EPISODE 027: THE TRUMP-CLASS BATTLESHIP — AMERICA'S NEXT IRON FIST

December 23, 2025

Not symbolism. Not nostalgia.

This is naval shock and awe reborn.

In a move that shattered decades of post-Cold War naval doctrine, former President—and now again commander-in-chief—Donald J. Trump announced on December 22, 2025, the immediate initiation of construction for two new “Trump-class” battleships, with an audacious long-term vision: a fleet of 25.

And these aren’t your grandfather’s Iowa-class relics.

These are floating fortresses—100,000-ton leviathans designed to dominate the seas through sheer mass, firepower, and AI-woven lethality. They represent more than steel and circuitry. They signal a fundamental pivot in American maritime strategy: from carrier-centric expeditionary warfare to capital ship supremacy in the face of rising Chinese and Russian naval ambition.

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WHAT IS THE TRUMP-CLASS?

Described by Navy Secretary John F. Phelan as “*just one element of the Golden Fleet that President Trump intends to build*,” the Trump-class battleship is a deliberate anachronism turned futuristic weapon.

• Displacement: Over 100,000 tons – exceeding even the Gerald R. Ford-class carriers.
• Armament: Dual electromagnetic railgun batteries, hypersonic missile silos capable of striking 1,500+ nautical miles inland, and layered AI-integrated point-defense systems that fuse radar, lidar, drone swarms, and cyber countermeasures into a single kill web.
• Cost: Estimated $15–20 billion per hull—a figure that has already ignited congressional firestorms.

Unlike today’s surface combatants, optimized for stealth and flexibility, the Trump-class embraces visibility. It is meant to be seen, feared, and respected—a 21st-century dreadnought built not just to survive peer combat, but to end it in the first salvo.

“This isn’t about deterrence through ambiguity,” Phelan stated in a Pentagon briefing. “This is deterrence through overmatch.”

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STRATEGIC CONTEXT: END OF THE CARRIER ERA?

For 80 years, the U.S. Navy’s identity has been tied to the aircraft carrier—a floating airbase projecting power across oceans. But with Chinese DF-21D “carrier-killer” missiles, Russian Poseidon torpedoes, and AI-enabled swarm drones, the supercarrier is increasingly vulnerable.

Enter the Trump-class.

These vessels are engineered for survivability under saturation attack: armored citadels, redundant AI combat nodes, electromagnetic pulse hardening, and modular damage-control systems that allow partial mission continuity even after catastrophic hits.

Critics deride the plan as fantasy economics:

• Budget constraints: $500 billion+ for 25 ships—before maintenance, crews, or weapons integration.
• Industrial incapacity: U.S. shipyards haven’t built a true battleship since 1944.
• Tactical obsolescence: Can any single platform dominate in an era of distributed lethality?

Yet proponents argue that distributed doesn’t mean undefeatable—and that a handful of Trump-class behemoths could anchor carrier strike groups or operate independently as sovereign combat zones, capable of holding entire coastlines at risk.

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INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS

The world is watching—and recalculating:

Reuters: “Trump’s battleship order marks the boldest rearmament gamble since Reagan’s 600-ship Navy—except this time, it’s built around AI and hypersonics.”
Read more

BBC News: “The U.S. appears to be reviving Mahanian sea power theory—with a Silicon Valley twist.”
Read more

The Wall Street Journal: “Phelan’s ‘Golden Fleet’ isn’t just metal—it’s a manifesto: America will dominate the seas by sheer will, wealth, and weight.”
Read more

Defense News: “At 100,000 tons and bristling with hypersonics, the Trump-class isn’t a ship—it’s a statement.”
Read more

Janes: “If even half of this fleet materializes, it will force a complete reassessment of naval balance in the Pacific and North Atlantic.”
Read more

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

The Trump-class battleship isn’t just hardware—it’s ideology in motion.

It rejects the postmodern logic of networked, lean, and agile warfare in favor of monolithic dominance. It assumes that future wars will be decided not by who hacks faster, but by who survives longer and strikes harder.

In an age where every camera can be a spotter and every civilian app a vector of intelligence—as seen with Russia’s Matrix platform—perhaps the counter isn’t more data, but more armor. Not just digital resilience, but physical invincibility.

Or at least the illusion of it.

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The seas are changing.
The question isn’t whether the world needs a 100,000-ton AI battleship.
It’s whether America believes it can build one—and whether its enemies believe it won’t.

