At about 7:45 AM eastern Time, US President Donald Trump boarded Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, DC, to fly to Alaska for a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. There have been adjustments to the US delegation traveling with Trump.
Yesterday, I reported that Vice-President JD Vance would be accompanying Trump. That __seems__ to have changed.
When it became known that Russian President Putin departed Russia and left Dmitry Medvedev in-charge, it _appears_ that President Trump realized having the two top US government officials on the same plane, and in the same event, might not be a smart move. It now _appears_ JD Vance is being kept behind in case something "happens."
The US delegation also _added_ some folks. Names in BOLD are additions. The delegation now consists of:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnik
CIA Director John Ratcliff
White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles
Deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
The time Zone for Alaska is four hours behind the US East Coast.
The Summit is scheduled to begin at 11:30 AM Alaska Time, which will be 3:30 PM eastern US Time.
Prior to leaving, Trump posted to Social media:
Last night on my radio show, I told my audience that it was hard for me to verbalize the gravity of this meeting. If the meeting goes well, it's good for the world. If it goes badly, all our fates are at risk.
I also told my audience that I was concerned that the President has been Cocooned - kept in an information bubble and fed only the propaganda that the pro-Ukraine-war crowd wants him to hear.
I think it is actually possible that President Trump doesn't even know that it was we in the US who caused this entire situation, when we broke a promise made by then-President George H.W. Bush (the father) on February 9, 1990.
In the Kremlin, then-Secretary of State James Baker told then-Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev that if the Soviet Union allowed the re-unification of East and West Germany, "NATO will not move one inch eastward."
This assurance had also been given to other Soviet leaders in other positions, and was repeated for weeks.
Gorbachev trusted . . . . he agreed to allow re-unification and withdrew three-hundred-thousand Soviet Troops from East Germany. The two Germanys were re-unified and THERE was the peace.
In 1994, Bill Clinton came along, and welched on that promise. He signed-off on a NATO Expansion effort, and NATO began enlarging. NATO's enlargement ultimately did not move merely one inch to the east, it ultimately moved a thousand kilometers to the east, right up to Russia's Border!
After the Soviet Union dissolved itself in 1991, Russia took-on all the debt of the former Soviet Union. By doing that, Russia was in no position to stop NATO Expansion. NATO expanded.
By 2014, NATO was trying to recruit Ukraine, and Russia said "no." The US and European Union ignored Russia. The US/EU fomented, financed, and facilitated the forcible, violent overthrow of Ukraine's government, and installed a new "puppet Government" favorable to the West.
Suddenly, Russia was faced with the likelihood of having US missiles on Ukraine soil; with a five minute flight time to Moscow. No nation on earth can defend itself from missiles that have a five minute flight time from launch to impact.
That's when the real trouble began. Russia told NATO, in writing, that NATO expansion had become an "existential threat" to Russia and had to be stopped. NATO ignored Russia.
Realizing this was leading to war, (a war they were not ready for) the US/NATO agreed to attend the Minsk Conference in Belarus. The idea was to negotiate a deal where two Ukraine States (oblasts) Luhansk and Donetsk, which had fallen under Ukraine military attack by the puppet government in Kiev, would get autonomy and the fighting would stop.
Then-France-President Francois Hollande, and then-German-Chancellor Angela Merkel, attended the conference. So did Pietro Poroshenko of Ukraine, representatives from Luhansk and Donetsk, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After an almost 19 hour bargaining session, "The Minsk Agreement" was signed by everyone. There, was _supposed to be_ the peace.
Ukraine did not honor ANY of the Minsk Agreement Terms.
By late 2021, fighting had resumed against Luhansk and Donetsk and Russia saw that RUSSIA was the actual, long-term- target. Ukraine - as a puppet of the West - was reneging on the Minsk Agreement so they could join NATO and put US missiles on Ukraine soil, aimed at Russia.
Russia put forth a Treaty proposal to get Iron-clad, legally enforceable security guarantees.
The illegitimate U.S. Administration of Joe Biden, who took office through ballot fraud in 2020, laughed at Russia's proposal.
About two weeks later in February, 2022, Russia put for the Treaty proposal again, Only THIS TIME, they added "If Russia cannot obtain iron-clad, legally enforceable security guarantees via Diplomatic means, Russia will obtain them through military means."
It took about two weeks for the US and NATO to once again laugh at the Russians, and reject the proposal.
On February 21, 2022, Russia called Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and told him "Ukraine has five hours to announce they are not joining NATO."
Zelensky called the British Foreign Secretary and the US Secretary of State for guidance. Both told him "ignore Russia."
When the five hours elapsed, Russia waited two more hours and, hearing nothing back, sent its troops across the border into Ukraine.
A few months into the war, Francois Hollande and Germany's Angela Merkel did separate TV interviews. In those interviews, BOTH admitted they only attended the Minsk Conference "as a ruse." They only wanted "to buy time for Ukraine to arm."
So it came out via Hollande and Merkel that the West intentionally deceived Russia ! ! ! ! !
Now, not only did the Russians see that we broke our word to not expand NATO, we also attended a "peace conference" with the specific intent to deceive Russia. All of Russia's trust in the US and NATO was gone from that moment.
THAT is the short version of how and why the Ukraine war began.
Since the fighting erupted, the US and NATO have supplied Ukraine with all measure of ammunition, weapons, missiles, armored vehicles, intelligence, and other war-fighting help.
Russia has overcome all of that.
Today, as you read this, Russia's military-industrial output is now seven times that of the United States and all of NATO Combined.
Ukraine is losing the war and, unless the US and NATO become directly involved in combat, Ukraine will fall. By my estimate, Ukraine has two, maybe three MONTHS left before its army collapses. Nothing the West can do - other than directly fighting Russia - will avoid that.
So today's meeting between Trump and Putin - has a seriousness that has never existed before.
Either all this trouble is going to stop, or the war in Ukraine will continue until there is no more Ukraine. And if the US/NATO decide to get involved directly against Russia, then it is nuclear World War 3. Not necessarily today, but soon.
THAT is what's at stake today.
UPDATE 12:21 PM EDT --
have just been informed that NATO's Supreme Commander in Europe, Alexus Grinkevich, is in Alaska to advise Trump and Hegseth on military matters ahead of the meeting with Vladimir Putin. Earlier, American media announced that the summit in Alaska will also be attended by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Keane.
