Even Trump Investments Putin Is Courting Can't Save Sinking Russian Economy

This article raises an interesting point which even western media critical of the latest peace proposal have missed. Much of the criticism of the US 'peace deal' has focused on the greed of the Trump administration and its two ostensible 'negotiators,' Witkoff and Kushner. 

But what that misses is that as much as they have billion dollar sugar plum visions of the riches they may gain from selling out Ukraine, which makes them overeager and therefore ineffective, Putin really needs their billions of investment to help save the Russian economy and resurrect what he has destroyed in Ukraine. The Kremlin statement earlier this week about how they would use a captured Pokrovsk (a capture they have yet to effect after a year of trying) was especially amusing because Pokrovsk is now a smoking heap of rubble which will require hundreds of millions to revive; money that Russia does not have. That Trump, Witkoff and Kushner may have believed him only underscores their naivete about Putin's desperation and the poor quality of the 'assets' they believe they can get, let alone Russian oligarchs willingness to sell them at a reasonable price. JL

Espreso Global reports:

The Russian economy is rapidly losing stability. Even Trump, no matter how much he wants to, will not save the Russian economy with his investments. "Ukraine needs to continue hitting tankers, oil refineries, oil pipelines, factories, and the rest of the Russian energy sector. Because Russia can be defeated from within, by demonstrating Putin's weakness. "The Russians see this, and most importantly, the oligarchs around Putin, who are suffering significant losses." 

"The Useful Idiots From America Who Putin Is Playing Like A Flute"

Wow. When you've pissed off the New York Times' ordinarily calm, analytical and preeminent columnist Thomas Friedman, you've really lost the audience. And this follows yesterday's equally angry screed from the Washington Post's equally eminent George Will who called the current US administration 'a sickening moral slum' for its approach to foreign policy generally and Ukraine specifically. Strong letter to follow...

Friedman's point is that Witkoff, Kushner and Trump view themselves as savvy practitioners of realpolitik who are dealing with Putin mano a mano, but who are, in reality, being played by Putin for their greed, foreign policy inexperience and naivete. The only good news is that many US senators, anyone in Europe with a pulse and most of the rest of the world now see it, which is why the Putin plan appears unlikely to go anywhere. Sorta like his army for the past three plus years. JL 

Thomas Friedman reports in the New York Times:

Putin is in the real estate business in Ukraine the same way Hitler was in the real estate business in Poland. Trump, Witkoff and Kushner are failing and will continue to fail as long as they persist in their naïve view that this is just a big real estate deal and that their backgrounds in real estate give them an advantage. Putin is a towering fool who will be remembered for a war against Ukraine that made Russia an energy colony of China and an A.I. footnote to Luxembourg. The reason (they) can’t pressure Putin is that (they) don’t know what (they)’re doing. This is one of the most shameful episodes in American foreign policy, and the entire Republican Party is complicit in it.

With Pokrovsk Holding, Decimated Russian Spetznaz 'Crawling Over Own Dead'

Ukraine has cleared out what little remained of the Dobropilia salient and against all odds, Ukrainian forces continue to hold parts of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad which the Russians have been unable to take despite monumental efforts to do so. 

As a result, Ukrainians report coming up against a growing number of spetznaz units redeployed to the Pokrovsk sector. But worn down from chronic overuse as the 'firemen' of the Kremlin forces, the once proud and fearsome Russian special ops troops are either decimated and worn out shells of their former selves or poorly trained replacements. With Putin showing no signs of willingness to negotiate, more of the same is expected. JL

Decimus reports in Daily Kos:

Ukraine believe they have now stabilized the Pokrovsk front and intend to turn it into another “meat grinder” fortress against Russian forces as has been the case at Chasiv Yar, six miles west of Bakhmut, that has withstood all efforts by the Russians to capture it since the fall of Bakhmut more than two years ago. With Ukraine clearing out the Dobropilia axis, throwing barely trained mobiki at Ukrainian defenses is not working, so the Russians have replaced their less experienced personnel with special forces units. (But) Russia's spetznaz have been severely impacted with heavy losses, the near-total destruction of at least one brigade, and concerns about the ability to reconstitute these forces. "They crawl over their own corpses, and this is not figuratively, but literally so."

