Ukraine: Whose Side Are We On?

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 both Ukraine and Israel. For purpose under discussion here, 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 dismissive of 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 current effort to negotiate first with international war criminal, Vladimar Putin, then to assign to Ukraine and the European partners their respective roles in carrying out the agreement. That is one problem. 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, likely based largely on Putin’s terms, 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, who Trump refuses to call the aggressor, 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.

 He has “paused” needed military resources and intelligence assistance to Ukraine, thereby jeopardizing that nation’s capacity to effectively defend itself, 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 and to accept in advance any ultimate agreement that he and Puttin would come up to with. Commenting on the continued bombing of Ukraine by Russia, Trump threatened sanctions while stating that Putin wants a peace agreement. Commented Trump, “I believe him.” “I think we’re doing very well with Russia, and right now they’re bombing the hell out of Ukraine.”  Based on his own transactional values, Trump is “finding it more difficult to deal with Ukraine. They don’t have the cards.” (Washington Post, 3-7-2025).

 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 is largely siding with Putin while offering vague promises to Ukraine can only result in a diminution of his own legacy. That he does not have the 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 own imagination, which can only have a deleterious impact on world politics. For the sake of us all, Mr. President, it is incumbent that you find your better angel and act on its impulse for all that it is worth. You, alone, cannot fix it.

 (Postscript) The situation about the negotiations between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia pause remain fluid, but the inclination to favor Russian war objectives is difficult to miss. See updated post for latest thoughts on this topic.