Trump officials want to speed up college mergers

 The US Department of Education wants to grease the wheels for college mergers and acquisitions, a rare Trump administration proposal with broad support from university leaders who see the policy helping the sector withstand a wave of financial distress.

The agency aims to expedite and simplify M&A reviews within the next year, according to Under Secretary Nicholas Kent, the top federal official overseeing higher education.

A soon-to-close transaction underscores how drawn out the timeline can be: Northeastern University’s purchase of Marymount Manhattan College is expected to get final approval next month, more than two years after the initial announcement. The lag partly reflects a long federal regulatory process.

Many schools seeking a lifeline simply don’t have that much time. And for prolific acquirers like Northeastern, which fields inquiries about once a week from small colleges offering themselves up, it’s an obstacle to expansion.

Now, Kent aims to undo a two-step process implemented by former President Joe Biden, as well as a slew of decades-old hurdles that he said can jam up a transaction for months. 

Northeastern's Merger With NYC College Finally Nears Finish Line© Photographer: Ben Sklari/Bloomberg

“We’ve made it increasingly complicated and really time-consuming for institutions to enter into these partnerships,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg. “We need to be facilitating a process that moves a lot quicker.”

The change could benefit many struggling schools looking to engineer a rescue. But it would also leave the sector more vulnerable to profiteers, from private capital to hostile competitors, at a moment of unprecedented tumult. 

Common Offramp  

Colleges contending with lower enrollment, federal funding cuts and rising operating costs often find themselves on the verge of closure. Mergers and acquisitions are becoming a common offramp. More than 50 such deals have been announced since 2020, according to data from Huron.

Joseph Aoun, president of Boston-based Northeastern, said that delays in closing mergers make it harder to recruit students, faculty and staff and to start investing in infrastructure. 

“The transition period is always a period of uncertainty. This uncertainty impacts the students, the families, the staff and the faculty,” Aoun said. “You want to move as fast as you can.” 

For schools with short financial runways, a multiyear regulatory horizon can be a deal killer. In 2023 Notre Dame College — not the football powerhouse in Indiana, but a tiny Catholic school in northern Ohio — floated a possible merger with Cleveland State University. Notre Dame had been hemorrhaging students and money for years and was looking for an exit. 

They announced their talks in January 2024. But within a matter of weeks, Notre Dame suddenly moved to close its doors.

A few hours west, Bluffton University, another small Ohio religious college, thought it had found a partner in neighboring University of Findlay. The pair signed a formal agreement and started down the regulatory road toward approval. A year later, they aborted their merger.

Jane Wood, Bluffton’s former president, stepped down shortly after the deal fell apart. She said there was more to the dissolution than regulatory hurdles, but that the federal approval timeline was “certainly a key factor.” 

Ricardo Azziz, principal at SPH Consulting Group, advised Bluffton and Findlay throughout their abandoned merger process. He said their situation was just one example of an issue that he’s seen scuttle deals time and again. 

“If you examine the closures across the country, many had sought to merge before they ran into the issue of the regulatory timeline,” Azziz said.

Northeastern's Merger With NYC College Finally Nears Finish Line© Photographer: Sophie Park/Bloomberg

Buyer’s Market

Struggling colleges are more eager than ever to partner with stable institutions, in part due to pressure from board members and bondholders nervous about credit downgrades. Many colleges, Azziz said, “are starting to violate bond covenants,” an issue “at the heart of some mergers.”

Larger schools with more spending power are pouncing on the chance not only to boost their enrollment capacity, but to buy up valuable real estate. Northeastern’s acquisition of Marymount delivered the school more than $200 million in assets; its acquisition of Mills College in Oakland, California, added around $700 million. 

Brian Weinblatt, founder of Higher Ed Consolidation Solutions, which helps colleges plan for mergers, said interest from “buy-side” schools has spiked in the past two years. “They’re like sharks smelling the blood in the water,” he said. 

The market has also piqued the interest of private capital.

“Private equity is and was interested in higher ed institutions, but the requirements the department imposed made ownership of a college by a PE firm essentially impossible,” said Jonathan Helwink, a higher education lawyer who served in the first Trump administration. 

