is necessary to pay with resources. After three years of full-scale Russian aggression, US geopolitical interests in Ukraine have been replaced by financial interests. Instead of the politician President Biden, the businessman President Trump has entered the arena.
Note that the US proposal on the extraction of rare earth metals in Ukraine, if realised, would allow the US side to sign a similar agreement with Russia and start digging without waiting for the end of hostilities.The notionis an “investment fund”, managed by the US and Ukraine on “equal terms”, into which Ukraine would contribute 50% of future proceeds from state-owned mineral resources, oil and gas “to promote the safety, security and prosperity of Ukraine”. Trump insists it is “very fair”.
Would such an agreement encourage Russia to cease its aggression? No! Does it contain security guarantees for Ukraine? It seems not. Does Ukraine have any choice? Debatable.
In this situation, Britain and the EU become much more important partners for Ukraine than before. While organising favourable access to Ukrainian resources for the US, Trump hopes to hand over toEuropeand Britain responsibility for Ukraine’s security in the event of a cessation of hostilities, and responsibility for further military assistance. Given this, it is by no means clear what advantage such an agreement on rare earth metals would give Ukraine.
Trump’s claims that US mining on Ukrainian territory will be a sufficient guarantee of Ukraine’s security because Russia will not risk attacking US economic interests do not stand up to criticism. The Chinese state-owned COFCO corporation invested in a new grain and oil handling complex in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv port, but Chinese involvement did not protect the port from beingtargeted by Russian missiles. It has not been operational since March 2022 and the region islosing about 40%of its revenues.
The fact that Trump has been so complimentary aboutVladimir Putin, and so hostile to Zelenskyy, says everything. “I think he will keep his word,” Trump assured the world. “I have known him for a long time.” Trump’s phrase that peace will be achieved “fairly soon or it won’t happen at all” indicates that he will not waste too much time on negotiations with Putin if they drag on, or if Putin puts forward conditions that are unacceptable to Ukraine. Some conditions have already been announced by Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, who reminded us that Russia still plans to seize the entirety of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Zelenskyy was brave, but we are supplicants now. Trump and the Kremlin have made it abundantly clear that Ukraine’s participation in these negotiations between the US and Russia is not necessary or desirable. Like so much else, the principleannounced by Biden, “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine”, has been trampled underfoot. Zelenskyy was called to the White House to sign, but not speak.
Trump has had his way. He has transformed Ukraine from a subject into an object, and after this White House humiliation some Ukrainians are convinced that the extraction of rare earth metals on Trump’s terms would turn our country into a “colony” of the US. Still, many Ukrainians would prefer to live in a US colony than in a Russian one, if that’s the choice.
Andrey Kurkov is a Ukrainian novelist and the author of Death and the Penguin"
President Donald Trump’s Oval Office meeting with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky devolved into a shouting match, with the US president telling Ukraine’s leader “make a deal or we’re out” during an angry exchange about the nature of US support, and whether Zelensky had demonstrated enough gratitude.
"I don’t give a damn" about the peace Trump offers, Ukrainian military officers say on Trump-Zelensky exchange
From CNN’s Kosta Gak in Kyiv and Lauren Kent in London
"What to know about the US-Ukraine deal on mineral resources
(Trump is now a traitor as well as a insurrectionist and felon,)
From CNN's Ivana Kottasová
The United States and Ukraine are trying to hammer out anatural resources agreementthat would give Washington access to Kyiv’s untapped mineral riches in exchange for investment and what Ukraine hopes would be concrete security guarantees.
While US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that a deal has been made and that he was “happy” about it, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has been more cautious, saying the agreement could be a “big success” — but that it depended on Trump.
Here is what we know — and don’t know –—about the agreement:
What’s in the deal?The draft agreement seeks the establishment of a “reconstruction investment fund” that would be jointly managed by the US and Ukraine. Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stressed the deal would exclude existing “deposits, facilities, licenses and royalties” tied to Ukraine’s natural resources. The draft agreement goes beyond just minerals and rare earths. It spans Ukraine’s other natural resources, including oil and gas, as well as any infrastructure connected to the sectors, such as ports or LNG terminals.
