Vice President JD Vance, who was in India on an official visit, echoed President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's comments that the United States would withdraw from the Russia-Ukraine peace talks if the two sides didn't agree.
We've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it's time for them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process ...the only way to really stop the killing is for the armies to both put down their weapons, to freeze this thing and to get on with the business of actually building a better Russia and a better Ukraine.
Ukrainians reacted much as President Zelensky did during his visit to the White House. Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, posted this on X following similar comments by her boss, Zelensky:
As Ukraine's delegation meets with partners in London today, we reaffirm a principled position: Ukraine is ready to negotiate—but not to surrender.
There will be no agreement that hands Russia the stronger foundations it needs to regroup and return with greater violence. A full ceasefire—on land, in the air, and at sea—is the necessary first step. If Russia opts for a limited pause, Ukraine will respond in kind.
Our people will not accept a frozen conflict disguised as peace. We will never recognize the occupation of Crimea. And if NATO membership is not granted, Ukraine will require binding security guarantees—ones strong enough to deter future aggression and clear enough to ensure lasting peace.
The world has applauded Ukraine for bravely fighting Russian aggression for the last 38 months. But fighting is one thing; recognizing that there are winners and losers in war is another. The uncomfortable truth is that Russia now occupies nearly 19% of Ukraine. With Americans ending support for an 'as-long-as-it-takes' war by re-electing President Trump to the White House in a landslide, Ukraine is unable to recover the territory it has lost.
President Donald Trump weighed in on the escalating rhetoric, sharply criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to recognize the loss of Crimea. In a Truth Social post, Trump called Zelensky’s remarks “very harmful to the Peace Negotiations” and accused him of prolonging the war by clinging to unrealistic demands.
History is not on Zelensky's side, either. Since World War II, when modern international laws regarding sovereignty, self-determination, and borders were adopted, the trend has always been that losing sides in war demand everything but often end up getting nothing. This truth is especially applicable to lost territory.
Consider the Falklands, a wild, rugged, remote set of islands located in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 300 miles east of Argentina's coast. Britain has continuously controlled the island group since 1833. In 1982, Argentina invaded the Falklands, demanding that the islands (Islas Malvinas) belong to Argentina. The United Kingdom crushed Argentina in the conflict, and today, it remains firmly in control. Argentina continues to demand the islands back diplomatically by making speeches at the United Nations. But the United Kingdom has not budged.
Spain controlled Western Sahara until 1975, when it left. The Sahrawi Independence Movement wanted to form its own country and claimed it for itself. However, neighboring Morocco wanted the land and occupied most of the region. A guerrilla war followed, but there is still no final peace deal in place. Morocco controls most of the area, while the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic claims independence, but to no avail.
Consider Crimea, which is closer to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. From 1783 to 1954, Crimea was part of Russia, fostering a strong Russian cultural identity through literature, religion, and media. Sevastopol, home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet since 1783, became a symbol of Russian military and artistic prestige. After the Russian Revolution (1917), Crimea briefly became an independent Soviet republic and later merged into the Soviet Union. During World War II, Nazi Germany briefly occupied Crimea, but Soviet leader Stalin regained complete control after expelling the Germans and the Crimean Tatars en masse in 1944. For ten years afterward, Crimea remained a part of the Soviet Union, just as Ukraine was.
Crimea and Ukraine were so integral to the Soviet state—they were not like satellite countries like Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Romania, Albania, or Bulgaria, all of which aligned themselves with the Soviet Union as part of the Warsaw Pact—that in 1954, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev (himself partly Ukrainian) gave Crimea to the Ukrainian Soviet Republic.
With the end of the Cold War, the Soviet satellites all broke away from the Warsaw Pact and became independent countries. East Germany merged with West Germany. In addition, the Soviet Union broke apart into 15 component countries - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Had Khrushchev not gifted Crimea to Ukraine, there would have been 16 component countries, and Crimea, too, would have been an independent state.
The Russian language has been dominant in Crimea for centuries. According to the 2001 Ukrainian census, 77% of Crimea's inhabitants picked Russian as their native language, compared to 11.4% for Crimean Tatar and 10.1% for Ukrainian. After Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, Ukrainian influence fell further. For example, Ukrainian-language schools dropped from 555 to just six by the end of 2014.
If history is any indication, Svyrydenko's bold public claim, "We will never recognize the occupation of Crimea," doesn't make sense. Her stubborn insistence amounts to Ukraine using "a poison pill" strategy. Corporations routinely employ this trick to deter or prevent a hostile takeover by making themselves less attractive or more costly to the acquiring company.
