LOS ANGELES (OC).–Striking Russia’s largest natural gas processing plant with drones, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky showed that he’s not taking the war lightly, serious about inflicting maxium damage on the Russian Federation. Zelensky struck the Novokubyshevsk plant owned by Rosneft, the state-owned energy company. Zelensky complained to Trump on Friday about how Russian continues to strike at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and civilians. So, when it comes to prosecuting the war, Zelensky isn’t doing too badly to knock out Russia’s largest gas plant that receives its gas from Kazakhstan, halting gas processing until repairs are finished. “The though and he has a lot of property,” Trump said. “We’re the only nation lthat goes in, wins a war and then leaves,” Trump said, referring to what Putin expects in any peace settlement. Zelensky thought he could get all his lost sovereign land back.
Trump has been avoiding discussions until recently in public because they only infuriate Zelensky and the European Union, especially French President Emmanuel Macron, who agrees with Zelensky that Putin should receive no spoils in the Ukraine War. Trump slipped by saying that any peace settlement would inevitably involve swapping land. Putin had control of Donetsk and Luhansk before the war started Feb. 24, 2022 and will no doubt retain possession of the territory to get a settlement. When Zelensky met Trump Oct. 17 at the White House, he asked Trump for Tomahawk Cruise missiles, thinking he could hasten the end to the war by striking deep inside Russia with U.S.-made Tomahawk missiles. Putin made it clear that would damage U.S.-Russian relations. Trump realizes that hitting Putin with more sanctions would delay the war’s end.
Zelensky would like nothing more than to sabotage U.S.-Russian relations. Giving Ukraine Tomahawk Cruise missiles would have disastrous consequences for U.S.-Russian relations. Trump sees beyond the war and knows that cooperative U.S.-Russian relations are essential to conducting U.S. foreign policy. Trump wants to get back to arms control and global cooperation with the Kremlin. When asked about what Ukraine would have give up in any peace settlement, Trump hinted against that Putin would expect some land swaps. Zelensky and the EU had been adamant about not surrendering land to Putin in any peace deal, knowing without some negotiation and compromise,e there would be no peace deal at all. Zelensky appears more receptive now to allowing Trump to negotiate a peace deal with Putin. Putin knows he’ll have to give up some of the territory gained in the war.
Trump told Zelensky Oct. 17 that the U.S. needed to retain in dwindling stockpiles of Tomahawk Cruise misssles, realizing how much U.S. arms have been shipped to Ukraine over the last four years. But Zelensky knows the real reason Trump is reluctant to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk Cruise Missiles. He knows how t hat would wreck U.S.-Russian relations but, more importantly, set back the end to the Ukraine War indefinitely. Zelensky and the EU can’t decide what they want to do in the war. One minute the want to continue battling the Kremlin, the next minute they admit they can’t take on the expense of paying for perpetual war. EU officials should back what Trump is trying to do with Putin to end the war, even if it means territorial concessions to Putin. Putin has spent billions and lost untold numbers of Russian soldiers battling Ukraine.
Trump plans to meet Putin in Budapest in the next two weeks, perhaps announcing a potential settlement to the war. Zelensky appears more ready than before to go along with Trump’s peace plans, something that would inevitably lose Ukraine sovereign territory to secure a permanent settlement to the war. Putin is ready to concede that Ukraine has a right exist independently of Russia, despite retaining the right to possess Russian-speacking enclaves in Donbas that want no part of the Kiev government. Putin made the same offer to Zelensky in March 2022 when he asked Zelensky to recognized the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk and Russian sovereignty over Crimea. Zelensky opted for war with the Kremlin and has done nothing other than lose more territory, destroying Ukrainian lives and infrastructure. Zelensky looks ready to cut a deal with Putin.
Whatever Zelensky says about the brutality of Russian air strikes, he knows that Ukraine has done its part to damage Russia’s oil-and-gas infrastructure. Trump gives Zelensky as way out but not without some concessions, the same as Putin. Putin wants to end the war to rejoin the world economy, getting U.S. and EU sanctions lifted at the earliest time. Zelensky wants to rebuild his country with U.S. helps, knowing it can’t happen without a peace settlement. Zelensky realized that the EU offers Ukraine nothing other than more carms-and-cash, something that must come to an end soon. No one in the EU is prepared to fund Zelensky’s war with the Kremlin. EU officials also want to resume doing business with Russia, bring cheap Russian oil-and-gas back to the EU. So, it benefits both sides to strike a deal with Trump’s help to end the war.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