Kent said changes to the oversight process would likely open doors for those frustrated investors. “We’re not going to give them a free pass just because it’s the private market, but we’re certainly not going to put our foot on the necks of private capital,” he said. 

Clare McCann, a former policy adviser at the Education Department under Biden who helped fortify the M&A review process, said those measures were meant to protect the students, staff and local economies most affected by changes in ownership. Part of their focus was on for-profit colleges applying to convert to nonprofit status, a transaction covered by the same federal oversight rules as mergers. 

Still, McCann said the process was never meant to take as long as it has. She blames that on understaffing, not regulatory burdens. 

Even before Trump laid off nearly half of the Education Department, “there already were not very many people at the department who had that kind of expertise,” she said. “There are now next to none.” 

Kent said he was confident he has the appropriate staff to handle approvals.

Schools looking to expand aren’t necessarily relying on M&A; they’re sometimes buying up campuses where enrollment has dwindled, purchasing the real estate outright. Wagner College, a small private school in New York, is taking on debt to buy the Staten Island campus of Queens-based St. John’s University. Those transactions don’t require federal approval.

New England Closures

A report from Huron found 442 private colleges are at risk of closure or serious financial downturn. That’s more than a quarter of the country’s private schools. 

Many recent closures have been concentrated in New England, where two colleges have shuttered already this year: Anna Maria College in Massachusetts and Sterling College in Vermont. Another, Hampshire College, announced in April that it would close after the fall 2026 semester.

Larry Schall, president of the New England Commission of Higher Education, the accreditor overseeing all three of those schools and hundreds more across the Northeast, said the organization has tried to make consolidation as seamless as possible. But while more of his members are exploring partnerships, he said the timeline for approval usually deters them.

“Virtually every school you end up reading about that closes, certainly at the board level there’s been conversations about finding a partner,” he said. “If you have 30 days of cash on hand and the process takes — in part because of federal requirements — years to happen, you just don’t have the funds to do it.” 

Still, a quicker federal review won’t always mean approvals. Kent said the government is not in the business of bailing out colleges.

“We have 6,000 institutions of higher education in this country, and not all of them are going to make it out of this decade,” he said. “Nor should we incentivize that.” 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/careersandeducation/college-mergers-take-a-long-time-trump-officials-want-to-speed-them-up/ar-AA24lsYb

Obamacare Fraud Estimated To Cost $25 Billion This Year: Report

 by Lawrence Wilson via The Epoch Times,

Taxpayers will foot the bill for up to $25 billion in improper Obamacare payments due to organized fraud and improper enrollments in 2026, according to a June 3 report from Paragon Health Institute.

Some 6.2 million enrollments in the healthcare exchanges during the most recent open-enrollment period were improper, the report said, accounting for 27 percent of all enrollments.

The conservative think tank has studied fraud in the Obamacare program since 2024.

The problem of improper enrollments persists despite recent attempts to curtail it, and appears to involve organized efforts by unscrupulous insurance brokers, the report concluded.

Meanwhile, some industry groups have criticized the findings.

Incentives For Fraud

Obamacare's premium subsidies, which cover 100 percent of the health coverage policy for many beneficiaries, and referral bonuses offer an incentive for both enrollees and brokers to abuse the system, the report concluded.

Researchers identified improper enrollments by comparing Obamacare data to Census Bureau population estimates. The improper enrollments were calculated by a state-by-state comparison of enrollments in the lowest income category to the number of people having that income level in the state.

The lowest income category is 100 percent to 150 percent of the federal poverty level, or about $16,000 to $24,000 per year for an individual or about $27,000 to $41,000 for a family of three.

Enrollees with incomes at that level receive the highest subsidies. During the 2026 open enrollment period, 29 percent of enrollees chose a plan with a $0 premium.

That gives enrollees and the agents who sign people up for Obamacare an incentive to misstate their income, the report concluded.

The American Hospital Association has said Paragon's research results are not valid due to flawed methodology. "The Census uses different income and household size definitions than the Marketplace so there is no possibility of the data matching," the group said in an August 2025 statement. The association also said the Census relies on reported income but Obamacare asks for projected income.