The problem for Svyrydenko is that Russia has already been in firm control of Crimea for over 11 years, and the area is fully Russified. A poison pill strategy will only prolong the conflict - without American involvement - resulting in Russia occupying even more Ukrainian land beyond the nearly 19% it already controls.
TIPP Picks
Selected articles from tippinsights.com and more
1. Do Elite Universities Really Wish To Fight The Federal Government?— Victor Davis Hanson, American Greatness
2. Ashley Biden's Charity Failed To Disclose $500,000 In Donations To IRS, Complaint Alleges—Andrew Kerr, The Washington Free Beacon
3. 4 Takeaways As Supreme Court Hears Maryland LGBT School Books Case—Fred Lucas, The Daily Signal
4. What It Means For Europe To Fend For Itself—Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Project Syndicate
5. There's No Such Thing as a "Sane" Democrat—Sasha Stone, Substack
6. Why Do Trump Voters Have No Regrets? Because The People They Hate Are Getting Hurt More—Arwa Mahdawi, The Guardian
7. New York Times Compares Trump To Hitler. Media Allows An Ugly Double Standard—Ingrid Jacques, USA Today
8. Joni Ernst Reveals More Examples Of HUD Bureaucrats Bilking Taxpayers—Harold Hutchison, DCNF
9. Karoline Leavitt Pressed On What Trump Admin Will Do To Increase Mass Deportations—Daily Caller Staff, DCNF
10. Trump Admin To Overhaul Database Used To Track Noncitizens’ Status—Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal
11. Who’s Leaking At The Pentagon?—George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
12. ‘Moving At Trump Speed’: White House Has 18 Trade Deal Proposals, Leavitt Says—Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal
13. Children ‘Do Not Belong To Government,’ Education Dept. Warns Colorado On Transgender Bill—Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal
14. Beijing Vows Retaliation Against US Trading Partners’ Deals ‘At The Expense Of China’s Interests’—George Caldwell, The Daily Signal
15. Netanyahu Denies Israeli Security Chief’s Surveillance Allegations—Jacob Adams, The Daily Signal
16. US Treasury Sanctions Iranian Shipping Magnate—Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal
17. How Climate Activists Are Actually Harming The Environment—Frank Lasee, The Daily Signal
18. Trump: Zelenskyy Has ‘No Cards To Play,’ Needs To Make A Deal—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
19. Illinois Senator Dick Durbin Calls It Quits After 44 Years In Washington—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
20. Toyota Invests Big In West Virginia Plant With Tariff Boom—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
21. Trump: Tariffs First, Then Big Tax Cuts For You!—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
22. Democrat Senator Visits Detained Columbia Student Activist—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
23. Bessent Urges IMF, World Bank To Ditch ‘Vanity Projects’—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
24. Trump Sues Perkins Coie, Says ‘No Justice’ Under Assigned Judge—TIPP Staff, TIPP Insights
25. Fetterman Calls On Trump To ‘Strike And Destroy Iran’s Nuclear Facilities’— Lauren Irwin, The Hill
TIPP Market Brief – April 24, 2025
Your Morning Snapshot
📊 Market Snapshot
- S&P 500: 5,375.86 – ▲ 1.67%
- 10-Year Yield: 4.39% – ▼ 0.2 basis points
- Crude Oil (WTI): $62.28 – ▼ 2.18%
- Bitcoin (BTC): $93,729.23 ▲
- US Dollar Index (USD): 99.80 – ▼ 0.05%
- Gold: $3,281.65 – ▼ 1.64%
Tickers: $SPX | $TNX | $WTIC | $BTCUSD | $USD | $GOLD
📈 Featured Stock
Our pick for today’s featured stock
News & Headlines
5 High-Flying Large-Cap Stocks to Buy Amid Tariff-Led Market Rout — Zacks
Meet the Unstoppable Growth Stock That Got Paid $225 Million to Buy Another Company — The Motley Fool
🧠 Macro Insight
Markets rallied Wednesday on President Trump's tariff de-escalation signals but faded into the close as key indexes failed to hold above resistance. The S&P 500 rose 1.7%, while crude oil dropped 2.2%, and the 10-year yield held steady at 4.39%. Traders welcomed a softer tone on China and the Fed, but volatility remains high. Mixed earnings from IBM, Chipotle, and ServiceNow add to the uncertainty heading into Thursday.
📅 Key Events Today
- 8:30 AM ET – Advance Durable Goods Orders (March)
Insight into new orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, a key indicator of industrial demand. - 8:30 AM ET – Initial Jobless Claims
Weekly read on layoffs and labor market strength. - 10:00 AM ET – Existing Home Sales (March)
Existing Home Sales measures the change in the annualized number of existing residential buildings sold during the previous month. This report helps to gauge the strength of the U.S. housing market and is a key indicator of overall economic strength.