What does Trump want from the deal?Trump said over the weekend that he’s “trying to get the money back,” referring to the aid provided to Ukraine under the previous administration.
What does Ukraine want from the deal?Ukraine’s mineral riches have long been eyed by its allies — and Kyiv has made them part of its appeal for support. Zelensky has made it clear he wants security guarantees to be part of the deal.
Why is Trump so keen on this deal?Materials such as graphite, lithium, uranium and the 17 chemical elements known as rare earths are critical for economic growth and national security. They are essential to the production of electronics, clean energy technology, including wind turbines, energy networks and electric vehicles, as well as some weapons systems. The US largely depends on imports for the minerals it needs, many of which come from China, which has long dominated the market. Experts have long warned that relying on China for strategic materials is risky, but the latest trade tensions between Washington and Beijing make it even more important for the US to look for alternative suppliers.
How large are Ukraine’s resources?Ukraine doesn’t have globally significant reserves of rare earth minerals, but it does have some of the world’s largest deposits of graphite, lithium, titanium, beryllium and uranium, all of which are classed by the US as critical minerals. But while Ukraine does have large reserves of these minerals, little has been done to develop the sector. It is unlikely that Kyiv would be able to extract these resources without foreign investment.
CNN’s Victoria Butenko, Nick Paton Walsh and Gul Tuysuz, Christian Edwards, Svitlana Vlasova, Dariya Tarasova-Markina, Lauren Kent, Betsy Klein, Michael Williams contributed to this report."
America’s beloved national parks face a problem that could, in a matter of weeks, grow into a full-blown crisis.
The number of people visiting areas managed by the National Park Service — which includes national parks, monuments, and other sites — is way up. In 2023, the most recent year for national data, parks had more than 325 million visits. That’s about a 16 percent bump relative to 2010. At leastin some parks, visitation rates have continued to rise.
Meanwhile, staffing at the National Park Service is down, having dropped about 13 percent over that same period, according to the National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group.Staffing specifically in parks has fallen even furtherin that time, the group said, as the agency’s budget has failed to keep pace with rising personnel costs. That means there are fewer employees to oversee more visitors and mitigate their impact on our public lands and ecosystems.
And this wasbeforethe recent layoff.
Late last week, the Trump administration laid off roughly 1,000 workers in the National Park Service, or about 5 percent of its workforce, as part of abroader gutting of the federal workforce. The latest cuts targeted employees who were still in a probationary period, often meaning they were recently hired or had just moved into a new role. The layoff does not include many additional employees who opted for a deferred resignation or hadoffers for full-time employment rescinded.
“In an agency that has already experienced a significant staffing decline over the past decade, these layoffs will severely affect park operations and the visitor experience,” Phil Francis, chair of the Executive Council of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, a group representing current and former employees and volunteers of the National Park Service, said in astatementFriday. “National Park Service employees dedicate their careers to preserving our nation’s most treasured landscapes and historic sites. We should be supporting them — not jeopardizing their livelihoods.”
The Department of the Interior and the National Park Service did not respond to a request for comment.
Reporting by the Washington Post indicates theNational Park Service will reinstate 5,000 seasonal job offersthat were previously rescinded under a government-wide hiring freeze. That may help fill some immediate needs; seasonal employees perform a range of tasks, from collecting fees to researching wildlife. Yet it’s not clear when those jobs will be reinstated and they won’t make up for the permanent roles that have been lost, said John Garder, senior director of budget and appropriations at the National Parks Conservation Association.
“Those seasonal employees, who are critical to serving visitors during the busy season, are no substitute for the permanent employees who manage those seasonal workers and provide the expertise and institutional knowledge and experience to ensure resource protection and a well functioning park,” Garder said.
Left with too few employees, parks may have to cut back hours at their visitor centers — and access to their restrooms — or cancel guided tours. Maintenance projects will be further delayed. Trash will pile up. There will be fewer educators to teach visitors about the history and biology of the region and its resources.
“Did those who made the decision know or care that the main objective of my position is to provide preventive search and rescue education, to keep park visitors safe?” Stacy Ramsey, a worker at the Buffalo National River in Arkansas who was fired,wrote in a now-viral Facebook post. “Did they know that I am part of the visitor and resource protection division, and that I spent my days on the frontline, looking out for the safety of park visitors?”