Sources

1. Reuters — Trump orders construction of two Trump-class battleships, eyes fleet of 25
2. BBC News — US Navy to build Trump-class battleships in major fleet expansion
3. The Wall Street Journal — Phelan unveils 'Golden Fleet' vision with Trump battleships
4. Defense News — Trump-class: 100,000-ton behemoths with hypersonics planned
5. Janes — U.S. battleship revival: Trump pushes for 25 new capital ships

EPISODE 026: MATRIX — RUSSIA'S REAL-TIME BATTLEFIELD OSINT PLATFORM

Russian Hackers Unveil "Matrix": A Live Surveillance Grid Over Ukraine

Friday, 19 December 2025

In a stunning convergence of cyber warfare, artificial intelligence, and open-source intelligence (OSINT), Russian-aligned hacking collectives KillNet and Beregini have deployed Matrix — the first known real-time battlefield monitoring platform built specifically for the Russian Armed Forces. Designed to track, analyze, and predict Ukrainian military activity with unnerving precision, Matrix represents a dangerous evolution in hybrid warfare.

Not a simulation. Not speculative fiction.

This is the digital frontline.

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WHAT IS MATRIX?

Described by insiders as “a live map of Ukraine’s nervous system,” Matrix aggregates massive volumes of intelligence from both open and compromised sources. The platform offers Russian commanders a constantly updating tactical dashboard focused on Ukrainian air defense (PVO), drone factories, command bunkers, troop movements, rail corridors, bridges, energy substations, and telecom towers.

Unlike traditional military intelligence cycles—often burdened by latency and bureaucracy—Matrix operates in real time. Ukrainian units shifting positions at dawn? Logged by 07:00. A power substation undergoing repairs in Kharkiv? Tagged, geolocated, and cross-referenced within minutes.

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AI CAPABILITIES: FROM OBSERVATION TO PREDICTION

Matrix doesn’t just watch—it anticipates. Its embedded AI engine performs three critical functions:

• Predictive repositioning models: Forecasts where Ukrainian units are likely to regroup based on historical movement patterns, logistics bottlenecks, and terrain constraints.
• Thermal damage overlay: Displays heat-mapped visualizations of strike effectiveness, helping planners identify under-targeted or resilient nodes.
• Urban camera integration: Leverages compromised municipal CCTV networks—especially in occupied or border-adjacent cities—to feed live reconnaissance directly into targeting overlays.

Each asset is deep-profiled:

• A drone factory? Matrix logs its production capacity, shift schedules, supply routes, and even employee rosters.
• A brigade HQ? The system scrapes leaked documents, comms metadata, and patrol logs to reconstruct command hierarchies.
• A strike target? Ballistic trajectories are auto-calculated using live weather, elevation, and electronic warfare conditions.

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BUILT ON YEARS OF DIGITAL LOOTING

Matrix didn’t emerge overnight. According to forensic analyses by Bellingcat and The Record, the system draws from intelligence harvested over three years of sustained cyber operations—including high-profile breaches like the Mash media leaks, Telegram channel infiltrations, and compromised logistics databases.

Multiple frontline GRU and Wagner-linked units are already reported to be using Matrix modules operationally, with early adopters praising its “unprecedented situational clarity” and “targeting speed.”

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INTERNATIONAL REACTIONS

Western intelligence and OSINT communities have responded with alarm:

Kyiv Post: “Russia’s Matrix OSINT platform exposes Ukrainian military infrastructure in ways previously thought impossible without satellite SIGINT.”
Read more

Defence Blog: “Not a command system—Matrix is a hunter. It identifies prey, maps escape routes, and recommends when to strike.”
Read more

The Record (Recorded Future): “KillNet’s Matrix blurs the line between cybercrime and warfare—turning hacked webcams into artillery spotters.”
Read more

Bellingcat: “Inside Russia’s Matrix: a hacker-built war map feeding directly into kinetic operations.”
Read more

Cybernews: “Beregini & KillNet launch AI-powered Matrix—ushering in an era of civilian infrastructure as battlefield sensor.”
Read more

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

Matrix exemplifies a chilling new doctrine: civilian digital infrastructure as force multiplier. Traffic cameras, weather APIs, delivery logs, social media geotags—once trivial data points—are now weaponized through AI correlation. This isn’t just surveillance. It’s algorithmic siege warfare.

