No amount of support for Russia can end the war, because Russia is the criminal aggressor. Support for Ukraine could, however, end the war, by making it impossible for Russia to continue. This should not be a hard choice.

A month ago Trump signed a tough Russia sanctions law. One call with Putin later, he’s lifting sanctions on Russian diesel, demanding Kyiv stop hitting Russian refineries, and telling Ukraine to get “a new leader.” His big “energy ceasefire”? Russian drones hit Kharkiv within hours. Putin humiliates Trump every chance he gets. Why does Trump allow it?

The US has reportedly proposed that European partners consider partially unfreezing Russian assets as part of a potential peace deal for Ukraine, according to the Financial Times. The proposal was discussed during talks in Miami involving US, Ukrainian and European representatives. One option reportedly involved placing some of the frozen funds under the control of a US-linked entity and using them after the war ends. European delegates rebuffed the plan, which Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner pitched. But it has startled European capitals and Kyiv, raising questions about the US’s intentions and its starkly different approach to pressing Moscow to end its invasion of Ukraine.

Trump’s abandonment of a democratic Ukraine and embrace of autocratic Russia during wartime will be recorded in future history books as one of the greatest, tragic mistakes in American foreign policy in our nation’s history.

Considering how widely unpopular Russia and Putin have become in the US. across the board, and how relatively popular Zelensky remains, it’s really electorally puzzling that Trump’s October surprise is a new bond with Russia against Ukraine.