Ceasefire in Ukraine?
Zelensky has agreed to terms on a ceasefire, but Putin is not yet on board.
The three-year-long war in Ukraine may be drawing to a close, given that the country just agreed to a ceasefire deal proposed by the United States. Russia has yet to sign on, though, and may not.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Michael Waltz met with Ukrainian representatives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. The parties discussed what Waltz called “substantive details” regarding security guarantees if Ukraine agreed to the deal. This includes lifting the recent pause on intelligence sharing and military support.
Ukrainian drone strikes in Moscow killed three people on Monday — hours before negotiations in Saudi Arabia. Early this morning, Russia responded with deadly strikes in Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih as well as Odessa, so nobody’s out of the woods yet.
“Today, we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate negotiations to end this conflict in a way that’s enduring and sustainable and accounts for their interests, their security, their ability to prosper as a nation,” said Rubio. “We will take this offer now to the Russians, and we hope … that they’ll say ‘yes’ to peace. The ball is now in their court.”
Trump echoed that, saying, “Now we have to go to Russia, and hopefully President [Vladimir] Putin will agree to that also, and we can get this show on the road. We want to get that war over with.”
That has been his goal for years. He’s far less interested in restoring a chunk of land to Ukraine than he is in stopping the war with its death and destruction.
That’s why he chastised Ukraine in February, saying, “You should have never started it.” That’s also why he ousted an ungrateful Zelensky from the Oval Office shortly thereafter. The Ukrainian leader learned the hard way not to insult the American president by trying to renegotiate a deal at the 11th hour.
Ukraine was not the aggressor in this war, and its people have suffered mightily. Yet Zelensky is less favored than he was three years ago, and there are many reasons for that. For example, he took extreme, repressive measures early on, and last fall, he even effectively campaigned for Democrats. That’s little wonder given the blank check Joe Biden always seemed ready to give him.
This horrendous war has claimed many lives (estimates range from 60,000 Ukrainians and nearly 100,000 Russians to well over 300,000 combined) and ruined numerous cities in Ukraine. Rebuilding will take years and untold amounts of money.
Many things can be true at the same time: Trump’s comments of late have been shocking, but more often than not, he was correct or making an arguable point. He’s also done more in seven weeks to bring the war to a close than Biden did in nearly three years. In fact, Putin never would have invaded if Trump were president. Biden’s weakness provided that opening.
Trump’s pressure on Ukraine didn’t look nice or friendly. Putin has violated ceasefires before, and the old KGB agent and Soviet nostalgist is deeply untrustworthy. Yet Zelensky seemed more eager for endless “aid” than peace.
“You have to stop shooting at each other,” Rubio said Tuesday, “and that’s what the president has wanted to see, and that’s the commitment we got today from the Ukrainian side.” Unfortunately, Putin has so far conceded nothing and may demand far more out of Ukraine — demilitarization, more territory, etc. — before he agrees to end his horrific invasion.
