GREAT, GREAT, GREAT piece, Vlad!

When I think about ALL the ways that this plan reveals how ignorant, twisted, and delusional the political leadership of the US has become, I am struck by an involuntary reflex to swallow my tongue and head off to Grand Mal Land.

I believe it's fair to say that among the players in this epic tragicomedy worthy of Molière, the weakest player (least engaged) is the EU/Great Britain; yet in terms of the potential for damaging consequences they are second, only behind Ukraine.

Your point about the self-imposed crippling of the US role is spot-on. It has become irrelevant except only in its unpredictability and its long-standing policy to ham-string the UN and NATO. The resulting consequences cast ripples across the globe in a myriad of ways, inviting (among other things) alternative power mechanisms (BRICS, ASEAN, SCO, UnionPay, NDB, etc.) which are moving in to fill the void - or simply to assert independence.

Perhaps President Zelenskyy's clear statement in response to “the plan" is enough of a starting block to change so that no further negotiation of it will be needed. But if the European nations continue to ignore the growing danger at their back gate while siting on their hands, they will lose any chance of maintaining what's left of their shaky sovereignty.