Charles Maines
speaker
571 appearances
56 recordings
3 series
first heard Nov 2024
last heard 4d ago
Charles Maines’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
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recordings per month · last 12 monthsRecordings per month over the last 12 months — 44 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 10.
Appearances
Well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he'll be there and he's challenged Putin to show up, even as he's expressed skepticism over Putin's motives. So here Zelensky says he doesn't believe Putin actually wants to end the war or a ceasefire, and that this is essentially all just a stalling tactic.
Well, you know, the Kremlin routinely presents Zelensky as illegitimate, so there are reasons to doubt Putin would engage directly. But enter President Trump, currently in the Middle East, as we just heard, who suggested he might stop by for the talks. That's prompted speculation Putin might as well, although it would certainly involve a lot of stars aligning, probably too many.
Well, if Trump, Putin, and Zelensky really do gather in a room together, I think anything could happen. But without them, some kind of ceasefire seems the best hope. And even that would take some doing. The Kremlin sees an extended truce as a way for Ukraine to rearm at a moment when Russia has the battlefield advantage.
And Russia's demanding a stop to all Western arms shipments to Ukraine as a result.
Thank you.
Morning.
Well, I think it's important to point out the White House has yet to publicly offer specifics on this peace plan, but it's clear it heavily favors Russia on paper. J.D. Vann said this deal would lock in the current front lines or something close to it.
But the latest dust up with Ukraine involves Zelensky's refusal to acknowledge the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014 yesterday. as now formally part of Russia. This is apparently a component of this U.S. peace deal and the non-starter for Ukraine.
You know, as to Russia's reaction, the Kremlin only said it welcomed American negotiation efforts, which, by the way, pick up again this week when White House envoy Steve Witkoff heads to Moscow.
Well, Trump seems to say he wants peace now, and he clearly sees leverage over Kyiv as the quickest way to get there. I recently met with Sergei Plurtaev. He's the founder of a political and security platform, VATFOR, in Russia. And he argues Trump isn't offering Moscow concessions, rather acknowledging the facts on the ground. Let's listen.
So here, Polovtaev says this is what Russia secured to battle, what it gained by force, not anything Trump, quote, gave us. And Polovtaev, I think, reflects a common view here in Russia that there's not a whole lot Trump can do to change the current battlefield dynamics unless Trump is willing to get more involved in Ukraine.
And based on everything he's done and said, that looks very, very unlikely.
Not entirely, because in Moscow's eyes, Trump can deliver some things quicker through diplomacy than Moscow can achieve militarily, which is why I think you see Putin offering proposals like this recent Easter Day ceasefire or possible direct talks with Ukraine to stop attacks on civilians. You know, is that real progress? Probably most would say no.
But Russia's continuance attacks and also it's shown almost no flexibility in the actual negotiations towards ending the war.
Because they want more, you know, including a change of leadership in Kiev, perhaps with U.S. backing. So Moscow is happy to amplify White House frustrations with Zelenskyy. You know, Putin's other approach here has been to expand negotiations.
You know, he's inflexible on Ukraine, but extremely flexible when it comes to other deals with the U.S., whether that's investment opportunities, prisoner exchanges, even helping with negotiations with Iran. So Putin is making himself very useful to Trump and making it very hard to walk away. You know, think of it as Putin's own version of the art of the deal.
Thank you, Michelle.
Morning, Michelle.
Well, I think it's important to look at it in a broader context. You know, Trump returned to office in January saying he wanted an end to the war in Ukraine. His efforts to craft a full ceasefire didn't work out. So the White House has really shifted tactics. It's pursuing smaller, limited ceasefires that work towards a wider peace.
So last week, it was that deal to end attacks on energy infrastructure, at least in theory. It hasn't quite held. And now the latest deal involves maritime passage through the Black Sea. Kiev and Moscow both promised to ensure safe passage to commercial vessels.
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