
<p>For more than two years, Western leaders have clung to the hope that the Madman of Moscow, Vladimir Putin, might eventually accept a negotiated peace in Ukraine. That hope has now been shattered—again.</p>



<p>Putin’s latest rejection of peace proposals supported by the United States, NATO, and the European Union is not a surprise to anyone who has paid attention to his long record of duplicity. What it <em>does</em> make clear is that the West’s strategy of endless diplomacy must change. The time for halfâmeasures, polite diplomatic overtures, and wishful thinking is over. It is time to shift from pursuing peace through a negotiated settlement to a peace-through-victory strategy.</p>



<p>Putin has never been interested in peace. His long-term strategy is &#8212; and has been &#8212; conquest, domination, and a restoration of the old Soviet sphere of influence. Every ceasefire he has agreed to in the past—Georgia, Crimea, Donbas—has been nothing more than a tactical pause. He uses negotiations the way a pickpocket uses conversation &#8212; as a diversion while he reaches for your wallet. The idea that Putin would suddenly embrace diplomacy now – and relinquish his dreams of an empire – is ludicrous. ; He still believes he can outlast Western resolve – and why not. ; He has been successful so far.</p>



<p>The Western world is at another “Munich Moment.” ; Will we again mistake appeasement for peace? ; Americans who support Ukraine do so not engage in naïve idealism or a belief that isolationism is the road to peace, security and prosperity. ; ; It is predicated on a hardâheaded understanding of Putin &#8212; that he will not stop with a portion of Ukraine. He will be emboldened. And the cost of stopping him later will be far higher.</p>



<p>The argument for total financial and military support for Ukraine at this moment is not about charity. It is about strategic necessity. Ukraine is fighting the war that NATO would otherwise have to fight. Every Russian tank destroyed in Donetsk is one less tank that could threaten Warsaw or Vilnius. Every drone shot down over Kyiv is one less drone that could be aimed at a NATO supply depot in the future. Supporting Ukraine is not a gift—it is an investment in Western security.</p>



<p>It is time for the world democracies to do “whatever it takes” to defeat Putin &#8212; and that includes measures that many Western governments have been reluctant to consider. But reluctance is a luxury that disappears when the stakes are existential. Maximum sanctions should not be a slogan. ; They must be the enacted policies. Russia’s economy still enjoys too many loopholes, too many backdoor channels, too many friendly intermediaries. Those must be closed. The West has the economic power to crush Putin’s war machine—if it has the will.</p>



<p>Then there is the matter of seizing Russian assets. Hundreds of billions of dollars in frozen Russian funds sit in Western banks. Those assets should be seized and used to pay for Ukrainian defense and future reconstruction.  ;It is a small price to pay for the deaths and destruction resulting from Putin’s dirty little war.</p>



<p>While Western leaders fear escalation, the reality is that Putin has already escalated repeatedly. The West’s fear of provoking him has not prevented him from bombing civilians, weaponizing energy supplies, or threatening nuclear blackmail. A more assertive posture—such as enforcing limited noâfly zones, targeting Russian military assets outside Ukraine that directly support the invasion, or providing Ukraine with longârange capabilities—could shift the balance without triggering the apocalyptic scenarios Putin threatens.</p>



<p>“Enough is enough” captures a sentiment that is spreading across the political spectrum. Putin has made his intentions clear. He will not stop unless he is stopped. And Ukraine cannot stop him without the full backing of the free world.</p>



<p>A strategy aimed at Putin’s defeat is not reckless. It is realistic. It recognizes that peace cannot be negotiated with a man who sees aggression as a national policy.  ;It recognizes that strength and resolve, not accommodation and appeasement, are what deters aggression. And it recognizes that the cost of inaction today is much higher than the cost of necessary action tomorrow.</p>



<p>If the West truly believes in sovereignty, freedom, and the rule of law, then now is the moment to prove it. Ukraine is fighting for its survival. The West must decide whether it will fight for its democratic principles. ; Its security. ; Its world leadership.</p>



<p>So, there ‘tis.</p>

Time to Give Up on a Negotiated Peace Agreement with Russia
