Trump Capitulates to Russia, Betraying Ukraine and the West

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (2nd-L) speaking with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (2nd-R) [Handout/Russian Foreign Ministry via AFP]

Trump’s appeasement of Putin is a disgraceful surrender to Russia, an outright betrayal of Ukraine, and a stark warning to the world that America under Trump is no longer the defender of democracy but a willing collaborator with a terrorist state.

This capitulation was entirely predictable. During his first term, Trump implemented a series of policies that directly benefited Russia—undermining NATO and seeking ways to withdraw, publicly siding with Putin over U.S. intelligence at the Helsinki summit by denying Russian interference in the 2016 election, attempting to withdraw U.S. troops from Germany, and trying to extort Ukraine for political favors. His unwavering admiration for Putin has now culminated in a desperate bid to secure a legacy-defining “peace deal,” one that blatantly sacrifices Ukraine and Europe to Russia’s bloody imperial ambitions.

The next step Trump proposes is effectively a new “Yalta”—a backroom deal between Washington and Moscow, deciding Ukraine’s fate with little to no input from Kyiv or European nations. His chosen setting? Not a European diplomatic stage, but Saudi Arabia, where his regime has already engaged in transactional diplomacy that prioritizes authoritarian interests over democratic principles. The signals from Trump’s latest interactions with Putin suggest he is eager to accept Russia’s demands— ceding Crimea and the Donbas while denying Ukraine its right to NATO membership and sovereignty. For Trump, “peace” means rewarding genocidal aggression.

And make no mistake. The idea of negotiations is absurd to begin with. Russia invaded sovereign Ukraine in 2014 and expanded with a full-scale invasion in 2022 with the stated intention of eliminating all Ukrainians and stealing land. Russia can stop the war at its choosing by simply crossing back over the border.

Trump’s behavior in recent weeks has confirmed the worst fears about his foreign policy: that he is not merely indifferent to the suffering of Ukraine, but wants to be an active enabler of Russian expansionism.

In a recent call with Putin, Trump effusively praised Russia’s “great history” and expressed his desire for the U.S. and Russia to “work together,” as if the ongoing invasion of Ukraine were an unfortunate misunderstanding rather than a brutal bloody war of conquest. His public comments reek of deference to Putin, much like his infamous performance in Helsinki in 2018, when he stood beside the Russian KGB dictator and accepted his lies over U.S. intelligence agencies. And today’s summit was more about whitewashing Russia’s atrocities and strengthening U.S. relations with Russia than addressing Ukraine’s plight. To top off the absurdity, Trump’s team even invited Russian spies back to the embassy in D.C., further highlighting their willingness to disregard national security in favor of appeasing the Kremlin.

From day one, Trump’s return to power has been a gift to Russia, as he systematically dismantles America’s defenses against foreign influence and corruption. He and Musk gutted USAID—a long-standing Soviet and Russian goal—while preparing to purge the FBI and key intelligence agencies. Attorney General Pam Bondi disbanded the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force, exposing U.S. elections to unchecked foreign interference, and halted enforcement of FARA, allowing foreign operatives to operate freely in the U.S. She also shut down Task Force KleptoCapture, ensuring Russian oligarchs can launder money through the U.S. financial system without consequence. Meanwhile, Trump is purging national security agencies of career professionals, replacing them with loyalists, while Musk expands his hacking of sensitive government data, despite his ties to Russia and China.

For those familiar with Trump’s negotiation tactics, this pattern is all too familiar. In Afghanistan, he handed the Taliban exactly what they wanted—agreeing to a U.S. withdrawal timetable even as U.S. intelligence revealed Russia was paying bounties to Taliban militants for killing American soldiers. Dismissing it as "fake news," he attempted to host the Taliban at Camp David before public outrage forced him to back down. Now, he is doing the same with Putin, granting concessions without securing any leverage. This isn’t the “art of the deal”—it’s the art of surrender.

Trump’s misguided diplomacy is no path to peace—if anything, it hands Putin a strategic advantage. He will use these talks to stall for time while intensifying his assault on Ukraine’s infrastructure, economy, and political stability— all while toasting champagne to America’s growing hostility toward its closest allies in Europe.

Meanwhile, Trump’s rhetoric on Ukraine’s presidential elections echoes Russian propaganda, signaling that he may actively promote Kremlin-backed narratives to further destabilize the country.

Yet, there is hope. Unlike during WW2, Europe is no longer a fractured, war-weary continent waiting for superpowers to dictate its fate. Today, it is a wealthy, integrated, and militarily capable bloc. While Trump abandons Ukraine and Europe, the rest of the Western world can still act. The Munich Security Conference must mark the beginning of a European-led strategy that ensures Ukraine continues to receive the weapons, economic aid, and diplomatic backing it needs to withstand Russian aggression. Europe should have used this valuable time over the past year to put together a comprehensive plan to counteract Trump’s predicted betrayals and ensure Ukraine’s survival and can start now.

Europe can no longer afford to wait for American leadership—Trump has made it clear that under his rule, the U.S. is not just an unreliable ally but, at worst, a potential enemy.

While Trump sabotages Ukraine, weakens NATO, and openly threatens to invade NATO countries like Canada and Denmark via Greenland, Europe must act decisively to counter his betrayal. This means dramatically increasing weapons production, strengthening defense cooperation, and integrating Ukraine deeper into European security structures. European nations must also build alternative intelligence-sharing networks, reinforcing their own counterintelligence capabilities to mitigate the damage from Trump’s systematic dismantling of U.S. national security agencies. By preparing now, Europe can shield itself from Trump’s reckless foreign policy and the growing threat of a potential Russian expanded invasion, ensuring that Russia does not gain the upper hand.

The reality is stark: Trump’s alignment with Russia, his allies' open support for far-right extremist parties in Europe, and his relentless attacks on democratic norms make it clear that the U.S., under his leadership, is no longer a guarantor of Western security—it is a liability. His regime’s public hostility toward European leaders, willingness to dismantle key alliances, and efforts to normalize Russia should compel Europe to stop talking and act immediately. His repeated threats to invade NATO countries like Canada and Denmark via Greenland prove that his regime is not just withdrawing from global security—it is actively destabilizing it. The Republican-led betrayal of Ukraine has already had dire consequences, with military aid frozen for months, providing Russia an advantage.

If Europe does not step up now, it risks a future where the U.S. deliberately undermines its security rather than protects it, leaving the continent vulnerable to an expanded war by Russia. With Trump openly weakening NATO, sabotaging Ukraine’s defense, and signaling appeasement toward the Kremlin, Putin will see this as a green light to escalate aggression beyond Ukraine. The Baltic states, Poland, and nations like Moldova and Georgia face heightened risks of Russian military action, increased cyber warfare, and further political destabilization. A fractured Europe, divided by Putin and Trump’s far-right allies and deprived of American support, would struggle to contain an emboldened Kremlin, allowing Russia to rewrite Europe’s borders by force. The time for hesitation is over—Europe must prepare to defend itself now and ensure its survival.

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