EAST OF THE BORDER & BEYOND Compiled by Robert Strybel, Warsaw Correspondent (Updated 4 April 2025)
Suspended intelligence sharing fosters brutal attack Russia carried out a particularly brutal attack on multiple civilian targets across Ukraine after Trump switched off his intelligence-sharing channel to Kyiv. America’s intelligence data had enabled Ukrainian forces to anticipate the direction from which Russian attacks could be expected and intercept most of the drones and missiles. Trump had briefly suspended the data to force Zelensky to the negotiating table, and Putin used the opportunity to launch his massive, barbaric attack on civilian targets.. After Zelensky accepted the US deal, the data flow resumed.
Muscovites outraged by Ukrainian drone attack Ukrainian drones struck Moscow recently but were “neutralized,” Russian officials claimed. Kyiv was also hit from the air for the third time in 24 hours. Most Russians have never seen TV reports on the death and destruction Russia has caused in Ukraine. It was therefore with disbelief and anger that they responded to the damage caused to a number of Moscow residential towers by the falling debris of shot-down drones. “This is outrageous,” remarked one middle-age woman. “Our military should eliminate all that scum (meaning Ukrainians), one Moscow retiree blurted out.
Putin accepts US proposal “in principle,” adding his anticipated “but” Unlike Trump, who is said to be “unpredictable,” Putin is his exact opposite – very predictable. Nobody was therefore unduly surprised when the Russian dictator accepted the US ceasefire proposal, while adding his own preconditions. He said: “First the reason behind the conflict must be eliminated. In the Allied West, the reason is seen as his terrorist 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But he has repeatedly claimed his “special military operation” was allegedly launched to rein in Ukraine’s “nazis” and to protect what he described as Ukraine’s “genocidally threatened Russian speakers.” Now he has added the question: who is going to monitor a ceasefire along a 1,600-mile frontline, whilst ruling out beforehand any NATO peacekeepers on Ukrainian soil.
Putin cushions rejection with partial, stop-gas measures To lessen the impact of his effective rejection of Trump’s ceasefire plan, allowing him to save face, Putin proposed a 30-day energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea. The White House said the technical negotiations would begin “immediately.” Though a far cry from a full ceasefire, the temporary moratorium on energy attacks, would be the first instance of Russia agreeing to halt certain strikes since its 2022 invasion..
US destroying world order – Ukrainian ambassador According to Ukrainian Ambassador Valeri Zaluzhny, the White House had „questioned the unity of the Western world” and was „taking more and more steps towards” Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The comments came as the US put pressure on Ukraine to make concessions ahead of any peace talks, and after a public clash between Ukrainian leader Zelensky and his US counterpart Trump. Zelensky has said he is „ready to work” under Trump’s „strong leadership.”
