Every day the news reporting the American views and objectives regarding Russia’s war on Ukraine and the west just seems to be getting worse and worse.

The approach taken by every American administration since the war began in 2014 under President Obama has been wrongheaded.

Biden’s “we are with Ukraine until the end” meant nothing – what end?  There was no strategic objective.

President Trump’s “stop the fighting” is no better.  There is nothing strategic about a ceasefire with Russia, it would be meaningless.  The same with some temporary peace agreement.  Russian objectives would remain the same.

The Administrations approach has been wrong from the outset.

Now no one would ever expect the Administration to admit a mistake – it is not in its collective DNA. But it doesn’t have to admit a mistake.

It can turn to highly recommended alternatives by saying Vladimir Putin has proved he is not interested in peace.

Then grasp the reality that the Russian Federation will never stop its war to take Ukraine and destroy it and its people until it is stopped - - defeated.

Ukraine could have defeated the woefully inadequate Russian military long ago if it had been given the weapons and logistics it needed when it needed them starting anywhere since Russia invaded in 2014.  

Ukraine can still do so with what we and the Europeans can provide.

If our President wants the “killing to stop” in the quickest possible way – arm Ukraine and let Ukraine defeat Russia - - - now!

Yesterday's New York Times article reflects what I meant with my opening sentence about the news just getting worse and worse.

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THE NEW YORK TIMES

Rubio Says U.S. to Decide in Days if End to War in Ukraine Is ‘Doable’

“If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said as he departed meetings in Paris.

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By Roger Cohen

Reporting from Paris

• April 18, 2025 Updated 2:31 p.m. ET

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The United States will abandon efforts to end the war in Ukraine if it proves impossible to broker meaningful progress in the next several days, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in remarks that piled pressure on Kyiv as he departed Paris on Friday.  [The Administration has never understood the reality of Russia’s war on Ukraine and the west, it has chosen not to   learn, and it has the attention span of a gnat. All of which may be leading us, Ukraine, and a considerable percentage of the planet to a very bad future, RAM]

“If it is not possible to end the war in Ukraine, we need to move on,” Mr. Rubio told reporters a day after meeting with President Emmanuel Macron of France, adding that the Trump administration would decide “in a matter of days whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks.” [Brilliant!  The Administration’s ill-conceived approach is not working, and it is not about to consider other – highly recommended – options.  Instead, like an impatient child it will go home, and pretend consequences will have no impact on American national security interests – appalling.  RAM]

It was not entirely clear from Mr. Rubio’s remarks whether he meant that the United States would merely abandon its effort to reach a 30-day cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine, President Trump’s immediate focus, or abandon Washington’s commitments to Ukraine altogether. [What has been clear is that Washington leans in favor of the genocidal aggressor and against the civilized victim with every utterance.  Again, evidencing no grasp of the reality of the war or its implications. RAM]

But his remarks were certain to worry Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on American military support, and appeared intended to inject urgency into European efforts to prod Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, toward painful compromise. Later on Friday, Mr. Trump vented his own frustrations at the way at least one country had failed to respond to American overtures. [There is it – Washington prodding Ukraine toward a end that rewards war crimes, rewards Putin, and abandons everything the United States of American has stood for over at least the last century.  RAM]

“If for some reason one of the two parties makes it very difficult, we’re just going to say you’re foolish, you’re fools, you’re horrible people, and we’re just going to take a pass,” Mr. Trump said from the Oval Office. “But hopefully we won’t have to do that.”   [Our President once again demonstrates absolutely no grasp of the actual situation, what is happing, and what is at stake.  Ah, but he must always call people names, so presidential! RAM]

Mr. Trump said the war was costing the lives of 2,500 soldiers every week but has put virtually no pressure on Russia to end the fighting and at one point claimed that Ukraine was responsible for the Russian invasion in 2022.

While the United States is Russia’s chief interlocutor in the negotiations, Europe has far greater sway over Mr. Zelensky. Mr. Trump said on Thursday that he was “not a big fan” of the Ukrainian leader. By contrast, speaking of his relations with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia during his first term, Mr. Trump said that “I was the apple of his eye.” It is clear, not least in Kyiv, where Mr. Trump’s sympathies lie.  [Personality politics at its worst.  So, what if President Zelenskyy is not Trump’s favorite person.  Zelenskyy represents millions of Ukrainians and Ukraine, and the people of Ukraine are the victims. And while our President lets everyone know he is not “a fan” of Zelenskyy he consistently speaks well of a genocidal murderer.   Strange and dangerous preference for personal likes.  RAM]

As Mr. Trump and Mr. Rubio voiced their impatience, Vice President JD Vance sounded a different note on a visit to Rome with his family. Speaking before a meeting with Giorgia Meloni, the right-wing prime minister who is a favorite of the Trump administration for her conservative views, he said he was “optimistic” about the negotiations to end the fighting in Ukraine. [Really?  Who cares?  Trump does not have Vance in the so-called “negotiations”.  RAM]

“I won’t prejudge them, but we do feel optimistic that we can hopefully bring this war, this very brutal war, to a close,” he said. [Whatever that is supposed to mean.  I have said it many times – the only way the Russian Federation will stop its aggression is if it is stopped.  And that means it must be defeated.  RAM]

Mr. Trump’s approach to governance often appears to place a lower priority on coordination and planning between members of the cabinet than on keeping interlocutors guessing through seemingly scattershot statements. This appeared to be another instance of that practice.

