The Trump administration is worse than unreliable. It is actively undermining Europe’s security. That is the upshot of the agreements brokered by the US in Riyadh, which leave Ukraine betrayed and Russia rewarded.
The headlined “ceasefire” covers two separate agreements. Ukraine gains “security for trade in the Black Sea”. But that is barely necessary. Since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine’s drones and missiles have disabled or sunk a dozen Russian warships and left the rest of the once-mighty Black Sea fleet lurking in a distant harbour. Ukraine’s lifeline shipping route, carrying grain and other freight from the port of Odesa, is functioning fine. Anything that allows Russia to return its naval forces to the western Black Sea, or to impose restrictions