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At first, the former US president gave the impression to embrace a firm stance on the Ukrainian conflict. After issuing warnings of "severe consequences" during the summer in case Russia's president continued blocking truce talks, the former president ultimately introduced major penalties on the Russian biggest energy firms, these major energy companies. This move seriously impacted Putin's capability to fund his aggression in the region.

But, via his newly presented 28-point peace proposal for Ukraine, that was developed by US and Russian diplomats without Ukraine's or European participation, the former president has apparently gone back to his Russia-friendly approach.

Favoring Aggression

This proposal would in practice favor the Russian leader for attacking Ukraine while putting the country's democratic system in danger. Although ringing statements that "Ukraine's autonomy will be upheld", much of the proposal actually compromise that same sovereignty. Seen as a Russian ideal would certainly be a Ukrainian nightmare.

Showing his business experience, the former president persists to view the situation in Ukraine as a simple border issue, like handing Russia a part of Ukraine's soil will satisfy the president. Yet, Russia's war is not only about dominating a destroyed region of economically weakened territory in Ukraine's east. Rather, it is about Ukraine's democracy – and the Russian leader's obvious goal to destroy it so it stops serves as an appealing example for the Russian people of the democratic leadership that Putin's deepening authoritarian rule denies them.

Territorial Giveaways

While keeping in status the presently split regions of these areas, Trump's plan would force the nation to abandon the entire this eastern territory. Beyond favoring Russia with land that its troops have been unsuccessful to capture in exceeding a lengthy period of fighting, this giveaway would make Ukraine's defenses critically compromised.

The area is the location of the nation's much-vaunted "fortress belt", the fortified protective structures that constitute a critical barrier to Russian advances. Trump would have Ukraine leave these fortifications, providing Putin a unobstructed way to Kyiv in case he later choose to resume the hostilities.

Armed Forces Limitations

Additionally, in a action that would facilitate renewed conflict more feasible for the Russian military, Trump would force the nation to diminish the scale of its troops from their current 800,000 to 850,000 soldiers to a cap of six hundred thousand. Significantly, Trump's plan sets no such constraints on the invading army.

Seemingly as a gesture to Putin's efforts to characterize the nation's legitimate administration as Nazis, the proposal states: "Any extremist belief system and activities must be condemned and forbidden." Seemingly to underscore this aspect, it insists that "Ukraine will hold democratic votes in 100 days" of a peace deal. However, Trump sets no condition that Putin risk his authoritarian rule by holding votes in his own country.

Defense Guarantees

Certainly, the initiative includes the Russian Federation promise not to "invade other states" and to "establish in regulation its policy of non-aggression towards Europe and the Ukrainian people". However given that Putin has broken similar agreements in the previous instances – including the 1994 agreement, in which the Russian government committed to honor Ukraine's sovereignty in return for giving up its former Soviet atomic arms, and the Minsk accords, in which Moscow agreed to a truce and a restoration of captured land in eastern Ukraine to Ukrainian control – how should the international community trust Putin on this occasion?

That is why the Ukrainian government has been so determined on international security guarantees. While the proposal promises a "strong joint military response" in case the Russian Federation restart its military campaign, and states that "Ukraine will receive reliable security guarantees", the specifics include vague to concerning. The plan would not just block Ukraine alliance membership but also prohibit alliance nations from deploying military personnel on the nation's land, thereby preventing the reassurance force, likely headed by European powers, on which the Ukrainian government had been relying to deter Russia from rebuilding his weakened military, re-equipping, and reinvading.

International Concern

Another supplementary accord according to sources would grant Ukraine with a similar to NATO protection assurance, in which any future "significant, planned, and sustained aggression" by Russia on Ukraine "shall be regarded as an act of war endangering the stability and safety of the Western nations." This indicates a military response. Yet different from a powerful Ukrainian military – the nation's best deterrent against renewed Russian aggression – the credibility of the supplementary deal would hinge on the commitment of Western powers, including Trump, to react militarily to Russia's aggression, a response they have {not