It is beginning. The backlash to Donald Trump’s “shitshow” (I’m quoting the Norwegian company Haltbakk Bunkers now) in the Oval Office has offended a great many Norwegians and a great many Europeans in general. Haltbakk Bunkers took a stance. “We choose our customers,” and guess what? Trump and the United States are not people they want to do business with.
This announcement followed an earthquake of an Oval Office meeting during which Trump and VP JD Vance aligned the US with Russia’s talking points about Ukraine and treated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy so poorly it became an international incident.
“We have today been witnesses to the biggest shitshow ever presented “live on tv” by the current American president and his vice president. Huge credit to the president of Ukraine restraining himself and for keeping calm even though USA f put on a backstabbing tv show. It made us sick. Short and sweet. As a result, we have decided to immediate STOP as fuel provider to American forces in Norway and their ships calling Norwegian ports. No Fuel to Americans!” They wrote on Facebook, according to News Ukraine. “We encourage all Norwegians and Europeans to follow our example. SLAVA UKRAINA,” the Norwegian oil supplier’s post read, deliberately written in English and directed at the Trump and JD Vance, News Ukraine explained.
Furthermore, “According to the owner of Haltbakk Bunkers, Gunnar Gran, not a single liter will be delivered until (US President Donald) Trump is finished.”
While the Facebook post is not available anymore (probably because the government of Norway has come out to say this is not their policy!), the owner of the company, Gunnar Gran, “told Norwegian maritime news site Kystens Næringsliv that ‘not a litre of fuel’ will be delivered ‘until Trump is finished’,” according to Express UK.
“As you probably understand, not a liter will be delivered until Trump is finished, the owner tells Kystens Næringsliv. We run a private limited company and choose our customers!”
Norway officials came out with a statement that this refusal to fuel is not the official government policy, “We have seen reports raising concerns about support for U.S. Navy vessels in Norway. This is not in line with the Norwegian government’s policy. American forces will continue to receive the supply and support they require from Norway,” he added.
The Norwegian government may not be boycotting Trump and the U.S. but one of its largest suppliers of fuel is. What if other companies decide not to serve the U.S. or our military ships because of Trump? At the very least, this kind of a dispute could end up in some international court. And that could get messy and prolonged as legal disputes are wont to do.
The “backstabbing” comment by the fueler likely refers not only to Trump’s current betrayal, but in part to the betrayal of the promise the US made to Ukraine in 1994, after Ukraine, which held the world’s third-largest nuclear weapons stockpile in 1991, slowly transferred their weapons to Russia following Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union, in exchange for economic aid and security assurances.
1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances (my bold):
To solidify security commitments to Ukraine, the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom signed the Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances on December 5, 1994. A political agreement in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Accords, the memorandum included security assurances against the threat or use of force against Ukraine’s territory or political independence. The countries promised to respect the sovereignty and existing borders of Ukraine. Parallel memorandums were signed for Belarus and Kazakhstan as well. In response, Ukraine officially acceded to the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state on December 5, 1994. That move met the final condition for ratification of START, and on the same day, the five START states-parties exchanged instruments of ratification, bringing the treaty into force.
The gist of it is the US, UK and Russia convinced Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons and in exchange they would provide security against the threat of force and political independence.
The problem is that you can’t rely upon Vladimir Putin to keep his word. That is universally known. And the same is true of Donald Trump. Europe is now shocked and appalled. And what does Trumpty say?
I think this is pie in the sky, to put it charitably. Putin kills opponents all the time. He’s going to forebear from aggression because a few Americans are deployed in a mining operation. Seriously? The peace of the world hinges on this theory — which you notice is not even original to Trump. Elon Musk is responsible for this.
Many of you probably watched what took place between Donald Trump and Zelenskyy tonight. Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, you might be thinking to yourself, Oh my God, Donald Trump just screwed up.
However, let’s look at the difference between what you believe you…
— Cassandra Lee (@dawigbcool) March 1, 2025
You see how all these tweets end with proclaiming the chessmaster strategy of Trump, the genius? Let’s see what happens. What is known is that Trump disgraced himself and the United States on Friday. Maybe some kind of a peace can be worked out. Or, maybe Europe will hold the line against Putin invading Poland and everybody else. Trump has sold out the country, but Putin has enough people feeding Trump a line of bullshit like what you just read, that he believes he is some superior strategist and on top of all this.
And Vance will back whatever ill advised play Trump makes and as to Marco Rubio, he’s checked out. He holds the title Secretary of State, but he’s on the sidelines. He knows it, so does everybody else.
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Thank you for mentioning The Budapest Agreement. i was starting to think i was the only one who remembered it.
It was the failure of The USA and UK to honor their end of this agreement when Putin first invaded over a decade ago – emboldening him further, and starting this whole mess.
Trump may be more consistent in his lies and betrayals but he’s not the first president to have indulged in them.
Zelensky was merely being polite, as well as truthful, in the oval office, saying you can’t trust the Russians, even though that enraged Dimwit Donny at the insult to his friend.
The real trouble is you can’t trust the Americans – and haven’t been able to for over a decade.
Karma never forgets an address.
“The problem is that you can’t rely upon Vladimir Putin to keep his word.”
Well, with regard to the Budapest Agreement, Putin never gave “his” word; Boris Yeltsin signed the agreement.
I’m guessing that Trump learned from Putin that if *you* don’t sign an agreement, then you’re free to follow or ignore it as you want.