This time the media could not cover it up, what you saw live yesterday is not fake news.
We need to take a realist approach to Ukraine and global power politics.
The hard truth is this: Ukraine is not a NATO member, nor is it a formal, treaty-bound U.S. ally. It is a proxy in a conflict that is pulling us closer to World War III. President Zelensky must recognize that without U.S. support, Ukraine would not exist as it does today. Zelensky needs to align with American interests, not the other way around. He failed at that today.
Also, we no longer live in the post-World War II era of uncontested U.S. dominance. The world has changed. Great powers are forming strategic alliances and the world is moving toward a multipolar order. Spheres of influence are re-emerging—Russia and China aim to dominate the East, while the U.S. and its allies must solidify control over the West.
A Policy Failure That Shifted the Global Balance
Consider this: Putin did not invade any new territory while President Trump was in office from 2016-2020. However, under both Obama and Biden, Russia expanded aggressively. Why? Because both the Obama and Biden administrations engaged in empty rhetoric rather than serious diplomacy.
Instead of maintaining the long-standing U.S. foreign policy objective of keeping China and Russia from forming a strategic alliance, Biden’s inept leadership drove them into each other’s arms. Now, Russia and China have formed an economic and military bloc that directly challenges U.S. power.
Great power conflicts ignite when leaders fail to grasp geopolitical realities and refuse to talk. By refusing to engage in serious discussions with other global powers, the Biden administration risked setting the stage for a catastrophic conflict that no one wants to see. The Trump administration now aims to correct that mistake.
Ukraine’s Role is Marginal—U.S. Interests Come First
Some argue that the U.S. must present a unified front, along with Ukraine and Europe, against Russia. That’s a nice soundbite, but it ignores reality. The U.S. is the front. We are NATO, accounting for 70% of its total military power and spending.
Ukraine’s position is irrelevant from a power standpoint—if we withdrew support, Kyiv would collapse overnight. Zelensky should have approached the meeting with President Trump and Vice President Vance with deference, not demands and threats.
Furthermore, this is a European war on European soil. If European nations are truly invested in Ukraine’s survival, they need to shoulder more of the burden. The U.S. cannot and should not be expected to foot the bill for an open-ended conflict on European soil.
Ukraine Cannot Win. It’s Time for a Peace Deal.
Zelensky knows that Ukraine cannot achieve a decisive victory against Russia. Instead, his goal is to pull the U.S. and NATO into direct conflict with Russia—to turn this into a global war rather than a regional one. That would be catastrophic.
The reality is clear: Ukraine is running out of men, munitions, and strategic options. The only viable path forward is diplomacy. The sooner Ukraine acknowledges this, the sooner we can prevent further escalation and ruin.
The Biden Administration’s Dangerous Path
Let’s be clear—things are not yet spiraling out of control, but they would have if the Biden administration’s approach had continued unchecked:
- A protracted, unwinnable war in Ukraine.
- Escalating tensions with Russia.
- The growing risk of direct U.S. military involvement.
- The increasing probability of a nuclear conflict.
The game has changed. We no longer live in a world of uncontested U.S. dominance. To win, we need a strategy based on realpolitik, not wishful thinking. That means recognizing geopolitical limits, securing U.S. interests first, and preventing unnecessary wars that cost our blood and treasure.
The time for reckless interventionism is over. The time for real statecraft and diplomacy is now.