The total value of Obamacare subsidies to be paid in 2026 is $88 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Agents who enroll individuals or families in Obamacare earn a commission averaging around $20 per enrollee per month for as long as the policy is active.

Obamacare received more than 23 million enrollments during the 2026 open enrollment period.

Subsidies and commissions are paid on "effectuated" enrollments, meaning enrollees who selected a plan and paid the initial premium.

The number of effectuated enrollments for 2026 has not yet been released, though about 96 percent of signups became effectuated enrollments in 2025.

Weak Controls

Congress allowed Obamacare's enhanced subsidies to expire in 2025, which reduced the number of people eligible for a 100 percent subsidy.

Yet improper enrollments persist in part because of automatic re-enrollment, said Brian Blase, Paragon's founder and president.

"Automatic re-enrollment remains pervasive. Nearly 40 percent of 2026 exchange enrollees were automatically re-enrolled," Blase told The Epoch Times by email.

That allows previous improper enrollments to carry over from year to year.

Congress and the Trump administration have taken actions to strengthen checks on improper enrollment, but most are not yet in effect.

Enacted law will require annual income eligibility verification. That takes effect in 2028.

The administration implemented stricter verification rules in May 2026, but they did not impact the 2026 open enrollment, which ended Jan. 15.

Legal Action Center, a human rights advocacy group, has opposed mandatory re-enrollment and income verification because it places an administrative burden on those dealing with substance abuse, mental health conditions, or criminal convictions.

"There is an ongoing need for an automatic re-enrollment mechanism, given that some people do not actively return to the Marketplace to make plan choices during open enrollment," the group wrote to Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April 2025. Rather than requiring action on the part of enrollees, Legal Action Center urged the federal government to verify continued eligibility using existing data such as the Social Security Administration and state unemployment databases.

Bad Actors

Unscrupulous brokers appear to have contributed to improper enrollments by steering consumers toward plans that pay larger commissions, Blase said. And the report suggests that some agents have created fictitious enrollments.

"Some brokers and agents continue steering low-income enrollees into $0-premium plans," Blase said, even though it may not provide them the best value.

Bronze plans have no premium for an enrollee at 100 percent of the federal poverty level. But the out-of-pocket costs could total nearly $7,500 per year, according to Paragon.

The same individual could qualify for a silver plan for which the enrollee premium plus out-of-pocket costs totaled $415.

"One plausible explanation is that brokers moved enrollees into $0-premium bronze or gold plans because some consumers will only enroll if coverage is free," Blase said. "And phantom enrollees cannot pay premiums."

Paragon defines phantom enrollments as those that are fictitious, or unaware they are enrolled, or are enrolled in other coverage.

In 2024, 35 percent of Obamacare enrollments reported no medical claims. "The percentage of zero-claim enrollees in the exchanges is dramatically higher than observed in the broader private market and strongly suggests a substantial number of phantom enrollees."

Also, about half of all enrollees reported unknown race or ethnicity in 2026, a trend that began in 2024, according to the report. Researchers say this could indicate that the agents had little contact with the enrollees.

"These findings suggest that a substantial portion of recent ACA exchange enrollment growth may not reflect legitimate increases in insured individuals," the report stated.

America's Health Insurance Plans, an association of health insurers, has been critical of Paragon's previous research on phantom enrollees.

"A 'no-claims' year is evidence that a consumer stayed healthy or only had a few months of coverage - not that taxpayer money was misdirected or that their policy was illegitimate," the group said in an August 2025 statement.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/obamacare-fraud-estimated-cost-25-billion-year-report

Behind today’s radical, Jew-hating Democratic Party is a monster created by Barack Obama

 Two hundred ten years ago this summer, a 19-year-old woman named Mary Shelley, bored one stormy afternoon, decided to write the scariest story ever told.

It was a tale of a brilliant and arrogant man who wanted to change the world but ended up creating a monster. She named him Barack Obama.

All right, she named him Dr. Frankenstein. But had the great author been around to witness Adam Hamawy win the Democratic primary in New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, she would’ve understood right away that she was looking at a familiar tale of hubris, malice and ghouls on the loose.

