This is Jacobin Radio. I'm Susie Wiseman. On the eve of the third anniversary of Russia's brutal war on Ukraine, global politics have taken a stunning

turn. With Trump's administration engaging in so-called peace talks that exclude Ukraine entirely,

the geopolitical stakes have never been higher. As Trump embraces Putin's revisionist narrative,

outrageously claiming Ukraine started the war, Ukraine finds itself

not only fighting Russian aggression, but now also facing an historic betrayal from its most

important ally. What does this mean for Ukraine's survival, Europe's stability, and the

broader left struggle against imperialism and authoritarianism.

To unpack this rapidly shifting landscape, we welcome two incisive voices.

Zahar Popovich, a Ukrainian researcher and activist in Kiev with deep roots in labor and socialist

organizing, and Ilya Budrytskis, a Russian historian

and political theorist, now in exile. Together, they analyzed the implications of Trump's concessions

to Putin, the resilience of Ukraine, and the urgent need for the international left to rethink

its stance in an era of resurgent imperialism and incipient fascism.

Stay with us for a vital conversation on war, resistance, and the future of democracy in a world

tilting toward authoritarian rule. Stay tuned when our program returns in just a moment.

This is Jacobin Radio. I'm Susie Wiseman.

And we're on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia's brutal war on Ukraine. That's four on February 24th. And everything is somersaulted in the last several days as the new Trump administration has held so-called peace talks in Saudi Arabia with Russia, excluding Ukraine. Once again, Ukraine has no agency. Trump's form of negotiation is not a negotiation per se. He is exceeding to Putin's view of the war, even insisting now that Ukraine

began the war and Zelensky is a dictator, and insists that the phrase Russian aggression may not be used in the G7 Ukraine statement.

Putin has to be happy.

In three years of Russia's brutal onslaught, it hasn't won much, a sliver of land,

while hundreds of thousands have been killed and or maimed. Ukrainian cities have been

reduced to rubble and destroyed. Trump is saving Putin and selling out Ukraine in one of

...