Krasnov eat shit!

EU needs to step into the void and support Ukraine to protect European democracies.

The assets are needed because Trump and his cronies are entitled terminally crooked greedy bastards and can't wait to get their claws on the blood money (or at least their 50% share of it) they're determined to screw out of the aftermath of their longed-for "peace deal".

Hence at least part of the reason for their unseemly and irresponsible rush, before the EU and Ukraine pre-empt that option.

he might show a little humility, but that is impossible for him and any of his family of grifters.

EVERYBODY is getting on this "Kick Trump in the balls" game now.

finally puts the dampers on his push to bully Ukraine into a settlement nobody - including, it seems, the Russians - wants except him.

It's been telegraphed that Witkoff will leave his post in the New Year. That may be the ultimate coup de grace. Then the serious nations can get on and see what they can make of the mess he's left for others to sort out.

Is that timing coincidental, or is Trump trying to rush in and make himself relevant again?

https://www.politico.eu/article/ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelenskyy-us-envoys-in-berlin-peace-talks/

“The summit in Berlin is important: we are meeting with both the Americans and the Europeans,” Zelenskyy told journalists.

Notice that Z is not including the US in the talks with the Europeans. Basically, Trump has no standing now. He has tried to screw Ukraine and Europe from the very outset. They are working around Trump now. And we have Trump on the outside looking in, screaming "I want to play too."

and I think Trump felt that this weekend should see the culmination and a major step forward in his scheming, inasmuch as he's still paying any attention.

Kushner's presence may be more significant than Witkoff's. There have been reports that the Ukrainians have found his input more helpful than Witkoff's, but that's an exceedingly low bar to clear, and they may just be being politely diplomatic. I'd take the American presence as more a case that they don't want to be left totally out of the loop, frozen out by Ukraine's more serious allies who know damn well what Witkoff and Trump et al. are up to.

The chances of a "deal" at this point are zilch. I think everyone knows that except, apparently, Trump. I don't know how often the Russians have to declare bluntly that the only end to the war they're interested in is Ukraine's abject surrender on purely Russian terms before it sinks in.

... defiles the Oval Office, nobody should trust the U.S. government, or bend the knee to the self-serving demands he tries to impose on sovereign nations. Trump cannot be trusted any further than you can throw the garbage truck that spawned him.

His offer is Putin's: "Pay me a Croesus-level fortune and I'll leave. For now."

Here come more admonitions, insults, threats, and tariffs!

If only Scotland could/would confiscate his golf courses, or at least disallow the construction of more.

European leaders privately insisted they alone SHOULD control decisions over immobilized Russian assets

So its unclear if the US has to be on board or not.

Don't forget, that was the reason for his first impeachment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_impeachment_of_Donald_Trump

The EU leaders have been waiting a long time for this. Please note that nothing has changed legally. They could have taken this same action years ago. They are taking it now because:

A) They see Trump is going down fast and hard
B) They think this can fundamentally change the outcome of the war

A $600,000,000,000 swing ($300B from Russia and $300B to Ukraine) is a BFD, given how severely Ukraine has disrupted the Russian economy. You know this money has been on the table in discussions with the Europeans for almost 4 years. They have all decided this is the right moment.