President Donald Trump is plainly frustrated that the Ukraine War continues to drag on.
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War → frustrate → ?
Trump came into office pledging to end this conflict on day one, and succeeded in resetting the expectations of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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Trump → come → Zelenskyy
Trump also met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2025, in hopes of bringing the war to a close.
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Trump → meet → close
Yet no peace deal emerged.
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deal → emerge → ?
You are reading Free Media from Robby Soave and Reason.
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You → read → Soave
In recent weeks, Trump has complained ceaselessly that the war is impacting global energy prices, and thus indirectly hurting the American economy and damaging Republicans' midterm prospects.
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war → complain → prospects
Earlier this week, the president arbitrarily declared an "energy ceasefire" and instructed both countries to stop targeting each other.
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president → declare → other
Neither side had been given forewarning of this, but Ukraine went ahead and complied; Russia did not.
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Russia → give → this
With no actual ceasefire in place, Ukraine resumed hostilities.
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Ukraine → resume → hostilities
Unfortunately, it appears that Trump has decided to punish Zelenskyy rather than the responsible party: Putin.
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Trump → appear → party
It's not Ukraine that wants war—it's Russia.
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it → want → war
It's not Zelenskyy prolonging this conflict—it's Putin.
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it → prolong → conflict
Ukraine is willing to accept an immediate ceasefire and negotiations.
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Ukraine → accept → ceasefire
Putin's action suggest that the goal is to subjugate Ukraine, and regardless of the impression he gives Trump, Putin is not willing to stop.
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Putin → suggest → Trump
Given this, the rational course of action for the U.S. is to continuing supporting Ukraine until Russia—the invading party—is willing to negotiate.
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Russia → give → Ukraine
And yet, the U.S. is seemingly (suddenly) sabotaging Ukraine.
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U.S. → sabotage → Ukraine
This week, the Ukrainians discovered that use of Starshield, the U.S.-run satellite system they use to defend themselves against Russian forces inside Ukrainian territory, had been restricted; Starshield is a division of SpaceX, but according to Elon Musk, it is operated independently by the U.S. government.
uncertain
it → discover → government
If it's not functioning properly, the most likely reason is that Trump made such a call.
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Trump → function → call
Trump also signaled a willingness to cut off the Ukrainians from routine intelligence sharing with regard to Russia's bombing targets, though the administration insists that no such decision has been made.
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decision → signal → targets
Ukrainians rely on air raid sirens to let them know that Russian strikes will soon take place and they should seek shelter.
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they → rely → shelter
(I learned this firsthand during my trip to Ukraine in June, which was sponsored by a pro-Ukrainian aid group.)
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which → learn → group
It's malicious of the U.S. to deliberately keep the Ukrainians in the dark when we could save lives by letting them know what we know.
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we → keep → what
None of this means that the U.S. is obligated to send even more tax dollar to Ukraine or to supply them with weapons.
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U.S. → mean → weapons
We have already spent $185 billion, after all.
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We → spend → billion
But the U.S. should not deliberately undermine the Ukrainian position by failing to share intelligence or by hamstringing already existing military systems.
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U.S. → undermine → systems
Of course Trump would be within his rights to work to constrain Zelenskyy if Zelenskyy were the barrier to a peace deal, but this is simply not the case at all.
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this → work → deal
We can't blame the Ukrainians for defending themselves in the face of invasion when Putin is the one refusing to negotiate.
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Putin → blame → invasion
Given all this, Zelenskyy has admitted that he feels "betrayed" by Trump and is concerned that Ukraine is losing the U.S. as a partner.
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Ukraine → give → partner
The war will continue regardless, with Europe stepping in to fill whatever void the U.S. leaves behind.
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U.S. → continue → void
It's proper for Europe to shoulder more of the responsibility for protecting Ukraine, since this war is ultimately a Europe problem—the U.S. cannot be solely responsible for the security of the entire free world.
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U.S. → shoulder → world
But there's a difference between thinking Europe should do more and the U.S. should do less, and thinking that the U.S. should actively hurt Ukraine to help Russia so that energy prices briefly (maybe?) improve.
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prices → be → Russia
That's not in the long-term best interests of anyone, including and especially the U.S.
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That → include → U.S.
Rather than bullying Ukraine into agreeing to put up less resistance as Russia conquers it, Trump should put his negotiating skills to work on Putin.
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Trump → bully → Putin
This Week on Free Media
The latest episode of Freed Up will be available later this afternoon, so subscribe here and check back soon!
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episode → free → Up
Worth Watching
Here's something exciting: I am participating in another Reason Versus debate—this time alongside the boss, Katherine Mangu-Ward!
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I → watch → boss
We will be up against Mehdi Hasan and Jason Stanley, who posit that "authoritarianism is a right-wing problem."
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authoritarianism → posit → Hasan
It should be an entertaining, spicy debate, and (if we're being honest) probably not quite as friendly as the last one I was involved in.
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I → involve → one
The Aporia