As borders dissolve in cyberspace, and every city camera becomes a potential scout for artillery, the question is no longer if such systems will spread—but who builds the counter-Matrix.

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the choice is yours ⥣

Sources

1. Kyiv Post — Russia’s Matrix OSINT platform exposes Ukrainian military infrastructure
2. Defence Blog — Matrix: A hunter, not a command system
3. The Record — KillNet’s Matrix blurs cybercrime and warfare
4. Bellingcat — Inside Russia’s Matrix: A hacker-built war map
5. Cybernews — Beregini & KillNet launch AI-powered Matrix

EPISODE 025: THE MYTH AND THE MACHINE – BLAZE METREVELI, MI6'S NEW CYBER CHIEF, AND THE WEAPONIZATION OF BIOGRAPHY

On December 15, 2025, Blaze Metreveli stepped onto a dimly lit stage in London—not in a trench coat, but in a minimalist black blazer—and declared:

“Our officers must be as fluent in code as they are in foreign languages.”

The audience, a mix of cybersecurity execs, intelligence veterans, and AI ethicists, didn’t applaud immediately. They were too busy recalibrating their mental models of espionage. Because Metreveli—now the first woman ever to lead MI6—wasn’t selling spy novels. She was announcing the obsolescence of the old playbook.

But while Western media focused on her vision of AI-augmented human judgment, Russian state channels and affiliated outlets were busy weaving a far darker narrative: that Metreveli is the granddaughter of a “Nazi butcher” and stepdaughter of an “Auschwitz executioner.” A perfect villain for the age of hybrid war.

The truth? Far less cinematic—and far more revealing.

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WHO IS BLAZE METREVELI? (SPOILER: NOT A BOND VILLAIN)

In British intelligence circles, Metreveli has long been known as the architect of MI6’s Digital Directorate—the real-world equivalent of Q Branch. Before her appointment, she oversaw machine learning models that track disinformation networks, quantum-secure comms for deep-cover agents, and predictive analytics that map insurgent recruitment patterns in real time.

Her background? Not field ops. Code, data, and systems architecture. She speaks Python like Churchill spoke English—with precision, purpose, and a hint of fatalism.

“We must be as comfortable working with code as with human sources.”

This isn’t metaphor. Under her leadership, MI6 is hiring algorithmic linguists, behavioral data scientists, and cyber red-teamers—not just ex-diplomats with a taste for danger.

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THE "NAZI GRANDFATHER" MYTH: WHERE IT CAME FROM (AND WHY IT STUCK)

The story begins with a 2024 NDTV report citing unnamed “German archival fragments” about a Konstantin Dobrowolski—allegedly Metreveli’s biological grandfather—a Soviet deserter who supposedly collaborated with the Abwehr during WWII and participated in punitive operations in Ukraine.

From there, Russian-language outlets like Tsargrad and RIA FAN ran with it:

“MI6’s new chief is heir to the blood of Nazi collaborators!”
“Her stepfather, David Metreveli, was a torturer at Auschwitz!”

But here’s the catch: none of this appears in credible Western historiography.

• BBC, Financial Times, Süddeutsche Zeitung, and FAZ either ignore these claims entirely or label them “unverified family lore.”
• No German war crimes database (including the ITS in Bad Arolsen) lists a “David Metreveli” as an Auschwitz guard—or even as a surname associated with camp personnel.
• The name Dobrowolski appears in scattered wartime records—but never linked to Metreveli by any archival chain of custody.

In short: the “Nazi lineage” is not history—it’s narrative engineering. A ready-made archetype for the Russian info-sphere: the Western spy as moral degenerate, the enemy within, the descendant of fascists now fighting “neo-Nazis” in Ukraine. The irony is so thick it could stop a bullet.

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WHY THIS NARRATIVE SERVES MOSCOW

The Russian framing isn’t accidental. It performs three functions:

1. Moral inversion: If the UK’s top spy is heir to Nazism, then Russia’s war in Ukraine becomes a “de-Nazification” campaign—not by extremists, but by victims of historical betrayal.
2. Distrust injection: By amplifying unverified biographical smears, Moscow muddies public perception of Western institutions, making every policy look like personal vendetta.
3. Historical continuity: It feeds the Kremlin’s core myth—that NATO’s eastward push is just Operation Barbarossa 2.0, repackaged as “democracy promotion.”