Over the weekend, Travis Mason-Bushman, an employee at Great Basin National Park in Nevada,wrote on LinkedInthat he lost five colleagues. “These are people who lead tours, clean toilets, answer phones, design signs, and support search and rescue operations,” he said in the post. “You cannot lay off half of any organization’s frontline staff and carry on as if nothing has happened.”
With fewer workers, the many ecosystems that parks conserve are also at risk from crowds of tourists, Garder said, especially during the popular months of spring and summer. These include the wet forests of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the river and stunning views of Zion. A key part of the job of Park Service employees is to protect these resources, such as by ensuring visitors don’t litter or go off the trails.
“These reckless actions should never have happened,” Garder said of the layoff. “But if they are reversed now, then it may be possible to ensure that parks have the people they need to support the millions of visitors that are so critical to tourism economies and to protect irreplaceable resources. As things stand now, visitors will not have the services they expect and deserve, and resources will be at threat for lack of park experts to research and protect them.”
Astute skywatchers may have already seen the striking line of planets across the night sky in January. This week Mercury joins the queue. Now every other world in our solar system will be visible among the stars at the same time — if you know where to look.
According to Gerard van Belle, director of science at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, an alignment of seven planets is neither mystical nor particularly rare.
“On the scale ofsupermoontodeath asteroid,this is more a supermoon sort of thing,” Dr. van Belle said. Still, the planetary parade, as the event is colloquially named, “makes for a very nice excuse to go outside at night, maybe with a glass of wine, and enjoy the night sky.”
A Parade of Planets
Beginning in late February, seven planets will align in the night sky. But Uranus and Neptune may require a telescope to see.
Plane of
Earth’s orbit
HORIZON LOOKING
WEST
Line of sight to
Neptune
Line of sight to
Uranus
Viewed from above the solar system, the seven planets will fall within Earth’s line of sight at sunset, and will not be obscured by the sun.
Why are the planets aligned?
Whenever planets are visible in the night sky, they always appear roughly along the same line. This path, known as the ecliptic, is the same one that the sun travels along during the day.
This happens because the planets orbit around the sun in the same plane. Dr. van Belle likened the configuration to a vinyl record: The sun is in the center, and the grooves are the orbits of the planets around it.
Our point of view from Earth, then, is along one of those grooves, “looking out along the platter,” he said. This week, the planets are configured in such a way that all of them will be present in the sky at dusk from mostly anywhere on Earth.
Around the end of the month, Saturn will slip below the horizon and into daytime skies, ending the seven-planet parade. But stargazers will get another chance to see a planetary alignment in August, when several of our celestial neighbors will be visible in morning skies.
How can I see the parade?
Only a handful of the planets can be seen with the unaided eye, and the best evening to catch them all may vary by location. Astronomers recommend using a software program likeStellariumto figure out when and where to look.
To see the parade, find a dark place with a clear view of the western horizon at nightfall. Mercury and Saturn will be low in the sky, brushing past each other in the fading glow of the evening sun, which will make the pair difficult to spot.
Trace that line of sight higher to find Venus, the most brilliant planet in the sky.
“Venus, you cannot miss,” said Thomas Willmitch, director of the planetarium at Illinois State University. “You could be in a haze under streetlights, and there’s Venus, shining like a beacon to the west.”
Even higher up, almost directly overhead, will be Jupiter, sparkling at about one-tenth the brightness of Venus.
The string of planets ends in the eastern sky with Mars, easily discernible because of its pinkish tone. The planet is a few weeks pasta close encounter with Earth, making it appear bigger than usual. According to Mr. Willmitch, this proximity has also cast the Red Planet in somewhat of a golden hue.
The other two planets are too far away to be seen without binoculars or a telescope. Uranus is about two fists west of Jupiter, Mr. Willmitch said, while Neptune is hiding between Venus and the western horizon.
But even if you can’t catch them all, Mr. Willmitch advised layering up and looking up anyway. “The sky is really beautiful in winter,” he said. “It’s a great time to go out and do some stargazing.”