Former President Barack Obama makes remarks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post

Like Shelley’s mad physician, Obama, too, had an appetite for reordering the natural world. He took Bill Clinton’s party — one that allowed candidates in some parts of the country to be pro-gun and pro-life and still consider themselves Democrats in good standing — strapped it to the slab and shocked it with a lightning bolt of radicalism.

The creature that emerged from the experiment no longer talked about fiscal responsibility and government reform. It howled instead about opening our borders, legalizing gay marriage and redefining politics as the pursuit of identity by other means.

Antisemitic alliance

Under Obama, the Democrats became a gorgeous mosaic of victimized minorities, encouraged to seek retribution for wrongs real or perceived by grabbing a pitchfork and going out in search of a conservative to blame.

For a while, it all went swimmingly. Obama built a forever campaign that encouraged everyone to give to the party — not only their money but also their loyalty. Endless chatter about “the right side of history” was designed to make it clear that unless you wholeheartedly supported whatever the president and his aides told you was proper, good and desired, you’d be transgressing against history itself.

Tech companies, universities and other institutions soon fell in line, giving us execrable phenomena like cancel culture.

We all saw the might of Obama’s creation during Donald Trump’s disastrous first term in office: At the push of a button, a democratically elected president was made to appear to be the second coming of Mussolini.

And we saw it even more clearly during Obama’s third term, conducted via another Frankenstein-like creation, the brain-dead Joe Biden.

But as every reader of Mary Shelley knows, eventually the monster gets loose, grows mad and wreaks havoc. Welcome to the Democratic Party of 2026.

To cement his coalition, Obama encouraged what is now known as the Red-Green Alliance, bringing together progressives keen on socialism and Muslims adhering to Sharia law.

The one thing both odd bedfellows had in common, of course, was Jew hatred, now as then a potent political fuel.

Who could ever imagine this coalition would eventually promote demonic candidates like Hamawy, who testified on behalf of Omar Abdel Rahman, the blind sheikh who inspired the 1993 World Trade Center bombing?

The answer, of course, is everyone, or at least anyone even vaguely familiar with scary stories. Because in horror tales, careless actions always have disastrous consequences.

Add Jersey to the list

When you teach people that politics isn’t about working together to build a better community but about fighting each other over whose grievance is more pressing, what you get is a system that promotes the most pernicious players.

And as you can understand by studying any Third World nation anywhere in the world, encouraging unending bickering between different identity groups rewards none but the most violent and vile in our midst.

That’s how you get guys like Graham Platner, who seems to have never met a Nazi he didn’t wish to emulate.

Or creeps like Zohran Mamdani, who kicked off his public career by rapping lovingly about terrorists.

Now we can add Hamawy to this list — but the jihad-fancier from Jersey won’t be the last abomination unleashed on America courtesy of Obama’s Democratic Party.

Because as every horror fan will tell you, monsters, once released, are very hard to rein in.

Liel Leibovitz is editor at large for Tablet and senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/opinion/todays-jew-hating-democratic-party-is-a-monster-created-by-barack-obama/

10 m Americans undiagnosed with long covid causing fatigue, brain fog and headaches: report

 While the pandemic may be over, its enduring effects are being felt by millions.

While most people who test positive for COVID recover within a week or two, some continue to report symptoms — and even develop new ones — months and even years later.

Known as long Covid, this debilitating post-infection condition can cause severe fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, palpitations, dizziness, depression, brain fog, headaches, menstrual changes, and muscle pain.

Previous research estimated that 20 million Americans have long COVID; however, new research published in JAMA Network Open suggests that an additional 10 million Americans may be unknowingly suffering.

Researchers from Mass General Brigham used AI to build a comprehensive view of the lasting effects of COVID by analyzing nearly half a million medical records to track how many patients tested positive for COVID and later sought care for long COVID symptoms.

“We built an AI to map the post-pandemic reality, and it uncovered a 10 million-person blind spot in the American healthcare system,” said study author Hossein Estiri, leader of MGB’s clinical augmented intelligence research group.

Results show that while 16% of people who got COVID developed long-term symptoms, those symptoms are not always identified as such.

This latest tally of COVID patients with chronic symptoms is more than double that of some estimates, and nearly triples the figures suggested by the World Health Organization.