Mr. Rubio said Mr. Trump “has spent 87 days at the highest level of this government repeatedly making efforts to bring this war to an end. We are now reaching a point where we need to decide and determine whether this is even possible or not.”  [So, cling to an unrealistic and naive approach and never consider a wiser course of action.  Stubborn and misguided.  RAM]

Before taking office, Mr. Trump said he would end the war within “24 hours.” [The lack of understanding – and caring – evidenced long before the election.  Many discounted the statement as just another Trumpism.  A mistake.  RAM]

Responding to Mr. Rubio’s comments, the Kremlin signaled that it was in no hurry for a cease-fire, a consistent message from Moscow throughout Mr. Trump’s attempts to end the war.  [Yes, the Russian Federation has no interest is hurrying into anything.  It sees the fecklessness of Washington thinking and is simply waiting for the Administration to abandon Ukraine and focus on its embarrassing lust to open business deals with Russia.  Translation – reward the barbarians. RAM]

High-level talks on Thursday between American, European and Ukrainian officials were the first of their kind, intended to bring “convergence” between views of the war in Washington and European capitals. Mr. Rubio said the conversations had been constructive, but it appeared clear that Mr. Trump was losing patience. [And, of course, incapable and/or unwilling to consider alternative approaches to end Russia’s war.  RAM]

During the talks, a “broad framework” for peace, in effect an American plan, was presented to Ukraine. “It’s a framework that gets us into a position to see — look, there are going to be differences; there’s no — no one’s saying this can be done in 12 hours,” Mr. Rubio said. He declined to give any further details of the proposal.

“It is not our war. We didn’t start it,” Mr. Rubio said. “The United States has been helping Ukraine for the past three years and we want it to end, but it’s not our war.”

He added: “If it’s not possible — if we’re so far apart that this is not going to happen — then I think the president’s probably at a point where he’s going to say, well, we’re done. We’ll do what we can on the margins.” He described Mr. Trump as feeling “very strongly” about this.

Mr. Rubio and Steve Witkoff, Mr. Trump’s envoy, have led the American diplomacy aimed at ending the war, which has festered for more than three years. Mr. Witkoff has met with Mr. Putin multiple times and said he was trying to develop a “friendship, a relationship” with the Russian leader. [Witkoff makes it into the article.  He should never have been given the assignment he has.  Virtually every word he speaks is either hopelessly naïve and/or a regurgitation of Kremlin talking points.  He has been a total embarrassment. He too has a strange and gross view of Putin and really has only one thing in mind – opening business with Russia.  Ukraine is of no interest to him and he has never visited – why learn something?  RAM]

But Mr. Putin has balked, setting various conditions even for a 30-day cease-fire. The Russian bombardment of Ukraine continues.  [“Bombardment” – the word is too neutral.  What continues is the savage murdering of civilians and destruction of civilian infrastructure while our representatives take seats at “negotiation” tables around the world pretending to care.  RAM]

Mr. Rubio’s comments came after he spoke with Sergey V. Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, on Thursday. In that call, the State Department said, Mr. Rubio told his Russian counterpart that “peace is possible if all parties commit to reaching an agreement,” and that the United States had been encouraged by the Ukrainian and European response in Paris to Mr. Trump’s plan for peace. [Staggering naivete. RAM]

The Russian Foreign Ministry’s description of that call was more circumspect. Russia said that Mr. Lavrov “reaffirmed Moscow’s readiness to continue collaborative efforts with American counterparts to comprehensively address the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis.” [Lavrov’s mouth is moving – it can only mean he is lying.  RAM]

Asked whether Russia planned to respond to a cease-fire offer from Mr. Trump this week, Dmitri S. Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, said on Friday that ending the war was “not a simple topic” and that Russia was seeking a settlement that would “ensure its own interests.”

“We are open for dialogue,” Mr. Peskov said. “There are already certain developments, but many difficult discussions lie ahead.”

There was no immediate official reaction from Kyiv to Mr. Rubio’s remarks, which appeared jolting after strained efforts on Thursday to demonstrate harmony between American and European approaches to the war.

Mykhailo Samus, the director of the New Geopolitics Research Network in Kyiv, said that an American exit from peace talks would mean an open acknowledgment of Mr. Trump’s “powerlessness regarding the Russia-Ukraine war.”

He added that, “this calls into question the signing of an agreement on strategic resources between the U.S. and Ukraine.”

Ukraine and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding late on Thursday as a “step toward a joint economic partnership agreement,” according to Ukraine’s economy minister, bringing both sides closer to a contentious minerals deal. The deal, if concluded, would make American abandonment of Ukraine appear a remote possibility. [The memorandum itself is meaningless.  Releasing it with a claim of progress – inexplicable.  RAM]

The officials who took part in the Paris talks have agreed to meet next week in London, and Mr. Rubio indicated he might participate, but not if the meeting was just an exercise in further talking. He said he hoped Europeans would remain engaged in the efforts to secure a peace in Ukraine. Mr. Putin’s demands — among them that Ukraine cede territory that Russia has occupied and abandon its attempts to join NATO — have been rejected outright by Ukraine. [To be accurate the territory Russia illegally occupies does not include all of the territory Putin is demanding.  If he got his way, we would be rewarding him with more land (and the victims living within that land.  RAM]

“I think the U.K. and France and Germany can help us move the ball on this and then get this closer to a resolution,” Mr. Rubio told reporters at Le Bourget airport as he prepared to depart. “I thought they were very helpful and constructive with their ideas.”

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Anton Troianovski and Maria Varenikova contributed reporting.

Roger Cohen is the Paris Bureau chief for The Times, covering France and beyond. He has reported on wars in Lebanon, Bosnia and Ukraine, and between Israel and Gaza, in more than four decades as a journalist. At The Times, he has been a correspondent, foreign editor and columnist.

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ROBERT MCCONNELL
Co-Founder, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
Director of External Affairs, Friends of Ukraine Network

The introduction and parenthetical comments are Mr. McConnell’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation or the Friends of Ukraine Network (FOUN).