Much of President Trump’s base has long demanded that he bring real pressure to bear on the Zelensky government, by halting weapons flows and American taxpayers’ billions going to Kiev’s coffers, and by urging territorial concessions in the east. Washington does have immense leverage over at least one side of this conflict which could be used to achieve lasting peace, but Trump acts as if this is not the case. Do average Americans really care enough about the fate of places like Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia (regions that most would fail to locate on a map) to keep risking build-up toward WW3?
Instead of pushing hard for compromise, we get this…
President Donald Trump said Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “let me down” by failing to resolve the war in Ukraine.
“I’m very honored to tell you that we’ve solved seven wars, wars that were unsolvable, wars that couldn’t be negotiated or done,” Trump said in his opening remarks in a joint news conference with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, vowing the U.S. and U.K. “will always be friends.”
“The US has done seven of them,” he again emphasized in the comments, while also making reference to Azerbaijan and “Albania” – when he meant to say Armenia.
Though we are left wondering what the six other wars Trump is claiming to have put an end to were. It seems he’s claiming Iran-Israel too, though that was by actually bombing the Islamic Republic, which posed no direct threat to America. Perhaps Syria?… did ‘peace’ come by installing a ‘former’ ISIS/AQ leader?
Trump added, “The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President Putin. But he’s let me down. He’s really let me down.”
Trump: If oil prices come down, Putin will leave Ukraine. It’s very simple.
Trump: If oil prices fall, Putin will leave Ukraine. It’s very simple.
— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) September 18, 2025
Musing further on the issue, Trump explained, “You thought you were going to have an easy time or a hard time – and it turns out to be the reverse.” And he said further, “It doesn’t feel like the time to ask Putin for a ceasefire.”
Again, the reality remains that he’s unwilling to do what is necessary to actually solve it. There would be three easy steps:
- Agree for all time that Ukraine can never be in NATO
- Recognize Russia’s hold over the Donbass & Crimea, essentially give up the ‘annexed’ terriotiries
- Stop NATO’s military infrastructure in Ukraine by cutting off the arms
For the time being, Putin knows he’s winning the war, given superior firepower and manpower – though without doubt Russia is itself absorbing a high cost.
Trump is frustrated about Putin. Keeps repeating that Russian President let him down
Trump: Putin let me down. [first time]
Of all the wars, I thought this would be the easiest because of my relationship with Putin.
But he really let me down.
— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) September 18, 2025
As a reminder, below is some of our coverage of Jeffrey Sachs speaking to a Ron Paul conference in August. The war could end tomorrow if the US really wanted it to…
* * *
Sachs explained the war could end rather quickly: The Ukraine war could have been avoided – by simply stating that NATO would not expand to Ukraine. Even Jake Sullivan privately told me it wouldn’t happen. But when I asked him to say it publicly to avoid war, he refused.
The war can be ended tomorrow if the US declares NATO will not expand to Ukraine. That’s all. It’s not about territory. Russia didn’t demand land – just neutrality. Even in Crimea, Russia sought a lease renewal, not annexation – until the U.S.-backed coup. This war is entirely provoked and entirely avoidable.
We will, as the Rand Corporation wrote in 2019 in one of the most absurd, dangerous, ridiculous exemplars of American foreign policy, we will extend you. ‘Extending Russia’: a document of a think tank. How to annoy Russia in 27 different ways. Is this really what we pay them for? How to provoke the other nuclear superpower with 6,000 nuclear weapons and then wonder why the hand of the doomsday clock is 89 seconds to midnight? These people are crazy. Honestly, it’s very very dangerous. …Let me just say that all the major conflicts can be ended straightforwardly. The casus belli of the Ukraine war is NATO enlargement, and US coup operations all over Ukraine. Even the New York Times reported that one a couple of months ago.
All of these conflicts – Ukraine, Gaza, potential war with China – can be resolved quickly, if we tell the truth, act with courage, and demand accountability. Our government must stop listening to the war profiteers and start listening to the people.
We need brave leaders, honest media, and informed citizens. That’s how peace begins.
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