Alpha1Nine :funkwhale: :sofia:<p>The statement from the White House on Trump's call with <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Putin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Putin</span></a> suggests that <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Trump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Trump</span></a> has backed down on his demand for an immediate ground, air and sea truce. </p><p>Instead, Putin has agreed to halt long-range missile strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.</p><p>This was, in fact, a <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Ukrainian" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Ukrainian</span></a> proposal that the Americans side-stepped a week ago.<br> <br>Trump and Putin also appear to have agreed to immediate technical-level talks toward a longer-term settlement. The <a href="https://aus.social/tags/Kremlin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>Kremlin</span></a> said this must be "complex, stable and long-term in nature". </p><p>However, it's not clear if this means further talks between the US and Russia or bilateral negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. </p><p>But, crucially, Putin has placed a major condition on this - one that is existential for Ukraine. </p><p>The Kremlin statement reads that a key stipulation for "preventing the escalation of the conflict and working toward its resolution" should be "the complete cessation of foreign military aid and sharing intelligence with Kyiv".</p><p>Putin has already tasted Trump's readiness to cut off US support to Ukraine, and is trying to get him to repeat it - while tossing the ball back to Kyiv to agree to a far more limited truce than Trump had demanded they sign up to.</p><p><a href="https://aus.social/tags/USPol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>USPol</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/TraitorTrump" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>TraitorTrump</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/PutinsPuppet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>PutinsPuppet</span></a> <a href="https://aus.social/tags/auspol" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>auspol</span></a> </p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c3e4xzd8qq8t" rel="nofollow noopener" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="">bbc.com/news/live/c3e4xzd8qq8t</span><span class="invisible"></span></a></p>