Morning Jolt: Putin Flips Trump’s Cease-Fire the Bird

WITH JIM GERAGHTY

March 14 2025

Putin Flips Trump's Cease-Fire the Bird

On the menu today: After weeks of the Trump administration pressuring Ukraine to sign on to a cease-fire deal, Russia's Vladimir Putin has responded with a raspberry. The Russian dictator declared at a press conference, "We agree with the proposal to cease hostilities, but we have to bear in mind that this cease-fire must be aimed at a long-lasting peace and it must look at the root causes of the crisis." That's a lot more ominous than it sounds, because Putin's ideas of "the root causes of the crisis" are the existence of an independent Ukraine and the NATO alliance making its own decisions. Meanwhile, a Fox News personality whose name you haven't heard in a while takes a weekend trip to Moscow and reports back that everything's hunky-dory.

Putin's Middle Finger to the U.S.-Ukraine Cease-Fire Proposal

On Thursday, Vladimir Putin refused the 30-day cease-fire offer on the table from the United States and Ukraine. Putin said he is willing to talk about a lasting peace, but first Ukraine must meet his list of demands. According to media reports, Putin's demands are as follows: