Trump’s Ukraine Peace Plan

The first tranche US President Donald Trump’s 28-point peace proposal to end the Ukraine war was a feeler with the threat “Take the Deal by November 27 … Or Else!!!” The proposal included: Russia gets 20% of Ukrainian territory; US security guarantees to Ukraine in exchange for specified benefits; Ukraine won’t get NATO membership; Ukraine’s military limited to 600,000 personnel; Russia reinstated in G8 and the global financial system; US to unfreeze Russia's $100 billion – for Ukraine’s reconstruction under US; US receives 50% profit share with EU contributing additional $100 billion; elections in Ukraine within 100 days; act of aggression by either side to render the treaty null and void.

The ‘stated’ aim is to force Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to part with Ukrainian territory. But the façade  covered the following: recovering territory with Russia is impossible; Zelensky rewarded for playing proxy and recycling billions of dollars back to the US; personal corruption of Zelensky and Ukraine’s war crimes overlooked; Global Village Goon America takes control of Central Bank Funds of Russia – same as it seized central funds of Afghanistan; America to make money both ways including in reconstruction of Ukraine – Trump and family could also use this money to make up loss of  $1 billion suffered in the recent crypto crash; Zelensky can be used to violate the treaty (blaming it on Russia) when required to  render it void; election in Ukraine can be orchestrated for Zelensky to continue. 

Zelensky played his part of the drama by saying: Ukraine might face a very difficult choice; will seek constructive solutions with our partner; pressure on Ukraine is one of the most serious; honour and dignity of Ukrainians be preserved.

But that is not all what Zelensky did. With Europe rallying behind him, Zelensky signed a 10-year deal with France in November 2025 for importing 100 rafale fighter jets. A month earlier Zelensky and Sweden signed a letter of intent for Ukraine to purchase 100-150 Saab Gripen fighter jets. Following Zelensky’s Rafale deal, the French army chief warned France must be ready to “lose its children” against the 'Moscow regime'; France has the strength to deter Moscow but lacks the spirit to endure sacrifice.

This, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin addressing Europe on TV a few months back that Russia has no intention of invading Europe or fight a war with them.

The irony is that Europe, particularly France, Germany and Britain don’t want the war in Ukraine to end. Europe is facing slower growth, heavier debts, and growing transatlantic dependency. Washington has very craftily tightened the leash on its kennel club (Europe); selling the idea that the war would isolate and destabilize Russia, but instead shaking the economic very foundations of Europe, stressing the population of these countries through supply disruptions, rising defence budgets and the burden of refugees. Europe’s industrial base regarded as the foundation of its prosperity has been hit hardest. For example, the chemical industry, Europe’s largest manufacturing employer, saw energy costs double from €3 billion to over €6 billion annually within two years. The economic blowback on Europe from politically motivated decisions is now widely acknowledged. The share of the eurozone’s GDP in global output has declined from 15% pre-sanctions to 13% currently, which is huge (https://www.businessworld.in/article/politics-over-prosperity-europe-s-self-inflicted-economic-pain-578593). But most European leaders are only interested in retaining power. France and Britain are vying for the leadership of Europe, knowing they can’t handle Europe’s security by themselves. Germany on the other hand can’t get off its Nazi legacy. Only Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Melony had the guts to tell Zelensky no more funding for weapons as he faces a new probe for $100 million corruption.

