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For a brief period, Trump gave the impression to adopt a resolute approach on the Ukrainian conflict. After delivering warnings of "significant ramifications" during the summer should Vladimir Putin carried on blocking truce discussions, he ultimately enacted substantial penalties on the Russian two largest oil companies, these major energy companies. This action substantially hindered Putin's capacity to finance his aggression in Ukraine.

However, with his latest comprehensive peace proposal for Ukraine, which was developed by both nations' diplomats excluding Ukrainian or European participation, Trump has seemingly gone back to his favorable to Russia stance.

Benefiting Aggression

This initiative would essentially benefit Putin for occupying a sovereign nation while putting the country's democracy in jeopardy. Although ringing declarations that "Ukraine's autonomy will be confirmed", much of the initiative effectively undermine that very autonomy. Seen as a Russian ideal would probably be a catastrophe for the nation.

Reflecting his business experience, Trump persists to view the situation in Ukraine as a mere border issue, as if handing Russia a part of Ukraine's soil will satisfy the president. But, Putin's military campaign is not simply about dominating a charred area of economically weakened territory in eastern Ukraine. It is about the nation's democracy – and the Russian leader's apparent goal to destroy it so it ceases to acts as an appealing model for the Russian people of the democratic governance that his growing dictatorship denies them.

Border Giveaways

While freezing in status the already divided Ukrainian provinces of these areas, Trump's proposal would require the nation to give up all of this eastern territory. Aside from benefiting the Russian Federation with territory that its troops have been failed to capture in over a decade of warfare, this concession would make Ukraine's military defenses dangerously compromised.

The area is the site of the nation's much-vaunted "fortress belt", the fortified defensive positions that are a key barrier to invading forces. The proposal would have the Ukrainian military surrender these positions, providing Russian forces a open route to the capital if he eventually choose to restart the conflict.

Armed Forces Reductions

Furthermore, in a action that would facilitate renewed fighting easier for the Russian military, the plan would force the nation to cut the numbers of its armed forces from their present 800,000 to 850,000 personnel to a cap of this lower number. Significantly, Trump's plan sets no similar constraints on the invading army.

Apparently as a concession to Russia's efforts to depict the nation's chosen by the people leadership as radicals, Trump's plan states: "Every radical ideology and activities must be opposed and prohibited." As if to underscore this point, it requires that "Ukraine will hold elections in this period" of a ceasefire agreement. However, the proposal sets no condition that the Russian leader risk his dictatorship by conducting democratic processes in his own country.

Security Assurances

Admittedly, the proposal has the Russian Federation pledge not to "invade bordering nations" and to "incorporate in legislation its policy of peaceful relations towards the EU and the Ukrainian people". But taking into account that the Russian leadership has broken similar treaties in the past – including the 1994 agreement, in which Russia promised to respect Ukraine's sovereignty in return for surrendering its historical nuclear arsenal, and the previous peace deals, in which Moscow committed to a ceasefire and a handback of seized areas in the Donbas to the government – for what reason should the international community trust Russia on this occasion?

That is why the Ukrainian government has been so adamant on international defense commitments. Although the proposal warns of a "strong joint defense action" should Russia resume its aggression, and provides that "The nation will receive strong security guarantees", the details vary from vague to troubling. The initiative would not only prevent the nation accession to NATO but also prevent Nato members from deploying forces on Ukraine's soil, thereby preventing the peacekeeping contingent, likely led by Britain and France, on which Ukraine had been relying to prevent Russia from rebuilding his diminished troops, restocking, and attacking again.

International Reaction

An additional parallel deal apparently would offer Ukraine with a Nato-style protection assurance, in which any future "significant, intentional, and sustained armed attack" by the Russian Federation on the country "would be considered as an act of war jeopardizing the stability and safety of the Western nations." That suggests a armed reaction. Yet unlike a capable Ukrainian military – Ukraine's primary defense against future invasion – the credibility of the supplementary deal would hinge on the dedication of Nato leaders, like Trump, to react militarily to Russia's hostilities, an action they have {not