Airstrikes and civilian suffering in Ukraine persist despite recent moves framed as progress toward peace. Vladimir Putin received prominent public treatment from the US president while Kyiv endures ongoing attacks. Donald Trump has offered conflicting signals, alternating between claiming unique peace-making ability and deferring talks to the parties, while wavering on deploying US troops and even considering private military firms. Policy by improvisation undermines US credibility and amounts to abdication in a war where firm commitments matter for lives. Trump mixes threats of sanctions with readiness to forgive, and Ukraine is pursuing alternative channels for direct US military aid.
The past few weeks have seen a flurry of activity billed as progress in the Russia-Ukraine peace process. Yet for Ukrainians, the reality remains unchanged: airstrikes still thunder across their cities, homes still burn, lives are still lost. Against this grim backdrop, the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, has seemed more than content to bask in the literal red-carpet treatment afforded by the president of the United States.
Donald Trump, who has anointed himself mediator of this war, has nearly exhausted the lexicon of contradiction. Some days he proclaims that he alone can end this war. Then he insists that peace talks should be left to the two parties. At times he boasts that Putin respects him; at others, he castigates Putin for going absolutely crazy. This month, Trump vacillated between putting US troops on the table and ruling it out. Now he is reportedly considering using US private military firms for the job.
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