The wonder is that after the disgraceful performance of Zelensky at the Oval Office, Trump is stil making it clear that he is willing to forgive and forget if we can get a deal to end the war. 

As Trump said, Zelenskyy really overplayed his hand, thinking he could renegotiate the deal he had cut by trying to shame and school Trump in front of the world. It was a horrible move, but Trump wants a deal, and if Zelenskyy backs down then the war can end. 

Zelenskyy believes that if the US were willing to enter the war then he could repel Russia, kick it out of Crimea and the Donbas, and the world would be just again. It is not going to happen, and absolutely nobody actually believes that is wise. Obama didn't. He wouldn't even send weapons to Ukraine after Russia invaded because Ukraine is not a vital interest of ours and war with Russia would be horrible. Biden didn't until the war started. Only Trump actually helped Ukraine with weapons, and Zelenskyy still criticized Trump for not doing enough during his first term. 

Europeans pretend they can go it alone if they have to, but that is no more realistic than an 8 year old threatening to run away from home unless he gets his way. Europe has depended on the US for 80 years to defend it, and they have no capacity to do so. None. It could in the future, and Presidents have for decades told them to step up, but they have refused every time to honor their commitments. Now they whine, even though they have demeaned and betrayed us. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio just gave one of the BEST interviews I have watched in defense of President Trump's Ukraine and Russia strategy.

President Trump picked a seasoned media veteran like Rubio for moments like these, here is the full interview! pic.twitter.com/ETaBLVVUHE

— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) March 1, 2025

In this context, Zelenskyy's tweetstorm after the argument at the White House just made things worse. He maintained that Ukraine has a right not just to guarantees--which were actually implied in the minerals deal--but help in kicking Russia entirely out of Ukrainian territory including Crimea. That is his red line. 

Red lines are fictions if you can't back them up. Europe won't back him up on that. Imagine France, Germany, and Great Britain sending troops to Ukraine to go toe to toe with Russia. Never going to happen. They know that the United States is the only country in the world that could possibly liberate Ukraine, and we are not going to risk a nuclear war for a strategically insignificant country. Ever. 

America’s help has been vital in helping us survive, and I want to acknowledge that. Despite the tough dialogue, we remain strategic partners. But we need to be honest and direct with each other to truly understand our shared goals.

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 1, 2025

Zelenskyy starts out relatively well, but he gets to the nub of the matter pretty quickly: he refuses a cease-fire with Russia and instead wants even more US support to kick Putin out of 100% of Ukrainian territory and guarantees from the US and NATO that we will go to war with Russia over Ukraine. 

Never happening, and worse, a rejection of Trump's war aims. Trump wants the war ended, while Zelenskyy wants an impossible total victory with no negotiations. That war, necessarily, would mean tanks going to Moscow to depose Putin because Putin will not stop fighting. He refuses to lose, and has more men than Zelenskyy. 

As President Reagan once said, “Peace is not just the absence of war.” We’re talking about just and lasting peace—freedom, justice, and human rights for everyone. A ceasefire won’t work with Putin. He has broken ceasefires 25 times over the last ten years. A real peace is the…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 1, 2025

"A ceasefire won't work with Putin." 

Once you start with that premise then the discussion is over, because Trump will make no guarantees at all without a ceasefire. It is his red line, and he DOES have the ability to back it up. Ukraine is screwed without the US, whatever he and the Europeans believe. They don't have the weapons or the will to fight Russia or even supply Ukraine for any amount of time. Only the US does, so what they are doing is what liberals always do: talk, as if talking is equivalent to doing. 

We are ready to sign the minerals agreement, and it will be the first step toward security guarantees. But it’s not enough, and we need more than just that. A ceasefire without security guarantees is dangerous for Ukraine. We’ve been fighting for 3 years, and Ukrainian people need to know that America is on our side.

I cannot change Ukraine’s position on Russia. The Russians are killing us. Russia is the enemy, and that’s the reality we face. Ukraine wants peace, but it must be a just and lasting peace. For that, we need to be strong at the negotiation table. Peace can only come when we know we have security guarantees, when our army is strong, and our partners are with us.

When Zelenskyy says "just and lasting peace," he has made clear that means two things: all Ukrainian territory lost since 2014 returned and NATO membership. Without those he will not stop fighting. 

