Almost three years ago, on Feb. 24, 2022, Russian forces invaded Ukraine with the intent to overtake the entire country in what Vladimir Putin claimed as his historical right.
It was always ours, the Russian president asserted, referring to the days of the Russian empire, 1721- 1917.
Looking at a map from that era, it’s not only Ukraine that should be afraid.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump blamed Ukraine for the current war.
“You should have never started it,” Trump said. “You could have made a deal.”
A deal presumably to surrender its sovereignty.
A deal that rewarded Putin for being the aggressor.
A deal that would signal to all of Europe that they, too, are Putin’s to overrun.
Eighty years of U.S.-European diplomacy are now being flushed down the drain in favor of collaborating with those who dismiss their right to sovereignty.
As for Americans, Trump’s sidling up to Putin tells us that this administration will now reward might, not right. That thugs like Putin will be elevated as statesmen. That democracy is on the chopping block as dictators are allowed to carve out new territories to massage their egos.
To wit, Tuesday’s meeting in Saudi Arabia between U.S. and Russian delegates yielded plans to award Russia the land it has seized in Ukraine, readmit it to the Group of 7 major powers, from which it was expelled in 2014 for its original incursion into Ukraine, as well as lift U.S. sanctions against Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
And for Ukraine? The United States will withdraw its military support and deny its application to become a member of NATO.
And where was Ukraine during these discussions about its fate?
Denied a seat at the table.
Time and again, Trump has cast Ukraine as an undue burden on the United States, falsely claiming we have contributed three times as much to its defense as has Europe, when in fact Europe has allocated $138 billion compared with $119 billion from the United States.
Yes, a staggering amount, but the stakes could not be higher.
