All the talk about "hellish" sanctions after August 8, and Miller"s theatrical confrontation with India, are simply the visible signs of a much bigger story: Witkoff"s trip to Moscow.
Whether he was supposed to be there over the weekend or in the coming days isn"t the point. What matters is that he"s a "special envoy" from Trump, handling personal errands. Trump is trying, in a cynical fashion, to squeeze some material benefit out of the Kremlin.
To do this, he"s using the entire U.S. state apparatus, that whole massive machine, and taxpayer money. Why? Because he can and he wants to, and there"s simply nobody to stop him from using the government for personal gain.
The Kremlin is neither ready nor willing to discuss its position or plans regarding Ukraine.
However, they might be open to a material backroom deal—something that would make Trump leave them alone and allow them to continue doing as they please. It"s also possible they might agree to sell some formal frameworks or restrictions on themselves, but for a separate price.
A potentially massive asset has now fallen off the balance of supply and demand: the gas "pipelines," which have been effectively buried by Europe.
Trump may believe this weakens the Kremlin"s business position, and he"s started to apply cautious pressure, hoping to secure some additional concessions. But not on Ukraine—rather, on some other tangible perks.
The Kremlin, it seems, has agreed to discuss this. And that"s why Witkoff is there.
Never trust Trump.
Never trust the USA.
Ukraine has Europe, and Europe has Ukraine. But this bond is not yet effective enough without the U.S., which is why...
