Opinion - With Trump taking over the US military, it’s time to finally change course on Ukraine
Just as he warned he would do in the campaign, Trump is pressing to have the Ukraine war ended even before he takes office in January. The goal is certainly laudable from a humanitarian and economic perspective, but the manner by which Trump intends to achieve it is morally wrong — and geostrategically misguided.
According to media reports, Trump intends to push some kind of freeze-in-place ceasefire that would pressure Ukraine to permanently surrender most or all of its sovereign territory that Russia illegally invaded in 2014 and still occupies. Trump’s plan will reward Putin’s aggression and would ratify the Obama-Biden administration’s passive acquiescence to Russia’s invasion of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine, after then-President Obama assured Putin in 2012 that he would be “more flexible” after his reelection.
Trump needs to show how a strong American president, unlike Obama and Biden, responds to threats and bullying. In addition to warning Putin against further escalation, he should tell him to start withdrawing from Ukraine, send North Korean forces home, and demand that China start sending no-strings financial assistance to help Ukraine rebuild its country.
If Putin refuses to follow these measures, Trump should tell him that he will remove all restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western weapons except for civilian structures and historical and cultural sites, such as the Kremlin’s iconic onion domes. He should also threaten to increase the supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine until Russia stops bombing Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, and say he will work with NATO to accelerate Ukraine’s admission to the alliance. Further, Trump should also significantly increase sanctions on China for helping Russia conduct its aggression.
Finally, he should tell Putin and Xi Jinping that since Russia’s 10-year invasion of Ukraine has clearly emboldened Beijing to step up its own aggression against Taiwan, he is declaring formally and officially, with the full consent and approval of Congress, that America will unconditionally defend Taiwan against any form of aggression.
Since neither Russia nor China wants an actual war with the United States, these steps by Trump showing U.S. resolve would go a long way toward preventing China’s strategic miscalculation and assuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Maintaining the present course, much less making further concessions to either U.S. adversary, will inevitably bring disastrous conflict.
