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What we choose to challenge, we challenge completely. We are professional grade. Visit gmc.com to learn more. With us right now is David Ignatius, columnist for the Washington Post. David, and best-selling author.
David, welcome back. Thank you, Brian. First off, where we stayed last night, Kiev was hit by it looks like drone strikes, fourteen die. Where are we at in this conflict?
So, where we're at is that we have an American president who's trying to make peace. Uh we have a Ukraine that says It's ready for negotiations, ready to sit down. You have Europe that's strongly supporting the President's effort coming to the White House to say so And you have a Russia that is not only refusing, to meet for direct talks with Ukraine, but is hitting Ukraine harder than ever. Last night's strike on Kyiv. Was among the most direct near the city center.
Um Uh Had by my count, 15 people, it may be 14, but they were hitting an apartment building. The reports that they may have hit buildings belonging to the European Union and the British Council. Those ought to be off limits. In other words, you have Putin pushing harder than ever, and in effect, Um giving a one finger salute to the President of the United States, and I think it's time to do something about it. And one of the suggestions you have is: there's long-range missiles and make Russia start paying the price.
President put it on Truth Social last week: you can't win a war by only playing defense.
So go ahead.
So Brian, I After thinking about this, as we all have for a long time, I think it's time to say to Russia We're going to start giving security. guarantees now. We're not going to wait for the war to end.
So people have been talking about them. Civilians in Ukraine need guarantees now that they're going to be safe. The front line is going to continue. for as long as this war does. But there's no s no sense That innocent people living in cities far from the conflict should die.
So I'd like to see President Trump. lead an effort to say That begins now. You go further than that. You could just say the rule here is reciprocity. You know, what we'll do, we'll do, we'll encourage Ukraine, help Ukraine and do what Russia does to Ukraine itself.
It's just like, you know, that's the way it works. But short of that, something with difficulty. Yeah. and protects Ukraine while the while the negotiations go forward. I think would be strong.
Strong sign from the president, but he really means it. And I think you'd have a lot of support around the world. But I just feel, Brian. After the really failure of the Alaska Summit to move the ball, Tend to do something that's different, that shows the present means that when he says, For peace. I heard the strikes on the energy sector in Russia were so targeted, so well thought out by Ukraine that there's actually rationing inside Russia now.
And they basically sit on oil and gas. Have you heard that? I've heard that the Ukrainian strikes are increasingly effective at Russian refining. But not so much that they're stopping the Russian war machine. And I do think it's time.
There are weapons that we have, that the Germans have. The Germans have weapons that can reach all the way to Moscow. They're called Taurus missiles. The British have a missile called the Storm Shadow that can go. About three hundred kilometers, longer than most of our long-range missiles that we would supply.
So they're ready to send those weapons in, and they can be targeted with great precision using U.S. satellite intelligence. And again, if Russia insists on continuing this war. That it started. They're going to have to pay a price, and it just has to make it more expensive for them.
Yeah, the other thing I think that we need to do is Take Russia seriously. They say they have security concerns, they're worried about their future.
Okay. Listen to him. Nothing, nothing wrong with that. President has said that from the beginning. we got we have to include Russia in a community of responsible nations.
That that's a reasonable part of this too. But Just just time to to get a little more balance in this fight. I hear you. I want you to hear, see, this is the difference. You know, the president put out in True Social last week, you know, how can Ukraine win on the defensive?
And then we find out of the Colonel Wall Street Journal that the President, as in the spring, since the spring, they said, with the Atacoms, don't hit inside Russia. And then I asked General Petraeus what he makes of this. And this is what he told me, CUP 32. It's contrary to the Pentagon policy. This is another case where it appears that.
Uh the Pentagon is Carrying out policies that conflict with President Trump's inclination.
Now, I can understand why they would limit. The use of certain long-range systems against Russia when they think that Russia might still be willing to make a deal. But that should be very clear not to be the case at this moment, and I hope that there will be a review of that policy.
So could there be, from your reporting, a difference between what the Pentagon's doing and what the White House wants? I'm sorry to say that I think the answer is yes. I think General Petraeus had it right. The people who issued the guidance that limited the offense. Defensive strikes by the attackems.
were operating uh Secretary of Defense, but the reports that I've heard were that their guidance was not cleared by the White House. I mean, I have to be honest, President Trump himself goes back and forth Monday you know, he he wants to i you know, go on the offense the next day he He's taking a walk on away from the negotiations. You know, it's a confusing policy. and it needs clarity from the White House direction. I've encouraged that Vice President J.E.
Vance seems to be more convinced that the Europeans have a point in saying there's a real Russian threat here. But it's got to be a consistent policy Whatever's going on in the Pentagon has got to be fixed. From everything I hear it, Brian, you have probably better sources than I do. It's just something's something's not right. And we we have an outstanding chairman in general, Dan Kane, from everything I know.
But the but the but the Secretary of Defense still. Offic Secretary of Defense. has to align itself better with what I understand to be White House policy. I hear you. You know what?
I was encouraged too because I really believe that Ukraine did zero wrong. I don't believe that NATO expanding is anything more than Eastern European countries wary of being swallowed up in the Soviet orbit once again. And Ukraine did not deserve any of this. And even though they're not a perfect democracy, I don't know who is, they were getting there. And they fight they might be the finest pound for pound fighting force in all of Europe.
I think they are.
