Askold Lozynskyj
If the mission for President Trump was that the Florida meeting with President Zelensky would enhance his credentials as a peacemaker after Trump’s recent aggression in Venezuela, Syria and Nigeria, then the meeting was a complete failure. The Nobel committee has taken notice.
If the mission for President Zelensky was to persuade his rogue ally to impose further sanctions on Russia and have America sell Europe NATO weapons according to Ukraine’s shopping list, then the sanctions part was unsuccessful and the latter remains a possibility, remote or not. Unfortunately, the possibility lies in the realm of whims on the part of an unhinged or perhaps much worse, a Russian asset president.
Americans and good people everywhere had to cringe when President Zelensky pointed out to President Trump that on the eve of the Florida meeting Russia had exercised extreme aggression in drones and missiles against civilian targets in Ukraine only to be accused by the leader of the Free World, but in reality, a rogue Ukrainian ally that Ukraine was doing some attacking as well. Facts do matter, but not in the Trumpian world. All Ukrainian attacks were aimed at energy and military targets in Russia. Energy is the source of Russian funding of the military.
If that was not sufficient to upset, then Trump’s statement that Russian President Putin wants Ukraine to succeed had to be accepted as the ranting of a totally madman. No person in the world including Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov would make that statement. Putin would fire him for many reasons including incompetency. Putin has never uttered such a ridiculous statement.
More recently, on Monday it was reported that Trump was severely angered by Russia’s news that Ukrainian drones had attacked Putin’s not so secret villa in Novgorod. Aside from the possible false flag, Trump clearly either does not understand that Putin is a legitimate target in the war since he is Russia’s commander in chief. Perhaps Trump is simply concerned with the health and welfare of his friend or boss.
Well the bad news is that the Florida summit as was expected did absolutely nothing for peace. The good news is that even some of the MAGA geniuses have had it with Trump. There are Marjorie, Karl etc. At least that is what the polls are showing even on the economy where Trump was thought to be quite strong. Unemployment is at a four year high. Trump will deny that. Secretary Bessent will smile. The ultimate poll or the only one that matters will come in November 2026.
There is no way to explain the need for any further Zelensky-Trump meetings. Yet they will continue and for the same reasons, because Zelensky needs American sanctions on Russia to continue and Ukraine needs American arms even if they are not given but sold through European allies. Trump needs them as well to make his case for the Nobel peace prize which he will never receive because his peace efforts in each case are fraudulent and ineffective. An example of this is the Israeli Palestine peace which has resulted in Hamas not laying down its arms, Israeli forces still in Gaza and expanding Israel settlements in the West Bank. Hamas is a terrorist organization. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a smarter version of Donald Trump. Both are essentially thugs.
Still Ukraine needs assistance and support as we enter with less than two months into the fifth year of the full scale war and the thirteenth year of the nascent Russian aggression. These are both long periods of time, but anyone that is familiar with Russian imperialism and Ukrainian Russian relations (unlike Trump) realizes that these wars in various degrees have lasted for centuries.
There is a basic ignorance about Russia even among the good people of the world. This does not include Trump and certainly does not justify his words or actions. Russian culture is predicated on evil and imperialism. It is a cancer which fortunately is not spreading rapidly because Ukraine has been not only efficient but also indefatigable.
Ukraine is saving the world. The world has to take note. Ending Russian imperialism and evil has to be a global effort. The America of Trump has to be viewed as temporary American dementia.
Let us pray and hope for a better New Year.
December 31, 2025
