Julia Davis reports:

U.S. President Donald J. Trump stunned the world by offering unprecedented concessions to Russia in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine on Wednesday—seemingly without getting anything in return. Before the formal peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin even started, Trump and members of his administration dismissed the idea that Ukraine could reclaim its territories that Russia currently occupies, slammed the door shut for Kyiv’s hope of NATO membership, and refused to acknowledge Ukraine as an equal member in the peace process.

While Ukrainians and their allies were left in disbelief, Russian state TV and radio stations were full of elated propagandists, who grinned ear to ear and periodically broke out into uproarious laughter.

During Wednesday’s broadcast of the state TV program 60 Minutes, host Olga Skabeeva described the events as “unthinkable” and “unimaginable.” She asked Mikhail Antonov, the network’s correspondent in Europe, “What does it all mean? Ukraine is left without NATO? Ukraine is left without money?” Antonov said that the era of American dominance had ended and surmised that Europe wouldn’t be able to compete with the volume of military assistance America used to provide. Throughout his commentary, Skabeeva smiled broadly and couldn’t hide her glee. [Continue reading…]