The Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board has raised alarms over President Donald Trump’s recent concessions to Russia on Ukraine, writing that he “tilts toward a Ukraine sellout.” In the past week, Trump—who has maintained a close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin since Russia’s interference in the 2016 election—has distanced himself from the long-standing U.S. commitment to defending Ukraine. He has falsely suggested that Ukraine instigated the war and has proposed “peace” solutions that overwhelmingly favor Russian interests.
“Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky replied on Wednesday that Mr. Trump was living in a ‘disinformation space,’ which may have been imprudent but was accurate,” the board wrote, while also criticizing Trump’s recent economic policies.
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“Mr. Trump escalated on Wednesday, as he usually does, calling Mr. Zelensky a ‘dictator,’ and suggesting Ukraine’s leader snookered the U.S. into supporting a war ‘that couldn’t be won, that never had to start.’ Mr. Zelensky ‘refuses to have Elections, is very low in Ukrainian Polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden ‘like a fiddle.’” The board rejected these claims outright.
“The war began not because Mr. Putin had legitimate security fears—but because the aging former KGB agent wants to reassemble most of the Soviet empire he saw crumble as a young man,” the editorial continued. “Ukraine has delayed elections while it is operating under martial law and fighting a war for survival.
Its constitution allows this, and Britain under Nazi siege didn’t hold an election during World War II. Was Churchill a dictator? Ukraine’s democracy is fragile and would be stronger if it could affiliate with Western institutions like the European Union. The only dictator in the war is Mr. Putin, who poisons exiled Russians on foreign soil and banishes opponents to Arctic prison camps. Call us when he holds a free election.”
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The editorial also criticized former President Joe Biden’s foreign policy decisions, particularly his administration’s handling of the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal, which was initially brokered by Trump. Despite these concerns, the board emphasized the risks of a Russian victory.
“Americans may have a similar reaction if they see Russia emerge triumphant and realize this wasn’t the peace they had in mind,” they warned. The board concluded that the best course of action is to “make clear to Mr. Putin the arms and pressure he’ll face if Russia doesn’t wind down the war to accept a durable peace. As it stands now, Mr. Trump’s seeming desperation for a deal is a risk to Ukraine, Europe, U.S. interests—and his own Presidency.”