LOS ANGELE (OC).–President Donald Trump irked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensk in a White House meeting Oct. 17, when Trump said he would not supply Ukraine with Tomahawk Cruise missiles. Zelensky made has best case for receiving the long-range weapons, insisting that more attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure would help push Russian President Vladimir Putin to the peace table. Attacking deep inside Russia with American weapons would be a complete disaster, something Zelensky wants. Zelensky would like nothing more than to see Russia break off diplomatic relations with the U.S. Zelensky doesn’t know the strategic importance of the U.S. global cooperation with Moscow, working to solve common global problems that affect both countries. Zelensky could care less about U.S.-Russian relations, was perfectly OK with the U.S. having no relations at all.
Zelensky wanted the Tomahawk Cruise missiles to keep the fight going with the unlikely chance that Putin would back down. What anyone has says of Putin, he doesn’t back down, especially if he’s at war with a foreign country. Zelensky said Trump met at the U.N. General Assembly in September telling him it was possible to get back his land from Russia. Trump was trying to tell Zelensky at what cost could he ever get his land back from the Kremlin? Trump wanted Zelensky to know that he was out-gunned by the Russian Federation, unlikely to win any concessions from Putin. Yet if you ask Zelensky, he acts like he has the leverage in a war where he’s lost some 25% of Ukraine’s best sovereign territory. Trump raised the possibility of ceding Donetsk and Lunhansk to Russia, something that already happened with the last three-and-a-half years of war.
Zelensky refuses to admit that he’s in no position to call the shots in a peace settlement. Trump tried to tell Zelensky Feb. 28 in their now infamous Oval Office meeting that he didn’t hold the cards with Putin. Yet Zelensky thinks he can blow smoke with Trump at the White House asking Trump to trade Ukrainian drones for Tomahawk Cruise missiles. So far, Zelensky’s request for German-made Taurus long-rang missiles have fallen on deaf ears at the Budestag or German parliament. Merz talks tough but in the end saw the wisdom in not supplying Zelensky with long-Range German Missiles. Merz opposes ceding Ukrainian land to Putin but also knows that escalating the war would be a bad idea. If Trump were to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk Cruise missiles it would all but wreck U.S-Russian relations for the foreseeable future.
Trump understands where Putin is coming from, having spent billions and thousands of Russian lives battling the Ukraine War for over three-and-a-half years. Zelensky acts like Trump is depriving Ukraine of an eventual victory when, in fact, the war would only get worse. EU leaders like French President Emmanuel Macron haven’t been honest with Zelensky that he must surrender land to Putin to settle the conflict. Putin already controls some 25% of Ukraine’s best sovereign territory. Every day the war drags on, Zelensky surrenders more territory to Putin. Trump wants Zelensky to cut his losses, end the war and start rebuilding Ukraine. Zelensky thinks he can keep the war going indefinitely getting Brussels to agree that surrendering territory to Putin would invite him to seize more land in Europe. Putin never said he wanted to pick a fight with NATO.
Zelensky actually thought he could gaslight Trump the same way he did former President Joe Biden. Biden and Zelensky actually believed that with enough cash-and-arms they could vanquish the Russian military. Biden actually said March 26, 2022 that the aim of the U.S. military in Ukraine was to degrade the Russian army. When former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin repeated the same message April 26, 2022 in Ramstein Germany, Putin knew the war morphed into one of Russia against NATO. Putin saw things differently after Biden said his objective in the war was to degrade the Russian military. So when Zelensky asks Trump for Tomahawk Cruise missiles it runs counter to ending the Ukraine War. Zelensky looks to keep the war going so he doesn’t have to admit that he’s lost 25% of Ukraine’s best sovereign territory in over three-and-a-half-years of war.
Trump urged Zelensky at the White House last Friday to think or trading some Russia-speaking territory in Donetsk and Luhansk to Putin to end the conflict. Trump envisions that he can persuade Putin to give back parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzia to to Ukraine. How ironic that Putin essentially made the same proposal to Zelensky shortly after the Feb. 24, 2022 invasion. Yet Zelensky opted for war with the Kremlin, something that was a bad mistake, considering the damage and loss of territory he’s done to his country. Zelensky should be listening carefully to what Trump says to end the conflict. Trump is the only world leader with any sway with Putin, seeking to restore normal U.S.-Russian diplomatic relations. Zelensky has no choice but to let Trump negotiate a permanent peace deal. All the talk in the EU has gotten Zelensky nowhere when it comes to peace.
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.
