KYIV — U.S. President Donald Trump finally labeled Russia the aggressor in the war against Ukraine, further demonstrating a hardening of his position toward Moscow.

Referring to Ukrainian and Russian troop casualties, Trump told reporters Sunday: “8,000 soldiers have died this week, from both countries. Some more from Russia, but when you’re the aggressor, you lose more.”

Trump has previously refused to condemn Moscow for the invasion, with his administration siding with Russia and North Korea in February to reject a U.N. motion backing Ukraine’s territorial integrity and condemning Russia. The U.S also objected to a G7 statement calling Russia an aggressor in February. Trump has blamed Ukraine for the war, saying in April: “You don’t start a war against someone 20 times your size and then hope that people give you some missiles.”

But Trump’s stance toward the Kremlin has changed over the summer, with his administration exerting increasing pressure on Vladimir Putin as the Russian president stonewalls Trump’s efforts to broker direct peace talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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[–] 75 points 1 year ago (5 children)

"further demonstrating a hardening of his position toward Moscow"

Lmao you STUPID FUCKS when will you STOP talking about this guy as if actions are calculated or savvy or something. He's not "strategizing" or "hardening his position" towards some big-picture outcome like a seasoned diplomat would, he's just spewing whatever enters his head at a given moment, from whatever thing happened to be in front of him in the last 24 hours

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    [–] 73 points 1 year ago (10 children)

    He finally has enough liquid cash from crypto that he can pay off all the Russian loans. But I don't think he realizes that you are never really an "ex"-Russian Asset. Oh, and he should probably stay away from tea for a while....

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  • [–] 35 points 1 year ago (4 children)
  • [–] 51 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Yeah I mean Linux is just better

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  • [–] 23 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    Lemmy should have a comment wizard that just presents this text as the first option.

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    He finally has enough liquid cash from crypto that he can pay off all the Russian loans.

    I'm so tired of people thinking the man at the helm of the largest military and paramilitary force on the planet is terrified of a few Russian gangsters breaking his thumbs over loan money.

    Nevermind that this fundamentally misunderstands their relationship (Trump was laundering money for the Russian [and Italian and probably a few other] mafiosi, not borrowing from them). It pretends that he's a schmuck who got in too deep with a couple of loan sharks, rather than the head of a white nationalist fascist coup within the halls of the US Government who has fallen in and out with a rival fascist dictatorship on the opposite side of the planet.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    From Adam Ragusea on conspiracy theories (from his blurred Pyrex video):

    Reality is weird and often not as you would expect. That's why common sense only goes so far. It's good to be skeptical of the media you consume. That's awesome. Question things, absolutely. But don't go and just make up your own answers, as so many of us are prone to doing. It's fine to speculate responsibly about multiple different possible explanations for something that you're scrutinizing, but don't settle on one of those explanations until you have enough evidence to settle on it. Be open minded, in every sense. If someone is lying to you, you've gotta be careful not to invent another lie to replace it. Yeah, you outsmarted the liar, but that's all you did. You're still dumber than everyone who knows more than you.

    Smart chef, Adam

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  • [–] 19 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Day 238 of ending the conflict on day 1…

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago

    Tomorrow he'll be back to blaming Zelensky.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago

    In other news, the National Weather Service has been reporting unseasonable temperatures in Hell.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    The incursion into Poland was no idle threat; Putin has said Poland is next on its list.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I'm genuinely curious how, though. They haven't even been able to take Ukraine.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago*

    I don't think the goal would be to actually conquer Poland same as they can't feasibly conquer entire Ukraine. What they would do would be:

    1. Large scale drone attacks on Polish infrastructure.
    2. Meat wave attacks on Polish positions to very slowly gain territory and displace population
    3. Destabilize industry and economy
    4. Force NATO to focus on defending their own position and limit support to Ukraine
    5. Hope to destabilize government and help elect pro-russian politicians (that will promise to end the war)
    6. Exacerbate internal divisions in UE and NATO (Hungary would refuse to assist NATO in any way and probably outright help Russia)

    They don't have to win the war to extend their sphere of influence. It's enough to weaken EU.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago*

    Well I think they were banking on trump helping when he said that.

    Hitler also famously started a two front war he couldn't win. Its not impossible the brain drain has gotten so far in russia they may convince themselves the first one is free like it was with crimea.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago (4 children)

    Some more from Russia, but when you’re the aggressor, you lose more.”

    No

    A lot more from Russia, and not just only because it's the aggressor, but because it's playing meat grinder with its soldiers. It just keeps dumping the poor in the battlefield.

    It WILL come back and haunt Russia for the next decades because no country can just lose well over a million young men lives without consequences

    But having said that, Russia's tactics are just ludicrously stupid and basically consists of sending poor men to their death and hoping Ukraine can't kill them fast enough.

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    One of the more interesting side effects of the meat grinder is that poor, rural areas of Russia are suddenly seeing problems with inflation because of the death payments to soldiers' families.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    It WILL come back and haunt Russia for the next decades because no country can just lose well over a million young men lives without consequences

    Basically what happened between Iran and Iraq in the late 80s. It broke both countries for a generation.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    Must be the stroke.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    daddy putin's paycheck didn't come through?

    fuck off lol, still a traitor to democracy

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago

    Talk's cheap, and no talk is cheaper than Trump's.

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  • And he’ll change his tune again tomorrow.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Lol.

    'Softest US President the world has ever seen hardens his position on..."

    Where are we on the hardness scale? Pudding? Have we finally made it to Jello?

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    further demonstrating a hardening of his position toward Moscow.

    What hardening? It's all talk and no action. That's not a hardening of position, that's the exact same position.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    I wish every american here a very merry enjoy the frontline trenches, I hear youll be home by christmas!

    ☠️

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    Fucking moron!

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  • 7 comments in c/world view that post
    [–] 29 points 1 year ago

    First "smart people don't like me"

    Now this?

    Perhaps he has had a stroke.

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  • [–] 10 points 1 year ago

    Believe his actions not his words. Trump says a lot of things, all of them lies, even the things which are true, he just wasn't aware it was the truth.

    So the moment Trump actually acts as if Russia is the enemy and he helps Ukraine without demanding getting to pillage the country in return, that is when he can believed on this (so never).

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    Give him a few minutes. Daddy Putin will call and smooth it all over.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago

    Trump will say what the media wants him to say

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    Trump today calls Russia the ‘aggressor’ in war on Ukraine

    Fixed that for you.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    Nothing what he says matters anymore. There is no information transferred when he speaks

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  • 3 comments in c/trump_watch@lemmy.world view that post
    [–] 5 points 1 year ago

    How long till he apologizes?

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    Only until Putler reminds him of "The Truth" again.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    He'll backtrack in a couple of days watch.

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  • 2 comments in c/ukraine@lemmy.world view that post
    [–] 7 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    saddest celebrity breakup of 2025...

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    [–] 13 points 1 year ago

    Tune in next week when he says it was Ukraine!

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