Trump: Putin won’t end war because he believes he’s winning – WSJ

The Ukrainian Press as most of the Western media report: US President Donald Trump, during a phone call with European leaders on Monday 19 May, has acknowledged that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is not ready to end the war in Ukraine as he believes he is winning.

The acknowledgment was what European leaders had long believed about Putin – but it was the first time they were hearing it from Trump. It also ran counter to what Trump has often said publicly, that he believes Putin genuinely wants peace.”

This was a very cold shower on those Western leaders engaged in the war in Ukraine. But instead of publicly acknowledging this reality invoked by Trump, the EU and UK are downplaying it and still pushing forward to arm and use Ukraine as a weapon against Russia.

In particular, those European leaders who are still committed to the Obama/Biden tradition and ideology, such as the French President Macron or the UK PM Starmer. The current German Chancellor Merz can be considered to be part of it as well. Macron was a socialist, Starmer is one. Merz is forced to a coalition with socialists. These leaders are left-overs from the Obama/Biden era. In addition, a part of German society still has in mind the historic perspective having greatly lost to Russia in WWII as they may not feel having settled with the consequences. Germany still considers Russia a natural threat, a historic enemy.

Obama/Biden’s geopolitical and ideological concept was the NATO eastward expansion, till the border of Russia so to create a direct destabilizing threat to Russia and a strong military position for NATO towards the East. The European security equilibrium would have changed in favor of NATO with a negative political and economic impact on Russia. Of course, from a European point of view such a security change would be formidable. Just, Russia was not pleased and intervened militarily to stop NATO’s eastward expansion.

Trump agrees that the ideology of NATO’s eastward expansion failed and that Russia is strong enough to oppose to it. As well, Trump does not see a relevant advantage for the US in expanding NATO into Ukraine. It is rather a risk, a source of continued instability and costs. As consequence, Project Ukraine is skipped by the US.

Finally, only those European leaders that can be grouped into the Obama/Biden left-overs still defend the concept of NATO expansion into Ukraine and are even willing to send troops to Ukraine. Their argument is to defend a democratic sovereign nation that was attacked without provocation by Russia and that there is a risk that Russia would do the same again and, therefore, threatening the rest of Europe. Contradicting this view is heretics and can result in negative consequences. Of course, Russia justifies its invasion into Ukraine and confirms not having an interesting to go further. The international institutions under the international law cannot act on Russia and therefore, the admissibility and rightfullness of Russia’s invasion cannot be judged. The Russian threat remains hypothetical.

Using the hypothetical Russian threat, Europe and those Obama/Biden left-over European leaders were able to increase substantially state debts to finance rearmament. Within Europe, the rearrangment of nuclear weapons is discussed as well. All this may lead to a reassessment of the threat that the Russian side may see and result in the adaption of the Russian defense doctrine and strategic positioning – both have already commenced.

The European left-overs from the Obama/Biden era do Europe no good. Europe should follow the guidance and efforts of Trump and support him in ending the Ukrainian war immediately. Consequences and costs, and the excuse to the Ukrainian people for using it in this geopolitical struggle against Russia are to be burdened on all the parties that promoted Project Ukraine.

In Trump’s view it is urgent to stop the war now with a negotiated peace before Ukraine collapses with even more negative consequences for Europe. It can be hoped that these European leaders understand the urgency, that they stop opposing Trump and do not find themselves playing Russian Roulette with Europe.