Notes and Essays -- John Brown

[Feb 18] "Elsewhere, negotiators for Russia and Ukraine made scant progress in peace talks today. Might money move matters along? Russia has reportedly dangled $12trn in deals for America in exchange for sanctions relief— a figure that looks more like bait for Donald Trump than a serious estimate.  ... " From The Economist

On Feb 18, 2026, at 5:09 PM, john brown < jb42frabel@gmail.com > wrote:  https://secure. brownstoneresearch.com/?cid= MKT860898&eid=MKT861998&tid= 4fd42757aefd4ac289ac100f837814 3d&oid=42&affid=14&uid=0&aff_ click_id=&assetId=AST388143& page=1 The not-requested "suggested response" :  W [...] -- Understood. Thanks for the quick read and clear advice. Best, john

As U.S. aid falls 99%, the Continent steps up to provide weapons.  By The Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal , Feb. 17, 2026 5:54 pm ET; see also Denmark's Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announcing that Sweden and Denmark are joining forces to buy air defence for Ukraine, in Gothenburg, Sweden on Feb. 3 .   BJORN LARSSON ROSVALL/TT/TT NEWS AGENCY/REUTERS As the Trump Administration has stopped providing weapons to Ukraine, how is Kyiv surviving against Russia? One answer is its own ingenuity in building drones and missiles. But Western Europe has also stepped up, as a new report from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy documents. The German think tank found that American aid for Ukraine plummeted 99% in 2025. Yet in the last year Europe has “sharply” increased its overall support to “offset much of the reduction in US allocations,” Kiel says. European military aid increased 67% in 2025 compared to the average between 2022 and 2024.  The Trump Administr...

The discussions in Geneva were expected to focus on territorial issues, a major sticking point, but the short duration suggests major progress was not made.  Russia’s lead negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, in Geneva on Tuesday. Credit... Harold Cunningham/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images By  Constant Méheut Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine The New York Times , Feb. 18, 2026 Updated  10:39 a.m. ET; see also and also ; as well as Ukrainian and Russian officials wrapped up a new round of U.S.-mediated peace talks on Wednesday after a second day of discussions that lasted just two hours, a brief session that suggested little progress and underscored that a deal to end the war remains elusive. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who was not present at the talks, told reporters on social media that “the negotiations were not easy.” He noted that while the two sides had essentially reached an agreement on technical issues, such as how to monitor a cease-fire, they remained far...