But as Metreveli herself might say: data doesn’t lie, but stories do.

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THE REAL SHIFT: FROM HUMAN SECRETS TO ALGORITHMIC WARFARE

While Moscow obsesses over bloodlines, London is rewriting the rules of statecraft.

Metreveli’s speech wasn’t just about tools—it was a doctrine:

“AI must augment, not replace, human judgment.”
“Biotech, quantum sensing, and neural interfaces are the new front lines—not just tanks and trenches.”

This signals a deeper transformation:

• HUMINT (human intelligence) is no longer primary—it’s HYBRIDINT: human + data + synthetic environments.
• Offensive cyber isn’t just hacking—it’s behavioral shaping at scale: influencing elections, fragmenting societies, disabling infrastructure without a single explosion.
• The battlefield is now the attention economy—and MI6, under Metreveli, is building weapons for it.

The irony? Russia’s own GRU and SVR are racing to do the same. But instead of investing in quantum AI labs, they’re recycling wartime propaganda tropes—like blaming a woman’s leadership on her grandfather’s sins.

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CONCLUSION: THE WEAPONIZATION OF THE PAST VS. THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE FUTURE

Blaze Metreveli may or may not have a complicated family history. But that’s irrelevant.

What matters is this: the future of espionage isn’t in archives—it’s in algorithms. And while one side digs through 80-year-old files to find monsters, the other is coding the systems that will define the next war.

Metreveli’s rise isn’t about blood. It’s about bandwidth.

And in that contest, nostalgia is a liability.

All previous posts from Blaze Metreveli

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Sources

1. NDTV — New MI6 chief's grandfather was infamous Nazi spy “The Butcher”
2. Cybernews — Spies must be fluent in code, says new MI6 boss Blaze Metreveli
3. The Times — MI6 appoints first female chief in 116 years: Blaze Metreveli
4. The Jewish Chronicle — New MI6 chief's Nazi spy grandfather raises questions in Berlin archives
5. Deutsche Welle — German archives reveal MI6 chief's family ties to Abwehr agent
6. Financial Times — MI6 chief: Our spies must code like they speak foreign languages
7. BBC News — New MI6 boss warns of AI revolution in espionage
8. Wired — MI6's Blaze Metreveli: The future spy writes Python as fluently as Russian
9. Reuters — MI6's tech boss Blaze Metreveli to lead agency amid cyber threats
10. The Guardian — From Q Branch to Chief: MI6's digital warrior takes helm

EPISODE 024: THE SWARM IS LIVE

At 14:03 CET on December 10, over a restricted test range near Munich, ten drones—FPV kamikazes, fixed-wing scouts, and VTOL strike platforms from three different manufacturers—executed a synchronized kill chain without a single human command during terminal phase. Two armored vehicle surrogates were struck within 1.8 seconds of each other. No radio chatter. No emergency overrides. Just software acting as a single mind.

The demonstration, observed by defense attachés from NATO and U.S. European Command, marked the world’s first interoperable hybrid drone swarm strike—powered by Nemyx, the new AI-driven swarm engine from Auterion.

“By combining real-time AI, computer vision, and Skynode S-equipped drones, we have created a solution that quickly detects, prioritizes, and neutralizes multiple threats. The military can deploy swarms that act as a unified force—whether from a backpack or a truck.”
— Auterion official statement, December 10, 2025

FROM THEORY TO BATTLEFIELD CODE

Nemyx is not a new drone. It’s a layer of collective intelligence. Built on AuterionOS, it turns any compatible unmanned platform—commercial off-the-shelf or military-grade—into a node in a distributed weapon system. All it takes is a software update.

• The swarm shares a common situational picture via Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK).
• Target prioritization, route deconfliction, and strike timing are handled autonomously at machine speed.
• GPS-denied environments? Not a problem. Onboard computer vision and Skynode’s inertial navigation keep the formation intact even under full EW suppression.

During the demo, fixed-wing drones acted as overwatch, identifying and classifying targets. FPVs raced in at treetop level, executing terminal dives on AI-assigned threat priorities—not human whims, but algorithmic logic.

This isn’t “drone warfare.” This is swarm warfare.

THE UKRAINIAN LINK—AND THE 33,000-UNIT PIPELINE

Nemyx doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s the logical evolution of a battlefield already saturated with Auterion’s Skynode flight controllers.

