Zelenski Has Yet To Eat The Shit Sandwich, by Moon of Alabama

Donald Trump is not the right guy to piss off. From Moon of Alabama at moonofalabama.org:

“It’s a sh*t sandwich,” a Trump administration official acknowledged.
“But Ukraine is going to have to eat it because [Trump] has made clear this is no longer our problem.”
Axios

The Trump administration is increasing its pressure on Ukraine’s (former) president Zelenski to swallow the shit sandwich. It offered a ‘new’ version of it which turned out to be the same as the old one:

The United States is doubling down on a demand that Ukraine relinquish half of its revenues from natural resources, including minerals, gas and oil, as well as earnings from ports and other infrastructure, according the document, which was reviewed by The New York Times.
…
The document, which was dated Feb. 21, states that the revenues will be directed to a fund in which the United States holds 100 percent financial interest, and that Ukraine should contribute to the fund until it reaches $500 billion — the amount President Trump has demanded from the war-torn country in exchange for American aid. That is more than twice Ukraine’s gross domestic product before the war.

The document does not stipulate that the United States will provide security guarantees for Ukraine in return for access to Ukrainian resources. That key demand from President Volodymyr Zelensky was absent in the first draft agreement presented to him last week, prompting him to decline to sign the deal.

There was even a threat, twice, to withdraw Starlink access from Ukraine’s army should Zelenski reject the steal:

U.S. negotiators pressing Kyiv for access to Ukraine’s critical minerals have raised the possibility of cutting the country’s access to Elon Musk’s vital Starlink satellite internet system, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
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The issue was raised again on Thursday during meetings between Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special Ukraine envoy, and Zelenskiy, said one of the sources, who was briefed on the talks.

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