Trump on Crimea: Zelensky Knows It's Lost, Obama's War

Trump's Stance on Crimea and the Ukraine War

• 💡 Donald Trump stated in a Time Magazine interview that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky understands that Crimea is lost and will remain with Russia.
• 🎯 Trump asserts that Crimea was given to Russia by Barack Obama in 2014 and that 90% of its population are ethnic Russians who wish to be part of Russia.
• 🚀 He believes Russia will not give up Crimea due to its strategic military importance, including submarine bases.
• 📌 Trump also expressed that he would be "100% okay" with Crimea and four other regions being folded into Russia as part of a final peace agreement.

Historical Context and the Maidan Coup

• 🔑 The discussion revisits the 2014 Maidan coup in Ukraine, which Trump claims was orchestrated by the United States to install a puppet government.
• ⚠️ It is alleged that the coup government, installed by the US, began bombing ethnic Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine (Donbass), resulting in at least 16,000 deaths over several years.
• ⚔️ Trump's perspective is that Putin's invasion of Ukraine was an act to stop the war against the people in Donbass, not to start a new conflict.

Alternative Perspectives on the War's Continuation

• 🗣️ Stephen Gardner suggests that the war is being prolonged because Ukraine believes it will continue to receive unlimited money and weapons from the US and its allies.
• 🌍 Gardner questions why the United Kingdom, specifically mentioning Boris Johnson's alleged threat to Zelensky, would want to keep the war going.
• 📉 The argument is made that the US has weakened itself to strengthen Ukraine, and the American public is tired of the conflict.
• 🗺️ Gardner proposes that the real negotiation should focus on the areas Russia has taken since the invasion, whether they become a neutral buffer zone, Ukrainian, or Russian territory, rather than solely on Crimea.

Potential Future Outcomes for Ukraine

• 🚢 If Ukraine continues to resist, it risks losing not only Crimea but also Odessa, which would eliminate its access to the Black Sea.
• 🏘️ Gardner suggests that Crimea, with its Russian-speaking majority, should ideally become a region with Ukrainian cultural elements, akin to 'Little Italy' in America, rather than a point of contention.