The U.S. must support Ukraine in peace deal, not help fulfill Putin’s wish list | Editorial

As families across America prepare to settle in for turkey, stuffing, and football, the Trump administration is imposing a brutal choice on the people of Ukraine: capitulate by Thanksgiving, or lose U.S. support.

If the bloodiest fighting in Europe since World War II is to come to an end, any peace plan must be fair and hold Russia accountable for invading its neighbor. The 28-point plan released last week and endorsed by the White House would enshrine injustice instead.

Perhaps the only surprise about the lopsided peace proposal is that it took so long. Ever since Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, it has often felt like an all-out push for Kyiv’s surrender is just around the corner.

The president has repeatedly praised Russia’s Vladimir Putin, threatened and removed existing U.S. aid to Ukraine’s military, and reinforced Russian talking points about the conflict, including blaming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for starting the war.

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground has deteriorated.

Ukrainians have taken to covering their streets and homes with anti-drone nets due to the Russian military’s “human safari” tactics. Russian drone operators have terrorized civilians and aid workers by attacking them indiscriminately, making simple errands dangerous in cities close to the front lines.

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Russia’s military, fueled by the conscription of ethnic minorities, convicted criminals, and Ukrainians from Russian-occupied territories, has made incremental gains. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military has suffered from increasing rates of desertion and low morale. While most Ukrainians do not want to give up territory to end the fighting, this position has become more popular over time because of the suffering and devastation the war has unleashed.

American support for Ukraine has reached new lows under Trump, but President Joe Biden bears much of the blame for what’s happening today. The past administration never supplied Ukraine with anything close to the kinds of weapons it needed to succeed in the war’s early stages. Instead of rushing F-16 fighter jets into the country, Biden held off on delivering them for years. Long-range missiles, which would have allowed Ukraine to strike deeper into Russian territory, were also delayed.

Imagine how much stronger a position Ukraine might be in if the Biden administration had approved the transfer of these weapons systems back in 2022, before the country suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties against brutal Russian invaders.

The Trump administration seems prepared to compound this betrayal by forcing Ukrainians to accept a peace plan that some U.S. senators have suggested was written by Moscow.

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As released last week, the plan would force Ukraine to cede territory, abandon hopes of joining NATO, and cap the size of its military. It would create a blanket amnesty for war crimes and allow Russia to rejoin the G8 and reintegrate into the global economy.

Given the scale of the suffering in Ukraine’s towns and cities and along the front lines, peace is a crucial goal. Beyond the direct human toll, the war has also led to the destruction of the Khakhovka Dam on the Dnieper River, a major environmental disaster. Russian recklessness has also repeatedly endangered nuclear plants.

Zelensky and European leaders have countered the plan with one of their own, which was immediately criticized by the Kremlin. Ukrainian negotiators are keen to avoid formally handing over territory, remove or raise the cap on the size of their military, and allow for eventual NATO membership, even if it is off the table in the foreseeable future.

U.S. efforts to end the war should be more in line with its allies’ proposal, instead of fulfilling Putin’s wish list. If Trump sides with Russia, it will send a clear message to other authoritarians that the West will not stand together against illegal aggression.

If America sells out Ukraine, the world will be watching.