Estitiri’s figures are more consistent with a 2024 survey by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that 18% of U.S. adults experience long COVID.

Research shows that women, people with underlying health conditions, and those who did not receive a COVID vaccine are more likely to develop long COVID.

According to the CDC, long COVID can be difficult to diagnose or explain, as the condition is based entirely on symptoms that care providers tend to treat as individual issues, rather than comprehensive evidence of a broader condition.

“If someone has fatigue, it doesn’t really matter at the moment whether it’s a COVID-induced fatigue — the doctor just tries to treat the fatigue,” said Estitiri. “It’s really hard to connect the dots back to the roots. This is not how the healthcare system in general is designed to work.”

One limitation in diagnosing long COVID is the lack of a single test to determine whether a patient has the condition or has recovered from it.

Like chronic Lyme disease and chronic fatigue syndrome, COVID is poorly understood and often missed by medical professionals.

In addition to having their symptoms missed, many patients suffering from long COVID are misdiagnosed with mental health conditions like anxiety or depression that fail to address the breadth of their suffering.

Further, in addition to the constellation of symptoms associated with long COVID, researchers say many more could be related to it but are left unconnected by service providers.

“The cardiologist seeing new dysautonomia, the endocrinologist seeing new metabolic disease, the neurologist seeing unexplained cognitive complaints—some of these presentations are long COVID arriving without the label that would connect them to a COVID-19 infection,” said lead study author Jiazi Tian.

For his part, Estiri is hopeful that AI can close this gap and help long COVID patients receive the diagnostic care they need.

“Once we can distinguish different clinical and organ-specific manifestations of long COVID, we gain the ability to launch new trials and test targeted treatments for the right patients.”

And targeted treatment is of the utmost importance, as previous research found that long COVID may trigger Alzheimer ‘s-like changes in the brain.

In a bit of good amid the grim, research from earlier this year showed that taking metformin, a widely used diabetes medication, during or soon after a COVID infection can significantly reduce the risk of developing long COVID.

https://nypost.com/2026/06/04/health/blind-spot-leaving-10-million-americans-undiagnosed-with-chronic-disease/

Zelensky in Lengthy Screed To Putin: 'Enough Of War, I Am Proposing A Meeting'

 On Thursday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin in a rare open letter sent to the Russian leader. It said Ukraine is also ready for a "full ceasefire."

"Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us - and you. I am proposing a meeting," Zelensky said in the letter. "Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations," he added.

The letter, which is somewhat lengthy at one point says, "The choice is yours now. Enough of war" and then spells out that "Ukraine proposes to end this war."

"This must be done honestly, with dignity, and with guarantees that the war will not be reignited," Zelensky added. And then interestingly, "We see that the United States is fully focused on the issue of Iran, and it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the center of its attention."

via AP/The Hill

The new letter was issued just Europe's most influential powers of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom are trying to again jump-start Ukraine war peace talks, collectively operating as the E3 group.

They seek to implement a new framework aimed at engaging Russian President Vladimir Putin in direct negotiations to end the war. Reuters on Wednesday reports that "A window for dialogue is slowly opening between Russia and Europe on Ukraine, ​although it is likely to be months before talks can ‌begin, a German government official said at a briefing on Wednesday."

It seems this window of opportunity is based to some degree on perceptions that the war tide and momentum is finally shifting in Ukraine's favor, given the increasing effectiveness of Ukraine's devastating cross-border drone attacks of late.

European leaders apparently view the current battlefield and political dynamics as having strengthened Kiev's bargaining position, creating what they believe is the optimal moment to press Moscow for talks. It seems that Zelensky agrees, and believes that it's time to get back to the negotiating table.

Putin on sidelines of the ongoing St. Petersburg International Economic Forum: We can control whole Donbass region AND strike a deal. One thing doesn’t contradict the other, why would you think that it does? — Putin to AP News Director

We can control whole Donbass region AND strike a deal. One thing doesn’t contradict the other, why would you think that it does? — Putin to AP News Directorhttps://t.co/T9H7QsH7g4 pic.twitter.com/9waCc6M6oO

— RT (@RT_com) June 4, 2026

Putin also said Thursday that his view is there's no need to stop fighting in order to start talks.