As Fontanka and Ukraina.ru reported in September, the Pentagon has contracted 33,000 Skynode units for delivery to Ukraine by end-2025—ten times the previous batch. Every single one is Nemyx-ready. A field operator can upgrade an entire drone fleet in minutes.

That means the same swarm logic tested near Munich can be deployed on the Donbas front within weeks. One Ukrainian soldier—armed with a laptop and a backpack of drones—could now orchestrate a coordinated, multi-vector strike that previously required a platoon-level command structure.

This is what “mass” looks like in 2025: not more people, but more autonomous nodes per operator.

STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS: BREAKING THE MONOPOLY OF SCALE

Russia and China are winning the production race—churning out cheap shells, drones, and missiles at industrial scale. NATO’s answer? Interoperability as force multiplication.

Nemyx allows allies to pool drones across national and corporate lines. No more waiting for a single defense contractor to ramp up. If Poland uses FlyEye, Estonia uses Threod, and the U.S. uses Skydio—they can all swarm together under Nemyx.

“The militaries that master open architectures, rapid production, and disciplined employment will not field drones as isolated tools. They will deploy them in clouds.”
— SOFREP

And clouds don’t negotiate. They saturate. They overwhelm.

THE CONTROL STACK SHIFTS AGAIN

• Physical layer: Drones are no longer expendable singles—they’re cells in a larger organism.
• Technological layer: Autonomy + open OS = resilience against supply chain fragmentation.
• Informational layer: The kill chain is now shorter than human reaction time.
• Consciousness layer: War is no longer about who has more pilots—but who has the clearest shared logic.

The Munich test wasn’t about tanks. It was about breaking the last illusion of human primacy in tactical combat.

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Tomorrow’s war won’t be fought by pilots. It will be compiled.

Sources

1. Militarnyi FB — Auterion tests Nemyx swarm-strike package in Germany
2. Auterion — Official newsroom & press releases
3. Fontanka.ru — Немyx: первый публичный показ в Германии
4. TechCult — Обзор программного комплекса Nemyx
5. SOFREP — Swarm-demo: how future wars will be fought
6. Ukraina.ru — Тюмень-2025: что показал инцидент с ударными swarm-BPLA
7. Militarnyi EN — Nemyx lets drone swarm autonomously strike tanks
8. VK — Nemyx field clips & tech specs mirror
9. Telegram channel «UAV Tech» — continuous Nemyx updates

— Yellowstone-End

→ yellowstone-end.blogspot.com

EPISODE 023: "AMERICA FIRST, ABOVE ALL"

HOW TRUMP'S 2025 NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY REWRITES THE GLOBAL GAME

In November 2025, the White House released a new National Security Strategy—a document that doesn't just reflect the philosophy of Donald Trump's second administration but rewrites the very architecture of international relations. Unlike endless declarations of "global responsibility" and "democracy promotion," this text reads like a manifesto of sovereignty, realism, and strength.

And it's already in motion.

FROM "GLOBAL POLICEMAN" TO "ARCHITECT OF ORDER"

For three decades after the Cold War, the U.S. acted as a nation endowed with the moral right to shape reality everywhere—from the Balkans to the South China Sea. The new strategy calls this approach a "wish list of elites"—bloated, self-destructive, and detached from national interests.

Trump offers the opposite:

"Focusing on everything means focusing on nothing."

Instead of endless "forever wars," there are eight resolved conflicts in eight months: from Gaza to the DRC, from Kosovo to the Indo-Pakistani border.

Instead of empty rhetorical commitments, there are tariffs, energy sovereignty, a trillion dollars for the military, and demands for allies to pay their share: NATO is now required to spend not 2%, but 5% of GDP on defense.

This isn't isolationism. It's strategic discipline.

THE FOUR PILLARS OF THE NEW STRATEGY

1. SOVEREIGNTY AS THE HIGHEST VALUE

Borders are controlled. Immigration is based on national interest. Transnational institutions are not above the Constitution. Even the UN and WTO must be reformed or bypassed if they hinder American interests.

2. PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH, NOT CONCESSIONS

"Strength is the best deterrent," the document states. Operation Midnight Hammer to destroy Iran's nuclear infrastructure is not an act of aggression but a tool to prevent war. The same goes for the Golden Dome missile defense system and the modernization of the nuclear triad.

