Peace in Our Time or Dishonorable Surrender?

WSJ Opinion: Free Expression

Gerard Baker, Editor at Large, The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

4.6 • 591 Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2025

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

During the week that marked the three-year anniversary of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Donald Trump met with a flurry of world leaders to discuss ending the war, as well as announcing a potential commercial deal with Ukraine over mineral resources. Meanwhile, the U.S. voted against a U.N. resolution condemning Moscow’s actions even as Ukrainian forces fought on to expel Russians from their territory. So what does all the activity mean for the future of the conflict and is there any end in sight? On this episode of Free Expression, military historian and analyst Fred Kagan tells Gerry Baker why Vladimir Putin is the only world leader who doesn’t want the war to end, reviews the latest conditions on the battlefield, and argues the Trump administration should not be willing to give concessions to Russia in the name of peace nor give up on NATO. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Free Expression with Jerry Baker.
0:08.8	Hello and welcome to Free Expression from the Wall Street Journal. I'm Jerry Baker, editor at large
0:13.1	with the journal. If you're not already subscribing to Free Expression, please do sign up at Apple,
0:17.3	podcast, Spotify, wherever you do you're listening. This week, peace in our time. President Trump is in the midst of a flurry of diplomatic activity and a bid to bring an end to the war in Ukraine. Last week, he spoke with Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, and of course, Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine. Secretary of State Marker Rubio sat down with his Russian counterpart in Saudi Arabia, the first higher level in-person meeting between the two countries since the war started.
0:41.1	This week, Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron,
0:44.2	and on Thursday he welcomes British Prime Minister Kirstama,
0:47.8	all of course to talk about the war and how to end it.
0:50.7	And on Tuesday this week, the United States and Ukraine inked a deal that would give
0:54.8	the US access to a share of Ukrainian mineral reserves. And on Monday, the United States voted
1:01.3	with Russia and its allies, including states such as North Korea and Belarus, against a United
1:07.4	Nations General Assembly resolution that did blame Russia for the invasion itself.
1:12.1	Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine last year's he campaign for the presidency.
1:15.4	So where is all this diplomatic activity heading?
1:18.3	Is the US, in effect, abandoning Ukraine?
1:21.0	Is it siding now with Russia in what some see is a major strategic shift by the country?
1:25.9	Is this commercial deal that it may be getting? Is this
1:28.5	part of a broader US approach to diplomacy and to dealing with its interests around the world? Or
1:34.3	is there something more going on? Could we be about to see perhaps some kind of grand bargain
1:39.6	with all the parties involved that could bring at least a temporary halt to the war that passed its three-year
1:45.7	anniversary this week. Well, this week I'm delighted to say I'm joined by Fred Kagan, welcoming him
1:49.7	back to the program. Fred's a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and a former
1:53.7	professor of military history at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He's the author of several
	...

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