Twelve days ago, Donald Trump paused between golf rounds to say he was setting a new deadline of “ten or twelve days” for Russia to agree to a cease-fire with Ukraine. Russia has not ceased fire, continuing to bombard Ukraine with missiles and Iranian drones, with another 47 strikes just last night. This morning the Russians attacked a civilian bus with a drone in the suburbs of Kherson, then launched a second drone attack on the police responding to the carnage.
Ukraine continues to fight back, hitting a military landing craft and radar stations in Russian-occupied Crimea and a Russian warehouse containing foreign weapons 1,300 kilometers beyond Ukraine’s embattled eastern border.
Instead of imposing any new penalties on Russia for ignoring his 10-12-day deadline, Trump is rewarding Putin’s intransigent slaughter with a one-on-one meeting in Alaska next Friday and with signals to Ukraine that they’ll have to surrender land to the Russian invaders:
“You’re looking at territory that’s been fought over for three and a half years, a lot of Russians have died. A lot of Ukrainians have died,” Trump said at the White House on Friday.
“It’s very complicated. We’re going to get some back, we’re going to get some switched. There will be some swapping of territories, to the betterment of both.”
The US president did not provide further details of what that proposal would look like.
However, the BBC’s US partner CBS News, citing sources familiar with the discussions, reports that the White House is trying to sway European leaders to accept an agreement that would include Russia taking the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine and keeping Crimea.
It would give up the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which it partially occupies, as part of the proposed agreement, CBS reports.
Earlier on Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Putin had proposed a similar arrangement to Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff during a recent meeting in Moscow [Courtney Subramanian and Ali Abbas Ahmadi, “Trump and Putin to Meet in Alaska for Ukraine Talks Next Week,” BBC, 2025.08.09].
No, Donald, it’s not very complicated. Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia needs to get out. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy states that obvious moral geopolitical truth in his latest address to his nation:
Fellow Ukrainians!
President Trump announced preparations for his meeting with Putin in Alaska. Very far away from this war, which is raging on our land, against our people, and which anyway can’t be ended without us, without Ukraine.
Putin did not believe in our people and therefore made the hopeless decision to try to take Ukraine. This was his main mistake – not taking Ukrainians into account. I believe in our people. Ukrainians are strong. Ukrainians defend what’s theirs. Many in the world have sided with Ukraine during the war. Even those who are with Russia know that Russia is doing evil. Of course, we will not reward Russia for what it has perpetrated.
The Ukrainian people deserve peace. But all partners must understand what a dignified peace is. This war must be brought to an end – and Russia must end it. Russia started it and is dragging it out, ignoring all deadlines, and that is the problem, not something else.
The answer to the Ukrainian territorial question already is in the Constitution of Ukraine. No one will deviate from this – and no one will be able to. Ukrainians will not gift their land to the occupier.
Ukraine is ready for real decisions that can bring peace. Any decisions that are against us, any decisions that are without Ukraine, are at the same time decisions against peace. They will not achieve anything. These are stillborn decisions. They are unworkable decisions. And we all need real and genuine peace. Peace that people will respect.
We are ready to work together with President Trump, together with all our partners for real and, most importantly, lasting peace. A peace that will not collapse because of Moscow’s desires.
I thank all our people for being together. Ukraine is. I thank all our soldiers for preserving our independence. Stand firm, this is our land, we are Ukraine.
Glory to Ukraine! [President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, address to the nation, 2025.08.09]
Trump has no Russian rockets or Ukrainian drones raining death on his people, yet Trump is wimpishly surrendering to Russian war aims. President Zelenskyy is the true moral model for the world of bravery and defiance of tyranny and aggression.
Can’t we just trade turmp (and three draft choices or maybe his kids) for peace?
Putin will eat Trump”s lunch.