AI vs AI: Patients Deploy Bots To Battle Health Insurers Who Deny Care

In what will clearly outrage big insurance and consumer-selling corporations, aggrieved patients and healthcare advocates are deploying AI to fight denied medical insurance claims as well as the sometimes huge and inexplicable charges that prompt them. That many of those companies are using AI to tighten denials or raise prices is indicative of the one-side usage in these opening applications. 

While the Robin Hood aspects of this AI deployment to help patients and consumers are gratifying, this is likely to be a short term phenomenon. AI is clearly designed as another profit and market share moat for big business - and most especially for those who create and own it. It would not be surprising to see consumer-benefitting applications either gutted or even outlawed if they become too much of a drain on corporate financials. JL

Anna Vollers reports in Stateline:

Businesses and nonprofits have launched AI tools to help patients get insurance claims paid and navigate byzantine medical bills. Insurers on Affordable Care Act marketplaces denied 20% in-network claims in 2023 and more than a third of out-of-network claims. An AI assistant can help patients appeal denied health insurance claims and fight large medical bills. The free service uses AI models to analyze a patient’s denial letter, then look through the patient’s policy and outside medical research to draft a customized appeal letter. Other services use AI to catch billing errors or parse medical jargon. (A number of US states) have banned insurance companies from using AI as the sole decisionmaker in prior authorization or necessity denials.

Ukraine Creates Kupiansk Killzone, Pushes Russia Back To Northern Outskirts

Ukraine has created a killzone and pushed Russian forces back to the northern outskirts of Kupiansk, yet another setback for the Kremlin. 

The city, like Pokrovsk, is another which the Kremlin has claimed to have taken, but in which its performance does not match its rhetoric. JL

Anastasia Prost reports in Ukraine Pravda:

Ukraine's forces have pushed Russian units back to the northern outskirts of Kupiansk, disrupted their supply lines and created an effective kill zone around the city. "We have managed to create a fairly effective kill zone around the city and to kill those trying to crawl forward with the help of UAVs. No matter how many reinforcements they commit, they still have to cross an open ground – and the drone does not care how many of them are crawling there."

Ukraine's New Iris-T Air Defense Takes Out 5 Russian Missiles, 2 Shaheds

Within weeks of arriving in Ukraine, the country's newest Iris-T air defense system from Germany has already shot down 5 Russian missiles and 2 Shaheds, confirming its value as an effective air defense against the heightened Russian threat against civilian and military Ukrainian targets. JL

Ivan Khomenko reports in United 24:

Germany has delivered another IRIS-T SLM air defense system to Ukraine, which has already demonstrated operational success by shooting down nine targets including 5 Kh-101 missiles, 2 Iskander missiles and 2 Shahed UAVs. The IRIS-T SLM system is designed to intercept aerial targets at ranges of up to 40 km and altitudes up to 20 km. It is paired with IRIS-T SLS short-range launchers, which engage lower-flying threats at ranges up to 12 km and altitudes of 8 km. The latest battery is the third delivered in 2025.

Witkoff, Putin, Kushner Ukraine Peace Meeting Ends "Without Compromise Option"

As expected, Putin's meeting in Moscow with US 'negotiators' Witkoff and Kushner ended 'without compromise,' which is a polite way of saying 'nyet' in terms meant not to offend President Trump. 

The reason that this proposal is unlikely to ever result in peace is that Witkoff and Kushner - with Trump's evident backing - are virtually salivating at the prospect of investment deals they see possible in Russia and Ukraine. But in order to make this even slightly palatable to US senators and congressmen, as well as Europe, they need Putin to throw them a few compromises they can then claim as major breakthrough concessions. He is unwilling to do so because he understands their greed and believes they will eventually succumb. The problem with that, though, is that Trump's popularity is plummeting in the US so his power to force a one-sided deal has diminished. So, the likely outcome is further discussion - and death - since neither side is considered capable of knocking the other out of the war, but neither are they believed capable of losing. JL

Mary Ilyushina and Ellen Francis report in the Washington Post:

Five hours of talks in Moscow between the U.S. delegation and Russian President Vladimir Putin over a U.S. plan to resolve the war in Ukraine ended without a “compromise option,” the Kremlin said Wednesday. It did not appear as if the swift end to the conflict desired by President Donald Trump is near. Ukrainian and European officials expressed doubt about Putin’s interest in ending the war diplomatically. "Russia is not meeting them with any flexibility.”