Trump Ukraine Policy Goes from Bad to Worse

If reports of the private meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky are remotely true, Trump is no longer negotiating a just and peaceful settlement to the Russian invasion, he is now serving as a full-throated Putin partisan.

Trump’s reported ultimatum to Zelenskyy – surrender or be abandoned – hands Putin a strategic, economic, and symbolic victory, while America forfeits its credibility, influence, and access to vital resources in Ukraine.

According to reports, Trump sternly told Zelenskyy to accept Putin’s territorial demands or face annihilation without any support from the United States. It is a betrayal of America’s longstanding policy to support and defend democratic allied nations. It is a betrayal of America’s agreement to defend Ukraine from Russian ambitions in return for surrendering nuclear weapons. It is a betrayal of “America First” leadership and America’s security interests vis-à-vis Russia.

Trump may believe he has a personal friend in Putin, but America does not. Surrendering Ukraine to the Madman of Moscow – the “forever” friend of China’s Xi Jinping, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Iran’s Ali Khamenei — is a foreign policy blunder of such magnitude that it wipes out Trump’s legacy as a shrewd negotiator and peacemaker. It should also wipe out any consideration of a Nobel Peace Prize. He would be more entitled to a Neville Chamberlain Award – were there one.

Trump has a disturbing habit of hinting he may do the right thing in terms of Ukraine, but then he snaps back to increasingly worse positions. Not long ago, he intimated that he “might” provide Ukraine with Tomahawk Missiles and other advanced weaponry. He said he was unhappy with Putin – and thay Ukraine could win the war. 

He apparently has now told Zelenskyy that Ukraine will not be getting any Tomahawks, and that there is no way for Ukraine to defeat Russia.  Trump recently said that one of the obstacles to a just peace is the fact that Zelenskyy and Putin hate each other. That is understandable. However, the real obstacle is that Trump hates Zelenskyy – for reasons that are not apparent. Perhaps it is just because Putin hates Zelenskyy.”

Trump’s posture toward Ukraine is not merely misguided – it’s catastrophic. By pressuring Zelenskyy to concede the Donbas region, and potentially more, Trump is not brokering peace.  He is brokering capitulation. The implications are vast, not only for Ukraine’s sovereignty but for global stability, U.S. strategic interests, and the balance of power in Eastern Europe.

According to multiple sources, including a Washington Post report, Putin has insisted on full control of Donetsk, a key part of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. This is not a new ambition. Since 2014, Russia has sought to dominate Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk, citing historical ties and the presence of Russian-speaking populations. But behind the rhetoric lies a more pragmatic motive: Donbas is Ukraine’s industrial heartland, rich in coal, iron ore, and other minerals, and home to heavy manufacturing and energy infrastructure.

By surrendering Donbas, Ukraine would lose a vital economic engine. And by extension, the United States would lose access to a region that could be pivotal in future energy cooperation, rare earth extraction, and industrial partnerships.

Strategically, Donbas is a buffer zone. It lies between Russia and the rest of Ukraine, including Kyiv – just as Ukraine is a buffer zone between Russia and NATO. If Putin gains control, he not only secures a land bridge to Crimea but also positions Russian forces closer to Ukraine’s capital. This would make future invasions easier and more likely. Putin has openly stated his ambition to reassemble the old Soviet Union, and Donbas is a critical piece of that puzzle. A partial win here would embolden him to push further—into Kharkiv, Odesa, or even Moldova.

In 1994, Ukraine gave up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S., U.K., and Russia under the Budapest Memorandum. Trump’s reported abandonment of Ukraine violates this agreement and sends a chilling message to other allies: America’s word is no longer its bond.

The economic consequences are equally dire. Ukraine’s eastern regions are hubs for steel production, energy transit, and agriculture. Losing them would cripple Ukraine’s economy and reduce its ability to trade with Western partners. For the U.S., this means fewer opportunities for investment, fewer strategic partnerships, and diminished leverage in the region. It also means ceding influence to China, which has already made inroads into Ukrainian infrastructure and agriculture.

Trump’s reported dismissal of Ukrainian maps and his insistence that Zelenskyy “can’t possibly win back any territory” is not just defeatist – it’s dangerous. It signals to Putin that the United States is no longer a serious deterrent. It tells NATO allies that American global leadership is unreliable. And it tells autocrats around the world that aggression pays off.

On the world stage, Putin emerges as the victor. He secures territory, resources, and prestige – all without making concessions. He can claim that Russia stood firm while the West folded. He can use this victory to rally domestic support and justify further expansion. Meanwhile, Trump and America look weak, indecisive, and complicit. The optics are devastating – an America President pressuring an allied democracy to surrender to an adversarial dictator.

Trump’s apparent disdain for Zelenskyy – despite Ukraine’s heroic resistance and democratic values – is baffling. Zelenskyy has become a symbol of courage and defiance. His leadership has galvanized support across Europe and inspired millions. To treat him with contempt, while cozying up to Putin, is a betrayal of everything America claims to stand for.

In the end, this is not just about Ukraine. It is about the future of global order. If the U.S. abandons Ukraine, it undermines the principle that borders cannot be changed by force. It weakens NATO. It emboldens China in Taiwan, Iran in the Middle East, and North Korea in the Pacific. It tells the world that democracy is expendable.

Putin’s victory would be (1) strategic, by gaining military advantage, (2) economic, by acquiring resource-rich territory; and (3) symbolic, by proving that the West can be divided and defeated. Trump’s reported actions would hand Putin his victory while tarnishing America’s reputation for years to come.

So, there ‘tis.