And depending on which way things go, the consequences will not be incremental but rather seismic for the international system. He could have pivoted to pressure Russia. It sometimes seems as though the Trump administration wants Ukraine to lose so that it can be done with this complicated war. In late December, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States was offering 15-year security guarantees as part of a peace plan. A peace deal is a new order — rooted in credible deterrence, political support, and a framework that reduces the incentive and capacity to resume war.

Source: Washington Post January 02, 2026 23:50 UTC