Europe Has a Big Defense Call to Make: The Trump administration’s apparent desire to cut Ukraine loose and terminate NATO’s proxy waragainst Russia is creating a veritable chasm between U.S. foreign policy goals and those of its European allies.
With the exceptions of the rightwing governments in Hungary and Georgia, the shift of Washington’s position regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict has produced vehement condemnations in European capitals.
I rarely agree with President Trump, but his latest controversial statements about Ukraine are mostly true. They seem preposterous only because western audiences have been fed a steady diet of disinformation about Ukraine for more than a decade. It is time to set the record straight on three key points that illuminate why Ukrainians and former President Joe Biden — not merely Russian President Vladimir Putin — bear significant responsibility for the outbreak and perpetuation of war in Ukraine.
By John Lough, Associate Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme
If Donald Trump believed he could persuade Vladimir Putin to sign up to a comprehensive ceasefire in Ukraine, he is learning the hard way: Russia is interested in peace, but only on its terms.
