Seeking Ukraine peace, Trump energetically throws Russia off balance

Published January 23, 2025 3:32pm ET



President Donald Trump has made clear that his top foreign policy priority is ending Russia’s war on Ukraine, and his motive seems to be a genuinely moral one. On Thursday, the president accurately described the World War I-style killing fields that now litter eastern Ukraine.

Much of the commentary surrounding Trump’s peace ambitions has focused on Ukraine. Trump has said he intends to reduce military aid to Ukraine and restrict Ukrainian strikes into Russia with U.S.-provided weapons. Trump and his Ukraine envoy, Keith Kellogg, have also indicated that Ukraine will have to make territorial concessions, albeit in return for an internationally enforced demilitarized zone that deters any prospective Russian invasion five or 15 years down the road. France, the United Kingdom, and Eastern European allies have suggested they will provide troops for this DMZ.

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