Below is Zelensky's full newly published letter, kept in the original formatting, and as issued in an official English version.

*  *  *

Open Letter

To the President of the Russian Federation

From the President of Ukraine

When you came to power in Russia more than 26 years ago, many people in Ukraine viewed you positively. That is how it was. But that is now in the past.

Now, the overwhelming majority of Ukrainians view it positively that our long-range drones paid a visit to the opening of your forum in St. Petersburg, covering a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers. As you know very well, that distance is not the limit of our capabilities.

For 26 years, your time in power has completely changed the agenda of relations between Ukraine and Russia. From discussions about trade and other civilian matters, our nations have moved to talking almost exclusively about strikes and losses.

You have spent nearly half of your 26 years in power in Russia waging war against Ukraine.

Whatever you may say about NATO, geopolitics, or the Russian language, this war is your personal choice — a war without a real cause. That is how history will remember it.

Those years could have been very different.

We often hear that you are comfortable with this war. Of course, not in those cases when it comes to the security of your residence in Valdai or your parade in Moscow. Your own life is valuable to you.

But now we can all see that Russians are finally becoming less comfortable with this reality — with the fact that the war is bringing more and more negative consequences to Russia.

They do not like our drones and missiles.

They do not like gasoline shortages and constantly rising prices.

They do not like constant restrictions.

They do not like your intention to launch a second wave of mobilization in order to expand the war into another direction in Ukraine or to use it against other countries neighboring Russia.

They do not like the fact that there is no end in sight to your war.

Yes, you can still force Russians to exist this way. But your resources are shrinking significantly.

You will not have enough money or political capital to keep buying the loyalty of Russians the way you have for the past 26 years.

And we will do everything we can to ensure that the world helps bring that moment closer.

As you yourself like to say, “we need to run the numbers.”

Yesterday, I received a report on the losses of your army on the front in Ukraine during May. Once again, the number exceeded 30,000 Russian soldiers killed and seriously wounded. We have been maintaining that level month after month, and we have video confirmation of every one of your losses — these are not empty claims.

We know that 63 percent of your battlefield losses are killed, while only 37 percent are wounded. In the 21st century, no army can afford such a ratio. And the share of those killed will continue to grow.

It is not as if we in Ukraine are concerned about the fate of Russian soldiers after everything your war has brought to our country.

But I do care about Ukrainians.

We are losing our people, and every loss is painful to us. Even when the ratio of Ukrainian losses to Russian losses is one to five or one to six, it still matters greatly.

It also matters that you regularly postpone, every few months, your own deadlines for capturing our regions — especially the Donetsk region. And you will not capture it this year either.

But we in Ukraine do not want a permanent war. We know very well that life without war is infinitely better. And we want to achieve that.

I am convinced that the majority of Russians would respond positively to this as well — and you know it.

Many did not believe that Ukraine would be able to hold out for so long. You did not believe it. And those who advised you did not believe it either. That was a mistake.

You did not expect full-scale resistance from Ukraine, and you did not foresee that things would go this far. Yet here we all are — in the fifth year of this full-scale war.

Do not be afraid to take the path out of this war. That is the main thing that is required of you now.

Ukraine has preserved its independence. And it will preserve it. Despite all predictions to the contrary.

We have united many around the world to stand with Ukraine and against you. We found the weapons and the financing we needed.

We receive support. You receive sanctions. And this will continue until there is justice for Ukraine — the justice we seek and the justice that can be achieved.

We will not allow those who are trying to convince you that sanctions against Russia will be significantly eased, and that support for Ukraine will be significantly reduced, without any meaningful change in your position toward Ukraine, to succeed. The example of Orban shows how those who choose to help Russia in its war against us end in disgrace.

Ukraine has endured harsh winters while you tried to destroy our energy system. We held firm — and even in darkness, the resilience of Ukrainians remained intact.

We brought the war onto your territory, and you would not have been able to cope with it without North Korea’s help. You are the first ruler of Russia to turn to Pyongyang for assistance.

And today you are fully dependent on China — also for the first time in Russia’s history.

