i24 News – Kyiv will engage with Washington’s 28-point plan to end the war with Russia and demonstrate it is open to substantive discussions, a senior Ukrainian official said on Saturday, even as an official from the US administration of President Donald Trump indicated that the plan was not up for negotiation.

“In the coming days in Switzerland we are launching consultations between senior officials of Ukraine and the United States on the possible parameters of a future peace agreement,” Rustem Umerov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, wrote on his official Facebook account.

“Ukraine approaches this process with a clear understanding of its interests. This is another stage of the dialogue that has been ongoing in recent days and is primarily aimed at aligning our vision for the next steps,” he further added. “We value the involvement of the American side and its readiness for a substantive discussion. Ukraine will continue to act responsibly, professionally, and consistently — as required by our national security.”

This comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Friday that Ukraine risked losing its dignity and freedom — or Washington’s backing — over a US peace plan that endorses key Russian demands.

Washington’s 28-point plan calls on Ukraine to cede territory, accept restrictions on its military and renounce its bid to join NATO.

Meanwhile, Financial Times reported on Saturday that US army secretary Daniel Driscoll communicated in no uncertain terms to Ukrainian and European officials there was no room to negotiate on its plan and Washington would show little flexibility.

“We are not negotiating details,” he was quoted as saying.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has previously refused to budge on Russia’s demands, said on Friday the US plan could be the basis of a final resolution to the nearly four-year-old conflict. He said Kyiv was against the plan but neither it nor its European allies understood the reality of Russian advances in Ukraine.

Saying she refused to be a “battered wife,” US Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Friday she was resigning from the House of Representatives in the wake of a dramatic falling out with President Donald Trump.

Her exit marks a stunning turn of events that few would have imagined months ago. Greene, a Republican from Georgia, was once one of Trump’s closest allies and an outspoken advocate of his “America First” agenda, but the rift between the two widened in recent months over the release of government files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and other matters.

In a 10-minute video posted on social media, Greene said she was spurred to resign by the prospect of having to face a Trump-backed Republican primary challenger and the potential takeover of the House by Democrats in next year’s midterm elections. She also complained that Congress has largely been “sidelined” since Trump returned to the presidency in January.

RUPTURE PROMPTS CONCERNS OVER MAGA BASE BEFORE MIDTERMS

“I have too much self-respect and dignity, love my family way too much, and do not want my sweet district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for, only to fight and win my election while Republicans will likely lose the midterms,” Greene said.

“I refuse to be a battered wife hoping it all goes away and gets better,” she added.

Interviewed by ABC News, Trump said Greene’s resignation, to take effect on January 5, was “great news for the country. It’s great.”

Greene lamented the state of American politics, contending that neither Republicans nor Democratic lawmakers were working to solve the nation’s problems, including the rising cost of living.

She said voters were tuning out Washington because “they know how much credit card debt they have, they know how much their own bills have gone up over the past five years, they actually do their own grocery shopping and know food costs too much, their rent has increasingly gone up, they have been outbid by corporate asset managers too many times when they put in an offer to buy a house.”

The public dispute between Trump and Greene had fueled concerns among some Republicans that Trump’s “Make America Great Again” base could fracture a year before the midterms, when Democrats hope to regain control of Congress.

Greene’s resignation will narrow the Republican majority in the House to 218 members over the Democrats’ 213. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate.

Greene had been increasingly exhibiting her independence from Trump, joining a House effort to force the release of the Epstein files over his objections, blasting House leadership for not doing more to address healthcare costs during the recent government shutdown and calling Israel’s assault on Gaza a genocide.

Trump, in turn, became more critical of her.

Before the House voted overwhelmingly to release the Epstein files, he called her a “traitor” and “disgrace” to the Republican Party. He withdrew his support for her and called her a “ranting lunatic.”

GREENE SAYS ORDINARY AMERICANS BEING ‘CAST ASIDE’

In her video, Greene defended her Epstein vote.

“Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the president of the United States, whom I fought for,” she said.

Greene said she was proud of her conservative voting record, adding, in a swipe at Trump, that “loyalty should be a two-way street.”

Her ally in the House, Representative Thomas Massie, posted on X that Greene “embodies what a true representative should be.”

Barbara Comstock, a former Republican House member and a Trump critic, lauded Greene’s decision on social media.

“She doesn’t want to be a Republican ‘battered wife’ taking Trump’s abuse and getting death threats and pretending it’s all ok only to end up in the minority. Good for her,” Comstock posted.

Greene won her northwest Georgia district with 64% of the vote in 2024. Residents there said this week they hoped her rift with Trump would soon heal and expressed a willingness to support both of them. But Greene made clear on Friday that she had no interest in sparring with a Trump-backed opponent.

Even if she prevailed, she said, she likely would be in the House minority after the midterms and would have to defend Trump in impeachment proceedings, a situation she called “absurd” and “completely unserious.”

