Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky listens as Donald Trump speaks during a joint press conference at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, December 28, 2025
EA-War on Politics 24 VideoCast: Can Ukraine and Europe Break Putin’s Invasion?
Alongside Siobhan O’Grady, the Kyiv bureau chief of the Washington Post, I joined Ireland’s RTE Radio 1 on Monday to evaluate the aftermath of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with Donald Trump in Florida.
We note the misleading headlines that an end of the Russian invasion might be near. Instead, we look at the key components of the Ukraine-Europe proposals seeking US support: security guarantees, rejection of any handover of territory to Moscow, funds for Ukrainian reconstruction, and Kyiv’s control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
We juxtapose the discussion of those provisions with Trump’s praise — sometimes bizarre, as in “Russia wants Ukraine to succeed” — of Vladimir Putin.
The conclusion? Even if Ukraine, Europe, and their supporters within the Trump Administration get a resolution of the issues, Putin will reject the proposals.
However, that is not the immediate priority. Ukraine and Europe are seeking to hold the political initiative, stepping up pressure on the Kremlin as its invasion makes little progress and the Russian economy faces problems.
