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What Does Trump Really Want From Russia’s War on Ukraine?

Mar 5, 2025

On March 7, 2025, there was an extraordinary confrontation between Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, United States President Donald Trump, and United States Vice President JD Vance in the Oval Office. 

In mob-boss fashion, Trump and Vance berated Zelenskyy for not showing enough gratitude for U.S. support. They slammed him for warning that Russian aggression could impact the U.S. too, complained bitterly about his decision to campaign with Joe Biden in fall 2024, and boasted that Russian President Vladimir Putin respects Trump more than he respected former Democratic presidents. 

In a blistering analysis for The Nation, columnist and author Sasha Abramsky dissected the unprecedented nature of the confrontation. Abramsky is the author of 10 books, including Chaos Comes Calling: The Battle Against the Far-Right Takeover of Small-Town America, and is a lecturer in writing at the University of California, Davis. He spoke with YES! Senior Editor Sonali Kolhatkar on YES! Presents: Rising Up With Sonali about the real reason Trump cornered Zelenskyy.

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