Published by The i Paper (18th August, 2025)
Let there be no illusions about the shocking tragedy unfurling before our eyes. Donald Trump, elected leader of the planet’s superpower, is effectively fighting in the cause of a fascistic dictator guilty of the most sickening war crimes seen on our continent for eight decades. This patsy fool of a United States president, being played with such ease by the Kremlin, is doing Russia’s dirty work by offering Vladimir Putin the best possible path out of a self-inflicted disaster that has left Moscow’s weakness exposed to the world.
The simple word for his stance is betrayal. Trump is not even paying lip service to a rules-based global order that deems it unacceptable to march into other countries to grab their land, bomb their cities, crush their culture, torture their men, rape their women and steal their children. Instead of imposing tougher sanctions on Russia in response to continuing atrocities in Ukraine – as was being suggested barely one week ago – the White House just rollout the red carpet for Putin and rolled over to promote the demands of Russia’s bloodstained despot.
Such was Russia’s confidence over the woefully-misjudged Alaska summit that its appalling foreign minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in a sweatshirt emblazoned with “CCCP”. This was a clear reminder of the regime’s ambition to rebuild the Soviet empire – which lies behind the invasion of Ukraine – and deliberate trolling to rattle nerves from the Baltic States to Poland. After the talks, Putin spoke not of war and peace but about ending the “situation around Ukraine” and removing “root causes of the crisis” – standard Kremlin code for their resentment over lost glories and desire to restore repressive dominance over eastern Europe.
Never forget the real root cause of this grim war was a corrupt dictatorship’s fear of democracy. This is why Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014 – as I witnessed – and why the Kremlin launches “grey zone” attacks on Europe with arson, cable-cutting, cyber strikes and stoking migrant concerns. Yet the White House panders to evil by holding a summit that brings this hostile regime in from the cold. Then it pushes a “peace” deal that rewards Putin for aggression, undermines our continent and corrodes democracy, even as it comes under assault from an alliance of autocracies. This leaves Ukraine and the rest of Europe in a pickle. Their response is crucial in shaping our future.
Trump and his dismal team are pandering to Putin’s demand for a sweeping peace deal instead of a proposed ceasefire agreed with Kyiv and European allies. Reports suggest this would involve Ukraine handing over all Donetsk and Luhansk regions and being barred from joining Nato, while Russia returns a few small pockets held in Kharkiv and Sumy regions, along with formal recognition of its sovereignty over Crimea, a frozen frontline elsewhere and lifting of some sanctions. The Kremlin also said it might accept some “security guarantees” for Ukraine.
These proposals are not a peace plan; they are dangerous capitulation. Why would Ukraine hand over the one-third of Donetsk still in its control when it contains major cities, mineral wealth and is a fortified defensive zone to protect other key regions from Russia such as Kharkiv and Dnipro? Besides, it would be illegal under the law in a land with a history of protests ousting presidents, where about eight in 10 people oppose such ideas. Meanwhile for all the hype over Moscow’s military gains and alarm over Kyiv’s manpower shortfalls, Putin’s forces are still fighting for Pokrovsk – a town under attack for more than a year and only 50 miles from Donetsk – along with the citadel of Chasiv Yar, which has resisted their advance for 16 months.
Ukraine is being asked to believe a written pledge from Putin that he will not attack them again along with security guarantees offered by a US president who refuses to say if he believes even in Nato’s mutual defence pact. Plus promises from three countries – Russia, America and almost certainly Britain – that signed a hollow 1994 deal to respect borders and security in return for Ukraine giving up the nuclear weapons that might have deterred Moscow. As a government source in Kyiv told me, “only fools can trust Putin’s words after all the years he kills and lies” so they want watertight guarantees to stop the slaughter and try to build a prosperous society in freedom.
Zelensky might sanction giving up occupied Donetsk in return for peace since it is wrecked by the separatist goons in charge since 2014, but not the formal annexation of Crimea. Once again, he is trapped in a Trump vice, knowing his nation needs US intelligence and weapons while dealing with an infantile president. And once again, European leaders must frantically try to dissuade the White House from delivering Putin his modified war aims on a platter, allowing him time to rebuild and regroup.
But if they fail – and Trump presses on with a proposal that is rejected by Ukraine – we face a decisive moment. For if Trump has a tantrum and terminates support for Kyiv, they must pick between supporting appeasement of Russia – or shouldering full responsibility to defend our continent, breaking with the US to protect security.
This would be challenging – yet just as Putin reflects Russia, so Trump reflects the changing shape of US priorities. It would be costly, resulting in tough decisions, and politically complex. But it is not impossible: the European Union alone is 10 times stronger economically than Russia and already the biggest supplier of military aid to Kyiv. Countries such as Denmark and Estonia, however, give proportionately more than four times the likes of Britain, France and Germany – and at least twenty times more than laggards such as Italy and Spain. And what is to stop a “coalition of the willing” from taking over air defence duties in Western Ukraine, freeing up troops for the frontline? One thing is certain: the time for hollow words has passed if Russia and the US stand together in agreement on shattering the security of our continent.