b'\\u201cFor some of Ukraine\\u2019s most ardent backers, even talking about diplomacy amounts to appeasement,\\u201d Gideon Rachman, the chief foreign affairs columnist for the Financial Times, noted last week. \\n\\nThirty House Democrats led by Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Pramila Jayapal learned this lesson the hard way on Monday, after they sent President Joe Biden what they believed was a nuanced and carefully worded letter endorsing direct diplomacy with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.'