President Trump has spoken nicely about Vladimir Putin as he brokers a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv, but he’s also gently letting Vlad know he’ll need to make some real concessions, too: Ukraine should get its land back.
On Wednesday, Trump told reporters he aims “to make the best deal we can for both sides,” which “for Ukraine” means getting “as much back as possible.”
Good.
The Kremlin’s already bitten back at our president’s suggestion that Putin wouldn’t mind if some European troops serve in Ukraine to protect the peace; if it digs in on this front too, Vlad may find himself with no exit from a war he can’t afford to keep going.
Russia’s economy is in growing trouble, and Putin’s supply of North Korean cannon fodder isn’t infinite.
Trump’s clear that Ukraine must make concessions: It’ll have to give up hope of joining NATO, the prez also noted Wednesday; still not on the table is whether Putin will return any of the thousands of Ukrainian children he’s kidnapped.
So, while Trump says a deal would mean a lifting of Western sanctions on Russia “at some point,” Moscow cannot get that for free.
The territories Russia illegally “annexed” and occupied in 2022 add up to about 20% of Ukraine’s total land, not even counting Crimea, which Putin annexed (also illegally) in 2014.
Letting the Kremlin keep all, or most, of the land it snatched these last three years would encourage him to regroup and try for the rest later.
Yes, Putin’s made it plain that he sees any handover of these territories to be a major sticking point, but he must pay some price for a peace he needs, too.
Now recall the agreement Trump and Zelensky plan to sign Friday to give the United States revenue from Ukraine’s rare minerals: A good portion of those resources are buried in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions where Putin’s army now sitting — so Washington also has a stake in Ukraine getting its territory back.
Whatever the provocations he thinks he suffered, Putin started this war and waged it with nonstop war crimes — the kidnappings, his targeting of hospitals and much more.
Back on Feb. 22, 2022, he bet he could win fast and cheap; ever since, he’s been piling more chips on Plan B: winning the hard way.
Yet he hasn’t broken Ukraine’s will. He may hope he can win before he runs out of chips, but his risk of losing them all is now growing fast.
Trump is offering him an off-ramp, but it shouldn’t be a free one: He must push hard for Putin to truly read the table, and pay the necessary price for peace.
