Ukraine War: Trump Ends “As Long as it Takes”

The opening salvo of peace in the Ukraine war was fired this week, with Trump speaking to both Putin and Zelenskyy on the phone, promising to meet with both, laying out his plan for an end to the fighting.

“No more lives should be lost!” Trump exclaimed in his announcement, emphasizing the “millions of deaths” in the war (fact checkers will love that one). 

The focus on life, rather than on the financial cost to the American taxpayer — which he made no mention of in his statement — seemed uncharacteristic of Trump, and has gone largely unnoticed. But if you look at Trump’s statements of late, he has focused on the loss of human life and the undeniable stalemate, not on American arms assistance.

As many as 1,500 Ukrainian and Russian troops are perishing each day right now. That should be enough of a reason to stop the fighting, which is in its third year this month and with no end in sight.

Democrats in Washington don’t seem to care about this glaring detail.

Though there was a flurry of activity this week with Trump’s announcements — a major statement by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the dispatch of diplomats to Europe — neither the top House Democrat, Leader Hakeem Jeffries, nor the Senate’s top Democrat, Leader Chuck Schumer, said anything. (Spokespersons for both did not respond to requests for comment.) 

The few Democrats who have commented disparage the diplomatic effort as Trump’s fealty to Putin, another example of his recklessness, a betrayal of Zelenskyy and our European allies, surrender, and the like.

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a member of the Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees, has been most outspoken in opposing what Trump is trying to do. Despite his willingness to speak on the issue, he offers no hint of any alternative. 

Here’s what Murphy told CNN on Wednesday: 

“Listen, I’m all for a diplomatic solution here; but not one that hands the entirety of Ukraine to Vladimir Putin. Donald Trump has said he doesn’t want to spend any more money on this war. And if Vladimir Putin knows that, that means that he’s got the better hand at the negotiating table. Ultimately, it’s really bad for the United States. If Russia owns Ukraine, it’s very possible Russia won’t stop and they will invade a NATO country. That’s American boots on the ground. That’s our lives at stake … The reality is Trump has signaled over and over again that he’s going to cut Ukraine off and hand Ukraine to Russia. And if that’s the deal and that’s been communicated to Russia, then of course Russia may be doing some small things to help Donald Trump be able to ultimately sell what will be an abandonment of U.S. interests.”

Murphy’s concerns about Trump handing “the entirety of Ukraine to Vladimir Putin” bear no resemblance to what the administration has actually proposed. But more, it seems indifferent to the human cost of the war, especially when there has been a virtual stalemate for over a year. That is, neither the Russians nor the Ukrainians are capable of securing a military victory. Military bloviators might sagely deem it a “war of attrition,” but in the modern world, it is just a senseless killing machine.

Murphy doesn’t say so explicitly, but he is acceding to former President Biden’s vow to support for war for “as long as it takes” by fighting Russia (and providing Ukraine with arms and assistance) to the bitter end. Fighting all the way to the last Ukrainian, as critics called it, was seen by the Biden administration as desirable because it would weaken Russia and Putin. Sitting at desks in Washington, such a strategy might make sense and have some “strategic” justification, but not out there, where the war is actually being fought. America has to be more realistic. Putin and Zelenskyy are. They both appear open to Trump’s proposal, judging from their public statements.

The Trump administration is not saying that Ukraine has to give up, nor is it saying it is going to impose its will. But Trump, a believer in hardball power and the self-anointed King of the Deal, has laid out the reality of the moment. Per Defense Secretary Hegseth’s statement, here are the opening three main points to move forward:

• “returning to Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders in an unrealistic objective,”
• the U.S. “does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement,” and
• “there will not be U.S. troops deployed to Ukraine” as part of any peacekeeping entity.

Zelensky’s response has been muted. No objections. No ultimatums. He said yesterday that he spoke to Trump and had “a long conversation … about the possibilities of achieving peace.” He expressed his willingness to work with the American president, hinting that Trump had offered assistance on drones and other technologies.

“I am grateful to President Trump for his interest in what we can do together,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukraine wants peace more than anyone else. We define our joint steps with America to stop Russian aggression and guarantee a reliable, long-lasting peace. As President Trump said, let’s get it done.”

So Democrats in Washington oppose getting it done merely because it is Trump?

Ukraine is far from the only instance of reflexive, blanket opposition. On issue after issue, the Democratic Party responds in this fashion. In the case of DOGE, rather than focusing on the legitimate ways that Musk is hurting people, the Democrats have formed a coalition with the bureaucracy, decrying the entire thing as a fascist coup to end Social Security and Medicare.

There are reasonable concerns that Trump might be too generous to Putin, but when you overstate the case — by saying Trump wants to give up the entirety of Ukraine, that another Russian invasion is imminent and that the consequences are American boots will be on the ground —people will rightly roll their eyes about the Democrats in Congress.

“I was really embarrassed for my Democratic colleagues,” former Democratic congressman Dean Phillips told CNN today about their war on DOGE. “The fact of the matter is, this is not playing well around the country.” Polling suggests Phillips is correct.

Phillips thinks that his party would have more credibility if it actually engaged with the broader questions of government waste, which most people care about.

“People want the government to work better … Most Americans … they wanted Trump. They elected him. And I just would hope that my Democratic colleagues might change the strategy and perhaps actually work with Republicans to identify waste and fraud and actually attack that, because then they would have some more credibility as it relates to the constitutional issues and the ones that are actually going to hurt human beings, including federal employees who are now being used as pawns. So that is how most Americans feel. But Democrats are not projecting that. And I’m deeply concerned about leadership right now.”

Phillips, a Minnesota liberal Democrat, is hardly a MAGA-type Trump supporter. In the interview, he goes on to criticize DOGE’s lack of “accountability” and describes Trump and Musk as “a frightening combination.” He’s just saying that you can’t ignore public opinion. I don’t need a poll to know that public opinion on the Ukraine war is that “as long as it takes” has failed.

Update: On Thursday, Hegseth walked back his statements on American positions during Ukraine negotiations, making clear that the details are still being worked out. “Everything is on the table,” Hegseth said, admitting that he jumped the gun and revealed internal U.S. policy. “In his conversations with Vladimir Putin and Zelensky, what he decides to allow or not allow, is at the purview of the leader of the free world —President Trump,” Hegseth added, obviously in response to complaints from Zelenskyy and perhaps even Putin.

— Edited by William M. Arkin