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Initially, the former US president appeared to adopt a resolute position on Ukraine. Following delivering threats of "serious ramifications" in August should Russia's president continued blocking ceasefire discussions, Trump finally enacted substantial restrictions on Russia's biggest petroleum corporations, these major energy companies. This move seriously affected the Russian leader's capability to fund his aggression in the region.

But, via his newly presented comprehensive peace plan for the conflict, that was developed by both nations' representatives excluding Ukrainian or European involvement, he has seemingly returned to his Russia-friendly position.

Favoring Invasion

This plan would essentially reward Putin for occupying a sovereign nation while putting Ukraine's democracy in jeopardy. Despite bold statements that "The nation's independence will be affirmed", large portions of the plan effectively undermine that essential independence. What represents a Kremlin dream would probably be a Ukrainian nightmare.

Showing his business experience, Trump continues to treat the situation in Ukraine as a simple territorial dispute, like ceding Russia a part of Ukrainian soil will please the ruler. But, Putin's war is not simply about controlling a destroyed area of industrial-devastated territory in Ukraine's east. It is about Ukraine's political system – and Putin's apparent desire to destroy it so it stops functions as an appealing example for the Russian people of the responsible leadership that Putin's growing dictatorship denies them.

Land Concessions

Although maintaining in status the presently split oblasts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, Trump's proposal would force the nation to abandon the whole Donetsk region. Beyond favoring Russia with area that its forces have been unable to seize in exceeding a lengthy period of fighting, this giveaway would leave Ukrainian defensive positions dangerously undermined.

The area is the place of Ukraine's well-known "fortress belt", the well-established defensive positions that constitute a critical barrier to enemy progress. Trump would have the Ukrainian military leave these defenses, providing Russian forces a unobstructed path to Kyiv if he subsequently decide to restart the hostilities.

Military Limitations

Then, in a action that would facilitate additional fighting easier for Russia, the plan would force the nation to cut the size of its troops from their present large number personnel to a limit of 600,000. Notably, Trump's proposal imposes no such restrictions on Russian forces.

In what appears as a concession to Russia's campaign to portray the nation's democratically elected administration as radicals, Trump's proposal states: "Any radical doctrine and practices must be opposed and banned." As if to emphasize this aspect, it requires that "The nation will hold elections in this period" of a peace deal. However, Trump imposes no requirement that the Russian leader risk his dictatorship by allowing elections in Russia.

Defense Guarantees

Admittedly, the proposal includes Russia commit not to "enter other states" and to "enshrine in regulation its stance of peaceful relations towards European nations and the Ukrainian people". But taking into account that the Russian leadership has violated similar agreements in the previous instances – for example the Budapest accord, in which the Russian government committed to respect Ukraine's sovereignty in exchange for giving up its former Soviet nuclear arsenal, and the previous peace deals, in which Moscow committed to a truce and a return of occupied land in eastern Ukraine to the government – for what reason should we have confidence in Putin now?

That is why Ukraine has been so adamant on western security guarantees. While the initiative promises a "strong coordinated defense action" if the Russian Federation resume its invasion, and states that "Ukraine will receive reliable security guarantees", the specifics range from fuzzy to alarming. The proposal would not only deny Ukraine Nato membership but also prohibit member states from stationing forces on Ukraine's soil, effectively blocking the security presence, likely led by European powers, on which the Ukrainian government had been depending to deter Russia from rebuilding his weakened troops, re-equipping, and attacking again.

Global Response

An additional supplementary accord apparently would offer the nation with a Nato-style protection assurance, in which any later "major, planned, and ongoing military assault" by Russia on the country "will be treated as an attack threatening the peace and security of the Western nations." This implies a defense action. However unlike a strong Ukrainian military – the nation's primary defense against renewed Russian aggression – the credibility of the parallel accord would rely on the commitment of alliance members, like the US administration, to act with force to Russia's hostilities, something they have {not