A photo of Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin standing together at the Alaska ‘Summit’ in August 2025 is displayed in the Palm Room of Trump’s White House. It speaks volumes of Trump’s inexplicable admiration of Putin along with other autocrats and dictators, and what Volodymyr Zelenskyy is up against in negotiating with Russia while the US is posing as a ‘neutral’ party. The problem is that Trump is well known to be in awe of Putin, favorable to Russia, and annoyed with Zelenskyy, as per the famous White House scolding over Ukraine having no cards to play.
This bad position for Ukraine is reinforced by the very problematic but worrisome National Security Policy of the United States of America (November 2025). From this astounding MAGA security perspective, Ukraine is seen by Trump as a colonial legacy of the Soviet Union that the US can cede to Russia’s regional dominance in return for Putin accommodating American visions of control over the Western hemisphere. In such ways, the politics of personalities and global MAGA ambitions might add to several other explanations for why Trump has continually betrayed Zelenskyy and Ukraine over the years. While Trump repeatedly denies any prejudice and frequently portrays anger over Russia’s actions vis-à-vis Ukraine, he always bounces back to personal support of his bromance with Putin – now hanging on his wall.
In this way, Zelenskyy is truly a David up against two Goliaths – not just Putin but also Trump. And not for one decisive battle, but for years of warfare on the battlefronts of Ukraine. Most remarkably, Zelenskyy’s Ukraine is holding the line against Russian forces. While the Russian narrative of Putin’s forces continuing to advance on Ukrainian territory has been adopted by Trump and mainstream media in the US, many have pointed out that those advances have been very limited, while Russia has lost far more soldiers than Ukraine (25:1). In late-December 2025, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said that 25,000 Russian soldiers were being killed every month, others have reported 30,000, and estimates of Russia’s total loses are up to 1.5 million killed and wounded.
Amidst growing doubts about Russia being able to sustain its war on the battlefronts, the Russian economy is also hemorrhaging in the face of oil embargoes, shrinking financial reserves, and rising inflation. At the very time that Russia is on the ropes and unable after four years of pouring its armed forces into Ukraine’s meatgrinder, the US is trying to force Ukraine to accept some land swape in the Donbas that Russia could not win by force. The pressure includes not so vailed threats to reduce American support for Ukraine.
Americans must wake up to the betrayal of Ukraine by the United States. Already 53 percent of the U.S. population want the US to help Ukraine reclaim territory (not cede it), even if it prolongs the conflict.[i] Gallup asked Americans if the US is doing too much to help Ukraine, not enough or the right amount, and found that nearly half (46%) said they were not doing enough, compared to less than a third (30%) saying the US was doing “too much”. Those perceiving the US is doing too much are Republicans, while Democrats and Independents have increasingly shifted to argue Americans are not doing enough. Given Donald Trump’s attitudes toward Ukraine and Zelenskyy, this partisan divide is not surprising, but even more dangerous. This is not the case in most nations of the liberal democratic West, such as the UK, France, and Germany, which are stepping up as fast as possible to support Ukraine.
In the US, support for Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine is a partisan political issue, just as how the killings of citizens in Minneapolis have become partisan issues with Trump MAGA Republican supporters blaming the protestors for violence while Democrats and increasing numbers of independents are shocked if not understandably enraged by the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents. This is the case even though the initial claims of the President, Vice President, and Secretary of Homeland Security, have been proven wrong by the videos shared by ICE observers. Sadly, the administration has become the source of disinformation not only about Ukraine but also about the killings of citizens by ICE. Here it is another David versus Goliath struggle for citizens against the administration and ICE.
[i] https://news.gallup.com/poll/658193/support-greater-role-ukraine-climbs-high.aspx