Katrina Miller is a science reporter for The Times based in Chicago. She earned a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago.More about Katrina Miller"
Trump says tariffs for Mexico, Canada, and China to go into effect next week – live
"US president blames illegal drugs from Mexico and Canada as reason for tariffs going into effect on 4 March; China to be charged an additional 10%
‘These incidents encapsulate Trump’s transactional and corrupt approach to governing – and the ways wealthy autocrats including Prince Mohammed will be able to exploit the president.’Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA
Trump is using the presidency to seek golf deals. Hardly anyone’s paying attention
‘These incidents encapsulate Trump’s transactional and corrupt approach to governing – and the ways wealthy autocrats including Prince Mohammed will be able to exploit the president.’Photograph: Cristóbal Herrera/EPA
In his first month in office,Donald Trumpdestroyed federal agencies, fired thousands of government workers and unleashed dozens of executive orders. The US president also found time to try tobroker an agreementbetween two rival golf tournaments, the US-based PGA Tour and the LIV Golf league, funded bySaudi Arabia.
If concluded, the deal would directly benefit Trump’s family business, which owns and manages golf courses around the world. And it would be the latest example of Trump using the presidency to advance his personal interests.
On 20 February, Trumphosted a meetingat the White House between Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, and Yasir al-Rumayyan, chair of LIV Golf and head of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, along with the golf star Tiger Woods. It was thesecond meeting convened by Trumpat the White House this month with PGA Tour officials involved in negotiating with the Saudi wealth fund.
A day before his latest attempt at high-level golf diplomacy, Trump travelled to Miami tospeak at a conferenceorganized by the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which is managed by Al-Rumayyan but ultimately controlled by the kingdom’s de facto ruler and crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump’s sports diplomacy in the Oval Office and cozying up to Saudi investors in Miami did not get much attention compared with his whirlwind of executive orders and new policies. But these incidents encapsulate Trump’s transactional and corrupt approach to governing – and the ways that wealthy autocrats including Prince Mohammed will be able to exploit the US president. While Trump will often boast he is making good deals for the US, his relationship withSaudi Arabiaand its crown prince is largely built on benefits for Trump’s family and its extensive business interests.
UK prime ministerKeir Starmeris in Washington where later today where he will have his first meeting with President Trump since the inauguration.
With Trump aligning with Moscow even more explicitly than he did during his first administration, and threatening to wind down the Nato guarantees that have underpinned the security of western Europe since the second world war, the stakes could not be higher.
Starmer, despite leading a party whose activists mostly loathe Trump and everything he represents, has managed to establish a warm relationship with the president and today will give some clues as to what extent he can sustain that, and protect the UK from the tariff warfare that Trump is threatening to unleash on the EU.
But Starmer is one of three European leaders in Washington this week (Emmanuel Macronwas there on Monday,Volodymyr Zelenskyyis there tomorrow) and today’s meeting is also part of a wider story about the fracturing of the US/Europe alliance. It is definitely in trouble; but what is not yet clear is whether after four years of Trump it will still be functioning effectively.
Starmer spoke to reporters on his flight to the US on Wednesday. Pippa Crerar, the Guardian’s UK political editor, was on the plane and, as she reports, Starmer said he wants Trump to agree that, in the event of a peace settlement inUkraine, the US will offer security guarantees that will make it durable. He has already said that Britain would contribute troops to a European so-called “tripwire” peace-keeping force, there to defend Ukraine and deter Russia. But European soldiers would need US air and logistical support to be effective, and Starmer is looking for assurances on this topic.
You can follow all the latest from Starmer’s DC visit in our dedicated live blog:"
(This is what happens when utterly stupid people elect a 34 times convicted felon and a man found liable of sexxual assault as well as a man who led a insurrection to the White House. We really have some stupid americans)
Donald Trump at the White House earlier this week.Photograph: Al Drago/UPI/Rex/Shutterstock
Republicans on Capitol Hill are shying away from criticizing Donald Trump’s policies over fears for their physical safety and that of their families, a Democratic member of Congress has said.
