Hello and welcome to Background Briefing, available 24-7 at backgroundbriefing.org.

I'm Ian Masters, and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with Trump's charade of appearing to broker a peace between Russia I'm Ian Masters, and today we'll examine a number of stories and issues in the news.

We'll begin with Trump's charade of appearing to broker a peace between Russia and Ukraine,

getting stiffed again by his idol Putin, who refused to play along with Trump,

spurning our traitor-in-chief's incentive of holding up approved arms for Ukraine,

which has been under the heaviest bombardment since Russia started the war. We will discuss how the Ukrainians feel about Trump's consistent efforts

to sell them out while he does everything he can to remove sanctions on Russia and please

the boss in the Kremlin, as well as the Chinese Vice President's admission that China wants the war to drag on

in Russia's favor because it distracts the U.S. and NATO from Asia.

Joining us from Kiev is Tamar Jacoby, the Kiev-based director of the Progressive Policy

Institute's New Ukraine Project. She was a senior writer and justice editor at Newsweek,

and before that, the deputy editor of the New York Times op-ed page. Now a regular contributor to

Forbes.com. She is the author of Someone Else's House, America's unfinished struggle for integration,

and displaced the Ukrainian refugee experience.

Then with Trump expecting a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas to be closed next week,

we will speak with Stavula Papst, a writer-comedian and PhD student in communications and

mass media studies at the National and Capodistrian University of Athens in Athens, Greece.

A report of four responsible statecraft. We'll discuss their latest articles.

Is the U.S. now funding the bloodbath at Gaza's aid centers and staring down the barrel of a summer offensive?

As Russia advances, Washington downplays news it is pausing assistance to Ukraine.

Then finally we'll speak with Samuel Moyne, the Kent Professor of Law and History,

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