President Trump’s gambit to end Russia’s war in Ukraine by pressuring the victim is certain to fail. His approach to the war reveals he misunderstands facts that American voters understand well.
His obsequious accommodation of Russia, rewarding the aggressor with sanctions relief, won’t persuade Mr. While Vladimir Putin ignores Mr. Trump’s call for an energy cease-fire and continues to murder Ukrainian civilians, the U.S. president claims that Russia “has been fine on Ukraine. This is factually wrong, strategically naive and morally bankrupt. Putin to stop. History shows that such behavior emboldens Russia’s autocrat, who sees it as weakness. We know what happened the following year. Yet Mr. Trump seems determined to repeat the mistakes of a predecessor he scorns. Mr. Putin is many things, but he is no humanitarian. A Russian victory would have far worse consequences for our economic and national security and our global influence than temporarily high diesel prices.
In June 2021, Mr.
Putin watched President Biden pause $100 million in lethal security assistance to Ukraine in pursuit of “deliverables” for a U.S.-Russia summit. If the president means what he says about ending the conflict, he should look to the wisdom of the American people, not naive businessmen who seem to think diplomacy entails fawning over adversaries.
Mr. Putin has directed cyberattacks against U.S. government agencies, businesses and infrastructure and helped Iran target U.S. personnel and facilities in the Middle East. He is an ally of Xi Jinping. He will continue to seize opportunities to weaken America—and Europe. The destruction of American aircraft, materiel and facilities, and the killing of U.S. personnel by Iranian drones—the same kind of Iranian drones Russia uses against Ukrainian cities—underscores the urgency of working with Ukraine. Senior Army leaders who traveled to Ukraine, like former Secretary Dan Driscoll, Gen. Chris Donahue and Lt. Gen. Curtis Buzzard, understood this. Not a single senior Pentagon policy official appears to have done the same, and it shows. The good news for Americans is that Senate Republicans oppose retreat and appeasement and favor a strong defense. They support Ukraine. They support NATO. They understand Russia, China, North Korea and Iran are enemies. And they want the president to work with Congress to restore American primacy. Mr. Trump has high hopes for a lame-duck legislative agenda, including the one-time defense spending I’ve urged the administration instead to build into full-year appropriations. Passing this agenda will require working with Republicans who know the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Ending the obeisance to Mr. Putin may be table stakes for the end-of-year legislation. The president should plan accordingly.
