Is Trump right about Zelensky, Europe “gambling with WWIII”? – National & International News – WED 5Mar2025
Supreme Court orders Trump to pay USAID contractors.
US pauses intelligence, military aid to Ukraine after White House spat.
Is Trump right about Zelensky, Europe “gambling with WWIII”?
Supreme Court orders Trump to pay USAID contractors
In a 5-4 decision, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the court’s three liberals, the Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze $2 billion in payments for USAID contractors. The court upheld the decision of a lower court, which late last month ordered the Trump administration to disperse payments, only to reiterate that order days later after finding the administration had defied it.
These payments are for work that was already performed by contractors rather than commitments for future work.
This is the most consequential ruling that the Supreme Court has issued so far regarding Trump’s agenda. There are numerous other lawsuits pending in challenges to Trump’s executive orders and the activities of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
As of this writing, the White House has not responded to the court’s ruling or its implications. Trump State Department appointee Pete Marocco would not give a straight answer when GOP lawmakers asked whether the administration would abide by the ruling.
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US pauses intelligence, military aid to Ukraine after White House spat
The fallout continues from last week’s Oval Office showdown between Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Trump and Vice President Vance. Earlier this week, the US cut off further military aid to Ukraine, sending Ukraine and its European allies scrambling to fill in the gaps. Today, CIA director John Ratcliffe announced a pause on intelligence sharing with Ukraine. This has now cut off two major lifelines to Ukraine’s military effort as they struggle to halt Russia’s advances on the battlefield.
During his State of the Union’s address yesterday, Trump announced that he had received a letter from Zelensky dating that he was ready to “come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer”.
Trump also said that Zelensky was ready to sign a deal to give the US a share of rights to rare earth minerals in Ukraine. Analysts have recently cast doubt on Ukraine’s claim to possess huge rare earth deposits that could be profitably exploited.
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Is Trump right about Zelensky, Europe “gambling with WWIII”?
During last week’s raucous White House meeting, Trump repeatedly accused Zelensky of “gambling with World War III” by refusing to come to terms with Russia to end the fighting. The state of play on Zelensky’s bet, and his sincerity in wanting to end the war, remain to be seen.
Several European leaders, chiefly British Prime Minister Kier Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron, have backed a plan to have thousands of “peacekeepers” from their respective countries stationed in Ukraine to enforce a ceasefire. The trouble is that neither Ukraine nor its European allies have yet agreed to engage with Russia either about a ceasefire or a peacekeeping plan.
Russia has repeatedly rejected the idea of having foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine on the grounds that it would increase, rather than decrease, the likelihood of future conflict. Without an understanding with Russia, a unilateral decision to station foreign peacekeepers in Ukraine would amount to a provocation. Any violation or miscalculation by either side could cause the conflict to flare up again, potentially in the form of a more direct confrontation between Russia and Ukraine’s NATO allies.
Prior to Zelensky’s meeting at the White House, both Starmer and Macron visited with Trump last week seeking US guarantees of US muscle to back up their theoretical peacekeeping force. Reportedly, they were seeking “air cover” likely in the form of a US-enforced no-fly zone, which some analysts see as increasing the risk of a broader war.
Trump doesn’t bite (yet)
Trump was not persuaded by either Macron or Starmer to provide any such guarantees. Nor was he impressed when Zelensky repeatedly pleaded for the US to provide a “backstop” for his European allies.
Despite being rebuffed, Zelensky flew to London after his White House debacle to meet with Prime Minister Starmer. On Sunday, Starmer hosted a summit in London attended by several European leaders from the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and Ukraine of course. Also in attendance were Justin Trudeau of Canada, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, European Union leaders Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, as well as Mark Rutte, the Secretary-General of NATO.
The participants represent some of Europe’s biggest military players, either in terms of standing military or defense manufacturing. The purpose of this meeting was to put together a “coalition of the willing” (resurrecting a term used by George W. Bush ahead of the 2003 Iraq invasion) to ensure Ukraine’s future security. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed this summit as an effort to prolong the war rather than end it.
Without US buy-in (so far), it is not clear where this “peacekeeping” plan now stands. Italy’s Prime Minister Georgia Meloni has since distanced herself from the plan. Britain’s Starmer apparently counseled Zelensky to try and repair his relationship with Trump, but is still reportedly pushing Trump for air cover. France’s Macron maintains a hawkish stance with regard to Russia and seems equally determined to obtain support from Trump for this “peacekeeping” plan.
