ask ian

Trump’s call with Putin fails to deliver Ukraine ceasefire

- YouTube

Ian's takeaways:

On Trump’s Ukraine policy: “Absent a ceasefire, there is no breakthrough deal between Trump and Putin. None of that’s going to happen.”

On Western backlash over Gaza: “At the end of the day, unless Trump is going to squeeze Israel hard and say, 'Suspend intelligence and aid,' the way he did with the Ukrainians, I have a hard time seeing the Israelis in any way backing down from what is at this point an completely unconscionable military intervention and ethnic cleansing across the board in Gaza."

On tech power vs. government: “In the US digital space, it’s the tech CEOs who hold the power and the government isn’t ready for what’s coming.”

More For You

An army soldier stands guard at a post at the Friendship Gate, following exchanges of fire between Pakistan and Afghanistan forces, at the border crossing between the two countries in Chaman, Pakistan February 27, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone.
REUTERS/Abdul Khaliq Achakzai

In a 30-minute call on Thursday, President Donald Trump reportedly told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky he wants to end the war with Russia as soon as possible — aiming for a deal by summer, but ideally within weeks.

Former British ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson leaves his residence after he was released following his arrest by London police on Monday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following the release of U.S. Justice Department files linked to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in London, Britain, February 26, 2026.

REUTERS/Toby Melville

The ghost of Jeffrey Epstein continues to haunt the world.