When we talk about the war in Ukraine, I agree with supporting the invaded country. Let my position be clear. However, to understand President Trump’s position, we must remember several factors.
First: The war has stalled, and Russia is advancing, even if I don’t like it. By early 2025, the Russian army controlled about 18% of Ukraine’s territory. It added 1,500 square miles over the course of 2024, almost twice the size of London.
Second: Sanctions against Russia have failed. I was the first to defend them, but I warned that if Asia didn’t join, they would fail. Between 2022 and 2024, Russia’s trade surplus has reached over $600 billion. Russian products are exported all over the world and in many cases, they are sold in the European Union via China or India.
Third: The European Union’s position with the United States cannot be one of indignation when it maintains growing strategic ties with China, Russia’s partner and ally “without limits” or when EU leaders speak of Putin as a murderous dictator but treat him as an uncomfortable partner.
The European Union’s position cannot be in confrontation with Trump. The EU excluded the import of Russian liquefied natural gas from sanctions. In 2024, EU imports of Russian liquefied natural gas reached a record $7 billion. France, Spain, and Belgium accounted for 85% of those. Spain has imported more than $8.9 billion of Russian liquefied natural gas since the beginning of the war, and the European Union nearly $21 billion.
Fourth: Almost 18% of Ukraine’s population is Russian, about 8.4 million people.
Fifth: President Trump’s position on Ukraine is not a shock or a surprise from a week ago. He clarified his stance on Ukraine more than a year ago, specifically in February 2024, and reiterated it throughout the campaign. European Union leaders assumed he would not win the elections by a wide margin and that, if he did, he would not fulfil his promises. The war in Ukraine has cost the American taxpayer more than $350 billion, and in the United States, this war is not perceived as we see it in European media.
I would say it would be difficult to add anything to this article. Europe both wants this war to continue and it wants the US to pay for it. Hmmmm……. Trump has said they can’t have both at the same time and will find a way to peace because of the absurd European positions vis-a-vis the conduct of the war and continental economics. The EU wants it all but will not pay for any and Trump is not biting on that bait.