When the details of the Trump administration’s 28-point peace plan for Ukraine were released last month — a plan that seemed to give Russia nearly everything it wanted — it sparked a fair amount of bewilderment, disdain, and suspicion.
And since then, these impressions have only grown. Reporting by Bloomberg, based on leaked telephone intercepts, showed that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff had actually coached Kremlin officials on the best way to get into Trump’s good graces.
Then, a blockbuster report from The Wall Street Journal detailed how the U.S. peace plan had little to do with Ukrainian security or American national interests. Instead, it was all about ending Russia’s isolation, reversing sanctions, and securing business and financial deals for Kremlin and U.S. insiders.
There is a lot to unpack here. A U.S. foreign policy process that seems to be completely disconnected from normal institutional and diplomatic channels. An apparent alliance between Russian and American oligarchic structures that is prepared to throw Ukraine under the bus. An apparent Russian reflexive control operation designed to get sanctions relief. And an effort by somebody to push back – because somebody leaked all those juicy details to Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal.
On The Power Vertical Podcast this week, host Brian Whitmore speaks with Casey Michel, author of the books Foreign Agents, American Kleptocracy, and the forthcoming United States of Oligarchy; and David Kramer, executive director of the George W. Bush Institute in Dallas and a former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State.
Enjoy…
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SHOW NOTES
The Wall Street Journal article, “Make Money Not War: Trump’s Real Plan for Peace in Ukraine,” which was referenced on the podcast can be accessed here.
The Bloomberg report on the telephone calls between U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov and between Ushakov and Kirill Dmitriev, which was referenced on the podcast, can be accessed here.
Shawn Walker’s report in The Guardian on who may have leaked the intercepts and why, which was referenced on the podcast, can be accessed here.
The Spiegel report (in German) on a phone call including a call between French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky can be accessed here.
Casey Michel’s article in The Moscow Times, Trump’s Ukraine Peace Push Was Always a Naked Cash Grab, can be accessed here. Casey Michel’s other published works can be accessed here.
David Kramer’s articles on the peace plan, which were referenced on the podcast, can be accessed here and here. David Kramer’s other published work can be accessed here.
The Power Vertical Newsletter on Substack can be accessed here. Recently published work by Brian Whitmore can be accessed here, here, here, and here. Please follow Brian Whitmore and The Power Vertical on Bluesky@powervertical.bsky.social