Fact: Russia
invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. It was assumed that Ukraine would fall in
short order. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky was offered safe passage by the United
States out of Ukraine. His legendary-like response: “I need ammunition, not a
ride.” In point of contrast, then former President Trump called the initial
Russian incursion into eastern Ukraine “genius.” It was nothing less than “wonderful.” The accolade was based on giving homage to
Putin’s propagandistic acumen in his admiration of the Russian president’s
manipulation of “alternative facts” in masking Putin’s colonial driven
masterstroke.
Zelensky’s courage reinforced Ukraine’s resolve
to take on the juggernaut from the east in a brutal ground and air war. The Ukrainians
have fought valiantly over the past three years in a long, vicious stalemate. Combining
their own heroic military efforts with the massive support provided by a broad
array of European nations, the U.S. and other allies, the Ukrainians have
prevented Russia from dominating their country and, thereby, stalled Putin’s
efforts to further extend his nation’s encroachment into eastern Europe.
I do not recall Trump ever paying homage
to the Churchillian leadership of Volodymyr Zelensky, who has taken up the
challenge against the Russian onslaught despite the most insufferable odds. Neither could Trump bring himself to pay due respect
to President Biden’s historic role in galvanizing the free world to lend key
support, not only for the sake of Ukraine, but also in halting the broader
expansionist drive of Putin’s imperialist aim.
Moving toward the
current crisis, recall the Border Patrol Enhancement Act of 2024, which
consisted of many central Republican agenda items. The Act included military
resources to Ukraine and Israel. Trump’s pressuring Republicans to veto it,
resulted in a several month delay of vital aid to Ukraine, which had the effect
of assisting Russia. Recall too, Trump’s 2024 pejorative caricature of Zelensky
as the “greatest salesman on earth,” utterly dismissing his patriotic heroism based
upon his pivotal role in holding Russia at bay. In his insinuation, too, that
Senator John McCain was not a hero because he was put in a North Vietnamese
prison camp, I see no evidence that Trump has any appreciative sense of what
heroism truly is—hence his depiction of Zelensky in purely transactional terms.
Trump’s analysis
of the power differential between Russia and Ukraine helps explain his persistence
in negotiating first with international war criminal, Vladimar Putin, then to assign
to Ukraine and the European partners their respective roles in carrying out the
agreement. Equally troubling is Trump’s insistence on U.S. rights to a sizable
portion of Ukraine’s valued rare minerals ahead of that nation’s knowing the exact
nature of any potential agreement, and without a security agreement that would
protect Ukraine against further Russian incursion into their country. Meanwhile, nothing that has surfaced requires anything
from Russia, which Trump refuses to call the aggressor nation, including that
of paying Ukraine reparations for invading and destroying a good portion of that
nation’s infrastructure.
More troubling yet
is Trump blaming Ukraine for the war by not making concessions to Russia before
the 2022 invasion. In Trump’s words, Zelensky “could have made a deal” and there
would have been no war to begin with. It was this failure that Trump drew on
for justification to deny Ukraine a seat at the negotiating table, nonetheless,
demanding concessions in advance.
Frustrated with Zelensky’s reasonable claims for a security
agreement, Trump “paused” needed military resources and intelligence assistance
to Ukraine, thereby placing that nation’s capacity to effectively defend itself
in jeopardy, particularly from Russia’s air war. Trump would only resume such
aid “if they want to settle,” meaning trusting the U.S. to negotiate for Ukraine,
requiring that nation to accept in advance any ultimate agreement that he and
Puttin would come up to with.
Relenting against his more extreme demands, Trump agreed to lift
the pause after Ukraine agreed to a 30 day cease fire if Russia similarly
followed suit. In this, Trump is no neutral negotiator. As reflected in the
president’s recent statement: “We’ve been discussing
with Ukraine land and pieces of land that would be kept and lost, and all of
the other elements of a final agreement” (New York Times, 3-13-2025). While
specifics remain to be seen, based on this statement and previous commentary, I
can only draw the conclusion that Trump remains biased in favor of Russia’s primary
demands, even if final negotiations require Putin to compromise on some minor
points.
If Trump truly
sought greatness, he would have taken a more principled bi-partisan path in largely
building on Biden’s leadership with NATO in supporting Ukraine against the
Russian aggression, showing Putin that his cause is ultimately hopeless. That
he does not have the knowledge base or inner fortitude to move in a direction
that honors the heroism of Zelensky, the valiant struggle of the Ukrainian
people, and the leadership of the United States during the first three years of
the war is a glaring example of the smallness of his own imagination. His
demand for a compromise in utterly uprooting the policy of his predecessor, undoubtedly
in Russia’s favor, may very well lead to the demise of Ukraine’s independence. One
thing remains certain: Trump alone cannot fix it. But the consequences? Capacity to cause a great deal of
damage to Ukraine, the NATO alliance, a fragile world order and the
integrity and long-term interests of the United States of America? All
may follow in Trump's undiplomatic wake."
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