You believed Ukrainians would not have the strength to defend themselves. Yet today, our people are helping our partners in the Middle East and the Gulf build their own defenses.

You hoped for internal unrest in Ukraine. Instead, it was your own military formations that staged a mutiny against you. June 23 will mark another anniversary of that event, and silence will not erase this fact from history.

And now it is you whom your own officials, businessmen, and propagandists look at with obvious fatigue. The world can see it.

The world has not grown tired of Ukraine, as you long hoped it would. But there is growing fatigue with Russia — even among those in the wider world who help you bypass sanctions and keep your economy afloat.

You cannot fail to notice it. After 26 years in power, age is beginning to take its toll. And with time, the fatigue with you will only grow.

We have seen intelligence reports showing that you are now considering plans to continue the war into 2027 and 2028. We also know that you hope ballistic missiles will achieve for you what everything else has failed to achieve. You want to draw Belarus even deeper into this war, and we are now forced to prepare for that as well. We see that you are trying to orchestrate something around Transnistria. Your propagandists threaten, in one way or another, every country neighboring Russia. Do you really want to go through all of this?

The choice is yours now.

Enough of war.

Ukraine proposes to end this war.

This must be done honestly, with dignity, and with guarantees that the war will not be reignited.

We see that the United States is fully focused on the issue of Iran, and it would be wrong to simply wait until the war in Europe returns to the center of its attention.

Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us — and you.

I am proposing a meeting.

Everyone heard your representatives, smiling, say that I could supposedly come to Moscow. But after these 26 years, there is nothing for a Ukrainian leader to do in your capital — just as there is nothing for a Russian leader to do in Kyiv.

There are countries that have traditionally hosted leaders to resolve issues of war and peace. Switzerland, Türkiye, the countries of the Arab world — many are able and willing to host such a meeting.

It is leaders who resolve the key issues. That has always been the case, and it always will be.

I propose to set a clear date for such a meeting.

We have heard that you were promised in Alaska the resolution of certain issues concerning Ukraine and Europe. But you can see for yourself that Ukrainian and European issues are not decided in Anchorage.

Other agreed participants could join the bilateral track to be established between us.

Since the war is taking place in Europe, and since Ukraine needs security guarantees, while you also seek security guarantees for yourself, it would be logical to involve those who can genuinely serve as guarantors.

We believe Europe should be part of this process — those who truly have the capacity to influence the situation.

We also believe that the United States must be part of the process. This is what could help shape a new security architecture for our part of the world.

We’ve already experienced many agreements with Russia, including the Minsk agreements, that ultimately failed. That is why we must first find direct answers between us to the questions that remain, and not hide from difficult issues behind formulas, technical working groups, or endless time lost in shuttle diplomacy.

Your war has permanently set Ukraine and Russia apart.

The front line today is the line from which diplomacy must begin.

Ukraine is ready for a full ceasefire for the duration of the negotiations. This is standard practice, and current developments around Iran only reinforce that point. An attempt to establish real silence is the best way to begin talking to one another. We believe it would not simply be an attempt, but a real ceasefire — if that is what you want.

You know that the United States has the capability to monitor a ceasefire along the line where hostilities stop.

Ukraine is ready for an all-for-all exchange of prisoners of war, and this could become a good prologue to ending the war.

Serious steps must be taken to return civilians and children who were taken away during the war.

We must determine what kind of future awaits the generations of Ukrainians and Russians who will come after us.

If you do not personally come to the conclusion that it is time to end this war, Ukraine will continue fighting for its existence. We will have those who support us.

But you, too, will have to fight much harder for your own existence — not Russia’s, but your own. And this is not a threat from me or from Ukraine. It is a fact of Russian history that you know well: when Russia grows tired, change comes.

We can work toward that fatigue.

You can stop your war.

Eternal memory to all those whose lives were taken by this war.

Glory to Ukraine!

*  *  *

Despite the long appeal, President Putin and the Kremlin have demonstrated a willingness to allow a long war to drag on, and are unlikely to be moved. Putin has said there's no need for a truce unless a deal is already close or about to be signed. But the two sides aren't any closer to being at the negotiating table as yet.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zelensky-pens-lengthy-letter-putin-enough-war-i-am-proposing-meeting