So having said that, I'm excited that the that the Republicans in support of Ukraine giving them weapons is up nine points. Since Trump took over. Why do you think that is? They think people are just they can see with their own eyes that the president Ending this war top priority is just being Being given a cold shoulder by Putin, who's arrogant. I mean, the fact that the Russian foreign minister showed up in Anchorage, invited by the President of the United States.
with a T-shirt with the initials of the old Soviet Union. our enemy in the Cold War, I I thought was just a gesture of real contempt. Um and uh You know, I the um President Trump's learned a lot since he came into office. He thought this would be easy. had a theory of the case.
He did have a good relationship with President. Who'dn't he thought this would go smoothly?
Well, Turned out that was wrong. I hope he's learned the lesson. When I hear you explain this, I think people in the White House listen to you, Brian, and I hope they hear you because the evidence is pretty clear for all of us. President is right. It is time to stop this war.
But it turns out that to do that is going to be more difficult than he thought. I don't think it's going to take forever. It's but it's going to take us sign that the United States is going to seriously work with these brave Ukrainians. to help them fend off uh an illegal invasion.
So listen to this farcical statement from that very man you were talking about, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Cut 29.
Well, I would say that those who are sincerely interested in understanding what is going on. Uh wood. No, should know by now. that never ever Russia deliberately targeted uh any sites which are not linked the military Uh abilities of Ukraine.
So he says no, they never proved to him that they're hitting civilian targets. I mean, it like what it does he think we're idiots? Right, I I've seen that that that's a lie with my own eyes. And um you know, it offends me uh this is a morning after 15, 14. Yeah.
People died, some in apartment buildings in Kyiv. to hear those kinds of statements. And we're expected to swallow them And again, it ought to make people angry, and the person who ought to make angriest of all. is a guy in the Oval Office who's been trying to make peace. And the thing is, and when he goes when you come in as a fresh start, we know there's baggage with Putin, we know there's a history of deceit with Clinton and Bush and Obama and now Biden and him.
And you go in there and go, Yeah, that's them, it's me. And people might go, that's politically, that's not a great thing to do, Mr. President.
Well, I don't care. I'm going to shake things up. And he goes in there.
So he gave Putin a way to save face an off ramp with an immediate. And it would probably upset a lot of people in the West, maybe some Republicans and Democrats. Immediate way to revitalize and transition his economy. You saw all those businessmen that came on that plane with Russia. You know that Exxon was, you know, Exxon says: this is the plan.
If you guys could just stop fighting, we'll go back in there.
So he gave them everything. They could say, I got land out of this, and Russia could say that it was a great thing that they did that. I got 20% of the country. Ukraine gets their security guarantees, and they begin to transition their economy. And they don't necessarily need an enemy in the United States.
Why from all your knowledge of this region and for what you know about Vladimir Putin? Why do you think he didn't take that off ramp as of now. Like, what what am I missing? Because As Brad, it would mean giving up his desire. Yeah.
dominate Ukraine and And have it be under the I want to say the boot. I'll do that though. the hegemony of of Russia. If he settles this world I mean he After three years, he has not even taken the province of Donetsk. And if he settles now, he essentially has A million Russians have been killed or wounded.
For this. vain, arrogant idea that Putin had. That Ukraine wasn't a real country.
So I think he doesn't want to settle because the settlement wouldn't be an admission of defeat. Um President Trump's tried to make it easy for him. to welcome him back. He did something that a lot of people criticized. inviting Alaska, rolling out the red carpet.
And you know was so arrogant, so vain, that he thought he could just ignore the president. and just continue as before. And I I just hope that's registered with the White House. I have the sense that it has from the statements. coming out.
You know if if we do walk away and not put have his way in Ukraine. More people die. My lawyer is just it. folks just trying to fight for their country. It's really going to be, I feel, a legacy of shame for all of us, for our country.
It's not what the United States does historically. And it's no time to start now. You know, the one thing that's happened, and people said in the first term, President's anti-NATO, he's like, no, well, NATO's not pulling their fair share. They're not giving 2%. And we remember the famous table when he's meeting with Stoltenberg, and Kelly's on his right, holding his head, and he's saying that they got to start stepping up.
And Stoltenberg kind of liked it because now all of a sudden they were paying 2%.
Now they're going to get it close to 5%. And lastly, now all of a sudden, Germany realizes they have to build up their defense. I saw today, David, that Germany might have a draft. I mean, that never would have happened if Russia didn't invade and we didn't have a president that demanded that Europe step up. Uh I agree with both.
You know, I I think um Europe sees the threat. It's immediate. Um some Europeans tell me that they feel they're already in a war with Russia. And they're frightened. frightened, I'll be honest, in part because they worry the United States isn't standing with them anymore.
I've seen moves by the President to to reaffirm his commitment to NATO to say we'll be with you if you stand up. in they're going to bear the burden in Ukraine and supporting Ukraine, but we're going to help them. But there's a huge difference. And Europe Is waking up to a frightening reality of facing Russia maybe without the support of the United States. That's the part we got to help them with because that, as I say, that's a much more dangerous world.
Absolutely. We got to build more ships too. We can't go to Europe and just focus on China. We'd love to, but we can't. David Ignatius, thanks so much.
Appreciate it. It's great talking to you.
Okay. Yeah. I'd love to talk about one time have you on and talk about what peace looks like, but we're not there yet. I'm Janistine. Join me every Sunday as I focus on stories of hope and people who are truly rays of sunshine in their community and across the world.
Listen and follow now at FoxnewsPodcast.com. Uh
