Trump’s Plan to Sell Out Ukraine to Russia

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1. Donald Trump’s proposed peace plan is a reward for Russian aggression that would functionally destroy Ukraine, Tom Nichols argues.

   Trump said on the campaign trail that he would make peace between Ukraine and Russia in a day. “Three months later, he’s behind schedule, and his plan now is to end the fighting quickly by selling out Ukraine and its people to Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Nichols writes. “If Trump has his way, Washington will lift sanctions against Russia; both sides will accept a cease-fire in place (leaving Russian troops on newly conquered Ukrainian territory), and the United States will agree to recognize Crimea as part of Russia (leaving the Kremlin with full ownership of previously conquered territory). For this, Ukraine gets basically nothing, except a vaporous security guarantee from an American president who has made clear his hostility to Ukraine and its leaders.”

   Ukraine would “limp away from the deal as a vulnerable rump state, shorn of some 20 percent of its territory and millions of its citizens,” Nichols continues. “It would cede control over its foreign policy by promising never to join NATO—an ironic Russian demand, given how starkly Putin’s invasion has reminded the world why alliances such as NATO must continue to exist. But NATO membership is a distant issue compared with the immediate problem: If Kyiv agrees to Trump’s proposal, whatever is left of the Ukrainian state will soon be an easy target for the Kremlin. Once the Russian economy recovers and Russia’s forces catch their breath, Putin will finish the job of conquering Ukraine with even greater vengeance and violence. Time and space are on Moscow’s side, and Trump intends to give Putin plenty of both.”

   “The Americans have threatened to walk away from the process if either side refuses Trump’s deal, but no one can believe that this is even a token attempt to pressure Moscow,” Nichols continues. The White House is aiming its rhetorical fire squarely at Volodymyr Zelensky, who for his part continues to insist on an “immediate, full, and unconditional cease-fire” before he agrees to further negotiations, a position Trump will likely use as a pretext for abandoning further talks.

   The Trump “peace” plan is no such thing, Nichols writes. It is an instrument of surrender, and the Ukrainians are unlikely to accept it.

   Read more here: [https://theatln.tc/P3tU0onK](https://theatln.tc/P3tU0onK)

   — Evan McMurry, senior editor, audience and engagement, *The Atlantic*

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