Eric Swalwell, a Democratic representative from California, said his Republican colleagues were “terrified” of crossing Trump not only because of the negative impact on their political careers, but also from anxiety that it might provoke physical threats that could cause personal upheaval and require them to hire round-the-clock security as protection.
“I have a lot of friends who areRepublicans,” he said. “They are terrified of being the tallest poppy in the field, and it’s not as simple as being afraid of being primaried and losing their job. They know that that can happen.
“It’s more more personal. It’s their personal safety that they’re afraid of, and they have spouses and family members saying, ‘Do not do this, it’s not worth it, it will change our lives forever. We will have to hire around-the-clock security.’ Life can be very uncomfortable for your children.
“That is real, because when [Elon] Musk [Trump’s most powerful ally] tweets at somebody, or Trump tweets at somebody, or calls somebody out, their lives are turned upside down.
“When he tweets at you, people make threats, and you have to take people at their word. And so that is a real thing that my colleagues struggle with.”
Swalwell warned that fear of Trump was likely to further weaken support for Ukraine among GOP House members following his recent attacks on the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and his public praise for the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin.
“I thought that the numbers that we’ve showed to be unified around Ukraine would hold, and it’s not holding,” he said.
Swalwell’s comments come at a time when someRepublican members of Congress are encountering pressurefrom constituents to push back against the attacks on federal government workers by Musk’s “department of government efficiency” (Doge) unit, which critics say is usurping the powers of Congress.
Swalwell, a member of the House judiciary committee, said he had spent more than $1m on security in the past two and a half years, after arousing Trump’s enmity by serving as a manager in his second impeachment trial and by filing a lawsuit against him and his eldest son, Donald Jr, seeking damages for their role in inciting the 6 January attack on the US Capitol by a violent mob.
Moss recalled Trump publicly attacking his boss, Mark Zaid, a Washington lawyer who represented the whistleblower who disclosed details of a call Trump made to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in 2019 that eventually led to his first impeachment.
“Donald Trump literally held up a photo of my boss, called him out by name, said he was scum, was a liar, etc,” Moss said during the webinar. “Next day, I woke up to, like, 150 voicemails. Texts were flooded throughout my inbox. We were getting death threats like crazy, and there was actually at least one gentleman who went to prison for making threats against my boss.”
He added: “We publicly called him out during that impeachment, when he was threatening the whistleblower in public statements, saying you are putting this person’s life in jeopardy. He made clear he doesn’t care. He’ll say it’s not my fault if something happens to that person.
“He knows full well the intimidation factor he can bring through his bully pulpit.”
Most Republicans who voted to impeach Trump during his first presidency are no longer in Congress. Liz Cheney – who played a leading role in the House committee investigating the 6 January insurrection – lost her Wyoming seat after being defeated in a GOP primary by a Trump supporter.
Cheney told CNNthat some of her Republican colleagues had voted against impeaching Trump because “they were afraid for their own security – afraid, in some instances, for their lives”.
Her comments were backed up by Mitt Romney, the former Republican senator and presidential candidate, who told his biographer, McKay Coppins, of a senior Senate colleague who intended to vote for Trump’s conviction at his Senate trial only to change course when a colleague told him: “Think of your personal safety. Think of your children.”
Musk, the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX entrepreneur, has threatened to use his vast wealth to fund primary challenges against any House or Senate Republicans who vote against Trump’s agenda or oppose his cabinet nominees.
The tacticappeared to be effective in the case of Joni Ernst, a Republican senator for Iowa, who reversed her initial opposition to Pete Hegseth’s nomination as defence secretary on the basis of sexual assault allegations that had been made against him after Musk funded adverts extolling a rightwing radio host who had vowed to challenge her in a primary.
Thom Tillis, a Republican senator for North Carolina, told people that he received FBI warnings of “credible death threats” when he was publicly considering voting against Hegseth,Vanity Fair reported. Tillis, who had spoken at length to witnesses who raised concerns about Hegseth’s behavior, ultimately voted in favor of his confirmation.
Vanity Fair cited an unnamed source as quoting Tillis advising people who wished to understand Trump to readSnakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work, a 2006 book by Paul Babiak and Robert Hare. A spokesperson for Tillis denied that he had recommended the book in that context."
