Without injecting my own opinion, I'm curious. What is a realistic endgame that most see happening with this war? Take Trump out of it for the moment. Purely as a Russia vs. Ukraine exercise, what is the realistic outcome if things keep going as they are?
If things keep going as they are, without substantial U.S. and European military aid, Ukraine will be lost to Russia at some point. That's not to say that that's how things have to be, though.
Unfortunately, it's really hard to leave Trump out of it. Not because I think either side needs him as a negotiator, because I don't think that at all. I don't think Trump helps anything.
Unless he is willing to keep providing military aid to Ukraine, as Biden did. Then, I think Ukraine wins this war, eventually -- and on its own terms, too. I don't believe Ukraine wants peace at any and all costs; I think it wants independent sovereignty and like akin to what Americans have had, and that they have shown that, consistently and courageously, which is what made Trump's recent moves against Zelensky and Ukraine all the more disgusting, disturbing and, frankly, unforgivable.
Militarily, Ukraine has done surprisingly well against Russia, both when it has help from the U.S. and others, and even recently, when it has had to go without U.S. aid thanks to Trump. I think it is Russia that wants/needs this war to end even more desperately than Ukraine does, both from an economic standpoint, and from a principles/cultural standpoint (I don't believe the Russian people actually care whether Ukraine is enveloped into their country; only Putin does), which, again, is what makes Trump's recent moves for Russia and against Ukraine all the more galling, inexplicable and unforgivable.
Trump claims to want peace, but what he really wants is peace on Russia's terms (which is really surrender, as far as Ukraine is concerned), because that's what he's allowing, or is going to allow -- as long as it results in a "peace" that makes Putin happy.
What I wish is that the U.S. could just drop a few bombs on Putin/Russia to end things, and hopefully, kill Putin. But that, of course, would probably result in the actual start of World War III. So, in lieu of that, providing aid to Ukraine -- and the U.S. and all of the European members of NATO should do this -- remains the best option until and unless Putin ever really wants, or is forced, to pull his troops out of Ukraine.
As it is, it's really scary to think we have two mad men who are in charge of the world's two most militarily dangerous countries.