3. INDUSTRIAL INDEPENDENCE AS NATIONAL SECURITY

Globalism is declared a destructive mistake. Reshoring supply chains, reindustrialization, and an energy boom are all part of economic patriotism, without which military power is impossible.

4. CULTURAL REVIVAL AS THE FOUNDATION OF POWER

The removal of "DEI," "woke culture," and "gender madness" from the military and government is not a culture war but a restoration of institutional combat readiness. Without a healthy nation, there is no great power.

GEOPOLITICS WITHOUT SENTIMENTALITY

The strategy clearly defines regional priorities:

• Western Hemisphere — A zone of exclusive U.S. interests. The "Trump Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine means zero tolerance for foreign influence, especially from China and Russia.
• Indo-Pacific — Not a space for "containment," but for openness and free navigation, provided supply chains do not depend on hostile regimes.
• Europe — An ally, but a weak one. The U.S. is willing to defend it, but only if it returns to "civilizational confidence" and abandons "energy suicide."
• Middle East — No more "forever wars," but no room for Iranian or Chinese dominance. Oil must serve stability, not chaos.
• Africa — A continent where the U.S. will compete for influence through technological and economic superiority, not humanitarian missions.

This is not diplomacy. It is systemic pacification—using the opponent's momentum against them.

THE TRUMP PARADOX: PRESIDENT OF PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH

The most striking aspect of the document is Trump's declaration as the "President of Peace." And this is not rhetoric. Unlike administrations that fueled conflicts under the banner of "democracy," Trump uses levers of power for diplomacy:

• Threats as a means of coercion into negotiations;
• Economic sanctions as a tool of demarcation;
• Military power as a guarantee that the opponent will want to negotiate rather than fight.

This is geopolitical judo: using the opponent's momentum against them.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE WORLD

Trump's world is not a world of "everything is fine." It is a world of hierarchies, sovereignties, and balances. There is no place for "global government," but there is room for strong nations that negotiate based on mutual respect.

• For Ukraine — You are not the center; you are an object of settlement.
• For Europe — You must pay and think for yourselves.
• For China and Russia — You will not achieve hegemony, but you will not be destroyed if you do not cross red lines.
• For the U.S. — A rebirth as a civilizational core where security, economy, culture, and strength go hand in hand.

CONCLUSION: THE END OF THE ILLUSIONS ERA

The 2025 National Security Strategy is the antithesis of the "world order" of Biden and Obama. It rejects messianism in favor of realism, sacrifice in favor of sovereignty, and globalism in favor of the nation.

"Over the past nine months, we have brought our nation—and the entire world—back from the brink of catastrophe."

If this strategy is implemented, the 21st century will not be an era of multilateralism but an era of sovereign empires—and America intends to be the first among them. Not by right, but by strength.

Sources

1. White House — 2025 National Security Strategy (full 33-page PDF)
2. USNI News — Pentagon’s take on the 2025 Strategy: ships, drones & China
3. Al Jazeera — Five big shifts in Trump’s 2025 NSS
4. CFR — “America First” 2.0: what changed since 2022
5. Reuters — “Golden Dome” missile-defence pledge preview, May 2025
6. GOLDIIS — Mirror copy of NSS PDF (Sept 2025 checksum)
7. Arms Control Center — Golden Dome fact-sheet & cost estimates
8. Wikipedia — Golden Dome (missile defense system) overview

— Yellowstone-End, December 6, 2025

EPISODE 022: WHY WITKOFF AND KUSHNER CANCELED THE MEETING WITH ZELENSKY

DECEMBER 3, 2025 — BRUSSELS, MOSCOW, WASHINGTON

On Wednesday, December 3, 2025, it became known that the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the U.S. delegation—Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner—in Brussels had been canceled. Instead of traveling to Belgium, Witkoff and Kushner left Moscow and headed straight for Washington. Zelensky, who had been awaiting the talks, announced his return home. For Kyiv, this is not just a diplomatic disappointment—it is a strategic signal that may mark the beginning of a new phase in the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine, one in which Kyiv loses its role as a key player.

On the surface, this is a diplomatic failure.
In reality, it is a geopolitical shift.

