From the War Zone: Thoughts About Trump’s Latest Ukraine Peace Proposals

By Askold Krushelnycky

Ukraine needs to particularly decrease dependence on American support in view of US President Trump’s past record of antipathy towards Ukraine, his mysterious indulgence of mass-murderer and dictator, Putin, and his mercurial, so-far unrealistic, attempts at brokering an end to the conflict.

What we know so far about Trump’s peace plan looks pretty bad for Ukraine and I think they’re likely doomed in what seems their present form.

Glaringly, there is no mention of unequivocal US security guarantees for Ukraine in the highly probable event Moscow would renege on any agreement as soon as it regains enough economic and military strength to renew aggression against Kyiv.

Any guarantee cannot be a “Budapest Memorandum” piece of paper, as useless as that “peace in our time” document waved by Brit prime minister Neville Chamberlain after his appeasement of Hitler.

I’ve spent most of the time since the full-blown 2022 invasion as a journalist and witness to the conflict in Ukraine. I think I have a good sense of what people here feel. And my assessment tells me that, in their present form, these Trump-led peace proposals are doomed because they will be rejected by most Ukrainians – civilians and military.

Trump may try to blame their failure on Ukraine and withdraw Washington’s support for Kyiv.

While Kyiv might acknowledge the reality that it can’t, presently, regain all territory occupied by Russia it won’t sign away occupied territory permanently to Moscow.

Even more so, the Ukrainian government can’t give up territory Russia has never conquered such as that around Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, the last two large cities in Ukrainian hands in Donetsk region.

The territory Trump is likely referring to when he talks about an exchange of territory by both sides (implying that Moscow is making concessions) are the Zaporizhya and Kherson regions, which Russia has only ever partially controlled but which it has previously claimed control in their entirety.

That claim is based on sham referendums, conducted under the barrels of Russian guns, in parts of those regions occupied by Moscow’s forces.

Even the Kremlin seems to realise how ludicrous those claims are and, according to White House sources cited by US media, may offer to “trade” those claims for Ukrainian withdrawal from the Donetsk region.

Askold Krushelnycky is a freelance journalist. He has worked as a foreign correspondent for several newspapers, including the Sunday Times and The Independent. He also serves as an analyst and special correspondent for From The G-Man.

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Source: The Independent