Even before President Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrives at the Munich Security Conference tomorrow to renew his case to the United States for defending Ukraine's independence, his country's fate already seems sealed.
He had created a sense of fear. The day before Donald Trump's phone call with Vladimir Putin, the American leader had remarked pragmatically that "Ukraine could one day become Russian."
Screenshot_20250213-041053.png
The extent of what he meant became clear when the two presidents invited each other to a summit during their 90-minute conversation yesterday. Forget NATO membership or the presence of American troops on the ground. Ukraine is expected to give up territory that Russia began occupying in 2014. Zelenskiy was warned almost for informational purposes. His worst fear — that the terms and conditions of a peace deal would be agreed behind his back — has come true.
His offers of essential minerals to Ukraine in exchange for protection have carried little weight. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has brought to Kiev an economic cooperation agreement that Ukraine signed "in exchange" for continued support.
With Trump making major concessions before negotiations begin, stunned European allies are facing a $3 trillion bill to bolster their defense and rebuild Ukraine after the war. There is a bitter irony in the fact that it was in Munich in 1938 that the Western powers believed they could stop Nazi aggression by agreeing to Germany's annexation of part of Czechoslovakia.
Screenshot_20250213-041110.png
Some see echoes of this failed appeasement policy today and predict that Putin will continue to test NATO's eastern flank. Critics say Europe has only itself to blame for hoping that the United States will protect it indefinitely.
Ukraine has been under martial law since Russia invaded in 2022, but the future of its warlord is uncertain. Trump has highlighted Zelenskiy's "not great" poll numbers and the need for an election, a not-so-subtle hint that he wants out. This is another thing Putin would like. - Flavia Krause-Jackson
[attachment deleted by admin]