According to Trump’s plan, Crimea, Luhansk and Donetsk will be recognized as de facto Russian territory.  Russia will relinquish the territories it has seized other than the five oblasts (in Kharkiv and Ddnipropetrovsk). If peace prevails, the US promises to reintegrate Russia into the global economy. Sanctions on Russia could be lifted and the country could rejoin the G8 grouping. The EU and NATO, promises NATO-style security assurances to Ukraine for up to 10 years, which can be renewed by mutual agreement. It is being said that Trump’s plan addresses both Russia’s security concerns and Ukraine’s demand for security guarantees. Is that so? What is the difference between EU and NATO promising NATO-style security assurances to Ukraine and Ukraine admitted to NATO – only play of semantics? How are Russia’s security concerns addressed with Sweden and Finland admitted to NATO in recent months and NATO deployments in these countries? Hasn’t the lie if “NATO will not expand further” been busted time and again? How can the world trust a rogue nation like the US where the presidents are puppets dancing differently to the tune of America’s deep state. The Joe Biden administration embraced Venezuela for its oil but now Trump is preparing for a land invasion of that country. Trump’s abhorrence for climate change and global environment is known since he withdrew from the Paris accord in his first presidency. His idiosyncrasies bordering on the ridiculous are evident from his outburst against BRICS and the move to exclude South Africa from the G20.   

If Trump is sincere about bringing peace in Ukraine, it is possibly only because Russia’s resilience has flummoxed him. He has probably realized that Zelensky’s efforts to initiate a Russia-Europe war (nuclear or otherwise) would unlikely leave America unscathed. Moreover, the continuing war in Ukraine distracts the US from China which is making no bones about its intentions about Taiwan. In fact, a continuing war in Ukraine would give China the leeway to choose when to go for Taiwan. Most of all, the American aim of distancing China from Russia and dealing with them piecemeal has backfired horribly. A Chinese assault on Taiwan would shatter the big bully façade carefully built by the US by attacking countries that cannot hit back. It is well known that a major reason for the US sitting in Japan is to ensure Tokyo doesn’t go nuclear.

The situation today is that American weaponization of sanctions and global financial systems has failed to destabilize Russia, which continues to win the war and wreak havoc on Kyiv. Zelensky’s depleted front-line forces are becoming thinner as recruitable Ukrainian men are fleeing the country to ward off forcible drafting. Munitions stockpiles are being depleted much faster than they can be replenished. Russia’s indispensable financial and industrial lifeline, buying up discounted Russian oil and gas, supplying key electronics and components, help circumvent sanctions; with a China-centric Eurasian axis emerging. Trump’s slapdash idiotic behaviour led Canadian PM Mark Carney to observe at the recent G20 meeting in Johannesburg that the global economy can make progress on a range of issues, even without participation from the US – we should work without the US!

 The West has frozen about US$300 billion of Russian assets, mostly in Europe, to punish Moscow for the war, which the US-NATO forced upon Russia by posing an existential threat to Moscow. Russia wants those assets unfrozen and has threatened action against the European Union, which has produced a plan to issue a loan to Ukraine using cash balances accrued from the frozen securities. To top this, Trump is now eyeing all this money for America.

Trump sent Steve Witkoff (called Trump’s Disaster Man) to meet Putin. But a leaked recording showed Witkoff advising a Russian official on how to appeal to Trump (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3r7xr94ln8o). If Boogeyman Trump thinks he can bully his way through Putin and make accept his so-called peace plan, he must have his head examined. Putin is very clear that seizing Russian assets is “theft”. He has described Trump’s plan as a  set of issues put forward for discussion, and added, “If Ukrainian troops withdraw from the territories they occupy, hostilities will cease. If they don’t withdraw, we will achieve this by force”. A Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman said, “this country’s (Ukraine’s) membership of an aggressive military alliance that has declared Russia to be its target, calling it a security threat in all operational environments, is unacceptable to us.” 

Finally, it requires no intelligence to decipher that peace in Ukraine is impossible till Zelensky remains on the scene and in power. Soaked in corruption, the manner in which he has destroyed Ukraine and got over a million Ukrainians killed indicates he has no love lost for his country and countrymen; only cling to power playing geopolitical prostitute to the US-led NAO and the EU. How serious is Trump about peace in Ukraine also remains questionable.

The author is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed are personal.

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Trump-Putin Alaska Summit: https://www.thestrategicperspective.org/trump-putin-alaska-sumit/

Trump’s War on India: https://www.thestrategicperspective.org/trumps-war-on-india/