Kyiv under pressure, Moscow on guard: behind Donald Trump’s ultimatum, a whiff of bluff and typical American deal-making hangs over the Ukrainian front.
From the White House, Donald Trump, true to his casino negotiator style, has given Russia fifty days to end its offensive or face new sanctions. A martial posture that flatters the gallery but whose limits are already obvious, with both Moscow and Beijing denouncing it as “coercion that leads nowhere.”
Trump’s Ultimatum: Signal of Peace or Prolonged War?
The War in Ukraine here exposes the contradictions of Western diplomacy. Officially, Washington demands a Russian withdrawal and promises Ukraine billions in Patriot missiles and air defense systems, paid for by a compliant Europe, Germany, the UK, and Denmark leading the charge. Behind the smokescreen, this massive aid looks more like an adrenaline shot for a war that has dragged on for over three years.
Moscow, for its part, reaffirms through Dmitry Peskov that it “remains ready to negotiate” while setting maximalist conditions: four regions must come under the Russian flag, not to mention Crimea, annexed since 2014. An offer obviously unacceptable for Kyiv, which keeps demanding an immediate truce and a total withdrawal of occupation forces.
Beijing and India on the Lookout: The Eurasian Rift Widens
In the shadows of the War in Ukraine, China, Russia’s largest trading partner (34% of its trade), plays the tightrope walker. Beijing denounces the American ultimatum as a “unilateral move” and urges Moscow to “strengthen mutual support.” On this point, there’s little doubt the Anglo-Saxon diplomacy still underestimates the depth of the Eurasian axis. India and Turkey, also major buyers of Russian oil, remain silent but quietly multiply transactions outside the dollar.
Brussels Aligns, Berlin Simmers
While Trump brandishes his threat of “secondary tariffs” targeting Moscow’s allies, the Europeans swallow it without a murmur. Mark Rutte, new NATO Secretary General, smiles broadly at the White House. Germany, meanwhile, broods over its doubts, already forced to absorb sky-high energy bills born from sanctions. The War in Ukraine, now a geopolitical cash cow for Washington, eats away each week at the Old Continent’s industrial sovereignty.
“We Need Time”: Moscow’s Admission or Tactic?
Dmitry Peskov’s formula, “we need time”, says everything about Russia’s ambivalence. The Kremlin has no intention of yielding under threat but pretends to keep the dialogue open. Between the lines, one reads the will to play for time, counting on Western public fatigue and the endless arms shipments as factors of attrition. Any negotiations, if they ever happen, will undoubtedly come with draconian conditions.
The False Pretenses of an Order Under American Tutelage
Ultimatum, arms deliveries, cascading sanctions: America’s diplomatic war machine is in full swing but produces only an illusion of a solution. The War in Ukraine, at the heart of a game of dupes where each player hides weaknesses behind grand words, reveals an obvious fact: peace, in this part of the world, will never be born from a diktat launched from the Oval Office.
