One might be disappointed or concerned about the outcome of Donald Trump’s phone call with Putin, but not surprised. The US president failed to end the war because he didn’t try.

This is reported by Bloomberg, reports Censor.NET .

From day one, Trump focused on achieving a reset in relations with Russia that would benefit the United States economically. U.S. involvement in the war was an obstacle that needed to be removed before that could happen, and it needed to be done through a peaceful settlement, not through abandoning Ukraine. But that wasn’t the end of it, the article says.

“This was a European situation, and it was supposed to stay European. So, we’ve dealt with that, now what?” Trump was quoted as saying by the publication.

First, if Congress does not force Trump to act, he can leave the long and thankless job of brokering a peace settlement to the Pope, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, or anyone else who wants to do it. In the meantime, he can focus on making money.

“From Moscow’s point of view, everything could hardly have ended better. Putin made a new vague proposal to start direct negotiations with Ukraine and set out his demands in a memorandum. One can guess quite accurately what it will contain, because the Kremlin has repeatedly voiced its conditions for peace. Now that Trump is out of the game, Putin has fewer reasons to make concessions: Ukraine will have to hand over not only the occupied territories that Russia formally annexed, but also the unoccupied ones, abandon ties with NATO, and demobilize most of its armed forces,” the author notes.

That is why Ukrainians have no choice but to keep fighting, the publication believes. Without a future ability to defend themselves, their country will no longer exist as a sovereign state.

“Whether Ukraine will be able to maintain at least the current level of defense, let alone an offensive, or will suffer a catastrophic breakthrough due to a lack of weapons and ammunition, now depends on Europe ,” the publication writes.

Bloomberg notes that European leaders have known about the possibility of the US withdrawing from the conflict since Trump was elected. The words were right, but the actions definitely did not match the statements. 

“The Ukrainian troops are undoubtedly in a bad position, but they will continue to fight because they have to. And Great Britain, France, Germany and most of the countries of Northern and Eastern Europe recognize that the defense of Ukraine is to a large extent their own defense,” the author notes.

These countries have the financial capacity, but they lack the industrial capacity to fill the void that the US withdrawal will leave behind, as well as a collective sense of urgency to do whatever is necessary to fix it.

Europe must make an effort, but it is not obliged to provide everything. A year before the full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine, the publication writes, produced military equipment worth about $750 million. This year it has the potential, if not the means, to produce military equipment worth about $35 billion, including the world’s best drone industry. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 40% of the weapons used on the front are now produced in his country, and this share continues to grow.

European governments and arms manufacturers can focus on filling critical gaps in the production of aircraft, missiles, air defense systems, etc., that Ukraine cannot produce on its own.

Trump had the resources to increase financial and military pressure on Putin before he sat down at the table for real peace talks; he simply chose not to use them. Now it’s Europe’s turn, the author concluded.

Author:  Bohdan Rusinko Джерело: https://censor.net/ua/n3553455

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