The light switch suddenly turned on Wednesday evening as President Donald Trump observed his three amigos – Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un and Xi Jinping – pictured together at a military parade in Beijing commemorating the end of the Second World War.
Angrily, the President lashed out on social media: “The big question to be answered is whether or not President Xi of China will mention the massive amount of support and ‘blood’ that The United States of America gave to China in order to help it to secure its FREEDOM from a very unfriendly foreign invader. Many Americans died in China’s quest for Victory and Glory. I hope that they are rightfully Honored and Remembered for their Bravery and Sacrifice! May President Xi and the wonderful people of China have a great and lasting day of celebration. Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, as you conspire against The United States of America.”
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And just like that, the President came to the realization that he had been played – betrayed in fact – by those he felt he knew the best. The expression “two is company, three is a crowd” now has a plus one, and Trump is on the outside looking in.
It is not like Trump was not forewarned. The President went with his instincts instead of heeding advice from his generals – active and retired – career diplomats, and intelligence experts. Those instincts may have served him well on the economic front but have let him down on the business end of national security.
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‘Main Guarantee is a Strong Ukrainian Army’ – Zelensky Hints at Coalition Meeting Outcome
The consensus at the Paris meeting on Ukraine’s postwar guarantees seemed to focus on strengthening the Ukrainian military, while potential allied troop deployments remain a taboo subject.
Just a few hours prior, the President told reporters in the Oval Office after announcing Space Command would relocate to Huntsville, Alabama: “I had a very good meeting with President Putin a couple weeks ago. We’ll see if anything comes out of it. If it doesn’t, we’ll take a different stance.”
Looks like the White House will assume the “different stance” course of action. With Trump’s last “two week” deadline now expired, the world awaits with bated breath.
President Trump has stated for months now that “7,000 are dying every single week – soldiers mostly – but 7,000 people.” To stop the casualties, Washington must turn their attention to getting Putin – the “root cause” for the war in Ukraine – to stop attacking Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his countrymen are merely defending their country.
It is time for Trump to get beyond his disappointment with Putin and accept the Russian president’s end state for Ukraine: its complete destruction, the eradication of its culture, and subjugation under Russian rule. Trump needs to approach Ukraine using the same rigor and level of attention he approaches his domestic agenda – through direct action.
Putin has shown his cost calculus is not measured in human lives – 1,084,570 Russian casualties to date prove that. But as Mikhail Gorbachev learned in 1991, it can be measured by the economic collapse of the country. Ukraine has embraced deep strikes to facilitate that outcome.
Coupled with Ukraine’s success in targeting Russian oil refineries – accessed to have destroyed between 17 and 20% of their capacity – now would be the optimal time to pull the trigger on Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025.
But the E in DIME – Diplomacy, Information, Military, and Economic – cannot be done in isolation. There must be a forcing function – an accelerant – to enhance the effect. A military component – the kinetic tools to obtain the fait accompli: a Russian defeat in Ukraine.
That begins by arming Ukraine – then lifting all restrictions limiting their use. There can be no sanctuary afforded in Russia, or from wherever they fire their weapons.
The militarization of Ukraine is essential. Last week it was announced that the White House approved the sale of 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munition (ERAM) missiles to Ukraine. This is in addition to a $330 million package of satellite communications services for its Starlink terminals and equipment and services to sustain its Patriot air defense systems. In early August, four European countries agreed to buy $1 billion worth of US weapons to send to Ukraine.
Winning is an option. We provided a possible course of action here in Kyiv Post in July. But for Ukraine to accomplish that, they must be able to defend and defeat the Russian ballistic missile and drone threat, stop the flow of Russian forces and their weapons into Ukraine via interdiction, and reduce Russia’s ability to continue to fund the war via deep strikes on their oil refineries.
Putin left the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in China confident that he had set conditions to withstand new economic sanctions from the West – securing financial support in the form of oil and gas revenues from China and India.
On Sept. 3, Russia attacked Ukrainian cities again with more than 500 drones and dozens of missiles, then Putin extended an invitation to Zelensky to meet him in Moscow.
This is an opportune moment for renewed American leadership. President Trump is in a position to change the outcome of this war. As Winston Churchill is often quoted: “Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.”
The President may have finally exhausted “all other possibilities.” He possesses the necessary resources and must now take decisive action. The Coalition of the Willing’s meeting in Paris today presents an excellent opportunity to enable Ukraine and set conditions for success.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
Copyright 2025. Jonathan E. Sweet and Mark C. Toth. All rights reserved.