Sources

1. Lenta.ru — Witkoff and Kushner leave Moscow without visiting Kyiv
2. Vz.ru — Kremlin talks: What Putin, Witkoff, and Kushner discussed
3. RBC — Zelensky left without a meeting: What this means for Ukraine
4. Reuters — U.S. envoys skip Kyiv, head to Washington after Moscow talks
5. The Guardian — Ukraine left out as U.S. shifts focus to direct Russia talks

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FROM THE KREMLIN TO THE WHITE HOUSE: A ROUTE THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

The five-hour negotiations between Witkoff, Kushner, and Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin on December 2 were decisive. According to Yuri Ushakov, an aide to the Russian president, the Americans made it clear that they would not go to Kyiv and would not even stay in Europe—their priority was to report directly to Trump.

This is not just a logistical decision. It is a political choice.

For Trump’s team—pragmatists focused on "deals" rather than ideology—the dialogue with Moscow, not Kyiv, became the priority. This is no coincidence: during the five hours of discussions, the American representatives heard a tough but constructive position from Russia regarding the core of the conflict: territorial realities, the demilitarization of Ukraine, and long-term security guarantees.

Western media confirm this conclusion. Reuters and BBC News report that the Americans came to the realization: "Without direct dialogue with Moscow, peace is impossible," while CNN explicitly states that "Kyiv has lost trust as a reliable partner in negotiations." Politico quotes State Department sources: "The Americans left Moscow with the feeling that Russia is ready to move forward, but Ukraine is not."

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WHY DID WASHINGTON "DISCONNECT" ZELENSKY?

The answer lies in one fact: Kyiv is not a subject of peace; it is an object of settlement.

Despite the rhetoric about "inviolability of borders" and "support for sovereignty," the Trump administration appears to have begun accepting Russian terms as the actual basis for any future agreement. This makes sense: the U.S. is tired of a protracted war that yields no strategic dividends but drains the budget and reputation.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to demonstrate unrealistic expectations: Zelensky still demands "everything back," including Crimea and Donbas, while simultaneously begging for military aid and money from Europe.

The Guardian notes: "Kyiv refused to discuss compromises on Donbas and Crimea, thereby dooming the chances of a diplomatic breakthrough."

Financial Times adds: "The Americans are disappointed by Zelensky’s lack of flexibility, who prefers symbolism over real steps toward a ceasefire."

Al Jazeera emphasizes: "The disagreements between Russia and the West have not disappeared, but the U.S. no longer wants to be held hostage by Kyiv’s ultimatums."

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GEOPOLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE: THE END OF ILLUSIONS

The cancellation of the meeting is a reality check. The American delegation likely realized that:

• Russia will not compromise on fundamental security issues;
• Europe is economically weakened and cannot play an independent role;
• Ukraine is unable to dictate terms, given its critical losses on the front (encirclement near Dymytrov, loss of Krasnoarmeysk and Volchansk).

Under these conditions, Washington is beginning to shift responsibility: if peace is impossible due to Kyiv’s position, then Ukraine itself becomes an obstacle to stabilization.

As Russian Senator Dzhabarov aptly noted: *"There is nothing bright or joyful for Zelensky in this decision."* And this, perhaps, is the mildest way to put it.

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WHAT'S NEXT?

1. Ukraine risks political isolation. If the U.S. begins negotiating directly with Russia, Kyiv’s role will be reduced to a technical one—signing what is decided for it.

2. Europe is in panic. The absence of American support could trigger a chain reaction: from reduced military aid to internal crises in donor countries.

3. Moscow strengthens its position. Putin has achieved what Russia has sought since 2014: recognition of its right to a voice in European security matters.

The Guardian summarizes: "The cancellation of the meeting is a symbol that the diplomatic era based on supporting Ukraine at any cost is ending."
Politico adds: "Trump is not interested in a 'forever war' for ideological constructs that are no longer supported by voters."

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CONCLUSION: PEACE WITHOUT UKRAINE

The U.S.-Russia talks on December 2 are not just a diplomatic meeting. They represent the first step toward a new geopolitical reality, where Europe is no longer a center of power, and Ukraine is not a subject but a territory that has become a victim of others' ambitions.

The cancellation of the meeting with Zelensky is not a rejection of Ukraine. It is a rejection of illusions. And if Kyiv fails to recognize this, it faces not just military collapse but political death—as a state that missed its chance to stop the war while it was still possible.

"Diplomacy is not about seeking justice; it is about seeking a balance of power. And when that balance shifts, old players become pawns," — an anonymous source in the U.S. State Department.