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Initially, Donald Trump appeared to adopt a firm stance concerning the Ukrainian conflict. Following issuing warnings of "severe consequences" in August in case Vladimir Putin carried on blocking ceasefire discussions, Trump finally imposed substantial sanctions on Russia's primary petroleum corporations, Lukoil and Rosneft. This move seriously impacted the Russian leader's capability to support his war effort in Ukraine.

However, with his newly presented comprehensive peace plan for the conflict, that was drafted by both nations' diplomats excluding Ukrainian or EU input, Trump has apparently reverted to his pro-Putin position.

Rewarding Aggression

The former president's plan would essentially favor Putin for attacking Ukraine while leaving Ukraine's democratic system in danger. Although strong proclamations that "Ukraine's independence will be upheld", much of the initiative actually compromise that essential autonomy. Seen as a Moscow's wish would probably be a Ukrainian nightmare.

Demonstrating his corporate experience, the former president persists to consider the Ukrainian conflict as a basic land disagreement, like handing Russia a part of Ukrainian soil will satisfy the president. But, Russia's war is not only about dominating a damaged swath of deindustrialized area in eastern Ukraine. Rather, it is about the nation's democracy – and the Russian leader's apparent desire to weaken it so it no longer serves as an enticing standard for the Russian people of the responsible government that his growing authoritarian rule denies them.

Territorial Giveaways

While freezing in status the presently split Ukrainian provinces of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, the initiative would compel Ukraine to abandon the whole Donetsk province. In addition to rewarding Russia with area that its forces have been failed to seize in exceeding a ten years of warfare, this concession would render Ukrainian defenses severely weakened.

The area is the place of the nation's well-known "fortress belt", the fortified military defenses that are a key impediment to invading forces. The proposal would have the Ukrainian military surrender these positions, providing Putin a clear way to Kyiv in case he later decide to restart the war.

Defense Reductions

Furthermore, in a move that would enable future fighting more feasible for the Russian military, the plan would require Ukraine to cut the scale of its armed forces from their existing approximately 800,000 troops to a cap of six hundred thousand. Notably, Trump's proposal places no similar constraints on Russia's military.

Seemingly as a concession to Putin's campaign to depict the nation's democratically elected government as extremists, Trump's proposal asserts: "All radical ideology and practices must be condemned and forbidden." Apparently to highlight this aspect, it demands that "The nation will hold political contests in this period" of a ceasefire agreement. At the same time, Trump imposes no condition that the Russian leader jeopardize his dictatorship by conducting democratic processes in Russia.

Defense Assurances

To be sure, the plan makes Russia pledge not to "attack neighboring countries" and to "establish in legislation its position of non-violence towards the EU and the Ukrainian people". Yet given that the Russian leadership has breached similar accords in the past – including the 1994 agreement, in which the Russian government promised to respect the nation's territorial integrity in return for surrendering its former Soviet nuclear arsenal, and the Minsk accords, in which Russia promised to a halt in fighting and a return of seized land in the region to Kyiv – for what reason should the international community believe this commitment this time?

That is why Ukraine has been so insistent on international defense commitments. While the plan threatens a "decisive coordinated armed reaction" in case Russia resume its military campaign, and states that "Ukraine will receive reliable protection assurances", the particulars range from unclear to concerning. The plan would not only deny Ukraine alliance membership but also prevent Nato members from deploying military personnel on the nation's land, thereby preventing the peacekeeping contingent, likely commanded by Britain and France, on which the Ukrainian government had been counting to deter Putin from rebuilding his weakened forces, restocking, and resuming aggression.

World Reaction

Another parallel deal apparently would offer the nation with a alliance-like defense commitment, in which any future "major, intentional, and ongoing armed attack" by Russia on Ukraine "would be considered as an assault endangering the peace and security of the Western nations." This implies a armed reaction. However in contrast to a capable Ukraine's armed forces – Ukraine's primary defense against additional hostilities – the success of the parallel accord would depend on the dedication of Western powers, such as the US administration, to respond through arms to Russia's aggression, an action they have {not