Trump’s Peace Plan Is a Trap — But Not for Russia
As expected, Ukrainians have once again been cornered into a false dilemma:
Should Ukraine accept what are essentially terms of capitulation to Russia?
Or can we somehow tweak the so-called “peace plan” and make it more favorable for ourselves?
This is the conversation dominating political circles right now — and not by accident.
Some politicians want to shift the spotlight away from ongoing corruption scandals.
Others are eager to prove that Ukraine’s current leadership is incapable of striking a constructive deal with Washington.
And then there are ordinary citizens — tired, overwhelmed, emotionally and physically drained — who are starting to say, “We simply don’t have the strength to go on. Any peace is better than endless war.”
But in all of this noise, we’re forgetting to ask the one question that actually matters:
Is Vladimir Putin even willing to agree to any peace plan at all?
And the answer — though inconvenient — is painfully obvious.
No.
Putin isn’t interested in peace.
At best, he’s interested in peace talks — if they help him prolong the war or avoid further U.S. sanctions.
Because let’s be honest: if someone truly wants peace, they agree to a ceasefire.
Then they sit down to talk.
Putin has refused a ceasefire.
That refusal is not just a policy choice — it’s a signal. It tells us everything we need to know.
Russia does not want peace.
And so, this latest round of negotiations is heading for the same fate as the infamous “grain deal” — dead on arrival.
Why is it happening at all? Because Kirill Dmitriev handed some half-baked draft to Steve Witkoff, hoping it might stall new oil sanctions. Trump’s team, eager to stroke their boss’s ego, passed the paper along, betting it might land him a Nobel Prize and an easy PR win.
It’s absurd. But dangerous.
Here’s what will really kill this “peace plan”: not disagreement between Ukraine and the U.S., but Russia’s total unwillingness to sign anything.
And without Russia, there is no deal. No ceasefire. No peace.
Eventually, yes — there may come a moment when Putin himself feels that he’s run out of options.
A moment when the cost of continuing the war outweighs its usefulness.
When he wants a ceasefire.
And when that happens, he won’t need Trump — or any Western mediator — to make it happen.
His rhetoric will change. His posture will shift. The terms will no longer matter.
But when will that moment come?
No one knows — not even Putin.
It could be months away. It could be years.
What we do know is that it depends on two things:
Continued, unrelenting Western pressure.
Ukraine’s readiness to keep resisting, no matter the cost.
And maybe, just maybe — on a little bit of common sense.
https://portnikov.substack.com/p/trumps-pea...edRedirect=true 
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