“If I am cast aside by MAGA Inc and replaced by Neocons, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Military Industrial War Complex, foreign leaders, and the elite donor class that can’t even relate to real Americans, then many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well,” she said.

I told the rabbi who was about to officiate at my daughter’s wedding that the guests would be an unusual mix — about 100 law enforcement officers, EMT’s, dispatchers, sheriffs and SWAT team members, many of whom had never met a Jew other than my daughter.

“In fact, they may not know that she is Jewish,” I said, “The other 50 guests will be our family from London, New York, Canada, Israel, a very different crowd.”

My daughter and Zac are both police officers in Oklahoma. Zac isn’t Jewish, but they both had wanted a Jewish wedding. It wasn’t easy finding a rabbi they actually liked who would officiate an interfaith marriage. The wedding was held Sept. 2, 2023. There was an outdoor garden and a bridge that led to the ceremony. The chuppah was constructed from an Amazon set of interlocking wooden bricks that the groom and his father assembled proudly. We decorated it with flowers but it looked like it could tilt over at any moment. The bride was bride-beautiful, a tiny 5’1″ with her handsome groom, a very tall 6’6″.

They were exquisitely happy and stood together as Rabbi Michael conducted the service, making sure to explain everything including the Hebrew parts. At the end of the ceremony, Zac even stepped on the glass and crushed it. The police officers, EMTs, firefighters, and SWAT teams were all riveted.

The party was held in the nearby barn, which was decorated with chandeliers and flowers and a DJ playing a mix of music. We danced the hora and the SWAT team managed to lift Zac and Martine high in the air as is tradition — a novel experience for most of our guests.

Then Oct. 7 happened in Israel.

I got a call from my daughter: “Mom, my phone is ringing with many of the law enforcement people who were at our wedding. They want to know how they can help Israel.”

I was touched; they were responding because of the wedding they had attended.

Later that day my daughter called again: “Mom, I’m at the military supply store downtown, and the owner says she has 27 IFAK emergency medical kits. She wants to help Israel and will give the kits to me at cost. What should I do?”

By now I had heard from my friends in Israel that the government had been unprepared for the attacks and supplies were lacking.

“How much do they cost?” I asked. “Buy them all. While you’re at it, buy a bunch of tourniquets.”

From that moment on we tried to get these professional emergency medical IFAK kits to the IDF. The problem was that there was a backlog at the airport in Tel Aviv; donations were piling up because the IDF hadn’t been able to authorize them yet.

Because I had lived in Israel and had experienced another surprise October war in 1973, I had many Israeli contacts. I spoke to an IDF representative.

“We’re desperate for IFAKs. Yes, we need them,” he said.

“How do we get them to you?” He had no answer.

After a day of trying, I ran out of contacts and let my daughter continue. After all, she’s an excellent police officer and investigator.

Another day passed before I talked to my daughter again.

“Martine, how are you doing with the IFAKs?” I asked.

“Mom, they’re in Israel with a paratrooper unit,” she said.

I was shocked. “How did you get them there?” I asked.

Apparently, she had managed to track down a man who runs a volunteer retired military airlift organization. He wanted to help but said that his planes were flying medical supplies to Ukraine. Understanding the urgency, he gave her the name and contact information for his neighbor Moshe in Texas. Moshe was a retired Israeli commander of paratroopers.

“Take all of your IFAKSs out of their wrappings. Put them in a duffle bag and ship them to this address in Greenwich Village in New York City. Someone there will receive it and get it to a unit in the field in Israel,” Moshe told Martine.

Two months later at Christmas time, my daughter visited me in New York and we had family over for dinner. I urged her to tell the story.

“Well, Mom,” she said, “I have the video of the soldiers that they sent to me as a thank you.” She queued up her cell phone so we could see it.

Two soldiers stood alone in the dark — one held a machine gun and stood guard; the other held a sheaf of papers. “Martine, thank you for sending us the medical kits. We really need them,” he said. “Thanks also for the letters you sent with them. Yes, we will take you and your husband to the club you mentioned in your letter when you come to visit next time.”

Letters?

Martine had sent a long letter in the duffle bag, with others that had been written by police officers who had been at her wedding. They had been in the military before joining the police force. Their letters were short: “We have your backs. We support you and know what you’re going through. We were in Iraq, Afghanistan, and wish you the best.” They had heard about the duffel bag as word spread among the wedding guests and they wanted to do something. They did.

Recently, with antisemitism running rampant, a few of Martine’s police officer friends have quietly approached her. “We’ve been discussing where we would hide you, and protect you if our country turns against its Jews like they did in Germany,” they’ve told her. “You’ll be safe with us.”

One Jewish wedding educated a group of people. At one ceremony. At one party. In one night.

 

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