On February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin brutally invaded Ukraine with no right or justification. Since that time, Ukraine has fought its aggressor – a nuclear power ten times its economic size – with unimageable bravery and remarkable tenacity.

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The United States cannot allow Vladimir Putin to get away with this unspeakable atrocity. We have a vital national security interest in Putin’s illegal invasion because we benefit mightily from a peaceful and secure Europe; we value global commerce; and we have a deep commitment to protecting fairness and democracy around the world. Equally important is the fact that other countries are closely watching how this unfolds. Chinese President Xi Jinping, for one, is most certainly interested in how America responds to Russia illegally taking territory by force as he determines the risk versus reward of invading Taiwan.

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For all these reasons, the United States must fully support Ukraine – along with Georgia, the Baltic nations and other former “republics” of the Soviet Union who have chosen to seek a free and democratic future – to the very best of our ability, including economically, diplomatically, and by providing weapons and sharing our intelligence. At the same time, we must make sure our European allies continue to share the burden, and help Ukraine develop its own arms industry to help reduce its dependence on outside forces.

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The American people must be diligent about this because things have taken a surreal turn in this Trump administration – firmly toward Russia. Almost immediately after President Trump’s inauguration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio started unilateral “peace” negotiations with Russia without Ukraine or any U.S. allies involved, including NATO members. Vice President JD Vance – who once said, “I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine” – traveled to Germany, where he condescendingly lectured our European allies about their retreat from “traditional values,” and told them that the main security threat they face is inadequate free speech. His main proof of this was that German political parties refuse to cooperate with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, who many accuse of aligning, at least on some level, with Nazism. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stop all offensive operations against Russia, later saying he thought it was “unrealistic” for Ukraine to become a member of NATO or get all its territory back from Russia through peace negotiations.

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They all started faithfully parroting Putin’s talking points. Steve Witkoff, the Trump Administration’s special negotiator on Ukraine, told Tucker Carlson (of all people) that Putin “100%” doesn’t want to continue his authoritarian march across Europe. Witkoff even suggested that Putin doesn’t really want to control Ukraine: “Why would they want to absorb Ukraine? That would be like occupying Gaza. Why do the Israelis really want to occupy Gaza for the rest of their lives? They don’t.” …which is just an idiotic thing to say about an autocrat who has made it very clear in every way possible that he wants to restore the Russian empire of yore.

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For his part, President Trump launched a full-throttled attack against Ukraine, claiming “dictator” Volodymyr Zelensky started the war and that Zelensky “probably just wanted to keep the “gravy train going,” then ambushing and berating Zelensky in the Oval Office in one of the most shameful scenes that has ever happened in that room – prompting former Russian president Dmitri Medvedev to say, “The insolent pig finally got a proper slap down in the Oval Office,” and the Kremlin to comment, with glee, that “the new administration is rapidly changing all foreign policy configurations. This largely aligns with our vision.”

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Meanwhile, Putin is playing Donald Trump like the useful idiot he created him to be, suggesting in a phone conversation in late March 2025 that, instead of an unconditional ceasefire, he would just prefer that both sides stop bombing each other’s energy infrastructure (unsurprisingly, one of the best targets for Ukraine). Plus, Ukraine must agree to a freeze on foreign military aid and agree to stop all recruiting and training. Russia, of course, doesn’t have to do any of these things. Putin also demanded that the “root causes” of the conflict be resolved – meaning, he wants all the land back and wants Ukraine to cease to exist. After the call, former British prime minister Boris Johnson spoke for the entire world when he said that Putin is “laughing at us.”