Ellen Yount

Sr Executive. Former US State Dept/USAID spox. Speaking out for Ukraine. Presenter. Board member. Foundation Founder. Mom. Vermonter. Views=mine.

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

BREAKING: Iranian FM Araghchi just admitted on Meet The Press that Russia is HELPING them in this war against the United States.

Meanwhile Trump just helped Russia by allowing India to import Russia oil.

In other words Trump is helping those who are helping our enemy and thus is helping our enemy himself.

Imagine if Biden did this!

[Chris Martenson @chrismartenson]

Of course, because nothing quite says "dignified" like wearing a white baseball cap to a ceremony to receive the remains of fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters killed in your ill-advised, poorly conducted war of choice.

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

BREAKING: Trump issues statement on dead soldiers killed by Iran, saying that there will likely be more deaths but “that’s just the way it is”.

Yeah I agree. “That’s just the way it is,” when a convicted criminal takes control of our military, tears up a nuclear agreement and then senselessly and illegally starts a war without Congressional approval.

[State of the Union @CNNSOTU]

WARNER: "I saw no intelligence that Iran was on the verge of launching any kind of preemptive strike against the United States of America."

BASH: "None?"

WARNER: "None."

[Michael McFaul @McFaul]

George H.W. Bush had UN support and Congressional support for his war against Iraq.

Clinton had NATO support for his war against Serbia.

George W. Bush had UN support and Congressional support for his war against Afghanistan. Allies and partners joined.

Obama had UN support for his war against Libya. Allies and partners joined.

So far, Trump has Israel's support. Thats it.

[Captain Mark Kelly @CaptMarkKelly]

Trump and Republicans keep getting asked what’s next in Iran. Their answers are “hopefully” this or “we hope” that. 

Hope is not a strategy, and a plan built on hope alone is how we end up in decades-long wars that cost thousands of American lives.

[Richard Stengel @stengel]

Well, it turns out a vote for Donald Trump was a vote to start wars not end them. No president in modern history has ordered more military attacks against as many nations as Trump. And now he's started a war in the Middle East, the exact thing he campaigned against.

[Captain Mark Kelly @CaptMarkKelly]

Trump ripped up the Iran nuclear deal and created this mess. Now, he's putting servicemembers in harm's way with no clear plan and no Congressional approval. The American people deserve answers — and Congress needs to do its job.

[Timothy Snyder @TimothyDSnyder]

How to understand war with Iran? We must get away from propaganda. Facts suggest two interpretive frameworks: a foreign war as a mechanism to destroy democracy at home; and a foreign war as an element of personal corruption by the president of the U.S.
https://t.co/ZZXf5vBYjl

[Maia Sandu @sandumaiamd]

For four long years, Ukraine has defended not only its own freedom, but peace beyond its borders.

Thank you for keeping Russia away from our country — and for protecting Europe.

We stand with you — today and every day.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

Today marks exactly four years since Putin started his three-day push to take Kyiv. And that says a great deal about our resistance, about how Ukraine has fought all this time. Behind those words stand millions of our people, immense courage, incredibly hard work, endurance, and the long path Ukraine has been pursuing since February 24.

Looking back at the beginning of the invasion and reflecting on today, we have every right to say: we have defended our independence, we have not lost our statehood; Putin has not achieved his goals. He has not broken Ukrainians; he has not won this war. We have preserved Ukraine, and we will do everything to secure peace and justice. Glory to Ukraine!

[Amy Klobuchar @amyklobuchar]

From every corner of the world - and across the aisle in the U.S. - we have come together to fight for the return of the Ukrainian children kidnapped by Russia. President Zelenskyy refused to let up, and this is a major step towards ending this nightmare for so many families.

[Kenneth Roth @KenRoth]

Trump promised he would end the war in Ukraine in one day. But by most measures, the war has grown worse for Ukrainians under Trump, not better. More civilians were killed & injured in 2025 than in the previous year. More missiles and drones hit cities. 
https://t.co/Z8crlDZKjn

[Senator Mark Kelly @SenMarkKelly]

Observations From The Munich Security Conference - 

It took a World War and eight decades to build the strongest alliance that this world had ever seen. It took less than a year to practically destroy it. When Secretary Rubio said the “old world order was dead” during his speech in Munich he was right. It’s dead because Donald Trump blew it up. 

It wasn’t perfect, and there were opportunities missed to improve it, but Donald Trump only knows how to break things, not fix them. 

He thinks this somehow benefits us. He is wrong. Our allies no longer trust us. It was obvious in the more than a dozen meetings I had with Presidents, Prime Ministers and Defense and Foreign Ministers. And if you’re Denmark and Greenland, a “loss of trust” is a generous characterization of our new relationship. China is now more popular in Denmark than the United States. In Poland, the U.S. is 21 percent less popular than it used to be.

This means these countries are looking elsewhere for trade and security — that makes you poorer and less safe.

It will be incredibly hard to build what comes next, but we have to figure out a better path forward. Make no mistake, China is rising. Our ability to keep up with them and prevent a conflict depends on trusted, reliable alliances. So does ending the war in Ukraine in a way that keeps Putin from moving on to his next target. And so does growing our economy and protecting American workers in the age of AI. 

I know there was celebration at the end of the Munich Security Conference. Unfortunately the champagne corks were popping in Beijing and Moscow.

[Josh Rogin @joshrogin]

What I heard most from Europeans here at the Munich Security Conference is how do we protect ourselves from the United States. They call it “de-risking.” They are reducing their dependence on us because they don’t see us as a reliable ally. And who could blame them? #msc2026

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

We await the reaction of America to the Russian strikes. It was the U.S. proposal—to halt strikes on energy during diplomacy and severe winter weather. The President of the United States made the request personally. Russia responded with a record number of ballistic missiles.

[Mark Rutte @SecGenNATO]

During my visit to Kyiv today I saw a civilian heating plant targeted by Russian missiles.

No military value whatsoever - attacks meant only to make people suffer.

But Ukraine stands strong. And NATO stands with you.

[Christopher Miller @ChristopherJM]

Temps are expected to drop to -21C/-7F over the weekend, and the Russians are planning another big air attack any night now, Zelenskyy warns, citing intelligence assessments. Many people remain without electricity, heating and/or water after the last Russian attacks. The situation here is dire, the Russian attacks are relentless and the winter is the harshest of the war.

[Really American 🇺🇸 @ReallyAmerican1]

BREAKING: In a shocking moment, Trump appears to place limits on the 2nd Amendment: "You can't have guns. You can't walk in with guns. You just can't. You can't walk in with guns."

And MAGA thought Obama would take their guns!

[Harry Sisson @harryjsisson]

The White House is in full blown panic mode right now. Kristi Noem is throwing Stephen Miller under the bus, Miller is throwing Greg Bovino under the bus, Republican senators are calling for Noem to be fired… it’s a mess.

And I’m enjoying every second of it.