u/Frog_Totem

US threatens to block arms for Ukraine over attacks on Russian refineries

US threatens to block arms for Ukraine over attacks on Russian refineries

Link for the Global Poor: https://archive.li/b0Xek#selection-1897.0-1941.202

The Trump administration is threatening to stop the procurement system that provides Ukraine with weapons in order to press Kyiv to halt its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, according to officials in Europe.

The officials, who received calls from American officials on Saturday and Sunday or were briefed on them, said the US was lobbying European capitals and Kyiv in an attempt to end the attacks on Russian oil refineries. The White House declined to confirm or comment on the calls.

The US message, the officials added, included threats to cut off intelligence sharing and Purl — the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List mechanism for procuring US weapons for Ukraine.

“They are calling Kyiv . . . they are calling everyone [in Europe],” said an official who received a call from a US defence official.

Trump on Sunday surprised Kyiv and the Europeans his administration had sought to pressure, when he announced on social media that Ukraine and Russia had reached a ceasefire to halt attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure.

“Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE in the War between Russia and Ukraine. Both parties have agreed. Do not break it!” the US president wrote on his Truth Social platform. The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was unaware of a deal, and it was not immediately clear whether Russia had agreed.

One person who said he was contacted by US officials was Pavlo Palisa, Zelenskyy’s military adviser and former general of Ukraine’s 93rd mechanised brigade.

Shortly before Trump claimed an energy ceasefire had been reached, Zelenskyy had reiterated his own desire for such a deal in an interview with ABC News on Sunday morning.

“Just now our repair teams are restoring electricity and water supplies in Kyiv [after Russian strikes moments ago],” a senior Ukrainian official close to Zelenskyy told the FT on Sunday moments after Trump posted his statement. “Nobody has heard [of the ceasefire].”

The White House also declined to say whether Trump would heed Zelenskyy’s proposal to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept a total ceasefire for 60 days so that Ukraine could hold elections.

ft.com
u/Frog_Totem — 4 days ago

Ezra Klein: This Is Why People Hate the Government

Submission Statement: Ezra interviews Annie Lowrey (his wife) about her book The Time Tax which examines the negative effects of means testing welfare after Clinton's 1996 reforms, and how it will worsen under the Big Beautiful Bill which adds work requirements for Medicaid. They finally discuss proposals to simplify welfare and taxes, including by changing the law to allows the IRS to share info with other agencies (which has already been done illegally by DOGE, but for more nefarious purposes). Wellfare is an important subject to this sub because we fuse economic liberalism/capitalism with social liberalism and a desire to see people lifted out of poverty

nytimes.com
u/Frog_Totem — 2 months ago

He Helped China Repress Uyghurs. He Says He’s a Victim, Too

Archive Link: https://archive.md/eUcdC

Submission Statement: This relates to the subreddit because of the importance of minority rights to liberalism and the duty of the international community to expose and prevent repression in all countries. It also is relevant because it sheds light on the economic and social factors that cause individuals to become enforcers of government repression, which is important to understand as similar patterns emerge in previously liberal countries like the United States, e.g. with the rise of ICE as an extralegal paramilitary force

nytimes.com
u/Frog_Totem — 3 months ago

Opinion | What Americans Need to Understand About China

Submission statement: Ezra Klein interviews former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd about the ideology, motivations, and plans of Xi Jinping and what that means for US-China relations. This is relevant to this sub because it touches on issues in global trade and foreign relations in the South China Sea

nytimes.com
u/Frog_Totem — 3 months ago