Trump must forge a Ukraine peace deal on Americas terms not Putins

A peace in Ukraine that puts America first must do more than stop the fighting: It must re-establish American credibility, demonstrate American primacy and strength, and ensure that Russia won’t attack Ukraine or its NATO neighbors in the future. It must increase America’s ability to deter China, North Korea and Iran. It must be America’s peace.Vladimir Putin is the obstacle to that peace — and has been for more than a decade. In 2014 he invaded Ukraine to impose his will on an independent country he believed Russia should control. When his invasion failed, he turned to negotiations, leveraging the West’s desperation to end the fighting.The Minsk II “cease-fire” agreement entirely favored Russia, but Putin wasn’t satisfied. Emboldened by President Biden’s disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, Putin invaded again in 2022, seeking to conquer Ukraine entirely.

He has so far failed once more. Now he wants to use negotiations to impose his will on Donald Trump, Ukraine and Europe.Since 2021, Putin has repeatedly stated his demands, arguing that Ukraine cannot have an independent state or identity — that Ukraine is part of Russia. His ultimatum justifying the ongoing invasion demanded regime change in Kyiv, Ukraine’s demilitarization and permanent neutrality, the rollback of NATO to its 1997 borders and limits on what the United States could do in that rump NATO.Putin’s demands have only increased since then, now including the recognition of Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk regions — even parts of those regions that Ukrainian forces still hold and the Russian military never took. Putin’s would be a Versailles-style “peace” that would leave the Ukrainian military helpless against future Russian attack.Putin also insists on dictating to Trump the terms of the negotiation itself. He rejects discussions with Ukraine, whose government he insists is illegitimate (and whose right to exist...