I can understand and sympathize with his demand, but the reality is that neither of those things is going to happen. Even if the US agreed, which we do not, Turkey or some other NATO country would balk at committing to go to war with Russia, and would be right to do so. It would amount to potential national suicide. And all for a country that matters little strategically. It would be committing to war out of an irrational generous impulse, which sounds nice but would be insane in the real world. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer just told Ukrainian President Zelensky he has "the full backing" of the U.K.

Then he signed a new loan to support Ukraine's war effort for "as long as it is needed."

These people truly want a Forever War.

How many more people have to die in their… pic.twitter.com/rePW96dGZC

— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) March 1, 2025

Think of Poland in World War II. It had security guarantees, but when Germany invaded you got a "phony war." Countries had to look out for themselves, prepare for their own wars with Germany that were coming, and hence only made noises about defending the Poles. The cause was just--Poland was invaded by a country far more evil than Russia, but the European powers wanted to see if they could avoid a shooting war while preparing to fight one if necessary. When it didn't work out, 100 million people died. 

Europe right now cannot defend itself without the United States, and no snitfit will change that. Insulting the US and making irrational demands certainly won't change it. 

Europe is ready for contingencies and to help fund our large army. We also need the U.S. role in defining security guarantees—what kind, what volume, and when. Once these guarantees are in place, we can talk with Russia, Europe, and the U.S. about diplomacy. War alone is too…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 1, 2025

We want peace. That’s why I came to the United States, and visited President Trump. The deal on minerals is just a first step toward security guarantees and getting closer to peace. Our situation is tough, but we can’t just stop fighting and not having guarantees that Putin will not return tomorrow.

 It will be difficult without the U.S. support. But we can’t lose our will, our freedom, or our people. We’ve seen how Russians came to our homes and killed many people. Nobody wants another wave of occupation. If we cannot be accepted to NATO, we need some clear structure of security guarantees from our allies in the U.S.

As Trump said, you can't make demands if your opposite in a negotiation knows you have no way to enforce them. Trump has made clear he will not go that far, so Zelenskyy spitting in his face over something he wants but cannot get is the opposite of what he should be doing. There are 4 major players here: Ukraine, Europe, the US, and Russia. 

Only two have many cards to play, and they are not Ukraine and the EU, who are acting as if they can dictate terms to the two who do have the real power. That is counterproductive, stupid, insulting, and a path to defeat. They are choosing defeat out of a misplaced sense of pride. 

This is where Zelenskyy goes entirely off the rails:

All Ukrainians want to hear a strong U.S. position on our side. It’s understandable the U.S. might look for dialogue with Putin. But the U.S. has always spoken about ‘peace through strength.’ And together we can take strong steps against Putin.

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 1, 2025

I want the U.S. to stand more firmly on our side. This is not just a war between our two countries; Russia brought this war onto our territory and into our homes. They are wrong because they disrespected our territorial integrity.

All Ukrainians want to hear a strong U.S. position on our side. It’s understandable the U.S. might look for dialogue with Putin. But the U.S. has always spoken about ‘peace through strength.’ And together we can take strong steps against Putin.

Zelenskyy and all Ukrainians can want whatever they want, but that doesn't give them the right to dictate US policy. US policy is dictated by our permanent vital interests, and who owns Ukraine doesn't matter a whit to us except morally. It really doesn't, once you get past the rhetoric and emotional appeals. The countries we need to defend have security guarantees, and as Zelenskyy himself well knows those guarantees deter Russia. Russia will not invade Poland, and if they would, that shows a US security guarantee wouldn't help HIM anyway. 

Either the guarantee deters Russia, as Zelenskyy claims, so the Baltics and Poland are secure right now, or the guarantee doesn't mean anything so extending one to Ukraine is meaningless. 

Again: the US has no enduring strategic interests in the fate of Ukraine. We would prefer it not be under the Russian boot, but not enough to send Americans to die to prevent it. 

Sorry, not sorry. That is what is called Realpolitik. 

This whole tweetstorm amounts to a continuation of making demands and trying to school Donald Trump as if America is too stupid to see we owe him and Europe what we in fact do not. They need us, not the other way around. 

The sooner they realize that the better for all concerned.