РУССКИЙ
11:58 04.08.2025 •
Pic.: publics
The deadline for a Ukrainian peace deal draws near. On July 14, President Trump gave Vladimir Putin 50 days to reach an agreement — but just two weeks later, he shortened that timeframe, demanding a ceasefire by August 8. If Moscow fails to make meaningful progress toward peace, the U.S. has said it will retaliate with sanctions on Russia and tariffs on its trade partners.
Still, on the campaign trail, Trump promised peace in Ukraine, so peace in Ukraine is what he must deliver, ‘The American Conservative’ notes.
He also promised to avoid World War III — which America’s escalated involvement in Ukraine makes more likely. While Trump has imposed a deadline in a bid to shorten the war, the more likely effect is to delay the inevitable victory of Russia, which may never secure a total triumph but holds enough military advantages to achieve its main war aims. Trump must not prolong the conflict to spite Putin.
The promise to swiftly end the Ukrainian war — in 24 hours, no less — was central to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Yet six months into Trump’s second term, the Ukraine war is anything but settled. The mainstream media has predictably lambasted Trump over this. CNN counted the number of times Trump made this promise on the campaign trail: 53, according to the liberal media outlet.
Indeed, ending the war in Ukraine is no small order. Trump may very well want it to end, but do Ukraine and Russia? On some level, yes, in the sense that, for both sides, there are conditions under which the cessation of warfare would be acceptable. Russia would certainly agree to lay down its arms if, say, Ukraine opted to dissolve its national government and join the Russian Federation. And Ukraine would agree to peace if Russia were to abandon the land it has gobbled up since it invaded in February 2022. The chances of either of those scenarios playing out are virtually zero.
Trump’s challenge, then, is figuring out the conditions under which both sides would agree to peace. And while our president is renowned for his dealmaking prowess, he is in an unenviable position, as neither Russia nor Ukraine appears keen on agreeing to any peace deal that the other would also plausibly accept.
But as time passed and negotiations failed to secure peace, Trump has learned that Putin is less willing to settle the war than he previously expected.
This undoubtedly angers Trump. It isn’t just that he wants the war to end, it’s that his reputation is on the line as well. And you don’t reach the pinnacle of business and politics without caring about your reputation.
“I’m disappointed in President Putin,” Trump said in Scotland on Monday. “I’m going to reduce that 50 days that I gave him to a lesser number because I think I already know the answer to what's going to happen.”
But why has Putin proven so intransigent? One might think that the generous terms offered by Trump would be sufficient and that Putin’s refusal to accept them reveals his implacable belligerence. But while the Russian president is ruthless, he isn’t irrational.
As critics of Western support for the war have pointed out, Russia is sure to defeat its smaller, weaker neighbor in a long battle of attrition. Putin might just be banking on that.
Trump must deliver peace in Ukraine. Even if Putin is currently the chief obstacle to that aim, Trump should not prolong the war to spite him.
There is no scenario in which Ukraine fully expels Russian forces from its territory.
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