Trump isn’t fighting for peace in Ukraine, he’s managing Russia’s victory – and Europe is worried
No higher delegation of European leaders has ever assembled for a mission of such extraordinary importance – talks with an American president who now wholly represents the interests of Russia.
Donald Trump has represented Russia’s strategic interests against Ukraine, Europe, and arguably his own country, consistently since his inauguration this year.
He will be speaking the Kremlin’s mind when he meets Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval office. And he will rehearsing Putin’s talking points when he meets the assembled European leaders later.
Putin’s strategic aim has been to defoliate Europe’s democracies as part of a wider effort to restore Russian power, and the land holdings of the Soviet Empire. His backing of far right groups like France’s National Front and Germany’s AfD, his support for Brexit and for Hungary’s authoritarian leader Victor Orban, show this.
Donald Trump is also a fan of Orban, his cabinet members are supporters of the AfD and he thought Brexit was a great idea. He’s very much on side with Putin.
Trump has directly supported Russia’s war effort this year in the prosecution of its invasion of Ukraine. He cut arms supplies from the US. He suspended Ukraine’s access to real-time intelligence as Russia re-took the Kursk region of territory captured last year by Kyiv.
Trump has been Putin’s agent in Ukraine.
Now the leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland, the European Union and NATO hope to shore up Zelensky at a crucial diplomatic moment in Putin’s invasion.
They’re in Washington DC to make sure Zelensky isn’t subjected to the public bullying session that met him in the Oval Office in February.
More importantly, though, is that they’re there because, among other things, Trump has spelled out what his agenda is – Ukrainian surrender.
“President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight,” Trump said on his social media posts.
He means Ukraine should just give up – throw in the towel and hope that Russia won’t attack again. Putin will attack again. He invaded first in 2014, agreed various later ceasefires, then invaded in earnest in 2022.
He wants all of Ukraine. He has said so many times. He also wants eastern Europe back in the Russian sphere just like in the days of the Soviet empire. He said its loss was the greatest global catastrophe the world had ever seen. He wants it back and Trump wants to give it to him.
The White House has accepted that Ukraine must give up all of the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as Crimea. These are the “land swaps” that Russia is making that involve no Russian territory in return for a “freeze” of the frontlines where they are. His leaves Russia with 20 per cent of Ukraine.
