The war in Ukraine, which has mostly seen two Slavic peoples pitted against either in a World War I-style level of trench warfare slaughter, is likely not coming to an end anytime soon, despite Trump’s best efforts.
Certainly, Trump cannot be blamed for not trying to end the war in Ukraine. He is currently dedicating much of his time and diplomatic resources to this effort. While he undoubtedly wants to score a major political victory by ending the war, he also makes ample rhetorical efforts to humanize both sides, whether Russian or Ukrainian. He speaks of the wanton slaughter on both sides, pointing to the fathers, brothers, and sons losing their lives and limbs by the hundreds of thousands.
This was always a good first step; however, it will not be enough to end this war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was hardly pleased with the mention of NATO-style security guarantees that Trump appeared to offer Ukraine. All sources indicate that Putin met Trump’s proposal with cold rejection after a Monday telephone call.
Trump had reached out to Putin after conducting hours of a one-on-one talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and seven other European leaders, who were all in Washington.
The next step was for Zelensky and Putin to meet, and afterwards for Trump to join the meeting with the other two leaders at a later date. All signs point to Putin souring towards Trump’s proposal.
There is no doubt that Trump is actively seeking peace, unlike Biden, but Trump has already wavered in his past attempts to cut funding and weapons for Ukraine, quickly reversing his position when the media confronted him.
Trump is acutely susceptible to such attacks. He certainly does not want to experience an Afghan-style retreat involving Ukrainian forces in the face of the Russians, which the Western media would have a field day with. Biden was greatly embarrassed when the Taliban quickly swooped to victory following the withdrawal of U.S. forces. However, Trump is even more so a man who likes to project an aura of strength. To make matters worse, Trump would be relentlessly attacked by the mainstream outlets that mostly gave Biden a pass on Afghanistan.
Europe’s elite sees the war as an opportunity against Russia
Despite Russian breakthroughs, Europe and Western intelligence networks still believe they can either win or grind away at Russia, potentially for years. As George Soros wrote already in 1993, the Slavs of the East would make excellent cannon fodder for a war against Russia. He did not put it exactly in those words, but readers can decide for themselves what he meant with the following text:
“The United States would not be called upon to act as the policeman of the world. When it acts, it would act in conjunction with others. Incidentally, the combination of manpower from Eastern Europe with the technical capabilities of NATO would greatly enhance the military potential of the Partnership because it would reduce the risk of body bags for NATO countries, which is the main constraint on their willingness to act. This is a viable alternative to the looming world disorder,” wrote Soros in the article.
Soros openly acknowledges that “body bags” would be plentiful in countries like Ukraine, while Western countries would supply the technical support. His prediction was uncanny — coming to pass decades later, almost exactly as he advocated.
Western powers like Germany appear to have fully embraced this concept, with a German intelligence chief stating the war should go on for another five years to sap Russia and protect Western Europe.
Bruno Kahl, the head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) made the comments in an interview earlier this year, saying: “If a war in Ukraine comes to a standstill earlier than (2029 or 2030), then all the means (of Russia) – both the technical and the material – are able much earlier to provide a threat against Europe.”
Ukrainian politicians were outraged, but in a country like Ukraine, which has no real form of democracy left, the war juggernaut continues unabated so long as Zelensky desires.
Zelensky and European leaders know what Putin will not accept, i.e., NATO-style security “guarantees” against further Russian incursions. Putin knows that Ukraine’s constitution will not accept territorial losses, even if Trump is calling for them to reverse their constitution and accept such losses.
What will happen now is that either Russia will take the territories it desires, or Ukraine will eventually push back Russian forces. Either outcome may take years to be decided.
There are some pointing to Ukraine’s manpower shortage, and this is indeed a major weakness. However, the age of drones and artificial intelligence is upon us. Many areas of the frontline are almost entirely guarded by unmanned suicide drones, and they are proving so effective that the need for Ukrainian men has been greatly reduced. Europe believes that Ukraine can hold out and inflict incredible losses on Russia, even if Russia is making territorial gains.
In the meantime, neighboring Hungary has long been a proponent for immediate peace in the war in Ukraine, with Orbán strongly backing Trump’s presidency, calling him the “peace” president. However, the Hungarian media, and the ruling Fidesz, appear to be entering a quiet resignation that Trump may not be able to bring the peace he promised.
That is bad news for Hungary, and it is bad news for Europe. It is even worse news for Ukrainians and Russians.
Undoubtedly, there is still some glimmer of hope that Trump can pull off the impossible. For the millions of Ukrainians and Russian locked in hellish combat, where robotic drones hunt them across a vast battlefield, the horror is set to continue unless a miracle comes to pass.
