When Putin Calls, the Cloud Crashes

Ukraine rewrites its survival script while Trump plays court jester to autocrats, the Marines fire over freeways, and the internet forgets how to breathe.

Good morning! President Zelensky arrived in Washington last week with something dangerously close to optimism. After months of back-channel maneuvering, Kyiv had built a plan to thaw relations with the United States: coordinated defense talks, quiet pressure from European allies, and a not-so-subtle plea for long-range Tomahawks. For a fleeting moment, …