Key Points – Historian Timothy Snyder asserts President Donald Trump himself is “the barrier” to peace in Ukraine, citing Trump’s failure to grasp the conflict’s fundamentals and Russia’s imperial ambitions.
-This critique comes as Trump, despite recently calling Putin “crazy” and blaming Zelenskyy for prolonging the war, has not taken decisive action like implementing tough new sanctions or significantly increasing military aid, steps Snyder deems essential.
-Meanwhile, Russia has intensified its aerial bombardments of Ukrainian cities. Trump’s approach, marked by contradictory rhetoric and hesitant policy, is seen as undermining any real prospects for a just and lasting peace.
Trump’s Rhetoric Undermines His Own Pledge on Ukraine, Says Leading Historian
Once again President Donald Trump’s long-standing promise to end the war in Ukraine “within 24 hours” is being called into serious question. This time, the criticism comes not from political rivals, but from a leading academic voice: renowned historian Timothy Snyder.
In an interview with CNN on Monday, Snyder declared Trump himself as “the barrier” to peace in Ukraine, highlighting the president’s failure to grasp the fundamentals of the war and his own role in shaping its future.
According to Snyder, Trump doesn’t understand “why Ukrainians would defend themselves,” nor does he fully comprehend Russia’s imperial ambitions. That ignorance, Snyder warned, is more than intellectual; it is strategic, and dangerously so.
Trump: Putin is “CRAZY”
Trump, for his part, insists otherwise. Over the weekend, he launched a tirade on his Truth Social platform, simultaneously condemning Vladimir Putin as “absolutely CRAZY” while blaming Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for prolonging the war.
“This is a War that would never have started if I were President,” Trump claimed. “This is Zelenskyy’s, Putin’s, and Biden’s War, not ‘Trump’s.’ I am only helping to put out the big and ugly fires.”
However, Trump’s supposed peacemaking credentials are being undermined by his inaction.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal report, the White House is considering new sanctions against Russia. However, these fresh penalties would not include financial strikes on banks and would lack a clear timeline.
The administration also refused to join the EU last week in rolling out a new round of sanctions against Moscow. For a man who pledged swift resolution, Trump is moving at a crawl.
The Two Steps Toward Peace?
Snyder argued that genuine peace would require two immediate steps: tougher sanctions on Russia and increased military support for Ukraine, particularly in the form of air defence systems. Trump has done neither. Instead, he continues to vacillate between admiration and irritation toward Putin and appears unwilling to spearhead a coherent foreign policy strategy.
Meanwhile, the war grinds on. On Monday, Zelenskyy reported that Russian strikes have become “increasingly brazen and large-scale every night.” Speaking via Telegram, he described the campaign as a “clear political choice” by Putin to escalate the conflict, not for military necessity, but to terrorize.
Snyder: U.S. Doesn’t Want Peace
Despite Russian advances on the border, including the seizure of four villages this week, Zelenskyy continues to walk a diplomatic tightrope. Earlier this year, he endured a frosty Oval Office meeting with Trump, who publicly humiliated him.
Yet Zelenskyy has little choice but to maintain communication with a U.S. president who still holds sway over Ukraine’s Western aid pipeline. Snyder’s blunt assessment cuts through the fog: if the U.S. truly wants peace, it needs a president who understands the stakes and is willing to act.
Right now, that president does not appear to be Donald Trump.
About the Author:
Georgia Gilholy is a journalist based in the United Kingdom who has been published in Newsweek, The Times of Israel, and the Spectator. Gilholy writes about international politics, culture, and education.
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Swamplaw Yankee
May 28, 2025 at 2:49 am
It is sad to see a fella who could have been a contender, self-abdicate himself out of the throne. Yeah, the MAGA elite has zero in their cabal who can “syncronize” the POTUS with reality out in the empires.
The POTUS may be passable on the local Yankee stage but, he self-abdicated himself out of leadership of the WEST. That local stuff inside the Yankee empire can not cut it with the empires. You need a sharp knife, an adroit cognizance!
The orc russian peasant genocide of Ukrainians is a thousand years old. Their genetic need to molest Ukrainian children has zero to do with Yankee anything or Trump grasp of reality.
Then, to make a lot of quoting of some Snyder can not think his brain out of a paper bag. The keyboarding is a waste of reading time.
POTUS Trump needs a great helper. Maybe he can see the need himself. But, a guy can get trapped. Now, just sell or lend the military hardware to the Ukrainians and forget the hard thinking. Send the slimy slithering Whackoff Weirdoe shame show to lead on the USA MSM and keep on top of the unilateral scam con.
The Ukrainian fathers of 1616 thought their way into defeating a huge Ottoman Black Sea sex trade fleet with a few boats. They figured out how to out fox and over run the muslim army guarding the fort of Caffa, Ottamon gold and the dungeons full of purchased sex slaves from the orc russian peasant human traffickers of 1616. Trump, just give the Ukrainian fathers the needed military hardware and they will figure out how to beat the progeny orc peasant russians of 2025. No need to involve your advanced brain power or the inner beltway brain trust in such simple affairs. -30-
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